Life in the blogosphere can appear pretty editorialized most of the time, depending on where you’re reading. I know I’m inundated with beautiful images of pristine homes with clean hard wood floors and elegant children’s toys, decadent doughnut-eating women with trim figures and made-up faces, and let’s not forget the $700 strollers filled with children wearing mid-level designer clothing. I honestly do love to look at those things— they’re pretty, escapist, and inspiring in a way, but a reality check every now and then is great for the soul!

So here’s my Saturday afternoon reality check. What did this Saturday look like? Well, it was very boring. And as wonderful as it was mundane. I thought I’d give you a peek into the reality of our perfectly normal and unexciting afternoon, with glimpses of our home, unstaged and not exactly photo ready. (Though I’ll be honest— this is actually pretty clean as far as things tend to get with a toddler and a maker mom!) So allow me to get a little chatty, rambley, and most importantly— real— with you today!

Phil had come home from a morning business meeting and thought he’d take Lucy outside to rake leaves. We have lots of trees, so I figured that would keep them occupied for a while, and I could putz around the house picking up things from our chaotic week. Well, no such luck. Phil brought out the leaf blower and it was game over. (She doesn’t like loud things.) So we sat down for a two hour lunch. That’s how long lunches with Lucy usually last if you hold your ground as a parent and actually make her eat more than just half of a sandwich for lunch. During that time I nursed Juniper and put her in her swing for a nap. She’s a terrifically easy baby, and usually falls asleep nicely in it.

Hey sweet cheeks! Atta girl, just sit there nicely and drift off to dream land while mommy helps sis make a poop on the potty. How’s that for glamorous living? Yeah, we have a training toilet right out in the open in our living room. Not to get too graphic, but it smells reeeeal nice after Lucy pays it a visit. But hey! This is a really good thing, because it means one less bottom to wipe and diaper. Potty training is going well. We think Lucy’s probably 80% trained, but that’s a story for another day. And don’t worry— I won’t be telling you about our potty training journey! I’m just thinking that content probably doesn’t belong here. You’re welcome.

After lunch, Lucy wanted to wash dishes. I was glad to hear it, because “dish washing” is an activity that keeps her occupied for up to a couple of hours usually. She just likes to play in the water and dump out little cups of water into bigger cups of water. That sort of thing. I can’t wait until this excitement for dish washing translates into actual clean dishes.

Lucy’s wearing whatever Phil picked out for her in the morning, which actually sort of matches what I’m wearing— and that would be the same thing I wore to bed last night— Phil’s Ohio State sweatshirt and some comfy black lounge pants. No face washed, no hairs brushed, and no teeth brushed. (That goes for both me and Lucy.) Hey, it’s Saturday. No judging allowed. We’re just takin’ it easy and ignoring all of the actual dishes that need washed from the past few days. (…that are plentiful enough to be lining the window sill in the kitchen.)

The laundry basket on the sofa is filled with my clothes that were cleaned and folded two days ago, and still haven’t made it from the basket into my dresser drawers. But that’s okay! Because I can just dash out to the living room to get underwear if I need to. Joys of living in a small house.

Uh, oh! Juniper isn’t being her usual easy going self any more! She is tired, sad, and needs a little mommy time. So I set down the camera and took her into my bed to nurse her for a few minutes. She gets distracted out in the rest of our house, so sometimes we have to steal away and then she can focus and eat.

Speaking of laundry, I have no idea if that pile of clothes on Lucy’s dresser is clean or dirty. I haven’t gotten around to dealing with it— or to dusting the dresser, apparently. Note the box of wipes at the ready— you never know when you’ll need cleaning supplies nearby when you’re potty training a toddler!

Check it out! My dining room has been a mess for the past month as I’ve been working on this dollhouse project. The mammoth thing has eclipsed my Fall decorations, and in order to prevent the same thing happening to Christmas decorations, I’ve set a deadline for Wednesday to complete the project. That deadline includes the structure, not the furnishings. While it’s out and being photographed, I thought I’d pull back the sheet a bit to give you a peek inside!

This corner of the living room is actually pretty clean. Lucy never played with any of her toys today. Just the garden rake and the dishes. Fine by me!

And now it’s time for Lucy to go with Daddy to Grandma and Grandpa’s house to watch the Ohio State game. They’re both excited about it, and I’m looking forward to a little me-time. Time to go put on the kettle to make a pot of coffee and get cracking on this dollhouse before Juniper wakes up!

How was your Saturday?

