Design for the sake of design isn't really my thing. Sure I like to surround myself with a beautiful home, but if my space doesn't function for our everyday needs, then we have a problem. Living in a small home (our house is a skosh bigger than 1,000 square feet), my goal has always been function over form. Thus, many of the furniture items in our home serve multiple purposes and have been chosen based on that instead of being picked based on ascetic.

For instance, the new-to-us bench in our living room operates as a child safe coffee table, a storage unit for magazines and toys, and a comfortable place to rest our feet while watching TV. Is it what I would have purchased for the space, look-wise? No. Is it exactly what this space needs nonetheless? Yes.

Today, I thought I would share the thought process I have when I'm picking a piece for our house. As we have slowly turned our house into a home, I have come across many situations that have stretched my design eye, my pocketbook, and my creative side. I want to talk about how I balance all of those things and how I prioritize to create a space that works for our family. Let's use the ottoman as an example.

First: Clearly identify the issue and the goal(s) you have.
Within our living room space, I originally had an old metal and wood trunk (please excuse the Christmas photo...it is the only one I could find with the trunk in it!). While it served the purpose that I wanted it to (i.e. a rustic and pretty coffee table with storage) it also was a hazard to our little boy who is becoming more and more mobile. Those metal corners are not child friendly. So, I decided it was time for a change and that I should be on the look for something to replace it. After much thought, I concluded that something with storage, coffee table capabilities, and child friendly aspects, would be the piece for us.

Second: Peruse Pinterest/ magazines for, talk with friends about, or just sit down and brainstorm possible ideas.
Think about your goal and evaluate various options based on your goal. Keep in mind, you may not be able to find the perfect piece. You may have to sacrifice one less important aspect for another. For us, the child friendly side of things was our number one goal. After reading a few blogs and thinking about what would work best for us, I concluded that some kind of padded storage ottoman would be nice. I liked the idea that it was padded (good for a toddling baby), it had a compartment for hidden storage (which would be great for not-baby-friendly things), and it also could be used as a coffee table (just throw a decorative tray on top and a drink-worthy space would be created). I wasn't sure exactly how it would look, but I left that part unanswered and started my search.

Third: After you have decided on a piece that will work for you, look, look, look and keep an open mind! 
This is my favorite part. While it may be a bit time consuming, it is fun to finally find what you are looking for! Be patient, trust me, you will find it! While keeping your goals in mind, it's also important to think about size and material of your desired object. For instance, we couldn't have anything that was too big to fit in front of our couches and we had to make sure it was the proper height too. I also wanted something well made that could endure the beating of children and dogs.

Around the time that I started looking, my parents redid their bedroom and decided that they didn't have room for the bench that was previously at the end of their bed. My mom offered it to us and I couldn't refuse! It had storage (both open and hidden storage), it could work for a coffee table (if I put a tray on top), and it was a good size and seemed to be well made. Plus, it was free. Thanks mom and dad!

Let's recap. Looking to fulfill a specific need in your space? First, identify that need and clearly articulate the goals that you have for your future piece. Second, search high and low for inspiration. I love using Pinterest, magazines, blogs, and friends for this part. Nothing beats having a lot of options. Finally, after you have decided what you would like, search high and low for the piece. Keep your goals in mind and remember to be creative and flexible! You never know what might work for your space. 

What are some of your favorite creative solutions? I love seeing what people come up with to fulfill a need within their space. 

Current House Pictures

Today's post is chock-full of pictures. Some of you have asked  for updated house pictures, so here ya go. I put in the old before shots as a reminder to myself of how far we have come. With all that we still want to do, weighing heavily on our shoulders, it's good to have a dose of reality every once in awhile. The reality is, we have come so far in making this house a home and I can't wait to see what else is to come!

Let's start as you enter our house.

As you come through the door at the top of the stairs, you walk into our kitchen/laundry room.  I still am not to keen on the idea of having a washer and dryer in our kitchen. But let me tell you, one HUGE positive is they have extended our counter and prep space--something I never thought about before we purchased them.

From our kitchen, you walk into our dining room.

And off of our dining room, is our living room, bathroom, porch, and Daniel's room. Our dining room is truly the heart of our home. Let's visit the bathroom first, shall we? :)

And then we have Daniel's room, one of my favorite rooms in the house. 

And the porch/guest room is definitely a special place as well. I love all of the light that comes in through the windows in this room. It is especially enjoyable during the spring and fall. I have plans this summer to peel the wallpaper border down and possibly give this space a good wash of white paint. It is the only space left in our house that hasn't really been touched. 

