because it was home

Random, unedited pictures of our house because I have a pile of boxes waiting to be filled and I have yet to document this space! So, before packing it all up and moving, I wanted to save these pictures to have to look back on, as I've done in every home we've had these last 7 years (that's 4 homes!) It didn't look quiet like this when we first moved in - the white bookshelves were rearranged, the gray chair from the dumpster (yes, we snagged that chair from the dumpster the day we moved in!) used to be white, our blue velvet love seat used to sit under the window, we had a play tent that sat in the corner for two years until it broke, we didn't have a cart full of school stuff, my desk wasn't always used as a natural collection table, our dining table and chairs were different for our first 6 months here, all of our throw pillows have played musical couches/chairs/beds and the baby items went from out, to storage, to out again...! 

I've never stopped to document this space because, honestly, I've never loved it. There's always something I wish was different or I wish I could add or, or... the list goes on. I've never loved that all our living takes place in this one space - how do you decorate for a playroom, living room, family room, dining room, school room and entryway all at once?! Convenient, yes, and easy to clean, yes, but I've just never quite found my decorating groove here and this space has never been one I've been proud of, particularly. So, I've kept it off the blog and Instagram. Which is silly because this has been home for the last three years and while I'm excited to finally get my dining room table out of my living room, I'm going to miss this little apartment (just a little bit!) and don't want to forget it. So, for me and my future self... our Palo Alto home! 

Uriah's room - an update

the dresser was a Seattle craigslist find that we painted "grass green" by Behr paint - the rug is from Target

the tool bench was a 1st birthday gift from my parents from Ikea - the fabric basket was a steal from TJMaxx - the rocker and beautiful quilt were both gifted by friends

the dresser and fabric bins are from Target

the tent was a surprise from Stephen: he constructed it from pvc pipe and I potato stamped and sewed the sheet

the alphabet abacus was another 1st birthday gift and is the wonderful B. brand

the crib is from Ikea - the bear rug is from Alaska, courtesy of my husband and a gun

the hooks on the wall are from Land of Nod - the 'Uriah' banner was a gift from my aunt Terri

the Love Sac was a college dorm room purchase turned Uriah's favorite place to flop

So that's that, Uriah's 'big boy' room. I loved his room when we first set it up last summer, but it was much more 'nursery', and now that he can handle the stairs to his attic room all by himself, we're spending a lot more time up there (because if you remember, I apparently can't handle stairs and a twenty pound babe on the regular) and it needed a few changes.

An attic bedroom for a little one isn't ideal because there's no door to shut the downstairs noise out, so Uriah has had to become a pretty sound sleeper and Stephen and I have had to learn to use our inside voices only ;) I love the attic bedroom for it's space, though. The whole upstairs, with exception of a desk mostly used for storage, is all Uriah's and he loves to run circles around the stairwell - chase is our go-to activity when we're trying to wear him out before nap and bedtime.

It took us awhile to put the room together because we were working with a tight budget, so most of what you see was gifted or DIYed, which I love because it gives his room so much more meaning and sentiment.

I realize these photos are of no professional quality, not even a little, but regardless of what it looks like in pictures, Uriah's room is my favorite in the house. It's so bright and fun while still being all sorts of cozy. I love watching him read books in his tent and build towers on his tool bench and it is my favorite part of every day when I nurse and rock him to sleep in that chair.

Oh, and yes, he really does sleep with that many stuffed animals in his crib.

lay your head to rest

Ok, so the lightings not all that great, and it isn't much, but it's our cozy little corner of the house where I get to snuggle up with my husband at night and fall asleep to him scratching my back, and that's where I lay when the sun starts streaming through the window and that same wonderful husband rolls over to kiss my cheeks awake. (Ok, usually, the crying baby upstairs wakes us up before the sun comes up and it's much less picture-esk, but that didn't sound as romantic)

The dresser we found for $30 and spray painted together this summer. The photo booth pictures you can't see too well on my jewelry box are from the day we got engaged - he had the ring in his pocket, people! The bedding, end tables, headboard and rug are from Ikea. Our lampshades are covered in sharpie, mine in my favorite bible versus and Stephen's in the lyrics to our wedding song. Cougar kitty sits on my nightstand (along with all my current reads) because I'm still a six year old girl at heart. Annnd that's that! That's our bedroom! Unless you want to see our bathroom, I think the home tour is finally complete!

let's eat

Shall we?! Welcome to our dining room and kitchen! These rooms are honestly, and sadly, my least favorite rooms in the house. I don't have enough counter space or a dishwasher, both of which I would give up chocolate for (for like, a day). And that awful chandelier is not my taste. But you should have seen it before we moved in! The gray wall at the back of the breakfast nook was green plaid wallpaper and the floor was an old dirty linoleum. So, it could be worse. And I've tried my best to make it home - plastering the fridge with pictures, hanging cards from friends and family (Actually, friend, singular (Erica!) and my mom. What can I say? They have good taste in cards!), and decorating the shelves with wedding memorabilia. So that is where I make the food and that is where we eat it. I guess there's not much else to say! Hope you enjoyed the mini home tour!

living room

Welcome to our living room! Though it is usually strewn about with toys and blankets and diapers and wipes, with the computer out and an episode of Friends playing, I thought I'd clean it up for you just this once ;) The large empty space above the couch is waiting for our moose antlers to take a visit to the taxidermist so they can look like this and I can decorate them like this...

It's the first room you see when you walk in the house and I love that it represents us so well - so many different colors, patterns and styles, and so many books! The aviator leather couch was a Craigslist purchase, the blue velour love seat was found at a furniture consignment shop here in Boise, the trunk was stained and given to us by my mom, the mirror was a Christmas gift from my sister, the painting of Indian Beach that I love so much, a wedding gift from Grandma Brown, the '&' signed by all our wedding guests... I love this room and I love the days I spend playing with Uriah on the run and the nights I spend snuggled with Stephen on that couch.

baby boy's room

After receiving family pictures yesterday, I went right to Walgreens and printed pictures! ...For the first time in a year! We finally have prints of Uriah around our house! And I finally have frames hung up! Our walls have been pretty empty since we moved in, so I was excited to get some more of our house completed, feeling more like home. I started with Uriah's room. We didn't have a nursery set up in Seattle because the spare room was Stephen's study and he slept in our room for the first month, anyway, so I was very excited to give him his own space! I've been pinning nursery pins since I was pregnant, and while this room will never make it to a blog (other than my own) or some magazine, I love his attic nursery! It is so cozy up there - it's perfect for him. As he gets older the closet door will be painted with chalk and a teepee/tent will sit over his quilt. We spend our mornings on that quilt digging through his toy basket and we spend our evenings in that chair rocking and reading... So many people helped make this room just perfect for us. Our friends, Ben and Amanda, gave us that rocker, my parents got us his crib, our friend Charlotte made Uriah that beautiful quilt, my Great Aunt Connie crocheted Uriah the blanket draped over the chair, my Aunt Teri made the 'Uriah' banner on his closet door, my friend Melissa made the 'Uriah' sign over the ac unit, my Nana saved and revived the bear on his dresser, I made the mobile over his crib... It may be just a small space in our house, but it means so much to me and I'm so happy it is (finally!) set up and ready for our baby boy to enjoy!