Zooey Magazine Issue 20

Xavi and I have the honor of being featured in Issue 20 of Zooey Magazine. When I was asked by the editor, the lovely Lucia Tran, if I would be interested in writing a piece on our adoption journey, I jumped at the chance. As you can tell from my previous post about Xavi's adoption, I believe in banishing the myths and praising the glory of adoption, while also recognizing the loss and heartache. Just the same as my previous post, it was a tough article to write, especially since it was to be a narrative and not an interview. I probably rambled on a bit too much, but I'm still happy with the outcome as it was straight from the heart. Xavi and I also had an amazing time during our photo shoot with the incredibly talented, Wing Ta of Canary Grey. Xavi took a major shine to her and gave her some of his best smiles. I was an awkward, nervous mess, but Wing quickly put me at ease. Anyways, be sure to check your local newsstand or order a copy online!!! And in the meantime enjoy these outtake photos of me and my boo in his nursery, which even after all this time isn't fully finished. ;)

Photos by Wing Ta, Canary Grey

I wanted to also say Thank You So Very Much for all your kind comments and love on Xavi's adoption story!! They all touched my heart!

xxMaria

One Year Anniversary!

Whew. Sorry that I disappeared for a bit. As I mentioned in previous posts, life's been a bit hectic and I haven't had much time for blogging. And to be completely honest, this winter has been killer. It's just now, today, becoming spring in Minnesota. I know everyone warned me that Minnesota winters were brutal, but I guess knowing it and living it are two different things. Jeesh. And bear in mind that this is coming from someone who grew up in Michigan and lived six years in Massachusetts. It's not as if I've never experienced tough winters, but I can honestly say Minnesota takes the cake.

That's enough weather ranting. I'm looking ahead to this glorious weekend and the fun that awaits! This Saturday marks the one year anniversary of owning our first home! I'm a bit shocked that the anniversary arrived so fast, it sure doesn't feel like a year. It also feels as if we've completed so many house projects and yet have so many more to go. That said, we have a few waiting in the wings that are half finished or about to be started. Which means more project posts!! So in honor of this occasion, I've compiled a list of my most favorite house projects to date starting with my most popular post:

DIY: Vintage Army Cot:


The Great Kitchen Reveal:


Mid Century Modern Ikea Chair Hack No.1:


Bathroom Refresh:


Fireplace Makeover:


Did I leave out your favorite? Also, I'm curious to know what you would like to see more of on my blog?

tgif!

xxMaria

Before & After: Hardwood Floors

When we bought our house, the oak hardwood floors were in bad shape. The living room, dining room and back hall were stained a dark cherry that the previous owner did on their own, which means there were swirl marks from the sander and the corners weren't done properly plus there were scratches galore. The front bedroom (our guest bedroom) floor was unstained and a gorgeous color but had some pretty rough spots. The back bedroom (our den) still had carpet, which we tore out on our closing day, and again the floor was unstained but was a big mess with water damage and scratches. We thankfully found an amazing guy to refinish our floors at a remarkably reasonable price and since we had a month overlap with our lease we had all the floors refinished before we moved in. It was by far one of the best investments we've made in our new house!

The living room.

The dining room.

The guest bedroom.

The den.

Yesterday morning, I dropped my mom off at the airport. She was in town for a week and as usual was a big help around the house. We organized half of the basement, which will make doing laundry much easier and started painting the upstairs bedroom. I'm still painting away upstairs and my back and hands are definitely aching, but it's already looking sooooo good!

xxMaria

Happy Holidays!!

Cole and I finished decorating the tree last weekend! I love a good old family tree with colored lights and crazy ornaments. No fancy trees in our house! I tried to capture just the right lighting to show the bright lights but still have enough natural light to have clear photos. It kind of worked but some of the photos are a bit more grainy than I would've liked. Overall, I'm very happy with how the decorating turned out. With a little shifting and rearranging of furniture, we were able to fit our first full grown real Christmas tree!

Photos by me & Cole

Starting Friday, Cole and I will have two full weeks off together!! I'm hoping to complete some house projects and maybe even take some outfit photos. Plus, on the 27th Cole and I will be celebrating our 10th wedding anniversary!!! It feels so crazy to even be typing that! We might head up to Duluth for a few days to celebrate, but we haven't quite planned anything yet. We're such procrastinators!

I hope everyone has an amazingly happy and safe Holiday Season!! Wishing you the best!

xxMaria

Winter Wonderland

This past weekend we got over a foot of snow within 24 hours. It was so gorgeous to wake up to a blizzard of fluffy white stuff. It reminded me so much of all the nor'easters we used to get in Boston! Man, Cole and I used to love those crazy storms, especially when we lived in the little coastal town, Marblehead. I hope the snow sticks around for the holidays so we can enjoy a magical white Christmas!

I was so excited to take photos that I ran outside wearing long johns!

I took the following iPhone photos the next day:

Photos by me & Cole.

Be sure to check back next week to see how we've decorated for the holidays!

xxMaria

Part 2: What we've been up to

I can't thank everyone enough for the incredible welcome back!! All your wonderful comments have made the decision to start a new blog feel even more right. Here's the final installment of my instagram photos getting you all caught up. From here on out, I plan on posting one to two times a week especially while I'm still in the middle of unpacking. Also, next week will be the start of more in depth project posts.

-front door painted geranium red and vintage knocker installed; -farmers market flowers

-first wood countertop in place; -made a batch of wood spoon oil for the countertops 

-vintage spice tins turned refrigerator magnets; -new kitchen rug and Pendleton hat

-enjoying a lazy day; -hydrangeas from my backyard

-wearing something other than paint scrubs; -unpacking books and finding old favorites

-succulents; -incense smokehouse

-back to french braiding my hair; -original door knobs

-homemade strawberry jam from the man that refinished our floors; -I splurged at the Privet House at Target sale

-completed tufting on karlstad chair; -almost done kitchen with new countertops, sink, faucet, and walls

-date night with Cole; -reclaimed and recovered vintage army cot

See you next week!

xxMaria

Part 1: What we've been up to

Since my lovely dslr was neglected during most of the move, the best way to sum up the past three+ months is with instagram photos. Fear not! I will be going into greater detail with diy and before/after posts, but for now here's part 1 of  "what we've been up to" starting at the beginning...

-April 27, 2012 closing day in my new back yard; -our first project of removing carpet in the den

-Wellie and Pip love all the room for running; -we had the hardwood floors refinished on the whole first floor

-sunset at the beach across the street; -moving day (most of those boxes are my shoes!)

-final trip to my parents' cottage before they sold and where we celebrated my 31st b-day

-lots of boat rides to say goodbye to Torch Lake; -quality time spent with my nephew

-one of my new neighbors brought us peonies from her garden; -Pip & Wellie get comfy in the wrong positions

-I painted the bathroom tiles white and added a vintage wine rack; -I painted the fireplace white, too

-switched out Ikea block legs for tapers on our karlstad chair; -making buttons for said chair

-found this gorgeous mid century mirror on craigslist for $30 (plus a peek of my dining room); -first part of button tufting done

-baby's breath; -Pip is Wellie's headrest

Check back tomorrow for part 2!

xxMaria