Pressure

We have less than 2 weeks to finish our completely gutted guest bathroom. Our contractor is furiously working and I am making decisions so fast my head is spinning. I don't even know what the result will be. Hopefully something with electricity and running water that looks like it was inspired by these images. 

Image via Architect Design

Cisco Pinedo

Unknown

Restoration Hardware

David Jiminez

Country Living

 House Beautiful

 

Eric Roth Photography

Decorpad

In honor of my second alma mater...

I graduated from UNC with a communications degree and worked for 4 years in the pharmaceutical industry before I figured out that I really wanted to be a designer. So, I went back to school for my interior design degree at James Madison University. Although it was a very different experience than my days at UNC, I had a great time, learned a lot and met some really talented people. JMU has the unfortunate school colors of purple and gold which are not two of my favorites. However, I feel like I often refer to my love for UNC so I decided to show some love for JMU with some purple and gold images.

Image via Verdigris

Home Sweet Home

Raul Martins

Better Homes and Gardens

Pottery Barn

Weekend Recap and Carolina Blue Spaces

We made it back from NC and I miss everyone already! Riley met some new friends and enjoyed hanging out with her grandparents, but she is happy to be back in her crib instead of the box :) 

We had a brunch at my sister's house on Saturday before the game. It was great to see our friends and get our babies together! We had great weather and the Tarheels won the game so it was a great weekend.

Julie and Logan

Ang and Sergio

Mary Bullock, Riley, Sergio and Logan

Kim and Logan

Logan and Mary Bullock

Mary Bullock

The Girls

In honor of my alma mater, I decided to post some Carolina blueish images.

Unknown

Houzz

Steven Gambrel

Image via Porter House Designs

House Beautiful

Steven Gambrel

Country Living

Houzz

Houzz

And if you are really a "die" hard fan, you can even have a permanent Carolina blue interior :) 

 

In my mind I'm goin' to Carolina...

Well, we arrived in NC last night to start a long weekend for UNC's homecoming! I am so excited to visit our old stomping grounds!

The Old Well

Kenan Memorial Stadium

Franklin Street

He's Not Here

And I get to spend the weekend with my best friends in the place where we first met 13 years ago! 

 

I was so excited for the weekend that I overlooked some things while packing. Things like Riley's bed. But we improvised.

And she slept through the night without any problems! 

Have a great weekend! Go Heels!

New Etsy Additions

Check out my Etsy site for new stationery

and holiday photo cards.

I also made another tray. This time I used some KWID Imperial Trellis wallpaper. I made a small mistake on this one so I am keeping it for myself but if you are interested in one, let me know and I will make one for you!

 

I hope you see something you like! 

(Also, many of you have shown interest in giving silhouettes to family members for holiday gifts. The sooner you get your photos to me the better! They do require a bit of time to create and if I get too many requests right before Christmas I may not have time to complete them all.)

This and that

Despite all of the Halloween activities over the weekend, we did manage to get some work done around the house. I made a pillow and another bed skirt for our bed.

I ran out of fabric so I still have one more pillow and one more panel to make for the bed skirt. I will be so glad to finally finish this project!

I also finished the second curtain panel for the guest room. 

And I turned this

into this for the guest room coffee table.

It seems like we have been working on this room forever but we are finally in the home stretch! I promise a reveal soon! 

I also decided on the light fixture for the guest room - thanks for your help by the way! Most of you liked the Pottery Barn fixture and, of course, it is backordered. I was also concerned that it was a little small for the room, so I ended up deciding to go with my beloved Bobo and get one of these wine sphere chandeliers.

Which is also backordered! So, for now, we are just going to have lamps in there until I can get my hands on the Bobo fixture. 

And the biggest home improvement project of the weekend - Paul installed a new shower door in our bathroom! The new door doesn't photograph well since it is glass but it looks really good. This is not exciting news unless you had ever seen/used the old shower door. I don't have a picture but think frosted, ugly, three-paneled glass door that NEVER stayed on its track resulting in huge puddles all over the wood floor in our bathroom. The new door is a huge improvement. Are you working on any exciting projects in your home lately? I would love to see them!

Halloween Details

So, yes, I did make Riley's costume and it wasn't nearly as hard as you probably think! There are so many flaws but I still love it! I have been waiting for over a month for her to finally wear it. To get started, I ordered this pattern on Ebay

I followed the pattern for the yellow clown. I have never used a pattern before and I have never sewed clothing before so it was a little challenging trying to understand some of the terms and the diagrams. Honestly though, the only really tricky part was the sizing. The pattern was made for a 2-4 yr old so I had to shorten it and I basically just guessed. So, one leg is shorter than the other, the arms are a little long and both legs ride up when she raises her arms. But, since it is such a baggy shape, it is a pretty forgiving costume. I bought all of my fabric and notions at a local craft store.

