Monday, July 28, 2014

A Day at the Museum


A Day at the Museum

There's something for everyone at the museum.

A Day at the Museum

A cozy, old-fashioned quilt on an iron bed...

A Day at the Museum

I always notice a pretty teapot....

A Day at the Museum

Lavinia loves the little playhouse. Here she is enjoying some "grapes" at table...

A Day at the Museum

...and tucking the dolly into bed after reading her a story.

A Day at the Museum

A Day at the Museum

An apple tree for Edmund to climb, and outdoor swings and games to "give him energy," as he says.

A Day at the Museum

Even Rosie enjoyed the outing.

A Day at the Museum

Next time, we'll come back with a picnic.

Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Around the house


bookshelves

Is summer the universal time to work on house projects? We've been more productive since the weather has turned warmer. Douglas recently finished up building two handsome wooden bookcases for our living room. When we were first married, we bought some cheap shelves from Target, but they basically fell apart after five years of use and three moves. I'm so happy to have space for all our books now! With these bookcases, plus the built-in bookcases in our mantel, there's room for everything, and it helps give the living room a library-ish atmosphere.

When I visit other people's houses, I like to (not-so-surreptitiously) check out their books, if they're in a public area, that is. :) It's fun to see if we've read any of the same books or share the same loves. Anyone else do that?

Douglas and I spent the afternoon of my birthday prepping our bedroom to move into later that night. We've been working on fixing up that room -- priming, painting, pulling up carpet, new cellular blinds, installing quarter round. It's looking SO much better, although it still needs some decorative touches before it really becomes our sanctuary.

Now the girls will eventually end up in the bedroom that Douglas and I just evacuated. It has a built-in wooden vanity with lots of drawers and two cupboards, which works well for their small wardrobes. The first thing I did to beautify their room was to line their drawers with Crabtree & Evelyn drawer liners left over from my unmarried days... a rose print for Rosamund's drawers and a lavender print for Lavinia's drawers. Perfectly serendipitous! I'm still working on sorting through clothes, organizing and purging, and the girls' room has been my base of operations for all this. It's been a huge job, but oh, how I'm looking forward to having that off my mind!

drawer liners

drawer liners

Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy 4th!


Fourth of July 2014

Last night, the big boys had tank wars.

Fourth of July 2014

This morning, the kids rode in a parade at the park.

Fourth of July 2014

Then back to Grandma's for a picnic lunch.

Fourth of July 2014

I think Lavinia's meal consisted solely of a corn dog and strawberries.

Fourth of July 2014

Grandma has made this flag cake just about every Fourth of July since she was given the recipe, sometime in the '80s.

Fourth of July 2014

Happy Fourth of July from all of us (including Douglas, not pictured)!