HOUSEography

Screen Porch: Furniture and More

2012-05-31T08:00:00.000-04:00

Just moments before Alex's birthday party, we loaded the furniture into our finally finished screen porch. I was so happy to see how well it fit and it just felt right.

The sofa and swivel chair are from Sears 3 years ago. I think it was the Country Living line but they still have something very similar. The coffee table was a thrifty find from Goodwill a few months ago - $15 for a hard rock maple table?! Yes, please. This reminds me that I haven't been to a Goodwill in a few months. I need to rectify that this weekend. Of course, when I bought the table, I did not know where I was going to put it. I like the campy feel it has and I love two-level coffee tables because of the extra storage and display space they provide.

I bought this wheeled cooler from Kohls online a few years ago. It's such a great piece and makes grabbing a cold drink so much more refined!

I still have a lot of decorating left to do in here. I'm going to put my curtains back up I think. I may need to make a trip to Ikea to get another rod or two and I'm not sure when I'll have time to do that. Not for a few weeks I think.

The table is clearly not permanent. I sold the old table at our yard sale earlier this spring. I'm hoping I can make a rectangular table work and plan to put my yard sale proceeds towards a new one. I have my eye on a table at World Market but I'm holding out for a sale or good coupon (let me know if you see one!). I'm hoping to try out my folding table here to get an idea for the size to be sure it will work before I lug it home!

I'm looking forward to temperatures in the 70s this weekend so we can spend lots of time out here. I need to do some big thinking about our landscaping. We definitely need a little more shade and privacy so some strategic tree placement is in order.

Still, it has been so great to eat dinner outside (when it's not pouring rain and thundering!). Handy Hubby has had a couple of opportunities to work from home over the last week and swears he is more productive when he's out there!

Any outside projects in the works? Table shopping?

Family Room: Putting my feet up in comfort

2012-05-29T08:00:00.000-04:00

Hope everyone had a great long weekend. We spent part of it in upstate New York with my family for my sister-in-law's baby shower. So excited to meet that little guy or girl - they aren't finding out the sex which I love! We didn't find out for either of our children and although the suspense nearly killed me (especially the second time around), it made the delivery that much more fun and exciting. Back to the blog...

When we got our new sectional a few months ago, it quickly became apparent that our coffee table was not going to cut it any more. It was a hand-me-down from my parents who bought it at Macy's circa 1973 soon after they were married. I really wanted an ottoman here instead to make movie and TV watching more comfortable and enjoyable. We also don't need a coffee table here because we have one in our living room which is great for games, puzzles, etc.

So, I set about looking for an ottoman. I was looking for something between 30 and 34" square. This gave us a little more floor space but gave everyone sitting on the sectional a place to rest their feet. I was open to fabric and leather, but did not want pleather or vinyl. Turns out - this was no easy feat! Most ottomans were small - around 24" or huge McMansion ottomans - closer to 40" squire, or made of vinyl/pleather. Not going to work for our small family room. You can see some of my finds on my Pinterest board.

Then I considered making an ottoman. In theory, it probably would have worked but I think ultimately, I would have ended up buying something after a few years. I feared it would look homemade which I most certainly did not want in my family room where we spend all of our time.

I scoured HomeGoods/Marshalls/TJ Maxx, Target, World Market, Macys, JC Penney, Kohls, etc., but none of my discount sources were revealing anything great. I found a few good options on One Kings Lane and Joss & Main but nothing perfect enough to take the plunge on something non-returnable!

Finally, it came along on Gilt in a Safaviah sale earlier this month. Clean lines, not too much tufting to interfere with magnatiles or other toys which make it onto this surface. And the $239.00 price tag didn't hurt either. It's just about 30" square and the fabric is called gray but it has tan undertones which work well with the rug, curtains, and other golds and greens in the room.

Fortunately the 3 week delivery window turned out to be only about 4 days! I couldn't believe it when I came home and found it on my front porch on a Thursday afternoon. When we first put it together, right before Alex's birthday party, I have to admit, I thought it was way too small. In hindsight, I think it was just an adjustment from the too-big coffee table which was wider and taller. The ottoman actually fits the scale of the room and sofa better than the table did.

I love the tweed-like texture which plays off the sofa and other fabrics in the room. I put together a little summer centerpiece while I was at it. All the better for blogging from!

