Posts Tagged With: around the house

something gorgeously dark and moody

Posted on September 16, 2022 by robynbird

Ever since we moved into this house I wanted to do something dramatic for the main floor powder room. I envisioned something gorgeously dark and moody.
It had a basic builder’s grade mirror and I started looking for a new on not long after we moved in. In my mind I saw a large circle mirror. But the more I looked, the more I wondered…it’s ten foot ceilings in there, what if I used a tall mirror? And found a fun pendant light to reflect off the mirror?
I ran this concept by YBW and he was on board.
I finally found the perfect mirror at Target of all places. (only on line)
Light fixture came from Wayfair. (on sale)

I searched out wallpaper on and off for a year before finally landing on a beautiful Victorian floral. It sat for a bit while we did other things, but Sunday of Labor Day weekend, YBW and I took a few hours to get it up. And no bickering, even though I got ridiculously frustrated and rage quit for about three minutes before going back in and finishing it up.

I’m so pleased with the way it turned out!

As I was standing in there admiring our hard work, YBW said, “Now, do the walls stay white?”
I was just thinking the same thing. We were specific about wanting all white walls so we could bring color in textiles and art and furniture and decor. But as we looked at that gorgeous wallpaper we both wondered if the other walls needed changing.
Stay tuned…
Even over a year later, we’re still making this house our home and I am so here for it!

Categories: around the house | Tags: around the house, bathroom, creating a home, for the home, home decor, home improvement, wallpaper | 3 Comments

real life closet porn

Posted on April 4, 2022 by robynbird

A guy called Carlos showed up at our house Monday last.
His mission?
To trick out our closet.
He worked tirelessly over two full days.
And when he finished, we got a system as functional as it is beautiful.

(this is my wall)

(YBW’s wall, but my drawers and shelves at the end)

(YBW’s wall with comfy seat storage bench, he gets dressed here each morning)

Wednesday last I came home from school early (only had one tutoring session) and spent the entire afternoon in the closet.
The result?
Absolutely glorious closet porn!

I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!
It’s beautiful and perfect and I love going in there.
We’ve discussed a rug and new lighting fixtures, but I’m in no hurry…I want to live with it for a while and see what’s really important.
This was the last ‘big thing’ we had to do to make this house our home and we knocked it out of the park, y’all!

(a note about the wallpaper: it’s blue cherry blossoms and we put it up before Carlos came)

Categories: around the house | Tags: around the house, closet, closet design, closet goals, closet organization, closet porn, closet system, clothes, creating a home, home organization, inspiration, organization | 4 Comments

I feng(ed) the shui

Posted on February 28, 2022 by robynbird

Friday morning I came downstairs and said FUUUUUCK!
Why? you ask.
Well, because the room was perfect.
What now? you ask.

The guy was coming to finish the installation of the automated black out shades. Which meant the sofa, console table behind the sofa, and a jungle’s worth of plants needed to be moved to allow him room to work.
YBW and I didn’t even think of it before we went to bed Thursday night which left it all to me Friday morning.

I mean:

But that damn sofa is heavy to move all by myself.

I was able to push everything away from the window without messing up the rug (go me!) then waited for the guy to arrive.

Sent this pic to YBW, “So we forgot something last night and I’ll be needing your help when you get home.”
I also sent it in the group chat with the girls.
Thing 2: “You funged the shway!! (phonetic spelling, because I’m not gonna try that)”
Me: “Bahahahahaha!”

I feng(ed) the hell out of the shui, y’all.
But it was so worth it.
Check out the light blocking shades.

Now we can watch TV during daylight hours without glare.
In the grand scheme of things, television glare isn’t that serious, but in the Roby scheme of things, it kind of is (that serious).
YBW’s happy because they’re automated and connected to the smart house hub. I actually prefer the app on my phone, I think it works faster.
I’m happy because there’s no more glare if I want to have the TV on while I eat lunch.

We continue making this house our home.
It doesn’t have to be all at once.
Creating a home takes time.
Creating a home takes care.
We’re on it, y’all!

