What Ana Does

When packing for a long trip, I have a few strategies: First, I usually stay within a similar color family so it's easy to mix and match, depending on my mood and the weather. I only pack a few pants because they can be worn again. And I like button down shirts because their sleeves can be rolled up if it gets warm or, as I wear a tanktop base layer, can be unbuttoned or tied around my waist. Also, I pick out newer or favorite items from my closet that are comfortable and will make me look decent in photos. Lastly, I consider what the activities are for the week and plan accordingly. We may see a show, so the swan dress with tights will make a great theater look. Or I can wear the navy leggings, if it's chilly. Lastly, I know darn well that I will buy clothes when vacationing in a city, especially London. So there's even more incentive to pack light, as I'll be adding whatever I buy along the way. Here's the contents of my suitcase for seven days in London and...

Well, we're down to the last few days before Spring Break in London and, as you might have guessed, I'm deep into my packing routine. A packing routine? Don't scoff, it's something I've been perfecting for years. I've got it down to Three Phases of Packing . In a nutshell they are: 1) Research, what will we be doing? 2) Gathering and Shopping, what do we have and need? 3) Stacking, Sorting and Editing, what will actually fit/go into suitcases? I'm just finishing up Phase 2 and moving to Phase 3 by Friday. I may need a quick trip to Hanna Anderson for some leggings for Alice. She wears all her cheap leggings out at the knees. Also, I think she hit another growth spurt. Anyway, I've been noticing posts like these on Pinterest and I'm really digging them. An image that incapsulates what's in my suitcase?? YES! I have to try this. Right: LiveLoveSara | Left: Putting Me Together So these are my inspiration. My photo coming soon! R...

Here's an update on Leah's bedroom. In this post , I was trying to figure out where to put the bed once Leah moves out of Alice's room. They'd been roommates since September ( see this post ) but now the almost-11-year-old wants to be in her own room again. The room is oddly laid out, and Leah requested the bed doesn't take up the middle of the room. So the solution we came up with is pushing it up against the built-in desk.  It's not perfect but it's kind of neat to sit in bed and work on art projects or on her school-issues Chrome book on the desk. And she's created a hiding place under the desk, too.  AFTER: Leah's Bedroom  Well, at least that's where it will stay for the time. We're always moving things around in this house.  Related Posts: When the girls became roommates and why Leah's bedroom layout

Current status: Registering for summer camps, buying village pool passes and looking at possible road trip ideas. My view while pondering all this ... Our first significant snowfall since December. It's been a weird winter.

It's a frigid weekend here in the midwest but we're starting to think about Spring and backyards and gardens and grilling. Oh Spring, you are so full of promise. Spring also means a slew of new books I can't wait to get my hands on. There are two in particular that I'm counting down the days to their release. The first is Laini Taylor's new book (part one of two) called Strange the Dreamer . Gah! Just the title hooks me in! It looks to be the aftermath of the Daughter of Smoke and Bone series and I'm counting down the days. It's always a good season when my friend Kieran Scott has a new book coming out. This one is called Pretty Fierce  (such a rad title) and it's about an assassin's daughter on the run. YES! It comes out in April and of course I've already preordered it. This one is right up my alley, so I can't wait to devour it. In other book news, I'm sailing through The Rose and the Dagger , which is the sequel to The Wrath ...

The basement punchlist continues into infinity, but I can check off the new cabinets. They are done! I used Polyshades "Honey Pine" Gloss  from Minwax and, I have to admit, I won't be using it again. It's a stain and polyurethane in one but I still needed to do a third layer of just poly on the top because it didn't feel wipeable. I was hoping to avoid that. Fortunately, I had water-based polyurethane leftover from the bathroom vanity project. Here are the cabinets in progress ... In Progress: Stain Done and Drying And a final picture of the cabinets all done and styled out. It's the first thing you see walking down the stairs and having it done is a SUPER feeling. And, yes, the nerdy husband had a lot to say about what was included on the cabinets. After: Cabinets Are Done and Approved! These cabinets (from Ikea ) are being used for (starting from the left) Dave's stuff, games, crafting supplies and my storage. And just this week we used t...