Enjoying the Spring in Philadelphia

I apologize for the lack of blog posts this month.  Life seems to be moving very VERY fast and I'm only trying to keep up (I'm sure you know the feeling).  There are lots of exciting things going on at the Robson house, and despite the daily to-do lists, we're also managing to have a little bit of fun in between...  So, here are some updates from me over the last month.

First and foremost: this spring, Dave and I are cracking down on our 3rd floor renovation.  After Dave ripped out the crumbling plaster, and replaced the windows (which could not be saved-- historic purists, please don't send me mean emails.  The windows could not be saved.) and we insulated the entire space, we sort of let it sit.   Two years later (and one baby on-the-way), we are picking up steam and getting back at it. 

Our electrician outfitted the entire floor with new wiring, receptacles, and junction boxes.  Next on the list-- drywall.

 

 

The 3rd floor bedroom ceilings are only about 7.5' tall, so light fixtures were out of the question.  I decided to go with these fancy 3" LED recessed cans.  I think that they'll feel discreet while still providing lovely light to the cozy bedrooms.  Plus, they claim that I won't have to change the bulb for 25 years? 

 

 

I transplanted all of our sedum to the side yard.  I've been wanting to do this since March, so a few weeks ago I picked up a shovel and started working.  I transplanted day lilies behind the sedum, and soon I'll be planting my Limelight Hydrangea behind that.  Come summertime, that side yard will be a much prettier place (fingers crossed).

 

 

 

 

 

I made a simple flower arrangement for my dining room table last week.  I loved the way my mother-in-law's centerpiece looked at Easter, so I went out and bought myself the same glass globe vase ($11.99 at Michael's).  I'm not sure I will ever use another vase.  I'm loving this glass globe-- it makes everything look better.

 

(also, Peonies are back in season-- yay!)

 

 

My parents came to visit this week and we had SO MUCH FUN together. I took them downtown to do a little Philadelphia sight seeing...

 

 

 

We saw the Liberty Bell...

 

 

 

And, toured Independence Hall (something I've always wanted to do)...

 

 

 

 

(loved all that original trim)

 

 

 

 

(I swooned over the Windsor chairs)

 

 

 

 

Then, on Tuesday, I took Mom to Terrain in Glen Mills...

 

 Two hours later, we reemerged and drove home with bags full of goodies.  :)

 

 

(me and the baby bump (22 weeks) doing a little Terrain shopping)

 

 

(fell in love with this little plant-- it's ornamental oregano.  How pretty is this?)

 

 

 

Over the last month, I was also lucky enough to attend the Chestnut Hill Garden Tour (to support the Mann Center for the Performing Arts).  It was INCREDIBLE.  I had so much fun, and snapped a few photos while I was there.  Look for a post on that coming soon (so much gardening inspiration!).

 

 

 

xoxo

Kelly

 

 

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My Favorite Maternity Wear (so far...)

Come Saturday, I will officially be 20 weeks pregnant!  So far, I feel great, I'm not too big, and the baby has started to kick (all the time!).  Since maternity clothes can be expensive, I wanted to be able to wear my regular clothes as long as possible.  Up until now, I've gotten away with wearing a maternity shirt (or a long-waisted top) and a pair of regular jeans with a rubber band around the button hole.  But as my belly gets bigger and bigger, I find myself fidgeting to keep my top down and my rubber-banded pants up!  Clearly, these rubber band days are numbered.  :)  So off I go, shopping for stylish and affordable maternity wear.

When shopping for maternity wear, there are a lot of options (A Pea in the Pod, Motherhood Maternity, Target, ASOS, Gap, Old Navy, Ann Taylor, etc).  Since I will be as big as a manatee during the hot summer months, I decided to buy several sundresses, tanks tops, t-shirts, and blouses.  I also invested in a few pairs of jeans, a pair of leggings, and a couple pairs of shorts.  I work for myself (and don't go into an office), so I really don't need a ton of professional wear.  Most of the time, I dress pretty casually.  Here are some of my favorite things (so far...).

Dresses:

cheap and easy, these are perfect with flip flops... or paired with a cropped jacket, a belt and wedge sandals.

Target (here, here, and here)

 

 

 

fabulous maxi dresses-- love these!!

ASOS / A Pea In The Pod

 

ladylike & tailored, perfect for daytime or dinner.

