home ownership – Page 3 – emerald city diaries

my weekend in pictures.

{a trip to bellevue square means I get my auntie anne’s fix. I never really ate big pretzels before I was pregnant, but now whenever I see them I crave them.}

{we just happened to be at nordy’s & they just happened to be running triple points. so, we shopped a bit!}

{no one loves the warm sunny weather more than sadie because it means she gets to cruise around in the car with the window down.}

{aaron & a few of our very nice friends loaded up this guy on saturday. just the start of some very big things to come around here!}

{found some time to relax & enjoy the second book in this trilogy.}

{sadie has been such a cuddle bug lately. she always wants to be right by my side. or on my lap. whichever is more convenient for her.}

we had the most beautiful gorgeous & sunny weekend weather that really made it feel like spring is here. I know this is just a teaser & that winter-ish weather will return soon, but it was nice to break out my sunglasses & not need quite so many layers for at least a few days. we had an awesome group of friends come over this weekend & help us pack & move a few things from around the house as we prepare for our next big project. it feels a little crazy-town around here since there are so many things going on at once these days, but we are excited about the coming months. how was your weekend?

catalog feature {west elm}.

as some of you know {from our christmas letter or instagram & twitter} our living room had a small feature in the january west elm catalog. to say I am ecstatic is an understatement! thank you also to all of you who have shown your support – we feel very loved!

{if you are interested, here is the living room post featuring our west elm curtains & the dining room update featuring our chandelier.}

thanks west elm!

do you ever give a shout-out to companies you love? have you ever felt the love in return?

highlights of 2013.

{via}

happy 2014!

i’ve said it before, & i’ll say it again!, yearly recaps are always my favorite kinds of blog posts. its a small way to sum up your year & to see how much the last 365 days have brought. as i look forward to the New Year, i am humbled & grateful by all of the wondrous events of 2013. here’s the rundown of ours:

january: I started out the new year with a bout of the flu. we hosted our first blog giveaway! we installed the west elm hanging capiz chandelier over our dining room table. I framed my diy polaroids for our bedroom walls. amanda & I met john & sherry from young house love during their book signing tour! I diy-ed campaign dressers for our bedroom.

february: I did lots of diy-ing for valentine’s day {here, here, & here} I celebrated my birthday! we bought a kitchen island. I tried to be better about getting in front of the camera!

march: I tried my hand at painting an antler {& was so impressed with the results!}. we took my 91-year-old grandmother to target for the first time! amanda & I diy-ed framed house keys on maps. we sold jez the jetta & bought a new car.

april: we updated our bathroom vanity with a converted antique sideboard. we updated the closet doors by stripping off the old paint in a crock pot. we celebrated our one year anniversary in our house & I reviewed all of the house diys!

may: we finally got some good weather in seattle! I painted the ceiling & hallway walls. we celebrated aaron’s thirtieth birthday with a beer tasting party! we had a fun-filled memorial day weekend. we were featured in west elm’s blog front & main.

june: aaron replaced our toilet. sadie was featured in the seattle dog spot blog. my parents visited for a long weekend en route to the olympic peninsula. my diy his & hers maps were featured. we finally got some summer weather!

july: we celebrated the long Fourth of July weekend with a holiday parade, fireworks, & time with friends. I made a nine layer ombre cake! we replaced our kitchen track lights with globe pendants from west elm. we road-tripped to idaho for my ten-year high school reunion. we started growing our first eggplant.

august: we celebrated our three year wedding anniversary. the blog got a Liebster Award Nomination. I diy-ed the tiniest baby hats for our friends’ new baby. we road-tripped to hood river, oregon to celebrate my cousin’s wedding.

september: we went to the husky vs. bronco game to kick-off labor day weekend complete with husky-style tailgating {via boat}. we took advantage of the warm weather & cleaned up the front yard with a fun game called love it or lose it. we celebrated sadie’s ninth birthday! I attended the Alt Summit for Everyone blog conference.

october: I attempted to start doing fashion posts again. we celebrated our two year blog anniversary at emerald city diaries! I finished up with the #embracethecamera challenge. we went to the pumpkin patch & carved pumpkins with friends.

november: aaron joined a team for movember 2013. we snuck off to hawaii for thanksgiving.

december: I reviewed some of my favorite weekend in pictures pics. I participated in A Pinterest Christmas for the third year {see this year’s projects here, here, here, here, & here}! we celebrated Christmas in indiana with aaron’s family.

reflecting back on this year, i am reminded how blessed we are & also how different this year has been than the year previous. it has been such a wonderful year & ringing in a new one is a bit bittersweet.

how was your 2013 – was it a year to remember, or are you itching to start 2014 already?

see past yearly highlights for 2011 & 2012.

my weekend in pictures.

