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Well hello! It’s been a day or two or ten since I last posted on the blog. I’ve missed you all! :) My painters reached out last week and told me they had an opening and could paint my hallway so I dropped everything I had planned and said YES PLEASE HOW FAST CAN YOU GET HERE!? Then they came and it was a total circus for four days while they painted the molding. They decided to spray so they had to tape off the hallway and WOW. I had no idea how tricky life in our house could be without our main hallway. It connects ALL the rooms together!
Let’s see.. can’t get anywhere from the living room..
Family room and kitchen were taped off too. (They cut these slits in the plastic for the evening when they were gone so we could sneak through to the stairs! During the day I had to wake up the kids early and hurry and get them downstairs so that they wouldn’t be trapped upstairs all day. Then we had to walk around the outside of the house for everything. I’d make breakfast and then walk outside to take food to Kenny in his office. Then back outside to go back to the kitchen. Then back outside and around the house to come in the front and use the bathroom. Then back outside to head back to the kitchen. Then outside again to go to my bedroom/bathroom to get ready for the day.
Yeah.. got old pretty quick. :)
I found it was easier to just retreat with the kids to my bedroom and stay put out of their way as long as possible. We started a Harry Potter marathon so of course Kole had to have his snake stuffed animal with him at all times. This pic made me laugh.. he was living his best life with snacks and a movie in mom’s bedroom! I tried to work (I have so many things to share with you all!) but kept getting distracted by my crew and the paint crew. Hence the crickets on the blog. Get ready for lots of catching up this week!
My painters finished and the house was a disaster! The dust from sanding was EVERYWHERE! Even though it’s cleaned up now I have no doubt I’ll still be finding hidden dust for months from this little project.
But the mess and hassle were well worth it! This is how things looked with the primer up.
And these are some night shots I just took of it all finished…
Still obsessed with our new mirror!
I’m SO happy with how it turned out and wish I could just show you all in person! Molding has a way of making everything fabulous doesn’t it!? Plus the white just brightens up the entire space. Sometimes our hallway felt a little dark to me and the white makes it feel light and bright and airy during the day. I’m thrilled with the end result and even more thrilled to have this project finally checked off of my list. I had no clue when I started it in March that it wouldn’t be finished until July! Or that my family would all be home with me all day while it was going on. Probably a good thing I didn’t know or I wouldn’t have done it. ;)
I added a little tour of the hallway in IG stories over the weekend and saved it to my highlights if you’re interested! (*I’ve been getting lots of questions about the white paint. It’s a new mix so I don’t have a color for you. We were trying to match my original paint but had to tweak it to match 7 year old paint. :) My original white paint is listed on my paint printable (with the rest of my house colors) that you can download HERE.
2) In other news.. I finally wore Kenny down got Kenny’s approval to take down our family room mirror! You might remember I’ve been trying for years and he has been resisting because it was such a huge pain to put up!
I asked Joel (my painter) if he’d take it down and touch up the mantel paint where it was attached after he finished the hallway. He and Kenny were laughing. Kenny walked in and saw this happening and just shook his head and told him to ignore me and leave it alone. Joel told him “sorry Kenny.. I only take orders from your wife.” Ha ha. There wasn’t much my poor husband could do. I’m pretty tight with my carpenter and painters at this point. ;) I actually think Kenny was relived because he knew it was coming down at some point and he didn’t have to do it himself!
{family room sources/new brass lanterns}
I’m absolutely thrilled to have it down! Even though I loved this mirror originally, it made this mantel really hard for me to decorate. It was up for 5+ years and change is so refreshing! I’m loving a clean slate for the moment and am going to take some time deciding what to put in its place. I do know that it will be something I don’t have to attach to the wall! I’ve learned that I like to switch my decor around too much to be locked in on one item. For now I have these beautiful brass lanterns I bought a few months ago up there until I decide on something larger. So sorry to those of you who were team Kenny and liked the original mirror! I hope you’ll find it in your heart to forgive me. ;)
1 – Tie Dye Twist Front Pullover 2 – Tie Dye Lace Up Hoodie 3 – Star Seeker Camo PJs 4 – All American Shortie PJs 5 – Sportswear Woven Sweatpants
3) Cutest lounge clothes/pjs I’ve been debating! We’re home so much this summer and I’ve found I’m either sweating from the heat outside or freezing (with the air on) inside. I’ve been wearing comfy lounge clothes, pjs or workout wear almost every day. It’s definitely a causal summer wardrobe this year!
