the mindful nest

an impromptu date night

2012-02-14T00:30:00.000-05:00

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you have a few moments with your loved ones today.

My sweet hubby drove to the other side of town tonight to pick up a pair of chairs I found on Craigslist. {they are lovely, by the way. I'll tell you more about them in another post}

As I was cleaning the kitchen and feeling grateful that he added a long drive to his already full list of things to do, I decided to surprise him with an impromptu date night.

The kids were sound asleep, so I spread an old quilt in front of the fire.


wonderdog kept me company while we waited for B to come home

Made some lemonade.

Turned black eyed peas leftover from dinner into bean dip, and toasted some french bread for dipping.

Brian got home a bit quicker than expected, so I didn't have time to turn on any music. But, I was intending to play Stereolab's ABC Music. It was the soundtrack to our honeymoon, and it every time I listen to it, I think about driving through sugarcane fields in Kauai, snorkeling and looking for sea turtles, bouncing around in the pacific, and dreaming about what our life together would be like.

And our life is so much more than we had imagined--more busy and stressful, {ok, there's a lot less sleep than we would have imagined, had we imagined sleep}, more sad and touched by loss, but also more joyful, full of laughter, noisier, more blessed and more intense than we ever could have imagined. And I am so glad that Brian is my partner and co-parent through it all.

It is a wonderful {and far too rare} treat to have a few quiet moments to just be together. We rarely celebrate Valentine's day, but if we did, I'd want it to be just like today, a simple, quiet moment.

Do you love Valentine's day? What are your traditions? What do you and your sweet heart have planned this year?

{Brian liked the bean dip and asked where I got the recipe. I told him I made it up, and he said "I love a good guess-tape"--and a new word was invented}
Black-eyed pea dip

3 cups cooked black eyed peas (I used dried beans, putting them in the pot the night before covered with water, bring them to a boil, turn them off, cover them and let them sit out overnight. I then boil them again about an hour before dinner until tender)
salt to taste
olive oil
green onion
lemon

Puree cooked, drained black-eyed peas in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add reserved cooking liquid until beans are silky smooth, but not watery. Stir in salt to taste. Spoon into serving dish, drizzle with olive oil, garnish with green onion and lemon. Serve with toasted bread or crudites.

ribbon and fabric chandelier: a solution to the cfl blahs

2012-02-12T23:14:00.000-05:00

I think my favorite room in our house is probably our sunroom. And, since it is such a great space for reading and hanging out as a family, it is at the top of my list of rooms to finish. I am very excited to have finished the first project for this room, a ribbon chandelier.

Remember the epic fail I wrote about last week? The one that was so bad, my camera refused to take a good photo of it? {what can I say, my camera has good taste}

the hot mess revisited

{Don't feel bad if you can not remember it, it was pretty ~~terrible~~ non-memorable.}

I fixed some of the problems with that project, and now have a lovely {if I do say so myself} chandelier. I'd like to think that this light fixture deserves the title "anthropologie inspired" or maybe "anthropologie-esque". At any rate, it is sweet, feminine, has loads of wonderful texture and so many pretty textiles that make me smile.

My sunroom, like most of the rooms in my recently finished new construction house, ~~has~~ had a boob light. Actually, my boob lights are nicer than most I've seen {aren't you glad that the word "lights" was in that sentence?}. But, they are a bit generic and not-us, so I've been trying to think of a thrifty way to replace them.

What could be more thrifty than hitting up my fabric and ribbon stash for materials to make a new chandelier? Three embroidery hoops + some hot glue + a bit of wire + plenty of pretty silk + ribbon + tulle + yummy beaded tulle and we have a pretty chandelier in our sunroom. No rewiring required.

the cheerful blue and yellow pillows will be moving to a different room as more pink and orange get introduced to this room

I love the way that the pink silk {which fits perfectly with our new color scheme} makes the light glow. This room looks so happy. Bonus--the pink takes some of the odd-yellow out of the CFL bulbs that are in the fixture. CFLs are great for the environment and the family budget, but, in my opinion, CFL light color has yet to be perfected. I wasn't thinking about that issue when I chose the pink, just my color scheme, but the pink adds a really nice glow.

Environmentally friendly + pretty, what more could a girl ask for?

