Counting Down

{a few grainy listing photos}

We've officially signed our lives away, (and thankfully, at a price where we don't have to sell The Bean to the mortgage company), into the welcoming floorboards of a 92 year old bungalow. 

It's chock full of character, glass doorknobs, and built-ins, 

as well as modern-nenity, stainless steel appliances and air conditioning. 

These are a few of my favorite thiiiiiiings.

As in, it is totally remodeled. 

There were moments in our house hunting saga that we almost jumped into the land of major renovations, (a.k.a the land of spending the next three years worth of weekends at Home Depot).

Our  credentials aren't too "terrible." Daniel worked construction during his adolescent summers,

 and I...

have read plenty of "Young House Love" posts 

AND watched six seasons of "Flipping Out," thank you very much.  

According to my calculations,

our combined talents would definitely equal one solid handyman jack-of-all-trades trial-by-error kind of human. 

yes. definitely. 

probably.

dear Lord, hopefully.

The delusions of unfinished basement after unfinished basement grandeur were evolving into reality.

Until this house popped up. 

Then we were all like, "haha, remember when we wanted to knock stuff down and rebuild it?! And that one time, we were going to tear, like, physically tear things up, with our hands?! And work, haha, oh man, we were going to work, on the WEEKENDS?!"

"I even wrote it down in my diary...laughed at it later that night!" 

seriously. 

Thank you Jesus for this homey home! 

{We'll be getting the keys in a few weeks, just in time for Thanksgiving and Baby Bean's 1st birthday and Christmas!} 

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

Booked

{via}

BON

NYC

FEB

2013

OMG

I get to spend it with my lovely hostess J.J, (my "Unni"), in the city, during fashion week...

Eighteen words in a sentence have never sounded so good! 

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

Isn't It

A few ironic things have happened in life as of late. Alanis Morissette lyrics, to the nth degree. 

Forget "rain on your wedding day" and "10000 spoons when all you need is a knife." 

no no no. we need some real life talk.

It's more like, "the one time your baby ever poops in the tub and the drain is (already) clogged." 

Poop water. It's ironic. Believe me. 

Especially when you made the last minute decision to join him, in said bathtub. 

In other, less {STFU, Parents} related news, I have decided to embrace an inner-nerd/outer-93-year-old-blind-man self and don my beloved spectacles more often. 

This is coming from the same girl who used to hide her 1997 silver framed Harry Potter style glasses in her backpack at school and got really good at squintily deciphering the blurry hieroglyphics that the fourth grade teacher drew on the chalkboard. 

i.r.o.n.i.c

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

The Whim Wham House

We've spent the past five months opening random people's kitchen cupboards and peeking into their closet spaces. Thankfully, no skeletons were found.

 And the one house that would've had skeletons. and marijuana plants. didn't let us inside. 

But, I digress.

 From sprawling mid-century modern ranch to towering row house, I'd venture to say that everything to be seen for sale has been seen, (turf green carpet). And smelled, (meow*). 

In the end, it was a mixture of equal parts new paint smell and old-school bungalow charm that won us over. 

With refinished hardwood floors as far as the eye can see.

1920 meets 2012.

meeeeeeooooooow**

P.S. {Michaela} I'm gonna need your help! 

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

*"meow" bad

**"meow" good

Our "Us" Story: Part 1

{Daniel and I just celebrated our 2nd anniversary, and I've never posted anything about the who/what/when/where/why/how of what we're all about. And to think that I call myself a blogger, for the shame! Because two years goes by so fast, and someday we'll be saying, "wow, 62 years goes by so fast. dang kids, and their rap music...can you pass me my prune juice?" I thought it finally time to document while the memory is still somewhat fresh. Also, future baby beans of ours who might read this: your dad and I were once cool and listened to plenty of rap music. Look, I have a nose ring.}

...

For years, I was convinced that I would attend my 10 year class reunion with a cat in my purse and at least three more scratching the couch back in my apartment. 

I had destined myself to a summation of those epitomised words, crazy. cat. lady.

Think Sandra Bullock in "While You Were Sleeping."

Dunking my oreos in the kitten's milk bowl and dreaming of Florence, Italy while I spend my days collecting fare for the Chicago transit system. 

Trust me,
it's a lot more romantic then it sounds. 
and of course, crazy hijinks would ensue.

Don't get me wrong.

I liked boys. Boys liked me. 

But they held power in their potential.
All relationships do. 
The potential to hurt or fail or end. 
A history of loss had gripped tightly around my stubborn heart, closing off the flow with pride and fear.
Trickling into all areas of my being was this philosophy of controlled living. 
I mean, all areas. 
Must.Win.All.The.Things.

{There was a particular game of "Spoons" during this period of my life, where I infamously stabbed someone. with a spoon.
Like I was in The Hunger Games or something.
maybe stabbed isn't the right word, and maybe it was with my teeth.
I'll plead the "it was all a blur."}

My Florence dreams were still itching at me, begging to meet and say hello. 
To go, and do, and be. 
The plan was to start small and float up and up and up. 
All the while, never getting too close for anyone to catch me.


So I packed up my belongings, hopes, and spoons and tiptoed away.

...


xoxo

{Bon Bon} 

Don't Go Chasing...

 {Multnomah Falls}

Don't let my "confident" hand-on-hipped head-to-toe-nike-sports-attired self fool ya. 

{this same outfit can often be worn for a day of nothing but baby bean snuggles and a trip to target for laundry detergent that ends with a receipt full of anything but laundry detergent}

By switchback #9 up the trail, I was alternately feeling the burn and praying someone had finally built one of those motorized staircase chair lifts. 

Only a watery roar of the cascading multnomah could inspire me to surge onward and upward...  

that, and ice cream, of course. 

xoxo

{Bon Bon}

Fall 2012 Makeup: Mulberry Mouth

Yesterday, I had about 3.8 minutes to get ready before some serious skedaddling needed to be done. 

So I swiped on {the} serious lipstick. 

The kind that takes 3.gazillion minutes to swipe on and line and perfect and scrub the smudge that gets on your front tooth. 

The kind that makes you look like a vampire. 

Which, according to {here} and beyond, is a good thing. 

Minutes well spent on the price of fashion.

{although the un-smooched cheeks of a husband and baby beg to differ}

Is this a Fall trend that you can

sink your teeth into? 

xoxo

{Bon Bon}