Project : bathroom refresh

When Trevor and I first began our relationship, we lived in a condo my mom owned in Florida. We had all the freedom in the world to decorate, paint, and accessorize as if it was our own. Fun, right? Not so much when painting a caribbean-blue kitchen back to builder's beige.

Seriously, what were we thinking? Last time I match wall color to my eyes.

Now, we're renting from mom again, and have the same aesthetic liberty. Thankfully, we're older, wiser, and much more tasteful than we were before. The house is in great shape, and is the exact light-remodel we were looking for during our purchasing debacle last year. Blonde pergo floors, new paint, new carpeting, new widows. Just needs some paint and character to make it feel like home!

First up on the list is the main bath. It's a 1999-2000 time capsule, complete with bright brass fixtures Emily Henderson wouldn't even approve of, and a hexagon sink. We don't have a ton on money to spend, so spray paint will be our best friend and take care of brassy knobs and handles.

Here's what we're working with :

Sorry about the bad iPhone pics - you're going to need to get over that quick. I have a point and shoot, but rarely find myself inspired AND prepared at the same time. 

Anyway. We don't have a ton of money to spend (who does) but this room desperately needs a facelift. As the main bathroom in the house, it needs to be fun and whimsical to appeal to our daughter, but not too childish. Can't have our guest wiping their butts to a sing-a-long toilet paper dispenser. Here's the game plan:

1. Leave chair rail, but replace wallpaper with a more fresh and sophisticated pattern

2. Refinish forest green countertop

3. Paint brass fixtures with oil-rubbed bronze spray paint

4. Replace light fixture

5. Rip out shower enclosure. Ick. 

6. Refinish tub and surround

7. Thrift/DIY bathroom appropriate art.

Stay tuned. I've been pinning like a mad woman, follow me for inspiration sneak peeks. 

Homemaking

I've come to accept the fact that I'll never be a regular blogger. I can't find the time, energy, or inspiration to write the long-winded, poetic entries that used to pour out of me, typically late at night. 

For a quick update :
- Married life is wonderful. Most things are the same as they have been for the past seven years, but with a renewed sense of awe and respect for the relationship.
- The girl is out of diapers.
- We moved to Napa, finally. Not owning, but the next best thing : renting from my mom, in the house I loved the most.
- How much do you love my vintage Babar poster?
- Work is amazing. I can't believe I've had this dream job for 6mo now.
- Surgery on my bum knee next week - torn meniscus. Oops.

Married!

Three days and a wake up

So, I haven't been around in a while. Things have been a little crazy, as they tend to be right before a wedding. However, there's been some additional insanity added to the mix in the past few weeks, beyond the typical bridezilla-inducing moments, and keeping myself (and my poor fiancé and mommy) sane took priority over my dear blog.

Here's what I've been up to, via Instagram (follow me, @ChelseaSterke)

42 more days

42 days to go until the wedding. Deposits to most of the major players have been made, a mild freak out about gigantic pots happened (and was easily resolved!), a second wedding dress was purchased late last night (another mild internal freak out about what the groom might want to see me in - pressure that was entirely self imposed!), and today I'm calculating yardage for the DIY canopy, pricing out bungee cords and ribbon, and figuring out how to keep place cards on the plates without blowing in the wind. 

Napa Valley Casual, defined.

So, apparently my invites were confusing. I guess I WAS a bit ambiguous, declaring only "dressy casual". I did some more explanations on the wedding website (something Trevor insisted we have), but now he tells me that nobody looks at that thing.

Fine then. Visuals always help:

Photos from banana republic, and jcrew.

This makes more sense, right? Fun summer wear that's appropriate for an afternoon party. (As always, influenced by Mad Men. You know I had to slip the Don Draper lookalike in here.)

Napa in May

There's nothing like springtime here in the wine country. It's my favorite time of year, when everything trades places. The grassy hills revert to their summer blonde, and the previously dormant vineyards take over with lush greenery. This paired with the clear, perfect, blue skies made the best backdrop for our engagement photos. Our darling daughter tagged along, of course, as this marriage is really all about formalizing our little family.

All photos courtesy of Jaime Giorgi, The Monkey Flower Group : May 2012