nokoikonomia

#29: Completed

2012-05-24T08:46:00.000-05:00

On Wednesday night, I completed number 29 on my Thirty by 30 list. Phil and I headed to Uptown to so I could get inked with the design I've been wanting for a couple years now.

The text is from Matthew 25:40, which says "and the King shall answer and say to them, 'Truly I say to you, inasmuch as you have done it to one of the least of these my brothers, you have done it to me.'"

My tattoo is the Greek for "the least of these." It's pronounced (roughly): "tone ellakeystone"

It's on my right forearm, where it's visible as I'm actively doing things with that arm. It's a reminder to me of who I want to be, how I want to live my life and how I want to raise my daughter.

Phil and I went to dinner afterward and talked about what it meant to us and our lifestyle. We talked about specific things we want to do with Jaye and generally about how we want to be as parents and as people.

I'm really happy with it.

See my updated Thirty by 30 list here.

Graduation

2012-05-23T16:01:00.001-05:00

Sunday was a big day. I graduated from law school! After three long hard years and one long boring ceremony, I got to walk across the stage and be done with law school forever!

Jaye was really happy for me.

Actually, she was mostly really interested in my hat.

My dad flew into town for the ceremony. And he was actually really happy for me.

Phil was proud of me too. It was a good day full of proud feelings of accomplishment, some relief, and some disbelief that the day had finally arrived.

A free law degree isn't a bad thing to pick up on the side of having a baby and meeting your best friend.

Who is such a nerd that she brought sticks so we could have a Harry Potter reenactment in our robe get-up. Doesn't she look like Snape?

It was a great day. I'm glad I made it to the end and defeated law school, coming out way on top. I'm really grateful to have gotten to share the day with my dad and awesome husband and daughter. I'm also really grateful for all the help, love, and support I received from them throughout the past three years! Thank you Phil and Jaye!

Family Photos!

2012-05-19T22:45:00.000-05:00

We had such an awesome photo session this afternoon with Jessica. I was so excited to see the pictures, and then Jessica emailed me a few previews! And they were so great that I had to post them immediately.

And saving the best for last:

Jaye loved standing in the Mississippi River. She wanted to splash so badly.

Out of the Furniture Comfort Zone

2012-05-18T12:49:00.000-05:00

If you follow Nokoikonomia on Facebook (find us here), you'd know about the awesome toddler sized vintage school desk that I missed out on. I was bummed. But figured maybe it was okay because that vintage school desk isn't really my style. Too old fashioned and charming for my cozy modern vibe.

But then one weekend after my last in class final exam for law school (!) I stopped at a rummage sale at a church across the street from school. And found another pretty cool vintage school desk. And even though it's a little old-fashioned for me, I bought it. And I'm going to update it at some point and try to make it work in our new cozy modern living room.

Any ideas of what I should do with it? Just clean it up a bit and leave it rustic? Paint the metal? I like the warm wood in the chair seat and back, but I'm not so sure about the more plastic-y looking wood (?) desk top.

Busy Week

2012-05-17T18:28:00.000-05:00

My mom came to town last Sunday (on Mother's Day!). She was originally supposed to be in town to watch Jaye all day while I did my last class for law school, a week long intensive advanced trial course. However, I'm not so good at math, so it turned out that I didn't have to take that last class! Hooray!

Since my mom had tickets already, she came but we turned our focus to packing! And we've been packing like packing machines. The upstairs is all boxed up. Jaye's been inspecting the packing supplies.

A moving truck is scheduled to arrive at our house in Minneapolis on June 13th! We have a moving date! I just got off the phone with our landlady, and we'll pick up keys to our new rent house on June 16th.

And finally, I graduate from law school on Sunday! I tried on the robe and regalia this afternoon. It doesn't actually hang to the ground, so that's good. Phil and I are getting ready to go out alone for a celebratory dinner to the 112 Eatery, our favorite restaurant in Minneapolis.

