North Market Date

This Christmas, my present to Rudy was to have a date every month without our little man. For January's date we headed to the North Market. This has been one of my favorite places in Columbus from the first time I stepped foot into it. I love the market's atmosphere, the colors, and the smells. Oh, the smells: spicy Indian food around one corner, fresh bread around the next, Belgian waffles, the list goes on and on. 

So when I saw that there was a small pop-up donut shop was open on Saturday I had to try it! We got to sample everything she had in her shop, and chose the sausage maple and lemon blueberry. In another stall we got a couple of coffees and headed upstairs to try our treats. They did not disappoint!

My handsome date.

Destination Donuts - Sausage Maple and Lemon Blueberry

 I also brought my new camera along and snapped some photos of the market. I want to catalogue the things I love about Columbus before we leave!

Three Very Cute Videos

We've been very busy over here at the Perkins household, but I wanted to share with you some videos of our hectic, but very beautiful life:

Noah took his first steps! The first few seconds are all you really need to see. These were his actual very first steps, caught on film, to the amazement of Rudy and I. He has since taken a few more, but is still cautious and usually chooses to crawl.

Our homegroup (through our church) had a cookout last Monday, and this is Noah in fine form flirting with our friend Cole.


This one is from our Clintonville neighborhood block party (*can you say "best place to live ever?" because I can*) where Noah rode a tricycle for the first time. Ok, held onto one while I pushed, but still, the little guy is only 11 months old!

Noah and the skate park.

This post could also be called, "Columbus skips spring and dives right into summer". It was hot and humid yesterday, so we packed up the family and went to the skate park. Here's the story in photos:

We...

...basked in the sun.

...hung out with Gatsby.

...watched dad skateboard.

...went for a walk around the park.

...sat around with no pants on (Okay, only Noah did this one).

...and after a little snack...

...fell asleep on the way home.

Ice Storm 2011.

Two nights ago our world turned into a giant ice skating rink. The side walks and roads all have almost an inch of ice covering them. Bushes, trees and sign posts are all frozen over in a display like I've never seen before.

I borrowed these photos from my friend Becky's blog, found here. I took a couple of the ice, but she captured it so beautifully.

Last night we foolishly drove out of town to some friend's house for dinner. We slid around a bit on the ice, but made it safely. We thought we might have to stay the night there because of the ice, but because Gatsby was stuck at home alone, we decided to travel back, very very slowly. Luckily by the time we left all of the roads had been salted heavily and we made it home more easily than we had even hoped.

We didn't know, however, if we would have power when we got home. Just before we left our friend's, their power had gone out. All of the ice on the lines do not make for a good thing. When we got home, our lights were still on and our house was nice and warm. It stayed on for the rest of the night and is still working. I'm thanking God for that, and sending out the message to all our friends in Columbus that we've got a warm place for them to come should they need it.

In other news, Noah slept the best he's ever slept last night. He was down from 11:30pm-5:15am then again from 5:30am-9:50am. Holy cow, I feel like a new woman and am jetting around the house being more productive than I have been in weeks.

Thanksgiving pictures.

This was a very special Thanksgiving for me. It was my very first time celebrating the holiday with my mom's side of the family! We had a great time, ate too much, and watched the video of my grandpa bungi jumping when he was 81*!

My grandma whipped up this centerpiece. She is so very talented.

Here are my cousins wearing my grandpa's air force jackets.

Last but not least, Rudy shaved off his beard and I gave him a hair cut! He told my grandpa that he would shave a few months ago and made good on the promise for the day. Bunky was very pleased, and even called the day after to thank Rudy for thinking of him.

*Rudy will be putting the video up on youtube shortly, and I will post it here when that happens.

Snow.

The snow came this morning. It was every bit as magical as I imagined it. I sat on the porch with my tea and a blanket and watched it float peacefully and silently down.

It didn't stay long, just stuck to the grass for a while and then was gone. Such a beautiful morning for getting beautiful news from my best friend...

-photo by alicia bock

The best fall weekend.

This weekend we went apple picking.

Made a pile of leaves.

And carved pumpkins on the porch with the neighbors.

Life is good.

Love, Chelsea

Autumn's colors.

Lately on walks I have been wishing I had my camera. So this afternoon I finally brought it along on a walk with Gatsby. Here are some of the amazing displays we've been seeing everyday around here.

You can click on any of them for larger views.

Where the Wild Things Are tonight!

We are about to go see Where the Wild Things Are at our local Clintonville theater, Studio 35! I can't wait! I also love it that we can walk to the movies.

The sofa has arrived! (and more)...

After nine weeks of waiting, our sofa has finally arrived!

{Our empty living room}

It's even better than I had hoped for. Now we just need a coffee table and we'll be in business. I might bring this one from the bedroom to use in the mean time. I would also love this rug for the room.

The only thing that Gatsby gets to be on the sofa for is taking pictures. Since then, it's on the floor for him! (Don't worry, I made him a very comfy bed in the corner).

Also! I put some candles and old mason jars in the fireplace. The thing can't have real fires in it, (sad). I plan on getting lots more candles to put in it, (happy).

Here is a picture of our fridge for good measure. The drawing of Frida on a tortilla is from one of my most favorite people, Jessi Walters.

A wonderful weekend.

Rudy, Cody and I had a great weekend exploring Columbus. The boys took a bike ride up to Antrim Park, where Gatsby and I met them. What a beautiful place huh? It is only about five miles away from our house. We are surrounded with beauty. And the weather could not have been any better.

On Thursday we went to see The Books at the Wexner Center of the Arts. It was amazing. They played a cover of Nick Drake's Cello Song. I thought I had died and gone to heaven.

Cody's in town!

Rudy's little brother Cody is in town for the weekend, so I'm off to have fun around our new city!

I'll be back to blogging come Monday. See you then:)

Our dining room: an update.

It has been weeks since we put up our bookcase and took out all of our books. I thought it would be a good time to share some updated pictures. I would really like to put a rug under the table (maybe this one) and some window treatments up, but both of those are pretty minor, and I'm happy with it for now.

Gatsby really enjoys the dining room as well. He does his best thinking here.

Slightly dangerous photography.

Today I decided to go exploring our new city with some cameras. It is pretty hard to find free parking around here, so I had no choice but to take the pictures while driving. Here are some of the results! Not too shabby for being on the move huh?

More photos from today can be seen on my flickr, (link is on the right side of the page).

Making the pantry pretty.

(after)

Yesterday I decided that I could not and would not live with the scary and mouse poop infested pantry in our new home any longer. So I put on some gloves and got to work. Here are some photos of my progress.
(before)
I started by peeling away layers of paint and old wallpaper. I really just focused on the parts that were already peeling or chipped.

Next I peeled off the three layers of ancient contact paper that lined the shelves. Here is what was beneath all of the sticky stuff. ECK.

First coat of paint. I did two coats total.

I got two sheets of this colorful citrus wrapping paper made by Iota when we first got to Columbus, not really knowing where it would be used. I think this is the perfect place for it.

Guided by the natural line of the pattern in the paper, I cut out strips to use for each shelf.

After the second coat of paint dried, I applied the cut out paper using spray adhesive. It worked beautifully!

Here is my happy and welcoming new pantry! Free of mouse poop!