Easter Tablescape

I was in a very pink and gingham mood this Easter. In a house with five boys, I'm always looking for an excuse to incorporate the color pink. 

Thanksgiving Tablescape

Now this is the part of Thanksgiving I am on board with.

We hosted the feast this year, so naturally, I made place cards and put together silver and gold place settings for the table.

Basement Refinish

I happened to be thinking about the house we left behind almost six months ago (!) and I realized that I never posted about our basement refinish. We enjoyed the completed space for two of the seven years we lived there; not nearly long enough.

I think part of the reason I didn't post is because it never felt "finished." I meant to do so much more, but then two babies in a year and a half and a major move got in the way.

It was fascinating to watch the space transform from this:

To this:

To this:

For months, our counters were covered with tile and grout and paint and carpet samples. Troy and I surprisingly made a good decision making team despite our very different styles.

I had big plans to transform the open office space into something sleek and modern, where I could go to feel inspired to design. What actually happened was our black clunky desk got shoved into the corner and stayed that way for two years. However, I loved having a big closet to shelve our printer, kids' crafts, project supplies, etc. The closet wasn't in our original blueprint and I'm so happy we added it in as an afterthought.

One of the main reasons for the refinish was to add in some extra bedrooms. Our contractor was racing the clock to get it all finished by the time Crew was born. We literally moved Blake's bed downstairs and shuffled all of the sleeping arrangements two days before Crew's arrival.

I built Blake's headboard in our garage on one of the hottest days of the summer.

The string art map followed much later, shortly before we moved away.

We also added a guest room which all of the grandparents sorely miss now that we drastically cut our living space.

We added in a full bathroom as well. If we were to do it again, we would make some different styling decisions. We got to the point at the end where we just wanted it done and we didn't have time to hum and haw over every little decision. And now that we don't live there any more, I guess those little decisions don't matter one bit.

I have to admit, I'm getting a little torn up looking through all these photos of our old house. Every room has a hundred memories. I can picture Blake building machines in the open office area. I can see Nash jumping from the highest stair possible onto the beanbag. I can picture Crew tugging at the cords under the desk. I can see Troy relaxing on the guest room bed with his Kindle because it was the coolest room in the house. And I can picture Finn learning to roll over into the boxes as I packed it all up.

Don't get me wrong, we adore our new home and everything our new neighborhood has to offer. But we sure are missing that extra basement square footage.

String Art World Map

I have a knack for picking the busiest, most chaotic times for big projects. Somebody explain to me why I do this.

I had the vision to make a string art world map a year and a half ago when we finished our basement. I saved the wooden planks from another project and bought the nails and string. And then it all sat in the garage for over a year.

For some unknown reason, I decided to finally tackle the project during the month of December while the craziness of Blake's birthday and Christmas prep was swirling around us. 

After staining the wood and securing the planks, I printed out an enlarged map and pieced it all together. I vastly underestimated the amount of time it would take to hammer in tiny nails at each geographic turn. It took me weeks since I could only pull out the hammer while no one was napping. Once I had all of the nails in place, I ripped off the paper template and strung away with rolls and rolls of string.

I was hoping to complete the map as a birthday present for Blake but I didn't wrap it up until the following week. He beams with pride at the creation that now hangs in his room. He told his classmates about it and he brings everyone that comes to our house down to his room to show it off. 

A completed project is much more exhilarating when you get a nod of approval from your seven year old.

Wreath Woes

Ever since I painted our front door black, it heats up like crazy in the afternoon sun pouring in from the south. Last Christmas, my beloved cranberry wreath completely melted and warped. 

To replace the cranberries, I crafted a wreath made from cinnamon sticks. It smelled divine. 

It never crossed my mind that the sun might damage the cinnamon stick wreath too. A couple of days after hanging it up, I started hearing a sporadic plop, plop...plop. I could not figure out what the noise was for the longest time. Until I opened the front door and found this:

The sun melted the hot glue and good chunk of the wreath was lying on the ground. I re-glued all of the cinnamon sticks back on with gorilla glue, and the exact same thing happened. Plop, plop, plop.

When I pulled out my Christmas decorations this year, I sighed when I came across the cinnamon stick wreath. I didn't even attempt to hang it up. Maybe next year I'll find it a new home.

Well That Mantle Sure Filled Up Fast

Every time I glance at our fireplace, I am in awe of how many stockings are hanging up. When did our family grow large enough to fill the whole mantle?

I had to make some new letters this year because I couldn't find an "F" anywhere to match the letters I used in years past.

This new little bundle of joy under our tree was worth the switch in stocking letters, even if I was partial to the originals.

There's nothing like a sleeping baby with some bokeh in the background.