{lux performance tank/leggings}
Vuori joggers and leggings are still my #1 go to and a lot of favorites were restocked on their site last week!
Their daily leggings are so comfortable, a great fit and perfect for everything! Exercising, lounging, running errands. Same with their joggers. You all know how I feel about their joggers! Between you and me I ordered my 5th pair last week. Let’s not repeat that little fact to my husband until he has recovered from the mirror fiasco. ;)
Vuori favorites:
1 – 4 Pack Youth Masks 2 – 4 Pack 3 – Amadi Tie Back Masks 4 – Gingham Ear Loop Masks
5 – Gap Family Masks
4) Life with masks! Crazy how it has become the new norm. I found some cute options on-line and had to share! Some of the masks I shared above sold out before I could get this posted so I linked my favorite mask options below!
Of course ETSY has TONS of fun options too. We like these disposable masks and I just ordered these for my kids to try. We usually wear washable masks but sometimes the disposable masks are a nice break in the heat because they’re so light weight!
This pic! I sent Kole to a half day one week tennis camp a few weeks ago – literally the ONLY summer camp I could find that was running that he would enjoy. They can distance pretty well with tennis but they had to wear masks and gloves for part of the time. Kole insisted on also wearing his hat and sunglasses so he looked like this every day getting out of the car. I had to suppress a laugh every morning! Crazy times we’re living in.
I got to meet some fun new friends from IG! These two cute girls (tried and true moms) came to San Diego for a quick visit and I was so happy they reached out to get together! We hit it off famously and I have no doubt that will be the first of many more future hang outs. So many of my closest friends have come from blogging and IG! #grateful. :)
*I was wearing this cute top from Anthro I got for my bday in March and it’s on major markdown right now!
Another look at it. Very slimming how it gathers at the waist!
{Packable Mesa Straw Hat/Zella Cargo Pants}
They brought me this darling hat when we met too! So sweet of them!
It’s Madwell too.. how did they know!? :) So perfect to keep out the summer heat! I linked other fun similar options too below. A fun style right now!
5) And last but not least a few random pics I found on my phone! Kenny’s mom bought Kole this Harry Potter Chess Set (so fun) and we’ve had games going around the clock. Nobody can beat Kole at chess! It’s kind of funny.
Addison and Kenny are a lot a like and are both super competitive (El and I aren’t competitive at all!) so they have been trying so hard to beat him. They play each other and then the winner always plays Kole.
Kenny has been practicing on his phone every night trying to get better at chess and beat him but so far Kole is still the reining champion. It’s killing my husband and cracks me up! So proud of my 10 year old little chess champ!
Summer snacks. Sorry boys. Mostly pink cups at our house.
I was closing our back yard gate and turned around and snapped this pic. It was a little cloudy and the grass looked so green. Summer in San Diego!
Enjoy your week! I’ll be back soon.
For real this time. ;)
Congratulations, Erin! So happy for you to have that painting task done! It looks beautiful. Well worth the wait and the hassle. Isn’t it amazing how one thing can turn a house topsy turvy! And congrats on getting the mirror taken down. The space looks nice and open to new ideas. Glad you found a safe camp for Kole. I hope he had fun playing tennis as well as “suiting” up for it. How are you handling being back on lockdown? Fun that you got to meet some new friends. We used to ask our older daughter (when she was in preschool), what did you do in school today? Just about every day she would reply, “Make new friends.” It was so cute and funny. Tha’s what your picture reminded me of. LOL Thanks for sharing all the goodness in your life. Yay, Kole! Happy you are the chess champ. I’ve never played in my life, so I am super impressed he even knows the game, let alone beats every one at it! Enjoy your non painter filled life this week, Erin! :)
Thank you so much Jeanne! I’m so happy you like the way it turned out! We are doing ok. Such a bummer that everything shut down again but people are starting to get creative and work around it. Lot’s of restaurants are using the streets for outdoor dining! We’re very used to wearing masks everywhere and are just taking it one day at a time. I’m really bummed that my kids most likely won’t be going back to school in the Fall. That’s the hardest part for us! My kids miss seeing all of their school friends so much. Fingers crossed things get better in the future. Do you think your schools will be open in the Fall? Oh and I don’t even know how to play chess either! I put Kole in a chess camp a few years ago just for something new to try and he really took to it and loves the game. Who knew!? Ha. I hope you and your crew are doing well this summer! xo
Hey Erin! Your hallway wall turned out great! Love it!! Oh boy, I know all about the dusty mess from construction. Five years ago, a tree branch poked a hole in our roof, after a nasty rainy windstorm, and the water damage ruined our hardwood floors in the dining room. We had to put all new hardwood flooring in, because they didn’t make the original flooring anymore. Between that, and them patching the wall and ceiling, it was super dusty. Even with them masking it off!