How Not to Sew an Envelope Pillowcase

2012-05-11T16:30:00.000-05:00

This is a situation where you should do as I say and not as I do. What I say is: go to Teal and Lime's blog and follow her envelope pillow closure tutorial. Particularly the part about needing at least a six inch overlap.

But that's not what I did. I just plowed straight in. No planning. No tutorials for me. How hard could it be? I started with the leftover fabric from Jaye's crib sheet and an old pillow I didn't like anymore. I used the pillowcase as a pattern.

I cut my fabric a little bigger than the pillowcase. Well, one square was bigger than the pillowcase. And the other two pieces, I don't remember, I think I just eyeballed them. And then I just started sewing.

So far so good. Or so I thought. To make a long story short, the back of my pillow did not overlap by the time I got the pillow form stuffed in. There was a gaping hole. So out came the seam-ripper, my bff.

And finally, after more sewing, I had a kind of proper envelope pillowcase. By the way, the guidelines for sewing on the sewing machine only work if you cut a straight line.

The finished product won't win any sewing prowess awards. But it looks nice in the newly updated rocker!

P.S. Details about the rocker coming soon.

A Picture a Day: April

2012-05-10T21:48:00.001-05:00

March got skipped because Jaye deleted the app halfway through and lost the pictures (Babies love smartphones), but here's a mini picture glimpse into our April.

What Room Goes First?

2012-05-07T19:18:00.001-05:00

Moving is an excellent chance to redecorate, change things up, and definitely declutter. We started with the decluttering this weekend, taking 2 FULL carloads to Goodwill and 1 FULL carload to Half Price Books.

While the decluttering part feels good (the house just feels lighter), the redecorating part is the fun part. That's the part I've been thinking about and trying to brainstorm. The catch is that I haven't actually seen the house we're moving to. And I've barely even seen photos.

But, I know for sure that the first room I'd like to tackle is the living room. Right now our living room is fine, but it's not very "us." Parts of it are, of course, but the whole feel isn't what I'm going for. Plus we need to tackle toy storage and a play space for Jaye in the room.

So, here's the before photo (Obviously, a keeping it real photo. This is currently my view towards the living room):

You can see cleaner pictures of our living room here on our home tour page.

Disclaimer: the after will be in a different house in a different state!

Jaye: Nine Months

2012-05-05T21:51:00.002-05:00

Jaye is nine months old today! Your rules in life this month have been: Jaye must be standing. Jaye must be eating whatever anyone else is eating. If Jaye is not standing, Jaye must be moving.

Movement: you are definitely obsessed with standing and pulling up on everything. It's been fun to watch you learn how to stand so smoothly and easily. When you first started pulling up, it was tricky. You weren't sure how to do it each time, but it's so easy now. Sometimes you even barely hold on. I think you'll be standing on your own soon. You are also cruising along the furniture more.

Eating: You've started to really be aware of when Phil or I are eating. And by aware, I mean, the minute you spy food you crawl as fast as you can and pull up on my legs and holler for a bite. And you usually get one. You've eaten all kinds of things this month: Chicken Tikka Masala, rice, waffles, kale, teething cookies, taco soup, roasted red peppers, olives, pieces of real banana, artichokes. You love anything that's not baby food the best. Whatever Momma is eating is your favorite.

Communication: I've really, really been noticing this lately. You communicate your wants and desires so much more than I ever noticed before. It's so clear what you're saying even though you aren't using any words. When you want what I'm eating, you let me know. When you're out of Puffs on your tray, you say so. When you're happy to see me, you tell me. For the first time this month, you seemed really excited to see me when I picked you up from daycare. You were playing with your teacher and noticed me standing in the doorway. You grinned so big and shrieked in excitement and started crawling as fast as you could to the door. You were standing at the gate before I could even manage to climb over it. Last week when I picked you up from daycare, you came over and gave me lots of kisses.

