Raising babies. DIY'ing. Drinking by 5:30 pm daily.
In the course of one day, my baby girl had her first day of in-person school, and I decided to get rid of my social media accounts. Needless to say, it was a big day, which was easy to remember since Ivy shouted to every person we saw, “Big First Day!”
The cargo bike was pretty much perfect for a first day of school. Bunch Bikes, the manufacturer, just recently replaced the frame, so it’s shiny and new.
We have this friend named Jeremy who is continually crushing the graphic design game. He works for the same company Adam works for and makes them look good (literally).
My favorite thing about Jeremy (aside from his fun wife and their beautiful baby girl), though, is his side gig: children’s books. A couple years ago, Jeremy wrote and illustrated one of Ivy’s bedtime story staples, Bearded. She will ask for this book, for serious, at least once (if not twice) during story time every night. The illustrations are seriously beautiful but still playful and the story line is adorable AND clever. Ivy can finish every sentence in this book (including the one with the words ‘hesitation’ and ‘trepidation’).
You can imagine we were pretty pumped when Jeremy published his latest book, Sea This and Sea That. Ivy’s a proficient iPad user and having STST in a digital format went over really well with her. She can navigate to the Kindle app and start swiping through the pages.
As usual, Jeremy’s illustrations are gorgeous. The main character of STST is Missus Bluffington and you love her instantly. The concept of the story is brilliant and silly and really fun to read out loud to the kids.
Jeremy’s running a promotion starting today (May 26th) through June 2nd wherein you can download Sea This and Sea That for .99! If you’re taking off on a trip this Memorial Day weekend and want to score your kids a sweet new book for the road, download away!
Enjoy (we certainly have)!
-Adam & Layne (and Ivy & Leo)
*This post contains affiliate links.
My goodness, friends! Things are shaping up around here. We have about two or three weeks left until we can really start living in our new space. We’ve been documenting our progress on Instagram stories and Facebook but here is a bit more in-depth look at where we find ourselves today!
The room that’s getting the most love at this point is our master bathroom. There are a few finish details that need to be completed (hanging this mirror, installing the rest of the crown molding, installing the shelves in the linen storage area) and it will be ready to go.
We are really loving the black, brass, and white combo in this room; it feels so clean (which is great because God only knows how often I’ll actually clean it).
Adam installed the wood floors in the library and the “hallway” between the kitchen and the master bedroom. He’s started on constructing the built-ins and he brought the cabinets in this weekend to see how things look.
As you can see from the random toys scattered about, the babies are really anxious to explore the “new house” (not pictured: Ivy using Adam’s router table as a play kitchen).
These cabinets will receive a proper sanding, a couple coats of primer and two coats of Simply White satin paint. Adam will wrap baseboard around the base of all the cabinets and there will be a crown of molding (see what I did) at the top to tie the built-ins into the rest of the space. We’re both relatively sure this corner of the house will be a favorite.
All the ceilings and walls are painted – now I’m on to baseboards, crown molding, and doors. My good friend, Kate, stopped in this weekend to help me with some of this task. Speaking of help – we’ve had a lot of it – both in labor and childcare. Trying to get a project like this done while living in the space means a lot of busy weekends, nights, and everything in between. Thank you to our friends and family who’ve lent a hand – we’re so, so grateful.
There are a few unglamorous steps left to complete like blowing insulation into the attic and under the floor. Adam will obviously be working on completing the built-ins. At some point, we’ve got to tackle the deck project – sealing the boards, and constructing the handrails and steps. We still don’t have siding up on the exterior but we’ll get there!
All the pretty details are starting to come together (particularly this chandelier from CB2 Adam installed in our master bedroom). We are so close. Our carpet gets installed next week! That means we’ll be watching movies in our new family room next weekend and this will all be worth it!
-Adam & Layne