Things are coming along nicely in the dollhouse! I still feel like there’s so much to do, but comparing this post with my last one about the dollhouse, I can see how much progress I’ve made! I have a list of things that need completed on the structure (interior and exterior) and I plan to have it finished before Thanksgiving. (That’s next week! Yikes!) After the structure is complete, it’s on to furnishing and acessorizing. Then when it’s all finished, I’ll be so sad. Maybe I will do another? But for now, let’s talk about the hallway!

As I mentioned before, you can see the true before pictures on Facebook here. But the photo above shows what the space looked like after the floors were done, the walls primed and glued in position, and the left wall wallpapered with a doorway in place. This hallway could be dead space in the dollhouse because it’s where the stairs go, blocking the rear area, but instead I decided to tuck away a fun feature: a window seat!

I built the window seat out of two pieces of 1.5″ wide craft wood I already had in my stash. I just used super glue to attach them together and then to the end of the hallway. I didn’t worry about making it fit absolutely perfectly, because I would be adding trim.

Another detail in the hallways space I had planned from the beginning was a stained glass window. To make this, I added the plexiglass panes to my painted dollhouse kit windows and laid a template beneath it. (I used a stained glass window image I found online and tweaked it to fit my window in Photoshop.) I made the leaded lines with tiny strips of golfer’s tape. I flipped the window over and added lines to the other side of the window as well. Then I filled in the designated spaces with yellow glass paint and clear glass paint to look like real stained glass.

Here’s what the window looks like in place from the outside. It drives me crazy because I’m new to this world of miniatures, and sometimes it’s only when I take photos and view the items enlarged (like this window) that I can see all the tiny imperfections. Oh well.

Below you can see the hallways from the inside with the window installed, wallpaper on the walls, trim in place, and even a tiny cushion on the window seat. I made the cushion out of foam board for the base and chipboard and quilt batting for the top. The right side of the window seat will be block by the top set of stairs, so I wasn’t super concerned with making the trim on the seat perfectly spaced.

I’ll probably tuck a couple of tiny pillow back there for when the dolls are lounging around reading books or whatnot. You know, just doin’ doll stuff. Once the stairs are in place, you won’t be able to see it super well, so it will be a special little hiding place!

LINKS FOR MATERIALS USED:

dollhouse kit
golfer’s tape (for leaded window lines)
glass paint (for stained glass window)
wallpaper- open stock scrapbook paper from Michael’s craft store
fabric for bench
ribbon for stair runner (yet to be installed, shown in first image)

Next up I’ll have the bathroom finished and ready to share. Stay tuned!

Everyone said, “Try to get out of the house when the baby comes.” So, naturally I got out of the house, packed up the car, and drove to the woods in upstate New York to spend a few days with my girls. I don’t think that’s what everyone meant by their “get out of the house” advice, but it sure was just what I needed!

As I mentioned last week, I was invited by Glamping Hub to spend a couple of nights in one of their locations. They offer luxury tents, yurts, trailers, vans, and even tipis. But since the weather is unpredictable this time of year, I settled on this location, and I’m so glad I did! Not only because it was rainy most of the trip, but also because the location was so charming and the interior of the treehouse style cabin made me feel 100% cooler than I actually am. We had such a fun time!

It’s always been a dream of mine to have a home with a sunken living room. While I haven’t actually owned a home like this (yet), I was able to experience it at the treehouse. Now I’m even more convinced that I’d like this feature in a home someday. So cozy! The perfect conversation pit with a wood burning stove and projector system for movie watching.

The cabin also houses a collection of 250 records for guests to enjoy. Well, 252 records now, since my friends and I pitched in to add a couple to their collection- The Black Keys’ Rubber Factory (sharing some local Ohio love) and Wilco’s Star Wars. We enjoyed selecting different albums to create a soundtrack to our trip.

We enjoyed visiting the cute little town of Beacon, NY during our stay, and brought back Thai food one night, and Mexican another. The kitchen did come equipped with plenty of pots, pans, and whatnot to make our own food, but it was nice to not have to worry about it for a couple of days.

My friends and I had a really nice time just spending time together with no agenda. We encouraged each other, loved on each other, and just had fun playing games and laughing. It was an inspiring time. And I’m not just talking about how I’m now inspired to find these exact chairs for my dining room at home, and am even more obsessed with the sunken living room idea. It’s just good to get away, away from computers and the daily grind, and feel recharged spiritually and creatively.

Thanks Glamping Hub, and thanks to the owners of the Lovenest! I hope we were able to send some positive energy into your space during our stay.