Welcome Benjamin Charles:)

Hello friends!

I just wanted to post an update that sweet Benjamin Charles came into the world yesterday, 11/22/2010, at 7:57 pm, weighing 9 pounds! He's healthy and we're all doing well, getting as much sleep in the hospital as we can. We'll be home just in time for a cozy Thanksgiving dinner and we have a lot to be thankful for.

I hope you all have a lovely holiday. I'll post pictures of the little guy soon:).

xoxo

waiting:)

Benjamin's due date came and went on the 14th without a sign of the little dude. I guess he's super comfortable in there. What he doesn't know is what he's missing out on out here; the fireplace heating the home daily, homemade apple crisp and chicken pot pies, Christmas music being played a bit too early, a snuggly black pup (who seems to think that the nursery was decorated just for her; we've been finding her laying in there almost every morning).... it will be worth the wait for him, we'll make sure of it:).

This first half of November has consisted of hibernating & nesting in our home in the woods. The nursery is coming along nicely. There are a few things missing, including a book shelf that my parents picked up at an antique shop, some photos & artwork for the wall, and of course, the little guy, himself. Here are some photos of the progress to date:

My old baby blanket to carry Benji home in

A swaddled frog... good practice for Benjamin

A closet full of hand-me-downs

xoxo

photos taken with love

Happy weekend! I hope that you were all able to enjoy an extra hour of sleep this morning:).

Benjamin's nursery is coming along... there are a few final touches that are needed, which may or may not happen before he decides to grace us with his presence. I wanted to share with you some lovely photos that my oldest & dearest friend, Amber, took to decorate his walls. The rest can be seen here at her blog. They're the perfect blend of retro, fun and little-boy-but-not-overly-so. I love them and know that the little man will too:).

Thanks A:).

xoxo

gratitude

Happy November.

This month has always been a very special treat for me, for it's the perfect blend of fall and winter, with the excitement of the holidays folded in, generous dashes of family gatherings and beautiful decorations, rounded teaspoons of leaf piles, dustings of snow. I get giddy just thinking about it.

I think back to my childhood Novembers, which were always packed with a flurry of activity, family, delicious foods and smells wafting from the kitchen, pumpkin-anything, cozy nights in front of a holiday movie, with a roaring fire in the background. My parents raised us in a home wrapped in love and happiness and I can only hope that my children will feel and know the same. 

This November, we'll be spending a lot of time in our home, getting to know this little baby, who is still quite comfortable inside me, I might add;). We feel like we're as ready as we'll ever be to welcome this little guy into our home. A home that we built on love for each other... and now a love for this little boy (and Luna too, we must not forget her:)). I look at how Matt is preparing for 'the big day' and it nearly brings tears to my eyes. He's already a proud papa- it's so sweet. He's so protective and attentive and he won't let me do anything around the house. He rubs my belly every day with such a proud look on his face, something that Benjamin will never see, at least not from this perspective, but something that I get to see every day, and will cherish forever.

I'm full of gratitude this November. Gratitude for my past, for our future, and for today.

Happy November:)

xoxo

an autumn sunday at home

a nosy little pup

new england foliage

Benjamin's room in progress

fall's finest

a room with a view

Happy Weekend 

feeling under the weather....

What's better for a sick or sad soul than a grilled cheese sandwich and mug of tomato soup?

Hmmmm.... nothing that I can think of.

I hope you're enjoying the week:).

xoxo

Today's Sweet Pleasures

Happy October, friends:)

It's a sunny, though somewhat chilly, fall day here in New England. The perfect kind of day for a local fair, filled with fried dough, rickety rides and children screaming with pleasure. I say this because the teeny-tiny town that I grew up in in Connecticut, is hosting it's annual autumn fair. I used to go, without fail, every year. In middle and high school, I would plan my outfit (definitely something with layers, comfy shoes, and a coordinating scrunchie) starting in the late summer, anticipating the excitement of the beginning of the school year, hanging out late with friends and enjoying the best of the best of fall. Oh, and did I tell you that I used to march in the marching band at the fair? This was a big deal and we were very cool ;). Oh, how I love local fairs.

I won't be attending this year, though I have plans to start the fair thing again when my little guy comes, as I'm sure that I can find a few good fairs local to my home in Massachusetts. Today, though, is full of other fall pleasures, including:

- poached eggs, toast  and coffee out on the back deck

-the smell of freshly cut lawn
- household fall clean-up chores
- open windows and cozy sweaters
- laundry on the line, again:)
- maybe the baking of an apple pie, inspired by Johanna over at Birds on a Wire
- a few strolls down our driveway, which is now covered and colored with fallen leaves

What does your fall day have in store for you??

xoxo

B