Life Lately

A quick shot of Friday's afternoon pick up at the store.  High Street Market is crazy busy, fulfilling holiday orders (and will continue to do so until 12/23-- our LAST OFFICIAL SHIPPING DAY of the season).

 Winter Wonderland.  We received a bunch of new snow here in Philadelphia.  It's been pretty magical.  This picture was taken from the car, on a road near our home (I wasn't driving).  Nothing like fresh snow to get you in the Christmas spirit.  :)

 I decorated the new carriage house with simple (cheap) green wreaths and huge red bows.  It took me about 5 minutes to hang these and they make me SO HAPPY every single time I pull my car up.

The cozy living room sofa --  my favorite spot in the house.

(cable knit pillows are from our store, and available here)

an unstyled instagram pic of our Christmas tree (which clearly needs a star topper!)

Also, last week, William experienced his first snow!  We only had him out there for about two minutes, but obviously he was not impressed.  :)

William is about three months old now.  And, life as a new mom is really good.  Very different, but wonderful all the same.  Besides the NO SLEEP (and I like writing it in all capitals, because it's THAT MAJOR)... besides the NO SLEEP, the biggest change in my life is the amount of smiling I do every day.  Seriously.  I don't think I've ever smiled so much.  So much smiling that my cheeks hurt, that's how much smiling.  :) :)  :) William makes me really happy.  When your child smiles at you, your heart literally melts into a gob of warm mushiness.  And, you will do anything to get him to do it again.  Sing silly songs, make funny faces, and give that wet mouth a million kisses.  I will do anything for a good, gummy, toothless smile.  It's the best thing in the world.  :)

Oh. And, the other biggest change in my life-- I'm constantly dealing with pee, poop, puke, and the smell of spoiled milk.  Also, LAUNDRY.  Lots of laundry.

Here are some recent pictures of my loveable, smiley, precious little poop machine.  :)

Love this tiny bear

William on Thanksgiving, smiling at Grandma who was standing over my shoulder.  :)

And, one more picture...

 

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A Gift For Them, A Gift For You (our Cyber Monday Sale is back!)

Visit High Street Market on Cyber Monday, and do a little holiday shopping with us!

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Store Updates!

We've added a bunch of wonderful new pieces to the store this season.  I've been so busy with the new babe that I haven't had a chance to blog about it. :)  I love every single thing and even managed to smuggle a few pieces home to keep for myself (which doesn't happen often enough).

White Marble Coasters, $22.00 for a set of 4

Cable Knit Throw Pillows in Ivory and Stone

(available with or without the down insert, in two sizes)

 Modern Carrara Marble Serving Tray with brass handles

(also available in silver)

And, with Christmas right around the corner, we've added some chic Holiday Decor to the shop.

I love the White Cast Iron Reindeer (which is a cool piece to have year round)...

(the Emerald Green Agate Coasters with Gold Leaf are BACK IN STOCK in limited quantity for the holiday season!  They will sell out fast, so if you want a set, I recommend ordering them soon!)

This large brass reindeer is incredible (sitting at 24.5" high)

available in very limited quantity for the holiday season

To shop all of our Holiday Decor items, click here.

Happy Weekend!

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Powerful Neutral

I'm currently working on the design of a formal living room for some local clients here in Philadelphia.  The color scheme is really edited (think bright white + vanilla + tan + black).  All of the drama lies within the mix of textures and finishes (my favorite).  The room itself is sleek yet traditional.  And, there is a ton of natural light.  It's a fun project.  :)

Here are some of the inspiration images for this job that are floating around my desk.  I love how each room feels classic/polished while still exuding a strong sense of unique personal style.  The color schemes are completely monochromatic, utilizing different shades of white, tan, and grey.  Yes, the rooms are neutral.  But, the effect is soft and yet really powerful, don't you think?  That's what we're going for here...

 

 

 

 

 

We'll be installing everything before Christmas, so I hope to share some images on the blog around January.

