We're in the new house! (But just barely.)

We hatched our plan to move houses (just a few doors over in our neighborhood) last fall--in mid October to be exact. And so, after weeks and weeks of waiting, Moving Day 1 was upon us. And what did Mother Nature have in store? Our first snowstorm of 2019. And a doozie one at that.

About nine inches fell during the one weekend it was vital to move over some belongings. I say vital because we scheduled contractors to arrive to the house this week to install hardwoods and repaint the foyer. (I plan to tackle most of the painting in the house myself, because I love to paint, but I did not have the time or energy to paint the two story area of the stairwell.)

We still managed to move over a significant amount of boxes. But it was an absolutely crazy weekend. Because our crew showed up early to beat the snow...and the former homeowner's departure was delayed due to the storm. So we had four groupings doing their own thing--us, with helpful neighbors and friends, moving in our boxes; movers moving out the former home owners' belongings; our contractor crew breaking ground on the kitchen flooring; and the former owners trying to do the final sweep of their things to ready themselves for a cross country departure. We zig zagged and crossed paths with one another, and tried not to slip on the snow, and in the end, I am completely stunned at how much we managed to accomplish. 

Here are some preliminary pictures of the foyer. Even though we are living with the rest of the house "as is" for some time before we embark on renovations, we are tackling the foyer straight away. Again, just cell phone snaps for now until I can unearth the boxes with my photography equipment.

The before: a light blue wall color, that read periwinkle in certain lighting. Gold and cream checkerboard tile.

The paneling continues down a hall that leads to the powder room on the left, and dining room/kitchen straight ahead.

There are several things planned for this area: replacing tile with hardwoods; new light fixtures; removing stair runner; refinishing stair treads; paint everything a creamy white; eventually add additional moulding.

Here is an in process shot--I love a good sneak peek! 

This shot was taken at night, and seeing the space in that lighting (or lack of) confirmed that I am absolutely thrilled with how the painting turned out. And good thing, too. Because it took me ages to settle on the right white for this space. Originally I planned to use Benjamin Moore's Cotton Balls. But when I put a sample up in the space, it just seemed to fall flat in certain lighting or time of day. I next tried Benjamin Moore's Simply White, and really liked it. But when I went to the Sherwin Williams store, the technician talked me out of doing everything (walls, ceiling, trim) in a color match to Simply White. So instead, I took some samples of whites by Sherwin Williams and back to the house I went, tip toeing around our crew breaking up the tile. 

In the end, SW Alabaster won out. A warning about this color, though--it looks really warm with the first coat. I almost yelled, "no, stop!" mid project because I thought I'd made a huge mistake and picked a color that would read yellow. But as time was not on my side, I instead asked for a quick sampling of two coats. And once I saw that, I was sold. Alabaster is definitely a cream white, but with just enough warmth to keep things from looking stark or sterile. I absolutely love it.

The trim is SW Pure White, which is a brighter, truer white that gives a crisp look, without any jarring contrast. For the walls (inclusive of the moulding) we went with a matte finish. I think keeping the moulding in the same matte finish as the walls gives the space such a modern, clean, with a touch of glam, vibe. The crown and base trim are in semi-gloss. 

The stain for the hardwoods goes on tomorrow so I'll update with a picture asap. I'm still narrowing down lighting choices--I think I need to wait until we settle on the art and foyer furniture to figure that one out. But I will say that the entire house is outfitted with gorgeous brass outlet covers and heating/air grates. So I'm leaning towards that finish. Plus, I have my heart set on including some shots from our Thailand trip two years ago to visit family. And I think having some of those photos framed out in brass will look really sharp. Stay tuned! We move our furniture, and ourselves, this weekend. And wouldn't you know it, another winter storm just might be brewing for Moving Day 2.

My Single Knitted FO of the Holidays.

The sweater, the shawl, the cowl, and the scarf, all planned as my holiday knits, are still languishing in various states of almost-ready. Those knits are from patterns. And for most of our two-week holiday break, the dream of sitting and knitting, per a pattern, was merely that--a dream.

But I did manage to knit a hat. It is aran weight, and it's from what I call my Always Aran pattern. Not so much a pattern but a recipe. I know if I cast on a certain number of stitches (in my case 84) on certain needles (US 8s for the brim, switching to 9s or 10s for the body) in my Duck Duck Wool Aran, I can knit mindlessly, even when throwing in a few columns of cables, and I'll get a very wearable hat.

Here's the result of my latest recipe. 

It is knit from yarn I dyed for a special club colorway for the sweetest yarn shop. (I'll link to the source after I double check that all orders have shipped.) I think it's so pretty. And I swear it knit itself.

Those speckles! On a neutral. I think this would be amazing in a sweater.

