two straight lines

All is Well

We're home, all is well.  Elliot had a mole removed from his scalp this morning under heavy sedation at the fantastic Mott Children's Hospital (U of M).  He is already back to his old self.  I am no great fan of hospitals, although I know they can do tremendous good.  Luckily my husband works in hospitals (medical research), so he doesn't have the same negative connotations that I do.  The staff was fabulous, making us feel like our child was the most wonderful and important child there.  Of course he is...to us.  Spending time there makes you count your blessings, parents rallying around our little ones, many of whom had surgeries lasting for hours, not minutes like ours.

Elliot has a small shaved patch where his mole was.  I'm sort of sad to see it go, it was such a marker of his babyhood-- see it in the photo above?  These pictures were taken over Thanksgiving 3 years ago at my in-laws cottage.

(this is a hat I made for Elliot modified from a Green Pepper pilot cap pattern, made of space-dyed organic cotton fleece from Near Sea Naturals, I think)

Thanks for all of the great comments/suggestions regarding my family room.  So far, this is what I'm thinking.  I am going to concentrate on the parts I am confident about first, covering the ottoman with a wool suiting in a subtle pattern- in a shade darker than the other pieces.  Next, quilted throws, maybe a quilt over the back of the couch, throw pillows to add color.  Paint the fireplace.

Next, I might remove the leaning bookcase and ikea frames, and try to add items that frame the fireplace in a looser and more subtle way.  I used to have a weathered ladder where the bookcase is that I moved to our den.  Maybe bring it back and put throws or some sort of textiles on it, then maybe a softer arrangement of art on the other side, three small weathered shelves or something- where did I just see some of those?  I liked the idea of adding more botanical elements as well.  And wonder where I could get ahold of some of that lovely fabric from Bloesem...hmmmm.  One thing I didn't make clear, there really is no way to rearrange the elements of the room.  There are entrances, exits in every other available space.  The furniture sort of has the minimum room around it to fit in the room without looking ridiculous, but not room to spare.

And about the packaging of the gift cards, I came up with my solution, which I can't share until mid-month when I give my presents away, but I'll give you a little hint.  It was featured in the last issue of a "spin-off" magazine, and I was able to source the materials in my own state.  Please don't give the answer in the comments, at least in an obvious way!

Gotta go, Elliot is trying to fill a trash bag with water, yes, things are back to normal;)

I Hate My Family Room (or How I Occupy My Brain the Night Before My Son Has Anesthesia)

I'm not really sure if I'm showing you this because I want your advice or because I want to make myself accountable to actually decorate this room, but either way, here goes.  We have lived here for over two years, and this room is still a hodge-podge of random stuff.

Let's start with what's working.  The couch is khaki and the two chairs are sort of a cream with a grey ticking stripe.  The rug is a heathered wool "cable-knit" carpet (made by Ralph Lauren) which I had bound as an area rug.  All of these are neutral and in good condition.  The console table on the left and the nature shelf above it are also staying.   There are some large botanical prints behind the couch on either side that are working for me-- see here-- that's one of them.

What isn't working.  I can't stand the color of the large square red leather ottoman.  When we bought it we were using more reds and teals, and I'm hoping to go in a more green/ teal/ brown direction (see these throw pillows here).  So I purchased quilting fabrics over a year ago to make a quilted slipcover for it, and for some reason find the idea of it completely overwhelms me.

Now my biggest complaint about this room is the fact that the amount of space on either side of this rather nondescript fireplace is not equal (the window starts to the right of the Christmas tree).  I can't for the life of me figure out what to do with it.  So, in Cheap Idea #432, I bought this "leaning bookcase" and tried to balance it out with these Ikea frames (Cheap Idea #433), but the main problem is that I have no idea what to put on these silly shelves, or in these silly frames.

What I've learned.  I think I want the artwork to remain in the black and white (or maybe I should just say neutral) color range, I find I tire of it much more slowly.  I lean heavily towards botanicals and birds.  I'm also feeling the folksy trend.  Did you see this photo on Bloesem, oh my.

I want the main pops of color to come in the form of pillows on the couch, throws on the chairs, and whatever I cover the ottoman in-- which as I type I'm thinking would be nice in a patterned wool, maybe some pockets on the side (see, you're helping already).  I would also eventually like a quilt for the back of the couch (Denyse, could you send one over?)