Any furniture purchases in your neck of the woods? Fun Memorial Day weekend stuff? Did you watch the Hatfields and McCoys on the History Channel?

Cowboy Birthday Party for Alex!

2012-05-25T13:24:00.002-04:00

We hosted a birthday round-up for Alex last Sunday afternoon. I love having "family" parties for toddlers with kids enjoying cupcakes while the parents enjoy a beer (and a cupcake!).

Although Alex originally wanted another car-themed birthday party, I was able to convince him of a cowboy theme. I wanted it because it's perfect for little boys and girls - lots of dress-up! We had about 35 friends along for the ride.

Here's the birthday boy sporting his new t-shirt custom made by my friend Mari. I love their stuff!

We set up a dress-up table just inside the gate where most people came in. The kids grabbed a hat, bandana, and...

a mustache!!

Here's Handy Hubby testing out a mustache...

A quick shot of our backyard with our bean bag toss game out and ready for action.

For food, we served taquitos (from the frozen food department at BJs Warehouse - YUM!), watermelon, chips, 2 kinds of salsa, and cream cheese & pepper jelly dip. Of course, we had cake and cupcakes too! I bought cupcakes from the grocery store and put plastic sheriff badges on each from the dollar store. The kids could take the badges home with them.

Handy Hubby made the cake and I decorated it. I love how it came out.

So did Alex!

Even my blog-friend-turned-real-life-friend came with baby Maddox!

Happy 3rd Birthday Alex!!

Screen Porch: Construction Complete - Finally!

2012-05-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

I am happy to say that the porch is finished. We added about 40 square feet but it feels like we doubled the size. It's aaaaaamazing. I love it and I want to sit out there all the time. It gives me a reason to walk through our living room!

As a reminder, here's the before (which doesn't look all that bad just smaller and not as bright)...

I attribute the better feeling to the ceiling most of all. Having a cathedral ceiling with loads of light pouring in through the open gable end and skylight seems to make the whole project worth it. Although it wasn't the quickest project, I think the end result is worth it and Jim pulled it off in the end. Of course, I'm already thinking about tiling the floor down the road but that will have to wait for Handy Hubby to recover from this event.

This also highlights the need to get some more screening landscaping between us and our neighbors. We love our neighbors but not their air conditioners and trash cans!

Next up bringing the furniture back in and getting a new rug and dining table. Mmmmm... shopping :)

Screen Porch: Lighting

2012-05-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Had to share a quick lighting update because I am sooooo excited about it. The combination of great looking lights and affordability are so rare. For what it's worth, I tend to like the style of Lowes lighting as opposed to Home Depot when I'm not looking to break the bank. If I am looking to break the bank, Restoration Hardware all the way.

First the below lanterns are from Lowes. Sorry for the blurry pic! Hard to beat the $29 price tag.

The fan is from Home Depot and it's their basic Hunter Bay indoor/outdoor fan. We had intended to use our old fan but it did not survive the renovation so we had to get a new one. Probably a blessing because I like the cleaner lines of this one and it's actually meant for outdoor use whereas our other fan was not.

Still struggling over the lamp outside the back door. So far I haven't found the right thing but I'm hoping I run across the right solution soon!!

I'll share some finished porch pictures really soon!

Screen Porch: Paint Problem Solved

2012-05-14T08:00:00.000-04:00

Our paint problem got solved mid-week last week with some simple paint matching. Of course, finding a piece of existing trim that could be removed and replaced easily proved a bit of a challenge but one of the base pieces of the front porch columns did the trick.

Here's what was greeting me when I got home on Monday night last week.

By the end of the week, everything was repainted and it now looks like this...

Still to come - lighting, screens, and floor paint. We're so close I can almost taste it!

Hope everyone had a beautiful Mother's Day! After an absolutely jam-packed Saturday, Sunday was so relaxing! I spent a great day with my kids, starting with a mouth-watering brunch at one of my favorite local restaurants, Liberty Tavern, followed by a relaxing day at home. My father-in-law snapped this picture on our way to the restaurant.

Happy Mother's Day!

