What Ana Does

I got to enjoy some time with just the hubby in San Francisco last weekend. He was going for work so I tagged along. We lived here, well, south of here, from 2000 until 2002, roughly. And, I was surprised to realize that I haven't been back since. Our trips into the San Fran were usually to meet friends for dinner or sightsee with out of town guests, so we had limited familiarity of the city, but nonetheless, it's a great place to come and visit. We went out to dinner with old friends we hadn't seen in many years, delicious spots where we lingered and talked until well after dessert was served and cleaned up. We were lucky that the hotel was located near the Ferry Building, for indie food and shops. And a cab driver recommended taking a walk along Chestnut Street near the Marina, where cute shops and cafés abound.  No kids meant no need to rush, yummy adult drinks, late nights and sleep-in mornings (just for me, David is deep in marathon training). Things I Love...

That power room and paint color has been occupying a lot of my thoughts this week. On Sunday, I went shopping around my house to see if there's anything I can relocate to the room -- and maybe provide some inspiration. I got this little metal and glass vases a few months ago and had it hanging in my dining room, where I forgot about it. With a few white, frilly flowers (weeds) pulled from my backyard, it's a pretty addition to the room. Wall Flowers

I love the look of a crown braid, and now that my hair is getting longer, I thought I might be able to do it. It's SUPER THICK so, if I can get it right, the braid will be voluminous and fetching.  Jess, a cute blogger who posts pretty pictures, wrote up a tutorial this week  so I had to try it.  Awk. It's a lot harder than it looks. I don't have the manual dexterity to braid behind my head. But, I suppose, if I continue to practice, my little fingers might be able to figure it out.  Here's my first attempt:  It Started Out Pretty Well And It All Fell Apart Around the Back Those little bitty clips are helpful to hold the braid together. Maybe I'll try with wet hair next.

I've always wanted to make a simple patchwork quilt -- and maybe work up to "real" quilting someday. I put it on my New Year's Goals for 2014. So I bought a bunch books and magazines, consulted my professional quilter Grams, and visualized the step by step process of assembling and sewing the squares. All over the last six months, at least. I know, I'm a bit strange when it comes to these things. I've also been slowly collecting the various supplies. Tonight, I finally buckled down to create. My goal: a simple patchwork of squares, just to get the basic principals down. I tucked the girls in bed and got cutting. I thought I'd only get as far as the squares, but had time, so I sewed them together. I made a bunch of mistakes (that's what seam rippers are for) and figured a lot out. Before I knew it, I was sewing in the bunting and backing fabric.  Here she is!!! She's not the prettiest quilt on the block, and the fabrics don...

I've been spending too much time thinking about my guest bathroom on the main floor. You remember it .... I painted it the first year we lived in this house ... Spare Bathroom It's a blue/green combo. ( Take a trip down memory lane. ) Um ... I'm starting to think about refreshing the colors. It's a little drab in there. The green/avocado color isn't really brightening things up, as I'd hoped. And I never put in the trim to separate the colors, as I'd always planned. And that beige trim is undermining the wall color. Am I crazy or do you love the teal/red combo? I haven't done any red anywhere in this house. And it's certainly bright!! Ideas, ideas.

I love my morning snack of homemade yogurt mixed with fresh berries. Now that it's summer, those berries are fresh and local -- direct from my CSA pickup. Deeeeeeelicious!! Triple Berry Medley! Yum! Who Want a Taste? I just love how the squishy raspberries turn the yogurt pink. If I really stir it, it gets BRIGHT pink.  Geez ... Pink is everywhere in my world right now. Pink is the new pink, people! Think pink! 

This weekend's painting project (because it's summer and I have to be painting something!) is to tackle my childhood bunk bed frames. I started the project back in October  with the plan to strip them back to their wood-finished glory. But after some work with a sensitive stripper (heh) and sander, it became clear that I wasn't going to get all the white paint off. Not to mention all the nooks and crannies that were impossible to work with. So, I got some fantastic (low VOC) primer and pink paint called Honeysuckle and got to work.  Pink because these bunk beds are going into Alice's room and she insisted on pink. And my only requirement was a bright (!) color. If I had my way, they would have been a sunny yellow, but they're not going into my room. BEFORE: The Frames After Torturing Them With Stripper and Sanding I got the first bed finished by Sunday afternoon. And I'm clearing next weekend to finish the second set of frames -- and checking this pro...

An Instagram portrait of a 5-year-old on her bed. On Her Pretty Bed in Her Pink Room She looks like a teenager, on the phone, and annoyed that I would dare come by. Relate posts: More more and more Alice

Today's project was to add shoes storage to our laundry room. I don't know about you, but this family of four has a ton of shoes. A ton. So, I cleaned out the space by the door, scrubbed the (ugly) tile .... BEFORE: Space Not Well Used And installed an inexpensive chrome shelf. And because the wall was in such poor shape, I slapped a coat of sea blue paint that I rejected for Leah's room years ago. And even cut and added some of the floor tile from the old house -- to finish off the corner. AFTER: Shelf, Shoes and Re-usable Grocery Bags This is just the beginning of the plethora of shoes that will be going on this shelf. And I've got to install a hook or two, but this is how it looked tonight.  Brief Aside: I accidentally cracked the light switch plate while removing it. Oops! Add that to my Home Depot list. 

Right outside my screen door to the backyard there is a long-neglected space I'm committed to cleaning up ... next year. It's got some unruly rose bushes and weeds galore. This year, something surprising popped up.  As I've mentioned, I'm in the habit of throwing produce out into my backyard, especially in Fall and Winter. Well, as a by-product of that weird habit, I now have a pumpkin or squash plant sprouting in that spot I dumped last year's Halloween gourds. How fun! The Plant Outside My Door

My company sent me to Atlanta for the weekend to get all I can out of a very-cool technology in education conference. A weekend away by myself. To be an adult and "working professional" instead of weekend Mom? Sure I'll go!  With the bonus of maybe being INSPIRED about my job and how I'm contributing to this ed tech movement. (Not to mention, the chance to see a city I've never been to.) Centennial Park in Downtown Atlanta So, I'm having a pretty good time. There's some networking going on. I met up with an old coworker who works at a competitor. Jotted down some professional research to share with my team. There's so much to do and see. I'm making the most of it. My challenge has been finding good food. Sure, I could eat at Arby's or Quiznos (even though I never would at home), but I have some time to be picky. And I'd rather eat REAL food. Saturday I hit the jackpot and found a fantastic coal-oven pizza place just as it started...