I'm willing to lose the ottoman entirely if I could find some little floaty stool/table things.  And the Ikea frames, I'd loose them too, or just find something nice to put in them.  I'd also like to paint the mantel (see inspiration below).  But, I still have no idea what to put on those shelves.  I could cover the books, games in colored paper, or I thought about making a collection of colored bottles like this.  I could also paint or somewhow cover the red "R."  I'll put some inspiration shots below with notes below them.

So, any advice?  You guys don't have anything else to do, do you?

Love this mantle.

Denyse Schmidt, Hable Construction, Weeks Ringle, need I say more?

I've shown this before, nice neutrals with greens and blues.

Help, please.

8 Months

Today is the 8 month anniversary of Lucie's birth.  Man, time flies.  In some ways it seems like she's been here forever, in others, it seems like the time has passed in a flash.  She is all sweetness and smiles right now, she brings so much laughter to our family-- even to the other small member who certainly has mixed feelings about her.  And she already has her Daddy wrapped around her finger.

We had a nice Thanksgiving with my brother Drew up from Chicago, and my Uncle Bob who lives nearby.  They are both bachelors happy to have a meal cooked for them, so the pressure is low, which is how I prefer it.  Elliot and I did our grocery shopping the night before, foregoing Whole Foods and heading to our local natural foods store instead.  Figured the parking and crowds would be easier to handle there with a pre-schooler in tow.  We didn't have a ton planned except the staples- turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls and pumpkin pie-  letting ourselves be inspired by what looked fresh.  We also ended up with brussels sprouts, multi-colored baby carrots, and green beans.  I figured I'd cook until I was tired, but I ended up getting to it all.  The last few things were prepared with recipes from Martha, and were very easy.  I've never made brussels sprouts in my life, always thought I hated them, but they're delicious  roasted with apples and bacon-- what isn't right?

So, for the first time in my life I am nearly finished with my Christmas shopping.  I've done it all online during Lucie's naps, and even bought a lot of gift cards.  Every year I have the biggest struggle trying to marry my idea of a good gift with the recipient's, adding in the environmental effect.  Of course, I love to make handmade items, but if the recipient doesn't want/need/like it, then it ends up as junk in a landfill just as much as store bought stuff does, you know.  So, most of my recipients will get a small handmade item together with a gift card to a place that I know they frequent.  That way, there is very little spending on shipping, no gas to return items, I'm not adding clutter to their homes, and they can get something they truly want. 

I don't want to be a scrooge, but I feel like gifts have evolved from being a small token, or a thing that someone actually needs to just being over the top.  Remember when Laura Ingalls would be all thrilled to get an orange and a maple candy?  Maybe some wool socks?  Now kids need what, an 87th stuffed unicorn?  I certainly buy my fair share, but I suppose what I buy fits into my value system.  So this is my solution for this year, I still get to come up with some clever crafty packaging, but the recipient also will get to choose what "stuff" they want to bring into their life.  Any good ideas for gift card packing, preferably something useful as well?

In Two Straight Lines...

Last week I received several emails from people who had seen projects offered here on my blog and decided to create their own version.  I can't tell you how fun it is for me to see this, really, it is the highlight of this little job of mine. For those of you who haven't been around my blog since its early days, the name, Two Straight Lines, comes from the children's book Madeline.  "In two straight lines they broke their bread and brushed their teeth and went to bed"-- the idea is that we are all going on this little adventure together.  So, if you create a project inspired by one of mine, do share it with me.  That's what is so unique and special about this little world we've crafted for ourselves.

Although most of my real life friends don't share my interests, I am lucky enough that my closest friend does, so when I have an idea or find a great new craft item, she is the one I call to obsess over buttons and glitter and such.  And to top it off, she is married to my uncle (my Mom's youngest brother is about my age), so I get to see her at Christmas time and family reunions too.  She is a bit more reserved  than me, so you aren't likely to find her on the internet blathering on, but I assure you, she is just as crafty.  Above are the crepe paper flowers and aprons she made for her daughter Chloe's cooking themed 8th birthday party.  And the wooden spoons are the invites, right Alicia?  (BTW, Chloe helped with the flowers and Alicia said she ruined a few petals getting the hang of it.  The key is not pushing the t-pin right through the bottom of the crepe paper circle!)

She and I have been conspiring over Chloe's birthday parties for years.  Way before I had kids when I lived in Boston, I would make the trek home to Indianapolis to help with the festivities.  My suitcase was usually packed full of things that would raise a few eyebrows in airport security these days.  Someday I'll try to share pictures of the things we made for those first few parties.

