Riot and Frolic

To Blend Toddler and Adult Aesthetics...

I have children.  

It's often a surprise to me, so it helps to write it down in order to remind myself (when they're not yelling/singing/talking in front of me). 

Since I have children, it more or less categorizes me as an adult.  Hmph.

In this line of logic, I have children and adults living under one roof.  

I'm in the process of trying to meld our groups' "styles", i.e.,* I'm making their crap match mine.  

My great aunt (both "great" and "great", if you know what I mean) bought V this cute kid's table back in the day.  

useful

It's well-loved by the girls, but the problem is it is well-loved by the girlS.  It is now a kids' table and very much a girls' table (sooooo many tea parties) and while I have nothing against the alphabet (in fact, I rather love the alphabet and use it, like, at least 2 times a day...), it wanted to girl it up aaaaaand blend it in with our grown-up stuff now that it's a permanent fixture in our living area.  

Ingredients:

- one toddler table and chairs set

- oilcloth fabric

- staple gun

- screwdriver

1.  Take a toddler table, like this one, and flip it over. 

before

2. Unscrew all the screws on the underside of the table.  

unscrew and snap photo

2.5.  Ever try to fit a screwdriver to a screw while taking a picture?  I didn't think so.

3. Cut your oilcloth about 2" (that's inches, people) wider than the table.  It reeeeeeally helps if your oilcloth is named something awesome like "Charisma Midnight", like mine was.

cut to fit, duh

4. Get out your new best friend, Staple Gun, and go to town (i.e., by stapling the fabric to the table).

my best friend got terrible reviews on Amazon

5. Repeat the process in steps 1-4 for the chairs.

6. Marvel at your "fancy new table" (V's words).

after

Marvel, indeed, at how the pattern on the chairs is nearly identical.  

pretty and useful

My work here is done.  

what.

One year ago today: Let There Be Light...  Or Not.  Adventures in wiring.

* check out this awesome cartoon

To Prevent Hasty Home Improvements...

As many of you know, my house has been under various shades of deconstruction/construction for the last four years.  I've done pretty well decorating around and living with exposed (not for aesthetics) beams, missing outlets, and hole-y walls, but this week has left me craving plumb-lined walls, trusty plumbing, and fresh paint.

As I have already wielded a shiny new staple gun (possibly the best toy ever) and am about to open a can of whoop-ass (Kilz paint primer) on my entryway, I thought it best to sit back and make a plan.  You know, look at some houses that are finished, before I start making "home improvements" willy-nilly in a useless effort to make my wabi a little less sabi.

What's any sane, broke girl to do?  Hit up Pinterest  and Houzz and dig for inspiration (and a vacation from my own home).

The Zoo's room and possibly the "office" (now the insulated, but not drywalled room in need of some electrical wiring) need some special flooring, since the hardwood in each room is shot.  I love the look of this snap-together, recycled flooring:

 

it's so green, it's orange… and white

 

Our attic is just waiting for someone with a paint sprayer (btw, WANT) to hose down the pink and blue walls and turn that baby in a master bedroom.  Maybe like this?

 

shelves! beadboard! pink lamp!

 

Or this?

 

windows! mirrored desk! wallpaper done right!

 

[note on sources: If there isn't a source listed, I couldn't find it.  :(  I pinned these off Pinterest, and after clicking through a few windows, I couldn't find the original and even the Googles weren't able to find them.]

Obviously, the hallway to my kitchen neeeeeeeds this.

 

chalkboard wall, yo

 

Note: I would also love the mini chairs.  Thanks.

I would love to make a curtain like the one below for my counter (which is really an IKEA kitchen island), and if we can somehow incorporate everything else in the picture, I'd be okay with that.

 

where do those adorable steps lead? look at cutey breakfast nook! plants! shelves! SINK!

 

A certain friend pointed out our lack of cohesive lighting and how it doesn't help sell your house.  Well, I'll take one of these fans/lights/works of art in every room.  So there. 

 

so old school, it keeps my house cool

 

Do I need a dog to have this galvanized tub sink?  I think not.  I'd put it in the kitchen and use it to hose off dirty dishes... and kids.

 

I wouldn't mind taking a shower in this

 

Here's exactly what I want the bathroom door to look like... except it would say "lavatory".  Duh.

 

white trim, how I covet you

 

What about you guys?  Living the dream in a freshly drywalled home?  Kickin' it in a rental?  What projects are on your list?  Are they fun or just necessary?

 

playing guitar never hurt a guy's image

 

To Offset 3 Cadbury Creme Eggs...

If you're like me and overindulge once in a while (btw, I always have to look up whether it's "once and awhile" or "once in a while" and it makes me feel dumb every time), possibly by eating 3 Cadbury Creme Eggs or devouring a "box" (bag? carton? what are those things?) of Oreos in a sitting, then maybe you should try out this blog called Chocolate Covered Katie.

