a simple change

So a few weeks ago I blogged about the prints in my kitchen that I had made a few months before. Well, little did you know but that same day I changed them :)

A few years ago I discovered Farrow and Ball wallpaper and I have never been the same since. I mean they are b-e-a-u-t-i-f-u-l! Unfortunately, they are way to expensive for our cheap small design budget but I did end up ordering a few samples for a client. I thought they would arrive as little swatches like fabric but to my surprise the samples came in large sheets. For years I have been staring at these beauties. After looking at the flower prints for a year I decided I needed a change and remembered my collection of wallpaper samples. I ended up swapping out the flowers for the beautiful wallpaper and ordering a few more samples of my favorite patterns in different color ways to mix in. Farrow and Ball if you are reading this I promise to one day use your paper in my home that is right after I win the lottery or if you want to give me some for free. I am not to proud to beg :) Since the kitchen is getting a redo the frames had to move so here is their new home.

stairway before....

 and after

 

 My two favorite wallpaper patterns

 Rosslyn

 Lotus

Someone please order one of the above papers and send me pics. Wait maybe don't do that because I might cry in envy :)

As you can see from the above pics we still have to stain the stairs, paint the banister and get a new light but I am a little to tired to start another project so in the meantime I am hoping these new beauties distract guests from the mess. Since I already had the frames {read about them here} and the wallpaper samples were free this project cost me $0.00 :) Gotta love that!

disclaimer - I was not paid to say any of the above from Farrow and Ball I just love their papers and wanted to share this fun free project.

hurry up and get here colder weather

because this just came in the mail for my baby to wear.

and this is what Will thought of the vest.... {this is where it gets a little weird and I pretend Will can talk so you might just want to stop reading here and just look at the pics}

check out my new vest ladies. 

 I think I look pretty good but the real question is does it taste as good as I look in it...

 Guess I will just have to try and taste it myself....this corner should do

 here we go.. I wonder why my mom isn't stopping me

 yummmmm

 yep, tastes good to me!

I think this is where he is thinking mom stop taking all these pictures of me in this vest. Only Grammy, Nona and you really care :) oh yeah and maybe Auntie Jackie since she got this cool vest for me.

My tough little man. Thank you Auntie Jackie for the adorable clothes! I might own 5 or 6 vests myself and now my baby can match me. Oh happy day :)

by the way... I had been getting some emails that people were having trouble leaving a comment so I think I have fixed it :) 

a fresh coat of paint... again

This is the third time in a year that I have painted this kitchen. Yes, I have a problem. I had to swear to my husband that I would not paint this room again but truth be told I had my fingers crossed just in case :)

I decided to stick with the grey I already had around my cabinets {revere pewter} because I really do love it and we had some paint left over from when I painted the office this exact color as well. Yes, I am a cheap skate and yes I use the same colors throughout my house. When I find something I love I tend to repeat it over and over but I do thinks this helps with the flow in your home so I guess it is a win win for me. I do really miss the dark grey/brown and hope that one day it will make a reappearance in another home but for now I am going with light and airy and thinking resale for down the road. Also, I think this helps to unify this long multifunctional room and just in case you wanted to hear another reason as to why I painted it... last week when I was touring a model home {not for me, for a friend} I noticed that they had used this exact color throughout and it looked beautiful. {I am making a mental note that in my next home this would make for a beautiful stairwell, hallway, entry wall color as well.} If you don't mind please lie and tell me it looks better because I am missing the old color just a little...

Before 

 After

I know I need to add some color but I am taking a little road trip with my mom and Will this week and am hoping to stop at one of my favorite fabric stores and find some new colorful fabrics to make curtains and pillows for the room. I will keep you posted!

