On My Radar

I personally enjoy bloggers who create quick posts of their favorite, current items. I also love when friends and family recommend products, websites, books, ect... that I may enjoy. Being a devout list maker, here's a few random things on my radar. Maybe you'll add one of these to your list?

HEALTH

AMAZON Coconut Water + White Tea 

 I've never been a huge fan of coconut water until I tried this brand. The water is well balanced and refreshing, not overly sweet.  I agree with the label-- its "mood-lifting". 

DESIGN

minted.

 I love browsing the ART MARKETPLACE. It's a forum for fresh, talented artists to showcase and sell their limited edition prints. The website says, "We uncover design genius through ongoing design competitions. At Minted, all that matters is good design. Designers submit, and the Minted community votes to tell us what to sell."

As a person who desperately wants to venture into the art collection scene, I just don't have the knowledge or funds to start acquiring pieces right now. To me, this site offers a great alternative to buying mass produced artwork. Prints are affordable and unique. There's a variety of styles and genres, and you can read about the artist and their inspiration for the piece they created. 

Here are two prints we just purchased! Our home has been sans artwork for over a year now. I'll be framing the prints myself. Once they are hanging in their new space, I'll be sure to post pictures.

Grace in the Wind

by Emily Jeffords

The scale of the gray sky grabbed my attention; I favor this top heavy look versus a more proportional horizon. And I believe some storms (especially in the summertime) can be just as beautiful as sunsets; this artist captures that soft, calming, pretty storm look.

Hexagon Cluster

by Yao Cheng

A gorgeous geometric design that appeals to our semi-modern side, this piece has the perfect color palette that will make a nice statement in our home. We will most likely hang above the fireplace.

MUSIC

Alex & Sierra - Scarecrow

I'm over-the-mood excited for this new single! Also, their new cd arrives October 7th! Ian and I watched these lovebirds soar to the top of X-Factor and win. Yes, X-Factor is a reality talent show (and we never watch those shows), BUT we were hooked on this duo from the beginning. Watch their rendition of Brittany Spear's song Toxic and you'll see why. You can listen to most of their new songs on YouTube. Just do it. You'll be hooked too.

O.A.R. - Peace 

Thanks to our friends Amanda & Jay, we've been O.A.R fans for the last four years. And their new single makes me an even bigger fan. I've listened to this song a hundred times, and it still soothes me. The lyrics are just lovely. And if you're arguing with your significant other, just play it. You're practically guaranteed to find forgiveness and peace immediately. It's that good.

Foyer Facelift

Walking into a house should feel warm and welcoming. Unfortunately, our foyer area felt cold and drab. So Ian developed a genius design to give our entrance a lively update!

With the purchase of basic lumber, fresh paint, and a light fixture, we achieved a lot of bang for our buck on this project. The flip side to a minimal supply list-- a layout involving lots of detailed measurements and woodwork. With enough patience, planning, and three days off work, Ian executed our vision beautifully. Soon we will hang pictures and add a small bench or table, but for now, let me welcome you into our foyer.

Before we painted the crown molding and door white...

Before we changed this light fixture from the 80s...

This is what our foyer looked like

Hard to tell in this picture, but the walls were semi damaged from wallpaper removal. 

Ian had to patch, prep, and prime the surface. 

After hours of drawing out the design on paper, 

Ian cut and placed the lumber on our bare walls.

Notice how he centered the existing electrical outlets?

(Lower left part of the picture)

 Viewpoint from the kitchen

Deciding how wide to make the overhanging shelf

The shelf is up!

All existing outlets were thoughtfully measured 

to fall exactly in the middle of the molding.

Ian also had to extend them out an inch to be accessible. 

Because this wall is behind the door, 

the overhanging shelf had to be cut a lot thinner. 

This is where we will hang coats and purses. 

All the detailed edging makes this project look professionally executed

Hiding the nail holes and caulking the seams

 Priming the wood for paint

After three coats of white paint and two coats of yellow, our entrance is airy and vibrant! 

I'm back, BABY!

Summer is slipping away, just like my attention to this blog. Three months neglected, it's time for some backtracking and explaining as to why I haven't written one post. Well, we've been busy with the usual- work, projects, traveling, and visiting with friends and family. All truths. But the truest excuse is ... I'm just tired! 

