My Art Room is Done!

I finally finished my art room. The only thing left is the flooring. We'll install cork tiles and baseboard trim when we do the rest of the basement. As I was setting it up it reminded me of when I was around 10 years old and I was obsessed with playing school with my sisters. I was determined to set up an entire classroom in my parents dank, moldy cellar. I brought down staplers, reams of paper, a broken telephone, chalkboard, and old school books. We'd take turns being teacher until someone would quit and we'd all scramble like hell out of there. No one wanted to be the last one left in that scary basement. We'd return down there a few days later to find all the supplies warped and moist from the moldy air. Pens stopped working and everything was musty. We were out of business and our classroom was eventually abandoned. Home Depot is delivering a huge dehumidifier this week and hopefully that will save my supplies and keep the moisture at bay. Until then, I managed to entice the kids down to test it out. They loved the space, made a mess, and split. Later this evening, I'm going to geek out, pour myself a glass of wine and use the space to finish Petra's baby book- until I get spooked out and run upstairs.

Next Project

Looking for some upholstery fabric in orange for the dining chairs. If you've ever attempted this- let me know any helpful hints. Looks like you just unscrew the seat, pull off the old and get to work with the new. I have my staple gun ready and I'll replace the ancient layer of batting. As far as the fabric- I have to order online. Can't seem to find stores that carry many solids. Will Scotch Guard for sure. Judging from how disgusting the current tan fabric became within months of my kid's spills- it's worth the extra step. I'll post some finished photos. Here's the nasty 'before':

Where is Everybody?

Photo: "Empty Backyard" Darien, CT

My dear friend, Denise moved from NYC to VA a few years ago. I imagined her meeting all sorts of fun suburban moms on the playgrounds or walking past their yards say hello to neighbors playing outside. I was wrong. She told me she is often the only one at the playground as her sons wander around in shock coming from the loud, crowded jungle-gyms in the city. Meeting mom friends or new friends for her kids would take some digging around. 

For years I wanted a country setting for my kids to run around in, play with kids down the block and explore the outdoors. We're finally here. Surrounded by woods- not too deep - but just right for exploring. My kids do play outside. I kick them out constantly and they don't complain. Every so often Beckett asks if he can come in, take a break and watch a show. No prob.

Here's the thing- there aren't really any other kids that play outside. All of the houses around us within a three street radius have loads of kids ranging in ages up to high school- but we never see them. As I drive around and peek into the beautifully manicured lawns of Darien and New Canaan, there is not one person in sight. It's spooky. It doesn't matter what time of day it is or season. No one is ever outside. Today just made me sad. I drove through New Canaan today. It was 6:00PM, well after day camps were let out. People should be arriving home from work, it was sunny & not too hot. Backyard jungle gyms, gardens, and pools were completely vacant. The mass amounts of money spent on landscaping and outdoor kitchens with deluxe gas grills seems so wasted. I'm assuming many kids are inside playing video games, but is that really it? I'd love to knock on the door of a house with a killer jungle gym and ask when the last time the kids used it. No kids OR adults to be found. Doesn't anyone ever pick up a hose and I don't know- spray the driveway?

The best memories of my childhood were in my backyard, all the neighborhood kids over, on their bikes, on our swing set, in our kiddie pool, chasing our dogs, drinking kool aid, making mud pies, catching fire flies, jumping rope, hiding and seeking. Grandma & Grandpa would always set up the lawn chairs and watch the chaos, mom would set up the radio on the back patio blast some Rod Stewart and start us dancing and Dad would eventually throw burgers on the grill....and nailed to the tree in the corner of our front yard where all the cars passed by was a bright yellow sign that said:

"CHILDREN AT PLAY".

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Little girly things for Petra

I've been on a glitter kick for some time now. I'm trying to find interesting taxidermy to glitter, but for now have settled on plastic animal figures. I would love to glitter a deer head with huge antlers. Keep a look out for me- would ya? I keep putting them in Petra's room and she loves them, unfortunately it's a bit of a look-don't-touch situation. I also recently picked up this Ikea rug thinking it's super sweet for a girly touch. After all, as you can see in the photo below, Petra embraces her femininity as she works outside in her pink boot, Hello Kitty undies and of course, a tiara. 

Breakfast in bed

Last night before Beckett went to bed he reminded us since it was his birthday in the morning, he would like breakfast in bed. Ok. He saw me have breakfast in bed for Mother's Day, so he'd like to be treated right on his big day. I woke up a bit early, scrambled some eggs and buttered cinnamon bread, melon & OJ. What I really loved about this moment was when we went in to wake him and remind him breakfast in bed was on it's way, he immediately said, "Go get Petra!" He didn't want her to miss out on it. She stumbled in and ate breakfast with him as the Beastie Boys played. They sat there and chatted, eating and laughing. Good start to a great day. 

Oh Credenza- where art thou?

A major piece of furniture I would love to find next is a credenza for the dining area. It doesn't have to match anything, so that's good. I would hope for a danish piece, low and long to throw some little decorative items on. I have to get on ebay / craigslist, and get crackin'. Here are some inspirations:

Sick Day Sculpture

Beckett stayed home today with strep. Josh stayed home with him and said he basically watched so much TV his eyes bugged out. As soon as I got home, we put the laptop, DS and iPad away. We broke out some cardboard boxes and Beckett started to get the brain working again. He dug through the recycling bin, grabbed tin foil, straws, tape and scissors. He was so excited to built something from scratch, and design it himself. Best part is, he and I worked together without butting heads. Typically, we start fun projects like this and not too far into it, things fall apart and the results are drab.

Beckett turns seven this week and I think there are little signs like this pointing to him maturing and our relationship getting a little closer. I was so proud of him today, he stuck with his idea, made it happen and actually spent the evening playing with his battleship. Happy Birthday Beckett.

