thrifted & more blue

Did some quick drive-thru thrifting, which is where we just happen to drive buy a thrift store and pull in on a whim, and am I sure glad we did!
Can you believe this Miffy clock? Israel and I were equally excited to find this on our way out, for $4. It doesn't quite work though, the second hand starts to move but then gets stuck, so the other two hands don't move either. Bummer.
It was caked with dust and though I was able to remove a lot, there's still some there that I can't quite reach.
I found the dustpan over the weekend. Says "Japan" on the back and it's just the right size for cleaning crumbs off the table. Israel is also very fond of this find, it's perfect for his little hands and you'd think we bought it just for him to pretend to sweep!
The Dansk kobenstyle pot is from my sister-in-law who knew I love these pots and was fortunate enough to find one. I am fortunate enough to be related to her!

inspiration

I needed a little pick-me-up and this does the trick. How beautiful is this kitchen? I could do without the red and the heavy wood table feels like too much but then I see the bedroom and this place totally redeems itself.

thank you

We had these small berry like flowers in our wedding, nearly 4 years ago. Can't remember what they're called but I love seeing them in the house.

Also, I wanted to express how grateful Jeremiah & I are for your heart felt comments and prayers of Israel. I feel like I have the BEST readers, how can I ever possibly thank you for all of your support? If I could email you all flowers, I would.
I just wanted you all to know that while we experienced some really raw emotions last week after hearing the opinions of doctors, we also feel very grateful. Israel is such a smart, fun loving boy who's blessed our lives in innumerable ways. As heart breaking as motherhood can be at times, children are such a gift and we can't imagine what we ever did before him.
As I feel it appropriate I will update you about Israel. I've found that continuing to blog and maintain my normal routines is actually a big help and not a burden, so it is my goal to not be sporadic but consistent as I can be.
Your encouragement has meant the world.

favorites

Better late than never, right?

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update

Sorry for being sort of absent. The last week has been long and draining. We've been to too many doctors with still another appointment tomorrow.

Our sweet little Israel has been growing and changing but according to the doctors not everything is the way it should be. I can tell you that we've experienced deep depression and still great joy in the midst of all that's been happening!

I've been really wrestling with how to address this in a blog setting, how open should I be and what do I keep private? I'm still unsure, to be honest. I do think you should at least have an idea of why I have been or may be sporadic with my posting. The blog is still very important to me and I don't see myself giving it up any time soon. Just know that we're still here and I will try to keep you updated as much as possible as things change.

Israel is nearly 18 months now, full of life, curiosity and laughter. We thank God for him daily.

new office light

Over the dreary weekend I made this light for the office. I love it, it's simple and white but has this great organic shape. Oh, it was sooo easy too. That's probably the best part. I just bought a keyless mount and had Jeremiah install that. Then you just screw in as many splitter as you want, add light bulbs and done! We're putting one identical to this in the living room too. They let off so much light and I think over time I may add to them, though the 10 splitters I used seems to be just the right size so maybe I won't.

I also thrifted the wall mounted candle holders and the bright red oil lamp, all for under $5. I'd love to find more of these lamps, maybe start a collection. There is a slot on the bottom of the handle for hanging and the lamp part pivots, kind of cool huh?

I'll try to take more pictures of the living room light when it's all done. My thought was that since the office light and living room lights are in a very straight line from one another, having identical fixtures could be cool. I hope.

Finnish

It bears repeating that there is something about those Scandinavians that's amazing. Look at Susanna Vento's place, bold uses of white from every direction that cause you to notice all of her fine details. I've followed her blog for the past year now, her DIY's and ability to make something from nothing is a true talent.
You'll have to forgive me but I could not edit this down, I wanted to just throw up every photo from Dwell's site but I think I left out two. The best I could do.

around here & thrifted

Thank you for all of your comments about the last post, I'm glad to hear that this weighs heavy on the hearts of others as well.

I mentioned that I was doing some painting last week and I'm happy to say that we're done, for now. Our bedroom used to be a fog grey, we wanted something a little ashy and got blue instead. Anyways, it's much better in white and the amount of light we've gained is kind of impressive. We also bought a new bed which I put together last week. I'll have to get together proper photos but for now you can see some of my recent thrift finds.
I found this, very tarnished silver lotus bowl for $.80 and have removed some of the tarnishing but not all yet. I also found the large yellow and brown vessel and album covers. Jeremiah loves bright colors and we both find these vintage album covers comical so it just seemed to fit in our room.

In other news, I tackled the 5 loads of laundry I had been putting off since Sat night. I have this love/hate relationship with laundry. I hate seeing piles of clothes in the sorter but I hate washing even more. I also hate folding but love to see the drawers and closets full of neatly stacked clothes. Also hate that if I don't take care of it, ain't nobody else will!

