Archive for January, 2011

Another Year

Published January 31, 2011 Life 6 Comments
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I am officially another year older today. I was pleasantly surprised by the many cards, phone calls and texts I got today. We didn’t do anything special, although I did use the excuse opportunity to order a new pair of mary janes for Chloe that I’ve been eyeing. We also stopped by the dollar store for some festive mylar balloons – one birthday, one congrats (for the hubby), and a princess balloon for Chloe. She is really enjoying them.

There is a lot to look forward to this year – a new addition to our family, a new addition to our home, a job change for the hubby, and who knows what else. I have so much to be thankful for… even if it includes a few more wrinkles! ♥

Hooray for halfway!

Published January 29, 2011 baby , pregnancy 7 Comments
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20 weeks pregnant today and only 20 weeks to go! Check out that belly self-portrait taken last weekend (19wks). Pretty big, right? From the look (and feel) of it, you might even think I was further along, especially compared to this photo of my 20-week belly when I was pregnant with Chloe.

One thing my midwife noticed at my exam was that I’d gained a noticeable amount of weight since my previous appointment. Yep, it seems I am becoming all belly with a side of extra butt thrown in. And a little in the face, too, I think. She kindly explained it away as “likely to do with the holidays,” but I can’t say that is for sure. When I was pregnant with Chloe I gained a whopping 40lbs. I think it took me almost 6 months to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. This time I was hoping to gain only a healthy 30-35lbs. Perhaps with spring and summer coming, I’ll be able to keep to that goal.

Earlier this week we also had our regular ultrasound. David got off work early, and he and Chloe were both there. Chloe is too young to really get what is going on, but I like that she participate. So far everything seems okay. We got another confirmation that it is a boy, and I’ve been feeling him move around in there for weeks now. Soon David and Chloe will be able to feel it, too.

Musings :: Kid’s Bathroom

Published January 19, 2011 Design , Home 3 Comments
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This kid’s bath kicks butt!

The hall bathroom in our new addition will also be the kid’s bathroom. Originally, I thought we’d save money by choosing plain white wall tile, whatever bargain basement floor tile we could find, and just try to spruce it up with paint. After all, it is the room most likely to be trashed by little hands (and later teenagers) right? Well, maybe not, according to David. He made a good point that it will also be the bathroom most used by the household, including guests, so why not make it the nice bathroom and our master the cheap bathroom?

So then I went back to the drawing board in my mind, and I think I’ve had some better ideas after thinking it through.

First of all, the one thing we’ve been able to agree on is the white IKEA Godmorgon/Odensvik sink (similar to below). For the kid’s bath, we’ll get the less-expensive single sink version (I thought the double version at first, but David thinks it is unlikely that the kids will be using the bathroom at the same time once they get older since they will be boy & girl). Besides being both budget-friendly and modern looking, the other thing I like is that the kids will be able to push their step stools underneath the sink when not in use.

By keeping the tile and fixtures white, a lot of fun can be had with paint color. Maybe a bright blue or green, or perhaps the addition of a wall decal to liven things up. In this way, it would be nice enough for adults, but also fun for the kids.

Now lets just imagine… for example, right now Chloe loves owls. Although spendy, I found that Target currently carries really cute Owl bathroom accessories. Aren’t they adorable?


Awesome Owls Bath Coordinates Collections

Awesome Owls 3pc Towel Set

Hoot Bath Coordinates Collections – Tan

And after a quick search for wall decals I found this Owl on Tree wall decal on Etsy which can be custom colored and then tie every thing together. Can you imagine what a cool bathroom it could be? So many possibilities. The hard part is limiting to items that will fit our budget, but it sure is fun to imagine! 🙂


Owl on Tree – 090 – Vinyl Sticker Wall Decal on Etsy

Musings :: Master Bathroom

Published January 18, 2011 Design , Home 5 Comments
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I’ve been looking at a lot of bathroom photos lately, now that ours will soon be torn out. Some of these photos just blow me away with their beauty and style. Although the luxe options shown here are way out of our price range, the challenge is figuring out why they look so good, and if it is possible to glean some of their magic with more widely-available and affordable options. For example, I’ve noticed I tend to like the contrast of dark brown and white. I also like glass tile, especially in aqua and other shades of blues and greys. I think bathrooms are one of those rooms that can stand a little drama, especially now that we’ll have more than one.

And here are some important lessons I learned when we remodeled our existing bathroom 5 years ago:

1) Although I like the look, using 1×1 floor tiles and 2×2 wall tile leaves A LOT of grout to clean. Not making that mistake again.

2) In order to save money, we didn’t do any accents. The walls are white and the floor is gray. We call it “classic,” but it really just looks kinda plain.

3) Our current bath faucet doesn’t let us adjust for pressure, just on and off. We ended up buying a special bath toy so Chloe could play with a small steady drip of water in the bathtub and not a loud deluge.

4) We left the old ugly tub because it would have cost a fortune to replace (we’d have to rip out the exterior wall just to get it out). Since then I have always lamented not replacing that yucky thing. The effect of the remodel was ruined by how worn that tub was. It will be a relief when it is finally gone!


For fun, I priced the Heath Ceramic Oval tiles (shown above) at Ann Sacks – $75 per sq foot, meaning that the dark blue tile must have cost over $4000 alone, not including installation. OMG!