{and a side note, thanks to the CFL bulbs and the fact that the chandelier hangs a ways away from the light fixture, the chandelier is totally cool to the touch. If it got at all warm, I would take it down, since, I really don't want my house to burn down. If you make your own light-hack, please, please, please use common sense and keep an eye on the thing to make sure you haven't added a fire hazard to your home}

This project was very tedious. Even if I hadn't torn apart the whole project after the epic fail it would have been tedious. But, luckily I did the project twice and learned from my mistakes. I am pretty happy with my results, but still have some tweaking to do. My plan is to make another ribbon chandelier later this week to cover the ugly fan-light combo. in my bathroom. I'll be putting together a tutorial and sharing some of the mistakes that I made in versions 1 and 2.

I am joining these link parties:

my first instafriday

2012-02-10T21:49:00.000-05:00

One of the many things that I love about my husband is that he is really good about taking pictures of our children on a daily basis. He gets so many good shots of the daily moments of our lives. These are some of my very favorite pictures. I, on the other hand, take too few pictures.

To motivate myself to remember to take photos, I decided to participate in Life Rearranged's InstaFriday.

Popcorn is the #1 favorite food in our house. Bear kept saying "pop, pop, pop" as the kernels exploded. He leads me to the shelf where we keep the popcorn maker at least five times a day and begs, "pop, pop, pop".

Brian's sister was in a nearby town for work and got to stop by for a few hours. We were all so glad to see her. Buttercup thinks her auntie builds the best block towers. Bear just likes knocking the towers down.

Buttercup has been dressing herself lately. Today she wore one skirt, three dresses, a cardigan and a hat. In this photo she is panicking, thinking that she forgot to put the skirt on. And a girl can't be fancy without her skirt.

The hat stayed on most of the day.

We thought we had a true disaster on our hands last night. When I fired up my laptop yesterday, it refused to go online. I couldn't figure out how to fix the problem. My tech guy (aka my husband) spent a loooong time trying to fix the issue. Just as we were ready to declare the wifi card dead, my husband remembered that there is a row of function buttons above the keyboard. See that blue light? Not a light at all, it turns the wifi off and on. Who knew?

The kiddos flocked to the widow today, pulled up chairs and sat there for at least a half hour.

The lot across the street from us sold a while back, and today the workers started grading it. The kiddos were riveted by the bulldozer. I see lots of watching construction while eating popcorn in our future.

love people first.

2012-02-09T13:19:00.003-05:00

This speaks to my heart and soul.

You can download a beautiful {and free} printable in pink or green here.

{my laptop is throwing a tantrum and refusing to connect to wifi. grrrrrrr. while I figure out how to get it to cooperate again, I might be a little scarce around these parts. my appologies}

upcycled valentine's wreath, spring is springing, and an epic fail

2012-02-08T01:00:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a couple of small projects for the last couple of days.

Are you loving the fabric wreath trend? There are so many inspiring wreaths out there, and I have been having a lot of fun looking at the plethora of versions of this project. But, looking wasn't enough, so I fashioned a Valentine's wreath from a Goodwill pillowcase, some felt and a straw wreath form. I added some orange to the traditional pink and red color scheme so that the wreath can be at home in my sunroom after Valentine's Day is over.

My wreath feels more spring-y than winter-y/ Valentine's-y. Maybe that is because spring is springing around the Southeast. It is wonderful, glorious, splendid. My fall planter is still going strong {black thumb, watch out, your days around these parts are numbered}.

I've been burning the ~~midnight~~ 10 PM oil {hey, I'm the mom of young children, I have an early bedtime} working on a project to cover the boob light in my sunroom. Imagine how excited I was when I finished it up last night, and asked the husband to hang it. Usually, he gets really excited when I finish a project, but this time he got it up, stepped back and fell silent {he's really supportive, but also really honest}. I didn't like it either, but I usually dislike everything I make for the first few days after I finish a project {anyone else like this?}. After sleeping on it, I decided that I genuinely dislike the final product. Epic fail. The good news is that I have two ideas to make it better, so I will be hitting the craft store tonight.

even the photo is a bad. this version of this project just wasn't meant to be.

Anyone else finish a project lately? Did you love it, or will you be tweaking it?

thank you

2012-02-08T00:24:00.000-05:00

Putting together the mudroom was so much fun. I have recieved so many nice compliments and some flattering features {see sidebar}. I appreciate all the enthusiasm that everyone has shown this project. What a nice introduction to blogging!

