Hello from New Orleans!

So we packed up a jumped on a plane for New Orleans a couple weeks ago! I have never in my life been here and to see it all for the first time is nothing short of spectacular. 

[ 7 am flights are probably the least glamorous thing... ever]

We are here for 6 weeks so we rented a little house in one of the older neighbourhoods, just a couple blocks off the Mississippi River. This way we fully settle in and have some sort of routine during our stay as well as getting a full New Orleans experience. 

All our neighbours have a front porch as well and it has been amazing to see how neighbourly and friendly EVERYONE is here. I honestly keep saying to Sean "it feels like we went back in time 40 or 50 years!". The little girls on the block all love to go catch bugs, everyone has welcomed us with open arms and we even had invitations to come over for dinner after only a day here. The reality is that I know nearly every person on our. whole. block. on a first name basis which is not common back home. It has a lot to do with how close houses are here, but I think that it is also that southern hospitality that people here are raised with.

I could spend days just admiring the houses here. Our own house, although small, has incredibly tall ceilings (it goes up another foot or so from the picture rail in this shot of Wren squished between the pocket doors LOL). Every room has a fireplace and every door has a transom window over it, and I cannot get enough!

Some of our neighbours are so creative in their gardening and house paint colours that I have to document it all for future reference! I would love to bring back a little of this flavour somehow in a future project at home.

Wren in particular has just taken to New Orleans. She has a love of plants and animals and between the gorgeous blooms everywhere and the countless friendly dogs and cats that call our street home she is just in heaven.

This beachy blue house down the street has stolen my heart!

But really, every house is special and makes me fall in love.

We live across the Mississippi from the French Quarter so on the days we want to go into the city we catch a 5 minute ferry ride then take trolley cars where we need to go.

The faded out chairs on the ferry deck just make my heart sing!

And of course Wren thinks it's amazing!

You really could get lost just taking in how beautiful everything is down in the French Quarter! From the creole cottages to the townhouses to the taller buildings, everything is dripping in beauty. 

I have been so busy and excited to get out and explore that I actually haven't even whipped out my Canon at all, just shooting with my iPhone, but I definitely need to make a point of snapping some more of our little neighbourhood and I can't wait to share the rest of our stay in my next post!

Happiest of Fridays guys!

Instagram Inspiration

I will admit I am an Instagram junkie. Not so much in posting every little thing that I am eatting/doing/seeing but I use it more as my little shot of happy by seeing the beauty that others are finding in their lives. I also love following friends and family, but I use it primarily as an inspiration tool.

The most wonderful part about it is that you can find some insanely talented, wonderful people and while they take breath taking or super cute pictures I love that we are seeing someones life in snapshots. Not magazine worthy, perfect moments. But these little moments and shots are often just as beautiful or even more so than those found in any lifestyle magazine. And that is perhaps my favorite thing about Instagram, it is almost like a persons individual lifestyle magazine because you will see everything from their home decor style to their personal fashion statements and more. It can definitely lead you to look for more beauty in your life.

Maybe I will make this a regular series, maybe not, but here are my current favorite feeds to follow.

Do you have one or two must-follow feeds?

A moment to breathe

Last week was one of the most exciting, educational, fun weeks I've had in a long time. I never mentioned anything about it here, but Robin and I have been talking about shooting a story for Style at Home for over a year and a half! Why did it take so long to happen? I confess that I put it off every time we were starting to settle on dates.

I was excited, but at the same time frightened out of my wits. Despite tons of reassurance from everyone I felt scared. Scared that our DIY, thrift-filled house didn't measure up to all the beautiful, million dollar homes they feature. Scared that all the little odds and ends that us DIYers never seem to finish will be glaringly obvious to the eyes of professional decorators. 

But the ladies at Style at Home and Robin could not have made me feel any more comfortable and I am so glad we made it happen. Robin arrived on a Sunday afternoon and we shot all the way up to a couple hours before her flight left the following Saturday. It was just the two of us and I cannot tell you how much fun, how much laughter and how many amazing things were shared. After emailing for so long it felt like reconnecting with an old friend. 

We were so busy from sun up to sun down that I didn't take any photos (hence the radio silence here) but here are a couple iPhone shots I grabbed and shared on Instagram of our adventures. As soon as I know when our hard work will be appearing you will be the first to know!

(and be sure to follow me on Instagram, @inthefunlane, if you want to see more sneak peeks)

Now that we are settling back into daily routines that don't involve a hundred trips to HomeDepot per week the spirit of the holidays is in full effect.

Wren and I created and built our first gingerbread house together.

 

We held off on decorating until Sean got home from work (but we didn't hold back on sampling the goodies beforehand)

And have been filling the house with holiday (and Birthday!) cheer all week.

 How have you been enjoying the holiday spirit? watching holiday movies, making peppermint cocoa? I have some catching up to do and need ideas.

My Insta Favorites

I have really gotten into Instagram lately. Not as in posting more per se, but really branching out and finding inspiration, motivation and beauty. I was all about following friends and family (and still am) but I am completely awestruck by how amazingly some people capture moments, places and events. Not just re-posting inspiring rooms or outfits, there are some very gifted amateur photographers, decorators and mothers that can honestly capture the most mundane moments and make them refreshing and beautiful. And I am so excited to have found a couple new addicting blogs through instagram as well, but that's another post for another day.

For today, I want to show you some of my absolute favorite feeds. The user name is on the top of each photo so you can follow them as well should you desire a little more eye candy in your day. I subscribe to many lovely feeds, but these are the handful that I find myself liking every photo of. And I can honestly say that all these ladies are very sweet and respond to questions and comments (I know from experience because I leave them often).

In case you couldn't really tell, I am in the midst of a major Nordic-design crush, so check the list of feeds I'm following if you want to see more black and white minimalist design. 

And be sure to follow me for updates and sneak peeks that may take a few days to get blogged (like our new dining table and holiday decor).

{please keep in mind that the above images are not mine, but belong to the talented ladies who took them}

Who is your favorite Instagram feed? I am always looking for more inspiration!

Friday Flash Back

Just a glimpse into my week via Instagram!

Lots of snow, cuddles, laughs and adventures this week.

{ Have a safe and happy weekend }