2014: A Reflection

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I began this blog just slightly less than a year ago after a failed prior attempt. I had the best of intentions when I started my first blog, but at the time, life got in the way and I didn't make it a priority.

Using 2014 as a fresh start, I decided to give blogging another whirl, and Contemporary Domestics was born. 

The brainchild of an inspired stay at home mom, looking for an outlet to share about our day to day life, our diy attempts and projects, our love of certain products, recipes we enjoyed, etc., the name arose from my love affair with the concept of the modern day homemaker... the "new domesticity", a title I had come across in a book I was reading on the topic around that time.

I wasn't really sure when I set out to write about all of this random (for lack of better word) stuff, that anyone would even care to read about it, but I was certain I wanted to move forward anyhow, for my own personal record, if nothing else.

Fast forward several months, and this little space of mine has grown a great deal. I still have ton to learn about proper blogging etiquette and terminology, my photography skills are a perpetual work in progress, but they have improved for sure, and though I may not have thousands of dedicated readers, at the end of the day I'm satisfied with where things are, and the direction they are headed.

I'm looking forward to 2015 as yet another "fresh start", and I'm optimistic about what it has in store for me, for my family, and for this blog... It seems a prerequisite for moving forward, is to reflect upon where you've been, so I thought it only seemed appropriate, on this last day of 2014, to reflect on some of the major moments from this past year. It was a (mostly) good one, and reminiscing through this blog was the perfect reminder of that.

2014 was a year full of projects. My love of all things handmade grew exponentially, and there were times I couldn't keep up with the ideas in my head or the lists of items I was just dying to make. From baby blankets, to herb markers, to succulent pots and more, I had such blast this year designing and creating, and can't wait to indulge in and share even more projects in 2015.

On April 23rd, we welcomed Ella Rose into the world... We were anxious and excited about her arrival. Uncertain about how our family dynamic would change, it turns out, this new bundle, with her full head of thick brown hair, would only make our love grow on so many levels.

In July we celebrated Max's 2nd birthday with mixed feelings of joy over the little boy he has grown into, and sadness at just how fast this time goes by.

We also lost a beloved family member in July... our sweet hound Homer had to be put down, due to an illness that could not be controlled.  Losing a pet was by far one of the hardest things our family has ever dealt with.  He is missed and thought about daily.

In August we took our first vacation as a family of four, when we packed up the car and head North to my home state of Maine. It was literally pure bliss for me to share the beauty of Maine in the summertime with my family.  Max was just old enough to really enjoy the beach, and watching him play in the sand brought back the best memories of my childhood.  I hope to make the trip again in the summer of 2015.

In the early fall we had our first ever professional family photo shoot with Jacquie from The Sweeter Side of Mommyhood, and though we had a bit of a tough time corralling our busy toddler, I love the way the photos turned out.  Memories I will treasure always.

Aside from all of that, we celebrated many milestones and survived the holiday season.  We even cut down our very own Christmas tree for the first time ever this year.

It was an overall fabulous and memorable year, and I am so looking forward to what the future holds in this blessed life I lead.  I don't really have any resolutions for 2015, but I always have goals that I am striving for.  I hope to become more organized, I hope to slow down a bit, I hope to learn from my mistakes, and I hope to be the best wife, mother, and human I can be.

I wish you all the happiest of New Years, and hope that 2015 holds for you all of the things you wish for. I'll be celebrating from the comfort of my own home, with my babes, likely in my pajamas... glass of champagne in hand of course.
Goodbye 2014.  Hello 2015.
-J
xoxo

Max's "Big Boy" Bedroom Inspiration

{Some Pinterest Inspiration photos: top left via, top right via, bottom left via, bottom right via}

We are about to make a big transition in our house folks.  The time has come to move our 2.5 year old "baby" out of his crib, and into a "big boy" bed.

Seeing as he has never once tried to climb out of his crib, and that he seems quite content in there, this may be a move we will immediately regret, but the timing just feels right to us.

The big event hasn't happened just yet, but we are in the final stages of planning, and hope to both start and finish this little project in the very near future.

So... assuming that 2015 is the year that I finally get my act together, my plan is to share both a before and after of Max's room, and eventually give you a little tour of the rest of our home, once it is clear of all of the holiday clutter.  Presumably it will still likely be a disaster of epic proportions, given all of the new stuff we brought in over Christmas, but that's neither here nor there, and through the magic of photo editing and good camera angles, I hope to find a way to make our house look as presentable as possible to all of you.

