September 4, 2009
· Filed under Home, Kids, Molly, Organizing · Tagged free printables, Living Locurto, One Pretty Thing, organizing for back to school
The first day of school is (EEK!) Tuesday! I’ve been thinking a lot about routines and how to get (and stay!) organized. I’d been toying with the idea of designing a daily routine poster to remind the girls of the things they need to do each day, so I was happy to find these free printable Morning Routine cards by Amy Locurto of Living Locurto over at One Pretty Thing:
This is a good start – I need all four of these cards (which come in pink/green too). Although, now that I think about it, my kids do these in the exact opposite order.
I also need afternoon cards. She has a routine chart here (also yours free to print):
I need a chart with the dreaded H word, which comes after the snack.
I need evening cards too:
- Pick out an outfit for tomorrow (more on this in a minute)
- Get your backpack together (remember your library book, permission slip, lunch money, etc.)
- Pick up the toys and clothes in your room
- Pajamas on, brush your teeth
- Read a story, lights out
Ok, I guess I do need to put together a daily routine poster.
Incidentally, here’s another great organizing idea from Living Locurto: free printable days of the week hanger tags to help sort out a week’s worth of outfits for your kids. I like this idea because my kids have a ton of clothes, and they tend to want to wear the same two or three outfits over and over again. So, picking out a week’s worth gently encourages them to try new outfits.
If you’re on Twitter, you can follow Living Locurto @LivingLocurto and One Pretty Thing @OnePrettyThing.
I hope you have a great holiday weekend! See you back here on Tuesday.
May 4, 2009
· Filed under Birthdays & Parties, Crafty!, D.I.Y., Home, Molly · Tagged papel picado craft
I wanted to scream like a little girl in a candy store when I saw this do-it-yourself papel picado banner on Style Me Pretty.
Pure. Genius.
We gringos see elaborate ones in Mexican restaurants, or for Day of the Dead celebrations, but you can make them yourself with a few easy-to-find craft supplies. You will still be a gringo, though.
Just think: pretty decorations for a party, a unique way to brighten your kid’s bedroom, or even tiny ones for a dollhouse.
Click here for the full instructions (though it’s pretty easy to figure out on your own, I think).
On an unrelated note: Karin is taking a break for awhile, so you chumps guys are stuck with just me for awhile. But hopefully I can keep you entertained, interested and coming back.
Happy Monday!
April 30, 2009
· Filed under Design, Home, Molly · Tagged modern clocks, wall clocks
Time to get a new clock.
Our kitchen clock went kaput. Finito. It’s toast. And apparently I need to replace it because I look at the empty space on the wall (out of habit) about 20,000* times a day.
*approximately
So, here’s a little clock round-up, in case you too are in the market.
The Doily clock by and furthermore,
The Cosmic Clock at Chiasso:
The Bouquet clock by decoylab (I really like her fun cuckoo clocks too):
The Petal Links Modern wall clock by PILOTdesign:
The Bengt Ek Clock, at Scandanavian Design Center:
And this one is my favorite – the Pendulum Number 6 clock by Oliver Hemming. You can get it at Unica Home:
April 25, 2009
· Filed under Green Living, Home, Kids, Molly · Tagged children's table and chairs, eco-friendly kids furniture, storage cubes
Bonus Saturday post!
I dig this table and chairs from Way Basics. For $135, it’s stylish, requires no tools, is made of 99% recycled materials, and is recyclable. You can choose from several colors, or something very neutral.
I also really like these spinning cubes for storage (they come in espresso, if you’re not into the colors):
I will be hawking baked goods for my daughter’s co-operative preschool all day today. I’ll have photos of the pretty packages for you on Crafty Monday, with links to my inspirations.
April 22, 2009
· Filed under Design, Home, Molly, Pretty Things · Tagged 2 Modern, Anthropologie, Crate and Barrel, Goldiehome, modern furnishings, Offi
If you wanted to, you could buy me this Offi Scando coffee table (note the handy magazine pocket/crumb catcher/built-in matchbox car ramp):
Other expensive things you could buy me include (but are not limited to), this Lollipop Blossom rug from Anthropologie:
The Tate bed from Crate and Barrel
And Goldiehome bedding from 2Modern:
Next Wednesday’s requests: yachts, the Hope Diamond, and a majority stake in Abu Dhabi’s hotel industry.
April 8, 2009
· Filed under Design, Home, Molly, Pretty Things · Tagged Jill Rosenwald, Jonathan Adler rugs
I really want an updated, modern rug for my living room, and I drool like a baby over this Jonathan Adler “Plume” rug:
Here’s a slightly (only slightly) cheaper way to get essentially the same pattern into my house – these Jill Rosenwald “Swag” plates:
Just as soon as I win the lottery.
April 2, 2009
· Filed under Home, Karin, Projects · Tagged dining room inspirations, dining room paint colors
I am really itching to repaint our dining room. As you may have seen, we’ve got a lovely deep dark orange wall and accents, but I am so sick of the orange…and in an old row house with only a few side windows, it makes for a pretty dark room. I would love to paint it a white or a cream, or maybe try a new accent color that feels new and fresh…something like this….
March 26, 2009
· Filed under Design, Home, Karin
This is our kitchen and dining area. The kitchen is somewhat newer and, while not my taste, it is respectable…but the place has some basic flow problems that make it a source of constant frustration and which cause us to go visiting open houses every weekend, in search of the perfect open family friendly space. We love our neighborhood, but we don’t love the railroad car feel of the space… People are always sitting on the kitchen floor.
So recently we’ve been thinking about fixing the layout of our kitchen – removing the rest of that dividing wall and making a more open space with a bar height counter and shelving underneath. I’d also like to paint the cabinets white and change the back door to increase the light.
Some inspiration shots:
March 24, 2009
· Filed under Design, Home, Karin
As an urban family, we often fantasize about having a little country cabin we could escape to each weekend, where we could read, craft, play games by a fire, garden…just escape!
Obviously, we aren’t the only ones…the fabulous men of our favorite local business, Foster’s Urban Homeware, have gotten to indulge their country house fantasies to the fullest, and it is really incredible. I just love their use of color, the way in which they embraced the old character of the home while making it feel modern and fresh.
Check out the Philadelphia Magazine article and slideshow here ….
