kitschicagoan - a destination for creative inspiration.

Kickaroos

2012-08-23T22:35:00.002-05:00

It's been a while! When I wrote my last post, Claire was not yet walking. She did that about a month later, at 13 months.

She turns 17 months tomorrow, and we have just signed up for her first soccer program. Time really flies!

Claire is at that age where she is running all over the place, loves balls (kicking & throwing them) and listening to a few directions as she plays probably wouldn't hurt her either ;-)

She needed a few soccer essentials before she hits the turf in September so these should be arriving at our doorstep from Zappos soon!

Adidas Sambas:

An adorable Adidas Warm-up Suit:

I'll be sure to post a pic of her once she hits the field.

Claire's Colorful 1st Birthday Party

2012-03-25T21:07:00.000-05:00

We could not have asked for a more beautiful day for Claire's 1st Birthday! Our home was filled with family, friends and the cutest, newest one year-old around. Life is good.

The party came together over time. You might remember me pinning and purchasing a Freckles + Kitty dress for Claire from Zulily when she was merely 3 month old. It was the inspiration for the party, and I was praying that it fit since she jumped up from a 10th percentile peanut to a 90th percentile big girl in the course of the last 9 months.

And it did! Here she is in the dress, hanging out with Great Grandma Rose at her party:

Here are some photos of the party, and details of the DIY elements as well.

First the invites, designed by my talented Graphic Designer sister, Jessica:

She also created these printable icons from the invite for me to use for cupcake toppers.

DIY Two-sides Cupcake Toppers How-To:

1. Cut out icons with a 1-inch circle punch

2. Cut brightly colored cardstock with a 1.5 inch scalloped circle punch

3. Use clear drying tacky/craft glue to adhere one icon to side one.

4. Use craft glue to adhere a colored toothpick to the side two, and cover with a second icon.

5. Let dry and have fun decorating!

Here are the homemade (from a box, don't get too excited) and hand-decorated cupcakes, with toppers on a Wilton 4-Tier Stacked Cupcake Tower.

The edible colored pearls are from etsy seller, CupcakeSocial. The frosting is simply store-bought whipped chocolate and whipped white frosting (whipped is key for ease and fluff) piped from a disposable Wilton cake decorating bag with star tip.

Next, we made Claire her own "smash cake" out of a giant cupcake mold. We topped it with a personalized cake banner using the same scalloped circles from above, silver alphabet stickers, some pink ribbon and two 6-inch bamboo skewers. The giant cupcake wrapper is lined with two coffee filters (to soak up any oil, etc), covered with pink tissue paper, and tied with an orange ribbon... complete with a #1 pink polka dot candle.

We also used the same colored cardstock to make a banner for her highchair:

And a close-up of her custom party hat from etsy seller, Dainty Couture:

Her gift from mommy and daddy, an orange Nod Chair and personalized growth chart:

We decorated our mantle with colorful polka dot fabric, a poster version of the invitation, colorful vases from her nursery, pinwheels (were going to be DIY but found them at Target around Valentine's Day instead) and we kept our Chicago/St. Louis decor in place to represent where she was born and where she now lives...

Her monthly photos were displayed in our china cabinet with a yarn-wrapped "C":

Coloring station for the bigger kids. Coloring books, stickers and pink bins all from Target's $1 aisle. We used our Crate & Barrel Table in a Bag (wedding gift) since it was perfect height for tiny tots:

We also lined our walkway leading to the front door with pinwheels:

And we had a favor table filled with grab bag goodies (this is an after photo, forgot to take a before):

Put on your party hats, it's time to open gifts:

And then there was cake...

What a fun day!

birthday girls

2012-03-24T08:00:00.000-05:00

Happy 1st Birthday to our beautiful, comical daughter, Claire... the light of our lives.

Happy 1st Birthday (+25) to my talented sister, Jessica...the designer behind this and so many, many more creative things.

Repurposed Vintage Milk Bottle Carrier Chandelier

2012-03-22T00:18:00.000-05:00

That post title just rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? But that is exactly what I have to share with you today, my Repurposed Vintage Milk Bottle Carrier Chandelier!

