Getting Ready for Christmas...

We have been thoroughly enjoying this long, holiday weekend.

Still eating leftovers. There is turkey stock simmering on the stove right now. It will be turkey stew by evening. And maybe I'll make Scott Peacock's biscuits to go with it.

Cause we just haven't had enough butter this weekend.

We're watching our little corner of the world get ready for Christmas. Our favorite, floating Christmas trees were lit the night after Thanksgiving. I appreciate that they wait until then.

Many of our neighbors are decorating their houses. The kids think our house should be the most Christmasy house on the block, so we'll see where that leads us.

We showed the kids White Christmas for the first time and it warms my heart that they loved it as much as I do.

We're listening to Christmas music. Specifically Johnny Mathis, James Taylor and Charlie Brown.

I have a pile of Christmas project ideas sitting in my to do file.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas.

But I still have a few days worth of post Thanksgiving posts, so check back here tomorrow.

And then get ready for some full fledged Christmas magic!

Setting the Thanksgiving Table

We're setting the table with waxed leaves, pumpkins and gourds.

It is a lovely day already.

Happy Thanksgiving, friends.

From Drab to Fab: the Schoolroom/Office/Art Room/Library Makeover

It doesn't happen to me very often that something turns out just as I imagined. At least not when it comes to decorating. Something always seems to stand in the way.

Usually money.

And time.

But sometimes the stars align, and with a little bit of hard work, and a lot of patience, things start to come together.

When we moved into this house, we had an extra bedroom. The house is only a 3 bedroom, but our kids share a room and will do so for a number of years. They don't know any different, and they like it. I don't think they even understand that they could have their own rooms! I had big plans for our the extra room.

It would be a place that would function as an office, housing the computer and a workspace for me. A place to keep paperwork and the bills. It would also be a schoolroom. We would keep our books here so it would be a library too. The walls would have maps and the other learning visual aids. Since it would also be the art room, we'd have all our art supplies here. There would be room on the walls to hang masterpieces.

In my mind it was beautiful.

But this was the reality.

While we unpacked, it was a staging area for boxes, both full and empty. An ill fitting and ugly desk held the computer. A dresser too large for the other rooms didn't fit right in this room either. Laundry that needed to be ironed, or folded an put away always seemed to find its way in here.

I had to keep the doors closed so the kids would stay out. especially Lilly. There were too many things to get into there. It was serving no purpose other than to make me frustrated.

But then, things started coming together.

Aaron built the table I dreamt of. The entire length of one wall, it holds the computer and provides a place for the boys to draw, or play Legos. If we are working on a project, it can sit out until we are finished with it. Crayons, markers and colored pencils sit out, waiting to be used.

There are 3 drawers in the middle of the table to hold my papers and stuff. Another drawer holds drawing papers and stencils for the boys. I love that they can help themselves when they want to create something.

We moved the dresser to this wall. It fits much better here. Those 6 drawers come in handy too. This is a Malm dresser from IKEA and I love the storage it provides me. It is also another surface to use for projects, like this one:

This weekend I painted 2 old bookshelves that we've had for years. A fresh coat of white paint and a very cheerful color on the inside, make these shelves the perfect addition to the room. I think they are my favorite part. Last night I organized all the books. We still have many more in boxes in the garage, and I never pass up a used book sale, so it is good there is empty space

on the shelves.

I hung this print and also put up a map of the US. I am on the hunt for a vintage, pull down map, but haven't found one yet that is quite what I need. In the meantime, I like the way this looks.

The room isn't quite done. There is still an extra large bulletin board to be put up above the dresser. We need blinds of some sort or another. And we want a rug. Since this is a library, we need a cozy place to sit and read. I have my eye on some amazing fabric from IKEA and I think I am going to try my hand at making huge floor pillows. It is going to be great.

But even now, I am amazed that this room is turning out just how I imagined it. James loves to sit at the desk and draw. Lilly sits in front of the bookshelves and reads book after book to herself. William gets out his scissors and cuts paper. I sit at the computer and type away.

It's nice. I like it in here. This room makes me happy.

