homeforthebetter

goal-oriented

2012-01-30T08:32:00.000-08:00

We're almost 2 months away from the anniversary of our first house project. It will have been three years. Three years! That's incredible to me. It's also motivating. We've had a very laid back year in house terms, as Baby and an eventful (is that the best word?) pregnancy took center stage. Now, I'm feeling like I would really like to get a few items marked off the list here at the end of our third full year. Or our Year In Review is going to be a very short post.

I remember back in college, learning about the difference between goal-oriented and goal-driven people. I've spent plenty of time being goal-driven. But, this is a stage where that's just maddening. Making a detailed list... being driven to complete that list... I learned years ago that it makes for a bunch of miserable little people and a miserable mommy. I can't mother well, wife well, and have a bunch of bulleted items that I absolutely must accomplish in a specified amount of time. I get bonkers. However, goal-oriented? Goal-oriented I can do. It means I'm very aware of what I hope to get done... probably far less in a far longer period of time than my goal-driven self would prefer... but, even with adjusted expectations, I realize it doesn't really need to happen. There is no must beyond caring for my family and, as second priority, my basic home tasks. I would like to get to the lists. I hope to get to the lists. I'm oriented that direction, but my loving Father may have different assignments for me that day. Being goal-oriented instead of driven is a good thing for me.

Even though I want to get a bunch done before the middle of March and even though I know circumstances are not likely to be in favor of that happening, it is nice to see some progress quickly with little changes that don't take much time. (Doesn't it seem like it's either time or money? If you have lots of time, you can do things inexpensively... but if you spend some dough, you can do things in just a short time?)

One little change that took next to no time at all, but took some cash, was purchasing Baby's crib. It arrived this weekend, and, at 5 months old, she graduated out of her bassinet! Just under the weight limit for that thing :)

I had to rearrange the master bedroom a bit. We're borrowing the chair from Bedroom 3 while Baby is sleeping in here because it's a rocker. I needed it to be on the other side of the room to make sure there was enough space for a crib.

It's not going to make the cover of Better Homes & Gardens or anything, but our master bedroom is getting better. Enlarging the windows was the best thing I think we could've possibly done. It's made such a difference. The sun has agreed to shine this week, too, so you know that's a HUGE DEAL!

I needed to put the crib in the corner where the chair had been... vacuumed all of the baseboard edges. Don't you love to do that? To get out the long, angled attachment and vacuum where the baseboard meets the floor. Seriously. It makes my day.

The color of the chair looks vintagey when it's in bedroom 3. In this room, though, it just looked mustardy brown. Not attractive. I embraced my inner college student and threw a blanket over it. And propped some IKEA storaged boxes (waiting to go back into the Bedroom 4 closet) beside it for a table. Very dorm room chic, don't you think?

My grandmother made that quilt as a young woman. I believe she made it with my great-grandmother. Judging from the fabrics... probably in the 30s. Instant happy.

A crib and a quilt. And the feel of the whole room is changed. It's not ideal to have Baby in here for a long time... we like to have the master bedroom to ourselves generally speaking ;) But, I don't mind having her in here with us. I don't know if it's the sunshine or what, but I like the room much, much more after this weekend. Obviously, the crib still needs a few things. She has brother's crib sheets, for one. I have a plan for a skirt...

it's on the list!

nice, comfy skin and current inspiration

2012-01-28T07:06:00.000-08:00

Back in the day, when we first moved into this house and started this blog, Sam and I spent a lot of time thinking through our design style. We were making fairly permanent (or at least difficult to change) decisions regarding this remodel, and we wanted those decisions to be informed and well thought out. So, I read and read and read some more, and we considered each new choice carefully.

That was time well spent.

Now, almost three years later (3 years? craziness!), I'm to the point where I don't feel like I have to agonize over every decision. The house has some momentum now. A pretty clear course marked out. I feel confident in it. Confident enough to play around more with the less permanent stuff - to throw polka dots on the mantel if I feel like it. To put a vintage tablecloth out if I want to. The foundation of each room is carrying a cohesive mood to allow for all of that without a completely schizo result. Finally.

Not that we're necessarily nearing our finish line. But, the progress is tangible. The house is more pleasant on the whole. It's brighter. More functional. More orderly. More cheerful.

More us.

But this "us" has come about through a variety of "thems". By that, I mean there have been a few definitive sources of inspiration that have helped guide us to where we are now.

As I mentioned in my last post, I like to give credit where credit is due, and since at times I may experiment with an exact copy or close to exact copy of someone else's idea, giving credit is only right and good.

(by the way, I didn't want to use these blogger's photos w/o permission, so I used what I could find on pinterest... giving credit to those sources. hope it doesn't get confusing. i didn't want a pictureless post!)

In no particular order, here are the women whose work and homes continually inspire and challenge me...

urban grace interiors via pinterest

Erika McPherson Powell. Here's her blog, Urban Grace Interiors. Everything Erika touches is instant gold. It seems like it, anyway. Her style is more exacting, more polished, more professional, more well-funded than my own, but I look to her rooms to help me work in touches of comfortable sophistication. They're real rooms, but with a designer's mark. She challenges me to work with finishes, pattern, and texture to get the feel I want in our spaces. And she gets the old house thing. Her photos of hardware make me melt. Oh, and the color green. Erika made me fall in love with green.

country home via pinterest

Lauren Leiss of Pure Style Home. Lauren has this incredible signature style. Her rooms, even when fundamentally different, all have a little something that is just her. Her eye is incredible. Lauren, like Erika, is a professional designer and her rooms reflect that. They're a little too "designed" for my personal style - a little too magazine perfect. But that's what she does so well! The inspiration I take from Lauren is mostly philosophical. She has great things to say about authentic spaces and being comfortable in your own skin. Her own home is nothing to sneeze at... I'm interested to see how it continues to evolve as they add a third little one and as her children get a little older. Lauren also helps me think through pattern, texture, form, and scale - especially concerning neutrals.

hidden in france via pinterest

Meg Duerksen of Whatever. Meg's is easily my favorite blog right now. She's not a designer. She's like me. A mom to five kids, staying at home. But she has this fabulously huge, gorgeous old house in Kansas. Everything at Meg's blog seems generous. Her style is a little more cluttered, funky, and flea market shabby than my own. However... however, I love it in her house! Meg challenges me to add color - bright color - and to not think too hard about what I instinctually love. Or take it all too seriously. If it makes you happy, why not put pom pom trim all over your wall?! There's a part of me that has always resonated with the Megs of the world. If I were going to list out a few Meg-like things I've loved for over a decade, they'd be pom pom (we had it on curtains in our previous house), silver plate, quilts, polka dots, and kids' art/crafts. She's the inspiration for letting life smile through our rooms :)

fig and sage via pinterest

Ashley Ann Campbell from Under the Sycamore. Ashley is an amazing woman, amazing mom, and amazing photographer. Her style is very feminine, much more feminine and lacy/scrappy/crafty than my own. But, Ashley inspires me like no one else when it comes to capturing my home, family, and days with my camera. I'm still learning. Her posts, her photos, are just beautiful to study. I do, from time to time, take inspiration from her home or crafts, too. But, mostly, she challenges my phototaking.

apartment therapy via pinterest

Apartment Therapy. Hands down, the best thing about Apartment Therapy is the house tours. Real homes, real people, real life... usually in a small space. Right up my alley. I love scrolling through the tours, looking for bits of inspiration and ideas that fit within our aesthetic. Fancy talk for stuff that will work in our home and make it better.

There are other sources, too. Pinterest, Google searches, sometimes Lonny. But the ones I've mentioned in this post are the Big Guns. The ones I really feel like come together in bits and pieces in my mind to make our home what I want it to be.

Rockstars. Every one of them.

Thanks for the inspiration, ladies!

man, it's crazy late

2012-01-26T22:51:00.000-08:00

What on earth am I doing starting a post at this time of night? I didn't even have caffeine. Why am I so jazzed up?!

I've been downloading and editing photos. I love to do that. I catch myself smiling...

We went to Trader Joe's today, and they had sunflowers. Absolute genius. Whoever decided to market sunflowers to Ohioans in January is an absolute genius. I nabbed 'em up quick and copycatted Meg even quicker.

I'm all about being yourself. Being original. Except for when I'm not. Like when I want to make my house feel like her house. I keep going back to her "Home Sweet Home" button on her blog and just staring at the pictures. It's like some kind of visual therapy.

Honestly, though, I couldn't handle her house. Too much stuff. It would get to me. It is nice, though, to look at her photos again and again. It would be a lovely place to spend an afternoon.

My version of Meg's happy, colorful style is less "abundant"... more ordered. More edited. More high strung? I don't let the kids mix their playdoh, after all. A lot less funky. Although, I admit, there are times that I just might consider wearing glitter sneakers. But, then I'd reconsider and wear black ballet flats. Because that's me. And that's why I have 67 readers and Meg has a trillion.

But... anyway...

I took some photos of SpareOom tonight. Just in case you were thinking these Mama Nights of mine were all glamorous. I wanted to be able to set you straight on that. And I wanted to show you my new crafting chair :)

ta da! courtesy of IKEA.

Oh, and my style has a little more of a modern dose mixed in than Meg's does... and not much at all of that chippy paint business. Okay. Enough about Meg. But, I had to give her due credit. It's not cool to copy and act like it's your own brilliance at work.

Going around the room with my iPhone...

There are two sets of mirrored sliding doors in this room. They aren't the prettiest things around, but they reflect so much light that I actually like them. I also like that sweater I have on. It sparkles a little bit.

Can you tell in the photo? Just a little bit of metallic thread. Festive. Hive & Honey from Piperlime.

Moving counterclockwise...

That collage wall is a blatant copy. Although, honestly, it was subconscious at the time.

Really!

The partially open door with the light on is the half bath.

And just beyond that is the laundry room.

Then, using the ironing board as a reference point, we come to the pit of despair. This corner will look very different very soon. It must.

Tonight I made a pile to throw away...

And a pile to give away...

Ahhhhh. Doesn't that just make you feel good? I'll bet that's why I'm so energized!

Past the pit now. This time use the vacuum as a reference point...

And back again to where we started off.

Gorgeoso, no?

This room is very bright owing to the 3 large flourescent light fixtures...

... and the resulting glare on the concrete floor.

ha ha.

just kidding.

About the glare. Not about the concrete.

So, yup. It's lovely. It's also very, very warm since we close the vents in there all winter (note sarcasm). But it's been GREAT so far. It may not be much at this point, but I can still make pretty things in it!

I'll leave you with something nicer to look at than flourescent lights and concrete. I've been searching Pinterest and Google for all kinds of organizing ideas... fabric organizing, ribbon organizing, wrapping paper organizing. The works. My mind has been full to overflowing with pretty pictures of orderly loveliness :) I don't know that the results of my efforts are quite so inspiring, but it does feel good to have things much more efficiently and attractively set up.

Why did I never think to save fabric scraps in a glass container before? Thank you, Pinterest!

All right. Time to rest this head. Tomorrow will be here before long. Friday, Friday! We're planning on lighting a fire in the fireplace and playing Settlers of Catan tomorrow night. And, Saturday, we work on the bedroom!

Have a great weekend, guys!

mama night and... a craft room?

2012-01-23T09:29:00.000-08:00

I ran out of time to show you the rest of my pictures on Friday. People needed to eat and all that.

The nerve.

Before I started my last post, I walked around the house with my camera... just snapping whatever I wanted to share. I made it downstairs to the family room, but not beyond that. I wanted to show you some more of SpareOom.

The whole big deal SpareOom Makeover is a ways away still, but I'm thinking I can so something to this room this winter.

I've started organizing all the JUNK. Which is a good place to start. Taking lots and lots of things to Goodwill. They've been there too long. Since the move. I'm not good at downsizing, apparently.

Last April, I was daydreaming about creating some little sewing space in the laundry room. Just daydreaming, because the laundry room isn't done, either. I just reread this post (the title totally made me laugh) and I was struck by how my daydreams for a space like this are still the same. Especially in winter. A place to go when it's too cold to go anywhere else, but you really just need a little time to regroup.

quick note: I'm not talking about a replacement for time spent in prayer and quiet reflection, journaling, reading the Word of God. I mean when you need to make something, listen to music... loudly because you aren't using the white noise maker, and be surrounded by pretty color for a few hours. Maybe not everyone benefits from this kind of evening as much as I do, but... I do!

Meg has an amazing craft room. Just last week, she posted new photos of it. I was able to get a feel for the layout better than before. And guess what? It's tiny! That made me think. How could I carve out a little nook of brightly colored inspiration? How could I use what I already have and make it work for me? In JANUARY???

ha ha. I'm being dramatic about the winter now. But, seriously, it has been a real problem in the past. I think, partly because we've been so proactive with my winter weirdness this year, it's not nearly as bad as I make it out to be. But, I still find myself thinking of planting flower seeds or sitting by the pool on a regular basis :)

I have my Mama Nights on Thursday nights... most weeks. Last week Sam brought pad thai home for dinner. I kiss him, kiss the kids, head to Spare Oom, crank pandora, and do whatever for the next 4-5 hours. What a blessing. Seriously. I don't take it for granted. It's a huge, huge blessing.

And my children are a huge blessing, too. I must think so... I keep having them :) I don't want to communicate that they are anything else. I love them to bits. Remember, though... they are always here. ha ha. For realz! Think about that for a minute. NONE of them go to school NONE of them hop on a bus. That's our choice and I wouldn't have it any other way... it just means I need to be purposeful about a little rest. Rest from work, rest from demands, and rest from my small, precious crowd. I'm a better mama for it. A better wife.

Plus, we have pretty things in our home the next day!

Thursday is also my big cleaning day. So, I kind of wipe myself out on purpose, knowing that I'll have the evening completely off. I get so much done. It's awesome.

So, I grabbed my pad thai, cranked Jack Johnson (the happiest... especially his Curious George children's station... not really kiddie music), and made something. Or a few things.

Friday, when I walked around with my camera, I took photos of the new additions.

Pom pom trim on Punkin's pillowcase.

And I know a pennant banner is hardly news, but it was new to Brother. And he loved it. Camo on one side...

... muted yellow on the other. Not pastel... mustardy, but still bright enough.

Punkin and Brother share this room, as you may recall. I have had to try to figure out how to decorate a space for an (almost) 5 year old boy and a 7 year old girly girl. Not. easy. The pom pom trim and the yellow side of dude's banner are to appease her. She didn't want camo. Of any kind.

It's coming along. I hope to share a little official progress soon, but there are still some key projects I want to finish up first. For now, it's looking like this...

Which I like. But, Punkin wants more pink. Stat.

Or just some pink.

In about 2 years, Baby will move in with Punkin, Little Dude will get his own room, and she can revel in all the pink she wants. For now, I'm thinking a pillow is about all I can work in to a room shared with a boy.

Speaking of Baby, we ordered a crib for her this weekend. She's getting to the weight limit on her bassinet. It will still have to go in our room... her "nursery" is still her older sisters' bedroom. But, I've decided to go ahead and start decorating the nursery as hers. That way, when SweetP and Shug get to move in to Bedroom 4, I won't have two bare rooms at once. And the nursery will be closer to done... homier... when she finally does get to go in there.

The vintage dresser will stay when Bedroom 2 becomes her nursery. I made a little happy banner for her.

Makes me smile :)

This week, I have to use my Mama Night to start thinking about birthdays. Little Dude and SweetP have birthdays on the same weekend in mid-February. And dude wants Star Wars. A Millenium Falcon cake. ha. And costumes. For all the kids.

We'll see about that.

at least there's a little snow

2012-01-20T08:08:00.001-08:00

I don't think I'm going to get the sunshine I wanted for good indoor photos this week. It's still overcast, but there's a little snow on the ground. That makes a huge difference in the light. Still not quite enough for great photos, but I'll take what I can get.

Snow light is one of my favorite things about winter.

Maybe one of my only favorite things about winter... once Christmas is past. Still fightin' the good fight against the winter doldrums. That last pillow from Olive Handmade came the other day.

It helps :)

There's a yellow backing that you can only see a teensy bit if you're looking from the side. Just that little peek of yellow helps, too.

The green pillows were the first to ship. The fit is just a touch wonky, but I used larger pillow forms than the seller suggested. I like the pillows full. The suggested pillow size was too wimpy and sad-looking for my tastes, so I shoved a 22" form in :) Now they're pretty much what I was wanting.

With the quilty pillow, it's probably a little too Spring-y. Oh, well. Girl needs some Spring!

Across the room from the happy, pushing-spring-too-soon pillows, this is still in progress...

Dumb bookcase.

And right beside that eyesore, the girls were working on their morning lessons...

And this little cutie was playing in her bouncy seat.

She's not crying - her super long eyelashes bother her eyes sometimes and make them water. Sugar! She is, seriously, the easiest baby ever.

Brother was downstairs watching Signing Time. Ummm... I think they were teaching the sign for "grumpy"... I hope? Maybe he just needed a snack.

He was watching it on the M.A.S.S.I.V.E new tv Sam bought on New Year's Eve.

I expected the tv purchase. It was only a matter of time. I did not, however, expect it to be so M.A.S.S.I.V.E. And did I mention that it's big?

