Halloween 2013

Happy Halloween Everyone!

Just wanted to drop by and share a few family pictures of our little hot stuff's first Halloween!

We did all of our festivities the weekend before, because of Nick's work schedule. It was a busy day, but we managed to cram last-minute-costume shopping, a zoo trip, and pumpkin carving all between Harper's nap time and bed time! Woo!

See ya later!

XOXO Sam

Up North - Belated

I was going to do an entire write up about our trip, detailing how we spent our time, etc. Instead, I decided to just share these family pictures. I think that they say enough on their own.

Nick, Harper, and I took a family trip up to Traverse City to see our family. It was the first time that Nick had been up since Harper was born last November.

Sunday everyone loaded up in the car and drove a little ways out of town to Pahl's Pumpkin Patch.

Nick and I went there last year with my youngest sister while I was pregnant and I thought it would be fun to start a little family tradition and go again this year!

At the pumpkin patch 2012

Harper and Aunt Grace

Grandma Judy showing Harper the goats!

All in all, we had a fantastic time. Nick and I even got to go on a date to the restaurant where we had our first date ever! (go ahead, you can say it, "Awww!") It was really nice to get away for a weekend, even if we were really exhausted when we got home.

Also, it is crazy to look back at these pictures and see how much Harper has changed already! Totally meant to post this, like, over a month ago. Apparently it has been sitting in my drafts for this entire time! 

Big things have been happening though, and I can't wait to share it with you.

XO

Sam

Pinspiration: Halloween Edition

Well, I know it's pretty early, but I just can't wait any longer. Right now is just one of my favorite times of year! I absolutely love fall. Want to know what I love a little bit more than fall itself? You guessed it, Halloween! I seriously collect decor ideas year round for this fantastic holiday. This past year Nick and I were in the process of a life changing move from Traverse City to Southfield, so I didn't get to decorate or celebrate Halloween at all. *sad face* There were a few other things that trumped carving pumpkins, like, unpacking all of our belongings and trying to settle in to this crazy new routine before Harper was born. Wow, time flies!

When I am looking for decor ideas, I try to keep a theme in mind. This year I have chosen to go with a more modern and minimalist approach. Don't get me wrong, I love in-your-face decor, but I know we're going to be super busy with the move again this year, and I don't want to stress myself out by biting off more than I can chew with decorations. (P.S. I've come to the very sad realization that we will most likely NOT be in our house by Halloween. Which means, another year without decorating. *saddest face ever*)

Anyways, I wanted to share some of my current favorite decoration ideas.

House 36

Nadia from House 36 has quite a few great (and cheap!) ideas to decorate for this holiday. I love the idea of swapping out some pictures around the house for creepy images of skulls, bats, spiders, etc. Really inexpensive way to make the home feel festive without going overboard! Can you even go overboard with Halloween decorations? I don't think so! Also, that striped candle, just a plain white one with electrical tape on it. So great!

House of Earnest

Erin from House of Earnest gives a simple DIY to create a creepy display out of a branch and some dollar store items. You could even wrap some books that you have lying around in black construction paper, or, better yet, brown kraft paper, for an even more natural vibe. I am also planning on putting some black branches in the vases I painted white.

in the fun lane

I really love how Holly from in the fun lane did a monochromatic theme for her Halloween decor. Very chic, if I do say so myself! While I will probably got a little lighter on the faux crows, I think they way it comes together looks so polished. If you check out her post you'll see some better pictures of the plates that are hanging on the wall above the mirror. They have what I'm assuming are vinyl decals on them. Super simple plus, once they could be swapped out if/when you got sick of them, but lets be real, I wouldn't ever get sick of those beauties! 

Pretty basic ideas, but they're inexpensive and very simple to DIY which is perfect in my book. Don't be surprised if a version 2.0 of this post makes it's debut in a few weeks once we get closer. 

So, what did you think? Do you have a favorite Holiday where you go "all out" with the decorations? 

Let me know in the comments below!

XO Sam

Um What?!

So, maybe you have noticed that a few of the previous posts are now missing pictures.

Let me explain...

I had previously downloaded the Blogger app on my cell phone so that I could monitor the blog throughout the day without having to log onto my laptop. I was trying to clear extra storage space on my cell and noticed that there was an album of pictures titled "Blogger". I assumed that this was a back-up of all the pictures that were uploaded and already published on the blog. (Kind of like how my phone also has an "Instagram" folder that saves all my uploaded pictures.) I quickly deleted all of these pictures, thinking nothing of it. Then a few days later I was checking out my old blog posts, itching to write up a new one, and noticed something weird. All of my photos had been replaced by little  -  symbols. Ugh!
Why on earth would the photos be linked through my cell phone's photo gallery!? I uploaded all of my pictures from my laptop, not my phone!

I digress, it really bummed me out. Especially because I had just done a major sweep of my laptop and cleared out my trash, permanently. So, lots of those pictures are now gone forever.

I've tried to begin to go back to replace some of the photos, but I know it doesn't have the same effect because I can't remember exactly what ones went with each paragraph. I'll continue to go back and replace what I am capable of. But those first posts are probably going to be forever blank.

Oh, and just so you know, I immediately deleted the app from my cell and will strictly be monitoring from my laptop from now on! (P.S. Deleting the pictures totally didn't even create enough space to upload my music! Wasn't even worth it! Whaaa!)

Nick, Harper, and I are all taking a trip up to our hometown this weekend. I'll be busy packing and getting ready. It will be the first trip Nick has taken up there since Harper was born! I'm super excited, but also really nervous about the logistics of Harper sleeping in a hotel.

Hope you have a great rest of the week!

Happy Fall-
XO Sam

The world is quiet here...