And this is fun, too:

Wonderdog is enjoying all the virtual visits. But, she's hoping for some real visits because she loves meeting PEOPLE!!

beautiful, cozy mid-century chairs

2012-02-02T08:30:00.000-05:00

here {via} here

Aren't these chairs lovely?

Our family room desperately needs more seating, and I have been hoping to find a pair of mid-century chairs to reupholster. Our couch is slipcovered in white denim, and I have been planning on reupholstering whatever chairs I find in white denim. But, the yummy texture of these chairs makes me think that I should go for something more interesting. According to the article, these chairs are "covered in pony hide". {i am sure that they mean faux pony hide. if you think i am wrong, please keep your opinion to yourself}

Ally of From the Right Bank has an inspiring collection of furniture covered in sheepskin. My vision has just gotten more precise: mid-century chairs, upholstery with just a bit of texture, and sheepskins.

Now, I just need to find the chairs.

mid-century modern meets homemade chalk paint and louisa the dresser is born

2012-01-30T11:43:00.001-05:00

Welcome to the post with the world's longest title!

I have always loved mid-century modern designs. The simple lines and balanced proportions make my heart sing. Unfortunately, I have never been able to find any pieces that I could afford. A few weeks ago, as I searched Craigslist for a dresser to replace my over-sized armour in the mudroom, my luck changed. I found a beautiful piece for just $20. She was everything I had dreamed of, gorgeous legs, a form that emphasised her function and she was well crafted, made by hand in the USA.

I loved her so much, I named her Louisa.

But, Louisa had seen better days. She was dirty {sticky goo on the outside, dirt and cobwebs on the inside}. She was musty. She was scratched and dinged.


obligatory before shot. note the mix of solid wood {legs}, veneer {drawer fronts} and laminate {top}


imagine, poor louisa didn't even have anything to cover her derriere

Now, I have refurbished a couple of pieces of furniture before. { If slopping on thick layers of paint in ill-advised colors counts as "refurbishing". } My new {old} dresser deserved more. Thank goodness for the Internet and Bloglandia! I spent a couple of days doing research on furniture painting and learned so much. Thanks to so many talented bloggers who generously share what they've learned, I was able to give my dresser a paint job fit for ~~a queen~~ great vintage piece.

here she is in her forever home

Louisa got a fresh coat {actually, many fresh coats} of homemade chalk paint in a foggy blue and tomato red.

I'm not going to reinvent the wheel and do a painting tutorial here. There are many talented ladies who have given much better advice than I could ever give. But, here are a few tips that might help others who are taking on their first {real} furniture rehab.

<<>> Blogs with great insight into furniture rehab:
Miss Mustard Seed
Centsational Girl
Perfectly Imperfect
Altar'd {Mandy published a great e-book, Paint your Furniture. i bought it, followed her great advice and found it indispensable. totally worth every penny.}

Of course, there are many more blogs with fantastic insights, but these were the ones that were my go-to sites when I had any questions about technique or materials

<<>> Study the web and design books to find furniture and finish styles that you love. In the past, I simply used high gloss latex paint on furniture thinking that would give me the look I love. But, when I started reading blogs, I realized that my eye was almost always drawn to furniture refinished in a particular style. My heart always flutters when I see pieces painted in muted, but vibrant, colors with a soft sheen. When it came time to repaint Louisa, I knew that I wanted to use chalk paint and wax to achieve the look I love. When choosing paints and stains for your project take a look at pieces that have the look you want and use the same finishes, techniques and materials.

she has just the right sheen {thanks to some great advice from some wonderful bloggers}

<<>> My past painting projects were ~~miserable failures~~ not stealer, and I was not confident that I could achieve the results I wanted. I was prepared to repaint/ strip/ sand Louisa a few times to get the look I envisioned. Knowing that I might have to {re}do the redo multiple times, I did not want to spend a lot of money on paint. In short, I wanted the look of Annie Sloan Chalk Paint, but at a Home Depot clearance price. Luckily, there are tons of recipes for home made Chalk Paint online. I decided to mix Plaster of Paris with my paint to get the look I wanted. This approach had many pros. It was inexpensive, the paint mixed up easily, didn't need primer, sanded beautifully and had a wonderful soft, silky texture when it dried. It did, however, have some significant cons. The paint got lumpy about twenty minutes after mixing and stirring just made it lumpier. And the Plaster of Paris turned the red paint pink. Luckily, there were simple work arounds for these issues. I mixed the paint in really small batches {enough to complete one coat} and I did a coat of strait red {no plaster} as a top coat to get the vibrant color.

the homemade chalk paint adheared to both the wood and laminate beautifully

Would I use home made Chalk Paint again? Absolutely, on inexpensive pieces. When I take on a more valuable or harder to replace piece {say, my bathroom cabinets} I will be buying Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Everyone raves about the quality and the depth of color and I'm sure that justifies the price for more high-stakes projects.