Sam and I have a date night tonight (woot!) and we're going to IKEA. Among other things, we're planning on buying a table for the very large tv. Clearly, the current improvised table, although serviceable, isn't really adding a whole lot to the room.

We aren't going to be painting the paneling and brick in the family room just yet, but I am trying to make it a smidge more cheerful. It's been brown and dreary since we moved in... neglected while we worked on other priorities. When the Christmas tree came down, I decided the mantle needed something kind of loud and extra smiley.

I'm not sure how "me" it is... it's more "me in January" than anything else. So far so good, though. I haven't plummeted into quite my normal funk. No crying yet, even.

That makes me feel like hot stuff!

And I'm reeeaaaalllly excited to get the new table and have fun with Sam tonight :)

Lots to be thankful for :)

I took more photos than I had time to upload today. I'll share the rest next week! Have a great weekend!!!

great weekend

2012-01-16T17:57:00.000-08:00

the living room list

2012-01-11T20:44:00.000-08:00

Hey, guys. I'm hot stuff this week - two whole posts! Look out, world! And I'm feeling chatty again, too. And like sharing pictures :)

Do you remember back in the fall when I said I was going to work on the living room? Do the items on that little sheet of paper? This one?

Well, I got started painting the living room right away. Nothing earth-shattering. The same white as the trim - Benjamin Moore White Dove. Then, I got to the part of the list about painting the bookcase. And, truly, it's all kind of a foggy, painful memory now, but somehow I decided to try to paint the bookcase a gray color with a bluish, greenish undertone. Try to pick up some of those colors in the rug. As I recall, those were my intentions. However, I did not want to paint the shelves. I didn't want to paint them because I knew they'd get trashed. This is a bookcase for children's books and it gets used many, many times a day. Painted shelves would be wasted in a matter of days, if not hours. So, I wanted to leave them as is. Or, as was. I stayed up late priming and painting. I got the stupid thing done and... long story short...

I hated it.

Great. Great! Like I have all the time in world to paint furniture just to ruin it. It might not look bad here, but all I could think was that it reminded me of the freshman year desk my sister had from Big Lots. It looked dated and nasty. I sank into a big, big funk. My list. My poor list :( My poor bookcase.

Do you ever just get unreasonably funky, even though you know it's ridiculous to get so grumpy over something so... well... unreasonable? That's how I felt. I knew it was silly to get discouraged about it. What good was that going to do anyone? But there was a big, ugly bookcase in my living room. The very living room I was trying to make prettier.

A funk ensued. Go ahead. Watch.

Untitled from homeforthebetter on Vimeo.

Ha ha. How immature is that? I got over it, of course. Making fun of myself helped. By the time I was done shooting that little video, I was laughing about it. I decided to try to paint it white and see how that went. It looked better at least. It was white on the outside and a kind of gray inside. You can see it a little in the background of these photos from Christmas.

It looked okay white, but it just wasn't doing it for me. I left it alone until this afternoon.

Can you believe that?

It just peeled right off.

I had read on a number of different blogs (which shall remain nameless) that you could skip the sanding step if you used Gripper primer. Well, I skipped the sanding step and I used Gripper primer. Aren't you impressed with how well it held up? But, really, it's a good thing. Because I could just peel off the paint I didn't like! :)

So, it's about 2/3 peeled now. There are little nooks and crannies that are giving me some grief. I'll pick at them here and there tomorrow. Now I know. And now the bookcase will be brown, again. But, technically, I finished the list.

I made the blankie early on. Love it.

It's chenille on one side...

And Michael Miller's Ta Dot in "Stone" on the other :)

I didn't tie it or quilt it or anything. It's just the two pieces of fabric sewn together and flipped right side out. It has a nice weight from the chenille, and it lays almost like a duvet since the fabrics are loose.

Very cozy. Very cheerful.

That wall behind the sofa is still yellow. We left it unpainted because we have other plans for it. Later :)

As I was looking for photos of the blankie, I found a couple more of painting the room...

... and that bookcase. ha.

I bought fabric to make Christmas pillow covers, but I never got them made. So, instead, I ordered some from Etsy to help with my post-Christmas doldrums. They're GREEN. Because outside it's BROWN. I'll take a few photos of them when we get some sunshine for a decent shot. Oh, and when the last one arrives. I'm still waiting on one little pillow.

So, that's all I'm doing to the living room for now. And I'm not really planning on choosing another little paper right away. I'm in a crafty, let's-make-the-house-look-like-a-kindergarten-classroom type mood these days, so I have a few others projects in mind. Tonight, for instance, I'm priming and painting this...

... to house a Lego population explosion. I promised the children I'd get their Lego cabinet done before I started what I really want to work on. This came in the mail today! Even the grayest, coldest January doesn't stand a chance against the sheer HAPPINESS of this fabric :)

Thanks so much for sticking with me, guys :) Have a great day!

twenty twelve

2012-01-08T20:19:00.000-08:00

Hey, everyone.

If there's anyone still there, that is. Y'all have been more than patient with my scarce posts during the last twelve months. Thank you for checking back in with us!

I feel like I could write a million different things tonight, but because there are so many thoughts running around in my little head, I'm not sure what to actually pick and choose. So, I'll just go to my photos and be random :)

I got an iPhone for Christmas. I seriously had no idea what I had been missing.

I cleaned the children's bathroom the other day, and there was my iPhone - and Instagram. This is how visual people clean a bathroom. They make photo collages and post them for their friends on Facebook.

Do you like my nifty 5 sign? Etsy. When the Christmas decorations start coming down, I get in a funk. Every. stinkin. year. January and February are hard months here in Ohio. We only get snow a few times. The rest of the time it's cold, wet, gray, and muddy. Bleh! So, Sam let me go a little wild on Etsy after New Year's. This five is one of the first things to arrive on the doorstep. Just a little red. A little cheerfulness. Makes me smile everytime I pass the bathroom :) Good buy.

I'm doing this photo project I decided to call "Catch 36". I turned 36 back in November and the idea is basically just to try to photograph the moments that make up each week until I turn 37. My whole 36th year in photos. Not one each day, but enough to get the feel for a week or to atleast have a 2 page layout for each week. There isn't really a formula for each layout, though. I'm kind of making things up as I go along. Adapting as needed. This week, for example, I decided I wanted portraits of the kiddos. So, I took posed shots. Different than the candids and still lifes I've focused on in previous weeks. But, the portraits give a great opportunity to get each child's face - close up - all in one week's time. So far so good.

I love this one.

Baby's doing great :) Four and a half months already! She's such a love. Such a blessing.

Did I ever tell you all that we got a new camera? Yes, again. Now we're shooting with a Canon 5D Mark II. I'm learning. It would be nice if cameras all pretty much worked the same way, but they don't. Not even within Canon. So, I'm trying to get the hang of all the little buttons and options and modes and whatnot. I'm shooting in manual, which I feel good about, but I definitely still feel like I want to keep improving.

Some of the shots I'm sharing tonight are iPhone pics. I think it's pretty obvious which ones just from the quality of the photos. Some are square, like this...

... which I can. not. believe. I'm. showing. you.

This is, of course, Spare Oom. The holidays were hard on Spare Oom. In all the busyness, stuff just kept getting tossed back there. A mess, people. Seriously. But, I have it almost all cleared out now. Anyway, these square photos are Instagram pics. They're edited that way, so I can't post them in the format I usually use. I like the squares, though. I think they look cheery.

I've been here a lot. Like, a whole lot. I'm on a mission to get rid of the stuff we don't use... want... need. We're not rolling around in lots of extra space here, and there's just no sense in keeping stuff just so it can clutter up life. No sense, I tell you.

Let's see. What else is house related?

Sam is still chipping away at Bedroom 4. SweetP and Shug will be in there. Baby doesn't have a nursery, yet, because they're sleeping in the room that will, eventually, be hers (Bedroom 2). She's happy as a clam sleeping in a bassinet in our room, though. I like having the babies close by when they're little anyway.

I've been a crafty little thing all weekend. It started Thursday night. Once it gets cold, I'm not really much for going out for my regular "Mama Nights". So, I stayed in and decided to just hole up in (newly semi-orderly) Spare Oom.

Printed some pictures and gathered some bits and pieces.

And made a collage wall near the sewing machine table I have set up in there.

Very therapeutic. Helped chase away some of that post-holiday bleh.

Sam found some questions online - some blog he was reading - designed to help husbands and wives talk together about the past year and the new year coming up. Each question is meant to be thought through in several different areas of life... spiritual, physical, etc. One of the questions was along the lines of this: "If you could sum up your hopes for the coming year in one word, what would that word be?" Since we're still deep in the throes of improving this house and since this is where I'm documenting that process, I thought this question might be interesting applied to our 2012 goals for the house. I came up with a phrase instead of a word.

Baby Steps.

Baby Steps because, first and foremost, Baby won't be a baby forever. The house isn't going anywhere, but her babyhood is. And the childhood of all of our children. These are days I'm never going to see more than once. The house has to take a backseat. But, also, Baby Steps because I think we can still make progress, but it's going to be incremental. I know, it's always been incremental, but the increments just got much, much smaller. Still. A little something here and a little something there add up to a bigger something eventually.

I haven't bought much to decorate the house, yet. The house budget is always going to things like new doors, paint, or supplies. That's changing this year. I may not be able to take hours out of an afternoon to paint trim, but I can order fun new pillow covers from Etsy (which I did), or finally get something on the walls. If I just keep adding one more pretty thing - consistently - throughout the year, we'll have a much more welcoming home by the time the world ends.

I mean, by the end of twenty twelve ;)

But, it would be nice if Baby got her own room before preschool. Or sooner.

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-25T20:52:00.000-08:00

"For from the Father's throne You came,
His banished children to reclaim;
And earth and sea and sky revere
The love of Him who sent You here.
And we are jubilant today,
For You have washed our guilt away.
O hear the glad new song we sing
On this, the birth of Christ our King!"

- 6th century hymn adapted by Kristyn Getty

embrace the camera - november 2

2011-11-03T08:45:00.000-07:00

still pluggin' away at the living room. i've just been working on part of the room each day. too much to roll all the walls at once. we're wrapping up morning lessons and baby's about to take a nap - so we'll get started cutting in part of the last wall then. it's a little chaotic with books everywhere, since we have to move bookcases all around. i will be very glad to have this room back to normal at the end of the weekend.

i actually talk in italics. it's impossible to convey my actual speaking voice without using them. but i try not to overdo it when typed out. italic overkill.

emily's embracing the camera again this week! (edit: umm... no she's not. girl has a lot on her plate. looks like this week ETC was the plate to fall. that's good! i'd much rather see someone forget a blog linky thing than ignore her real life priorities. so i'll link up to the week before.) i had this freeze frame of a flip video from mid-October. very much a normal part of everyday lately. not the best quality, but still much better than never capturing that moment at all.

baby's getting bigger, slowly but surely. she's 10 weeks old now and almost out of her preemie clothes! she weighed in at 10 lbs. buck necked this morning. four more ounces and she'll have doubled her birthweight! :) since she's healthy, gaining, and strong, I can say it's been really fun having a baby be so little for so long. some of our babies gained weight so quickly that the teeny newborn stage seemed to pass overnight.

i'm soakin' her up. she's such a love.

a video

2011-11-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

do you like to watch videos on blogs as much as i do? there's just something about posts with videos, especially if i've been reading the blog for a while... seeing photos, reading about lives. then, there's a video, and the blogger seems more like a real person than they did before. but, maybe i'm just weird like that.

i'm posting a video tonight. not because i think i'm this terribly interesting person or that you've been dying to see more of me, me, me. just because i think they're fun. and they do show a different side of things that photos alone cannot. and can i just say that i'm thankful for vimeo? i wouldn't feel comfortable uploading to youtube, but vimeo seems to have tighter controls in place and it's easy to use. after trying to upload in a slew of diferent ways, vimeo turned out to be the best option. so, props to vimeo.

we got started on our little list for the week. i figured since the painting was by far the biggest deal on there, that was a good place to start. plus, the day was pretty mild so i could have the windows open.

boosting morale from homeforthebetter on Vimeo.

i wanted the children to help. problem is i "don't do very well" when i have too many helpers in a small space all at once. but, i wanted them to be a part of the painting today. i want them to feel some sense of ownership when it comes to these never-ending house projects. and kind of boost morale in a way. we can all get tired of the paint cans and exposed walls.

so, the younger two (besides baby) helped with the first coat and the older two helped with the second. even with those shifts, i still broke it down more and worked with one child at a time. it went surprisingly well. i kept a wet paper towel nearby to wipe the excess paint off the baseboards and take care of any drips that dripped away. i was fairly relaxed. i think they had fun.

half of the room is done now.

yay!

more of the list tomorrow!

(what do you think? do you like the video post? should i do more of this kind of thing?)

8 little lists

2011-10-28T09:11:00.000-07:00

i had a million thoughts running through my head the other night. things i want to get to before spring. projects that i think would really make a difference in the ongoing process of making this house our home. some tedious stuff. some creative stuff. i jotted down a quick list that night, hoping it would relieve my poor brain and help me get to sleep.

it worked.

this morning was unusually quiet. the younger guys were playing with a car track that had been put away for a few months, so it was like a brand new toy to them. the older two were going strong on their morning lessons. i had a hot cup of decaf, a sleeping baby, and a quiet kitchen. very nice. i decided to take a look at that list.

and i rewrote it. made it a little more cheerful. i put each room and its bulleted list on a separate little piece of paper.

tomorrow is punkin's second birthday party. we usually only do one, but not all the family could come on one weekend this time. so, two parties. sam went camping with little dude the weekend before last. that means 3 weeks without a saturday to work on bedroom 4. i'm in limbo until sam gets to the closet shelving. then, it'll be my job to prime and paint all that. woot woot. until then, though, i'm just doing normal days... nothing extra on the house.

that's been nice so far. but baby is settled into a routine now. the house is reasonably clean. the kiddos are doing well. i'm ready. ready for a project :)

i'm thinking this is worth a shot. i may not get past a week or two, but it seems like a good idea at this point. pick a paper on friday. work on that list throughout the following week. just until the week is out, even if the list isn't done. if it is done - great! if not, the paper just goes back into the bowl. no stress. on crazy weeks, we just do one or two things. some weeks we should be able to do a lot more. but, my goal is to always do at least one thing on the list for that week.

there are eight pieces of paper. 8 weeks worth of projects. then we'll stop. even if everything isn't done. we should finish up the 8 weeks right before Christmas. i like the idea of getting a lot of little things taken care of before the end of 2011. and i like starting on the first week of a new month. and on a monday.

i'm sequential. can you tell?

choosing the room on a friday lets me have the weekend to gear up and collect anything i might need for that week. sweetp (and baby) helped me out this morning. the first room we'll chip away at?

very fun :)

crazyjoy: us

2011-10-27T06:58:00.000-07:00

technically, this is only a little over half of us. but if we say i'm just referring to me and our three youngest, then it's a whole "us".

The photo is pretty grainy, but even so - it's one of my favorites so far this year.

us :)

the dining room chairs

2011-10-24T12:43:00.000-07:00

the dining room chairs were driving me crazy. once my "nesting" instinct really set in with Baby, they just had to be done. done! now.

i finished painting them really fast in just a few days. (they are far from perfect). i wasn't really being picky when i painted them. i just wanted them to be finished. i was tired of the folding chairs and i had this feeling that it was kind of now or never. i was only 34 weeks, but i felt like painting them was a necessity. it was a feverish project, completed on the double (and on the picnic table so I wouldn't have to bend down) while the children played outside around me. nesting city. funny - i had Baby less than a week later.

so, they were finally white. which was good. but they didn't have any seats! which was bad. i had planned on recovering the seats long ago, but hadn't chosen a fabric, yet. i wanted a charcoal and white ticking, but i couldn't fine one. do you do that? get something so specific in your mind's eye that then you can't find it anywhere? because no one makes it? silliness. anyway, Baby came sooner rather than later and... well... you get the picture. we still had those dumb folding chairs and no fabric. they looked sad and they made me grumpy :( i decided to put the white chairs at the table anyway. two of them had reasonably useable seats. two of them were completely seatless. a little risque, really. seatless. and what's sadder? folding chairs or chairs with no seats? i guess i thought any progress was better than nothing.

they stayed like that for over two months. the older girls do their morning school at this table, so they would choose one of the chairs with seats and just plop down, right on the bare batting. it might not have looked the best, but at least it didn't seem to affect their math scores much.

early last week, i was in joann's and noticed the indoor/outdoor fabrics were 50% off. the time was ripe. i took absolutely forever trying to decide, but eventually settled on "morgan tile". i didn't want the chairs to stand out too much, but i didn't want them to be boring, either. i think the total came to around $17 with the discount. score! i happily took the new fabric home to my poor seatless chairs.

but, when i got it home... i tried to convince myself it worked. really, i did. the pattern, though. the scale of the pattern was all wrong with the pattern on the rug. they competed. big times.

instead of jumping into things right away, i laid the fabric on one of the seats and left it. i wanted to see how it felt to live with it there. to help me really decide. i kept checking it out for a day or two. nope. no dice. still competing. the chairs made your eyes fix on them now. i didn't want that.

phooey.

i was back at joanns a few days later, getting more decorations for punkin's birthday. i had all of the children with me, but baby was sleeping and my kids are (generally) good shoppers, so i decided to go ahead and look for a better option. it took me a looooong time. i think i stood in line at the cutting counter three different times with three different fabrics. good thing there was a line to give me more time to deliberate! i don't think i would've been happy with the first couple of choices.

i wound up choosing a thin black and white stripe that looked very similar to ticking. it wasn't indoor/outdoor, though, and i had been trying to go that route for stain reasons. but, it was marked down to $9 a yard. good enough, right? get this - when i took it to the cutting counter, the joann's lady told me it was 50% off of the marked down price! i got all the fabric i needed for four chairs for around 7 beans!

woot! :)

i took it home. held my breath. oh, hooray. it looked great with the rug, and - although pretty safe and traditional - not too boring on the white chairs. i covered the cushions over the course of the nest 2-3 days and evenings. it doesn't really take that long usually, but i was working with snippets of time here and there, so it took me longer. like this post. i wrote some of it this morning. saved it to finish later. now, it's 2:57 pm, the older kids are watching a quick video, Baby is kicking and cooing beside me, pandora is playing a xylophone rendition of tom petty for babies (seriously? who knew?) and i'm typing w/ one hand because i'm pumping and stopping to talk to baby and play with her. yep, pumping. baby hasn't quite figured out this whole nursing business quite yet. she's doing better every week, but i'm still bonding with my medela on a regular basis. so, while i pump, why not blog? ha ha. i'll probably save this post again, load the photos later tonight or tomorrow, and finally post it after 4-5 short blogging sessions. snippets of time.

so, now the dining room chairs are done. makes me very happy to have that crossed off the list. my pregnant-lady-in-a-hurry paint job will probably need touch ups here and there, but so far no one's come in the house and immediately started inspecting my chairs for thin paint spots, so i think we're good for a bit.

hope y'all are having a great day. enjoying the crisp fall weather. love it.

by the way... after tom petty?

aerosmith.

for babies.

ha.

bedroom 4 underway

2011-10-20T15:19:00.000-07:00

So, Bedroom 4. This is where we are.

