The new house

As the husband so kindly pointed out....it's been more than a week since I last promised to share pictures of the new house. Yikes. The month of May came as fast as it went, and brought with it a nasty stomach bug (for me), our anniversary (that we still have yet to properly celebrate), a wedding, and a certain someone's first birthday and subsequent party. #excusesexcuses

ANYWAY. Here we go! Time to (finally!) share pics of the new house! Can you believe it will be two years in July that we've lived here? Some days I feel like we still live in someone else's house, and other days I look around to see just how much we've done to this home since we arrived.

So without further ado....the living room before (on move-in day):

And the after (but more like "progress" since "after" is just crazy talk):

Hands down, the living room is my biggest challenge. It's a formal living space! A family room! A place for the kids to play! In short? This room has multiple personalities. Coupled with the fact that the layout is super weird. The room is long & off centered. And the multiple doorways and windows make furniture placement tricky. On one hand, I love all the natural light that the room gets. But would I prefer our television to be somewhere else but smack dab over the fireplace? You bet. But sadly, the fireplace is the only option at this point. And the wall behind the couch has been awaiting some form of art for way too long than I'm proud to admit. Basically, this room has some work ahead of itself. #workinprogress 

The dining room before:

And after:

The dining room was a pretty straightforward space. We painted, added some DIY art, and replaced the light fixture with our old Restoration Hardware fixture we had at the previous house. I'm sure I'll want to change things up in here at some point, but for now the dining room is simple, streamlined, and the only zone in the house that doesn't look like we live in a three-ring circus (because we do).

The Kitchen:

With the exception of some new valances, table & a dishwasher, this kitchen is pretty much looking the same as it did on move-in day. While the space is nice (hey, I have no complaints about a new kitchen) it's definitely not our style. But one of my favorite things about this space is the eat-in area. I never realized how much I would love (and need) an eat-in kitchen until we had kids. It means our dining room is largely ignored, but I wouldn't trade an eat-in space for anything.

We have big plans to lighten things up in here (which should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me!). In the meantime, we'll live with the way things are for awhile. But I'd be lying to say that I wasn't itching to get things changed up in here. Like yesterday.

The half bath:

The mirror has been changed up & the shelves met their fate with a garbage can. But otherwise, what you see is what you (still) get in here. With the weather warming up, we've shifted our focus to outdoor projects, but this space is next on my radar. We plan to add picture molding, marble hex flooring, a new light fixture, faucet, paint & art. Not that I'm wishing my summer away already...but I'm super excited to get working in here.

The basement:

We've moved some new furniture down here, mounted a t.v., and replaced the carpet (after a major plumbing issue last summer). But as it stands, things still look the same down here. Only with more toys. Because, two kids.

So there you have it! It took me nearly a month to put this post together. Which means you'll get to see the second floor three years from now. You're welcome. If anyone has any questions about room sources & colors, feel free to ask at  smigelkm@yahoo.com!

Merry, merry

Christmas might be less than 15 days away (wait...what...I've only completed 1/4 of my shopping?? True story.), but when it came to decorating I didn't drag my feet. Want to hear another true story? I did it before Thanksgiving (cue the collective gasps!). I know, I know, but come on...Christmas was shoved down our throats by Halloween, it just felt right people.

I consider it an accomplishment that I got to things so quickly this year. Last year at this time I was still in a new mama, 'I got less than 4 hours of sleep last night' mode. The fact that I actually bought gifts or put ANY decorations up last year was nothing short of a miracle. And then I got the stomach flu on Christmas day. Yep, that happened.

I decided to go traditional & classic this year....golds, reds, rustic, vintage, etc. I really only decorate two rooms in the house--dining & living rooms. Aside from our bedrooms, they're the two rooms that we spend the most time in (and that our guests see too...obvs). I used to decorate one room more modern & in blue tones, the other more traditional. And frankly, that felt a little too chaotic for me this year. So gold, red, rustic & vintage it was!

 

 

(my mom made our stockings to go with the theme--bonus!)

 

 

 

 

(I have no clue how I've kept little hands away from this set up...it's as if she doesn't see it...a true Christmas miracle!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We even decorated the outside this year! Which is a total first. Unless of course you're counting the year we decorated the lawn with pre-lit reindeer...that stayed out until March. For the record, we've never once put them out again. That year was just too embarrassing. Again, another true story, folks. This girl don't lie.

 

 

(pay no mind to the old doormat...that I should have tossed)

 

And then there's the tree. Ah, the Christmas tree! I was fully expecting we'd have to put an electric fence around the thing. But by some miracle of all miracles, Emme seems to be completely clueless that we have a large, living tree in the middle of our living room. I kept ornaments minimal and up high, as to not entice little hands to touch. My mom gave Emme a little dog ornament that she placed on a low lying branch (obviously, grandparents think this sort of stuff is funny). Aside from the few times she's pointed to it, she generally stays away. I can't say this is going to happen again next year, but we've seemed to dodge a bullet so far this year. So far being the key phrase.

