Sneak Peek - Window Coverings

Our new home had exactly zero curtains when we moved in.  It also had exactly two windows that were  standard size and I could buy blinds off the shelf to fit them.  The other windows?  The dreaded custom order. After months of dithering back and forth, I finally bit the proverbial bullet and ordered window coverings for all the windows in one fell swoop.

(In case you were wondering, yes, our savings account is currently in the ICU attempting to recover.  Why are these suckers so much money!)

It will take several weeks for them to arrive and be installed, but here is a sneak peak...

We're using shutters on the four front downstairs windows - two in the living room, two that flank the front door.  They look like these:

For the kitchen, we went with a roman shade over the slider and kitchen window in this woven wood material (with lining for extra insulation and light blockage):

For the dining room, another roman in a neutral linen blend:

And lastly, for the master bedroom and office, a roman in strait up natural linen.  The Hunter Douglas rep tried to convince me to go with a more trendy color in the master and I had to burst her bubble by letting her know I will have this curtains until the day I die.  As in, these need to be neutral enough to go with any decor scheme.  As in, no, I will not be going with the lovely duck blue shade you think would blend with my color scheme perfectly.

They are coming to do final measurements tomorrow and then the countdown is on!

Wait - did I forget to mention one room that won't be getting a blind?

THE DEN.

People, even the Hunter Douglas design rep, who has been doing this for 30 years, was at a loss as to what type of window covering I should use on that sliding glass door, based upon the placement of the couch. I think I have a plan in place though...will do a Den update soon!

Bunch Ball

Despite his obsession with hockey, I'm happy to report C has kept a soft spot in his heart for the beautiful game...soccer, football, futbol - a sport near and dear to both mine and Andy's hearts as well.  He had participated in toddler indoor soccer classes before the hockey obsession started, and when we heard of a soccer academy catering to the 3.5 to 5 year old age range, we didn't think twice about signing him up -- bonus, it was OUTDOORS. 

Yay for fresh air, sunshine and a class start time perfectly scheduled between naps and dinner!

Kelly Gray is a former player for the Earthquakes and his staff is AH-mazing with this age group -- lots of individual attention and at only 30 minutes long, nicely suited for a toddlers attention span.


I totally took "first day of (outdoor) soccer" pictures.

Andy was thrilled that C was finally wearing the soccer kit he bought before he could walk.  C also informed me as I was helping him pull on his soccer socks that "these socks make me look like a big guy."  He then proceed to strut around the living room like...a big guy.

I look like a ghost because my mom put 17 layers of sunblock on me.  But I still look like a big guy, right?

I was anticipating a bit of shyness at the first class - his future wife friend from preschool, Anna Maria, ended up moving down an age group so he knew none of the other kids - the majority of them being closer to 5.  We've been through this before...he'll hang back and half participate and Andy or I usually end up hovering close by to help him break the ice.

Surprisingly, while the shyness still appeared...no hovering was required.

Of course, N was around for moral support.  And to be in charge of eat all the snacks.


I rocked this hat for exactly 22 seconds.

By the time the second class rolled around...big guy found his stride.



He shoots...

He scoooorrrreeeessss!!!!!!!!

N is so proud.  And so mad I won't let him run full speed towards...well, anything that is away from me.

Nautical Mirror

I'll come right out with it:  I'm a craft geek.

Please note:  this does not mean I'm any good at it.  (Just wanted to set that expectation ahead of time.)

When C was born, I went full throttle on a nautical theme for his room.  As in, I actually shipped a bedding set, unwieldy crib bumper and all, to England because I found the perfect one at PBK.  Matching curtain, valence, mobile -- the works.

Then N was born and we promptly stuck his crib in the office/guest room/now-also-a-nursery(!), where he received that all important infant stimulation from stacks of books, old tax returns and piles of fabric peaking out of the closet.

I'll pause to let everyone let out a heavy sigh and a, "POOR, N!"

Not to worry, in our new home he has his own room.  And given that C is more vocal these days with his, ahem, (hockey) preferences, N is now the lucky recipient of  his brothers old room decor.  He's excited, he told me so ;)

However, I figured he deserved a few new items that he could call his own -- especially when I spied this:

via

Prettttyyyyyyyyy.  So I was like "YES, that is perfect!"  And then I saw the price and was like "$149 bucks,(insert expletive.)"  And THEN I was like "Oh hello, I could totally make it myself."  Right?

Home Depot had everything I needed:

Mirrors - the set of 5 was like $15.

Rope - I bought two different types to play around with.  It comes on huge spools that you need someone to help you to cut...together it totaled around $6.

Adhesive - I bought a couple different types including Gorilla Glue and some clear caulk/sealant stuff (technical term, ha.)  It turns out the latter worked a LOT better.

