Ten Things

June 11, 2014 by Summer

Ten things that are making me happy right now …

1. A happy window ledge adorned with leaf specimens from our walks around the neighborhood.

2. New nature guides to help us really get to know our local flora and fauna.

3. Newly beeswaxed handmade peg people.

4. Taproot and the wonderful garden planner that came with it (I love Phoebe Wahl’s art)!
5. Sending out my Etsy store orders!! Yay!

6.. Independent play.

7. New pieces of art for the home.

8. New summer toys for Ellie’s play table and watching her play with them!

9. Flowers blooming in our backyard.

10. Jeff’s hops growing beautifully in the ground!

what ten things are making you happy at the moment?

A Tour of Ellie’s Room

May 13, 2013 by Summer

Come join us for a tour of Ellie’s room…

I guess you can call Ellie’s room a Montessori-inspired room. (Here and here is a little bit about Montessori bedrooms. I don’t subscribe to everything Montessori, but I like some of it’s child-led approaches and so I have taken what I like and applied it here in her room as well as from other philosophies too). Being a preschool teacher and infant/toddler caregiver for twelve years before I quit to stay home with Ellie, creating an environment for the child was a large part of my job. It was one of the most joyful parts of my job. So when it came down to creating a space for my own daughter, I felt like I should have put this together a very long time ago. She’s just been so close to me for these past nine months, rarely leaving my arms and when she did, she was very close by to Mama at all times. That’s how she liked it and that’s how I preferred it as well.

Until about a month ago, when she mastered the crawl. Now she’s wanting far less to do with Mama and so very much more wanting to explore her environment. It was time to create a space all for her, a place where she could play and sleep and be safe and explore to her hearts content. I had a vision in mind and of course there was pinterest and many lovely blogs for inspiration. There are still a few more odds and ends I would like to add to the room, but so far, it seems to be pretty perfect for this little explorer I have.

A soft basket of stuffed animals, some are Mama made and some are gifted animals.

The floor bed is an Ikea mattress. We originally tried a crib mattress in here but it was just too small for our wiggly girl, so a twin worked better. The quilt is one Gramma made as well as the matching pillow. I made the ELLIE letters and would like to get them on the wall at some point. The Steif bear was mine as a child. The banner was handmade by me. The cloud mobile is from etsy and the art is a Maurice Sendak print from In The Night Kitchen. I have most of the art up high enough so that she can’t get to it, but low enough so she can see it well. I would like to put up some art at her direct eye level and for her to touch but haven’t had the chance yet.

This was a print that was a part of my own collection. I am a big children’s book collector and loved this piece when I saw it online. Funny thing is, the middle book in the painting is ELOISE. We didn’t realize this until after she was born! It looks perfect in Ellie’s bedroom.

I love blankets, so of course in every room there is always a few extra blankets lying around. There’s Ellie’s main quilt, but she also has her beautiful crocheted blankie her Great Aunt made her and a little blanket that belonged to me as a baby. The sheepskin was put down in front of the bed in case she rolls out, a little added cushion. These are Ellie’s toy shelves. They are just perfect for little hands to grab toys right off of as well as pull herself up on them to a standing position. I found this shelf at Target. The toys on the shelves will be rotated to keep her interest. The fabric boxes on top were also made by Gramma. The art is another Sendak print from Where The Wild Things Are.

The window sill is adorned with these great vintage blocks I found at an antique market a few months back. They are earthquake puttied to the window sill so they can’t fall down. The lovely stuffed animal is an etsy find.

The reading corner needs a bit of work, but it will do for now. I have a little soft basket filled with books I will rotate. The colorful mat is something I made years ago. On the wall adjacent to the reading corner is the full size acrylic mirror I got on clearance at a teacher supply store. Jeff bolted it into the wall and it’s been the big hit of the room.

As you can see, Ellie is very excited about her new room. We have been spending some time in here every day, exploring, crawling around, playing and napping. It’s a nice space for this growing girl, a space that will grow and change with her development and needs. Right now it’s simple, sweet and perfect for this nine month old. A space she can truly call her own.

