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Breaking Radio Silence…

July 30, 2012

Because we need to talk about First Birthday Presents.

Or presents for a one year old.

Because I have one of those, or I will on Wednesday. Can you believe it??

Our girl is 1!!

We have already had the first of what will be several birthday parties. I know, I know. She won’t even remember it blahblahblah, but we need to set a festive precedent. So we celebrated with our Chicago family and friends last weekend. Then Wednesday, on the big day, Pete and I are going to take her to our favorite bakery in Chicago and let her go to town on some cake. Then when we get back to Texas we will have her third and final fiesta there.

Oh, and I will show you more pictures like these from her Chicago party soon, because they are amazing. And I also have a very special (weepy, for me) post on her birthday, so stay tuned for that.

BUT our business today is what are good presents for a first birthday? We haven’t really gotten her any new toys for months, so I think we need to get an exciting item or two to commemorate this momentous occasion. So we were thinking this guy.

She is very very sneaky, she loves crawling under things, hiding in nooks and corners. So we thought she would enjoy this. Anyone have it? Reviews?

In that same vein we were thinking maybe getting this too? I really wanted to paint it up pretty for her. Yard time hiding fun.

And finally, because we aren’t going nuts (Jesus only got three presents for his birthday, and we are trying to raise Gracie JUST like Jesus), we were considering upping the adventure level in our family. With this.

Fun? Scary? Do babies like it?

Gracie is in an adorable (but awkward) age where she is on the move, but not quite walking. She wants to be entertained and see things and move around constantly. Which means I need to entertain her, show her things, and carry her around constantly. So my hope is some of this gear will excite her more than being in my arms and pointing at various things she would like me to sherpa her to go discover.

Do y’all have any other big ideas? Do y’all have any of these things? Are any of them any good?

How excited is everyone that Gracie is 1!?! Because I am. Like crazy excited.

32 Comments

Secrets Secrets Are No Fun…

July 23, 2012

And neither is blogging when you have them. It is hard to think about things to talk to you about when I am holding back on sharing the biggest things I have going on.

It’s like blah blah blah, interesting tidbit I have to figure out how to inflate into a whole post, blah blah blah, I HAVE SECRETS!!!!

And I am not keeping secrets to be annoying or coy or to build excitement, I just can’t share them until a certain date (gimme like 2 weeks) and so right now I have a major case of writers block.

I mean, I could talk to y’all about Gracie’s upcoming 1st Birthday! That would be fun, and I will.

Like for instance, we had the first of a few birthday soirees with her this weekend. This one was with our Chicago family. I will show you more later when I have all the pics.

Basically, what I am trying to tell you is, don’t expect too much from me over these next few weeks. I will check in when I can with pertinent information, but there is no sense in wasting you good peoples time and mine by trying to turn my love of this:

Into a whole post.

But it’s pretty, nonetheless. So there you go.

When I have something good, I will talk to y’all about it. Until then, I need some space. It’s not you, it’s me. I will be back full time soon when I can meet your emotional needs in this relationship.

Sound good?

24 Comments

The Wise Baby

July 19, 2012

Today you all need to go over to The Wise Baby to see some awesome nursery board design…Done by me.

I seriously love this room so much, and if any of you want to legit copy it, that would make me really happy. It’s real small up there, but all big and pretty and stuff at The Wise Baby, so go over there to check it out.

The Wise Baby is a great resource for moms, so for all of you who keep asking me to post more baby gear and tips, I will. But until then, you have The Wise Baby!

9 Comments

Client Before&Afters

July 17, 2012

Allie first emailed me to help with her apartment April last year, right in the middle of the Gracie craziness and our move, but I hadn’t talked about it on the blog yet, so I vaguely told her I was too busy and sorry. After I clued everyone in to the situation, she kept in touch, sending sweet encouraging notes throughout our tough time. She wrote again after commentgate and told me she still would love to hire me if I were ever available. So then in February I told her I might be interested in starting some decorating again, and she signed up to take a ride on my crazy train.

I tell you this because I want you all (and Allie) to know how much I appreciate her. Her kindness during our tough times made me feel safe with her, and I was really nervous to start work again, and don’t know that I would have felt comfortable enough to dust off the fan deck with anyone else.

I didn’t know how I would be able to do e-services, and without my to the trade accounts, I wasn’t sure what I would be able to put together. I also had just been through the emotional ringer and was unsure whether or not I was ready to be accountable to anyone else besides our bubby, and anyway, that was a lot of words, but I am forever grateful to Allie for giving me the chance to experiment my new business plan with her, her patience and encouragement, and then the awesomeness with which she brought my vision to life.

Because that is the thing about edecorating, I am not there in person to execute or guide you. Which can have mixed results. But I think in the best case scenario, as with Allie, the client can take your advice and REALLY make it their own. Which, to me, can be a whole lot cooler when done well. And Allie did it well.

So here was her space before:

She had purchased some Cole&Sons wallpaper for the wall behind the bed, and that was going to be the big splurge in the room, everything else had to stay on a pretty tight budget and work with the wallpaper. This is the design board I sent her.

I am so embarrassed of it now! It was so ghetto! It got a little better as I honed my tech skills…but not much.

I also sent her a bunch of inspiration pictures and said like “Do this to your doors” “this is what the curtains should be” “hang your guitar” ”Get some baskets for your sweater tower.” Really inspirational and encouraging pearls.

One of the inspiration pics I sent for ideas to paint out the trim on her doors, and hang her guitar courtesy of the v. talented Jenny Komenda as done for Joanna Goddard.

But she totally got it, and made this happen.

Again, the before, from this:

To this:

Good, right??

From this:

To this:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

She had this dresser but styled it up real cute.

Now let’s zoom out on the situation.

That chandelier is awesome, and a total bargain.

Pottery Barn, get it.

Now THAT is a cozy biscuit. She already had the Euros, but we didn’t want it to get too matchy matchy, so we mixed it up with some monogram pillows, a comforter cover from John Robshaw, and a boudoir from Porthault. I love that it looks so cozy and pulled together, but not overly designed.

One of my favorite items in the room are the vintage owl lamps I found her.

Hey Mr. Wise Ol’ Owl! They sit atop bedside tables from Urban Outfitters that are also v. reasonable.

And if you are thinking to yourself, as I was, “My, these are some lovely photographs” you have the homeowners boyfriend, Raven Koehler to thank for that. Thank you, Raven! And if you are in the New York area and want to hire Raven his best contact is ravenkoehler@gmail.com

So thank you Allie, for giving me the kick in the pants I needed to start working again. And for doing such an amazing job, and being a pleasure to work with.

If anyone wants to hire me, I currently have a wait list, but email me PeppermintBliss@Gmail.Com to get yourself on it!

34 Comments

Updates

July 16, 2012

Bernie is home and recovering well.

And wreaking havoc with his cone. Thank you all for his prayers.

The photo shoot was CRAZY. In a good way. I have done a few home shoots now for Rue, and D*S, but it was cool to see how a print magazine with their resources do things up. They do it up big. Lots o’ gear. The whole team was so sweet and I learned a lot bout lots of things, and I’m excited to see our house on some glossy pages! I’ll keep you posted when it comes out.