Ten Things for Thursday

Just a list of what's up around here lately:

1. As I mentioned on Facebook the other day, my kids aren't really overscheduled, but I think I am. Meaning, I am in the car all the time picking up or dropping off one child or another. This will all be easier in 18 months when they are in the same school, on the same schedule. Until then, I live in my car.

2. I blame the aforementioned on said car being a trash can on wheels little messy.

3. I also blame the aforementioned on the house being a little messy. And maybe that's why the laundry keeps piling up. Or, it could be because instead of putting clothes away, Ava has figured out that it's easier for her to put them in the laundry basket, regardless of how dirty they actually are.

4. I am obsessed with Instagram, and am guilting of posting way too often. Apologies if you follow me. But not really.

5. If Spring doesn't hurry up and get here, I am booking a tropical vacation, stat. I nearly froze on the tennis court this morning.

6. Davis is not waiting for spring. He is wearing shorts every day. And on the rare day I can convince him to wear pants to school, he changes as soon as he gets home. Also, everyday I tell my self I'm not going to fight him on clothing, and everyday, I get all bent out of shape and try to talk some sense into him. If he'd want to wear his cute crewcuts shorts all the time, I could get on board with it. But it's "sports shorts" (his term) that he wants. Ugh. Next thing you know, he's going to want some black Nike Elite socks to go with them.

7. Ava's new bunk bed has made me seriously lazy about washing/changing her sheets. That bed is so damn hard to make up. I will not shame myself by telling you how long it's really been since they were changed. It's bad, though. Really bad.

8. Even though I'm ready for spring, I'm not ready for bathing suit weather. Ick.

9. Ava and I got in an argument last night about swim team. I say she's doing it again, she says she's not. What's the appropriate amount to push your kids in such things? I think I'm going to win out on this one. It's $50, which, as a friend of mine said, is the best bargain you can get for 2 months of swim lessons.

10. I have officially gone back into selling real estate. I didn't think I'd ever do it, but here I am, eating my words, and feeling pretty excited about it. So, Raleigh friends, please send a little business my way!
(Shameless self-promotion).

Can I Really DIY?

It's been well over a year since we remodeled our kitchen. While I love it, the windows are still bare, and as my mom likes to remind me, we do need a little pop of color in the room. I love the Revere Pewter on the walls, and the white cabinets, but my windows are bare. save for blinds, and need some sprucing in a major way.

As much as I love custom window treatments, I'm not prepared to pay for them. Additionally, I don't find many mass-produced window treatments I'm gaga over, either. What's a girl with a frugal husband to do?

Well, thanks to the world of Pinterest, that may no longer be an issue. I'm found this No-Sew Roman Shade tutorial that I think might even be within my very limited scope of DIY. Seriously, guys. I am the opposite of crafty, so this is a really big deal.

On Saturday, I got the bug to get my project started. First stop was Printer's Alley, to scope out fabrics. I already had it in my mind that I wanted something in an ikat, trellis, chevron, or quatrefoil design. I just wasn't sure about color. As I said, the kitchen is gray and white, my table is black - I can pretty much go with any color scheme I want to. I have one smaller window over my sink, which is getting the Roman treatment, and a large window in front of my table. I'm thinking valance on that one.

Of course, as always happens with me, I picked a few fabrics, and that's where the project came to a halt. I couldn't make a decision. Here are the fabrics I have narrowed it down to. At least until I hit up another fabric store.

 Bold and fun.

Not exactly a geometric, but the design is really beautiful.

Probably my favorite. They had these panels already made up in this fabric. I would have liked to have taken them for Ava's bedroom, to be honest.

Any thoughts? Especially from my designer aunt? (Hi Nancy!)

And whatever I get, I think I'm going to have the talented Holly of Storywood Designs make a family bulletin board using a black frame and whatever fabric I choose, or at least a coordinating print. 

Let's just see how quickly I can get this accomplished. So far, it's only taken 14 months. 

Channeling the Olden Days via Laundry

What a week. Nothing too insane - just busy, busy. I've been out every night this week except for Monday, and have plans tonight and tomorrow night. That's intense for a homebody like me.

The low point of the week is that our dryer broke. Not only did it break, it's fried. It broke on Monday. I was suspicious when a strange, burning odor was coming from the laundry room. Never one to want to burn my house down, I cut the dryer off. Then, after a nice Google search, I got to work as Household Engineer, and started pulling things apart to clean them out. Things seemed to be fine, but then the burning smell returned. In fact, I could smell it from the other end of our house. Hmmm. Morgan said he thought we should just unplug it, which I started to do. However, the giant pop and subsequent flame spark led me to back away.

I'll cut to the chase. Repair guy came 2 days later. He said he thought it needed a new something or other, and was going to cost a total of about $300. Good times. He planned to come back with the part later that evening. I went out for wine with some girlfriends, and while I was out, I got the following text from Morgan:

*When I typed "crap", it autocorrected to "crisp".  Love the iphone.

I ordered a new dryer yesterday, but it's not coming til Tuesday. So, I'm living like my ancestors, and LINE DRYING everything. It's kind of crazy. I finally figured out the best thing to do is put the drying rack in my bathroom close to the heat vent and close the door. Much faster drying that way. But really, y'all, it's a huge pain. A First World Problem, yes, but still a pain.

Plus, I kind of wanted some new clothes, and not a new dryer.

Like these two tops from J.Crew Factory: (currently 25% off with code 'moreplease'. You're welcome.)

via

Maybe these jeans, too. Are we still doing colored denim?

via

And these TB Caroline flats:

via

Not to mention the 5 or 6 Baublebar necklaces I'm lusting after.....sigh. 

Anyway, I'm off to wash another load of clothes. One a day is about all I can manage with this line dry situation. 

Happy Friday to you all!