I've mentioned her a couple times (like yesterday, or in this Pinterest Project), tried 5 of her recipes, been skeptical of each one, and LOVED IT.  

She does party tricks by making tasty treats appear out of beans and dried fruit.

There's the aforementioned cookie dough dip, made out of chickpeas, which I would like heretofore to be called Cookie Dough Hummus, so as to turn people off, so I can eat the whole thing myself.  

Then there's the Fudge Babies, which I was mistakenly calling Chocolate Balls- oops!, which are made of 90% dates and taste exactly like a brownie.   

To balance out the sweet treats, there's Protein Fries, which was baked tofu.   Surprisingly crunchy and delicious, it was my first taste of tofu outside of hot and sour soup.  

I stocked up on sugar-free chocolate chips by making the 3 Ingredient Chocolate Bars.   Nothing surprising in these, just dark chocolate-y goodness.

This morning, I surprised the fam with a yummy twist on our usual oatmeal  by baking up some Boatmeal.  Basically, chocolate chip banana bread with no guilt.

oh yeah

So, if you're feeling the weight of the world and are down for some emotional eating, whip up some treats off the ol' CCK site, get a serving of fruit or protein with your stress-binge, and score one for the good guy.

He'll do nicely

One year ago today: List of Last Week's Labors of Love, where I ironically talk about "openmeal".

List of Last Week's Labors of Love

- have been sugar-free for five days.  I only gave up the processed white or brown kind; let's not be crazy and think I ditched the sweet stuff entirely.  'Cause that'd be crazy, yo.  

It's not that hard, really.  It takes a little label reading and some substitutions, but overall, it doesn't seem like a big change.  And I have a Sweet Tooth, people.  

Big deals?  Honey in my coffee, eating my own bread because all the store-bought varieties have sugar, using agave nectar (the light kind) as sugar in recipes and...

- forayed into Chocolate Covered Katie's blog some more (remember the cookie dough dip?) and made this, this, and this.  We'll talk more about this tomorrow.  For now, just know that Katie is a GENIUS.

- took some artwork off the fridge, only to be immortalized forever by publishing it HERE.  V did a portrait of me, and wrote my name above the picture.  I like that she draws eyes and pupils.  

it looks just like me

- went through my file drawers and found awesome mementos from my neat friends.  

no, that's not my face taped over Kristen Stewart's. This REALLY HAPPENED! Not.

I sure have gotten fake kidnapped while pregnant!  Funny you asked!

kidnapping isn't fun, but sometimes it is

- work continues on the house.  There is some siding up on the west side, and the FLASHING IS HOLDING OUT THE RAIN (THANKS, TIM! [Bratt kids, tell your dad it's working great!]).  It's going great and we've had a lot of very generous people volunteering their time and tools, so WOOOHOOOOO!

scaffolding has never been so exciting to me

- the hostas I thought were dead have exploded.  

now they can catch MORE destruction debris!

- gave back my folks' coffeemaker.  Took a picture of our last drink together.  I'll miss you, little miracle worker .

10 cups in 5 minutes- what.

- Mae Cake's first ice cream cone.  She doesn't look thrilled in this picture, but eating ice cream is serious business. There are drips to attend to and a new dress to keep clean (her sentiment, surprisingly, not mine).

gotta keep the bubble dress clean

- Saturday afternoon playing in downtown Minneapolis.  Fountains, skyways, and coffee, oh my!

had to convince them not to jump in

 

DB's Infinite Black cold press is amazing

How was your weekend?  

Dancing Makes You Better At...

Dancing makes you better at dancing.  

Surprise, right?  

As much as running and Pilates and the yogas and stretching and reading psychology and physiology books and watching champions and talking technique points are great and fun and worthwhile pursuits, practicing the craft is actually what makes you better. 

Damn.

I realized (or it was pointed out to me- and no, I'm not going to say who because he knows who he is) that I rationalize doing a lot of activities in the name of [insert semi-whiny voice here] "it'll make my dancing better" .  

Turns out?  I just enjoy them.  

Damn.  Again.

Yes, I enjoy running, okay?  I enjoy it.  There.  I said it.  Happy?

And even though I just started the yogas, I like those, too.  

And I like aaaaaaallll those other dance-related activities just for themselves.  

Yes, they might encourage your dancing in one way or another, but as I've ever so sadly discovered, running 2 miles, or 5 miles, or 30 miles is not going to make your footwork better, or make your promenade position correct, or your crossovers any less awkward, or remember your choreography for you, or keep you balanced on turns.

Sigh.

I'm not saying you shouldn't do all those lovely extra-curricular sports, I'm saying you should practice practice practice.  Practice doing all your moves and steps and turns and basics correctly (or as correctly as you know).  And enjoy enjoy enjoy all those things that might kind of sort of in some way make your ballrooming easier.  

That includes drinking beer.  And watching trashy tv.  And maybe running, too.

And read this post about all my favorite dance stuff. 

 

All the geeks are geeking right now

One year ago today: But this is..., a crochet starter kit