Ava

These lovely lips that refused to stay up have really grown on me.

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When nothing is done, nothing is left undone.

LaoTzu

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Updated and Remodeled Eichler

This family took some creative license with the update and expansion of their Eichler home and I think it is a tasteful blend of old and new.

(At first glance I thought that the table was a pull-out table, similar to this one. It isn't, but it could be a convenient feature.)

See more images here and read about this house here.

Snowy Mountain View

T misses the mountains. With this view I do to.

via dti

Fire Pole

My son would go crazy over this.

(I just showed him the picture and after staring wide-eyed for a minute he informed that he wanted a bed just like that.)

via cookie

Cork Walls + Flying Books

Setting cork into the wainscoting in this Craftsman bungalow was brilliant.
This might be the best idea ever for displaying daily art projects.

The flying books in this reading corner make me happy.

See more of this house here, and see how to make your own cork wall here.

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A two-year old is kind of like having a blender, but you don't have a top for it.

-Jerry Seinfield

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I think the word "child" could be traded for "two-year old."

Happy Earth Day

image via a cup of jo

Eichler

A friend has an opportunity to buy an Eichler home, and while I realize that these images are the "afters" to what would be their"befores," I can't help but be a bit too jealous.





This sunken kitchen made me think of the one from this house, although of course I didn't scan that part of the home in.

all images images via here

Concrete Floors

T has been mentioning his love of concrete floors.

He has also been talking about I-beams, which makes me give him sideways glances wondering how he could have forgotten that our daughter bumps her sweet little head on everything.

via dti, one of my must-sees, even with my temporary very limited computer access

Color + Animals

Aren't these details great?
I am loving the color and the genius way of displaying stuffed animals.

{See more from this room here.}

Squares On Wall

I did something similar to this with squares of cork on my office wall and use it as a place to pin and save things. I have loved the look so much that I have seriously toyed with doing it in my entryway. These squares look nicer than cork and show how great the idea can look.

design by re:place, image via dti

Perfectly Imperfect

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via le love

My laptop is dying...

I gave it a weeks vacation in the hopes that that might help revive it, but after 5 years of good service it is saying goodbye. I am sitting here holding the power cord in place, transferring anything and everything to my external hard drive hoping I don't lose anything in case of sudden death.

Art - 2Michaels Design

I like these canvases.

{Design by 2Michaels}

via dti

White Brick Wall

We had a brick wall in one of our first apartments and we loved it.
Whitewashing it would have made it even better.

via this photostream

A few more of Mary

Paint Colors

Choosing paint colors is such a pain. We currently have around 5 colors painted throughout the house in "test spots," and while we have narrowed down the main floor color to something similar to the light blue on the top image, we are still trying to figure out a darker color for the kitchen, bathroom, and possibly the dining and laundry room. T has a favorite, but I think it might be too "Easter egg."

These are some of the images via this this photostream that we were looking at for blue, gray, or white rooms:

Au Fil de

These fine art floral prints are lovely.
{See more here}

boopalina + bebe - eco modern mobile

I like this minimalist mobile.

Painted kitchen floors

via here

Mary, Mary, Quite Contrary...

This little one had no interest in staying still.

Skylar Collection

The shape of this sectional makes sense, especially for socializing.
In the right space it could be ideal.

Maybe the bird's-eye view is overly flattering?

Still Rockin'

We were at a loss for what to give a friend for his 40th birthday.

This print by Christopher David Ryan would have worked well,
especially for him.

The List

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The things I am working on this year:

-Discover the perfect rich chocolate cake recipe. An over-the-top, lots of fudge frosting/mousse filled layers, makes you want to moan it is so good cake that T always craves.

-Simplify. Eliminate needless spending. Put together a budget and follow it.

-Be in bed with lights out by 10. Try to be in bed by 9:30 and spend the next half-hour winding down and reading.

-No computer past 9 pm, it throws off my sleep. Limit computer time all around.

-Create a healthier lifestyle. Eat better, sleep better, spend more time outside, be more active, think happier thoughts, spend more time on positive and quality things...

-Health is a privilege. Do what is needed to merit it.

-Plan out menus for the week. Waste less food and eat healthier through planning.

-Do all cleaning, laundry, etc. on the same day each week. Put laundry away the same day it is washed.

-Start exercising in the morning. This will entail setting my alarm (sigh), but if I don't do it in the morning, it usually doesn't happen.

-Clean out my closet. Toss the things I shouldn't be wearing. Replace with a few items I should be wearing if needed. (Translation: You know the outfits you swore you would never wear? Lazy slobby things like huge sweats and ugly t-shirts? Un-flattering pants and tops you previously would have been humiliated to wear in private, but now wear to take your kids to school? It is a slippery slope and I am afraid that I have begun to slide. Even if I have days when all I do is play at home with the kids there is no reason I can't wear something that is practical and put-together. It isn't heels or nothing.)

-Do things immediately. I have always had a tendency toward procrastination, and recently realized that if I take care of thoughts or things that need to be done immediately, I am motivated to do what needs to be done, freeing me to move on to whatever comes up next. If I push things to the side, oh boy, the delay in completing them rapidly spins out of control until it is just too overwhelming for me to even think about, so I put them off some more or forget about them entirely. I can make my life much easier if I just take care of ideas and things as they come up - it is quick and painless.

-Be on time. If I have a few extra minutes before I need to do something or go somewhere I immediately think that that means I have a few extra minutes to squeeze something in. I forget that there is always something that will delay things a bit or take more time than planned. Usually thinking that I will be somewhere early means that I will arrive on time and be much more pleasant and not stressed.

- This is the year that my "little project" either happens or I am moving on. (For those that know about it, it is still a (very prolonged) go. I'm in the process of switching factories....)

-Relax and enjoy life. It flies by so quickly and there is so much that is worth soaking in.

A few neglected pictures

People pay to have lips that look nowhere near this full...

One of the gorgeous older sisters.

I want to get a picture of my kids jumping together.
Sort of a random moment, but such a good time.