Categories: me | Tags: around the house, automated, creating a home, feng shui, furniture, home, humor, humor and truth, living your best life, making a home, mindful living, smart house | 6 Comments

organizing my home and brain space

Posted on January 6, 2022 by robynbird

This is the view from our bedroom window this morning.
Can you spot three deer out there in the snow?
I watched them for about ten minutes while they foraged.

Today is snow day number four.
And two to four inches of snow predicted in the overnight hours tonight.
Three full weeks of winter break.
I’m actually ready to get back to school.

Though I’ve been quite productive around here and feel good about it. This additional week was helpful.

I found some good decor items to add with things we already have to style the dining table. I’m being mindful about making sure I have mostly practical pieces that are useful in ways other than simply looking nice. I don’t want decor for decor’s sake. I want beautiful things I can utilize in other ways.
I may end up returning some things, I’m still trying to figure it out.
Photos to come.

I’m actively journaling.
It feels good to get my brain space better sorted. In addition to journaling my thoughts and feels, I’m also writing about writing. My hope is that will eventually translate to this blog.
We’ll see, those thoughts are still hatching…

I’m feeling positive and hopeful about all the things right now.
Inspired and encouraged.
About our home.
About my feels.
I’ll strive to do what’s best for my physical and mental health.
I’ll continue to ask questions that may or may not have answers.
I must consider some serious decisions.
But I’m going to accept what comes as it do.
And I’m going to embrace as much playful fun and joy as I possibly can.

How are all y’all feeling this first week of the new year?
What thoughts are hatching in your brain space?

Categories: me | Tags: around the house, brain, brain dump, encouragement, feeling hopeful, feelings, feels, home organization, hop, journaling, joy, organization, organize, snow, snow day, Style, styling, thoughts, writing | 3 Comments

continuing to make this house our home

Posted on December 29, 2021 by robynbird

The day after Christmas, YBW and I went out in search of a coffee table.
I ordered one in August and it’s been delayed four times now, the latest delay puts delivery the end of January. And while I’m realistic about the current state of the world, especially when it comes to the supply chain, I was tired of waiting.
And we were kind of questioning our choice anyway…

We planned an entire day for exploration, but we found success at our fourth store.
We chose a two piece set of nesting tables. YBW came up with the idea of adding a second of the lower tables to the original pair.

We initially ordered an enormous square coffee table. It was YBW’s vision from the moment we knew we’d live here.
But with these three smaller tables, we have more freedom of use, which to be perfectly honest, makes more sense for the way we live. We can move them about our living room as needed.
And I’m all about the fact they’re so mid-century!

Of course, we have to wait six more weeks, but it’s a guaranteed six weeks, not this maybe in five months situation in which we’ve found ourselves.

We finally found the perfect rugs for our living and bedroom, they shipped early and arrived the week before Christmas.
Thing 1, Husband N, and even Baby K helped us lay the big one in the living room. The one for our bedroom is rolled up waiting to be laid. Our bed is so damn heavy, it’s going to take proper planning to make getting it set work.

We’re prioritizing our home needs as we move into the new year.
A closet system is at the top of our list.
After that comes the fridge I wanted instead of the one I had to settle for, two new sofas, wallpaper, and having the TV mounted on the wall.
There are other things too, smaller things, I just can’t remember what they are at the moment.

We haven’t planned an order for any of these things other than the closet system.
We’re not in a hurry.
We’ve lived in this house a few days less than five months and continue to make it our home each day we’re here.
We have time.

Categories: around the house | Tags: around the house, creating a home, curating your environment, for the home, furniture, home, home decor, house, making a home, mid century modern, YBW | 2 Comments

love and joy and cookies

Posted on December 22, 2021 by robynbird

Thing 1 and I baked cookies all day yesterday.

Baby K said, “I help you!” many times.
Of course toddler help looks often looks like her taking cookies off the pan and cramming them in her gob as quickly as we can cut them. (I’m over here like, dude, that’s what scraps are for!)
Or taking a handful of flour and throwing it on the floor while saying, “It’s SNOW!”
Then when her mother unceremoniously removes her from the stool upon which she stands, laying in the flour on the floor and…”I making snow angel!”
(Yeah, we laughed. It was freaking adorable!)
We had a reprieve when her Papa came home from lunch and they sat at the island being all cute while they ate their lunches together.
And again while she napped.