This is definitely a "look for less" story. A few months ago, I pinned a chandelier I found on shadesoflight.com knowing full well that I would never pay the $999 price tag. See below.

But I didn't forget about it either. It inspired me to hunt online for a vintage bottle carrier of my own to transform into a custom-made light for less.

I ended up winning this beauty on eBay back in early February for $37 +$12.50 for shipping (it's dang heavy!) for a grand total of $49.50.

With my inspiration photo and my newly won rusty, metal carrier in hand, I enlisted the the help of my trusty friend Joe, who just happens to be an electrician, to execute my master plan.

I'm not up on all the technical/electrical lingo here, but from here all I know is that that he welded some things, wired some other things, added the chain and spray painted the rest for a total supply cost of around $80 including light bulbs.

That's right, we have an every-bit-as-good-if-not-better, chandelier for a grand total of $130. That's a savings of $869 if you are keeping track.

Of course, I did not let Joe's talents go unnoticed, but even with our token of appreciation to him, we still created a wonderful light for less than 1/4 of the retail price found online. Thanks, Joe, for helping bring my vision to light! I couldn't be more pleased; here are the results:

A 'Before' House Tour

2012-03-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

Now that we have settled in to our new home and done the truly important things (like get Internet access), I wanted to post a "before" house tour as promised. These are the images of our home taken from the listing and the inspection, so they still have the previous owner's flair.

House Stats:

Built in 1920's but majorly renovated in 2007
2-Story, with painted brick on the original home and siding on the second floor addition.
4 Bed, 2.5 Bath, ~2300 square feet
Unfinished, walkout basement
Backyard with a deck, and with a detached 2-car garage
Established neighborhood lined with large, old trees
One block from a great elementary school & playground, 5 minutes to daycare and about 12 minutes to work :-)

Exterior/Street View:

Looking at entry from Living Room:

Living Room:
Dining Room:

Living/Dining/Stairs/Main Hallway:

Looking at Stairs and Living Room from Dining Room:

Family Room and Door to Back Deck:

Kitchen:

Eat in Nook and Kitchen Pantry:

Half Bath/Powder Room on Main Level:

Master Bath (the purple walls and ceiling were the first thing to go, before we even moved in):

Master Bedroom (same with the silver paint, bye-bye):

Now Claire's Bedroom:

Soon-to-be-Office and Sewing/Craft Room:

2nd Floor Laundry:

There she is! We can't wait to start some small projects so we'll have some 'afters' to compare vey soon.

Home Sweet Soon-to-Be Home

2012-02-17T11:18:00.000-06:00

With moving day fast approaching (without any roadblocks in sight), I have decided to share a photo of the house that will soon be ours in St. Louis. I actually drove by it today after dropping off Claire at daycare and a moving truck was in front, so I feel fairly comfortable that the owner is in fact moving out and that we are well on our way to closing... a step in the right direction!

Here she is, all 4 Bed / 2.5 Bath & 2,300 square feet of her...

Once we move in I will post a "before" house tour, as in photos with the previous owners belongings and decor. And of course, as we add our personal touches and venture into some DIY projects, I'll be sure to post those as well.

Vintage Milk Bottle Carrier

2012-02-06T16:14:00.000-06:00

I got a special delivery today! It's the muse for my next DIY project for our new home. A vintage milk bottle carrier!

I can't wait until this project comes to light ;-)

Wallpaper Remnants?

2012-01-27T10:57:00.002-06:00

I'm really loving this accent wall idea that I found on Pinterest.

Source: bhg.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

I found it while searching for photos of Orla Kiely Flower Blossom Wallpaper, which unfortunately is out of stock right now on her site:

But if I could get my hands on even a few scrap pieces of it, or something with a similar feel, I'd love to make a wall like this in our new home.

Any ideas where I could find wallpaper remnants? Do they even exist?

A look back at our loft

2012-01-18T23:14:00.002-06:00

While we actively search for our new home in Saint Louis, living back under the roofs of our gracious parents, I find myself reminiscing about the last place of our own that we left behind in Chicago.

Even when we lived there, I'm not sure that I ever posted photos of our entire loft, rather than just snippets here and there. So here is a little belated tour of our former Chicago home.

