I always wanted to be an advocate for something. It took me a long time to figure out what that something was. Read about the cause I am choosing to support at Shell's blog, Things I Can't Say. Read my post over there!
Friday, April 5, 2013
Things I Can't Say
I am so excited and honored to be guest posting for Shell today!
I always wanted to be an advocate for something. It took me a long time to figure out what that something was. Read about the cause I am choosing to support at Shell's blog, Things I Can't Say. Read my post over there!
I always wanted to be an advocate for something. It took me a long time to figure out what that something was. Read about the cause I am choosing to support at Shell's blog, Things I Can't Say. Read my post over there!
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Old School Blogging: April!
I had fun with this last month, so I'm doing it again!
1. How did your husband pop the big question?
How was he supposed to? Or how did he? He planned to ask on a sunset hot air balloon ride - something I have always wanted to do. He found a place in Virginia, had it all planned... and it was too windy at the last minute. He kept waiting for the wind to die down, in hopes that we'd still get our balloon ride, rather than ask at any of the gorgeous wineries we'd been at all day. So when we got the final word on the ride (not happening), he asked in the middle of our 4pm dinner - in an empty restaurant. I swear I nodded "yes" before I grabbed the ring!
2. What are the three most surprising things about married life?
When I said that vow "in good times and in bad," I didn't quite realize how soon we might be tested on the bad. And yet, when we came back from our honeymoon to find that Nate's company had closed overnight, we were able to face it unfazed - this was our first "in bad," and we were fine. We are fine.
Our priest said in his sermon that from the moment we said "I do," we were a family. Those words went straight to my heart. We were each other's family from the very moment we were married.
While we are our own family, and I treasure that feeling, the families we grew up with are right there behind us. Because you don't just marry your spouse - you marry an entire family. And if you thought they drove you nuts before... well, good luck - they're your family now too!
3. How did you find out you were pregnant for the first time?
I wasn't late yet, but we were definitely trying for a baby, and I just felt... different. My period wasn't late, but I took a pregnancy test anyway. Two very pink lines later I knew I wasn't crazy!
4. How did you choose your first baby's name?
I have known I would have a "Laura" since I first read the Little House books, starting in second grade. Nate and I had been dating about six months, when he shyly asked, "What do you think of the name Laura? I'd love a little girl named Laura." I laughed and asked when we could make that happen! (At ages 20 and 24, I'm glad we waited a little longer before getting our Laura!)
5. Describe where you see yourself in 10 years from now...
2023. Wow. That seems really far away! I'll have a 13 year old, an 11 year old, and hopefully another around age 8? Nate would say "and another around age 5 or 6!" Help. We'll be in our forever house with more than one bathroom and some closets! I'll be in the thick of things with Laura being a teenager, so in ten years I see myself clutching a mug of coffee and a bottle of wine. I'll be helping with homework, dropping off, picking up, carpooling, maybe in minivan #2 (unless they invent something cooler)... and probably still working, too.
6. Describe how you find bliss, either with words or images.
Nothing is more blissful to me than the ritual of brewing and drinking tea. I can't imagine anything more relaxing than pouring the steaming water into my teacup, jiggling the teabag to help it steep, stirring in my sugar, smelling the Oil of Bergamot and finally taking that first sip. Maybe if I'm doing that on a cool, sunny day with a book waiting patiently to be read. Especially if that cool sunny day and book are on Cape Cod. It's the little things in life :)
1. How did your husband pop the big question?
How was he supposed to? Or how did he? He planned to ask on a sunset hot air balloon ride - something I have always wanted to do. He found a place in Virginia, had it all planned... and it was too windy at the last minute. He kept waiting for the wind to die down, in hopes that we'd still get our balloon ride, rather than ask at any of the gorgeous wineries we'd been at all day. So when we got the final word on the ride (not happening), he asked in the middle of our 4pm dinner - in an empty restaurant. I swear I nodded "yes" before I grabbed the ring!
2. What are the three most surprising things about married life?
When I said that vow "in good times and in bad," I didn't quite realize how soon we might be tested on the bad. And yet, when we came back from our honeymoon to find that Nate's company had closed overnight, we were able to face it unfazed - this was our first "in bad," and we were fine. We are fine.
Our priest said in his sermon that from the moment we said "I do," we were a family. Those words went straight to my heart. We were each other's family from the very moment we were married.
While we are our own family, and I treasure that feeling, the families we grew up with are right there behind us. Because you don't just marry your spouse - you marry an entire family. And if you thought they drove you nuts before... well, good luck - they're your family now too!
3. How did you find out you were pregnant for the first time?
I wasn't late yet, but we were definitely trying for a baby, and I just felt... different. My period wasn't late, but I took a pregnancy test anyway. Two very pink lines later I knew I wasn't crazy!
