House Stalking

there is this house not too far from us that i am in love with. i discovered it one day, actually night, as i drove by and they had all of their lights on and not one single shade or curtain. lucky for me! i guess i would describe the style as a modern farm house with a metal roof built only a year or two ago. the exterior is so pretty but what’s even better is the interior. i like to drive by it as often as i can to catch glimpses. and now if we get take out, i purposely drive the way to pass this house. creepy mccreepster i know.

excuse the through-my-car-window iphone pics. it's impossible to tell here but the front door and casing is this gorgeous medium gray.

inside i can see only a few details… gray trim (similar to the front door) and white walls. towards the back left there are huge pendants which i imagine are over an island (but what does that island look like??). a giant world map in the front right room. the whole look is so contrary to what i typically like and that fascinates me even more! no bright colors, pretty minimalist with very little “stuff”. i like to think about what else is in this house. i imagine light wood floors, metal bar stools, maybe a cool vintage rug or two - wait - maybe funky shag rugs, and lots of swedish furniture with some antiques thrown in for good measure. i'm probably 100% off base but it's still fun!

i've never seen pendants quite like the ones in this house but this is the closest i could find:

via maddie g designs on pinterest

maybe a table like this and these chairs in the form of barstools? (this kitchen is way busier than what would be in this house)

does anyone else do this? do you have a house like this one? please tell me i’m not totally creepy. and no, mom/dad/others who may be wondering - this house is not for sale and i, in no way, shape, or form have any thoughts of moving or anything crazy like that. i’m simply admiring.

p.s. if this is your house, i'm free for a tour any time :)

Wipe Your Feet

in the market for a new entry mat? i've been seeing a few that are super cute lately. very random i know!

chevron.

nautical cutie from west elm (free shipping right now!).

monogrammed.

if you're feeling beachy.

union jack.

do you have any favorites?

Project Update: New Nursery

finally i have pictures of the boys' nursery. so now that they are 13 months, am i still allowed to call it a nursery? is it just a room now? well whatever it is, i'm pretty happy with their new space. here was my inspiration board:

and here's what actually happened. just realizing now that i don't have a "before" shot. dumb! but the walls were yellow and that's about all that was going on.

(romans look navy in this pic but they are really charcoal)

(need to do a diy project and change the top of the table)

quickly back to the inspiration because you might be thinking, what happened? ...

• curtains: the striped curtains went to the adjoining room in lieu of stripes on the ceiling. 
• lamp: the little lamp is also in the playroom, for safety reasons. 
• rug: i had to forgo the rug because 1. i didn't win the battle and 2. the wool carpet that i originally bought for the room is really nice and soft and i was being silly thinking i wouldn't use it. 
• rocking chair: i loved it but didn't need. 
• headboards: they will happen one day when C&F move to real beds (wahhh!).

now for what is in the room:

• paint colors: san antonio grey, ben moore, on the ceiling and hinting blue, sherwin williams, on the walls. 
• shades: for the windows i went with simple white and gray romans from the shade store. they are just like with ones in our bedroom except with a charcoal gray border. i like the look - very clean and tailored. 
• the chairs, sheepskin rug, and dresser are from the boys' original nursery in our old house. 
• art: i did spring for the alphabet print from this post. the elephant print is from etsy (see this post). i decided to hang only the elephant in the middle because i'm nervous of putting anything where they can reach it. the giraffe is waiting to find it's home :)
• the ikea nightstand and cb2 pouf (which is much darker in person unfortunately) are both from the inspiration board. 

that's it! i hope everyone had a great weekend - we had another gross weather weekend. summer can not come soon enough.

Featured On Caitlin Wilson Design!!!

big news - my master bedroom is on caitlin wilson's blog today!! go here for the post:

http://caitlinwilsondesign.blogspot.com/2013/02/view-from-my-heels.html

i'm so honored to have my personal project featured. i love her fabrics. in fact, i've written about caitlin's fabric line before but let's do a quick recap!

yum! all of it! images courtesy of caitlin wilson textiles.

Slim Fits For Men

what is up with this. so SO many men’s pants these days are slim fit. but not many men are the slim fit type. in fact i’d be willing to bet that most men don’t have a slim fit frame or a desire to wear tiny pants. yet have you seen the models in the j crew catalog? what? they all look like waifs.

and my personal favorite...

i think those are sweatpants with a stitched fly? j crew doesn’t even have an option for a nice tailored bootcut anymore. i’m not talking about baggy, messy looking pants. just something comfortable. anyway, i guess bootcut is out (said in my best heidi klum voice) which is unfortunate.

what happened to clothes for men? a man who wants to look like a man, not a 12 year old boy. j crew alone has 4 different styles online that fall into the slim fit category. and as a guy pal said to me, “it’s frustrating for you and you’re not a man.” so, i’m sorry men. i feel your pain and i’m not even a man.