You've been really enjoying daycare. You love to interact with the other babies. Your teacher says you love to crawl in their personal space. One day you made a particularly good friend and you were both giving each other kisses and having such a fun time playing together. You've started having solids for lunch at daycare, because one day another baby was eating and you made it very clear to your teacher that you wanted to eat, too.

Adventures: You got your first tooth this month and have a second one starting to peek through. You had your first Easter and first trip to the library and the zoo.

Talking: You make a lot of noise. Lots of shrieking. And lots of different babbling.

I wanted a subject that would sit still for just one second. Because, Jaye, my darling, sitting still is just not your thing. You are most likely to sit still if I give you the car keys to play with. Those are still pretty interesting.

You've really discovered the bathroom this month as your new favorite place to play. You love to bang on the toilet seat. You love even more to splash in the toilet if I've forgotten to close the lid. You love to crawl over to the bathtub and stand up there. Lately, you love to grab this gross screw cover off the base of the toilet. I don't allow that one. I'll be caulking that cover down so you can't get it.

You are so full of joy and life and happiness. You laugh a lot. You love to be tickled. You laugh if I pretend to eat your toes, or your nose, or your belly button. Your Daddy and I are crazy about you!

And here's a bonus video of you being crazy!

Last Week of Law School!

2012-05-01T11:38:00.000-05:00

This week is my last week of law school!!!! Ever!!!! Yahoo!!! I'll be so glad to be done. Done making flow charts. And more flow charts. And more flow charts.

I'm already done with one class, Advocacy. I had my final trial last week. And last night was my last task, an appellate oral argument. I think it went smashingly.

One class down, three to go. Tomorrow, I have my Secured Transactions exam. Saturday I'll take my last in-class exam ever--Criminal Law.

And finally, next Tuesday (one week from today!!!) I'll turn in my last law school assignment, a take home exam for Family Law!

I'm so excited to be done!!! As you might have guessed from all the exclamation points. Done with timelines, too.

Then I'll be moving on to moving on to Texas!

P.S. I think we are about to rent a house in Texas. Like today.

Two Weeks

2012-04-24T22:47:00.001-05:00

I'll be done with law school in two weeks. Until then I'll be here.

Or here.

Life Update

2012-04-19T12:57:00.001-05:00

We're looking at a busy next few months for our household. Big picture: I'll be graduating from law school; we'll become landlords for the first time; we'll become Texans; we'll celebrate Jaye's first year of life. Of course, there are a lot of little steps to get us to those four biggies.

This weekend: I have my second to last class in law school ever. It's my last real class because my last class is a pizza party. After class, we'll jet down to Northfield for the rest of the day. Our favorite college professor is retiring. We'll be attending his retirement festivities. We are also going to visit Phil's grandma (Jaye's great nana!) and aunts. I think we'll spend the night with some college friends so that we can hang out with them once Jaye is crashed out from such a busy day. Sunday morning, we head back to Minneapolis early to attend a cousin's confirmation ceremony (service? event? What's the correct noun for a confirmation?)

Next week: My mom (Jaye's grammy) will be in town to play with Jaye all day while I become a law school finals studying maniac. To finish law school I have: 1 final trial, 1 oral argument, 2 in-class final exams, and 1 take-home final exam. I'll be done with all my classwork by Tuesday evening of May 8th.

Then the decluttering and packing mania begins. And finding a renter. And finding an apartment in Dallas. Whew.

The Quest: Bubble Tea 1

2012-04-17T19:18:00.002-05:00

I've started a new cooking quest. (Read about my earlier quests: chai shortbread cookies and oatcakes.)
This time, I've set out to create bubble tea at home that's just as good as what I love to buy from tea shops. I love bubble tea. Jaye loves bubble tea, too.

My current favorite is an Oolong milk tea from Chatime, a new tea shop at the Mall of America.It's incredible. I try to watch to see how they make it, but I don't know what their ingredients are. I asked how it was sweetened, and they said they have a simple syrup. There are two steps to this quest: (1) creating the perfect sweet milk tea drink and (2) creating the perfect chewy tapioca pearls.

