After Breakfast

Carted and Shelved

The professor has been nosing around at Surplus Property again... he's good at that. Always armed with an eye for turning trash into treasure, he stops by every few weeks to peruse the university's latest batch of "surplus." His most recent finds are two rolling, vintage book carts that were discarded by the main library on campus.


Constructed of sturdy oak boards, these work horses are strong with plenty of mileage left in them. {Literally!} Someday I would love to use them in a more visually noticeable way but for now they're the perfect solution to our need for additional shelving in two of the bedroom closets. Costing only $10 each, they were less expensive than Closetmaid... and "installation" was a breeze!

Washing Fresh

She's a hardworking old gal, she's faithful and reliable, and she never complains. But, let's face it, from time to time she starts to smell like an overlooked dirty, wet sock. Thankfully, it doesn't take much to freshen her up. Run a clothes-free, cold water cycle carefully adding 1 cup of vinegar or bleach through the chlorine bleach dispenser. There now, isn't that better?! Everyone is happier.

Scrubbed and Shined

Have you heard the story of the very pregnant woman who possessed such a compelling urge to nest that she cleaned her oven with a toothbrush until it was pristine only to go into labor a few hours later?

Well, that was me this morning... except it wasn't the oven, it was the refrigerator... and I only thought about using a toothbrush... and {so far} I'm not in labor, just exhausted. But, my friends, our icebox is cleaner today than it was the day it left the factory and that feels great.

Monday, Monday

Monday morning beauty.

I spent most of the day trying to reclaim the house...

It was definitely showing the effects of a four-day, snowy weekend.

Monday morning outdoor play. Baby, it's cold outside.

Bench Monday

"Mommy, why didn't you get me a whoopee cushion for Bawentine's?"

Oh me.

Nesting, Hatching, and Horton

a light lunch

Last night, at an hour when I should have been sleeping, I was cleaning out and reorganizing my fabric stash and sewing notions. This morning I was a flurry of brushes and rags while valiantly blitzing the house. On days like today I'm thankful that Little Brother can be an amazingly self-satisfied little guy.

After a quick, light lunch {baby seems to be infringing on my stomach capacity} I made one last pass with the vacuum cleaner and settled in on the couch to read aloud with a somewhat neglected but content little boy... his book choice, Horton Hatches the Egg! {Oh, the irony it is not lost on me!}

It wasn't until that moment, when I was sprawled on the sofa with Tukes pointing to my round belly asking, "Is dat da baby's egg, Mommy," that I realized... I'm nesting.

Nesting, it's an invigorating and exhausting place to be.

Horton did indeed hatch the egg and then my little guy went down for a nap. I should have napped too, but my frenzy continued... I added more tasks to the "to do" list, cleaned the kitchen floor, and plopped myself in front of the sewing machine to churn out a few gifts.

Nesting... indeed. Hatching an egg... oh yes. Just don't hatch too soon Little One!

A Bit of Winter Sprucing

Before :: After

The double bathroom debacle is far from being resolved. Yes, the professor has repaired and painted the rotten walls, Jorge and Jose gave us beautiful new tile, and I'm extremely thankful to have showers and toilets that work after thirteen days of driving .7 miles to my in-law's house... but there are still plumbing issues to navigate, vanities to build, and sinks to install. Of all the home renovation projects that we've taken on over the years this double bathroom renovation has been the most painful.

The renovation sprawl has slowly crept from our partially intact bathrooms filling empty corners and floor space in the master bedroom, coating every surface in the house with dust, and, finally, this weekend the sprawl took over the kitchen. Paint cans and brushes, crown molding and quarter round, saw horses and drop clothes, Christmas candy and school papers, toothbrushes and toiletries, and wet leaves all over the floor, you name it and, I assure you, it was there. Truly, my brain felt as cluttered and dusty as my kitchen counters.

"Go shine your sink!" Today I took the Fly Lady's words to heart. Today Mrs. Meyer and I took back the kitchen. We threw open the windows {hello, sunshine and 65 degrees!}, cleared the counters of everything, wiped away dust, crumbs, and paint splatters, and decluttered in the most significant way. Then I took vengeance on the floor. When the professor walked in this evening he commented, "The kitchen sure looks nice!" Yes, yes it does... and now I can think once again!

Savoring Simplicity

I stood in my sunny kitchen this morning and savored a simple breakfast orange. After all the rich food we've had of late it was delicious and refreshing.


The day commenced with the slow, methodical tasks of cleaning up, cleaning out, and undecorating. It felt nice. After the busyness and bliss of Christmas and its delightful festivity I am savoring our return to a simpler life.

An Unlikely Face Cleanser

A few weeks ago, on a whim, I decided to try cleaning my face naturally like Simple Mom... she calls it the oil cleansing method. Cooler weather and pregnancy were causing dry skin so I knew that I needed the extra moisture, but I was skeptical...

