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House

Crafts, House

Log Warmers

In LA most of us are looking at your wintery posts of snowmen and ice skating and warm cozy fires with envy. But there’s one thing we have that you don’t.Log Warmers_2

Log warmers on our fire logs!

At least I do. My fireplace doesn’t get much action over here so I decided to upcycle some old sweaters and dress up my logs with log warmers.Log Warmers 1_Collage

Yes, I did say log warmers. Like leg warmers, but for you logs. And if you think warmers for logs are silly, lemme tell you: so is wearing a wool cap in 65 degree weather. (You people know who you are). Continue Reading…

House

Pearl’s Wizard of Oz Bedroom on Apartment Therapy!

When I submitted Pearl’s Wizard of Oz bedroom to Apartment Therapy a few months ago, I didn’t hear back. No biggie. I figured they get thousands of submissions daily.Apartment Therapy

I’d been a loyal fan for years and would remain so. When the kids or the traffic or the evening news gets to me, I dive into AT’s world of styled vignettes and pretty things. A world where all objects coordinate. If there is a comfort food of blogs Apartment Therapy is mine.

Then, this morning, a friend posted a link on my Facebook timeline. Apartment Therapy posted the room! MY room! I mean, um, my daughter’s room…

I’m excited and inspired and ready to share more of this crazy house with you all. Thanks for the shout out, Apartment Therapy.

Most of all, thanks for all of your support, my lovely readers!

House, Organization

The Study

We call it the study. But that’s not quite it. The study. The walls aren’t forest green with dark walnut moulding.  It’s not filled with old legal books and vintage atlases. It does not smell of tobacco.The Study_1

What this room truly is is a 3-fer. An office, a sewing room and a guest room. But cramming three rooms into one has taken time. And it done been ugly. Continue Reading…

DIY, House

Kitchen Makeover: Painter’s Block

Why haven’t I posted about my fabulous low-budget paint-only kitchen makeover? Because a week after I painted my cabinets green I started to… [face in palms] hate them. Oh the shame! I was supposed to transform my kitchen into something like the inspiration photo of this Parisian flat.Kitchen Makeover_1

I felt like a failure.

And remember those 30-year-old GE ovens I raved about? Spoke too soon. Minutes after I published that post a gasket caught alight and rendered one unusable for Thanksgiving. I contacted GE. Naturally, they do not make replacement gaskets for ancient artifacts. Continue Reading…

Family, House

Home Sweet Double-Wide

So my parents were here for 15 days. Sleeping on a sofa bed in our study. Waking up at the crack of dawn thanks to tiny early risers. Waiting for my decaf to finish brewing so they could brew their regular. By day 2 my father had declared that he was going home. We understood. It’s not easy staying in other peoples’ homes, especially a family of four. Especially our family of four. But they did it. They sucked it up and stuck it out. On their last night we all went to the beach to celebrate.Home Sweet Double-Wide_1

No one announced it, but I think we were all celebrating our survival of the past 15 days under the same roof. Continue Reading…

DIY, House

Kitchen Makeover: Embracing the Granite

Yesterday Smalls took a 2-hour nap. During that time I painted the top cabinets in Benjamin MooreSuper White. Later, her friend came over with her nanny, so I did some more painting. At night I painted the oven “unit” green. All the cabinets are pretty much done save for some places daylight and guests’ eyes will never see.Kitchen Makeover_1

Painting kind of sucks. It’s like that Vegas scene from Swingers. At first you’re like, “Vegas, baby, Vegas!” and then after a few hours in the car you’re like, “I want out.” It’s the corners and niches and angles that kill me. But it was worth it. I love the result. Continue Reading…

Family, House

People in Glass Houses Shouldn’t Run

My brother and sister-in-law just traded their historic Victorian in Massachusetts for a mid-century modern Eichler in Northern California. Yes, they now live in Cali! So what if the halls are filled with boxes and stuff is strewn about all willy-nilly? We don’t care– we’re family. Puff up the air mattress and unpack those wine glasses… we’re coming to visit!Eichler_1

Basically, the idea behind Eichler housing is indoor/outdoor suburban living, clean lines, open floor plans… and lots and lots (did I say lots?) of glass. Continue Reading…

Family, House

Potty Training 101 – How to Remove Urine and Feces from Upholstery

I want to raise fearless girls. I want them to grow into women who break rules, cross boundaries and don’t take no for an answer. Fortunately, I see them heading in this direction, which is good. Unfortunately, sometimes the rules that should be broken get mixed up with the ones that shouldn’t.

Like when Smalls tells me she’s ready for potty training and then proceeds to pee all over the couch.Upholstery Cleaning_1

This is not the kind of rule-breaking I’m interested in.

When I first saw the giant stain I thought, well, this is what I get for putting a $2,000 Case Study day bed in the playroom. Everyone knows you can’t have nice things when you have children. But then I remembered… we’d been down this road before. Only that time it was a New York City snow globe that leaked oil all over the couch. A friend recommended I call COIT and within 24 hours it was stain-free. There was no doubt I’d call COIT again. Continue Reading…

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