two straight lines

 

Last weekend we decided to dine with the birds and eat on our upstairs balcony.  It's a pretty big space, it covers two rooms of our home below.  I'm embarrassed to say this was the first time I'd ever been out there.  We moved in in December and when spring finally came I could never get the door to the balcony open.  And I never remembered to ask Scott to open it for me when he was home.  He had been out there-- Clio our cat has ended up stranded there several times after climbing up the small cedar tree nearby.

The balcony is actually off of our bedroom, through a dressing room that we think used to be a small landing or maid's room from a back staircase that we no longer have.  The former owners were smart enough to add a master bath and dressing area there when they bought the house 15 years ago.

It's fun to see your neighborhood from a different view.  I told the kids this is the closest we will probably come to a tree house because the tree line is far too high here to build one.  I'm actually thinking some chaise lounges would be great here, a nice place to read after the kids go to bed, since in the summer it's still daylight at that time.  A neighbor suggested watching the fireworks out here.  Maybe we'll try that out this weekend.

I think I've mentioned before that we have a street in front as well as behind our house.  The houses in the back a charming smaller cottages that you see here.  We also have a tiny but cute garage.  I've never seen one with so many windows, I can't imagine why they put so many in.  And there is also a potting area which is pretty cool to have, even though I don't consider myself too much of a gardener yet.  It does store the kids outside toys nicely, though!

Check back next week for my dining room redo.  Nothing dramatic, just a new light fixture and some fresh paint.  I am starting with that room because there is the least amount of work to be done in there!  Happy Fourth of July to all of you who are stateside. 

XO- Courtney

I've been meaning to set up a compost been for a million years, but at our old home the prospect of a move was always looming on the horizon, so we held off.  I always thought I'd do one of those tumblers just because it seemed the easiest to keep up without ending up with a rotting mess on your hands and having your neighbors hate you.  After some research and polling of a local online parenting group I belong to, I decided that the tumbler was not for us and focused instead on a regular old open compost bin, or a worm bin which can be kept inside.

About this same time, Elliot's class had a unit on recycling and they had a worm bin in their class.  One of his teachers made it look so easy and sort of fun too, so we decided to start with a worm bin.  Last week we drove out to the headquarters of wormwoman.com (who knew I lived in the epicenter of vermiculture?) and bought our bin and little wrigglers.

The next day we raided our neighbor's recycle bins until we had 7 pounds of newspaper and then shredded it...  

...added a little dirt, a little water and then our new wriggly pets.  Elliot decided to add them one by one (there were probably a thousand of them) but who am I to argue with an activity that keeps him happily busy for a long time?

We then added our first batch of worm food (our kitchen scraps) and then placed the whole bin in the basement.  Now we are on our way to worm poop, which can be applied to our garden.  Sounds lovely, doesn't it?

For a DIY version, there was nice simple one in the March 2007 Martha Stewart made by drilling holes in a white IKEA plastic bin.  We were having a hard time making it to IKEA and I got impatient and just bought our bin locally.  I do like to support businesses that are promoting a more natural approach to gardening anyway.  The worm bin I bought can be found here, and the most lovely open compost bin I've seen is here.  That one may make an appearance at a later date.

Also-

We've been adding to our fairy garden, thanks so much for all of the great recommendations!  And a little book fairy stopped by, actually the owner of our fabulous local children's bookstore dropped off a few books, including Fairy Houses...Everywhere that was a great source of inspiration for Elliot.  We'll post some photos soon.

Elliot went back into business this week selling some potted lilies that the former owner of our home left in the garden.  It was slow going, but then he sold them all to one person who is going to use them for a lily garden at a church downtown.  He's becoming quite the entrepreneur. 

On a totally unrelated note, what a weird week, right?  I have to say both Farrah and Michael Jackson were major parts of my childhood, so I am a little sad to see them gone.  Both sort of heartbreaking stories, really.

 

Elliot decided that we should make a fairy garden under a pine tree ringed with stones.  We weeded, we planted a few fuzzy plants to go with the existing blue hostas (aka fairy roofs, so I hear) and we scattered cocoa mulch about (fairies love cocoa, of course).

Now we sit and wait.  If you build it, they will come, right?  More photos of our work-in-progress are here.

Any good fairy garden resources online that you know of?  Or fairy books?  I googled it and was a little frightened at how overdone many of them were.  I'd love to see some simple examples.  And we need a fairy door, I think.

I've enabled threaded comments, so feel free to share information with me as well as each other.

