Mr. Handy

I recently came across some old photos that had a very familiar theme - Mike working on the house! 

This photo brings me back! To think of all the work we had ahead of us - thankfully, we were completely oblivious!

Mike is doing a mock-up of what the porch roof would look like. We did a lot of mock-ups like this as we didn't have an architect so the only way to come to any conclusions on building details, like roof pitch in this case, was to play around with it visually. This was mostly for my sake as I think I need three dimensional visuals. 

He mocked up two different roof pitches and I remember standing at different distances from the house to be sure that the end of the porch roof (porch eaves) didn't come down over the windows on the front of the house. 

The gravel was something our contractor put around the house while they were working in order to keep the mud down. It was a great idea but something we had to deal with later on when we started working on the yard. 

After the contractor built the porch roof, Mike painted the porch fascia before the contractor arrived to finish the porch trim. I remember that we accidentally used flat instead of semi-gloss so it had to be done twice!

The is when Mike still smiled for me while working on the house!

I have yet to post on our house entry. Mike did all the hard scape (pathway and stairs). After he built the stair mold, a concrete truck came and poured the concrete. Mike then adhered our concrete pavers over it to simulate rock steps. 

 Putting in the pathway was a turning point as up until that point, we were using small square blocks, which seemed even smaller when it was rainy and muddy. To get up on the porch, we were using wobbly beams. Both were things left over from all the construction. I'll do a proper post on this project soon. 

Our vision for the dining patio was ambitious! This is what we started with and again, I just feel so exhausted thinking about all the work ahead of us. The patio took an entire summer for us to complete. Mike did all the surveying (he's a professional engineer), leveling, building, etc. 

After the retaining wall was built, he built a mold for the stairs. The stair mold was moved into place under the french doors. The mold for the front porch was built at the same time so that the concrete could be poured in one morning. 

Mike uses a lot of math when he's working on his projects. It's amazing to me, being more of a left brain person, that he can write down a bunch of complex equations and come up with amazing results. 

The projects are for the most part behind us thankfully but the photos are a reminder of how much work Mike has put into this house. He's worked most weekends, evenings and throughout entire summers.  

Finding these photos makes me realize how many photos I haven't included in my renovation before and after posts. I'd like to work on updating those not with just more photos but more detail on the resources we used and things we learned along the way. 

Yellow Ranunculus

As I was paying for our groceries at the grocery store yesterday, off in the distance I heard someone yelling quite frantically, "Wait, wait, wait!"

Lo and behold it was Hubby. As he got closer, I could see that he was grasping two bunches of beautiful yellow ranunculus to his chest.

Thrusting the flowers at the cashier, he turned to me with exasperated relief and said, "I can't believe I almost forgot the flowers!"

I think I'm remembering this story correctly...


Note: After reading several comments, I should clarify that I was totally kidding in my account of who played which roles in our flower purchase.  ; ) Although I think Hubby enjoys pretty flowers, I don't think the day will ever come (bless his heart) that he will initiate their purchase!  ; )

Four Feet

Here are two pairs of feet ready for a walk in the yard! Pictured here are my 'grown up' Dansko clog sneakers with Margaret's toddler Ked sneakers. 

I'm often asked if I ever put Graham and Margaret in coordinating outfits. With the exception of holidays (Christmas and Easter), I really don't. 

I do however find myself coordinating her outfits with mine. It happens occasionally - sometimes unknowingly, sometimes proactively...

I can't help myself, it makes me smile. xo

Lily of the Valley

We were beside ourselves with excitement (Graham, Margaret and I) after stumbling across Lily of the Valley at our favorite grocery store in Portland last week. 

They smell so beautiful. 

Although very pretty as they were, I thought I'd dress them up a bit for the Easter holiday. Luckily the grocery store also had baskets, so we knew exactly what we'd do when we got home. 

After lining the basket with plastic for watering, we added a ribbon, a little nest and a layer of moss. 

