New Ideas Tuesday

1

I dig this vintage tie rack turned jewelry rack, via SF Girl By Bay.

2

Have you seen this NYC article about dads taking over as full-time parents? It's an interesting read. Life as a stay at home dad is probably a little easier in a progressive city like NYC. I wonder if it's more difficult in most cities, where men would have fewer connections with other stay-at-homers.  

New Ideas Tuesday

A few things I've been thinking about lately for New Ideas Tuesday.

1

I think I was the last person on earth to read this amazing work-life balance article on Atlantic Monthly. But if you are the last person to read it, do it now. It is a must read article, especially for women but also men who are in management roles and have the power to make some positive changes. I'll probably blog more about this in the future. I can't agree more with the author, I think she read my mind. Take that Marissa Mayer.

2

I kind of dig these tea box planters. It's a cute idea, and I may give it a try for winter. Now that I'm working from home, maybe my plants won't all die on me. I don't know the original source, but I found it on Pinterest.

3

I think this article on making friends after 30 is interesting. What's your experience been with making friends post college? I think I've been pretty lucky and have made some great friends recently. But the article raises some very valid points on the factors needed to make great friends and the things that happen in life that inhibit new deep relationships.

4

Does anyone know where to find these industrial bins? I think they make very cool storage bins for toys. From French By Design. 

Taking Time Off

Bean reading the story of herself to her brother.

I've decided to take a 3-month blogging break while I'm on maternity leave with Colin (aka Cookie). It's hard to find time to do anything with two kids, and any "free" time I have I want to be loving on both kids. I especially want to enjoy Cookie's tiny-ness during this time. He's a big baby and I know he will be out of the tiny newborn stage quickly. Right now I feel like my "free" time is better spent with him than online. I'll be back in late July, probably with tons of new ideas now that we have a little boy in the house!! We've decided to give him a superhero bedroom, using this color scheme since the walls in his room are already this color: 

via Homes

And probably these bins:

via Sugar Tot Designs

This is going to be fun!! See you in July!

New Idea Tuesday - Kitchen Canister Labels

I think this is a really cute DIY idea, although I may use a shortcut with clear labels instead of the entire process described in the blog post. But either way, I love the style, and it would help make my kitchen cabinets much more organized and cute. Great idea, from The Painted Hive. See the original post for the process, more pictures, and the FREE label printables.

New Idea Tuesday - Subway Sign Dresser

I found this great DIY idea over at Brooklyn Limestone, via Lindauer Designs. I'm keeping my eye out for a dresser like this at flea markets this summer and I'm going to try it for sure. Love it!!

I Dig This

Entryway

via Inspiration for Decoration

Upcycled Garden Faucet Coat Racks

Loving these upcycled coat racks using old garden faucets and reclaimed boards. Cool idea for a DIY, or buy them at The Door Stop Etsy shop. 

LOVE

Just bought this great print for our bedroom, from Made By Girl.

Etsy Favorites Friday - Spunky Fluff

I love these hand made wooden signs from Etsy artist Spunky Fluff.

Happy Weekend

This weekend I'm loving this great Etsy shop and especially this print:

And I definitely want to have a yummy prosciutto sandwich like this one, from French By Design.

Happy Weekend!

Fishs Eddy NYC

Not that it would make any sense at all to do this, but if I were to one day get bored and decide that I want to start over and get all new stuff for our kitchen to make it look more like a cool diner, I'd go right to Fishs Eddy in NYC and get everything there. This place is amazing. I could get lost in there, and spend all my money. The flagship store is on Broadway right across the street from ABC Carpet and Home, another must-see store in NYC where I could easily blow my entire savings account. Maybe I'll just add a few of the Fishs Eddy pieces, instead of starting over. Yes, that makes more sense. Here's a few of my favorites from this great store.

Vintage plates, bowls, and mugs - they always have a ton of different kinds in the store.

Diner plates, bowls, and mug sets. Love these.

 I totally need this mug.

 Simple color band dinnerware open stock in a variety of colors.

 Jadeite cake stand, and others in the Jadeite series

 Manhattan blue plate special series bowls and serving trays

 Green glass butter dish



New Idea Tuesday: Joy to the World Map

I love this idea for holiday-themed DIY map art from Angela Hardison, inspired by Emily's holiday special. I also spent a good few hours on Angela's blog, she has some really inspiring ideas and links. See the post for more pictures and the FREE printable PDF of the template. Thank you for sharing this fun idea and template Angela!



Happy Birthday to Me

For my birthday, my best family ever got me two great gifts. One is a half share of an organic fruit and veggie crop for the Spring/Summer next year from local farm Green Meadow Farms. I'm very excited about this, as I think it'll give us a great excuse to try new recipes from some of the fruits and veggies we get, and it'll give us an excuse to spend time at the farm at least once a week which is great for Bean. 

The second gift is this awesome schoolhouse pull down map of the US and the world. I've wanted one of these forever. We can't do a lot of travel these days with our budget and kiddos, but at least with this giant map we can all daydream about where we want to go. Happy, happy day. 

New Ideas Tuesday

Love this DIY clothesline for a kid's bedroom. It's so easy, even a non-sewer like me could probably do it!! From Rowantree Design

 Funky 3D letter font, from How About Orange

 I love this project idea using an old thrift store painting, some tape or sticky letters, and paint. From Craftzine. I may even have to borrow the quote, since my daughter was born on St.Patrick's Day. This would be PERFECT for her bedroom.

This is totally funky but it's a creative use of all those old VHS tape holders we all still have laying around. A picture frame with a hidden message in it. From Divaani

 This is such a sweet idea, photographing your little girl in your wedding dress for display at her wedding. I think I may try that soon. From Pinfluence

Featured Etsy Artist Friday - Wallfry Prints

I love love love these prints from Etsy artist Wallfry. Very cute, and very reasonable. Here are a few of my favorites. 

Cool DIY Idea - Letterpress Table

After working on Bean's Tiffany Blue desk for the last 2 months, I won't be doing any DIY projects any time soon. But that doesn't mean I don't love to see them! Here's a very cool DIY project from Wild Ink, via Brooklyn Limestone in Progress. It's a great way to turn a cheap kid's table into something very unique. Check out Wild Ink for more photos and details on the process.

Ikea Minnen Bed

My little girl is finally sleeping in a big girl bed. Actually right now it's an Aerobed kid's air mattress on the floor with pillows propped all around so she doesn't fall out. She decided to abandon the crib before we could get her a big girl bed. We tried to get to Ikea this weekend to get it, but the bed we want, the Minnen, is on back order indefinitely. Boo. I'd rather wait than just get whatever's available. I love the French-inspired style of it, and I also like that it's expandable from a toddler bed into a twin bed, so we don't have to buy another bed in a year from now. So we'll wait. Until then, here's the bed, and some pictures of kid bedrooms with it. 

http://joannagoddard.blogspot.com/2011/10/shared-room.html

http://picketfencedesign.blogspot.com/2010/10/ikea-fridays-meet-minnen.html

http://www.ohdeedoh.com/ohdeedoh/ikea-minnen-bed-inspiration-131123