Temptation

We are busy painting and arranging and arranging again at the new house we have found that some of our things that were so perfect at the old house are not working so well at the new house. Specifically our dining room table. Now as I have fallen in love with this ranch, you know the house style I said that I did not want, I have also fallen in love with just going with the style and not trying to make everything look like I am decorating an old Victorian. This is our dining space,


right off of the kitchen and leading to the family room (although you have the backwards view here). Our large heavy and dark dining room table is taking up the whole space and frankly looks a bit out of place. I have been trying to make it work and honestly we could set up a more formal dining space in the large front room, but honestly I like the dining space so close to the kicthen, it makes feeding Lilly so much easier. And my design philosophy is pretty, but a pretty were you can spill.

I am not a big fan of really pretty houses that look perfect but don't look like children live there and I wonder where they play. I want a place where Lilly can run free and nothing is really off limits and if it is then it is high up. My house needs to absorb spilled sippy cups and goldfish cracker crumbs, so a formal dining room would just not be practical. But we totally happened upon a solution, and what a modern mid-century solution it is.


As we were walking through Target there it sat in all of it's shiny glory. It is perfect, a perfect size, perfect design and perfect price. We left without it so we could discuss what we already knew, should it come home with us? My resistance was only that we just bought our old dining room tables about a year and a half ago, wouldn't it be a waste. Then Jeff convinced me with the perfect argument. If we get the new table then the old one can become my craft table in the basement. Sold!

So it looks like we will be given into temptation, and it feels so good!

The 2nd Bithday arrives with a wimper and a bang....

And I mean that literally. Today’s birthday was a bit anti-climatic after spending her birthday eve in urgent care with what is called “nursemaid’s elbow,” which is basically a dislocation of the elbow joint. This she accomplished when she tried to yank her arm away to go find something much more interesting than paint samples at Lowes. Fortunately there was an urgent care like right across the street and with very few tears the doctor popped it back into place. Which of course meant that today, Lilly’s second birthday was a little less dramatic. She had a fabulous Ariel dress to wear but decided that it needed some color in the form of a crayon. No troubles though for her intrepid mother who just threw another dress on her and out the door we went to school where daddy had a meeting. Ever the thoughtful girl Lilly insisted that we stop to bring all her friends at school some cupcakes, which of course we did and Lilly only ate three herself. Well she ate one whole cuppycake and then the frosting off of two others. After a very quick nap she was up and at ‘em but required another clothing change as she insisted “tutu momma.” The tutu did not exactly go with her pretty dress and the fact that she was trying to rip it from her body meant that we got an entire new outfit constructed around the tutu. Next on the agenda was a good amount of time spent down in the basement with her birthday gift, a giant train table. I mean really it is huge, and really we were going to the get the smaller one, but then the bigger one was on sale for the same price, so yeah you know, she got the big one. Choo-Choo play was followed by a dinner of spaghetti, Lilly’s favorite and of course some cake and ice cream, which we all enjoyed, and Lilly even blew out her own candles!



Now last year I made a slide show of her last year and I wrote her a letter, something I would like to do again this year but I have to admit that the time got away from me, so that will have to come this weekend. But for now some pictures of a happy two year old with a fully functioning elbow and chocolate cake!

The begining.....

So this is my new house, a rambling ranch that now needs to be decorated. I may have started my new project. Right now I am thinking mid century modern by way of shabby chic (do they call it that anymore?). I am not sure where to start- but the still packed boxes need to be dealt with sooner rather than later. This should be quite the journey.

Baby it's cold outside....again

I so did not move to West Virginia to brave a snowstorm, if I wanted that I would have stayed in Illinois. But here we are again waiting for a storm that is supposed to keep us all indoors for awhile. And we have nothing in the house. Also my baby girl will be two in two weeks, how is that even possible? How did she get so big so fast? I don’t know and I am not sure that I like it. I mean she is supposed to stay my baby, not start telling me “I do.” And yet here she is all wanting to do stuff herself and all that. Again I am not happy. Also she is talking like crazy this past month, with that adorable little lisp that toddlers have saying “pease mommy” when she wants something and I am a sucker for it every damn time! But for now she is sleeping and I am thinking about Spring and some warm weather, so I will leave you with one of the pictures from Florida that encapsulates how cute that kid has been this week. Enjoy.