It's black . . . it's white

It's black it's white,
It's a pillow for my living room!

The above was funnier if you think about Michael Jackson's 'Black or White' song! Only a little funnier . . . maybe not funny at all. :(

Since I tackled those black and white elephant curtains for Hudson's nursery, I have been on a major black and white kick. I don't know what it is but something about black and white warmed up with a little light beige is seriously floating my boat these days. I was at Ikea looking for some toy organization options (trying to avoid just piling them into baskets) and this railroad pillow was calling to me! It's Ikea's Stockholm pillow and for $19.99 you get the pillow cover and a feather insert! :) I paired it with a little light beige pillow on our wingback chair!

Next black and white purchase was . . . this baby blanket from Spearmint Baby. The Eco Cross blanket was a bit of a splurge item for us but it was well worth it! I always put a blanket on the living room floor for Hudson so I thought something that looked nice was important, something that holds up to the occasional spit up or bottle spill was equally important! It's made from 80% recycled cotton and it has held up to many . . . many washings well.

I hope you are enjoying our little black and white touches as much as I am!
From these pictures you can probably tell we have switched the living room up . . . yet again! I am writing the post for that up this week, should be up by Wednesday. Long story short . . . we needed more room for Hudson's track and field training (aka. learning to walk)

I'll be back tomorrow with my two favorite books from March!

A living room to LIVE in!

This whole living room situation (as Lee likes to call it) takes some explaining, stick with me it will make sense in a second.
Back in May we had finished our Homestudy and had our minds on baby (although there was no baby yet). We knew that the original way we had our living room set up wasn't going to work . . . there was NO open floor space and no where to put a swing or an exersaucer, or even a little blanket on the floor. We also wanted to move our sectional sofa into the basement where it could be used for movie watching.
So,
We bought our existing sofa from Homesense for $240 . . . it's really more of a loveseat but it would work and it would give us way more room for baby items. Thank goodness we did the living room change up because not even a month later we had Hudson home, along with all the baby gear!

The rocking chair was in the corner by the TV but that thing is more uncomfortable than sitting on your bony grandmother's knee. I thought something wicker would be nice since it's kind of rustic . . . I found these two chairs at Ikea in their as-is section for half price almost $50 each. The white seat cushions were extra but well worth it.
These Ikea Byholma chairs are actually very comfortable! With the thick seat cushions they are a bit high but we are both tall and don't seem to notice, it was actually a vertically challenged friend (aka. a short friend) of mine that pointed out that they were high as her feet dangled above the floor.

We also replaced the large coffee table with a small farmhouse bench we've had forever. The coffee table switch up definitely gave us more room for a wiggly baby. I don't think the bench will stay in the living room forever . . . eventually I would like to see a round tufted leather ottoman in the middle of our living space. But for now the bench works just fine and gives Hudson tons of room to do his tummy time and general baby floor wiggling.

Since it was fall we also layered in our red ikea rug! For a little fall interest.

And Lastly, it's a bit hard to see but we found a sofa table off Craigslist. It's originally an ikea Stockholm table I believe, but I don't think they still sell it. It wasn't exactly what I had pictured behind the sofa, but the price was right, the scale was right and with a little paint and maybe some wheels it will be perfect!

So there's our living room as it looks today . . . okay, maybe not exactly how it looks today. Add in a nursing pillow, a baby activity mat, an exersaucer and some random wood toys around and you'll have EXACTLY what it looks like. ;)

Nursery Reveal

       Hudson's almost 9 weeks old now and we can finally call his room finished. I wanted to keep the main elements timeless and neutral . . . things like the wall color and the trim detail (you can read more about those choices here). I wanted them to be able to grow up with him. The trim and paint also happen to be my favorite part of the room, I would love to paint the entire house those two colors!

       I wanted to add some whimsy (or a lot of whimsy as the case may be) in the form of drapes. I am not much of a "theme" person but somehow his little nursery ended up with a bit of an elephant theme. What I like about the drapes is that while it's obviously elephants up close . . . from far away it almost looks just like a patterned black and white fabric (you can read more about the drapes here).
       I found this curtain rod at Lowes for less than $20. I thought it was perfect for a nursery. I love that it looks like a branch with some little leaves off the end. I even love the antique brass finish . . . a little warmer than nickle or chrome.

