Saying Goodbye To Our First Home

Folks,

I have some exciting news! Lynn and I have decided to move. It's a bittersweet decision, given we have put our hearts and souls into the renovations of this little sweet (chic) cottage. It really was an incredible transformation and I feel blessed to have it all documented through my blogs. It makes me a little sad to know this was the home where I last visited with my Pops and where we brought our baby daughter PLB home from the hospital, but I will always have the memories and we will make new memories in our next home. Thank you to everyone who read, commented, and supported us as we made our first house a home. We could not have done it without you.

Before we bid ado, I thought I'd share the final "after" pictures. Next blog, I'll share a pic of the new house we are currently under contract to buy, and the story of how we found it. It's pretty incredible.

For now, I'd like to sit back and appreciate the first home Lynn and I owed as a family.

 

xoxo,

Erin 

Fixin' Her Flat

Well folks, it's been a while (again).  I went back to work full-time, and being a mommy to Paige and a wife to the hubby-head leaves little to no time for blogging.  But that's OK! I know you guys are patient and loving even if you only hear from me a few times every couple months... right? riiiight?

Anyway, I'm posting on a personal note tonight.  No interior decorating here, so if you're only interested in pillows, peace out.

My beautiful daughter, Paige Leighton, has preferred to sleep on her right side from birth.  Baby's got preferences, OK? Coupled with the "Back to Sleep" campaign (since the early 1990s, pediatricians have recommended putting babies to sleep on their back to reduce the number of SIDS deaths --- pretty serious stuff), little PLB started to flatten the right side of her head.  We thought it may round out on its own once she started spending more time on her tummy and sitting up more, but alas, it's still not round in the back.

We have been monitoring her head shape since she was 3 months old, getting it scanned to see if her head shape was getting better.  After a couple months, we pulled the plug and decided it was time to start taking affirmative measures to fix the shape.  Last week baby girl was fitted for a Doc Band.  I reached out to a mother's listserve in Arlington and I can't believe out common Doc Bands are these days.  Anywho -- I couldn't let PLB rock a white, medical-looking helmet, so I decided to paint the thing.  After receiving some guidance from a fabulous and lovely lady out in Cali who does this for a living, and a fruitful trip to Michael's, I went to work.

I wanted to share with you my first art project for my little peanut.  I almost let my heart break when I see her in the helmet, but then Piglet and Tigger make my heart smile and I know this it the best thing for little Paigey B.

xoxo,
Erin

Before and After: Kelly's Kitchen

Like I said, I'm helping Lynn's cousin Dave and his girlfriend Kelly update their historic row house in Glover Park.  Kelly sent these pictures over of their new eat-in kitchen.  I'm heading over there soon to take pictures of the first floor, so you'll see that they have a living room and a formal dining room now. Before the kitchen space acted as their dining room, but since we created a formal dining room, we thought having a place for people to drink wine/socialize while someone is cooking would be a better use of the space.  Dave and Kelly have people over often and now the girls congregate in this space and relax.  Hope you like what we did ;)

BEFORE:

Before the paint was more of a tan color (it's hard to tell from the picture).  We painted the space Seattle Mist by Benjamin Moore (a softer grey).

AFTER:

What do you think?

xoxo,

Erin

I'm Back!

Hey friends!

It has been a very long time since I have relayed any design-related musings to the interweb.  The past couple months have been busy.  Lynn and I welcomed our first child, Paige Leighton, on August 11th.  I have been enjoying maternity leave which much to my (naive) surprise has left little-to-no time for anything other than being a mom.  Who said this was easy? No one.  Because it's not.

In my wee bit of spare time, I have been helping Lynn's cousin Dave and his love (our dear friends) redecorate his beautiful Glover Park row house.  It was the well-known tale of:

boy buys gorgeous historical home,
boy invites his bachelor buddies to move in,
house becomes sweet dudes' party paradise,
formal dining room becomes place for neon bar lights and naked dancing,
stunning woman moves in,
bachelors are kicked to the curb,
historic home needs facelift.

This is where I came in.  We have already made a lot of changes which I need to update you on including the eat-in kitchen, the dining room, the living room, and the new master closet.... but I don't have the pictures yet.  What I do have is the inspiration picture and design board I created for their master bedroom which I'll share today.

Hope you guys enjoy this board as much as I do.  It's a rustic and sensual mix of gray, black, camel and gold.  The gold accents keep the room gender neutral, and the layers of textures keep the neutral colors interesting.

Here's the inspiration picture from Lonny:

Here's the design board:

It's good to be back.  I missed the interweb.

Love,

Erin

[For those interested, here's the list of products (some are not included on the board) -- sorry don't have time to create pretty hyperlinks (remember the whole baby thing??)]

•http://www.overstock.com/Bedding-Bath/Nine-Space-Herringbone-Bamboo-Throw/6459145/product.html

•http://www.rugsusa.com/rugsusa/rugs/rugs-usa-trellis-flatwoven/grey/200MTVS26A-26010.html

•http://www.overstock.com/Worldstock-Fair-Trade/Light-Gray-Comfort-Alpaca-Wool-Throw-Blanket-Peru/3682584/product.html

•http://www.overstock.com/Home-Garden/Jenny-George-Designs-Cotton-Velvet-Decorative-Pillows-Set-of-2/6392023/product.html

•http://www.westelm.com/products/hand-blocked-silk-stone-trellis-pillow-cover-b842/?pkey=cpillows&cm_src=pillows||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_--_-

•http://www.overstock.com/Bedding-Bath/Cottonaire-King-size-Blanket/7180700/product.html

•http://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod690574

•http://www.wayfair.com/Chelsea-Frank-Group-Eliza-Duvet-in-White-ELZ0-Duvet-CFG1110.html#reviews

•http://www.amazon.com/Bocasa-Camel-Woven-Blanket-80-Inch/dp/B0064ZEGVO

•http://www.wayfair.com/Minka-Ambience-Table-Lamp-in-Black-with-Wood-Base-12323-66-ABM1457.html

•http://www.wayfair.com/Troy-Lighting-Sausalito-2-Light-Flush-Mount-C1280SG-TRL2364.html

Baby Burns' Nursery

38 weeks today.  2 weeks and counting!! Everything is going great except I can't find my ankles anywhere... have you seen them?!

After a little scare last weekend (we thought our lil' baby girl was coming early), I had a minor heart attack about all the things I had left to do before we brought home our baby.  After tying up the lose ends (making window valances, framing pictures, etc), Baby Burns' nursery is finally ready for her big debut! 

Hope you like the pictures!

xoxo,

Erin