A Table By The Window

I have a new favorite little nook in the house, it's in the kitchen in front of that window.  I've shown this space before...how it looked when we first moved in. 

Decorated for fall.

 Decorated for Christmas. 

But now I feel like it's reached its personal best.

Do you recognize the table and chairs?  They were a stand-in for the dining room before we got our new table and chairs.

I love this English barley-twist set, it's been in Matt's family for years.  Just like the console in our entryway, it's more traditional than I would usually go for and that's part of the reason I love it.  It looks almost identical to this one.

*House of Cards spoiler {only if you haven't finished Season 2}
    Speaking of traditional every time I watch HOC I have a decorating identity crisis where I rethink everything I thought I loved and just want to go straight up federal.  And I'm really missing the Underwood's townhouse in Season 3.
    I like how they've done The White House, but it doesn't speak to me the way their brownstone did. I don't pause near as much this season to look at design details the way I did in seasons 1 & 2.  But we've also practiced a shocking amount of restraint and have only watched 5 episodes so maybe there's something more to come.

Anyway, after our real dining table came we pushed the leaves in on this one making it 34.5" and it wedges nicely in front of the window {do you see the snow outside, the coziness is almost too much}. This is the perfect perch for coffee, lunch, wine, and just for people to gather in the kitchen.

It's also a fun place to style vignettes, and really what could be more exciting? like the one above for Valentine's Day.

Or this one for Matt's birthday.

I added a mini West Elm mercury glass lamp to the kitchen shelves, you know, to really drive home the cafe vibe.

The view into the kitchen from the dining room.

Another update in the kitchen is this Persian rug.  It used to be in the living room but considering the living room needs a 10'x14' rug and this one is 3'x5' it just looked kind of silly.

I know putting nicer rugs in kitchens has been a growing trend for a while and I'm all about it.  I have to say unloading the dishwasher while standing on a Persian just feels luxe.  Gone are the misguided days of utility mats.

Probably most importantly it gives the girls somewhere soft to lay in the kitchen. They're always under my feet anyway so might as well make them comfortable.

Between adding seating in here and putting the rug down I think the kitchen is sitting pretty until it's time for the redo.

But, I mean, those cabinets.  Something has got to be done.  

{P.S. My little sister made a music video and it's the best thing} 

Brass Valentine

I love Matt, I really do.  That works out well since we're married.

He went skiing over Valentine's weekend for his brother's bachelor party and my sister came to OKC from Dallas for a "Galentine's" weekend.

It was all good, we were both so excited for our weekends, but Matt being Matt still felt the need to get me a present- it wasn't flowers or chocolate or jewelry...he got me lamps.  Lamps for Valentine's Day. They even came with a card.  He speaks my love language. 

Here's my sister, Calli {also known as my twin who's 4 years younger}, we're forever galentines.  The pups went crazy when she walked in on Friday evening.

This was our Valentine's night dinner, copious amounts of pasta {shrimp fra diavolo}, bread, and wine, not to mention there was strawberry cake with cream cheese frosting.  The nice thing about your sister being your date is that you can eat dinner in pants with an elastic waistband.

Do you want to see where the new lamps live?  Notice the two lamps in the photos above and below.

And now...Melrose buffet lamps from Crate & Barrel

I had shown these to Matt before and told him how I thought they'd look good in the dining room, but it was a complete surprise when the FedEx truck pulled up to deliver them. 

They are so beautiful and I love how tall they are, 32".  It was slightly annoying how your line of vision was interrupted between the chandelier and the old lamps.  Now these are tall enough that it's one continuous vision.

Not to mention the old ones were just ugly, I bought them five years ago at TJ Maxx and they had really overstayed their welcome.  

The matte brass bases look really sleek against the metallic wall and they echo the brass on the bar cart and the gold mirror.

Another update in here are the curtains. The ones we had in here {pictured below} were left by the previous owners and were a mustard color, they didn't really bother me until one day they did.  Funny how that happens.  

I switched them out with the same ones that are in our bedroom, West Elm's velvet pole pocket curtains in dove gray.  

They compliment the metallic wall and they go well with the chairs, which are also West Elm dove gray {but the curtains are darker}. 

Don't you love how the lamps look glowing at night?  This room sits at the front of the house and I leave the curtains wide open so people walking their dogs can peek inside.  Getting a glimpse into other people's homes is the best part of nighttime walks, right?  Or do I just sound like a creeper?  Either way, I love lamp[s]. 

{More dining room posts one + two + three + four}

{My sister's blog}

Bright Eyes

Did you come here today hoping to feel better about your bathroom situation?  No?  Well I think you're about to anyway.  

When we bought this house there were a lot of things that we loved, the location first and foremost- the neighborhood is so wonderful and Matt's commute to work takes 5 minutes {can it even be called a commute at that point?}, we loved the overall charm of the house and the beautiful landscaping, but you know what wasn't so great back when our house was built in the 1930s?  Bathrooms.  

This bathroom has obviously undergone renovations since it was built, but it pales in comparison to the miles of gleaming countertop and absurd amount of storage that are seen in new builds these days.  

