Timeout

This summer there has been a lull in my posts. That's mostly because I've been debating whether to continue my blog. This has been a very busy summer. Keeping up the blog is just another thing to do. While I enjoyed the past year of blogging, I've decided I'm going to take an indefinite break. I started the blog at requests of friends. Living away from family, it turned into a great way for them to watch Hannah grow. I also came to appreciate our virtual scrapbook to look back on down the road. However being back in Ca and with more family on facebook now, I don't feel the need to blog as much. I didn't intentionally make our family photos the final post. Coincidentally it is, and it seems a very fitting way to end things for now. For family who have my Walgreen's photo account, I will start updating it again. I know I haven't uploaded since... February? If you need the pass code again or not sure what I'm talking about email or message me. And friends who still want to watch Hannah grow and see what we are up to, Facebook. Thank you for following our story and journey.

Impromptu Family Photos

It's time for our annual family portraits. Being short on time to either book a photographer or schedule an in store studio we opted to do them ourselves. Although my dad is not a photographer we figured he could manage to get 1 family photo and let our camera work its magic.

When we got to the beach it was cold and windy. My vision was quickly dying. Hair flying in my face and a shivering child should have been a recipe for disaster. I expected all our pictures to look like this. And many did.

But like I said we only needed 1 photo. Instead they came out something more like this...

So although our hair may not be perfect (jealous that Sergio doesn't have that problem) and Hannah may be making bear claws, we fared pretty well. But wait there is more...

Thank you Dad; you did well!

Dining Room

The statement of the dining room is our new table. I've been dreaming of a formal dining room. Sergio's only input was that he'd like a table that was distressed, heavy, solid, and looked like it belonged in a library. I was also in love with rustic and distressed tables, but had always pictured an elegant, sophisticated dining room. My new vision and goal became making a rustic table the centerpiece of an elegant room.

I instantly fell in love with this table. I loved the unique stain and the detailed legs. My mom and I found the table at a high end consignment store in Carlsbad Village. Normally this table retails for about $1500. I paid $495. If you remember the bench on our front porch, it goes with the table and was included in the $495. Since I wanted upholstered chairs, the bench was perfect for the porch.

Once I had picked out the table, it was a matter of finding everything else. I knew to get the elegance I wanted I'd have to either do dark or white furniture. Since the table was light itself and I already had the tall corner piece we chose dark.

I have a couple black and white photos from our SF trip that I may frame in the gold frame. I have two matching green boxes, that I painted. You can see one on the buffet. I'm still working on the other. I'd like to do a stencil design on it. Once it is done, I will stack it underneath the other.

Once we bought the blue chairs, I envisioned patterned curtains to add dimension. First I envisioned something bold, but with trial and error figured out that bold was too much. Others we tried clashed with the stripes on the chairs. And others took the room from light and airy to dark and drab. I was determined to find something that would not block light, but felt rich and sophisticated. Of all things, these are actually fabric shower curtains from Target. I liked the softness of the colors, and the design added elegance to the room. The shape of the pattern also mirrored the pattern of pillows in the living room, the table legs, and the wall candle holders. Such a small detail can bring rooms together with an open floor plan, while allowing the rooms to be different in design. I bought them with the intention of cutting the 2 panels in half and hemming the side, so I would have 4 panels. I may still cut them and place 2 of the panels in the corner. At this point I'm still undecided. To hang them I bought round drapery rings from the window treatment department. If you've never used them they just clip to the fabric, and the ring hangs around the curtain rod.

After I bought the table, the biggest dilemma was finding affordable upholstered chairs. In store they start at $100 each. And once again the quality is poor at the low end price. So to craigslist I turned. You probably wouldn't believe me if I told you I bought these chairs for $5 each. Yes I did! The catch was they did not look anything like they do now. I will definitely be doing a DIY before and after blog about these chairs. They were not tufted. There was fabric covering the legs. They also needed new support in the seat.

The last thing I want to add to the room is a rug. Since I could not do, bold curtains I'd like something bold on the floor to add layer, texture and contrast to all the browns and blues. At the same time I don't want the table leg to get lost in the rug design. I'm keeping my eye out for a rug I love.

Living Room

The heart of our home, our living room.

For the breakdown. We already owned most of what is in this room. I slowly started transforming our living room while we stilled lived in Virginia.

Immediately upon moving in I knew I wanted a sofa console/table. We also wanted something that would provide office storage.

We shopped and shopped, but I was determined to not settle. I came across this mid century buffet at a consignment furniture store in Encinitas. At first glance I thought I could easily paint it and add some knobs. The price was higher than I wanted to spend on a used piece, but being a solid piece it was comparable to something new of poor quality. So I was sold. When we placed it behind the couch, I was instantly in love with it as is, but still was undecided if I should make some changes. I looked inside the left drawer and found a furniture stamp. I did a little googling. Turns out this is an antique piece that goes for about $395, and I only paid $149. Not only was I thrilled to find this out, but I knew I would not be doing any DIY to this baby. I can see her every morning when I wake up from our bed, and honestly she makes me smile. (Yes she is a she and a piece of furniture makes me smile.)

The above is probably the most true to color of our couch. It always seems to photograph more of a funky rustic, bright red when it's really berry.

The end table was a quick project. I bought it 4 years ago at a thrift store for $5. 4 years later I finally got around to spray painting it black. Maybe I will post some before and afters. I bought the basket under it from TJ Maxx for dvd storage. Cheap and easy.

Originally we planned to have our dining room as our office, but realized we need a larger space to entertain. Instead we turned this corner into an office space. Which is why the sofa console needed to serve as storage.

I finally have my gallery wall. Two of the frames still need to be filled. Probably one piece of art to balance out the dog print, and a photo in the other. I love it. The desk I bought on craigslist for $50. I may reupholster the chair in a fun pattern.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I love our fireplace in comparison to our last house! The bricks are more red than appearing in the picture.

We swapped our love seat with my parents for their chair above. Just worked better for both of us. I may reupholster or paint it. Undecided at this point. I like that the wood balances out the color of the sofa table, but I think a coat of paint or new fabric will make it feel more fresh.

I bought the lamp from Home Goods. With no ceiling lights, this room was in desperate need of lighting.

As for the final to do list. I will be the first to admit the tv is way too big for the tv console. However I really don't want to buy anything new for the time being. In our last house, the fireplace was so large, you didn't notice as much. Now it sticks out like a sore thumb to me.

In place of the candle holder on the right wall we would like to blow up a huge canvas of a photo we took.

I also need to finish reupholstering the top of the ottoman, a project I started in VA.

I might also paint the tray sitting on it white.