*all pictures and credits via Pinterest, follow me here*

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William's Birth Story

My pregnancy with little William was an easy one.  I never experienced serious morning sickness, and the majority of the time, I felt really great (I loved being pregnant!).  I kept my regular work schedule and planned to do so until his due date.  My big "birth plan" included the following: 1) get an epidural, and 2) no c-section.  Pretty simple.

I experienced some signs of preterm labor starting at 31 weeks (this involved a brief hospital stay).  I was told to "take it easy" and that this baby was most likely going to arrive EARLY.  An early baby, wow!  He could be here any day!!!  So, Dave and I prepared for an early delivery and hoped we would make it past 36 weeks.

Fast forward to 40+ weeks and I was still pregnant.

very pregnant

As my due date of September 14th came and went, I acted like any normal pregnant girl at 40+ weeks: I complained a lot.  Everything hurt.  My belly was enormous, I felt like a freak show, and I had been having contractions for about 3 months.  Dave and I had done everything we could to prepare for baby's arrival, and we were ready to meet him.  So, my doctor scheduled an induction for September 23rd.

Then, around 2pm on September 18th, I began to feel strong lower back pain along with more painful contractions.  The pain increased throughout the day and by 3am the next morning, I told Dave "this is it!"  FINALLY.  I was so excited!!  We grabbed our bags (which I had packed weeks ago with every necessary provision the internet told me to bring-- camera? Yes. Multiple bags of candy? Check.  Twenty pairs of socks? Packed! Obviously, I was prepared.) and we made our way to the hospital.  We arrived at 4am on September 19th, and I was admitted to labor & delivery.

 happy and smiling, in the early stages of labor (clearly)

I labored naturally until 8:30 that morning, and my contractions were about 3 minutes apart.  But, my labor wasn't progressing fast enough.  So, I was put on a pitocin drip to get things moving.  Have any of you mommies out there experienced the wonders of pitocin??  OH BOY.  That drug is serious.  They tell you pitocin is tough stuff, but I never had a clue just how tough it was.  By 12noon, I was experiencing some pretty intense back labor and I felt like my body was ripping in half.  Like, I was dying.  Actually, I think the only way you would feel pain that serious is IF YOU WERE REALLY DYING.  I'll spare you the details, but I have a new found respect for mothers everywhere.  Child birth is serious business.

My water broke at 1pm and somehow, the pain got even worse (so much worse).  Time for an epidural.  The anesthesiologist arrived in my room around 1:45pm and within minutes I felt relief.  Sweet relief.  My nurse helped me get comfortable, and we thought the drama of labor was over.  The anesthesiologist left the room.  Then, fifteen minutes later, I began to feel a little odd.  My arms felt extremely cold, and my blood pressure dropped.  I felt so sleepy, I could barely keep my eyes open. The baby's heart rate had also dropped.  It was scary.  I remember the nurse calling for help and I thought they were going to order a c-section (which at this point sounded great to me-- silly "birth plan" gone out the window).  My doctor and a group of nurses hurried into our room and after about ten minutes, they were able to stabilize my bizarre reaction to the epidural.  No c-section needed.  They took me off the pitocin, and managed my epidural drip.  Then, I rested.  Two hours later, I began to feel "normal" again (and Dave and I were able to recover from the stress of the situation).  Around 4pm, my pitocin drip kicked back on and things were back on track.  And, most importantly, my epidural was working.  :)

At 6:45pm, I was fully dilated.  And, at 7:07pm it was time to push.  THIS WAS IT.  I wish I could say that I was mentally present during this major life moment, but I really wasn't.  The whole experience felt like a flash.  I pushed for almost an hour.  And just when I was thinking "this isn't going to work-- you guys are going to have to cut this baby out of me," little William was born.  At 7:58pm.  It was the most paralyzing experience of my life.  We heard him cry and I couldn't focus on anything else.  The love I had for this little creature was all consuming.  How could he be mine?  It was a phenomenal moment.

William weighed 8lbs 8 oz (the exact weight I was when I was born) and he looks just like my husband.