I'm not really sure when we started this room. it was before Baby was born... she's 8 weeks today (can't believe it)... so maybe, 12 weeks ago? Needless to say, it took a back seat when she arrived. Sam has been able to work on it some in the last 2 months, but our hopes for busting this room out quickly are pretty much gone. we'll just do what we can and hopefully it'll get done before Christmas. anything is better than it was!

The first thing we started with in this room was the closet. Flashback to the closet "before"...

So pretty.

I can tell this photo was taken just a few months after moving in. for one thing, we still had the toad cage. our pet american toad didn't fare too well in a December move, though. cold-blooded and all that. both toady and the cage are long gone now. I can also tell because the kids are sitting there watching a video. the t.v. was in this room for a while because the family room was all torn up - waiting to get its pee carpet replaced. ah, good times. good times.

the original closet configuration was bizarre. like many things in the house. you just wonder who on earth did the layout design. someone with an aversion to symmetry, i can tell you that much. (excuse the lack of capitals, by the way. i'm often doing something else with one hand. makes the shift key a little tricksy). anyway, the closet is a great size - the whole length of the room - but it had over 2 feet of basically unusable space on either end. the doors only went over so far, and to access the end spaces, you had to lean in reeeeaaalllly far and push a bunch of stuff out of the way first. bad design. sam and i spent no less than 3 straight hours one afternoon brainstorming our plans for this room. should we move the closet entirely? make two separate ones? where would beds go if we did move it? what was the absolute best use of space for our family? for all these GIRLS?!

i tried to grab a quick shot the other day, but i had the 50mm lens on the camera. if i remember correctly, i was snapping this in between one of Baby's naps and a feeding... no time to run downstairs and grab a better lens!!! ha ha.

this is what we came up with in the end. two closets side by side.

it looks like no more than 2 girls will share this room at any given time. so, two separate closets with all the space available (hello, 2 ft. on each end!) seemed like a decent route to take.

sam riped out the front, non-loadbearing wall and got to work framing out the closets. i don't know. he did this maybe in July?

i think the photo above is a few weeks after Baby came along. Sam may have gotten the new wiring done then, too. he moved an outlet when the wall came down and he wired things up so that both closets have an overhead light now.

within the last 4-5 weeks or so, he's started putting up and mudding the new drywall.

so, this is the progress so far.

the next step is to finish up the mudding... which is very messy... the sanding part. BUT Baby is faaar away from all that when daddy's sanding. everything's well ventilated. pinky promise. then, I think he's planning on getting the shelving cut. that way i can start priming and painting the shelves (which takes a while) while he works on getting the doors in. once those two things are done, the final steps will go pretty quickly.

there you go! slowly but surely we'll keep plugging away at it. next thing you know, we'll have another room down.

have a great one!

hipstamatic

2011-10-18T06:55:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys. Just puttin' a few pictures up. Sam and Little Dude went camping over the weekend, just the two of them. Sam added a new app to his iphone before they left... hipstamatic. I thought these were especially cute. He's such a great little guy.

Hope y'all are having a great day :)

zinnias

2011-10-17T07:05:00.000-07:00

Good morning! Thanks for all the kind words about the children's bath reveal. I loved reading your sweet comments. Made me smile :)

It was absolutely gorgeous here last week. The weather was truly perfect. There was not a cloud in the sky on several days, and the temps hovered around 75 to 80 degrees. We got outside as soon as we finished lessons each day. Boosting our Vitamin D and beginning to take care of some of the fall garden maintenance.

It was so pretty out, though, and so mild that I didn't want to remove too many of the annuals just yet. I did take out a few to make room for some flowering shrubs I got for super low fall prices.

The zinnias, though? No. Not the zinnias. I left them alone to grace us with their cheerful, semi-tackiness a little while longer.

They're a little loud, but I love them.

This front bed will most likely be shrubs next year, but with the cost of the soil and blocks to raise the bed a bit, we had to go the economy route for this year. Zinnias give you so much bang for your buck. A pack of seeds for a dollar and some change.

The first frost is usually expected around mid-October in our part of Ohio. Right on cue, tomorrow night is forecasted to drop down to 31 degrees. So, instead of losing all these pretties to the frost, I think I'll cut them this afternoon and bring them inside. A bouquet on the kitchen table will give us a few days more to enjoy the last drops of warm, sunny goodness.

And today is so beautiful. It's a good excuse to be out, anyway.

These beds don't really look like much at this point. It all peaked in late August, right when we brought Baby home. There were "Teddy Bear" sunflowers and some gorgeous (but massive) cosmos giving plenty of height and color then. Now, everything's getting ready for a long winter's rest. I think today may be the last day I water the whole bed. I love watering. So relaxing. I'll miss it.

There had been a spot here for the kids to dig in all summer long, but now that the parsley and basil are out of the way, there's a little more room. Our neighbor accidentally mowed over one of these guys the other day.

And then there's the woods. We're actually beginning to see some return for all the labor down there. Sam camped with the kids down by the creek at the end of the summer. They even made their dinner in the firepit. One or two more good burn days and I think next summer it will start to really shape up.

This week's a busy one. Punkin turns 7 on the 26th, and she's having two parties this year because none of the weekends worked for all the family. Sam's parents and his sister and her family are coming this weekend for party #1. Lots of prep stuff to do... and cleaning. I'll share a few of the birthday related projects later this week. Oh, and the progress on Bedroom 4. I'll get you up to speed asap.

Have a great day, everybody!

children's bathroom: after

2011-10-13T14:50:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's the kids' bath reveal! (finally).

But, first, I think we all need to take a moment to remember the bath that was.

shiver.

gives you the willies, doesn't it?

well, it's long gone, sistas! here's the first layer, all finished up :)

Ta da! I know. Crazy it's the same room.

a few details...

So, there you go! It's been so nice to have it done. Bright, clean, new :) Well, it's clean now, anyway. Thanks, Anonymous, for getting my duff in gear to clean it really well for today's post. Ha.

Have a great weekend, everybody!!!

crazyjoy: wish

2011-10-10T17:57:00.000-07:00

You know how sometimes you're just fried? That was me tonight at around 8 o' clock. I plopped down on the couch with my laptop, half listened to whoever tried to talk to me, and clicked on whatever came my way. This click led to that click led to that. Funny how small the blog world can be. Before I knew it, I was visiting this blog and doing a double take at the photos in the header.

Wait a minute. That's Ashley Ann's sister*.

See that? Funny. So, I spent a little veg-out time scrolling through Lesley's blog. She has a little weekly photo challenge called CrazyJoy. I know. This is a house blog. But, seriously, we just had a baby. And, although house things are happening around here, house posting hasn't been. I'm just not taking photos of drywall compound these days. So, I'm thinking maybe I should loosen up. I can post whatever I want. Tonight, I want to post about CrazyJoy :)

The inspiration word for this week was WISH.

Here's my (totally unstaged - promise!) interpretation...

Brother (aka Little Dude) had been quietly engaging himself for a while before I finally went out to see what he was doing. It was nearing snacktime and, apparently, he knew it. There he was, drawing away at the kitchen table with his basket of markers and with his snack... all planned out.

Wish.

Now, I'm sure you're wishing I'd get down to business and post something about the house, right? Sam is working on Bedroom 4. He has to because Punkin and SweetP are moved into Bedroom 2 right now which is supposed to be the nursery. Excuse the excessive use of italics in this post, but I feel it is needed. Can you believe FIVE babies and I've never once really had the nursery ready to go before the child arrived? Five? I got really close with our first baby, SweetP, but we were broke, didn't know if she was going to be a boy or girl, and her "nursery" was really just the tiny den in our one bedroom D.C. apartment. I made it as cute as I could, but, you know. Almost.

Oh, well. Baby's sleeping in our room right now, anyway. The nursery will come. We'll get there. And, by the time I get to it, I'll know a bit of her personality. Her nursery will be her.

So, you can expect some posts on Bedroom 4's progress.

And, eventually, a bunch of nursery posts.

I also have a mental list of about 436 little projects that I either really need to do this fall or really want to do this fall. I'm sure a few of those will find their way into a post.

I have a few ideas that kind of double as crafty/art time with the children, too. And some really fabulous gilt fingernail polish I'm going to be crazy and try. So, I'll probably post those. We got a new camera... again. This time it's a fancy pants one for Sam and I to share. I really need to get in the habit of snapping our everyday lives. Partly for the practice, partly because this season of life is going to be so short. I want to capture it somehow. I don't know. I guess this fall will just be a jumble of different stuff with house & style things thrown in there. Maybe different than it has been for the past two and a half years. Posting will probably be more than slightly irregular, but I'm hoping it will be fairly frequent.

This blog helps motivate me to keep making this house home. To keep making things better.

I've told you before and I'll say it again. You guys and your comments just make it all so much more fun. You're really encouraging! So, thanks for reading. For sticking it out when I drop off the face of Blogland for weeks... sometimes months. And thanks for commenting. That's awesome.

Hope you have a great one!

* of course, Lesley is her own woman and her own blogger... more than Ashley's sister. But, since I first "met" her through Ashley Ann's blog, that was my thought when I came across Recipe for Crazy. Now that we're clear on that... good :)

Baby

2011-10-06T17:32:00.000-07:00

At least, I think that's what her blog name is going to be. I try to choose nicknames that we actually call the children, but a few just get used over and over with all of them. Very often, I'm calling someone Sweetie, Sweetheart, Darlin', or Love. But, most often, from ten and a half years old down to 6 weeks old, I'm calling them all Baby. And they'll all be Baby to me long past grown.

So. I think... just Baby.

She was a little squirt. 5 pounds 2 ounces at birth. And you know they always lose a little weight during those first few days. When we took these photos, she was at her smallest - 4 pounds 10 ounces.

I mentioned that she arrived 5 weeks early. Thankfully, she breathed well on her own and never had to go to the NICU at all. She spent some time in the transition nursery, getting her blood sugars stabilized, but then - at twelve hours old - she came in to be with me in my room. Tiny.

Tiny, but well :) They called the birth "precipitous". It was an adrenaline rush, for sure. I had a few complications before labor really started and Baby heard the OB talking induction. She decided she wanted to beat them to it. So, something got cranking somewhere and we went from 4cm to 10 in less than 30 minutes. Precipitous.

The nurse delivered our baby :)

But, despite a few scary moments in the 15 hours leading up to Baby's birth, all went well in the end. And we were very, very blessed to bring our little girl home with us when I was discharged 2 days later. She's been wonderful. Just wonderful. Baby may very well be my last little one, and I'm soaking up every minute. Tears of thankfulness and joy have not been uncommon. I'm blessed, guys. These children. This husband. This Savior. I'm just so, so blessed.

I mean, seriously. Look at her.

Love.

catchin' up

2011-09-17T12:43:00.000-07:00

It's been so long! I'm such a dork for going AWOL. But, you're so awesome for sticking around.

Thanks.

I'm not at all sure where to begin. I guess I'll let the photos lead the way. I organize mine in folders by month, so I'll just head on over to my May folder and we'll see where this post goes. Hopefully, we can getcha caught up with life over here in a post or two. We've had a great summer :)

Thanks for being patient with me.

Okay. Now.

May.

That's sushi. Weren't expecting that one, were you? Actually, that's not just any old sushi, that's my first sushi roll. Don't worry, it's a cooked one. It's really quite a long story, but I'll cut it really, really short and just say that apparently my pH changed significantly with this pregnancy and that led to issues with candida overgrowth. And that led to some pretty radical changes in my diet. "Candida wuh?" you say. I know. If you want to know more, you can find out more here. But the synopsis is that I didn't eat any fruit, sugar, gluten, dairy, corn, soy, vinegar, or anything fermented for several months. Even now, I still haven't had sugar or gluten. Since April 1st. No foolin'. It's made for a very interesting 5 months. May was especially "interesting" as I tried to learn how to feed myself. I ate a lot of veggies. A whole lot. And meat. And eggs. And nuts. Not a whole lot else. But, I'm better now. And that's worth it.

Also in May, we had 11 cubic yards of enriched DIRT delivered in our driveway. You know, right before we hosted a baby shower for my sister-in-law. Because it makes such good sense to have a huge pile of DIRT in your driveway before people come to your house for a party. And we have nothing if we don't have good sense, right?

Right?

I'd been longing for a flower garden since we moved in two and a half years ago. The children missed our flowers, too, and it was time. So, Sam worked like a maniac (and our brother-in-law, Brian, came to lend his brawn) and, miraculously, all of the dirt was out of the driveway by party time.

And I got it planted just a bit later. Doesn't look like much, I know. But these are baaaaaaaby plants here. I ordered them from Bluestone Perennials. Highly recommend. And that soil was tops! It's amazing how much everything took off this summer. The usual adage is "sleep, creep, leap", meaning that the first year everything kind of rests and gets settled in, the second year you start to see some real growth, and the third year the plants just grow like mad. We jumped straight to "leap" with this soil. Hope it didn't stress my little baby plants too much to grow so hugemongous right away. It was very gratifying for me, though, I must admit.

We had our 20 week ultrasound, too. We have never... never... found out the gender of any of the children beforehand. I love the surprise and Sam has always been willing to wait because, well, I love the surprise. But, here we were with Baby #5, feeling a little bit crazy. Wild. Zany. So, we decided to find out. And we did! I'll let the children tell you :)

And everyone was very excited :) We like to give the babies names while we're waiting for them to arrive. Since we've never known the gender before, we've never been able to call any of the babies by their real names before they were born, though. They wind up with creative "in the tummy" names. Names like Raisin. And Pumpkin. And Cletus (don't ask). This baby was Peep up until the ultrasound. After that, we started calling her by her real name. Wild and crazy, I tell you. Breaking all kinds of rules ;)

So, the summer got off to a very fun start. The days got hotter...

...and, of course, you know the POOL opens at the end of May. We were there.

Kind of a lot.

Sometimes for hours and hours. Once from open 'til close.

We met up with my sister and her girls a few times, too, which was extra fun.

Really, all summer, I felt pretty badly for my kids. I mean, life at the pool is...

just.

so.

hard.

Poor things.

Besides watching the flowers grow, rotting our teeth on candy at the pool, and growing a baby, we did a few others things over the summer. I decided to develop kidney stones and recurrent UTIs, for one. Had a trip to the ER for that one. Wanted to rule out early labor. Ouch. That was exciting.

And we visited Sam's parents in Door County :)

We also decided to do a Summer List this year, ala Meg Duerksen. We got it started a little late, so we decided to make our deadline the official last day of Summer instead of the first day of school. We still have a few items to go, and next Friday is the first day of Fall! Hop to it!

We've had a lot of fun with what we've been able to "checkmark" so far.

We're closing in on that list!

Well, that pretty much brings us up to speed. Up to late August at least. That's when a certain little someone decided to make her debut... 5 weeks early. I'll introduce you to her in the next post :)

Have a great one, guys!

amazing

2011-09-01T13:01:00.001-07:00

More soon...

how deep the Father's love for us....

