Welcome Little Gus!

You'll have to forgive me, it's been a busy couple of weeks, but without further adieu I give you

by Font Meme

He had a rough start in the NICU, but after a week of tests, thousands of prayers from faithful friends, and lots of visitors, he got to come home! He's our little miracle baby- the doctors could find nothing wrong with him after what looked like seizures, and possible heart problems in the beginning. We're so grateful he's home, and such a snugly, happy baby.

Supposedly, the name Gus is getting some attention with the acting world, but the story behind why we chose the name starts with our daughter Taliila and this book:

by Theresa Burns

Boy names proved to be super hard for us to agree upon, and with Taliila's name being so special, I felt guilty not having a similar story behind our boy's name. One day I was reading this book and Taliila goes, "Why don't we call our baby Gus?" I thought it was cute, so I obliged for the fun of it, never thinking it would stick. But the longer we went without agreeing upon a replacement name, the more he became known as "Gus" and it just didn't seem right to change it.
The book is about a cat that shows up at this little girl's house and she calls him Gus. The ironic thing is that our Gus makes these purring sounds similar to a cat when he sleeps. It's so stinking cute. 

Tony and I brainstormed longer versions of the name (Gusto, Augustus, August, Augustine, etc) and agreed on Gustin- I've never heard anyone named that before, but it just sounded right. Forrest is a family tradition- all the first born males in my husband's family have Forrest as their middle name. Luckily I like it. So Gustin Forrest it is.
I haven't gotten much done since he's been home, but that's the way it goes, I guess.

p.s. Gustin's nursery, in case you missed it. 

The Hodgepodge [Almost] Finished Nursery

Ten days folks! That's how long I have till baby #2 graces us with his presence. At least in theory, that is. He could of course come sooner (yes, please), or later ( no, thank you). We made some major switcheroos to our room situation, moving the guest bedroom downstairs, to allow for a new nursery upstairs. This has been a really fun project for me. I chose to lighten up the color scheme, going for Watery from Sherwin Williams. I had a coupon and saw this color in a magazine. I actually bought it for my kitchen originally, but it was too baby blue. I decided I was going to use it on our future nursery regardless of having a boy or girl. Turns out to be perfect.
Last night, Tony and Taliila finished hanging some pictures and a chalkboard. There's still a little fiddling to be done, but here's the gist of it. I'm really proud of most of the deals I got, with the exception of the chalkboard, which was a splurge.

 Stool: Refinished FREE, Chalkboard: Home Goods $49.99, Ikea Lamp: via Craigslist $5

 Softest Rug EVER: Gabriel Brothers $65, Chair & Ottoman: via Facebook $65

Framed Animal Art: Via here, White Frames: Ikea $7.99, End Table: yard sale $5, Green Lamp: Already owned

 Mobile: via yard sale $5, Red/Yellow Chest: my childhood dresser FREE, Thomasville MCM Dresser: Tony's grandpa's FREE, 

Green Polk Dot Diaper Topper: previously had from Taliila's Room

Curtains: Home Goods $29.99, Crib: Ikea via Craigslist $25, Sheets/Bumper: Free from friends

Like I said, a hodgepodge, but the room itself is really light and airy- I love it. We already tend to congregate in it and play on that big, comfy rug. I can officially say we.are.ready.

Real Estate Monday: Thornburg

Today's Real Estate Monday is thanks to a friend who shot me over a picture of this house. It's pretty amazing, and has so much more potential. It reminds me of this bungalow in Seattle I posted about a while ago (seriously worth clicking on if you never saw it). This time the show stops in Thornburg, Pittsburgh. For a whopping $287,000 you call this 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom estate your very own home.
560 Hamilton Rd. Pittsburgh, Pa 15205

 I love the curb appeal, and the beautiful California front porch. 

 The kitchen, while bland, is at least updated. I'd love to see some life breathed into it with some creamy gray cabinets, and a huge island painted black, with some fun stools around it. 

 The description says there's one large room upstairs with an ensuite bath. I'd say this would be more than adequate for a breathtaking master suite. Just add some new lighting, some warm paint, and furniture, and voila. 

 This courtyard reminds me of something you'd find in St. Augustine, FL. 

What'd you think? Did you click on the Seattle link? I think it would be a pretty awesome house. 

* I am not the listing agent for any of the homes I share on Real Estate Monday, unless otherwise stated. I do not receive any compensation for these posts. If you'd like more information on any of the homes, please contact me via email or cell and I can always schedule a showing for you :)

Fall Front Door Makeover

My house was repainted about three weeks ago. It's actually a very subtle color change- from creme siding to light green- but the slight change made my door color look a bit off. Just in time for the fall, I chose to paint our front door an eggshell black. It's looking very halloween-y with my jack-o-lantern wreath, which yes, I ended up buying from a store instead of making. I told you I wasn't crafty. Plus, I'm now 9 months pregnant, and have other projects on the list that I'd like to get done before baby time. Now I can check painting the door off my list. 

