tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24863254297715399452024-03-05T08:55:05.010-08:00Potter LaneLaurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.comBlogger464125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-8727150668319776652015-07-01T15:18:00.000-07:002015-07-01T15:18:15.214-07:00Our New HouseWhen Chris and I realized we'd be moving to another new town we immediately started thinking about where we wanted to live. Before leaving Eugene we had sold our house and decided to rent in Corvallis. We found a beautiful old house in walking distance to the downtown. It was the perfect situation for that year. We enjoyed the beauty and charm of a 1920's house without any of the maintenance or responsibility of an old house. It gave us a much needed break. But up here the rental market is trickier and we were leery of moving Margot into yet another temporary housing situation so we decided to buy. We were not ready for another old house though. Our fixer upper in Eugene was a little more than we had bargained for and with a new job, town and baby on the way this didn't feel like the time for house projects. So for the first time we bypassed the darling old houses and focused on new and newer construction.<br />
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It's been an interesting adjustment being in a brand new house/neighborhood. On the one hand everything is so fresh and clean and lovely. On the other our neighbors are really close :) We are lucky that our new house is close to an older established neighborhood and there are lots of mature trees around us.<br />
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So here is our little grey house. We ended up choosing a smaller floor plan in a more central location rather than a larger house further out. We have sacrificed square footage but the location is so much nicer for us. We are one mile from Chris' office and really close to everything we do. </div>
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Decorating a brand new house was a lot different for me. Unlike the old Spanish revival bungalow we were moving out of this house offers very little in terms of architectural detail to work around. It was a blank slate and that was intimidating at first. </div>
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Three and a half months since our move and it is starting to come together. We still have a dozen or so little projects to complete inside and an entire back yard to do outside but we are making progress every week.</div>
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I thought I'd do a little house tour over the coming weeks. This is the front of the house and front porch. We were able to pick the exterior paint colors and I love the grey paint paired with the pop of yellow from the chairs. The house came with a landscaped front yard and overtime I hope to change out some of the vanilla landscaping and add more color and texture. I'd love to have lavender, black eyed Susan, fox glove and other perennials in the flower beds and maybe some kind of tree out front as well. </div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-16903584614105656062015-06-22T16:58:00.001-07:002015-06-22T16:58:08.808-07:00A different sort of summerSomehow spring turned into summer and we are now 23 weeks along. We were overjoyed to learn a few weeks ago that we are having another little girl. Margot has been hoping and praying for a baby sister and it was such a joy to tell her the baby was a girl.<br />
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We also learned that I am very high risk for a premature delivery. It was a good news bad news sort of day. We were so excited after the ultrasound, learning the gender and seeing how healthy she is and then there was a thud when the specialist came in and told us about the premature birth risks and what our options were.<br />
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After a few weeks we seem to be settling into a new normal. We have done and are doing everything we can to keep our baby girl safely inside and now we wait as the weeks pass. When I was pregnant with Margot I was put on strict bed rest at 28 weeks. Bed rest is no longer prescribed due to some complications that can arise. So I am on "chair rest" which means I am to stay off my feet when possible. I can drive, get up to get Margot milk or sit on the floor and play with her. I can even go to the park and sit on a bench (so long as someone else is there to play with Margot) or go to Church. I cannot lift anything, grocery shop, be on my feet for any length of time, travel more than 30 minutes from an approved hospital or do anything strenuous. This situation is much scarier than my pregnancy with Margot because the complications are arising earlier and are more severe. Yet, chair rest is a dramatic improvement from bed rest which literally had me laying vertically unless I was getting up to pee! Now I can do so much more. It's also nicer to have Margot home with me to play with rather than being alone each day.<br />
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But what do we do? Our routine has changed quite a bit. Housework is out of the question except folding clothes on the couch and occasionally putting something away as I get up to do something. Grocery trips, target, any shopping, and solo park trips (just Margot and I) are not an option. No walks, or library trips either. And we are facing a whole summer sans camping, hiking or beach trips.<br />
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Margot loves to read so we have morning and afternoon story time. Besides the constant rotation of picture books Margot picks (right now her favorite is <i><u>Rikki Tikki Tavi</u></i> by Rudyard Kipling) we have been reading the original <i><u>Winnie the Pooh</u></i>, <i><u>Little House in the Big Woods</u></i>, an old children's reading primer called <i><u>Round About</u></i>, her storybook bible and a collection of classic children's poetry. She has lots of toys that we can play sitting down such as her doll house and tea parties have been a favorite. Coloring, building blocks and cooking in her kitchen are also big hits. And in the late afternoons when we are both bored and ready for Daddy's return we have been watching the Frugal Gourmet and Julia Child on you tube. This is a big hit and has lead to some cooking adventures for her and her Daddy. Once Chris is home I sit at the counter on a stool and chop vegetables and prep dishes for him as he cooks.<br />
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All in all the summer is shaping out to be much slower but also sweet with extra snuggling, reading and playing.Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-32310582158188198172015-04-09T10:15:00.000-07:002015-04-09T10:15:11.738-07:00Hello StrangerThere is no other way to intro this post then the somewhat lame "it's been so long". But, alas, it has. I meant to Blog and then I just stopped thinking about it. Yet more and more our long distance friends and family comment on my online disappearance. As I thought about it over Easter weekend I realize that I miss it.<br />
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When I last left this Blog I had quit my job in order to stay home with then 2 year old Margot. We moved to Corvallis and were settling into yet another new house. Fast forward many months and many events and once again our family has seen so much change.<br />
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A better job opportunity opened up for Chris moving us yet again to a new town further north. We went ahead and bought a house up here. I suppose our age and maturity is showing because this go around we skipped all the darling, old, character-filled fixer-uppers and bought a BRAND NEW HOUSE *gasp*. With a small child, a new job, a new town and one income we just didn't see the time or resources to fix up anything. So we are settling into a little grey house and enjoying the simplicity, modernity and cleanliness of new construction.<br />
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Margot started pre-school last week. At three and half she is more than ready and eager for the socialization and activity. I think it's been more of an adjustment for me than for her. It was hard for me to willingly give up 5 hours a week with her when I am bombarded with the reality that she is growing up so fast. While she eagerly greets her new friends and experiences I hope to utilize some time to myself to be out of the house, blog, run errands in peace and soak up the luxury of sitting in Starbucks for two hours at a time!<br />
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Lastly, I'm thrilled to report that we are expecting a second baby this fall. We are sooooo excited and Margot is just beside herself with joy. </div>
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I used to hope for less change in our lives, and to some extent I still do, but I have to say that this round has been so good. I look forward to sharing this journey with all of you. </div>
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-87599161296856048072014-08-28T14:10:00.000-07:002014-08-28T14:10:17.228-07:00Until Now...I didn't necessarily plan to take an almost 4 month break from my blog, my funny little piece of the web that I have dutifully kept going for 6 years now. However, once I finally did walk out of that office, and once the UHAUL was finally unloaded, and once my husband kissed us goodbye on my first official day as a housewife, I realized that what I needed was a break. After 6 years of supporting my family and almost 10 years in politics and 2 very hard years as a working Mom I was "plum worn out" as my grandmother said when I arrived at the ranch a few weeks later for my first little vacation.<br />
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So that's what this summer has been. One long beautiful, blissful break! I have avoided the computer at great length. I have gone to the park almost everyday. I have cooked and ate and done dishes. I have cleaned, unpacked and organized. And I have had so many snuggles with my moon pie. Not that it's always a picnic in the park home all day with a two hear old in a 100 yr old house that seems to think it should welcome every bug in the neighborhood on in while baking to 85 degrees by 5pm. <br />
