This little space under the stairs has a teensy bit of my sewing paraphernalia in it, so I’m just gonna call it the sewing nook.  As you can see, there’s no table on which to sew and very little storage for several boxes of fabric.  And I have quite a good deal of the woven stuff.

The doorway with fabric is a boarded up door that apparently used to be the backdoor of the house.  It was closed off sometime after the back porch was turned into a kitchen and another room and bathroom was added to the back of the house (circa 1950).  I can hardly imagine how tiny the house must have felt in its original state.  Of course, it used to be a summer beach cottage.  Neat, huh?

The dressform seems to scare my guests a bit, like there’s a person freakishly lurking in the corner.  But I’m hoping to put her to good use once I get more settled here.  It’s gonna happen.

I hesitate to share this one because the chairs we bought were shoddy and the whole table & chairs set is being returned.  We’re on the lookout now for either a good thrifty find or plans to make our own.  I was pretty disappointed that this didn’t work out, but maybe it was for the best.  I love modern furniture, but maybe it’s just too modern for this space.  I don’t know. :)

A new friend of mine suggested I check out Ana-White for furniture plans, and that might be the trick.  Just gotta convince Evan…

Our new house in Norfolk has been a lot of fun to decorate.  We moved in with a sherbet orange kitchen awaiting us.  This might be a lovely color for many folks out there.  It’s really not too offensive.  I mean, it’s not lime green.  Which I am guilty of using.  In a very large living room.  But I digress.

Even if we’re just renting, and even if it’s just for a year (we don’t know for sure), I needed to change these walls.  So my dear mother-in-law visited and helped me paint them a semi-gloss white.  (I love her.)  Of course, we had to enlist the help of Evan to get the highest points.  He was a trooper about it. :)

I love the tile on the floor in here.  It’s a terracotta with accent tiles.  I never would have chosen this, but I absolutely adore it anyway.

I even love that old stove.

And here’s a little nook of shelves, filled with some of my favorite kitcheny things.  (This shows just how bright white the kitchen is now.)

It might be a bit much, but I can rearrange it every day if my heart desires. :)

I’m thinking about putting a “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster on the wall to the left of the stove.  What do you think?  Has the fad worn itself out?  I just like the red & white together.  And now it makes me think of The King’s Speech.  Which is great.

Well, there’s a bit of the kitchen.  I’ll be back soon to share more nooks and crannies in our new home.

What are some of your favorite decorating resources?  I love Decor8 and Design*Sponge.  Now that we’re in our new home in Norfolk, I’m scouring all my favorite sites for ideas.

Here are some places inspiring me now:

• all the luck in the world - Cheerful and fresh and handmade
• Smile and Wave - Rachel Denbow epitomizes vintage-modern, which I adore
• here’s looking at me kid - I love Mandi’s interior and her vintage wardrobe
• nice*room - the name says it all
• AprillAprill - I don’t have to understand the language to appreciate the blog, but the English translations are nice :)

We’re on the market for a new sofa too.  I’m so torn between slipcovered furniture or leather.  And the price difference is kinda huge.  So I’m having analysis paralysis.  Oh, and Evan needs to sit on a sofa before he’ll commit.  Understandable.

I like this one at Ikea.

I just have to share this video of my grandmother reading her poetry.  The poem is called “Midnight Haulings,” which I find eerily relevant to our current state of affairs:

Well… I’d better get back to work.  We’re moving tomorrow!

This is an easy project Emily and I did today.  Jacob enjoyed playing with the animals but had no interest in making them.  He did, however, try to cut paper with my hole punch.

All you need for this project is paper, crayons, scissors, and tiny brads.  I found a box of about 50 brads in the scrapbook supply section of Michael’s.

And we used scrapbook paper instead of construction paper because it’s much more sturdy.

I love Emily’s pig, lion, and spider family.  That pig snout was my favorite until she started drawing spider babies.

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and New Year’s Day.  We sure did.  And now we’re starting a-fresh.  Not only am I working out (most fun workout EVER), but I’m packing all our stuff up and we’re moving in less than a month!

New house, new friends, new city.

It’s all quite bittersweet, but we’re always game for new adventure.

By the way, I got a serger for Christmas (from my wonderful mother-in-law who is also responsible for the above gingerbread house).  I can’t wait to bust that out.  Maybe I can sew a T-shirt that’s got some stretch to it.  Unlike this one.  (Dear Cal Patch, I haven’t forgotten you.)

I also scored some great books from Evan and his brother.  They love me.

I wish that I could share piles of handmade gifts I crafted for everyone.  Alas, this was not the year for it.  Evan’s mother did make some adorable pajama pants for the kids though.  And his grandfather made Jacob a beautiful wooden highchair.  Like this one that he made for Evan nearly 30 years ago.

Every year, I make an ornament for the Derrick Family Christmas tree.  Every year, I plan to make one for each of the kids as well.  That hasn’t happened yet, but I’m still holding out hope.

This year’s ornament is supposed to be a cross-stitched snowflake.  I say “supposed to be” because it’s a bit oblong.  And snowflakes are not.  That’s what happens when you use the wrong kind of fabric for cross-stitch. :)  But I like it anyway.

I found the pattern here.

I’ve been missing so long.  Did you give up on me?  I decided that a mosaic of pretty things would be an easy way to get back in The Habit.

Since I dropped off the face of the Blogging Earth, my daughter turned 4, I turned 30, and my husband signed a job contract that is sending us to Virginia Beach.

I’ve never been there.

1. Untitled, 2. a little wood & wool xmas tree…, 3. 4peonies, 4. Crocheted footstool cover, 5. stockings, 6. calendar 2011, 7. Mary Had a Little Lamb, 8. {film.974}, 9. Chicken Family

Created with fd’s Flickr Toys

Well, maybe not.  But I sure can take pictures like one!

Cool, huh?  I am the proud owner of an iPhone, and I’ve determined that it takes better pictures than my old camera (No offense, Dear Old Friend).  But beyond that, I can get apps that help me take retro-looking photos.  Now, I’m not going to argue that using an app is the same as owning a Helga and waiting patiently for your quirky, old film to be developed.  I don’t really know what that’s like.

But I do know this is fun.  Plain and simple fun.

The app I used here is called Hipstamatic.  Because I’m so hipsta.

With the Hipstamatic, you can buy different lens/film/flash packages that make completely different looking pictures.  Clever, no?

My favorite combo is the Bettie XL lens with Ina’s 1969 film (which I used in all of these pictures).

So if you happen to have an iPhone and are not too pretentious for digital-pretend-retro-awesomeness, this is worth your $1.99.