- I wish I could pull of the chic industrial look (above), but instead I’ll admire it.
- We’re talking baby names! What’s your pick for our soon-to-arrive baby boy?
- Two of my favorite colors together.
- Cutesy retro style is so fun.
- I’m really looking forward to having a nice laundry room (hopefully at least half as cute as this one).
- Everybody needs to eat. Good guys, bad guys, ordinary guys…
- These yarn-wrapped monograms are easy to make, and they look really sweet.
- Even the bathrooms in Anna’s home are perfectly her.
- Chairs!
- Drawers!
- Put a bird on it!
Honor Roll

Comments
39 responses to “Honor Roll”
I voted for ‘August’! :)
Although, Henry is such a classic, darling boy’s name. Who cares about popularity or unpopularity?
Eleanor and Henry.
Oh, for cryin’ out loud; it’s perfect!
Hugs – Jenny
I know, Eleanor and Henry sound perfect together! I know of a million little boys name Henry though, so it’s out for us.
I hear ya…even if you’re choosing an ancestor’s name, you don’t want one to get confused with another! Our boys are Ocean and Denali, and we still haven’t come across anyone (locally) with the same names…I’ve seen boys with Ocean spelled as ‘Oshen’, but haven’t known one personally. Naming your child is such a thrill, yet so overwhelming, because it is tied so tightly to your past, present, and future – and to every string of your heart!
Can’t wait to hear The Name…
Happy days – Jenny
*De-lurking*
I am definitely saving those bathrooms as inspiration! I have the same ugly pink-ish tile and I always wanted to change it. I don’t know if I’ll actually do it, but one can dream, right?
And I voted for Malcolm because I am going through a Malcolm loving phase. But Henry is such a lovely name, you should go for it anyway. :)
How about Bram?
I do like Henry but understand your aversion to rising popularity, I have the same aversion. :)
Or instead of Edward (because it’s on the rise I’m sure) Edmond (like Edmond Bertram) anyone else a HUGE Jane Austen fan? I’m sure that’s where my affinity for Henry (Tilney) comes in to play.
By the way, I have a daughter with another due in March so naming a boy seems much easier to me ;)
aaaaand…that’s all I’ve got for now.
Congrats and good luck on choosing.
I like Edwin instead of Edward too. And girls’ names are MUCH easier to me! Brandon and I have had a really hard time choosing boys’ names that we can agree on (but girls come easily to us).
we chose our daughter’s name, ella, in 1996 when we were still dating but moving towards an engagement. nature didn’t cooperate when we decided to become parents so by the time, our daughter was born in 2005, her old-fashioned name had become a popular choice. we still went with it and though i hear it frequently, especially as a nickname for isabella, gabriella, and yes, eleanor, it’s the name we chose – (ella fitzgerald sings “our” song) and the one we wanted for the miracle our daughter is. i also don’t know any jennifer or michael who complains about the popularity of their names. henry has been popular as long as ella has. if you like it, go with it. its timelessness is its appeal.
my thoughts on the alternative list. i have two nephews – brothers named oscar and malcolm – so i’m biased. and btw, my daughter is the only ella in her school’s kindergarten. my nephew shares a classroom with another oscar. you never know. in fact, my sister and i both married davids. and yes, they both prefer david to dave.
correction: my nephew, Oscar, has 3 other classmates named Oscar in his kindergarten!
How about Phin…short for Phineas.
We already have a Finn in the family (cousin). I love the name though.
i named my son fred after my grandfather. he’s cute:
http://chloestella.blogspot.com/2011/01/seasons-greetings.html
our next son will be clive after my husband’s grandfather.
i always loved henry but it is too popular. i really hate that my chloe has to be “chloe l.” at school.
My son’s name is Myles, and another friend recently named her son Miles– I LOVE that name (obviously) :) We also liked Sebastian, Conor, Oliver and Desmond.
(ps don’t really like Eleanor with Henry actually, it’s a bit too Lion in Winter, ya know?)
