the mud

Even though it's after Thanksgiving and all of my decorating energies should be directed toward Christmas, I thought I'd take a step back and talk about the kid's bedrooms.  When we first moved in one of our priorities was to make sure the kids had special spaces.  We loved our old house and simply outgrew it, so it was not an easy transition.  Annie's old room was the perfect little girl room, with "All things bright and beautiful, the Lord God made them all..." stenciled around the ceiling.  I knew that we would have to step it up for her big girl room so for her birthday we painted and refreshed the little girl look. Here are the pictures: Here is the bed we ordered from JCPenney almost 8 years ago.  The circles are chalk-ready - just three coats of acrylic paint!  (No, you don't need special chalkboard paint :)  ) We moved this chair into the room when my mother-in-law visited during the hurricane and it has stuck! This chandelier is from ...

In the Kindergarten classrooms I visit, many teachers have lists of words that are "Juicy words" or "Words that Sparkle."  There are so many wonderful words we use this time of year.  Nourish, harvest, bounty, plenty, gratitude, thanksgiving, gathering, family, welcome, holiday, retreat, homecoming, tradition, heritage.  Just hearing the words reminds us of good things.  Nourish is one of my favorite words.  It has such a wonderful loaded meaning.  You can nourish yourself, your spirit, or those around you.   Nourishment has such significance as we shop and prepare menus and welcome friends and family from far away.  We need to nourish ourselves as we begin this festive season.   We are like the hibernating animals that need to load up before the long days of winter. During the holidays we have the excuse to set aside time to play, relax, and eat.  We treasure special time sitting around the ...

The other night, driving home from CCD, my son said, "I can't believe it's almost Advent.  That means I have to start my Christmas list."  I know there is some guilt looming here.  I am ashamed to say that one of the things I look forward to this time of year is the O List, the collection of Oprah Winfrey's best stuff that you would love to give or receive for Christmas.  So in lieu of the Oprah to-die-for favorite things, I'm creating my own list.  Trust me, they won't cost millions and you can find some as close as Sears.  For instance this quilted pillow: It's by Cannon , costs less than $15 and it's the best I've ever used! After sleeping on this dreamy pillow, you'll need a great cup of coffee to wake you up.  Peet's coffee is the best: Once you try it, you'll be hooked.  To drink that coffee, you'll need a special mug from StoneSoldier Pottery in Vermont, and though these are a little costly, $23, it makes drinking a...

So, honestly, this started as a joke.  I looked at this cover of Country Living, and thought,"Yeah, right, an old bench, rubber boots and some sticks?  Really?  That's the cover of a magazine?"  So I thought I would do a parody of it and you could have a good laugh.  But, the weather this weekend was so beautiful and I thought wow, it would be nice to have a    little outdoor space to curl up with a mug and a book.    So I got to work.  I wish I had taken the pictures of the pieces first, so you could see how it came together, but basicially it is what it is.  Blankets are always warm no matter what they look like.  Benches are always welcoming, allowing friends to sit together for a quick chat.  So this is what I did: The rug/mat is nice to sit your feet on.  The pumpkin was leftover fromm Halloween.  The tray was my little addition. The black basket is the one my husband made in woodshop in ...

Since this is our first holiday in our new home, I feel a little pressure to make this season special.  We are still learning how to make this house feel like home and give our children the memories for the holidays that they had in our old house.  Well, after worrying and venting last week I have come down with a severe case of Holiday Spirit.  The truth is I love creating, it's really just the time factor that throws everything off.  I found an extra hour of time on Saturday when a friend offered to drive my son home from a birthday party.  I stopped at Produce Junction and I picked up some pears and artichokes and some greenery, all for under $8.  The ivy grows in our yard and the pumpkins were from Halloween.  The real secret here is skewers: they are strong and sturdy hold the fruit in the arrangement. (If you find the fruit starts to slip, you can put a piece of wax under the fruit.) Since I still wasn't going to make the table run...

Listen to this quote from Pottery Barn:  "Get ready for an unforgettable Thanksgiving with those you love...not only do we have everything you need to set a beautiful table, we also have expert tips...Host Thanksgiving expertly with our online party planner.  You'll find creative centerpiece ideas, free downloadable invitations, how-to videos, and much more."  Really?  I have to print and send invitations?  After reading that I feel like I might need a private tutorial on how to do Thanksgiving.   What happened to simplicity?  I thought this was Thanksgiving.  The menu's fairly self-explanatory.  The same people show up year after year.  The centerpiece just can't obscure views of leftovers across the table.  I love this time of year: the gathering, the food, the warmth.  On the other hand, you know we all complain about it.  There is never enough time, we say.  I'm so busy, we say.  If only I didn...