This vertical blue accent is striking. We’re going to do something like it in our shower, aligned with the showerhead and faucet. Maybe blue glass?

Feldman Architecture modern bathroom
We have gray glass tiles similar to this as our backsplash in the kitchen. Unfortunately they are on the wall that will be ripped away to open the kitchen into the new dining area. Oh well.


Sorry, I don’t have links to every photo – I didn’t collect them originally with the intention of sharing, but I did go back and find links for some.


And so it begins…

Published January 18, 2011 Home 2 Comments
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David and Alex completely removed our cedar deck on Sunday. It was step one toward beginning site prep for our new foundation. The weather was awful, grey, pouring rain, cold and muddy, but they managed to get it done in a few short hours. It feels weird to look out there now and see no deck. I can only imagine things will get much weirder as work progresses.


David playing with Chloe through the kitchen window.


Top portion removed to reveal the mud and dirt underneath. Then completely gone.

Home addition!

Published January 12, 2011 Home , pregnancy 9 Comments
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Big news – As of right now, we are currently moving forward with plans to add on to our house! Can you believe it? For years David and I have been discussing  ideas on how an addition would make our tiny home so much more liveable. And now I think it might finally happen!

How will it look? Well, basically our plan calls for a rectangular push out into the back yard. We’ll be losing our office space (boo!) to re-convert back to the garage, and losing our existing bathroom to make way for a hall. We’ll be putting both those rooms back within the new space, but what we’re really gaining is a large dining room (and possible small play space) and a second bathroom! What we are also not doing is making any changes to the kitchen, which is hard since it is so tiny, but it is serviceable, and we’ve decided it isn’t as high a priority to us as being able to sit at a real dining table.

That is one of the hardest parts about planning out our new space – figuring out what our priorities are. We plan on living here for a long time and raising two kids, plus we have a dog. It didn’t make sense to do just a part of it now, and hope that we’d add on again later. It is much more cost-effective to break up the house just this one time. And honestly, I’m nervous (and pregnant!). How will we cope with all the racket of construction as we continue to live in the house? How will Chloe nap (light sleeper that she is)? What about dirt, dry-wall dust and other airborne particles with a newborn baby around? Will there even be a working bathroom during my last trimester? So much to think about!

Lastly, all we can do right now is design on paper, but we all know that the way things look on paper and how they look (and feel) in real-life can be different. There are so many questions and choices. I can only hope we are making the right ones for us!

Just for the record, our humble shoe-box ranch looks nothing like Niek Geurts‘s modernist Lego house (above). While we love modern, our neighborhood association is strict about matching the current look of the structure. With my husband and daughter so into Legos right now, I thought it was a cool example of the possibilities.

Crafty Felt Fun

Published January 11, 2011 Crafts & Sewing 3 Comments
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My friend Greta is literally about to pop with baby-girl number two, yet somehow she has found the time and energy to post about some amazing felt toys and accessories that she’s made for her two-and-a half year old daughter, Ava. I can’t help but find these objects beautiful, functional, and oh-so-inspiring! Click on the links for more details and photos on her blog.

Hair clip ribbon with leaf pocket for ponytail holders

Felt Roll-Up Play Mat

Felt Tea-time Goodies and other Play Foods

One snowy day

Published January 9, 2011 baby , outdoors 5 Comments
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Although I lamented that our Colorado visit would include no snow, it finally did snow the day before we left. It was perfect: cold, soft, white, and a special experience for Chloe that she will rarely ever get in our part of Oregon. She had a great time, especially being pulled on her first sled ride. Despite freezing fingers and a rudolph-like red nose, she hardly seemed bothered by the falling temperature. I had to go in and warm up long before she did (plus my camera was getting soaked). Chloe was just having too much fun.

And here is the one glimpse I saw of the wood-pile rabbit. What a cutie!

New Year’s Goals

Published January 2, 2011 Life 7 Comments
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“In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.”

This is a quote by Robert A. Heinlein that my father-in-law has taped to his computer monitor. I noticed it while we were visiting Colorado, and it made me think for a moment. I realized then that I kind of stopped having goals for a while, especially after I got pregnant in September and the terrible morning sickness started. At that point, it was all I could do to focus on existing. I’m glad Chloe will not remember any of it.

Like millions of other people, I am starting to think about the goals I’d like to accomplish in the coming year. Unfortunately, I pretty much failed on my last year’s goals, as easy as they could have been. The problem with me (besides much that I’ll not list here) is that I am simply not a creature of habit. I sincerely dislike repetitive tasks, no matter how good they might be for me, or how much I’ll like the end result. It is just something I know about myself. So, the question is, if I am not goal-oriented, what am I? How do I go about effectively choosing and prioritizing my goals, and how can I accomplish them?

Despite what I just wrote, I am capable of goal-setting and success. Many big things like “getting a degree,” “trip to Europe,” “buying a house,” and “starting a family,” have been accomplished. Small things like “making my bed everyday,” “drinking more water” or “keeping an organized desk” simply haven’t survived, no matter how many times I’ve tried.

So, where to focus? There’s lots to choose from – my kid(s), our finances, our home, family, the things that make us happy, retirement, the future… these are things I’ll be reflecting on in the coming days and weeks, to try and develop some “clearly defined goals.” I encourage everyone to do a little reflecting of your own, if you haven’t already, and please feel free to share your thoughts on the subject!

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