<<>> Invest in a good paint brush. Everyone raves about Purdy, so I decided to invest in one. Worth every penny. The paint seemed like it floated off my brush and there were no streaks.

I love how Louisa turned out, and am really proud of my handiwork. The furniture refinishing bug has gotten to me!

Have you revived furniture? What are your most useful tips? Have you made your own chalk paint? How did you do it? Did you like it?

I'm taking Louisa to these parties, join us, will you?

a very thrifty mudroom

2012-01-30T01:32:00.001-05:00

I can not believe that I am writing this--my mudroom is finished! {at least for now}

Earlier this month I set some goals for our home for 2012. One of my goals was to turn our mudroom-turned-dumping zone into a warm, welcoming space for our family. Beyond that, I had very little vision for this space. But, thanks to some excellent {lucky!} Craigslist finds, our mudroom is now better than I ever could have imagined.

This project came together really quickly. Remember how I said that I wanted a low and long mid-century dresser? Well, what I did not mention in that post was my hope {dream? wish?} that said dresser would cost less than $30. The day after I published that post, I found exactly the dresser I had been dreaming of on Craigslist. And, she was only $20. Actually, I found a dime wedged in one of her drawers, so she was really $19.90, right?

{my dream dresser was in really bad shape, ~~later this week~~ in my next post, I'll show you some before shots and shared some lessons that I learned as a newbie furniture painter/ restorer. reviving this lady was so much fun and so rewarding}

As I made progress on my dresser, I began to dream of one of those old pull-down maps {like the one in my high school American history classroom}. Once more, I had a ridiculously low price in mind, my magic number was again $30. And, again I lucked out on Craigslist and found a map for exactly $30. Aren't the colors wonderful? And, Buttercup and I have already spent a lot of time finding everyone's hometowns {she loves seeing where all her loved ones live}.

I've been dreaming of a chalkboard wall ever since I heard about chalkboard paint {ok, I've been dreaming of a chalkboard wall ever since I played school as a little girl}. Since we moved in, I have been hemming and hawing about which wall would be the best candidate. I finally chose the back wall of the mudroom. It was the perfect choice. I look right at this wall while I am standing at the kitchen sink. And Buttercup loves, loves, loves to imagine that this wall is a stage. She has given numerous performances here since I added the chalkboard paint.

I sewed a gingham cushion and some bunting to define the bench area.

the owl pillow was made by a dear friend

The ~~boob~~ existing light didn't provide enough light for our space {at least, that was my justification for changing it out}. Brian hung an Ikea Ottava chandelier that I painted red {by the way, the chandelier was $30, of course, and I painted it with the same paint that I used on the dresser}.

{the junction box is smaller than the bracket that Ikea provided, so sadly we well be calling an electrician to finish this install}

Brian and I have collected postcards for years, and we put a few on display above the hooks.

I also found a mirror at a local consignment shop and painted it red. If you guessed that the mirror cost $30, you guessed right.

missed a spot when i cleaned it

The giant map + the big mirror made the space between the map and the hallway look really empty. I wanted a big, but cheap, piece of art to fill that space. I bought a large canvas and painted it using leftover blue paint from the dresser cut with some white that I had on hand. I added a little red fox in the corner.

This little room really surprised me. I came together so fast--I've been working on it for less than three weeks--and it is so cheerful and much more open than it was before. A few small changes, some $30 Craigslist finds and a little work made a world of difference.

It might just be my new favorite room. { wink }

Come back later this week and I'll tell you all about some all of the projects.

And, in the mean time, I hope to see you at this party:

how to live

2012-01-29T23:18:00.003-05:00

{via}

I saw this and just had to share. Love it, especially the last line.

Share your passion.

How do you share your passions?

listing to my mama voice

2012-01-23T09:32:00.000-05:00

This week I am joining The Happiest Mom's Mindful Monday tradition. Each Monday the Happiest Mom asks her readers to choose one thing that they will focus on during the week, to identify why it is a priority and to think about specific steps to bring their intentions into action.

