{Tunnel Vision}

Now that Claire is crawling all over the place and standing on everything, Chris and I thought it was time to get some new toys for our big girl.

When it comes to our parenting style, we really want Claire to embrace her imagination in such a technology-crazed world. After all, we aren't big on TV, love the outdoors and want to foster those habits in her, too! And so, the toys we give her are suited for that purpose.

A few weekends ago, we took a trip to Ikea and bought several of their awesome wooden toys, a walker/wagon and a mesh tunnel. First of all, I love and appreciate how inexpensive everything is, especially when compared to very similar items elsewhere! And secondly, they are a huge hit with our daughter!

I've been especially pleased with the mesh tunnel we purchased. It may be the best $15 we've spent lately! Our girl loves to crawl back and forth through it, stop in the middle and peek around to see me when I'm on the opposite side of her. It's hilarious and provides us all tons of entertainment! The past week or so it's become our morning routine to pop open the tunnel and begin our day crawling around in our pjs. It's the best!

And a huge perk - it folds right up and stores easily away. Thank you Ikea, for awesome products that are also budget-friendly!

I took these photos the first day we got it. At first she was a bit skeptical and would only get a few steps in before backing herself out, but now she has become a seasoned pro at blasting from one side to the other (and back again and again!). I love her sweet curiosity!

{Island Fever...}

Unfortunately, this is not a post telling you that we're flitting off last minute to a tropical paradise. But the next best thing, we made a little house update that's been on our list for a few months. Introducing, our newest addition to the breakfast nook!

But first, what it looked like before:

And now!:

Chris and I were very fond of and quite proud of our black pedestal kitchen table. It was a true labor of love from my husband to me two years ago when he sanded it down from many layers of paint to give me my dream table. I thought we would have that table forever. But after living in our home for about a year, we noticed that it is actually our dining room that gets the most use.

Sometime last Fall, Chris brought up the possibility of putting an island in the breakfast nook instead, something that, ironically, I had been thinking, too! Right away we found the Stenstorp kitchen island from Ikea. We fell immediately in love. We were first drawn to its sturdy, solid construction and additionally, the two stainless shelves that would tie in our stainless appliances, serve as extra storage and add a bit of the modern touch that my husband loves so much. We also appreciated that it provides some seating on the back side if we still want to have coffee or breakfast in that sunny little nook. What's not to love?

Like many ideas/projects at the moment, this one got put on our 'something to save for' list. And then last week I had a wild hair to have an impromptu garage sale in an attempt to purge some closets and maybe earn a little extra cash for those little projects we've been itching to finish.  At the prompting of my genius husband we brought out our kitchen table hoping maybe it would sell and the money could go toward our island. Within the first hour it was gone - score! 

And then as luck would have it, I decided to do a little browing on craigslist Monday morning and there it was, our island, in mint condition selling for $100 less then the original price! You should know that Chris has a search set up for this very piece on the craigslist app on his phone and we've never seen it listed, but this particular seller had spelled it incorrectly so it never showed up on his search. So basically, me finding it was pure luck! I wasted no time calling the seller and picking it up. I am certain I looked like a five-year old on Christmas morning:)

And now, this is what I get to look at every day while I'm in the kitchen! I am so happy with how clean and crisp it looks, especially next to our white cabinets!

Ahh...I LOVE it and seriously can't help smiling every time I see it!

R&R Weekend

What are you up to this weekend? Darling husband and I are doing a little shopping at Ikea tonight in hopes of finding some big frames to spruce up an area of the apartment that desperately needs some love.

And seeing as the next several weeks will be wonderfully busy, I'm counting on some good R&R this weekend. Hmm, maybe even a nice bath and a good book...

Have a lovely weekend!

photo by Country Living

Distractions

The stormy, yucky weather we've had the past several days makes me wish I could stay bundled up at home and not leave until the sun is shining on a perfect 70 degree day! A girl can dream.

Instead, I do things that take my mind off the weather! Truthfully, I find myself shopping a bit more in these wintery months.

These are some recent Etsy purchases that make me smile:

This 10x8 print by Freshline is adorable! I'm quite taken with the term "nest" lately!


I posted this headband last week and just couldn't resist buying it for myself! I received it yesterday and absolutely adore it!



We took a trip to Ikea this weekend and came home with this Ung Drill frame:


I had never seen it before. It is not very Ikea-like, but I love it! I considered painting it, but think I've settled on leaving it the way it is. This picture really doesn't do it justice!

And I ordered a 16x20 of this picture for the frame:


I think I'll make myself another cup of Starbucks Casi Cielo to warm me up! Happy hump day!