Deciding on Gray

This is our living room currently. Orange speckled brown shag carpeting covering up beautiful hardwood (from what we can see in the corner we pulled up), Floral wall paper, and a very decorative fireplace. It needs a good lightening up - we've decided a long time ago that we want to go with a more neutral pallet and add color with rugs, throws, and art. Keeping that in mind, we decided on gray. Warm grays, cool grays, and every kind of grays in the house. We've put paint card on the wall and as the day progresses we look and mark our favorite with the time of day on it. So far the first one in the second row is winning.
 I've unearthed some of my art supplies but it's a very unorganized putting away of things. There isn't really a studio place here and by the time we get to the attic I think the oldest wants to claim it as his room - and rightfully so. My sewing supplies may be kept in a hutch in the dining room, yarn in a basket in the living room, and I'm making a small studio space in the master bedroom. Do any of you have your supplies spread out like this? Can you keep it organized and remember where it all is?

Getting Settled

Sunday was moving day to the castle on the hill. Neighbors and their children kept stopping by to welcome us to the neighborhood, which just confirmed that this was the house for us. It may need some work - like shag carpeting to be pulled up, wall paper to be removed from EVERY room, and lots of time but it has a sort of fairytale charm that we are falling in love with more and more everyday. Last night after giving the kids a bath and getting them all snug in their new rooms, hubby and I snuck out to eat dinner on the porch and talk about what we needed to pick up and our to do list. The sun was just setting, we noticed we had a nice view of the houses down the hill, and then just like a movie, church bells started to chime - a neighbor across the street said "Hi" and we whispered to each other how happy we are.  

I can't wait to show you the neighborhood - like the rose garden and park that's not even a block away, some of the neat features like the wavy glass windows and split staircase, and all the before and after that are to come. 

Hiccups and Bumps

Oh boy! I started to write this post on Tuesday around 8pm, a rainy wind gusting gray day, when to my surprise I was sitting in complete darkness. Zap! The power went out. My legs were grasped by three children who began to ask over and over again between the cries to turn the lights back on, which made it a little difficult to find packed up candles in the dark. Packed up candles are normally difficult to find in unlabeled moving boxes but this made it a real challenge. The power was finally restored this morning around 1 am.

In my original post I was going to tell you how smooth this whole week was going. How Monday didn't feel like a Monday at all. The family took a drive to Ikea, where we began to plop ourselves on couches, stretch on beds, and pretend in showroom kitchens. Like many times before, we made a pact to not bicker, as sometimes Ikea gets the best of us. Tuesday work day went by fast but then the week took the horrible turn. Without power the first night we camped on the living room floor - children seem more thirsty and need to use the bathroom more when there is no water. Wednesday morning was an adventure getting ready for work. I drove down the road to the grocery store to get some bottled water, mostly so Buster wouldn't go thirsty and so I could take a unique shower. The nice woman behind the counter advised that they had the water in a cooler if I wanted it cold but trust me it felt cold enough. All day at work I thought about coming home to power so when that didn't happen I kinda got ugly.

Taking it out at the poor woman at the utility company didn't make me feel better, it only made me feel worse. After dear hubby left for work and the pow wow began in the living room again, the kids made me laugh. They danced in front of the candle light pretending they were giants. Damien read Harry Potter to Aries and Odyn. Some how with all their stuff in boxes for the past couple of weeks, moving to a new home they haven't seen but only heard stories about, a soon to be new school filled with unfamiliar faces, and with the power out they could still have fun. These are just some of the hiccups and bumps that are little reminders of how great the new place will be. Friday we get the keys. Sunday we move. Monday we will be home.

Happy Things To End the Week With

Oh I just love ending a week with happy news! We got the clear to move, which prompted phones calls to all the places you need to call when you move (you never really grasp it all until it's smack in your face). So next weekend it's all going down - the move, the switching of things, and the beginning of a lot of others. Funny how you feel like your waiting and waiting and waiting some more ...then when it's finally here it's feels  so shocking, like a bolt of excited energy.
While I often disagree with people when they say "you must be super woman" I feel like I must get my cape ready for the upcoming weeks. There was this wonderful opportunity forwarded on by my mother in-law (thank you) about being a handmade vendor in Springfield, MA on October 5th. I thought a great deal about the moving, unpacking, making, and everything else that you need to get ready for a table at a show - but it's very rare that something works out perfectly with my schedule and this just happened to be absolutely perfect. No rearranging of kids being picked up or watched. No hassle of I need the car and so does hubby. So I just couldn't resist saying yes. Which means lots and lots of sewing, crocheting, and painting along with the move. If your in the area - I'll give more information when it gets closer.
The other small bit of happiness was a small rock found on the bathroom sink. It's been there for a long time, a small token from a walk that Odyn and I took. He can't resist those rocks. This one just happen to make it into the house and got a bit of a makeover. Next time we take a walk I might just let him gather as many rocks as his little hands can carry.

Box of Squares

We haven't moved just yet. I'm not holding house pictures hostage or too exhausted from the move to type. The process is just taking longer than we thought. All of our conversations at home start with "Won't it be nice in the new place when" or "In the new house we can". This weekend I couldn't take another TV movie, so I broke into one of the packed up boxes to work on some squares for the sampler afghan. Felt good to think about something else for a bit.

Yesterday was one of those days where nothing seemed to go right. If I had my choice I would have gone back to bed and tried to start the day over. Even with his favorite football team disappointing him last night, hubby surprised me with flowers this morning.

Today has already started better than yesterday!

7 Random

We haven't moved just yet but hopefully very soon. I figured there is only so many pictures I can take of boxes, so I've been a bit silent on here.
My darling vintage soul sister Micaela from Dolce Vita tagged me in her 7 random things about her post - these posts are so fun! Although I probably won't follow all the rules:

1. Post a link to the person who awarded you

2. Share seven random things about yourself

3. Award to 10 other deserving bloggers and let them know

I felt inspired to do the first two. So here are my 7 random things:

1 ~ I have two tattoos.  This one, that wraps around my ankle, has 4 leaf clovers, 3 leaf clovers, stars, and a butterfly that looks like stain glass. The other is on my lower back and is a daisy. When I had my children the anesthesiologist said it was the perfect marker for the epidural.

2~ In the summer time you will never find me wearing shorts.  Jeans, pants, dresses, or skirts but never ever shorts. They just don't feel comfortable to me.

3~ For a long time I moved more times than my age. Finally my age has caught up.

4~ The other day I was reminded that I wanted to wear red lipstick everywhere when I was younger. I watched this movie and wanted to look like Madonna. Now my own daughter wants to wear lipstick everywhere. 

5~ I've never lived all by myself somewhere. My first apartment was with my husband and his best friend - it was much like a sitcom on TV (New Girl). We were too cheap to buy a Christmas tree and instead had something called the Christmas table. 

6~ In school I never took a formal art class. I tried but got stuck in Art History...which was interesting and it was my favorite class that year but what I really wanted was a drawing, painting, or some kind of creating class.

7~ I like taking photos but dislike my photo being taken. I won't argue with anyone who wants to take my picture - it's just a blah yuck moment.