Here are the party guests and birthday girl modeling their aprons-- and the crowns were an easy party craft I came up with.  You know those rolls of corrugated stuff that teachers use to border bulletin boards?  I picked up a roll of it at JoAnn's during back to school time, and discovered it made cute crowns, decorated with chipboard letters (in the scrapbooking area) and fastened at the back with a decorative brad.  These could really be adopted for any theme, and decorated with anything you have on hand.

And a few more links to the lovely ladies who shared their projects with me-- simple blinds by Liz Morgan and the paper dolls that Maggie turned into her new blog banner.  Thanks so much.

Update: I forgot to mention that Alicia made the aprons from Martha Stewart dishtowels from KMart.  She read this tutorial, but ultimately made them her own way with twill tape at the neckline and for the ties.  It looks to me like the twill tape snaps to the top on one side.  And I forgot to give her credit for the lovely photos.

Gray Days

Not a lot going on over here, just some sick kids (Elliot- tummy bug, Lucie- earache) plus some deadlines and holiday scheming thrown in.  I've gotten an early start on Christmas shopping over here and CAN'T WAIT for it!  Elliot's birthday is right before Christmas, so it is difficult to decide what to give him for each holiday without ending up with complete overload. 

He has been dying for a marble run, so that will be for his birthday (I decided on the Haba one because it seemed to have the most creative potential), and for Christmas, I thought that rather than going in a bunch of new directions, I am going to stick with what is really working for us, and that is our awesome playstand as a bakery/kitchen/restaurant/store, so there will be wooden food, a grocery cart and basket ("want both Mommy"), aprons, etc.  I even ordered those guest checks that waiters use.  Can't wait to use those!  Who is more excited here?  This is the kind of stuff that I loved as a kid.  My brother Drew and I were all about the supermarket/restaurant play.  We even had a cardboard Burger King (or something like it).

And Lucie's the best age because I can buy/make toys that I want and then say they are for her.  And she'll be thrilled!  Anyway, all sorts of plans over here.  I'll keep you posted.

I finally located my blue Martha pot.  This was supposed to be from my in-laws for Christmas but the Macy's by them only had red.  Scott found one while in Toledo and snagged it for me.  We've been making soup like crazy.  This recipe from Grace is delicious and ridiculously easy.  And below is my new purse.  I have been eyeing Orla Kiely bags for years and finally found one I had to have.

On a not so fun note, Elliot will be having a mole removed from his scalp on the 27th (he's had it since birth, but there's a small black spot in it now, so they'd rather be cautious and remove it), so keep us in your thoughts.  It will be at U of M Mott's Children's hospital under heavy sedation (not general anesthesia, but close) and of course I am a nervous wreck about it.  We had the pre-surgical consult Monday and Elliot wore scrubs and his Dad's hospital badge-- too cute. 

Oh, and I almost forgot!  Reader Alexis made my crepe paper flowers for her daughter's birthday party and they look beautiful.  And check out her amazing handmade waldorf style birthday ring too.  I've purchased the pegs for one of those, thanks for sharing yours Alexis.

And my first few crafts have now been added to the Wondertime website: here and here.

Boo

Just wanted to pop in and say hello!  I have been busy with a few deadlines and minor illnesses, and you know, life.  We had a great Halloween, as it seems a lot of you did as well.  I am the bad Mom who didn't get a single snapshot of my babes in costume.  But I was with them, which is the important part.  I do my best not to live behind the camera.

Elliot was a fireman again this year, big shock, I know.  The great part is that last year I made his costume a little big, so this year it fit him perfectly.  Below is one of my favorite photos of him, modeling his coat last year.  I transformed Lucie into a mouse at the last minute, and she was so cute peeking out of my sling with her little felt ears.  How lucky am I to have this sweet little being in my life?

We went trick or treating right after school in downtown Ann Arbor with a few school buddies, and again in the evening in our neighborhood.  I am sort of a purist about homemade costumes (not necessarily entirely handmade, but at least conceived there), but as I looked at the drifts of tulle and satin on the sidewalks yesterday, I realized, you know what, it doesn't really matter...these are magical moments for these kids. 

Our weather was fabulous-- crisp and sunny during the day, blustery during trick or treating, and turning to rain when it was time for bed.  Couldn't have asked for more.