I'm thankful.

And on that note, I'd like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving. I am going to be taking the next few days off to cook a turkey, eat some leftovers, road trip to Fallbrook and maybe the mountains and mostly to relax with my family.

But do check in, I'll post some pics. And I'll see you back here officially next Monday.

Happy Thanksgiving friends.

Greta's Gift Guide--It's Early, but I Can't Help Myself!

I know, I know. I said no Christmas stuff until Thanksgiving is past.

But I can't help myself.

I went shopping today and I have some great gift ideas to share with you. Trust me, you'll be glad I did.

The funny thing is, I wasn't Christmas shopping. I was actually spending the birthday gift certificate Aaron gave me. In August. Yeah. That's how much shopping I get to these days.

Anyway, I went to Blue Windows, on 2nd St, in Belmont Shore. (Featured in this month's Sunset Magazine! Those folks at Sunset know what's up! Get yourself a copy-it's a great issue)

I love Blue Windows. I never tire of it. They have an inspiring collection of things that I don't see anywhere else. The store is decorated beautifully. Every time I am there I see something I'd like to do in my house. Today I noticed a tree display that I want to replicate for the kids' room.

But I digress.

To the gifts.

First. The little owl.

Look at that little guy. He is so cute. He's made of clay and is quite heavy. He's not fragile. He's going to stick around. For $8 he'd make a lovely little gift to someone on your Christmas list.

Next, the heart.

Then I found this beautiful, wooden heart. It came with a leather tie, so it could easily be an ornament, or hung from a window. It is simple and sweet. It is $3. What a great, heartfelt (ha) gift to someone you love.

"But I don't live in Long Beach. I can't shop at Blue Windows."

Don't fret, dear friend. These gifts that follow can be found at the store, or on the world wide web.

This card, by Night Owl Paper Goods, is actually printed on a piece of thin, wood veneer. There were only a few to choose from at Blue Windows, but if you visit the company's website, you'll find lots more.

I am planning on getting this little guy for my bathroom. Or for my sister. She loves otters.

But how can a card be a gift? When a card is printed on wood, like these, they are more than cards, they are little works of art. Simply hang them on the wall like so:

You just gave someone a totally unique piece of art for Christmas. You must check out their website. It is chock full of fantastic things. These cards are the tip of the iceberg. And they offer $5 shipping in the US. You can't beat that!

And lastly, there are these blocks. A bit more pricey than the other gifts. But they are under $35 and something you won't find anywhere else. Hand made in Canada, by a company called Fidoodle, these blocks are totally non-toxic if you have these in mind for a little teether.

On one side they are a puzzle:

On the other, these blocks:

My kids are going to love these. And that is what I love about them. They appeal to my design sensibility. I would love them sitting on a shelf of my wall unit; a little 3 dimensional piece of art. But they could just as easily be down on the coffee table where the kids can build with them and create little stories with them. That's where they are now. And where they'll be for a while, I imagine.

To me that is a sign of a great product. It is a gift appreciated by different ages. And look, even the box is cool:

Find these blocks and some other cool products at the Fidoodle Etsy shop.

Here is the thing about Christmas gifts. It is easy to spend far too much money at Christmas. Each year I resolve to spend less, and I really haven't managed to do it. This year Aaron and I are planning on making many gifts ourselves. We have also found some amazing treasures at the flea market and even garage sales. And then there are gifts like these. They are not expensive. They are unique and thoughtful.

Yes, you could shop at Target and give out frames, dvds and footbaths.

But aren't these so much better?

Happy Monday and happy shopping.

PS: Besides shopping, I got a lot of painting of furniture and other projects done this weekend. Aaron took the kids for an overnight at his parent's. I relaxed, but I also got a lot done. I can't wait to show you some pictures tomorrow. See you then.

A Little Bit of Crafting

It has been a long week. A long week of a sick little girl and lots of long nights. On Monday I was supposed to go to another Blog Out Loud event, but with Lilly feeling so bad, I just couldn't leave for a long evening.

I was feeling disappointed and needed to relax and recharge. So I did a little bit of crafting. It was just what I needed.