In the mean time, I have been pinning like crazy on Pinterest, and my head is spinning with ideas on how I want this crazy transition to go down, so I thought I'd share some of my ideas here on the blog. The overall vision is a primary colored, automobile theme, because Max is obsessed with cars.

***By all means, if any of you have any insight to offer on how to help make all of this go as smoothly as possible, please feel free to comment... I need all the help I can get these days.

 BM-gray owl

BM- beacon gray

BM- revere pewter

Max's room is currently painted a shade of green, and I am toying with the idea of painting.  I'm not sure that I want to make more work for myself, as the current color of his walls matches the new palette I plan on working with.  If we do decide to paint, some of the colors I am considering are pictured above. We used Revere Pewter for Ella's nursery, and I love the color, so we'll see.

The furniture we will be using is actually my husband's childhood bedroom set, which I may leave exactly as is, or update with some new oil rubbed bronze hardware.

As for the bedding, we bought Max this sheet set for Christmas, and I plan on making him a color block quilt to match. I am also on the lookout for some cool car art work, perhaps a sort of vintage-y watercolor car print, or something like that, and have even been thinking some road signs might add a fun touch.

We also have an old toy chest that I would like to utilize in his room, to hide the obnoxious amount of toys that are beginning to take over our house.  I cannot decide for the life of me, whether I want to leave it the dark stained wood color it is now, or if I want to paint it gray.

Max's Anywhere Chair (print no longer available)

Aside from that, I would like him to have a small reading nook where I can put his Anywhere Chair, and I am considering staining wooden crates and adding castors to the bottoms to use as book/additional toy storage.

For now, that's about as far as I've gotten in the planning stages in the midst of the crazy holiday season, but I will definitely be sharing the progress with you in the near future.

Here's to hoping it all goes smoothly (fingers crossed)!
-J

Our Christmas

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I've been a bit absent this week. I took a little vacation from the blogging world, if you will.

As much as I love using this space to share photos, and ideas, and to talk about all of the items that we love, in addition to about a million and one other  random things... Sometimes it's nice to just unplug.

The holiday season has flown by at a pace that I wasn't even remotely prepared for this year.  Add to that the unexpected circumstances that life likes to throw your way, and unfortunately, Christmas day came and went with me feeling a bit like I didn't accomplish everything on my to-do list.  Such is life I guess.

Christmas was still as magical as I had hoped.  Sharing it with my little family filled my heart with happiness.  Watching Max open gifts and then insist on playing with those gifts rather than opening the rest was exactly what I expected.  Seeing Ella wave wrapping paper all around with a drooly grin on her face was pure perfection. Forcing myself to allow my house to look like a toy tornado tore through it while my kids enjoyed their new toys over the last couple of days, all while we all stayed in our pajamas for far too long, was exactly what the doctor ordered.

So instead of my usual Saturday Swoon Worthy post, I am sharing some photos from our Christmas.  I will definitely be resuming my regular blogging schedule next week, but for now, I'm going to try to slow it down a little, at least for a few days.  I hope you all had the most wonderful holiday, and as always, I can't thank you enough for taking the time to follow along and read my incessant rambling.  I'm so excited to continue to share with you in 2015.
-Jessica

Swoon Worthy

With Christmas being just 5 days away, things are getting a little nutty around here. 

The impending last minute chaos that goes with finding the perfect gifts, wrapping said gifts, then getting to the post office to ship the gifts in hopes that they arrive in time for the holiday, has begun to ensue.

If anyone saw me yesterday, trying to carry boxes to be mailed, a toddler who was in desperate need of a nap, and a baby in a car seat that weighs significantly more than it should, they might have caught a glimpse of how frazzled I have been at certain moments this holiday season.

Still though, I love this time of year, and I plan on enjoying every last second of the next few days.

Here's what I'm loving this week...

1.  I am pretty obsessed with holiday decor, so I thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to to tour these amazing bloggers homes during the Holiday House Walk Tour... so many inspiring ideas.

2.  I love toys that inspire creativity in kids, so I adore pretty much everything this company makes.

3.  If you have read this blog at all, you know about my passion for all things gold, and you also know how much I love Mason Bar Company, so when I saw they were now offering these gold rings, I was pretty stoked!

