(Not Such) Small Spaces

Remember this house that I posted about a million years ago?

I just found an article on it in Better Homes and Gardens.

Ironically the article is on small space decorating and declares this a "600 square foot...small one-story home". In actuality it is on the second floor above the mudroom in the main home (which is roughly 3000 sq ft). The owners built up this loft area for their son who recently graduated from college and moved back home.



Here's what that loft looked like before BHG got their accessorizing little mitts on it. Amazing what a design budget, a wealth of home decor tchockeys and a good photographer can do, no? I mean the space was adorbs before, but hardly looked like the above pics!

Ironically, we did stay in the area and met with this builder twice before picking a neighborhood and a builder to move forward with. And after all of my years of Showcase Home devotion, we chose to move forward with someone else and we couldn't be happier with the decision. It's still fun to have seen this space in real life before it was glammed up for the color pages though! 

That's What He Said...

When discussing my postpartum hair loss...



Me: I wonder who sheds more, me or the dog?



Joe: I think Gracie's got you by a hair.

Tomorrow on Today

So tomorrow the kids and I are filming a segment for the Today Show. The segment is about a vaccination policy at our pediatrician's office and we were asked to speak as representatives of the practice. Very exciting stuff.



What was not as exciting was picking something out of my closet to wear for this. Picking the kids' clothes was really easy, but finding something that I felt comfortable in that doesn't highlight my belly (no longer a) button or make me look pregnant was not.



I've narrowed it down to these two outfits:

 

The neckline of the dress makes me nervous because I'll likely have a grab happy child on my lap. The horizontal stripes on the top of the pants outfit make me nervous because, well, they're horizontal stripes. 

We were at a concert Tuesday, had family in town this week, tonight is my anniversary and filming is tomorrow, so there is (was) no time to shop. This is what I'm choosing between. What should I wear?

Maternity Pics - Yay or Nay?

Back when I was getting married boudoir pictures were all the rage. A group of acquaintances (one of which is now my bestie) and I road tripped to Virginia - lying to our fiances the entire time - for a marathon photo session. The end result was a photo book that was given to my husband the night before my wedding.

At the time I took these pictures, they were more of a gift to him (look how sexy and seductive married life can be...). Now, three years and two kids later, the photos are more of a gift to myself. I'm not lying when I tell you, you never appreciate the body you had more than while you're pregnant and uncertain as to whether you'll ever look like that again. 

Clearly these were never pictures I intended upon putting up in my house. 

But it's nice to have them tucked away.

Which brings me back to maternity pictures. In all honesty, I think these are pretty silly. They're not anything I would frame or put up in my house. But given our history, this may be my only pregnancy and maybe it would be nice to look back at this curvy, baby body some day and reflect on what it felt like to be this way. 

Our wedding photographer has been itchy to get my buddha belly in front of her camera, and given how rapidly I'm growing these days, I feel like I should make a decision soon (or I may not be able to fit in a single frame). 

So what do you think? Maternity pictures - silly trend or personal keepsake?

Summer Must Haves

For me.

For Grace.