Baking is not my strong suit.
But yesterday, baking with my girl. I was absolutely content.
I enjoyed her company.
I enjoyed working in the kitchen with her.
I enjoyed watching her be her daughter’s mom.

That time was sacred to me and I’m grateful for it.
It wasn’t about the cookies, though most of them turned out beautifully.
It was about the process.
It was about the fellowship.
I know how fortunate I am to live close to my daughter, especially after not for so long.
But more than that, I know how fortunate I am to be close to my daughter.
Love, joy, and gratitude are spilling over in me and out into the world.
I hope y’all can feel it too!

Categories: love | Tags: all the feels, around the house, Baby K, baking cookies, Christmas, Christmas baking, cookies, feels, fellowship, fun, grateful, gratitude, joy, kitchen, love, Thing 1 | 1 Comment

robot vacuum makes a map

Posted on September 20, 2021 by robynbird

Ten days ago, I ordered a robotic vacuum.

Two days ago it arrived.
We put everything together and left it to charge that evening.

Yesterday I set it loose to map the main living level.

It started at its dock in the corner of the dining room. At the point this screenshot was taken, it managed to navigate all the dining area, powder room, and in front of the island.
It went a little wonky near the big glass door in the living room because it could see out but not actually get out.

Later in the afternoon yesterday I took it upstairs to map the bedroom level.

It started in the hall then went into Baby K’s room. Apparently the carpet was a little tricky…
In this screenshot it left Baby K’s room, took a quick jaunt into the hall bath before finding its way into the guest room.

So far, I’m pretty pleased with this Roborock S7. It navigated the runner in the kitchen quite well, and only got a bit hung up on the carpet in Baby K’s room. It needs more help near the big glass door, but I can create a visual boundary for it and that should sort it right out. It was smart enough to know where the stairs went down and properly avoided that.
I plan to let it map each floor two more times to get the best possible idea of where it needs to do what.
I think I’ll let it do that before I try the mop feature, just in case.

This thing was nearly eight hundred dollars, but so far seems like it will be worth every damn penny!

In the app there’s a feature in which I can name this robotic vacuum…
Y’all have any suggestions?

Categories: around the house | Tags: around the house, cleaning, hard work, making a map, mapping, roborock, robot vacuum, vacuum | 4 Comments

it’s (meteorological) fall, y’all

Posted on September 9, 2021 by robynbird

Autumn is my most favorite time of year!
It’s still eighty degrees out, but I’m embracing all things fall.
I’m all about pumpkins and leaves and cotton up in here (up in here)

This is what it looks like when the pumpkins aren’t gathered up by Baby K.

There are other little collections in the living room, but I chose to share this one because I like the way it looks best.

My God, y’all! The light in this house never ceases to amaze me.

Categories: around the house | Tags: around the house, autumn, autumn style, autumn vibes, creating a home, decorations, fall, fall vibes, home decor, it's fall y'all, seasonal decor | 2 Comments

a little linen closet organization

Posted on September 8, 2021 by robynbird

Last week y’all saw what we did in the laundry room.
I’m going to share a peek at the linen closet this week.

When we first moved in and began unpacking, I simply crammed stuff into the linen closet. All I cared about in that moment was getting it out of boxes and (for the most part) where it belonged.
I don’t have any photos of the towels and bins and random supplies, but I can assure it it was somewhere between hot mess and shit show, but not as bad as a cluster fuck.

Once I got the laundry room the way I wanted it, and necessities appropriate stored in bathrooms, I went after the linen closet.

I began by taking everything out.

Then after I had an idea about what I was looking to put back in, I got on my Target app and bought a load of gray bins.
Had to pick them up and two different stores, but one is only a bit further from home than the other so it wasn’t that big of a deal.
That was the day the remnants of Ida came our way so I swung by YBW’s office to pick him up so he didn’t have to walk home in the pouring rain.
When he got in the car and saw all the bins he said:

As we do…

I sat on Baby K’s little bathroom stool in the middle of the hall refolding towels and sheets. Putting all manner of necessities in bins and finally loaded everything back in a way that made sense to me.

So far so good.

While I was getting all those gray bins for the linen closet, I got more white ones to use in the laundry room, so here’s a photo update of that for your ‘house porn’ viewing pleasure.