the kitchen project /  by jen geigley

It's done ... finally done! You may remember me mentioning our kitchen re-do a few months ago. (Take a look back to see where we started!) Or you may recall me gushing over yellow kitchens a few years ago, back when this remodel was our brain child. Well, the yellow has become a reality and now I can finally share our before and after pics.
Here was our kitchen before. There was nothing wrong with it, but we felt that our house deserved a more modern kitchen that matched the feel of the rest of our rooms. We were in awe of all of the cabinets and storage options that IKEA offered, so we began planning. The walls and ceilings (which you can't really see here) needed a ton of drywall work, which Bo did himself. And he and his dad laid the gray floor tile. Such handy guys. It was pretty major stuff.
Here's the other side of the room, which we had recently updated with stainless appliances. We ended up gutting the entire room and starting fresh.
And here's what it looks like now. White with a nice color block of yellow and gray countertops.
Clean lines, white and bright.
We ended up abandoning our DIY self-poured concrete countertop idea after doing a little research and finding out that long-term, concrete can be a real pain. It can require re-sealing every 6 months or so. And it can stain, or crack. This information made us sad, since we really had our hearts set on the idea, but then we fell in love with Formica. If you haven't seen their website/gallery, you have to check out all of the custom options they offer. Formica is cool. And it gave us the clean look we were going for.
One of our favorite things about this re-do is probably the simplest-looking; the high cabinet next to the fridge has become our new pantry and we're loving the pull-out storage. Love. (And yes, we had to keep Gene Simmons at his post on top of the fridge. He's always been there.) Our other favorite feature on our cabinets and drawers is the quiet-close feature, which I'm sure you've seen in action if you've visited and IKEA show room. If you accidentally slam a door, it catches and closes it quietly. We added a white desk to the wall next to this one for our Mac to sit on, and we plan to add a glass tile backsplash in the next few weeks.
After all of the months of hard work that Bo and his dad put into this room, we can finally enjoy it and take it all in. We had zero outside hired help with this room, so we have a little bit of extra love for it. We're so incredibly excited that all of our dishes have been put away in their new homes and we're thoroughly enjoying our new kitchen with the bright sunny yellow cabinets. No one can steal my sunshine.  ;)

24 weeks /  by jen geigley

There hasn't been a whole lot of time lately for naps or resting, but I'm feeling good. The aches in my hips and back have started in, especially when I wake up at night or walk for awhile. And I get bloody noses in the mornings, which I've never experienced before. My stomach is already sore from stretching and growing, but I know I have a long way to go. We've started collecting tiny boy baby clothes from kind friends and family members and I'm loving all of the blues and greens entering our home. I'm feeling pretty grateful. The little dude weighs a little over a pound and I get to take the oh-so-fun glucose test this week. I keep asking myself ... am I already this far along? (Oh yes ... I am.) 

Happy Halloween!

23 weeks /  by jen geigley

Yup, it's a legit bump. I find myself spilling crumbs on it and having to brush them off my shirt. It's getting harder and harder to zip my normal-sized hoodies. I have to try really hard not to have a little accident when I sneeze. I have had a craving for Chinese food for two solid weeks and at night, I almost always have a hankering for key lime Yoplait yogurt. I'm enjoying full-on karate chops to my insides. They keep me up late at night and that's okay. I've started to collect tiny baby boy clothes in various shades of blue and green. We've nearly finished our kitchen remodel and scored a new platform twin-sized bed for Lo's new room. A bigger bed for big sis ... it's almost exactly like the Berenstain Bears 'new baby' story. (Only papa bear isn't going into the woods to carve a new bigger bed ... out of a tree.) We're having fun with this new stage in our life, and looking forward to the months ahead.