 

 

 

(the angelic cherub reading under the tree)

 

There's a bit of a method to my madness this year now that a little person is in the mix. You gotta decorate high, keep non-breakables down low, and there's got to be plenty of distractions for said little person...you know, to keep from reminding her that there are a lot of things that she shouldn't be touching (this also prevents parents from saying "no" 8,000 times a day). Like, stuffed santas (!!!) that are way more fun that that breakable santa mama put up on the mantle. No, no...that santa is noooo fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And oh my god, that playing piano Snoopy! This was my mom's and she didn't want it anymore. But we knew who would! It didn't take long for little fingers to figure out how to press the on/off button. I think she was a little confused by the music and movement at first. But this thing has become an endless source of entertainment (and distraction from the tree). To the point where she carries it around the house now. Oh well, you pick your battles. It could be worse, she could be carrying knives.

 

I've also kept a bunch of kid friendly Christmas toys in her playroom. Which, I know, I know...that post is coming soon. I've been finished with that room for ages! But anyway, a stuffed Santa Snoopy and other assorted Christmas toys keep her occupied too. The Little People Nativity set is a big hit as well (she plays with that daily). I've also left a stack of Christmas books on her little table. Which we've tried reading to her on several occasions and she pushes them away (for the record, there are like, 3 books out of the 800 we have that actually hold her interest....so no offense Christmas).

 

 

And just because I love sharing....behold! This year's visit to Santa...

 

 

Meh. Unimpressed.

 

And because everyone has already received their cards...Merry Christmas 2013 from the Keefe's!

 

I was planning to send out a card with a couple of pictures, and then found this one....so there you go, it's a Keefe family photo explosion! More of us to love this holiday season. We ordered our cards through Shutterfly as they were having a pretty amazefest sale around Thanksgiving (yep, ordered the cards then too!). I'm a huge fan of the Shutterfly/Tiny Prints/Wedding Paper Divas family and was *this* close to ordering a different card with Tiny Prints. But man, they knocked it out of the park with their cards this year (as always). For those of you who are still dragging your feet, get your holiday card on HERE!

 

And now it's time to get cracking on that shopping! Merry Christmas to me??

 

Before & After update

It's Monday! And to start the week off, I've updated the 'Before & After' tab on the 'ol blog. But before all five of you get excited, I should mention I was modest & only updated the living room before and afters, in addition to a couple of before photos of the hallway. And don't bother to ask about the wooden indian in the hallway. The previous owner was kind enough to leave some things behind, but that was not one of them. Insert sadness (and a little bit of sarcasm) here.

I've made the most updates to the living room in recent weeks & it feels just about done. Well, done enough until I get bored & want to make changes. Or until the husband protests what's in there now. Whichever comes first. So without further ado, a little sneak peek of the before...

And the after:

And should you think the furniture & decor in the before shot was our's...think again my friends. Funny how taste varies from person to person, huh? And with that, I'm thankful for the ability to see past the ugly...

Happy Monday!

Pillow covers

So what became of all the fabulous fabric I recently purchased?

Why pillow covers of course!

I'm a big fan of Etsy for pillow covers, but I had a lot of inserts that needed them. So for around $55, I decided to purchase my own fabric & zippers, and enlisted the help of my mom to make them (Didn't she do a good job? Someone should think about opening her own Etsy shop!)! It was certainly much cheaper...and I saved on shipping too! I'm all about the instant gratification here...

I kept the green imperial trellis pillow & blue and white lumbar pillow and incorporated them into the mix. My goal was to bring more blues & greens into the room to coordinate with the new-old lamps. The predominantly blue fabrics are Art Gallery Fabrics and the green botanical print (my fave) is Amy Butler's new line of home fabrics. Does the blue fabric look familiar? It's the same print as the kitchen curtains! Further proof that my blue/green color combo is quite the theme in our home these days...

I'm really loving how the living room is changing & evolving right now. I will share pictures in the before & after tab soon!

You better not pout

Yikes.

So it's been awhile. The husband has been traveling for work & last week he checked in on the 'ol blog to see what's been happening. Which would be a whole lotta nothing. I can't decide if there aren't enough hours in the day or whether I just suck at time managment. I'm guessing a little of both.

So let's get back to it! Last weekend we finally got around to hanging some shelves we purchased during the great Canadian Ikea trip of 2011 (and by we I mean, the husband). These are the same shelves that someone may or may not have pouted over after a disagreement about where to hang said shelves, whether any of Ikea's light fixtures were suitable for the kitchen, and the cost of curtain panels. Can you tell we'd reached our limit?! 

After taking measurements & creating a detailed plan as to how the shelves would be hung (this is why the husband is in charge...apparently, my method of "eyeballing" isn't nearly as effective), "we" got to work!

(Warning...really bad photo montage ahead. It's been raining NON-STOP around here. This month is going down in history as the most ridiculous month ever.)

The gratuitous cat shot. It's funny how cats are typically sleeping in the other room...that is until a large scale project breaks out & they have to be in the middle of it all.

Here's the husband very carefully measuring, hanging & doing all the work. All the while I'm snapping photos & not being helpful.

About an hour after we started, we had new shelves! But let's take a look at what the space looked like before...boring, bland & totally lacking something. I never realized just how bare our wall was! And why we didn't do something about it sooner!?

And the after...

Right now the shelves are holding a montage of wedding photos--just in time for our anniversary next month! It's the wall I'm affectionately refering to as the "wall of us". Has a nice ring to it, huh? The husband asked how long the "wall of us" will exist. And frankly, it will exist as long as it takes for me to get my ass in gear and replace the darn photos (not happening anytime soon), or whenever we add another member to our family (also not happening anytime soon). Whew, looks like I have some time.

Happy Tuesday!