*yes i realize that there are other places to shop than j crew and that somewhere out there bootcut pants for men do exist and that i may be exaggerating a smidge but whatever.

Aqua Imperial Trellis

i saw this home in the latest hgtv mag and i instantly fell in love all over again with kelly wearstler's imperial trellis. the soft aqua colorway is gorg and i love it used in a hall. it also helps that this house looks so airy and light. just pretty.

great ceiling and bookcase too...

More Mint

i mentioned before that mint is huge for this spring/summer and i thought i'd share a few more ways to add mint in your life :)

this gap bag.

for him.

for my expecting friends, a little maternity wear.

a cute little light fixture from urban outfitters (although this is only the shade).

this dining room which i love. those chairs! that wallpaper!

 via house beautiful

this muted minty paint from farrow and ball.

via house of turquoise

mint shutters for your beach house dah-ling.

via house of turquoise

Ovo Lamp

first, happy birthday to my dad! i failed miserably on his birthday this year so i'm hoping a little internet fame will help make up for it :)

i just saw this lamp in the march house beautiful (which i thought was an awesome issue btw)... it comes in more than 70, seven-zero, colors and is $99 - WITH shade.

some of the colors:

yeah.

Mudroom Lighting

i saw this mudroom on pinterest and had to pin it because i'm thinking of the same light fixture for our mudroom. i know you can just barely see it but i think the schoolhouse shade is the perfect touch!

something like this one from rejuvenation:

also i think these would be fantastic on a smaller scale in our upstairs hallway which feels like it goes on forever and needs something pretty to look at. here is my inspiration.

photo from a real estate listing that i was stalking :)

Playroom Rugs

i saw this rug at polkadot peacock and thought it could be so cute in a playroom.

it reminds me of this fancy pants fabric from quadrille.

elizabeth dinkel

we need to get a rug of the indoor/outdoor variety to put under a planned play table in our basement playroom. i originally thought of carpet tiles but we have wall to wall carpet already and i've read that putting carpet tiles on top of carpeting is not such a good idea. this zebra number is currently at the top of my list with one of it's best features being that it can be hosed off!

Is It Summer Yet?

not sure where you’re reading this post from – hopefully a warm, sunny spot – but here in the arctic north we got a LOT of snow. a lot like 2 feet which i find unenjoyable and unnecessary. it makes me cranky, clearly, so i am dreaming of summer and vacations. we planned our first family vacation - a trip to the cape which at least gives me something to look forward to after a long, cold winter. this little place will be ours for a week! we can even bring lily the dog :)

it's been completely redone and i love the onion lights and the gravel driveway. very capey!

p.s. any advice on what to bring along for a couple of 17 month olds? we invested in a radio flyer wagon for two, complete with uv sun canopy and drink holders. wagons have come a long way. what about swim diapers? cloth kind that can be reused or disposables? toys? i need help!

Snow.

yesterday at 2:45pm:

this morning at 11:30am:

so we decided to make the best of it!

On My Radar: For the Kiddies

happy friday! the last two weeks at work have been completely insane and i'm so glad to be through it. blah. but the weekend is here so onto brighter things! the boys are going for their second haircut this weekend. their hair grows so much faster than mine. maybe because they have a very healthy diet and i have a very unhealthy one :) is diet related to nice hair? anyway i digress...

a few things i've been seeing around the interwebs lately and thought i'd round up and share...

zulily and the honest company have teamed up and you can buy their stuff on zulily always. people swear by their diapers but i am in love with this swim diaper:

these bookends are the cutest little thing for a playroom:

and these tattoos would keep little ones entertained for hours (i imagine, we aren't quite at the tattoo stage yet):

On My Radar

we just finished the first season of homeland last night. wow. and since we don't have showtime, we get to wait until august before they release season 2. ahhh!!! downton abbey next? also, i think people in my neighborhood know me as the pooper scooper lady because i am always out picking up after the dog when someone drives by. never fails. and i thought you should know.

ok onto the real stuff...

1. a gold lamp that is fabulous. as is the price. (i hear it is on backorder but worth waiting for i think)

2. an ipod/iphone docking station that makes me smile.

mint is the color for spring, so says me, and this peplum top is perfect. i even like the exposed zipper back (even though everything has exposed zippers these days), it makes it a little less sweet.