diapers for your dollies /  by jen geigley

Preschool problems: you have lots of babies (or animal babies) and none of them have diapers. What to do? Lo is fascinated with changing her dolls and stuffed animals, and she's been asking me to make them some diapers for awhile now. Below is my five-minute solution, which you too can whip up in no time should you feel so inclined. (Or pressured by a preschooler.)  ;)
The finished 'diapers' look something like this. When you use felt, you can go crazy with the colors!
The only supplies you'll need are a few 8.5x11 scraps of felt, cardboard, scissors and (strong) self-stick velcro squares or dots. (You could also sew non-stick velcro on. This would obviously be a smarter and longer-lasting way to go, but surprisingly, the sticky back velcro we used has worked really well. Even after multiple uses. You could also sew two pieces of felt together, and then sew on velcro, to make thicker, more heavy-duty diapers. Up to you!)
Using the printable template at the end of this post, cut out and trace the diaper shape onto a piece of cardboard. Use this template to trace and cut out as many felt diapers as you want.
 Stick or sew two squares of velcro to the longer back edge of the diaper.
Flip the diaper over to the other side, and stick/sew two more velcro squares to the shorter top edge. (Make sure that on one side, you're using the 'soft' velcro, and when you flip, use the 'scratchy' velcro. So they stick together.)  ;)
It should fold up like this when you're done!
Then, use them to cover all of your littlest friends' tushies.
Click and download this template if you want to make your own. You can trace outside or inside the edges to make it bigger or smaller if you want, but this size seemed to fit almost all of our 12"-ish sized stuffed animals and dolls. Have fun diapering your dollies!

this & that /  by jen geigley



I've been having the best time stocking up on Twinkle's insanely soft and chunky yarn in as many colors as I possibly can. I'm totally into the cool hues this week.
But the best part is quite possibly turning these ...
... into these. Lusciously huge skeins of wool knit themselves into colorful piles of super soft cowls. Almost like magic.
 
(I just updated my shop, by the way. Enter the coupon code FRIDAY – today only – to get free shipping in the U.S.) Have a good one!

carefree cowl knit-along /  by jen geigley

So, yesterday I received a super sweet email from Shannon of luvinthemommyhood.com. She has started a stellar autumn knit-along that I know any and every knitter/crocheter will want to join. This is the perfect excuse to start and finish that cowl pattern that you've been wanting to knit or crochet since last season. (If you're like me, you probably already have the yarn set aside in your stash for it, just begging to be put to good use.) All you have to do is pick a cowl pattern – any cowl will do – and sign up before November 9th.


You can find all things 'carefree cowl knit along' here:

Shannon mentioned that she had started off this knit-along with my Gap-tastic cowl pattern (pictured above) and that it had been a popular choice for knitters so far. So if you want to jump in but don't know what to knit, this would be the perfect project to get you started. Shannon has even created a button for you to add to your blog or what-have-you if you decide to knit along. You can grab yours here.


full-fledged fall /  by jen geigley

We're loving this season.
Color-filled autumn walks and scavenger hunts.
 
Apple pies nearly every week. On average. (Ever since we picked up a peeler.)
 Pumpkin patches and gourds.
Cut-out cookies.
A little autumn mix.
Pretty pumpkins.
Choosing the perfect one.
Haystacks and piggy-back rides.
Chrysanthemums in every color.
So much to love. What do you like best about the season?

over the weekend... /  by jen geigley

Over the weekend, we saw Primus. They still sound so cool, and Les Claypool is definitely one of the best. (Yup, I take my kids to concerts in utero. Lo went to Ministry when she was in my belly. We raise these kids on rock.)
We also went to Minnepolis. Hit up IKEA to get the rest of our kitchen cabinets. And I ate some delicious bbq ribs while I was there. At IKEA. Which totally grossed Bo out.
And then after we got home, I smashed my foot into the metal part of our Le Corbusier couch and broke my toe. How was your weekend?  :)

a baby sweater (for the little dude) /  by jen geigley

I've had this tiny newborn sweater on the needles for awhile now, but finally had the chance to finish it over the weekend. I've decided that this is quite possibly the perfect simple baby sweater pattern. I'm thinking simple is good, especially if you're knitting for a boy.
The pattern is New Babeh by by Kayla Dyches, and I used Rowan's Amy Butler Belle Organic Aran yarn in this lovely soft gray color (zinc.) This yarn rules. It's incredibly soft – 50% organic wool and 50% organic cotton. I have a couple of extra skeins leftover, so I'm hoping to make some tiny socks or a hat (or both) to go with this sweater.

I'm pretty excited to add this to the pile of newborn clothes for our new little dude. I'm pretty sure that it will look much cuter once it's on a baby and not just lying flat on a blanket. Extra small knitting is turning out to be extra fun.