A New Hutch

When we first renovated and moved the kitchen, making the old kitchen a mudroom, we used a little alcove at the back for Bryce's office.  It was perfect in many ways but our comings and goings throughout the day was a bit disruptive when he was on calls or video calls so he eventually made an office for himself over the workshop.  That left an empty space in our mudroom that has taken awhile to figure out what we wanted to do with!  

After many different brain storming sessions we finally landed on a hutch of sorts that could accomplish storage, fridge needs, and look good at the same time.  I promptly sketched out what I wanted and started to get quotes.  My first quote was from our kitchen cabinet makers and clocked in at an astounding $15,000!  It was at about this time that Al, my father-in-law offered to make it.  I couldn't be more thankful or pleased with how it turned out.  I'm still in awe that he can take some pieces of wood and turn it into an actual piece of furniture.  Bryce immensely enjoyed helping out!

In the middle of the cabinet is a refrigerator on one side and a wine fridge on the other.  The top is walnut (to pull together the walnut shelves on the other wall) that we had glued up and cut at a wood makers. 

We debated and debated about what color to paint but ultimately ended up with the same green we used on our cabinets.  There is so much going on in this room that I think it helps to keep it consistent and simple.  

As of now, we have my preserves on one side, larger vases for flowers on another, my kraft paper roll on the counter and some books, along with my Mom's book holder, which comes in handy to keep books open when I'm trying to copy an arrangement!  

We moved the chifforobe to the back nook where Bryce's desk used to be.

Many, many thanks to Al for always being game for my ideas, you're a Master craftsman!  

LampGate, or The Tale of Three Lampshades

This spring/early summer, I seemed to have a crisis with my lampshades all at once* and I lovingly referred to it as LampGate (things just kept going wrong)!  Ever since we moved in, and renovated, I've wanted to replace the stairwell light.  I didn't care for it but it also wasn't in very good shape.  I couldn't figure out what I wanted, I just knew that the brass(ish) fixture wasn't cutting it.  

I knew I wanted something warmer, pretty and a little cozier to make the transition from the downstairs to upstairs, where our bedrooms are.  I got the idea that I wanted a lampshade type of pendant but they proved impossible to find!  Finally, I ordered a shade from one source and a light fixture from another (of course, they were all backordered!).  Once they finally arrived, it was clear that there is a reason that people do not put pendants in stairwells!  Seeing a downward facing lightbulb is less than attractive.  Finally, I came to the solution to order a round fitted piece for the bottom of the shade that would diffuse the light as well as hide the mechanics!  It took forever to get to that point but I really like how it turned out!  

The second lampshade issue that we had was yellowing of a lampshade.  This is the second time that I've had this and I find it super annoying.  The manufacturers know that the lightbulb will produce heat and may be exposed to UV rays so I don't know why this can't be fixed, but this is my second lampshade I'm replacing!  I purchased a patterned lampshade that I was sure was going to be perfect but then... it wasn't.  However, I discovered it was perfect for my lamps in the den but that meant I had to buy another one since I have two lamps.  Upon more searching I found a beautiful lampshade with pink banding that is super simple.  I just love it.

Finally, the patterned lampshade, originally bought for the library, made it into the den!  Replacing these lampshades made me realize how much I disliked the white ones that were on it previously!  They've added some character to the room!

*clearly the use of crisis is a gross exaggeration!  

The Pier Walk

One of the reasons that Grace chose St Andrews was the time honored traditions that have been kept up by students and school for centuries (the school was founded in 1413!).  One such tradition is the Pier Walk.  I've wanted to see the Pier Walk since I first heard about it and therefore, I made plans to be there for the first one of the year (the first one is always the largest one but technically they happen after Chapel every Sunday).  

The students gather in the quad and process through town in their robes to the ancient stone pier jutting into the North Sea.  

How a student wears their red robe is determined by their year, therefore as a fourth year, Grace wears hers fully off her shoulders.

I love that Grace enjoys these traditions with her wonderful roommates, Stella and Emma.  

Here's to an amazing year full of traditions, fun, interesting and in depth studies and magic sprinkled in here and there.  

Edinburgh, Scotland

 

For Grace's fourth, and final, year at St Andrews, I accompanied her over to get her settled in.  She certainly didn't need me to go, but I wanted to go and I'm so glad that I did.  We spent two days in Edinburgh before heading to St Andrews.  I really love this town.  It's beautiful, friendly, walkable and steeped in a rich history.

We got off our flight, after approximately 0 hours of sleep, dropped our luggage at our hotel, grabbed a coffee at Grace's favorite coffee shop and headed for Arthur's Seat.  Arthur's Seat is the site of an ancient volcano located at the end of the Royal Mile, making up a chunk of Holyrood Park.  The Scottish would have you believe this is a casual, easy stroll.  I would tell you that half way up, I was making promises to myself to get in better cardio shape as soon as I arrived back home.  It was steep but also so beautiful!

The view from the summit was incredible!

After our hike, we headed for a cafe that Grace really likes (I didn't realize until this trip how well Grace knows Edinburgh!), had a delicious lunch and then checked into our hotel, where we could not help but take a quick nap.  We then headed to Calton Hill to watch the sunset.

The next day was spent doing a bit of wandering and shopping for a few things Grace needed for the start of school.  Of course, we made time to stop by Mary's Milk Bar for ice cream.  I had cherry + dark chocolate and it was what dreams are made of.

That evening, for dinner, we went to The Gardener's Cottage.  This has been on Grace's bucket list for quite a while and I'm so glad we were able to get reservations (made during the summer).  The cottage was once the home of the royal gardener.  It's a true farm to table with a fixed menu, which was delicious!  Every  course (there were 4) was simple and yet it was the best meal I've had in a long time.  I'm so glad I got to do that with my girl! 

We went to bed that night full and happy, ready to hop on the train to St Andrews the next day!