Seven months to the day after our first trip to look at houses, and two lenders, three contracts, four offers, and many inspections later, we are officially homeowners. (Or, co-homeowners with the bank, as John likes to say – ha!) I’m working on a post with all of the details, but for now I just wanted to give you a peek at the newest member of our family. We’re pretty excited about all that’s to come!

Seven things I love about my Mom (in no particular order):

1. When I was younger, she not only indulged my (admittedly strange but) preferred activities, she enjoyed them alongside me. Some of my favorite memories from elementary school and younger include sneaking into our church’s balcony on Saturdays to spy on wedding ceremonies, and Friday picnics that included D’Angelos tuna pockets eaten in the back of our van with the liftgate open and then a trip next door to browse the Ethan Allen showroom floor. She knew at a young age that these things were important to me, and is probably the least surprised of anyone to see how they’ve blossomed into my career.

2. She is generous with her time. As just one example, from about sixth grade to twelfth grade, I had 4-5 dance classes a week half an hour away, and I had to be driven to every single one. Now that I’m older, that kind of time commitment boggles the mind. I never felt like she didn’t have enough space in her day to talk with me or read to me, and I still don’t.

3. She cries at the drop of a hat. My sisters and I used to make fun of her for this, and we still kind of do, but now I understand that she cries at commercials, movies, and people’s stories because she is a deeply compassionate person.

4. She is the warmest person you’ll ever meet. She has never met a stranger, and will make you feel welcome and included from the minute you come in contact with her.

5. Unsurprisingly, my friends love her, and she loves my friends. She is an “extra mom” to almost every one of them, and they often do things with her even when I’m not around. (True story.) She is always going out of her way to show them she cares about them, like the time she drove to my best friend’s art show a state away to show her support even though I couldn’t attend.

6. She is content. For most of my life, my Mom drove a white minivan that was known around our town as the Jellybean. My sisters and I were okay with it when we were younger, but by the time we were in high school and the van had aged considerably, we would not be caught dead driving it. My Mom, however, drove it happily, even saying that she preferred it to some of our family’s newer options. That may or may not have been true, but her example of not deriving her value from the type of car she drove, and of valuing other things (college payments!) over a new car, has made a huge impact on my life.

7. When my sisters and I were growing up, my Mom was never interested in being our friend. She was our mom, full stop. But now that I’m older, she has grown into one of my very best friends, and I am so grateful for that.

I love you, Mom. Happy Mother’s Day!

All photos by Tanja Lippert, from the morning of my wedding.

Friends, it has been a whirlwind few weeks! Can’t wait to share MUCH more SOON, but in the meantime, I had to post these adorable images from Cyn Kain! She ordered some of my tinsel stirrers for her sister-in-law’s baby shower, and everything turned out too cute. Nothing makes me happier than seeing shop goodies in their element!

They are pretty festive, if I do say so myself :) You can see much more from the (adorable!) shower on On To Baby, and order your own stirrers here!

Hooray for May!

Home Design Decorating

I completed almost all of my April goals, including selling our rowing machine on Craigslist! My first Craigslist sale! Let me tell you, the high I got from getting cash for something (a large something) that’s just been collecting dust in our apartment was incredible. We get cash + we get rid of clutter + my new friend now has a rowing machine on the cheap = a win-win-win situation. I procrastinated on this one for 28 days, but am so glad I finally got it together to put up the listing!

On to May! This month I will:
– Clean my makeup brushes (tips here)
– Finish photographing our apartment (about 50% done!)
– Go camping (no. 34)
– Brainstorm, design, and print a master chore/household checklist
– Reread my thesis (no. 96) to remind myself I am a smart and creative cookie :)

You can see all of my 101 in 1001 goals here and my 2013 daily goals here. If you’d like to share your goals for May, I’d love for you to either list them in the comments or leave a link, and I promise I’ll check them out!

Friends! We are back from our honeymoon, well-rested, and missing island time just a little bit. To soften the transition back to the real world, I thought I’d cook up a Nevis-inspired wedding inspiration board. I’ll have much, more more to say about this pretty little island in the coming weeks, but today, just know I focused on its color palette: the azure blue of the ocean and sky, the bright butter yellow of the plantation houses and rum punches, and the dry grass green of the palm trees, with a little waft of British colonialism heritage thrown in for good measure.

Happy Monday, friends!

Sandals photo by Garance Dore, coconut couple photo by Wendy Laurel via Style Me Pretty, rum punch (the unofficial official drink of Nevis) photo by Meredith Perdue via Map & Menu, striped stationery via Design Work Life, soft blue and green bridesmaid dresses photo by Judy Pak via SMP, pineapple centerpiece photo by Justin & Mary, cucumber honeydew margarita popsicles from Endless Simmer, photo of Montpelier Plantation by Meredith Perdue via Map & Menu