Farewell, Home

For the past 6 1/2 years, we have lived in this sweet house. And now we're about to bid it farewell. For the wondering minds, we are staying in Topeka but moving to a different house. We'll have more room for our people and more land for adventuring. To be clear, we didn't go looking for a different house. In fact, mere weeks before I said to Dan that I figured we had about 5 years left in our current house. It's funny, really. I'm certain the emotions will set in over the next few weeks as we prep to move, but for now, I'm only excited about a new house to make our home. As a practice of closure, here is my ode to our Birchwood Lane house. 

Both our babies came home to us for the first time here. This is all they've ever known as home. Every year we have about a dozen tulips come up in the ground covering. I can name at least 5 children who have plucked a tulip or two to give to their momma. When Bennett was learning to walk, we would spend time in the front yard while he would climb up and down the front steps.

 I hosted my first baby shower back here some 6 years ago. That little one is now in kindergarten. Many boys have climbed that ginko and made it way too high for comfort. We used to pay the nephews in Smarties to pick up all the corn cobs squirrels would bring into our yard.

 Pre-kids, I spent nearly an entire week painting these stripes. And they are PERFECT. I'm not a terribly whimsicle person, but they, along with the bright yellow interior door, add just the right amount of whimsy to an otherwise formal entry. I've never fallen going down the stairs but have fallen twice going up. Once with a full cup of steaming coffee. Bennett took a tumble halfway down earlier this year, but other than those mishaps, these stairs have surprisingly been free of casualties.

Piano lessons galore here. When I was pregnant with Finley, I think I had to take a bathroom break in between each student. And when we bought that couch 6 years ago, I swore it added equity to our house (spoiler alert: it didn't). Oh, and that yellow chair in the corner I purchased at a garage sale for $1 over 10 years ago. Still one of my favorite finds. 

When Bennett was a challenging newborn, I paced the house and this room, in particular. The floor is creaky, like an old house, and walking through this room helped calm him down. I'm going to miss the creaks that I know so well. 

Bennett's big boy room. He napped here for a year and then has had rest time for a year. He plays HARD and has a wild imagination. We've explained to him that at the new house, he'll have a smaller bed, but I think there will still be a transition period from his massive bed to a normal size twin bed.

Oh this room. It started as a screened in porch. Dan built a porch swing for me. Bennett and I spent HOURS out here the first few months of his life. It was truly his only happy place. Converting it to a 3-seasons room was the best decision we made - all Dan's idea.

What started out as a space floor-to-ceiling with wallpaper has now held dozens of people for meals. Another sweet old room with creaky floors and a swinging door that has pinched a handful of fingers.

I used to cook all the time. It was a calming practice. Then we had kids. Now meals are fast and furious and meal prep is even faster. But this is still such a sweet space.

I would guess that 90% of our living occurs here.  First steps, first words. It all happened here. 

Hanging clocks high is so fun. Except twice a year when the time changes. It took us an average of 2 months each time to get a ladder and adjust it. Lesson learned. 

When we moved in, I dreamed of spending hours on the window seat reading. I don't know about you, but I prefer a cozier spot to read, so that never happened. Nonetheless, it is a happy space.

I did some math the other day and calculated some obnoxious amount of hours spent here when the babes were little. Nighttime feedings, rocking sick babes, pacing until an infant falls back asleep. And the one time I saw a spider while nursing and proceeded to chase it down until it met its demise.

All the potty training. All of it. And all the learning to wash hands. And the constant presence of Dan and Heidi staring at guests in the picture.

Guess what?! A king-sized bed CAN fit in this room! Best purchase EVER. It's a Tuft and Needle and it's our favorite.

One of my favorite memories here is when my dear sweet bestie Andrea and I bathed our tots while our husbands were out of town. We were both massively pregnant but knew we needed to kill some time before bedtime. So we parked it on the floor and let the tots splash.

Bennett loves this space. Often during his rest time, I hear him telling stories in here. And stuffing all sorts of nonsense in the drawers. 

This has been a perfect starter home for our crew. But it's time to move on. We are so grateful for the years spent here and for the memories we have. New memories at a new place begin soon! And we can't wait. 

Nursery Tour!

AKA:  "The One Where Heidi Gets All Sappy"

I've been waiting until the nursery is officially "done" to show you any pictures, but it technically won't be done until we know if we'll hang a "Q" or an "X" above the crib*.  Soooooooo, here are some pictures of progress!

