Options.

Our house has been under contract for the last 12 days, but I didn't want to jinx anything by sharing the news on the blog. But as of 8:00 p.m. tonight, the option period expired!  We will be closing in about 3 weeks.  Yikes!  To celebrate this evening, Justin picked up a bottle of champagne on his way home from work.    

The whole process (offer, inspection, appraisal, etc.) has gone super well.  And right now, I'm knocking on wood that I didn't just derail the process by saying that.  In case you're wondering where we're moving, that makes two of us.  We are going to find a short-term apartment by the weekend and be patient while we try find the perfect house for us.  We've looked at a few recently, but nothing we want to make an offer on.

So if I my posts are more sporadic than normal (if that's even possible), just know I'm likely having a blast packing.  Hope your Monday was equally as exciting!

Photos from the Iphone.

I thought I'd share a few random things from the last few days with you through the lens of my iphone . . .

I am certainly no fashion blogger, but I wore this outfit to work the other day and received a bunch of compliments on my top.  While that in and of itself it not noteworthy, the the fact that the top was free is!  I "bought" it with one of my Nordstrom Notes that was expiring soon.  If you also are a fan of Nordstrom Notes, here's a little tip:  you can get gift cards with them and those never expire.  I always say it's "free money," and Justin rolls his eyes and says "oh yeah, it's real free."

Riley decided to make himself comfortable in Justin's desk chair.  How sweet is that?  (Please excuse the awesome mess of paperwork completely surrounding Justin's desk area.  He decided to clean out his desk over the weekend, so I wasn't going to complain about the papers strewn about all over the floor!)  

No joke, as I was drafting this post, this is what was going on behind me.  Riley was sound asleep on his back while Zoey was giving him a the stare down.  They both stayed like that for a while.   

Justin has requested that I point out that the above photo is not from my iphone, but from his Galaxy Nexus phone.  He's anti-iphone.  He is also weird.

We went to a new construction open house this weekend.  But the cool (and kind of sad) part is that we used to rent the house that they tore town to build the new house.  So Justin is standing about where our old living room used to be.  It was crazy to be back on that lot and standing in a different house.  Oh memories. 

And last but not least, one of the consultants Justin works with lives in NYC and commutes here every week.  He offered to bring the people at work (and me) cookies from Levain Bakery.  These cookies are seriously good.  And they are 6 ounces a piece!  6 ounces of pure deliciousness.      

Hope your week has been going great so far!

House Tour: Living Room.

How was your weekend?  I worked for a good part of the weekend (boo), but we got away today to go to some open houses.  Nothing we loved, but at least got a feel for some things that are out there.  

In the last installment of the home tour, I shared our kitchen.  Next up is the living room, which will round out the rooms on the second floor (besides the powder room, which I am guessing you don't mind skipping over).

This is the view to the right as you come up the stairs.  Our living room is open to the dining room.    

You can read the details of the wallpapered bookshelves here.  I didn't really think about it when we first bought the house, but I really love having the built-ins.  Accessorizing them is a constant work in progress, but it's fun.  

We completely redid the fireplace when we first moved in.  It was seriously awful.  Looking at it now, you would never know that at one point it was covered with ugly brown tile.  And the ottomans are the solsta footstools (now on sale for $14.99) from Ikea that my mother-in-law recovered for us.  You can read about that transformation here.

The color of the walls is Behr Country Club.  As you can see, it totally changes color depending on the light.   

You can see better shots of my Cocoa & Hearts painting in this post.  I also recently got these Dwell Studio pillows from Joss & Main for the couch.  Riley is helping me model them . . . such a ham. 

I used to have a fabric covered canvas over on the wall where the frames are now, but I was in the mood for a little something different and thought it was a good opportunity to display some art that's been sitting in the closet.  And speaking of hams, look at Zoey over there on the stairs. 

Most of the art came from etsy, but a couple of them came from Homegoods and a local resale shop.

Next up will be the third floor!  Hope y'all have a wonderful Monday!

Herringbone Floors.

I have recently become obsessed with herringbone floors.

Source: haveninparis.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: c-o-a-s-t-i-n.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: haveninparis.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: neathome.net via Emily on Pinterest

Source: haveninparis.com via Emily on Pinterest

Source: nordbydesignstudio.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

It's no surprise it looks fabulous in the bathroom.

Source: everythingleb.blogspot.com via Emily on Pinterest

I'm not even sure I could put bath mats on top of this gorgeous tile.

Source: houzz.com via Marla on Pinterest

And my homeboy Tommy Smythe knows how to rock it in the kitchen.

Source: theamericanlegacy.tumblr.com via Emily on Pinterest

I am looking to join Herringbone Floors Addicts Anonymous. What about you?

5 things . . .

5 random things . . . 

1.  I'm reading the Happiness Project and the Marriage Plot.  I've asked myself why I've decided to read two books at the same time.  I really don't have a good answer for that -- maybe I'd be happier if I committed to less!  If you've read either of these books, what did you think?   

(photo: here)

(photo: here)

2.  Nine years ago this past Tuesday, Justin proposed to me.  We were in college at the time and he proposed in front of the Capitol building in Austin.  It's so fun to think back and remember the excitement of that night.    

3.  I apologize in advance to all of you who were good and made a new year's resolution to eat healthier, but it's not fair for me to keep this to myself.  Ben & Jerry's Coffee Heath Bar Crunch ice cream is amazing.  Try it.  You'll thank me (your thighs are a different story).   

(photo: here)

4.  I scored a super deal on a coat from Lands End.  Down in Texas, we don't have the need for a jacket like this except for maybe 1-2 days a year, so I hate to spend a lot of money something I'll hardly wear.  But I got this coat -- regularly $139 -- for $65 (and free shipping)!  It fits great and is super comfy and warm.  Perfect for some snow . . .  