First, I dealt with this frame I found on clearance at Urban Outfitters. I didn't want the black, I'm not a huge fan of the scotty dog and I definitely don't like the purple, but the frame was the right size, and only $2.50. (originally $20!) Nothing a little paint can't fix.

I just hung a little vignette in the kids' room and I needed one more piece, in pink, to complete it. I tore out the cross stitch scotty dog, painted the frame pink and put in an orange piece of paper and an orange circle with a little tree stamped on it.

I think it turned out pretty cute.

The best part about it was how quickly I got done. I was able to hang it up the next morning. I love a project like that.

I really like the way it fits in with the other pieces. They all go together, but nothing is matchy matchy. There are the vintage Sequoia National Park pennant and the the vintage squirrel postcard that started my whole "foresty" theme. Those 2 things I found at garage sales for under a quarter, and I love them so much. Such great finds.

The birds in the tree card is actually a birth announcement from a friend. Her brothers always make the most amazing announcements for her. It isn't the first time I've used them as art.

And my tiny print of a redwood forest, with the sun shining down so majestically. That's from a calendar.

All this is to say you can find art for your walls anywhere. Just look for the things you love and make you feel good. You'll feel even better looking at them everyday.

In addition to making this tiny frame, I also worked on a collage for the kiddo's room. It took a bit longer to finish, so I don't have pictures yet. But I'll post some tomorrow.

And the best thing about doing some crafting, even the littlest bit, is how much it motivates me to do more. And so, I'm off to paint a bookshelf.

Hope you get some crafting or relaxing in this weekend. I plan on doing a little of both. Happy weekend, friends.

Wednesday's Happy as a King List: the Sky

The world is full of such a number of things,

I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.

Robert Louis Stevenson

On my list right now: the sky. I have been quite taken with the sky lately. Since I'm up so early, I've been fortunate to see some marvelous sunrises. And there have been fantastic sunsets. too. But even in the middle of the day I like to stop, to look up and to see the clouds. I like to notice the brilliant blue of the sky on a fall day, the way the wind pushes the clouds and how the sky is never the same.

Isn't that amazing?

It changes all day long, every day, forever.

We live in an amazing world.

Sunrise

Noon

Sunset

Stop and take a look up today.

And tell me, what's on your happy list?

Easy Decorating: Gourds and Pumpkins

It's been a few days. I've had a sick baby and sleep has been at a premium. I, of the late late nights, have been falling asleep before 9. And then woken every few hours there after. And she's up for the day at 5. Sometimes I have to choose sleep over blogging.

My sweet husband took Lils on a run at 5 this morning and then made the kids breakfast so that I could sleep until 7:30. Bliss. And now he's putting the boys to bed so I can sit here and write to you about gourds.

He is a good man.

I saw this in Martha Stewart magazine a month or so ago. I mentioned it here, and really thought it would be a great idea for my Thanksgiving decor this year. But then I got these gourds, and these stripey pumpkins, and I don't think I want to change them a bit.

Stripes, stripes, stripes! I love stripes!

Aren't they just amazing?

I still do want to try painting gourds, but I think I'd have to get plain ones. It wouldn't be hard for me to paint a plain brown gourd bright red. It isn't hard for me to paint almost anything bright red!

Besides being so beautiful, another great thing about these gourds is the deal I got on them. You know I love a good deal. Our local pumpkin patch, Pa's, was all closed up for the season. But when we drove by, I noticed they had lots of pumpkins left over.

"I wonder what they're doing with all those pumpkins?"

Low and behold, they were selling them for wonderful prices, like 5 for a dollar. Big and small, gourds and all. I was pretty happy.

I bought enough to scatter around my house. And they look beautiful on a platter on the table and here, with my garage sale owl and Charlie Harper alphabet tile. And I didn't have to do a thing to them. Sometimes that's nice.

