Settling Back In

We are finally home again after a whirl-wind month of travel. Every time I leave, I always come home with more ideas and more love for my home.

There is so much inspiration out there that it can be overwhelming but I love the steady flow of ideas I have when I'm in a new environment.

Warning- This post is picture heavy, so prepare for a virtual slide show. If only I had a dark, wood paneled den to invite you all in to...

This year, for our third honeymoon, we went to the Bahamas.  We relaxed in the sand, took in some cultural sights and played with the local wildlife.

We didn't stay there, but we had to make the trip out to see Atlantis. (Have you seen the commercials? Insane)

It was as over the top and expensive as advertised. We went through their aquariums which were probably the least interesting to most but I loved them. They had a HUGE manta ray.

This doesn't even do it justice, this thing was like 10ft across.

Seeing the cruise ships was pretty neat. They are massive!

Downtown was cute and well maintained.

My favorite trip was to the zoo. It wasn't really an animal zoo but more of a bird zoo. Including a flock of wild flamingos roaming the grounds.

They had some neat reptiles and things too.

But the best was the Capybara.

Don't you just want one?

It looks like we were really busy but that was really the only day we left the comfort of the hotel. The rest of the time was filled with sun, sand, and cocktails. Which to me, is the best type of vacation.

Now that we are home, it is time to settle back in to life. We have some progress to make on the bathroom still but I'm taking my time.

Cheers!

On the Road Again

It's June! Which means we are off on our annual Honeymoon (you can check out our 2011 and 2012 trips if you'd like) and this year we chose the Bahamas. My sister-in-law is holding down the fort while we go get some serious R&R. See you in a few weeks!

Gold Mining and Family

Last weekend we took off to La Paz Mexico for a family reunion. Daniel's family has a pretty strange (and fun) past. Way back, Daniel's grandfather bought a gold mine in Baja California (near La Paz) . Daniel's father, aunt and uncle grew up at the mine living in a house out in the desert.

When Daniel was young his parents took him and his sister there for months on end.

They would pitch a tent in the old building and camp out under the stars.

You can even still see the wall where they marked their heights going back to when Daniel's father was young.

It had been 20 years since Daniel was last at the mine but this year everyone came together and made a vacation out of it. We spent one whole day their checking out the house, the mine, and playing in the arroyo (which of course included posing with some surprisingly shaped flora).

The best thing was getting to spend time with Daniel's cousins and aunts and uncles reminiscing about their youth. 

The mine never really produced any gold but it did produce quite a few fond memories from every generation. 

Now my height is up on the wall officially adding me to the legacy. Who knows, maybe we will bring our children out here some day to experience the fun.

Cheers!

Check, Check, Check

I'm working through my TBC list so here are a few more items I can cross off.

We have light!

And even better, we have a functional Rain Barrel.

I used this inspiration for the design.

After I built my base I gave my barrel a fresh coat of paint and topped it off with some rocks and succulent planter (this was too cute not to copy).  After sitting there for a year it probably took me an hour to put together including building the base and attaching the plumbing. Of course that means there is absolutely no rain on the horizon but that's just how it goes right? 

I love checking things off don't you? 

Cheers!

Compl....ete?

I have for you an almost complete bathroom before and after. Why isn't it complete? Time is a tough mistress.  Still, it is worth taking a peak.

Before

So Far

We didn't move much plumbing (the sink skooched over about a foot) so the shower and toilet are in the exact same spots. I think it helps highlight just how much we changed things.

Obviously paint needs to happen and trim but otherwise things are done. I am so happy to be finished with this project! This is my favorite project so far. I think mostly because of just how much we changed (for the better!). It is really easy to look back and see how worth it it was. I love before and after photos don't you?

Why the sort-of reveal? Daniel and I are off to La Paz, Mexico for a family reunion this week. As you read this I am winging over CA on my way to sun and sea so things might be a little quiet around the blog this month. I've got a few little posts lined up but we will be back and wrapping up the bathroom in July.

Cheers! 

Hook, Line, and Sinker

Oh how I wish we had a dedicated mud room. Alas, when our house was built way back in 1902, these things weren't necessary. Maybe husbands put their coats away in the closet every time back then? Who knows. People do always say life was so much simpler in the good old days. While I don't have a mud room, I do have a wall.

A wall with hooks.

Simple, easy, effective.

I got my inspiration from here. The rest was just left over 1x5, hooks and paint. Super easy and only as expensive as your hooks (mine are from Home Depot). 

Now if I can just convince someone to hang up their coats... 

Anyone else lacking in a mudroom? How do you corral your coats? We don't even have a coat closet (the shame!)

Cheers! 

Shower!

Bam!

I'm hoping for a full reveal Thursday but I am too giddy with tile completion not to share this. Drywall is almost finished, toilet is in and the sink is ready to go. I can see the light!

Making Your House Work for You

A few months back I went and saw Young House Love give a talk while on tour and came away with an interesting thought. Just because a room in your house was designed for one thing, doesn't mean you have to use it that way. That got me thinking. We've been fighting with our living room since we moved in.

It's long and skinny with the front door right next to the fireplace. It was always more of a passthrough than anything else, which is a shame because now that our trees are gone there is a great view. So I thought; let's change it!

We moved the dining room table in to the living room added curtains (from West Elm) and a little desk by the window.

This is where you can find us 80% of the day. Daniel loves to work at the table so the office tray I put together has been a lifesaver.

 Sunflowers always bring cheer to a space don't they?

Ignore the wrinkly chair covers and table. We are still using the free furniture we got when we moved in.

I've love to replace it with a round table one day. For now, free is good. The bench is something I made last fall and never wrote about.

It is simply plywood, legs and some foam. Super easy. Maybe one day I will go back and write a tutorial. I find upholstery really hard to describe so I don't usually write about it (though I love doing it).

There you have it. Our living room turned dining room. We've lived with it for 4+ months and love it this way. There are still some lighting kinks to work out but I don't see changing it any time soon. What happened to the dining room? You'll just have to wait and see! (As in we are still figuring out how to make the whole space work)

So tell me, what have you done in your house that was a break from it's intended use? I've seen some awesome spare rooms turned in to dressing rooms and great offices.

Cheers!