4.  I've been trying to do some fun and festive stuff with food for Max over the last few weeks, so we may have to try some of these breakfast ideas.

5.  How cute, colorful, fun and simple is this DIY ornament idea?

6.  You really can't go wrong with a classic plaid print this holiday season.

7.  Gingerbread shooters... need I say more?

8.  Does anyone else with multiple children count up gifts to make sure everything is fair and even?  I am so that mom.  I recently ordered this adorable book to add to Ella's collection and even things up!

9.  I'm a sucker for festive snacks, and all things peppermint this time of year.

10.  I adore a simple brown paper gift wrap because of all of the fun ways you can dress it up.  These ideas are on point!

Hope you are all enjoying these last few crazy days before Christmas.  Happy last minute shopping, wrapping, and everything else.

-J

Mid-week Ramblings

Christmas is 8 days away.... 8 days people!!! How is December more than half way over???

Despite my best efforts to squeeze in every Christmas-y activity I can think of, I still feel like I'm falling short for some reason. Like there just isn't enough time this year, to do it all.

The sentiment in this children's book I came across on Insta is pretty spot on!

So today... I made a vow to myself, that since I am finally pretty much caught up on (most) things, I will really make an effort this next week, to slow it down and enjoy my most favorite time of year.

Yesterday we picked up a gingerbread kit and an awesome color-able (is that a word?) tablecloth at Target. I wish I could provide a link for it, but have not been able to find it online for the life of me. 

We found ours in the seasonal section, along with some other fun kid friendly Christmas activities... The best $4 I've spent in awhile, I may even be having more fun with it than Max. 

We also recently ordered this Miracle on 34th Street box set, which includes both the original and the newer 90's version. It's a tradition for us to watch the original every year on Christmas Eve. Normally it's on television, but last year we couldn't find it. Adding it to our holiday movie library, to avoid any disasters this year, seemed like the right thing to do!

Over the last few days, I managed to ship out my partner's gift for the goody goody giftswap, and made the decision that as of tomorrow, Little Peach Blossoms will be taking a short vacation to enjoy the holidays and to work on some new items. 

Any open orders are still shipping out, I just won't be taking any new ones until after Christmas. Hopefully this will allow me to work on some handmade gifts for my loved ones. As always though, I am incredibly thankful for all of the love and support many of you have given my little business.

In other news, how awesome is this throw back record player?  This one is a gift for M&E from my mom... I loved this thing when I was little.

Also, I'm starting to think about my Christmas Eve menu, and even began wrapping a few gifts.  I was involved in a big holiday blogger link up the other day, hosted by Home Sweet Ruby, and came across this awesome Christmas sangria recipe from Lisa Loves John... pretty sure we're going to have to make that happen.

And... last but not least, the yarn lover in me was inspired by these beautiful gift wrapping ideas from Joanna Gaines.  I swear everything that woman touches is perfection.

Hope you're all having a wonderful and festive week!

-J

Our Weekend in Pictures

There's not a whole lot to be said about our weekend.  It was pretty uneventful... which is why it is best summed up in photos.

On Friday we made ornaments. Because... handmade ornaments are the best kind of decorations.

{headband}

On Friday night, we rocked pigtails.

On Saturday, we spent the day in pajamas and played in the playroom.

{scarf}

And I consumed copious amounts of coffee.

On Saturday evening, we had a fire... and big surprise, we ate raclette... again.

We also began our 12 Books of Christmas tradition.

Somebody was way more into the paper!

On Sunday morning, we noshed on gingerbread pancakes (thanks Trader Joes), with smoothies on the side, because it's all about balance people.

{cowl}

On Sunday afternoon, we braved Target.  2 weeks before Christmas... and we will never do it again.  We'll stick to weekdays, thanks! I'm pretty sure Max's face sums up how he felt about the experience.

On Sunday evening, I admired Ella's beautiful eyelashes while she slept.  Both of my kids have the best lashes, and I... well, I have mascara.

We also grocery shopped.

and baked cookies.

{hat | book}

and worked on orders... and took breaks to read our new Christmas books.

we worked on gifts too.

That's really about it friends.  Nothing exciting.  Just a nice little weekend spent snuggled up at home together.  This season is flying by just a little too quickly for my liking, so I am trying my hardest to soak it all in.  Hope your weekend was a good one. Happy Monday!

-J