       The crib was more than a bit of a dilemma. We originally bought Ikea's Sniglar crib. I really loved the clean lines and how thin and delicate it was, I especially liked the price at $79.99. What I didn't like was that it was natural wood (I was just hoping for something painted). So we bought it anyway . . . and picked up some no voc paint. The plan was that we would paint the crib with a no voc paint, then seal it with a no voc sealer. We knew that we had about a month before he would be sleeping in it . . . so that should be more than enough time for it to cure and all the smell to leave. One month later . . . the paint was still tacky . . . the smell was stronger than ever and in the end I just didn't feel comfortable with him sleeping in his room  . . . with the door closed and that crib inside. So back to the drawing board, or back to Ikea I should say, for their Gulliver crib. It is really similar in its style, very simple clean lines. The four corner pieces are a little thicker than the sniglar crib but generally the same idea. A bonus is that it was already a warm cream color, and it didn't stink. ;)

       We had no debate over what crib mattress to get Hudson . . . we knew we wanted one that had an infant side and a toddler side (although I am pretty sure most of them do). But mostly we wanted to ensure that it was made of organic cotton. I researched tons of different mattresses to find one that was a reasonable price, we ended up with the Simmons "Natures Best" mattress.  We found it on sale at Sears for $159.

       Attached to the crib is a Cloud B sleep sheep. Hudson loves it, he loves it so much we ended up buying the travel sized sleep sheep that we can take with us in the car and on trips. The sheep has 4 white noises, rain and ocean are Hudson's favorite. We use Rain for bedtime and we use Ocean for nap times. It's awesome . . . as soon as he hears the rain sound you can actually see him getting sleepy.

       In the crib we chose a Muslin crib sheet made by Aden and Anais, it's their Up, Up and Away pattern. I have more than a small crush on Aden and Anais products right now, we have the swaddle blankets, the sleep sacks, the burp cloths and the bibs. They are beautiful and breathable, even Lee likes them and he is pretty much immune to baby stuff. He said he doesn't understand why I think baby shoes are so cute because "They are just like adult shoes but small". haha

       Beside the crib is our old craft cabinet. We were given so many adorable baby gifts and so many books, we wanted somewhere to keep all the cute baby gear. The drawer at the bottom is especially useful to store extra diapers and wipes.

       I found the sign above the cabinet at Homesense. I went in for pillows (more on the pillows in a second) and I saw the sign . . . I knew we had to have it for Hudson's room. I am sure he will get to be a certain age and not want that up in his room any more but for now it's perfect!

       The mobile above his bed was a bit of a struggle for me. I couldn't find a mobile that I loved. I could find ones that I liked . . . but even those ones were well over $50. So I set out to make my own, errr . . . kind of. I found the wire mobile harness on Amazon for less than $10. Then I found these little monkeys at the dollar store for a dollar ;). I just clipped them on the bum (ouch). Hudson loves it. When I find little elephants I will swap out the little monkeys but for now the colors are perfect and if Hudson is happy with it, then I'm happy.

       On the other side of his room is his dresser (aka. Change table) and a chair. The mirror is a huge hit with Hudson. The change pad is the Naturepedic Organic Change pad (while Hudson doesn't spend a lot of time on his change pad . . . we still chose to go organic because we didn't want it off gassing in his room). We covered it in the matching Muslin Aden and Anais cover! We keep his diapers and wipes in the top drawer of the dresser, that way we didn't need to try and squeeze in a BIG, long dresser or change table.

       You might recognize the chair, it's our old living room chair (originally our library chair). We are planning on adding a glider mechanism to the bottom but for right now it's as is. The pillows are from Homesense and they were the inspiration for the whole room.

       Lastly, above the chair we attached a picture ledge (an old one from Ikea) to the wall and hung a very calming piece of black and white art work (originally from Ikea as well).

I also keep his little elephant rattle and diaper cream up there, because I give him the rattle when I change him and if I need the diaper cream it's within easy reach.

We also added a ceiling fan where the old light fixture was before. Having a fan in the room reduces the risk of SIDS so it was the first thing we installed when we knew Hudson was coming home.

