holiday home made lovely tour

would you like to come on inside our casita for a little holiday home tour?

then pop on over to heather's place for a visit.

i'd love to have you over and share a hot drink next to the twinkle lights.

xoxo,

annalea

a home for the holidays and everyday

happy independence day to my fellow americans!

this long weekend has been about making new memories to fight off homesickness and getting more settled in claiming this rental as our home.

i was feeling blue going into this holiday as the 4th of july was the last major celebration in summer 2012 before moving from illinois. but we surrounded ourselves with friends and festivities.  a parade and a bbq.  fireworks and a thunderstorm.  it was a full and good day indeed.

  we are also working on turning the garage into a therapy room for the boys and getting other odds and ends done around the house.  i can not lie.  it has been nice not having projects and repairs as renters.  but as we look to staying in this place for several more years, i am learning to give myself permission to make it more and more our own.

and investing in my physical space, helps my heart get right.  it is okay to decorate the mantel or turn the chalkboard into seasonal art.  it is okay to change out the bathroom towel holders and add curtain rods.  these small things, they are part of the gift i've been given to provide for my family.  and while not my top priority as a wife and mama, i truly believe that they make a difference.

xoxo,
annalea

and then they were white (part 2)

you can find part one here.

it is weird to look at these photos while sitting amidst cardboard towers and shade-less lamps.  

things can change so quickly.

i just LOVE that wall o' zinnias so much, it may not come down until next wednesday night.

i almost regret that we didn't paint the walls white earlier.

but then i remember that life didn't allow for it any earlier, so i will just be thankful i had these months to enjoy them.

you asked, i answer. . .

the white wall color is glass of milk by martha stewart for home depot.

(inspiration via anna maria horner and her gorgeous studio, as well as the lovely rebekka seale.)

we will not be taking the beloved door knocker.  

she came with this house and she is at home here.  we will miss her though.

any other questions?  i just might have answers.

xoxo,

annalea

off the market

 

 

i have almost no words.

except that big one written in red.

SOLD.

that one is very clearly embedded in my brain at the moment.

less than 24 hours after listing, while i was still sitting at my parent's dining room table, we got the news.

both a full price offer and a quick closing were more than we expected.

right now i need to shake off the shock.

and maybe a bit of seller's remorse, even if i know this is the right thing,

i am going to miss this place so much.

 thank you, God, for hearing our prayers and knowing our hearts.

on the market

so, we're moving.

it's all official with this lockbox and that listing contract and those insanely clean closets. 

if you're all friendly with me on intagram, maybe you saw my plethora of #housestaging photos. 

(i'm @annaleahart over there.)

it was a looooooooooooong week.

i am actually typing this up at my parents' kitchen table, while we have the first and second showings on the house.

did i mention that it went on the market today?

yep.

i can barely catch my breath.

i can't announce the details of our relocation yet, mostly because those details are still working themselves out.  soon though, okay?

but i can tell you i am easing my way back in to this little blog.

so, see you tomorrow?

xoxo,

annalea

p.s. it may not be obvious in the above words, but i am both incredibly sad and hesitantly excited about all this change.

gia's new space

welcome to a very girlie bedroom . . .

after three years of sharing with big brother, the gia-bee now has a room all to herself.  she is pretty smitten.  so am i. 

we expected to move all three littles in the same room this fall/winter, but it became clear that giving luca more space while we sort out the spd was a better idea.  they each have a place to get away during the day, which is important when everyone is home together so often.  we fully took advantage of this unplanned for arrangement and went completely girlie in this room.  

i could say the challenge was spending zero money on the switch, but i really enjoy that kind of project.  the find-and-make-do kind, that is.  the real challenge was finding/making the time for the project.  time is one precious commodity 'round here.  we spent one full day over labor day weekend swapping out belongings and decor.  for the last few weeks i tweaked little spots when possible.

here is what the room looked like as enzo's nursery.
 and for the big reveal. . .  

the tent was a goodwill find from last spring and was used in the backyard over the summer.  now it turns the daybed into a true princess bed.  gia's bed is currently one of our favorite places in the house.

to be honest, these pillows are not sewn up yet, nor is the duvet cover.  things are mostly folded and tucked.  it works for now.  :)

i made gia this mobile while she was still in mah belly.  here is another sweet shot of gia's nursery at our old house.

do you like the chippy white look on this bookshelf?  it's called "i never finished stripping the paint 5 years ago."  let's pretend it is intentional.

easy access to costumes = best idea ever

we swapped out the drawer knobs to up the girlie factor.
these pale pink glass ones made gia oh-so-happy.

a dresser top collection of the more fragile and special variety.  i put it on this tray for easy out of the room removal in case these kiddos get rowdy.  no sense in stressing about the breakables during sword fights or ninja battles - even in a girlie room, they are bound to happen.  (jesse used my felt rose tutorial to make gia's valentine gift a couple years ago.  so precious!)