4. How did you choose your first baby's name?
I have known I would have a "Laura" since I first read the Little House books, starting in second grade. Nate and I had been dating about six months, when he shyly asked, "What do you think of the name Laura? I'd love a little girl named Laura." I laughed and asked when we could make that happen! (At ages 20 and 24, I'm glad we waited a little longer before getting our Laura!)
5. Describe where you see yourself in 10 years from now...
2023. Wow. That seems really far away! I'll have a 13 year old, an 11 year old, and hopefully another around age 8? Nate would say "and another around age 5 or 6!" Help. We'll be in our forever house with more than one bathroom and some closets! I'll be in the thick of things with Laura being a teenager, so in ten years I see myself clutching a mug of coffee and a bottle of wine. I'll be helping with homework, dropping off, picking up, carpooling, maybe in minivan #2 (unless they invent something cooler)... and probably still working, too.
6. Describe how you find bliss, either with words or images.
Nothing is more blissful to me than the ritual of brewing and drinking tea. I can't imagine anything more relaxing than pouring the steaming water into my teacup, jiggling the teabag to help it steep, stirring in my sugar, smelling the Oil of Bergamot and finally taking that first sip. Maybe if I'm doing that on a cool, sunny day with a book waiting patiently to be read. Especially if that cool sunny day and book are on Cape Cod. It's the little things in life :)
Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Project: Decorate
I have seen so many bloggers post about how easily they recovered their dining room chairs. So when I was given six wonderful chairs from my parents a few weeks ago, badly in need of recovering, I decided to buy some fabric and break out the staple gun!
But let's stop for a little confession: I haven't really ever done any decorating in my home.
I mean, I've made some bad paint choices (that I'm living with), and I've hung a few pictures (not very straight). But the only curtains are those that my mom made for Laura's room before she was born. The only furniture I have bought is one (massive) desk, the dining room table, a kitchen island, and a TV stand. Everything else in our house is a hand-me-down - some welcome, and most other less so.
So choosing fabric for these chairs was a really big deal for me. Such a big deal, I completely choked when I got to the store and saw all the choices. Colors! And patterns! And textures! OH MY. I sent several options to my mom. And got a quick NO!NO!NO! response from her. She guided me away from prints, and towards mossy green - to match my beloved Constance china.
Here's what we found (a cotton-poly blend moire in "Medici Leaf"):
The next challenge was deciding how much fabric I needed to buy. I had six chairs and had read somewhere to get a yard per chair. But my fabric was really wide, and wouldn't need a pattern to be lined up anywhere (bonus!). I quickly texted Nate to see how wide our chairs were, to see if I could double up the fabric. Response: Four phones across. How scientific! But the measurement was enough to assure me I only needed three yards.
Laura and I returned home, our precious roll of fabric tucked under my arm. I broke out the screwdrivers and staple gun, tore off the old fabric (seriously - my parents lovingly put that on in 1993! It held up, got the job done, and was ready to retire), and discovered my next challenge: my staple gun was broken. Off to the store for a new one, and we were ready!
This was seriously such an easy and gratifying experience. I LOVE the fabric I chose (thanks, Mom!), and am so happy with how quickly and easily I was able to transform these chairs. I also only used two yards of fabric in the end, so now I'm thinking of using the extra yard (plus maybe I'll buy some more) to make some sort of window treatment to tie things together. Who knows.
Fabric: $32.40 ($10/yard)
Staple gun: $13.00
Total: $45.40 (plus a little time watching TV while I worked)
Since I had some nice little side scraps, I thought I'd recover one extra little chair as a surprise for my Chief Decorator, Laura:
For this little chair, I used a few lines of hot glue, and just cut around the arms and back of the chair. It took me about ten minutes. Laura (and the mouse she stole from Gavin) love it!
If I can do this home decor project, there's hope for the world! What should I decorate next?
But let's stop for a little confession: I haven't really ever done any decorating in my home.
I mean, I've made some bad paint choices (that I'm living with), and I've hung a few pictures (not very straight). But the only curtains are those that my mom made for Laura's room before she was born. The only furniture I have bought is one (massive) desk, the dining room table, a kitchen island, and a TV stand. Everything else in our house is a hand-me-down - some welcome, and most other less so.
So choosing fabric for these chairs was a really big deal for me. Such a big deal, I completely choked when I got to the store and saw all the choices. Colors! And patterns! And textures! OH MY. I sent several options to my mom. And got a quick NO!NO!NO! response from her. She guided me away from prints, and towards mossy green - to match my beloved Constance china.
Here's what we found (a cotton-poly blend moire in "Medici Leaf"):
The next challenge was deciding how much fabric I needed to buy. I had six chairs and had read somewhere to get a yard per chair. But my fabric was really wide, and wouldn't need a pattern to be lined up anywhere (bonus!). I quickly texted Nate to see how wide our chairs were, to see if I could double up the fabric. Response: Four phones across. How scientific! But the measurement was enough to assure me I only needed three yards.