2011-04-23T07:10:00.000-07:00

How deep the Father's love for us
How vast beyond all measure
That He should give His only Son
To make a wretch His treasure

How great the pain of searing loss
The Father turns His face away
As wounds which mar the Chosen One
Bring many sons to glory

Behold the Man upon the cross
My sin upon His shoulders
Ashamed to hear my mocking voice
Call out among the scoffers

It was my sin that kept Him there
Until it was accomplished
His dying breath has brought me life
I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything
No gifts, no power, no wisdom
But I will boast in Jesus Christ
His death and resurrection

Why should I gain from His reward?
I cannot give an answer
But this I know with all my heart
His wounds have paid my ransom [x2]

classic children's bath {SNEAK PEEK!}

2011-04-15T11:17:00.000-07:00

As promised, here's a sneak peek at what's happening in the children's bathroom as of this afternoon. T and Mr. V are really crankin' it out, now. Their work light came in handy for photos, so here are a few. It's getting really exciting now, guys!

If you click on the photos and then zoom in, they'll get really big for you. Tomorrow we get grout in the floor tile :) Super fun.

Later, taters!

children's bathroom design board

2011-04-14T09:13:00.000-07:00

Hey, all. Super quick post. Sam is out of town all week, and I've been attacking the spring cleaning like a maniac (with the help of my sister and my parents!), so at this point, I'm complete toast. If I keep this really quick, I may sneak in a quick nap. Incentive :)

The children's bathroom is coming along. The plumbing and wiring took longer than expected, so we're not quite up to the finish line, but we're getting there. They finished placing the tub surround tile today, and plan on grouting it tomorrow. It's starting to finally look like a bathroom again!

The plan with this bathroom was to redo everything, but do so in a way that didn't look brand new. Well, maybe "brand new" in terms of everything being in new condition, but we didn't want it to scream UPDATED. Actually, we wanted it backdated. And, of course, you know me - classic, as well.

Here's the design board I put together a little while back (with the intention of listing out sources for you, but that will be for another day, another post).

I was a bit nervous about the addition of the black detail tile when the time came to get it up on the walls. But, now that it's up, I definitely don't regret it. It adds an instant charm. As Mr. V put it, "Without that black, this'll look just like everybody else's bathroom with all this white tile." The black gave it some character. I only wanted a pop of black, though. Most of the room is crisp white and whatever color I want on the walls. Since this is the children's bathroom for the forseeable future, I went with something very youthful and happy. A clear, bright blue. "Open Air" from Sherwin Williams. It's pretty close to this... OPEN AIR. When I want to change it up, there's just a little wall to paint and the rest of the bathroom is designed to be super flexible and classic with any color.

I'll take some photos and post a few sneak peek shots this weekend. It's been cloudy and rainy most of the week, so photos have been bleck. I should be able to manage some better shots today or tomorrow. Y'all have a great weekend! Sam gets home tomorrow evening :)

nursery inspiration for a neutral room

2011-04-08T09:08:00.000-07:00

I love me some neutrals.

Right now, I'm in a white and gray phase. I acknowledge that it's probably a phase. I haven't always loved lots and lots of white and gray, but I have always loved subdued, soft colors as a backdrop. Even when I was in my "paint the walls chocolate brown, deep red, and billiard hall green" phase (I had a powder room the same shade as a pool table once), I still had a thing for neutrals, too. Our main living areas have always been what others deem to be "boring" colors. But, I like the versatility a neutral backdrop provides. And the neutrals are easier to live with day in and day out than strong color absolutely everywhere. At least for me.

As I showed you earlier last week, this is the starting point for the nursery.

And it's terribly unexciting to most. But, to me it's a prepared canvas - ready for the layers of color to be added. And I get SO pumped!!! I'm a little spazzy and dramatic anyway, but - really - I do get pumped :) Especially when I find inspiration like this little beauty of a neutral-at-first room from Ohdeedoh.

How cheerful and happy and clean and bright is that wonderfulness?

Just look at all that color. On a neutral background :) Really not too different than where I'm headed with Punkin and Little Dude's room. Remember the inspiration photos for that?

I won't go quite this vintagey with our room, and I don't think I'll have quite so many little knick knacky pieces (dust collectors - although a few definitely bring in the personality), but this is such a great room to pull ideas from. It's not far removed from what my brain had dreamed up so far. I lurve it. And it can easily tilt more boy or more girl with just a few key color additions.

OK. Now I have to go feed my son. He's literally sitting by my ankles, waiting for lunch. Gotta go! Hope you all have a fantabulous weekend!!!

just to clear up confusion

2011-04-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Apparently, I have somehow given the impression that I do door color consultations for a fee. I have no idea how this might have been the case, but this is just to clear things up. Hi. I'm Jacci. I'm a stay at home wife and mom. I am not available for design consultations. You see, I'm not a designer. And I barely have time to keep my family in clean undies ;) Thank you for the wonderful compliment, but I'm sorry I'm not able to help out in this way. Thanks! (comments closed)

about those black doors

2011-04-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

We have black doors.

You all know this already.

I thought it only fair and right, after sharing all kinds of painted door inspiration photos with you and after posting about my own painted doors, to share with you how they're working out over a year and a half later. Good news is, I still like them. Bad news is, mostly. There are a few places where the black doors just haven't worked out too well.

My favorite one is still the first one I painted. Our pantry door looks really slick painted black. The problem came when I assumed that since that door looked great painted black all of our doors would look just as good. Joni even said she makes it standard practice in her interior design work to paint all the doors in a home black. So, boosted by a little success and Joni's good word, I pressed on with confidence. But...

Some doors just look better painted a lighter color. That's just how it is. My entryway doors are ugly to begin with. Nothing was going to make them look fabulous. There is something that I do like about the black, but it just pulls too much light out of the entryway. They make a bold statement and they add some style, but the over all feel of the entryway suffered some, I think. Probably because there are two doors. It's just too dark now. Bummer. They were kind of a big deal to paint with all those little diamond windows, though, so I'm not repainting anytime soon. The black is fine, but after living with it for a little while, it's not my first choice for these doors anymore. Besides, one chipped. But that's not the black paint's fault ;)

As a little side note, you also might like to know that if your bedroom doors are painted black and you're getting up with a fussy child in the middle of the night, in your shadowy stupor you might think that dark, black door is an open door. And that might hurt your forehead.

Kind of a lot.

I still like the hallway side of the upstairs doors painted black. Good thing, too, because there are six of them!

I'm very glad I painted the bedroom side of the Bedroom 2 door white, though. That room looks best with the light & bright thing it has going on. Plus, it's the baby's room. I didn't really want a black door in the baby's room.

Two of the upstairs doors are getting repainted on one side this summer. The black wasn't working. I'm just keeping it real here, guys. You should know that I didn't love these doors everywhere in our house. One door is the bedroom side of Bedroom 4 (which will be the girls' bedroom). I think it needs to be white for the same overall reasons as the door in Bedroom 2. So, it's getting repainted, but only on the bedroom side. The other is the children's bathroom door. I wasn't really prepared for the amount of toothpaste splatter that door would accumulate in the course of a year. And toothpaste really shows quite well on a black door.

I know! I didn't know that before, either! Anyway. Small bathroom + 5 children + sloppy, giggly toothbrushing = a need for a white door in the children's bathroom. That door is actually off its hinges right now (and leaning against an empty bed frame in the master bedroom) while T and his buddy, Mr. V, are working on the bathroom remodel. Yes, it's a little chaotic here this week. Sam's going to be priming and repainting this door's bathroom side once the torrential rains quit here and Peep can be assured of properly ventilated living quarters :)

The black door in Bedroom 3 is good. It's a little dark for that room, but it's the boy(s) bedroom ("boy" being potentially plural - we'll find out in about 5 weeks!) and I really like the black with the pale blue/gray of the walls. That door stays black on both sides.

And, as mentioned before, all of the hallway sides of the other doors are staying black, too. The hallway is dark as anything regardless and pretty much boring, so I decided that the white walls and trim (Benjamin Moore "White Dove") contrasted with the black doors (Martha Stewart "French Bulldog") gave the space some interest and a little graphic punch. The black doors are a nice surprise there.

Okay. Is there anything I'm leaving out? Let's see.

Oh, well, at the risk of being a total downer about the black doors and talking someone out of taking a risk like this, I have one more downside to share with you. The black doors really show dust easily. You know how you don't buy black cars because they're always looking dirty? Well, be prepared to dust your doors fairly often if you paint them black. Not a big deal for most people, really, but I felt compelled to share it with you :)

So that's it! An 18 month update on my foray with black doors. I still love them in most of our rooms, but - to be completely honest - not in all of them. Once Sam paints over the black with white paint here soon, we'll let you know if it turns out to be a big deal to cover over it. Then, you can't say I'm not giving you all possible sides of the story before you take the leap and go with doors that aren't just standard white.

I just needed to get that responsibility off my chest.

Ha.

more lovely, colorful interior doors

2011-04-01T05:13:00.000-07:00

Just because I wanted some fun inspiration pics today. And, also, because Larissa asked about painting doors with unconventional colors in the comments the other day. Shoot. I'm hardly an expert on these things, but I know what I think is pretty :) So, these photos are for all of us. Hopefully, a boost of inspiration. Sorry some of the pics are so teeny - I enlarged the ones I could.

You all know that quite a few of our interior doors are black. That doesn't mean, however, that they're black on both sides ;) I think if you pay attention to which edge shows from which side (and paint it to match the side of the door that's showing), you can get away with a door that's two different colors. I love this gray door (via decorpad). I just may have to paint the doors in the master bedroom some shade of gray.

Here's another one, via High Gloss. Check out the premier issue. It's good stuff!

via decorpad

via highstreetmarket

Oh, but why play it so safe? Maybe sometimes the best choice is a bold choice. (via Domino)

via Lonny (hi, there, bitty photo!)

design by Grant Gibson, photo via decorpad

via flickr, KarenHearts

via Elle Decor

Or wouldn't it be a little crazy and a lot of fun to just *wallpaper* an old door? (via Domino)

I never used to really notice doors in magazine photos. Well, unless they were clearly a focal point to begin with. But, these days, I'm always checking out the color of the doors and trim in a room. Are they the same color? Contrasting? If it's a magazine shoot that includes multiple rooms from the same house - is the trim color consistent throughout? If not, how are the transitions handled? Are the doors all the same? You get the idea.

It seems to me that a door can really be treated like a large piece of furniture in the overall room design. If you had a tall armoire right where your door is, what color would you want it to be? Maybe it's a good idea to paint the door toward the end of the room design. (psst! total speculation here). An unexpected color might suggest itself from a fabric in the room or from artwork. By waiting, you could also get a good sense of how strong of a presence you want the door to have. Sometimes, you don't want the door to have much presence at all.

For instance, here. This is one of my favorite rooms. It's not really my style, but that doesn't mean I can't love it. It isn't "me", but it is Rita Konig, and I love it. Anyway, the doors need to blend into the wall here to keep the look light and to let the gallery wall shine as a clear focal point. The doors are just plain jane white, but the finished room is far from boring. Colorful doors might be fun, but the effect would be completely different. I think, when deciding how to treat your doors, you need a clear concept of what you want the room to feel like.

Maybe you want to cover the inside of your bedroom door in gold leaf tomorrow ;)

It also seems to depend on how often you're going to be willing to repaint your doors. I'd like to not mess with that too often, personally. Maybe the insides of one or two doors could go all crazy like, but not all of them. I'm too practical, I guess. A few of these photos do get my wheels turning, though.

Do you all have colorful or unusual interior doors? If you don't, do you have any plans to try them somewhere in your home?

after photos: Bedroom 2

2011-03-30T08:06:00.000-07:00

Better late than never, right? Here it is! Bedroom 2 after the first layer wrapped up last summer (!). There are a handful of remaining items on the to do list in here. A knob for the closet door might be nice, for instance. And we're still planning on ordering a snazzy new light fixture from Rejuvenation. The proper size of the light has been the big debate. I'll show you when we finally put one in, though!

Here's the view (above) as you first enter the room.

Then, scanning around the room clockwise. That one outlet cover is white because it's the one that will definitely be covered by a bed/crib. The rest are chrome.

The mirrored closet door is on the wall opposite the window. I really love that door.

I'm keeping this side of the door white, while the other side (hall side) will be black like the others. I just didn't want the strong black element in this room. This will be the nursery... eventually. That other white cover is a phone jack plate. Those didn't come in chrome :( But I think it will be covered in the long run by a rocking chair, anyway.

And back to the window - full circle!

This room is very light, bright, and tidy. I wish I could say that for the whole house, but, you know how that goes. I'm envisioning the nursery mostly white & neutral with pops of very bright, rainbowy colors. Cheerful and restful all at once.

For now, though, this room is a temporary bedroom for SweetP (age 10) and Shug (8.5). They're in here until we finish the first layer in the master bedroom and then in they're permanent bedroom (Bedroom 4). For now, Sam and I are packed into Bedroom 4 so we can get the master underway. Did ya catch all that? I told you we're shuffled around more than a herd of cattle around here!

It's all good, though. Hopefully, we'll wrap it all up before Baby (aka Peep) arrives in late September/ early October. Our babies sleep in a bassinet in our room until they sleep through the night or get to be around 3 months, anyway, so there will be time to get a nursery ready, even if it's not technically ready beforehand. In the next few months, we need to turn our attention to the master bedroom. And making this room a nice "temporary" bedroom for the girls. It's looking like they'll be here for at least another 5-6 months.

Thanks for all your super sweet comments, guys. They're always so fun to read :)

two big, exciting, wonderful announcements

2011-03-28T12:07:00.000-07:00

Remember back before I decided to take my bloggy break? The bathroom plans we were making? Well, after much deliberation, it became sufficiently clear to us that Sam just was not going to have the time to remodel the bathroom this winter. Or this spring. We did some calculations and figured it would take 10 to 12 Friday night/ all day Saturday combos to get anywhere near done, and that was if he worked every single Saturday, all day long. Which, as you probably know, doesn't happen very easily. We do actually have things we do on Saturdays now and then besides house stuff.

Anyway, the long and short of it is we have excellent news for you. We've decided to hire out the work for the children's bathroom. "T", a gentleman from another area church, estimates he'll get the work done in about 10 or so days. He's done work for quite a few of our friends before, and his price was soooo good. Done deal, friends. Done deal! :)

I'm excited. Like, really excited. I have a bathtub, pedestal sink, toilet, and several smaller boxes of things like lighting, sink fixtures, etc. all waiting in the garage right now. Pumped! And, today...check it out :)

Crazy stuff, huh? They did all of that today while Sam was at work! He did come home at lunch to check a few things with them and to make sure a few bases were covered, but I'm so glad this whole project is off his shoulders. It seems like it will be nice for him to enjoy something new in the house without the stress and strain of DIY, for once. We can't afford to hire T for everything, but this project is certainly worth it!

The other big project I have to share with you will take much longer to complete. We're thinking at least another 5 and 1/2 months. It's by far our favorite kind, though. Here's a pic!

Our estimated completion date is September 27th :)

More soon!

the woods - early spring 2011

2011-03-24T07:07:00.000-07:00

Today, the high is supposed to reach all of 40 degrees. Hard to take when last weekend it was well into the 60s. But, such is life in the spring around here. It's a contant volley between the end of one season and the beginning of the next.

Last weekend was gorgeous, though. Saturday, especially, was just so lovely. It was just a tiny bit wet from recent rains, but not sopping. The perfect day to burn all of the bramble that had been drying out since Sam cut it down last fall.

And, happily, we've finally gotten to the point with this property that the children can play back here without fear of being impaled on rebarb or getting tangled in the masses and masses of age of old huneysuckle. (ooooooh, that honeysuckle!)

As an added bonus, the recent rain had left a decent amount of water in the "creek". So, it was a work day, but it was a play day, too. That's nice :)

I've tried to give you all an idea of our cuh-razy topography before, but it's sort of difficult to explain in words. Well, unless you use words like, "precipice", "hazardous", and "perilous".

Just kidding. It's not really that bad. It does have some pretty serious inclines and declines, though. Do you like my little drawing? On the left you have my depiction of the picture before this drawing - the cliff that leads from the backyard to the flat portion of the woods. The flat part is pretty big, really, but the kids think the incline going back up into the woods, after the "creek" (which is only there when we've had precipitation), is the best part.

These two squirrels are on the flat part of the woods in this photo. The creek is directly behind them and you can see the bottom of the trunk of the large tree I drew (Cottonwood) in the background. Yes, it's surrounded by honeysuckle. Does that help you orient yourself? Well, if you went up the incline that begins just after the creek and just to the right of that honeysuckle, you'd wind up gaining height rather quickly. After a short walk...

... you'd get to SweetP's lookout/house.

Here's the view from the edge of her little home. This gives a good idea of how up and down everything is. On a side note, our kids are relatively used to being outdoors and have a good sense of what is and is not dangerous. They (generally) aren't ones to try to jump from a height like this or anything too risky. That being said, this photo also makes it look a bit steeper than it actually is. If they jumped or fell, they could potentially break an arm or something, but the most injury they'd likely encounter would be some bruises & cuts. A little danger isn't always a bad thing. It can help kids develop good judgement and a clearer understanding of consequences. So far so good, though.

