What Ana Does

When we returned from our RV trip we found a citation for an "unkempt" yard from our town hall. No fine but it was still very annoying. YES, we were aware of the state of our yard but we went on vacation. We also got one from our neighborhood association, thanks to a nosy neighbor who took a picture of our yard (with the RV in the driveway) to report us. Really cool.  The truth was, we had already called a landscaping service to pull it all out, and, in fact, had been waiting for their estimate when we got the city's notice. We quickly learned landscapers have been abnormally busy this year, so it took a few weeks to get the estimate and on the schedule.  Finally, I have some before and after photos for you ...  We also did the other side of the house, but I don't have photos of that side. It's much the same: weeds to grass seed.  The plan is to sod and get grass growing in all the cleared out areas. And, eventually, add something like hydrangea along the front po...

We have three sets of shutters on our house that probably haven't been touched since they were installed 20ish years ago. This weekend we finally got around to painting them -- a project that's been on our TO DO list for, oh, five years. We picked the shade "inked" by Behr because I love navy and wanted it to be dark and moody. But I'm not sure that's what I got ... Here's the Shutter on the Ground Floor BEFORE AFTER: "Inked" Shutter  The color went on super bright blue, but it seemed to darken as it dried. So I went from feeling so-so, to thumbs-up. Then, Dave crawled out of a bedroom to paint the shutters on the upper level. You can see the "before" on the windows to the left, and the "after" on the right. I am not completely sold on them and I think it's because either a) I'm not used to seeing a pop of color on my house or b) I simply don't like the color. I'm giving it a week to deci...

I'm looking for some luck. After job hunting for weeks, I've been finding really interesting opportunities, but not getting a lot of responses to my inquiries. And I shouldn't take this as rejection. But I do. Not hearing back on things feels like rejections. And it's tough. I recently discovered this Feng Shui book I've had for many years, and I remembered how well it actually worked. It's really all about moving your stuff around your house, to unstick your chi and allow new opportunities and fortune to enter in. And I'm all about that. So I've identified that my "career" gua is our entryway and maybe a little of the garage. Both areas have been a disaster since we moved back in, so maybe it makes sense that my job hunt hasn't been so smooth. Little by little, I've been moving stuff in and out. And using tips, such as writing down the job I'm looking for ... so the universe knows what to bring me. (Isn't that calle...

Don't get me wrong, I love being home, back in the States, seeing my Mom and my beautiful house and my Target. But having two residences, one that has less than half of our things in it (it's half empty), isn't all that it's cracked up to be. There's an odd feeling of being in a half-finished house and thinking a sofa should be somewhere, when it's not there. Like a phantom limb. Also, my favorite homebody pastimes are rearranging furniture, books, display items. Also decluttering and optimizing a space or a storage. Tasks that are not really doable or much less rewarding in a house with half the furniture. For example, I can't declutter a book shelf, when all the other bookshelves are in Paris. I can't move furniture in my dining room around when there's only a table and some chairs in there. Etc. Sure, I've had some fun with arranging holiday decorations, but it's not the same. And I'm only here for two weeks, so it's not ...

Declutter My House My full-time job right now is getting the house squared away for us to be gone for two years. Mostly that means decluttering, donating, selling (AKA Craigslisting) and organizing. The 142 Picture Books I Donated to Bernie's Books!  When I get to the "Packing Step" of this move, I don't want to dig through the unusable detritus that lives in our house. Once it's gone, all the good stuff should be sorted together. For example, all the yoga mats not eaten up by Lando our dog should be in a tidy pile so I can pack them up together. Or the mystery and expired items under the bathroom cabinets. Or I'm only considering the books we LOVE to read. Because maybe, just maybe, we'll have a someone living/renting our house while we're away. Or maybe we'll list it on Airbnb, or something crazy like that. (Those plans are still being ironed out.) Which means all our personal junk needs to be sorted and stashed away. Decluttering a...

