currently crushing: baby clothes.

Since about 10 weeks or so I started slowly creating a baby registry. Adding things, removing others as I read review after review, pediatrician and evidence based articles, and watched other’s vlog experiences on Youtube. Well now that we know we have a little girl on our hands (!) I couldn’t help but get excited about clothes. (I would have done the exact same thing with a boy too.) So I wanted to share some fun shops I’ve found along the way. I’ve been doing quite a bit of virtual window shopping lately considering many stores have been closed or on reduced hours. These are from all corners of the internet and all across the globe. I can’t wait to get my hands on some of these precious duds after baby girl is here. Looking forward to hitting the thrift stores again someday too!

I might have gone a biiiiiit gangbusters on this post… but there are so many cute shops, holy moly! Just thought I’d share the love.

Ava and Isa

I‘ve had my eye on that mustard romper since we found out we were expecting. It’s in my Etsy cart and I can’t wait to get it!

Little Luna

Little One Shop

Gladfolk

Aspen + Company

Baby bells… that is all.

Ozzie + Olive

Kate Quinn

Freckled and Co.

FreyaLillie

Organic Zoo

Ripka Store

Fin and Vince

Avalon Clothing Co

Kyte Baby

Rainbow basics!

June and Grey

Dannie and Lilou

Miles and Milan

Misha & Puff

Little Baberham

This baby will wear bells.

The Mini Malist

Tenth & Pine

Minibrook

Quincy Mae

Pehr

Chubby Bubby Bear

kiddliewinx

Mochi Kids

Lucky Panda Kids

nursery plans.

It’s been quite an eventful first half of the new decade. 2020 started off with a bang. And to sum up 5 months very quickly, here’s the cliff notes version. I began teaching a design class at my alma mater. I helped coach a learn-to-skate class on the weekends. All the while keeping up with my day job and ever so slowly chipping away at house projects. Well, that first month of new endeavors came to a screeching halt when on Saturday, February 8 at around 10:30 am; I had a freak fall on the ice, and broke my lower right leg in 4 places. My foot was facing a different direction from my knee, and my tibia had broken skin and come out a bit just above my skate boot.

First real broken bone(s), first ride in an ambulance, first OR experience- oh my! It’s been a loooong period of recovery. To make matters a bit more interesting, and why that February 8th date is so important, we actually found out we were pregnant Friday, February 7- the day before! You can see our little announcement post here. So going into the surgery with that new knowledge made things even scarier.

Fast forward two months and just as I began to start working again from home, the nation went into a state of emergency. We are currently witnessing a global pandemic due to a coronavirus. Physical distancing, face masks, and self-quarantining are common practice. It is a very interesting time to be pregnant and healing!

Anyway, due to to the fact we cannot go into many physical stores at the moment, we created a mood board to kick start our design plans. We decided not to add insulation to this one room as it sits in between our master, and the garage, and right above the furnace. Thus it, and the bathroom, are likely the most insulated/warm spots in the house. So our changes are minimal- new trim, new paint, lots of cleaning. Obviously, we refinished the hardwood before we moved in 3.5 years ago, so that’s checked off as well! On to the cosmetics!

MOOD BOARD

We’re envisioning a warm sunny vibe. Maybe some hints at places we’ve traveled- Greece, Spain, California, Mexico, perhaps? Once we find out gender I’m sure little tokens will be added here and there, but for the most part we’re trying to stay reasonably neutral. Octobers are such a beautiful month and in Michigan, when we’re lucky, summers can linger well into the fall. Mustard and rust colors remind us of those late summer days.

SOURCE  ||  A B C D E F G H I

currently crushing: enamel pins.

Can we talk about the huge comeback enamel pins have made? There are millions out there now! While lapel pins are no new trend- according to the internet they’ve been manufactured for almost 800 years- they’ve definitely been having a moment over the past few years. Here are a handful of modern day designs that caught my eye.

I love them and want them all… but who has a jean jacket big enough TBH?

A personal fave for obvious reasons- Mid Mod Pin.

The cutest outdoor camping set by National Dry Goods.

Happy pins inspired by cities by Megan McKean.

Love these state pins! Looks like this is just the first batch. I'm holding out for the mitten state.

Step aside BEST FRIENDS necklace, there is a new way to display your everlasting bestie bond! How clever are these pinky promise pins?!

Love that this shop offers ALPHA-pins! Nice nice nice.

Retroooo pins from Big Bud Press.

