How a Tree becomes a House. Or Furniture. Or Floors.

I follow ReBuilding Exchange (a great local Chicago resource for reclaimed building supplies & fixtures - love it!) on Facebook & they posted a picture of this sculpture by Vincent Kohler.  It is a great visual that explains how a log is cut & planed to create wood ready for building.  I found it to be fascinating!  

I went into the ReBuilding Exchange last week just to poke around a bit.  They have aisles of old doors, reclaimed wood, kitchen cabinets, sinks, toilets, you name it!  What I also loved were the carpet tiles.  At $2/tile, I was able to put together a  4x6 rug for $12.  It was high performance contract carpet, perfect for an entry.  I wasn't able to think of a place to use it, so I put it all back...but let this serve as a notice to you if you're in the market!

Painted Ceiling Fan

Ceiling fans get a bad rap in the design world.  I've always thought it was a bit overblown, since they are often quite necessary!  But if you're stuck with builder basics and don't want to pay $$$ to install new, modern models, here is a great alternative!

I pinned this DIY this morning from Kristen F. Davis Designs (a super talented decorative painter), then thought it would make for a great post - something you may not have thought about before, but could do on your own.

Take apart your fan, spray paint the metal parts (if you want to get rid of brass, or whatever) and paint the blades.  Based on comments, it looks like the designer used layers of different colors, but that inexpensive FolkArt craft paint was mentioned in the comments, making this a really affordable project.

Filing this away for our home as well!

I Love this SO MUCH

There are so many photo a day type video/slideshows out there that I have always liked.  Pregnancy documention, baby growing, etc.  When a friend of mine posted this video on Facebook, I skipped past it (as I do with most linked videos when I'm just quickly checking in) but later scrolled back up to watch it.  I am so glad I did!

2012 in 366 Seconds from James Bernal on Vimeo.

I admit that it is sometimes hard for me to remember to take H's weekly picture (we're doing the oft copied Young House Love photo project), and this would be even more challenging, but my hope is that with daily repetition it will become habit within a couple of weeks.

H pulled up to stand for the first time yesterday and I managed to get it on video.  Yesterday was also May 1st, a perfect date to start this project, no??

Easter DIY?

Happy Easter!  We had a lovely day enjoying brunch with friends and taking advantage of the mild spring day.  I've had a few people ask me what H received from the Easter Bunny, and I am embarassed to admit that we didn't do a basket for her first Easter!  Oops.  I honestly didn't know what to get & didn't want to end up with a bunch of junk, so I skipped it this year.  I am sure Michael's/JoAnn's will have great sales today, so once H is up from her nap & fed, we're hitting the clearance aisles for a basket.

I am extremely nostalgic & love my colorful plastic Easter basket from my childhood.  If one of those stores happen to have one, I might snap it up.  More likely, though, they'll have traditional baskets that I can then decorate (a bit).  Here are two easy ideas that I came across this morning - ribbon & tulle!

I love me some tulle, but I also love the more preppy, classic look of the woven ribbon.  We'll see what inspiration strikes later today!

SwaddleDesigns Giveaway!

UPDATE:  Congratulations to Domestic Diva!   You are the proud owner of a zzZipMe Sack!

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I know posting has been...sparse (to put it mildly) since H was born, but you may remember that one of those posts was dedicated to my love of the SwaddleDesigns flannel swaddle blanket.  She slept wrapped up in that for 4 months before we started to transition her out of the swaddle (and into her crib, without a pacifier all at the same time - rip the bandaid, eh?).  A few days later, I received a nice email from the founder to thank me for writing such a nice post - I think I thanked HER for creating the thing that saved our sanity ;)

They also make super soft zzZipMe Sacks, which have been perfect for transitioning your baby out of the swaddle.  There are 2 weights, one for colder months and one for warmer.  She is currently napping in the pink one pictured below :)

Due to popular demand, this style & one other are now available in size 12-18 months!

 As a thank you, she offered to send me 2 sleep sacks, no strings attached.  I then asked if she would like me to hold a giveaway for one & she agreed.  AWESOME - luck you, readers!  To enter, comment below with your favorite SwaddleDesigns pattern (not as easy as it sounds - so cute!).  For additional entries, you can also "like" SwaddleDesigns on Facebook & Twitter.  Also, feel free to retweet this for another.  Just come back here & let me know you did it.

My personal favorite :)

I've been meaning to write this post for, oh, 3 months or so.  Life with an infant is a lot of work!  A lot of sweet, fun, amazing and tiring work.  H is such a happy girl and we are so blessed to have her in our lives.  What a fun little person she is turning out to be!

Okay, go!  The giveaway will close on Tuesday at 10 a.m. CST.