I always see cute kids' items online and in catalogs, but am hesitant to order them and pay shipping for a fairly inexpensive item.  Lately we've found quite a few summery items in surprising places, from our local hardware to big box stores and we wanted to let you know that the items are likely available in your area too.

This shovel we bought for the beach came from our local Menard's for just shy of $5, available online for a little more here.  We started off with just one, an orange one, but after a few days I decided that I'd be willing to pay $5 more to stop them from bickering over who got to use it, so back to the store we went so Lucie could pick her color-- "Pink!"  It has a plastic grip and spade, but the handle is wood.  It's called a Dune Spoon.

We're loving this Fire Hose Nozzle that we picked up at Lowe's because I can turn the hose on, set the flow to a reasonable rate and then set the kids free with it.  We used to only have the trigger style which was too difficult for little ones to turn on, so I ended up standing there holding it for them which was a drag.  Available online here, but I got mine for a similar price at Lowe's.

This butterfly net was picked up at our local True Value (Gale's for any locals) for around $4 and we've already put it to use quite a bit.  Bug catching is a favorite pastime around here.  Elliot was even interested in catching an injured robin in it last night.  Of course, that was a no go.

I've eyed child-sized gardening tools a thousand times in the Montessori Services catalog, but I picked up this shovel along with a hoe and rake (in purple and yellow) at Lowe's for about $4 apiece.  The have a metal grip and tool, but the pole itself is a thick plastic.  You can see that it does double duty in our sandbox.

And everyone needs a sprinkler, right?  We have two kinds-- the old fashioned twirly yellow type by Nelson and this large beach ball variety by Little Tikes.  We got that one a few seasons ago at Target, but Amazon has it online for just under $16.  Lucie loves to roll it around the yard when it isn't attached to the hose.

Stock up now so that you're prepared for the upcoming long summer days-- then you can sit back and sip lemonade as they get busy.

Our school year is winding down and Elliot has one more week before he is out, so like a lot of you, I've been trying to figure out how I will manage two kids all summer long.  I'm lucky to have a big network of friends here who I enjoy hanging out with just as much as our kids like to play together, and I know our summer will be filled with meet-ups at each others houses and in local parks.  This still leaves a pretty large chunk of the day with just our family, so we have been readying a few things at home.

This past weekend we built a sandbox for our kids, using these instructions, but enlarging the size to 6' x 6'.  We had trouble sourcing cedar locally, and after doing a lot of reading online decided that untreated pine would be fine for our purposes, as many say it will outlast a child's interest in the sandbox.

If any of you have purchased sandbox sand, you will also know that there is a lot of controversy about whether or not sand is safe, and which kind of sand is the safest.  I guess I'm grateful that we have more information available to us these days, but I also feel like there are a lot more worries with every little decision we make as parents, and often feel overwhelmed making the choices.  After a lot of research (ugh.) I decided to go with "washed sand" which is a real sand (not manufactured) and is washed to remove dust and impurities.  We were able to find it locally and have a yard of it delivered for somewhere in the $60 range.  As for the safety of sand in general, my personal belief is that risks of lung cancer and disease are due to prolonged exposure such as mining or sandblasting, and that a child's use of a sandbox does not pose a significant risk. (except for mosquitos and/or sandy potato chips)

We have a wonderful shady yard here and are already finding ourselves spending many hours out there each day, which is a nice change from our old house.  It's been fun seeing what the previous owner has planted as flowers come and go from our garden.  She seemed to have it all carefully planned because just as one thing withers, the next plant starts to show.  Elliot and I have pulled out Roots, Boots, Buckets & Shoots and are planning on constructing a teepee made of bamboo poles and moonflowers in the front yard.  He also goes on "blossom hunts" each day and fills a line of tiny juice glasses on my kitchen sill with his finds.  And the wildlife puts on a show as well-- deer are regular visitors, we have some brave black squirrels, and a tiny chipmunk has even made a home in a hole our paver patio.

A lot of  you have contacted me and asked if I would consider coming up with another version of Camp Russell from a few years back, and as of right now, I don't think I'll be doing that.  I am so busy with my kids, and also am not as panicked about summer as I have been in years past.  We will probably just take summer as it comes around here, and throw in a few summer camps for Elliot.

Have a great weekend!
XO Courtney

Over the weekend when we opened Lucie's gifts I nearly forgot this toadstool outfit that I'd purchased way back in January for her Bamboletta doll.  The outfit is made by Jane of Little Seedlings and is modeled after her son's Halloween costume.  Her craftsmanship is amazing as usual. 

