Blueberries for dad

I had a Martha Stewart fail. And no, I do not mean commiting a crime worthy of going to jail  :)

I hosted a Father's day brunch at our house on Sunday (Tyler was out of town), and wanted to do something special for my dad since it was, after all, his day. He loves blueberries (sidenote, I don't), and I found a simple looking blueberry jam recipe on the Martha Stewart website. You can't get much easier than this: blueberries and sugar, should be easy right? I followed the recipe exactly (I'm sort of picky about things like that ), but it ended up coming out like blueberry syrup. And it was sweet, VERY sweet. Note to self, read reviews before making a recipe, it could help out! The syrup thing wasn't a total failure though, because we had belgian waffles at brunch! It has thickened up a little since then, but is still majorly sweet. Sadly, I don't think Tyler has even had any, and he loves blueberries just like my dad! Even if the jam was a fail, I took some pretty pictures.

{fresh blueberries}

{at least it looks good?}

{warming up the sugar. awkward process.}

{blueberry jam/syrup}

I'll admit, I do love a good Instagram photo :)

XO

passed down

{warning: this post is wordy, but there will be beautiful furniture, I promise.}

I had the wonderful opportunity to go visit family in Ohio this past October. Having grown up and lived in Oregon my entire life, visiting my family in Ohio wasn't something that happened all the time. I got to go a few times when I was younger, but it has been well over 15 years since I last visited. This visit came about because it was time to celebrate my great-grandparents 80th anniversary. 80 years! Because it has been so long since I went to Ohio, I hardly remembered my great-grandparents and welcomed the invitation from my Grandfather to bring my dad and I out for the party. Unfortunately, my great-grandmother passed away only a few weeks before the anniversary party, so our trip to celebrate 80 years of marriage, was a trip to celebrate her life (although it was still about their marriage, 80 years is nothing to joke about!). 

My dad and I stayed with my grandpa, and it was a short trip, but it was well worth it. I got to see my great-grandfather for the first time that I can remember, and got to see/meet many more members of my extended family who live on the east coast! I also got to see my amazing aunt Linda, who I really really wish I could see more often.  While we stayed with my grandpa, he mentioned that (in knowing how much I love antiques) he would like my dad and I to pick out a few of our favorite pieces (his house is FULL of awesome items passed down through the family or picked up over the years). He would save these pieces for us specifically (for when he was no longer with us - I did not enjoy that part).  He went around his home, showing us what was what and telling us the stories that belong to each piece, that was my favorite part. My dad picked a little chair, bench, and an old butchers table. I picked a beautiful hutch/desk (I feel like it's not JUST a hutch, or JUST a desk, haha), and a drop leaf table.

We were excited about the {sometime} additions to our homes, but obviously could wait for the time to come when they would arrive, and headed home to Oregon. A couple of weeks later (or months?), I received a voicemail from my Grandpa - he decided to just give the items to us now and was shipping them to my parents house in the next few weeks!! I was so excited I could hardly stand it! I am so thankful that he shared these with me. I love old furniture, and when it is something that has actually been passed down to me, not just picked up at a thrift/antique store or garage sale, it means so much more. SO, with all that said, here they are!

{iPone pics are not perfect. oh well}

and go ducks :)

{SO blurry, but this is in our office and houses my crafts}

{i love it.}

{this pretty table is in our dining room and opens up to a decent size!} 

From what my grandpa told me, the hutch was possibly made by his great, great grandfather (who died in 1915!). That means it has been in our family 100 years! The drop leaf table was purchased from my grandparents neighbor in Bedford. I love that is has most likely been a part of many family meals and gatherings for years and years.

Thank you grandpa for passing these down to me.

XO


linking up with: Furniture Feature Friday

Photo Ledge

One of the things we loved about this house was the giant living room. Since it is so big, finding art for the walls has been a challenge. I browsed Pintrest on and off for forever, looking for inspiration. I was drawn primarily to photo ledges with groupings of pictures on them. I found my way to the amazing website of Ana White, seriously, if you haven't seen her site, check it out. She gives the easiest directions, and the best part is how cheap this project was! She isn't kidding when she calls them $10 dollar ledges. Its funny, even though they are 8 feet wide, I feel like they still look a little small on our huge wall!

{after we assembled and painted them}

{still missing a few pictures, but you get the idea}

{up on the wall}

{i love them}

{here is the whole wall, don't the ledges look small??}

xo

linking up with:

Fit for a Queen

My grandmother turned 90 in April. She is a fabulous woman, and I am so thankful to call her my grandma. Turning 90 is no small feat, and it deserved to be celebrated! So, celebrate we did. Tyler and I hosted the party, to which about 40 people attended, at our house. Hosting is something we love to do, so without further adieu, here are pictures!

A cheery entrance

I love making our front porch pretty. Is that weird? It is just so exciting that it is the entrance, to our home! It's the first thing people see when they walk up, so why not keep it looking fresh? I do wish I could have thought of some other word than "spring" to put on it, haha, but oh well!

I just wrapped the wreath form in canvas (from a drop cloth), hot gluing as I went around. I made the flowers from fabric remnants I got at St. Vinnies, and hot glued them as well. It was super easy and can be updated with other pretties later on, if I feel like it.

Xo