PROGRESS REPORT

This past weekend Justin and I decided that it was time to tackle the dining room. This may not sound like a gigantic scary project...but it is. The dining room is where we have been hoarding all of our unopened moving boxes, artwork, and scads of mismatched furniture from our old apartment. But we dove in head first and I'm happy to report that we're off to a killer start. We managed to get MORE done than I expected. That NEVER happens.

We're done painting the walls and the ceiling. You can see the colors that we went with in the picture above. I had chosen the wall color a while ago (Minty Green by Glidden)...but I wasn't sure what I wanted to do with the ceiling. Then I saw these images for the new Farrow and Ball colors...

I love the combinations of blues and greens and blue-greens and pea greens. So I went for it. My ceiling is now Marsh Fern by Behr.

We're still busy in the dining room DIYing up a storm. More soon.

NEW LISTING

I don't know if it's that fewer houses come on the market in the winter months or what...but I haven't gotten a single budget-friendly listing update that I deemed post worthy since September. That is, until now. This pretty little thing showed up in my inbox yesterday. It's in St. Remy (apparently home to all cute-as-a-button gingerbread Victorians) and it's listed at $239,000. Details are here. Come be my neighbor!

YESTERDAY’S NEWS

Valentine's Day felt especially lovely this year. We spent the afternoon at home preparing a delicious dinner -- rack of lamb, braised fennel, white bean puree, roasted fingerling potatoes -- and a stellar dessert -- creme brulee and chocolate covered strawberries.

Justin gave me a big, beautiful bouquet of flowers.

And in honor of my new year's resolution I wore a bunch of sparkly things on my head.

Sweet but simple. Dressed up but laid back. A perfect night at home with my handsome valentine.

VINTAGE VALENTINES

I pulled out my embarrassingly large collection of vintage valentines in preparation for today's festivities. (I'm pretty sure only old spinsters with 15 cats are supposed to hoard old love notes like this...but whatever.) I have all kinds: lacy old timey ones, velvet flocked 60s ones, ones with moveable joints, victorian ones that fold out and stand up. But some of my most favorite are the simplest. No bells and whistles...just pretty patterns and pictures of rosy cheeked boys and girls.

These were all made by the Whitney Company in Worcester, Massachusetts in the the 20s and 30s. I LOVE the combination of the graphic deco borders and sweet, soft illustrations. And can we talk about the fashions on these little ones? Vintage dream frocks, peter pan collars, sailor details, perfect bobs, and bows galore. Extra points for the ones with kittens and puppies.

Happy day, Valentines!

THINKING AHEAD

This is the snowy, icy, wintery wonderland outside our window. Everything in our yard is buried under a deep, deep blanket of snow and there are 5 foot icicles hanging off our roof. I love winter. I do. But I'm OVER it.

Luckily, according to Punxsatawney Phil, spring is near. And summer is near to spring. So, by the transitive property of geometry, summer is near. Right? So it's totally normal that I've been browsing the internet for bathing suits and beach bags and whatnot.

Wanna join me in my escapist fantasy? Great! Let's talk about swimwear.

I am loving this ruffled bandeau from J.Crew.

And I think it would look super cute paired with this high-waisted bikini bottom from Urban Outfitters.

Most places are selling swim tops and bottoms separately these days...so I'm gonna consider that my cue to get creative.

I am IN LOVE with these sunglasses from Cutler and Gross. Sadly, they will never be mine because they cost a bajillion dollars. But they are basically my vintage style cat-eye wayfarer dream come true.

And yes, I've gone so far as to think about what bag I would like to be toting when swimming hole hopping come June.

One of these French market baskets from Brook Farm General Store would be perfect.

Other things on my wish list: a pretty handwoven towel for sunbathing and impromptu picnics.

And a portable radio.

My countdown to summer officially starts now.

BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

Back in September I posted about the vintage chandelier I was planning on hanging in the bird's room. Well, it took me about 5 months...but I finally got it up. I was waiting until I had a few more fixtures that needed hanging. That way I could have an electrician come and do it all at once. (I replaced one of the fixtures in our old apartment myself...but it was seriously scary and I kinda got electrocuted a few times...hence my decision to leave all future electrical endeavors to the pros.)




The lamp looks great in the room and it gives off a much prettier light than the old one. Unfortunately, I was so excited to see the old lamp go that I forgot to take a 'before' photo...but it looked just like this cheap thing from Home Depot.

Seeing what a difference a new fixture can make is really motivating. Lord knows there are several other rooms in this house that are begging for a lighting makeover. One down...MANY to go.