(photo: lands end)

5.  On a related note, we're headed to Breckenridge soon (hence the reason for the jacket)!  Does anyone have any tips for places we have to see or things we have to do while we are there? 

Source: google.com via Emily on Pinterest

The Big 6-0.

My mom turned 60 this past weekend, and we wanted to celebrate her.  We had about 45 or so people over at our house to help celebrate her too!  My mom has so many friends and family who love her so much.

Overall, we kept the decorations simple. We found this great string decoration that we zig-zagged across the living room ceiling.

We also bought some fabric from Ikea and used Heat n Bond to finish the edges to make runners.  I liked the idea of having them run horizontally, rather than vertically.   
 

 (Oh, and you can see our "replacement" light fixture in this picture.  It's from Home Depot.)

I kept the flowers simple -- I don't think you can't go wrong with white hydrangeas.  And I like low arrangements on the table so they don't block your view of the person across from you.  The confetti on the table was a mix of stars and the number "60".    

After the party, when it was just family around, I gave my mom her gift.  I borrowed this idea and compiled "Sixty Years of Memories" for her.

It was so fun watching her read through them all.  It was late and everyone was tired after the party, but it was totally worth staying up to see her reaction and laugh about some of the stories (along with her sister, brother, and mom).

I already knew this about my mom, but so many of the stories had to do with her selflessness, kindness, and caring heart.  My mom really is one of the most thoughtful people there is, and I'm so blessed to have her as my mom and friend. 

(me, my mom, and my grandma)

Please note my mom is totally cheating in the picture by standing on our stairs (she is slightly height-challenged).  But since it was her birthday, I let her get away with it!  And if I can look like my grandma does when I'm 81, I will be a happy camper. 

We had a fun time celebrating with her!  Happy 60th, mom! 

J Crew Shoes.

It seemed like almost every day for the few leading up to Christmas, I was getting emails from J Crew with special deals -- free shipping, 15% off, 20% off, and then the amazing 30% off.  I miss those days and the 27 tabs I had open in Firefox with various items to add to my cart.

I got an email earlier this week from J Crew with a different kind of excellent news.  No there was no sale, but they do have the best pair of shoes ever again!  J Crew used to have peep toes called the Joley, which they no longer sell.  I have 2 pairs of them and wore my black ones all-the-dang-time.  So much so that I wore them out.  Sadsies.  I couldn't fathom the thought of not having my go to basic black peep toe pumps, so while shamefully wearing shoes I clearly should have retired a while ago, I hunted on ebay and craigslist for a pair.  I didn't have much luck and thought I would have to move on to a different, less-perfect, pair.

But the recent email had the following image:

   
Do you see it (look very very closely)?  The bottom right chick.  I saw her and thought "Hooray!  It's a New Year Miracle -- the Joleys are back!"  And then I went to the women's shoe section of the J Crew website in record time.  Well, they're not the Joley peep toes, they're called the Drea now, but they are super close (if not identical) to my favorite pair of shoes.  My store doesn't have them in stock, but I should be receiving my pair in the mail any day now.  I can't hardly wait!

And like my other pair, I'm of the opinion that you really need more than one color.  This blue color is speaking to me. 

(all photos: jcrew)

Yep, that's right, I've officially dedicated an entire post to a pair of peep toes (say that 3 times fast).  They are that good, people. 

Have you ever had a product that was discontinued or a piece of clothing you missed out on and then it came back and made your week? 

In non-shoe news, my mom is turning 60 on Saturday! We are hosting a party for her at our house with about 50 guests. I'll be back post-party! Have a wonderful weekend!

House Tour: Kitchen.

It's been a very long time since I've done a home tour post, but I thought I'd start 2012 off right.  So here's a tour of our kitchen and breakfast room.  This area may be the part of the house I'll miss most when we move. 

 

All of the lighting in the kitchen is from Restoration Hardware (even the light over the sink that I forgot to turn on). 

The best part about the space is how the kitchen is open to a den/large breakfast room area.  Everyone always congregates in the kitchen and it's wonderful to have a large space for people to mill about/keep you company while you cook. 

It's funny seeing this next picture because I've gotten used to the new chandelier we hung up when we put our house on the market.  The lighting over the breakfast room table is was from Z Gallerie.  I guess because the area can be set up in any number of different ways, there was no lighting installed over the breakfast room area (except for the pot lights) when we moved in.  We put in the light over the table and the pendants over the island.  What a difference lighting makes -- the kitchen looked naked before (and believe me, no one wants a naked kitchen).

From this angle, you can see the little seating area in the "den" off the breakfast room and kitchen. 

As much as we try to keep the dogs off the settee, they love lounging on it when we are in the kitchen.  They usually start off following us around when we're cooking hoping that we will drop something, then they sit and beg from us, then they give up altogether and go lay on the settee.  There's not much cuter than our dogs laying around on this couch. 

We keep our bar ware and more "embarrassing" alcohol (i.e. handles, peppermint schnapps, sweet tea vodka) in that black cabinet.  And the black box on top of the cabinet is a speaker -- I've got to have my sweet jams while I bake.  

And of course, my favorite kitchen accessory -- the bar cart.  Justin thought we may turn away buyers with our excessive impressive stash, so we've removed many of the bottles seen here from the cart and tucked them away along with the embarrassing alcohol bottles.  I don't know why he thinks the large amount of wine bottles that line the pantry floor are any better; but hey, pick your battles, right?        

 
Up next is the living room, which you can see as you walk out of the kitchen.   Then we'll head upstairs to the third floor!

Hope you had a wonderful weekend ringing in the new year!