Tomorrow makes 25 weeks pregnant, thus explaining my low energy level. I'm not sad to see the second trimester go. For the remainder of my pregnancy, I'm hoping to feel as grand as I did during the first 12 weeks. Wishful hoping. 

So over the next month, I plan on posting recaps of our summer. 

Let me start with the most incredible, most life-changing news.... 
Baby Hamlyn joins our family this December! We are not finding out the gender. This makes buying clothes a little tough now, but way more exciting in the delivery room later! 

Check out the announcement picture we sent to immediate family. We're oh so happy to post this for our friends to see! We obviously carried over the theme from our engagement announcement ...

First Comes Love,

Then Comes Marriage,

Then Come The Hamlyns 

Pushing a Baby Carriage...

December 2014

Follow Us to Dublin, VA 

08.04.12

Sunny San Diego

Nothing beats spending time with your spouse in sunny California! With Ian working a 5 day trip (yes, 5 days), I flew out west to keep him company for a few nights in San Diego. 

The first night, we hit up Little Italy. The air smelled like a grandma's kitchen. An Italian grandma like mine (she makes the best ziti)! The streets were lined with the prettiest succulents I've ever seen. It was quite the romantic stroll. And homemade pasta and gnocchi for dinner anyone? Why of course! We stuffed ourselves silly. 

The next day we hopped on a ferry boat that took us to Coronado Island, home of the military elite (lots of signs in front yards indicating "a naval aviator lives here"). We walked to the famous Hotel Del Coronado. We ate ice cream (before dinner I know, I know) on the sandy beach and watched the raging Pacific Ocean. That beach was a fun people-watching spot. Oh, and guess how much a nights stay will set you back at this historic hotel? Only $459. (Yikes!) For now, looks like we can only afford the waffle cones from the hotel's Moo Moo Creamery! We left the island around dinner time and headed towards the lively downtown Gaslamp District. We found a Mexican restaurant with delicious tacos and a fiery atmosphere. Again, we ate like royals. 

It was a fun little vacation! Ian almost forget he was working. 

Crazy About Our Couches

This weekend we received a very special delivery. Our white linen, slip-covered couches arrived! Honestly, I've been dreaming of new living room furniture since the day we started looking at houses. Despite being more than ready to purchase new pieces, I'm so glad we waited until we moved in, figured out the functionality of our space, and researched all the potential items to place in our room.

Overall, we decided to invest the bulk of our budget on the couches. Here's why: we use them everyday, we want them to last for at least ten years, we want them to be comfortable (down-feather fill), durable (indoor/outdoor washable fabric), and versatile (white goes with anything). Also, we wanted to customize the length, depth, and height to fit our space; the main sofa is 8ft long and the smaller one is 5ft. Here's the link to the sofas we finally selected: Belgian Track Arm Sofa. We really do love their sleek lines, crisp color, and timeless appeal. I think they brighten up our space beautifully.

Before I show you our empty living room, let me remind you of the progress going on with our most recent remodel.... Here is the BEFORE of the 1980s wet bar....

You can see that we've demo'd the bar and have started to install a coat closet in its place. We are just waiting on the customized doors to arrive! So here's the empty living room...

These sofas came in through the front foyer... barely. The movers said our tall ceilings saved us. Check out just how tall the 8ft. sofa looks next to the 6ft. man!

It's hard to see in the picture above, but we did purchase new side tables. They are just lovely! Here's the link to these stone topped gems: Marbled End Table.  I've been super impressed with two specific collections at JCPenny's: Design by Conran and Jonathan Adler. Both designers offer affordable home decor pieces, and JCP always has coupons available for extra savings! 

I still have more throw pillows to add, but I started with two handmade pillow covers in this pattern first...

I absolutely love the navy blue boho-ikat design. I highly recommended this Etsy shop: driftwoodandfossil 

We still have to oder this coffee table: Braxton Gray Ottoman .....

And find a large rug. But for now, you'll probably find us snoozing on the new couches :)

Happy Homeownership To Us

May 21st marked our one year anniversary as home owners! Yes, on more than one occasion, I have thought we were crazy for buying a property that needed to be remodeled. BUT there are far more days I have thought "Wow... I really, really love our home."