Screen Porch: Paint Problems

2012-05-09T08:00:00.000-04:00

UGH. That's pretty much all I can say right now. We were sooooo close to having this whole porch renovation done this week but now I think that's in jeopardy. I'm still holding out hope that it will be done in time for Alex's birthday party on the 20th but even that seems like a big hope. (for the full play by play, click here).

So what's the hold up? Paint of all things!! Totally not our contractor's fault. I had the original paint can from when we renovated 2.5 years ago. The painters bought some more based on the formula and they started putting it on the porch and it didn't match the existing trim! Huh??? I could imagine this happening if the paint was 5 years old but it's not even 3 years old. The color is really off and not even something I can live with in the short term because it's so obvious.

Here you go...

So the painting stopped which means the gutters are held up and the last of the woodworking and the screens...

I had forgotten how the details at the end are all so dependent on each other so one hold up, puts everything behind.

Still looking forward to painting our porch.

Screen Porch: Ceiling, Oh the Ceiling!

2012-05-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

If you've been around a while following the progress on our porch, you'll remember that the porch ceiling was a source of some angst for me. I debated paint and stain in several variations. Ultimately stain seemed the right way to go, so I sought out a white semi-transparent stain. It wasn't as easy as I thought it would be but I did find several. We ultimately went with Cabot brand.

Here's the result...

Here's what it looked like before.

Still a little bit rustic but still traditional and fitting for our house. I love it.

Some other details have been added now as well including this upright in the peak.

You can also see the first coat of paint but I wish it was a simple story which had already resolved itself, but it's not. More to come on that...

Screen Porch: The Door and Steps

2012-05-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

Well, I'm excited to say that we have a door on our porch and steps to get to the door. I'm a little behind in posting so I'll do some catch up this week (and vent my frustration!!).

Everything will be all painted out to match the existing trim (except the porch floor and steps. These pictures remind me that we need to do something to shield those air conditioners a bit more. Shrubs? Surround? Thoughts?

Rec Room Progress

2012-05-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

I have finally made some progress getting our basement rec room together. Slow progress, but some progress. It still needs some more toys purged from it but generally it's getting much closer to what I want it to be. Of course, I should be spending more time on the treadmill and probably a little less time thinking about the decor!

So, here's where I started back in December. Actually, this picture was from July but it looked the same even in December.

This was way too much furniture for this space. The red leather chair on the left found a new home in Alex's big boy room. The chair and sofa were sold via Craigslist. (Hello $450!)

Next we moved the family room sofa down to the rec room. Our sofa looked like this...

Until I got a slipcover for it and then it looked like this...

Next I brought in one of a pair of chairs previously in the family room (the other is still in the family room), moved in some end tables (one was already here and the other was in the attic), and hung a great new canvas-mounted picture of my kids. Finally my lamps came back fitted out with their $15 Target shades which happened to fit perfectly without a harp. Hooray for happy accidents!

After a little bit of tweaking, the room now looks like this.

More accurately maybe like this...

The sofa works so much better here than it ever did in our family room. Maybe this was all part of my original subconscious plan!

Those end tables work well here as well. They were a hand-me-down from my parents and they have lived in my attic for a few years. They are perfect down here because they have drawers and storage. Need to brain storm the options...

Also, think I need a couple more canvas prints of my kids. Looks like I'll be back on the Groupon hunt! This all leads me to my new color scheme which was previously (in my head only) beachy cream, yellow, blue, and green. Now though I think I am heading in a more colorful playroom direction. I'm not saying wild color everywhere but a few fun pops of color might be in order. It's time to stop fighting the toys which dominate this space but embrace them and their wonderful color!

Doing any furniture swapping in your house? Amazing how different and perfect a piece can feel in a different space.

Lamps Transformed

2012-05-02T08:00:00.000-04:00

I have had these brass lamps since we moved to Arlington 14 years ago. They have followed me through several apartments and now our house. They used to be in our living room but eventually they made it back to the attic where they have lived for several years.

I had contemplating spray painting them for a couple of years. I finally got up the guts to do it last weekend. Enter Rustoleum Harbor Blue.

The lampshade is from Target and just happened to fit over the existing lamp works so I didn't have to get a harp.

More to come tomorrow...

Den: The Rug

2012-05-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

This post is really long overdue since I found this rug back in March! I actually thought I posted about it a while back but clearly I didn't.

And here it is with the new rug...

And a close-up...