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Bugs aside though it's been a glorious summer. And slowly day after day the years of pent up stress, worry, anxiety and to do lists have started to fall away. I learned that while it might seem like the work stress goes away as soon as you turn in your office key that it actually takes lots of time to physically recover from acute stress. Everyday I feel better. Everyday I have just a little bit more energy, a little more capacity to learn a new thing, remember my hobbies, be creative and get down on the floor for hours on end to play with my two year old. <br />
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And now finally, 4 months later, I suddenly wanted to blog. Not because I have tons of followers, or want to grow a business or have anything brilliant to say. But because I want to record this time and share it with those I love and friends I've made along the way. Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-13204645833300059072014-04-30T10:32:00.004-07:002014-04-30T10:32:56.640-07:00Last Day<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Today is my last day at work. I'm just about to start packing up my office. My emails have been sent, issue emails are drafted for all our staff, my goodbye lunch is quickly approaching and my darling Margot has dutifully completed her sticker chart of the days until Mommy stays home with her.</div>
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We are still crazy busy with the move but I wanted to pop in with some last pictures of my office for my memory keeping. I can't believe how many hours I have logged in this place and that as of tomorrow I will no longer wake up and rush to get out the door to come sit at this desk. </div>
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Meanwhile my new "boss" has been busy telling me all the things we are going to do. "first Mama we have to pack and move, then we can play and play. I'm going to be the mama and you can cook with me and we'll make spaghetti"</div>
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And lastly look at this darling Easter dress. Somewhere in my camera is a nice family photo but meanwhile look at how grown up she is. </div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-15804801588496468722014-04-22T13:34:00.000-07:002014-04-22T13:34:16.570-07:00moving on out (and a sneak peak at the Corvallis house)hello blog friends, <div>
Long radio silence I know. The thing is I just couldn't bear to write one more, "still waiting for our house to sell" post. And silence seemed like the most manageable solution. But that is no longer the case since we are PENDING. We have very quickly gone from the what seemed to be never ending limbo to OMG we have so much to do in the next two weeks how are we ever going to get out of here. So now we are packing, sorting, taking things to Goodwill, pawning off furniture, doing those last minute doctor, dentist, car tune up, eye appointments before we move to a new town and have to find all knew dentist/doctor/auto shop etc. All while I wrap up work and say goodbye to my 8 year career in public policy.</div>
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We are also looking ahead and couldn't be more excited about getting to Corvallis. We have the most darling house waiting up there for us. Chris is so looking forward to a 10 minute commute to work. And me...I am in awe that I actually get to quite my job in less than 10 days! I think that first Monday morning when I don't have to be out of the house with a toddler by 7:30 am and Margot and I are chillin' in our jammies at 9:30 eating French toast it's finally going to really hit me. And I predict I will be feeling VERY HAPPY!!!</div>
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I think the next 10 days will be a whirl-wind and so the blogging will undoubtedly be spotty until we are moved in but I do want to share a couple of pictures of our new house. It's a 1926 Spanish revival bungalow just a few blocks from the downtown. And it's completely charming!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPeyK4Hkcbvt3zq1F4RojuCDo2AI56i6psXSwtTlfbThv2LnD3snDh5N7MmoHb-OqMp17m-LeGsrSLsyCckx2hyphenhyphenvgJRPLP1r_Z1OLt63Ix9ZYh9V3nC4QVMc6HCXcn58uOta7QyvloUI/s1600/01515_7v0QeyMGvJ1_600x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPeyK4Hkcbvt3zq1F4RojuCDo2AI56i6psXSwtTlfbThv2LnD3snDh5N7MmoHb-OqMp17m-LeGsrSLsyCckx2hyphenhyphenvgJRPLP1r_Z1OLt63Ix9ZYh9V3nC4QVMc6HCXcn58uOta7QyvloUI/s1600/01515_7v0QeyMGvJ1_600x450.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNL-gyUKTgYjLqWIx-_t7taA5q6ndTZ_KtGClkLaRzBohU_oYTitDB0ZGnQ9_Fz2KPdZsEB_e_FEE7GMIqy2qVwXrzaJRHLvzwPnjcQZfR_NhYoLZD6qo6adJxJcyMBsTDJbI6Sm-r5xk/s1600/00U0U_9oKlxEiKucg_600x450.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNL-gyUKTgYjLqWIx-_t7taA5q6ndTZ_KtGClkLaRzBohU_oYTitDB0ZGnQ9_Fz2KPdZsEB_e_FEE7GMIqy2qVwXrzaJRHLvzwPnjcQZfR_NhYoLZD6qo6adJxJcyMBsTDJbI6Sm-r5xk/s1600/00U0U_9oKlxEiKucg_600x450.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Darling right?! It is tiny, 1150 square feet and it's a completely different style than our last house. But I am looking forward to the decorating project and I'm so thrilled to be walking distance to the whole downtown, farmers market, library etc. </div>
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So that's what's up over here. I'll make to pop in once we're moved. Till then its back to the to-do list!</div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-90578711758297805982014-03-27T09:19:00.001-07:002014-03-27T09:19:51.769-07:00ya ya ya....it's been a long time...yet again.<br />
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It almost felt like spring had finally sprung but then the rain came back....<i>le sigh</i>.<br />
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But rain or no rain the forsythia are out in full force which is at least a promise of spring.<br />
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Some warm sunny days brought a flurry of activity on the house front but still no offers.<br />
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While we wait I am trying to stay thoroughly distracted from thinking too much about it. Silly books, long walks and lots of hot baths and tea are good. But perhaps best of all are fun activities with Margot. This past weekend we took her to Portland and had a fun trip at the zoo with Chris' parents. Tuesday Margot and I went wedding dress shopping with a dear friend who's wedding we are going to be in and Margot oohed and awed over her flower girl dress. And last night we gave Margot her first hair cut.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6lJ8haGSONR3GhW-Xp1qCJpbJ6y_UKejgGUwWLfAubd3SQmszvognGaky5Nu-uhVGhvZIg7Yw0d2Xmq0zxaYpwyPCqydSwXRrZ1XkNIMqvUnbZRZacLR2VrS7ZShTWI-1vjvUzI4zeg/s1600/photo+(9).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK6lJ8haGSONR3GhW-Xp1qCJpbJ6y_UKejgGUwWLfAubd3SQmszvognGaky5Nu-uhVGhvZIg7Yw0d2Xmq0zxaYpwyPCqydSwXRrZ1XkNIMqvUnbZRZacLR2VrS7ZShTWI-1vjvUzI4zeg/s1600/photo+(9).JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lstp56PFdDsFg1MqRbgaR8dCtVk7zoMjX9rUea4tYSpt7znC_QYZCMFVMQX2bY_ZwUFJMqyqJjjDaJyyapxzpG-ajSCD9XRndCRKvv1XmQ6nwQpomSYkytS6ZOBHB4-ipi-FfmfDghs/s1600/photo+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4lstp56PFdDsFg1MqRbgaR8dCtVk7zoMjX9rUea4tYSpt7znC_QYZCMFVMQX2bY_ZwUFJMqyqJjjDaJyyapxzpG-ajSCD9XRndCRKvv1XmQ6nwQpomSYkytS6ZOBHB4-ipi-FfmfDghs/s1600/photo+(8).JPG" height="320" width="239" /></a></div>
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It was definitely one of those "sob sob...where has my little baby gone" moments. </div>
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I finally succumbed to all the hype and we got our first package of <a href="https://www.honest.com/">honest company diapers</a> yesterday. We are already kind of obsessed. They are so cute! </div>
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I loathe the change to Facebook's news feed format. Anyone else??? It's harder to read and much harder to quickly scroll through for the names I care about.</div>
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Easter is coming and I can't wait to go Easter basket shopping. I find Easter basket's ridiculously fun! I already have a few ideas. Easter dresses for Margot and I have been procured. Margot's is a darling thrift-ed baby gap dress. Pink with an ivory peter pan color and an ivory eyelet lace petticoat. Classic. Mine is an ivory cap sleeve shift dress with irregular black polka dots on major clearance at the j crew factory.</div>
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And lastly, "conscious un-cuppling"...there are no words.</div>
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-47430475001298868352014-03-14T11:40:00.002-07:002014-03-14T11:40:21.701-07:00The photo conundrum??? Help Please! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMKOajA5tFvozBFYfTXDKLbGCCs10bA8eYYiQI9_pQUndUT-ZUsfw3e7FcByJEC3bfDhYnq_kwC5sNQwPRBhtRdX6mPzwFxCCyOuq1clw8DRqYHHPn1bO-B19oGbRe1otFgVXh5-k530/s1600/Picture+2368.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWMKOajA5tFvozBFYfTXDKLbGCCs10bA8eYYiQI9_pQUndUT-ZUsfw3e7FcByJEC3bfDhYnq_kwC5sNQwPRBhtRdX6mPzwFxCCyOuq1clw8DRqYHHPn1bO-B19oGbRe1otFgVXh5-k530/s1600/Picture+2368.jpg" height="320" width="214" /></a></div>
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Okay internet friends I need advice... I am trying to wrap my head around how to organize, store, print and catalog photos. I have something like 1000 photos from the past year on my computer and camera and I'm totally at a loss for how to deal with them.<br />
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How do you deal with photos? I think I'd like to have them sorted, weed through them and edit them all then maybe store them filed by year and month on disc and backed up on the web? maybe through picasa web albums?<br />
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I am also thinking of making a photo book for 2012 and 2013 in lieu of the traditional photo album with prints.<br />
