Rebecca Haas Jewelry at Craft Vermont This Weekend!

As you can tell by the dirty dirty hand in this picture I have been hard at work making pretty shiny things for Craft Vermont this weekend.  The event is being held at the Sheraton Conference Center in Burlington, VT, and runs from tomorrow the 22nd at 10 a.m. through Sunday the 24th at 5pm. 

It is my first time at this event, and I'm very much looking forward to it!  Fingers crossed that it doesn't snow, and I hope to see some of you there!

Oh Chalet for the New Nursery

In case you haven't heard yet, we are expecting another baby in February!  Another little boy, so Emmett will have a little brother to boss around, which I think will suit him just fine, as soon as he gets over the shock of the whole thing.  And we are just now starting the fun work of getting a new room ready to welcome the little guy home.  Pinning things on Pinterest for his nursery was of course the first step. And then I saw this little painting by Caroline of OhChalet on Etsy, and immediately knew it was going to be the foundation piece for the nursery design.  

First of all I love the colors: grey, teal, light blue, sand and white, with tiny pops of orange and yellow.  And I also love the spare yet homey feel of the composition.  It is cozy and comforting without feeling cluttered.  

One of my favorite things about ordering things directly from artists on Etsy is seeing how each unique purchase comes wrapped and packaged. It is so personal, it just makes opening up the package that much more fun.

So now we are off and running!  We can choose paint colors, rugs, bedding and all of that fun stuff.  It's maybe a little funny to base a whole room design on a 5" x 7" painting, but I feel ok with it.  And now we just have to find a place and a way to showcase this lovely little piece so that it doesn't get swallowed up by the rest of the room.

Hallway Renovation Featured Today on the Barn Light!: a Peek at the Before and After

 There is a nice feature of our hallway renovation on The Barn Light today, which is the style blog for Barn Light Electric, where we sourced the fixtures we used in our renovation.  It is always so nice to take a moment to step back and take a look at where we started, and all of the hard work we've done!  Here are some highlights from the feature, and you can always click over to read the full piece.

We love what our fixtures do for our space, and how they help accentuate the unique character of our converted barn home.  Thanks so much to the folks at Barn Light for getting in touch with me about a feature, and for encouraging me to finally take some photos of the finished hallway before we mess it up!

Oh, and shield your eyes a little, but here is the before image, just for fun.

When we first pulled up the carpet and discovered this green floor I kind of loved it.  But man did I get sick of it, and I sure don't miss it at all!  Sometimes I don't really realize how much my surroundings effect my state of mind, but looking at this old photos make me remember how I think I kind of closed my eyes in the hallway a lot, to pretend it wasn't there.  But since it is the central part of our home, there was really no way to avoid it, and I'm really glad that we have now fixed it up.  It is a relief to the eyes!

Emmett's New Reading Corner

We have been continuing to put together Emmett's new room, and this weekend we finally got to put up the picture ledges for his books in his reading corner. The design concept behind this idea was both aesthetic and practical.  On the practical side, he has trouble putting his books away on a tight bookshelf, squeezing the books between each other and making space can be very frustrating.  So this way I thought it would be a snap for him to be able to pick up his books and put them away. (wishful thinking? quite possibly) Also, I think they look cool, visually striking, and it gets the point across about what the space is for.  It is also a great way to fill up a big wall, and if you are light on big pieces of art, and heavy on books like we are, it is a great way to fill the space.

And I think the fact that Emmett was really excited to help us put his books up on his new shelves is a good sign for their appeal and functionality.

I'm starting to feel really glad that we went with very minimalist and soft colors, like grey, white and a little yellow for our basic design scheme for his room.  As soon as he started adding his own things, like his books, games, puzzles and toys the room is suddenly filled with a fiesta of primary colors.  If we had done the room with wild patterns and paint colors I wouldn't be able to stay in there for more than 30 seconds.  This way it will keep the room feeling a little more calm and restful.  Oh, and in case you are curious, the triangles on the walls are decals from urbanwalls on Etsy. They couldn't have been easier to apply, Emmett even helped, and I love the effect.  And since I used a random pattern I didn't have to worry about lining anything up.

So it's not done yet, we still have to get the right rugs and bedding, lighting and bedside tables.  But he is very psyched about his new room, and I think we'll move him in there next weekend.  Next project: the redesign of Emmett's old room for the new baby!  And I think we'll continue the soft color theme in there as well.  Sometimes there is just something so nice about white. . .

18 Hours in Portsmouth, NH

TH and I escaped to Portsmouth, NH last weekend for a night as a belated birthday trip for me, and just a general change of scene and night off from parenting.  Neither of us had ever been there and we really enjoyed it's salty and artistic atmosphere.  We left Emmett with some friends, and realized it was the first time we had left him and gone away together since he was about 14 months old.  I'm not quite sure how we let that long of a time period elapse.  We were, of course, totally tweaked about it, and almost bailed at the last minute, but I'm really glad we didn't.  And Emmett had a great time on his sleep over, came home full of stories, and told us he wants to do it every night. Phew!

We got there around 3:30 and checked into the Ale House Inn, which is a great little boutique hotel with iPads in every room, a little lobby with fresh fruit and snacks, and very friendly staff who are more than happy to help you find ways to fill up your time in Portsmouth.

The we walked around for a bit, looked at the water, and did some exploring and shopping.  And then we started eating, and managed to hit 3 restaurants in the remaining 15 hours.  First we went to Cava for a few small plates to refresh ourselves after our walking and shopping.

 And then we met up with a friend at the wine bar at the Black Trumpet, and then downstairs for a delicious dinner, where I had the most delicious foie gras I've had in years, which was pan seared and served over a flambeed apple slice and served with a beet and citrus relish.  SO good.

And then home to bed, because after all, we are still exhausted parents, even on our night off :)

It was truly lovely though to get out of our routine, get a chance to actually talk to each other without being interrupted, and just soak in a new atmosphere.  The really is something so rejuvenating about being in a new place, and taking in new sights and smells.  It helped me pull back a little and refocus on the big picture, and take a break from all of the little day to day demands and distractions.  And if 18 hours can do that, just imagine what a long weekend would be like! Maybe next time. . .