Not any longer. I've converted!

Today

These days I'm mesmerized by the fresh autumn sunlight... it's less direct with lower angles and the intensity of the summer sun has fled. In the late afternoon it fills our house with a most enchanting glow. But, don't let beautiful sunlight and a tidy surface fool you. I must post and run...

Today my house is really quite dirty. There is scrubbing to tackle, floors to be mopped, and laundry {three loads!} to fold and put away. We'll spend the late afternoon at the soccer field bringing us home close to dinner time, but, oh dear, I seem to have no dinner planned. Hmmm, seems like this evening will be a perfect breakfast-for-dinner-evening.

If you're on the sniff for inspiration {I always am} then check out some of the links on my sidebar under Be Inspired. Here you'll find links to recent posts and sites that I've found inspiring, encouraging, or thought provoking. I try to add several each week replacing a few of the older ones... it's my own little homemade Tumblr list.

One new-to-me site that I've been enjoying recently is Our Best Bites, a beautiful cooking and recipe blog. I've had a chance to try a few of the recipes; my favorite so far is the Mini Breakfast Quiches, which are a perfect make-ahead, protein-packed breakfast option. And, I've heard whispers that the White Chocolate, Pumpkin Cheesecake is delicious, too! Enjoy!

Feeling Bookish

I was in the third grade, home from school with the chicken pox, when I first read The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. I remember lying in a patch of warm sunshine on our green velveteen couch {oh, how I loved that couch} reading and itching and savoring. I cried at the end.

I don't know why it has never occurred to me to read it to the boys, at least it didn't occur to me until last week. I pulled it out this morning and we began reading, in small chunks because Tukes really does prefer pictures. The boys are captivated. When we finish it this evening I'm pretty sure I'll cry at the end like I did when I was nine.

In other happy news on this Labor Day... well, we're laboring around the house. My laundry is clean and folded, my bathrooms fresh and sparkling {thank you, Mrs. Meyers Clean Day}, and I have a beautiful, new kitchen sink that works! I think I'll spend the afternoon washing dishes in the kitchen {not the bathtub!} just because I can!

Morning Fresh

First thing this morning I stripped the beds. Friday is wash the sheets day. While I worked I made a mental note to replace my withered gardenia with a fresh one from the yard. The gardenias, unlike the blueberries, have been prolific this summer.

Have you ever placed a gardenia at your bedside? Oh, you should! A single bloom will fill your bedroom with the intoxicating fragrance of summer. As you sleep you will breathe its delicious perfume giving you the sweetest of dreams... I know this is true because last night I dreamed that I was making a big, beautiful pound cake.

Sweet dreams to each of you...

Week's Ending

The professor called it "The Stratford-upon-Avon Fiasco" but it wasn't really a fiasco. I will concede, however, that it was baptism by fire...

This week I conducted my first {semi}official photo shoot at a nearby English park. The photo session was official in that it was scheduled, and the little boys blue were dressed for the occasion. It was {semi}official because this was a family gig. I photographed my sweet nephews for my sister. Fortunately for me, sisters are good at keeping expectations in check.

I do not recommend the following scenario for an aspiring photographer's first portraiture session... ninety-five degree heat... intense, mid-afternoon sunlight... two adults {one with the camera}... three little boys and a fearless, free running toddler... mud and, ahem, natural goose fertilizer. Yes, my friends, there is no doubt, I have been initiated.

When I finished chasing little boys with the camera my sister treated us to ice cream. Considering the heat the cool treat was like being paid in gold. All in all it was fun. Really, it was. I'll do it again if anyone will have me. This is how memories are made and, more importantly, preserved!

See this house? It was our first house, our South Carolina house. For three years we poured every spare penny and every spare moment into renovating it {ourselves}. We sold it four years ago this month. This week I've been feeling nostalgic about a chapter of our life that has ended.

And, speaking of houses... after an intense nine months on campus for the professor we are finally able to turn our attention {and our money and our energy} back to renovations on our current mod'ish home. It feels great! I love seeing paint chips and countertop samples laying around, signs of progress. The professor plans to tear out half of the kitchen cabinets and a stretch of {orange} counter this weekend so that he can work on a new wall.

I've been deep cleaning and de-cluttering this week, just in time for dusty renovations. Great timing, huh? Oh well.

Now, for the highlights:

~ A trip to the dairy bar, a local ice cream dive. Soft serve cones for the whole family cost less than $4.50. Tukes wanted to know, "Why dem have a Co-cola sign?" Co-cola?! If I'm not raising a deep south boy I don't know who is!

~ Spending time with cousins.

~ Playdates.

~ A two-hour visit to Home Depot that yielded a new storm door.

~ Early morning bike rides.

And, the lowlights:

~ Colds. In June? First Tukes and now me.

~ An entire jar of applesauce dropped, shattered, and spilled.

~ A blown grocery budget.