You can read more about this room transformations here and here.

this is my favorite

kitchen today via pinterest...

by Margot Austin

I am hoping to add a few elements in the above photo to my kitchen but since I am sure you all are sick of hearing me talk about it I thought I would leave you instead with this pretty image to start the weekend :) Happy Friday!

a trip to nona and granddad's

Last week the 3 of us plus Miley drove down to Norfolk to spend some time with my family. We played in the pool, took Will to the beach for the first time and I helped my mom pick out fabric to re-slipcover her existing living room furniture {sorry dad}. It was a fun 4 days and not only did Dave and I get to sneak away to celebrate our anniversary but we also got to celebrate my mom's birthday and say goodbye to my brother who left this week for Hawaii. He is off surfing and having the time of his life while I am here changing poopy diaper after poopy diaper. Can you tell I am jealous ;) He will be gone for 6 months returning just in time for Christmas and Will's first birthday. We miss you Uncle Patrick. Now to the pictures....

Will discovered flowers are not always edible.

 Bath time in Nona's farmhouse sink.

 Miley thought Will's pool was her own large water bowl.

 I think someone loved the view from way up there on daddy's shoulders.

 Uncle Patrick and Will. Will was making his funny face for granddad.

My mom got a new iPad for her birthday. We were all so excited for her except for a little someone who was way more interested in the wrapping paper.

 Will and Nona looking at the ducks that came by to say happy birthday.

Will's first few seconds on the beach. He was not sure what to think.

 Will loves his daddy

 Apparently someone thought they were old enough to get a sip of daddy's drink but don't worry we caught him just in time.

 Resting on granddad's shoulder. Hanging out in the waves is a lot of work.

Lastly, view from my parents front porch as a storm/smoke from the dismal swamp came through. 

I love going back home to visit. My parents live in a beautiful house on the Lafayette river and it is always a relaxing vacation. Also it helps that they want to spend all of their time with Will. Not gonna lie sometimes this momma needs a break :)

another milestone...

Big news in our house.... Will is getting his first tooth! If you look really really closely you might be able to see the white speck on his bottom gum line. I have been feeling something hard in his mouth for a month now and it looks like it is finally coming in. Guess we should start saving now for the tooth fairy :)

What a big boy!

4 years

Happy 4 year anniversary Dave! Thank you for working so hard everyday to provide for Will and I and loving me even when I am not so lovable. You definitely know how to make me laugh and I cannot wait for our son to grow up and be just like you {but handy ;)}. I love you.

August 11, 2007 - Sequoia Restaurant, Georgetown

August 15, 2007 - Honeymoon in Mexico

 
September 2008 - Positano, Italy {hands down the prettiest place on earth}

 December 2008 - Before Work Christmas Party Picture in our Favorite Apartment {thank you self timers}

January 2009 - New York {about to see the Lion King}

August 2009 - Deep Creek Lake

September 2009 - Redskins Game {they lost of course}

 July 2010 - "It's a Boy" picture {it's okay to think I look awful because I do... that is what one looks like {pale and tired} when you have been throwing up for 3 months}

 so lets end on a good note...

Aug 2010 - Deep Creek Lake

Unfortunately, I could not find any pictures of just the two of us from 2011 so I need to remember to take some soon but don't worry we have like 10,000,000,000,000 pictures of Will. Whew :)

kitchen redo- part 2

So I know the below photos are not that different from this post but I still wanted to show you all the new floors! Also, can you guess what else is missing from these photos?

If you guessed the kitchen island you are right! We did a little reconfiguring before the new floors went down and I cannot wait for the finished project. Of course before the final reveal can happen there are a million little/big things to do but at least the big ticket items {floors and appliances} are done... now I just need to convince Dave to let me get the new counter tops :)

I am also going to repaint the walls now that we have the dark floors. The kitchen prep area is grey but the hang out area is a darker grey/brown and I really want to paint all the walls a light grey/cream to tie into the other rooms in our house but I am having trouble finding the right color. Anyone have any suggestions of colors they have used that they like? Also, I just want to keep it real here in case you see the above pictures and want to congratulate me on a clean house... this is what my office currently looks like.

Does anyone want to come clean this for me :) I can pay you in kisses and hugs from a sweet baby boy.