I voted for Oscar. My co-worker’s son is named Oskar and it’s a great solid name that really grew on me.
Happy naming!
We didn’t name our little guy until we finally met him. He is Gabriel (the other finalist was Lennon). However, the name I desperately wanted, but got vetoed by my hubby, was Milo. That would also be very lovely with Eleanor.
I adore August and think it is such a strong name meaning “great” or “magnificent.” Renoir’s name was Auguste.
My husband is Austin, and his sister called him “Auggie” all the time when he was little. He HATED it. I do love the name Augustus though. August to me sounds like a girl’s name though, because I’ve only ever know girls with it.
thanks for linking to my retro style post! xoxo.
What about Atticus? I know you are both big literary lovers. I kind of like the combination of Atticus and Eleanor. Or you could use my boy baby name…. Felix. Which of course I love.
Totally wanted to suggest Atticus as well, which happens to be my son, Roman’s, middle name!
I think Declan, Emerson and Oliver are all nice boys names that have not become too popular (at least not where I live, yet). The popularity thing can be annoying. We named our daughter Lily in 2004 and it was not so popular. Now it is in the top 25. It is a family name so we would have used it regardless. Just go with what you love.
My sons name is Ambrose and I was happy to see it on your list! It is so unique! It is a family name on both sides, we knew right away that it was meant for our baby.
Good luck with your choice, it’s not easy :)
I like Malcolm and August, but August is my birth month so perhaps I am biased.
Is that list the short list for boys’ names or would you consider others?
Love Seabastian (not heard often) and Benjamin.
Love Atticus but then again To Kill A Mockingbird is my favorite book of all time.
I gotta add my 2 cents for a baby boys name… my husbands God father’s name is Sterling. I think that is such a beautiful and strong name. We had a little girl and I do believe she will be our one and only – so I thought I would throw that in the pot.
There’s some great names up there – just don’t go with Tobias, because all I can think about is Arrested Development! Also, I just started watching Portlandia, and the “Put a Bird on it!” had me dying!!
My vote was for Gideon but I also love the name Spencer. I can just see you with a little boy named Spencer.
Any chance we’ll see that maternity shopping guide soon? Waiting on pins and needles!
I’m working on it!
Hee, thanks, can’t wait!
Love Owen or Theo with Eleanor…..such a tough call though I am sure the perfect name will find you!
Or what about Winston?
Benjamin Balch. How cute is that?
How fun is Barnaby! I just posted potential baby names for our boy…I think we’re about in the same boat, one girl and a boy on the way! Oddly, there wasn’t any overlap! Can’t wait to see what you come up with!
OH…and I LOVE the industrial look…just LOVE it! How long do you think it will last? That’s always my biggest concern.
I love your honor roll posts, and I can’t believe I had never seen “You Can’t Call It ‘It’” before! I also had seen those yarn-wrapped letters all over etsy, but I am so into doing one myself. Thanks for another great list of links!
And for what it’s worth, I had a coworker with children, ages 5 and 7, named Henry and Eleanor.
I like the name Oliver, even though it wasn’t on the list. Eleanor and Oliver. It fits somehow.
Andrew is a bright name with a great future!!
Anton is a wonderfully strong and happy name!
Jonas is a perfect name too.
Love reading your life! thanks.
Conrad?
That was a really long list of name suggestions! I love Gideon but honestly think it’s another gaining a lot of popularity, so I voted for Malcolm.
I think Harris or Harrison could be nice too. Has anyone suggested Matthias yet? I think Morgan is an awesome name, but it’s been hijacked as a girl’s name for so long that might be hard on him. Mason maybe? Adam is also a nice classic name.
If you wanted a variation on Henry, you could use Hendrick, but people would probably end up calling him Henry anyways.
Have you gotten it down to a short list yet? My husband didn’t have a name for the first three days after he was born because they just couldn’t decide. I think they gave him an extra middle name to make up for it.
Oh, I forgot one of my favorite boys’ names! Lawrence.