Moving has wiped me out! I apologize for lack of posts (I even forgot last Friday's Love^3 post!) but worry not! I'll be back shortly and with oodles of progress pics of the house. Till then - have a lovely and restful day.

I feel like I haven't posted about the house in forever! But that's going to change today - I've got lots to talk about and to show you today, as we had quite the weekend!

First up was a big Ikea run, parents in tow. J and I bought our couch; book shelf and DVD shelf; a small dresser for the closet; some lamps (ok, well, my mom bought those!); a mirror/medicine cabinet (which doesn't appear to be online...) for the master bath (if we really like it, we'll buy another for the upstairs hall bath which currently is sans mirror); new drapes (which I also cannot find online) for the living room (the ones currently hanging will be moving up to the master as they block too much light for the living room); a small filing cabinet for my office; and I'm sure we got something else... but I can't think of it now!

Next up came... assembly! Yikes! We worked on that Sunday and Monday and haven't put it all together yet... But here's what we've got so far:


{Our sweet little Pax - and J's even starting hanging some clothes!}


{The Malm and one of the lamps. The lamps will actually go on our nightstands...}


{The living room in it's semi-completed glory! As you can see we still need a TV stand!}


{Another living room view. The rug is made out of recycled plastic and is from Viva Terra}


{A peek into my very incomplete workspace. The desk, which was a beast to assemble, is actually from Wal-Mart - I know! I couldn't believe it either!}

And more news - we've slated this coming Saturday as MOVE IN DAY! I can't wait! Rest assured I'll have plenty more photos for you. Until then....

Three things I'm loving this week are...

This sweet poster by Camilla Engman and Elisabeth Dunker (aka Studio Violet)


Also loving this fun Wine Tasting party idea by by Snippet & Ink over at target="new">{frolic!} - I can't wait to get the house all done and start hosting some fun parties - this one is going on the top of my list!


And lastly, this darling bedroom as seen on Cookie - I love the wall color and the fun, not prissy, little-girl accents:


That's it for the week, have a lovely weekend all. I'll be back next week with some more details on the house progress (can't wait!)

I really do! And truth be told I've never been a big calendar buyer, but I think I definitely need the new Orange Beautiful 2009 calendar. It's really quite beautiful (like all of their work!) and a type-lover's dream. Go pre-order one - I am :)


{Orange Beautiful}

I managed to find some John Derian goodies at Target this weekend and snagged what I could! I particularly love this little waste basket (perfect for the hall bathroom)



I also picked up this cute kitchen towel - very Orla Kiely, no?



Then, today, my dad come by and helped me put together the closet! Unfortunately my camera died and I don't have any pics yet, but I'll remedy that soon. We put together the skinniest Pax unit and flanked it on either side with dowels for hanging clothes.

And tomorrow my mom is taking me out to buy some staples for our newly completed pantry:

{I can't wait to fill it up!}

Three things I'm loving this week:

Jordan's dreamy dinner party atop the Aquatic Park pier - how fun!


I've been loving the posts on Vogue's Book of Etiquette over at Style Court - and I especially loved this photo accompanying her post on "The Part-Time Guestroom"


...and issue 4 of Mankind Mag is out this week - Wahoo!

Love the email I got this morning from Piperlime showcasing some new "irresistible" wedge boots. Swoon! (Or should I say yum!)


{Left to right: Nine West's Yoursocute, Kenneth Cole Reaction's Bard Tender, BCBGirls' Petler, and Chinese Laundry's Turbo. All available here}

My favorite is the Petler - so rustic and worn in and what a great color!

I love birch trees. If I could I would have a little forest of birches in my backyard... I love the rainy sound of the wind rustling in their leaves and the stark white bark against bright green leaves and grass. So you can imagine my delight at finding this beauty on flickr:


{by flickr user bevcraigwhite}

From there I decided to troll around the web and locate some other birch-y goodies:


{clockwise from top: Birch Forest notecard by Elephant Prints, Birch Log Pillow by My Imaginary Boyfriend, Hand-Painted Mural by Natura, Kaiku shower curtain at Anthropologie }

Oh, and who doesn't love Cole & Son's Woods wallpaper?


{At Rose and Radish}

I've been wanting a bike for so freakin' long - and I'm finally going to buy myself one after we move in. Since we're so close to Decatur and some really fun shops and markets, I feel like I can really put the bike to good use (and get some much-needed exercise in the process!)

I recently found a reasonably priced 3-speed cruiser. On Amazon of all places:


{from Amazon}

Now all I need to do is find the right accessories... then lo-and-behold! DailyCandy drops a lovely little Bicycling Round-Up in my in-box this morning. In particular I really liked the Amish-made basket:


{from Velo Orange}

and Bern's Muse helmet:


{from Bern}

Now, which color to choose....?

J and I bought and assembled a little Etagere from Target this weekend. My parents have had the same piece in their bathroom for a few years now and really love it.


{from Target}

Unfortunately we didn't have a full day at the house on Sunday and it took the two of us 2 1/2 hours to assemble the blasted thing, so that was all we were able to accomplish this weekend (until Thursday when J and his dad are going to try and finish putting in the quarter rounds).


{I think it's cute}

Wow! Where has the weekend gone? We've been so crazy busy over at the house - the floor is *almost* done! We hit a major snag in the master where it turns out, the subfloor is very, very uneven... Fortunately J's dad is working to fix that (and I can hopefully show you the finished floor shortly).

Meanwhile.... my mom has been helping with the backsplash in the kitchen - and it looks fabulous! We went with classic white subway tile and a pretty oyster grey grout. Also, since I last posted a photo of the kitchen I've finished the cabinets and attached new hinges and pulls. Behold:



We also removed the cabinets that were over the sink and window to the living room, not only because it was a little oppressive in the smallish kitchen, but because we've decided to put in a floating shelf for the items we use most (good incentive to keep the place neat and clean, huh?)

Sorry, no house work for me this week/end - we're celebrating my grandmother's, dad's, and brother's birthdays (and then J's is next week!). That's right, lots of birthdays.

I just wanted to pop in real quick and show off this weekend's project:


That yummy thing you are seeing is a Chocolate-Peanut Butter cake. I used Smitten Kitchen's recipe with one key change... I made the cake organic! Yummmm!