It's such a bright and sunny room, it could definitely handle the darker rug (found here). I also wanted something that would be able to stand up to art projects and whatever else my family can dish up. It's an indoor/outdoor rug with no pile so it's relatively easy to slide a chair on it. Also the price was definitely right since I got it on sale for $135 with shipping. These pictures were taken a few weeks ago and the wrinkles have smoothed out considerably since then.

Still hard to believe that this is the same room where my kids slept for the past 5 years!

And now...

I really need to paint that cabinet door this weekend! Have you done any rug shopping lately? Find a great deal?

A Birthday Present for HOUSEography!

2012-04-30T08:00:00.000-04:00

As a birthday present to my dear blog, I got it a mega makeover! She was sorely in need of some changes so here they are...

Lighter, brighter and overall more my style.

[update!! Thanks Casey!] Here's a screen shot of my old blog.

I'm hoping the new blog will be a little easier to navigate and generally easier to read. Thanks to Casey at Sugar Studios for the wonderful work at a great price!

What do you think? Like the new design?

On the porch front, the painters are scheduled to come today to paint!! I'm so excited. Woohoo!

Porch Progress: The last leg (hopefully)

2012-04-25T08:00:00.000-04:00

I am really hoping we are down to the last leg of our screen porch renovation journey. Ideally, we'll be done this week but the weather will have to hold for that to happen.

Here's the view from the back of the house. The area without a railing is the doorway. There's a frame there now but it has been raining here most of the weekend and I didn't get an updated picture.

Here are a couple of close-ups of the railing detail. Loooooove it.

From the front...

I finally made a decision on the porch ceiling. Took a week to make that decision but only about 2 minutes to choose a color for the floor! I'll keep you in suspense for a couple more days. Hopefully I'll be showing final pictures early next week!

Next up will be fixing the landscaping around the porch a bit and get about 20 bags of mulch to fill in what is washed away. The work area is really clean though so I don't think it will take much to make it all nice again... I hope. Our front yard is also in major need of some grass seed and water. Our sprinklers have been turned off throughout the porch renovation so I am itching to get them turned back on and get our grass back in shape.

And then there's furniture... I have my eye on a table which I may fill you in on next week.

Feels good to be in the last few days of this project... I'm ready to eat dinner out there again!

Master Bedroom: More Mirrors

2012-04-24T08:00:00.000-04:00

This is my 500th blog post... hard to believe! I have a blog-iversary gift to my blog (and readers) planned next week. Eye candy!! Can you guess what it is? Now, on with the show...

For a while the pictures over our bed have been bugging me. I really like this original artwork (purchased at a yard sale by my mom many years ago), but it seems a little wasted over the bed where you can't see it. They seem a little too small for the spot and just don't have the impact I wanted.

A few months ago I found a great Crate & Barrel mirror at Goodwill for $20. I didn't know where I was going to use it but I think I may have finally realized that if I see something I really like - no, actually LOVE - for a great price (under $50) then I should buy it because I will likely end up regretting not buying it and inevitably think of a million places to use said thing about an hour after leaving it behind. So, home it came with me...

So, I popped it over the bed to see if I liked it. Result - I do like it. Not sure I love it but it's a departure from the starburst mirror that is over nearly every blogger's bed right now. Raise your hand if you have one? Don't get me wrong, I love the look but just wanted to try something different.

Here's the before -

And now...

I like that the mirror is a little less traditional and stuffy than the pictures were. It also shows off the ceiling height in here.

I have already found homes for two of the pictures. One is in the corner with my grandmother's chair. I love the colors together and it grabs more attention. I'm debating adding one of the others over the top of this one for more height.

The other is over Jim's dresser but it was too messy to photograph in good conscience!

There's a quick change-up for a Tuesday morning. Have you done any quick changes in your bedroom to lighten it up.

Angel Food Cake Cheating

2012-04-20T16:23:00.001-04:00

I needed an easy cake for Elizabeth's 6th Birthday party. As I have said before, I am not a baker. I don't have the patience or the ability to measure accurately. I often leave out ingredients but I still like to "make" my kids' cakes. So, I am always looking for an easy dessert that seems homemade (like it's on my own plate) but really it took 5 minutes. So, an adapted angel food seemed perfect. Also, it's light and works with fruit so it was perfect for little girls who were already stuffed with pancakes and candy.

