tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-444369829698795822024-03-05T08:51:32.894-08:00In the HeightsFilling a home with love, laughs and styleCarlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.comBlogger92125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-65801748881653227322011-04-11T21:36:00.000-07:002011-04-11T21:36:57.993-07:00Take a SeatWhile in Palm Springs last weekend we popped into the Design Within Reach Annex store, the outlet version of the popular modern furniture chain. I was hoping to find new dining room chairs, since we had been using our Eames molded plywood chairs in the dining room vs. in the kitchen breakfast room with the table they belong to. And in the kitchen breakfast room where those chairs should have beenCarlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-50112357878144845822011-04-05T08:49:00.000-07:002011-04-05T08:49:30.811-07:00ACE in the HoleAfter a fantastic week of Spring Break-ing it with the kids - filled with lazy days playing in the yard, a trip to the beach and a movie or two – the hubby and I snuck away to Palm Springs for the weekend and spent a lovely two days and nights at the ACE Hotel, and I can’t say enough good things about the place. In addition to a fun pool atmosphere, spectacularly comfortable bed and delicious Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-84101275593337674712011-03-29T09:38:00.000-07:002011-03-29T09:38:25.509-07:00StumpedTwo things I loved about our home when we first moved in were the big and beautiful eucalyptus trees in our backyard:
We fantasized about building a tree house in one for the kids, or hanging a hammock between them for some summer afternoon lounging. They smell nice, create a great privacy screen between our yard and back neighbor’s home, and shade out the afternoon sun while we eat on the Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-28436917779484350602011-03-21T21:44:00.000-07:002011-03-21T21:44:24.514-07:00Miles of Tiles<!--[if gte mso 9]> 1024x768 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-63967804706135198212011-03-16T09:05:00.000-07:002011-03-16T09:05:04.490-07:00Closet Case<!--[if gte mso 9]> 1024x768 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-58892734289643692162011-03-11T11:49:00.000-08:002011-03-11T11:50:39.551-08:00I'm Baaaack!I know, I know...I said I was taking a little blogcation and then I was gone for almost two months! To my kind and loyal friends who kept pestering asking, "when are you going to blog again?" the answer is NOW! The truth is that I fully intended to just take a week or two off to charge my blogging batteries, but then one kid got the flu...and then the other...and then the first one got it again, Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-43406358595188753942011-02-01T16:30:00.000-08:002011-02-01T16:30:27.498-08:00A Blog-cationFor those of you who may have noticed the absence of any posts this week, I've decided to take a little vacation from the blog for a few days. It's been a busy couple of weeks for me both personally and professionally, and I think a little evening R&R (i.e. clearing out the DVR, preparing food for the final days of my cleanse and attacking the mountains of laundry that have taken over my homeCarlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-76181745729663325342011-01-26T05:35:00.000-08:002011-01-26T05:35:00.203-08:00HomeGoods = Good HomeY’all know I’m a sucker for a good deal. So when we had an opportunity to make a stop at the new giant HomeGoods store in El Segundo, CA last weekend I said, “yes please!” We had just left a lovely visit with my BFF mom-to-be (the one I threw this baby shower for) and decided to make a pit stop. Thanks to the convenience of the El Segundo Plaza we could accomplish four things with one trip:
1)&Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-62931186099004198102011-01-24T05:04:00.000-08:002011-01-24T08:22:58.527-08:00Rolling and Cutting 2: The Results ShowI realize that I owe you guys a few updates on some past posts, so I thought I would check back in with you on one of those today? First up? Remember when I picked up the special paint edger and paint roller for finishing my bedroom a couple of weeks ago? Here's a quick recap and review.
Shur-Line Paint Edger
The Pros: The cutting-in tool made going around the edge Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-49847711556226996492011-01-21T05:01:00.000-08:002011-01-21T08:32:14.188-08:00Hanging AroundRemember last month when I talked about these great neighborhood posters from Ork? Well I decided to go ahead and buy one, and was initially planning to hide it away until Valentine’s Day as a little gift for my hubby, but since he was home when the package arrived and I was not, that surprise went out the window. Guess I’ll have to think of something else for February 14th, but for now I’m Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-85122925152109788432011-01-19T05:26:00.000-08:002011-01-19T05:26:00.368-08:00Cleansing our Palates<!--[if gte mso 9]> 1024x768 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-3640071416343224142011-01-17T05:13:00.000-08:002011-01-17T05:13:00.406-08:00Clean House
Sorry for the radio silence for much of last week - we spent a fantastic two days at Disneyland with some visiting family, and by the time we made it home I was just too exhausted to report in. But thanks to an exciting new development in our house I'm feeling well rested...after much debate over the last six months, we finally hired a housekeeper. The final straw? I noticed cobwebs in ourCarlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-90309903986914579352011-01-12T05:35:00.000-08:002011-01-12T05:35:00.404-08:00FramedI was so happy with the way that our holiday card came out that I found myself sneaking peaks of the tiny printout version I made when we initially planned to do printed cards vs. an ecard. So when I saw that Aaron Brothers was having their One Cent Sale, I decided to make a larger version of our silhouette family that I could hang up and look at whenever I wanted to (and without having to squintCarlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-26044195215295646522011-01-10T05:45:00.000-08:002011-01-10T05:45:00.180-08:00Rolling and Cutting I learned two things when I painted the kids room (all by myself) last weekend:
1) Painting without an extendable roller leads to extremely sore shoulders and legs (from climbing up and down a chair) and general grumpiness
2) Cutting in is an ENORMOUS and time consuming pain in the ass
So even though Christmas just passed, I bought myself two gifts this weekend:
When I Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-68290843631837201652011-01-06T21:49:00.001-08:002011-01-07T09:10:07.029-08:00Un-mending FencesRemember this excited post about our future fence? And this great glamour shot of the slatted wood walls that would soon be surrounding our yard?