We're coming up on my One Year Quit-viersary , the day I stopped working full-time. Yup, it's almost been a full year since I hit the bricks and did something completely ill-advised. September 23 was my last day at work. The reasons I left were serious: I was tired of the type of work, after 15 years I was not challenged and there was no foreseeable career path or advancement. Most importantly, I decided to commit myself to "righting the ship" -- to point my career back towards what I'm passionate about. Ultimately, the experiment was a success. Last month I got a full-time job offer in my ideal field. Huzzah! Just, unfortunately, I had to turn it down because ... I'm moving to Paris. So, yeah .... Financially, this has been a good wake-up call. I was definitely buying way too much, and not watching my spending. But on the upside, I was contributing to my family's monthly budget. And once that stopped, well, it's taking me some time to get used t...

A few weeks ago my husband volunteered our house for a corporate video shoot. His company wanted to film a couple in a house-setting but using studios was going to be expensive for such a short video. So, on that Wednesday morning, a fleet of Honda Elements (apparently, the vehicle of choice for a production company) arrived at 7:30am and spent the day rearranging furniture, setting up lights and huge cameras -- and letting us watch them make their magic.  It was fun being around and watching the processes from start to finish. And to have about 10 people milling around my house when it's usually just me all day. They were very gracious guests and complimented our house a few times. So, yeah, they're totally welcome to come back.  The girls were at school all day, so they missed all the excitement. I took a bunch of pictures to show them where everything was set up.  There Was Even a Hair and Makeup Stylist!  Filming! Quiet on the Set!  Che...

I have this reoccurring dream about a house. It's old and huge and needs a ton of rehab. And we're either buying it or we're just moving in. From the front yard, it looks like it's set in a lush, dark green jungle and just off a main road. The busy main road makes me nervous about the girls playing out front. The back of the house is right on the beach, with sand on the back porch, and tall, rocky cliffs crowding in on both sides. It's windy and the sand and ocean stretch out forever. There are usually a crowd of boats and surfers in the water. In one dream, a storm rolled in with large waves and rain. In another, we built a huge water slide from the roof straight into the sea and Alice was too scared to ride down it. From Abandon Places Gallery Some dreams take place only inside the house, and I find myself wandering around the decaying rooms and thinking of all the work needed. Sometimes, I pick a room and clean it up, paint it and move into it. (Yes, I...

I snapped this picture just before I removed all the breakables to prepare for the carpet installation. I thought it looked kinda pretty, so thought I'd share.  Dining Room Wall

Every Halloween, we throw a party. It's really just an excuse for me to create centerpieces and eat M&Ms. But conversing with out adults around my island is a huge bonus. And the girls get added time to celebrate this holiday and run off their sugar highs with friends. Here are some pictures: Creepy! The Graveyard Outside My Door Everyone's Doing It! The Vomiting Pumpkin! Centerpiece We Had a Fancy Witch and a Disco Union Jack Bast from the past: 1st Annual Halloween Party , and 2nd Annual (2014) Halloween .  

I like to think I have a green thumb, but I really don't. It's one of those lies I tell myself. Like how I can stop eating chocolate at anytime. Sha! While we were alway in Paris, most of my houseplants died. They were already on their last legs before we left, so all it just took was 10 days of no water for them to officially kick the bucket. A few of them were succulents, so that's a real proof of my plant-killing skills. I should mention the ferns near the TV are hanging on, so I'm not a total plant-killing loser. Maybe 60% success rate? Last weekend I picked up three new "hardy" houseplants to replace all the dead ones. A neighbor suggested I replant them in larger pots and keep them in one spot - don't move them around. (This is certainly something I'm in the habit of doing.) Let's hope they last a bit longer! New Plants - And Pretty Gladys! 

Here's the best way to spend a weekend morning:  Fill a table with cookbooks, back-issues of magazines you haven't read yet, your grocery list, your weekly menu planner, to-do notebook, plenty of tech so you can check in with social media and listen to music, and a hot cup of coffee (with lots of milk). Don't forget to throw in a soft blanket and send the kids away on a sleepover.  Then, simply bask in the glory of Me time.  