Enjoy my lackluster photography skillz.

One my favorite parts of the nursery is the sweet yellow built-ins.  My parents and I SLAVED over these suckers last 4th of July and I couldn't be more pleased with the results.  So bright and chipper.  And the shelves house many special treasures. 

Here's to hoping that sleep will actually occur.

 Worry not, worriers, all blankets and animals will be removed prior to the placing of baby here.

 So happy.  We purchased black-out blinds since this room is on the southeast side of our house.  So far we've been pleased with both how cool the room stays and how dark it stays when the shades are pulled.  They're certainly not the most glamorous-looking window treatments, but they serve a very important purpose, so we're okay with the lack of aesthetic value.

 A happy rocking corner.  First of all, how adorable is the whale sound machine?  I die a little every time I look at it.  Claim to fame:  one of my colleague's sons is a designer for Homemedics and he designed it!  So that makes me kind of a big deal.

 And how about a close-up of this chair!?  This chair's former home was the basement of my mother-in-law's house.  It belonged to Danz' grandma and we snagged it over Christmas.  THEN I had a friend of mine recover it with this gorgeous fabric from Shlobby Bobby.  (Andrea, if you're reading this, please know that I am forever grateful to you for your work on this chair.  It. Is. Perfect.)  The chair is a swivel/glider/recliner and we already have spent some quality time breaking it in.  In fact, I'm sitting in it as I write and daddyDan uses it in the morning before work. 

 The lamp was a sore subject for a few weeks as I purchased several that did not pass daddyDan's lamp test.  After many heated conversations, we landed on this one, and I'm decently satisfied. 

 Sentimental moment:  My grandma Vogt (mom's mom) knitted both these blankets.  The yellow one was my baby gift 27 years ago and the green one is baby C's.  The yellow one smells like my parent's house and the green one smells like my grandma - both smells are so comforting and remind me of home.  While grandma has 8 grandchildren, she only has 4 great-grandchildren (5 including baby C), but she has a stash of great-grandbaby blankets because she knows that once they start coming, they'll come in droves. :)  I think this blanket has been done and ready for a baby since my wedding!  Can't wait to wrap our little stinker in it. 

 Most parents buy their babies sweet puppies or adorable bears or cuddly bunnies.  Not these parents!  DaddyDan says we're "fun people" so we need to buy our babe a fun animal.  I kid you not:  he narrowed it down to a bald eagle, a donkey, and a buffalo.  I was disturbed by the bald eagle, the donkey had long fibers and a tag cautioning from using it with an infant.......so the buffalo won.  It'll give us a chance to teach babe about Kansas, so I can get behind that.

 Danz does not love this picture, but it is one of my most treasured possessions.  The year we moved to Abilene (holla 1994!), my mom gave this to me for my birthday.  I love the idea of the kids being guided and watched as they walk over treacherous water.  You better believe this sucker is staying in the nursery. 

 Another angle of the cheerful shelves.  If you gave me a book at any time in the past 9 months, you better believe it's on a shelf!

Babe's friends.  They will be instant besties. Especially the snuggly buffalo.

So that's that!  If I'm really on my A-game (let's be honest, I never am), I'll post pics once some art is gracing the walls.

*I got you so good.  Baby's name beginning with a "Q" or a "X"?  Hahahahaha, no.  Or maybe yes.  Hmm, only time will tell!!

House Stuff (and stuff)

***Disclaimer:  when I spend large amounts of time away from people (aka: summer), my humor apparently distorts and I do weird things like tell you about my conversation with my front door.  You've been warned.  Carry on.***

How's that for a descriptive title?  I bet it makes you all excited.  Will this be about her patio?  Ooooo, what about her new-to-her piano?  Or even Daniel's mower saga?????  The possibilities are endless!!!!

Well, friends, this is about littlish changes I have made since the old house tour of May 2013.  But, before you read on, if you are a female and you live in or near Topeka, please take a moment to read this.   I trust you did that.  Let's move on.

So I've been waiting to show you a few things until some spaces are perfect.  But, let's be honest, no space is ever perfect or done, so let's just call these pics progress.  

You may or may not remember this vignette from the May house tour.  The lamp was disturbingly awkward....recall?  So a series of events occurred (the details would probably bore you to tears).  Let's just say that my mom bought me this lamp.  Fun, huh?  And I'm in the process of trying to regrow some sweet potato vines (mom, I noticed today that some roots are formed.....what do I do next?). 