Unfortunately, I forgot to buy red thread and I was too lazy to go back out, so I used white thread to sew on the red rickrack and the seam definitely shows. Oh, well.

I basically followed the directions exactly for the suit and collar and then sort of improvised on the hat. In the end I decided that although I learned a lot, I will probably stick to sewing curtains and pillows - they are much easier than clothing! 

After all of that work, I had to parade her around town to make sure she got a lot of wear out of her costume! Yesterday we went to a Halloween party at Paul's office. The kids dressed up and trick-or-treated. 

 

Today we went downtown to the market, visited the local stores and went out to lunch. Although the shops had candy for the kids to come and trick or treat, Riley was much more interested in her milk and Cheerios. 

Tonight, we just visited a couple of neighbors and then came home early. I am already sad that I have to pack the clown costume away. I wonder what she will be next year...

Halloween Costume Reveal

Here's my little clown! 

Gotta run to a Halloween party at Paul's office but I will post more pics from our weekend soon!

Decisions, decisions

I am on the hunt for a light fixture for our guest room/office. 

I have already tried two light fixtures that didn't work out for various reasons. This room is hard because the ceilings are a little lower than the rest of the house and the electrical box is not centered so whatever we choose is probably going to have to be swagged because I have OCD about that sort of thing. 

I really wanted to hang a lantern in here but the ceilings are just too low. I tried a chandelier and had the same problem. I am not allowing myself to buy any more drum shade pendants for a while because I already have two in our house. So, I am thinking about going with an industrial pendant even though the rest of the room is fairly traditional. The room is pretty small and there will be be table lamps to provide lighting also, so I don't need a huge fixture. This room has a sleeper sofa so most of the time this fixture will be hanging over a coffee table instead of a bed. I know y'all haven't seen the room, but here are some options I am thinking about:

Arteriors - Jackmon Antique Silver Pendant

Pottery Barn - Calhoun Glass Pendant (Arteriors and West Elm have similar versions)

 

Croft & Little - Mercury Glass Large St. Charles Pendant 

Opinions? 

Our Weekend

The drive to Connecticut was as beautiful as I hoped it would be!  I think the leaves were at their peak! Unfortunately, we didn't take time to pull over and take many photos. It poured down rain on Saturday so we didn't get to take any outdoor shots then either. But the weather didn't stop our fun! We were greeted by this adorable little guy as soon as we walked in the door.

Even though we just saw him about 3 months ago, he has changed so much! I think he is days away from walking so life is about to get busier up there! He is so cute and sweet and has the best sounding laugh ever! Unfortunately, Riley did not take too kindly to her cousin. Whenever he came within a 2 foot radius of her, she would yell and he would immediately burst into tears! I have never seen her be such a bully! This photo is a little blurry, but you can make out her glaring at him as she helps herself to his toys.

Brian and Ashley treated us to gourmet meals the entire weekend - we had everything from walnut and feta stuffed beef tenderloin, to blueberry pancakes, to homemade pizzas! I think we all gained 10 pounds! Since it was such a dreary day on Saturday, we headed into the city of Norwalk to the children's museum. I don't know if I have ever seen Riley so happy. She loved every single second! I think her favorite part was the water area.

The kids wear these cute aprons to help keep them dry, but that didn't stop Riley from soaking herself from head to toe. Along with anyone else who was standing within a few feet of her. 

We literally had to drag her away to go see the rest of the place. Riley played with tools

while Baird played with trucks.

He likes to say "vroom, vroom!" whenever he sees a truck!

Next we took them to the outside play area. Even though it was raining, it was covered by a huge tent so the kids could still play.

They had a giant chess board.

Riley Bishop standing next to a bishop!

There were also balls with foam tracks that the kids could set up themselves into any shape they wanted.

There was a shortage of balls so Riley had to battle with this red-head behind us - he was rather territorial over the ball and was not interested in sharing the ball or his track! 

There were also big blocks that were perfect for Peek-A-Boo. Baird had a blast playing with his mom!

How cute is he?!?!? I think Riley can sense some competition - here she is trying to torment him again. 

Giving her uncle Brian high fives for bringing her to the museum!

 Ready to go!

It was a really great place and I am so jealous that they live so close to something like that. I wish I could take Riley there every week! After that outing, we went to a fantastic burger bar and devoured gourmet burgers and fries. I think the parents were more exhausted than the kids when we got home!

We had to wake up early so we could head home on Sunday morning. The weekend went by too fast but it was such a good time! The best part is, we get to see them again in a few short weeks when they come to our house for Thanksgiving! Thanks again for having us Brian and Ashley and Baird! It was such a nice visit!

This is the only picture I took on the drive home. We were driving over the Tappan Zee bridge. Aren't the trees gorgeous?