Ok- Here's what I really want:

This is the obvious choice for a deck set. We will eventually work our way up to a set like these. They will go much better with the style of the house and as we sip our gin & tonics, we'll feel much more Mad Men. 

1950's Patio Set

We bought this 1950's set on Saturday from a dealer up in Redding. We needed small, round, 4 chairs and wanted a vintage look. It looks good on the new deck, but it's more for a garden setting. We'll keep our eyes open for better set later, we were just excited to get something out there. At first we were skeptical it was 1950's, but then found the same set online from another reputable dealer painted turquoise (below). I'll post deck photos this week- waiting for the rain to stop so they can install cables.

We have room on the other side of the deck for 2 chairs & small drink table. They don't have to match since they are far away from each other and the tree will separate the spaces. We want color and were thinking of these 1950 butterfly chairs. Any ideas?

I need a low maintenance backyard:

We did a ton of yard work yesterday. I focused on ripping out a huge patch of pricker bushes along side the driveway = success. My efforts right now are to make the entry to the house cleaned up and planted for spring, while Josh is focused on overall leaf removal. Petra is on stick pick-up detail Beckett seems to think he can skip yard work if he's playing outside running wild. Honestly, I'm ok with that for now. Nothing makes me happier than seeing him playing hide and seek with the neighbor's kids or climbing a tree to check out a squirrel's nest. As far as home improvements, the back deck will be torn off & rebuilt next month, so the backyard project may have to hold off until next spring, but here are some photos that have me thinking. What I love about these is the low-maintenance factor, little grass if any, gravel, blue stone patio, and fire-pit combo. As for furniture- not sure yet. What do you think? Maybe to make me feel better, I'll start preparing the space by ripping out the rectangular patch of pachysandra where we will eventually create this.

Love the built in seating & no-mow gravel:

 Just love the fire-pit and fun atmosphere in this one:
I would never do a circle though. God forbid.

 This is about all the grass I want to deal with: You can pass a football on gravel- right?

I'm all about the ability to play bocee ball.

 Love the firewood storage, fire-pit and seating. We would have the pachysandra 

surrounding this patio, not cactus:

 Again, love the fire-pit, built in seating, but the separation 

between slabs of stone would be a pain:

 Too much going on here. Too many things to care for, but there are parts I love:

I gave in to the wall stickers

Despite my knee-jerk reaction to sticking things to my bare white walls, I gave in to these super cute stickers in Petra's room. The sheet rock has these grooves I thought would be problematic, but I just went right over them. There is a branch on either side of her window. Looking for fun ones for Beck right now...will post once installed.

Foo Dogs Anyone?

I've always wanted a pair of these in turquoise. So when I saw them at my new favorite store, Homegoods, I nudged a small lady out of my way to get them even though they are lime green. I threw Petra out of the cart and threw these in. They're actually pretty large. But- get this- they were dirt cheap: $7.99 what? Maybe because they're ugly and they couldn't get rid of them. Problem is, I don't think they'll go in my house, so looking for the right fit. Any takers?

Love the Lamps

 So...finally found some funky lamps. So-long Ikea night lights!

So proud of myself for skipping over the white and grabbing some color.

Shades are oval and a bit odd- but I love them anyway.

My First Thanksgiving- check.

 So here I am, happy the turkey survived. Notice the huge smile.

It may also have to do with a few glasses of wine starting at 10am.

Petra & Beckett were amazed at the preparation & gagged

when I stuffed the bird. I did a little myself. 

Spoon Full of Sugar

Petra is my last baby. I don't plan on having any more and it makes everything she does somehow a little more special and I'm trying my best to implant all of her sweetness in my memory forever. With Beckett, I was frantic to calm him, feed him, change him, figure out how to satisfy him and I feel like I missed so much of his baby-ness. Being back at work has made this effort a little tougher, so I'm left with bed and bath time during the week and weekends are golden. I'm sure this story sounds familiar to many. But not to my mom or my mother-in-law. If you think of the past generation of moms that stayed home until their kids were in Kindergarten and didn't have texting and cell phones as distractions, those moms really knew their kids. I want to make a better effort to be present when I'm with my kids, put the cell phone away at the playground and play more. Pretty soon I'll be packing away all of these baby spoons and sippy cups and I hope I feel full enough of baby sweetness.

My Family

Last Thanksgiving we held a costume party. A week prior to that day, we each received a character to come dressed as and were told to keep it secret until we came downstairs to breakfast that Thanksgiving morning. It was so much fun and everyone took it very seriously. We came with our outfits secretly packed in our suitcases all the way to Martha's Vineyard. Strange thing was, as we each came downstairs to reveal our character, none of the kids said a peep. It was breakfast as usual for them as the adults paraded around as these characters. Quite surreal as we stuffed the turkey and prepared for the day as a biker chick, a burned-out hippie, and chainsaw massacre dude. Can't wait for Christmas!

Good Bye Summer- For Real

Packed up all the summer stuff: picnic blanket, beach towels, cooler, swim trunks and sea shells we had scattered on the table. All that stuff wasn't scattered on the table, just the shells. You know me better than that! I took a snapshot of the shells for one last image of our beach days. Busted out the Halloween decorations the other day and it is finally beginning to feel like fall. Fall is my favorite season.  In the movie You've Got Mail, either Meg Ryan or Tom Hanks says something about a bouquet of pencils reminds them of fall...something like that and I totally agree. Back to school feels like a fresh start and I really needed that this year. New personal goals and new challenges mixed in with old friends. We're going apple picking next weekend with old friends and I can't wait. I may buy a pumpkin pie on site and eat it on the hay ride just to engulf the full sense of fall all at once since I don't have a bouquet of pencils near by.