Now I just need to head over to our local children's bookshop, Bookbug and see if they have a copy of Children of the Forest.  Can I just be honest here and say that being able to buy stuff like this is really the reason I had kids?

Lucie at two, I love that you:

Say no to my kisses almost all day, which makes it all the sweeter when you finally say yes.

Carry around tiny books and sit and look through them all by yourself.

Have a new fondness for dolls and stuffed animals which you carry tucked under your arm.

Cry and run to Elliot when he is crying.

Wrinkle up your nose and kiss me over the edge of the bathtub.

Think that you are one of the big kids.

Make me leave a little earlier so that you can walk to the car yourself.  "ME!"

Eat your peas and chicken, then eat some of your brother's.

Dance and giggle when I've deciphered which snack your asking for (that is, when you're not helping yourself to the bunny grahams).

Point and practice your words just to hear yourself say them-- "wuh-wuh" (dog) and "mow" (cat) being two of your favorites.

Sing to yourself in the back seat of the car, sometimes for the entire trip.

Make all of us a little softer, lighter and the world a little sweeter.

PS- I hope you like my new look.  Poke around a bit.  The links have been moved to another page, but can be accessed from the sidebar.

 
I hope you're all having a nice week and gearing up for the first weekend of spring.  I've been very busy but have nothing much to show for it.  We had a lovely playdate this morning complete with soft pretzels, (via The Artful Parent) so I have nothing to complain about.  And sweet Lucie turns two next week, so we are planning a little celebration for her.

 
I've been trying to take more time with photography lately and figure out all of the settings on my camera.  When I first got it (a Nikon D50) I was pretty happy with it, but over the last few years have messed up its settings a bit and never took the time to actually figure out what I was doing wrong.  I also had forgotten much of what I learned in my photography classes in design school.

Last summer I bought a few photography dvd's to refresh my memory and just got around to watching them in the last few weeks.  They are produced by Me Ra Koh and I would recommend them to anyone looking to move away from the auto settings on the Digital SLR.  The first one would be useful for someone with a point and shoot as well.  Just thought I'd let you know that I enjoyed them.  I figure that as busy as my kids keep me, at least I can express creativity through photography!  I'm not saying my photos are anything great yet.  Baby steps, baby steps.

Have a nice weekend.

XO- Courtney

Note: This is not a paid advertisement.  I have no affiliation with Me Ra Koh and paid full price for the dvd's.

I just love it when I find an unexpected use for something I already own.  A few years ago I bought these hot chocolate cups in two sizes because I am a sucker for "real" dishes that look like a takeout containers.  I use the tall ones fairly often for coffee, but these tiny ones sat unused because apparently I'm a mean Mommy and don't give my kids hot chocolate too often.  Recently I spied them in the cabinet when I was serving up some yogurt to my kiddos, and it wasn't until I was actually spooning the yogurt in that I realized that they are the exact size of individual disposable yogurt containers.  Love that.

I buy or make plain full fat yogurt and sweeten it myself-- 4T of real maple syrup and 1t of vanilla per quart.  We avoid processed sugars as much as possible, so this gives me some control over the amount of sweeteners in our yogurt.  These cute little cups are also available in lovely colors (I'd like to put an official order in for 8 aqua ones for my upcoming April 1st birthday, Friends and Family), and I saw them on this new-to-me cooking blog being used as custard cups.  So cute!

One more discovery-- after searching high and low for tiny spoons for Lucie, I stumbled upon appetizer spoons in my local hardware store (this was when we were still near in Ann Arbor, so for any locals, it was the amazing Ace Barnes Hardware). They were close to a perfect match for our flatware, cost a couple of bucks each, and have lasted much longer than the plastic ones I have used before these.  These are Norpro brand and so far I have been unable to find them on the internet, but I would imagine many nice cooking stores would carry something similar.

Lucie seems to approve.

(Apparently stain removal is not my strong suit)

Side Entrance to Basement

One of my favorite things about our new (old) house is this little side entrance to our basement.  We've turned it into a craft lab, and hopefully some day soon I can share it too.  As I've said before, we're on a big hill, so what would usually be a dark windowless space instead has windows on most sides.  Besides the main space, there is a laundry room with a giant (concrete, I think) laundry sink with three compartments.  My guess is that it's original to the house, and that it will always be here.  I can't imagine how you could remove it.  There is also a root cellar (they call them Michigan cellars here), a small workshop, and a bathroom.  The side entrance is especially convenient for unloading groceries and for putting out the recycling (as evidenced by the box remains in the photo).

A larger shot for context.  Again, this is the side view.