Two Cans or Not Two Cans

I debated posting about my trashcans, is it really worthy of a blog post?  But, this is just the type of thing I would tell a good friend over the phone if we were chatting house updates. 

Trader Joe's bags were working just fine to collect our recycling, but they kind of made our kitchen/ living room area look messy.  Plus, our trashcan made a Chewbacca type growling noise every time it closed so I was on the look out for a replacement.  I found a great deal on two stainless steal trashcans a few weeks ago and decided to reserve my Trader Joe's bags for protecting our table when things get messy.  And now we have a trash can and a recycle can!  

I was afraid it would be confusing at first and planned on making labels for the kids, but they all quickly caught on to which was which and no labels were needed.  All of our small to mid-sized recyclables go in the can, while big boxes are broken down and wait in our hallway to be taken out (or we empty our recycle can into a box and use it for carrying everything out).  

I love sharing ideas for keeping a house functional and tidy, do you have any tips for functionality and tidiness? 

A Pretty Table Runner

 

 I am a little bit fascinated with table runners, especially the ones made from antique french grain sacks.   Oh my, they are just so beautiful.  As much as I am fascinated by table runners, I don't have a single one to adorn our dining table. I've been waiting for the right fabric to come along.  On my last thrifting trip I found a pretty vintage curtain panel that was perfect for an Easter table runner.  Then, I found the gorgeous green vintage trim and the springy zigzag ribbon at this local fabric store. 

To make the runner from the square curtain panel. I cut the panel in half, sewed the two short ends together. Then, I hemmed the newly created long edge. Lastly, I sewed the two trims onto each end of the runner, folding the ends of the trims over onto the backside of the fabric for a clean finish.

Quick projects can be so satisfying!

Friday

It's almost time to flip to April! This morning, as we were walking out the door for school, Emma and Stella were dreaming up some secret April Fools pranks.  I don't know if they will actually follow through with the plans they were making, but it's fun that they are thinking about it.

This weekend I plan to finalize everything for Easter. I found some vintage dresses for the girls at a thrift store, and hope they fit.  Next on the list is finding shoes.  Lincoln will be included in the planning too-I'm just not sure what I want him to wear.  

Jeremy and I also have a date night tonight and it's perfect weather for eating outside. Brisket tacos are what I'm craving!  

Hope you have a lovely weekend!

Saturday + Sunday

Evidence that the kids were here: cars, drawings and origami

Evidence of yummy white chili: red pot hand washed by Jeremy

Evidence of the Super Bowl: Lincoln waiting for all the yummy snacky food

Evidence of Sunday afternoon routines: girls on the macs playing PBS kids

We have a busy week ahead. It includes a trip to the symphony (me and Emma), a promotional video filming at our apartment (which means I need to clean clean clean) and whole lot of other to-do's as well.  Hopefully, I can grab a cup of coffee and spend some time catching up on my favorite blogs too.  

What are your plans for the week?

-Diane

Saturday + Sunday

1. icy wintery weather 2. birthday celebrating 3. in the kitchen

4. he got up there all by himself 5. quilts for keeping cozy 6. studio time

7. starting projects 8. finishing projects

tuesday

We woke up around 3 am this morning to the sounds of tornado sirens, hail and rain. Thankfully it was a false alarm for us and after a little while we were able to get back into our warm cozy beds.  This morning, we all overslept and have been walking around blurry eyed and in need of a constant cup of coffee in hand to help us get through the day.  It's the perfect day for staying in pj's and coloring on the floor if that's what suits you, and for Lincoln it seems too.

I am so tired and at the same time I feel so energized, like a creative surge has come over me. I think it's because for the first time in my life I have a studio (and its finally set up!) and because I got to spend two nights in a row talking with another momma and creative soul.  Times like that are so good for my soul;  I need them and I am learning to savor them and run with the energy I gain from those opportunities.

Before we filled the place up!

We like how this place flows.  The working transom windows and the little mail slots at the base of the bedroom doors are fun details that we love.  We like old, we like character and and we like our modern conveniences too!  I've mentioned before that house flipping is not really our thing, even though we worked so hard on our house in Waco-we got our fill from that, at least for a while I think.  Moving into a new-old place seems like the perfect thing for us right now.

Some before shots of the place:

 

Have a mentioned there is a claw foot bathtub? Sigh...

Room Tour: three kids in one little space

Hey Friends!

We are a family deeply affected by our surroundings.  Which is one of the reasons we decided to move to South City (part of St. Louis) in the middle of the semester!  Not the best timing for sure, but we sure did need this change.  Now that we are all feeling a bit more like ourselves I feel like I can spend some time back here again.

I have one last little room tour from the old place.  We are not quite settled in the new place yet, but once we are I will give a little tour.   In our old place the kids room was pretty small but we really wanted all three in the room together.  The girls got bunk beds and we tried to use every inch of the the space without  it feeling too crowded.

So here you go:

We store toys in bins under their beds, on the bottom of the bookshelf and also in the closet.  More dress up items are in a basket next to the dollhouse.  The metal book shelf with the lamp on it is from Ikea and only $15!  We have five of them, so we are pretty big fans. I can't wait to show you how we used them in the new apartment!

Have a lovely night!

Our Room

I've been snapping photos around our place before it all gets packed away into boxes.

Here is a peak into our room:

Thanks for peaking!  

the rest of the cottage

We are enjoying the company of a couple of two different families we knew from our time in Waco, this week and that reminded me that I haven't finished sharing pictures from our cottage.  I gotta be better about following through with blog post commitments you know. ;)

Our style has already evolved so much in the last year and arranging a new space is always a pleasure, but I can't help but miss neighborhood life and the community we had there.

 The kid's space:

our space:

and the front porch:

my big blank canvas!

Last week I was struck with inspiration that put me on the hunt for an old-school overhead projector.  My parents have one, but they are all the way in Texas, so I called our local library and a few other places to see if they had any to check out and had no success.  Yesterday, I was so happy to find one for an amazing price on craigslist and Jeremy volunteered to go pick it up for me. Now, we are the proud owners of an old-school overhead projector. So if you ever need to borrow one....

I need the projector to help me finish the space above our TV.  I've been staring at that wall for quite awhile now trying to figure out the perfect thing.  All along I knew I wanted something big, but I wasn't sure what. There is already a good bit of color on that side of the room and I want it all to flow together and feel good without being too busy. When I had that moment of inspiration last week I finally felt brave enough to go buy a really big canvas for the space. I printed off a coupon for Hobby Lobby before heading out the door with Jeremy. We picked up the big canvas and were so relieved it fit in the back of our car (we were worried it wouldn't!).  Then we went on a date to one of our very favorite pizza places, Dewey's....yum!  I'm so thankful for Jeremy's help and support with all of my ideas and projects for our home. It makes it so much more fun throughout the process!

Hopefully, I can tackle the big canvas this week.  I do hope it turns out the way I have imagined it in my head.  And if the whole thing fails maybe I can get Jeremy to paint the canvas for me.