Dear Boston,

You're tough and beautiful...you're in our prayers.

Some house tours from Boston, a city of some of the best bones in the country.

via Apartment Therapy

Our first home!

I am so excited today, we decided to buy the house in Gaithersburg, MD.

We weighed pros and cons and did some back and forth and decided to take the leap! As soon as I agreed I knew we'd made the right decision. I've easily seen over 15 homes in the area, and this one just had a feeling right away - only the first house I saw and this one could I ever see myself living in. It has some quirks and character, but nothing we can't work with. Our settlement is late May.

 As you can imagine I already have a smorgasbord of ideas for the home. Here are the listing photos:

A summer shot of the front of the house

 Unfortunately the adorable German Shepherd puppy doesn't come with the home... Behind the wall with the TV is the kitchen, which we plan to open up and turn into a breakfast bar...

 Master bedroom.  We also plan on having hardwood throughout - my allergies can't handle carpet.

 Guest bedroom

 Another bedroom, which will be my office

 One of the two full baths...

The backyard is what is really special to us.  It by far and away is the largest and the mature trees give it a secluded feeling.  It needs a little love, but we're excited to get started!

It even has an outdoor fireplace!


I've already started my wishlist:

I'd love to have a settee or something like this in the bedroom,  since it's pretty spacious compared to what we're used to.

We're going to need some additional rugs now that we have more than two rooms

The lighting throughout the house is not our style, so we're going to be replacing it all

4 items above via Joss and Main

 I would like something similar for the diningroom, but perhaps a little crisper than this.

Love the end table.
2 items above via One Kings Lane

Hopefully a real bed! I've been using one of those metal frames with the wheels ever since I left my parents! via Rue La La

Some barstools for the breakfast bar via HauteLook

House purchasing update and beautiful cherry trees in DC!

Hi guys.  So, it has been a very stressful week.  We had the inspection for the house we're under contract on, and everything was fine EXCEPT...the access/entry to the crawl space is too small for an adult to fit in.  The sellers aren't willing to cut a larger access because in this market they could easily sell the home as is, and they don't want to risk damaging their property.  So we have to decide by today if we are going to walk away or not.

Anyway, Chris and I forced ourselves to take our mind off of the whole debacle for just a little bit and walk around the Tidal Basin, where right now all of the beautiful cherry blossoms are in full bloom.

Enjoy!

Why I've been away and organization eye candy

I feel really bad about my sporadic and/or non-exist blogging lately, but sweetums and I just put our first offer on what may be our first HOME last night. Needless to say, things have been chaotic around here...I promise that within the next week or so things will be back to normal.... In the meantime, if you are stressed like me, there's nothing like a good organization fix!

via BHG

Inspiration for small bathrooms

Since people seem to become more and more interested in smaller homes, whether for downsizing reasons, keeping utility costs low, etc., it's also becoming important to decorate your space in a way that maximizes your square footage.  As my fiance and I are looking at homes, all of which are teeny tiny (about 2 bedroom, and 1 full bath), we've noticed clever ways some people are putting all the amenities of a full bath into what was traditionally the powder room.  These small, full-amenity baths, or Cloakroom suites, as they're referred to in the UK have become an increasingly popular bathroom trend in recent years, with more and more people keen to create a smaller second bathroom.

Keep in mind it's not actually light colors that make a space look larger - it's a lack of contrast that keeps a space looking airy...

There are a number of techniques available to ensure that you do not have to sacrifice the luxuriousness of your bathroom due to the lack of space on offer. Many of these choices revolve around bathing options, with shower baths a particularly popular option for those with a smaller bathroom.

A shower bath ensures that every bathing option remains available to you, while freeing up enough space in the suite for other essentials such as the toilet and a bathroom basin. There are several different choices of shower baths available, meaning you can be sure that your shower bath matches the overall style of your bathroom suite.

This tub is narrow, but deep (which I think is actually better than the shallow, wide tub most of us have...), and it saves space!

I am an avid bath taker, so I can't imagine only having a shower.  Even if it meant my toilet would only have an inch between the sides of it and the sides of the tub!

If you are planning on a small downstairs bathroom, cloakroom suites could be the ideal choice. A cloakroom suite is a bathroom significantly reduced in size, usually containing only the absolute essentials. While you would not usually include any form of bathing option in a cloakroom suite, they can ensure that your main bathroom is left free, ideal for busy households where several people live together.

A cloakroom suite is also ideal if you often have guests over, providing them with access to a bathroom without the need for them to feel like they are intruding by venturing upstairs. Cloakroom suites are therefore the ideal accompaniment to your main bathroom, with many extremely helpful functions.

Not only does this small bathroom have a shower, it also has a mini soaking tub!

In addition to a shower bath, a corner bath can also help to save a great deal of space within a bathroom. By dedicating your bath to a single corner of the bathroom, a significant amount of space is saved and can be filled with additional bathroom necessities. As with shower baths, these corner baths come in a range of different styles and designs, meaning the overall theme of your bathroom will not be impacted.

Bathroom furniture can also help to create the illusion of space and prevent your bathroom from appearing cluttered and untidy. As well as covering up unsightly pipework which may be present, this bathroom furniture also creates a great deal of additional storage space. This can be used to store deodorants, shower gel, makeup and the various other items which are traditionally stored within the bathroom.

Wall hung toilets are another way to maximise the space in the bathroom, especially when combined with the above recommendations. With these aforementioned techniques and many more, it is no wonder that the popularity of small bathrooms continues to expand. Whether you are replacing a small bathroom or are contemplating the creation of a cloakroom suite, there are a number of trends which can be employed to ensure that the result is not only functional, but extremely aesthetically pleasing.

1,2,3,6 Houzz, 4,5 Fresh Home

disclosure: this post in partnership with screwfixbathrooms.com

Bedrooms from glamorous to sweet

It snowed yesterday in Maryland. snowed! {displeased face}

Such a gorgeous balance of glamor and ease.

gold+ aqua+peach=♥

Too much red and pink for me, but a younger me would have woken up smiling every morning!

Perfect pretty spot for little ones to read...

So maybe not a bedroom, but still a beautiful place to dream.

1,2 via This Is Glamorous, 3,4,5,7 Sweet Home Style, 6 Roco Mag