Whew, that was a long post . . . and I hope you like his little nursery as much as we do. It's my favorite room in the house now. Like hands down, no contest, my favorite room! It makes me want to install trim and do a two toned paint scheme for the whole house!

Make sure to pop back tomorrow, I have been using our crock pot a ton since Hudson's arrival and I made the BEST and Easiest chicken dish, recipe up on the blog tomorrow morning!

Living Room Update!

It's a bit of a story of how we got to this point . . . but stick with me and I'll explain it all.

Back Story:
We have an additional 900 square feet in our basement, it fully finished (with really ugly carpet) but it is totally unused. And in case you are thinking that's where we hide the junk . . . you'd be wrong. Our basement is completely EMPTY! Like echo-y filled, ride your bike around in circles, Empty! In this post I shared our basement steps and hallway, I also shared where we were hoping to put a small home gym. The home gym plans were dropped because our gym is now 24 hour so it seemed kind of silly to have a 24 hour gym 15 blocks away and a home gym.

So we decided the room at the bottom of the steps should be a small movie room/video games/ surround sound/ other things I'm not that into ;). haha Lee loved the idea of a small room with surround sound, because of our vaulted ceilings upstairs surround sound wouldn't work that well (you can see the disappointment on my face, right?? ;)

Main Story: 
We always planned on moving our existing sofa downstairs when we were ready to tackle a bit of a living room redo. That "redo" came a little faster than expected when we found our new sofa on clearance at Homesense for $240! It was marked down from it's original $999 Homesense price tag, and it was made in America!  I couldn't believe we snagged a new sofa for $240! That's less than we paid for our secondhand sofa!

I always knew that I wanted the living room arranged with the sofa facing the fireplace . . . but with our HUGE 107 inch sofa it didn't leave enough room to comfortably make your way around (here's a post from when we first moved in and the sofa was in front of the fireplace). But now with our new smaller 75 inch long sofa it fits with so much room to move around!

So with every new purchase there is a "ripple effect" the sofa being in a new spot now means that we can't fit both large wingback chairs. Which was fine because we were able to move one into the nursery. But then we had the small rocking chair from the nursery leftover, so I brought it down and it fit perfectly! Which made me so happy because I am seriously in love with that chair.

Then we needed a new rug because our existing cream rug, wasn't cream anymore. It was a dirty shade of dirt ;). When we moved the sofa off the rug, the part of the rug that was under the sofa was BRIGHT cream, and the rest of the rug was . . . it was gross, just plain gross.
We were gifted our new rug from friends who had bought it but it didn't fit their room . . . it's the EGEBY rug from Ikea. It's a beautiful sisal rug for an amazing price (at $169). It was a bit rough so we layered our cow hide on top and I am in LOVE with the look.

(please ignore the fluffy tree stump dog toy under the coffee table . . . Max loves that toy and it almost never gets put away . . . I didn't even notice it until I was writing this post)

I should explain why I ran the rug length wise instead of horizontal in the room. It just came down to we really liked walking on the wood floor in to the living room. It made the "traffic flow" more natural.

What's left to do: 
-Some throw pillows for the sofa.
-Find/ buy/ make a sofa table. 
-Depending on how high the sofa table is . . . maybe find a new lamp.
-Maybe find another matching rocking chair??? maybe. Lee's saying no as he's reading this over my shoulder. Okay he's gone now . . . -find a matching rocking chair!

I read a quote by Suzanne Kasler:

"A room should feel Collected not Decorated" 

I know the room seems less decorated now . . . and maybe not as 'put together' as it did before and it's really hard to describe it . . . but it just feels so much better now. Not that there's was anything outwardly wrong with our living room before . . . now it just feels more collected! Less put together and more natural. Sorry that's the best way I can think to describe it.  We are really happy with the switcheroo. I am hoping to decide on a sofa table this week, so maybe later this week I'll have an update! I really think that a sofa table is going to make this room!

Still more changes to come this week . . . we'll have some of our first shots of the basement "media" room and the office has two desks in it for the first time!!! :) So exciting/stressful/ amazing/ crazy/ fun!