Because there has been so much love, thought, and labor put into each room, we can't help ourselves for feeling emotionally attached and mighty proud of the spaces we've created. We saw the potential in this place a year ago, and we have slowly executed our vision. Some projects have been more costly than others (in both time and money), but each check off our to-do list has given us so much satisfaction! 

Overall, it's been a wonderfully fun year! And now that our construction zone is mostly cleaned up, we can't wait to welcome our friends and family over to enjoy our home too! 

Here are some fun, random photos I found on my phone .... 

May 21, 2013 -- Ian's Holding the Keys!

August 4, 2013 -- Our First Home Cooked Meal in the House

on our One Year Wedding Anniversary. 

The Table Arrangements for our Anniversary Dinner! 

(Despite the unpainted walls, bare room, and camping chairs, this night was so much fun! We were so happy to use our newly remodeled kitchen and celebrate one year of marriage together.)

Sept. 2013 - My First Time Ever Mowing Grass! 

My First Time Ever Pressure Washing. I'm Slightly Addicted. 

First Trip to a Landfill. We PACKED a U-Haul full of demolished materials from our kitchen and bathroom remodels. Guess where we are going today? Another trip to the dump- we have filled up yet another load full. This time it's old fencing and that old wet bar (that will very soon be a closet!) that's going bye-bye. This is the not-so-glamourous side of remodeling projects! 

We're not crazy......right?

Our Holland Holiday

When Ian and I magically got five days off together at the beginning of April, we knew it was time to start searching for a getaway (or as the Europeans say, "going on holiday"). When we discovered the tulips were blooming earlier than normal this year in The Netherlands, it was a no brainer where we were headed.

I can't think of a better way to start the Spring season than visiting the flower fields of the Dutch countryside! It's been on my bucket list for years. 

Also, despite a last minute invitation, both our mothers were able to join us for our three day trip! And can you believe this- my mom had an expired passport that was renewed in two business days?! Talk about last minute logistics working out in our favor! 

Me and the mamas before our flight to Amsterdam

DAY 1 - We arrived super early. 6am early. Before-the-car-rental-desk-opened early. We grabbed coffee and shook off the long flight! Once we hit the road, we drove an hour an half northeast, arriving in Giethoorn. I'd read about this tiny little town in a traveler's blog. It's such a fascinating place because there are no roads; all cars must remain outside the village. Visitors and locals get around this idyllic setting via foot or boat. Four miles of canals, arched wooden bridges, and thatched-roof cottages give this town fairytale status. 

Because we showed up so early, it felt like we had the town to ourselves. We wandered around in peaceful quietness, soaking up the unique scenes. Eventually, we started to hear kids playing at the local school. We watched the mail woman on her bike deliver letters. We saw a few shops open their doors for business. 

I'd love to return during the summer months, when the tourists take over and the weather is bit friendlier (it was intermittent rain and very windy during our quick visit). I'd love to see more boats floating down the canals. But if we don't return, I definitely will never forget this beautiful, tranquil morning. 

Leaving Giethoorn, we drove a few more hours around the northeast corner of the country. We saw lots of baby lambs in the fields. We passed lots of locals riding their bikes. We pretty much had our eyes glued to the windows, searching for tulip fields, cute cottages, and old windmills. 

Later in the day, we visited another noteworthy town- Haarlem.  It's not nearly as big as Amsterdam, but it's young, hip, and busy. The sunshine finally stayed out, and we were able to stroll the cobblestone streets. We found a perfect little place for a tapas style dinner. Haarlem hit the spot; a lovely place to end our long day. 

  

DAY 2 - My favorite day. The day we ventured into the famous Keukenhof Gardens. We arrived as the gates opened, beating the crowd and taking uninterrupted photos for the first few hours of the morning. Between the sights and the smells, I was on sensory overload. I wanted to take a picture of every beautiful flower. And there were millions of flowers. It was overwhelming, breathtaking, and inspiring. It was just a huge garden, taking us over five hours to see the grounds. As you might imagine, after leaving this gorgeous place, I feel quite encouraged to begin gardening. 

For the second part of our day, we rented bikes and peddled almost 8 miles around the outskirts of Kuekenhof. Seeing the farmer's fields was definitely fun and invigorating. We felt like quintessential Hollanders. 

Follow Me Through Keukenhof....

    

Happy Spring from Holland !!!