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Margot January 2013, 14 months<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS8J3x8VYW076lB4t_S3lvDUJ6ZBznIHLB5nl6T5MDGx-iKDSW-TjKsAp-830I4a3kGvtaJqjoP496cz3sSw9hwfDKNaOnICyA7lJSSwZx_AUf9-9jr58HnbgWe5fyJo4DAhD-fPdrvY/s1600/Picture+2211-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS8J3x8VYW076lB4t_S3lvDUJ6ZBznIHLB5nl6T5MDGx-iKDSW-TjKsAp-830I4a3kGvtaJqjoP496cz3sSw9hwfDKNaOnICyA7lJSSwZx_AUf9-9jr58HnbgWe5fyJo4DAhD-fPdrvY/s1600/Picture+2211-001.jpg" height="320" width="170" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS8J3x8VYW076lB4t_S3lvDUJ6ZBznIHLB5nl6T5MDGx-iKDSW-TjKsAp-830I4a3kGvtaJqjoP496cz3sSw9hwfDKNaOnICyA7lJSSwZx_AUf9-9jr58HnbgWe5fyJo4DAhD-fPdrvY/s1600/Picture+2211-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Margot February 2013, 15 months</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS8J3x8VYW076lB4t_S3lvDUJ6ZBznIHLB5nl6T5MDGx-iKDSW-TjKsAp-830I4a3kGvtaJqjoP496cz3sSw9hwfDKNaOnICyA7lJSSwZx_AUf9-9jr58HnbgWe5fyJo4DAhD-fPdrvY/s1600/Picture+2211-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS8J3x8VYW076lB4t_S3lvDUJ6ZBznIHLB5nl6T5MDGx-iKDSW-TjKsAp-830I4a3kGvtaJqjoP496cz3sSw9hwfDKNaOnICyA7lJSSwZx_AUf9-9jr58HnbgWe5fyJo4DAhD-fPdrvY/s1600/Picture+2211-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS8J3x8VYW076lB4t_S3lvDUJ6ZBznIHLB5nl6T5MDGx-iKDSW-TjKsAp-830I4a3kGvtaJqjoP496cz3sSw9hwfDKNaOnICyA7lJSSwZx_AUf9-9jr58HnbgWe5fyJo4DAhD-fPdrvY/s1600/Picture+2211-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjS8J3x8VYW076lB4t_S3lvDUJ6ZBznIHLB5nl6T5MDGx-iKDSW-TjKsAp-830I4a3kGvtaJqjoP496cz3sSw9hwfDKNaOnICyA7lJSSwZx_AUf9-9jr58HnbgWe5fyJo4DAhD-fPdrvY/s1600/Picture+2211-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GDZuqhtskahZMJykitpbC3_P_p3vpycK6k_KO1i0VShwg0ww1mh5cEN23o-FrV59fnpQQaEB3oBnDJbxBxChLNnKMoT_WIVdhrXO5m578Qm34V-UXmMCjqcnDArgBI03tWvVCF89p1o/s1600/Picture+2422.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4GDZuqhtskahZMJykitpbC3_P_p3vpycK6k_KO1i0VShwg0ww1mh5cEN23o-FrV59fnpQQaEB3oBnDJbxBxChLNnKMoT_WIVdhrXO5m578Qm34V-UXmMCjqcnDArgBI03tWvVCF89p1o/s1600/Picture+2422.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></div>
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Margot and Chris, April 2013, 17 months</div>
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Then of course there is the question of the 1000+ photos on my i phone which are of course all still on my i phone. I am thinking about making magnets out of my instagram feed. Has anyone done this?</div>
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And how would you back up those? </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh173L1VeAPKE_u5ciHu2M37Sz9T9YVMNgnOIgvGFp00A5Nb5Jl9IhfkT_BVhMgcwGPo5F9yokMOqacajSHMOAwCyOhsduaUFF5Ne0aF2lfaryCg0kDh8XXkBZEePPE8pusXjgPnGWggQk/s1600/1238092_10201783083235587_1148387361_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh173L1VeAPKE_u5ciHu2M37Sz9T9YVMNgnOIgvGFp00A5Nb5Jl9IhfkT_BVhMgcwGPo5F9yokMOqacajSHMOAwCyOhsduaUFF5Ne0aF2lfaryCg0kDh8XXkBZEePPE8pusXjgPnGWggQk/s1600/1238092_10201783083235587_1148387361_n.jpg" height="320" width="245" /></a><u>Thoughts? Advice? </u></div>
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<u>Margot and I Glacier National Park, July 2013, 20 months</u></div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-44368157571565089682014-03-13T09:38:00.002-07:002014-03-13T09:38:09.385-07:00Margot says..."I'm not a baby. I'm a little girl. My name is Margot. My nick name is Margot pants and I'm a moon pie!"<br />
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"Mama we need to pick up my kitchen because Miri dumped out my jar and it's a mess. Oh Mama you picked it up, thank you Mama, now Miri can come mess it up again!"<br />
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"I am not eating dinner. Just olives."<br />
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"Mama I like your pretty shirt with ruffles when I grow big and have boobies can I wear it?"<br />
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"I'm the Mama. I am going to work. Here is my baby you can take care of her for me while I go to work"<br />
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"Daddy is my best friend because he plays with me the best"<br />
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In response to us telling her it's time to get ready for bed and read a story, "Don't you mean two stories!"Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-83270156200157062822014-03-11T10:49:00.001-07:002014-03-11T10:49:01.040-07:00From working mom to stay at home mom?Last month marked my two year anniversary as a working Mom. After a standard three month maternity leave, most of which I spent in an exhausted confused haze, I returned to my full time+ job. At the time this decision was mostly financial but I was also fairly positive about it. Perhaps if money had not been an issue I wouldn't have come back only because it was so hard. Hard to leave my baby but more-so hard to figure out the pumping, and transporting and early meetings and late nights, juggling and sleep deprivation. The whole working Mom package was intimidating. But after a few months it was easier and I found that by May I was really happy. Sure I missed Margot and I always wished for a little more time with her, but I was loving my job, loving getting dressed up and out of the house and sitting down with coffee to work at a desk without spit up or screaming or nursing to interrupt me. We had an ideal situation, Margot spent every day with my Mom which, for me, removed all guilt. I knew my Mom took care of her just as well, if not better, than I would. And personally there were things in my career I really wanted to accomplish. So when our financial situation changed a couple of months later and staying at home was suddenly a financial option I chose to keep working. I was in the middle of a huge campaign and I loved all the people and issues I was working on.<div>
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But as Margot got older the hours away got harder. When she started talking about our situation I suddenly started to feel very different. Little phrases like, "I'm the Mama, I go to work, Nammy takes care of my baby" just broke my heart. Dragging her out of bed at the crack of dawn and putting her in a cold car when all she wanted to do was snuggle because I had an early meeting was horrid. And the daily greeting of "oh Mama, I missed you" and "don't leave me Mama, please stay with me" soon were becoming more than I could take. Work started to loose its appeal and I really started to question my decision. At this point we had already bought a more expensive house, we are still paying off law school loans and preschool was a looming expense. And suddenly I felt very very stuck. </div>
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So when out of the blue came the opportunity to move to a new town, for Chris to take a more stable and secure job that he wanted, for me consider leaving my job...well the decision seemed blatantly obvious. Politics and I had a good run. I did the working Mom thing. Now it was time for a change. </div>
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At some point in the not so distant future our house will sell and I will pack up my office and say goodbye to all my great friends and colleagues. I will leave my 9 years of political/policy work behind and will focus my time an energy solely on Chris and Margot, our house and our new community. I honestly don't really know what to expect. I have some ideas that I'm sure are naive and unrealistic about how it will be. I really hope I have more time to things I love like cooking, decorating and art. I hope that this removes a lot of the stress from our household. But regardless of the day to day I know that right now this is the best decision for our family. I'm sure I will work in some capacity in the future whether it's in politics or something else. But I am looking forward to some time and space to figure out what I would like that to be. Mostly though I am really grateful that we have this opportunity. </div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-15856048708426246722014-03-04T09:56:00.001-08:002014-03-04T16:09:18.094-08:00Lately...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
I can't remember when I last blogged. Sadly, I am neglecting my little record of life. Lately we are in a weird limbo of sorts. Waiting for our house to sell, waiting to move, waiting to quit my job and waiting to get to know our new community. Limbo is not my friend. I'm tired of it. Meanwhile we go to work, and cook and buy groceries and try to keep the house spotless for showing and play with a somewhat confused Margot.</div>
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In early February we had another massive snow and ice storm. This one brought about a foot of snow to our house and left a 1/2 layer of ice on everything. The result was hundreds of down trees, broken power lines, split poles and transformers throughout south and south east Eugene. Our power went out forcing us down the hill to seek refuge in my parents houses with plenty of heat, hot water and warm food. </div>
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Margot however was a big fan because she got to build "the most giant snowman ever!"</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgajGjdXoseE5ODjeUkN6yHoBmTYsPDpzlEJvwRf6AalzzcmuBlSQqC9ZJMk75zBR8dvSK2g5ibP_8kb9yJ47n1S8dRnCD6DwbZzoF_5FLskAWMkTGAfze0_pD_ZEmKj9qBOh1fs8Ooo/s1600/photo+(10).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGgajGjdXoseE5ODjeUkN6yHoBmTYsPDpzlEJvwRf6AalzzcmuBlSQqC9ZJMk75zBR8dvSK2g5ibP_8kb9yJ47n1S8dRnCD6DwbZzoF_5FLskAWMkTGAfze0_pD_ZEmKj9qBOh1fs8Ooo/s1600/photo+(10).JPG" height="320" width="289" /></a></div>
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Valentines day was a blast this year. Margot was totally into it. She made cookies with lots of sprinkles, made valentines for Mommy, daddy and "nammy". And she got presents! Coloring books, stickers and from nammy and grampy, <i>The Jungle Book</i>! On Valentines day Chris and I skipped the fancy dinner to watch the <i>Jungle book</i> and make spaghetti with Margot.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lIBVByBGRrqKKhbMoqdolUEjdOL8fYCCQA3H11dAHXD7MGN-WiMd9-JPYed2cpKMg7Jr8oZ_Edj8p4F6INqWZhJYzoKud1TKY3UrEQ8hp4yX_91UeXFK1XJLuChj_Que-8N-fwF7tA8/s1600/photo+(8).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8lIBVByBGRrqKKhbMoqdolUEjdOL8fYCCQA3H11dAHXD7MGN-WiMd9-JPYed2cpKMg7Jr8oZ_Edj8p4F6INqWZhJYzoKud1TKY3UrEQ8hp4yX_91UeXFK1XJLuChj_Que-8N-fwF7tA8/s1600/photo+(8).JPG" height="319" width="320" /></a></div>
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After Valentines Day Margot was so excited to go to her friend Lydia's birthday party. She even got wear her new pink cowboy boots for the occasion. She loves to wear them and then pretend to be a cow girl and ride her rocking moose.</div>
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The past two weeks we were all down with the worst stomach flu. But we were all healed by last weekend and were able to have some fun outside, go shopping for Nammy's birthday present and play lots of candy land.</div>