From the same location at SweetP's lookout/house, you can see that our neighbors to the south have their lots almost completely cleared and turned to lawn. I think this must have been the way their homes were graded when they were built (?). At any rate, ours is one of the wildest lots ;)

But, it's coming along. It's coming along. We aren't planning on clearing it into a lawn or anything. We just want it cleaned up a bit so the space can be used and enjoyed to the fullest :) When we first moved in, you couldn't even see down here from the house. Or get down here without a machete.

Okay, no one used a machete, but the undergrowth was thick.

We've got to stay on it all spring to keep it from taking over, again, though. It's really a good thing that we got this headstart. Two points for us. Maybe even more.

Have a great weekend, y'all. I think I might just have to make the most of the cold and make one last batch of hot cocoa. Maybe if we start to embrace Old Man Winter, his cantankerous old self will try to spite us and leave.

The Second Year In Review

2011-03-22T06:22:00.000-07:00

Well, hi there, everyone :) We're officially back from what turned out to be a rather lengthy blog break. Three months! It was needed, though, and it was in all ways a good thing. I'm so excited to see that we haven't lost anyone from our little list of blog subscribers. Thanks so much for hanging in there and being patient with us. It means a lot to know you guys are still around.

So, March 2011. This month marks the two year anniversary of our first house project. We've lived here for two years and three months, now, but the projects didn't begin right away when we moved in. At that time, we still had the mortgage for our previous house in addition to this new one, and there was zero spare cash to delve into paint, trim, and all that good stuff. But, you'd better believe that as soon as we signed off on the sale of our previous house, we were right in there. The first item on our massive "to do" list was getting rid of the pumpkin pie colored paint in the dark, depressing kitchen. That was March 2009.

The first year was a complete whirlwind of frenzied activity. I recapped it last March here, if you're interested.

The second year? Well, the second year has pretty much been the antithesis of the first year. It started out as more of the same and then, halfway in, kind of fizzled. But, it was sort of purposeful fizzle. Does that make any sense? Well, let's just take a look at the year in review, and I think you'll see what I mean.

We had been going non-stop from March 2009 to January 2010, and decided to take a break in the last part of January and all of February. Funny, I hadn't realized that I took a blog break last February, too. Huh. Interesting. Anyway, when the sun began to peek back out in March, we were ready to get on with business. We started work in Bedroom 3 (which, currently, is Punkin & Little Dude's bedroom). This room has had a number of different bed configurations over the last 2 years. At first it was for all 3 girls while one of the bedrooms served as a sitting room to house the furniture that had to move out of the family room so we could redo the carpet. You know those little hand-held brain teaser games that have 8 tiny tiles that you slide around in 9 spaces trying to get them to make a picture or line up or something? That's exactly what living in this house is like. Slide one thing here, slide another there, always working toward that finished picture.

Here's the bedroom "before", back when all 3 girls were spleeping there. We had just removed the hollow, fake wood bi-fold doors from the closet.

And here's the same room, at this point just for Punkin and Little Dude, as we wrapped up the first layer in mid-April (Sam working after a dislocated shoulder, too!).

We kind of kept piddling around with this room all year long. Someday, when it's even remotely clean, I'll share updated photos. You can also read all of the Bedroom 3 posts here.

Around this same time, I posted an "ugly Craigslist bench" before & after...

And added some fun fabric to troubleshoot problem drawers in Shug & SweetP's room.

After finishing up the foundational work in Bedroom 3, we moved right on to Bedroom 2 during the second half of April. This bedroom serves as the "extra" bedroom. It's the empty space on the brainteaser game - it gets shifted into and out of regularly. Here's the "before"...

And empty...

The single most important thing we did in this room was enlarging and replacing the window in December 2010...

From there, we started completing the rest of the first layer. Sam worked on this room throughout the remainder of April and on through to... July?! Yes, friends, July. And even then, I apparently never managed to post official after shots. I'll fix that soon, though. For now, here's one that gives you a good idea of the finished paint and trim.

And just in case you're interested, here are all of the posts on Bedroom 2.

That sums up March through July. Well, except that we welcomed my new little niece in June :) She lives just half a mile away, so we got to see her lots. What a blessing she is!

Projects took a backseat to living life in the moment. We enjoyed the new baby and pretty much spent every spare moment at the pool we belong to. Many days. Many hours each of those days. We weren't even thinking about the house. It was so great. After nearly 15 months of concentrated effort, it was like a project summer vacay. By the way, I never say "vacay" in real life, why did I type that? Weirdo. But the rest was sooooo nice. And that continued until Labor Day. We said goodbye to some dear Air Force friends, then (we're not AF, but we have a thing for making AF peeps our bestest friends and then sending them off 2-3 years later, sniff) and got started on the new school year.

I didn't post at all in October as homeschooling was in full gear and we were all adjusting to the new schedule. We did, however, start painting our dining room chairs under the blogger radar and also installed some shelving from IKEA to help corral the massive amounts of ~~crap~~ educational resources that accumulate when you teach at home. But, the shelves fell out. See?

Oops.
Sam secured the wall and reinstalled the shelves. I'm happy to say they're still up months later.

The chairs, however, are still not finished.

We've been using these folding chairs for, what? Like, five months now?

By the time November rolled around, we weren't really wanting to start up another project right before the holidays, but we did think it might be a good time to start replacing the old furniture in the living room and maybe shop around for an area rug. Not at all "first layer" activities, but that room is our primary living space, and it needed done. Sam practically punched the couch everytime he tried to sit in it. The time had come. So, in November and December we scoured the 'net for living room inspiration and I came up with this design board.

And, here's the living room as of this week.

In uploading the photos for this post, I was struck by how cohesive all of the "after" shots are looking together. The rooms are all actually beginning to flow with one another and not look so random and disjointed. We still have a long way to go, for certain, but it's encouraging none the less.

So, that's it! The second year in review :) This week officially marks the beginning of the third full year of projects. There's this little saying in perennial gardening that says, "Sleep, Creep, Leap". This just means that the first year you plant, you can't really expect much. The plants need time to settle in and get their roots down. The second year, you see some progress, albeit slow. But, by the third year, a solid garden will really boom with noticeably larger, fuller, bloomier plants. So far, I'd say that adage has held fairly true in regard to the house, too. If it continues, this coming year will be the year we see a big "leap". Wouldn't that be awesome?

Thanks so much for sticking with us during our long break, guys. It meant a lot to see that we didn't lose any of you. We'd love to hear from you!

cookies, crafts, and a very Merry Christmas!

2010-12-21T11:35:00.000-08:00

We've made some crafts! The kids got full control of the color scheme, and I'm cool with that. We have all kinds of paper chains & lively decorations going on now. I snapped a few photos, but mostly I just wanted to be in the moment. I could fully live it or make a great blog post about it, and I chose the former. I know some moms can do both, but not me. Not right now.

Today we're making peppermint bark & cookies for our neighbors. Tomorrow, salt dough wreath ornaments. My sissy and her girls are joining in some of our fun, too, which makes it seem extra Christmas-y & special.

I agree with Ashley. Among other things, I want to give my children the gift of my presence. Being 100% there. I'm shutting down the blog until after the New Year. There's too much to soak in, to make & enjoy together, and I don't want to miss it!

On the house front, we're going to try to order a sink & a few other things for the children's bathroom tonight. I may wait to post again until we have the bathroom finished. It'd be kind of fun to jump back in with a reveal, don't you think :)

So, stay tuned, y'all. We will be back. But, we're laying low blogwise for a bit. Check back in with us from time to time in January, though. We'll see what we have to share with you all! Until then...

MERRY CHRISTMAS and Happy New Year, too!!!!!

p.s. I wanted to share this clip with you all. It's John Piper explaining why Christmas, or really the birth of Jesus Christ, was a preparation for the cross of Christ. God became flesh so that He could offer that flesh as a perfect sacrifice on the cross, to make a sinful people His own. It's a strange message to modern ears, a hard message in many ways. We don't naturally want to hear that the little baby in the manger came, mainly, to humble Himself, suffer, and die. But it's also a joyful message, because through that dying love, Christ redeemed a people to Himself and made us His own. He adopted believers as His beloved! He came to die, so great was His love. That God Almightly loves me - unworthy me! - is all the cause for rejoicing in the world. Amen and Amen. Merry Christmas.

dear santa, i'd like a pedestal sink

2010-12-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

This is all very exciting :) We finally get to start choosing our pieces for the children's bathroom. We're hoping Sam can get to work on this room sometime within the next 6 weeks or so.

I've read quotes from designers stating that the toilet is the most important part of a bathroom's design. Interesting, isn't it? I do agree that a toilet can look really great, and since this bathroom is so tiny, all the details matter. However, the sink is the first thing you see as you open the door. I think I want to begin with choosing a sink.

That's easier said than done, though. Pedestal sinks can be confusing! Is the listing for both pieces - the pedestal base and the lavatory sink basin? Or is it just the basin? Just the pedestal? Does this pedestal go with this basin? Why aren't the product numbers matching up? And on and on.

So, I've been looking to see what our options are. I was thrilled to see that Kohler is having a huge sale on Home Depot's website right now. They have beautiful options. Their Memoirs line is really attractive, but maybe a bit stately for the children's bath. Besides, I want to use the Memoirs sink & toilet in the master bath remodel. I'd like to not have the same in both baths.

All of the options below are from Home Depot. Who on earth knows if I have the right pieces put together. Sam and I will have to have a mini potty date tonight so he can help me make sense of these nutty configurations ;)

St. Thomas Creations Liberty Lavatory $565

Pedestal base $255

Is the first price for the whole kit and kaboodle? Or just the basin? I don't know, but I do know that I really love the clean-lined simplicity of this sink. It's a little masculine, which I think would be perfect with a more feminine, antique mirror hung above it. This sink reminds me of a truer old-house look. Kind of like the sink I saw in one of Meg's recent posts (yes, I totally stalk old house toilets in blogger pics). She's being vulnerable and open, and I'm checking out the details in the background!

Kohler Bancroft 30 in. Lavatory $396

Pedestal base $92

But, then again, there's that Kohler sale. Shouldn't we go with Kohler? This one is less chunky, less old-school in its look, but it's still very much in line with what I've been thinking.
Kohler Leighton Pedestal $340

Lavatory basin $255

I do kind of like the rounded basins, too, though. They seem like they'd be nice in a small bathroom. And no corners for the little guys to bonk their heads on. The only problem is that there doesn't seem to be much sink space around the rim. Where do you put the soap? Where do you lay the toothpaste while everyone's wrestling for space to brush their teeth? It is cute, though.

St. Thomas Creation Neo-Venetian Lavatory & Base (?) - $427

One final concern with the first several sink choices is the lack of a backsplash. The more old-fashioned looks don't have them. The addition of the backsplash does make the look less authentic, but it sure seems like it would be highly practical. This isn't my favorite looking sink, but I'm wondering if the splash control is worth it. St. Thomas has a few other backsplash options, but the pricing and basin vs. pedestal pieces issues were getting to me. I'll wait and take a closer look at them when Sam can help out.

What do you all think? Do any of you have pedestal sinks in a children's bath? Advice?

the world's worst blogger and water 4 christmas

2010-12-12T18:06:00.000-08:00

It's me.

All me.

I am the world's worst blogger. I didn't post a single stinkin' pic of our so-called Christmas Craft Week. I stink at this.

Just wanted to be clear on that.

Now, can I tell you about something that actually is guaranteed? water4christmas on Etsy. I mentioned it earlier this month. It's a joint effort from dozens of crafters nationwide, all pooling together their crafting efforts to raise money for fresh water for an African village. The organization is legit, and the shop has already raised a ton of money for wells! SweetP and I made a few contributions to post, and all but one of our items has already sold. SweetP's handmade felt nativity family sold in the first few hours :)

How cute is that?

And I sewed up some quick paper chains. Three of the listings sold within the first day or two, but I still have one more listing up for grabs. You can see it here.

Maybe you'd like to buy it? You know, in case you didn't get around to your Christmas Craft Week, either. Or maybe not, but you might find something else in the water4christmas shop that would be just your thing. You get a cute little crafty gift, and a village gets water. What could be better? :)

Are y'all taking bets yet on whether or not I'll get even one Christmas Craft made with my kids before this holiday season is all said and done? Hope not. I'd hate to encourage your gambling ways.

Have a happy Monday :)

Christmas Color Scheme 2010

2010-12-04T13:57:00.001-08:00

Hey, all!

By now you all know how much I love my neutrals. Especially white. This directly translates to a love of white, silver, and gold Christmas decor. I just love images like these...

{Domino}

{Country Living}

{Martha Stewart}

Sam and I both love the quiet elegance of a simple, serene color scheme with just a tiny bit of bright color. The children, on the other hand, of course want a colorful, glittery, bright, over-the-top

Christmas House!

And, really, Sam and I do like to see them smiling and excited, so I guess we want their option more than our own:)

I'm attempting to take some of their ideas and mix in some of Mama and Daddy's style to get a result that everyone loves. A home that feels cozy and full of family, love, grace, and happiness without looking like the Grizzwold's. Sam is out of town all week for work, so I thought it might be a good week for extra crafting just to keep everyone's spirits up and to fill some of the long evening hours until he comes home. Next week, Monday through Friday, we're going to try to add some new handmade (or at least partially handmade) Christmas decor to our home each day. ANd we'll probably have lots of sugary, fattening goodies while we craft, too. Time to get reacquainted with the treadmill.

Here's the happy, cheerful, but still slightly guided and cohesive inspiration board.

1. Michael Miller "Ta Dot" 2. image via kristenlaird.com 3. goodhousekeeping.com 4. honeypiedesign on Etsy 5. pamwares on Etsy 6. divinagioielli on Esty 7. Ribbon Unlimited on Etsy

Doesn't that sound like FUN? I'll try to post what we come up with each day :) If you all are making festive things for your holiday season, please leave a link in the comments and we'll come see what you're up to, too!

P.S. Well, my girls have informed me that turquoise has no place in Christmas decor. And especially not pink and red with turquoise. Oh, well. They also told me that there must be red and green together. I was going to try not to do the traditional combination thing. Oh, well. This is what I get for asking their opinions.

P.S.S. Mom, it came late this afternoon! It's lovely. I immediately thought of a wildflower that grows in Door County. Trillium. Grandma Lockwood loved them. Thank you :)

I happened to be wearing my black turtleneck sweater with another necklace today. I just took that necklace off and put yours on after I opened it :) I'm still wearing it now. It's perfect. Love you :)

ETC - almost forgot!

2010-12-02T15:19:00.000-08:00

Every once in a while I get into reading some random blog that someone else recommends and, if it's a good one, reading through the entire archives in like three hours. Sam was working from home late one night a few weeks back, and I was wrapped up with one of those blogs - a good one. Emily Anderson. Y'all have probably already been reading her for years, but she's new to me. She's fun to read.

Emily has this great idea called "Embrace the Camera". ETC encourages moms to get out from behind the camera and actually get into the photos with their children. I loved the idea, and I'm totally needing encouragement to get in the shots. It's not that I've been purposefully avoiding it - it just takes some effort, and it's easy to forget.

Anyway, I messed around with my self-timer the other day when Little Dude was the last one wrapping up lunch. (He's often the last one wrapping up lunch.) The photos were all blurry and wonky, but this one turned out sort of nice in a still slightly wonky way. Or maybe we'll call it "artsy" instead. Definitely room for improvement, but I'll take what I can get. He's leaning in for a kiss, by the way. So, here's my first ETC :)

Water for Christmas

2010-12-01T15:02:00.000-08:00

This is Meg's brainchild. She and a handful of blogging friends are getting this thing up and running. It's pretty neat to be a part of it.

The Etsy shop opens on Monday, December 5th. I'll give you a link up then. Maybe there's something you can cross off your Christmas shopping list while contributing to Water Week at the same time?

There's sure to be some prettiness.

a few inspirational house tours

2010-11-29T08:38:00.000-08:00

Hey, all! Hope you had a great Thanksgiving weekend. We had a lovely, lovely time :)
I need to run 5 miles everyday for the next 6 weeks now, but it was a lovely time nonetheless.

I've been on a posting roll lately, haven't I? Not sure how much I can keep it up, sometimes there just isn't much to say, but I'll post 'em when I've got 'em. I'm feeling really inspired lately. Like things are coming together in exciting ways. Like I have a clear vision for what's happening around here this winter. That's a nice feeling.

So, I came across some house tours recently that I thought I'd share with you, just in case you might like them as much as I did. Maybe find some inspiration, too. Each one has its own draw.

Loveliness.

The first one is Mike & Maddie's tiny, charming apartment from Apartment Therapy. Just click on the links to see the tours. I'll post a single photo of each to give you a taste.

Next up, this Manhattan apartment before & after from Martha Stewart.

And one more from AT. This one is completely different from the others. If you've ever wondered how formality can be personal, wonder no more. This is amazing.

Wow.

By the way, "hey, there!" to all the new, silent subscribers in our midst. I used to wonder why Darby would start out her posts with things like "hello, stalkers!" ;) I'm sure I have far less silent readers than Darby, but I think I understand her meaning better now. What should I call y'all?

At any rate, thanks for reading. Have a good one.

happy thanksgiving!

2010-11-23T17:18:00.000-08:00

Hey, everyone! We're heading out to Door County again for a little turkey and family time. The laptop will not be making the trip ;) Hope you all have a wonderfully wonderful holiday weekend. See you soon.

