Trick-Or-Treat

I had very high hopes for our first Halloween in our home. Tons of cute little kiddos, meeting our neighbors, lots and lots of candy. I even decorated up the porch a bit ..... excessively to try and entice those cutie little costumed kiddos our way.
 

There were tons of candles lighting the way to our door. But, sadly, the crowds where pretty thin. We had EIGHT kids total. EIGHT! I had such high hopes for our little neighborhood with the big park. Where are all those trick-or-treaters?! I've decided they retreat to other parts of the city for their sweets.

 

This means a couple of things: 

1. I'm sad for our neighborhood. I'm already brainstorming ways we can get folks out of their house and hanging out together next Halloween. We met two really great couples from up the street last night. I want to meet more. 

2. My candy consumption is about to become embarrassing.  Two big bags full of candy + 8 trick-or-treaters = uh oh.

I hope you had a wonderful Halloween filled with lots of Twix and cute costumes!

P.S. Please excuse my dead and dying mums above. I just can't grow plants. I just can't.

Fall is Here.

It was in the 60's this weekend. So I opened up the windows, rushed to Starbucks for a Pumpkin Spice Latte, and got to work adding a few fall decorations here and there around the house. I didn't have to spend much money. Mostly I just re-purposed stuff I had. Let's be honest, a mason jar works for almost every season. 

I love fall. Crisp air, scarves, pumpkins, and a bonfire with friends can make it seem like everything is going to be alright. I'm thankful.

Weekending

It's been a busy weekend, but I've enjoyed every second of it. I've filled up the moments with celebrating one of our dearest friend's birthday, the opening ceremony, an amazing food media conference (I am SO excited to start taking better pictures), date night, and now lounging is ...

All. I. Want. To. Do. 

I'm sprawled out on the couch staring at my amazing new-to-me vintage Swedish map, which was a surprise gift from my husband, and watching episode after episode of Kitchen Nightmares. 

My laundry is calling out to me longingly. I'm plugging my ears. 

How do you waste away your Sunday evenings? 

A New Front Door

Well, it's pretty obvious I have house on the brain. 

My current obsession?  A pale blue minty green front door. 
 
This is where I need your help. I just can't decide. In my heart I love it, but I want to make sure I'm not out of my mind crazy.  See that first little picture down there? That's our new old home. I rigged up a pale mint door in Photoshop to see what it would look like. I love the color of the screen door in the picture right below it. It seems their house has the exact same colors going on with the exterior, which gives me hope. 

Thoughts? 
Love? 
Hate?

Be honest. 

Clockwise from left: Our new front door, 2, 3, 4

Overwhelmed

There is so much going on right now, and it is so easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. But, at the same time I'm excited. Assuming all goes well in the next week, we'll be buying our first home and moving by the end of may. This is incredibly terrifying. This is also incredibly exciting. It's a beautiful historic home, built in 1903, and as I'm sure you all can imagine, I have a million projects already planned. 

So please forgive me if the blog is sparse over the next few weeks, because life is not. 

In the meantime, I'll be simultaneously freaking out about life and dreaming about our adorable new front porch. 

March: The Chalkboard Wall

One whole wall in our dining room is a chalkboard. Some may say the chalkboard paint trend is over, and I say who cares?! I love it. It's a great place to jot down a to-do list, a dinner menu, a fancy frame sketch, or a lovely quote, like this one from WH Auden's poem As I Walked Out One Evening

A Simple Dinner Party

A dinner party doesn't need to be fancy or elaborate to be beautiful. It just takes a little bit of intention ... and not a lot of money! Here are a few sweet and simple things I do when we're having people over for dinner. 

> Use real plates, place low bowls on top for salad.

> Prepare simple food, but serve it in courses.  Don't feel pressured to make some big elaborate meal you've never made before just because you're having people over. The less you stress over the meal, the more time you'll have to spend with your guests drinking wine, talking, and building community. 

> Use real wine glasses and set a glass for water at each seat. Have a glass pitcher of water on the table, add a few fruit slices to make it special. 

> Get to be pretty good at a couple of cocktails and keep the ingredients on hand. Offer up an easy and simple cocktail if your guests so desire. We almost always treat ourselves to a cocktail when we're out to a nice dinner. It's fun to treat your guests with the same experience. 

> Warm bread in a basket with a rustic kitchen cloth and a slab of butter makes all the difference. 

