it's not all perfect

Sometimes I wonder if I present a 'too perfect' view of my life.  As though there are no messes, no problems, no bills waiting to be paid, no children that ever fuss or fight.  Oh no.  Oh hell no.

Yes, there are all of those things, and more. But I don't show them here.  I'm no superwoman, nor do I try to be.  I just try to figure out who I am and be true to her.  I blog about things that move me and are important to me and things that I want to capture and remember.  The unsightly messes and the daily grind fit none of those things, so I don't mention them.

I want this to be a special, uplifting space.  There's a quote I love that goes something like this:  "People wonder why movies can't be more like real life.  I wonder why real life can't be more like the movies."

I want to capture that wonder and that magic and make my real life 'more like the movies.'  More grand, more amazing.  Those dirty dishes in the periphery, stacked beside the cookies I just baked?  Nope, not showing it.  Except for now (below), to show that it's real too, but I want the good stuff, the creating for the people I love to be the focus of what I write here.  And that's what I want my children to remember.  And what I want to remember, too.

coats piled on the table

compost patiently waiting to be tossed in the garden

pizza pans...from 2 days ago

toys all over

open dresser drawers, too

clean laundry...waiting

various items on other table

Calvin loves to try on shoes and clomp through the house.  love.

new desk setup & other nesting projects

Fall seems to make me want to nest.  I've been doing all sorts of projects, a big one being our screen porch (pics to come).  I found this AWESOME vintage desk on craigslist (which happens to match a recently painted chair!) and drove down south last night to pick it up.  The ensuing mess of transferring everything over was a PITA, but now everything is nice and organized.

before--a disorganized heap of a mess!

and after

sewing table before--I was so over the pink!

sewing table after.  LOVE it.  I added a drawer pull too, and made a sewing machine cover since it's always out.  I painted the wall shelf thing (show above) to match the lilac wall--a good place to keep scissors and pins out of reach of little hands.

This bus tent has seen some serious action.  It was a christmas present for Grace in 1999!  We videotaped her running from one end to the other popping her head out and saying "hi mom! hi dad!"  Hard to believe Calvin is the 4th child of ours to play in it.