April 6, 2011 – 4:29 pm
The other day, Ava and I decided to make our own play dough. I found a no-cook recipe on instructables, gathered the ingredients [flour, salt, water, food coloring], and sat down at the table with a very excited little girl!
I covered the table with some scrap paper and handed her the measured ingredients to dump into the bowl. Then I gave her the spoon and let her mix it up – her most favorite part of helping me in the kitchen.
Once the dough was thoroughly mixed, I divided it into three lumps [I had to keep adding flour until the dough wasn't so sticky] and then added the food coloring. [I would really recommend wearing disposable gloves for this part, unless you want red, blue, and green hands like I ended up having.] Just keep kneading the dough until the color is blended.
Hooray – play dough!
After I just reminded her to NOT smash it all together.
After I reminded her that once you smash them together, it’s very unlikely to have three separate colors again.
“Oh well, mom. I’ll just make a rainbow worm.” And that was perfectly fine with me. :-)
February 16, 2011 – 3:45 pm
I have spring fever … or maybe it’s just cabin fever, but either way I am longing for sunshine and warm breezes and days spent playing outside. I guess that’s why Ava and I decided to do something different for lunch the other day. We had a picnic.
A sheet, little sandwiches, veggies, and homemade blueberry muffins brought a little bit of sunshine to our winter routine.
Ava thought it was pretty cool to not have to sit at the table. She cleaned her plate and then danced around the room singing, “we’re on a picnic … la la la la la”. We might have to make this a regular thing.
February 4, 2011 – 12:57 am
That is what Ava said when we told her we were going to go outside and play in the snow on Wednesday morning. Totally worth venturing out into the aftermath of the blizzard here in Chicago. Our parking lot was covered in drifts so it was the perfect spot for some snow play without having to dig out the car. We may only have lasted about 15 minutes in the cold, but seeing her have so much fun [as she kept telling us every few seconds] was pretty priceless.
January 5, 2011 – 4:59 pm
I tried out my new ceramic curlers set yesterday [an after Christmas gift - yeah giftcards!]. I didn’t brush them out or put any product in my hair and they lasted all day. Ava told me my hair was pretty and I got to steal this kiss.
Can’t get much better … XO
December 16, 2010 – 6:24 pm
We try to dine out at least once a week. If you have children, you know it is not as relaxing as it used to be when you and your significant other got to go out solo. This is what eating with Ava can look like:
This was our lunch stop at Honky Tonk BBQ in Pilsen We thought she’d behave in the booth. Oh, were we wrong. And yes, one of those pictures is her UNDER the table. I guess she wasn’t in the mood for barbecue. She did however like the live music [the musician even played an old-timey country version of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star for her] and the old horse they had in the back, that still worked when you put a quarter in!
I was big fan of one of their pieces of art on the wall … made out of old yardsticks.
Despite Ava’s antics, we left with full stomachs and smiles. Next time we’ll remember to bring along the ipad. [wink]
December 15, 2010 – 2:41 am
Today’s post is part of Blog for Digs, a charity blogging event for Dwell with Dignity ["a non-profit group of interior designers and volunteers dedicated to creating soothing, inspiring homes for families struggling with homelessness and poverty"]. To learn more about how you can help make a difference, click HERE.
My childhood bedroom was …. a complete mess. My brother and I had a playroom downstairs for all of our toys, but that didn’t seem to help keep my room from becoming a disaster zone. As much as I am a neat freak now, back then I was NOT. Underneath all the books, papers, and [mostly] clothes was a little wooden desk that sat facing a window with a view of the cornfield. I used to sit and read Sweet Valley High or Trixie Belden books, write in my diary, and write horrible horrible poetry. The walls were covered in some old purple textured wallpaper and I seem to remember that I made some weird “sculpture” on the wall next to my bed with a bunch of belts. I had a huge white bookshelf in my room filled with books, cassette tapes, magazines, etc. There was a Michael Jackson poster hanging on the back of my door [the one where he's wearing all white and I think he had a yellow sweater tied around his neck] and I’m sure there must have been some Corey Haim and Mark Paul Gosselear [who is still hot btw] posters up somewhere too. I also had a secret door in the back of my closet that opened into a room in our old farmhouse that we never used. It had never been remodeled and was very creepy. The one thing I always wished I had was a canopy bed.
Like this “Coraline Canopy Bed” from PB Teen. I might have even draped some sheer fabric over some of the posts … oh who am I kidding? – Pre-teen me would have used it as one more place to toss my clothes. Still, I always wanted one. A canopy bed just seemed so fairytale-esque. But I survived without it and eventually I picked up all my clothes and papers and tucked them neatly into files and drawers [this only happened within the last few years]. No more belts or teen idol posters on the walls – just some antlers, actual artwork with frames, and a large white pendant lamp adorn the bedroom now. If I could go back, I think I’d keep that bedroom clean … maybe then I would have gotten a canopy bed.
Be sure to check out the next Blog For Digs post on Get It Girl Style tomorrow. And visit Dwell with Dignity today!
December 12, 2010 – 4:37 am
Sometime in September we found this beat up old nightstand in the alley. I was immediately drawn to it’s shape and could see right past all the dirt and dings. 
It started a mini obsession rehabbing old wooden furniture and spray painting anything I could get my hands on [bedroom dresser DIY coming soon]. The ONLY thing I miss about our old apartment uptown was that it had a small yard and big basement I could use for this kind of stuff.
Anyway, all I used was some medium and fine grit sandpaper, gloves, black spray paint [mine was a high gloss], and a new knob. Easily less than $20 in supplies. And no more than 1-2 hours of labor.
First I scrubbed it clean, sanded out the imperfections with the medium grit paper, wiped it down, went over some spots with the fine grit, wiped it down again, and then I busted out the spray paint. Omigosh I love spray painting … even if I did have to drive 10 extra miles to a Home Depot outside the Chicago city limits to get it. You can buy one of those spray paint holster things to save you some finger cramps, but this was a pretty small job, so it wasn’t really necessary. I find using a slow and steady back and forth motion with the can works best. Don’t get carried away. Light even layers. Make sure each layer is dry before you do the next to prevent drips and bubbles. After the paint dried, I screwed in the new knob and one month later we moved our “new” little nightstand into our new loft.
Saved from the trash, and now a bedroom treasure.
December 6, 2010 – 8:38 pm
I have just recently fallen in love with macaroons. I don’t know where they’ve been all my life, but I’m sure glad they are here now. They make you feel a little fancy when you eat them – part of their charm I suppose. Dainty, yet somehow exotic, and very very satisfying. YUM.
Some lucky person on our Christmas list will be getting a box of these gorgeous French Macaroons from Sparkles Kitchen. Suck up now. [lol]
October 3, 2010 – 1:18 pm
After what has seemed like forever, we are finally all moved into our new place. I still have plenty of boxes left to unpack, artwork to hang, and knick-knacks to arrange, but for me that is the fun part of moving. [Pictures coming soon!] Our loft is located in the South Loop, pretty close to Chinatown. Yesterday we took Ava for her first dim sum [think Chinese brunch].
We brought along the training chopsticks Mike bought her [by Combi from ThinkGeek], which she was actually able to pick up food with [but enjoyed just poking holes in it more]. Her favorite part of the meal was the green tea – she loved holding her little tea cup and sipping warm tea. So mature. :-) XO
September 5, 2010 – 3:51 pm
I love it when we ask her to “Smile Real Big” …. and that she does. XO. Have a great Labor Day Weekend!