There are many exciting things about our move (which is in one more sleep! Well, one more sleep until we start the move. Seven more sleeps until we begin living there). But a knitterly thing that ranks very high on the exciting list is that the house has a space earmarked for a proper dye studio. In its current state, the space is unfinished and not much to look at. But just you wait! (Mood board reveal to follow.)

You Should Be Packing. (Let's Mood Board Instead!)

I have to admit that even I (a self-proclaimed to-do-list crusher, if ever there was) am feeling a little overwhelmed with the mountains left to pack and ready for the movers. And it's not helping that my back decided to go rogue and revolt by seizing up, thereby forcing me to take it easier than planned this week. Classic reminder that the key to just about everything is to remain flexible (and I mean that in the most literal of ways here--I have had a string of running injuries this year and my yoga practice has gone out the window, along with my flexibility. It has caused me endless bonus woes.).

To keep me productive and upright, I have found a steady rhythm of pack, pack, pack, rest a little, pack, pack, pack is working. And one of the things that helps me just soldier on with the seemingly endless tasks, is to take a break to imagine some pretty spaces that will eventually come together at the end of this strugglefest. Here is a mood board I created for what I'm thinking for our living room. Just the bones, or basics, for now as there are two rooms vying to be the living room. And until we live in the space for a bit, I can't decide which one will win out. One is off the kitchen (pros: placement, lovely fireplace; cons: no natural light) and the other is off the foyer (pros: three pretty windows; cons: placement, i.e. not open to the hub of the home). I can envision either of the rooms outfitted with this overall look:

1. Some pretty abstract art. Loving the moody, broody vibe of this particular set. 

2. We'll use our current cream sofa, which is similar to what's pictured here. (Ours is from Storehouse Furniture and I can't seem to find a link.)

3. I'll be trying to source a less spendy version of this gorgeous brass triple arm lamp. 

4. Currently planning to use Benjamin Moore colors White Dove (walls) and Simply White (trim and ceiling). This may change depending on the room's lighting.

5. I picked up a campaign chest years ago for a steal on Craigslist ($40 maybe?). It just needs the wood and brass refreshed and a few plates replaced. I know a lot of folks paint these and I'm not necessarily opposed to that idea--I can picture it looking amazing in a navy gloss finish. But I actually like the ginger tones of the wood as is, so I have no plans to paint it straight away. 

6. We have a nice wood coffee table from Pottery Barn we could use for the time being. But hoping to go this route eventually if I can find the right piece.

7. Planning a neutral rug for now. Might swap it out for something with black or navy if the room is feeling too meh.

8. A fiddle leaf tree. Probably in a wicker basket. Because you can only see that so many times on Pinterest before needing one just like it. I picked up a little fiddle and so far, so good in keeping it alive. I daresay it's even thriving. So now I'm encouraged to try my hand at a larger one. (Keeping indoor plants alive is not my strong suit. But I'm working on it.)

It's so fun dreaming how the spaces will eventually look. Do you use mood boards to plan? I am such a visual person that I find it truly helps me tackle a project. I plan to create a new Pinterest board of all my mood boards for the new house. The laundry room is next. Hopefully soon, there will be enough there to see how the house design is shaping up.

Okay. My "rest a little" time is up. Back to pack, pack, pack.

You Finally Renovated Your Bathroom. Enjoy! Now Move.

Our current house has been our home for almost fourteen years. And probably within days of moving in, we began dreaming how we'd renovate the bathrooms. I clipped magazine photos, saved blog posts, then started Pinning when Pinterest came along...we interviewed several contractors until we found an amazing crew.

We made our building material choices, visited countless tile shops, ordered vanities and fixtures. And finally, finally, we broke ground on the two baths upstairs. But then we decided to move! And although the "new" house has the master bathroom space we've always craved (his and her vanities, a soaking tub, even a sauna for Pete's sake), the materials are not at all in line with what I just painstakingly planned and oversaw installation of in our current home. Also, the boys bath is only slightly larger, in addition to needing a refresh. Since I'm pretty sure tearing out everything and starting over will not be in the budget, I'm going to have to figure out how to make the space feel as dreamy as what we're leaving.

First up was the boys bathroom. I will apologize upfront that there are no "before" pictures. I love me a good before/after reveal with the best of them. And I should have planned accordingly. But I simply never thought of taking photos of the bathrooms in their original state. Let's just say they were depressing. We kept the layout the same, except we added a pocket door. It was such a game changer! We chose a solid wood door and I love the warmth it adds to all of the tile and marble.