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So we'll keep waiting and working our way through <i>limbo</i>. Meanwhile there will be lots of fun with Margot who is talking all the time and loves to do things with Mommy and Daddy. Cooking, playing, dancing and talking about our day are all popular. And we will try to be patient, stay present but still look ahead to good things down the road. </div>
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-56219285147582355482014-01-31T15:30:00.000-08:002014-01-31T15:30:29.564-08:00Friday Brain Dump<br />
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<li>I am SO GLAD it's almost the weekend</li>
<li>Not only do I desperately need some Margot snuggles but my cousin and very best friend Lauren had her baby this week and we are booking it up i-5 to meet this new little guy</li>
<li>Margot is over the moon about it. She has been asking for her "baby cousin in auntie Lauren's tummy" for months now</li>
<li>Somehow though we have three social engagements between now and then, a work party I have to make an appearance at tonight, dinner with church friends afterwards, which I am so looking forward to, and a huge family party Saturday which we'll hit on the way to Seattle</li>
<li>We are all about Madeline books in our house right now</li>
<li>I made they best shepherds pie this past week and I'm still thinking about it. Clearly it needs a repeat and a blog post.</li>
<li>Happy Friday! May your weekend be fruitful and restful! </li>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-83118709529952187972014-01-30T09:43:00.000-08:002014-01-30T09:43:34.699-08:00The more we get together<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Margot loves Raffi. She loves to sing, to dance, to sing with us and to make up songs. In our car rides we have to take turns. When it's her turn we listen to Raffi and sing together. When it's my turn we listen to anything else. </div>
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Margot is 26 months old. She is so different these past few months since she really started to talk in full sentences. It really feels like having a kid and not a baby. She talks all the time. She narrates what we are doing, asks questions and makes her plethora of demands known. She loves to talk about her day, her clothes, her baby cousin and her friends. </div>
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Speaking of clothes she loves to pick them out! We're all about polka dots, tutu skirts, pink and ruffles.</div>
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When she really likes her outfit she wants to go look in the mirror and then she wants make-up to complete it. We compromise with some natural chap stick and call it good. She loves to wear my necklaces, glasses, hats and shoes around the house. Pretending is a big favorite. She often pretends to go to work with her hello kitty purse and her pretend cell phone. She will bring me her baby and then say "bye mom, I have to go to work now". Not sure if it's hilarious or sad.<br />
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Besides pretending Margot loves to cook, read, play with dolls and her stuffed sesame street friends. She loves to help us cook in our kitchen (as opposed to her kitchen) and she loves loves loves playing outside and going to the park. She is still a really good eater and I think her interest in helping to cook the food increases her interest in eating the food. She particularly loves sea food, fruit, milk, fancy cheese, peas and pizza.<br />
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She is a total ham! She loves to be silly and make us laugh. She knows when she is being funny and really does try to use humor to make others laugh. She makes up silly songs and dances around the house singing them with a funny hat on her head. She puts the cup from the bathtub on her foot, starts laughing, says "I have a cup on my foot" and when we ask why she says, "because I don't have any sockies" then we all laugh hysterically!</div>
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While at home Margot is loud, chattery and silly, she is still very shy in public a little nervous of others and new situations. She is still the most cuddly child I've ever seen and will often stop what she's doing and come tell us "I need snuggles now" and curl up to snuggle. She also loves to snuggle before bed, when she wakes up and after her nap and anytime strangers are about. This is fine by us and we're happy to still have so many snuggles.</div>
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She's growing everyday and loosing all those dear traces of babyhood. But it is amazing to watch this fun and charming child emerge.<br />
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At two years she was in the 15th and 37th percentiles for height and weight.<br />
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Height 34 1/2<br />
Weight 25.6<br />
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And I just packed away the last of the 18 month clothes last weekend, <i>tear tear</i>.<br />
<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-70090053684027925792014-01-29T09:03:00.000-08:002014-01-29T09:03:43.900-08:00Some of the cool stuff we did...So there has been some definite radio silence going on here. Sorry. We are in a weird limbo waiting period with the house on the market, no offers yet, a lot of commuting for Chris and a lot of craziness for me. But I have been wanting to share some of the cool stuff we've done to the house in the past few months. As to not inundate with photos let's look at the upstairs today and the downstairs another day. You can see the original photos <a href="http://thetalesandtrialsofmrsp.blogspot.com/2013/08/official-house-tour.html">here</a> and one month later photos <a href="http://thetalesandtrialsofmrsp.blogspot.com/2013/09/house-tour-one-month-and-giant-list.html">here</a>.<br />
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So upstairs house tour as of January 2014, 5 months after our move in date:<br />
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Outside we had a few big projects. First we took out that awful wheel chair ramp and wooden privacy fence. We were able to have the original iron stair rails re-installed and then custom fencing made to match. This was necessary because the concrete wall along the driveway (below the new fence) created a drop that was over 30 inches which is required to have a fence by the code. These changes were one of the more expensive ones we did but they make drastic improvements to our curb appeal and the outdoor space. Since the courtyard is one of our favorite features in the house we really wanted to improve the flow in and out. </div>
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<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5PZF7qGIgRjYSY1Z8ziYMxlOOZ89Vsi7FP2CeJ1CUIHMGv-ZPB95wsGG7Ykxa3vBw6NBhWZi8n6YiClEBnvqnhofVD1Ign4ovstf5MvSB7BOVoPQfbt0vijAVRdhcLLMqIA0eROscr4/s1600/Living+Rm+(3).resized.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI5PZF7qGIgRjYSY1Z8ziYMxlOOZ89Vsi7FP2CeJ1CUIHMGv-ZPB95wsGG7Ykxa3vBw6NBhWZi8n6YiClEBnvqnhofVD1Ign4ovstf5MvSB7BOVoPQfbt0vijAVRdhcLLMqIA0eROscr4/s1600/Living+Rm+(3).resized.jpg" height="229" width="320" /></a></div>
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The living room got lots of new soft white paint. Probably a little hard to pick up the difference in the photos but in person it made a huge difference. The old paint was in bad shape and the fresh lighter white paint brightened the whole space. This room also got some "new" to us <a href="http://thetalesandtrialsofmrsp.blogspot.com/2013/11/something-iconic.html">vintage furnishings</a>.</div>
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The dining room also got lots of new paint and a very cleaned up light fixture. The original fixture is amazing but it was dingy and dirty. Much nicer after a gentle bath!</div>
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The Kitchen arguably got the most work. I'm really happy with how it turned out but there were a few more things I would have loved to do in here and just didn't get a chance. In here we had the original stove top and built in oven restored. The oven had to be completely re-wired and needed new heating elements. I also took apart and replaced parts in the leaky faucet and of course lots of new paint. Then our single biggest home improvement purchase the CORK FLOORING. Or my favorite flooring EVER. Love love love this floor. It's gorgeous and comfy and cleans up like a dream. Plus it's very historically accurate to the period of the house.</div>
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I would have loved to source a vintage fridge, replaced the tile counter on the sink side with some old school Julia Child esque butcher block and a new sink, faucet and garbage disposal. Le sigh...</div>
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The sun room also benefited from lots of new paint and beautiful cork floors. And both of these rooms also had custom baseboards made. They are walnut and while they aren't an exact replica of the original baseboards throughout they do flow much better with the flow and the rest of the house. A note about twinkle lights. I'm not usually a big fan of decorating with twinkle lights but this room doesn't have a lot of lights and in the winter when there is less sunlight it's hard to use. The twinkle lights create a lovely romantic light in hear and combined with the city lights view at night make it a charming place to eat dinner or sit and have a drink.</div>
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The master bedroom got new paint and an actual bed frame. Remember when the bed was on the floor for months on end. Yeah that was really great for the overall design. Not that the 80's oak night stands and mismatched lamps are much better but sometimes you work with what you got.</div>
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Margot's bathroom was also greatly improved by fresh paint. It also got lots of new caulk which was a welcome addition.</div>
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Margot's room has pretty much been done for a while. I would have loved to make pin-tuck drapes for her bedroom but I just didn't get there.</div>
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The library also got new paint and what a project that was. We did have a professional painter do this room as well but we had to move everything out of the room and there were random piles of books littering our house for a week.</div>