Fresh From the Oven: Baked Oatmeal

The summer I turned 17, I went to Hungary. Along with 25 other teenagers, I helped to restore a falling down building that would one day become an orphanage. We slept inside, on dirt floors. There was no plumbing. We used an outhouse in the old servant's quarters all summer long. We heated water for our baths over an outdoor fire and were allotted one bucket of hot water each day. We scrubbed our dirty jeans and tee shirts by hand and hung them on the line. We poured concrete, cleared brush, emptied piles of trash from buildings around the property. We had a rip roaring good time.

We woke early every morning. It was cold. Especially for a southern California girl. We did an hour of work before breakfast. We usually spent that whole hour fantasizing about breakfast. Would it be eggs today? Hope not, they were powdered. Cold cereal? Boring. Bacon? Pre-cooked, greasy, limp and uninspiring. Grits? That always pleased the southerners on my team, but I had never had grits before in my life and when I did? Not a fan.

But there was one thing. Baked oatmeal.

A favorite every time. A steaming square of cake-like oatmeal placed in your brown, melamine bowl. A dash of cinnamon, some warm milk poured over the top and it was the best breakfast of the summer.

I have searched high and low for a good baked oatmeal recipe. I can't use the recipe from Teen Missions, the group I went to Hungary with. For one, it makes enough to feed a small army. Also it calls for powdered eggs and powdered milk, not stuff I usually have in hand.

So I search.

I just stumbled upon this recipe here. I made it this morning for breakfast. It's good. Really, very good.

I must confess, it is not exactly the same. It is a little less cakey than I remember. I may try whirring the oats around in my food processor next time to change the texture a bit. But of the recipes I have tried, it is the closest. I will be making it again.

It may become the breakfast of Saturday mornings.

We didn't have butter to put on our baked oatmeal over in Hungary, but I highly recommend it. Also a dash of cream. I didn't add raisins, but I am sure they'd be tasty. It tastes best hot from the oven. Still steaming, in fact.

Just get your ingredients ready the night before, take 5 minutes to mix it all together in the morning, pop it in the oven, hop in the shower, dry off, do your hair and bammo! You've got steaming baked oatmeal for breakfast.

Happy Monday everyone! Now you know what to have for breakfast tomorrow.

Oh, and after you get the recipe for Baked Oatmeal, be sure to look around the rest of the Shelteriffic blog. It is a great place. There are lots of ideas and inspiration for all things home. Have fun browsing.

In Praise of Red Linoleum

The first time I dyed my hair I was in my 20s. Obviously I am not very experimental when it comes to my hair. But I wanted a change. Something new. I went red.

One of my friends saw me for the first time as a red head and said,

"Wow. Red. That' s a bold move."

That is kind of how I feel about our red linoleum.

Oh, how we went back and forth and round and round, and over and under and every other direction trying to decide on a floor. We knew we wanted linoleum. We knew we wanted color. We knew we wanted bright. But did we want checkerboard? 3 colors? 2? 1? White with a few blocks of color scattered around? It was so hard to decide.

In the end, we both decided we'd always loved the idea of a red kitchen floor.

Our floor guy thought we were insane.

Other people probably think that too when they walk into our kitchen.

But I love it.

When we first moved in, I just couldn't stop looking at it. It was so perfect. So much better than I expected it to be. It is vintage looking and fits right in with our old metal cabinets and 1950s stove. But, to me at least, it doesn't look dated or "dinery", 2 of the things I was trying to avoid.

We didn't polish it right away. We were told it needed to rest. And so, months have have gone by and it still wasn't polished. Finally got to it last night.

And now I am in love with it all over again.

Of course, I love the shine. But also the color is richer, deeper. It is less pink and more tomato.

Do you ever put off doing something and once you've done it you can't believe how long it took you? I have a house full of that. But now I can check floor off the list.

Oh, except for the bathroom floor. That's turquoise linoleum. It's like a pool in there. A very small pool. Another bold move.

One more note on linoleum. We didn't just choose it for aesthetic purposes. It is really great flooring.

It is durable. Why do you think it is always in grocery stores?

It comes in so many different colors and styles. (But please don't get the fake stone. It's linoleum. Let it look like linoleum!)