In trying to design a family-friendly home, I have poured over magazines, blogs, and books to find help and inspiration.  Last week I picked up two books on Feng Shui, a way to design spaces that allows energy, or  chi , to flow and promotes harmonious living.  (I found the books in the 50 cents bin at the library.)  Here is what I didn't know:  In the feng shui kitchen food is visible and accessible, signifying abundance and wealth.  According to feng shui fresh food is potential nourishment.  I couldn't resist photographing these apples that we picked up from a farmer's market.  The woman told me they had come from Lancaster county and they look like the kind of old, imperfect apples you'd never find in Wegmans, with brown mottled spots and natural red color.  No wax.  Just looking at them makes me feel nourished. One of my favorite things this time of year is the cornucopia, the harvest.  I am going to be sure to keep fresh f...

When I thought of how to organize the closet mess that often ended up in the hall entrance, I started thinking of my grandmother's house.  When our large family gathered for Thanksgiving and Christmas, all the families would pile their jackets and coats on the hall banister.  It was a quick efficient system that got the coats up and out of the way.  That was my inspiration.  I wanted a big way to hold several jackets at a time.  After shopping for closet organizers which ran between $15 and $60 for a coat tree, I found myself at the Ace Hardware and thought I would look down their aisles for some ideas.  I started out in the bathroom fixtures where they had several types of hanging options, but they seemed a little too small.  The regular hardware had a good selection with all sizes and colors of hooks, but again I wanted something really sturdy.  I saved the best for last - the gardening section!  There I found forged iron ho...

A perfect day, 11.11.11,    to soak in the beauty of the good earth. We were surrounded by glory... made aware of the struggles of those who came before... Time to reflect... and be thankful for all those who secured for us the land we call home.

I am working on one final project for the closet and am collecting four letter words.  I have a pocket organizer which I will hang on the back of the door that has six rows with four columns.  I thought it would be cool to find six words that I can stencil across each pocket and I am having fun thinking of the words I should stamp.  There are lots of words, like Work, Play, Live, Give.  This is good too: And while I was searching, I found this inspiration for the dining room table: I might be stenciling for quite a while now!  If you're inspired too, here's a site with directions: stenciled table runner   But back to the pocket project.  I wish I could use some 5 letter words too, like Laugh. Naomi Shiyab Nye told a story about finding a young boy's word book, a collection of words he had learned to spell, and she turned to the L page.  This is what she found: Live listen love laugh linger lounge long learn She said we could certainly...

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I found this quote in the New York Times Education section last week about elite schools easing up on homework:  “There’s very little evidence that doing homework makes kids smarter,” said Adam Gopnik, an author and parent of two Dalton students. “Even if it did, there are values other than achievement. For example, let’s be curious.” I love that line, Let's be Curious.  I have the privilege of going into many different classrooms for my work.  One thing that always strikes me is that in Kindergarten, the students are expected to sit still, in chairs, for hours a day.  Let's be curious - Yes!  Only a few months ago these same children spent their days on the floors of whatever they called home, grandma's, a daycare,  playing with cars, with small people dolls, with blocks and they were being curious.  They were creating imaginative stories that would be fuel for the stories they are now beginning to learn to put on paper.  When my son ...

After the grand entry the kids usually drop shoes-sweatshirt-backpack-lunchbox-notehome-leavesanddirt right on the hall carpet.  They do not see this as a problem.  However, multiplied x4 means that there are approximately one million things on the floor.  If the fire marshall came, he would declare it uninhabitable.  I have tried to explain the concept of "TRAFFIC PATTERN" but they don't get it.  So I'm thinking I might be able to reprogram them by locking the front door.  We have 3 back doors, one of which might be more convenient.  So I have a few options for creating an entry/mudroom/catchall space.  One of the troublesome things is where to put winter jackets which we pulled out much earlier than expected this season.  (Are you sure you want to say there's no environmental crisis here?) Option 1: the new and improved muddy room (with the outdoor furniture moved in for the winter.) Option 2: the family room back door space: ...