family room

we moved into our townhouse in fall of 2009 from a two-bedroom 650-square-foot apartment. we had a few furniture pieces but many of them were dwarfed by the bigger rooms in our new place. my original tactic for decorating was "tackle the whole house now" since i wanted every room pieced together perfectly right away! you know that feeling. so i shopped at my favorite stores and looked for good deals, only to get home and not actually have a place for things.
i couldn't seem to make the magic happen.

so... enter kirsten this spring. i was hesitant to hire someone because i didn't want to spend money on ideas and a decorator, and then not be able to buy the furniture and accessories. one of the great things about kirsten is that she let me have as much control as i wanted. the more i handled, the less she charged.

she helped a lot at the beginning. she sent 50 fabric images to me and had me rank them, we talked about overall style, decided on the room layout, and how to add curtains--all the big things. once a few of the fabrics were selected and we had layouts for the rooms, i went to work and found multiples of furniture pieces for the room. i would throw a bunch of links in an email, like five coffee tables i liked for instance, and she helped me narrow it down and explained why one or two were better than the others.

------------------ BEFORE ------------------

------------------ IDEA BOARD ------------------

------------------ AFTER ------------------

photography by jessica kettle

one of my favorite things about the room is how it lights up at night. the lamps warm the room and make it feel so cozy!

i absolutely love what kirsten helped me create and i would use her again in a second! the biggest headache? the picture wall. number of returned items? one, a solid blue rug that was too green. total months to complete? 6. best bargain? the wall clock. biggest splurge? the coffee table.

here is a source list if you're interested:

rugs | williams-sonoma home
ikat chairs | csn stores
couch | ashley furniture
coffee table | crate & barrel
table lamps | homegoods
side tables | kohl's
mirror table | west elm
frames & books | thrifted
tv stand | target
floor lamp | amazon, robert abbey
gold poufs | ebay
wallpaper | walls, veneto: printers guild production
clock | ebay
curtains | wilmington

i love you more than warming my cold feet on your legs

we celebrated valentine's night separately at work.
that does not mean we love our jobs more than each other, right? right.

i skipped out on watching the bachelor on tivo last night, and we spent a half hour
exchanging cards and fourteen things we love about each other.

i love:
that he is no part mean, ever
his competitive drive
& his passion for futuristic cars/electronics (and how excited he gets telling me about these things!)

he loves:
that i can cook a tasty meal
how i interact with his friends & co-workers
& when i watch his tv shows with him.

image by heather.

yellow & navy

shannon and i threw a baby shower for my neighbor valerie.
valerie and i work together in young womens and have been friends since i moved in fall of '09.
she's a quick walk from my front door when i am baking goodies
and realize i need just one more egg.
you know that friend.

pregnant women in my neighborhood are popping up as fast as flowers in springtime.
seriously i'm quickly feeling outnumbered.
i've been to so many showers and bought too many carter's outfits that all look the same
so i've started giving handmade gifts.
i sewed a set of bibs for valerie and paired them with some baby spoons.
i oo-ed and aw-ed over them for the entire two weeks i spent sewing them.

and now, the yellow & navy shower:

shannon + valerie || me + valerie:

we served soups & salad with shannon's yummy sour dough bread
& my daily cracked light wheat bread:

presents galore:

the ladies:

lemon bar favors to go along with the yellow & navy theme:

gifting

one of my favorite gifts i received this year is this watercolor portrait by ashmae.
it's created from the image featured on our christmas card here.

i've seen ashmae's work on other blogs and at bijou market. i'm a big fan.
she has an etsy shop you can check out if you're interested.

-------------------------------------------------



my favorite gift i gave this year was the pair of white shiny snow skis i surprised the mr. with.
he's been talking about new skis for a while,
but i convinced him they were too spendy.

i got lucky to find a friend who helped me get them half off.

argh

my goal beat me.
i have two lovelies left on my list
who i haven't found the right gift for.

maybe it didn't beat me all the way because i am sooo close to finishing.

