Made in the 216.

Hey friends! I'm excited to announce the return of Made in the 216 to Ohio City this weekend! I will be participating in this fun event again hosted by Room Service at a pop up location, 1810 W. 25th St from Friday-Sunday! There will be a whole lot of awesome local artists, bands, and food so please come and check it out! The bow ties are looking pretty fly in my humble opinion. See you there!

Before and After: Laundry Room

Happy Monday! JJ has been busy working on the house and yard so I wanted to share the most photogenic of the two completed projects. The other is a roof and it's not all the exciting to see. Behold, our shiny, new laundry room! One of the nicest features of the new house is the first floor laundry room! What a dream...I don't have to go in the basement and it makes things just a little bit easier.

When we moved in the room was fine but it had it's setbacks. Those white wire racks were falling out of the wall, the window in the back was covered in that protective plastic but had about one thousand bugs in it, and it just wasn't very inviting as the main entry to our home.

So JJ got to work painting and repairing the walls. We already our own washer and dryer so we gave the ones in the previous photo to my brother-in-law. The front loaders were just a little sleeker looking but didn't quite fit into the wooden braces that the previous owner had made.

We picked a brighter, cleaner blue for the walls and mounted hooks at our height and ones at O's height too. There is a cabinet with shelves for detergent and other laundry related things plus a bin that we use as a hamper. JJ built a shelf for the machines to sit on so I don't have to bend over and bump into the door behind me (gasp). Plus the cubby below is perfect for collecting our shoes! It's glorious. 

The only thing that we didn't replace is the floor, also known as JJ's arch enemy, but that will come. It's such a nice, functional room now. That husband of mine sure is handy!

Three Things in the Summer.

The long, hot days of summer are finally here and we have been busy creating memories with O. Summer is his season and we are taking full advantage and openly throwing our schedule out the window some days. You just have to roll with it. There have been so many great moments so far and I wanted to share some summer happiness.

Some of our best friends have returned to Cleveland after years in Chicago. This moment, watching the children spray each other with the house and run around in this golden sun was perfect.

Wednesday nights at Wade Oval dancing and playing with friends. We rode The Euclid Beach Thriller Car (and The Rocket Car too) with the wind in our hair and our arms reaching up.

Some nights we trade in our normal bedtime routine for an evening trip to the playground. This guy was brave and hilarious. He tried new big slides and played on the swings like a sack of potatoes. Summer is our season. Happy Wednesday!

Crib Sheet DIY.

Sometimes you just have that a-ha moment (for lack of a better term). But the obvious just becomes so clear. I've had my eye on some fancy new sheets for Little Man's bed but I cannot bring myself to pay some of the ridiculous prices out there. Friday I was just about at the point of breaking down and doing it, buying yet another new thing that we can live without, when it occurred to me that I could probably just make it. Enter this MADE tutorial. I cannot tell you how happy I am with the results!

All you need is 2 yards of fabric and 80 inches of 1/4 inch elastic and a long enough nap from the little one to get it done. Her tutorial is so simple and straight forward I don't really need to walk you through it but here are my step by step pictures anyway since I took them.

1. Fold the fabric in half lengthwise and widthwise with the outside edges lining up.

2. Cut out 8 x 8 inch squares from the folded corners.

3. Fold over and iron a pocket to thread the elastic through and pin.

4. Sew the four corners together to create the corner pockets that wrap around the mattress. She recommends a serged edge but I don't have a serger so I did this stretch stitch and then a straight stitch to ensure that it will stay secure. I looked at sheet we already have to figure that out. Make you you unfold the elastic pocket before you sew the corners in. Next you sew the elastic pocket seam closed with a straight stitch.

5. Use a safety pin to thread the elastic through, sew the elastic together then sew the pocket and put it on!

The woman at the cutting counter thought I was nuts to use this fabric for a crib sheet, she said "it will keep the baby awake!" I doubt it. Look how happy he is. If you make it let me know!

Wedded Bliss.

There are so many things that I love about weddings. But lately the best part has been seeing two friends unite surrounded by love. It brings together so many people that care about them from all over to celebrate. This wedding on the lake was heartfelt and sweet and I was so happy to be there.

Their son was the flower boy and the groom's stepfather was the officiant. The bride's longtime friend read a passage from the Velveteen Rabbit that was so sweet it brought tears to the eyes of many. The ceremony was a vow renewal as they were married last year in NYC but still wanted to share their commitment with their larger community too.

Look at all of these happy faces! I had the honor of making all of the ties for the groom and his gents. Plus there were a few more mixed in there too! My brother and my husband but it still counts to me! Congratulations to the newly renewed newlyweds! We had a blast dancing and catching up. We wish you a lifetime of happiness!

Summer Camp.

Back in April we took a very fun camping trip with some friends. Little Man was so obsessed with the tent when it got there that he basically refused to get out. For over an hour. It got me thinking about all of the cool play tents, teepees, etc. that I've been seeing everywhere. Buying one was my first instinct when we were still in the apartment but after thinking it through it seemed like it would be a lot more fun if we built something. Thus we have the pup tent. We based it on this model but changed it up, scaled it down, and made it collapsable. 

Friday night we took to the basement to build and the attic to sew. I really got out easy on this one since all I had to do was iron and sew two seams but we had fun listening to music and chatting while O snoozed.

Once we were finished we snuck into his room and set it up. In the morning we were awoken to screams of "Mama, what is that?! I need to get in there!" It was perfect. Happy Monday!