Someone to watch over me

I'm back, a little impromptu vacation to my parents, if you follow me on instagram @minimanor you would have caught a couple photos of my last minute trip. I had a great time, a little shopping, a lot of sleeping. But I am back now!

When I came back I found my recent ebay order sitting on the front porch. I ordered a old fashioned vinyl record of our wedding song. I've been searching for ways to add more meaning to our home. I want our walls to speak, I want them to say something about us, even if what they are saying is "hey this is your wedding song" ;). 

We didn't choose our wedding song lightly. We put lots of thought into it. We wanted it to be classic, but sweet, but not too corny. We covered classic with Frank Sinatra and the song we chose was "Someone to watch over me". 

I found the record for sale on Ebay for a whopping $1.01, with shipping it was still less than $7. The frame I found on Amazon for $12. I placed the cover behind the record, I figured we should be looking at the record not the cover, even if the cover had a young Frank Sinatra on it.

I am so happy with how it turned out. I think it's small touches that make a house a home (for lack of a less cliched way of saying it). And this record is so meaningful and personal, as well as being a conversation piece.

I think when you LOVE neutral colors as much as we do, you have to get creative in other ways, like personal art from your sister, or great grandmother, or mother in law. I want to add heart and personality to our home . . . with out adding a lot of color.  I think one of a kind items that are full of meaning (for you) are the way keep neutral exciting!

Gnome Sweet Gnome

Just a quick post today, I was at Ross last week, and I saw this little white ceramic gnome. I didn't even hesitate, he was less than $5 and I love him.
He will probably go outside in our shade garden with the Hosta, but since the Hostas aren't out yet, I thought I would enjoy him inside for now!

He's about 12 inches tall, and 4 inches wide. I have never had an outside ornament before, but I kind of liked the play between the traditional Gnome in the yard and the modern, crisp white color.

I think every room needs a little touch of whimsy and outside is gnome exception  . . .  although a yard full of bits and pieces would look funny but one or two choices items is nice.

This is probably one of the weirder purchases I've made . . . that and my white ceramic husband.  But you can't help who and what you love ;)
I'll share his new spot when he makes his way outside.

Target Vase

Target: "Bringing you things, you never knew you needed until you saw them on the shelf!"

We were in Target buying . . . flour . . . butter and wine (you know the staples ;). When a quick trip down the Home aisle resulted in the cutest vase I've ever seen! It's honeycomb pattern was so subtle, and you know I'm a sucker for white ceramic.

There were two sizes, a Large and a small size. I picked up the small size for $16.99. Although it's pretty darn big.

As per usual I'll be enforcing our One in / One out rule. Meaning We bought a new vase so one of our old vases is on it's way out.
Lee did remind me that the exact words out of my mouth when I saw my new vase were:

"I will get rid of every vase I own if I can have this ONE vase. 

It's . . . . sooooooo . . . . cute!!!" 

Okay so I'm not getting rid of all of them, but one for sure . . . maybe two!
I hope you have a great weekend filled with honeycomb vases from Target. ;) haha

Orange Pillow

First off, sorry for the lack of posts last week . . . it was a crazy week. We'll be back with more posts this week!!! :) 

Now on to today's post which was almost titled "Darn Homesense" I should be banned. In fact Lee should ban me. I went in to pick up one little item for our new bookshelves in the library and this orange beauty was sitting there. Starring at me with it's tempting $10 price tag.
I never pegged myself as an orange girl, but I loved this pillow. I had never seen one where there were tiny folds all along the front! It kind of reminded me of tile (I don't know why?).

(Ignore the little doggy face poking out)
Because our living room is SO neutral it was super easy to fit in a colored pillow or two. I don't know if I will be able to fully commit to the orange but I'll give it a fair try. So far I'm in love with it (I'm still not sure if it's new relationship love or if it's long lasting Notebook love). Once I've figured out if this love is meant to last I'll be willing to invest a little more into the 'relationship' and add a throw blanket in orange, or some candle sticks in orange as well. But for now some Orange-ish tulips will do. Wow, this might be a relationship if I bought our new orange pillow flowers already! ;)

But even if we don't stick with the orange accent, the feather pillow insert alone was worth the $10.

