The 10 Minute Tiny Pond Project


Having a water feature can bring lots of new creatures to a garden. This isn't really a pond, but a planter I found on end of season clearance at Target. I added a solar aerator, goldfish and plants from the backyard pond, and voila! A new point of interest in the yard for Mabel (the goldfish have a magnetic quality). I'm also hoping it will be a point of interest for nature's own mosquito control, dragonflies and damselflies.


A few more garden critters



We're finding a lot of critters in the few minutes we spend outside each week. It's so hot I have a hard time motivating Mabel to play out there and should admit that I'm pretty happy to sink into the couch for a while each afternoon, too.

We found another batch of swallowtail caterpillars, both of which are now chrysalis. Saturday night I made a sorrel tart. The sorrel, straight from the garden to the kitchen, had lots and lots of little snails which I collected in a jar. I told M we weren't going to keep them, but they're still in the jar on her work table (aka the den coffee table). I'm thinking we could become Matthews, NC's first escargot farmers.  



Boy's Bedroom


Sooner or later Fox will need his own room, right? So we'll put him in the room that was our bedroom until the latest switch-a-roo. Though the room currently holds dismantled printers, out of season clothes, and an inordinate amount of fabric, one day soon we'll whip it back into shape and make it suitable for The Boy.


The existing wall color is Sherwin Williams Fawn Brindle.  It needs another coat, but nothing major. I plan on making the crib skirt out of a gray and white ikat fabric, them using the extra strips to embellish the curtains and to make tie backs for them.

Items we already own:  Navy blackout curtains (from Target), globe mobile (clearance from Restoration Hardware years ago), red striped storage buckets (from red envelope), Brainstorm biology print, Clever Fox wall art (a gift from my cousin, from Target).

Recently bought, need to buy, simply drooling over: Ikea Sniglar crib (recently bought), Java ikat fabric in Pewter (from Magnolia Home Fashions, recently bought),  hamper (Land of Nod, to buy),  rope knot curtain rod finials (Land of Nod, to buy),  Ferm Living molecule set (simply drooling over), chandelier (Serena and Lily...wayyyy out of budget, simply drooling over)

Going Mobile


Last week Charlie and I faced the realization that Fox is just about to outgrow the bassinet. We haven't put much effort into planning a nursery for him, just kinda went with the "cross that bridge" mentality. I guess it's time to cross that bridge.

Over the weekend we bought an Ikea Sniglar crib which is now set up in our room. It will stay there for a few months, maybe longer. I like keeping my babies close by while we sleep. The downside to that closeness is that we don't have visually stimulating decor for an infant.



A mobile seems like the perfect quick fix for that! Between daycare and his toys at home, Fox gets plenty of baby-themed visuals: the Winnie the Pooh mobile on his swing, plastic animal-themed noise makers on the baby bouncers, and the Non-sters thing that I never imagined he would love so much! Instead of another set of plush toys floating overhead, I've been thinking a mobile with a bit more graphic interest might serve him well.


A few of my favorites: 1. The Alison Show leather triangle mobile; 2. Flensted Regatta; 3. Baby Jives Co. Gold Star Cloud; Flensted Abstract Futura (small size).

Do you have a favorite?