{ on his first morning of life }

Dave and I are your typical new parents-- fawning over every little face expression and trying not to freak out over every little problem (is he too hot? is that a rash? is he eating enough?).  But, we're slowly getting the hang of it.  And smiles from this little face make it all worth it.

{ cuddling with Dad }

I promise not to flood this blog with mommy & baby related topics (although, I will post a few things here and there).  But, I can't make any promises for Instagram, where I shamelessly post pictures of my baby on a regular basis (follow me @kellyrobson).  I can't help it.  I'm a mom now.  :)

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William Bernard is here!

On Thursday, September 19th at 7:58pm, our son William Bernard was born.  

He is the cutest, most precious gift I have ever laid eyes on.  Having a baby is a profound experience, obviously.  But until you go through it, you're never truly prepared for the magnitude of emotion that runs through your soul (at least, I wasn't prepared for it).  I look at him in awe-- I can't believe that I'm his mom. 

I'll be back in a few days to share the birth story.  Right now, I'm transitioning into my new life of baby cuddles, midnight feedings, smelling his sweet baby scent, and watching for every new little expression.  At some point, I'll finally wash the baby puke out of my hair and get it together.  But until then, I'll be kissing those sweet little baby feet and thanking God for this precious miracle in my arms.

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So, it's September...

I can't believe this month is finally here.  9 months of pregnancy-- check.  

2013 has certainly been the fastest year of my entire life.  Without a doubt.  Between the pregnancy, our growing business, design clients, and our 3rd floor renovation (whew!), this year is flying by so fast.  And now, in just a matter of days, we are about to welcome our first baby into the world (official due date is September 14th).  It's kind of mind blowing.  With all the days of your life...  and, only a handful of days remain between "before kids" and "after kids".  Nearly 6 years of marriage and we are about to become parents (what?).  And, even though my hormonal self has had 9 months to adjust to this exciting transition, the concept is still equally astounding.  :)


An update on our project:  the 3rd floor renovation is now completely finished and for the last couple of weeks, I've been working to furnish the space.  I've been buying rugs, installing new bedding, pulling hoarded vintage furniture out of storage, and getting everything set up.  It's a great feeling...  especially, when I'm reminded that not too long ago, the 3rd floor looked like this.  But, we now have two guest rooms with walk-in closets and each bedroom holds a queen-sized bed.  Between the two guest rooms is a tiny little room with two large windows that face the front of the house.   Here's the floorplan:

Some of you have emailed me asking about our living situation.  Here's the deal: we've decided to bunk up on the 3rd floor while we finish the renovation on the 2nd floor.  It feels a little backwards, but I'm so BEYOND HAPPY with the way that the 3rd floor turned out, I want my entire house to feel this way.  So, I don't mind waiting.  :)  Living on the 3rd floor is hardly a sacrifice, for now.  The three of us (baby included) will be living up there over the winter months and most likely into the spring/summer 2014 (I feel like I should write an entire post about living through a massive home renovation-- and I probably should.  But, I'll save that topic for another time).  Dave and I will sleep in one of the guest rooms, and baby will live in the tiny front room.  Even though the permanent nursery will eventually reside on the 2nd floor, I've decided to do my best and design his temporary little room in the meantime.  Here is my inspiration board for the nursery:

 The vintage bamboo armoire (that I've been hoarding for years now) won't fit in this 3rd floor space, so that will have to wait until the 2nd floor is complete.  But, almost everything else managed to squeeze into that tiny room! 

(resources: glider, floor lamp, crib, ottoman, teddy bear rocker, dresser, area rug)

 

I wanted to keep the palette soft and a little bit grown up...  so, I stayed away from overly saturated colors and used soft shades of blue, mint, bright whites and warm tans...  with a pop of emerald green for contrast.  The walls are Farrow & Ball "James White" so the vibe is really bright and warm.

If you follow me on Instagram, you've already seen a couple of sneak peeks.  But, here are some additional photos of the space as it comes together...

 (drawer organizers from Ikea-- go buy them, they'll change your life)

We are still waiting on our glider, so once that arrives I will post some additional photos of this precious little room.  :)  In the meantime, we're on baby watch.  

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