Do you ever just stop and realize how time is flying by so quickly? So quickly! I had a lot of those moments this week. I think Greta reminds me often of how I used to just wait and wait for things to happen. Six seems to be the age of always wanting and waiting for something to happen for her. Is it Friday yet? Is it summer yet? I'll blink and it will be am I graduating yet? There are so many milestones as we grow up and now that I am up I can't believe how quickly it all zooms by. Maybe this has been on my mind because we recently hired my niece, a college student here, to come for two hours a day, from 3-5pm and be with the girls, so I could have some dedicated time to work. My girls are so happy and it has worked well that I can tie any loose ends up before Chris gets home at 5 and we can enjoy dinner together and family time, but it still breaks my heart a little every day. They are growing in those 2 hours and I'm missing it. (And then I tell myself to get a grip, it's two hours.)
Other fun things this week!
This Etsy shop is filled to the brim with the most beautiful, budget-friendly textiles from Turkey. It's kind of blowing my mind. (I guess it stops being budget-friendly when you add 6 things to your cart.)
Have you heard about this new family bike? I'm keeping an eye out for the Kickstarter. Into it!
After seeing the above kitchen (from here), I got in my mind that the Pittsburgh kitchen we're renovating in three weeks absolutely needed a statement fixture. So I went down a rabbit hole trying to find one in our budget, and fell in love with this one from West Elm that could be the baby sister to the chandelier pictured. Sadly, their ceiling height couldn't accommodate it. I still can't get it out of my mind though. Could it work in our bedroom? Should I swap out the stairwell light? Someone use it and show me all the photos.
My latest design crush is Lauren Leiss meets Studio McGee. So freaking amazing.
We're breaking ground on our deck today! And by "we" I mean we hired someone. I know! We tried for the past month to squeeze it into our schedules; mapped out the whole backyard, made a list of materials, purchased materials, watched and read everything we could on building a deck and then realized we have too much going on to tackle this ourselves. And that's okay. It feels strangely good to turn over the reigns to someone that can dedicate their time to the project and knows what they're doing. I'll go into more details on the plans next week.
My friends tease me because my whole closet is filled with neutrals. I basically wear a gray shirt and jeans every day. So it's really no surprise to anyone that I'm pining for this swimsuit in "earth." (I love a good one piece!)
The One Room Challenge finished up this week and I definitely have a few favorites, like Nicole's ultra-cool DIYed bugs and Mandy's entire space feels like a breath of fresh air. I think next time we might jump in and participate!
Pegasus doll! My heart!
It's been 10 years (what!?) since Jim kissed Pam on Casino night and my heart still skips a beat.
Lastly, we cannot thank you enough for your enthusiasm and support this week with the launch of our podcast. Because of all of you, our podcast is the #2 Design podcast and we're in the top 100 of all podcasts. If you listened to it--thank you! We'd love for you to leave a review right here. We're headed into the studio today to record more episodes for you and it's kind of the highlight of our week now.
Leave a Reply
WE'RE CHRIS + JULIA
Portfolio
Projects
I know that Mandi from Vintage Revivals was on one of your podcasts... maybe she can help you come up with a creative solution for the light fixture for the Pittsburgh kitchen. Her DIY version is somewhat similar: http://www.vintagerevivals.com/2015/03/diy-bent-arm-chandelier.html
The kitchen will be more traditional, but that's such an awesome DIY option!
Thanks so much for giving our One Room Challenge space some love! Can't wait to get all the updates on your back porch project!
Cheers!
xo Anna Lynn with Waiting On Martha
Would you mind sending me the name of the etsy shop? for some reason my laptop won't let me go directly from the link. Thanks very much
It's called On The Rainbow
Thank you so much Julia
I love your Friday posts!
We just hired framers to , essentially, rebuild our detached garage and add a bed/bath upstairs. Um, it's been amazing. They are fast. They are skilled. And meanwhile, we still have a million projects going on so...best idea ever. Excited to see your backyard take shape!
AHHHH Jim and Pam...made my heart so happy!
OH MY GOD JIM AND PAM!!! I still die. Loving your Etsy shop!
COLLEENWELSCH.COM
Oh my gosh that etsy shop. I both hate you and love you for sharing it!
We are getting a deck this week too! Although I'm new in the DIY blog arena, I've been building and doing my own stuff for years, so still felt a little dirty hiring someone - but I think it was too big a task for me and my little miter saw anyway. Sometimes it's nice to hand off to the pros for awhile :)
if you love the idea of a "family" bike, i have to say, the dutch do it best. check out their bakfiets! my mom says that when she was little her mom would bike with a baby in a little sit on the handlebars, the oldest child sitting side saddle on the back, and she would even have another somehow squeezed on the cross bar in front of her--and this was in the 1950s!! if you are looking for a bike seat that goes on the back that accommodates a kid up to 48 lbs (canadian/american labels say 40lbs on the box, but that's only because that what the testing standards go up to) check out the yepp brand--we have one and it is excellent :) our tall four year old has no problems riding is it, and our 1.5 year old loves it, too!
whoops--baby in a little "seat", not "sit"
I heard about your story and your blog two weeks ago and I have been in love since then.
#jimandpamforeva!
If you decide to change out your stairwell fixture, go ahead and sell me the one you already have. I have always loved that fixture!
*I always have to be reminded by my husband that Jim and Pam aren't a real couple ;)