 Still a happy corner.  I've never been crazy about red in my home, but since this dresser was my very first project (5 years ago? 6 years ago?), I can't bear to think about repainting it (shocker, I know).

Side note:  if you follow me on Instagram, you know that we bought a piano from our Alma Mater for a steal.  Upon it's arrival home, Daniel asked me if I was going to paint it.  After gasping in horror for 10ish minutes, I flailed around and hollered "No!"  He was legitimately surprised.....I suppose after you paint every surface in your house [(including kitchen cabinets, bathroom vanities, office built-ins, Craigslist furniture, and every wall (some more than once)], you build a name for yourself.  Note to self. I digress. 

 Love me some burlap. 

 SIL Tammy found the idea somewhere on the interwebz to put a few small things in a small foyer.  So we did!  Daniel thinks they're silly, but he thinks 75% of my never-ending-always-looking-for-something decor tweaks are silly.  The chevron-esque basket functions as a holding point for things that need to go upstairs.  And the price tag is still on my TJ Maxx clearance faux plant.  Super. 

 OMG.  Almost forgot to mention my stripes!  Holy knees-throbbing-back-aching stripes.  Totes worth it, but picture me saying "oh my woooooooord" 500 times during the process.  Yes.  Five hours of taping (an old house = walls that aren't square, so the use of a level is pointless). 

 And my yellow front door!  Every time I come downstairs, it says, "Well hellooooooooooooo Heidi!  I'm feeling mighty fine today!!!"  And I respond, "Hello old door.  You only took half a morning to paint, so I approve of your emotions."  And Daniel says, "She may be cray, but I love her anyway."

 Just for kicks, here is a close-up of the stripes.  I read a few tutorials first and then made up my own tutorial.  My own tutorial is a-comin!

 But for now I'm just going to relish in the happiness that is our foyer.......and then I'll start thinking about painting above the chair rail.  I believe I'll be enlisting help for that one.

 I updated this cute little lamp that I've had for a decade and bought at a thrift shop.  A different lamp shade can really liven up a sad little lamp.  Oh look, there's my piano!  With a mass of accessories atop.  Someday I'll address that.  

A project that has been brewing for quite some time is window treatments in our family room.  For my birthday, yes, 3 months ago, I asked for fabric.  Long story short, this fabric came from a teeny-tiny fabric store 5 miles south of Canada in a little town in Washington.  Ah, the interwebz. 

 I'm not 100% thrilled with the way they turned out (I get all perfectionistic when I make things like this), but I'm just living with them for now.

 I really wish they had more depth to them, so I'm thinking about making some faux ties in a deep gray color or attaching a border to draw the eye up.

 We shall see.  In the meantime, here is a close-up of the fabric.  It's sort of blue-grayish with deep yellow flowers. 

 Oh yes, and my MIL bought a new ottoman for her house, so we took her old one off her hands.  And, of course, I painted it.  Was not thrilled with how it turned out, but my SIL suggested that I go over the white with a glaze (when we got it, it was black) to add some depth. 

 Lest you think my house is always this picked up, allow me to turn 180 degrees.  What can I say?  We do a lot of living here. :) 

Also, with school starting in less than a month (picture me sobbing uncontrollably like a small child), our house projects will certainly start to dwindle.  Oh the beauty of summer.  It's fun while it lasts.

Next up - stripe tutorial!! 

Le Tour de Apartment

Currently, our main floor is in shambles due to a bathroom quasi-remodel that is half-done and our upstairs is a disaster due to the installation of a 5-minute fan that ended up taking 45 minutes...and then we decided to call LeRoy, our resident electrician.  I have nothing house-related to show that is remotely interesting, SO instead, how about a tour of our ex-apartment?  Just for nostalgia's sake.

Let's get started!

Guest room, post "mom is here to help me clean it up."

 And yes, that is a freezer  in our guest room. 

 Living room, duh.

 Our room.

 My favorite red dresser.

 And the baby-size kitchen.

And there you have it!  Tiny, tiny space.  The only thing I miss about our tiny space is that it took only 30 minutes to clean the whole place.  HOWEVER, I never felt like it was actually clean.  It was always a little dingy and dirty.  Yikes.

This week's projects include finishing the downstairs bathroom, paying someone to install the ceiling fan, and beginning the epic painting project that is the kitchen cabinet.  Wish me luck!!!