Lately, life around here has been a whirlwind of painting, cleaning, painting some more, cleaning and organizing baby clothes, and crafting up one project after another. We’ve been busy, holed away in the little corner bedroom of our house making preparations for our baby girl, due to arrive on September 21st, and maybe sooner!

I’ve been reminded how grueling painting can be, how finicky I can be about making decorating decisions, and of that saying my favorite professor was known for: “Just because you spent time on it, doesn’t mean you should use it.” I spent 7 hours on Saturday (even breaking my sewing machine, as I was crying about on Twitter) quilting, ironing, and hemming curtains for the nursery, only to decide that night that I hated them on the windows, and that there was no way I was going to use them in the nursery. But I’m not wasteful, so now I have to come up with a different use for the panels. I’m thinking baby blankets! But we’ll see.

In other news, I think the paint fumes are getting to Phil, as you might have figured by his mistaking a paint brush for…. an ice cream cone? We’ve also been dog sitting for the past week- my brother’s dear little dog Archie. He has been loving following us around wherever we go, quite curious about all of the preparations being made in the nursery. I hope he and our little girl will enjoy palling around some day soon!

If you’ve been reading here for a while, you’ve undoubtably seen a lot of pictures from the dark and dated interior of George’s Lounge. It’s our favorite local dive bar- the kind of cheap-drink joint where you can pop in on any given night and run into friends. The kind of people you actually like running into. Being a dive bar, George’s curb appeal leaves a lot to be desired. But guess what? They’re hosting a contest to local Canton (Ohio) artists and designers to redesign the sidewalk wall of the classic hangout.

Check out more information on the contest here. And if you’re interested in peeking at the inside of George’s, as well as other Canton shenanigans, you can check out my “life” archives here.

photo by my friend Austin Miller on my camera. I’m the one on the left of the picture!

My dear friends, Josh and Kara, were married a couple of weekends ago and are now home from their honeymoon. We’re getting together this week and I can’t wait to see how marriage is treating them so far!

The day of the wedding was perfectly chill- weather and vibe-wise. The girls took their time at the farmhouse getting ready, sipping champagne, and mending dresses (mine split down the back right before the ceremony. WHAT?!), while who knows what the boys were doing. Shenanigans, for sure! The wedding took place outside on an unseasonably mild day, and the reception was in a barn, where dancing ensued all the night long. You should’ve seen this pregnant girl’s feet!

Congratulations, you crazy kids!

photos by myself (as labeled) and professional photos (as labeled) by Shawn Wood of Studio 7