House Tour, Part 1

I've been delaying posting pictures of the house because, honestly, it doesn't yet look the way I want it to. We need furniture, there are many blank walls and it just doesn't look and feel complete yet. But that's my perfectionism talking so I'll go ahead and share pictures of the work-in-progress.

Living room - this room is exactly the same as it was before and that's the original fireplace - one of the only pieces of the original house that survived!

Dining room - also the same as the original except for a few minor changes, like the built-in china cabinet below, designed by Cary :)

Front hall. We bought that painting at the Dogwood Festival in Atlanta this past spring and I love it. It doesn't photograph well but I think it's beautiful.

Kitchen

Family room, which is open to the kitchen.

The other side of the family room, which goes out to the screened porch aka my favorite place. And there's Jackson sleeping, which he does 80% of the time :)

Guest bedroom on the first floor.

Guest bathroom



Master bedroom, it's pretty dark in the picture but it's actually very bright and sunny. This is the back of the room, across from the door.

The other side of the bedroom. We're sleeping on a mattress on the floor - see what I mean about incomplete? So there's part of it. More to come!

Creative inspiration

I absolutely LOVE Paper Source and going in the store always gives me tons of ideas for creative projects to try. Granted I'm not the most artistic person in the world, but just stepping foot in a PS store makes me think I could pull off anything.

For anyone who does not live near one, they also have a great website and blog where they regularly share some amazingly creative projects. I love this idea for sugar-stamped plates. How gorgeous is this?

I can't wait to try this out for a shower, birthday party or even just a small dinner party!

A sort-of-final house update

I say "sort-of-final" because I'm sure I'll be posting more pictures as we move in, decorate, etc. But...here's the finished product!

It's been a long year-plus since this day but now we can't wait to move in!

got corks?

wine corks, that is! I had tons that I'd been saving forever. I saw a similar project at a wine festival a long time ago and recently decided to make my own.

I still need to make a pretty bow for it (talented sister, are you reading?). Overall, I'm very happy with how it turned out. And before you start to worry about (or judge) my (our) drinking habits, I've been saving these corks for years. Some of them are from our wedding 5 years ago so it takes awhile to accumulate enough good ones for a project like this.

Too cute to resist

I was planning to post a project I recently completed, but this was too cute not to share. Yesterday's mail contained a small package for Jackson, from his "cousin" Inga....

Delicious Dinners

I made this for dinner last night:(picture from MarthaStewart.com)

It was delicious and very filling. But also time-consuming - don't try making this after work when you're starving! I will admit that using dried black beans gives a better, less mushy, consistency than canned. However, I think you could sub canned black beans for the dried and it would still be good. I plan to try that next time. I usually like to follow a recipe exactly the first time I make it and then tinker with it later.

http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/brown-rice-and-black-beans

Signs of Spring

Spring has definitely arrived in Atlanta! I took this picture outside of a cute speciality foods shop in my neighborhood. They make all sorts of wonderful homemade spreads, pestos and spice mixes. Just walking in there makes me want to plan an elaborate picnic in the park! Although Bella Cucina is a local Atlanta company, they have been featured in Southern Living and on Oprah! Check out their website at http://www.bellacucina.com/shop.asp
Happy Spring!

Good things to remember.....

Happy Tuesday!

Finally, a house update!

A couple of more recent pictures of the renovation. Here's the front:

And from the back. The backyard is really sloped so we added a retaining wall so the yard will be more usable.

A list kind of day

I've been neglectful of my blog lately so here's a recap of what's been going on lately. In list form, because I love lists!

• Finally joining a yoga studio and starting to practice more regularly
• Spending a long weekend in NYC to celebrate my 30th birthday!
• Seeing Wicked in NYC
• Driving 2,241 miles - from Atlanta to Richmond, VA and back for both Thanksgiving and Christmas.
• Shopping for and wrapping Christmas gifts
• Christmas in Virginia with both families
• Holiday parties, holiday parties, holiday parties
• Self-assessment/review period at work
• Making an overwhelming amount of decisions relating to the (re) construction of our house (pictures coming tomorrow!)
• A low-key New Year's Eve celebration with dinner at one of our favorite restaurants, Wisteria, and a nice bottle of champagne at home with Jackson (he even gets a little sip!)
• And since it's now snowing and freezing cold in Atlanta, I thought this little note that I saw on the fun blog of a fellow Atlantan was appropriate:

That pretty much sums it up! I hope everyone had a lovely holiday season!