Archive for the 'decorating' Category
Tuesday, September 25th, 2007
Our old dining room table was solid core door (free) with $20 IKEA legs. We covered the door with black vinyl. It was childproof, easy to clean and completely hideous. Oh, and the door was 24”
wide, so you could rub knees (and plates) with the person sitting across from you. That dining room table was the equivalent of milk crate shelving or the beach chairs I once passed off for a living room suite.
So we needed a new dining room table. We couldn’t buy our ideal dining room table, of course, it will sport a layer of ground-in burritos, sour cream and blueberries in about a week. (more…)
Posted in decorating, feeding, general | No Comments »
Thursday, September 14th, 2006
Life in Adobe Disneyland
There’s a book called The Myth of Santa Fe that is about the faux adobe style buildings in our town; I’m not talking about the real adobe buildings like Taos Pueblo, but the brand new ones that are made out of “sticks and stucco,” simulating the lumpiness and falling-apartness that people usually avoid when constructing something new (except in Santa Fe).
The real “myth of Santa Fe” is that if you live here, you don’t need air conditioning. It’s a dry heat. And it’s only really, really hot for about two weeks a year. But during those two weeks, and the month or so on either side of those two weeks, air conditioning (or at least a swamp cooler) would be really nice. Which doesn’t matter, because I’d say about 80% of the homes in Santa Fe don’t have air conditioning, or even a swamp cooler. But there’s a solution: ceiling fans!
(more…)
Posted in decorating, general | No Comments »
Tuesday, September 12th, 2006
If I was a superhero, I would be called “The Nose.” Being able to smell EVERYTHING isn’t the coolest superhero power, and it’s even worse if you aren’t a superhero. I dread shaking people’s hands because I’ll be smelling their perfume/cologne/hand lotion all day long. I smell gas leaks everywhere. My sense of smell is so finely tuned, I could have been a perfume tester, except that the smell of perfume makes me gag.
I once asked a doctor how I could dampen my excellent (and annoying) sense of smell; he suggested I take up smoking. So instead I have a scentless subscription to InStyle Magazine, and I’ve banned scent from our house.
If your sense of smell approaches mine, this is your guide to scent-free baby products. (And please feel free to add more in the comments section!).
(more…)
Posted in decorating, general, pooping | No Comments »
Sunday, May 7th, 2006
Rocking is not only for antique collectors
My mother insisted that a rocking chair was a crucial item of baby equipment, but all I could imagine was the rocking chair she had when I was little, with turned spindles and a quilted seatpad, that looked like something you’d find in the Walton’s farmhouse.
So I didn’t buy a rocking chair. Then, when Finn was 7 months old, I was over at a Janie’s house for a neighborhood meeting. Finn became tired and fussy; there were 60 people all talking about how we need a trail along the river and she’s naturally curious, and social, and she couldn’t fall asleep. So I went into Janie’s daughter’s room, sat in her rocker, and in about ten seconds, Finn was asleep.
(more…)
Posted in decorating, general, sleeping | 2 Comments »
Thursday, March 9th, 2006
What to do on date night
Once a week, David and I have date night. It’s nice to go out for dinner, but dinner takes about an hour and a half and our babysitter’s minimum is three hours. The enforced exile from our own home was disconcerting, but we quickly realized that if we come home we have at least an hour to do anything we want while the babysitter is still looking after Finn. This can be: taking a bath, writing entries for this website or napping.
Last week we painted Finn’s wall, something we intended to do before she was born. Alas, she came early and the paint came late.
(more…)
Posted in decorating | No Comments »
|