ASOS  /  Ann Taylor LOFT

  

Blouses:

very cute, especially with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of jeans (love the gold buttons)

ASOS

love the loose fit and contrasting collar

ASOS

adorable little tank, perfect when paired with skinny jeans

Ann Taylor LOFT

 

Jeans, Pants, & Leggings:

thumbs up to ALL of these-- they fit so well (the white jeans have expanding side panels, so they look like regular pants at the waistband-- love that!).  I wear the Gap pair almost everyday now.

Gap  /  ASOS  /  A Pea In The Pod

 

black leggings-- a definite staple.

ASOS

Shorts:

 

Both of these are great (they're so comfortable, I wish elastic waist shorts were more socially acceptable so I could wear them forever)

Old Navy  /  Old Navy

 

 

 

 

Tees & Tanks:

 

In my brief experience as a pregnant girl, I've realized that I really DON'T like tees/tanks with side ruching.  I know that the ruching is supposed to be more flattering, but I feel like all that gathered material only makes me look like I have a beer belly.   :)

 

 

My absolute favorite piece of maternity clothing BY FAR-- this striped tee from ASOS.  I LOVE THIS SHIRT.  Sadly, it is out of stock, but this navy & red option is still available:

 

 

take my word for it, this shirt is the best.

ASOS

 

 

perfect for layering, these tanks are terrific (fitted and long).

Target

 

 

simple and comfortable, goes with everything

ASOS

 

 

simple.  I bought this tee in three colors.

ASOS

 

 

 

...

 

 

I would love to hear from the other Mommys out there-- did you have a go-to piece that you loved wearing while pregnant?  Or, what was your favorite resource for maternity wear?  I would love to know!

 

 

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NEW Pieces In The Shop!

 

We have some fabulous NEW items in the store this month!  Some really really great things.  :)  Check out the new pieces...

 

 

all items are available HERE

 

 

 

 

And, as usual, we've added a bunch of new vintage finds.  Since our vintage pieces tend to sell out quickly, act fast!  You can shop our entire vintage section HERE.

all vintage pieces available HERE

 

 

 

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Happy Spring Weekend! (and some fun things to do...)

Happy Friday everyone!  Do you have any fun plans for the weekend?  The weather is finally warming up around here (finally!) and spring flowers are starting to bloom.  For my fellow East Coasters: isn't this the most amazing time of year?  Spring is the best.

If you're in the Philadelphia area this weekend, there are a ton of exciting things to do.  My TOP picks are...

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The Philadelphia Antiques Show.  Dave and I attended the "New Collectors" party a couple of years ago (fancy people, sipping wine, and perusing the MOST AMAZING COLLECTION OF ANTIQUES EVER...  you'll think you died and went to antique heaven).  Tickets for that party are $125.00 and available here.  But, there are many other events to attend!  Festivities start on Friday night and end on Monday.  General admission is as low as $17.00 (an online special price) and this year, the event is at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

from our experience at the 2011 show

 

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Amy Azzarito workshop at Terrain in Glen Mills.   Amy is the managing editor at Design*Sponge and this weekend, she'll be hosting a book signing and DIY workshop! Her new book Past & Present includes a variety of DIY projects and all of them are inspired by historic decorative arts (love that concept). The workshop sounds really fun (buy tickets here), and make sure to schedule plenty of time to meander around the grounds of Terrain.  It's such a beautiful and peaceful place.  Every time I go there, I always come home with new gardening inspiration.  So, take a friend and go.

 

 

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Whatever you decide to do, have a wonderful spring weekend!

And, thank you all for the emails and comments and tweets about our exciting news. It warmed my heart to read each and every note. I truly look forward to documenting this little journey on the blog (and hearing your own experiences with motherhood!). I am grateful for kind and generous readers like YOU. So, I'm giving you a big virtual hug today. :)

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"Tiny" Robson News!

Over the last 5 1/2 years, Dave and I have gotten married, left Los Angeles, moved to Philadelphia, started a business, and bought an old house.  But now, we're ready to begin our BIGGEST, most intimidating project to date: a BABY!  That's right, I'm pregnant.  :)  I've been keeping the secret for months now, and I'm so thrilled to finally share our happy news with you!!!

I'm officially into my 4th month at this point.  And, I've discovered that I'm one of those annoying girls that really likes being pregnant.  In fact, I love it.  As a first time mom, I'm just amazed by the whole process.  I've started to feel little tumbles and tiny kicks (incredible!).  I dream about designing the nursery (so excited to get start that process!), and I consume fresh fruit by the truck load (oranges, bananas, kiwi, berries...  it doesn't matter.  Pretty much anything fruit-flavored gets me going these days). 

