We Were Framed!

The front of the house--framed. (Mostly.)

On Sunday, Chris and I drove up to Poolesville to be nosy and check on the status of our dwelling-to-be. As we pulled into the development, Chris shouted, “I see a frame!” The workers appeared to be making up time from the snow and freezing rain by working on a Sunday, and we were happily surprised to see an actual structure. Obviously, the second floor is still being framed and a roof would be nice at some point. For me, the best part was seeing exactly how the house will be situated on the property. It was hard to visualize up until now. I took advantage of the after-Christmas sales to pick up a few things for the house-to-be, such as six (yes, six—there are a lot of windows) curtains for the master bedroom (for about 70% off!) and a gorgeous Christmas wreath for the front door and pretty garland for the fireplace mantle for next year from Restoration Hardware. Were they pricier than the mediocre wreath and garland from Target? Um, yes. But I’ve never had a front door or mantle before and I’m determined to decorate this house RIGHT next Christmas! I’ve been mentally decorating the house for months now, and I have nearly every element planned out, with the exception of the basement. We won’t finish it for several years and a certain husband and I disagree as to whether or not we should turn it into a manly media room or a whimsical playroom. (Chris is thinking giant-screened TVs and surround sound while I picture cozy reading corners, art-project areas, and wall murals depicting various fairy tales. Or perhaps jungle animals. We’re SO not on the same page.) I’ll spare you faithful readers a room-by-room decorating plan, but many have asked if Charlotte’s nursery will be painted pink. The answer is no. Don’t get me wrong—I LOVE pink, but I think it’s a sort of clichéd, knee-jerk decorating scheme for baby girls, and it’s rare that somebody does pink walls for a nursery in a unique way. After a long, long search, I’ve decided bypass excessively sweet floral designs or Disney characters, and have instead settled on ladybug crib bedding. It’s still sweet and girly but also whimsical. (My dad suggested pink camouflage and Chris voiced his desire for framed posters and collages of great Austrian economists and libertarian thinkers. So ladybugs are actually quite safe and boring in comparison to these two decorating geniuses’ ideas.)

The ladybugs are very cute. However, I detest themes and I am NOT sticking ladybug decals on the walls or putting up a ladybug valence or buying a ladybug lamp. I confess that I did find a super cute ladybug nightlight, but that’s little. I opted out of the ladybug mobile and instead selected one with fun bright colors. And what color will we paint her room? I have to wait until the bedding arrives (it’s backordered, lucky me) and haul it to Home Depot to hold it up to paint chips to say for certain, but as for now I’m leaning towards a light green with chartreuse undertones. It’s possible I’ll go more yellowish or gold. And then, because I do love pink, I’ll hang pale pink (or maybe bright magenta) curtains. Charlotte’s room will have two windows, so this should be plenty of pink. As you can imagine, I’m anxious to get into this house and start decorating, decorating, decorating. Thank goodness we have a baby coming to distract me.