Home Improvement

The best kind of home improvement projects are those that you have been putting off for years, but are ultimately forced to complete because some catastrophic event precludes it. You know the ones..."we always wanted to re-tile our bathroom" then the toilet-overflowed-requiring-a-new vanity-floor-and-tub-that-you-find-is-rotting-through-the-floor problem.
As our luck would have it, we've had many, many, inches of rain fall over the last month, which has thoroughly saturated the ground around our house. In addition, those gutters that needed to be cleaned and re-hung so they actually flow correctly instead of over the set of stairs leading from the driveway to the front door? Yup - that problem.
Last night was another rainy night and I just knew - I could see the water creeping somewhere, feel the house groan as it swelled from being exposed to too much rain - that something was not going well. This morning I headed down to the basement to find 2 inches of water in the back corner, near where the leaky gutter has drenched the corner of the house where there also happens to be a crack in the concrete. Seems that water seeps. I yelled to Michael "uh, we have a problem." He, in his infinite ease as THE handyman/house caretaker, calls into work and stays home to work out a solution.
All though these sort of emergencies throw a kink in his days, I really think that he enjoys it. Well, he's said as much, but I think that he thrives on taking care of his family and our aging abode.
But while he is re-guttering, putting in rain barrels, and putting a drain pipe into the ground beside the house to improve drainage, I have my own less-than-emergency projects. Anyone who knows me knows that I am a closet decorator. I LOVE finding fabrics, furniture, paint swatches, nick-nacks, etc that further my vision of a truly fabulous house. While most people would've gone for a baby boy blue nursery, I created my vision of a clean palate of neutrals, fueled by a fabulous off-white and beige gliding rocker and ottoman that I found in the IWANNA. I bought an amazing rug with bands of color for a living room, when we had no other furniture and have slowly built up everything else around it.
My newest obsession, one that I haven't been able to come to terms with since buying our house, has been our bedroom. It is small. It has one tiny window and the room often feels like a cave more than a luxurious space for reading and sleeping. But I have persevered. First I came up with a green paint that I thought was fresh in "cheveril" I think it was called, but was too dark for our tiny room. Then was "iced celery," which was more of a day-glow green. Then I thought, stick with a neutral palate - well the "pale white" looks more pink than pale. All this, of course, to match the red/green/orange/white duvet cover we got as a wedding present.
I tend to obsess over trivial details. Once I find one item, I search very specificly for another and only know it's perfect when I see it. For our bedroom it started with inspiration from El Captain - I told Michael I wanted our bedroom to look like this when we were in Yosemite two months ago (see photo).
Not so much the stone monolith look, but more the color scheme. Then it all started with the "India" euro shams from Area in sand I discovered (on sale no less!). They went well with the brushed gold and dark chocolate brown sheet sets, but it needed...a better blanket. Then I found the Sferra Bros. diamond blanket in truffle, but it was wrong, so I went for a Peacock Alley blanket in the very traditional Vienna in ecru.
Now, I'm obsessed with finding the perfect accent pillow(s) that will tie it all together (along with the brown bedskirt and reddish side table lamps). There are a lot of lines, so I'm thinking something abstract, circular, natural, or color-blocked. OK, now texture...felt, satin, cotton, linen? I'm all about texture, so this ones important. I've narrowed my sights to pillow covers on etsy.com for that home-made, yet artsy-I-don't-take-myself-that-seriously/I'm-a-closet-decorator feel. Should I go with some ikat fabric that is all the rage? Should I stick with the same brown/off-white palate or throw in a bolt of bright orange or ocean blue to perk things up? Then there is the pillow Mecca at www.allmodern.com (with 726 to choose from!) Yes, these decisions are trivial in the big picture, but I like it so much. I like having a "put together" looking space that looks like effort was put into it. Now why can't I do the same for my waredrobe (see two posts previous)? But if Michael gets his gutter and drainage pipe installation and basement "man space" than I can have my pillows.