~ Clutter. I can't get on top of it!

~ Melted popsicle on my clean kitchen floor. {Is my kitchen floor ever truly clean?}

my sister's living roomTukes has been carrying imaginary puppies around in his pockets, and this week he requested that we go to the baby store to buy a baby. If only real puppies and babies were that easy.

Boo found an old can of shaving gel and managed to accidentally dispense its entire contents all over his face and hair. It was a traumatic ordeal for him... the professor and I laughed and laughed, quite mercilessly.

Have a great weekend, ya'll. We have overnight guests due to arrive in four hours. At this moment my house is far from being ready.

Potting and Sprucing

Inspiration can reveal itself in the most unexpected places and at the most unlikely moments. I certainly wasn't looking for it two weeks ago in the hospital, of all places, as my mother and I walked the halls late one night. But, when she showed me a watercolor of large pots, full of green leaves and colorful blooms, all clustered together next to porch steps I realized how neglected my own little kitchen steps had become. Really, it was quite dismal and unwelcoming... what a shame, the side entrance to our home is the one that we, as well as our friends and family, use most often.

One afternoon last week the professor came home early and said, "Forget the dossier, forget the tenure and promotions committee, forget the book... I'm taking the rest of the day off! What do you want to do?" I knew exactly what I wanted to do; with the hospital watercolor in mind I was on a mission. After Tukes woke from his nap and a spring shower passed we made a trip to the nursery.

I chose begonias... they are colorful, can endure the full summer sun, and are drought resistant, which is good because I know things are going to dry up around here very soon. These red and white blooms are also inexpensive, which means I didn't have to skimp on quantity.

Puttering in the shed produced a nice collection of different sized pots that we already had on hand, and a morning of potting transformed the kitchen entry. If "the earth laughs in flowers," as the American poet e. e. cummings once penned, then there is definitely some giggling happening at the south end of our house... that makes me happy.

Speaking spring sprucing, there's been a bit of that going on around here, too. Thank you for the kind feedback and compliments that you've offered regarding the recent blog design changes. I so appreciate the encouragement. While I love visiting other sites that feature big, beautiful photos, I'll confess that it has been a bit jarring for me to see my own photography published in such a way... the new image size will definitely serve as a tool to push me toward growth {and, hopefully, improvement} as I use the camera.

Potting and sprucing, it feels nice. Things are slowly falling into place around here, just in time for the happy days of summer. What have you been doing to fluff up your world?

Perfectly Placed

I fell in love with this idea for storing jewelry the moment I spotted it in the January/February 2008 edition of {the now defunct} Blueprint magazine.

Put your colorful assortment of china teacups and saucers to work in the most delightful way... and enjoy giving yourself a "birds-eye-view" of your prettiest baubles and bling.

What you'll need...

• an empty drawer {warning: be prepared to clean out!}
  
• velvet for lining the drawer, if desired
• a hodge-podge of colorful cups and saucers
• jewelry that makes you smile

Place everything to fit your fancy and you'll feel fancy indeed.

Lemon-Verbena

Desperate for some spring cleaning motivation, I made a special trip across town and paid full price. It was a worthy investment. The fragrance is so rapturous that I'm looking for things to clean.

{Well... almost.}

Ribbon Box

This gift box was too pretty to be ignored...

So, I filled it with rolls of color. What a happy and satisfying activity for a gray, rainy morning.

Tuesday Snapshots

I suppose I'm too cheap to buy the real deal...

I just put two used dryer sheets on the end of my Swiffer.

My blogspot.

"I think therefore iMac." ~Apple, 1998

Yum.

Renovated Laundry Room

Let's give the professor a hearty round of applause. Do you remember my laundry room on a good day and, yikes, on a bad day? Well, I am excited to show you that the laundry room is now the sleekest room in our home.

Pristine white cabinets, oh how your extra storage space makes me smile. Butcher block counter top, I love your warmth.

Hello, lovely pillowcase aprons. You add such a nice splash of color.

Washing powders and detergents, you finally have your own little place to call home.

I am a happy girl. That man of mine, he's pretty amazing... but of course, I already knew that!

The "Five Year Plan" marches on...

A closet, redone

Do you remember the messy master bedroom closet that I showed you a while back? Well, friends, we've had some changes! My wonderful husband gets full credit for this major improvement.


Redoing all of the closets in our house has been one of the projects on our "Five Year Renovation Plan." I had dreamed of outfitting our master bedroom closet with a beautiful, posh storage system, but, you know, that's a pricey dream and we're fixing up this house with spare pennies.


For $250 we were able to paint and re-shelf five closets, as well as purchase additional drawer space, wooden hangers, and uniform storage boxes at Ikea.


It's not California Closets, but we didn't pay that kind of price. What an improvement! Many thanks to the professor for making this happen;
I must be married to a superhero.

Now the big question is... how long will it stay this way?