Want It Wednesday {Historic DC Georgian}

While nursing my poor back this weekend I passed the time leafing through February's edition of Architectural Digest and fell in love with this breathtaking Georgian. Yes, please I want the entire thing. I swoon over that white exterior, dormers and the Chippendale gate…just heavenly!

Lets peak inside! The rear facing staircase is something I've never seen before. The home is the oldest in Washington DC so I'm assuming the stairs' position was apart of the original design. Things I am in love with: the intricately curved stair spindles, moldings, sconces & settee. I have been wanting a settee in our foyer for ages to take the place of the mirrored console table. When family and friends visit they hardly ever bother with the coat closet and I feel a settee would function nicely as a spot to rest purses & coats. As for the mirrored table there now I think would fit nicely in Belle's room as a desk/vanity with either a fabulous ghost chair or pink & gold french chair.

Back to the tour. The dining room….Oh Lawdy! It is divine; like being wrapped in a Tiffany's box! I go back & forth between a blue dining room or paneling, this is the best ever in my humble opinion. Paired with a double pedestal Duncan Phyfe table, fireplace & window seats (I may hold a slight grudge against my parental units for building my childhood home and not putting one in my room…I know, time to let it go) this room is quite the jewel box. The drapery fabric & rug aren't my first choice, but I would take the remainder of the room in a heartbeat.

Below are the library & master bedroom.  Like many historic homes, there is a plethora of molding, fireplaces, sconces & window seats in nearly every room. What is not to love!?!

Despite being a very formal home, it is still feels quite livable and cozy. This house proves that solid, classic bones never go out of style and I certainly be referencing the foyer when the time finally comes to tackle that project. Oh and I'm already dreaming up a few window seats.

For picture sources and to read more about this house visit architectural digest.

Manor Monday {New Wreath}

Saturday morning I threw out my back (bent over to pick up the baby & couldn't stand back up) and consequently spent the entire weekend on the couch. It would have been a lovely place to be if I hadn't so much work to do. So an update on the basement progress will just have to wait until next week.

Fear not, I do have one little update to post.  I put together a winter front door wreath Friday night (I know exciting life I live) using a bare twig wreath, a burlap bow from Target & mercury glass ornament from Pottery Barn.

I'm always drawn to monogrammed wreathes and front door hangings but many times I feel they clash with our front entry. This one is just subtle enough and blends perfectly with its surroundings.



While I was laid up on the living room couch I was able to catch glimpses of the new wreath through the glass front door. I was happy knowing I accomplished something this weekend. Fingers crossed I'm back to normal asap.

Family Friday {Glasses, Name Day, & Frozen}

Big news around here Peanut has glasses! Turns out he has a double astigmatism. As the doctor put it, "rather than circles, his eyes are shaped like footballs." I've tried hard not dwell too much on the fact that my sweet boy has never been able to see clearly nor beat myself up over the fact that we didn't pick up on it until now.

I shed a few tears of loss (he now looks 12), guilt (what kind of mother am I), & heartache ("Mommy is that baby in the picture me? I never knew it was.") but now I can't imagine him not having them.  We've even started to refer to Peanut as our lil JCrew model. 

This week we enjoyed 2 extra winter break snow days thanks to the bitter cold. It was heaven having everyone home. With the craziness of the holidays occupying most of winter break, we hadn't the opportunity to really slow down and veg. So we snuggled up together and passed the time playing board games and eating homemade soups & sammies.

Ham soup w/ turkey, brie & apple panini

We also marked Peanut's Name Day with a low key celebration at home.

Hubby & I had a good laugh over Peanut's name day requests of a clubhouse space in the basement like sis' and dinner by candle light. You gotta teach 'em young folks.

We are slowly easing back into our regular routine and thankfully we don't have many obligations on the calendar for the weekend. Hubby & I plan to log in some major hours in the basement. I should have some solid progress to report on Monday.

Blog Schedule Changes

A few months ago I wrote about how I was going to scale back from daily posts and aim to write 3 times a week. Well without a schedule to follow my posts became sporadic. One week I would post daily and the following only twice. I'm not sure about you, but I'm a fan of consistency. So in efforts to better regiment this lil blog of mine, I'm instituting my weekly blogging schedule:

First of all, you can expect posts from me every Monday, Wednesday & Friday.

Manor Monday will consist of all things relating to our home. Here is where you'll find updates on house goals, decor changes & the occasional Target/ Home Goods scores.

Want It Wednesdays will bring you posts full of decorative eye candy. I'll share inspiration boards & favorite images from my every growing stash of shelter magazines & catalogs. I will do my best NOT to duplicate items I am pinning so these images will be fresh and new to those of you who follow my boards.

