Somewhere to Rest my Weary Reary

Anthony Jr. and I went to Ikea over President's Day.

He's not my most enthusiastic shopper, but he is my most capable lifter.

After our shopping trip and much dragging, lifting and squeezing, we managed to get an unassembled couch into the basement.

             

My Mom and I got it together with no problem...and I love it.

                                                                     

...mainly because I now have a comfy place to fold laundry, only feet away from the washer/dryer!

That's what couches are for, right?

Now I just need to get the TV moved downstairs, so I can have lazy, laundry-folding time at night, once all of the hooligans are in bed.

...and then no one will be quietly sitting on the stairs behind me, lured out of bed by the sweet, sweet sound of the Walking Dead.

Just to make you a little hungrier...

Earlier this year, Tony brought home a cupcake to share.

A friend a work had a birthday, and, yes, even in med school, people bring treats on their birthdays.

(Probably just awesome people?)

But, since they're adults...or because of the school's proximity to Georgetown Cupcake, the cupcakes are WAY BETTER than any I ever had in school!

When Valentine's Day rolled around, Tony wanted to get me a dozen.

...but he didn't want to pick the flavors for me or pay for shipping, so I fetched them myself.

(So, it was sort of like getting permission to spend a bunch of money on cupcakes and eat lots of calories for V-Day....which I was totally cool with!)

Of course, I knew I wouldn't be eating them all myself (so many helpers!). I stuck with four flavors, to make sure I got to try each of them!

Maple, coconut,....

....salted caramel, and I let Sofia (who navigated me...however poorly...through Bethesda) choose lemon blossom.

Yum. 

Happy Late Valentine's Day!

Foxies

Since no one woke up with a fever or nausea this morning, I was able to take Cozy and James to their class at the nature center. The class was about foxes, which are abundant here. We've even seen them in our back yard! ...and I learned a new word - "crepuscular". It refers to animals that are primarily active at dusk and dawn. Good to know. 

Cozy got a fox medallion for her necklace....and, when we got home, I had an adorable letter waiting for me in the mailbox...

...with a little fox on it!

Way to use your psychic powers, Sarah! (I'm easily impressed.)

...and now I can breathe...

Stayed up til 3am painting. 

By the end, I just had to admit I couldn't quite finish before the carpet got here.

I didn't want to be so sleepy that I'd fall down the stairs.

At least I got the bottom of the post...so that I don't go painting the carpet when I finish it.

Love my new carpet. Makes my yucky ol' stairs nice.

...and I thought they did a pretty good job on the sides. (Better job than I did on that picture. What? are my stairs sleeping?)

Love, love, love, warm squishy carpet.

The littles are already enjoying the "play basement".

We brought "Karen" down (That's what James calls our old-school TV/DVD combo. She does look a bit like plankton's wife.) and played some Nintendo 64.

...and Tony's office looks kinds weird without baseboards. Sorry, babe.

...and who taught Cozy to pose like this? 

I know it wasn't me!

Showing My Colors

I know, my blog is getting a teensy bit boring with all of this reno stuff...and yet this will likely not be the last time I make you look at pictures of my exciting, exciting basement.

Oh, there's a peek at my accent wall:

Isn't it gorgeous!

(It's easy to be excited when you get to paint something one of your favorite colors.)

...and my practice stencil. It's not perfect, but from what I've read online of other people's experiences, you have to just plan on doing lots and lots of touch-ups. I think it will be worth it.

That, however, won't be happening until I get some other, more demanding things settled.

Tony is going to be (someday) trimming out the area between the drywall and the carpeted stairs. I though I might as well paint it for now, before carpet. I used the khaki office color

The family room: 

It's a lighter version of the accent wall.

After painting all of that nice, new drywall, I just couldn't walk down past the dirty old plaster above the stairs. I patched lots of (biggish) holes and got on a coat of primer, and it already looks a ton better!

...and now I'd better go get my color (the boring "stone" one) on it, so it'll be dry before the carpet gets here tomorrow! :) The fun never ends!

Paint-color Impaired

I had everything taped up and was ready to paint...

...except for the paint color.

Yep. And some of those big paint swatches are actually covering up other samples.

Clearly I knew what I was looking for: a muted, mint-greenish jade, that didn't clash with my other more neutral colors. Easy, right.

I did finally find a winner (or two), so now I can finish my chore and get on with my life.

Cozy Fashion of the Week

Cozy has found a new hat that she thinks is rather adorable.

...and it is. Adorable and silly (- which I appreciate. I need a little of both of those things in my life right now.)

The hat is really a little moses basket for baby dolls, but Cozette thinks it looks like a baker's hat. Thus, whenever she is pretend-cooking, the hat is a part of her costume.

...and striking her "ballerina" pose....

...and Coze making me do the ballerina pose...but hatless...