There is a story with this one. My mom's maiden name is Strange. So how excited was I when I stumbled on these pins?! I got them for all the women on my mom's side of the family. They come in multi colors, like the image above. For all you other strange ladies, check out the society here.

I didn’t know I needed a pretzel pin until this moment. ♡ From illustrator, Justine Gilbuena.

Lost Lust Supply has such a unique collection of pins in their shop!

Carolyn Draws with the simple truths.

And last, but certainly not least, the latest collection by The Uncommon Place & Dunn-Edwards are CUTE. Look at these Palm Springs homes- I want all three!

currently crushing: semihandmade.

September was such a busy fun month for us! But we’re getting back to working on the house and these past couple weekends were good ones. Although now that I’m finally sitting, I’m pretty sure my body has stiffened up to a point that I’ll never be able to move again!

We installed the last big piece of drywall in our kitchen. As I type, Dustin is finishing patching up the old light holes. Mannnnn, once you’re surrounded by that patchwork quilt of stone, it really helps to visualize the end result. We cannot wait for our kitchen to be done. Holy moly what a process. And we obviously have a long road ahead of us yet, but finally having all those walls closed up is such a good feeling. Mike the Mudder will be back to fill in all the gaps and smooth the corners from our hallway to the dining room, living room, kitchen, and stairwell. Then paint!

We purchased our cabinets from Ikea and decided on doors from Semihandmade. To keep our momentum going, I thought I’d share some drool worthy kitchens we’re pulling inspiration from.

I wanted all white appliances but was vetoed, unfortunately. Love this two tone approach by Almost Makes Perfect. Cabinet fronts from Semihandmade.

Not a kitchen, but a Semihandmade example nonetheless. Really feeling the Ann Sacks wall tile that Anna Bode used in her laundry room.

Color blocked cabinets for the win, indeed. See more from Veneer Design here.

That full wall of walnut doors! More at Vogue.

A Vintage Splendor paired Semihandmade Flatsawn Walnut, (which we loveeee but not sure our bank account would), with Fireclay Tile.

Another two tone example by William Howard Studio.

One of many colorful kitchens from Destination Eichler!

Mahogany doors and brass hardware- yes please. See Apartment Therapy for more photos.

This next photo features custom cabinetry, not Semihandmade. But it’s so inspiring, we love following along with their progress!

Check out Atomic Haus’ instagram to watch the transformation! Also- True Home Restoration, the design firm on the project, has even more custom cabinetry and MCM designed spaces on their site- do your eyeballs a favor and take a peek!

currently crushing: prickly pears.

Can you be in love with a plant? I'm sure lots would say it's entirely possible. Ever since we went to Greece for our honeymoon I've been longing for a prickly pear cactus. It was nearing the end of summertime in Greece, so many of my photos feature wilted and desaturated looking cacti. But still! Gah! How can I have one? How do I care for one? How do I keep our plant loving cat away from one?? Course one pricker to the nose, and Moo might stay away on his own.

We're thinking about incorporating a built in planter to our entry way/kitchen/living area. It's still in the works, but hoping we can pull it off. We've talked about herbs for the kitchen or just nice air-freshening, cat friendly plants. But I meannnn some cacti would be cool... Generally speaking, they are a staple of the whole MCM Cali-desert style. #myinspiration. I think we could create our own enclosed sanctuary in our little 1960's ranch in snowy Michigan.

Anyway, enjoy all this cactus loving goodness below. And don't even get me started on the tall Saguaros... I'm setting my sights on the flowering prickly pears first.

This is basically just a glorified post of my curated #plantlady Pinterest board. See the full bucket of inspiration here.

This blog post. Stunning simplicity. I mean look at those things!!

I LOVE Arielle Vey's photos. Ramona is pictured above. I would fill me whole house with them, if possible.

The shop at Wilder California is full of ethereal beauties like this one.

Light and bright from Loft Creative Co. Pink and green is always a good combo.

Sarah Sherman Samuel from their trip to Joshua Tree and 29 Palms Inn. Read the full post here.

Pink pretties from Shannon Kirsten for Minted.

Blooms! Check out more of Ann's work at The Dreamery.

This colorful coffee table resident from From Etzer, With Love.

Better Homes & Garden's for the win! Tips on planting cacti in cold weather climates. 

>> Here is another helpful link on caring for a prickly pear cacti.

A make-your-own ceramic prickly pear! Oli's Cupboard is the cutest shop.

Okay, now I'm really stretching it- but I'm loving this hamper (and it's adorning flowers!)

And a few pricklies from our honeymoon. ♥ Like I mentioned before, they were pretty end-of-season-ish...

Take me back!