Christmas Roundup

Hi Friends! We trust you all enjoyed the holidays and are perhaps enjoying some time off or at least a quiet week at work. The Chadwick-Pulaski (ie, Chadski) holidays were busy, busy, busy as always but wonderful and full of family time. We spent Christmas Eve at the Pulaski's and Christmas day at the Chadwick Lake House (with the Pulaski's too). The festivities included eating, ice skating, eating, presents, eating, board games, eating, movies and well, more eating. Doesn't get much better than that.

Santa spoiled us this year. James got some new tools that will come in handy for house work and I got an amazing camera. I have been eying photography as a new hobby for awhile (not that I need any more hobbies!) but digital SLRs are pretty expensive so until now it's just been one of those, "someday I would like to" day dreams. I love taking photos, but lately the quality of them has been lacking because I've been relying on my iPhone to do the work. Convenient, but the results certainly leave something to be desired.

iPhone pic, can you tell?

So, my right index finger has been busy this week. The last time I took a photography class was back in high school so I needed a refresher on terminology, functions and techniques. Figuring out how the camera works and how it's changed in the past 10 years has been so fun! I even managed to learn how to do a few tweaks and tune ups in Photoshop, a program I've always had, but barely use because it easily overwhelms and intimidates. Now I have real motivation to learn it and a reason to practice, practice, practice. Thanks to the presence of lots of photography related websites and blogs on the internet including one of my favorite reads, The Pioneer Woman, I have been able to figure a few things out and produce some decent images. Still, I barely know what I'm doing at this point, I can't wait to learn more and continue to share my new art with you all! Here are a few shots from the past few days, some are just straight out of the camera, others have been edited in Photoshop.

Good thing I have Summit, James would never put up with this.

You may have noticed there's a new widget on the left that links to a Flickr profile. I'll be adding more pics to the Flickr site as often as possible...I suppose they all can't fit on the blog. Be sure to check it out and if any of you have any advice for a novice photographer, pass it this way!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas! We hope you are spending today and the entire holiday season with those that are closest to your heart. The most important thing about this time of year after all is the presence of loved ones, not the presents under the tree. We'll be back soon to recap our week.

Lots of love from the Chadski clan! xoxo

Ready for Santa

Are you ready for the holidays? We are, finally. Christmas sort of snuck up on us this year, but after a busy weekend of scrambling to finish the shopping, wrapping, baking, etc. we're ready for Santa. We even had time left over to enjoy slip sliding around on the lake behind my parent's house and celebrating a birthday for grandpa.

The ice was perfect and crystal clear.




Fun with lawn furniture.


Happy Birthday, Gramps!


Cookie production!

It started out smooth...look, it's our future house!


And ended up, well...messy. Good thing Santa doesn't care what his cookies look like.


And now, we wait. Christmas can't come soon enough! Happy Holidays!

In My Dreams

It's nice to dream, isn't it? Especially when you're dreaming about things you love, like interior design. Well, I love it anyway, and with a new home in our future, it means we will have a lot of decisions to make about what we want the inside of our abode to look like. I spend a lot of time on some of my favorite websites (Design*Sponge, Desire to Inspire, Decor Pad, Apartment Therapy) looking for inspiration. When I say a lot of time, I mean it could be hours and hours and hours if James didn't cut me off. It's like candy for me. Mmmmm, I love a funky sofa or a bright happy kitchen. Just love it. I am prepared to rein in my enthusiasm when it comes time to actually furnish the new pad, because yes, I am aware that some of these looks come at a pretty penny. The challenge is going to be hunting through thrift stores, garage sales and discount furniture stores to find a way to get the look for less. But for now, it's just fun to dream. Here are some of my recent loves. I'll be sharing more as we finalize plans for our kitchen, baths, bedrooms, and more.

James and I are loving the white kitchen trend. I do realize it's not as practical, but oh, how bright and pretty these two examples are.


Love, love, love this cozy dining nook and that table on the right takes my breath away.


I'm loving the wallpaper on the left and bright colors in these two living rooms. Also the accent tables on the right are divine.


The bed frame on the left is just stunning. Stunning! I like the colors on the right, not sure James would go for the purple, but maybe it could work in the guest room.


Loving the rustic look of the bath on the left and the vessel sink. The green bath in the middle is modern, colorful and fresh and I'm giddy about the eggshell tub on the right. mmm, I often wake up drooling, this must be why.


As you probably noticed, my aesthetic trends towards bright, white, airy, clean, modern design. In order for that not to get too bland or institutional, punches of bright colors, patterns and textures are a must. I'm loving the bold colors here, especially the pink dresser. yum.