Ownership

We're in. It's been just a bit over a week since we picked up the keys for our new house - and what an interesting week that's been. We moved our belongings in snow and rain on May 1 (seriously, the worst winter in MN ever.) Tembo found a hole in the fence and escaped twice (cue major anxiety until we found him!) We bought an awesome couch on Craigslist that wouldn't fit in the doorways (lesson learned: measure the entryways before you buy) and also discovered that I'm apparently really allergic to cats! The previous owners had a dog and cat and after many days of burning and numb lips, tongue, and throat plus hives, I ended up in urgent care. Thankfully we've had friends over to help clean, found a great vacuum that seems to be helping and discovered the benefits of air purifiers. Here's hoping that all the cat dander disappears soon! Being allergic to your house is the pits.

All that aside, we're totally in love with the new digs. There are boxes everywhere - but it totally feels like this is exactly where we're supposed to be. Our new neighbors are friendly, there are lots of fun kids playing in the neighborhood, I can walk to my bus stop and there are walls, shelves, and rooms that are finally mine to decorate.

We've got a long way to go with unpacking and putting our own touch on things, but here's a little "before" tour for you!

 sunroom

 main living room

dining room 

main living room 

lots of windows! 

upstairs {carpet runner is already gone!} 

soon to be craft room/office 

upstairs bath 

master bedroom 

 laundry room

In addition to ripping up the carpet runner on the stairs, we've already painted the sunroom a creamy white and picked out paint colors for the dining room. It's going to be a lovely yet bold navy! I can't wait.

Hopefully the sun will be out the next time we take photos - this house has a ton of natural light, but it was so gloomy outside on move-in day!

Looking forward to sharing more on how we're making this house a home soon. :) Happy almost weekend!

church pew + new house sneak peek

Guys. We close on our house on May 1! Just a little less than 2 weeks away. We're getting deep in the zone of packing, list making, Goodwill donating, and Craigslist scouring.

On Monday night I was scrolling through endless pages of furniture on Craigslist when I saw the post for "Church Pew $100." I pointed it out to Karl and said "look, someone is actually selling a church pew!" We both took a second look at the picture and said, almost simultaneously, "that would be a great bench for the entryway!" I quickly saw this pew in our new house - maybe we'd paint it a bright color, we could add a cushion or pillows, maybe some storage baskets...the possibilities were endless. One email and a day later, and the church pew is hanging out in our garage, waiting to move to the new home. The best part? The pew is only 4 feet long; it was custom shortened by the previous owner to better fit in her home.

I'm thinking when it's all said and done, this pew might look a little like this:

{via}

Or this:

{via}

Are you following my pins for the new house? Check them out here.

Finally, a sneak peek of the house! I'm so excited to have a real fireplace and a mantle for all sorts of decorating. More photos to come once we have the keys in hand! :)

inspiration boards: baby n nursery

This week I had the fun task of creating several nursery inspiration boards for friend who is expecting a baby boy this summer! I worked from two color schemes: bright and bold and soft/neutral. So excited to see how the nursery turns out and to meet this cute little boy in August!

Items sourced from:

Target/Ikea/Land of Nod/PotteryBarnKids/OhBaby/JCPenney/Shades of Light

Dreaming of Spring

Lately I've been really missing the South and the natural beauty of spring - tulips, daffodils, green grass and warm sunshine. It's a week past the first day of Spring and Minnesota is still cold, gray, and damp. We enjoyed a few days of 47 degrees this week - hallelujah! But Easter Sunday is supposed to be back in the low 30s with rain and snow showers. Oh, spring. Please come to the Midwest soon!

In the meantime, Tembo has enjoyed playing in the first little signs of spring - mud puddles. Here's a before and after picture of our muddy little guy:

He's modeling the "first birthday cake" look on the left and his best "stink-eye" pose on the right. Someone's not a big fan of baths. :) 

hey it's my birthday

{awesome birthday treats from friends at work!}

This morning at 2:26 a.m. I turned 27 years old! Hard to believe I'm three years from the big 3-0 (how did that happen?!)

Looking forward to a year full of new adventures and fun times with family and friends. Hope it's the best yet!

Side note, does anyone else prefer being an "even" age (like 24, 26, 28 etc) instead of a an "odd" age? I do. It's weird, I know.

Here's a little glimpse of the delicious cakes (2 mini ones!) the hubs made for me last night. He even improvised a cake stand using a fiestaware dinner plate and tupperware topper. I'm a lucky gal, ya'll. He's a sweetie. :)

Even Tembo wanted to dress up for my birthday... :)

Cheers to another year older!

