Little White Bungalow Tour - Living Room

Our living room then:

Oh, hi little 9 month old Silas!

And now:

This is actually the only room in the house that we didn't paint. We didn't mind the neutral gray/green/blue so we just left it as is. I still like it and have no plans on changing it anytime soon. The leather is super masculine and not my first choice, but man, is it super easy to clean! Pee, poop, puke, milk, smashed craisins, you name it, it's wiping right off. I like low maintenance furniture.

And there's 19 month old climbing Silas.

Oh, there's climbing Silas again.

That basket is full of neatly-folded blankets that probably need to be put away for the summer months. But anyway, let's have a closer look at my new lamp.

 The lamp is from TJ Maxx and I love it. When you turn it on, you can see the gingham fabric through the canvas shade. Adorable! The chalkboard is currently blank. And those are ultrasound pics of the kiddos in that frame. And those flowers are from Mother's Day.

The trunk was Caleb's grandfather's Army trunk. It's probably my favorite thing in the room. It hides our random junk. Nella likes to jump off of it and Silas thinks it makes a great surface for lining up toy cars and trains and then pushing them off.

Family photos and some artwork by the Nella Bean. She loves to paint.

The huge old map has been in my family for ages. It's beautiful and special.

Living Room To-Do List:

pillows for sofas (i plan on making some. someday. next year probably.)

replace blinds on large window (the others are new, but the big window needs a special order. big window, big blinds, big $)

window treatments (ugh, i'm so lost here. i have no idea what i want. suggestions more than welcome!!)

And if you missed it, here's the kitchen.

Little White Bungalow Tour - The Kitchen

We've lived in our little white bungalow for about a year now and I've yet to give the tour I promised. I even put the photo tour on my 2011 resolutions list and I'll be glad to cross that one off.

So, here we go. Starting in the kitchen, complete with before and after photos - get excited!

 

It's seriously amazing what a little paint can do. 

Oooooh yeah. Love that fruit border. We totally painted over it.

 

What? Like you've never seen dirty dishes in the sink. Just keepin' it real.

Why yes, that is our under cabinet lighting hanging down. Thanks for noticing! I have the clips to repair that, buuuuut, ya know. Just haven't gotten around to it.

 

We still have the Green Giant. Ah, love that fridge.

Kitchen To-Do List:

tack up that dang rope lighting

replace floor (that's a big one we're planning for this summer)

paint tile back splash (i'm still researching this. any tips?)

replace counter top (this is low on the priority list)

Obligatory Easter Sunday Mornin' Pics

Nella's Workout

Nella's Workout from Keli Billingsley on Vimeo.

March 2011 Project 365

‎1. My all-time favorite coffee

2. Nella's portrait of Rachel

3. Cards from Nana & Grandpa

4. Quinn & Sadie's rehearsal dinner

5. Hotel Breakfast

6. Venti kind of day

9. New mug from mom

10. Silas at the bookstore

13. Kohls

14. Bedtime tea

15. Saggin' Silas

16. New desk - old computer

17. Sunroof weather

18. Cousins

19. Chicago

20. Eggs Benedict

21. The tulips are coming!

22. Artichoke for lunch

23. Nella in a box of packing peanuts

24. Nella takes a pic of me taking a pic of her

25. Train table at Barnes and Noble

26. Afternoon treat

27. Carpet at Redeemer Church's meeting spot

28. Sick Silas

29. New reed oil diffuser 

30. Another of Nella's Chicka game

Missed some days this month, mainly due to a shattered iPod screen. It's been replaced, so I'm back on track.

Chicago Date Weekend

After the Segway tour we headed to meet our friends for lunch. Oh, Chicago deep dish pizza, I just love you!

After lunch we met up with my sister to say hello before she went in to work. 

She's goofy.

Then we walked next door to the John Hancock Building so we could get in (the mega-long) line for the observatory.

I had seen this and really wanted to do it, but we decided not to. The rink was tiny and there were only little kids skating so instead we bought some coffee and admired the view.

It really is a beautiful city.

And since it is just right there near the bus stop, we hit up Anthropologie before heading back to Hotel Sattayatam.

Caleb admired the bookcases while I admired everything else. It is such a lovely store.

This is the Hotel Sattayatam staff: our friends Kristin & Thadchai (and their not-yet-born daughter).

Then we relaxed and watched 'Friday' cover videos and Epic Meal Time videos on YouTube. 

Side notes:

1. Surely you know tween pop star Rebecca Black's awful song 'Friday' and all the hilarious covers by now, right?

2. Consider this a warning; Epic Meal Time, though absolutely hilarious, can be disgusting and at times downright offensive. Maybe not for those with weak stomachs.

Later that night, after my sister got off of work, we took her out to dinner. 

She chose Papajin in Bucktown. Bucktown is such a hipster neighborhood. It's so hipster that me and my pink Gap cardigan felt out of place.

The restaurant was cool and the food was delicious. I can see why she loves it.

It was great to see my sister, I miss getting to spend time with her.

Sunday morning we had brunch at Yolk. Sunday morning brunch is serious business in Chicago. Our wait wasn't as long as we were expecting. 

Worth the wait. It was incredible. No matter how enticing the other menu offerings are, it's very difficult for me to order anything other than eggs benedict. It's my favorite breakfast of all time. 

We followed up brunch with a stroll through the Lincoln Park Apple Store. It's the coolest one I've ever been in; you can see right through the store! You can't tell in my photo, so click the link and see what I mean.

Then we left to go pick up our kiddos. 

They had fun at Granny and Grandpa's house. They were worn out!!

This video was taken 10 minutes outside of Champaign.

Ha! They were totally fine once we got home. We had a picnic dinner outside, played in the backyard, gave them a bath, and then they crashed! 

Thanks to Granny & Grandpa for watching the kids so we could getaway!

Thanks to Kristin & Thadchai for letting us crash at their apartment (saving us hundreds on a downtown hotel)!

We had such a great weekend spending time with each other, catching up with friends, visiting my sister, eating delicious food, window shopping at cool stores and riding Segways (and scary Chicago public transportation). Can't wait until the next getaway weekend!