(I skipped adding the top piece that is shown in the "inspiration" picture because...I'm impatient.  But I'm sure you could wander around your hardware store of choice and figure out how to add it.)

So, let the assembly portion of our program begin!  Make sure you pay attention to these super complicated directions:

Spread a layer of adhesive to the surface you want to attach your rope.

Step back and say to yourself, "this crap will NEVER in a million years hold this rope in place," and move on to the caulk/sealant.

So...it says it's clear.  But against a black surface, not so much. But I powered through, because like I said...I'm impatient.  (If I were to do this over again, I may have just relied upon my trusty glue gun.  Lesson learned.)

Now it's time to wrangle that rope and convince it to play nice.

Now find a super heavy book to rest on top while the adhesive drys/cures/hardens, etc.

Sid Dickens is totally stoked I'm using his tiles as weights for this project.

And that's it!  The final product pretty much looks like the second to last picture.  I'm thinking of adding some thinner twine to the inside edge to hide the bits where the sealant shows.  I made two mirrors in the end and will debut the final product once they are hung with a place of prominence in N's room.

In other news around the house (posts to come)...

1.  I have finally ordered blinds and shutters for the majority of the windows in our house.  I am still experiencing heart palpitations at how expensive this turned out to be.  Yikes.

2.  I have come close to a decision regarding a couch for the Den.  I just need to check out one more place before pulling the trigger (has anyone been to Sofa Outlet in San Mateo?)

More (regular) blogging to come!

We {Heart} the Library

A bit of an embarrassing confession:  before earlier this week, I had not set foot in a library since 1999.  It's actually shocking to see that year in print, to write it out and realize that equates to THIRTEEN YEARS.  I love books (just ask my sisters - and yes, M&M's! - but that's a different story for another time), but clearly love them more when they are shelved five steps away from a Starbucks. Barnes and Noble, you are genius.

So one afternoon this week, during what I call the "golden hour", (aka "what do I do with my kids between nap time/picking them up from daycare and dinner,") my now 99% defunct short term memory actually came through for me and recalled a library I had passed by recently...YES.  Something new to do instead of playing knee hockey in the hallway, shooting one billion shots at C while simultaneously strong-arming N from grabbing the puck...DOUBLE YES.

And off we went.

But first - superfluous mug shots:

C, quite dapper.

N, who is thinking "I just pick pocketed $20 from your purse but I'm cute, right?"

Thirteen years ago, I'm pretty sure libraries still rocked the card catalog and looking up titles on the single computer meant you had to be somewhat proficient in DOS command language.  So when we walked in and I saw a line up of terminals that looked like the self check-out area at Safeway, I *may* have gotten a bit excited at the possibility there may be a Starbucks around the corner. (No such luck - but there WAS a cafe!)

First things first:  signing up C for a library card.  Do you remember getting your first library card?  I do.  I also remember thinking I wanted to max out that puppy with as many books as I could.  Library card = power!  And apparently you don't have to be five anymore, so C picked out a card style from the choices offered, then gripped his new plastic gateway to books tighter than a hockey stick.  We beelined to the children's section strait away as I began to plot how to get Andy to sit down with the kids to read books, buying me some time to go wander around. 

Ha.

The kids spotted them first:  two computers, set up at toddler height station, with toddler appropriate keyboards.  In that instant, I knew any hopes of browsing through the stacks were long.gone.  LONG.GONE. 

It took N maybe 30 seconds to freeze up the first computer. Which meant he immediately charged around to the other side of the table to elbow his way onto the one C was using.  Anticipating high pitched screeching to commence, it was time to see if we could distract N with the entire purpose of our trip, reading some books.

And here's how that worked out.



The right way to use the library computer.




N is not impressed.  And wants to call his lawyer to find out why he's being held against his will, at the other end of the room, whilst being forced to look at "books."

 

"Seriously Mom.  Let's get real.  You know and I know that I'm going to make a break for it in 2.5 seconds."



Reconnaissance in progress - line of sight has been established.

That's the "new walker" jog N has going on.  Top speed: .00342 m.p.h



"EEEEEEEEEE ahhhhhhhh ooh ssccrrreccchhhh".  Which, when translated from Toddler-ese into English means  "Hey guys, here I am!  My turn!  MY TURN! MOOOVVVEEE or I will scratch your face off!"



I call this one, "The Most Patient Big Brother in the World"

We actually made it out with a handful of books and after spending 30 minutes trying to figure out how to check them out, we headed to the car, our first family trip to the library coming to a somewhat successful end.  As in, no one was crying and we had books in our possession.  Clearly feeling a tad bit over confident, we decided to press our luck and have dinner out at Sonoma Chicken Coop.

That was...not so successful.  We'll leave it at that.

This morning C asked if we could go back to the "Li-berry" today, a feeling that I can safely say is better than finding a Starbucks next to the books on tape ANY DAY.