I have always loved that mirror above your fireplace; but I understand wanting change!
My daughter and I love to play board games!! We play “Sorry” quite often, even though I always win! I can have all of my pawns in start, and she will almost have all of hers in home, but somehow, I come back to win. We laugh so hard at my luck!! However, she usually beats me at “Uno.”
Enjoy your summer sweetie!!
Shari I loved hearing about the games you and your daughter play! Sorry is probably our number one go to! We all love it! :) Oh my word.. hearing your tree branch story brought back so many memories! We had a similar experience in our previous house. A tree branch grew into our plumbing pipes (realized this after a toilet wouldn’t flush). The pipes were below our kitchen floor so they had to tear the floor out to get down to the pipes to fix it! We had to get new floors too! And yes.. DUST and mess everywhere. I’ll never forget it because Addison was a newborn and El was two and I thought I was going to lose my mind with construction going on while I had a busy toddler and a new baby. So crazy you had a similar experience! I’m so happy we both survived and lived to tell our stories! Ha. ;) Loved hearing from you!! I hope you and your family are doing well! xo
HI Erin!
I subscribed to your website about a year ago. I love receiving your emails and look forward to what the topic will be. I too live in San Diego and have thought of starting a blog. It seems like hard work at times but fun at the same time.
My question is about the mirror and other items you decide you no longer want. What do you do with them? I loved the mirror about your fireplace and if your’e willing to sell it, and I can afford it I would come to you so you’re not inconvenienced. I live in Point Loma.
Not sure if any other ladies (or gents) have asked you something like this before, my apologies if i’m overstepping.
I look forward to hearing from you! Have a good evening.
Oh you are the sweetest! Not overstepping at all! I’m trying to see if there is another spot in my house that mirror will work, but if I don’t end up using it I will definitely reach out and you can pick it up! We love visiting the Tide Pools at Point Loma! Such a fun place to live. Thank you for your sweet words about my blog! You nailed it.. A lot of hard work but also so fun and rewarding. :) I’m so happy you enjoy it! xo
Oh my heck, I‘m laughing thinking of Kenny practicing chess on his phone! I love it! So funny Kole is a chess wiz! I don’t even know how to play it, what a little smarty pants!
Ha ha.. he has had way too many late nights practicing! It cracks me up that he can’t beat Kole. We’ll see how long that lasts now that Kenny is on a mission to beat him. ;) Miss you guys! xo
I can’t imagine why your kids would even want to leave your house to go to camp, especially with the ridiculous mask and glove rules. (Don’t get me started on why these things are absolutely NOT necessary especially for children. Sorry, I am a statistician and I tend to believe science, not the CDC.) One thing, is it possible to find your houseplans on line or was it a custom design? I think my “mansion in heaven” looks a lot like your house!!!
Our house is totally custom so I’m sorry I don’t have plans to share! So sweet of you to say that about our home. Thank you Deborah! The kids actually got to take off their masks and gloves once they got settled on the tennis courts. Just a safety measure for when they arrive and are in closer quarters! We don’t mind the masks at all. :)
Thanks for posting mask recommendations and pics of you and your family wearing them. Hoping posts like these will help encourage people who aren’t sure about wearing masks that it is the right thing to do!
Thanks Kim! We are definitely team masks at our house. ;)
At first I was leaning toward the “pro Kenny camp,” but your after picture turned me! The mirror, although lovely, was so dark. Now, it looks like a beautiful spot for new seasonal decor.
I love what you’re doing in your home. It seems so fresh and clean.
Thank you Linda! So sweet of you. Happy I turned you! Ha. ;) xo
Hi Erin, I love your home! It definitely was a major inspiration for me as we did a whole house remodel and addition! Do you remember where you got the mirror from? I wish I lived closer because I’d offer to buy it and pick it up! LOL. : )
You are so kind Valerie! Thank you! I’m so happy my home/blog was helpful during your remodel. :) I got that mirror from Pottery Barn but I don’t think they sell it anymore!
I know this is an old post but where did you hallway lights come from? Thank you so much
You’re organizing is #goals from a fellow San Diegan
So nice to “meet” you Robyn! And thank you! :) Those hallway pendants were from Pottery Barn but I don’t think they sell them anymore!