i spy one tired mama. :)

in anticipation of your questions. . .

the wall color is kiwi by benjamin moore.

the curtains are from ikea in 2009.

dresser, bed, and bookshelf are hand-me-downs.

the bedding is made from vintage thrifted sheets.

the doll bed story is here.

the highchair is by melissa and doug.

the gypsy girl print is one of favorite renoir paintings.

the embroidered calender is anthropologie (maybe 2006?)
the buon giorno principessa story is here.

did i miss anything?

thanks for visiting gia's very girlie bedroom!

decking the walls

i may not be ready to give y'all a recap of last week's house concert yet, but i would love to share bits of loveliness that have found new homes around casa hart.

my word of the year embroidery finally found a home over my desk in the studio.

these papercuts were my valentine's day gifts to the littles. (i found the free templates at this blog.)




yes, it took us three months to hang these.  projects are not quick here.  they are completed when life allows. 

if i could teach myself a new skill, it would be making my own original papercuts. i love this so much.

the spool birds and branch have relocated their nest to the attic.

and in their place, the dining room is getting a facelift.  the plan for this wall was dreamed up about a year ago.  i told you we weren't quick.  my mother's day request was that we start working on it.  maybe it will be finished by the end of the summer?

how long does it take you to get a project from start to finish?
from idea to finished product?
what slows you down?
time?  money?  inspiration?

can i give you some encouragement here?  your home is most lovely when you work with what you have.  i don't even need to see it to know that.  fill your home with Love and the rest will follow.

getting ready

oh me, oh my, tomorrow is may 19th.

and may 19th means. . . karla is coming!!!

eeeeeek!!!

so, i am trying to get our house and yard picked up and pulled together for the concert, so guests aren't tripping over legos and tree brnaches and have a place to set their drinks without knocking over princess dolls or pool toys.  it takes a lot of work with three littles running about.  but the house needed a good spring cleaning after these last few months of illness and injury.

and it is worth it, because, have i mentioned, there is a concert here tomorrow?!?!?!?

i am about to create a little welcome banner to greet our guests.  in between taking kiddos to swim lessons, making dinner, and folding the laundry.  all in a lovely day's worth of work. 

  before i run off, i thought i would show you a sneak peak of where we will hold the concert if the weather doesn't cooperate.  this photo has been popular over the last couple years.  here is an updated shot of the room. 

here is the opposite end of the room.  we used to call the upstairs the treehouse.  now that we are building an actual treehouse, we are renaming it the attic.  luca is adamant on that.  adamant.

but i am praying the weather holds up.  i am envisioning a wonderful night out here.

their trio of shelves (and my struggle with vignettes)

i had planned on finishing up the posts on luca and gia's bedroom in october, but alas, i once again fell prey to the monster of underestimation.  meaning i always have great ideas and fall short on the follow through.  but y'all are gracious with me, right?  so in the next few days, i will be tying up the loose ends in that department.

to review so far:
an introduction of their space can be found here.
and take a look at their magnetic chalkboard doors here.
and get an idea of how we play in the room here.
the fairy lamp close-up is here.
and the tutorial for gia's love letters banner is here.
and there is the city art tutorial here.
how to make scrappity ceiling fan pulls here.

and finally, our ohdeedoh room tour can be found here.



tonight i will highlight the shelves where we display all sorts of bric-a-brac.  (i am very pleased to have used that word in a sentence.)  with room design, i am better at the bigger picture.  my struggle is with small scale vignettes and styling.  i often work and rework a shelf or tabletop over time until it finally feels right.  these shelves finally feel right.

an additional challenge was incorporating all sorts of collected items and cherished whats-its that kiddos tend to gather.  and knowing that these things would be used and handled, i needed to plan for something easily adaptable.

here is a snapshot of what this trio of shelves looked like last month.



wooden elephants given to luca from grandma lee. gia's self-portrait framed.  luca's sewn star garland.




mason jars full of collected shells and rocks.  garage sale framed art. dolls gifted to gia from grandma cece and tia becky. gia's jewelry box.





one of jesse's old spiderman comic books.  garage sale snail bookends spray painted turquoise.  vintage books from my great-grandpa.




felt flowers made by jesse for his princessa.  vintage railroad light.  more vintage books from my great-grandfather. gia's first birthday snowglobe.




puppet gifted from tia becky's european travels.  rabbit gifted while pregnant with luca from good friends.  luca's first birthday german traveling bear.




luca's coin bank (urban outfitters). dragon finger puppet also from tia becky.  shells from our vacation summer '09.  luca's self-portrait framed.




things are shifted, added, taken down, used and shifted again.  but the overall set-up works well with that.  the large scale items anchor the little collections.  the shelves will always look cluttered, so i have kept the other wall decor simple. 

what about you?  do you like creating vignettes?  does it come naturally?