I started with the pearls. I ordered these 5 Minute Tapioca Pearls from Amazon. I'm sure you could get them for less at an Asian grocery store. But I'm impatient. And determined to get my money's worth from my free Amazon Prime.

They look funny and dusty when they are uncooked. Actually, tapioca pearls always look kind of funny.

For my first attempt, I followed the directions on the package. It went something like this: boil in a bunch of water uncovered until the pearls swell up. Then cover and boil for 5 minutes.

After 5 minutes, they were not nearly done, so I boiled longer. Maybe 15 minutes total. I think they could have cooked even longer next time.

After cooking, I let my balls sit in a bit of simple syrup for an hour or so before putting them in my tea. This is important so that the balls aren't a bland drag on your delicious tea.

The tapioca pearls were good and did add deliciousness to my homemade tea. But they aren't perfect yet. And quests are about perfection. So stay tuned.

Nokoikonomia for Rent

2012-04-13T11:00:00.000-05:00

For Rent: House for Rent: 2br/1ba, 1077 sq. ft., south Minneapolis, $1300, starting July 1st. Dogs welcome. Hardwood floors. Updated kitchen and bath. Huge master bedroom. Near Angry Catfish Bicycle and Coffee Bar, Buster's Bar, A Baker's Wife, and Mel-O-Glaze donuts. Walk to the light rail. Brand new AC and furnace. You want to live here. Trust me.
Our house is officially on the rental market. Well, officially in the sense that I made a flyer, posted it on Facebook (where you should "Like" Nokoikonomia) and am posting it here.

Defining a Style

2012-04-12T23:03:00.000-05:00

I wrote a few weeks ago about how I want our house to feel. I had kind of described/defined my style as "Cozy Modern." But Mandi had linked to a HomeGoods style quiz, so I took that. She said her description was perfect. Mine was not. It claimed I'm "Glamorous Classic" and like history and tradition. I like velvet and other rich materials, along with old-Hollywood romance. Um. No. When we moved into our house, there were these thick rich velvet curtains in the bedroom. I thought they were awful. Barf. But our priest loved them. He loved how Turkish bordello they were. Which looking back seems like a weird way for him to describe them. Since he is a priest. And a bordello is a . . . yeah. Anyway, we traded the velvet curtains to him for an awesome gas stove/electric oven combo. We clearly won that deal.

HomeGoods did a much better job on my happy home colors. I love orange.

This style quiz and all this talk of defining style made me remember the last time I took a bunch of home style quizzes. Two years ago. So I retook those. Has my style (as defined by silly website quizzes) changed?
The Ethan Allen style quiz, which last time labeled me as "Loft," has dubbed me this time with an equally unexplainable title of "Explorer." Last time, the picture was a barn and this time it's a guy with a scarf standing behind a zebra chair. Sorry, Ethan Allen, I'm not sure either represents my style.

Though looking back at the "Loft" description, it definitely got closer by talking about clean shapes, punches of color, and bringing on the kids and pets.

The Sproost quiz was the best by far. It was the most accurate. Plus it had fun pictures of houses. I like the way it actually asked questions about what rooms I liked. According to the quiz, I am:

I think that's pretty accurate. I do love mixing modern with country and rustic. And I've discovered an odd love of cow rugs and pattern in modern rooms. Two years ago, I was modern elegance. I can see that. I think in the past two years, I've moved away from straight modern, minimalist style to develop more of my own quirky style.

That was fun! Whether my style is defined as "Cozy Modern," "Rustic Revival," "Vintage Modern" or whatever.

Linking up with FFA Challenge #2.

Bathroom Renewal Part One

2012-04-11T16:57:00.000-05:00

One of the tasks on my list before we rent the house and move to Texas is the bathroom. We had the shower tile redone about a year or so ago. At the time, Phil and I tried to seal the grout ourselves. But it hadn't worked.