Family Fridays will round out the week and focus on all things family oriented. Parties, news on the littles and overall weekly recaps of our doings & musings.

I'm pretty excited about the changes to come and hope it makes my little slice of the web a bit more enjoyable. See you all back here on Friday with some very big family news!

2014 House Goals: The Year of Focus

This year's goals are a little different than 2013. Being a home with the littles has finely honed my multitasking ability, but it has come at the expense of my ability to focus. 

Focus on completing the one task I am engaged in. Focus on the conversation currently occurring (did I really just say ok to a lollipop as I'm cooking dinner!?!). Focus on the big picture and not be distracted by the details. So this year, focus is the top priority.

The number one culprit for my lack of focus is disorganization. These 3 major projects will help find a place for everything and keep everything in its place. 

1. Organize basement storage space & repurpose game room to media room. 

Déjà vu right? 365 days ago I was working in the basement only I neglected to tackle the "unfinished" section. Work is already underway organizing, cleaning & repurposing this space. Fingers crossed we get it right this time. 

2. Garage organization

The storage we have in place doesn't function for our family's needs. It is going to take quite a but if brainstorming to figure out exactly how to fit all our needs into this space. 

3. Organize all closets

Our linen closet is a disaster along with nearly every closet in the house. Time to clear & clean. 

Then there are a few projects that are simply to-dos.

Back patio & pond

The pavers are sinking, the pond leaks and turns into mosquito haven in the summer. Hubby & I are kicking around the idea of a 1/2 basketball court back there since our driveway is on a hill. 

Cover to the exposed posts on our deck. 

Fix and expand sprinkler system

A few heads are broken and we need to add one to the center of our front yard.

Plant a larger garden

Last year's container gardening eased us into the realm of veggie gardens. We are ready to go all I. This year. 

Update electrical in family room.

The family room breaker can't support all the power being drawn from it. 



Finally there are fun decorating projects! This year you'll see a lot of mood boards & inspiration posts as I focus on exactly what our family wants/needs out of these spaces:
Living Room
Office
Foyer
Master bedroom


So there you have it. Now I'm off to focus on making breakfast for the whole crew as everyone has the day off from work/school thanks to the freezing temps!! YAY!

Christmas Lovelies {My Favorite Gifts}

I was suppose to be at a girls weekend in the city with Besties J & T, but poor Peanut work me up at 5am with a "stomach bug". Hubby is more than able to handle the 3 littles alone for the night, but a sick kiddo is another story. So at home I am and I figured I would squeeze in a quick post about my favorite Christmas gifts I received this year.

My lil bro and his wife gifted us these gorgeous agate coaster set. I love, love, love them. To me they resemble petrified wood and I can't get enough of them. They are quite fragile & not toddler proof so for now they live in the box.



YiaYia & Bopi gave me a fabulous new Kate Spade satchel. It is the perfect size for toting around a sippy, extra diapers & a few toys. It is a crossbody bag to boot so it is easy to remain hands free while shopping (i.e.: corralling children).

Hubby's parents clearly know the key to a happy marriage…. lots of wine! They gifted us a case of this divine Malbec, which I enjoyed with dinner this evening.

And finally, my favorite gift of all tickets to see Garth Brooks on tour!!! Hubby has been on a waiting list for months to be one of the first in line to purchase tickets once the tour dates are released.



Garth hasn't toured in 13 years so this is going to be quite spectacular. At NYE Besties H & B already committed to coming to the show with us…now we just need to know where we are traveling to see him.

Hope you all had a few fabulous surprised under the tree as well!

New Year's Day 2014

Happy New Year!

We spent the first day of 2014 hanging with family. We all slept in a bit after a late night ringing in 2014 and awoke to cut our vasilopita (new year's bread with a coin baked inside for good luck). This year, Peanut was the happy recipient of the coin!

We quickly threw together a New Year's brunch featuring leftovers from the past 10 days myriad of gatherings and get togethers.

The party the night before left us low on ice so I simply scooped up some snow from the back deck and used it to chill the champagne…I had to snap a picture to share with you all because it looked so festive.

A quick family shot before brunch. We have the greatest bunch who was more than happy to appease Belle by sporting the New Year's caps & crowns.

The second vasilopita of the day. YiaYia & Hubby split the coin as it fell in between the two of their pieces.

Hope your new year is off to a fresh and promising start. I'm off to finish up a mega list of to-do like book birthday parties (yikes those are just around the corner), figure out the details of our Spring Break vac-a (can't be here soon enough), and hammer out our 2014 Home Goals. Fingers crossed the baby actually naps this afternoon and the older two hang out at YiaYia & Papou's a little bit longer.