Seriously, I can practically hear crickets chirping as I type this. Things have been progressing at a snail's pace. We knew that this would happen, but it doesn't mean that we were prepared for these long periods with no changes to report. 

Believe me when I say that, I haven't lost the fire behind my blogging motivation. I am bursting at the seams with ideas and projects that I want to share with you.

However, I think that I'm going to let that roaring fire die down a bit for the time being. Really let those embers do their thing. (What a beautiful mental image, no?)

In all seriousness though, I'm planning on taking a hiatus until things actually start happening again with the home front.


I'll be periodically dropping by to do some write ups about the goings on in the Detroit area though. Some really great things are happening right near our future neighborhood that I'm pretty excited about!

Oh, also I'm going to learn how to install a toilet. So there's going to be that to look forward to.

XOXO 
Sam






  

The City: John K. King Used & Rare Books

So while Nick and I were finishing up our shopping at Eastern Market early this afternoon (spent less than $20 again by the way! WOO!) We decided to make a pit stop to a place that we've been meaning to visit since we moved down here. We drive past it almost every time we head into downtown Detroit, and have always meant to make time for a trip. 

John K. King Used and Rare Books

(you can check out their website here)

Finally today we figured we'd stop in and check it out. What we found was even more impressive than anything I could have imagined! Harper wasn't in the best mood for a leisurely stroll through all four floors (!!!) of books, so we only made it up to the second. 

This store was originally established in Dearborn, Michigan in 1965. It moved from there to the Michigan Theatre in 1971.  This location has been open since 1983, which is when John King purchased the four story abandoned factory building which is now home to an estimated 1 million books. 

When you walk in, you actually receive a directory. Essentially a map, with different categories of books and where they are located. It would be really beneficial if you were looking for something specific. However, because we were just taking a look around, we just decided to walk about and see what we could find on our own. 

Nick, of course, found the section dedicated to cookbooks. We thought it was pretty awesome that they even had "Vegetarian & Vegan" specifically on the sign. Gotta love it! 

I was wearing Harper in our front pack, so I didn't do too much actual looking. Just kind of bounced around trying to keep her from fussing too much. I did manage to snap quite a few pictures even with her flailing about on my chest.
  

 Nick also found the home improvement section. Even though you can find anything you need to know on good ol' Google now-a-days, it is still nice to have something tangible to turn to. 

Nick found this amazing kitchen remodeling book. It's full of lovely dated kitchen design ideas. Seriously, we were pretty impressed. 

I mean, really? This book explains why a lot of kitchens are being remodeled. (Also, down in the bottom corner of the book, there is totally a cabbage patch doll and it creeped me out while I was doing a little editing! Ha!)  

Of course we had to take a family photo, selfie-style.

I stood in the corner and took a picture straight down the aisle so that I could try and capture just how gigantic this place is. It is a vast sea of books. You can barely see the opposite wall in the photo above!

I'm excited about having such a great place to find old books for projects so close to home. Also, they have a selection of maps of Detroit that are dated around the 1800's. I can't wait to set up a time to go take a look at those. Pretty sure that there is a home for one in our future family room. 


It was definitely a great way to spend some time on a Saturday afternoon.

If you haven't been, you should definitely check it out.  

If you have visited, feel free to share your experience in the comments section!

XOX Sam 

YOLO! Colorhouse

I'm talking about the paint, of course. Haven't heard? 

"YOLO Colorhouse was born out of a need for healthier paint and better color. We like to think of ourselves as the “indie” paint company – we are dedicated to making paint that is better for us and the environment. We are dedicated to making beautiful color solutions simpler and we are dedicated to doing business in a more sustainable way."

Virginia Young and Janie Lowe (get it?) founded YOLO in 2005. 

Nick actually found this paint while creating our kitchen mood boards last week. While I wasn't super pumped when I heard the name, the fact that the paint has zero VOCs (or to sound more science-y, volatile organic compounds) got me a little excited. Then mix in the fact that they are a company committed to green practices? Sign me up! 
Choosing paint with low (or better yet NO) VOCs is an important thing to keep in mind when there will be kiddos running around, but for your own health as well. Many VOCs are known carcinogens.  "A typical bucket of paint contains chemicals, such as benzene, methylene chloride and others, that have been linked to cancer." The chemicals are released into the air not only while the paint is wet, but also for years after it dries. This puts you and your family at risk for other health problems such as allergies and asthma. 

YOLO has 128 beautiful colors to choose from on their website. You can also use their store locator to find a retailer near you. According to their website, for Michigan at least, you can purchase their colors online through Home Depot. 

I love their composition of the trend color palettes on their website!

Urban Farmer

Edge of Night

Rustic Modern

Natural Neutral 

Right now, my favorite would be a toss up between the last two. I love how the warmer white, it's really more of a beige, plays up against the distressed wood and sand tones. The 'Natural Neutral' has the deep charcoal grey that I'm thinking about for the living room couch but that greige color is a bit greener than I think I'd like, and, maybe, not quite blue enough. 

This whole choosing a house color palette has become a pretty daunting task. Especially for someone who has never been able to paint any of the rooms in my home (golly gee, thanks ex landlords!). 

Luckily we have yet to hear anything new back from our real estate agent or the lender, so we have quite a bit of time left. In the meantime, I'll continue to psych myself out about it, and try and read as much as I can.

We're pretty excited for the long weekend ahead! We'll be doing the weekly Eastern Market grocery trip and probably stopping by Belle Isle (maybe I'll even post about it). I had a cold last week, so, of course, Nick caught it too. So we'll probably just lay low for the most part and try to get our immune systems back in proper working order. 

Hope everyone enjoys the holiday weekend! 

Oh, and do you have any tips on how you coordinated paint colors throughout your home?

XO Sam