Sometimes I feel so focused on the Big House Projects (the porch needs painting, pulling up the bushes, replacing ALL the blinds with real curtains so the house doesn't give off that "hospital" vibe) that I feel overwhelmed and I find myself forgetting that it's little things that make a house feel like home. So, I thought I would turn the spotlight to a few little things that are making me happy right now.
I call it a hassock because I can't bring myself to call it a pouf with a straight face. (Even though it's probably a more accurate term.) I think someone suggested "tuffet", which might catch on... we do have enough spiders...
But I love this hassock/tuffet's texture (I find myself patting it often, it's our resident pet, for now.) and I feel like the chain weave keeps it from being too precious, I think. Also, it's gray. Have I mentioned how I love gray?
Could you just tell?
Robin's Egg Pie Plate
This pie plate arrived a couple of rainy Saturdays ago as a surprise from my Mom. (The hassock was also a gift from my Mom. Are you sensing a theme yet? You will. You...will...Actually, my Mom just has great taste, which is not really a theme...)
It was just the thing to brighten up our house and the dreary day. I bought some frivolous oranges (frivolous because I didn't think anyone here really liked oranges. Grayson proved me wrong by eating two and a half the afternoon we brought them home.) and now this is one of my favorite pieces.
Remember these rugs? I think they had a "moment" in the early nineties. We had a huge multi-colored one growing up and my Grandmother had one just like this one:
Scratch that. It was this one.
Maybe my Grandmother is trendier than I, but she decided she was over this rug several years ago and it found a new home. In my parents basement.
Joseph and I have been itching for a living room rug, but we were having a hard time finding something 1) In our price range (read: el cheap-o) and 2) not an oriental style.
Then it occurred to me that something in the muted colors of our living room reminded me of my Grandmother's house (in a nice way) and *lightbulb* I remembered this rug.
It may not be the be-all and end-all of rugs for us, but you can't beat it for the price (Free!) and the sentimental aspect.
Cross-Stitch Owl
How cute is this little guy? I think he's "twhoo-twhoo" cute. (Get it? Cause he's an owl! Ha! Let's never speak of this again.)
(Side note: did you know when you type "twhoo" auto-correct thinks you might have meant "region"?)
Anyway, back to this guy! Joseph cross-stitched him back in the day, when he was six or seven (all together: Aww!) and we found him as we were unpacking a box of keepsakes. It was love at first sight. For me. Joseph wanted to pack him back up and not speak of it. But I couldn't do that! I fiddled around for a while trying to find the right place to hang him (he's tiny, about 2"x3", so putting him up on the wall just looked kind of dinky). Finally, it occurred to me that I could just hot glue some magnetic strips to the back and, ta-da, adorable Owl magnet to gaze at while I fix dinner. (And to judge me while I eat ice cream from the container at 3:00 in the afternoon. Only he doesn't, cause he's an understanding owl.)
Grayson's Art
My last favorite thing (actually, that's a lie, I have new favorite things everyday. I'm like Oprah.) is something Grayson and I did last week. We were having one of those challenging toddler days (Grayson: " I want to take all the clean, folded laundry and decorate the floor with it! Hahahaha!" Me: *sees the last hour of her life turned to nothing*)
The solution for this was obvious: give him some paint.
Because, why not?
This actually turned out to be a ton of fun. We spread newspaper aaaalllll over the floor and got out the water colors and the drawing pad.
Oh, the joy.
I forget sometimes how much fun it is to watch a kid create (and, I suppose, they're always creating. It's just easier for me to appreciate when it's a craft and not my clean clothes.)
And it was just watercolor, so even when our hands looked like this:
It was okay. (Which is exactly what I kept chanting to myself. It's okay, Meredith, it's okay.)
And Grayson made me this:
Which I think is absolutely beautiful and shows real artistic talent. But, you know, we're not going to push him.
I slapped that first real piece of kid art in a frame as soon as it was dry and did what any self-respecting mom would do:
I put it on the fridge.
So, those are a few of the little things I've been focusing on lately when things seem to be spinning out of control. Do you guys have any little things in your home that never fail to make you smile?
Can I borrow them sometime?
The dragon. :)
ReplyDeleteAnd lately, it's your great-grandma's old milk pitcher. I need to find a good spot for it.