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Certainly we didn't get to everything on our list and it's far from perfect but I think the changes we've made enhanced what we started with. Now I just hope a buyer will recognize it and SOON:)</div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-47479395953289769242014-01-09T13:03:00.001-08:002014-01-09T13:03:45.875-08:00Letting the cat out of the bag<img alt="Viewing Photo 1 of 16" src="http://www.rmls.com/RC2/UI/photo.asp?z=DNDKAAEWDBDAAFDSECDKBEETCVAACRDJDEDWACEEDRDODRDREADIADDUDMAQBD" /><br />
These photos of our house was taken yesterday. It's come a long way from those first street shots I shared back in May which you can see <a href="http://thetalesandtrialsofmrsp.blogspot.com/2013_06_01_archive.html">here</a>.<br />
<img alt="Viewing Photo 2 of 16" src="http://www.rmls.com/RC2/UI/photo.asp?z=DNDKAAEWDBDAAFDSECDNBEETCVAACRDJDEDWACEEDRDODRDREBDIAEDSDMAQBD" /><br />
We've been racing through renovations for the last two months the latest of which was putting the original stair case railings up and having this custom iron fencing made so we could take out all of the privacy fencing which was blocking the house from the street and ruining our curb appeal.<br />
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Our beloved house actually went on the market today. Two months ago Chris was offered an amazing job in another town. The offer came completely out of the blue and it was too good of an offer to turn down. So while we bought this house with the intention of living here forever that will not be the case. As soon as we are pending we will be packing up once again and moving to a new town, something we've never done before.<br />
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This was honestly one of the hardest decisions we have ever made. But once we started talking through it we realized that the only thing holding us back was this house and that in every other sense this opportunity created a better life for all of us. Truthfully I'm a little shocked by just how emotional I've been preparing to sell this house. I have a funny connection to our house. I told my husband "this house is my house soul mate. Stupid perhaps but true. But while part of me is broken heart ed over leaving the other part of me is full of anticipation for this new and very different life ahead.<br />
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When we move I will quit working and stay home with Margot. We are moving to a much smaller town which is completely darling and we will all have so much more time to just be a family. In a lot of ways it promises to be a much simpler life which has its benefits.<br />
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Over the coming days I'll share our before and after in each room of the house. We certainly didn't come close to completing all the projects we wanted to do but we managed to accomplish a lot. So stay tuned for some more house updates and next steps for us going forward.<br />
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* photos by Becky Miles<br />
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-43510101187464243582014-01-02T14:28:00.001-08:002014-01-02T16:53:48.610-08:002013 my favs<br />
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2013 was a great year so as we say good bye and look ahead here are my favorite pics </div>
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First up our funny little hipster baby</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67uPJJzyYSwPJGMvWVJojZf633Hq1imLuVvjyvW1sqLUbKAHp0m4DwHhM-sqUloOfi2FN1HPq0WYPPGBUbJvAIjDh3PW2izZgJItz_tdFU0DYrfPz6wlQCw_ESDIxMRmbluqkEVFRTiE/s1600/blogger-image-924093603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67uPJJzyYSwPJGMvWVJojZf633Hq1imLuVvjyvW1sqLUbKAHp0m4DwHhM-sqUloOfi2FN1HPq0WYPPGBUbJvAIjDh3PW2izZgJItz_tdFU0DYrfPz6wlQCw_ESDIxMRmbluqkEVFRTiE/s640/blogger-image-924093603.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg67uPJJzyYSwPJGMvWVJojZf633Hq1imLuVvjyvW1sqLUbKAHp0m4DwHhM-sqUloOfi2FN1HPq0WYPPGBUbJvAIjDh3PW2izZgJItz_tdFU0DYrfPz6wlQCw_ESDIxMRmbluqkEVFRTiE/s1600/blogger-image-924093603.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Five years of wedded bliss or something like that:)</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhO9AfIkMCgJlqQMFqjJiTlzVL9ieAbta1xaubZPP1_UFhk_tEsdRwh9lRzHNR-vCSqLrbYTCzU2EGweH0VsXyKrwZJMbFpP_7JcHCKwxugqWXlBHoRGBI2DZVdQTjQ1r5B1YsKFE3SKXQ/s1600/blogger-image--1280832556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn427ywPyi3Lb7YUXCtVJOm4nvPupaAmW0ZTfhLfvPV6_G8uAMDTAM1Q8gcK6sxdwPm5HirMo9rsk1_GKrc5Er9VjciFcTaguajXInEvvN4376TblRXGKXf2iC-6cdbLk5zOnRcv38W4/s1600/blogger-image-876153973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn427ywPyi3Lb7YUXCtVJOm4nvPupaAmW0ZTfhLfvPV6_G8uAMDTAM1Q8gcK6sxdwPm5HirMo9rsk1_GKrc5Er9VjciFcTaguajXInEvvN4376TblRXGKXf2iC-6cdbLk5zOnRcv38W4/s1600/blogger-image-876153973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn427ywPyi3Lb7YUXCtVJOm4nvPupaAmW0ZTfhLfvPV6_G8uAMDTAM1Q8gcK6sxdwPm5HirMo9rsk1_GKrc5Er9VjciFcTaguajXInEvvN4376TblRXGKXf2iC-6cdbLk5zOnRcv38W4/s1600/blogger-image-876153973.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqn427ywPyi3Lb7YUXCtVJOm4nvPupaAmW0ZTfhLfvPV6_G8uAMDTAM1Q8gcK6sxdwPm5HirMo9rsk1_GKrc5Er9VjciFcTaguajXInEvvN4376TblRXGKXf2iC-6cdbLk5zOnRcv38W4/s640/blogger-image-876153973.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3EgUv6yCpt-24Ys4bGMAfnHUc-EO2-e_Ss6MGqZMTiFBOZlboyMq9_7UT5rxZ1_Zlr1kqPPssS-MV2n8wdAe2bjnVKSF0Vu6kJKpxdlVockeywaTThMLiDI_NfW7IvyJ5bdSpwblXXc/s1600/blogger-image-46406111.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ3EgUv6yCpt-24Ys4bGMAfnHUc-EO2-e_Ss6MGqZMTiFBOZlboyMq9_7UT5rxZ1_Zlr1kqPPssS-MV2n8wdAe2bjnVKSF0Vu6kJKpxdlVockeywaTThMLiDI_NfW7IvyJ5bdSpwblXXc/s640/blogger-image-46406111.jpg" /></a></div>
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Then of course there is the new house and cooking wonderful produce in my new kitchen. With good came the bad, plumbing leaks and lots of demo</div>
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<img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRJ0BEkoWHOx0TK7QAZSO43oJVxhYT7dCkKGKCa_YpK59ohNn2aMUcVjR6VtcHUE-cHXRZcC9vCFfjTVIV_N9VoMV-Wxc1TpjemJFa-TvPbvcKObOURY3TjFgqbK9OcNYiEApZlzwQKKE/s640/blogger-image--1640886644.jpg" /><br />
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Margot was a blast this year. Going on evening walks to play in the park, learning new words and interacting more everyday<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_8xennTLwpz8MNNHxX_bllmfFGgv7P3Upv_eq-Vz-PXDnOdgARVOwUDmAeY26ZLn7upTc9-jPFwbf00izV8ZfkrLIoOjtqm3FlPe3VnGbPIvS8QLKYIbeOi2PqPpmevAYHUT7qjiTsM/s1600/blogger-image--1613967870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iKRGQMC6H6EKiKVRHYwRA_IRmSbbqn707rPndw9MDUNABJXxv66rRtV16d2beNHKuMxdihiT8bD6XgK93skk0EpLid18F9Krjb4zEFFLS7HC2Z2K8aQMBobpxrZ89HBCroI4fDYdVFQ/s1600/blogger-image-1057248016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iKRGQMC6H6EKiKVRHYwRA_IRmSbbqn707rPndw9MDUNABJXxv66rRtV16d2beNHKuMxdihiT8bD6XgK93skk0EpLid18F9Krjb4zEFFLS7HC2Z2K8aQMBobpxrZ89HBCroI4fDYdVFQ/s640/blogger-image-1057248016.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0iKRGQMC6H6EKiKVRHYwRA_IRmSbbqn707rPndw9MDUNABJXxv66rRtV16d2beNHKuMxdihiT8bD6XgK93skk0EpLid18F9Krjb4zEFFLS7HC2Z2K8aQMBobpxrZ89HBCroI4fDYdVFQ/s1600/blogger-image-1057248016.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">Then there was china</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgQM8rEylbtHAqbYaiFFETP2t3pByAZnksHZKJ1Urigo0JS5JjzfL47LqIx9H96kC1fUA3-XD2fTW3oi2le4c2K37Ps6WbG3cH-z6Ix3bjwZ9JuojuCpBsaGaBBSxTYqLrXXOgjEKcTU/s1600/blogger-image-1467399036.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrgQM8rEylbtHAqbYaiFFETP2t3pByAZnksHZKJ1Urigo0JS5JjzfL47LqIx9H96kC1fUA3-XD2fTW3oi2le4c2K37Ps6WbG3cH-z6Ix3bjwZ9JuojuCpBsaGaBBSxTYqLrXXOgjEKcTU/s640/blogger-image-1467399036.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_8xennTLwpz8MNNHxX_bllmfFGgv7P3Upv_eq-Vz-PXDnOdgARVOwUDmAeY26ZLn7upTc9-jPFwbf00izV8ZfkrLIoOjtqm3FlPe3VnGbPIvS8QLKYIbeOi2PqPpmevAYHUT7qjiTsM/s1600/blogger-image--1613967870.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn_8xennTLwpz8MNNHxX_bllmfFGgv7P3Upv_eq-Vz-PXDnOdgARVOwUDmAeY26ZLn7upTc9-jPFwbf00izV8ZfkrLIoOjtqm3FlPe3VnGbPIvS8QLKYIbeOi2PqPpmevAYHUT7qjiTsM/s640/blogger-image--1613967870.jpg" /></a></div>
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And of course my little shopping buddy. Here after her birthday trip with Grandma to Hannah Anderson<br />
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Halloween was such a blast this year especially with Margot's constant exlcimations of happy halloween and trick or treat throughout the month of october</div>
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Speaking of Margot...She turned two! Still don't know how this happened</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYnHtKnlk5QnOU9SbxPY-m3YyxhDjK4kACJtiaM4a4ET6_FbEODiuXmxvdsOg8-sPNt-Lk7yzchmiXiNX-iOtvM1tBMljdzcQWfEFy5GAo3-7m6KbVAaqa4pajwWY2ULpTLE2a73ZLms/s1600/blogger-image-37261556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYnHtKnlk5QnOU9SbxPY-m3YyxhDjK4kACJtiaM4a4ET6_FbEODiuXmxvdsOg8-sPNt-Lk7yzchmiXiNX-iOtvM1tBMljdzcQWfEFy5GAo3-7m6KbVAaqa4pajwWY2ULpTLE2a73ZLms/s640/blogger-image-37261556.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGYnHtKnlk5QnOU9SbxPY-m3YyxhDjK4kACJtiaM4a4ET6_FbEODiuXmxvdsOg8-sPNt-Lk7yzchmiXiNX-iOtvM1tBMljdzcQWfEFy5GAo3-7m6KbVAaqa4pajwWY2ULpTLE2a73ZLms/s1600/blogger-image-37261556.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">December was all about Christmas cookies</a><br />
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And of course we can't forget snowpoclypse 2013!!!</div>
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Margot was the cutest little lamb in the Christmas play--BAH!!! says she</div>
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After being such a good girl all year, santa and his elves made her a baby cradle never mind the elves mediocre quilting skills....</div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5LWUheSMs44ASMfJ_GfUXnvrUncvPAicw5eaoTPo9Ocrydkn0UhmrOr_NGH8qpoLW1L-Id87g6R1BTdqDbIhvZjbfEeKmCoEZQfRMk7cmFkp5ADCcn_z3kGZ6xnrgjEWQVZkGMHLkE0c/s1600/blogger-image-128200328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5LWUheSMs44ASMfJ_GfUXnvrUncvPAicw5eaoTPo9Ocrydkn0UhmrOr_NGH8qpoLW1L-Id87g6R1BTdqDbIhvZjbfEeKmCoEZQfRMk7cmFkp5ADCcn_z3kGZ6xnrgjEWQVZkGMHLkE0c/s640/blogger-image-128200328.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5LWUheSMs44ASMfJ_GfUXnvrUncvPAicw5eaoTPo9Ocrydkn0UhmrOr_NGH8qpoLW1L-Id87g6R1BTdqDbIhvZjbfEeKmCoEZQfRMk7cmFkp5ADCcn_z3kGZ6xnrgjEWQVZkGMHLkE0c/s1600/blogger-image-128200328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">And we ended 2013 with a fun trip to Portland. Margot had to break out her hipster style one more time and we all had lots of fun playing doc, reading books and going to a puppet show. </a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5LWUheSMs44ASMfJ_GfUXnvrUncvPAicw5eaoTPo9Ocrydkn0UhmrOr_NGH8qpoLW1L-Id87g6R1BTdqDbIhvZjbfEeKmCoEZQfRMk7cmFkp5ADCcn_z3kGZ6xnrgjEWQVZkGMHLkE0c/s1600/blogger-image-128200328.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;">Here's to an awesome 2014!</a>Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-11306550270766557632013-12-23T12:15:00.001-08:002013-12-23T12:15:26.169-08:00Merry Christmas<img src="http://images.tinyprints.com/personalization/683f66b5e17137f188f84450ffee43ec54fb441c/width/700/height/500/1.png" /><br />