{on friday there was a car show at work. i absolutely adore old porsches. someday!}

{a co-worker of aaron’s gave sadie a treat on friday afternoon. sadie didn’t put it down until she conquered it!}

{no real weekend plans meant back-to-back nights of redbox. now you see me we watched with ben; it was okay & definitely a rental. world war z was good, surprisingly good, though it would have been way too scary for me to see on a big screen. it was my first zombie movie & probably my last. yep, i am a baby when it comes to scary movies. it was more intense than scary, but there were still zombies.}

{we finally harvested our eggplant & plan to enjoy the fruits of our labor in a homemade eggplant parmesan later in the week.}

{for as much technology as we have access to we still mow the lawn old-school.}

{chinese take-out for dinner. not something we do very often, but so delish!}

{the sunset was phenomenal on saturday evening. it is crazy getting used to the dark so much earlier this time of year, but the sunsets are worth it!}

{quick run to get molly moon’s ice cream & beer before movie night.}

{sunday morning i was up bright & early to get my lift, tone, burn on at pure barre. i was sad to hear the alarm go off & not get to sleep in, but it was worth it. well, ask me tomorrow.}

{sunday morning brunch with aaron at the local sunlight café. the huevos rancheros were awesome!}

{traffic was so, so bad this weekend & a local bridge closure forced us onto i-5 for a bit which we normally avoid at all costs. no fun.}

{sunday night movie. we saw don jon. it was terrible. don’t go see it.}

we ended up with an absolutely gorgeous fall weekend. as much as i appreciate the sunny weather, our local meterologists should really find alternative work as they kept threatening rain storms that never transpired. we didn’t have any real plans this weekend which meant we got a few things done this weekend – like some much-needed yard work – plus just some down time to enjoy the house & doing nothing. it was wonderful. how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{enjoyed a perrier andy warhol edition at dinner on friday night with aaron & my grandmother.}

{our goal for saturday was to clean up the front garden beds & fill up this yard waste bin. we were successful plus some & filled up another smaller bin as well!}

{sadie isn’t very good at yard work.}

{sadie & me waiting for aaron to get our CSA this week.}

{got my birch box for september!}

{picked up a few goodies for the fall from the u village.}

{sadie & i enjoyed catching up on some magazines saturday night while aaron was out seeing Tosh.}

{inspired by the feels-like-fall-weather this weekend & my love for anything pumpkin, i whipped up some pumpkin cream cheese using this recipe from pinterest.}

{watched manning vs. manning on sunday afternoon. #gobroncos #sorryeli}

{while running errands on sunday afternoon i swung by target to check out the phillip lim collaboration. picked up a few goodies & surprised by how much stock was in the store.}

{aaron joined me in my pumpkin obsession this weekend with some pumpkin hard cider.}

{aaron & sadie enjoying the seahawks vs. 49ers game. lots of cuddling helped the seahawks win despite the hour game delay for lightning.}

we had an awesome weekend with not much planned. we got a lot of much needed yardwork done in the front yard {though we haven’t touched the backyard – anyone free in the next few weekends?}. it definitely is starting to feel like fall here in seattle as we got rain and thunderstorms (unusual for the area) despite reaching the 80s earlier in the week. as much as i love summer, i love this time of year! how was your weekend?

west elm kitchen light pendants.

after i did the big kitchen update last spring, i wanted to live in the space & use it for a while before we did any other big updates. i have always disliked the lighting in the kitchen – track lights – and i had big plans for an update to them. luckily for us we were able to upgrade without bringing in an electrician – hooray!

i have been searching for light fixtures for months, & fell in love with these globe pendants some time ago. they are from, you guessed it, west elm! {this is my go-to place for anything home décor! the best i tell you!} while the junction boxes – is that what they are called – aren’t perfectly located {i would have preferred them closer together & centered over our kitchen island} these lights are far better than the old track lighting!

you can shop for your own here: west elm globe pendant.

{before}

{after}

we still need to patch up the holes from the track lights & find round, frosted bulbs {right now we have frosted LEDs that have a weird plastic top}, but overall we are very excited about these lights – such an improvement!

{in the bottom two pictures it looks like there are two bulbs in each pendant, but it is just a reflection off of the glass}

have you been changing out any light fixtures lately?

my weekend in pictures.

{my parents rolled into town on friday with their new camper. they were here for the weekend & heading out to camp for the week.}

{aaron & sadie.}

{we were sunning on my grandmother’s back patio on friday catching up with my mom & dad.}

{happy father’s day!}

{we have been ignoring our yard for most of the spring but finally started some much-needed cleanup in the back. we filled up that entire yard waste bin & still have so much more to go!}

{it is always double-whammy this time of year with my dad’s birthday & father’s day always falling within days of each other.}

{do you think my parents are boise state fans? #bronconation}

{we had dinner at McCormick for my dad’s birthday – happy birthday dad!}

we had a fun & very sunny weekend, though it went entirely too quickly. obviously my parents were in town & we enjoyed spending some quality time with them & my grandmother. it is finally starting to feel like summer around here & we are loving every minute of it. the house is even getting a bit warm {no A/C here} & we aren’t even complaining yet. how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{feeling some love on friday from a west elm instagram shout-out.}

{we had a donut date at top pot on national donut day. did you partake?}

{we walked by cowen park on our way home from the u-district farmer’s market & sadie really wanted to see what was going on.}

{another round of peonies from a local garden – i just can’t get enough.}

{we also splurged on some local strawberries – so delish!}

{sadie waiting patiently for aaron to tell her she can get her treats.}

{we had dinner on saturday at urbane in downtown with a good friend.}

{the new star trek, but not in 3D. i liked it.}

{on sunday i introduced amanda to potbelly sandwich shop in bellevue. then we went antiquing. thanks for a fun afternoon amanda!}

{i finally got out the iron. i have decided i need to iron about twice a year, unless i really need something specific. any tips on how to get ironing done more frequently?}

{late sunday run to target – always a good time!}

we had a nice sunny weekend but i can’t believe it is already over! does time seem to be flying to anyone else? i just can’t keep up. we have been enjoying the summer-ish weather in seattle as well as the local, summer produce that is finally springing up in the local markets. we decided to buy into a CSA this summer {community supported agriculture} which means every week we get a bag full of fresh, local, organic produce for a mere $15 a week! we are excited to be supporting local farmers, eating seasonally, & pushing ourselves to cook & eat different veggies we may not normally pick. wish us luck! how was your weekend?

my weekend in pictures.

{the peonies that i picked up from whole foods last week are absolutely the most gorgeous & biggest blooms i have ever seen!}

{our house was featured in a before & after feature on west elm’s blog front & main on thursday. we were pretty excited about it!}

{cookies are the proper way to finish a lunch date, don’t you think?}

{on saturday we drove down to southern washington to pay our respects to my dear friend’s father who passed away a week and a half ago. mr. ayoub may you rest in peace.}

{aaron & sadie at the dog park.}

{we call her frog dog when she lays down like this.}

{on saturday we tried vegan pizza pi in the u district for dinner & it wasn’t too shabby. notice its awesome phone number.}

{aaron & i – well mostly aaron – installed a new toilet this weekend. more details to come this week (& by details i mean pictures).}

{i am enjoying dan brown’s new book inferno. it has taken me a long time to get back into reading a book for pleasure after law school. i think this is the third novel i have read since graduation. #yepiamscarredforlife }

{the view from i-90 this evening was lovely. we were lucky enough to get a warm, sunny sunday in seattle!}

i don’t quite know where the weekend went, but alas it is sunday night. we got a few to dos done around the house, but i feel like we had a pretty mellow weekend. also, to celebrate the first of june – is it really june already? – we got a nice dose of sunny weather which is always a treat on the weekend. makes me long for a summer vacation…

how was your weekend?

before & after feature {west elm blog}

as many of you know from our choice of house decor, west elm is my go-to place for anything we need around the house.

we are very honored & thrilled to be featured today on west elm’s home blog today, front & main! be sure to check it out here!

thanks west elm!
M