Home for the holidays

We are so excited to celebrate our first Christmas in our new home! We have enjoyed decorating the house for the season and today celebrated with an Open House for friends and family. Our rustic farmhouse Christmas style is a mix of items we have collected over the years and items repurposed from the barn.

The kitchen was the center of the festivities and was looking wonderful with most of the renovations complete. You can see the new white cabinents, island, exposed beams, tile back splash and decor.

 

These wooden children's skis were in the barn and with a good cleaning and the addition of a pine sprig and bow they were ready to decorate.

  

Our chalkboard made from salvaged wood from the kitchen with a updated message for the season.

The hot cocoa station

A few of the new ornaments on our tree

  

A smaller tree on our porch- notice the wooden milk crate from the barn that we used as a tree stand. The old sled came from David's grandmother.

 

  Each year my parents have created a beautiful advent calendar - this year's features a wooden tree and hand crafted felt heart ornaments.

 

The outside of the house also got into the festive spirit with traditional candles and wreaths in each window and garland around the front door.

Happy Holidays from Carrie, David and Maggie!

Sneak peeks :-)

Time is flying by and it's hard to believe that our daughter, Margaret is already six weeks old. Although much of our time recently has been focused on her, we have found time to continue work on our house. A few more projects to be completed before we are ready with a complete room reveal, but I couldn't wait to share a few glimpses into what we have been working on. 

First, we have been working in the "long room" which connects the parlor, bedroom, front hall and mural room. It's a long space with lots of doors. We are using it as a dining room and office at the moment. I'm excited about the vignette we created between the doors to the parlor and bathroom. We cleaned up an old radio cabinet that was in the barn when we moved in (it still works too) and added two vintage suitcases I had collected. On the wall above, we hung five vintage hats that belonged to my husband's grandmother. I love that it looks like someone has arrived from a long carriage ride and deposited their luggage and hung their hats. 

In the kitchen, we added this beautiful china cabinet built by my dad. It looks wonderful and holds many of our glasses and plates. On the wall to the right, we hung prints and added a rug under the bistro table and chairs.

On the opposite wall, we added a roman shade sewn by my mom and a chalkboard with frame made from wood we removed from the original kitchen. I'm planning to change the quote to match the season so Thanksgiving was first up.

We have also completed several projects behind the scenes! Our heating is working on the first floor, our water is cleaner and we have added a door to the porch. We also have refurbished windows in the bedroom and parlor and weatherproofing on many windows and doors ready for the winter. 

Margaret's "Birth" Day!

 

Margaret May's birth story begins on Tuesday evening, October 6, when my water broke in the evening at home. I wasn't having any contractions so the doctor said to wait before coming in. After a few hours, we headed to the Elliot Hospital arriving in the early hours of Wednesday morning.  

With still no contractions, we settled in for the night. The doctor recommended we get a few hours of sleep and we would start petocin in the morning to kick start labor. David and I tried to rest despite the excitement of knowing we would be meeting Margaret soon.

 

Wednesday morning, the petocin was started and we waited. My parents, Katie and David's parents came to join the fun. By early afternoon, my contractions had gotten stronger and more regular. I hung out on the birth ball, tried a hot shower and then laughing gas. By early evening, the contraction were painful enough that I opted for an epidural. I was able to rest for a few hours. At 11:00 pm, the doctor checked and despite the more than 24 hours that had passed since my water broke I was not dilating enough. After discussion with the doctor, we decided to move forward by delivering via c section. 

After 29 hours of waiting, everything moved very quickly. I was prepped for surgery and within half an hour, we were heading into the operating room. After just a few minutes, we heard Margaret's first incredible cries and then saw her for the first time. She had the cutest cheeks and a head full of dark brown hair.

The nurses cleaned her and David cut her cord and then we were able to hold her for the first time. It was absolutely amazing.

 

Back in our room, Maggie was weighed, foot printed and nursed for the first time. 

 

 

 

Then we were ready to introduce Margaret May to our family.

 

   

 

 Margaret's Aunt Katie even baked her a cake for her "birth" day!

Before we moved from the labor and delivery wing to our postpartum room, Margaret had her first bath.