the mud

The Closet. It's like the Inferno, levels of hell depending on what kind of week we've had, determined by number of sports games, time spent outside, getting dirty, number of loads of laundry mommy's felt like doing, time spent in timeout in room, and amount of time it takes to get to bed.  Some days it's really bad! So we're starting again.  We removed the doors, that were broken anyway, and started with a fresh coat of paint.  Better already.  My heart palpatations are fading... breathing much easier now, right?  This is a color somewhere in between the hall stairway and the boys room color.  I mixed the hallway paint with grey.  I would have used what I had for the boys room, but we didn't have any left.  The room paint was called Sanderling by Sherwin Williams HGTV Home and it is a great shade of neutral light brown.  My mom even helped me paint it!  Thanks, Mom! What to do next?  It is so alluring to imagine all the possibilities.  A lovely reading noo

You are braver than you believe, you are smarter than you think, you are smarter than you know. Christopher Robin to Winnie-the-Pooh

I can see how I might just get stuck in this project forever.  The boys are starting think that anything is possible, like a drop down hockey rink?!  I don't think so!  I don't care if they did do it on Trading Spaces Kids, they had about 10 full-time construction workers who were paid to do that stuff!  However, I was finally able to get into the boys room and finish two more little projects.   Here's what worked:  The Hanging Chair! This is from IKEA, and it's called EKORRE.  It was a real struggle to find, which began about 3 years ago (seriously)!  It is available at amazon , but just make sure you have the good hooks, which they do have at IKEA .  You might be able to wait until later in the spring and it may come out again.  It was much cheaper at IKEA than amazon.  It's such a cool spot, but we I mean, ny husband, had to go into the attic to find the stud because the stud finder doesn't work through plaster.  Instead of a table nearby we used an old

I love watching races, when the runners are all set in their blocks in that zen state of focus and anticipation, and because of all that adrenalin and excitement, one of the runners starts before the gun.  Everyone has to start again.  Despite a few false starts this week, I'm not going to focus on the negative, like the fact that I accidentally posted only half a blog entry on Wednesday, I'm going to chalk it up to that enthusiasm and fervor we all have starting the new year.   There were some other false starts, like the fact that I wanted to post more about the boys room.  My son was so sick that he wanted to stay home even when I threatened him with taking a nap, and when he did take that nap, and did take it in his own bed, he didn't even wake up when his new iPod alarm went off, so there was no way I could boot him out of there to take pictures.  So I'm starting again.  First, back to Gather .  I love the idea of a word of the year.  It does the job of a resolut

Well, I was going to show you some more stuff we put in the boys room last night, but we've all been fighting the cold/cough for a few days and my little guy is asleep in there right now and I can't go in and take pictures.  It's not earth-shattering, I'm sure it can wait another day.  So today I had a surprise day off - he couldn't go to school.  This kind of sets me in a tizzy.  I'm lost without having my clear objectives for the day set and done and checked off the list.  Which is really sad when you think about it.  I took a test online called the Enneagram, to learn more about myself as part of my coaching practice, and the one area that came in really low was "PLAY."  I  wish I could make that a priority, but you know what happened last week with the swing... well I've got some hangups... So today on my day off I did manage to take a nap, make two important phone calls and then go into the blogosphere to play.  Here's what I found, the

 When we moved into the house, my husband and I set the kids' rooms as a top priority.  We thought that by creating spaces for them, we could kind of get them out of our hair as we worked on the rest of the house.  ;)  We had paint, window treatments and furnishings up in the first month.  Then we gradually added the personal touches.  Both boys love the outdoors and exploring, so we started with that as a focal point.  We found sticks in Massachusetts that became curtain rods and wall hooks.  If you paint the hooks with a clear acrylic, they are actually much stronger and will last longer.   Charlie made the explorers' map in art class! (This area is still a work in progress.  The old chair is going up to the attic.  Our plan is to put up the hanging chair and then see what else it needs.) These twill curtains were a real steal at Lowe's last August.  For 4.99 a pair we bought them for all the kids rooms!  I think they may need a little personality though - got to th

The other day I drove past a newly sold house down the street and I can see the boxes piled up in the windows.  I remember those days.  A year ago I thought this move would never happen.  Now here we are seven months after moving in and we are reasonably comfortable.  Actually, I should cross that out, we have more blessings than I ever dreamed possible and we are happy and content in our new home.  But I thought before we get to the fun stuff, you might like to see what it looked like this time last year when we were coming in with inspectors to see the house.  So here we go:) Hopefully you get the idea.  Clockwise from top left, the family room, the blue room, the dining room, front bedroom, the living room, and the kitchen.  The theme throughout:  lots of creamy white paint, nice wood floors, old lights and the need for a fresh look.  Tomorrow I'll show you the "Boys will be Boys room," complete with rock wall and (maybe) the hanging chair!  I think I'm writin

Before the rain settled in for a few days I knew I had to get out and run.  After a day of.. well, you know, cancellations and missed calls, and coughing kids, I had to get out and run.  So I invited my son Charlie to ride his bike alongside me.  And he told me he would only go if we went to find "The Swing."  I had no idea what he was talking about, but he had been there with my husband and kids and cousins not too long ago and he really wanted to go back.  I imagined that the swing was pretty far away and I told him, "Look, Mommy can only run short places, not far away places."  He answered me, "Mom it's really not far, I promise.  You can do it."  I felt like I was turning my training over to my 8 year old.  I kept complaining, I really can't go that far, I really can't go that far... He kept reassuring me, It's not that far, It's not that far... but who can trust an 8 year old to understand distances, especially when one trip was in