Happy Thanksgiving!

living room inspiration ala tori mellott

2010-11-22T08:22:00.000-08:00

Hey, gang.

I found something inspiring in each of the living rooms I shared with you last week, but a few of them, in particular, have stood out to me for a while. The last photo I shared, this one...

... is an old Domino image of former editor Tori Mellot's apartment. I like to take a room like this and break it down to see why it appeals to me so much. It's been seen a million times, I know, but that doesn't mean it's not useful anymore. The very first thing to notice is, of course, the bold graphic element of the striped wallpaper. It's so lively you may not at first realize that there's hardly any color in the room. This photo taught me that neutral patterns can be every bit as interesting as color. This wallpaper seems happy to me - peppy - even though it's gray and white. I already knew that I loved high contrast neutrals, and this room with its black frames on the wall is a great example of that principle. Honestly, though, it's slightly too much black for me. I'd rather see a gold-toned piece in the mix. But, seriously, who am I kidding? Like I have anything to offer here.

Here's another view of the same living room...

Here we can see that Mellott has played with scale in a big way with her overhead lighting and th mirror above the couch. The mirror looked big in the previous photo, but here you can really see how sizable it actually is. And the light is massive. You can also see that there's more black on the coffee table and that the floor is painted white. So pretty. Taking the art all the way up to the ceiling is a common way designers make small/short rooms seem larger. I'm noticing the bookcase, too. A loooong time ago (blogwise) I began to note that most of the rooms that seemed to integrate lots of colorful books well were predominantly neutral. Here's another case in point.

All that white with the books. I love that. And could she be any cuter in the green skirt and wide belt?! I know they styled her to look like her apartment, but I love it.

As I understand it, this next photo is of the apartment before the gray striped apartment. I think it's strangely fun to pick out little items that appear in both places and see how she's reused them in a new space.

Still lots of white. Still neutral with pops of color. Actually, this first apartment's version of "neutral" seems to pretty much be white & black. Lots of white, some black, pops of color. I like her gallery wall here better than the strong, black framed one in the striped apartment.

I prefer the lighter look. And, I hadn't noticed this before when I mentioned I'd like to see gold tones, but here Tori has worked gold frames into the mix. The stripped gallery wall is just a teensy bit over the top for me. This version is more restrained, and I think, easier on the eyes.

Okay, so now what? We're duly inspired by Tori Mellott and her Domino-editor-chic-is-in-my-blood style. What can we do with it? But, remember, this is our starting point...

Well, I know Farrow & Ball makes a lovely striped wallpaper similar to Tori's (possibly the papers are one in the same).

And our walls & curtains are white, plus our new sofa is a similar neutral color. So, we could get really literal and basically copy the look.

What do you think?

I think if it looks good at all, that's because Tori Mellott already did it! I could copy it and no one would know, except for you and me. Sam might remember the Domino photo from some groggy moment in his past when I nudged him with my elbow, waking him up to look at it with me. But, honestly, as far as any of my friends and family would know, this would be totally my own invention. That's not very honest, though. And not very creative. And not very personal. I'd rather tuck some of these ideas and principles away and keep looking. A little from here, a little from there, a few original ideas of my own and we'll see what we get. One thing to note is that I love, love, love Tori's bold stripes with my rug. That is a fabulous combo. I think we'll have some of those ;)

If you liked Tori's apartment, too, here's another post at Habitually Chic, as well as as Apartment Therapy article with some of Tori's tips for small spaces. Enjoy!

inspiration for living rooms {with heart}

2010-11-19T04:50:00.000-08:00

I have more time for this post today :) Sorry the last one was rather speedy and choppy. It helps that this one has been saved as a draft for a little while. That makes it easy. And since we have tummy bugs around here this week (better than next week!), an easy post is a good thing, right? Let's look at something inspiring for a few minutes instead of thinking about sickrooms.

************************************************

A while back (it seems like ages, now) I began compiling images from the internet and from real-life-honest-to-goodness-paper magazines to serve as inspiration files for this house. Looking at those images, I still love many of them, but some are just too fussy. Time has added a few that really help round out those early inspiration files. Well, time and Lonny magazine! :)

There's a definite leaning toward a modern English style in many of these. I blame Rita Konig for that. She and the rest of the Domino gang started a hugemongous ball rolling in the design world. And I'm so glad they did. But, more on Ms. Konig later. For now, a few new ideas about how to make our living room light, bright, traditional with an edge, comfortable & welcoming, but still elegant. For the kids and for us. Basically, all of the things in my sidebar that list out our developing personal style. Here are the additions I've added to my files since my last living room inspiration post. Enjoy!

{all sources listed in the addres bar when you click the photos}

I'm hoping to take a closer look at two of my favorite rooms from this collection in upcoming posts. All this is to help me make this...

... more our own. Thanks for reading, guys! Have a great day!

choosing the sofa

2010-11-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

How quickly can I write this post? I don't have a lot of time, but I wanted to get this one out there before the weekend. Let's see... 3:31pm at the start. I'm going to try for fifteen minutes. If there's an abrupt stop, with absolutely no closure, you'll know why. Fifteen minutes were up.

Okay. The sofa. And the loveseat.

In the last post, I shared that we had decided on slipcovers (washable slipcovers) to settle the inherent upholstery issues that come with having four children in our family, not to mention in our home all day long, everyday. (No one told me that homeschooling meant your house would be harder to keep clean.) Washable slipcovers seemed both practical and, asthetically speaking, in line with our desires for the overall feel of our living room. The sofa and loveseat are for our living room, not family room; although, honestly, there is very little distinction between how the two rooms are used. The family room is pretty regarded as the "rough housing" room. I say things like, "Baby, if you're going to play rough you need to take it downstairs." Meaning to the family room. This doesn't mean, though, that our living room doesn't get much use. I'd say we live in the living room more than we do any other room in the house. It's right off of the kitchen, and those two rooms pretty much always have someone in them. I'm in the living room right now, for instance.

My point is that the living room furniture had to hold up to lots of use. Lots of little hands and feet. Lots of headstands. The children are only allowed to jump and climb on the furniture downstairs in the family room, but we've let Little Dude practice his handstands on the living room couch, too. So, slipcovers would be great for taking care of the surface dirt that is bound to accumulate. Since Sam and I both want this room to be light and bright, the slipcovers needed to be light as well. That meant that the slips had to be washable.

With me? Uh oh, only 6 more minutes to go and no photos downloaded! I'm rambling with nothing to show for it!

You know from my last post that we found 3 different places that offered sofas with washable slips. Ikea, Ballard Designs, and Pottery Barn. Of the three, only Ikea and Pottery Barn had stores nearby where we could actually look at the exact sofas and exact fabrics we were considering. Not wanting to make such a large purchase sight unseen, we nixed the Ballard option. I had narrowed down the choices at both Ikea and PB online, so we drove to Ikea to test out my picks. The main issue to consider (and to help us decide between the two) was comfort and stability. We needed these pieces to last more than a year or two. Sam, like most men, is big on our seating being comfortable. He loves to read in the living room at night, and he wanted a comfy seat for that.

He tested out the IKEA options. Karlstad and Ektorp (sorry no links - no time!). With those sofas fresh in his mind, we drove to Pottery Barn and hunted down the PB Comfort sofa I had chosen from my online searches. No comparison. We had thought the Ektorp might be the way to go. It really does look nice and it was fairly comfortable. I've read lots of great feedback on them (including from you guys, thanks!). But...he looked at me, and I knew right away from his expression that it was a done deal. The money saved at Ikea wasn't going to be worth it for him. Which is fine by me, because I liked the look of the PB Comfort better anyway :)

We opted to not go with bright white. We want the room to be light and airy, but felt like we could accomplish that with a "stone" slipcover and white walls & curtains. Stone would help hide just a bit of surface smudging, so I wouldn't have to wash quite so often. Also, the stone color worked with the new rug without literally matching any of the rug colors. Done deal. Forked over the money. Delivery in about 2 weeks :)

Yay!

17 minutes, by the way. Bye!!!

practical sofas for families with children

2010-11-17T08:58:00.000-08:00

How many times have my friends and I had conversations about what kind of sofa to buy for our families? More than a handful, that's for sure. I guess because my friends know I like to talk about things like sofas, they tend to bring their questions to me.

I haven't always had a very good answer ready for them, I'm afraid. Part of that has been because our styles have been very different at times, and I haven't known how to bridge the gap. One of my dear friends has a slew of kids underfoot, and her basic game plan so far has been to go with a rather busy, muted floral print for her upholstered pieces. I know? Floral?! But, really, hang in there with me for a minute. I have to admit, her fabric has hidden quite a lot of the "inevitable evidence of being loved". That sounds better than "brutal wear and tear" doesn't it? But, the look isn't for everyone. For her, the muted florals work. For me, not so much. Although, I have to admit, I've seen floral sofas used to pretty cool effect in some eclectic rooms. Apartment Therapy has several good examples. (At the risk of sounding like a total stalker, I'll mention Ashley Ann, again, and her smooth vintage chairs). Seems to me truly stylish people know how to make anything look great.

Like I said, not for everyone. But, a busy print on a sofa could definitely be the answer for some families with little guys without sacrificing style.

Another friend of mine (who has four children roughly the same age as ours) went the leather route. Years ago, she and her husband invested in a dark leather couch with nailhead trim. I've seen her kids stand on it. And eat on it. And play with playdough on it. Not kidding. She says the leather is practically indestructable, so she can totally relax. The downside to leather is, of course, the cost. For me, they just don't look cozy enough, either. They can look amazing, don't get me wrong, just maybe harder to make look "comfy". Plus, I'd need a lighter color option, I think.

Only within the last 2 years have I given much consideration to the next obvious option - slipcovers. I had always pictured slipcovers as something ultra Shabby Chic. Or super relaxed. Like PB's loose fit covers.

But, I was reading Joni a lot then, and she slowly showed me that slipcovers could look tailored and chic. Apparently, just about every Houston-based interior designer relies heavily upon custom slips.

I actually checked into the option of having custom slipcovers made. No dice, homeslice. Let's just say Ohio does not have the same slipcovercentric design culture. Pretty much everyone I asked wrinkled up their nose at the idea of "messy" slips. And, anyway, I was going to need washable slipcovers, which made everyone wrinkle their noses all the more.

But, then Joni started keeping it real for all of us non-Texans who couldn't afford custom linen slips and said a few kind words toward IKEA. Joni? IKEA? Really? And, I think that's really when I first got it in my head that slipcovers (washable slipcovers) would be the way to go for us.

Not many companies besides IKEA, I discovered, market machine-washable slipcovered furniture. Pottery Barn now offers some fabrics that are completely machine washable, as does Ballard Designs. I spoke with a Ballard rep and she said that the 100% cotton slips are technically machine washable, but they should not be machine dried (same is true of the other stores) because the fabric is not preshrunk. Basically, that means if you machine dry your slip, it won't fit right afterward. I thought it was interesting that Ballard offers some indoor/outdoor options for their slip fabrics. I've heard it said that indoor/outdoor fabrics are great for homes with pets or children because they spot clean so easily. They've come a long way in recent years in terms of flexibility and softness, but I think they are still a little stiff compared to regular cottons. Something to keep in mind, though.

So, we chose a slipcovered sofa. It seemed like the right choice for our family for a number of reasons. The two slipcovered Tullsta chairs that we bought last December have worked out well. I'm washing them this week for the first time, and it's been kind of fun. Weird? Maybe. But, it's like we have brand new chairs now, and the white hasn't been a problem for our kiddos. We were encouraged by our experience with those chairs to take the plunge with more light-colored slipcovered furniture. This post is getting so long already, though. So, I'll share the details of our new sofa in the next post :)

I have a few links for those of you who are still trying to decide which family-friendly (or pet-friendly) sofa might be best for you. The first is from Apartment Therapy, and is actually a discussion about sofas with pets, but a lot of the issues are the same. Lots of props for microfiber in this link. The second was a blog I found just last week, and I loved the great info she shared for families on the search for a sofa. It's actually a post about white rooms with children, but the parts about fabric choices are great for our purposes today.

So, there you go, guys! Now you know everything I know :) I'm on a blogging roll this week. It's feast or famine around here.

{photo sources provided in the address bar when you click on the photo}

choosing the rug

2010-11-16T05:48:00.000-08:00

This is the first house we've owned with hardwood in some of the primary living spaces. It's great in the living room/dining room because it means I don't have to be too concerned about spills when we have guests for dinner, but not so great in the sitting area because it means there's no soft spot for babies & little ones to play. For a little while we had a cheap IKEA cotton rug and a nice, cushy pad beneath. That worked well for a few months, but then I spilled red wine on it - and the rug was cream. The stain was toward the end of the rug, so I tried to cut it. Ha. Obviously, it unravelled after a few weeks. So, for almost a year, we haven't had a rug over the hardwood in the living room. We've been waiting for the right time and the right rug for the right price.

A few weeks ago, Sam got the bonus I mentioned in my last post, so the time seemed right. We set a budget to determine price. Now we just had to find a rug. I didn't want polypropylene. Or viscose. Or anything synthetic, really. If at all possible, I wanted to find a wool rug. What was out there? We started scouring the internet.

I fell in love with this Dash & Albert rug. It's charcoal gray with neutral accents (they look beige and cream to me). Isn't it beautiful? It's 100% wool and the 8x10 fell into the top range of our budget. For several weeks, I thought this was the rug. We'd get a white slipcovered sofa. It would look great. Although I still love the rug and still think it would look fabulous with a white sofa, I think it's a good thing that we didn't rush out and buy them. There are a few reasons.

For one, the more we thought about it, the more we thought that the room needed a rug that would really ground it. The listing described the color as "charcoal", but it seemed more of a medium gray in the example photos.

Too, I wanted to have plenty of freedom to use graphic patterns on pillows. Many of my favorite fabrics are trellis/lattice/fretwork patterns. Etsy has such fabulous pillow options. Like this...

from bestillshop on Etsy

Would I be able to mix those in with such a strong lattice pattern in the rug? Probably yes (but, it wouldn't be easy!)... I just wasn't sure. Also, I wanted the rug to be fairly traditional in order to balance the modern prints I knew I wanted to bring in elsewhere.

I didn't want a rug that would date in even 10 years. Was this that kind of rug? I really loved it, and kept thinking of all those admonitions to "buy what you love", but would this rug actually serve our purposes in this room? It had to do more than look great all on its own.

The real issue that finally nixed this rug in our minds was our kiddos. It was a looped wool rug in relatively light colors, meaning the rug might easily snag with our rough bunch, and the lighter portions might show dirt easily. Not that I want a dirty rug that you can't notice, just that I didn't want to be cleaning it constantly. It just didn't seem like the wisest choice for our family. It may have been the best-looking option, but form follows function, and it didn't seem like the best fit for our uses.

Where else could we find a wool rug in our price range? We checked Overstock first. It makes me nervous, though, to consider placing such a large order on a rug we haven't seen in person. The colors were really important, and a computer monitor isn't the most reliable source. Checked West Elm. Checked IKEA. Checked Ballard Designs. Checked Burke Decor. You get the picture. I started to think maybe a busy pattern like an oriental rug would work well with small children and provide the traditional element I wanted. But, we had to keep the price down and some of these rugs were well over a thousand dollars. No go. We need an 8x10 patterned, traditional rug, preferably wool, for under $750. So, late last week, we checked Pottery Barn. A little clicking and scrolling...

This one caught our eye. 100% wool. Tufted, not looped. Colors both warm and cool, meaning that the rug was overall fairly neutral. Traditional pattern. Background color dark enough to ground the room (a warm gray/cool brown mix - think "mink"). And it was on sale. Considerably less than the Dash & Albert rug. We called the local Pottery Barn to see if it was in stock. It was! So, we measured the room to doublecheck sizing and headed out to see it.

The rug seemed to meet all of our criteria, however my one remaining concern was that it not be too warm in color temperture. Our floors are a very warm, golden wood tone. Not my favorite, but we aren't planning on changing them for several years. Our rug needed to counter that honey color. It also needed to work with light slipcovers, whether white or stone. When we saw it in the store, we felt like all the colors worked with the possible exception of the muted, rust/salmon/red color. The rug is very muted, so this color seemed to stand out. Would it be a problem? I decided to work with it. We weren't going to find another quality, neutral, wool rug that we liked for this price very easily. We held up white and stone fabric swatches and decided to go with it.

PB Brandon rug

We pulled the van up to the pick-up door and drove home with the new rug down the middle of the seats. From that point on, the rug has sort of become the guiding piece for the rest of the room. More on that soon. Next post, though, the sofa and loveseat orders :)

the place for catalog pieces

2010-11-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

Was it really almost a year ago now that I wrote the post on Pottery Barn's aesthetic? Wow, I hadn't realized it had been so long! Funny thing is that I just had that same annual brunch this past weekend, and the same friend called our kitchen eating area my "pottery barn look", again, just yesterday :)

You know I love me some Pottery Barn. They do so much so well, and their catalog is always fun to flip through.