The Exterior:

Our Entry:

Living Area:

Kitchen:

Eat-in/Dining Area:

Master Bedroom:

Master Bath:

Claire's Nursery:

Claire's/Guest Bath:

Hallway 1/2 Bath:

Deck:

Shared Rooftop Deck:

With a view of the city that will always have a special place in our hearts:

Kitschicagoan has Relocated

2012-01-08T22:27:00.000-06:00

It's official, kitschicagoan no longer resides in Chicago.

After almost a decade, I am once again a St. Louisan.

It was hard to say goodbye to our wonderful life and beautiful loft, but we are excited for our new adventure in St. Louis, MO. Here we are in close proximity to Claire's grandparents (very close proximity, as in under the same roof, until we find our perfect home!) and are excited to reconnect with our Missouri roots.

I hope to get reacquainted with blogging very soon and can't wait to document the process of making a whole house our very own. New name suggestions for the blog are welcome!

37/37

2011-12-08T22:19:00.001-06:00

Today Claire is 37 weeks old, and I was 37 weeks along when we welcomed her into the world.

I can hardly believe that our little bear has been with us on the outside now as long as I carried her on the inside. She is so grown up now and such a little blessing :-)

Someone Loves Apples & Sweet Potators...

2011-10-22T17:19:00.002-05:00

Fall Photo Shoot

2011-10-09T21:28:00.000-05:00

This weekend we took advantage of the gorgeous Chicago weather and had a play day in Oz Park.

Since our big girl is now six months old, I thought I'd document the milestone with a mini photo shoot. Claire was a trooper and stayed out in the fresh air for over 3 hours, doing nothing more than relaxing and posing for mommy of course.

Big News! She can sit up on her own now, too :-)

We also met up with our friends, so I snapped a few cute ones of them as well:

Claire was officially tuckered out:

The Vintage Bazaar: This Sunday

2011-09-17T10:34:00.000-05:00

A head's up to all my Chicago friends, that the Vintage Bazaar is popping up tomorrow just around the corner from my lovely abode.

You'll find me, and lots of vintage-loving others, in Logan Square at the historic Congress Theater (2135 N. Milwaukee Ave.) tomorrow, Sunday 9/18 sometime between the hours of 11-6.

Happy thrifting!

Happy 5 Months, Claire!

2011-08-23T21:36:00.008-05:00

Happy 5 Months, Claire! Daddy did a little math today and came to the summation that you have been in our lives for 154 days, and every one of them has been a blessing.

Just recently you have mastered rolling over and are waking up in middle of the night with surprise from your newest feat. We don't mind though, because it's fun to see you over on your belly and you usually go right back to sleep when we flip you over or give you a binky.

You are also a drooling queen, so we suspect some major teething is going on in that tiny mouth.

We plan to let you try your first taste of solid food this weekend, likely just a little rice cereal to see how you do, and then we'll move on to the good stuff. Speaking of food, I guess we need to order a high chair pronto! Can't wait to see how you do with a spoon big girl!

And since we're on the topic of being a big girl, although you look pretty chunky, you're still a bit of a peanut, wearing a size behind your age group in most clothing. Your 0-3 month footed sleepers, however, are just now starting to get snug in the feet and short in the arms so 3-6 month sleepers here we come.

Mommy & Daddy can't wait to see what the next month brings!

Big Obsession with Tiny Prints

2011-07-25T07:00:00.000-05:00

Have you ever checked out Tiny Prints? For the price of many store-bought cards, you can make modern, personalized greeting cards, invites & more.

I remember stumbling across the site back when I was planning my wedding because they are affiliated with Wedding Paper Divas, but just recently I came back to the Tiny Prints site and have been so impress with the quality and creative options available.

Our first set was for Father's Day, both for first time daddy and the grand-dads:

Grandpa L's Front:

Grandpa L's Inside:

Grandpa C's Front:

Grandpa C's Inside:

Daddy's Front:

Daddy's Inside:

And then they had some great options for my husband's birthday, as well:

Daddy Front:

Daddy Inside:

Dave Front:

Dave Inside:

They even let you personalize the back with a tiny little photo and phrase:

Once you create your cards, you can either send the card to yourself if you are going to give it to the recipient in person, or you can have them send it directly to your recipient. For me, it's more convenient than picking one up at the store, addressing it, finding or buying a stamp and stopping by a post office myself. Each of these designs was just $3.99 and well worth the extra touch!