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We are off to celebrate a fabulous Christmas with Margot Pants. Right now we are busy playing Santa, hosting one more dinner party before Christmas with out of town friends, decorating cookies for Santa, putting the last stickers on our advent calender and having a jolly good time!<br />
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We wish you a very Merry Christmas!Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-72554769386122620652013-12-16T11:02:00.000-08:002013-12-31T12:01:57.067-08:00An advent calender and a minor panic attackLast night before putting Margot to bed we were counting star stickers on her advent calender, she get's to put a star up each night, when I realized that there are only 10, scratch that, 9 days until Christmas. Then I started to freak out. Then I realized I was too tired to freak out so I went to bed. Then I woke up and came to work where I am now <b><u>full on freaking out</u></b>. Let's just chat about how I haven't don't anything I need to do for Christmas:<br />
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<li>Christmas cards, sitting in my library yet to be addressed and sent</li>
<li>"Santa" has not even started on Margot's big gift which needs painted, a quilt and mattress needs to be sewn</li>
<li>0 Christmas shopping has happened</li>
<li>Christmas morning brunch??? no freaking idea</li>
<li>the Muppet Christmas carol has yet to be watched</li>
<li>gifts need wrapped</li>
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I have been so busy with house renovations. Kitchen cabinets painted, baseboards in today, ugly fences coming out today, new carpet downstairs...soon. So alas I better get my butt in gear. </div>
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Or I could keep procrastinating and spending every weekend making Christmas cookies with Margot, her new favorite thing, and just wait a few more days....regardless I'd better make a list.</div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-91549347858581796032013-12-11T11:29:00.001-08:002013-12-11T11:29:59.837-08:00Winter wonderlandGreetings from the great freeze of 2013! We have had record cold temperatures for a week now. It's been six days since the temp rose above freezing and we were hitting below zero temps over night for 4 days in a row. Sunday we woke up to -9 degrees outside. For a community that's December weather is a pretty consistent 44 and raining it's been mass chaos. The record cold temps came along with 6 inches of snow. Schools have been closed since Friday and most roads, especially on side streets and neighborhoods are sold ice still.<br />
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Friday and Saturday Margot and I were all about the snow. We enjoyed a lovely snow day at home on Friday complete with snuggles, Christmas books, a winter walk and building a snow man. We even broke out some hot cocoa!</div>
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Then Saturday we took a family hike down our massive hill to the market to stock up on provisions. </div>
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Our neighborhood is gorgeous right now. I looks like a 1940-1950 Christmas card. Then Margot and I NEEDED to make shortbread cookies to go with our afternoon movie and hot cocoa.</div>
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Margot was a fan! And don't we all love her vintage-esque old man sweater!</div>
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But now that the initial fun has worn off, I have been cold for days, Margot has been in our bed for nights, because it's too cold, and so on. But perhaps even more concerning is that 60-90 people are coming to my house for my annual holiday cocktail party and my kitchen is in shambles and mid-cabinet painting. Everything that should be in my kitchen is everywhere else in my house, baseboards still have not gone in because my finish contractor cannot get up the hill and I am taking lots of very deep breaths. </div>
Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-86031812635041825952013-12-04T14:39:00.001-08:002013-12-04T14:39:15.175-08:00paint transformations<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
The truth is I hate to paint. Not a great fact for someone who bought a 3700 square foot house where in every inch of the interior not only needed new paint but about 4 coats of new paint. There were a couple serious problems going on with the paint in our house. One, it hadn't been painted since 1960, two the original oil furnace had a broken filter which mean oil residue was layering itself onto the paint throughout the house, three there were lots of original single pane wood windows that had been collecting moisture over the years and finally there was mildew and mildew stains throughout due to the house being vacant and unheated for year. All of this is quite fixable but requires a few extra steps. To paint, first the walls need to be cleaned well. Mildew spots had to be cleaned with a bleach solution to kill the mildew. Then stains, both from oil and mildew had to be first spot primed with a heavy duty oil base primer. Then the walls had to have two coats of a low-voc acrylic primer with a mildicide added. Finally two coats of high quality no voc paint AKA expensive paint went over the primer. The final outcome of rooms and spaces we've painted has been awesome but the getting there...ugh.</div>
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So I tackle small spaces, the inside of Margot's closet, Margot's room, the back hall, the hall bath, the kitchen etc. But I put off the bigger projects like the living room, family room and sun room. Two weeks ago we got the super exciting news that our gorgeous cork floors had arrived and were ready for installation. These floors were originally going to be one of our first projects but then the raining on my head happened and well....we're finally back to the cork floors.</div>
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But there was one big thing holding me back from pure floor elation...the dreaded sun room. I knew we had to paint the sun room pre-floor installation as to not risk paint on new cork floors. But oh how I was dreading that room. You see this room was in the worst shape. The whole lower wall had mildew stains that stubbornly remained after two treatments of bleach solution. The upper walls are a serious of 6 by 3 foot windows with wood frames. The wood paneling was cracking, bulging and generally looking awful and the other half of the room was concrete block plus there were cabinets. Did I mention that all those windows were single pane and the room has no direct heat leaving this room the coldest in the house especially on the 40 degree day that we finally tackled it.</div>
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ewe! Right?! But there was cork so we just picked a starting point and dug in. The first step was nailing down the wood paneling in places it was coming up with finish nails. The second was carefully caulking all the cracks, bulges and other uneven places, particularly around the window frames. Once everything was prepped we opened all the doors and windows and started applying the oil based primer. </div>
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Once all that prep was done and the windows were taped we started the long process of 4 coats of paint. I used a small brush and did all the cutting, and window frames and cabinets while my sister Jess and her roommate Jacob who I hired to help with the job (they are poor college students always in need of some extra cash) worked on the other walls, ceiling and doors. Eight hours later with barely any light left we called it. And oh what a difference. Even with splattered paint on the floor, tape and tools and plastic everywhere and a general mess of brushes, rollers and empty paint cans we could see it was so much better. No more grungy, grimy stained walls but beautiful creamy buttery walls that were so clean! </div>
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And the windows???!!! So much better. </div>
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So while the job sucked the result was delicious. That being said I promptly hired a professional painter to come paint the huge living room and rec room and master bedroom. Because seriously there are only so many Saturdays that I want to paint for 8 straight hours.</div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-30239037689691183882013-12-03T10:52:00.002-08:002013-12-03T10:52:55.451-08:00We're Cracking over hereIn more ways then one! On the one hand house projects, despite the evidence to the contrary demonstrated on the blog, are moving along . In the last two weeks 7 spaces have been painted, new floors are in my kitchen, 5 different contractors have come a knocking with various bids and dollars are rolling out of our bank account! I suppose that's how it goes. But with all the hustle and bustle of two full time + jobs, a toddler, a giant old house, and work being done on said old house, we're also cracking a bit under the weight of it all. Our lives are so busy! And in times like these we have to prioritize what little time we do have so the poor blog gets pushed to the side. Because reading H<i>ow the Grinch Stole Christmas</i> for the 22nd time in one week is clearly way more important than writing on my blog. Am I right?<br />
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I'll post some real house updates later this week but first I wanted to share some fun and cuteness from our holiday weekend.<br />
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Seriously could she be more adorable and fun! Margot has just been a blast. Full sentences are coming like mad and she really does say the funniest things. She has been so excited about Thanksgiving and Christmas and it has been a joy to share the season with her.</div>
