So long, Woodward.

Well, it's nearly impossible not to notice, but I've been AWOL from this blog for over a year now. Life got in the way and things got busy. I missed you, but I'm not sorry.

 

The biggest thing that's changed is we have listed the house, accepted an offer, and are moving out shortly. No joke, this gem had 2 showings and got 2 offers. Batting 1,000. Closing is just one week away, so time to pack my boxes and get out.

That's right, the old gal is moving on to her new owners next week and I hope she makes them as happy as she made us. We've loved living in Brightwalk, with it's great location, great neighbors, and our great little house.

PS, I feel like you all should know, I totally stole the pictures from our MLS listing and updated the house tour. You. Are. Welcome.

It's been a blast being a part of the gentrification of this area, what is now officially known as North End. Big things are coming to this area including the light rail, a brewery, a new pool, plus a grocery store, shops, and restaurants not too far in the future. I'm excited to see where this neighborhood goes and I guarantee I'll be stopping in to check it out.

Everyone has been asking - and honestly I don't know - "what is next for you?" I'm hoping to settle into a small house in the suburbs, maybe a cute little fixer. With any luck, it will be a place I curse late into the night, simply because it wasn't as perfect and easy as this home. When that happens, I'm sure I'll pick up my blog pen again.

Until then, thanks for reading.

Closet, Closet, Closet!!!

Our closet is finally in and installed. I guess technically it's been installed for a few months now, but I took too much time to organize it and then even more time to photograph it and then I needed to relax a bit. But she's here and she's beautiful!

This has quickly become one of my favorite spaces in our house and easily ranks near the top of Best Things We Spent Lots of Money On, right there with the window trim and the fenced backyard.

I love how functional everything is. I have labeled drawers for all my delicates and jeans, pull out shoe storage, boot storage, space for care items, like my steamer and Febreze, and too much overhead storage space. We even added a valet hook so there's a convenient place to steam or lay out tomorrow's outfit.

I also finally got around to boxing up the less used items into bins on that top shelf. They are still accessible but out of the way. I sorted into "Out of Season" (right now it's summer items), "Swim", and "Bags." I'm sure some women couldn't live with all their bags out of sight, out of mind, but since I seldom carry a bag other than my everyday purse, having the extras in a bin works perfectly. I hope to add another out of season bin, one for items that I want to keep but currently don't fit (think fat jeans and too tight sweaters, which would clear out half of the clothes you see).

Of course, I've already shared my accessories storage which I'm head over heels for:

Pat's side is also pretty neat. In addition to the same pull-out shelves and glass front drawers, he got a pull-out pants rack, which I love and he hates. Go figure.

Plus, there's one happy coincidence that worked out more perfect than I could have planned: the end of Pat's side backs up right to the closet entrance, which I worried make the whole closet feel cramped and blocked off. In the end, it provides the perfect spot for an unobstructed full length mirror, something we previously had to walk to the guest bath for. It might be a solution to a first world problem, but it's a solution, no less.

And with all this amazing awesomeness, something had to give. As always, Leo spends a lot of his time hiding in our closet and this set up has a perch for him to chill that allows him to rub up against all the clothes.

Everything has little ginger hairs all over. #FML

Uh. So worth it.

Accessories Storage and Laundry in the New Closet!

If you follow me on Instagram, this isn't even close to a surprise, but I'm so head over heels I gotta mention it: I lurrrve my new jewelry storage. It's all gold and sparkly and looks more beautiful on the wall then any of my pieces do on me.

Previously, my necklaces just hung on 3M hooks and all my earrings were stored in a jewelry box on our dresser that also houses our wedding rings...and my Princess Kate knock-off from back in 2011 when I was "Katie Middleton" for Halloween. #TBT

hahaha, never gets old.

Back to the issue at hand, both the earring holder and the necklace corkboard were really easy semi-DIY pieces. One afternoon, some craft paint, and a little bit of fabric gave me both of them.

The earring holder was actually a boring ring holder I picked up from The Container Store. I kept trying to come up with a better way to store earrings than the little foam semi-circles, but since I wear studs almost exclusively, I couldn't think of any better way to securely hold them on a wall.

Since this piece and everything similar are just solid colors that are too neutral, even for me, I decided to take a little bit of fabric and just tuck it in. It only took about one quarter of a fat quarter, so roughly 1/16 of a yard. Once everything was tucked nice and tight, I spritzed some spray adhesive heavily enough that it soaked through the fabric and made my tuck-job extra secure. Done!

The necklace organizer is just an old corkboard that I stenciled with gold paint and then some hook tacks (also from The Container Store). To take it up a notch, I modge-podged/stapled some black ribbon around the perimeter. Gives it a little extra texture I wouldn't have gotten from painting it.

To finish it off, I hung a belt rack diagonally and spray painted a basic wire hamper gold.

Considering this was the corner of the closet I previously used to hang seldomly worn coats and dresses (including the rest of Katie Middleton's get-up), this is a HUUUUGE upgrade in terms of both style and functionality.

We should be getting the last piece of the closet next week so there will be a lot to share in the very near future! Tootaloo for now.