No useable wall space for a sofa

When you are looking at older homes you will most likely find that a space for your tv wasn't thought of, because tv wasn't an issue when this space was built. Floating your living room furniture is a great way to use some of those funky old spaces that have windows and door frames on all four walls.

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Kitchen's

Another day, another house viewing. Today's house had some great character, it was small, and well cared for. The kitchen was a transitional galley with one blank wall leaving space to add extra shelving, and counter space. Adding a butcher block, and some open shelving seems like an easy way to make this kitchen more functional.

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Butcher Block
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Warm up your walls with some art

As I get older there are a couple of things that I would like to invest in, and pass down. One of them is jewelry, because let's be honest, what girl doesn't love jewelry; and the other is art. We have very few original pieces, because they tend to be incredibly expensive starting in the 100's and working their way up.

As a first birthday gift my mom has someone do a painting of her grand children. It just so happens that one of my moms best friends who has known me since I was 4 months old is a fantastic painter,. When his first birthday came a few weeks ago, I asked if she could make this special piece of art for us.

 If you don't know any painters who paint as a hobby, an inexpensive way to put art on your walls is to make it yourself, and the other is to buy prints of pieces that you love. Here are some original pieces and some prints that I love.

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Floor love

I bought a lap loom a few weeks ago, and finally started playing around with it on Sunday night, using the lake effect snow drifts as my inspiration for the pattern. I haven't decided if I am going to turn this one into a pillow, or hang it on the wall like I did with the first weaving I ever made last summer. The lap loom, and how tedious it is with lightweight yarn had to thinking about when I went to India for work, and watched as people hand made all of this intricate patterned floor rugs from memory. From then on, I decided to never complain or comment on the price of a hand made rug, because I now understood just how much work was involved.

 When we finally find a home here to get settled in to, I'm sure I'll need a new rug or two for the larger space. Here are a few rugs I've been eyeing recently.

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Counter tops and kitchen sinks

 Two more houses that we couldn't come to an agreement on with the sellers this week. These houses are outdated ,and the owners don't seem to understand how much work needs to go into some of these houses, so we'll keep looking. I love a good mix of modern appliances with some midcentury pieces and a little rustic all mixed into one in my home and that includes in the kitchen.

I'm not sure why; maybe, because most of the homes Ive seen here haven't been renovated since the early 90's, but most of the kitchens have peeling linoleum countertops, and the sinks just old.  Its inevitable that no matter what we would eventually need to install a new counter top. However these  kitchens have sinks and counter tops to be envied.

Vipp kitchen
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My favorite things for my son from 6 to 12 months

My son just turned one this Sunday, and I would be lying if that wasn't emotional for me. This year has been  filled with so many emotions both highs and lows; mixed in with many sleepless nights, but its been the best year. 

His little personality comes out more, and more each day, and I feel lucky to be able to watch and encourage. These are the essentials that we use weekly with him at a year, and a few non-essentials that we love.

They might not be pretty, but we have been traveling a bit lately and had to cave and pick up a pack n' play.
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New Car seat
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New books. Most of ours that we originally bought, or were given are in storage, so we have picked up a dozen. He loves being read to, as well as being able to touch the touch and feel books.
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Plan toy solid wood drum
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New toys to help his development. We have picked up a few new things, like these two above.

Gates and a playpen have been incredibly helpful for our mobile baby. My babe is very curious, and if I turn around for a  second he can get himself into something he shouldn't, so we have found penning him in incredibly helpful when we need a minute to do something.
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Now that he is getting bigger, we love using our backpack for hikes. I still use both the stroller and Ergo weekly, but this has come in handy for the more strenuous walk in the woods. There are so many different kinds and they can get pricey. We found ours at a second hand shop and its in great condition.
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The Tripp Trapp High chair which I had as a child and couldn't wait for him to use. We started him on solids around 5.5 months and had him sitting at the table with us in this.
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We moved his sheepskin over to his reading nook and bought this super cute fox blanket to place in front of his crib. Its cozy, lightweight and soft and gives him something interesting to look at with all of the detail.
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I have been making his food since 5.5 months in addition to nursing with this, and I love it.
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New clothes. Since its winter most of his clothes I've knitted, but this company Rylee and Cru makes
some beautiful baby pieces and I picked up my first one for him.
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Wall Sconce

I am in a wall sconce phase. A lot of the houses I have been looking at have old wall light fixtures that will need replacing. Here is a round up of some of the wall sconces, that I have my eye on for different rooms of some of these houses.

 The Dining Room
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The Nursery
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For the master bedroom in maple
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Front porch
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Above the kitchen sink
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Plants part 2

When we were preparing to move from our apartment in the city, up to central New York, the plan was to put almost everything in storage except our beds; a few kitchen items, and my beloved plants. Well, unfortunately moves don't always go as smoothly as you hope for them too, and my plants ended up in our storage unit. I don't even want to think about the state of them now, since they have gone two months without water or light.

 Plants are an inexpensive way to bring warmth into the home, and to bring nature in. Over the past two and a half months since we moved into our temporary apartment, Ive slowly picked up a plant here, and there  and the other day during a post christmas sale picked up a few planters that were 50% off. I can't wait to move these new plants into our new space with inspirations like below.

I am currently on the look out for the perfect hanging
planter. This natural material hanging planter is
simple and beautiful.
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My newest plant baby in our bedroom

Love these large scale plants in this simple dining room
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New planters for the plants I purchased when we first moved in.