----------------------------------------------


a few free printables to kick of december:

let it snow / jingle bells / o christmas tree

top three

we spent thanksgiving in boise and in a few words
it was scrumptious//lazing//numbing//heartbreaking.
more on that in my next post.

despite battling a nasty & heavy cold, i hit shopping hard over thanksgiving checking off many of those must-have gifts for my lovelies. i joined the forces at the mall and clicked my mouse from home, enough so that i still might make my goal of wednesday. maybe.

here are the three best deals i have to share:

no. 1

banana republic sweater

jared is asking for a couple of work shirts/pants for christmas. he's very traditional and hates the "metrosexual" style as he often reminds me. i showed him pictures of a few sweaters i like, and this one passed the test. after 40% off black friday + br luxe card rewards, the price went from $75 to $30 for a silk/cashmere sweater.



no. 2
$100 nordstrom rack card

groupon in san francisco was featuring a $100 card to nordstrom rack for $50. that's 50% off already discounted prices at a store i love. yes please! i'll use the vouchers this week to get a few things for jared. i love their dress clothes & shoes. hopefully i can stretch it a little further and find something for the impossible-to-shop-for dad or brother.

no. 3
alice in wonderland/bourne ultimatum/the princess bride

target had a great black friday sale on dvd's. we draw names in our families, and this dvd trio fit the ticket for a lucky sibling. bourne ultimatum and princess bride came in at $5 each, and alice in blue-ray was $10. even better, i scored the deal friday night after the early morning shoppers were likely sleeping at home from exhaustion.

what about you? how did you tackle black friday?

mi famiglia

we celebrated mom's birthday in august and surprised her with this photo shoot.

us chipman's don't get the camera out a lot, and so it's pretty remarkable to have a family picture with me and zach as marrieds and cole wearing a size bigger than 2T. seriously, our last shoot was when i was in high school. we we're due to get dressed up and in front of the lens.

here are my favorites from the shoot.

a snippet of pictures to come

"Let the sunlight in, I wanna feel it from within,
        You spin me around and make me feel like I could Shine." - Rosi Golan

spring cleaning

forget the fact that it's snowing today. my mind is set on spring, and part of spring is getting rid of the dust that's collected through the winter and brightening things up. on saturday the mr. kindly dusted every square inch of shutter in our home. they are sparkly clean, and i couldn't be happier about it!

this week i focused on brightening up the blog. i'm very pleased with the new arrangement, and of course i must mention jenna at qa design who so kindly helped me. she is a photoshop whiz!


next week and the weeks after, my attention turns to the dreaded the garage, the cars, and the clutter in my spare bedroom.

happy spring!

three faves

do you ever catch yourself telling your husband/friend/co-worker about someone's blog post? and then you get asked who's blog is that. and then usually i have to go into a roundabout explanation about who's blog i've been reading and why. it's great explaining to others that i am a blog stalker.

my blogging hasn't been too hot lately--not a lot of posts, not a lot of life-altering events and not a lot of anything really. it's tax season peeps.
but... you must know that my google reader is working like crazy to keep me up to speed on my favs. i think i make a better reader than writer. it's just sooo much easier.

these are the blogs that make me extra giddy inside when i see a new post.

ruffling feathers, by emily

the fashionista puts all styles of wardrobes together in a way that i could only dream of, she's also a remodel genius & guest blogs at another fave, 21st & ivy. we go back to elementary years at a private school in provo. here's what she just dreamed up for her soon-to-be baby boy:



here is a shoot she styled:


yes, her style is amazing.

SNAPSHOTS {of a good life}, by karen russell


i dream of the day when my photographs will resemble a piece of art more than a 4X6 snapped thoughtlessly. this woman has figured it out! her photos are absolutely stunning, each and everyone one of them, and she's not a professional photographer. although she should be.


the best part about her blog is that she loves to give advice to us amateurs out there. if you're getting into the slr business, she's got all sorts of info for you. like this post or these posts.


her photos are like candy to my eyes.

decor8

and another fave, this one perhaps more popular than the others. i just pulled some favs that i have starred in google reader. how stunning are these rooms?


and a completely different style that i adore just the same:



this is what i've been up to. go take a peak. happy monday!