Tuesday, June 17, 2014

Strawberry Picking

I don't know a better way to kick off the summer season than with strawberry picking!  I packed up the kids one morning and we headed out to Joe Huber's Farm (in Indiana).  The children LOVED it and Elizabeth was finally old enough to participate.  This day made my heart swell - the kids were so happy to be out on a farm and I honestly surprised myself by wanting to stay there all day and just pick strawberries.  So simple yet fulfilling.  


This was a real farm where the land and the sky stretched on for miles.  So vast.  We definitely don't live in Connecticut anymore.  


You can tell by the sky that a storm was coming - it was breezy and a bit ominous.  It reminded me of something out of the Wizard of Oz where Dorothy is on her farm in Kansas before the tornado hits.   




Afterwards, the kids played and got homemade ice cream!  We made it home just before the storm hit.  They were so happy.


That weekend we went to a friend's house for a barbecue and I made Jenny's strawberry cupcakes with  our freshly picked strawberries.  They were out of this world!  I highly recommend the recipe.  



Tuesday, June 10, 2014

From Hanging Closet to Itsy Bitsy Mudroom

Yeah!  We finally finished a home project.  So, on any given day, when you walk in from the garage (door pictured below) to our kitchen, you typically see this on our kitchen floor.


BTW, this is not staged….this was our everyday reality! The only place we had to store our stuff was a hanging rod closet (pictured below) (after my husband took out the hanging rod).



When you have children this is so impractical.  Kids can't reach the rod to hang up their coats, no place to store shoes and no hooks.  So, obviously, our kitchen floor became the dumping ground. 

I wanted a mudroom, but the only space we had was this hanging closet and given the limitations of our kitchen, I couldn't enlarge the closet.  So, I decided to work within my space limitations and create a design that is simple and practical.

In regards to design, my tiny mudroom needed to have shoe storage, hooks that both my 2 and 7 year olds could reach, a shelf for a basket or two, pretty corbels and a bench.  

My husband did ALL the physical labor and building of this project.  I designed and sketched out what I wanted and he built it.  Below you can see the progression.


Pictured above is the 2 x 4 base frame.  

Pictured below are the plywood shoe cubbies that he later added a hardwood face frame to.  


And, then finally, the AFTER…


Six spacious cubbies for shoes, a bench and high/low hooks, and a top shelf.  More pictures below.




Eventually, I will replace the brass hinges on the door hardware for oil bronzed.  I would say five years down the road, we plan on enlarging and renovating our kitchen.  In that design, I plan on creating a larger mudroom space, but for the time being, this will do just fine!!  I love it and my husband did an incredible job building it!  

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

My Etsy Faves


1. I am considering these box pleat linen euro shams for our guest room.  Just gorgeous!

2. I want to purchase a return address stamp.  Love this one. So many beautiful designs.

3. I love vintage seascape art and this one with the gold frame is perfect.

4. Blue and white catchall.  Perfect for an entry to hold keys, phone, and mail.  Or on your kitchen table filled with oranges or lemons.

5. Blue and white cotton napkins.  Perfect for summer entertaining.

6. PVE's customized monograms.  Isn't this one gorgeous?  A piece of artwork that you can treasure always.

Do you see anything here that catches your eye?