Here's a close up of the house color so you can see what I mean when I show you the old door. I can't tell you how happy I am with the paint change... it just looks so much cleaner. 

Next step is tackling that huge rhododendron bush so you can actually see the front of my house! We're finally working on the curb appeal here, something we've been neglecting till recently. It's a process. A never-ending process. 

 Here's the old front door color- the color I've been obsessed with using for accents for over a year now. 

I started taping off the small wood pieces in between the glass, and then I realized why I never tape things- because I hate it. 

But, ultimately I'm glad I did because this little one wanted to help paint. 

And voila, the finished product. I'm quite pleased. Also, paint scrapes off the glass fairly easy with a razor blade and some Windex. 

Here's a little close up of the wreath I found at Home Goods. I love how the colors pop against the black now. 

 And finally a little outside peek. 

Happy Fall! 

Real Estate Monday: Forest Hills

How'd you like to be my neighbor? Well, not directly next door, but down the street a little is this [now] adorable house that's been completely renovated. Edgewood Acres is such a cute neighborhood, where almost every house is unique and kept up to a T. My mom and I use to walk by this house, however, and complain about how ugly it was and how it just didn't fit. Now it doesn't even look like the same house! Inside it was completely gutted and redone, along with new landscaping outside, a freshly paved driveway, and a new garage. So in the true spirit of Redesignation, here's 310 Castlegate Rd. Pittsburgh, Pa 15221. It's a 3 bedroom, 2 full/ 2 half bath house listed at $209,900.

The deck is connected to a walk-out basement and has a built-in fire pit perfect for entertaining.

I told Jim, the renovator/homeowner, I was proud of him for not doing the "typical" flipped house kitchen with the dark cabinets/ cheap granite. This looks light and fresh, and I like the extra molding on the cabinets. There's room for stools at the island, and probably a 6 foot dining table for an eat- in kitchen (not pictured here). There's also a half bath off the kitchen on the way down to the basement. 

The living room, which would greatly benefit by being staged, is actually much bigger than it looks in this pic. 

Master en-suite bathroom. 

Master bedroom. 

The ultimate man-cave/finished basement. There's two rooms like this equal in size, then a cold storage room, plus plenty of closets and a half bath. 

***UPDATE***

Unless I go into labor before hand :), I volunteered to do an open house for THIS Sunday October 5th, from 1-3. Stop by and say hi, and introduce yourself.  

Real Estate Monday: Coraopolis

I read an recent statistic somewhere about inventory being low, housing prices higher, and, therefore, homes that are priced right get snapped up instantly and often with multiple offers. The take home? I guess if you're on the fence about whether to list your home right now, this is a good reason to do so.
Anyways, onto my Real Estate Monday pick. This is a friend's house, and I'm happy to showcase it because I find it adorable. It's a 4 bedroom, 2 bath house with great curb appeal (something I'll be talking more about this week), listed for $155,000.

1222 Vance Ave, Coraopolis, PA 15108

 See what I mean about curb appeal? Nice, manicured lawn, beautiful stone-front exterior, lovely color scheme. That looks like a move-in ready house without even knowing what's on the inside.

 The kitchen looks like you have ample space to move around and entertain at the same time.

 Here's a perfectly staged dining room... not hard to imagine your own family eating here. 

 Super roomy master with a pop of color. Looks bright and sunny, who wouldn't want to wake up in here? 

 These next two rooms are just so sweet. I love that they're clearly kid's rooms here, but completely neutral if you took the decor out, thus a truly move-in ready house even if you didn't have little ones.

 I'm such a sucker for stripes. 

And to wrap it up, a picture-perfect back yard. 

Just another little plug [I hope you don't mind that I'm doing this], the owner of this house is also a superb cake maker (is that even the word for it?)- she baked the most fabulous cupcakes for the opening of our store years ago. Maybe she'll bake you a welcome home cake if you buy her house? 

You can check out here facebook page here, or just salivate over a couple pictures I stole off her page. 

Fall Wreath For The Front Door

Despite the fact that I'm totally not ready for fall, I've been itching to get a start on a fall wreath. I've never been into wreaths before, but for some reason, I'm really digging them this year. I know I don't want the fake floral look, so I've been perusing the web for some inspiration. I think I've settled on attempting this one below.

 Now here's the shocker: I'm not a crafter. I repeat. NOT A CRAFTER! I own no glue gun, no supplies, I have little patience for little projects- I like big things for some reason. But I'm going to try. And this one looks simple enough for a first-timer. 

What I really like is the versatility of this wreath. It's just spray painted acorns, but I could change out the color of either the acorns or the ribbon for each season. I might start with a turquoise ribbon, and transfer to the orange for October. 

Have you made your own wreath? Or know a good go-to place to buy them? 

Also, not complaining about the plethora of pumpkin candles in the store. This one is my favorite so far bought at Home Goods. I hate that store. And by hate, I mean I walk in to return something and walk out with five things I didn't know I needed. Ugh.