Block Head {The Last of the Trim}

I'm trying to keep things in chronological order with the house AND alternate between house posts and posts about life and my projects so you don't become bored with the blog (grin).

As I'm typing this message Steven is hanging door trim, but there was a lot of work involved in preparing to hang said door trim. These blocks were the last of the wood restoration. These little blocks are the base of the door trim in the house. Above is what I was doing on April 7. Bleaching and spackling and painting. Below are the finished, blocks and door trim headers.

A special thank you to Benny, Steven's dad for taking time out of his busy schedule to help hang the doors. Not a fun or easy project for two perfectionists!

Traditions {A Photo Album for ME}

I'm my Mother's first born. Yes, that's right; I have multiple photo albums and baby books full of memorabilia. But of these many photo albums, one is most special to me. It's an album that mom made for me while pregnant with my sister Elizabeth. She wanted me to know how special I was to her and my Dad even though the new baby was getting all the attention. It's full of pictures of me as a baby with various people who were important in my life. At three years old that album meant something different to me than it does today at 30.

I love the expression of love found in this little photo album with the hand embroidered cover and wanted to pass on this tradition to Marin.

My mind cannot fathom having two children to love and hold in my heart. I know it's possible, I felt extreme love as the oldest of six children, but I worry that my relationship with Marin will change. Will she know what she means to me? Will my love spread evenly? I look forward to the arrival of the new baby, and yet I worry my relationship with Marin will never be the same. Maybe this little tradition will help her little (almost 3 year old) mind comprehend my love for her even when baby Adalyn is getting everyone's attention, but I also hope that when she is 30, she'll know how much I love her.

Thank you, Mom, for such a beautiful give of love and a tradition that I can pass on to my first born. I love you.

Scented Sugar {Handmade Hostess Gifts}

A baby shower was held for me this weekend. I knew the girls throwing the brunch would go all out, so I wanted a thank you gift that I could hand make to show my appreciation. That's when thanks to the Martha Stewart website, I found Scented Sugars. This easy to make gift turned our really pretty and I was excited about giving these little delicacies as gifts.

I utilized small jelly jars and created my own lables for each of the scents: Chocolate Mint, Vanilla Bean and Citrus. This website provided the best recipes and instruction for making your own scented sugar. My favorite concoction was the Chocolate Mint. I used fresh chocolate mint leaves from Mom's garden (thank you Mom). After washing and gently drying the leaves I simply layered the mint and sugar within the jar until full.

It's best if the sugar and scented items are sealed and stored away for two to three weeks. Once the sugar takes on the scent, the scented items are removed from the sugar.

Two jars were packaged in each of these small gift bags with a custom label and an insert with instructions on uses for scented sugar and how to store it. My only regret? Not having made myself a set of scented sugars!

Chrome Feet Make Me Smile

Oh how I wish I'd taken before pictures of the tub feet. They were humorous. Spray painted shiny silver (barf) so for me to see these in true chrome just makes me sigh with joy. They are sooooo lovely. A splurge, but totally worth it. The above pic shows the floor color we've chosen for the master bath, the color of the outside of the tub, the new chrome feet and the cultured marble we've chosen for the shower. More sighs...

For now the tub and sinks sit in the master bath. Waiting to be installed. Waiting for their new or refurbished faucets. Below are a few before and after shots for your viewing pleasure! I love before and after moments...but I'm sure you know that by now.

Decisions Married People Shouldn't Have to Make Together {Floors}

Let me begin by saying that the floors, especially in person, are phenomenal. The shine, the grain, the color, the history, the texture, the imperfections...I love them. But I didn’t come to this place on day one. Oh, no my friend, much emotion was put into these floors. Please remember one of the decision makers is 8 months pregnant!

Looking at the before pictures you can see the old floors are darker than the final product. That's due to a build-up of wax, dirt and age. In the front rooms of our house, the previous owners restored the floors themselves and added a stain to mimic that color. So, for the last six years we've been looking at dark floors. After many conversations about what we wanted from the new floors Steven and I agreed (yes agreed) we wanted to let the original floors BE what they are. No stain. We'd been told that heart of pine floors darken with age and take on a lovely reddish hue. When sharing our home with others we wanted to be able to say "these are true, unedited, 100 year old heart of pine floors," but it was a visual adjustment.

The day the floors were sealed the crew wiped portions of the floors with mineral wax to show us what the floors would look like after the seal was applied. We liked the look, left for lunch and when we came back the floors were sealed and the crew was gone. That evening was filled by staring into the windows and comparing the pros and cons of the new floors verses the old. We called friends over for their input. Steven and I both wanted the other to be happy and in LOVE with the floors. In the end, we went back to our original desire: "To have unedited, 100 year old heart of pine floors."

The scratches and dark spots tell a story. High traffic areas are darker than the rest of the floor which gives you a little glimpse into the traffic and flow that the house once saw. Being a sentimental fool, I loved that the history of our home shows in the floor and makes me daydream when looking at these areas. Did they like the view of the back yard from the office windows? Why doesn't the hall have more darkening? My guess? The maid in the house did all the work and her path was through the back rooms. This maid, will be using the hall!

Oh, and yes, that's a refinished tub and two BEAUTIFUL sinks sitting in our master bedroom, ready to be installed in the master bathroom. More to come on that topic!

Easter Fun! {Easter Egg Animals}

Marin and I made these animal Easter eggs last night. Marin was in charge of spreading felt and pom poms all over the floor and telling me if the animal was cute or not. She really wanted to use the hot glue gun, and didn't appreciate me hogging it. Once they were complete I had to hide them away for Easter morning, otherwise, I'm not sure that Bunny, Chicken, Mouse and Pig would have survived "playing."

These were designed so that the plastic egg still opens. My plan is to fill them with goodies and place them in her Sunday morning Easter basket. She'll be excited to see them again!

Only items you need to make your own are: plastic eggs, felt in various colors, scissors, a hot glue gun and your imagination.

Jesse and Katherine {Save The Date}

I have been working with Katherine and Jesse to design a series of pieces to announce their July wedding. This save the date design was mailed a couple weeks ago. Katherine expressed the desire for something semi formal with bold block letters in navy and yellow (their wedding colors). She provided me with an inspiration board of images and elements they wanted to incorporate into their wedding. This is my interpretation of her wishes. More to come!