Well, here are the slatted wood walls now:
What happened? Well, for starters, three fence companies came out to give us a quote for building a fence with these gifted slat walls (“we’ll save a TON of money!” we said) but those three fence Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-72503253348248630442011-01-05T05:16:00.000-08:002011-01-05T05:16:00.598-08:00Bottled Up<!--[if gte mso 9]> 1024x768 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]> Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 <![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]>Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-64141555091186872372011-01-03T05:07:00.000-08:002011-01-03T05:07:00.198-08:00New Year, New RoomHappy New Year!
I couldn't let 2010 end without accomplishing one of the things that has been on my to-do list for months: finishing the kids bedroom!
With close to two weeks off from my day job I finally had time to paint and add the last few touches (for now) that have turned the room into a warm and comfortable space that the kids and I both love.
Just to refresh, here are some Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-87532286063219972912010-12-31T05:11:00.000-08:002010-12-31T05:11:00.161-08:00Sale AwayThe week after Christmas is one of the best times for bargain hunting, so I'm glad we were a bit restrained on the pre-holiday gifts this year so we can take advantage of the great sales going on right now.
I found a 20% off West Elm discount code in my inbox on Wednesday, so I snatched up a couple of these great mirror-lidded boxes and two felt ornaments for next year's tree (I prefer Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-5444876182938755032010-12-29T05:25:00.000-08:002010-12-29T05:25:00.364-08:00My GiftsAs I've already mentioned, Christmas was a wonderful day. I was lucky to be able to spend it with my family - first my husband and kids, and then later in the day my in-laws. I prepped my wish list ahead of time and kindly provided it to my husband, and was thrilled to find some of my requests under the tree. I also unwrapped some great surprises, including a beautiful watch from Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-57439000422984554672010-12-27T05:39:00.000-08:002010-12-27T05:39:00.295-08:00Soup's On!What a weekend! From Friday morning until 20 minutes ago, I've hardly stopped moving. I started Friday AM at Trader Joe's (the kids, still in their pajamas, and I arrived five minutes before opening) to load up on all the ingredients for our Christmas Eve soup dinner:
Then I spent the rest of the day leisurely cleaning and cooking while the Mr. organized the garage and my oldest Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-82279286377595042822010-12-24T05:41:00.000-08:002010-12-24T05:41:00.758-08:00Merry Christmas!The hubby and I worked hard on this year’s holiday card, which we fully intended to mail out as a postcard a few weeks ago to reach all our friends at a time appropriate for those who celebrate Hanukkah and/or Christmas. But due to busy work schedules, the new baby dog and OfficeDepot’s unacceptable paper quality, we decided to go with a Paperless Post card again this year.
While I do Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-66160884514362042332010-12-23T04:24:00.000-08:002010-12-23T04:24:00.520-08:00Fun Find: Ork City Neighborhood PostersYou all know I love myself a nice map as artwork. Not only does it infuse a bit of your own personal history into your space, but more often than not they are already ripe with luscious color and elegant lines. So of course I was equally enamored with these city neighborhood posters from Ork Posters when my husband passed along the link earlier this week.
He’s got his eye on this gold metallic Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-60784723583539418352010-12-22T05:20:00.000-08:002010-12-22T05:20:00.671-08:00Made the List, Checked it Twice!We’re down to the last three days of our advent calendar, which means the clock is ticking on my holiday shopping and I’m WAY behind! I have somehow found the time to make my own wish list, however (I’ve definitely been more nice than naughty this year) and kindly emailed it off to the Mr. this week. Priorities, people!
Here’s what I’m hoping I find under the tree this year:
iPad
Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-77482044647645789162010-12-20T08:53:00.000-08:002010-12-20T08:53:52.754-08:00Bronchitis :(Despite my best efforts to rest up last week, I ended up with bronchitis, which was diagnosed early Sunday morning at the walk-in medical center. I'm on a course of antibiotics and lifetime movies for the next few days so I'm going to take a little break from the ol' blog and work on getting better, along with some last minute additions to my Xmas list.
Be back soon!Carlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-44436982969879582.post-41946215139205083392010-12-16T05:59:00.000-08:002010-12-16T05:59:00.759-08:00GiftedBeginning Friday at noon my kids are officially on winter break, and less than a week later so am I. We'll be spending our days relaxing at home, playing with the pooch, doing some small projects around the house and, of course, celebrating Christmas and New Year's. I still have lots to do before I slip into vacay mode, but I was happy to cross teacher's gifts off the list this week. While ICarlyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12877987355882866514noreply@blogger.com0