I've always loved live Easter baskets with growing grass or live flowers. However, we agreed (Graham, Margaret and I) that the live basket was a little too grown up for our curious little 15 month-old selves...we still like putting everything into our mouths - whether interesting, pretty or just plain curious. 

xo

My Grandmother

I've spoken a lot about my Grandmother on my blog so I thought it was about time I introduced her. My Grandmother was very, very dear to me, and was the only Grandmother I ever knew.  

Yesterday was her birthday, a day on which I find myself reflecting more than usual on the profound influence she had on my life. When I was a little girl, she nourished me with her unconditional love and adoration. As I grew to be an adult, she was a voice of strength, wisdom and love. Always love. 

In the photograph above, she stands by her beloved rose garden at her home in the hills of Studio City, California. 

My Grandmother was my father's mother. He was her only child, so my brother and I experienced the honor of being her only grandchildren. She lived as a widow for the last thirty years of her life after her husband, our Grandfather, passed away in his sixties.  

When I was around ten years old, I started to leave her little love notes each time we visited. I would slip away at the end of the evening before we headed home and would sit down at her desk to write some words of adoration for her to find after we left. This became a tradition of ours. 

These handwritten notes eventually grew into long letters when I moved to Maine to go to college. And therein began our love affair of writing long letters to each other. Our long distance correspondance lasted for over a decade through my college years, after graduation, during my time in England, and continued after I returned to Maine to live for the subsequent seven years. 

My Grandmother had severe hearing impairment. She struggled with hearing her entire life, and I know that it affected her deeply in many ways. She told me that when she was young, she wore a large, battery-operated device with headphones in order to help her communicate verbally. By the time I was born, hearing devices had improved, so she was able to hear better with the use of hearing aids. But her hearing was a constant struggle for her, especially in the latter days of her life 

Despite her hearing impairment, she graduated from UCLA (University of California at Los Angeles) where she earned a degree in business. For her to graduate from UCLA despite a hearing impairment, and as a young woman in the 1930s, was quite an accomplishment which must have required incredible determination and patience. While she was at UCLA, she also gained a penchant for college athletics - she was a devoted UCLA Bruins football fan for all of her days!

She used to amaze my brother and I with her stories of walking through the long rows of the cornfields that she passed between her family home in the Hollywood Hills and the campus. That was incredible to imagine when we were kids in the 1970s and 80s. 

She suffered from dimentia during the last ten or so years of her life. This was hard for all of us. But for all of the short term memory that alluded her, she was given the gift of absolute clarity in recollections of her youth. She loved telling stories about growing up with her parents and all of the things that they did together. It was wonderful to witness because it was obviously a very happy time in her life. And ironically, I think reliving her role as her parents' only child was comforting for her as she grappled with the vulnerability of her memory loss and aging. 

The last time I saw my Grandmother, Mike and I were standing in her bedroom at her home in the hills. She was being attended to by a nurse by that time. We stopped by for a quick visit on our way out of town after visiting for the Christmas holiday. She looked at me standing next to my new husband Mike and said, "Oh my darling, you look so grown up standing there." 

She passed away that following spring at the age of ninety three. She lived a long and wonderful life but I miss her so.

When my mom and I were closing up her estate, I came across several large three ring binders tucked safely away in her closet. I took one out and sat on the bed to look at it. What I saw took my breath away. Resting in little protective plastic sleeves were all of the letters, photographs and postcards that I had sent to her over the the course of our correspondance, including those first little love notes I left for her when I was a little girl. 

These items that were accumulated over many years were the story of my life, and she held it so very dear. I don't think I've ever felt such utter adoration and love in my entire life. She gave me the most wonderful gift and I will never forget it. 

Yesterday, I went through some of her old letters. It's been about seven years now since she passed and as I read her words once again I was reminded of how beautiful and special she was. Her letters were so lovely. She made the most ordinary things in life sound like poetry. 

I will cherish her words forever. 

Her name was Margaret. 

Inspiration for our nest

I love bird nests. They are such beautiful works of art, with each one so unique, and each one woven with different found objects from nature. I started a small collection of nests when I lived in Maine. When I was packing up to return west, I gave my collection to my dear neighbor, who had a collection of her own. 