So are you Orange with envy over our new orange pillow?? haha ;)

Don't have a cow.

errrrr . . . I meant DO have a cow! ;)

I'm about to share with you the reason our big library project was delayed by 1 month (more on that at the end of the post). It's cute, it's brindle and it's lying on our living room floor . . . that's right, yet another living room rug.

(I also totally realize that it looks like I designed a room based on the color of my dog, but you'd be wrong, I picked the dog to match my room . . . just kidding.) 

You've seen our first attempt at layering rugs, our second attempt with a red rug was nice but still didn't ring my bell. But I think we hit the nail on the head with this one, a cow hide rug!

It was always my plan to find a hide rug for the living room but I was convinced I couldn't find one in our price range, so I went ahead with plan B and picked out another rug. But Murphy (as in Murphy's Law) had other plans, not 2 months after we bought our new ikea rug I found this amazing hide at Homesense for $160!!!!! Seriously, an unheard of price.
I was still ready to walk away but with some coaxing from my mom I brought it home to "try out" and well the rest is history!

Seriously, Max looks like an accessory he matches so well! haha

A few new pillows, and the look is complete . . . for now ;).

I Hope you like it as much as we do! I think the moral of today's story is Cow hide rugs are awesome and never settle, wait it out for what you really want!

As for our BIG library project . . . I transferred the money we had set aside for the library to buy the hide so we had to wait another month to build up the "library project fund". We actually just started on it this weekend so check back later this week for an update!! All I'll say now is it's BIG (15 feet tall big!). 

We would love to know what you think. Now that we've shared 3 different living room rugs, what do you think??? Cow hide, Red Rug, Brown Rug, or no layering of rugs at all??? 

Library Painting

I was so excited to be able to incorporate this oil painting into our library. It holds a special place in my heart. My Great Grandmother was a tough farm lady. That's the only way I can think to describe her. Here's a picture of her and my Great Grandfather on the job at the cannery.

They lived way out in the sticks . . . I mean only accessible by boat, way out! I don't remember her house well, but I do remember the view from the house to the water, mostly because of this painting.

I believe it was painted by a neighbor of my Grannies. The painting is in rough shape but I love it so much it could be ripped in half and colored on and I would still hang it. Maybe one day we'll take it to be fully restored but for right now I kind of like the patina!! ;)

I framed it up using an old broken Ikea ribba frame. We broke the glass in the frame when we moved 2 Octobers ago! But I kept the frame around and I am so glad I did . . . it was perfect! It fits seamlessly in our library with our other artwork.

I love this little painting. We've been meaning to add more one of a kind pieces to our home and this definitely fits the bill. And the best part is I feel there's a little piece of my great grandmother in our home now!

Anniversary Part 2

Man oh man . . . that man of mine!
A few weeks ago we were in the city and I convinced Lee to take me to anthropologie and west elm before we went to dinner . . . just to look around. And I did just that, look around. I didn't buy one thing. I walked out slightly sad but very proud of myself. Fast forward a couple weeks and Lee surprised me with the 3 amazing pieces I reluctantly left behind at Anthropologie!
First was this little aqua vase:

Second is this Darling Dachshund tea towel. I Love little Dachshunds!

and last is the this little jewelry holder, under glass, in the shape of a wishbone.

"For all our wishes that have been fullfilled and the ones still to come."

Anniversaries are Awesome!!!!

But after 7 years of marriage I would have to say that the most important part isn't the BIG gestures, it's not romantic rides in hot air balloons, or being showered with gifts or diamonds, it's all about the small! It's a midday call from the office to say HI, it's getting up in the middle of the night to let the dog outside, it's quietly doing the dishes after dinner, or pulling the pickle out of your burger even though you like pickles but you know your wife loves them more. It's giving up the last cookie and pretending you didn't even want it in the first place. Mother Teresa said "Do small things with great Love." Lee certainly does just that. I don't think he's had the last cookie in at least 7 years ;).

A RED living room rug!

If you had told me last year that we would have a red rug * in the living room . . . I would have called you crazy! But somehow it's happened. I blame Sarah Richardson. If you've seen her Farmhouse mudroom you'll know what I mean.
I blame the perfect storm of . . .
-Lee spilling slurpee on the beige carpet this summer (a stain that is more stubborn than any surly teenager).
-The previous purchase of a wool rug that was way too thick and had us tripping over it on a daily basis.
-Sarah Richardson's Farmhouse Mudroom.
And
- The fact that we're into the colder seasons, where a nice warm color palette is oh so appealing!

