My Wanderin' Days

I have been MIA from the blogosphere lately, well I have been here, just a silent observer. I have in that time have developed a new addiction; Instagram. I walk most days to work, about two miles. I usually have my iPod touch handy and ready to take a snap of all the great sites in Grand Rapids. So here is an update of some of the shit I see on my lovely morning walks.

 

x Jamie (theBaldwinHouse)

Let's do this

Alright, so after spending the last three hours looking at the awesome blog Radical Possibility I have been inspired to keep going with my blog. I found out earlier this week that my hours at work will be permanently cut with no likely chance of them increasing again. I took this at first as a major blow. In reality the difference is about a shift a week. Which will make a huge difference in my spending habits, and my budgeting will have to all be rethought. I really love my job ( I work for a kick ass Boutique) they really work with my school schedule and even offer me tuition reimbursement! I think it will really be tough to find a second job, when really all I would need is a few extra hours. SO, I am taking the lemons and making some awesome lemonade. I am going to take my free time to really work on this here blog, and selling on my etsy. I have really dropped the ball with my etsy, Cuckoo Birds. New items posted yesterday and tons more in storage just waiting to hit the virtual shelves! I am really looking forward to some new business ideas and all the little (and big) projects around the house.
Hopefully you all stick around to find out what is in store!


Here is a little peek at what has been going around the house lately:

Tulip Chair Before-

Tulip chair & table after:

 I found the chairs and table on the side of the road just a few blocks up! I have no idea why anyone would have painted them that sick brown?! I still have one more chair to add to this little set up and I think it will look perfect.

x Jamie (theBaldwinHouse)

My Bedroom Retreat

I entered Apartment Therapy's My bedroom retreat contest, and my entry was accepted.
For the past few weeks people have been able to vote on who would win.
I was just excited to be in the running!
They have picked their finalists, and they are really wonderful rooms! So inspiring.
I can't wait to be involved in more contests with my interiors.

The contest has really made me work on my room. I had been hesitant to begin perfecting it since we moved in. But now I really love it, and think it is the better of the rooms in all of the house.

xJamie

Ready for spring.

Preoccupied by school and work as of late.

Sundays are my day, my day to do the cleaning, and to rest up as much as I can.

Usually I end up spending a lot of those free days as thrift days. 

Currently waiting for the boy to arrive home so we can head out to go to a few Goodwills. As for now I am organizing this blasted room ( I actually made a good deal of progress) and listening to Belle and Sebastian. They seem to be the perfect Snowy day pick me up.

Until next time

Jamie

2013

2013

It will be our first full year at the Baldwin House.

We signed the lease about a year ago and moved in this past July.

We have moved around a lot over the past 5-10 years, be it bad roommates, bad locations, bad landlords, or just bad timing.

We spent our time at Madison house (lived there for one year) planning what to do next. We wanted to make the right choice of where to go.

I am so beyond happy to of found where we are living.

It is modestly sized and in a very convenient neighborhood.

We have done a little house keeping around the house, but 2013, will be the year of making it home.

2013 A Baldwin House Year

1.Paint Paint Paint

Fortunately our landlords are letting us repaint anything we wish. When we moved in it was a lovely skin color. We had flesh colored walls, perfect. Just kidding I am overreacting, it was a browny beige and a greeny beige. I prefer an all white background for all of my every changing decor. We have already begun, the bedroom is painted white. I made a bit of a disaster, I had a really hard time moving the 5 gallon tub around and kept getting paint on the floor! So as I move onto the next rooms the boyfriend will have to help me a great deal more.

2.DIY DIY DIY

This one could also be called paint paint paint, I have a lot of misc. furniture that needs to either be put together, reworked, re-stained, repainted, and mostly repainted. We found a "tulip" table and chair on the side of the road. All that need to be repainted, someone painted them brown, freaking sick. The tulip table needs a new table top, we have that now just to decide if to leave is strained wood or painted white. It will be a tough choice, you guys might have to help me decide.

Docksta

3. Plant Plant Plant

I definitely want to start gardening and planting this spring and summer. The yard is totally lacking in all respects of being a nice leisurely place to be!

4.Organize Organize Organize

Everything still really needs to be finned tuned in the house. The kitchen cabinets the bathroom, and most importantly the bloody basement! It is down right terrifying down there. We moved in from a 4 bedroom two story house with ample storage and plenty of closet space, so our current basement is holding everything extra. Extra furniture, boxes and totes and is our laundry room. Some how, everything seems to be spilling out and fallen over. Not sure how this happens. But this will be tackled this year!

5. Decorate Decorate Decorate

I want to start fine tuning all the decorations in the house.

::::Plants

::::Nature

::::Rocks

::::Black and White

::::Good Naturals with pops of bright.

Alright, that is the plan so far. I am sure a tons for shit will come up. Can't wait for a year of blogging and home making!

:::The Baldwin House:::

J. Coffin

Kris Kringle

I have been so inspired lately by all the hand written typography I have been seeing on pinterest and the rest of the interwebs.

So I thought I would give it a try.

:::happy seasons greetings holiday time:::

the baldwin house

A Baldwin Street Christmas

Alright, Christmas time. I have a love/hate relationship with this holiday.

The months prior I am head over heels in love with Christmas time.

Ready, planning.

Then a few days following Thanksgiving I start to get really discouraged. 

The days seem to go faster and faster and here we are half way through the damn month.

BUT!

I have spectacular Christmas decor this year.

We have been living the Baldwin House for 6 months now...

SIX MONTHS!

Holy shit, how the hell did that even happen?

Starting a new job and a new semester has really made the last months go by so fast

& have left me to really put this blog on the back burner.

Any ways, here is my Christmasy house.

For the past few years we had been living in "temporary" homes.

Places where I never invested much time into because I knew we wouldn't be there for very long.

We had been using a lovely 99 cent tree that my mother bought us.

Hey, It really wasn't that bad!

This year we planned on using my grandmothers old 1950's beautiful white christmas tree. 

I went out and bought white lights.

When I went to put it together I realized almost half of the tree was missing, so that didn't really get to work out to well.

As you have seen from previous posts that we have this lovely mid-century fire place.

It used to reside in the kitchen.

I was sitting frustrated on the floor, without a tree.

Then the best idea came to me.

Here is the "fake, fake Christmas tree"

Back story:

The fireplace was found at a garage sale on the outskirts of town.

I saw it from a distance and freaked.

Mostly nervous that I wouldn't be able to afford it, but it was a mere TEN DOLLARS.

I have seemed to of made some sort of deal with the mid-century modern furniture devil.

We couldn't get it home that day so we had to pay and leave it there.

The next three days I worried and panicked that they would realize what they just sold.

But low and behold they didn't screw me over and it was mine.

I noticed the log inside and the old cord, I never thought much about plugging it in because I figured that it would explode my house into bits.

I did plug it in for this photo and it made a beautiful cracking noise, and left it plugged in for a few hours, and we seem to be safe.

:::Merry Christmas:::

J.Coffin

The Baldwin House