Switching Things Up

**New rug alert**

“Perfect for spring!” as my older sister told me. And she’s right: just as the changing of the seasons bring change and new perspectives, the same can be felt simply by switching things up around the house. In this case, it was in the form of a seagrass rug PJ found for a steal off, what else? Facebook Marketplace, of course. The king of FB Marketplace strikes again!

Now we have two almost identical seagrass rugs in the two front rooms when you enter our house- one in the office and one in our living room. I am loving the brighter feel in there now, though we both loved our Persian rug so much (you may remember we moved that rug into our kitchen). It always felt extra cozy in there with our old rug down, but after it living in there for the last 4 years, it feels good to change things up, even if it’s only for a little while.

Here’s to new perspectives, no matter what forms they come in! Happy Monday dear friends xoxo

The Importance of Having a Daily Schedule

It’s been one of those weeks. Actually, it’s been one of those years, hasn’t it?

Those were the exact words our case worker and I said when we did our weekly FaceTime meeting today, after missing it for four days in a row (coordinating schedules is difficult!). We’ve been going nonstop for the last four-five months but for some reason, this week slowed down for us, and we had a few days of down time, and friends…it felt so so so good.

We caught up on TV, PJ has been working every day at our flip house, and we’ve been going out to the land nonstop to let the kiddos run around, though, it’s been so cold lately that that last one has been a little tricky: sis doesn’t like the cold one bit and every time we say we’re going to the land lately, she says “Iont wanna toe wiand” (which basically translates into “I don’t wanna go to the land”) while violently shaking her hand in the air. It’s hard being three!!

The weather has been so awful lately (sending love to those of you in Texas!), so older brother’s school has been out this week, and for some reason, it’s thrown me off our schedule. I’ve found I like the structure that daily tasks bring: school for older brother in the morning, cleaning the kitchen and picking up the house while glancing every now and then at the morning talk shows, sending emails and feeding the dogs, etc. It feels good to be productive, and having a schedule (especially when you work from home and control your own) is essential for me to get things done. Do you know what I mean?

This was kind of a random thought-dump of a post, so kudos to you for making it this far. Hope you had a great week, friends, and happy Friday!! xoxo

PS: please click here to help those in Texas, if you can.

From a Child’s Perspective

This morning during breakfast, while PJ was flipping through the new issue of Architectural Digest that came in yesterday, little brother asked him (in a very serious, curious tone) what he was “looking for”. I found that so funny because what, to me, looked like PJ just browsing and enjoying the new issue of AD, to little brother, looked as if he was looking for something specific, like he was on a mission to find something that was missing. How cute is that?

Little things like that happen every day and they always crack me up, so I wanted to document it here! I love hearing their hilarious (and to be honest, sometimes frustratingly repetitive 😂) questions every day. A child’s perspective is always such a breath of fresh air, isn’t it?

A Rug in the Kitchen

Speaking of kitchens, PJ borrowed the rug from our front room and put it in the kitchen last night (something he’s been wanting to try out for four years!) and I have thoughts about it. I have been very firmly against it forever, thinking it wouldn’t look good or that it would feel out of place, but I have to say…I actually quite like it.

The rug somehow makes the kitchen feel bigger, which you would think it would do the opposite, right? But no, it definitely feels more spacious in there now. Weird. It also feels good on my feet when I’m standing at the island making dinner- so much better than the hardwood floors. Will we keep it in here forever? Probably not, but you know how much we love to switch things up around the house, so my guess is it’ll be here for a little while. I love that my husband loves moving the house around as much as I do.

I did a poll on Instagram to see if people liked rugs in kitchens or not, and we received so many responses along the lines of “what about spills?” and “they’re a bad idea with kids!”. I’m not too worried about either of those potential scenarios to be honest. We have a rug in our dining room and the kids spill something on it every single day, and when they do, we just clean it up. That’s the great thing about Persian rugs: they hide all of the spills and messes that inevitably happen with five humans, two dogs, and one cat living under the same roof.

So right now, I’m all here for the rug in the kitchen. It’s 2021. There are literally zero rules anymore.

The Most Beautiful Kitchen I’ve Ever Seen

I am on Pinterest every day. We both are. And I constantly see white kitchens or kitchens with painted cabinetry and they’re all beautiful, of course, and trendy, and I would take any of them in a heart beat. But every now and then I come across a kitchen that literally makes my jaw drop, and this one, my friends, made me gasp out loud.

I actually didn’t even find it on Pinterest. I was randomly looking at homes in NYC (as one does) and found a gorgeous brownstone for sale in Brooklyn and when I came to the photos of the kitchen I instantly fell in love. Can you even handle the color of those stained cabinets? And the beautiful white countertops (thinking they’re quartz)? The contrast of the dark wood and light counters mixed with the huge windows, that probably make it feel like you’re actually cooking in the trees, is almost too much for me to handle, in the best way possible of course.

It seems white kitchens have been all the rage for the last decade, and we’re not complaining: our last two kitchens have white cabinets and black counters. But this kitchen makes a strong case for warm wood tones and dramatic white counters that extend up the backsplash of the stove wall. The glass fronts of the cabinets mimic the open feeling the windows and the extremely tall doors evoke, allowing a not-so-big space to feel bigger and more connected with the outdoors. Can you tell I’m obsessed?

If you have a spare $10,000,000, this kitchen, and the rest of the 7,600 sq ft brownstone can be yours. Just make sure to invite us over for dinner, okay?

photos via the listing by Ravi Kantha

Happy Monday!!

We’re working late tonight (when the kids go to bed, that’s our prime time to shoot campaigns we’re working on and/or write captions, blogs, emails, etc.), but wanted to pop in and say happy Monday to you!

It was sunny and warm today, so we drove out to the land and let the kids get extremely muddy. We got McDonald’s to go for dinner and ate it while watching Netflix in the living room at Holiday House and it was total bliss. Fast food and TV: ever heard of a healthier combination? 😂

Hope you had a good one, friend!! xo

PS: so inspiring

The Sky Tonight

I looked out the window tonight and the sky just about took my breath away. I have been getting into sunsets and sunrises the last few years (is there anything more beautiful?) and tonight’s sky stopped me in my tracks. It felt all-encompassing, like if I didn’t stop and take notice it might explode. So naturally, I did what anyone would do and climbed to the roof and took pictures.

What a gorgeous start to the weekend. Hope you have a good one, friends!!

A Serene Country Home in Spain

I have been dreaming about this home ever since I first saw it a few months back. How serene and relaxing is the white, tan, and cream color palette used throughout? It’s sophisticated and casual all at the same time. I wouldn’t change a thing. I’m getting major inspiration for Holiday House with the use of textures and layers and colors, and don’t even get me started on those raw wood doors!!

So dreamy.

All pictures via here.