couples therapy

For some reason, it's taken me an entire year to care about what our bedroom looks like in this house. I mean, I cared a little. I cleaned it, I made the bed, I kept it tidy. But it's all the way upstairs tucked into the corner at the end of the hall, and there were much more pressing issues to tend to when it came to making this house our home. Like getting rid of the brown walls in the living room, and the (fake) crystal chandelier in the dining room, and the old, dusty, stained curtains...everywhere. And it's not like we spend that much time in our bedroom. Bedtime, the occasional story for Ralph, coffee on Saturday mornings. That's about it. The bedroom was last on my list of rooms to fix up.

And then last weekend I caught the bug. Lots of bright white bedrooms on pinterest, I think that's what finally did it. We already had white paint, and a quick trip to Target for some simple white curtains and sheets took care of the rest. We painted the entire room in one afternoon last weekend, and now I just need some art for the walls before it's all finished. 

On Tuesday I decided to really go for it, and deep cleaned the entire room. I washed all the bedding and dusted and swept. It took me all day (lots of babies in my house these days, so most things take all day now) and I didn't get to scrubbing the floor until after Ralph was in bed. I got down on my hands and knees with a bucket of soapy water and started washing when I heard Ryan come up the stairs and into the room with a rag in his hand. He knelt down too, and we washed our bedroom floor together. It wasn't much, but for some reason it felt like such a sweet and loving gesture, and it almost made me cry. Working on projects together is something we both love to do, but working together on the room where we whisper and laugh and pray and sleep and dream, side by side, has been my favorite project yet. It felt ceremonious. It felt like our marriage was washed clean and fresh, along with the floor and the sheets. Having a pretty bedroom to fall asleep in now is just a bonus.

i'll light the fire, while you place the flowers in the vase that you bought today-ay-ay-ayyy.*

Thank you, all of you, for your sweet messages about our new house! It was so fun to share the news! We had heard a few weeks ago that the first offer on the house might not go through and were pretty hopeful, but I didn't want to say anything, you know, for fear of jinxing it. The past three weeks have been a lot of waiting and waiting and waiting and small amounts of gnashing of teeth and saying, "WHYYY? WHY IS IT TAKING SO LONG TO FIND OUTTT?" And then we found out and we were like, "Aww yeahhhh!" Actually, our reactions were pretty subdued because Ryan's aunt was staying with us and we wanted to be cool. So we high fived, and then whispered excitedly about it in our bed that night. 

We've got big plans for this little house. It's very clean and has been well-taken care of by the little old lady who lived there for 45 years. But, it's also very old-lady-looking. The bathroom has pink tile everywhere, and the kitchen is quite yellow-- a paint can in the basement told me it's exact name: banana split. Sounds delicious, but it's still getting repainted. All the updates certainly won't happen right away, but we're okay with that. We like projects.

Our closing date is still up in the air, but we are hoping to move in by early October. Which means I'm killing time by writing (and re-writing) lists. Between the baby and the house and my annual fall fashion wishes, the lists are getting out of hand. They're everywhere.

Anyway, I just wanted to say "thanks!" to you all for sharing in our excitement. I can't wait to get in there and show you around. It's gonna be fun.

OH, and the best part? Ryan thinks the baby room smells like Waffle Crisp. That lucky baby.

*We don't have a fireplace, and I call it a vase, not a vahse, but we have been singing that dern song a lot.

HEY GUYS

 Remember that cute little house with the blue shutters that I thought would never be ours?

WE GOT IT.

Miracle of miracles!

I shall have a pantry and a linen closet and a washing machine!

And the baby shall have a room of his very own,

to which he says:

Oh yes he does.

ps: Ryan is indeed "Tebow-ing" in that bottom photo, if anyone was curious. THAT'S HOW EXCITING THESE TIMES ARE.

things

Hello! It's been a quiet few days around here, just doing summer time things while trying to stay cool. Here's what's up:

Ryan and I have been house hunting the past weekend. We're just in the first few stages of it, and we're not even sure it's going to happen anytime soon, but we're having fun looking at houses online and dreaming up our perfect first home. I know we're not going to find anything close to extravagant, so it's been extra exciting to look at outdated old lady homes and think of all the fun ways we could fix em up. There's a certain house that I love, and it has the ugliest, most fantastic hot pink bathroom tile. It's truly terrible, but I just can't stop thinking about that darned bathroom. Hardwood floors and a big yard for a garden are at the top of our list so far. We'll see. 

In other news, my love for sweets has been out of control recently. I've always had a sweet tooth, but it's even more intense with the pregnancy. Like, if I had an actual sweet tooth, it would be a large and obvious snaggle tooth that pokes out the front of my mouth. I've discovered a concoction which I have named The Iced Hot Chocolate, and I drink it regularly. It's so easy, it's stupid. Here's how to make one: Get some cold milk, hot chocolate mix, ice, and a cocktail shaker. Shake it all up and pour into a glass. Jingle bells, it's like Christmas in July!

Are you wondering why I've got so many photos of beauteous vegetation? Between the potted plants, the farmer's market flowers, and the herbs my sister harvested and gave to me, we've got a serious green house situation. Every room has flowers in it! It's a little wild and fruit flies are everywhere, but I'm trying to enjoy it while the summer weather lasts. I put the lavender from my sister's garden on my nightstand, and it reminds me of my grandma's linen closet.

All this talk about houses and homemaking has kicked my nesting into full gear. I'm dreaming sweet little nursery dreams. Perhaps I'll be back sometime this week with a few ideas and inspiration pictures. Maybe I'll even make a mood board if I ever figure out how to do that! Oh can you feel the excitement?!

home again

I have returned! It's just the two of us again in our little apartment, and Christmas is officially over. As s'wonderful-marvelous as it was to hang with my family for 5 days, it's good to be back home and sleep in my own fluffy bed. And once I clean this place up a little bit, I plan on taking a loooong hot shower. All those 5 minute lukewarm showers I've been taking? Not my favorite.

But I'll tell you what is my favorite: having someone do the dishes for me. I think my poor mother spent most of the weekend in the kitchen, either cooking or cleaning up. And as sorry as I was for her, I was also totally pleased for myself. I'd like to keep a tiny little dishwashing version of my mom in my cupboards, and pull her out when my kitchen is messy. I'd make her a tiny sponge bed and feed her potato chip crumbs. What do you say, Mom?

I'm sure I'm headed into niece/nephew withdrawals for the next few days, too. Each one of them was so darling and hilarious. I wish I could bottle up their chubby sweetness. If you haven't held a fresh newborn recently, go find one, and take a sniff of it's little baby powder-y head. It will do wonders for your soul!

Speaking of babies, this weekend was the first time my mom and sisters and I had all been together since I lost my baby. It was so wonderful for me to talk with them about it. And when I say talk with them, I mostly mean I whined and cried, while they listened (and cried a little, too.) My sister Gretel looked at my baby's pictures for the first time. Even though it's so sad to do, I can't tell you how good it is for me to show her off, even if all I have is a few hospital photos and her tiny knit hat. Thank you, Mom and sisters, for all the hugs, advice, and lovely words. Smooches for you.

I was supposed to go to a meeting this afternoon, but my February-Christmas brain completely forgot all about it. I kissed Ryan goodbye this morning, and he took off with our only car. So instead of meeting-ing it up, I'm stuck at the apartment, determined to catch up on things and get some stuff done. I'm feeling nice and motivated. My plan for the afternoon: season one of Downton Abbey (for the fourth time!) and Valentine's Day crafties. Delightful.

Apt. 66

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