Progress and Play Time

The kitchen is moving along now. In the first month there was so much done, but not a lot of visible progress...well, apart from an entire wall disappearing. They did electrical work, plumbing, insulation - important stuff that doesn't look very dramatic. But in the last week they've done new hardwoods, finished the coffered ceiling, and are in the process of installing the cabinets! So exciting!!

Here is the kitchen at the beginning of the day yesterday. Coffered ceiling is done - it's amazing!

 (Cameron is in the corner inspecting the work.)

By the end of the day, here's what it looked like...

And here's the wall with the fridge and pantry...

And since the weather is beautiful and we are tired of being stuck in the basement, the boys and I went over to the Saddle River to do one of their very favorite things...throw rocks in the water. We picnicked there for dinner and then grabbed ice cream before heading home to scrub off lots of mud and chocolate. Good times!

Stalling

So it has been weeks since I last posted, and I have a lot of really good reasons why. Since the last post we went here...

And saw this...

 And this...

And this...

 

 And met her...

Then we came back home for one night, frantically unpacked, repacked, and then left the next morning for Texas to visit all kinds of family - grandparents, great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins - it was fantastic!

While we were there, this is what they were doing to my kitchen...

So we're home now, and our house is in complete renovation chaos - but it is going to be so awesome!

Here's the most recent photo of the renovation - walls are up, floors are done and they're currently installing the coffered ceiling in the kitchen to match the dining room. More photos - and blog posts - to come!

Rainy day...

It's a rainy, cool Friday here - very uncharacteristic for July. We are having a little morning cartoon time before we head to play at Ikea. While we're out enjoying Swedish meatballs and ligonberry sauce, come on over and visit my guest post at Doodlebugheart.

 

Evolution

The other day I posted this picture of my art journal where I stalled out...

 

So I decided to add a few stencils, some masking tape, and a vinyl placemat on top and spray them with Glimmer Mist...

 

Well, that seemed a little busy, so I toned it down with a little more gesso.

 

Now what? I just watched this fantastic video on Donna Downey's blog recently where she had this amazing colorful background, then she painted over the entire thing with a simple leaf design. I decided to try something similar, since I had no clue where to go with this.

I like that you can still see some of the original elements through the layers of paint - I feel like it gives the simple image a little subtle energy.

 

Stuck...

I find so often that I get to this point in my journal and I get stuck...

A couple of layers of paint, some collage, some gesso...and stall. Hmmm...now what?

Well, while I'm sitting here staring at this page trying to figure it out, here's what I did yesterday.

 

Come visit!

Happy Friday!

While I'm chasing my boys around the pool today I have a guest post over at Doodlebugheart. Pop on over and visit!

Post-nap picnic

Cameron and Mommy having a little picnic snack in bed while Munchie naps. Playing with the iPad is his special treat if he plays quietly in his room for an hour or so (and let's Mommy nap in peace). Pretzels, grapes, and Angry Birds. What more could a 4-year-old ask for?

Weekend work

We were crazy busy this weekend with a 2-day yard sale. It was hot, dirty, exhausting work...but we off-loaded tons of stuff we weren't using and made a little cash in the process. Win!

Not a lot of time for art, but I did get a few minutes last night as my sweet husband was putting our kids to bed. I had a background basically done - it was a bunch of left over paint on stencils, on my paint brush, and from stamps that I had used on other pages and just "cleaned" on this page. Made the rest of the page go quickly. Gesso, washi tape, clutter from around my desk, india ink...done!

Watercolors?

I really don't get watercolors. Acrylics I get...they feel comfortable. So I've been trying to do some work in watercolors to see if I can make them work. You see, we will be traveling for most of August and I'm going to have to do art on the road. And a small watercolor kit is much simpler than a bunch of acrylics (though I'm bringing some of those too).

Anyway, it's definitely an experiment. I am loving the Caran d'Ache - probably because they give me the same control and vibrancy as acrylic paint, but are mess-free.

As always, it is all, just like me, a work in progress.

Happy 4th!

We had a great 4th of July yesterday. I don't know about you, but having it fall on a Wednesday made the day seem much more low-key. There weren't any huge BBQ's or parties...just people doing parades and small get-togethers.

We went to the big parade here in Ridgewood. People start putting out their chairs along the parade route over a week in advance! We just showed up that morning and found a shady spot where the boys could watch the parade or run around and play.

In the afternoon we went over to a friend's house for a quiet cook-out - just our two families. The boys spent hours swimming in their hot tub. Then Caleb and I went home and Kevin & Cameron went to see the fireworks. Overall, a perfectly lovely 4th.

Now it's back to work! We're having a HUGE yard sale this weekend, so I've gotta keep purging and organizing. I love it!

Hope you had a wonderful 4th!

Confession time...

So it's easy to make confessions on a blog no one reads, right?

This is my practice session...I'm practicing saying this outloud: I have gotten very involved in Mixed Media art in the past 6 months...specifically art journaling. It's hard to say that to anyone as it feels like it carries a sense of expectation. Like, "really? So what do you do? What does it look like? What do you do with it? Are you any good?" Ok, no one has actually said that - but then again I haven't really told anyone.

I'm super self-conscious.

Plus I'm still figuring it all out - what materials I like, what my style looks like, what I'm expressing.

What I know for sure is that it is ridiculously fun. I am having the best time taking humble elements - paper, paint, sometimes castoffs - and creating something that wasn't there before.

So, there you have it. That's what I'm doing with the snippets of free time I have here and there.

Whew...that wasn't too bad.

Summer in the City

We were trying to figure out something fun to do with the boys this weekend. With Cameron's broken collar bone, Sesame Place was out. So we decided to hit the city! We drove in this morning, picked up lunch, and headed to Heckscher Playground in Central Park. It's the largest playground in Central Park and has some great water features. It was a scorcher today...perfect for a day in the water!

On a happier note...

Last week Cameron and I went into the city with Aunt Carrie and cousins who were visiting from Houston. Had a great and exhausting day! Lego store, Top of the Rock and lunch at our new favorite food truck!

Ugly

Seriously not pretty. But boy it felt good.

Desperate

Desperate to get all the grrrr blech argh ugh out at the end of a wretched day. Thank God for art...often more cathartic and expressive than words.

Deep breath. I'll be better in about an hour.

As long as I've got my brother...

...even the doctor's office is fun!

Sweet brothers

Now, I don't want anyone thinking my boys are angels who play sweetly together all the time. We do have our share of scuffles. But this particular moment was precious. Munchie wanted to give Cameron a hug before he left for school, so Cameron sat down & Munch laid his head in Cameron's lap. Cameron patted his back & rubbed his head and kept saying "shh, shh, shhh...it's ok Munchie." Really sweet!

Wednesday's photo

"I running, Mama, I running!"

Until he fell down about 5 seconds later...for the third time that morning.

Then the rest of the day it was, "Mama, I got a little hurt."

Tuesday morning

You never know what you'll find at your local Trader Joe's...

Monday morning photo

Our new routine - nebulizer twice a day. What a trooper.