My husband Mike comes across a lot of abandoned nests when he's in the field for work. All of these nests are ones he has brought home to me over the years, which I tucked away for safe keeping. 

They are all so distinct, equally rugged yet graceful. Each fragment of their construction is so fragile on their own, yet woven together they collectively become strong.

This wirey nest is woven together with a mix of fine thread-like branches, what looks to be horse hair, with a little fishing twine thrown in for good measure. I found the robin's egg on one of our walks. On its back is a sweet little hole from which the robin chick popped out. 

This nest is an intricately woven wheat vessel.

 I love the wheat flower tucked in along the rim. 

Plastered with dry dense mud on its exterior, this clay nest is sturdy and strong. Feathery golden grass blankets the interior.

The plastered exterior. 

When Mike brought me this moss nest, it was almost electric green. Even now, several years later, it still smells like the damp lush Pacific Northwest woods. 

The downy moss. 

This is a Maine nest. It was the very first that I collected, and it is the only one I brought with me when I moved back west. She is one of my most sentimental momentos from Maine, reminding me of the many hours I spent in the Maine woods. 

This nest also reminds me of my dear neighbor in Maine. When I gave her my collection of nests, she shared with me a story about her mother who had recently passed away. Her mother loved birds, and made it her practice to always set the hair from her brush outside for the birds to use in their nests.

Her mother had been ill for several months and finally passed away in summer. By fall, my neighbor was closing her mother's estate and while walking in the garden, noticed a bird's nest visible through the barren autumn trees. When she looked closer at the nest tucked safely between the cradling branches, she saw that the sweet little nest was woven with beautiful white shimmering strands of her mother's hair. 

I'll never forget that story, especially when I see a nest and recognize all of the beautiful unique items used to create it. 

As someone who is passionate about the warmth and coziness of our home, I admire and respect the birds loving devotion to creating a warm and safe place to cradle their young. 

First Tracks

The snow has arrived.

xo

Happy New Year

As I bid farewell to 2011, I am filled with gratitude - gratitude for my son and daughter, 

for my husband, for our families and for many great friends.

When I reflect on our friendships, I am incredibly grateful for the blogging community that I have been introduced to over the last several years. The sentiments from readers near and far have been wonderfully and completely embracing, and your presence in our life is felt and cherished very much. Because of your warmth, kindness, and kindred spirits, I feel as if we could meet anywhere, anytime, and I would know you as a familiar friend.

So thank you dear friends for a beautiful year!

May you be blessed with health and happiness, and with the love of your family and friends in the coming New Year.

Christmas Post Scripts

I hope that everyone had the most joyful Christmas! I have to say that sharing this 

Christmas with our sweet son and daughter made it one of our most memorable ever. 

Here are a few snapshots from our holiday week. We moved our couch to the south side of the room (facing the tree) because we wanted to open up as much floor space for playing as possible. 

We usually have a very large play yard set up in the living room, so large that it takes up half the room. It's been the best purchase we've made as it provides for wonderful safe play time (no base board heaters, cupboards or other hazards to get into), especially when Mike's at work and I'm alone with the babies. With both of us home to watch over the babies, we were able to fold it up for the holidays. 

We set up our traditional cardinal Christmas tree in the dining room. This tree is especially 

meaningful to us as Mike's Mom (who passed away shortly after we were married) loved cardinals.  

I can tell you that this is the cleaned up version of this room. Usually, the high chairs are there, as well as lots and lots of books (for story time after meals and snacks), and other various and sundry items distributed about the floor - toys, sippy cups, finger snacks...

Next to the tree, we placed my Grandmother's old settee under the mirror at the east end of the room. I just love putting it in this room at Christmas time as its warm tones are so suggestive of the season. 

The settee had originally belonged to her grandparents. She upholstered it with this toile pattern 

years ago, before I was born. It is a piece I grew up with as it was in her entry way - I'd toss my 

coat on it each time I ran through her front door. 

