I just tucked three amazing kids into bed on this last night of summer vacation.
Tomorrow night will be the first school night of the new year.
But my goodness, we are READY:
Let's see, 3 boxes of 24 count crayons, 2 boxes 48 count pencils, 3 Fiskars scissors, 14 glue sticks, 5 composition notebooks, two boxes 24 count colored pencils, 2 pink pearl erasers, 4 boxes tissues, 2 containers clorox handiwipes....
Wait. Does anyone else shake his/her head at these supply lists? I still remember my mom purchasing notebooks, folders, and a brand spankin' new 64 count crayola box with built-in sharpener, but tissues and clorox wipes? What is going on here?
Anyway, back to readiness. Not only are we prepped with school supplies, honey. We've got the SHOES:
Ahhh, can you just for a moment relish in the remembrance of new school shoes!?
~7th grade, white leather Nikes, light blue swoosh. LOVED them. Still my favorite shoe memory, and the very first shoes I helped buy since they were $20 more than Mom was willing to pay.
As you can see from the picture above, Nikes are still scoring high.
Skechers are a close second, although I was dumbfounded that the original sticker price on those black and pink Skechers above was $50! For little girl's size 13 shoes??!
Thank goodness for sales, coupons, and Fred Meyer reward bucks.
I must confess, school always excites me most because I love a good schedule. Oh, how I love a good schedule! I do so much better on a schedule. Doesn't everyone know I have some decorating around here to do??
Like this living room. Our long-awaited couches have finally arrived, and now this room is crying out for some seriously personalized styling:
I spent a deliciously long time at the fabric store two weeks ago and believe I have narrowed down a fabric choice for my two wing chairs.
I also need to find a good, sturdy, rough-hewn coffee table--perhaps with some black on it.
See that little end table beside the couch? $7 at a garage sale. I'm not sure what I'm doing to it yet, but I'm sure it'll be a fun one.
I would love to find two tall lamps in an unexpected material to replace the candlesticks on this sofa table. With all the cream and neutrals in this room, it's time to start adding some texture, color and contrast.
Is there simply WAY too much black on the tv/fireplace wall now that our big screen is installed? I've considered shutters, painting the wrought iron of the fireplace itself (is that completely crazy?)...haven't quite decided my solution on that one yet. Very open to suggestions.
After the living room, there's our sitting room on the opposite side of the fireplace wall from the living room:
I think I am officially dubbing this my Kum Ba Yah room. Did you know that Kum Ba Yah was an African-American spiritual song from the 1930's meaning "Come By Here"? I love that! My vision for this room was to create an intimate gathering place for good visits and playing games. I have fun plans for the little round table in the middle (think chess board), we need to actually install and paint the mantle, and I know you've already guessed I have some fun paint ideas for those two bookshelves.
Oh, and lest we forget, I still need to tackle the master bedroom. After returning from our fishing trip in Kenai the end of July, I did manage to tackle an old pine corner armoire to use as our tv cabinet in there. I love how this turned out! I used Sherwin Williams Creamy on the body, then accented with Behr's Light French Gray. I glazed with Minwax's Provincial Stain and then sealed with Minwax Poly Wipe-On, 2 coats.
I then added hardware that my mom used on our kitchen cabinets growing up in northern Minnesota...with a glass knob to finish off the look. I love having that touch of nostalgia in our room.
We've had this corner armoire for so long, since before kids. I went hunting and dug up this old picture from summer of 2005, the year our daughter was born. Recognize the armoire in the background?
Whew!! Who on earth has the time for all this decorating??
Truth be told, not many of us. Which is why moms like me drink lattes at 7pm :-)
What, dear friends, is more delectable than tucking precious children into bed, turning on some good music or on-line preaching, and letting those creative juices flow?
Pardon me, but I'm off to go feather my nest for a little bit....
Jaimee