The danger, as I wrote in my previous post, is getting too formulaic with their style, and not developing our own personalized style. It's only a danger, of course, if you actually want a personalized style. Which we do. So, we heed the danger. We want a home with character, charm, and personality. Don't get me wrong - there are far worse things than someone calling anything we've done "Pottery Barn"! Like I said, they do so much well. The question is not really one of yes/no. Should we or should we not buy something from Pottery Barn or any other catalog company. It's more an issue of extent. To what extent will we purchase items that are similar, coordinated, and from the same manufacturer. Of course I would buy from Pottery Barn, and we have. But, I begin to get sensitive to imbalance in a room where too much of the furnishings seem to "go together" too much.

It seems easy to see what we want to avoid... matchy-matchy, everything new, overly-orderly, overly-planned-out spaces... than it is to actually put together what we are after. This is especially true when starting out with catalog pieces. When all you have in a room is a brand new sofa, loveseat, and rug, it's easy to get concerned that things are going too catalog too quickly. It seems completely imbalanced.

We're working through this very issue in the living room right now. We were blessed by a sizeable bonus from Sam's employer this fall, and we decided the tired living room furniture needed replaced. We had a few options, but Pottery Barn won out because of the comfort, stability of the hardwood frames, and their washable slipcover options. I'm not into buying used upholstered furniture. I know there are plenty of families that just love adding vintage upholstered pieces to their homes. Honestly, though, it just gives me the creeps. I like my upholstered furniture brand spankin' new.

So, now we have these new pieces scheduled to arrive in December. A new sofa, a new loveseat, and new rug - all from Pottery Barn. I love them all, but - eek - it's a little intimidating trying to figure out how to work this room out without getting a catalog feel in the end. I'm new at this! But, I do have some thoughts. In my next post, I'll take a look at why we felt like these choices were the best ones for us, even with our desire to avoid a formula. After that, I'm hoping to explore ways to keep the room loosened up and personal.

Have a great day, guys!

displaying the children's art

2010-11-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

Our kids - all four of them (boy included) - have an ongoing love affair with paper. They write. They draw. They cut. Paper has been an intimate part of my everyday life since SweetP was just starting to scribble. And it looks like it's here to stay. The negative side of this paper-oriented subculture is that there are constantly little bits and growing piles scattered all over the house. Try as I might to harness it all, the paper wins every time. The positive side is that I will have plenty of momentos from our children's younger years to cherish when they fly the nest.
Many of my favorite drawings get displayed for a time on the refrigerator and then carefully put away in my special 3-ring binder. Others that are some of the children's favorite get stored in simple, white paper-sized boxes from IKEA. When the boxes get too full, we start to get rid of a few things, always holding on to those that are the most prized (no one is allowed to toss drawings, paintings, cards, poems, etc. without Mama's okay, though). Sometimes I rescue a discarded lovely and put it in my folder instead of letting them pitch it.
The refrigerator has been fine here, but it's not really positioned in a place where the artwork is showcased. And, honestly, creations x four = a very packed fridge front. Sometimes the papers get to me a bit when all I want to get is the milk and, instead, I'm bombarded with watercolored tulips. So, I've been thinking up some way of displaying the children's art in the kitchen eating area. We eat all of our meals there, and the space has been needing something more personal anyway.

I tossed around a few thoughts, and felt very original and creative when I decided to go with clipboards on the wall. However, then I looked through Ashley Ann's archives to get a good look at her boys' bunkbeds and saw the walls in their room. Not so original of me after all. Guess it's more like forgetfulness.

But, I'm glad that at least my subconscious remembered the clipboard idea. And I'm glad I wanted to see her boys' beds because now I can give her props. I was apparently inspired by her clipboards. I added sticky felt pads to the back so my wall wouldn't get all scratched up by clipboards swinging to and fro as they are wont to do when in a high-traffic area like our eating nook.

I was bothered by the "Office Depot" insignia (did I spell that correctly?) on the clip part of the boards. It just somehow seemed dorky to me to leave them that way. I wandered through Office Depot looking for a suitable way to mask the words, and even asked an employee about label options. Tip: if you're going to cover up "Office Depot" on any of your Office Depot merchandise because you don't care for the way it looks and you're asking a sales person for assistance with that project, choose your wording very carefully. Who knew Office Depot peeps had such an allegiance to their logo? I did not mean to offend. Honest.
I came up empty-handed at the OD, but I went home and punched out some textured scrapbook paper. Maybe I could just hang a tag over the clip and the words would be hidden (?).

Or not. The tag thingy hung over too far. Words still clearly visible. Now, this is not a do or die part of the project. Really - I could have just left them as is. Ashley Ann did, and she certainly doesn't do much in the way of dorky decor. Her house is Inspiration Central. She also seems really cool to hang around with, which I like. Anyway, I could've left things well enough alone. But, I figured if there was an easy way to personalize them a bit, why not?

Back to the scrap supplies. Punched out six holes, used six scrap stickers and good ol' Elmers Glue.

I think I like 'em!

Not sure about the string. I had it on at first, but then I took it off. All together, that many bows looked a little too crafty/handmade to work with the rest of the kitchen. {maybe}

Here they are sans string and all in place :)

So, there's that! Thanks to hubby for the leveling and nailing to get them into a nice arrangement. Now, off to work some more. It's a painting day :)

November Begins

2010-11-08T11:26:00.001-08:00

We have some house-related things in the works, we really do, and progress posts are coming soon. Before we get to those, though, we have a few more "family" posts to share.

This afternoon, I just wanted to post a few photos from our first week of November. Nothing earth-shattering. Just Monday through Friday of our week. It's been fun trying to capture more photos of our everyday. Moments that aren't usually the ones I'd think to document. I may be starting to sound like a (sappy) broken record, but you know the time invested in these everyday things makes this house *home* far more than the chairs we're painting ever could. Our days have been blessed far beyond what we could ask for, and the physical and mental rest from house projects has been very good for us. We're gearing back up, don't worry. We know we can't take too long off from this house business, but the time off has been sweet.

Here's a little everyday...

Have a great Monday night!

Punkin's Daddy Date (age 6)

2010-11-05T14:57:00.000-07:00

I know. No home improvement.

Again.

But, these were just too sweet to keep to myself :)

They just left in Sam's car (a big treat for the kids) about half an hour ago.

So fun.

randomness

2010-11-02T19:12:00.000-07:00

Hey, guys :)

I'm out of practice these days with writing blog posts, I guess. I sat down in front of my computer and just stared at it. I typed a few post titles, deleted them, tried again. Hmm. Is this blogger's block? So, I just decided to bring you up to speed on some serious randomness instead and type whatever pops into my head.

First up, sorry it's been so crazy long since I've posted! Our modem went kaput about a month ago and, when Sam returned from Best Buy with a brand new one, we couldn't get my laptop working with it for some reason. For two weeks Sam putzed around with it, trying to get the thing going, but it just wouldn't go online with the new modem. Now, I should tell you my laptop was a sorry little thing. S-L-O-W and more than slightly annoying at times. So, Sam wasn't really too sad when he decided that it was time to just get a new laptop for me. By the time we bought one and I (who am technologically challenged - I just learned how to text about 2 months ago - what a goober) finally learned how to use the thing, several weeks had gone by. No posts. Sorry, guys. The time actually flew, and I'm surprised it's been as long as it has. But, here I am. Posting :)

And here's my new computer. I'm writing this post on it, and I'm planning for photos. However, I don't know how to add photos on this computer just yet. So, I have to wait until tonight when Sam can show me. Then I'll add the photos.

It's much faster. Thank you, Sam :)

Did you know I was a soccer mom for the first time ever this fall? Yup. And, also for the first time ever, I was introduced to someone as "Jacci, the coach's wife".

And did you know I now have a six year old daughter?

Or that you can sew little circles of scrapbook paper into a super-happy garland? You just feed them through, one after the other and a few stitches in between make the thread chain. So cute.

The party was two weeks ago, and I still have the garlands up.

Did you know that you can prime over just a section of a wall and then roll over the whole thing with paint and the primed part won't show lighter? And that the primer will successfully cover over the crayon that necessitated such a use of your Saturday afternoon in the first place?

Did you know that if you sit down to type a blog post in the middle of the day, your children will assume that means they don't have to start their Latin and they can just bunk their math work?

Excuse me for a moment...

Okay, a few more.

Did you know that bathrooms almost never, really almost never, clean themselves. I know! So weird.

Or that homes do not renovate themselves as you go about living life? As one very sensitive commenter noted when he/she submitted the following uplifting sentiment: "Do you actually ever do any home improvements any more?"

Sigh.

But on that note, did you know that you can make a home feel more homey by loving people in it? Even if the hallway trim is still not painted.

Even if one entire room is still overtaken by the round saw.

Even if the one project you chose to work on last month flopped and left you with this to stare at for weeks.

And your dining room chairs have been replaced by these for the past month.

It can still feel more homey. There can still be contentment and joy. A happy home doesn't have to be a picture perfect home.

Good thing :)

She's Alive!

2010-11-02T11:54:00.001-07:00

I'm here. I'm well. We're all well. And now, after several weeks without internet connectivity, we're online! :) I have a post in the hopper. I just need to figure out how to download photos on my new 'puter. Thanks for staying with me!

True Woman: Indy 2010

2010-09-26T11:34:00.000-07:00

this is where i went

to be taught

to grow

to stand.

because this is what i believe

because This is Who I worship, adore, and belong to.

"What is the ultimate meaning of true womanhood? It's this: True womanhood is a distinctive calling of God to display the glory of His Son in ways that would not be displayed if there were no womanhood. Say it again. It's a distinctive calling. True womanhood is a distinctive calling of God to display the glory of God, the glory of His Son in ways that would not be displayed if there were no womanhood. "

- Pastor John Piper

http://www.truewoman.com/

all photos are property of www.truewoman.com

What I Wore - no. 1

2010-09-21T17:27:00.000-07:00

All right, y'all. Here we go. My first What I Wore Wednesday. Before I share all my dorky pics, though, I really wanted to share this great post from Laura at Three Little Birds. I just so appreciated her sensitivity and candor. What I Wore Wednesday is all about encouraging one another and helping ourselves make our outside reflect a little more of the true beauty inside. Comparison is the thief of joy, ladies. The thief of joy.

Want to hear something funny? I currently own three - count them - three pants that fit me. I'm thankful to have recently lost weight (I'm down almost 3 sizes!), and I've been building up the foundational pieces of my wardrobe again, but it's tricky when your size keeps changing! It's a good thing, don't get me wrong, but I'm having to get creative these days on how to work with what I've got :) If I do wiww after this week, you all should be pretty familiar with those pants.

All right - getting to it... and linking to The Pleated Poppy...

wednesday 8.15

home during the day - always barefoot.

hillbilly? maybe. who's askin'?

black jersey tunic - target

boyfriend jeans - banana republic

added scarf and flats to run errands:

scarf (the perfect shade of green) - target

black ballet flats - target

invaded :)

earrings I wear ALL of the time. seriously. The Limited.
i also nearly always wear my hair up or back during the day. drives me nuts down & in my face.

thursday 9.16

home all day, again. no doorknob, yet.

the only ones seeing me are my family. they're the most important people in my world and they love me regardless of how i look. but, if they're that important and love me that much, i want to put in a little effort for them. especially for Sam. that's why i started ditching the jammies all day in the first place. so, home all day and in fancy earrings. (but still barefoot).

i felt pretty.

white pants - lands' end

gray ruffle top - j. crew

earrings - target

bracelet - silver plated from ? (had it for about 8 years)

friday & saturday 9.17 & 9.18

true confessions.

i wore this two days in a row. and i didn't wash it in between. but, sam was out of town on friday, so he only saw it saturday ;)

i added the glasses in because i was outside at parks both days. these are always on when i'm outside.

sunglasses - ann taylor

boyfriend jeans - banana republic

white cardigan - ann taylor

black & white tank - ann taylor

big ol' hoop earrings - target (i think - maybe 5 years old?)

sunday 9.19

look! i'm wearing shoes!

heading out to church.

white cropped pants - new york & company

black tank - ann taylor

gray mottled cardi - charlotte russe

black wedges - BCBG

wore the pendant on my wedding day :)

have not a clue where the hangy fake diamond earrings are from. but i like them.

monday 9.20

this was a busy, busy day. and i was seriously tired. i might have put on yoga pants if i owned them, but i don't :) you know, though, this polo dress basically feels like loungewear, but it's tidier. too bad it's a whole size too big now.

navy polo dress - lands' end

barefeet - God

adorable 5 year old in a school uniform - homeschooling mom who falls in love with the private school uniforms every fall :)

later that same day...

the dress was a little too big for that evening's soccer game, so i changed.

bet you can tell me where the jeans and flats are from by now, can't you?

boyfriend jeans - banana republic

black tank beneath - target

black gathered tee - target

black ballet flats - target

you never know when a mom of four is gonna need that extra coverage, right?

i don't dig on flashing people.

tuesday 9.21

this week has been killer so far. i've fallen asleep in random places both nights. my hair dried on its own, no time for messing with it. i did iron the shirt, though. i have wiww to thank for that :) it was a good thing to not be too comfy today. we had a friend's daughter for the entire afternoon and i was toast. i might've snoozed on the couch if i had jammies on. i needed to perk up!

jeans - you know

barefeet - you know

black button-up seersuckery shirt - new york & company

invaded, again!

Thanks for reading, everyone :) It was fun. a little more time-consuming than i had bargained on, but that's partly just because my computer is so painfully slow. I'm heading out to the Indianapolis True Woman conference tomorrow, so no wiww next week. But, I would like to do it, again. If nothing else, just to show you when I buy a new pair of pants.

Have a great day, ladies!

Door County Inspiration: The White Gull Inn (Part Deux)

2010-09-20T17:50:00.000-07:00

The first part of these White Gull Inn posts can be found here.

So, I left off telling you that Sam and I sat at this center table for our lunch (the one in the foreground). It was chillier than I had expected, so I was glad to have a sweater. I knew I definitely wanted to sit outside.

Here I am bundled up with my sweater around my shoulders. Sam snuck up from behind and nabbed a picture of me staring off into space.

Cherry stuffed french toast via http://arktimes.com/

Nummy nummy num. Here's the french toast I had for lunch. Except, I had a half order. It's so rich. There's sweetened cream cheese stuffed in there! With maple syrup on top! Our server said that often customers will order the half portion to split for dessert. I thought that was a fabulous idea. The White Gull Inn always uses these pretty red and white transferware place settings. See that paper placemat underneath? It's a map of Door County with little bits of trivia printed around the peninsula. Paper placemats are just how Door County rolls. It's a vacation spot and laid back ease is the over-all feel. Even nicer restaurants often serve butter in foil wrappers or sour cream on the side in a little paper ramiken. You get used to it, though. Nothing stuffy in these parts. The food at the White Gull Inn is very good. Paper napkins or no :)

Sometime I'll do a post for you about Door County restaurants that offer a slightly more formal ambience. The White Gull Inn is quaint and tasty.

And, as you've already seen, if you eat outside, it has a great patio.

I wasn't really staring off into space in that sneaky shot Sam took. I was looking at this...

... and this...

... and this. This is the side porch of The House. My dream house. Give me a break. Look at those porches. That top porch was made for early morning coffee with your snook-ums. Or whatever you call each other. Not that I call Sam "snook-ums". You know.

Anyway...

The pathway leading up to the front door from the dining patio. That's an amazing sunroom porch, guys. This exterior seriously could not get any better in my mind. No french castle, no coastal mansion, no city penthouse condo - this is perfection. I can't think of a single thing that would improve upon this for me. There's no American flag because that's on the main inn right next door, so maybe a flag by the front door would be added to really, truly make it 100% perfecto. This is so elegant and dignified, but it's still approachable and comfortable, too.

Look at the windows.

And the lanterns.

And the double porches on the other side. I was so inspired by the landscaping around this corner of the house/inn. It's so simple, but it has a sophistication about it, too.

Here you can see where The Perfect House is in relation to the main inn. The dining patio is toward the back of the buildings and in-between the two, positioned more closely to the main inn. Isn't this just a dream? What do you all think? Am I making more of it than you would? I know everyone is drawn toward different looks and ideals. What do you think of this property?

I think it's just perfect :)

p.s. As before, please DO NOT use these photos without giving proper credit to http://homeforthebetter.blogspot.com - thanks!

Door County Inspiration: The White Gull Inn (Part Un)

2010-09-18T17:47:00.000-07:00

White Gull Inn

Fishcreek, Wisconsin

{NUM NUM NUMMY}

Maybe it's just that I have a sentimental connection to this place. It was one of the places I remember going to with Sam the first summer I vacationed here with his family. It was August 1999, and we were one month shy of getting engaged. He couldn't keep his eyes off me ;)

above image via fishcreekinfo.org
But, I'm pretty sure that, although part of the draw to the White Gull Inn is that it's been a treat each summer for the entire eleven years that Sam and I have been together, I'm also pretty sure that the stuffed french toast has something to do with it, too. The cherry stuffed french toast. Tart cherries. French toast stuffed with cream cheese. Ooh, man. Num.

bill paulson image above via wisconsinlodging.com

Good Morning, America liked it, too. They named it The Best Breakfast in America earlier this summer. That link is a video and my cheeks hurt from smiling so HUGE while watching it. The coolest thing about this honor is that the winning dish features local Door County cherries - the original bedrock of Door County's economy. Door County = tart cherry. There are cherry orchards lining the backroads and the highways. Chocolate-covered cherries in the gift shops, tart cherry juice to mix with your seltzer water, cherry preserves, and of course plenty of cherry themed options on the menus. The area has changed quite a lot over the last 30 odd years, becoming increasingly a tourist destination. One thing stays the same, though. Those delightfully sour, juicy packages of perfection. It's just so neat to see such a time-honored Door County tradition get recognition. Plus, y'all,

it good.