Our living room is the final room off of the dining room. It was such a dark cave before, but now has become a light-drenched, cheery space. I love it.

And finally, if you head up the stairs off of the living room, you will get to our bedroom. What was once two bedrooms, is now a nice and open master bedroom.

And that concludes the tour of our house! Maybe in the future I will update you with pictures of the outside of our house...that is after we tackle the yard this spring and summer. We are excited to move out there and do a bunch of clearing. There is so much overgrowth and brush that needs to be cleared. 

But that is a story for another day. Happy Thursday everyone! 

Why I Make my Bed

For me, making my bed is a huge deal. Not because I'm a neat freak and need to have it made everyday, but rather because I look at it as a motivator for my day.

Let me explain. 

I always make my bed. No, it doesn't happen first thing in the morning (usually the carpenter gets up after I do), but nonetheless, I always make it a priority to get it done. It's an easily accomplished task that doesn't take very long, and for me, has an important emotional reward.

As a mom, my days can be filled with a bit of uncertainty. Who knows if Daniel will take two naps. Who knows if he will be cranky all day, and want to be held, or if he will contentedly play by himself for long stretches of time. Will he happily sit in the cart as we walk through the grocery store? Will he hangout while I do the dishes? What time will he wake up? On and on, there are so many questions that I ask myself during the day. And while I am so thankful for my little boy, sometimes I can get bogged down by the spontaneity of the day. And sometimes, because of said spontaneity, I get very little done around the house. 

So making my bed, yea...that is an easy thing that I can accomplish and feel like I have done at least one house related thing during the day. It also starts me off on the right foot: thirty seconds and I feel motivated to attack whatever that day may hold. 

Does that make sense at all? 

As someone who constantly struggles with motivation, tasks that are easily achievable help to encourage me. I may not have moved mountains, but I did something. The rest of our bedroom may look horrible, but at the end of the day, when I climb those stairs and head to bed, I'm greeted by a glimpse of order and peacefulness. And on a day when I may feel like nothing else was accomplished, a made bed is the only reminder I need that I, in fact, did accomplish a lot. 

I know I'm not the only one who has a task that they aim to accomplish everyday. I'd love to hear what makes it on your "must do daily" list. Is it doing the dishes at night? Is it making sure you have had your cup of coffee? Do you have to layout an outfit for the next day, every night? Please leave me a comment and let me know what your chosen task is! And with that, I'm off to make my bed :) 

Saturdays

(Picture taken at my family's cabin, by my husband)

Oh Saturdays.

Aren't they just the best?

When I was in college, I would always look forward to Saturdays. They were a day that usually involved very little scheduling and never any classes. My roommate and I would often spend an absurd amount of time watching reruns of NCIS and crocheting. We would wake up, lumber into our living room, and each get snuggled up with a blanket--her in the papasan and me on the couch. And there we would sit for far longer than we would care to admit. I loved those days.

Now, Saturdays look a bit different. They usually involve big breakfasts and lots of family time. I might do some cleaning, while I have an extra set of hands to help me entertain the little man. The carpenter may tackle a job, or two, outside. The dogs lay around all day. And if it's a nice day, a family walk is usually in order. Once Daniel is in bed, Jonathan and I might watch a movie and have an adult beverage or two. Or just enjoy a couple of episodes of Parks and Rec.

I love Saturdays. No matter what form they come in. It's nice to have a break from the same-old, same-old of the work week.

What do your Saturdays look like?

Daniel: Eight Months Old

Our little man is eight months old. Can you believe it?! I know I can't. Jonathan and I were just looking at pictures of Daniel as a newborn and reminiscing. We both loved and missed that stage. But we are also enjoying how engaging Daniel is.

He is at that age where he seems to be doing something new everyday. While I was a bit curious to see if he would ever rollover (he wouldn't tolerate his stomach or back for very long), he now does it fairly often. He is a stomach sleeper and we usually find him on his back in the morning or after his nap. When he reaches for a toy and falls over from his sitting position, he is now decently content to roll around and play on his back or stomach.

That being said, he has also been getting up on all fours and rocking back and forth! I love watching him do it and when I praise him and get excited, he gets a huge grin across his face. He knows that he has done something special. He has been working on scooting backwards from this position and often gets his feet stuck under some piece of furniture and gets frustrated. Now he needs to learn how to go forward! I have a feeling we will have a crawler in the not so distant future.

