Lake Arrowhead

This weekend we took a trip to the mountains to celebrate a long weekend and Valentine's Day. I had really been missing snow, and we had so much fun. Sledding, tubing and plenty of snow eating. We went with cousins and the kids loved it. The weather was gorgeous. Plenty of snow on the ground to play in, with blue blue skies, sunshine and crisp, clean air. We were impressed that we made it from the beach to the mountains in under 2 hours! And we were welcomed home today by 73 degree temperatures. Not the kind of February that I'm used to, but I'm not complaining!

House Tour::part 1

One of my favorite things about the internet and blogs is getting a glimpse into how people live. I love seeing how people choose to decorate and make a space their own. I've found that I am drawn to many different styles, and as a result, I tend to mix things that don't always belong together. One of my favorite design blogs gives "sneak peaks" into readers and professionals homes. I love seeing them. Our home is nowhere near worthy of a house tour, but it's our blog, and if you like peeking into other peoples homes as much as I do, hopefully you'll enjoy seeing some of our space!

As a disclaimer, I will say that our 1960's ranch rental lacks some of the charm that our previous apartments have had. (NYC: parquet wood floors, wall to wall views of upper Manhattan and Central Park. Connecticut: A 100 yr old house with original details, moldings, built ins, 11 ft high ceilings. Seal Beach: suburbia, popcorn ceilings, massive marble fireplace--what am I supposed to do with that thing? I do like the chandeliers, though.) That made it a bit trickier to decorate. It is also about 500 square feet bigger than our last apartment. Being on a budget, and a bit unsure of what the next few years have in store for us (will we buy a house? where?) we didn't want to invest too much into nice furniture just yet. I spent a lot of time on Craigslist and searching for bargains. It has been fun, but consumed quite a bit of my time. It's an ongoing project that still needs things here and there, but for now I am content with how things are.  I was also lucky to have my mother in law sew us a slipcover for our ottoman using this fabric just off measurements I gave her in an email! It fits perfectly and was so much cheaper than reupholstering or paying for sewing labor.

After seeing this post on painted interior doors on another favorite design blog (beware, once you starting reading this blog you may spend hours reading her archives. Awesome DIY projects that are actually reasonable to attempt) I knew I had to paint our interior front doors black. Every single wall in our house is white, white, white. It was starting to drive me crazy, especially in the entry with the cold marble floor. The entry still needs some work with a painting on the wall and a runner, but I do love the doors. The table in the entry has sentimental value. It was given to us by Paul's grandparents and used to be in their second home in Del Mar. I love it when furniture and things in a family's home has a story behind it. I think that's what makes it unique and interesting.

This print is another favorite. It's a poster of all the different neighborhoods in Manhattan. Ours was the Upper West Side when we lived there. 

This dining table was left here from the previous tenants so we decided to use it for now and painted it red. I would love to wall paper this room, but because we're renting the investment doesn't make much sense. For now, I'm tempted to try this temporary wallpaper idea. What do you think?

There is a peek into part of our humble space. If I can find a moment in the day where toys don't cover the floor of my family room and kitchen I will post pictures of it!

January Highlights

Surprisingly, January flew by! Maybe it's the warmish weather that helps these winter months not to drag like I can remember in the past. A few highlights from the month:

A visit from Grumsi (Grandpa Ron's nickname). We all loved seeing him--especially the girls.

Paul's cousins wedding. Kate was in HEAVEN. A bride that looks just like a princess? And there is dancing? She loved it. Above she is clapping at a toast and below interrupting the bride and groom's first dance. Not sure if they loved that, but she sure did. Now she tries to convince every little boy she plays with that they need to get married. Thankfully, she has a few uncles and a Papa that will oblige.

Happy Birthday, Paul! The only documentation of Paul's birthday is a photo of the german chocolate cake that I slaved over baked. It really was delicious!  We celebrated on his birthday at the movies. We saw Avatar and while I was skeptical at first, we both loved it.

A photo of Kate at the lunch table during one of our many conversations. She's a pretty good lunch date and loves to talk!

We had lots and lots of rain=big puddles to play in.

Paul, Gwen and I snuck away for the day up to LA. We made a stop at The Getty and it was gorgeous. Pretty architecture, scenic (though somewhat smoggy) veiws of LA and great exhibits and gardens.

These were a few of my favorites. Love the bench, and that bed!! Can you imagine sleeping in that? And I'm no art historian, but I loved the fruit still life. Up close the details were amazing.

And finally, in our efforts to enjoy the outdoors more (especially since we are able to most days out of the year) we picked up a bike trailer on Craiglist. It has already provided hours of fun. It's been a great way to get out and see a bit more of the neighborhood. I can't say that walks in western suburbs are very exciting, but a bike gets us around a bit easier. And the last photo just makes me laugh. This is pretty much what Gwen looks like the entire ride. Sweet baby, a proper fitting helmet is in the mail!

Now on to February! We may even travel to see some snow...