This is beyond easy. All you need is a store-bought angel food cake, fruit of your choice (I used strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, and kiwis. And Cool Whip (or whipped cream if you prefer but I love Cool Whip and so does my daughter!

First, slice the cake in half horizontally. Set the top aside.

Next layer on the Cool Whip and then a layer of fruit. I filled the center with Cool Whip as well. Maybe overkill!

Layer more Cool Whip on top of that.

Finally, replace the top and cover the entire thing with Cool Whip as if it were icing. Decorate with fruit of your choice.

Elizabeth loved it and thought it was perfect for her - my berry and kiwi loving girl!

Elizabeth's Pancakes & Pajamas Birthday Party

2012-04-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

Last weekend we celebrated Elizabeth's 6th birthday with a Pancakes & Pajamas Party. Six of Elizabeth's best friends came over at 9 a.m. on Sunday morning wearing their PJs ready for pancakes!! They were all so cute and super excited to show off their PJs! This was a great compromise for a 6 year old birthday since most of the kids are not ready for sleep-overs but they are already excited about the possibility!

I spent a good part of Saturday morning hanging a ton of streamers in the dining room. I wanted it to feel enchanted. Thankfully the blue painters tape held overnight and only 2 streamers had fallen by morning!

I added balloons, paper lanterns, and tissue paper poofs around the chandelier.

While the girls arrived, they started working on cereal necklaces. They strung Fruit Loops (a delicacy in our house) and multigrain Cheerios onto elastic meant for jewelry. To stop them from falling off the end, I clipped a small binder clip on the end of the string. They would have done this for 45 minutes I think but I wanted them to eat the pancakes while they were still warm...

That's my little man Alex working on his own cereal necklace!

After tying 8 square knots on the necklaces, we moved them into the dining room for pancakes and hot chocolate.

We had special toppings for the hot chocolate including graham cracker and oreo pieces and mini chocolate chips. And of course whip cream in a can! For the pancakes we had maple, strawberry, and blueberry syrups, as well as fresh fruit. I also had yogurt for them in a bowl on the side.

I think they felt very adult sitting in the dining room with coffee mugs!

Of course, curly straws and a cereal necklace snack ensured they were firmly in kid-ville!

After pancakes, they headed outside (it was almost 80 degrees at 10 a.m.!) so they could decorate a pillowcase. I bought the pillowcases in bulk on ebay and I already had the fabric paint from baby shower onesie decorating (more on that here)!

When they were done, they played outside on the swing set while I cleaned up. Then we came back inside for a candy hunt! Elizabeth had missed Easter at home while we were in London, so she really wanted to do it. We could have skipped it but she loved it! I made baskets for each of the girls from the dollar store. Each had their names on them and a little label

Finally, they came back in for my no-bake homemade cake (recipe to follow tomorrow).

By this point the girls were super sugared up but with only a few minutes to go, Elizabeth opened her presents. Total chaos but so much fun for the girls to see her open their hard-thought presents!

The adorable invitations and favor labels were made by Michelle at Bugaboo Designs.

I also customized my winter wreath to greet Elizabeth's guests with some more ribbon and some "6"s cut out of card stock I had on hand.

Hard to believe my baby girl is 6 years old!

Happy Birthday Elizabeth!

p.s. I found a lot of inspiration on Pinterest, and especially from the very talented Cassie at Hi Sugarplum! Thanks Cassie for so many awesome ideas!!

Master Bedroom Built-ins Progress Report

2012-04-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

Sorry about the lack of posts over the past few weeks. Not sure anyone actually notices when I don't post but we were knee-deep in party planning for Elizabeth's 6th birthday party. More on that to come later this week I hope!

I keep forgetting to update you on Handy Hubby's progress on the master bedroom built-ins. That's probably because he is working on them solely in his shop so they aren't in my face every day! I love this part of the process since there's no mess in our bedroom. That will likely change this weekend.

So, now Handy Hubby has pretty much finished the base box and doors so you can get an idea for what they look like.

The open top space is for our cable box and DVD player. Our TV will go on the shelf above that, and then a bookcase will surround the TV with a few shelves above that.

