23 April 2012

a move in process.


Instead of packing on Saturday morning we decided to jump on beds.
We listened to music.
We ate crepes for breakfast
and we played soccer.

And after we enjoyed this time together I headed to the new house to clean. For hours and hours.
I stripped wallpaper. I removed contact paper. I scrubbed floors and walls.
And when I came home I packed and packed until the wee hours of the night.


I probably won't be around this week. The official moving day is Thursday and we couldn't be any more excited!
We have no kitchen at this point. Jon removed the cupboards and island today. The stove is in pieces and we have a dumpster in our yard. As I type I am in the midst of packing while Jon is spending the night at the new house to continue prepping the kitchen and removing carpet from the kid's rooms. Somehow between now and Thursday I will get Jess' room painted. The boy's rooms will follow...after I remove the wallpaper. No really, I'm excited for all this! Ok, maybe not the wallpaper removal and painting of ceilings, but I figure a week of hell...I mean labor.. will be worth it. Once the painting is done the decorating can begin, and let me tell you, the boys are so excited for that part! Jonas asked if I could surprise him with his room. He wants to walk into it one day after school, eyes shut, and it will all be done. Guess I better go put that supermom cape on ;)

Enjoy your week friends! I'll try and pop in, but may not be around until next week. I hope you'll stay with me on this journey.

xoxo

music: Jesse Harris, Feel

20 April 2012

new york trip. part III

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day three of our trip consisted of:
strolling around Greenwich Village, shopping for the little ones, eating at the most amazing bakery Il Cantuccio, purchasing good coffee, eating pizza, walking off our full bellies, indulging in tapas at Casa Mono, heading to the airport for a late flight home to our loved ones.

we had a great trip new york. next time i think we'll bring the kids.
enjoy your weekend friends!

19 April 2012

dinner style.

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Last night we managed to escape the packing for a couple hours
to celebrate Jon's mom's birthday down at the restaurant.
We had the whole back room to ourselves to run and jump and play.
While the little ones entertained themselves we enjoyed delicious food and good conversation.
Happy Birthday Nana Barb!

It's been awhile since I've linked up with my friend Morgan for Small Style.
Make sure to check our her lovely blog and all the small style posts!
I'm also linking up with Mandy for High on Thrifting Thursday since I just thrifted this dress for Jess

Jess is wearing: vintage dress, target tights, target shoes, beaniestalk bow
Jonas is wearing: target jeans, target shirt and shoes
Josh is wearing: lands end pants, target shirt, gap shoes



17 April 2012

home tour. the living room


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Over the years the living room has become my favorite room in the house. It is the gathering space for our family and it is the gathering place for memories. It is always filled with the sounds of children's voices, a touch of laughter and always music. It's where Jon and I lay around and chat at night, over music, over Mad Men or Battlestar Galactica or sometimes over a late dinner and a fire. Over the past eight years this room has seen many emotions, celebrations and gatherings. I remember the days of when we first moved in and I just found out I was pregnant. I could barely make my hour drive home at night because my stomach was churning with "morning" sickness. I remember the days of coming home to find curtains ripped from the walls and Christmas trees fallen over thanks to an overly anxious dog who I found on a highway by our home (Bailey).

I removed the carpet from this room by myself and boy did I surprise Jon when he came home from work. "Look honey, we have hardwood" is how I greeted him. I painted the walls. I removed wall paper. And then I decided to paint the walls again.

I paced the floors of this room while I went into labor. Three different times. I can remember as if it was yesterday sitting on the couch while in labor with Jessica. Watching Dexter, sipping on a glass of wine and trying to relax between those intense contractions and waiting as long as possible to go to the hospital. Eight hours later she was born into this world. While we experienced such joys in this room we also experienced loss. The day Bella fell while Jon took her for a walk, the call from the vet that bone cancer had aggressively taken over and it required immediate action. We held off. We wanted more time so we brought her home. I spent an entire weekend with Bella on the living room floor. Cuddled among the blankets and pillows. Gently petting her belly and rubbing her head. Knowing that I will never have a dog like this again. A dog whose soul shines and can be seen by just looking in their eyes. Bella left us in this living room. In our arms, beneath our tears, she walked to heaven. I still cry when I think about that moment. When the vet came to our door to do the one thing we never thought we could do. But I also know that she will come with us to our new home and there she will rest (we chose to have her cremated and will bury part of her ashes at the next house, does that make us sound crazy??)

Over time, the sadness of this room became replaced with joy. Holiday celebrations and family traditions quickly grew. Christmas Eve parties followed by late night wrapping, good conversation between a husband and a wife and always good wine. Surprises from the Easter Bunny, family photo shoots, fort building, camp outs and many family movie nights. I will miss this room dearly, but I will pack up it's contents, I will place the memories in a box and carry that box to our new home. I look forward to unpacking, to placing those memories on a shelf and remembering. Remembering everyday who we are; a family.

**As a side note, I took these photos while our house was on the market. Therefore, this is probably the cleanest it ever was and it's a bit staged. I took down several prints/paintings after I painted it white and never hung them back up since we were selling.

16 April 2012

in between packing.

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In between the packing and cleaning we still manage to have some fun.
A warm day filled with sunshine and a cool breeze always calls for a little paint.
We're working on some masterpieces to hang in our new home.
I have quite the selection to choose from!

15 April 2012

new york trip. part II

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Day two of our trip consisted of: bloody mary's and huevos rancheros at the Diner // a stroll around Columbus Circle // lunch at Asiate // a long walk in Central Park // remembering Tavern on the Green // driving out of the city to New Jersey // attending a beautiful wedding with wonderful friends

i know this is a little bit of photo overload! i promise, there are only two more parts to this new york trip. we just had such a great time i couldn't help but take a ton of photos. i'm looking forward to sharing the rest of our photos with you this week and finishing up our home tour posts. then i should be all caught up...on the blog that is...not in life. it's lots of packing and cleaning for me. tomorrow i head over to the new home to start round one of cleaning. then we decide what to paint and jon may even tackle the kitchen. there are lots of projects ahead of this little family!
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