Target Threshold Favorites

I just opened my weekly Target ad and am in love with several of the new home decor pieces from the Threshold line! Now that we're getting closer to the new house (closing May 1!), I'm on the hunt for affordable and unique decor. I hope to find many fun pieces at antique stores and summer garage sales, but hope to supplement with a few cute Target finds. For the price, the design and quality is really appealing.

Here are my recent favorites:

Clockwise from upper left:

 pillow/ombre lamps/gingham sham/floor lamp/gingham bed skirt/stripe lamp shade/rope sphere lamp base/wooden frame/gray pouf

Can you tell I'm a little bit in love with gingham lately? :)

What are some fun things you are loving at Target these days?

A Guide to Minneapolis!

{photo taken at Aria}

Super excited to debut A Midwestern Belle's Guide to MPLS (that's short hand for Minneapolis!)! I've spent a while curating this list and expect it will only continue to grow as we explore and enjoy new parts of the city.

For now, check it out and let me know if you have suggestions for more fun places/things to add!

Click here, or use the handy-dandy link for "Visit MPLS" at the top of the screen.

Best Ever Poppyseed Bread

I have an awesome recipe to share today. My mother's lemon poppyseed bread has been a HUGE favorite in our house for years and years. My sister and I would eat slice after slice of this stuff...it's like breakfast bread on crack. Luckily the recipe makes two full loaves, so you have plenty to go around or a loaf to freeze for the future. Give it a try...you'll be glad you did!

Lemon Poppyseed Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1 1/8 cups vegetable oil

2 1/4 cups sugar

4 1/2 tablespoons poppyseeds

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 teaspoons butter flavoring

1 1/2 teaspoons almond flavoring

Glaze:

Dissolve 3/4 sugar in 1/4 cup orange juice. Stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla, 1 1/2 teaspoons butter flavoring, and 1 1/2 teaspoons almond flavoring.

Mix all ingredients together for 1 to 2 minutes with an electric mixer. Pour into 2 large or 3 small lightly-greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees. Let bread cool only a few minutes and then pour glaze over warm bread. Remove from pans when loaves are cool.

Tip: After 45 minutes of baking, sprinkle top of loaf with sliced almonds if desired.

Eat, share, and enjoy!

Tembo - the mini Houdini

Tembo is quite the escape artist. He's escaped the back yard twice after finding he could sneak through a few wider openings in the fence. Once he ended up on our front step and the other time he made it all the way to the back alley! Luckily Karl noticed he was gone and followed the tiny paw prints (so, so cute in the snow!) to rescue him. We've blocked the openings so he can't escape again, but now his new trick is escaping the kitchen, where he stays unless we are in the same room with him. Karl came downstairs a few days ago and found this:

{someone, (ok it was me) forgot to latch the gate securely...}

{the aftermath. shoes, rugs, paper...nothing is safe.}



And for kicks, here's a picture of him modeling a new sweater from my dear friend Kat!



Hello books!

{just finished this series on Sunday! Almost as good as The Hunger Games}

I've been reading a lot of books lately. Reading for 20-30 minutes before bed is my new evening ritual and has helped me breeze through many books in the past few weeks. I'm a fast reader, I blame it on my curiosity to find out what happens next. Sometimes I skip a few words, occasionally a paragraph, but speed reading helps keep the library pile at bay.

I discovered a few months ago that you can request books on our local library online catalog and then they email you when they are ready for pick up. I love using sites like goodreads to find new books. Once I find a few titles, I search the online library catalog, request them and bam! books are ready for pick up in a few days (sometimes weeks if the waiting list is long.)

Here are a few books I've read recently and enjoyed. (Full disclosure, I tend to choose beach reads or chick lit over more serious books.)

Divergent, Veronica Roth
Insurgent, Veronica Roth
Lots of Jill Mansell books (new favorite chick lit author!)
Sisterhood Everlasting, Ann Brasheres
Perfect Fifths, Megan McCafferty
Maine, Courtney J. Sullivan
Several Harriet Evans books (also a fun chick lit author)
A Grown Up Kind of Pretty, Joshilyn Jackson
Stay, Allie Larkin
Girls in White Dresses, Jennifer Close
The Runaway Princess, Hester Browne
Lots of Sarah Dessen books (teen fiction but don't judge!)
Where We Belong, Emily Giffin

Other all-time favorite books include Sarah's Key, The Fault in Our Stars, The Hunger Games series, anything by Katie Ffjorde, The Poisionwood Bible, Water for Elephants, The Help, Queen of Babble series, Sophie Kinsella books, To Kill a Mockingbird (hands down, favorite book of all time), and all Mary Kay Andrews books (take them to the beach. you will love her writing!)

What's on your bookshelf lately?