before kids

I'll be honest. I miss earning an income, organizing consumer research, seeing a product go to market. At the same time, I find staying home with Bryce and Kinsey very rewarding.

So I'm learning to integrate the best parts of design to our everyday life.

Lee and I just finished (or rather, refinished) a project. I'll share in a few days.

painted Christmas mugs

I went crafty with Christmas presents this year. I'd pinned a lot of painted mugs and decided to give it a try. I followed these directions...I won't give you a full tutorial but I will share some tips.

colors for our dining area

I want to paint our dining area. Since its shared with the living room I've got to think about the whole space...Last month we received a few samples of Ferm Living wallpaper.


And while I still really like the idea of wallpaper (more ideas here) the reality is we're renovating the basement + hoping to put in new flooring soon. So paint is the cheapest option. I've thrown together some images of my favorite blues + greens with wood accents.

Top left clockwise (links to pinterest) Elisabeth Dunker's Swedish Kitchen.  Colorful Family Brownstone. Kristen + Mike House tour. Industrial Modern Italianate.   Chezerby home tour. Logan Square apartment.

Christmas Eve vintage hunt

With Christmas Day preparation (mostly) complete I took Kinsey antique + thrift store shopping.


We drive by Wescott's on 7th Street at least once a week with both kids in tow. But chasing two preschoolers in an antique store isn't exactly my idea of a fun time. So I enjoyed taking taking baby girl shopping with me--she behaved beautifully. I really wanted a soda crate for crafts like this or this but couldn't justify spending $30 on a coke crate.

We ended up buying several games. Picked from 3 Hi Ho Cherry-O games and decided the oldest 1985 version was the most durable (built from 1 mold = less pieces to loose).

merry christmas

Eager to share some things next week, but today I am going to enjoy the day with our little family. Wishing you and yours a blessed Christmas Day.

flurries

night trains

Saturday night we went to the Night Trains exhibit at the Model Railroad Museum. Our 4 year enjoyed watching the holiday trains (while our 2 year old attempted to derail them). It was a special way to spend our Saturday night, and at less than a mile from our house I hope we make it a family tradition.

quick Christmas tree wreath

One of the things still on my "to do" list was a wreath. The kids and I were home today, and they both napped (love when that works out!) so I laid out some crafting supplies...

kraft paper and leftover glitter paper from archivers

grabbed a piece of cardboard from the basement and a few lampshades to trace..

a box cutter for the cardboard.

ready to wrap

strips of kraft paper around the frame.

I didn't have a plan before I started. this star caught my eye decided to trace it.

a few basic cuts..

used some leftover felt (from last Christmas) for the ribbon. voila!

basement floors

Last time I updated on the basement I showed Lee removing the mastic glue in preparation for polishing the concrete. The concrete has a nice patina to it, we even like the cracks.
Oh and in case you are wondering--where are the boxes? The things you stored in your basement? Well, its been dispersed throughout our little house and especially in our bedroom! Not ideal but its given me great access to sort and organize. Where do you store things? I grew up using attics, we have one here but its not very accessible!

family photo shoot

    
Excited to share some photos from our photo shoot at the Walker last Saturday! First time we've used a photographer since our wedding 6 years ago. It was definitely a different experience this time- chasing a 4 and 2 1/2 year old and encouraging (read: bribing with cookies) them to sit still and smile.

Our sweet Bryce. Playing angry birds of course...

Kinsey our little risk taker. Her hairband definitely didn't stay on her head..

Love this guy

festive tuesday

I had a busy morning. Bills on the table and gifts to prepare. After wrapping and prepping boxes, I picked a leftover cardboard box and made a few trees for the kids to decorate. They LOVED the glue and glitter. I'm not big fan of making them stay in the lines. Many of Kinsey's "ornaments" were below the tree. I call that creativity.

more Christmas ideas

We have allergies. But I'd love the experience of buying a real tree. Perhaps a mini one?

i (gasp) usually make cookies from a mix. Its much easier when you have little helper hands. But I'd like to try these swirl cookies.

a cardboard tree like this from Tinker Lab. we should have everything on hand.

an ice wreath. this can wait until January. we won't get above 30 next month so it should last a while...

Ever feel a little over-inspired? I have so many Christmas projects running through my head. And Christmas gatherings, presents to get ready for teachers, ect. Its a busy month. Love little reminders like this that help me keep perspective on the meaning of Christmas.

our lego house

Its cold and wintery here in Minnesota. To pass the time after dinner we're playing Christmas music with some good old fashioned family time. Earlier this week Lee brought up his childhood legos to share with the family.



Meanwhile my husband decided to model our house. for the fun of it. finished in a few hours...

front.

side.

back.

Love how accurate it is! Clearly some lego-giftedness going on. If you haven't been to our house before, you can see a front shot here or here.

How do you pass the time after dinner when its cold and dark outside?

decorating with kids

It also reminded me of how our decorating has changed with kids. We broke at least 4 ornaments in one year with Bryce. We reminded him not to throw, touch, ect. But he was 2...
So now, we use a huge box of red ikea ornaments that are pretty tough. Any thoughts on decorating with kids? For those of you with young ones do you use delicate decorations?