The grout in the shower is disgusting. I plan on having a handyperson come out to seal it so we can get it right this time. But first I have to get it clean.

Luckily, I had an excellent helper today.

Yuck, Momma. That grout is gross.

To get started, I googled.

I wanted something that would get the grout clean but as naturally as possible. The second link I found suggested using Hydrogen Peroxide diluted with water. I just used straight hydrogen peroxide, because I didn't read close enough and didn't notice the diluted part. I just poured it in a spray bottle.

After a little elbow grease, my DIY grout cleaner with only one ingredient was showing signs of success. Well, maybe two ingredients if you count the elbow grease.

I sprayed the peroxide on, waited a moment and just started scrubbing. I started with an old toothbrush, but the bristles weren't really sturdy enough so I switched to a scrub brush. I periodically used a rag to wipe down the wall with water because the dirt was streaming off.

It's not perfect, but it's getting there. I'm going to try some other cleaners before sealing the grout up. If there's a miracle cleaner, I might have to try it on the kitchen floor, too. This method was pretty scrubbing intensive; I'm not sure I'd want to tackle the entire kitchen floor this way.

Jaye: Eight Months

2012-04-09T11:11:00.001-05:00

Holy Cow. Eight months. Several days late because I just couldn't believe it was that time already. Jaye, you have learned SO SO SO much in the past month.

Movement: This month's photoshoot was nearly impossible because you just won't.stay.still. You learned how to pull-up a week or so ago, and now your entire mission in life is to be standing. You pull-up on tall things, you pull-up on short things. You can stay standing only hanging on with one hand.

You thought about climbing the stairs, but luckily decided not to. Time to buy a second baby gate; we already have one at the top of the basement stairs. You are thinking about cruising too. Just this morning, I put you standing at the step to this landing and a minute later, you were standing up against my legs as I sat at the table. Obviously, you can also crawl on your hand and knees now.

Food: You are eating lots of things now; I can't even count them all. Baby food meat dinners, yogurt, hummus. You are determined to feed yourself. This makes mealtimes VERY messy since you have to help every spoonful get to your mouth. You love to eat pizza crusts. One day, Daddy was helping you pull-up at the t.v. stand. You found my leftover pizza crust on top and snatched it up. With close supervision, you were very happy to sit perfectly still in my lap for half an hour eating it. I was happy to have you so still in my lap, too. You are not still very often.

The only way to get you to stay still so we could take pictures was to give you a Mum-mum. You happily ate that, but the moment it was gone, you were rolling over to be on the move again. And it doesn't take you long to eat them anymore. Since you want to feed yourself so much, we tried Puffs this week. It's incredible to watch how quickly you are learning to pincer grasp them and get them to your mouth. I love watching you. Your cute little round hand awkwardly stuffing a Puff in your mouth. This morning I would put two Puffs on your tray, one beige spinach-kale flavor and one purple blueberry-sweet potato flavor. You at the purple one first every.single.time.

Adventures: Every day is an adventure. We didn't do any big trips this past month. We did a quick weekend in Wisconsin, visiting Grandma and Grandpa Schrader and our friends Nate, Brianna and Baby Oliver (where we may have taken two babies in a bath pictures and videos for future embarrassment purposes). This month we took lots of walks, swang at the park for the first time, made some bubble tea excursions and even went for a few jogs. You also had your first Easter and first Easter basket (pictures to come).

Talking: For about a week, you started babbling with a "d" noise. But then you quit. Now you're back to just blowing bubbles and a funny panting noise that you do in excitement. I think you're so focused on moving that you aren't so worried about making noises.

And now you're up from your morning nap. I can hear you in the bedroom making your excited pant. You'll probably be standing up at the railing grinning when I open the door.