This weekend we have to try to find some hinges and I'll try to get this part primed and painted so Handy Hubby can install it and then get started on the top. I haven't decided what kind of metal finish I want on the hinges and I'm not entirely sure I'm going to paint this one white. {Gasp} I'm leaning towards a blue-gray color. At least it's not a large piece so repainting would not be the end of the world!

What do you think?

Looking forward to getting it

Screen Porch Progress: Paint or Stain on the Ceiling???

2012-04-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

I owe you a real update on the porch but the last few days have been hectic to say the least!! I'm struggling for the first time in this entire project. I cannot decide whether to paint or stain the ceiling which is beautiful as it is but I am just not a bare wood person (despite some other bare wood on our house which may change shortly as well).

(This picture is actually from a couple of weeks ago before the skylight was installed... more on that later this week.)

But, what do with the ceiling. All of the posts, beams, and trim will definitely be painted to match the sandtone trim color (matched to our Andersen windows) on the rest of our house (a slightly grayish tan). But the ceiling seems like an opportunity to do something different. The wood ceiling is nice though so I am considering doing a semi-transparent stain but it's unclear whether it should be light, like a white wash or pickled, or dark similar to our HardiPlank siding. If we paint it, do we paint it the same as the rest of the room, or paint it a pale blue like so many southern ceilings (google it and you'll see...).

Before you jump to a decision, here are some inspiration photos for you to think on...

Blue ceilings...

Young House Love

Cortney Bishop - Design Sponge

traditional porch design by atlanta architect Soorikian Architecture

contemporary porch design by austin general contractor Texas Construction Company

porch design by minneapolis architect Murphy & Co. Design

BHG.com

eclectic porch design by minneapolis interior designer Amber Ranzau

Traditional Home

Hmmm.... After looking through these (and loads of others on Pinterest and Houzz), I can eliminate the blue (although I love blue porch ceilings and I would consider using it on my front porch at some point)... but I do like both he pickled-whitewash and the straight painted ceiling. Not sure I want it to be dark although it would certainly highlight the wood detailing against he stony trim.

Thoughts?!! Help!!

Screen Porch Progress: Framing

2012-04-12T08:30:00.000-04:00

We got back from London and were happy to see some progress while we were gone. Of course, I was dreaming of a fully framed and roofed porch ready for paint screens and electricity.... Ummmm... no. Clearly I was delirious!!

But, the framing had a good start and the roof was going on when we arrived home.

And by Tuesday, we had a finished roof.

Instead of plywood sheets, we have a tongue and groove pressure treated roof so the inside looks finished. It will all be painted but it will have a great look inside. Handy Hubby is totally cringing because he loves the bare wood. Can't do it - sorry.

Then on Wednesday we had shingles going up. My vision is really starting to come together. More on the shingles later.

Anyone watch Modern Family last night? I had tears running down my face watching it. By myself. Handy Hubby is working hard on the master bedroom built-ins so I have lots of TV time.

Screen Porch Progress: Brick Foundation

2012-04-10T08:30:00.000-04:00

I'm a couple of weeks behind on the porch progress but since the progress has been rather slow (for reasons unknown but I'm sure there are some) I can catch you up in a few short posts.

When we last left-off, the workers were harvesting bricks from the side of the porch which will be covered by a new foundation and slab. No sense in covering up perfectly good bricks when we need them for the outside facing part. You can see below most of the bricks they were able to remove and salvage from our brick pile hanging out next to the garage (left over from our previous major renovation).

Finally, they installed the new foundation wall.

These guys are amazing at what they do which is basically a dying art. Most people do brick facades so it's only a thin brick facia, and not a full brick. This is much harder to do well. Next up was the slab pouring but I cannot find those pictures!! Hopefully I can find some of those pictures and share them soon.

Why does everything take longer than you think it should? I'm still hoping to have this wrapped up by the end of the month at the absolute latest. I really want to use the porch in May!

London Vacation

2012-04-09T20:16:00.001-04:00

Sorry for the sudden disappearance but we had a little vacation planned... to London! We packed up the family and flew out on March 30th and spent 8 great days in this beautiful city. I lived there for a semester in college so it was a homecoming of sorts for me, but Jim and our kids have never been there so it was a first for them. It was also my kids' first trip to Europe. They've been to Mexico and the Bahamas but this was the first time out of North America. The kids truly enjoyed the trip and I hope Elizabeth will remember parts of it forever. Fortunately we'll have pictures to remind Alex! I had fairly low expectations for how the whole thing would pan out and it was an experiment of sorts (not an inexpensive one) but it really worked out beautifully in almost every way.