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It's been cold but we had some sunny days so we bundled up for a much needed family walk to breakfast. Margot was quite happy to be "snug as a bug in a rug" for the very cold jaunt.</div>
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All dressed up in our Thanksgiving outfit! Margot loved her bow and pretty dress. We had a nice Thanksgiving with extended family. There were 6 kids 7 years old and under running around and Margot loved every minute of it. She pronounced cranberry sauce and turkey to be good and ended the day by saying, "Mamma, Thanksgiving is fun!"</div>
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Once the Turkey dinner was behind us Margot was all ready for "kis-mus" and was ecstatic over her Christmas tree. We decided to do a simple and more formal tree in the living room in gold and white but wanted to still put up some special ornaments and Margot's ornaments (she gets an ornament each year for Christmas) so we decided to put a little "Margot tree" up in her room. She adores it and keeps thanking me for her Christmas tree. Her and I decorated it together and she loves to point out and talk about each ornament. Her favorite is the dinosaur. </div>
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We also decorated our tree and Margot was eager for round two.</div>
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The tree is trimmed and the Christmas decorations are out. We started our advent calender with Margot Sunday night and are reading Christmas books every night before bed. It is really starting to feel like Christmas now even though part of me still feels like we are in October. Where did fall go???</div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-4419879998971410952013-11-20T16:18:00.000-08:002013-11-20T16:18:14.228-08:00Our secret little project......did you think it was a baby??? I bet you did. Anyway, no babies. But we do have a secret project,<br />
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We (and by we I do mean my father with a a lot of help from me) made Margot a toy kitchen!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhjsMbFnzlMeeIq_EORJd1re_PoP-l99zNfu9mbFvLcAlLF9UtZxAf_9E5DIl-VvqO_gBmiQavAPiE4Gn4GvMl6XOAOvcAjFz7vHFnt0iW4WBR30v5cqbi86QmiY_gRh2rWG-26uzFPc/s1600/photo+(2)-009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVhjsMbFnzlMeeIq_EORJd1re_PoP-l99zNfu9mbFvLcAlLF9UtZxAf_9E5DIl-VvqO_gBmiQavAPiE4Gn4GvMl6XOAOvcAjFz7vHFnt0iW4WBR30v5cqbi86QmiY_gRh2rWG-26uzFPc/s320/photo+(2)-009.JPG" width="236" /></a></div>
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Margot turned two over the weekend, still not sure how that happened, and to surprise her my Dad and I cooked up (ha ha) her own custom toy kitchen. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasR2DjPCcC0Sy_kDZbLung_U0EJmbnCFW51zmzr9KOqeCzjVfsrY3yBslfR7zZD9-o4ckdsueHlOJoojtRLZK2gtVvNoXrqOIvg9tcjBdVREKgIBnQjcRoMAeGQ3j_kksQZOtKecILjQ/s1600/photo+(2)-010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgasR2DjPCcC0Sy_kDZbLung_U0EJmbnCFW51zmzr9KOqeCzjVfsrY3yBslfR7zZD9-o4ckdsueHlOJoojtRLZK2gtVvNoXrqOIvg9tcjBdVREKgIBnQjcRoMAeGQ3j_kksQZOtKecILjQ/s320/photo+(2)-010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The best part of this is that we got almost all of the materials from Bring Recycling. I have been looking at toy kitchens since she turned one. I knew I wanted a wood one and with the exception of the Ikea toy kitchen the prices are outrageous. Then I started to see several blog posts about homemade toy kitchens. The easiest option seemed to be converting a cabinet into a kitchen which was where we started. </div>
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This one took about 5 trips to BRING to find the pieces and 12 hours to put together. We started with a rough plan but it really evolved as we worked on it. We worked several evenings after Margot was in bed. </div>
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Initially I thought we'd paint the cabinet and then paint the counter another color. I also thought we'd just have a 2-3 inch high back splash. But when we laid the pine board on top of the used stained counter we loved the contrast of wood colors and grains so we decided to just stain the pine with teak oil to give it a slight finish. The toy dishes are actually vintage 1950's toy dishes that I found on ebay. And in case you couldn't tell from the above photo the oven has a working light!</div>
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So here's how it came together (roughly):</div>
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<ol>
<li>Once we gathered our parts we built measured Margot and our cabinet and figured out that we needed to add additional height to get to our desired 22 inches tall. We started buy building the base or kick board that the cabinet sits on.</li>
<li>We rotated the hinges on the "oven" side of the cabinet and adhered the two doors with a thin board and some screws to make two cabinet doors into one oven door. </li>
<li>We built anchors and a shelf for the cabinet side, side walls separating the cabinet from oven and closing in the oven and found an oven rack.</li>
<li>We built a riser to go between the cabinet and the counter top</li>
<li>Used a jig saw to cut the space into the counter top for the bowl and then cut smaller holes for the faucet </li>
<li>put grooved tracks in the counter to hold the burner grates in place</li>
<li>placed screws, which we trimmed with bolt cutters to not be sharp, to hold burner knobs</li>
<li>stained the base, riser and counter top/backslash with teak oil, used wood filler to fill holes in cabinet then treated it with teak oil</li>
<li>waxed all the wood with beeswax</li>
<li>assembled</li>
<li>painted burner plates black</li>
<li>added hardware</li>
<li>installed light</li>
<li>arranged kitchen accessories</li>
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Margot LOVES her toy kitchen and so far it's providing hours of entertainment. It's still lingering in our living room from the party but will make it's way into the kitchen soon I think.</div>
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Now you know why we've been lagging so much on house projects. Toy making is time consuming work my friends!</div>
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-89918875688229704152013-11-12T10:28:00.000-08:002013-11-12T10:28:18.966-08:00DownstairsUntil now our downstairs has been kind of a holding area, a dumping ground and a dark scary space that I avoid after dark. It's so time to change that. Saturday my over sized rugs arrived and Thursday I'm getting a big on some painting. We have realized that while it's all well and good to paint smaller spaces like bedrooms, hall closets (update soon I hope) and the kitchen, painting our enormous great rooms ourselves might just be more than we can do with two full time jobs and a toddler underfoot. And since we want to get a professional bid on our kitchen cabinets we are just going to price out those bigger spaces at the same time. Painting will allow us to get our giant book shelf bolted to the wall. To unpack the rest of our boxes down there and to arrange our furniture. In the short term this space will be furnished with a hodge podge of hand-me-down furniture. But in the long run I'd love for this space to be a mid-century poster child. Unlike the upstairs which has those traditional elements such as the marble slap fireplace, the downstairs is a blank canvass. And sans rose carpet it can handle more color, angles and I think some bolder design choices. On this vein I'm loving some of the furniture at Urban outfitters right now. In the end we will look for used pieces but for Tuesday morning inspiration check out some of this furniture:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClc83N0-d8wROpMdPs_gX9EVLcFetUkXyY4Nz13yga3INKmf74hT32nQfvPdF7efKUIFxdLMyS72fuwvRUZgopPmSfktZa5TbIao7q01wx0z6uKGR2VMfSjbqjbuTYe6UTMiCTYUQiok/s1600/25772468_021_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhClc83N0-d8wROpMdPs_gX9EVLcFetUkXyY4Nz13yga3INKmf74hT32nQfvPdF7efKUIFxdLMyS72fuwvRUZgopPmSfktZa5TbIao7q01wx0z6uKGR2VMfSjbqjbuTYe6UTMiCTYUQiok/s320/25772468_021_a.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=25772468&parentid=A_FURN_FURNITURE">draper media console</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71xSyK9vMU6uhHUNM2_0tmj4LUub4I0Zw3xzlkcGjgy2mU8KXPO6EkuK4q0j-KEyWetRa96eOObxUpm39aaiXSx0nsrKO9egYUTMpHj_OctSwwrgb9ZpeOWA76eTIhV6aWVQ7qg3R-3I/s1600/17762386_004_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj71xSyK9vMU6uhHUNM2_0tmj4LUub4I0Zw3xzlkcGjgy2mU8KXPO6EkuK4q0j-KEyWetRa96eOObxUpm39aaiXSx0nsrKO9egYUTMpHj_OctSwwrgb9ZpeOWA76eTIhV6aWVQ7qg3R-3I/s320/17762386_004_a.jpg" width="212" /></a><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=17762386&parentid=A_FURN_FURNITURE">night and day convertible sofa</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjkRdtqt5LsrUweVPaZxir9alXufGfD7Ty4F0PFzulml68N1-zYIQwcGTjDuS3UQ0mGCMrnTIBZwKcasYHiGSxiC-wXRrRcwioVhz-zK0QU3zTdA_rYNvWY5FfaLn7dyTPOrqrkS6Klg/s1600/28609485_046_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjkRdtqt5LsrUweVPaZxir9alXufGfD7Ty4F0PFzulml68N1-zYIQwcGTjDuS3UQ0mGCMrnTIBZwKcasYHiGSxiC-wXRrRcwioVhz-zK0QU3zTdA_rYNvWY5FfaLn7dyTPOrqrkS6Klg/s320/28609485_046_a.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=28609485&parentid=A_FURN_FURNITURE">Charlotte sofa</a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNh9CPw4N-m_7MjDnHr0kKf9CmZwjT1cqPKP49J5po1BojPxMq4q6FZnQ1iwu6uNFCehU04S98znXrW2UYS5TFVuXFjYk2LfhunyXDtxW7uMz3WWN_p32FebrrPmaNYW1hFUd3MNWAgM/s1600/25589581_046_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNh9CPw4N-m_7MjDnHr0kKf9CmZwjT1cqPKP49J5po1BojPxMq4q6FZnQ1iwu6uNFCehU04S98znXrW2UYS5TFVuXFjYk2LfhunyXDtxW7uMz3WWN_p32FebrrPmaNYW1hFUd3MNWAgM/s320/25589581_046_a.jpg" width="212" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNh9CPw4N-m_7MjDnHr0kKf9CmZwjT1cqPKP49J5po1BojPxMq4q6FZnQ1iwu6uNFCehU04S98znXrW2UYS5TFVuXFjYk2LfhunyXDtxW7uMz3WWN_p32FebrrPmaNYW1hFUd3MNWAgM/s1600/25589581_046_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">modern chair</a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjiNh9CPw4N-m_7MjDnHr0kKf9CmZwjT1cqPKP49J5po1BojPxMq4q6FZnQ1iwu6uNFCehU04S98znXrW2UYS5TFVuXFjYk2LfhunyXDtxW7uMz3WWN_p32FebrrPmaNYW1hFUd3MNWAgM/s1600/25589581_046_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswVfblo7GcO4gDev5P1huYCeDEvTAHckIVGxxsVKuIzO86Z3XfXkEHb0m6IMGz63dpDdVfySzWCCguAO7Wapmvabp4x7_lc4mlShpTG4F_PCkT_CSxZcTua_ZBYfBizq4ojXEWEFGq5A/s1600/25927534_014_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjswVfblo7GcO4gDev5P1huYCeDEvTAHckIVGxxsVKuIzO86Z3XfXkEHb0m6IMGz63dpDdVfySzWCCguAO7Wapmvabp4x7_lc4mlShpTG4F_PCkT_CSxZcTua_ZBYfBizq4ojXEWEFGq5A/s320/25927534_014_a.jpg" width="212" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5DIKMp43RXJ-30J8OdBz8Q98rcgHUHU-Xi_UFB835cBs8g6yHMMY-IDaeKGcfux54i9h-3CEStx0M-GOPz4_oWfoRVJemx9RotLYD5K1fqf3RoONKP2IU_4tLp6bfERKl8wy36ZEdsk/s1600/13483037_21_a.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5DIKMp43RXJ-30J8OdBz8Q98rcgHUHU-Xi_UFB835cBs8g6yHMMY-IDaeKGcfux54i9h-3CEStx0M-GOPz4_oWfoRVJemx9RotLYD5K1fqf3RoONKP2IU_4tLp6bfERKl8wy36ZEdsk/s320/13483037_21_a.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
