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Welsh Love Spoons

We originally scored this Welsh Love Spoons screen print when we were up in Santa Rosa for my friends, Eric & Annmarie’s wedding. We love going out to Healdsburg whenever we are up there and going out to the giant Salvation Army barn and checking out the unique furniture, various vintage appliances, old frames, and Marta could spend hours going through the clothes. This was one of our favorite finds from that trip and we finally got around to giving it a place in our home.

The caption reads: “These spoons were carved by youths in Wales and given as love-tokens.”

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The Butter Lady

It was Marta’s birthday last week and the first place I know to go for gifts is Anthropologie. I know that I can’t really go wrong. And this year, I found that she had left her account logged in and had started a wish list. Looking back, its more likely that she made sure I found her logged in account and not so much my detective work, but it makes me feel better to think that I was the sleuth here. Anyways, the butter dish lady is her prized position from the items I “picked out” for her. She proudly watches over the kitchen from out stove top. We make sure to move her when the oven is actually in use…nobody likes a lady leaking butter out of her dress.

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Never Enough Ampersands

Cheltenham Ultra Ampersand

We’ve gone through a recent typography-craze it would seem. Awhile back, my step-dad hand cut some of my favorite fonts’ ampersands. It took me awhile to figure out what I wanted to do with them. First I was just going to stain them and keep the wood grain, then I was going to do some illustrations on them, but I decided to try some collage work. Marta loved how this one turned out and wanted to use it in our bathroom. The font this ampersand comes from is Cheltenham Ultra…if I remember correctly :)

Check out the rest of the bathroom remodel here: http://www.jasonmarkjones.com/blog/the-sink-leaks-but-it-looks-good/

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The tile saga continues…

We found out today at 3:30 that we would have 0% use of our bathroom for the next 2 days. We’ve been squeaking by with being able to use the toilet, kitchen sink, and nightly trips to friends’ showers (thank you Fordyces, Mayottes, and McGuigans!)

But seriously, who tells a 9 month pregnant woman that she can’t use her own bathroom? or better yet, who says that you will be able to use your toilet throughout the whole retiling process and then takes it back with no notice? Oh well, being frustrated won’t solve anything. Here are some photos from the day.

Pregnant ladies of JLOOP

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Tortoise-paced tile

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The bed of a nomad…
Also, the same bedspread I had from my Wyland days

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I see tile!

The first day of actual tile has taken place. We are getting excited and it isn’t even the good stuff yet. I can’t wait to see what the black beaded lining and the hex floor tile is going to look like. Now for some of the not-so-glamourous work of sanding and priming the old medicine cabinet.
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Our showerless numbered days…

Luckily we have some very gracious friends that have allowed us to borrow their showers while ours gets a facelift. The tile guys were here all day working on the bathroom, while I stayed holed up with my germs in the back bedroom. I probably got a good 10 naps in today while I was hoping to wake up and see sparkling new tile in the shower. But no, we are still in the prepping stage I guess. We have an estimated “done date” of next Wednesday, December 2nd…I hope he remembers he is doing the floors too cause we are sure cutting it close with Liam due in just about a month!

Click on a thumbnail to view it larger

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Current State of the Bathroom

Well, tile was supposed to start installation today, but it didn’t. Mark and I (mainly Mark) have been hard at work demoing and installing the window/drywall in the bathroom. I can’t thank him enough for all the help he has been. Here is what the bathroom looks like as of today. No tile, no sink, non-operating shower/tub. Pretty exciting stuff…it’ll be even more exciting when we can start using it again!

Atleast we have a window!

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Baby room: paint, wallpaper and presents

My mom came into town and we were extra-productive on Saturday. We bought a dresser for the baby’s room, picked a paint color, bought the shelf rail/moulding for half way up the wall and we went to work. We got a good 3 coats of “grape green” paint (somehow it still needs some touch-up work) and my mom wallpapered the back of the bookcase with the vintage airplane wallpaper that was gifted to us from the Mayotte’s

And then Sunday was the baby shower with the family. We got lots and lots of baby clothes with monkeys and puppies and monsters on them. Thanks to everyone for the gifts! And of course, Henry couldn’t escape the weekend without showing off his halloween costume…

Vintage Airplane Wallpaper from the Mayotte’s

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Grape Green

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L-I-A-M cake

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Pumpkin Head Henry

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Home Improvement Update 2.5

The revisions to our lovely home have continued. It definitely was a lovely house to begin with, but it was a tad on the grandma side. No offense to the previous owner, but i don’t mean the grandma-style that marta loves so dearly. i’m talking christmas-plaid, country-mom, ducks-and-those-dolls-with-straw-hair grandma style!!

Anyways, I have many more photos to post including the mantle and cabinet my friend Mark just built for us, but for now I’m posting a photo of our new/old 1920′s chandelier courtesy of Maile Eaton and the piano that was just passed down to Marta from her Aunt Lisa…Thank you to both parties!

The chandelier and the piano all in one room
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The old chandelier that is on its way to Portland
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That last photo kept reminding me of that old Spike Jones commercial for Ikea. If you haven’t seen it…change that now:

Spike Jones Ikea ad – “Many of you feel sorry for this lamp…that’s because you’re crazy”

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