Spring Beach Trip

We went to the beach last weekend as our last family trip before baby #2 arrives in May.  And it was wonderful and magical and so special to see the ocean through a toddler's eyes.

Many thanks Poppie and Gee Gee for sharing your condo with us again!

Spring Cleaning

I've Been Pinned!

Something funny happened a few months ago....I noticed that all of a sudden this little ole' blog was getting lots of traffic on a post I did over a year ago on making a Thanksgiving onesie.  I noticed it jump to the top of the column to the left on popular posts.  I couldn't figure it out, but I should have known that all interesting things (in blog world) come from Pinterest.  Someone found this post and pinned a onesie I made for McCord's first Thanksgiving (in 2010!).  And so High Cotton Handmade made a brief debut on Pinterest.  You can check it out here.

I feel sort of like a celebrity, but truly all the fame goes to the baby turkey.

He'll be available for autographs tomorrow after naptime.

Window Treatments: Kids' Room and Master BR

I made something!  

It's been a while since I've worked on a project that took several hours (i.e. 2.5 naptimes and and an evening), and it felt so good to spend my time creating something for the Kids' Room.  Below is a picture of the roman shade I finished today.  Window treatments are probably my least favorite thing to make,  and I usually end up getting in a fight with my sewing machine, but this one actually turned out!  I used this tutorial from fellow sewer and blogger, 12 Devonshire.  And...here's the best part - I had to use the drill to hang the shade - and I did the whole thing on my own!  I have been dreading this because just knew that I'd somehow manage to knock the house down, but I survived it.  And it's still hanging!

It has a blackout lining to make the room especially sleep-friendly for McCord and is new baby brother or sister.  I still have a few projects left in this room before Baby #2 comes (make an identical shade for the other window in the room, sew a cushion and pillows for the window seat Mc is sitting on above, and finish up the big boy bed my dad and I've been working on for McCord).   I think I'm in nesting mode.

Here's another view of Mc's reading nook - my dad hung these great Ikea shelves on his last visit.  I stole this library idea from McCord's cousin Bayer who has a wall of books in his room.  They make storytime lots of fun. For before pictures of this space, click here.

Bo & I have a similar nook in our bedroom.  I finished these drapes with blackout lining about a month ago and forgot to post a picture of them.  I'd still like to raise the drapery rod a little to make the area a bit more dramatic, but it's not at the top of my list right now.

There's a before picture of the space over here.

Just the 3 of us

at the duck pond the other day

Finders Keepers: Campaign Dresser

Guess what the Habitat Restore was throwing out last week?!!!  I found this fabulous solid oak Drexel Campaign Dresser under a pile of goods waiting to be discarded on Thursday.  I spoke to the store manager, and he said that they couldn't sell it because it required too much work.  My mom who was with me convinced me that I could handle refinishing it, so I inherited this dresser for free and have been working on it over the weekend.

This gorgeous dresser from Lonny Magazine was my inspiration.  This image has been popping up all over blog world and pinterest and I couldn't get it out of my mind.  

Here's the before picture.

And still wet with paint, here's the after.

It's in the sewing room for now, but may find it's way up to the kids' room.

McCord's Maple Comes Home! (& oh the fun with playdoh)

When McCord was born - almost 2 years ago, Bo had a great idea to plant a tree in his honor. 


The day we planted McCord's Maple at our old house.  He was just 2 weeks old.

I still remember when Bo and I went to pick out McCord's maple at the nursery.  It was one of my first times away from McCord while he slept at home under his grandmother's watch.  Bo and I really deliberated which tree would best represent our son (seems so funny now!) but we were so serious about this decision.  Then when Mc was 2 weeks old, the tree was planted at our old house on Surrey Lane.  We took Mc's picture in front of the tree each month for his first year of life to monitor his growth (and the tree). 

And then we decided we needed a bigger house.

Mc at 12 months next to his Maple.  This was the last photo we took of Mc in front of his tree before moving and leaving the tree behind. 

You can imagine how anxious I was when we sold our house in the heat of summer - I wanted to make sure the buyers would allow us to come back to get the tree in the winter when its survival rate during transplantation would be much higher.  And I am so glad to say that day has arrived. 

19-month-old Mc and his Maple - reunited.

Welcome to your new home, Maple.  We hope to be here for many years so we can enjoy your new leaves budding out in the spring and your brillant fall foliage each year.  And you'll have another tree to keep you company soon when we plant another one in May to honor Baby #2.

And - in other random news, we made this playdoh recipe today and it was so easy, I may never buy store-bought playdoh again.

This is the kind of picture you get when your toddler wants you to take a picture of him playing with the playdoh while also watching to see how the picture turns out - all at the same time. 

Oh, the fun!