<a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=25927534&parentid=A_FURN_FURNITURE">dragmar chair</a><br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/urban/catalog/productdetail.jsp?id=13483037&parentid=A_FURN_FURNITURE">danish modern coffee table</a><br />
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<br />Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-20259088510848223942013-11-08T10:59:00.000-08:002013-11-08T10:59:04.264-08:00Something Iconic<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<i>So yesterday I waxed on a bit about the need to not be materialistic and today I'm going to talk about some of the great stuff I've bought. I know...it's very ironic.</i></div>
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Perhaps it's no surprise but the two most "together" rooms in our house are the living room and Margot's bedroom. Both rooms we use A LOT and both are rooms where we have added new furniture. But I think what sets these two rooms apart is that they both do a nice job of incorporating things we had with some iconic new pieces. Our house is funny. It is a very early mid-century modern and while aspects of it are classic examples of mid-century modern design there are still some traditional elements lingering. We are trying to bring out those mid-century elements with some furniture but in a way that works with the traditional elements we have, like that sage marble slab in the fire place. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5BrKsyouMQio8N3X-RSv_Fm3dbje70xXmsiRVzZ4Dj4pjoiasHKznY9NoBivJzEx2T1d08ENkCRT6nfWc0QeogGPj2XOQofEXbbfYTPbNwR3fK5v-U_bPe72Kh81pn2UZwu-B79ByMw/s1600/photo+(2)-004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5BrKsyouMQio8N3X-RSv_Fm3dbje70xXmsiRVzZ4Dj4pjoiasHKznY9NoBivJzEx2T1d08ENkCRT6nfWc0QeogGPj2XOQofEXbbfYTPbNwR3fK5v-U_bPe72Kh81pn2UZwu-B79ByMw/s320/photo+(2)-004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
I love the way our living room is coming together. I was so worried before we moved that our stuff would just look bad in here. That salmony-pink-rose-colored carpet had me all kinds of freaked out. But the yellows and oranges we had actually work well with the carpet.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeaGxeURxltuy6LuCdNgRcje7ZRSf07a9J1obPs_oBkYLnBeeBEdyzAvAYEmWW82dUxnWkz8Rk74G853WkFfzN-VzQjWU_zunHvWBDgtXHXlk8fxICTNP32dTZGugUZwgJqPPks2GjqOQ/s1600/photo+(2)-005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeaGxeURxltuy6LuCdNgRcje7ZRSf07a9J1obPs_oBkYLnBeeBEdyzAvAYEmWW82dUxnWkz8Rk74G853WkFfzN-VzQjWU_zunHvWBDgtXHXlk8fxICTNP32dTZGugUZwgJqPPks2GjqOQ/s320/photo+(2)-005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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In this room we brought with us the two yellow patterned chairs, the white couch, the little vanity chair and the ceder chest behind the couch, as well as the photos, blanket, pillows and toys. All of it works. But what we've added I think really makes this space. I found the two little teak TV tray tables and the coffee table at a furniture liquidator store and was able to get all three pieces for $75.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCrBU2bzgVCNcUPO5qptrLuRNViRq9Q6jRhH7ptE3X2LT0XrrvXfRtvvt9Tbg0-AddS4Ye_6hFn4X6CtL4KCyksmIcuo6RMJ0AYuL2rGy89xPrQnkzHaUdiO2__Jxy0N_o3SAwCZkZNA/s1600/photo+(2)-006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPCrBU2bzgVCNcUPO5qptrLuRNViRq9Q6jRhH7ptE3X2LT0XrrvXfRtvvt9Tbg0-AddS4Ye_6hFn4X6CtL4KCyksmIcuo6RMJ0AYuL2rGy89xPrQnkzHaUdiO2__Jxy0N_o3SAwCZkZNA/s320/photo+(2)-006.JPG" width="236" /></a></div>
The gold lamp was my most recent purchase. I found it at a local antique store and was able to talk them down to $120 (original price was $175). And the cadenza, which is not in perfect condition, was a steal at $95. I stalked it for months as they kept lowering the price. All of this furniture was used, is somewhat period appropriate for the house and brings out the honey teak/oak wood tones in our doors, which I think contrast nicely with the darker walnut baseboards and fire place. I think all of the warm wood brings out the warmth in the carpet and makes what could be a large cavernous space into a very warm and inviting space. And the iconic style of both the cradenza and the lamp (which I know is circa the 1960's not 1950's) help to highlight the mid-century architecture already going on in this room.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGXKSdDuRpap6N3G4spUNriXsEeyQdIzOIEwvyCxDk1fDQodnOCKPZZTig3KtXq50StWQkuEW9dnmZK0SzJyzX_uqTxrDoPrh3HD0v_mvvP9iSTW29StyUUuKsvX7qm2HsvDTxw2DU-nc/s1600/photo+(2)-007.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGXKSdDuRpap6N3G4spUNriXsEeyQdIzOIEwvyCxDk1fDQodnOCKPZZTig3KtXq50StWQkuEW9dnmZK0SzJyzX_uqTxrDoPrh3HD0v_mvvP9iSTW29StyUUuKsvX7qm2HsvDTxw2DU-nc/s320/photo+(2)-007.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5BrKsyouMQio8N3X-RSv_Fm3dbje70xXmsiRVzZ4Dj4pjoiasHKznY9NoBivJzEx2T1d08ENkCRT6nfWc0QeogGPj2XOQofEXbbfYTPbNwR3fK5v-U_bPe72Kh81pn2UZwu-B79ByMw/s1600/photo+(2)-004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5BrKsyouMQio8N3X-RSv_Fm3dbje70xXmsiRVzZ4Dj4pjoiasHKznY9NoBivJzEx2T1d08ENkCRT6nfWc0QeogGPj2XOQofEXbbfYTPbNwR3fK5v-U_bPe72Kh81pn2UZwu-B79ByMw/s320/photo+(2)-004.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL5BrKsyouMQio8N3X-RSv_Fm3dbje70xXmsiRVzZ4Dj4pjoiasHKznY9NoBivJzEx2T1d08ENkCRT6nfWc0QeogGPj2XOQofEXbbfYTPbNwR3fK5v-U_bPe72Kh81pn2UZwu-B79ByMw/s1600/photo+(2)-004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><br /></a> Best of all. Every single one of the pieces was used and reasonably affordable. It's come a long way from where we started. <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaW6qVqyvguRmLMX4PnKN9WeFfiBesHnzUxwNpFGaMQiYwhoE9AOVhaWgJavtwuBtjr-rDeo6cEBgZh8dR1rqF8iZNmhyphenhyphen02lOKF_sSNHVxe4KdlhGeMoaHoGaxqCnIRbrM79z0LgBlas/s1600/house+before+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLaW6qVqyvguRmLMX4PnKN9WeFfiBesHnzUxwNpFGaMQiYwhoE9AOVhaWgJavtwuBtjr-rDeo6cEBgZh8dR1rqF8iZNmhyphenhyphen02lOKF_sSNHVxe4KdlhGeMoaHoGaxqCnIRbrM79z0LgBlas/s320/house+before+2.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Even from where we were a month ago.</div>
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There is still a lot we'd like to do in here. Namely paint! I also am not convinced I like the configuration of art on the mantel, I'm always tweaking what's on the coffee table and I have mixed feelings about the pillows. So I'm sure it's a space that will continue to evolve. In the meantime at least it's furnished which is more than we can say about several rooms in our house.<br />
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2486325429771539945.post-21170733885198537172013-11-07T10:25:00.000-08:002013-11-07T10:25:51.606-08:00ExaminationsFrom time to time the need arises to stop and examine certain values. I suppose for me this is particularly true surrounding certain life changes. I know I referenced some new goals when we moved into our house but these are small things, doing the dishes, walking more, waking up early. I mean the big things our values, beliefs and priorities. <div>
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For years now reading blogs and remembering these goals and values has been a constant challenge. I don't watch a lot of TV and the TV I do watch is without commercials and I read very little magazines so most of my media is coming from blogs. They are the place I learn what is "in", new products, ideas and often they cultivate wants. This isn't to say I don't want to read blogs or that they are inherently bad. But it presents some challenge and will power to not be overly swayed by the plethora of pretty things that fill my RSS feed on a daily basis. </div>
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This is particularly true in this season we are in. A new and bigger house creates a lot of temptation to buy. But our values are still there, though perhaps after almost three months of acquiring and still not organizing, they need to be pulled out and dusted off. Examination may just be in order. </div>
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So what are these values?</div>
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<li>That our life include <b>time and space for the people and communities that matter:</b> volunteering, developing careers and making new friends are all well and good as long as they aren't detracting from our focus on each other, Margot, our family and church community</li>
<li>To be <b>financially sound, frugal and giving with our resources:</b> just because we have the money doesn't mean we should spend it especially since we are still working to pay of law school loans. As my grandmother would say, frugality my friends, is a virtue</li>
<li>To be <b>stewards of our environment</b>: this is really important to us especially as we turn to large purchases such as furniture. Always trying to buy used first, limiting unnecessary consumerism, and being mindful of the materials and substances we put in our home and near our family.</li>
<li><b>Good Food, local and sustainable food and healthy food</b>. We are family that loves food. We love to cook and eat. While we strive for frugality in many areas we want to allow for spending in the areas that are really important to our family. For us this means buying good, local organic whole foods that are healthy and delicious.</li>
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I'm not sure why this is on my mind so much today. Maybe it's the transition into the holiday season? Maybe it's that we bought our 8th piece of furniture in 3 months or maybe it's looking ahead to a new year. Regardless, I never want to convey on my blog that a home requires stuff. I hope rather to convey that loving a home, being a family in a home and being creative with the resources you do have are what makes it.</div>
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Laurahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05528906763229896400noreply@blogger.com0