Here's what we were looking at, dark and very modest in size- it's a 7'x7' square.  Thankfully, it's still bigger than our bathroom was in Boston so I didn't completely feel like I was in a warp zone whereas I would have if we moved to Oklahoma and didn't get any space upgrade.    

The most immediate thing that needed to be addressed was the paint color.  The trim, walls, and ceiling were all dark gray which made it extremely difficult to apply make-up in here. There is a window, but it's not privacy glass so the shade is always closed. 

I'd walk out looking like I had reverted back to my high school Ashlee Simpson punk phase {Avril Lavigne was too hardcore for me} wearing an amount of eyeliner that should definitely be reserved for parents who have to think you're cute.  Husbands shouldn't have to suffer.  

After living with it like this for about 4 months I was at my breaking point with the emo bathroom.  I scheduled a painter then went to Lowe's and got a few test pots, all in very very light gray tones, we ended up going with Valspar's Tempered Gray.  

The painter came 3 days in a row and after he'd leave for the day Shep made sure to go in and inspect his work. Drop cloths and plastic wrap merit long hours of sniffing. 

Hello light and bright...

So much better.  Don't you feel like you can breathe in here now?  And just so we're clear, I don't always think small spaces have to be light in color.  I like how dark rooms can have an almost jewel box like effect, it was just so impractical for this bathroom.  

There wasn't a mirror on the wall when we moved in, I found this gold one at Homegoods.  I wanted a big one to open up the space as much as possible.  

The bath mat and hamper are both from West Elm, in a space this small even the most utilitarian things need to be aesthetically pleasing. 

The piece next to the sink is also from Homegoods,  it fills a need for now, but we plan to replace the pedestal sink with a proper vanity.  I could write a full paper on my disdain for pedestal sinks, but we'll save that for  another time.

I asked the painter to leave all the trim {window, baseboards, door frame} the original dark gray color, I love the contrast.

This is actually not the only bathroom in the house, there's another full bathroom upstairs that we will eventually make into the master and then this one will be the dedicated guest/powder room.  That's a big {and exciting} project though so for now we use this one.  

The door got a nice little upgrade too, the interior side was painted the same color as the walls and the "mushroom" knob was swapped out for a lever.

Before photo to the left and after down below.

So there you have it, is this the sort of bathroom that dreams are made of?  No.  But unless we were ok with having an address like "Winding River Rd."  this is what we get for now.  Sass.  

Recent Wares

The big stuff is exciting, but sometimes it's nice to look around at the smaller things that make home what it is.  There are some recent acquisitions around here that are making me smile, and while we're in need of rugs and a sideboard and armchairs and dressers, etc. etc. I find myself wanting to stop and inventory the little happys.

This marble trio from West Elm has me swooning over this corner of the kitchen.  That big slab is for rolling out dough, but now I'm dreaming of what marble countertops would like in place of the current stainless steel.  A dream that will have to live in my mind for now...and on Pinterest boards. 

I don't love the look of paper towels out on the counter, but function over form on this one so I set out to find the prettiest holder I could. 

I think the petite boxwood wreath hanging on the kitchen window is so charming, it's simple and fresh.  Perfect for going into spring. 

In the photo below, do you see those sponges peeking out?

I know sponges are an odd thing to hone in on, but the natural colors are so nice, much better than the neon ones I used to have.  The devil is in the details. 

This sweet boxer figurine, I recently pulled him out of a keepsake box. He belonged to my beloved Grandma who passed away when I was 13 years old.  I give her credit for my love, and by that I mean obsession, with dogs.  She had a boxer growing up so this was extra special to her.  It's a good reminder for my minimalist tendencies that not all tchotchkes are bad, a few could really mean a lot to someone one day. 

My new Kate Spade purse.  I've been searching for a new bag for months and finally got this one last week. I'm not one to have a purse collection, I have one bag that I carry day in and day out until it just can't go anymore. My old one was a tan Coach leather bag I carried for 3+ years and it was really looking long in the tooth.  I love this new bag, I think it's so classic and more importantly it layers in  nicely with the wall and the frames. 

I figure since this is where I'll hang it, it needs to look good on display.  Maybe that's why the search took an inordinate amount of time. 

This antique bench Matt found on Etsy.  It's mission style and is such a neat piece.  I like to imagine Frank Lloyd Wright would approve.  Its final landing spot is slated for the study, but it's hanging out in the living room for now. 

The girls seem particularly interested in it and I'm not really sure why.  

Must have years of good smells. 

That's actually pretty gross. 

But how cute does Birdie look when she yawns? 

And finally, a toy basket.  As I've mentioned before, Birdie was used for breeding before we adopted her and she has strong mothering instincts.  She would always carry "babies" around the house and I could tell it frazzled her a bit to not have a holding pen for them.

Now she walks by throughout the day and picks a baby up or drops a baby off, but she always knows where to find them.  We've taken to calling her "Mother Bird." 

Shep buries Nylabones beneath the babies in an effort to hide them from her recently adopted sister who came from a rough background. We're so proud.