I'm taking Israel in to the doctor tomorrow, nothing major but just some lingering questions about his sinuses that have been bothering me for too long. It's not easy being a parent, I'm sure it's not the last time I'll say that, but not all decisions are easy to make. Finding clothes that fit him or choosing healthy meals, easy. Knowing when an issue is worth going to the doctor for, hard.
Well for me anyways.

heartache

I can't bear to think of starting a post without mentioning the heaviness I feel for the people of Japan. While feeding Israel lunch before laying him down for a nap, I couldn't help but think about all of the displaced people that are without family members and homes, even cities. I thought about them again as I laid Israel down in his crib with clean sheets and a warm blanket and the humming of his air purifier that lulled him to sleep. How many mothers were experiencing similar daily routines with their children just days ago? And again tonight when Jeremiah and I tucked Israel into bed for the night, we prayed for the missing survivors who are yet to be found. How very sad it is.



I'm not even sure how to transition from such a somber thought other than to say this morning I had tea on this Japanese made tray I recently thrifted. I think I'm going to try to make tea a part of my morning routine. There's something so simple and still rewarding about heating up water and pouring it over a packet of tea. It's little things like this that I will not take for granted.

favorites

It's Friday, really?! Does anyone else feel surprised by this?
I've spent the better part of the week painting our bedroom. If you follow my Tweets, you may already be aware of this. I've had to take advantage of naps to get all the edges cut in and then rolled and rolled some more. I'm happy to say it's practically done and I love how bright and clean it feels now. Relief.
I'm really going to try to update you with pictures next week but for now I am tired! I just want to spend the day in bed and have Israel make me breakfast. Kidding.
Hope you enjoy this week's Etsy favorites, there are some really great shops out there!
(top to bottom, left to right)

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Mohawk

I found this from Morgan's tweet and had to share all of this teaky shelf goodness. I really don't get tired of these Poul Cadovius style units and hope that someday one will end up in my home. Then I'll be referring back to this store for styling ideas.

in plane view

Sorting through pictures I took of my trip a few weeks ago, all from different parts of my flights. It's so easy to forget how small you are until you're in the air, looking at miles and miles at once. As I mentioned before, I'm a nervous flyer. I think about all of the possible negative scenarios about flying and am always relieved to land. It's great to visit new places and while I'd love to travel more, maybe I can just take a sedative until I land again. Am I the only one?
Anyways, the clouds looked so beautiful, even if I could only imagine myself falling through them.

if I could get married again...

I would marry the same man and wear this dress. I kind of can't stop thinking that this is so perfect.

breakfast in bed

Israel has weaned himself from nursing but still enjoys a bottle of dairy milk as a snack. On really special occasions I'll put a little bit of chocolate with it and the boy is good to go! The other morning I needed him to stay occupied while I got ready. This is how that happened.

favorites

My weekly favorites seemed to have turn into a Friday thing, I seem to remember Thursday nights! How great is the Bauhaus lamp?
I've got cleaning, painting, sanding and staining plans for the weekend. I'm hoping to refinish our dressers and finish painting our room. I'm tired just thinking about it.
Hope you all have a great weekend!

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in an old factory

Do you follow Nena's blog? If you don't, you should. She has a beautiful place in an empty factory building and I love it. Lots of consistent black, white and grey, it's tidy and modern and beautiful. I love that she even does some DIY's, check out this light. Easily one of my favorite stops.

before & after

Last week I found this chair from an antique dealer for $5. It was outside in the rain, holding up a screen door. I don't think the photos do it justice, the lines really are beautiful. It needed a bit of work though, the front horizontal piece was disconnected and the fabric smelled old and was badly stained. The frame also had stains, scratches and scuffs.
I should preface with saying that I'm no pro, if you want to see a great tutorial on redoing vintage wood Morgan has a great one right here, prompted by my vintage table. That's next on the list, still.
I sanded the whole frame down twice, wiped it off really well with a cheese cloth and then rubbed it with Teak oil. It's quite rewarding, especially after an hour of sanding! I let it dry and rubbed it down again. Seems it might still need a little bit in some of the "thirsty" spots but I think I'll take a brush to those later.
Then I recovered the seat and back. Pulling all of that nasty boucle off was a chore, let me tell you! It smelled awful and there were staples galore! I spent the better half of two nights getting them totally stripped before I was able to recover them. I chose a white linen-type woven fabric that I found for $1.50 and stretched it as taught as I could. You can see that there are a couple areas that aren't perfect. Whatever, as I said earlier, I'm no pro!
I stayed up till 1:30 last night putting it all together but it is leaps and bounds better than when I found it. I don't think the before photos depict it's true decrepid condition but you'll just have to believe me.
Now I have to find a place to put it. May be the hardest part of the whole process!