shadow...



i haven't been taking any photos lately. i didn't realize this until i saw my camera sitting in my office out of the way and was surprised... like i didn't really know what it was. i don't know why the lack of photos. i haven't been as motivated since my shorter lens gave out. suddenly, though i realize i miss it. my days have been passing in a haze lately, one day seems to run into the other. maybe it's moving, or winter, or ahem... a birthday fast appoaching. oh dear. maybe it's all of those. i realized though, as i went to look at my photos to see what has been going on the last month... that i have taken almost no pictures! that is unheard of for me... usually my husband is begging me to please take off some of the photos clogging our computer. i saw though that my son has been taking quite a few. i didn't even realize they were on here. i guess i can look at the last month through his eyes instead of my own for a change.














um, yeah. that pretty much sums it up. thanks jack henry!

whew...



this has been a long week. all of the muck you see above has finally cleared. the pretty snow turned into not so pretty ice. it was nearly impossible even to get to the mailbox. it is definitely interesting to live in a place where snow and ice can bring an entire city to a halt. at the end of last week a bulldozer(!) came and cleared of the remaing ice. very entertaining to watch, and then rain came and cleared all the rest away.

when i looked out of the window this morning it looked like fall again and for a moment i was really confused. the yard is full of brown leaves falling everywhere, because for some reason they do not all come off the trees before winter here. i had that sinking feeling like we had gone back to the begiining and had to do winter all over again! i know i shouldn't complain because after years of living through winter in new york, i have it easy... but it is still hard not to dream of spring!




i can't help dreaming about my big front porch, and imagining being able to actually sit outside and enjoy it! i'm excited about going to the nursery to pick out new trees and flowers to put in the yard. i'll ignore the fact that we actually need new front steps and focus on the beautiful flower baskets, swings, and tables i want to add instead.





one of the things i love about the south is the tradition of the large front porch... an outside room you are able to enjoy most of the year around. as soon as i saw the front porch on my own house, i knew i was in love.

right now we have one sad swing, a lucky find someone was throwing out. i'm going to paint it up and make it nice and pretty. i love the look of the wicker furniture above too, though, and hopefully will find some vintage or at a good price, like the set here.





love all the pretty tables, baskets, plants, and rugs. i like the look of the sisal one above, but also something like this one would be nice...




add some nice rocking chairs, and we will almost be set...




i say almost, because here is the ultimate item on my list!




who could resist that?

all the lovely inspirational photos above via country living. go there to see more.

i took my inspirational shopping trip today in the warmth of my own home at overstock.com. if you would like to as well, they have generously offered my readers a discount code good for %10 off (excluding movies books and electronics). The code is 121745, and doesn't expire. Use this code, 202234, for free shipping on electronics as well.

i do not usually do endorsements on my blog, i have always said no in the past. i figured this would be a good oportunity to offer a cool discount on a website you might already want to use (they have pretty much everything... my favorites lately are faucets and rugs). suddenly i am in a position where i need to buy all this random stuff for my new house (um, do people gereally take all the toilet paper holders with them when they move?) and it's kind of nice to have one place to look. so maybe you could use it too. all the ideas and opinions expressed are my own. i did not receive any monetary compensation for doing this post, however, i was given the discount code.

now back to painting kitchen cabinets... i should hopefully be done by spring;)

brook farm general store...


love this new to me store i found on remodelista today, brook farm general store. added bonus, it is in brooklyn! too bad i'm not! if you are, it might be interesting to visit in person. if you are elsewhere, like me, they have a nice selection online. i love those hooks... they have endless possibilities. i might grab some myself.

we are enjoying the most lovely snow fall from last night. the light in the house was so pretty all day and we went out to build a snowman and slide down the frozen slide in our yard! fun!


kid snowman, obviously a harry potter fan

proud snowman makers!

more inspiration...