Baby's First Easter Basket

2012-04-06T07:30:00.000-05:00

Easter is coming up this weekend! I can't believe it. We don't have big Easter plans. Usually we go to Easter Vigil late on Saturday night, but since the service starts at 8:00 pm, and Jaye is usually in bed by 7:00 pm, I think we'll have to go on Sunday morning. Jaye has many Easter dress options and is trying to decide which one to wear. The problem in Minnesota is that Easter is too chilly for Easter dresses!

While Jaye decides, I thought I'd share her first Easter basket. At first, I wasn't going to make one, but then I changed my mind. Because I wanted to buy her things. And I knew her Grammy was going to send things as well. Grammy sent so much that I actually made two versions.
I started with a little Easter grass. I got it for cheap from the Dollar Store.

The basket is also from the Dollar Store. It's pinker in real life.

I'd found this cute Pat the Bunny Board Book on Amazon, and I had a gift certificate (and Amazon Prime, which makes me buy stuff, forces me to). So I went for a bunny theme.

Grammy sent this cute little Jellycat CordyRoy Bunny. Jellycat Cordy Roy's are my favorite stuffed animals.

No Easter basket is complete without eggs and a chocolate bunny. And Grammy also sent this Fisher-Price Remote which doesn't exactly fit my color scheme, but Jaye will like it so i included it, too.

The second basket theme is The Easter Pony. Grammy sent everything for this basket. I loved the Jellycat Pony Tails book. There are pony tails made of different materials hanging off the edge which will be fun for Jaye to feel. They all actually feel different unlike a lot of those touch and feel books where everything is just fuzzy (Fuzzy puppy. Fuzzy bunny. Fuzzy kitty.)

I can't wait to see what Jaye thinks of the Easter basket when she sees it for the first time on Sunday morning.

Yep. The first time. I wonder what her reaction will be?

The Hat with a Story

2012-04-05T13:03:00.000-05:00

So there's this hat. It's a tan ballcap with a dark brown brim and the words Wood-Mizer in orange across the front. It's covered with dirt and paint splotches. It's Phil's hat. He wore it all the time in college.

Phil and I during his senior year and my freshman year at Carleton. At one of the "brarkfests" that he and his roommates hosted several times a week.

No Wood-Mizer hat in this picture, but it's still a funny picture of Phil and his roommates.

A giant Thanksgiving dinner or "Tharkfest" at Phil's apartment. Phil's at the very, very back with the Wood-Mizer hat.

Phil and I dated for 10 weeks at Carleton. At the beginning of spring term, we'd started to talk about dating. Phil said he didn't want to do a long distance relationship after graduating. I said, "Well, we've got ten weeks until then." When Phil graduated from Carleton, he and I broke up, as agreed upon. He dropped me off at the airport. I was upset, probably crying. He put his hat on my head. He says now that it was a promise to figure it out eventually. I wore that hat all the time.

Here's my little brother modeling it as well.

No hat in this picture, but I couldn't leave out my little sisters being adorable. And to think they'll be able to drive at the end of this year.

The night before our wedding, Phil sent a gift over for me. I sent him the hat back. His promise had been kept. He figured it out.

Fast forward a little more than four years. Phil's feeding Jaye a bottle last Saturday. He says, "Now our daughter is playing with and grabbing the Wood-Mizer hat."

At this point the hat was stuck on her face. She couldn't figure out how to get it off. I just laughed and laughed at her until it finally fell off.

Three Pretty Good Things: Law School

2012-04-04T21:08:00.001-05:00

Around our house, it's fairly common to quote Talladega Nights. Often the line, "Those are three pretty good things" which Cal says to Ricky during the bar scene discussion where they meet the French race car driver.

The conversation is in this clip starting around 3:36 minutes into the clip.

So today, my three pretty good things are:

1. I only have two full weeks of class left IN ALL OF LAW SCHOOL after this week. I graduate in 46 days!

2. I don't have to take Advanced Advocacy after all! I had thought that in order to graduate, I needed to take a week long intensive course on Advanced Advocacy to get my last three credits. I planned to take it the week before graduation. But this past week, when I emailed the registrar to figure out how to register for this class, he said I didn't need it. I have enough credits to graduate at the end of this semester!