It is self healing. Because it is an organic material, made from linseed oil, linoleum heals the cuts and scratches it gets. It does it all by itself. You don't have to do a thing.

It's green baby! Made from that linseed oil.

A testimony to linoleum's self healing and durability: After enough of the work had been done on the house for the kids and I to live here, Aaron hired a cleaning company to come in and deep clean before I moved in. I arrived on move in day to see my floor for the first time. It was clean, but had huge, deep scratches right down the middle of it. I was so bummed.

Those scratches are completely gone now. I tell you, it's great flooring.

We used Armstrong linoleum. There are other brands out there, but we liked their colors and patterns the best.

Don't be afraid to make a bold move in your home. After all, you're the one living with it. Have you noticed I like red?

My First Photo Shoot!

When my sister-in-law asked me to take pictures for their Christmas card, I happily agreed. I have been wanting to and scared to try a shoot like this for a long time. It was exciting to make it finally happen.

We met on Sunday at the Palomares House in Fallbrook. It was a beautiful afternoon and I took lots of pictures. Here are a few of my favorites.

Jay, Kelly and Veronica

Meet Beeker.

Beeker is Veronica's favorite pal. They go everywhere together.

Beeker was an important part of the shoot.

Have you ever seen a better dressed mouse?

I love this picture of Veronica and Beeker.

And here Veronica looks like a little mouse herself, peering through a mouse hole.

Do you see Beeker's tail in this one?

Thank you Jay, Kelly and Veronica for letting me take photos of you. I had a great time with all of you. Beeker too.

The Blog Out Loud Event -- Where I Learn I Might Have to Tweet

A couple of weeks ago, Aaron showed me an email he got from Design Within Reach.

"Check it out," he said. "You should go."

So I did.

I didn't know a soul. When I got there, people were eating food, mingling, laughing, wearing heels and I felt the teeniest bit out of place. But I didn't mind. (more on that here)

There was food. Wine. Free stuff.

And not everyone was in heels. (This gentleman also wore a dark blazer with his white jeans and black chucks. I loved his outfit)

It was held in the Design Within Reach Tools For Living Showroom in Santa Monica. It was full of furniture, colors, clocks and even tape, that I love. Just being in their store gives me creative energy.

But even better than food that I didn't have to cook, and a free print that I have long loved, was listening to other bloggers discuss this thing we do called blogging. A bit more than a year ago I had never been on a blog. And there I was, at a blogging event. I enjoyed being in a room with people who like blogging as much as I do. Who don't say, "I just don't have the time" but instead admit to late late nights and giving up things on the weekend to blog. It's worth it. We do it because we love it. (do you like how I am classifying myself with the panel?)

One major idea I took away from the Blog Out Loud event had to do with Twitter. I have resisted Twitter quite strongly. I know nothing about it really, it just seemed rather ridiculous to me. What do you do with Twitter, type, "waiting in line at Starbucks" into your phone for all the world to see your tweet?

Apparently there is a bit more to it than that. And if you want your blog to grow beyond family and friends, which I unabashedly do, (but still sending love to all my family and friends) I might have to step it up a notch. Does this mean I have to learn how to text? And learn what all those letters mean: WWED, BFF, SYNS and all the rest?

We'll find out. I'm definitely going to the next Blog Out Loud event and it is all about Twitter.

I can't end this post without a shout out about my swag bag. My favorite item is this print. It is from Ink and Wit. I have seen this print before and I loved it. I love a good ABC print, I love the animals and the colors? Well, it just so happens our schoolroom is turquoise and yellow. This print works beautifully in there.

Ink and Wit has lots of other great stuff. Be sure to check them out.

I also loved the postcard made of wood veneer from Tiny Pine Press.

And the zippered bag, from Amenity. I looked on their site and I loved their baby bedding line. This pillow case would look so good in the kids' room since I am making it all foresty. I wouldn't want them to sleep on it though. It is too cute. Luckily you can buy it as a print too.

So it was a good night. I suggest you head over to the Blog Out Loud website. It is a great resource. Even if you can;t make it to an event, you have a wealth of information at your fingertips. Make use of it.

Happy blogging!