Laura and I returned home, our precious roll of fabric tucked under my arm. I broke out the screwdrivers and staple gun, tore off the old fabric (seriously - my parents lovingly put that on in 1993! It held up, got the job done, and was ready to retire), and discovered my next challenge: my staple gun was broken. Off to the store for a new one, and we were ready!
This was seriously such an easy and gratifying experience. I LOVE the fabric I chose (thanks, Mom!), and am so happy with how quickly and easily I was able to transform these chairs. I also only used two yards of fabric in the end, so now I'm thinking of using the extra yard (plus maybe I'll buy some more) to make some sort of window treatment to tie things together. Who knows.
Fabric: $32.40 ($10/yard)
Staple gun: $13.00
Total: $45.40 (plus a little time watching TV while I worked)
Since I had some nice little side scraps, I thought I'd recover one extra little chair as a surprise for my Chief Decorator, Laura:
For this little chair, I used a few lines of hot glue, and just cut around the arms and back of the chair. It took me about ten minutes. Laura (and the mouse she stole from Gavin) love it!
If I can do this home decor project, there's hope for the world! What should I decorate next?
Monday, April 1, 2013
Happy Easter
Our Easter weekend started Friday, when my MIL (aka nanny!) headed to the South to spend Easter with one of my brothers-in-law. The kids were left without daycare, so Nate planned a Day of Fun with them. They left the house around 9am, and didn't get home till 6pm. This day included a trip to the sporting goods store (thankfully, the helmet and bat did not come home), Babies R Us, and a fabulous park!
The kids love the park. Laura's favorites are the slides.
Gavin loves climbing. I love this picture.
Saturday, Laura and I embraked fairly early on a trip to Joann's and Home Depot. I needed fabric for a home decor project (post to come!), and Laura needed more flowers forher my gardening project. I had a minor panic attack trying to choose fabric, which included a call to my mother at 8am California time. We scored some great fabric in the end, and Laura chose some really beautiful flowers!
However, Laura's career in gardening came to an abrubt halt when she learned that she'd have to get her hands dirty to plant the flowers. She opted instead to scoop out the world's tiniest shovels full of peat moss into the holes I dug, and to yell at me when I just dug my hands straight into the peat moss to get the job done.
The kids went to bed, leaving Nate and I to decide on our Easter Tradition, as this is the first holiday we have had, jsut the four of us, ever. And the first Easter I haven't spent with Nate's family since I was nineteen. Let that sink in a moment. We decided that the Easter Bunny would leave the baskets in plain sight, and would not hide any eggs or candy this year. With two dogs in our small house, we just didn't think a three-year-old and ten-month-old would really notice the lack of candy!
Don't you worry - they had some pretty sweet (and fairly inexpensive) gifts in their baskets! They look really full, as they were mostly filled with bubble wand sets!
Yup. Gavin is wearing real, authentic leiderhosen, courtesy a business trip my father took to Germany in 1979. Yup, my older brother wore those back in the day!
We made it to church, enjoyed delicious brunch, took epic naps, and finished our gardening in the rain, and almost completely finished the home decor project yesterday. It was a packed weekend. And absolutely wonderful! Happy Easter!
The kids love the park. Laura's favorites are the slides.
Gavin loves climbing. I love this picture.
Saturday, Laura and I embraked fairly early on a trip to Joann's and Home Depot. I needed fabric for a home decor project (post to come!), and Laura needed more flowers for
However, Laura's career in gardening came to an abrubt halt when she learned that she'd have to get her hands dirty to plant the flowers. She opted instead to scoop out the world's tiniest shovels full of peat moss into the holes I dug, and to yell at me when I just dug my hands straight into the peat moss to get the job done.
The kids went to bed, leaving Nate and I to decide on our Easter Tradition, as this is the first holiday we have had, jsut the four of us, ever. And the first Easter I haven't spent with Nate's family since I was nineteen. Let that sink in a moment. We decided that the Easter Bunny would leave the baskets in plain sight, and would not hide any eggs or candy this year. With two dogs in our small house, we just didn't think a three-year-old and ten-month-old would really notice the lack of candy!
Don't you worry - they had some pretty sweet (and fairly inexpensive) gifts in their baskets! They look really full, as they were mostly filled with bubble wand sets!
Yup. Gavin is wearing real, authentic leiderhosen, courtesy a business trip my father took to Germany in 1979. Yup, my older brother wore those back in the day!
We made it to church, enjoyed delicious brunch, took epic naps, and finished our gardening in the rain, and almost completely finished the home decor project yesterday. It was a packed weekend. And absolutely wonderful! Happy Easter!
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