entryway, via high street market

i'm obsessed. i can't stop looking endlessly through my favorite sites for design inspiration. mostly it's a way to avoid packing. ugh. i really want to paint the new house all white, but i think it will have to wait. any paint recommendations for a good bright white paint, like above? i need to repaint our kitchen cabinets white before we move in, and probably will do the walls too. right now we pulled up some carpet in the kids playroom and found painted wood floors that need repainting. i'd like to paint bathrooms too. i've also ben looking at light fixtures... love this site! i love these colors in the photo above... grey and white and black. the light fixture is great. the floors... amazing! here are some more recent favorites...


pretty bath, can't remember where this image is from?

we are thinking of moving our clawfoot tub upstairs and adding a shower to it. also some kind of beading on the wall and maybe ceiling? hmm...

love the black tub and floor color, via design sponge

i found the image above over at vintage simple, i love her home. and you can also see her house tour over at design sponge...

from the vintage simple house tour on design sponge


such pretty soft colors. her kitchen is amazing too... and completely done by her and husband! very inspiring...

kitchen

another cool bathroom i found on vintage simple...

via kitchen and bath ideas


via nancy fishelson

love, love this kitchen from designer nancy fishelson (it was her own kitchen). we really want to add a window in our kitchen (you can see it below). there aren't really any windows in the downstairs that look into the back yard. i'd be willing to lose some upper cabinets for the light and view it would add. right now we have a giant laundry room/pantry for storage. eventually we will remodel and that will become part of the master bedroom and bath so we will have to add more storage to the kitchen though. i really want an island like this with seating.

what do you think of the multi paned windows? we are replacing our windows upstairs, which means we have to decide what kind of windows we will eventually replace all teh windows with! we are trying to decide between the multi paned, or a simpler design, with one line down the middle? ugh, too many choices. i'm terrible at making choices!

okay, time to stop dreaming and face the reality of what actually needs to be done now!

etsy favorites... (farmhouse chic)




1. wallmount soap dish, from andrews reclaimed

2. burford brothers ironstone, from shop hot house

3. antique ironstone baking mold, from big fish hill pond

4. peacock hutch, from oh clementine

5. 5 antique milk pans, from zinnia cottage

6. vintage staffordshire plates , from apple hill dolls

i guess it is obvious what this list was inspired by! obviously, i have always been a bit obsessesed with the rustic farmhouse look... but lately i have a good reason. i am currently going through a lot of my possesions and deciding what i want to keep and what i am ready to pass on. i admit to having a problem with getting tired of things, and i'm looking forward to 'starting over' a bit. i love the beautiful, simple feel of these items. i have a hutch that is begging for a makeover and the one above is giving me some inspiration. i bought my hutch a few years ago at the brooklyn flea for about $50...



that's a terrible pic, but the only one i could find (with our aging pup nora). i was going to paint the whole thing but decided i might try to clean it up and put color on the inside. the brick house has a wonderful post on refreshing vintage wood that i highly reccomend.

so most of the items on my list today were inspired by my desire to redo my hutch... except the soap dish. that came from thinking about the hideous 80's bathroom we have upstairs! if only i could simply buy a whole new one of those on etsy too! that's for another post. i'll be sure to share my hutch when i get it done.

home at last...


i have always asked myself where i would rather live... in the city or in the country? if i answered truthfully, it would be both. i love the romantic appeal of living on a farm, the benefit of country life and nature. yet, at heart, i am probably a city girl. i like to be able to walk places, and have places to walk to! never did i really think it was possible to actually have both... until i saw a lovely 1870 (or perhaps earlier!) farmhouse right in the heart of atlanta... and fell in love. now, i am happy to announce that i am the proud owner of this lovely house!! this will be the first "real" home for my family, the first we can actually call our own, and i'm really excited to be able to share it with you at last!














i can't wait to share more with you! we are getting ready to move in now... doing some painting and floor work, replacing windows. we have a lot bigger plans down the road, but for now we are really just excited to call it our own.... and finally move in!

happy new year!!