Emskyrooney

When we first bought our house it was lacking somewhat in curb appeal. And in general outside appeal overall.  We've been in the house for almost three years now and while there's still a ton more left to do (and a ton more crap left to remove from the yard thanks to the generous previous owners who LEFT IT ALL BEHIND) I thought I'd share a little update on our outdoor spaces as we've put a lot of work into them this year. So here's the front of the house before.  Please note the lovely pink color and the overgrown bushes with zero other landscaping except for some rocks: And here's the front of the house now: Much better!  Future plans include replacing the two spindly little holly bushes on either side of the front stairs with something taller (you can't even see them in these pictures), and doing something with the front stairs in general- railings are a must and I'd love to widen the stairs if we could so that they're wider than the door + sideli...

Does anyone remember the nursery rhyme about the girl with a curl in the middle of her head?  The poem went like this: There was a little girl who had a little curl Right in the middle of her forehead; When she was good, she was very, very good, And when she was bad she was horrid. I've rewritten it to apply to LP.  Here's my version: There was a little boy who had a big ol' bruise Right in the middle of his forehead; When he was good, he was very, very good, And when he was bad he was horrid (and drove his Mommy nuts). LP has either hit the "Terrible Twos" early or is giving us a preview of defiant adolescent behavior (or perhaps both).  The last few weeks have found me biting me tongue, stifling my impulse to scream and/or cry, and generally feeling very frustrated. For the most part, I know I shouldn't really complain.  LP is still a very good little bo...

I found some time recently to finish up a few projects I'd been working on.  I'd been wanting to recover the throw pillows on our couch for a while in more springy/summery colors to jazz things up.  Here's how things turned out: New quilted pillows for the smaller couch that look like this: New quilted pillows for the larger couch that look like this (I was originally planning to recover the brown pillows too but I think I like the contrast of them and will leave them as is): And a new lap-sized quilt for the back of the couch: Here's more of the quilt: In other sewing news, LP has been playing a lot lately with zippers- on his sweatshirt, on pants, wherever he can find them.  We've also been working on counting and he's obsessed with Sesame Street so I thought I could combine all 3 things and came up with this (somewhat wonky) Cookie Monster doll: Cookie's mouth unzips so that you can feed him cookies! And here's LP loving his Cookie! Just a few more se...

And so the little man is a year and a half old (plus a week since I'm late with this post, as usual!).  It's hard to believe!  LP is in full-fledged toddler mode.  He's no longer a baby, and wants to make sure that we're aware of this at all times.  Things to remember: 1.  He's starting to pick up on colors.  Yesterday he said "Bert! Wellow!!"  while looking at one of his Sesame Street books. 2.  His new obsession:  Thomas the Tank Engine ("Choo choo!!!!  Yay Choo choo!!!") We let him watch one or two short episodes before bed at night and he goes crazy for them.  3.  Suddenly, he's taller.  He came running up to Paul and I the other day with a spoon in his hand.  When I asked where he got it he pointed to the kitchen counter.  Paul looked at me and said "since when can he reach the counter?". I said "I guess since now."  Uh-oh. 4.  His love for the outdoors is still strong. ...

This week at I ♥ Faces the topic is "Faces with Flowers."  I took this one of LP "helping" me plant day lillies a few weeks ago (they're not blooming yet, but are still flowers, right?) Be sure to go to I ♥ Faces to check out the other entries!

This past weekend I traveled (minus Big and Little Paul) to Ann Arbor, Michigan for my youngest brother Spencer's graduation from Law School.  Turns out Ann Arbor is a pretty cute little town- even in the blustery cold rain! Some highlights from the trip: A walking tour of campus: The old part of the library reflected in the new(er) part... Spencer being "lawyer-ly" Ivy. My first Chicago-style hot dog.  (Hello Sport Peppers- didn't expect you to be so spicy!!) An actual graduation... Proud friends: Proud graduates (in silly hats): Proud big brothers: Proud big sisters: And of course, proud parents: Another highlight??  As if graduation wasn't enough we all stayed in a house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright !  We're big fans of FLW's work (not necessarily of his behavior) and were so excited that Spence rented the Palmer House for us to stay in.  The house itself was very cool, with a large open living room/...