Packing Madness

Moving Boxes (Photo credit: Justin Shearer)

Drowning in boxes over here. It's Moving Week and so most of my energy will be focused on packing up our home and spending time with family during my absolute favorite holiday of the year, Thanksgiving. Lots to be thankful for this year.

We are only moving 4 miles away. Now that we are the throes of packing, I've become sentimental about this little place. My daughter was 5 months when we moved here and she will turn 20 months, tomorrow. It has treated us well this home.

What I am very, very thrilled about is moving from a basement apartment to a duplex with our own back-yard. Nye-Nye will have more room to run around (both inside and outside) and the Living Room is full of light. There are numerous walking trails near-by and we will only be 2 1/2 miles from one of my favorite places in NOVA, River Farm. I am very grateful.

Garden Dreams

We put an offer on a house, yesterday. There were 4 other offers, so it looks like we have a very slim chance. But, it got my wheels turning thinking about gardening. Specifically, gardening in small places.

I've mentioned Micheal Judd from Ecologia Design when I wrote this post. His website is an absolute treasure trove of information on "Edible Landscaping." 

I am liking the idea of including the following edible plants in our future yard...

1) Hardy Kiwi

2) Flying Dragon Citrus

3) Elderberry

4) Kousa Dogwood

5) Jujube

6) Mushrooms

7) Fig Tree

8) Paw Paw Tree


Thinking about this future food is making me hungry!

Photos Sources: here, here, here, here, and here

Art Inspiration for Our House

Since the theme this Month on my blog is Beauty, my posts will be heavy on the visual side. (You probably have noticed this already....don't worry, some herbal posts, as well as some kiddo posts are also coming your way).

This month is my chance to share various future Art Projects, as well as Good Design I have spied around the Internet and beyond. I can't wait to have some time to work on some of these projects.

Today, we are checking out two houses and one of them has a fireplace in the Living Room.

If we end up with a house with a fireplace, I am thinking of using this sculpture I found on Design Sponge as inspiration. I love working with found wood, so this would be a fun project. It's a quirky piece that really goes well with the open shelves, don't you think?

Kitchen Love

I have been totally disinterested in Kitchen Design for....I'm not sure, but it's been a long time. I love to cook but my eyes just glaze over when I see a Kitchen (maybe because my Mother was a Cabinet-Maker for 20 years and my Step-father has been one for 35 years).

But, now that we are House Hunting....Kitchens are suddenly on my radar.

I used to think white Kitchens were just plain stupid, boring and asking for trouble. I totally didn't get it. I'm not sure what changed. Now, I am on a White Kitchen Kick, specifically a White Kitchen with Open Shelving Kick.

I think the draw is light. All of the houses in our price range are small and, therefore, all of the Kitchens are compact. White paint and some sunlight streaming through the window really does wonders for making a space seem larger.

Maybe I should blame it on this house...






Ever since I saw photos of Protohaus, I've been obsessed with the beauty of a White Kitchen.

I love how the open shelving makes you edit what you keep in your kitchen. No keeping something around that you are not crazy about because your Great-Aunt gave it to you. I'm guessing it would force one to be a bit neater (or is that wishful thinking on my part).


Here is are some Kitchens that are Making My Wheels Turn...

You can tell this is a small space but it feels so airy and cheerful. I'm totally digging those red counters.

Maybe we should get rid of our current pots and pans and invest in 4 or 5 copper pieces and hang them on the wall. I've always loved the look of copper and we already have a few non-cooking copper pots at our house. I like the look of the pans directly on the wall, as opposed to hanging from large hooks or from a rack.

More Open Shelving. Not sure how well Art above the stove would hold up with some serious cooking. But I think this space is cute (although I would personally de-cluttter it a bit on the counter to make me feel more calm).

I have to laugh at how popular farm sinks have become recently. My parents have one. Of course, they live on an actual farm. I'm liking the look of this kitchen with its butcher block counters and rustic style cabinets.

This may be my favorite one so far! We already have a lot of wood pieces, so this look would be easier to achieve. White bowls and plates can be found at yard sales and thrift stores for cheap. The only thing I would do differently with this kitchen, would be to have butcher block counters that are similar to the shelves. Gorgeousness!

French Garage Turned into a Home

Papa Bear and I have started House Hunting. Yesterday, we went to two houses (more on that later) and the second house had a solid garage built in the 1950's. I started brainstorming ideas for using the garage and I remembered this video.

A 450 sq foot garage was turned into an interesting modern home full of light. The homeowner also had one massive furniture unit built (a bit too sterile for my liking but pretty darn ingenious). Enjoy!