So, here's a little play-by-play, some tips for traveling to London with kids, as well as some of my favorite pictures.

Of course, going to Europe with kids is quite different from going on a romantic vacation. We went to Paris about 7 years ago before kids and it was one of the best vacations we have ever taken. We knew this would be different so we treated it differently. Our best decision (other than going) was to rent a flat instead of just getting a hotel room. I rented through London Connections (based in Utah) and everything went very smoothly from the outset. Our flat was in Knightsbridge which, if you are not familiar with London, is a very affluent neighborhood and home to two of the great London department stores - Harrods and Harvey Nichols. It's also very kid-friendly, very safe, and near two Underground stops so it was perfect for zooming around London every day. The flat had also undergone a lot of renovations just before we arrived so the kitchen and bathrooms were all brand new - almost unheard of for a rental! We took full advantage of the kitchen by frequenting the food hall at Marks & Spencer and one night at Harrod's, and then making our semi-homemade (but loads cheaper than restaurants) dinners. We did have a sitter one night so we went to Jamie Oliver's Fifteen. I'ma huge fan of Jamie's efforts to clean up school lunches so I wanted to try one of his restaurants. It was fantastic and not crazy expensive so that was nice.

I don't think a day went by when we didn't ride a bus or subway and the kids LOVED it - especially Alex who did not stop counting double-decker buses until the very end of our trip!

We did some historic sights but mixed them in with things that are more kid-friendly - Natural History Museum, water taxi on the Thames to Greenwich, Science Museum, rides on the double-decker buses and Tube, London Transport Museum, etc.

The London Eye was probably a highlight for both of my ferris wheel-loving friends. Well worth the Fast Pass if you decide to do it - saved at least an hour of waiting time I think.

The kids really loved the Tower of London...

and Greenwich...

They didn't love St. Paul's... I guess the amazing architecture of Christopher Wren is lost on them at this age!!

It was also the middle of the week so I think they were getting a little burned out on sight-seeing!

Knowing when to say when is not one of my strong points but fortunately it's one of Handy Hubby's!! On Thursday the kids were fried by 3 p.m. so Handy Hubby offered to watch the kids so I could go do a little shopping on Oxford Street. Joy!!!! I have the best husband!

On Saturday, we celebrated Elizabeth's 6th birthday by going to a Lindt Chocolate Easter Hunt - free chocolate please! It was a real nice event and well done!

Of course, London is super expensive for Americans with the relatively weak dollar. How'd we save money? Renting a flat was the main way we saved money - it was loads cheaper than even a standard hotel and we had more space (2 BRs and 1.5 BAs) and a kitchen. The living and dining room were absolutely huge for a flat. We spent our evenings hanging out here which was so great.

We ate breakfast at home nearly every day (occasionally we bought pastries and bought them back to eat them) and we brought our lunch a few days which, together, probably saved us a few hundred dollars. Even breakfast in a restaurant for the 4 of us could easily be $40, and lunch $50 or $60. We did eat plenty of lunches out in cafeterias at the sights or at sandwich chain places (Pret, Paul, etc.). Fortunately my kids like ham sandwiches because they are EVERYWHERE there. We only had 2 nice dinners out (and our friends treated us to 1 - not a money saving tip but so generous of them!!). Other days we ate in or ate inexpensive places like Wagamama (yum!). We also saved money on in-town travel by purchasing a 7 day travel card for about $45. We got our money's worth by day 3! We could even use it on the train back from Greenwich and we got a discount on the water taxi to Greenwich.

So, that's the 4-1-1 on our trip to London. It was a fantastic time and we have many memories that will last forever. I'm already mentally planning another Europe trip but probably not for 3 or 4 years. Maybe Italy?!

Master Bedroom: Built-ins (yes, I'm addicted)

2012-03-26T08:00:00.000-04:00

It's official - no room in our house is safe from built-ins! The master bedroom is no exception. Our television needs a home and this messy corner is the only real option.