We went with oversized subway tile (4 x 16!) throughout and a marble mosaic hex for the flooring. A detail I love is how we ran the trim molding all around the room, picking up from the tile wainscot and through the shower wall tiles. This did wonders to make the small room feel larger as your eye follows it around the room instead of stopping where the wall tiles stop. Also, splurging on the tile baseboards and ending the runs with bullnose (vice using Schluter strips or the sort) really prevented any choppiness, while striking the classic vibe I wanted. The medicine cabinet chosen is both a surface mount and inset--offering a deceivingly generous amount of storage in such a small space. I can't seem to find an online link but I know I purchased it off the shelf from Home Depot. The lighting is missing bulbs in this picture but we went with a vintage looking bulb style for an industrial meets traditional flair. The shower column came in the wrong polished finish--so ignore that--because we swapped it out. The rest of the finishes are brushed nickel and I'm now such a fan. It has a just a touch of warmth beneath the cool nickel that speaks to my metal-mixing loving heart. So although I didn't mix in any brass here, you can bet I will in the new house.

A funny thing about the vanity--we had actually ordered a different one from a supplier on the West Coast. And then it went missing. Our contractors are the speediest folks around--and we simply could not wait for the shipment. So off to Lowe's I went and was delighted to find an off the shelf single vanity that I truly liked. At only 30" it boasts considerable storage. And the dark charcoal color adds a nice contrast. In fact, when we received the other vanity (finally), I decided it was too light for the boys' bathroom (I'll show that vanity later...it ended up in the powder room).

These pictures are just cell phone ones I snapped quickly to share with friends on Facebook. I wish I had remembered to take some better ones once I finished styling the space--we went with a pretty white shower curtain and floor mats, and wooden accessories to inject even more warmth. All of those things are now packed away so perhaps we'll get to see them in the next house. 

I'll link to the main materials and sources below. Wanted to save them as I might need them sooner rather than later if I can't stick with my pledge to live with things for a bit in the "new" house. And once I unpack my files and come across the purchasing info for the other materials (like lighting and fixtures), I'll update this post. (p.s. I'll share the master bath reno next.) 

Walls are in Imperial Bianco Gloss from the Tile Shop with the following components:

4 x 16 Ceramic Subway (plus bullnose pieces)

Trim 

Pencil Trim 

Baseboard/Skirting

Flooring: 3 x 3 Hampton Carrara Hex Marble Mosaic also from the Tile Shop

Vanity: 30" Single Vanity with marble counter top 

Paint:

Walls are in Valspar Gravity 

Trim and ceiling are Valspar Ultra White

Happy New Year. Happy New Home (to be).

I may have mentioned that all three boys are now very good swimmers. It did not start that way--not by a long shot. Some kids take to water like fish. But not ours. Here's a photo of our youngest begging me to rescue him from lessons.

Just look at those eyes. Did I do what they beckoned? No. I did not, although I'm sure it felt like it nearly killed me. And I may have overcompensated by buying him a few extra treats that week. But I stayed off that deck, hard as it was, and let him figure things out with his fabulous coaches. And by the end of the week, he was jumping off the diving board. So. Just like I told them, the best way to get good at something is to trust in your abilities, be open to learning, and then jump in and try. So here I go.

And I should note, I am doing so even though my writing is rusty. Like, incredibly rusty. But I'm excited to journal again and I know the more I practice, the sooner I'll settle back into a voice I recognize as my own. My tastes and interests are both familiar and new, so the content here might likewise flip back and forth from topics I've touched upon (family, cooking, knitting, DIY, running...) as well as new obsessions (cookie decorating, endurance training, organizing, skincare, and home decor). It's all part of what makes up my little corner and I'd like to memorialize these things. The only New Year's Resolution I made this year is to be more present. And this blog will hopefully have a large place in that effort.

And! As the post title suggests, it will be a fine time to be more present as we embark on turning a new-to-us house into our home. We are moving but four doors down in our beloved neighborhood. It is a larger house, with several features we've planned to add on someday, such as a front porch, large master bath, and...drumroll...a mudroom. And I do mean an honest-to-goodness mudroom--not just muddy rooms, because I have plenty of those right here. In the new house there is a blank slate of a room between garage and kitchen. I don't even have to design it to function as a multi-purpose laundry/mudroom because the laundry room is upstairs (in another dedicated space. Pinch me now.) Seriously. Half the neighborhood jokes that we are moving because of the mudroom and upstairs laundry. And you know what? They are not wrong.

Now, the finishes and appointments of the home lean more traditional than our current tastes--so I'm looking forward to redesigning the spaces to reflect our style. Which is what, exactly? That's the fun part I can't wait to figure out. Along with so many, I've watched all the Fixer Uppers. So I won't deny that shiplapping a wall will likely happen. But I also feel drawn to a more modern aesthetic lately. 

I don't have many pictures to put up in this post because, well, everything is in boxes, including my camera--we begin the move this weekend! But here's a recent shot of our family of five since I cannot remember how to update the sidebars. Charlie was recently promoted to Colonel in the Marine Corps reserve and we tried to clean up for the lovely ceremony. Isn't it shocking how big the boys are (now 15, 13, and 10)?

I'll take more pictures for the upcoming posts...but I wanted to get the journaling going and not overthink it too much. Because sometimes when you do, you won't just jump in.