A Room To Get Crafty In

May 2, 2013 by Summer

Welcome to my new and improved craft room! It’s starting to really look crafty these days and not just like a “catch all, spare bedroom”. I’ve always wanted a room to organize and make into my own crafty space. An atilier, a studio, a room I could spend all day in sewing and crafting. Of course, with a little one in tow, crafts, specifically ones that you can not finish while nursing are off the table for now. But some day soon, I will be able to really get in there and start crafting. This past weekend, we moved a couple large pieces of furniture out of Ellie’s room and down here. I emptied the craft chest of cloth diapers and picture books and replaced them with my fabric supplies. I moved the other shelf into the closet and organized craft and office supplies in there and we moved my old desk into the room (Jeff found a beauty of a desk on craigslist a couple months back for his office, so this one is mine again). This desk serves as my sewing station and at the moment the diaper changing station as well. Cloth diapers are stored below in a wire basket that was gifted to us. (If you hadn’t guessed it, this is the changing baby room as well as Summer’s craft room).

The main wall of the room is hung with one of my favorite antique market finds- a very retro crazy quilt made from really rough and colorful materials. It’s nothing you’d want to cuddle with but I think it gives this room an awesome colorful vibe. I store my modest collection of records here too and these days you can find Ellie and I listening to some vintage Reading Rainbow or Gershwin albums. I have a long way to go with this little room to make it into a true craft room, but it’s getting there and I like what I have so far…

Spaces of Our Own: Our Bedroom

March 13, 2013 by Summer

I keep seeing throughout the blogging world these fantastic home tours or corners of their home posts and I just can’t help but join in. We have only lived in this house for about four months so making it a “home” is still a work in progress but there are little spaces here and there that I have gotten around to sprucing up and making homey. Being a stay-at-home Mama means I get to look at these spaces very regularly and I really wanted to share them here for you to see (because what’s better than getting a peek into someone’s home) and it will be a way for me to document what Ellie’s first “home” looked like for when she’s older. So here goes. I start with our bedroom because with a nursling baby it tends to get the most use. I am a collector of children’s art and this room is home to two of my favorite pieces. My Eric Carle Two Crickets Lithograph and my Babar Farm print I got in Paris on my honeymoon.

The wooden vase was handmade by my great uncle and the dresser was a purchase from a unfinished furniture store in Huntington Beach; one of the first things Jeff and I bought together. I have my nursing chair in the bedroom right now because it gets most use in here. It was actually a garage sale find and with a little washing of the cushions it looks and works beautifully. The pillow and quilt were handmade by my mom for one of my birthday’s years ago. The basket was a flea market find. It’s perfect for holding special quilts and also serves as a book basket for bedtime reading to Eloise. Our bedding was actually made by me. I wanted something simple, warm in the winter but cool in the summer and easily dressed up if I wanted with sheets and pillows. I used different shades of beige linens, sewed them all together and used a flat sheet for the backing. It is the softest, most perfect comforter I think I have ever had.

The pictures next to the glider are special to me. The print is a Nikki McClure and the photo is of me very pregnant with Eloise at our favorite farmers market in Orange County. I love looking at these two pictures when I’m rocking a sleepy baby. I’d like to move them into Ellie’s room one day when she’s ready for a space of her own. For now they are a pleasant reminder of my new role as Mama.

There’s always a stack of books Jeff and I are working on in any room of the house and a handmade coaster for tea, water or a cold glass of homebrew. The baby is sleeping with us for now and we have recently created a bigger space for ourselves by scooting a twin bed next to our queen and putting both on the floor. Perfect for all three of us for the time being. The quilt on the twin bed is another one I made. You can read more about it here.

I wanted our bedroom to be a comfortable space to rest, relax and unwind. I didn’t want too much on the walls and I opted for blue and green toned art for the room and soft fabrics both in comfort and color. I am always changing things, adding flea market finds here and there but I wanted to go to sleep every night in a peaceful setting and I think our room is just that- peaceful and comfortable.