So without further ado . . . may I present "Lucy" (I named her that because she's red like Lucille Ball's  hair!)

 The addition of  a little red pillow on the couch helped make Lucy (the rug) feel more at home!

  I hope you like it as much as we do. It warms the room up so much and makes everything feel cozy.

 I can't wait to add some red Christmas accents!

p.s. You can find the rug at Ikea. It's called the Kattrup Rug.
I'd LOVE to know what you think . . . Layered rugs YES or NO?? 

Check back this afternoon when I finally reveal my Birthday Gift!! 

 *Contains Sponsor Link.

Bird Shaped Shelf

I hope everyone in Blogland is doing well . . . we are both SICK! Lee has strep again, poor guy he gets it almost every year . . . I on the other hand have what can only be compared to as the bubonic plague ;) or a minor cold. Apparently it didn't stop me from shopping . . . I like to get all of our Christmas shopping done by Dec 1st (only because I HATE malls in December).

I popped into Homesense to look for a gift for MOM! And in true amazing daughter style I found nothing for my mom and something amazing for us!

I fell head over heels for this wall mounted, bird shaped book shelf! It doesn't look like much now . . . there is cardboard protecting the beak and the tail, but once it's up and styled I think it will be amazing! I can't wait to show you!

Bringing Fall Indoors

I received a few emails asking about how we decorate for fall. Honestly we don't do a whole lot. I think my fall decorating philosophy would be keep it simple, keep it cozy. I don't really want to bring in fake garlands of leaves, and plastic pumpkins, we like to keep it low key and warm!
With that being said there are some things that we change, and add to make our rooms feel more "Fall".

We add fur! I love a good faux fur throw! We usually place a large throw at the bottom of the chaise

and drape a smaller faux sheep skin over one of the chairs.

Nothing too crazy, you want it to look cozy not like the inside of a hunters lodge!

 

Something about Fall puts me in a reading mood. I know people talk about lounging by the pool in the summer with the latest best seller, but for me Fall is the season for reading.

 Roaring Fire, Hot cup of Tea, Great Book, I'm set! 

I wrote all about out new flannel bed in our Fit for Fall post last week! But for me Fall and Flannel go together like peanut butter and jelly, like spaghetti and Meatballs, like Oprah and making people cry!

 And a little plaid is always welcome in fall! 

 Fall is the time to get into the kitchen! After of summer of cooking outside and chopping up salads, Fall is the time to get back into the kitchen and whip up some good old fashioned comfort food!

This is our Vegetarian Chili Recipe (YUM) you can find the recipe here!

There is something so homey about a chess board! I don't have any fond childhood memories of Chess! I think the first time I played chess was on the computer! But I love a game of chess, Lee always beats me but I still love to play! 

 Having a chess set out makes it much more likely you'll play it, and just looks cozy and welcoming to me! 

Wood! Thick wood candle pillars, wood bowls, woven baskets! Anything in a wood tone! Even a jute rug seems to have a fall feel to it! 

So take the tablecloth off your wood table and let it go naked! Wood is in for Fall! ;) 

Flowers are a must any season, but make sure that they're fall flowers because nothing looks weirder than tulips in a vase, in October! 

These were my pick me up flowers from Lee last Friday! For those who were wondering the vase is from a local second hand store! It's actually a cookie jar!

Apples are hands down my favorite/go-to fall decor item! I have always used bowls of apples as fall decoration! Apples come in the perfect shades of red, yellow and orange for fall! 

 or

You could also use pears or some other fall fruit! A bowl of nuts also looks very seasonal! I like the idea of using something you would already have or use (like food) as decoration, then you can admire it for a few days, and when you're done looking at it you can eat it! Winner Winner Chicken Dinner (or apple dinner as it were)! 

Like I said, nothing too crazy! We like to decorate for Halloween so our "Fall Decorating" usually involves a dismembered body or two! ;) 

If you're looking for some more fall action . . . Check out some of our older posts on Fall from our Archive!!!