Lately...

Lately we've been settling into a nice little nesting rhythm.

Cleaning and de-cluttering things around the house.

Did a few loads of laundry full of tiny little things.

Washed up all of her cloth diapers, onesies, blankets, swaddles and socks.

How in the world do you keep track of socks that tiny?!?!

I think my favorite baby item is her Aden and Anais bamboo swaddle blankets.

Holy moley!

They are so soft! Do they make them in adult sizes?

It's been fun trying out new recipes and making and baking warm food.

I've been nesting at the shop too.

Between training our new shop girls, putting out new product and enjoying our front door being propped open, it's been a really lovely week.

Nothing super notable, but a really lovely week.

Our hospital bags are packed.

We are 37 weeks today and I think she might be getting ready to make her debut!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Home Ownership...

I really love our home and couldn't imagine living anywhere else, but sometimes 90+ year structures let you down.

We have to get a new one of these...

...as well as some gas lines replaced and floor and possible foundation repair due to the slow leak from our water heater from 1984.

So, I'm in need of a small home decor/renovation dream session.

What I wish we were spending our money on instead:

Dreamy claw foot tubs bathed in sunshine...

White subway tile, wide plank wood floors and an island...

Sliding barn doors to keep Toby and Oliver out of my office...

And now I will stop compaining and be thankful that we will have hot water and a non exploding house.

The Office

The office, the sun room, the Katie can't make up her freakin mind room!

Just like me in junior high, the home office has been through many looks. I finally have a vision of what I want it to be and the purposes it should fulfill. Perfect spot to drink some tea and read in the AM, functional space to keep track of bills and other grown-up stuff and a place that inspires and fosters creativity. It's finally on the right track!

Here are a few of the detours we've made...

What it looked like when we first moved in and I was still going through my "shabby chic" phase:

All of the furniture in this shot is still in our home or shop. It's probably been painted a few time since this photo. Tyler had not moved into the house yet and I was still in LOVE with pastels. You have to make do with the furniture you have, right? The pink side table is still pink and resides in our kitchen as part of the island.
Here's how it looked after I tried by hand at gender neutral decorating:
Still not very gender neutral and too cramped...
Here's what it looked like when it was my sewing room before Birdie was a brick and mortar:
Here's what it's looking like now:
Much more sophisticated but still whimsical and eclectic.
Three things stayed constants throughout the multiple re-vampings:

1. Wall color: Super cheerful and soothing at the same time
2. Damask chocolate and cream Waverly curtains from Tuesday Morning
3. Vintage gold chandelier with pink light bulbs purchase my Jr. year
   

Love seat: Antique store score for $125 Mod Green Pod Organic Upholstery in Natural from Birdie
Pillow on the left: Old English "H" from Heidi Devlin
Pillow on the right: Target
Coffee table: Another Granddad Horace WWII footlocker (I want to add casters to the bottom)
Bertoia diamond chair: The match to the one in the living room
Pink quilt: Wedding gift from our sweet friends M'lea and Steven. They added our wedding date to the interior of the quilt.
Pink Lamp: Antique store find
Lamp Shade: Target
Rug: Ann Mann find
Wall prints: Vintage French prints from my Gramma Mann
Cat art: Vintage cat needlepoint from an antique store

I'm still working on my desk area. Found a really neat and functional china cabinet top that is perched on an antique black table. It just needs a few shelves added, some plants for its' hat and a comfy chair.

Picture Post!

We've been in our little house for just over two years & it's coming along quite nicely.

Nesting with a guy is an interesting experience!

I worried about making the house too "girlie"

for about 6 months of our marriage & realized,

Tyler doesn't care what I do

as long as he has his dude room

(and I don't paint EVERYTHING pink).

I'm not saying he isn't interested, it's just not one of his passions.

Most conversations pertaining to house stuff begins with,

Katie, "I was thinking..."

Tyler replies, "How much?"

However, we've been quite budget & eco-friendly in furnishing our home.

Most everything, save a few rugs, lamps, & our TV, is antique, vintage and/or re-purposed.

So anyway, here's how a few rooms in our little 1920s bungalow are turning out.

• Dining table: From great-grandmother Prudence's flower shop
• Raspberry and walnut chairs: Gramma VK's with Mod Green Pod Organic Fabric from Birdie
• Brown & cream rug: Target sale for 20 buck-a-roo's.
• Wooden folding chairs: Flea market find (plus 12 more! They were a really good deal!)

• Test tube flower vase: Estate sale find for $5.00
• Cremone Daisies: Birdie

• China cabinet: Antique store purchase
• China and crystal: Grammas Mann and vonKaenel
• Armless corner chairs: Gramma Mann's with new upholstery treatment

• Vintage mirror collection: Family, flea and estate sale finds
• "Sideboard": S & J's Market Place in Norman
• Vintage water dispenser: Flea Market $15
• Alabaster lamp: Gramma VK
• Lamp shade: Target
• "H" on a stand: Anthropologie

• Footlockers: Tyler's Granddad Horace's from WWII
• Cardboard plant: Birdie
• Reading chair: Recovered estate sale find with Anna's Drawing Room Volume's in Gold
• Needlepoint ottoman: Gramma VK's handy work
• Lamp: Target
• Penguin Classics cloth bound books: Christmas present from Anthropologie

Flea market mirror reflection...

Can you find Oliver?

• Couch: Gramma VK upholstered with Mod Green Pod Aspire in Peppercorn from Birdie
• Vintage wooden slats coffee table: Free! Left by the previous owners of my parents cabin.
• Cream & red coffee table: Barn sale find for $8.00
• Damask window valences: Made by me and T with the help of some Amy Butler fabric

Photo booth fun from a friends wedding and some custom tandem bike Etsy art by Silhouette Blue

• Some of our random collection of prints and paintings: Starting from top left going clockwise, corner of Jessica Upson original "Tower Bridge", Milton Glaser, "Bob Dylan", my gramma, Portia vonKaenel, Ryan Adams and the Cardinals Cain's Ballroom and Amelia Mae "You + Me" print
• Monster globe: Flea market find (Tyler's score)
• Original Knoll Bertoia diamond chair: FREE!!! plus one from my Great Uncle Jack Walls from the Mann's Flower Shop attic

• Record Shelves: Custom built by Tyler, my brother Jeff and myself. Currently housing over 1,000 pieces of really good vinyl. Including Gentle Ghosts LP, Family
• TV Stand: Reworked vintage wardrobe with new paint job and a roll out shelf on the interior for the turntable
• Green victorian sofa: Great gramma McClure's
• Sofa table: Reclaimed wood from Roost available at Birdie by order

We really enjoy our little home and filling it with friends and memories.

Hope you enjoyed our little tour.

More to come...next stop, sunroom makeover!