Daniel still loves to eat and at his last doctors appointment, he was in the 80th percentile for weight. He eats a six ounce bottle every two hours and enjoys baby purees for breakfast and dinner. We usually do some kind of fruit puree mixed with greek yogurt for breakfast and for dinner it is a mixture of veggies and fruit. Sometimes I will blend up what we are having for him to try. He hasn't really rejected anything yet, but doesn't seem to enjoy avocados. Apparently he is like his daddy in thinking that they have no flavor.

He wears an assortment if 12 to 18 month clothing (mostly size 12 months for tops and size 18 months for his cloth diapered bottom). We have enjoyed a lot of hand-me-downs (thanks Cristale!) and recently he has started wearing crib shoes.

Daniel wakes up anywhere between six or seven and loves when both daddy and mommy come in to get him. We change him, feed him a bottle, and while we get ourselves breakfast, he will usually sit and play on his own. He loves the baskets of toys that I keep in our living room. I just pull one over and he digs through it playing with whatever he desires. Once he is bored with that, we usually feed him his fruit and yogurt breakfast and he will then play some more, jump in his jumper, or play in his exersauser until he is ready for a mid-morning nap (well, if he takes one that is).

After a nap that can last anywhere from thirty minutes to two hours, we go through the change, feed, play routine again. Then there is the afternoon nap around one that lasts for, usually, two hours. He is up at three and ready for a change, to eat, and (you guessed it) play. He loves when daddy comes home and usually bounces in my arms and smiles when he walks through the door.

Bed time is between six and seven depending on how his naps went for the day. We have been so lucky to have a good sleeper. Once he is down for the night, he is there for good. Occasionally he will wake up, but only needs his pacifier and his mobile turned on to go back to sleep.

Everyday, I enjoy watching him learn something new. Jonathan and I love comparing stories on the new things we see him doing. I know one thing, I'm going to have to baby proof this house very soon!!

Is This Thing Still Working?

Hey everyone!

I'm back after a nice, long blogging hiatus. I needed to take a break in the worst way. I love blogging, but I needed some space. I was putting way too much pressure on myself to churn out good blog posts and it started becoming unenjoyable. Thus the break.

But I have missed it a lot.

This blog started out as a way to inform our family of all of the updates that we have done (and will do) on our house. I have to say, this little blog is still that, but it has also evolved into so much more. It is my online journal of sorts.

For many, many years I have kept a journal. I have a dozen hand-written journals stashed away in our bedroom. They are a treasured possession. They allow me to look back on what my life was and shed a whole new light on what my life has become. I love to see how I have changed and they help to spotlight those things that I still need to work on.

Over the past, meh, six years or so, I have stopped keeping a handwritten journal and have turned to blogging. In college I kept a blog that was just a smattering of my thoughts, design ideas, an overall mishmash of things. It was also the blog I kept as a newlywed. Then, when we bought this house, I shut that one down and started this blog as a way to chronicle our life as homeowners.

But now this blog has become so much more. It's a way to keep our family informed about our house projects, Daniel, and our day to day life. It also has become very cathartic for me. I love using my blog as a way to focus on the things that God has blessed us with on a daily basis. It allows me to keep things in the right perspective. After all Proverbs 15:15 says, "...a happy heart has a continual feast." This is my way of keeping my heart happy, so to speak.

I have a hard time seeing small blessings at times: A breath of fresh air. A much needed rain shower. Daniel's smile. Curled up, sleeping dogs. All of these things are beautiful and God created--but sometimes I miss them as I focus on the more (or less, depending on how you view it) important things. So, this blog has been a way for me to stay grounded. I'm so thankful for that.

So I plan on continuing to blog, not only to update family, but because it has been such a blessing to me.

I'm excited to get back into it again. Over the next few days I would like to update you on how things are going in our little house. Daniel is eight months old---and that has me completely freaking out and getting excited as I think about plans for his first birthday party! Our house has probably changed a bit (or a lot, for some of you) and I want to show you some current how-it-looks pictures. And, well, I have been changing a lot myself. God has been challenging me in ways I never thought possible and I can't wait to share some of the things I'm learning!

But first, what do you think of the new blog look? I came up with it all by myself. I have been teaching myself how to code a blog and use GIMP. It has come with a steep learning curve, but I have enjoyed learning these new skills. I thought it was about time I learned, as I wasn't really satisfied with any of the looks that pre-made templates offer.

So, look around and let me know what you think! Feedback is always appreciated. And keep looking around for more updates. I'm still working on things. :) See y'all Thursday!