Purl Bee Baby Blanket

Made my first blanket using this pattern with their recommended yarn, which cost me a fortune. I loaded up on great wool for a second blanket, which lasted me for a third, fourth and fifth as well.

Next in line: Hudson Bay Crib Blanket.

Sweet Girls Room

http://laybabylay.com/shared-room-inspiration-with-the-land-of-nod

How cute is this?! More photos in the link.

A Heart-Filled Blue and Pink Bedroom

Having a baby girl is bringing back my suppressed interest in things like  hearts, rainbows, unicorns and ponies. I love the punchy pink and light blue rooms (with a touch of shimmer).  Below is some inspiration:

Source: The Inspired Room

Source: Minted.com

Source: House of Turquoise

Source: Houzz.com

Source: Serena and Lily

Source: Serena and Lily

Source: Flickr.com

Source: Style Me Pretty

Mudroom Cabinet

This addition transformed our back entryway into a useful mudroom-like area - an essential project since we don't have a single closet on the main floor of our home.

BEFORE

Bags, shoes, hats, mittens, recycling...

Our fantastic pre-cabinet recycling system.
I have some strong words about how much I hated this.

We hired a friend's mother, a cabinet maker, to help us design and build something for the space. We wanted something that was consistent with the history of the home and that matched the woodwork elsewhere on the main floor (a mixture of oak and maple, but we preferred maple; when stained, birch looks the same for slightly less money). We also wanted specific functionality: hooks for bags/coats, cabinets for additional storage, space for boot/shoe storage, drawers for hats/mittens, and drawers for our city's soon-to-arrive single-sort recycling system.

AFTER

Portico Renovation

Our home was in desperate need of a face lift, both inside and out. The first picture shows what the house looked like when we bought it (original slate roof and portico, overgrown landscaping). The previous owners put the addition on the right hand side and enclosed the sun porch on the left. During the first round of improvements, we painted the exterior gray (comparable to Benjamin Moore Harbor Gray), removed the balcony from the top of the portico, planted trees and bushes and installed a brick foot path, new roof and air conditioning. 

The original exterior front

The updated exterior

Fast forward a few years, and we were ready to replace the leaky portico!  Not only was the original portico falling apart, it did not fit the scale of the house. To address this, we widened the brick landing by 18 inches on each side before building the new portico. We also installed a new front door, hanging light, window boxes, mailbox and hand rails. We are incredibly happy with the result!

Street view of the house with new portico, updated landscaping (cherry trees) and the brick path we installed a few years ago.

Expanded porch landing, new cedar railing

White 'Lancaster' window boxes from windowbox.com

Lucy lounging on the new stoop.

We went with the beautiful mahogany 'Newport' door from Clark Hall Doors to let more light into the front of the house. We painted Golden Groves from Benjamin Moore in a high gloss finish. The yellow is perfect with the red brick. Emtek 'Sheridan' hardware in medium bronze and Pottery Barn envelope mailbox. Boxwood wreath is from Garnet Hill.

Hanging lantern by Forte in royal bronze lights up the portico ceiling.

Emtek 4 inch house numbers in medium bronze.

Fairytale Pumpkins

Fall is here: not a cloud in the sky, the air is crisp and sweet. Our mantle and dining table are sporting some festive fairytale pumpkins that I picked up at Butler's Orchard in Maryland a few weeks ago.  Pale green, mini, white, bright orange - I love them all! 

Pickled Radish Seed Pods

We received radish seed pods in our CSA the last two weeks. These are the seeds that radish plants develop when they grow past prime harvesting. When eaten raw they're like a spicy green bean. I searched for pickling recipes and found that our friend Jess adapted a pickling recipe for these. They'll be perfect to bring to Wisconsin for the 4th of July week. Thanks, Jess!

Treasures in the Attic

...Or rather the rafters of the garage, which is where I found this old wood and wire birdhouse.

I oiled it up to give it some luster...

And for now it lives in the porch with the plants... sort of a summer conservatory.

Notebook

Most new "consultants" would invest in one of those adult Trapper Keepers - the leather-bound kind with lots of pockets. I did not do that. I made this notebook from some wrapping paper that I'm pretty sure came from Elana. Someone had given me pieces of the Levenger "Circa" system ($74 for a notebook?!) so I used them to make my own.

Glorious Glow

Me: You can't tell the difference, can you?

Husband: It's... subtle. 

This is how you know that the dining room paint job that took three days to complete is never going to be noticed by anyone. But it was worth it. Cracks had formed on one wall and on the ceiling (normal "settling" of our 100-year-old house). We had them patched. The previous yellow had more mustard tones, so we opted for "glorious glow." And the requisite ceiling painting, of course. 

The biggest difference is that we have use of our dining room again. I taped and moved the furniture a good month ago. Yes, it's awesome living with me and my "projects."