Best wishes to you and your families for a joyous New Year! 

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas Dear Friends. 

xo

Country Living Christmas

Image from Worldmags.net

Country Living's December/January 2012 issue is out! We'd been waiting for our copy to arrive when Mike found the issue online, with our living room on the cover. When he showed me, I said, "How did you do that? Did you make that on your computer?" It turns out Country Living did two different covers that are in circulation for this issue, with the other version being a 

decorated Christmas tree. 

Here are a couple of photos I took during the shoot. I had a baby in my arms most of the time, so I don't actually have very many photos to share. 

Lili sent these gorgeous white amaryllis from New York.  I really loved the gracefulness of the amaryllis and will soon start forcing some bulbs for the holidays. 

Here are Lili and Mike setting up the tree before she and I trimmed it.   

We had our first snowfall this week so things are already beginning to feel very Christmas-like here. I'm looking forward to decorating early this year as I cannot wait to share twinkling lights, the fragrance of the tree, our favorite holiday music and general festive holiday giddiness 

with Graham and Margaret. 

We are very excited. 

Christmas in July

Country Living magazine was here for a photo shoot! The shoot was for their upcoming December issue. In the lazy days of mid-summer, we enjoyed everything Christmas -  

Tree, 

Garland,

Wreaths, and 

Christmas cookies.

We even had a visit from a few of Santa's helpers (they enjoyed my roses). 

I have subscribed to Country Living for years. Some of my favorite images have come from their pages, as Country Living's aesthetics and sensibility have really resonated with me. 

Deputy Style Editor Lili Diallo contacted me last December with interest to include our home in the magazine. Needless to say, I was thrilled and honored. A winter or spring shoot wasn't possible as we had our hands full after the birth of our two sweet babies - so Christmas in July it was. 

Lili is an incredibly insightful and talented stylist, and so much fun! She also happens to be the author of the beautiful and inspiring design book titled, Details. 

Here are a few behind-the-scenes glimpses from our week! 

On Sunday, we ventured out to cut three Noble fir Christmas trees. The trees, strapped to the top of our car on a July morning, were a perplexing sight to many as we made our way home from the tree farm. 

Packages started to arrive on Tuesday, the day Lili arrived from New York. Wednesday evening brought the photographers and their gear. 

We learned a lot about the meticulous detail that goes into capturing magazine-worthy images. Screens were placed outside the nursery windows to filter light. 

Here's the crew in action! Photographer Max Kim-Bee (a selection of his gorgeous photography can also be found under the 'photographers' link at this site) with assistant Kevin Kerr, Lili, and Design Director Sheri Geller, who flew in for Friday. They're working on a shot in the living room. 

It was so much fun having them here. Max even helped out with some dish washing! Kevin and Sheri, with children of their own, held babies at just the right times. Kevin also gave us a few very welcome photography pointers!

Here are Sheri, Lili and Max discussing angles for the dining room. 

Mike, my mom, and Graham took a break before lunch, for which we moved the patio table and chairs into the shade under the porch. I'll do a post on our new patio table and chairs soon! 

And here's everyone - Kevin, Sheri, Graham and my Mom, Margaret and me, Max, and Lili. We had mild weather for July, with mostly cloudy skies and a slight breeze. This unseasonal weather worked quite well to help get us in the mood for a cozy Christmas. 

At one point, Kevin and Mike moved the Christmas tree. 

The Country Living crew arrived in red rental cars... pure coincidence but festive nonetheless. The screen shown above was used to control the light for the dining room shots.

On Friday evening, it was time to pack up the Christmas decorations that had been sent out from       New York for the shoot. 

Meanwhile, the boys chatted at the end of the day. 

Having the Country Living crew here was wonderful. We really enjoyed the first-hand insight into the details, hard work, talent, and collaboration that create gorgeous images for publication. It was absolutely fascinating and everything they did was simply beautiful. 

We also especially enjoyed getting to know four lovely, inspiring people...who Mike and I consider new found friends.