We had a few nice days over the past week and took full advantage of them by hitting up our favorite parks and opening the windows. (Mabrey laughs hysterically every time I give her an “unnerdoggie” on the swings. Pure happiness.) I almost forgot what it was like to breathe fresh air. It looks like we will survive another winter after all. Spring is so close! We are so ready!

A few links that stuck with me…

*Goodbye garbage house. H-E-L-L-O dream house. (I love all the well-placed windows.)

*A unique space that feels stylish yet not overdone.

*Note to self: an amazing loft studio makeover.

*Haven magazine volume one is now available! The print is based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and all volume one profits go to Freeset, an organization in Kolkata, India, helping women who have left or escaped sex trafficking.

*How to take successful interior photos, part 1 and part 2. (Thanks for sharing your secrets, Alison!)

*Be here now.

*The most practical travel makeup bag. (I use a similar, larger version for the kids’ Legos.)

*Esther’s perfectly imperfect parenting confession:

I find myself comparing to other mothers who are so productive and “successful” doing so many things while having even more kids than I have, although I know it’s okay to do less and live slower but sometimes I just feel “lazy.”

I can relate.

T minus 4 days until spring!

images: 1) Dana Miller for House*Tweaking 2) Mary Lauren

We’ve touched nearly every inch of this house and the biggest projects are behind us. Still, there are several projects left on our to-do list. Here they are in no particular order:

*spruce up the hallway. I’ve always wanted this hallway to be more than just a pass-through. It’s narrow and riddled with doors, but I have a few ideas. UPDATE: I hung some art.

*create an interactive side panel on the exposed side of the refrigerator. I don’t know if we have enough room to do this, but it would be great to disguise the side of the fridge in a useful way. UPDATE: We installed a fridge side panel.

*create a wrapping station. I keep a few boxes and rolls of paper in a cabinet at the kitchen desk but it would be nice to have a designated area for quick wrapping sessions.

*transition the nursery to a big kid room. I’m in no rush to do this, but eventually I will need to reassess our needs in Mabrey’s room. A trundle for extra sleeping space is a must. UPDATE: I’m working on a big girl bed.

*replace the mailbox. The door doesn’t shut properly and the post has seen better days. I’ve had my eye on these midcentury-inspired ones ever since they were in the Kickstarter phase.

*install a discreet clothesline. I love hanging clothes and linens outside to dry but I need more space! Currently, I have a single drying rack and that just isn’t cutting it. UPDATE: I caved and bought a readymade clothesline. Sometimes practicality wins.

*organize the garage. It’s a mess from standing in as our workshop over the last 3 years.

*build a screen / vertical garden to hide the electric meter on the back of the house. I’ve been wanting an excuse to try these. UPDATE: We made a meter screen.

*build a screen to hide the outdoor trash / recycling bins. We like the look of this one. UPDATE: We made an outdoor waste bin enclosure.

*install a trio of overlapping shade sails to shade the backyard deck and patios. We had a local company come out last summer to give us an estimate for this project. The quote was more than we were willing to spend. We think we’ll do some of the work ourselves to save money. We like the vibe of this outdoor space.

*plant a tree in the front yard. To make up for all the dead ones we removed.

*build a raised bed garden or two. Alison is my green thumb hero. UPDATE: We built two raised garden beds.

*incorporate a rain barrel. And use it.

*start composting. This tutorial for a tumbling composter doesn’t look too terribly difficult. Any tips for someone new to composting?

This is a random pipe dream and one that might not ever make it to fruition just because we aren’t sold on it. It isn’t entirely necessary and we aren’t sure it’s worth investing in for this property but…

*build a sizable outbuilding at the end of the driveway and convert the attached garage to a flex / rec room. Like I said, pipe dream. We may decide to save our time and money for something else that makes more sense for our family.

That’s all I can think of at the moment! We don’t have deadlines for any these (some of them won’t happen this year) but it would be nice to tackle some of the outdoor projects this spring / summer while the weather is nice. If not, we have to wait a whole ‘nother year. We’d love to knock out the shade sails so we can enjoy them. And it would be nice to park at least one car in the garage. I’ll keep you posted.

What projects are on your never-ending to-do list?

images: Dana Miller for House*Tweaking