Mason - 11 Months

Coincidentally, the 11-month mark is also my first (well, second, I believe) Mother's Day - a day that meant nary a diaper change, coffee in bed with the New York Times, brunch and a pedicure. I have new-found respect for Mother's Day and feel I have earned it!
But enough about me....let's talk about some of Mason's favorite things:
1) Crawl across the floor full speed towards our dog, mouth wide open, with a cute/ferocious "ahhhhh!" (think that Braveheart scene, which started the big battle - "Frrrrreeeeeedommmmm!") with intent to collapse on top of her in a sort of sweet snuggle. He also does this with cats, stuffed animals, and me, still asleep, every morning. I think it's a hug.
2) Open, close, then open and close, open and close, then bang, bang, bang doors against the wall. He's still figuring our or sliding barn-style bathroom door that he must push instead of sway.
3) Push our upright vacuum cleaner around.
4) Splash in Zola's water bowl - making the floor and himself very wet.
5) Open, close, then open and close, open and close the drawer under the oven (no, it's not on!)
6) Puuuuuullll up! on legs, tables, TV stands, benches, chairs, couch, crib, toy box, and bookshelf.
7) Eat yogurt and cantaloupe.
8) Eat his own toes.
9) Flap his arms in some semblance of the hand motion commonly known as "Bye"
10) Bob his head back and forth when listening to music (we have now determined). He does so to guitar music, the Jeopardy theme, and this little plastic (I know!) guitar that plays tunes when you hit various buttons. Though he also does this when he meets other people, so who knows? Maybe it's a happy bob?
11) Get tickled. Or I could just be projecting.
12) Clean our floors. With his butt.
The list could go on, but, well I'm sluggish after a day of being pampered. I do feel pretty proud that being a mom has produced such a fabulous little kid. Not just that, but I'm also starting to understand why everyone said to enjoy it because it goes by so fast.

What Not to Wear

Now that we have gone to the dark side and purchased DirectTV, I actually have "shows" that I "watch" on a routine basis. I'm not ashamed to say that TLC's "What Not to Wear" is one of them, but I know I have fellow followers out there with me, secretly laughing at someone else's obvious fashion miss-steps. After putting Mason to sleep last night, I, as usual, took ownership of the controller and, as usual, veered away from a Stanley Cup playoff game to an episode of WNTW that happened to be on and, subsequently, forced Michael to watch it. At the beginning of the show they pilfer through the guilty party's wardrobe and pick out all the vile things they own and discuss why said clothes should instead be in the trash. Michael chimes in more than a few times - "You have something like that right - that should crawl into a cave and die of fashion-less misery?" "What my yoga pants, t-shirts, and boxer shorts from 10 years ago that I have worn holes through from wearing so much, yet continue to don because "they're just my night clothes"?" I scoff and opt for "Ocean's Eleven" instead.
Today after returning from a successful jaunt to my secret fashion mecca (ok, ok, the J Crew clearance store, but I won't tell where it is) having bought a nice pair of cropped chinos at their monthly sidewalk sale for $10, Michael swiftly and decidedly announced HE would go through my clothes and save me from myself. I found this to be an entertaining foray and let him do as he wished, but I had to promise not to resist. "You're 30, you know, you need to look it." Imagining that it might be for the better good - for Mason's future free of other kids taunts that his mom doesn't know how to dress or looks whore-ish - I relinquished control of my closet.
We sat on our bed with Mason on the floor chasing Zola back and forth and "catching" her by what looks like a sweet, baby-style wrestle and we started digging. Out came the piles of t-shirts, tank tops, long sleeve shirts, dress shirts, shorts, brooke dresses, sweaters, pants, jeans, dresses, scarves, underwear and, yes, even a muumuu. Out went the shirts with holes in the armpits, and too-tight jeans that said "teenager" and not "mother". Gone were the hot pink North Face hiking shorts and pink and grey striped 3/4 sleeve boat neck shirt that I love, but again involved pink. Goodbye off-white short-sleeved turtleneck sweater and black velour mock turtleneck shirt (great for the holidays!). Goodbye brown velvet jacket with sleeves about 4 inches too short (I made it work!) and brown velvet evening gown that I bought in a Chapel Hill consignment store for $80, which I vividly remember as a purchase I was extremely proud of (I've worn it twice in 10 years).
The plaid flannel boxer shorts (bought 10+ years ago because they screamed collegiate) and snap shirt (bought with intent to wear on my wedding day while my hair was getting done) were quickly and unceremoniously kicked to the curb (having been threatened many times before), but I saved them claiming we can tear them up and use them for rags. Michael said "no" to the sarong that I bought in Malaysia and wore all summer after giving birth, but allowed me to keep the one I made myself, along with the muumuu that belonged to my Grandma and was actually worn in Hawaii (true story!).
Along the way he imparted various "rules" that I have to, from now on, live by when buying and/or keeping clothes. Anything with holes or nude-colored gets nixed. Anything in the "right" shades of green, blue, or pink (but NOT purple) is acceptable. Jeans should be age-appropriate. Nothing ratty is acceptable. It's not that my closet was full of fashion felonies, but just that I hang on to things WAY too long. Michael is right, I'm not a teenager anymore, I don't need to embrace the "vintage" look. It's time to look put together, like I actually care about how I look when I leave the house, or when I'm in the house for that matter.
All in all we filled two 45-gallon trash bags with all bad things that were hiding in my closet. Purging feels good sometimes, but now I look at my skeleton wardrobe and and think "I have nothing to wear!"