THE BABY.....FEET ON THE TABLE

This is what happens when Granny is in charge...

The feet go up on the dinner table.

Granny let's him get away with anything.

THE BASEMENT.....A (BATHROOM) CONCEPT BOARD

As the heavy duty work on the basement is coming to a close (hooray!), I thought I'd share my concept board for the bathroom. Since we would eventually like to turn this place into a rental, my thought is it is always best to stick with classic colors and materials that will never be dated. Of course, I still want the space to feel unique, so adding elements that are slightly different, such as penny tiles and dark grout, an interesting light fixture and artwork, will be necessary. Oh yes, and it will mostly be used by the brother-in-law, so I didn’t want anything that would feel too feminine.

Here’s our progress so far… grout and tiling complete, but still in need of caulk and of course the plumbing (toilet, shower fixtures, sink… minor details).

 

And here’s the concept board…

{ Closet hooks / shower curtain / bath towels / light / knobs and pulls / white penny tile / subway tile / gray / white / mirror / sink / planter / graphic1 / graphic2 }

THE BABY..... AT COWEN PARK, OUR URBAN ADVENTURE

It's not often that the sun decides to pay us a visit, so when it does you take full advantage. With Sage and the brother-in-law working in the basement, Parker and I put on our cozy gear and headed out for a little adventure. Okay, it really wasn't that urban, but you must admit Parker is looking pretty urban in these pictures. 

The day's adventure took place at Cowen Park, a few minutes walk from our house. While Parker was more interested in playing with sticks and stomping in the mud, I was able to lure him to my favorite part of the park; the graffiti wall. I just love how the wall adds so much character and color. And of course, it provides an interesting background to photograph my favorite little urban baby.

 

TO A SPECIAL PERSON.....

When I think about you leaving us, my heart hurts. But, I am also happy. Not happy just because I knew you, but also because you helped to shape the person I have become and the mother I am to Parker. To me you were perfect. Loving, patient, free-spirited, hilarious and most of all, selfless. Yes, you were perfect.

I love you, Aunt Jeannette. You are in my heart forever.....

THE BABY.....I SURRENDER

Just thinking about motherhood…..

The last few weeks been frustrating and difficult to say the least, and I realized as I was just about to get extremely frustrated, that my life is no longer my own. I can no longer do what I want, when I want to do it. I am now on Parker time and that means accepting the fact that things will never be as clean as I want them to be, I will start something only to have to stop it a few minutes later and then restart it hours, or even days, after. I have to learn to live slowly. To realize that I am actually accomplishing something, even though the results may not be immediate. Yes, being a mother is a COMPLETE surrender, and this is something I have to remind myself of every day.  I surrender…..  

THE BABY.....A ROOM FOR PARKER

When we finally decided that we were going to take the plunge and buy a house, the one thing I could not wait to do was decorate. Finally, we could paint the walls and hang wallpaper. Hooray! Unfortunately, I have not done much in the decorating department (I blame this on the basement), but the one room I have put effort into is Parker’s. I couldn’t let him sleep and play in a room with no personality!

Since we didn’t know at the time what we were going to have a have, I wanted to start with a neutral base of black and white and then use accessories and art to add hits of color. I have to admit, it did turn out to be a bit more boyish, but perhaps my subconscious knew something that I didn’t.

This is the concept board I put together to inspire his space. I look forward to showing pictures of how his room has come along! 

THE BASEMENT.....THEN AND NOW

When we first saw this house a little over a year ago, we had a few criteria in mind.  First, and most importantly, we were looking for a place to start our new life as a family of three.  A place we could make our home. Nothing big and fancy, just simple and cozy.  Next, we wanted a bit of a fixer upper.  Okay, I’ll admit it; any house we could afford would require lots of work.  Naively, we thought fixing up a home would be fun and exhilarating. We may have been over enthusiastic, but this house fit the bill, and it came in the form of an unfinished basement.  Yes, that means A LOT of work…and so, six months after Parker was born, we began to get to business. 

This has been quite the task to say the least and maybe not quite as exhilarating as we may have first thought, although there have been plenty of those moments. I suppose things would be different if Parker wasn’t in the picture and we could devote all our spare time to the house...but who wants to tear down walls and grind concrete when you have a little chubba angel to entertain you all day. It is hard to tear yourself away...but back to the basement. What we loved about the house was the size of the basement and fact that is was unfinished. Because it is about the same square footage as the main floor, we are able to accommodate 2 bedrooms (one of which will belong to the brother-in-law), a full bathroom, a laundry room and what we like to call the party room.

So this is where we were at the beginning of the project and this is where we are now. It is quite the change, and it stills amazes me at how far we have come. We are about 80% percent done, maybe. Oh, I don’t really know, but we are getting closer to completion… and that means closer to the day I get the brother-in-law out of living room and into the basement where he belongs (I am sure he would prefer it that way too)! I can hardly wait...