Much like the other built-ins around our house, we'll have a cabinet with doors below and some open shelving above. The TV will go in the open middle and sit a few inches higher than where it does now. Handy Hubby has already made a good start on it thanks to a rainy, cool weekend.

Why do I love built-ins? I love that I don't have to hunt down the perfect piece of furniture to fit in the exact right way into the space - custom built-ins always fit perfectly. I also love that you an maximize the the space in the way that you need it to work - and it can flexible when you need to move shelves, add doors, etc. Finally, the cost of building them is rarely more than a few hundred dollars, but the value-added to our house is certainly as much.

More porch updates tomorrow hopefully.

Happy Birthday to my Dad!!

Family Room: Pillow Joy

2012-03-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

Not sure why but new throw pillows give me a lot of joy. Since we got our new sectional almost a month ago, it quickly became clear that we needed some new throw pillows. Of course, I have seen some gorgeous pillows at HomeGoods and Marshalls over the past few months but when I go to buy them, they are all gone.

Then I decided it would be better to figure out the additional seating in the room before buying new throw pillows. Then I stumbled on Target’s new line of pillows and fell madly in love. LOVE. First I came home with these pretty linen and teal embroidered pillows.

I think they were $24.99. They also had some pretty coral and linen pillows that I left behind. DRAT. Went back to find them again and they were GONE. So I settled on the basic gold linen which pulls in the gold background in the sofa fabric and of course gold and yellow run throughout nearly every room in my house.

The great thing about pillows is their mobility between rooms, purposes, and floors. Pillows that once lived in our guest room now live in our basement playroom, and another set of guest room pillows did some stand in work while I hunted for new pillows and strategized about the chairs.

Not sure if the stripes are going to stay because they go better with the old sofa.

And about the chair situation. I am undecided and it could continue this way for a while. It’s also not a priority because we still have one of our two green arm chairs living in the family room. It’s perfectly fine there but I am watching for budget alternatives at every turn. Believe me. So, if you see me at HomeGoods body-checking old women out of the way to get to a steal-of-the-century chair, please excuse my indiscretions.

The verdict on the sectional is LOVE. It’s a really small sectional (only 88” x 89”) but it lives much larger. We haven’t had a crowd of people over but I’m curious to see how that all works out. Elizabeth’s birthday party in April should be a great test.

In other news I finally sold my playroom sofa so now I an reorganize things down there. Fun!!

Porch: Demolition Complete & Brick Harvesting

2012-03-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

The demolition on our porch is now complete and we’re quickly moving into the next phase. Let’s hope the weather holds for the week so we can get concrete poured and the masonry work can be finished, so we can get to the fun stuff.

As we did in our renovation, we are reusing brick wherever possible. Our hope is that we can match the brick on the front half of the porch – basically patching in the front where the porch extends an additional three and a half feet beyond it’s current footprint. The bricks are coming from the north end of the porch which will be covered by new masonry shortly. The workers are harvesting bricks from the side wherever possible so they can be reused. We even still had a few bricks leftover from our renovation which may or may not be used. We will likely have to do a new section of brick behind the fence line. It shouldn’t be noticeable because there won’t be any sightlines with the new and old brick showing in the same plane.

You may be wondering why we are extending the screen porch only 3.5 feet. That’s the most we could do under our existing zoning and we did not want to have to get a variance. We are going to be so close to the line that we are required by the County to get another survey done to ensure that our foundation does not extend too close to our neighbor’s property. Our lot is only 7000 square feet (not a bad size for Arlington actually) so we have to maximize every inch!!

I have to say that the sun streaming into our living room is shocking. It’s amazing how much light a porch can block out and how dark it has made our living room. We hope that replacing our shed roof with a peaked roof will help more sun to shine through. The skylight should also help but will not likely make as much of an impact inside as it will on the porch.

This picture gives you a little bit of an idea of how much darker it was before - notice I had every light on.

I’m already looking for a few new pieces of porch furniture to supplement what we already have. I really want an indoor/outdoor feeling. I'm sure the curtains are going to go back up. I'm hoping I'll be able to use the same panels and rods I had before but fortunately all of them are from Ikea and still available so if i need to add to them, it won't be a problem. Finding a table of the right dimensions may prove the trickiest part. You can follow my shopping process on Pinterest!