Battling Baby's First Cold

2011-07-24T08:00:00.003-05:00

Just two week's into daycare, at 17 weeks old, Claire got her first cough & cold. Everyone keeps telling me that this will be good for her immune system to build up all of those antibodies, but it's hard to keep in mind when your baby girl is struggling to breathe.

We took a trip to the doctor for our first "sick" visit, just to make sure it wasn't more serious, and luckily it was not. Just a cold that can last 7-10 days. Since there is really no medicine you can give a 4-month-old for a cold (really nothing for up to 4-years-old!), I thought I'd share the things that are making this more bearable for Claire-Bear.

1.) Fisher-Price Newborn Rock 'n Play Sleeper

Claire has been sleeping in her crib at night from day one, but we always had this around the house for naps since it is so portable and it's the only seat that is approved for sleep. From the reviews, the elevated seat has been a life-saver for many reflux babies, but little did I know it would come in so handy when our baby had a head cold! Our pediatrician recommended that Claire sleep elevated to help her breathe, so in lieu of propping up her crib mattress or having her sleep in the car seat, the Rock 'n Play is a much more comfortable solution and is working like a charm.

2.) Good, old-fashion hospital bulb nasal aspirator.

We bought this fancy, battery operated one and it is terrible. It has no suction and is basically only worth the music that it plays when you press the button. But the little blue bulb we took home from the hospital for free? Priceless!

3.) Crane Ultrasonic Cool Mist Elephant Humidifier

Effective and adorable, all in one. Plus, it matches the animals in Claire's nursery. (Doctor's recommend always using cool-mist humidifiers for children, as opposed to warm-mist, to prevent burns.)

4.) Johnson & Johnson Soothing Vapor Bath (Please Note: This is recommended for babies 3-months and up.)

I actually had this on hand because I used it as a body wash in the shower when I was pregnant and caught a bad cold. Since I was unable to use cold medicine, this and vapor rub were a lifesaver. We pulled it out on Thursday night and gave Claire a vapor bath and I think it really helped.

5.) Lastly, lots of snuggles and cuddles. We are lucky that between the coughs, Claire has remained in pretty good spirits with her cold.

I hope this post helps a few more mom's as they tackle their little one's first bout of coughs and congestion!

First Family Photo Shoot

2011-07-23T21:12:00.007-05:00

Just after Claire turned 3 months old we had our first family photos taken by Pamela Quigley while we were visiting family and friends in St. Louis. We met early in the morning at Bee Tree Park on a hot day, heavy with humidity, but Pamela's photos look so light and airy that you would never know it.

I felt like we were totally on the same page in terms of styling the shoot, and style in general. I bought this fun picnic blanket from Land of Nod for our picnic theme and we also brought some special touches, like my late grandmother's picnic basket and the vintage letterpress blocks I bought for Claire just after she was born.

Check out all of the photos here, but I have posted some of my favorites in this post.

We are so happy with our photos and if you are in the St. Louis area, I highly recommend Pamela for any of your future photo shoots.

The Claire Project

2011-07-23T10:19:00.009-05:00

If we are friends on Facebook, if you follow me on flickr, or you ever click on the top bar of my blog, you might be familiar with our weekly photos of Claire.

Now, I can't take credit for this fabulous fabric idea, which I borrowed from Young House Love's Clara Project (right down to a similar name for our baby girl!), but I will take the credit for wrangling our wiggly baby weekly and getting some ok shots along the way.

Each week (Thursday mornings for the first 14 weeks and now Saturday mornings since I have been back to work), I dress Claire in a short-sleeve white onesie, lay some fabric out and get to work. I try to do this in the morning so that the sun is coming through our windows just right. For a while, I laid the fabric on the couch cushion, but now that she is bigger I lay it on the floor over our area rug. Also, I highly recommend doing this after a feeding. In my experience, full belly = happy baby.