> Place a jar of fresh flowers on your table. I like to buy a big mixed bouquet at Trader Joe's and break it down into several smaller jar bouquets around the house. 

> Use tea towels as cloth napkins. 

> Light several candles around your home. Dim the lights just a tad in your dining room.

> Put on record, or let your guests help pick the tunes! 

> Enjoy a simple and beautiful dinner with your friends, and choose not to worry about the dishes. They can wait. 

Little Changes

I rearranged a few things around our home today. Sometimes switching things up makes such a difference. 

I moved a box we planted herbs in this summer up from the basement to use as an end table for our new chair. I love the little cubbies!

I moved a broken dining room chair into the bedroom as a night stand for Jake. 

I added a lamp where there wasn't one before. We were given this lamp for free, all it needed was a new switch. 

I moved some bottles from our fireplace mantle to the coffee table. 

It's the little things. My home feels al cozy and primped. I love it. Don't be afraid to rearrange and repurpose, friends. It's like shopping for free, and you can't go wrong with that. 

A Wreath Making Soiree

This past weekend I gathered together some of my favorite gals for a brunch and wreath making extravaganza. It was an absolute blast. I provided the wreath forms and mimosas and the girls brought decorations and food to share. You can see my finished product at the end of this post. I hope this becomes a yearly tradition! How much fun would an ornament or garland party be?!

 

My husband is creepy.

A Simple Centerpiece

Sometimes the best centerpieces are thrown together at the last minute with stuff you have just laying around.  Be inspired, friends.  You don't have to go buy gobs of decor to make your Thanksgiving table warm and inviting. Your decor doesn't even have to be orange and tan. Go for your style, grab what you have laying around and create a warm and inviting table for your guests without spending a dime.


Case and point ... 

New Sofa

We've been hunting around for a new sofa for quite awhile. 


We love the clean lines of the Mid Century Modern styles, but they can get a bit pricey. 


I found this sofa on Craigslist today for $450. It has the original upholstery, but brand new cushions underneath! I don't love the color, and would like to have it recovered with grey. Does anyone have experience with having a sofa recovered? Any clue on what it would cost? 

DIY Felt Flower Wreath

There's been some adorable felt flower wreaths popping up on Pinterest lately. Take these two beauties, for example ... 

So, I took it upon myself to attempt to make Pinterest inspiration a reality. Mine may not be as beautiful as the inspiration.. and I may have made it at midnight last night... and I may have cheated and just pinned everything on with straight pins ... but I love it, and it's cute and it made me smile when I walked out the door this morning. And that, my friends, is what creative DIY is all about. 

Sprucin' Up.

I'm continually working on making our little flat more of a home.  It's important to settle in and feel comfortable no matter how long you're planning to be in your current home. I think it brings peace, at least for me. 


I've been slow to hang up decor and organize our bedroom, but this week I've been tackling little projects here and there. Some are super visible, and some are just making sure the drawers are in order. Both make you instantly feel better about the state of your home. I just love our little place. 


Here are a few things I've been up to lately: 


I hung up some vintage frames and a mirror above my dresser, and organized all those drawers underneath. I guess I should have moved my ugly hamper out of the shot, but oh well, that's real life. 

I took another vintage frame that just has been sitting in a "do something with me someday" pile and decided to utilize the missing back and hang my most frequently used necklaces and glasses on the wire. This took all of about 10 seconds to complete and instantly made a huge difference. 

I also spruced up my look a bit with new highlights and new bangs. I miss my bangs when they are gone. One day I'll learn to go in between full cuts and colors and get my bangs trimmed. Someday.

What small victories have you had lately in making your house a more cozy home? Do share!

Kara & Julia

I'm pretty sure everyone and their mom wanted a pegboard in their kitchen after seeing this beauty on Julie & Julia.

Some of you may even remember my excursion to Julia's kitchen at the Smithsonian. Is it sad that I was almost in tears? I didn't think so either. 

Well, thanks to my oh-so-wonderful husband, we have a little Julia inspired pegboard of our very own. It's not very big, but being that our kitchen has 3 drawers and ONE lonely cabinet, I'll take any extra storage I can get. And, let's just be honest here, how cute does my rolling pin and cast iron skillet look up there? 

Yep, Adorable.

We used these super easy to follow instructions from Apartment Therapy. 


I love making our house a home. And, I even more fun kitchen projects to show you soon. Hooray!