For Your Monday

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A very stylish valise.

How America pays for college.

The art project Swimming Cities is coming to the Willamette this August.

When doctors tell patients what they don't want to hear.

Rogue bike symbols stir mystery in Southeast Portland.

Happy Caturday!

I just bought the cutest baby book called "How to Be a Cat," written and illustrated by Northwest artist Nikki McClure. Portland peeps can shop local and pick up a copy at Lark Press.

Peninsula Park

It's another gorgeous day in Portland. Feeling lucky that Peninsula Park is in our 'hood!

For Your Monday

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NPR explains color variations in egg yolks.

Hauling new treasure along the silk road.

19 new UNESCO World Heritage sites.

This looks like a very useful little gadget.  Via Of a Kind.

A new building for ancient desert library.

Happy Caturday!

I need to take a leaf out of Jack's book of how to beat the heat.

Candle Crush

I have a new candle crush! Voluspa's MOKARA coconut wax candle. Smells so good and the textured clear glass jar is charming.

Nursery Updates

We are making progress on the nursery! Here's a shot of the room before we made any changes. So bland!!!!

Finding the right paint color proved harder than I thought. I was originally hoping for a blue-ish (rather than green-ish) aqua, but couldn't find any that I liked. The blue aquas were either way too dark/saturated or just looked like baby blue which I wanted to avoid. After testing out several paint samples, I still wasn't happy with any of them and ending up creating a custom blend. It definitely has a bit of a mint tinge to it, but it's both bright and soothing which is just what I wanted. 

Aunt Whitney and Uncle Andrew came over to help us paint and we had the whole room painted in just a couple hours. Thanks guys!!!

The sum total of our nursery furniture so far...

The other side of the room:

I've found some curtains from Anthropologie that I love! I think I've narrowed it down to the Ratio Curtain (on the left) and the Dahlia Stripe Curtain (on the right):

At this point I'm leaning towards the Dahlia Stripe, but maybe it's too much color??? If I decide I want something more subdued I'll go with the Ratio.

I'm also planning to pick up some knobs for the changing table from Anthropologie. There are so many cute options! Here are some of my favorites:

I'm so happy the nursery is painted and I can start decorating and prepping for baby in earnest.

For Your Monday

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Manhattanhenge.

Treasures in the Smithsonian's attic.

This seems a bit crazy to me!

Pete Campbell as Mr. Darcy???

Babies experiencing things for the first time. Too cute!

Happy Caturday!

How awesome is this leopard beach towel from One Kings Lane?!?!

Living Room Before and After

Hello! I wanted to share a few before/after pictures of our living room. So far it's the most "finished" space in the house....

Here are the before shots:

And here are the "after" shots:

For the most part Ian and I didn't buy any new items for this space (the exceptions are the small wooden chair to the left of the entertainment center which we found at a second hand store, the vertical bookcase behind the red chair, the small lamp on the white bookcase behind the couch and the potted plants).   The entertainment center, couch and coffee table are the exact same setup we had in DC.  The rug used to be in our bedroom in DC, but since we have carpeting in the new bedroom we thought we use the rug down here. We'll see how long the white rug lasts with a baby... and Lute..
The white bookcases used to be in a study area off the living room in DC, but seemed to fit the new space perfectly. And finally, the mirror behind the couch used to be in the dining room. It's been fun and challenging to try and rework our existing furniture in the new house. Somethings have worked out really well and others not so much. While the living room is almost complete, it still needs a few finishing touches. First we have to get some real window treatments, the sheer Ikea shades just aren't cutting it. Also we need to hang/purchase some more art for the space (and the rest of the house), but that will likely be a long term process.  For now we're just going to enjoy it :)

My mom made the patterned pillows for us. Thanks Mom!

I can't decide if we need one more potted plant to round out this space? Or maybe a fun rug to go under the chair and pots??? I feel like this space is missing something... Any suggestions?
 

This little brass quail family was a Goodwill find.  Did you know that Goodwill has online auctions?

We got this gorgeous bouquet at the farmer's market for a steal! I love having fresh flowers in the house, they just make any space feel so cheery!

More pictures to come as we complete/update spaces.

For Your Monday

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What happens when a city has one day a year to move.

Collecting emerging artists.

Summer reading choices by the staff of the New Yorker. Via Dinner a Love Story

Game of Thrones Parody "A Character I Used to Know" made me laugh. (Spoiler alert if you haven't seen all of Season One)

A fun garden hose holder.

Happy Caturday!

I love this "Cat Friends" illustration by Leah Goren, it reminds me of Lola and Jack:

Nursery Inspiration

After over a month in the house, Ian and I are finally feeling like the place is coming together. We still have to flush out a few spaces and search for a couple pieces of furniture, but we are getting close! Now it's time to focus on the nursery! Here's a little inspiration board of what I'm planning: 

I want to paint the walls aqua, but aqua can be tough...too bright and it's garish too light and it doesn't have enough pop. I've picked up a few paint samples and plan to put the on the walls this week. Once I get the wall color finalized, we can start picking out fun accent pieces. I'm planning to bring in more color with pops of yellow and pink, while keeping the room grounded with some grey and white neutrals. I have a pretty clear vision in my head of what I want to achieve, now I just have to see if I can execute it!

Sources: Glider and pouf, balloon dog lamp from Target, Mickalene Thomas print,  area rug, hamper, Penguin Book inspired poster,  crib,  and dresser.

For Your Monday

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It's been in the 90s in Portland this week, so I found this infographic particularly interesting.

A great site for pretty affordable original artwork.

What a pretty mirrored desk.
 
I recently popped into this shop for the first time and have a feeling I'll be a loyal customer.

For the Harry Potter fans out there.