It is my intention to be mindful of using my voice in gentle, nurturing ways.

I have been participating in Thirty Days of Love, organized by Standing on the Side of Love. A few days ago, they sent this challenge to my inbox:

Today, from morning to night, speak in a gentle voice, sparingly, allowing for silence as much as possible.

"This will be so easy", I smugly thought. I am, after all, a pretty patient person and I strive to be gentle and understanding with my children {i was focused on my children because they are the people i speak with most of the day}.

Boy was I shocked when I took the time to actively listen to the ways in which I speak to my children. Yes, I was choosing gentle words. But, I was often speaking them in a rough tones. I sounded exasperated, frustrated and baffled as I spoke to them. Now, I am the mom of an toddler and a 4 year old. And we spend out entire days together. There are times when I should be baffled, befuddled, frustrated and exasperated by their actions {and, to me honest, they should probably feel the same way about me}. But, I know that I can also choose to feel amused and delighted by their boundless ingenuity, or to tap into my tolerance and patience when they throw one of their infinite challenges my way.

So, this week I am watching my voice. I am choosing to use not only loving words, but also a loving tone with my children, even when they challenge me. {Most of the time, anyway.}

{how} will my garden grow?

2012-01-18T23:08:00.003-05:00

{our garden, august 2011}

Remember when I said that the sunroom was my favorite room in the house? And, how really I have lots and lots of favorite rooms? Well, the sunroom has some competition for favorite room status. Our backyard is wonderful.

Wonderful, and, perhaps, endangered. To say I have a black thumb would be an understatement—I am an inadvertent plant sadist. Plants either get overwatered in my care, or languish, completely neglected, screaming for water as they whither.

You do not want to be a plant at my house.

{i wanted to look at plants at the home center last weekend. but, when i got there they had all run away. i guess they heard i was coming. or, they had been put away because of the cold. whatever}

My plant sadism is odd, inexplicable. You see, I love gardens, woods, open spaces, plant nurseries, botanical gardens, arboretums. I am drawn to any place that plants flourish. When my realtor asked what we wanted in a home, the first thing that popped out of my mouth was “I want to live near a big park with lots of woodlands”. He probably thought I was little nuts and just wished I’d just tell him how many bedrooms we needed. Given my black thumb tendencies, a small yard that would require little maintenance was also on my list. {i figure nice parks and nature reserves are the best of both worlds, beautiful landscapes that my lazy self doesn’t have to take care of. all i have to do is pay taxes.}

{washington park, arboretum, seattle. a wonderful urban forest.}{here}

So, my realtor showed me a development near lots of protected natural space, with houses with the right number of bedrooms and great layouts. And small backyards filled with trees. Perfect. Honestly, the yard was mostly an afterthought. Really, I just wanted a space big enough for the kids to run around in and simple enough that I wouldn’t have to put much work into keeping it nice {and i was totally unwilling to put any work into making it nice}

Yet, we are really thrilled by our yard. Birds are drawn to it. Buttercup, Bear and I have seen lots of new species and learned so much about bird behavior. Wonderdog gets plenty of exercise chasing the squirrels around. There’s just enough grass for a game of baseball or a race.

{carolina chicadee in our yard}

I am falling in love with our yard. And, I want the yard to be even more wonderful than it is now. I’d like it to become a space where my children can learn even more about nature and the animals that share our environment. I’ve started envisioning it as a space where we can learn how food grows and watch the cycles of nature unfolding. In order for that to happen, however, I’m going to have to get over the black thumb thing.

So, one of my goals this year is to learn how to garden and to use those newly developing skills to make our garden a sanctuary for our family and for the creatures that lived in this space before we moved in.

{s/he welcomed us to the neighborhood on the day we closed}

I’d like to add a couple of trees,

{so, i probably shouldn't plant this many dogwoods, but i'd like to add one or two} {here}

fill in the understory a bit,

the mindful nest

an impromptu date night

ribbon and fabric chandelier: a solution to the cfl blahs

my first instafriday

love people first.

upcycled valentine's wreath, spring is springing, and an epic fail

thank you

beautiful, cozy mid-century chairs

mid-century modern meets homemade chalk paint and louisa the dresser is born

a very thrifty mudroom

how to live

listing to my mama voice

{how} will my garden grow?

in the name of love

home goals 2012, master suite

felt doll blankets

sunroom color inspiration

a cozy poem

home goals 2012, mudroom edition