Suzannah Hamlin Stanley's Blog, page 49

"Fourth trimester" update and 3 months with Otto

Lots of big changes happening here on the baby front. Otto is now 3 months old, which means I am officially out of the "fourth trimester" of pregnancy, as they call it, plus I went back to work yesterday. (!!)

Otto at 3 months old

First, Otto. He is just amazing! He has been doing lots of "smile talking" and cooing when we interact with him, and he really responds well to faces and talking and playing with us. He did a little laugh a couple weeks ago when my mom was bouncing him up and down fro...

Backsplash and tiling tips for walls!

I am so into backsplash-tiling! What a great way to update a kitchen, even a nice or newer one, with a custom look. They're not that expensive, minimal tools are required, you just have to know a few things on how to do it!

We're talking about doing your own backsplash or tile wall (vertical tile application) on the Your Home Story podcast this week and I really hope this episode is helpful!!

Tiling is a great starter DIY project that can make a huge impact, and doing it on a wall is a great lo...

525 SF 1940's apartment tour!

If you've been following along, you know we sold our last house so we could buy a very special historic home in the neighborhood I grew up in... but it didn't work out exactly as we planned. The sellers weren't ready on their original timeline so we lived with my parents for a few months, but then it looked like the house definitely wouldn't work out soon or ever, so we moved into a cute, 1-bedroom, 525 SF apartment a block from my parents so we could have our own space when O...

Tips for shopping vintage online!

I hope to be doing a lot of this myself soon!! They say every room needs at least one cool vintage piece, right?!

This week on the Your Home Story podcast, Ashley and I share about finding great vintage pieces from the comfort of your home. We talk about which pieces we’ve bought online, how to search and buy online, what to expect to pay, and what sites are the best to look at. Ashley is pro at this and shared some really good tips.

Resources we covered:
Ashley’s sources and tips for finding AM...

BEFORE tour! Stanley Tudor Revived

Hooray! Here is a photo tour through the whole house, as it looked the day we got the keys. We have already gotten to work so it doesn't look like this anymore!! and I tried to get a ton of photos so I can look back and compare in the future.

I will also share the video "before" tour when I get a chance, I had so much fun with the video tours for the Stanley 90's Reno! (See my YouTube channel with all of our reno videos here.)

The front is very hard to see from the street, so...

We now own the Stanley Tudor - Revived!

W have been dreaming and hoping about this house for more than a year now!!

Now, we have the keys and our name on the title! I'll spare you the details of the scares we had during the closing process (I hear going realtor-less in a for sale by owner transaction can be tough, and this house had some unique challenges), though we will be doing a Your Home Story podcast episode about buying houses soon and I will share more there.

We got to work right away earlier this week, here are some scary ph...

DIY or hire out? Changes to windows and doors

Oh, I've lived in so many places where I wanted to add a window!! And sometimes you can add windows, replace or widen doors, or even just update interior doors. Some of those projects can be affordable DIY-able jobs, others... we recommend you hire out.

This week on the Your Home Story podcast, Ashley and I talk through our experiences with widow and door changes, and when to hire or DIY.

Projects we talked about:
Ashley's kitchen window project (enlarging)Ashley's dilemma enlarging or updating...

First trip with a baby and the story of Otto's name

Last week we took a trip to one of the most special places to us--Jason's grandparents' incredible home on the top of a peak by Olympic National Park. Jason and his siblings grew up going there a lot, and now we go at least twice a year. I've been daydreaming about when we'd be able to bring a little one of our own for a while now!

These grandparents/his mom's side of the family are very special to Jason as well, and I thought this would be a great time to explain how we se...

How to make a simple powder bathroom awesome!

"Half bathroom" probably doesn't make you feel super inspired. But these rooms are super functional and commonly used, so might as well express your style in them! There can be function issues to solve in them, too, like small sinks and no cabinets.

Updating a powder bathroom is a fantastic way to start DIY-ing or just do a quick, easy, fun update to a commonly used room!

Plus, how gorgeous is this half bathroom inspiration??
A gorgeous powder bathroom makeover I recently found! Source
Ashley and...

How to make a simple power bathroom awesome!

"Half bathroom" probably doesn't make you feel super inspired. But these rooms are super functional and commonly used, so might as well express your style in them! There can be function issues to solve in them, too, like small sinks and no cabinets.

Updating a powder bathroom is a fantastic way to start DIY-ing or just do a quick, easy, fun update to a commonly used room!

Plus, how gorgeous is this half bathroom inspiration??
A gorgeous powder bathroom makeover I recently found! Source
Ashley and...