Beyond the grub, the White Gull Inn is a source of inspiration for the gardener and house enthusiast, as well. Like many "front yards" in Door County, The White Gull Inn has a front garden with gorgeous combinations.

These gardens all have a similar feel to them - a little chaotic, but planned out. (oopsey on the hose - Door Co. is nothing if not laid back!) Their seeming ultracasual look is deceiving. These gardens are planted by folks who know what they're doing. There's room for a little chance thrown in, but there seems to be a lot of time and love that goes into these gardens. My mother-in-law knows that, don't you, Susan? "Love", right ;) They make shopping in these little towns such a complete pleasure. I stop all the time to stand and admire the posies.

The Inn is a historic one, and it's oozing with charm. I really can't think of a whole lot more charming than some of the older homes and their gardens. I'll have to take photos of a few more of my favorites next year, just to share with you.

Look at that. Could Ageratum ( the little bluish flower) be used to better effect than this?

And who would think to put it next to such a bright canary yellow (Heliopsis, I think)? I think that has something to do with the overall feeling that this garden was serendipitous. Seeds cast to fall where they may. That might actually be the case, but I still think it was planned to look unplanned. What do you think?

Big, white cosmos was everywhere in Door County gardens this August. No doubt, it has to be one of the annuals that goes in when I finally get some blooms here at home. Aren't they fantastic?

Even the business car is inspiring. Seriously, how awesome is this?

Loving the flooring on the front porch. I've never been to New England. Is it kind of like this?

This is the back of the main restaurant/inn. The dining room is on the first floor with the guest rooms above. We always stay with Sam's parents, but it would be fun to have a little get-a-way here some time. It may have a two night minimum during the tourist season, though.

When we were here last month, Sam and I sat at the table in the center of the photo. Guess what I ordered. How'd you do that?! You're right! Cherry stuffed french toast :)

The other day I shared a photo of one of my favorite houses of all time. It's an outbuilding "cottage" of The White Gull Inn with additional rooms. I've never been inside, because it doesn't have general public areas. That house and the yard around it will have to be saved for next week. This post is already so long!

Thanks for reading, guys. And thanks for the What I Wore Wednesday encouragement. I missed today, but I plan to stand in front of the mirror and take my own picture like a huge dork tomorrow :)

Have a great weekend!

p.s. PLEASE DO NOT USE MY PHOTOS OF DOOR COUNTY WITHOUT GIVING CREDIT TO homeforthebetter. (not yelling, just emphasizing) Thanks!

What I Wore Wednesday at The Pleated Poppy

2010-09-15T06:38:00.000-07:00

Hey, all :) Working on uploading some photos for another post, but I wanted to share this weekly linky party with you today. I came across The Pleated Poppy's What I Wore Wednesday earlier this week, and thought it was both helpful and fun. It could be twisted and made into some kind of Vanity Fest, but I think the ladies participating (and Lindsey who started it all) are really just trying to encourage one another to get out of sweats & collegiate tshirts. It's meant to foster encouragement, not to promote boasting. But, let me just say, it does feel super bizarre getting dressed and then taking photos of yourself for others to see. I took a few, but all on one evening, just to see how my mirror situation would work out. And, I admit, to figure out how to stand in front of a mirror and take pictures of myself without looking completely dorky. No such luck. I'm 100% a total cheeseball.

Good grief, but this is what I'm wearing today. (And my photos keep going to the right... oh, well - no time to figure it out right now).

Only not with the leggings - with the boyfriend jeans like in this next one...

Boyfriend jeans, black tunic dress, green scarf. Heading to the dentist for the 3 girls' appointments, then more school and prayer service at church tonight.

I think I'm going to jump in and participate in next week's WIWW, though, linking up and everything. As weird as it felt, it was actually really helpful to take photos of my clothing. Somehow it helped me get a better idea of what worked and didn't work than just a mirror alone would have done. For instance, in a photo, this third look below was much bulkier than it had seemed in the mirror.

Sorry the photos are so wonky.

I think WIWW might be helpful. So, next Wednesday (I know you're on the edge of your seats!), I'll be linking up. For today, though, you might like to head on over and check out a few other bloggers. As might be expected, there's a fairly wide range of looks represented by such a large number of links. A few are really inspiring.

Have a great one, guys!

p.s. i think i'll try to clean the mirror, too ;)

Destination Inspiration

2010-09-11T18:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks for your sweet thoughts on my last post (and the phone calls, Mom & Susan). All is well. I still miss them, of course, but the hardest part - the goodbyes - are over and it looks like I may get to go out to D.C. and visit this fall :) Knowing that really makes the move so much easier. This way goodbye isn't really goodbye, you know?

I've downloaded all of our Door County photos, but I haven't gotten them uploaded into a post, yet. My computer is terribly slow these days. I may need to just pick and choose a few favorites, focusing on the ones that have more to do with design and inspiration. Door County never fails to inspire me. The gardens, y'all. Oh, the gardens. I go "shopping" everytime we go up there during the tourist season, but it isn't really for the shopping at all. It's for the fabulous perennial gardens in the front yards of the stores. I always come away dreaming of some new plant combination or - at this house - just any old plant. I have precious few planted here. I miss my flowers.

Here's a sneakety peek into the goodness that is Door County. I'm telling ya, if you've ever wanted to know what my idea of a perfect house is, wonder no longer. This place is IT. Classic beauty. More soon...

Hope you all are doing well! And welcome to new subscribers. I'd love to hear from you :)

the heart

2010-09-03T19:41:00.000-07:00

One of my best friends in life is moving to Washington D.C. tomorrow morning. She and her husband and their four beautiful children. It's been a hard week.

I went over there tonight to help with last minute things - cleaning out the fridge, taking some trash for them, wiping down counters, checking the house for little things that might have been overlooked.

That last part was not my favorite. The house was empty. Their children are the same ages as ours and they were all at another friend's house for the evening. It was sad to see the house without all their playfulness. Without them.

They're an Air Force family, and all of their belongings are already in trucks, heading to the next assignment.

I've always loved being there, but the house itself has very little to do with that. I've said it before, and it bears repeating. It's the memories, guys. It's the life that's lived well in a house that makes it home. Not paint, not wood floors, not just the right colors.

It's memories.

Great. Now I'm crying, again.

images from Flickr

tidbits from my last mama night out

2010-09-01T04:51:00.000-07:00

Last week, my usual Mama Night Out didn't happen until Friday night. I didn't like going out alone on a weekend night at first, but when I realized that everything was open an hour or more later than on a weeknight, I decided I could roll with it.

I didn't get to leave the house until a little after 7pm, so I decided to head to a local outdoor mall where I knew there'd be several stores open until 10pm (and a bookstore open until 11). First stop - Panera Bread. Rumbly tummy.

photo: that girl with a camera (fun blog!)

I used to turn my nose up at Panera... for a really prissy reason. I didn't like clearing all my dishes cafeteria style. Honestly, I still don't like it. Something about putting your dirty forks into a bin with everyone else's dirty forks - ew. I deal with my family's spit and slob just fine - it's the spit and slob of other peeps that makes my skin prickle.

shudder.

At any rate, I changed my tune when this whole weight loss thing got underway. Panera has some great-tasting, low-cal options. This summer, I've been pretty much sticking to what I know works. Have you tried the Asian Sesame Salad? 410 calories, and yummy. I skip the bread (I know, but hey - bread vs. waist) and go for the apple, which I usually save to eat an hour or so later. The salad has nice wontony crunchies, a tangy/sweet viniagrette, and cilantro. Love the cilantro.

Blood sugar stabilized... I headed to BR. Mission: find some skinny jeans that work with my mom body. BR? for mom-friendly skinny jeans?, you say. Worth a shot.

photo credit hereI tried on several clothes and chatted with my favorite sales person, Stephanie. She's probably about 22 and she is so, stinkin' cute. She stands back in the dressing room and chats with me about how to wear my scarf this fall, what boots might be best, etc. She's great. Too bad all the jeans just weren't working for me that night. Depending on your height & shape, they might work out for you. These almost worked for me, but the skinnies had some weirdo sagginess behind the knee. Plus, their low-rise is pretty, well, low-rise. I needed to find some mid-rise skinnie to keep that dreaded muffin top at bay. Bye, Stephanie. See you, soon!

eddie bauer modern fit skinny jeans in "rinsed"

I never go into Eddie Bauer, but maybe I should. It's right beside BR, and last week I decided to go in because I'm still in the market for a classic denim jacket (last year's is too big - yay!). I'd check on a jacket and I figured there was a chance they'd have skinny jeans, and - if they did - they just might be mid-rise. Bingo! Eddie Bauer, I'm converted. These are GREAT jeans for moms who need a higher waist but still want to get the dark wash, skinny look. Don't worry, I won't wear these without a top to cover my rump. They might look fine, but I'll wear them with longer tops for modesty reasons. I didn't buy them just yet. I'll take my sister with me next time and get her opinion before I make the purchase. Skinny jeans are part of my fall core wardrobe plan, though, and these are serious contenders.

Well, that was fun. Two stores down was Ann Taylor LOFT. The stores weren't closing until 10pm, so I still had time. Why not?

ann taylor loft charcoal and ivory striped sweater

I sort of accidentally found a shirt that I really liked. Do I love it? I'm not sure. I at least really like it. It looked good on, too. It's not every day that some other shopper in the dressing room comments. I had two ladies comment when I had this on. Do you think the store plants those shoppers to get you to buy their stuff? ;) Problem - it's $60 and not on my wardrobe plan. I already picked up something that covered the "gray stripe" category. Hmm. Dunno - I really liked it. It looked super cute with my rolled boyfriend jeans and black ballet flats. Drat.

cold stone's berry yogurt (more low-cal options here)

Being unsure, I left the sweater behind for the time being. The clock was striking ten. Did I have time to quick step it to Cold Stone Creamery? Sure thang! Cold Stone is a calorie-counter's nightmare, by the way. I mean seriously, people. Did you know one of their big ole "creations" can rack up over 1500 calories!? Yikes-ola. However, they now have "healthy" options. My favorite of which is the berry frozen yogurt. Its texture is somewhere between a traditional frozen yogurt and a sorbet. I added raspberries as my stir-in and ordered a kid's size. The Like It size is about 140 calories, so I figure I came in around that with the add-ins. A little splurge. Totally worth it. The photo is from flickr, and looks rather soupy. Trust me, though. If you like a little sweet/tart action, this is a great treat.

Okay. Everything was shutting down, so I trotted toward the bookstore and munched my yogurt. There was an older gentleman playing the sax on one of the corners. I love street music - when it's good. And he was pretty good. I plopped down on a bench nearby and scrapped the last drops from my cup. Beautiful night. Sax. Treat. I could feel myself re-fueling. Mama Nights are awesome.

I've been pulling back on the interior design inspiration for the last month or two. I feel like my inspiration file is filled to over-flowing. I need to do, now, not just get inspired. So then what, I ask you, caused me to pick up Bunny Williams - of all people? Man!

available here

I had flipped through this book before. I think, though, that was during a time in which I was trying to edit out the more formal inspiration sources. I strongly admire the work of the old-school traditionalists like Charles Faudree, Charlotte Moss, Albert Hadley, and Ms. Williams. Their designs are for extremely wealthy people, though, and rarely offer much for me to actually work with in our own home. So, when I thumbed through An Affair with a House, I must have pushed it aside as too formal.

Friday night, though, I picked it up and looked at it with fresh eyes. Eyes that had been mostly absorbing "accessible" and eclectic design. Formality in IKEA doses. So, this time Ms. Williams' designs were bringing balance to my mental cache. Can I tell you something? The house and property in this book are hands down the most amazing I can possibly imagine. Sure, my personal style is different than Ms. Williams', but this house... this land... these out buildings. Gah!

If it were for a get-away. A Sam-and-Jacci-only weekend. This place would be 100%, completely perfect in every single way. The word "inspiring" doesn't even begin to touch it.

This was Ms. Williams' weekend home (she has an apartment in NYC) for 30 some odd years. 30 years. Of Bunny Williams loving on a house. And, really, that's what I took away from the book. She loved that house into what it became. A multi-million dollar budget didn't hurt, of course, but she and her husband loved it into perfection.

If you struggle with convetousness, maybe it's not wise to leaf through this book. If you can take it all as inspiration and use it as a springboard for you own home within your own means, I can't recommend it enough. I have many weaknesses, but one of my strengths is the ability to take something inaccessible and break it down into parts and adapt those parts so that some of them become accessible. I look at this book and the biggest thing that stands out to me is the emotional reactions it draws from me. The sense of history, elegance, rest, hospitality, graciousness. The connection to nature. The lack of pretense. Really, don't laugh - I mean that last part! If this were my home, it would be pretentious. I'd be trying to be something I'm not. However, Bunny Williams' is a wealthy, wealthy woman. She came from money and she, obviously, has money. She and her husband are mature, no kids at home anymore. I totally believe that this house is them. I just don't get the sense that it's pretensious. I've never met Ms. Williams, but she seems very comfortable in her own skin. And completely confident in who she is. This home is her.

from this wonderful New York Social Diary article

Look. Isn't she so cute? I love the perspective of this photo. You can see her hubby there in the hall, and I can just imagine sitting opposite her and chatting. We're waiting for the shephard's pie to finish baking before we enjoy it with a simple salad out on one of the idyllic porches. She says that guests will always be drawn toward the rooms you use the most as a family because those are the rooms that have the most soul. This is such a great room... lots of soul, I think. It may not seem like it if it were photographed without Ms. Williams and her poochy, but with them there you see that it fits them. They don't have kids, but they have doggies and it's fun to see how they keep such upscale interiors comfortable and welcoming. This is what a room looks like after 30 years of Bunny Williams.

The New York Social diary article in the link above is top-notch. If you're interested in more about the house, check it out.

I headed home after the bookstore closed at 11. I seriously don't know if I can take any more inspiration for a while. I have ideas running around in my head like mad. I've had to sit down from time to time and sketch some things out, just to free up some mental space :) Some of the best ones are straight out of our trip to Door County (so fun you honeymooned there, Renae!). More on that soon.

Have an awesome day!

taking dominion over our backyard

2010-08-29T21:06:00.000-07:00

Over the weekend, Sam and I spent some time attempting to re-establish dominion over the wilderness that is our backyard. On second thought, I don't think we've ever really gotten control of it to begin with, so we can't exactly "re-establish" dominion over anything. My point is - it's wild back there, and it's a good thing we're spry.

Back in October '09 and April of this year, we took out some of the sumac that had grown up sturdily in the sunshine created when the honeysuckle was removed. At that time, I took a few photos of the... ahem... landscaping at the back of the house.

If you're going to chuckle at the following photos, please do so with a tone of sympathy. From April 2010...

There's a patio just outside the glass doors in the living/dining room. To the left of the patio (as you step out of the glass doors) is our heat pump. Yes, we have a heat pump. The previous owners put in a wooden screen of sorts, but it doesn't really do much to screen anything. Maybe they were planning on growing a vine on it or something (?).

On the opposite side of the heat pump, there's a pretty steep decline leading to the back door in Spare Oom.

The previous owners had planted some liriope, which is kind of like a spikey, grassy groundcover deal, but it hadn't filled in because they had also installed landscaper's weed barrier fabric all around it. Those dear previous owners really liked landscape fabric. Heavy sigh.

Pretty bleck-looking back here, huh?

On the day I took the photos above, I wound up removing the screen and tearing out the liriope and weed fabric. We had planned on doing something constructive with this space over the summer. You know, this summer. The summer that's almost over now.

We never got around to it. As much as I dislike having to wrestle through weed barrier fabric to get a new flower bed ready, it is good for some things. Like, deterring weeds. And when it's gone and you're gone nearly all summer because you have this really great pool... well....

You get weeds.

Ummm... sort of a lot of weeds.

Really big weeds and, uh, maybe a small tree or two.

So, this is what we did for part of the weekend. We conquered the weeds. We hope. I did a little on Friday and then Sam busted out the rest on Saturday while I did another little project. By dinnertime it looked like this...

That chair is a hint about my end of the projects that day. I still need two weeks or so to wrap it up.

So, yay! The weeds are gone. We really need to make sure we figure out what to do with these two spots pronto so we don't wind up back at square one. The long "bed" where the small tree had been growing is going to get sprayed down with weed killer (I hate chemicals too, but when you need 'em, you need 'em) and then planted with grass seed. Some day, faaaarrr into the future, we'd like to do something more interesting there. For now, grass is better than a nursery of volunteer seedlings. We have to wait no less than 2 weeks after spraying , though, so the nasty chemicals won't kill our baby grass. We're still kicking around ideas for the space around the heat pump. Nothing elaborate. Probably involving rock mulch sort of like we put in at the previous house.

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the second week of school and the last week of the pool. Hope we get to do both! Have a great one, guys :)