Last week, we went in for our 16 week ultrasound, and we learned this:

For someone who thought she would have 27 daughters, I was surprised.  A BOY!  But, I am so truly thrilled.  The thought of this little bouncing boy brings tears to my eyes.  I can't wait to meet him.  But, I'm trying to enjoy every pregnant moment since I know that September 14th will be here in the blink of an eye.

Over the next 5 months, we've got a TON of projects lined up.  There will be changes within our house and within our business.  I'm really looking forward to sharing some substantial updates with you guys this year (budget permitting, as always!).  So, stay tuned.

xoxo,

Kelly

 

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The Easiest Easter Centerpiece...

(via Instagram, follow me @kellyrobson)

I assembled my Easter centerpiece for my mother-in-law's house last night (we'll be leaving for the holiday weekend on Saturday morning).  I gathered plenty of inspiration, but in the end, I was most inspired by this lovely image (below), so I decided to give it a shot.

 

I made my way over to Whole Foods in search of tulips.  I found these Parrot Tulips in a wonderful shade of pink and snatched them up...

 

I bought 30 stems for about $40.00.  Truth be told, I wish I could have purchased about 20 more stems...  but, they were sold out of this color, so I decided to make due with a measly thirty. :)  I also purchased some greenery, to fill out any holes.  Then, I dropped by Michael's where I bought a large glass globe vase (about $12.00) and some green floral tape (for $1.00). 

 

I'm no florist, but I like to play with flowers whenever the occasion arises.  And, this was one of the easiest arrangements I've ever made.  I literally started gathering tulips in my hand, creating a small bouquet as I went.  Periodically, I would wrap the bouquet with floral tape...

 

 

Then, continue wrapping.  When you are down to your outside layer of tulip stems, wrap the floral tape as discreetly as possible (so it's not so obviously seen through the glass vase-- hide it with leaves, etc).  When you've used every flower, try to clean up the lower portion of the stems (I removed unnecessary leaves and cleanly cut the bottom of the stems). 

 

Then, you're done!

 

Simple and pretty.  I will definitely be creating more arrangements like these in the future.  It doesn't get any easier.  And, I really love the way the stems are exposed in the glass globe vase-- creating a more modern look.  I'm thinking this would be fun to do with lilies, or hydrangea this summer.  Even inexpensive carnations would be cool in this style.  :)

 

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Have a blessed holiday weekend, my dear friends!  Easter is always such a wonderful time to reflect on our blessings, and the greatest gifts in our life.  I hope that you have some time to connect with the people that matter most this weekend!  Dave and I have so many exciting projects happening this year, professionally and personally (look for a big announcement next week!).  I look forward to sharing them here with you.  Thanks for reading this little blog, and I wish you a very Happy Weekend!

 

 

xoxo

Kelly

 

 

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The Easter Table

 

 

We're heading to my mother in law's house for Easter this weekend, and I'm really looking forward to it.  Even though she makes all of the food, I usually offer to bring treats for breakfast as well as the table centerpiece!  So this year, I've been surfing the interwebs, trying to find some fresh inspiration for an Easter Sunday centerpiece.  Boy, did I luck out (thanks Pinterest).  I'm so inspired!  Here are some of my favorite images...

 

 

So simple-- a little floral foam and an Easter basket could create this adorable tulip centerpiece.  Also, love the bowls of jelly beans.

 

This would be easy-- tranfer a potted bulb to any ceramic bowl and add some moss.  Done.

Love the glass globe vase-- so simple and so beautiful!

 

How fantastic is this color scheme?

 

 

 

Such a creative idea.  Create a casual little "nest" of eggs surrounded by carnations.

 

 

Stunning!

 

 

Use an expensive woven storage basket to create this modern tulip centerpiece.  Incredibly easy, and it creates such a chic look.  I love it.

 

 

 

After I found these pictures, I became SO intrigued with the idea of using grapevine to create a "nest" centerpiece.  Amazing!!

 

 

 

 

 

 Also, these place setting ideas are just too cute to pass up...

 

 

(this would be a fun menu idea for a baby shower too)

 

 

Golden eggs!

 

 

"Bunny ears" napkins! :)

 

 

 

 

(all images and links found on my Pinterest page!)

 

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March is a tricky month...

One minute, you're dreaming about spring and all the lovely gardening you'll be doing.  The next minute, it's SNOWING.  Whaaa???  Oh spring, please hurry up and get to Philadelphia.

Our Nellie Stevens Holly row in the snow on Saturday.

(and, what they looked like last June)

 

 

 

Happy Monday!

 

 

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