We also found another way to write on the walls, by writing directly on the cabinets.  We did not have a lot of wall space for art due to the cabinets, etc., and I wanted to have something fun to look at while doing the dishes.  The old cabinets here are made of tin, or some kind of metal!  Although some of the doors were refaced, they are not the kind of doors you'd be afraid to play with, so I gave it a shot.   What to draw?  Back to my favorites.  I don't know if I could actually paint a lemon freehand and have it look half-decent, but I do love to write.  One of my favorite poems is "This is just to say," by William Carlos Williams.  I drew with pencil first and planned to make it look just perfect, but I just grabbed a Sharpie and it took on a life of its own!  Here is the result: I wish I could start everyday with forgiveness in this way, 'cause by the end of the day, I'm sure I'll need it.  Annie is the "permanent" kitchen helper and she

In our classrooms we tell teachers to surround kids with print.  Growing up in a print environment helps children develop early reading skills.  So I am loving all the decorating that revolves around the written word.  From antique printers' blocks to French script on fabric, it is really endless.  I am trying it out here at home too.  One of the fun ways is by writing on the walls.  We had a chalkboard on the kitchen wall in our old house and we had to do it here too.  I painted right over the outlet cover so it all blends together.  I'm not sure if we'll replace that old light fixture.  Maybe it looks cool and vintage? It's a great reminder of holidays, countdowns for birthdays, and even whose gym day it is.  I hung the chalk bucket in the exact spot where the wallpaper (yes, more wallpaper!) ripped when I tore off the tape.  I has great function though.  I wonder though, if I should have painted the whole wall chalkboard, which would be really cool too, but it migh

Well, this weekend was busy with taking down Christmas.  It is such a chore and each year I think I"m going to whittle things down and not put so much up.  If I only decorate with fresh greens, there's not so much to pack away, I tell myself.  But each year I still love the hanging lights, the Santa collection I started, really by accident when I received them for Christmas from students, and the trains under the tree.   Really you can only do that for so long while the kids are young, so may as well buck up!  And each room has it's own style now, so you decorate and then you un-decorate! With all that stuff down, here are the piles I still have to put away today: So I'm going to get busy... finding fun things to do to distract myself.  Maybe the piles will magically disappear!

One thing I love about the cold January days is all the new awards that are given out.  I'm not talking about Emmy and Oscar, I'm talking about the new Pantone 'Color of the Year.'  Are you ready for it? ORANGE.  Bright, bold red-orange that is.  In colorist jargon, Tangerine Tango.  I think I'm in love.  "Consumers look to spring for renewed energy, optimism and the promise of a brighter day," according to Leatrice Eiseman, director of the institute at Pantone, and that's the message sent by this color of choice for 2012. The interesting thing about this is the amount of time and energy spent by the colorists at Pantone creating this color of the year.  They literally travel around the world to see what people are doing, what they are wearing and talking about, and how they are feeling.  This year they have taken all that wonderful insight into our lives and added this great splash of orange.    Marketers, merchandisers, buyers and fabricators t

One of my new year's resolutions was to get back into my running routine which had quickly gone by the wayside during the holidays.   Not that I had much of a routine to begin with.  At my peak I was running about 18 miles a week, but let's just say that ain't happening.  So last night I was committed to going to bed early and getting a big start to my day, about 6:30 - run a few miles and then head out grocery shopping.  Not so fast... I didn't actually get out of bed until 7:15 (because I waited up for my husband and son to get home from the Winter Classic game last night.)  Then once I did arise I realized that, along with everyone else in the house, I didn't have any socks that matched.  So I sat in my son's room sorting socks and talking.  I thought I was ready to go.  But I came downstairs and my youngest didn't want to go to basketball.  That took a few words of encouragement.  Ready to go?  I checked my iPod - low battery  and plugged in because I

We teach kids in school about the value of repetition in every subject from math to science to writing.  Well let me tell you that what you learned in kindergarten is everything you need to know about DESIGN too.  Really.  As I was clearing out  designing my pantry tonight I realized that is the secret. Just take a look at these pictures: Sorry, I just don't see myself decanting my soda, oils, vinegars, and what not into fancy (i.e. expensive) vintage bottles. Do you only buy food that comes in green packages?  I don't.  (See below.) We have more of a red-yellow-blue-brown-white-whateversonsale theme.  But if I had twelve boxes of Quaker oats and eight boxes of ricekrispies you would might be just as impressed with my closet. So I went around the house, like a kindergartner, finding things that are ALIKE.  They all had to be the same material and the one I found the most of was, stainless steel.  So that was the winner.  These are some cool vintage flour,sugar,cof

This is the theme of our bedroom right now.  Yes, even the fan matches.  Not quite the romantic master suite I had envisioned.  Since there is so much wallpaper to deal with, this room is one of the last on our list.  It will take some time to figure out what to do here, but in the meantime I wanted to share with you a quick and easy window treatment that you can use to easily update, or in our case, color-correct, a room.  I call it Panel-ies or Panel-ease.  My drapes from our old house were still in good condition when we moved, but weren't exactly the right color for our new rooms.   Here are some befores and afters: The drapes are a darker tan color that doesn't go with blue exactly.  So I used some old fabric to come up with a new window treatment that didn't cost a lot or involve a lot of effort.  I simply hung the old drapes and added a strip of this blue and tan paisley fabric in front of the drape.  (As long as both colors are present in the fabric, it should wo