As it's Leah's GOLDEN birthday, we decided to celebrate with a BIG trip to Disney World next month. But, in the meantime, we still needed to commemorate the big day with some gal pals. So, six girls were running around my house on Sunday morning. We painted little houses, ate homemade pizza and sang silly songs around my big dining room table. The shindig was owl-themed (of course) and even included a homemade Pin-the-Beak-on-the-Owl game. We got lucky with some breaks in the rain for outdoor time. And, at the end, a big hide-and-seek game. Great fun! It all reminded me how little you really need to do to throw a good kids party. Since Leah turned 2, we've been celebrating her birthday at those big jump places or gyms, but we decided after last year she was too old for those kiddie-themed gigantic parties -- as we near the age of sleep-over parties and smaller sets of besties. Plus, they're so pricey! Sheesh. Anyway, the most important thing is Leah and her gu...

Anyone Want a Ride? For a long time I was so against decorative clutter. Maybe it was because I had a very small house and I insisted that everything be useful, but it seemed pointless to buy and display a porcelin statue or pretty candle holders. Decorations came from framed art and pictures -- on the wall where I had space. And maybe some pretty curtains. Heck, even my plants had purpose, aloe and herbs (though, always an African violet for Great-Grandma.) But every home decorating show, magazine and book will tell you that these knick-knacks add the finishing touch. Character! Style! Class! Big, White Vase So, lately, I've been hunting around for these little pieces of purposeless decorations. Mostly on One Kings Lane or Home Goods or Target. And with many rules. They have to be cheap (I'm not spending more than $20 on something that has no other purpose than to collect dust). They have to be unique or stlyish or really enticing. This clutter is supposed to com...

So the cleaning service came again yesterday. An event I was very much anticipating. When we arrived home, we were, as usual, elated to walk around the house and enjoy that clean, just-washed-my-hair feeling. Then, hold up! On the counter, I found a bunch of cleaning products and a receipt (from evil Walmart, no less). The Walmart was a blow in itself (which is post for another day) but the products were all harsh non-organic products. Lysol, Comet, Pledge (orange-scented!) and the like. Here's where I get all conflicted. I've mentioned in the past about my preference for organic cleaning products. I have kids. They eat stuff off the table and floor. I would like to minimize the family's exposure to bleach and the cancer-causing toxins found in these products. On the other hand, the cleaning service are professionals, right? They know what works. What gets the best results. What they want to work with. If they want to use this toxic stuff, I should just acquiesce,...

We got home late from Leah's ballet class tonight to a very clean house. A sparking, new house. The cleaning service came this afternoon and worked some magic. Floors I've never cleaned are gleaming, bath tubs are sparkling and windows are actually see-through. Since getting home, I've been wandering around and picking up the papers and detritus I can now see in each of the rooms and disposing or putting them away in their proper place -- further organizing and assigning placement to things I never thought needed a home.  During which, I'm elating over the simple joy of dusted shelves and vacuumed carpets. Yes, completely worth it.

We're celebrating our one-year anniversary since the big move from New Jersey to Illinois. We moved into this house on Dec. 16, 2011. Hooray! A lot has happened since that exciting and exhausting day. The girls have started school and made friends. Dave has made big contributions to his projects at work and I landed a full time job. I learned that we function best when both parents are working full-time and the girls are in structured school settings. And that I'm a hopeless stay-at-home Mom. Maybe it’s just not in my DNA. I painted six rooms, mostly by myself, learning tricks and making a few mistakes. I've enjoyed planning and decorating. There's nothing better than the feeling of visualizing an idea (Flor carpet tiles! Homemade curtains! Raised beds gardens!) and following it through.  It's great to have the space to make home improvements. To start projects, to stretch out and make a mess and to close the door of the office or leave it ...