Good Weekend. Scratch That. Great Weekend.

Why so great? Energy. Lots and lots of glorious, wonderful, sunshiney energy.

This weekend consisted of a haircut. A shopping trip to Wal-Mart. (By the way, Wal-Mart has a couple of big jar candles - Mulled Cider and Pine - that are $4 a piece AND smell just like Yankee Candles.)

I cleaned house a little. Played with Mabel. Helped throw a bridal shower. Hung out with Matt and watched tv while cuddling under blankets in the chilly house. We had to turn the heat on.

And the best part? I cleaned my office, which has of late become dumping ground for all things baby related.

A Little Project

Perhaps I violated some sort of sacred brass-is-precious rule by spray painting this.

But that's OK.

It won't be the last time.

I really do hate brass.

Ah.

So much better.

I'm thinking this will make a good table centerpiece for Christmas.

And I love this color. It's almost the exact same color green as the dresser in the guest bedroom, soon to be nursery. Speaking of nursery, anyone have some inspiring baby-room links to send my way?

Non-Nursery Nursery Inspiration

When I was young I used to watch My Fair Lady constantly. I was always so offended when Professor Higgins would shout, "Why can't a woman be more like a man?"

But lately, I find myself voicing a similar complaint.

"Why can't a nursery be more like a fun kid's room?"


I might be the only woman in the world who isn't a huge fan of traditional baby nurseries. Pastel colors and sugary sweet themes aren't totally my thing. But THIS room, now this is a room to love.

These pics come courtesy of Meg over at Whatever. She decorated this room as a guest-room/play-room for her kids. I love it. I love the bright colors. I love the fun fabric. I love all the vintage/thrifty finds. Maybe a nursery CAN be more like a kid's room.

P.S. And THANK YOU for all the fun nursery links yesterday. There were some great ones, and I got a lot of inspiration!

Mabel Steals My Pillow (AKA The Battle of the Couch Continues)

I thought this cute pillow would look good on my little brown retro couch that hurts my bottom so I'm trying to distract myself with cute little decorative pillows. How's that for a run-on sentence. And not using the appropriate question mark punctuation.

I'm feeling rebellious today. Here's why.

Mabel and I have been feuding over her inappropriate pillow usage for many, many years now. Like this. Or this. So finally I called her bluff. I bought a couch on Craigslist. It's very Mad Men. It has no detachable back cushions for her to crush. It's also tiny. And hard. It hurts my tailbone.

But I had limited choices. Like being broke and only being able to afford a $60 couch. Also, and I haven't mentioned it until now, George and Mabel had a "pee-off" contest on the old fluffy couch years ago. Whenever a visitor sat on the old couch, their body heat slowly released the acrid aroma of prehistoric dog urine from within the cushions and into the air. No amount of cleaning ever helped. And we probably lost friends over it.

"Did you smell that?"

"Yeah, when I sat on the couch. Was that..."

"Piss? Yes. It was. They're gross."

"Let's never talk to Matt or Liz again."

"Deal."

So... after all that whining and explaining... you can see why I'm stuck with a really good looking yet incredibly uncomfortable retro couch. And why I keep deluding myself into thinking that cute pillows will help the situation.

But they don't help. Mabel continues her crush-a-thon on all things pillow related. The couch remains uncomfortable and makes me rub my aching tailbone in what could be perceived as a very inappropriate gesture while I gripe, "I'm pregnant. I should have something soft to sit on. Maybe I'll just buy one of those hemorrhoid donut things." *SNIFF SNIFF*

Mabel, on the other hand, gives the new pillow 4 stars for fluffiness.

Bring It On Time Change

"Falling Back" is not my favorite phrase.

But with the shorter, darker days comes a lot of happy home time. There's nothing like chilly temps and long shadows to make us retreat into our houses, do some laundry and watch old movies. Mabel likes it too, mostly because she burrows into the laundry piles when I'm not looking. And no, I don't rewash them afterward.

Time change always lights a fire under me to organize closets and get rid of excess 'stuff.' I've been tackling the kitchen storage especially. You can't really tell, but I've emptied out the whole top shelf in the laundry closet. We're calling it Operation Make Room For Baby.

So despite the lack of sunlight, I look forward to getting rid of books I won't read, dust bunnies I don't like, and walking back and forth in front of the guest room, imagining it as a nursery. This year I say, "Bring it on time change."

The Most Perfect Apron Ever & Procrastination

I usually have huge plans for weekends. They appear in the form of long lists (always with flowers and stars drawn in the margins). This weekend I wrote this to myself:

1. Clean whole house. Even the gross baseboards.
2. Speaking of gross baseboards, get spare paint out of shed and repaint them.
3. And speaking of gross, explain to Mabel in clear and certain terms why she is to NEVER eat cat poop from the yard again.
4. Work on book edits. WORK I TELL YOU! WORK!
5. Walk. Or your maternity pants won't fit next week.
6. Brainstorm nursery ideas.
7. Make homemade apple sauce.
8. Take Mabel for a walk. Remember the seams of your pants.
9. Work on edits! WORK I TELL YOU.
10. Nap. Preferably with drool.

I'll be honest with you. Most of that list did not get done. Instead of cleaning baseboards I read. I wrote a little bit and then stared into the distance and daydreamed about winning the lottery and buying Matt a new car that doesn't leak coolant all over the driveway. I'm pretty sure Mabel nosed around in Coy's poop again.

It was two days defined by one word: procrastination.

But the best part of the weekend? This apron. Thank you to the loveliest editor in the world, Mary! It's so cute I want to put it on and skip around the house. But I weigh too much these days to actually skip. Plates and cups would rattle right off the shelves and into the floor. So I'll skip the reenactment of a apron-wearing, pregnant, skipping, female King Kong and just take pictures of instead.

The bad news? Because I'm such a big procrastinator, and because I really do have to put my nose to the writing grindstone, I may fall a bit short of my daily posting schedule. But I know you understand. I'm not the only procrastinating, working gal in the world who somehow falls victim to a Fringe marathon on Saturdays as opposed to doing the important things. Like washing underwear.

Too much info? My bad.

Fluffy Icing Filler Inspiration Day 4

Like pretty baby nurseries? Or pictures of rooms that are spic and span and devoid of a pile of laundry the size of Mt. Vesuvius? Oh wait. That's what Jane's future-nursery looks like right now. Stop by Lauren's blog With Two Cats to check this out. And happy Friday folks! We made it!