THE LITTLE THINGS: My Life Lately

I am 24 weeks along today and this baby is getting big!

 

 

 

I decided to give my sparkly Christmas reindeer a permanent home on my kitchen shelf because I love it so much. I know, how Anthropologie of me right?

 

 

 

Cats are drawn to things that give off heat in the winter. No surprise there.

 

 

 

 

We made Giada's White Bean Chicken Chili which was exciting because it has Swiss Chard in it and I love using ingredients I never cook with.

 

 

 

Georgia loves to be in the kitchen when we cook, but she's not that helpful.

 

 

 

FAMILY: Christmas Brunch

Yesterday Charlie and I hosted his family for a Christmas Brunch. It was quite a success, but a little chaotic having so many people in our humble little house. Once I got past people having their snowy shoes on our Anthropologie living room rug it was quite an enjoyable morning. Which reminds me. I really hate when people say "just wait until you have kids". Does having kids mean you can't have nice stuff and you can't at least try to teach them to treat things nicely? Anyway, we served a breakfast strada with maple sausage, egg and cheese, I made homemade pain au chocolate (when you buy baking chocolate make sure it says semi-sweet and not unsweetened - oops!), fruit salad with a honey-lime dressing and we had a drink bar with Bloody Mary's, Mimosas and sparkling cider for the pregnant and under age. Sigh. Charlie also set up a coffee bar and made hand brewed coffee for everyone on the Chemex! I think being pregnant is heightening the stress level of the holidays for me. I've kind of been a little monster and I'd like to take a moment to apologize to my husband and thank him for his patience. Love you! Hope everyone is having a calm and happy holiday! :)

HOME: Before & After Frames

My spray paint makeover obsession continues. These simple white frames were about $1 a piece at Target. A little bit of red spray paint plus my beloved cat prints and voila - the frames add some instant quirk to an empty dinning room wall. And they match the red chairs!

Cat prints are from Matou en Peluche via Etsy

HOME: Living Room Progress

Two small developments in the living room that have made a huge difference.

1) Getting the glass made to top our beloved eBay score - the vintage Hollywood Regency coffee table. Please note the little ram heads and hooves. I love it so much.

2) Charlie finally hung up the sconces from Etsy. They are circa 1965 and super groovy baby! I like how they play off of the diamonds in the rug.

DIY: Rustoleum!

Tarnished rusted metal objects plaguing your home? Don't throw them away. Spray paint them! Rustoleum spray paint has become our new best friend. When we first moved in we painted some silver light fixtures in the kitchen so they matched the oiled bronze hardware we put on the cabinets. Then we had our bathroom remodeled and could not find a medicine cabinet with the same charm as the vintage one in there - so we refinished that inside and out. Then the thing that was bugging me the most - the hideous mailbox on the front of the house, which can not be replaced until we paint said house because the mailbox has made scratch marks behind it. We sanded it down with some rough paper, wiped it down, then applied two coats of hunter green Rustoleum. If you want you can also use a primer first, which we did for the medicine cabinet, but not the mailbox. Honestly its like magic the way it makes things look new again! P.S. Shout out to the husband for doing most of the leg work on this project.

                   BEFORE:                                                                    AFTER: