some new stuff + my first real art

A couple months ago (I think), Nick, Hayden, and I were running errands and stopped in Pottery Barn for a quick look around. I spied a buffet/cabinet that was deeply deeply discounted. As in, it was originally $800 or $900 and we got it for $100. The only thing that was wrong with it was that the back corner is a little bent. We were super excited about scoring the deal even though we didn't quite have a plan for it. We left it in the corner of our dining room, but it didn't feel quite right. 

 This weekend, we were walking around our little downtown and walked through a street art show. I was really enamored with one artist's booth that feature abstract charcoal figure drawings.  I chatted with the artist (John Ligda of San Francisco) for a while and ended up purchasing one of his pieces. We decided to hang the piece above our cabinet and all of a sudden, everything seems much more finished and put together.

 

With lots of homemade art and pictures adorning our walls, it feels very grown-up to own a real piece of art made by someone else.

This room is still super unfinished but having this little corner helps me feel like it will start to come together soon... 

a little glam

So I went to the Goodwill and picked up some classy new art for our entryway. 

 I kid. Really, I went to score some cheap frames for a little project that had been swirling around in my mind. Since Hayden started preschool last winter, he's been bringing home lots of adorable little art projects. I wanted somewhere fun to display our little Picasso's masterpieces. 

I carefully removed the glass and lovely art from the old picture frames and used some Rub 'n Buff to take them from mismatched to  funky antique gold. (As a side note: I've heard of the wonders of Rub 'n Buff before, but this was my first time using it. It was a sinch to use and looked exactly how I wanted it to when I was finished. Plus, I still have a ton left over after rubbin' and buffin' 3 frames. What else in our house needs some antique gold lovin'??) 

Next, I purchased two packs of these "bulldog" clips from Office Depot (or Office Max... I can never remember which one is which). My chunky-wristed hand model is happy to show off these clips. I wanted something a bit more industrial-ish to counteract the femininity of the gold frames.

Next, my other lovely model hung all my frames and clips in a vertical row in our front entryway. This gave him the opportunity to try out his new toy, a free-standing laser level.

And ta-da! Just like that; the perfect place to hang our little Bub's art: 

So, here's the entryway as it stands now. I like it... buuuuut... I'm not so into the gold with the brown behind it. Of course I keep saying we're going to paint the walls a lighter color (maybe if I keep saying it enough, it will actually happen?!), but I'm feeling the need for a little something more on this wall. Perhaps a bold color accent wall? Or some wallpaper?

Wallpaper is pricey, but it's a small area so I'm thinking if we do it anywhere, it must be here. I've found a few wallpapers that I love love love and think would be perfect for the space. What do you think?

(1. Urban Outifitters, 2. Anthropologie, 3. & 4. Hygge & West)

 So? Yay or nay on the wallpaper? Nick's on board as long as the price isn't crazy. Or should I just paint the wall? Stencil it? Decisions, decisions.... 

mother's day

 As a Mother's Day Rookie, I wasn't quite sure what to expect on Sunday. Let me tell you, it was the sweetest (sweetest) day. I was woken up at 5:20 by a little cooing song on the baby monitor. When I brought Hayden into our room, he was all cuddles and giggles. Then he and his Daddy left for a an hour to get coffee and breakfast and run another couple errands so that I could get a little extra sleep. (Not that it actually happened; I can never seem to sleep when the opportunity presents itself!) They brought me home a big bouquet of tulips and a silly card signed by everyone (even Lucy and Henry) We took a little walk down to the farmer's market and ran our weekend errands - which sounds boring but it was really just so nice to be three for a bit (those moments where we're all together and not busy are fleeting). 

On Sunday evening, we went to Nick's grandparents' house to celebrate with the rest of the family. Hayden went swimming for the first time! And drank most of a fruit smoothie too - if you can't guess by these pictures. (We decided to let the "swimming after eating rule" slide this time...) He love love loved the water and was a happy boy playing with Daddy and Uncle Mike in the pool. 

Time and time again, I look at my life and think how very blessed my life is. It may not be exciting or glamorous, but it's filled with little moments that make my heart swell and the two most amazing guys that I know. 

daddies and doggies

Nick has been gone on a business trip all week and we didn't expect to see him until late this evening.  At 4:00 yesterday, just a few minutes after Hayden and I got home, he walked in the door- surprising us both. We were so excited to see "Dada" and Hayden couldn't stop laughing at him. I took this little video of my two boys having fun together: 

 That laugh is my favorite thing ever, ever!

baptism

This past weekend was a very special one for our sweet boy! He was baptized on Sunday at our local church. We had family and friends join us for the special occasion and my parents threw a lovely party for Mr. H. My sister, Emily and my cousin (Nick's BFF) Brendan were the godparents. Unfortunately, our little man wasn't feeling well that day,  so he kept the smiles to a minimum. We did manage to snag a few on this sweet day:

a pretty drive

Ever since Hayden's birth last August, Nick's job has gotten pretty busy and he's been traveling for work more frequently during the week. Weekends have become sacred family time for us to recharge and hang out together. A lot of times we do this at home, in the midst of errands and chores. Other times, we take a long drive- windows down, sun roof open, and Pandora on. We load Baby in the car for a nice long nap, explore a new area of the Bay Area and we finally have time to just talk.  One drive that we took recently was to the Marin Headlands, on the North side of the Golden Gate Bridge. This pretty drive, with it's gorgeous views reminded us just how lucky we are to live here.  Have a beautiful weekend, friends! 

a little water play

It has been H-O-T the last couple days here in the Bay Area- definitely feels like summer already. But oh wait, it's only April! I think we're in for a hot one this year. Anyway, after work yesterday, I decided to set up a little water play station for Hayden as a change of pace, and also something fun to do in the heat.  We plan on getting a little baby pool later this summer, but for now I filled my biggest pyrex dish with water. I brought out a set of measuring cups, measuring spoons, a colander, a set of tongs, and 3 wine corks (because they float in the water and gave Hayden something to practice reaching for).  Oh yes - these pictures were taken post-snack (strawberries) so that explains the red face/shirt.

We set up camp on a towel in the backyard and played in the water for a good 30 minutes or so (a long time for a baby attention span). Hayden loved pulling everything out of the water and dropping it back in. He liked pouring water from the different sized cups and spoons. He also enjoyed just putting his hands in the water and splashing it around. We both ended up a little wet-  which felt nice in the heat.  When he was finished, we gave some of our thirstier flowers a nice drink of play water and headed inside to dry off. 

 We are all about finding exploratory play experiences for Hayden that aren't complicated or over stimulating. We've found that he enjoys simple activities with real-life objects even more than a pile of toys!