Most weeks I use one yard of fabric, usually bought on-sale from JoAnn, but sometimes I throw in a pretty printed sheet, baby blanket or other type of fabric object I find around the house. Basically, if you are handy with a camera and with Photoshop, you can achieve the same thing by following this handy YHL tutorial.

So here are the results this far:

And here are close-ups of a few milestone weeks along the way...

Week One:

Week Six:

Week Twelve:

And today, Week Seventeen:

It's really fun to click back and forth through the photos so far to see how much Claire has changed, especially from the first to the last.

At the year's end, I plan to do a few things.

1. Make a blurb book documenting Claire's first year.

2. Print all 52 images and display them at her 1st birthday party. Maybe like this:

3. Also, I plan to either learn to sew, or commission my sewing sisters, to create a few things out of the fabric, such as this pillow I found on pinterest:

Or maybe even a quilt, like Sherry made from YHL:

35 weeks to go! Only time will tell how our Claire Project project ends up for us.

Happy Birthday, Dave!

2011-07-21T22:18:00.002-05:00

Happy Birthday to a great husband and a terrific father!

Happy 4th of July!

2011-07-04T09:59:00.002-05:00

Happy Independence Day, from our little sparkler!

Hand-Painted Onesies: Erin Lynn Designs

2011-06-22T07:39:00.008-05:00

Recently I was the lucky winner of two hand-painted, custom-made onesies from Erin Lynn Designs.

Erin's business is new to Facebook; thus, she offered a giveaway drawing for 2 free stenciled baby bodysuits once she hit 100 "likes" and I was the randomly picked winner...woo hoo!

Here is what she created for our Claire Bear:

And this one was part of our Father's Day gift to my CPA husband, "Daddy's lil Tax Deduction":

I think they turned out great and are an unique addition to Claire's growing wardrobe. By the way, she also creates some beautiful baby blankets if you are in the market for a gift.

Last but not least, is some good news for you: Erin Lynn Designs is offering up another giveaway when she hits 200 "likes" so head over to her Facebook page and like it today for a chance to win!

I blame this dress...

2011-06-22T00:03:00.006-05:00

...for inspiring a crazy woman to start cataloging ideas for Claire's 1st Birthday already.

And yes, if you are keeping track, she turns just 3 months old this week :-)

And yes, the crazy woman is me.

Isn't it adorable though? It was a great deal today on zulily.

For the record, I do not want this year to rush by whatsoever. In fact, I wish I could press pause and freeze time with her with each passing day, but you never know when & where inspiration will strike and today there was no denying it. The colors, patterns and textures from the dress are perfect for a future Claire Celebration.

So if you are interested in my proactive party-planning ideas, check them out on this pinterest board. And if you have any ideas that fit the vibe, please share! I have nothing but 9 more months of time.

First Father's Day

2011-06-19T08:00:00.001-05:00

Happy First Father's Day to the best new daddy I know.

Claire is a very lucky little girl.

Drink Your Vegetables

2011-06-10T11:27:00.003-05:00

I really needed a way to pack in some more nutrients to my maternity leave diet. Most of my daytime meals are whatever I can fix in a flash, often microwave leftovers or quick snacks with a few too many boxes of mac n cheese making an appearance. Veggies are usually for dinner only...if we're lucky.

Since I had been hearing a lot about Green Smoothies (smoothies including fresh greens such as spinach or kale), I decided to give one a try for breakfast today and I really just winged it.

First, I threw some blueberries in the freezer overnight to chill the smoothie and act as my "ice", but in the future I will likely get frozen fruit to skip this step. If I'm going to freeze it anyway, frozen fruit is cheaper and less perishable.

Next, I layered the following ingredients in my blender:

1 large handful of frozen fresh blueberries
6 fresh strawberries
2+ handfuls of fresh baby spinach
1 whole banana
enough skim milk to cover the blueberries below

I gave it a few pulses, stirred it with a spoon to get the spinach to sink down, and proceeded to blend. This was the result:

My only trouble is I woke a sleeping baby with the blender...oops:

Here it is ready to drink, and wow was it delicious! I like spinach, but even if you are a greens hater this is a great way to hide them from yourself, or your family, because you really can't taste them!

Moral of the story: Do not fear the green smoothie (which is actually purple). I think I'll add even more spinach next time!