3. I had a closing argument on Tuesday evening in class. I was kind of nervous as always because I never feel like I know what I'm doing in Advocacy. But I rocked it! It was videotaped, and I didn't even totally hate myself while watching the video.

How to: Cloth Wipe Solution

2012-04-02T07:54:00.000-05:00

Along with cloth diapering, it just seemed to make sense to use cloth wipes, too. If you're washing some gross poopy stuff, why not wash more gross poopy stuff, right? The wipes themselves are mostly squares I cut from baby hooded towels (you know those silly tiny ones you get at baby showers that are too little to keep baby warm after a bath) and also some baby washcloths.

The wipe squares live dry in a bin in our changing table. We squirt them with solution before each use. Here's how making solution goes.

You need:
1 TBS oil. (I use olive oil.)
1 TBS castille soap (like Dr. Bronner's. Ours is lavender).
1 cup water (though I never measure, I just fill up the squirt bottle).

One day, I got smart and used my label maker to just print the recipe and stick it to the squirt bottle. Easy. The squirt bottle was a dollar at the Dollar Store.

Pour each ingredient into your squirt bottle. Put the lid on tight. Shake it up!

The oil and water separate out over time, but I just give the bottle a little shake each time before I change a diaper. I love that the solution is natural and I know all the ingredients!

Thirty by Thirty Part 3

2012-03-30T10:38:00.000-05:00

Whew. That's a lot of things to do. I'll be keeping track and checking them off as I go. Read Part 1 of my Thirty by Thirty, peruse Part 2 of my Thirty by Thirty, or find the whole dang Thirty by Thirty list all at once here.

Thirty by Thirty Part 2

2012-03-29T10:37:00.000-05:00

Here are the second ten goals I added to my Thirty by Thirty list. Some of these are going to be pretty fun!

Read Part I of my Thirty by Thirty.

Thirty by Thirty Part 1

2012-03-28T09:19:00.001-05:00

So I decided to jump on the Thirty by Thirty bandwagon. The idea is to make a list of 30 goals or things you want to do before you turn 30. I've got a few years until the big 3-0 in October 2014, so I tried to make the list challenging accordingly.

Here are the first ten.

House-Feel

2012-03-27T11:55:00.000-05:00

House-feel, you know, like mouth-feel, that gross sounding term that fancy chefs and hoity-toities use to describe they way food feels in their mouth. Except for not at all. Because houses aren't for eating.

But how do I want my house to feel?

I want it to feel relaxing (which, for me, largely means uncluttered). I want it to feel fun and lived-in (which means toys are probably all over the floor). I want it to feel unstuffy (you can put your feet on my couch). I want it to be bright and open, full of light and color. I want it to be full of laughter, friends, food, fun. I want to "fill this house with all the love, all that heaven will allow."

Jaye even stopped her cacophony of bouncing to listen to Bruce croon out this theme song, our first dance song, for our house and love.

As far as design style goes, the term I've made up and keep coming back to is Cozy Modern. I like modern style, but I want it to feel cozy. I love rooms with a mix of sleek modern with rustic industrial. It's my Cozy Modern.

(source: apartment therapy)

(source: thedecorista tumblr)

(source: apartment therapy)

(source: houzz)

What about color? How do I feel about color, you ask? I love color. This picture is the complete inspiration and explanation of my new approach to color. Bold intense color. Unexpected and crazy. But not all over everything. And no, I'm not talking about "pops of color" because, puh-lease. Putting a pale, tiny, barely tinted, pillow on a couch does not qualify as color in my book. Neutrals are not "color."

(source: apartment therapy)

I created this dream living room mood board a year or so ago, and I still love it.

So bring me color! And a bright, fun, cozy, modern, cheery house full of family, friends, and laughter.

Linking up with the first FFA challenge at Vintage Revivals.