{exploring flooring}

Hi there,  I really love all of the different flooring options that Ruthie used in a home that is featured in the latest issue of Veranda. I still love that little cube number tile in the bathroom (wish I could see more of the flooring) and I love that she had the floors painted in that bedroom...hmmm.

Anyway I have flooring on my mind in a big way. I need to make some decisions and it is not as easy as I thought it would be.  I am having to stretch and get creative to find something that is both pleasing to myself, my husband and our bank.

Well if you follow me on Instagram (full_house101) then you may have noticed some of the below tiles I snapped a picture of while I was out and about. I still am loving the concept of cement tile but boy oh boy some of those hand painted porcelains are gorgeous.  So I must admit that I had a 14 year old young woman that I get the teach at church set me up on Instagram...I am too illiterate for Twitter and too overwhelmed by Facebook but this whole Instagram speaks my language.  I really have enjoyed using it.  Do you use it?

Oh and how was your weekend?

{weekends are meant for girls to throw leaves in the air}

As I drove away from my home this weekend I thought, "Hopefully something doesn't happen to me because it would be a darn shame for some help to arrive and observe my home in such a condition"..BUT then again on the flip side using my positive thinking skills I thought about the fact that if a robber were to get in while I were away they would probably turn around and raid the neighbors house because mine already looked like it had been ransacked and looted. Either which way the mess was going to have to wait because I wanted to give my girls the moon and the stars. Without any planning I booked a cheap hotel and we hit the road and made it just in time before the orionid meteor shower showed itself. I had never been to the Lowell Observatory but I knew I wanted to go so what better opportunity than to share it with 2 little girls who thought it was the most magical thing to look through the 5th largest telescope on the continental U.S. We were the very last people to look through the telescope that evening. After we were through we took our shivers over to get ourselves a hot cocoa..nights are cold this time of year in Flagstaff.

As we took the scenic route home I asked the girls what their favorite things were that we had seen and they both noted that they loved a quirky old mining town named Jerome (next time we go we go back we will bring the boys and pan for real gold with a skinny man that has a beard down to his belly button..true story..the town feels like it has characters straight out of a movie).  I myself loved it because it had a shop that sold all things copper..it was so unexpected, quaint and charming. If I had a little extra money to spare I would have taken some of those gorgeous copper bookends or sculptures home with me. When we were in the shop there were lots of talk about the hippy artisans and one in particular who lives in his VW Bus and makes things out of copper when he feels the notion. As we made it down the road Maile asked, "What are hippies?" Try answering that question to a little kid without making hippy-ism sound like the best thing ever. I tried to explain that real hippies usually like minimal work and minimal worries..SEE what I mean. Then all of a sudden I spotted a few walking in the streets and said, "Look girls there are a few examples of a hippy". Maile then said, "Oh they don't like to wear shoes when they walk in the streets just like me" I then felt it necessary to talk about the whole concept of contributing to society......I know, I know all hippies are not created equal.

Anyway hippy or not here are a few discoveries that made us feel like celebrating fall:

Fresh pressed apple cider in Oak Creek Canyon. (I dare you to link over...the photos are beautiful)
Beautiful colors from Sedona to Flagstaff on highway 89A.
A fun pumpkin patch by Prescott (Freeman Farms)
Pumpkin macaroons
Big coats and boots needed to observe the moon, Jupiter and over a million stars in the sky

I hope where you live you can gather up an armful of leaves and throw them up in the air...

Have a most happy week!

{cement tile}

Hi good morning!!!  The call has been made.and the samples have been sent out.  I can't wait to return and report about my endeavors to have some cement tile placed in my home.  The above tiles may feel very modern but the style has been around for a very long time.  I just love the way they look and feel.  I am feeling partial to that french cube number but when I found the tile that looks a little more free and marbled I just about ordered up tile for my whole house on the spot;-)  When I was reading about the marbled cement tile this is the note that was attached:

NOTE: THIS IS AN TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUE OF CEMENT TILES, ALL TILES ARE PAINTED BY HAND BY POURING COLORS IN AN IRREGULAR FORMAT SIMULATING MARBLE VETAS, DON'T EXPECT TO FORM AN ESPECIFIC DESIGN

YES PLEASE!!!!

Could you go with a flooring that was a little more bold and graphic?

You know how there is such a thing as compromise...well that is what happens in our home and that is why such a floor like the above is subject to only happening in our laundry room.  I am certainly working on doing a trade..like say I might let an animal head mount come out of the garage and into the home in exchange for my choice of flooring in the living room.

Anyway, HAPPY WEEKEND!!

I love to pet stone {quest for white countertops}

The above are just some cool pictures of slabs that I took with my phone on one of my outing last week...Did you know that petting stone is very therapeutic??

Anyway moving on to operation white stone countertops...

{The above image from here}

In the kitchen my preference is to have it light & bright with preferably white countertops (refer above to the alternative white countertops found here). Don't worry there are plenty of white surfaces to choose from..I just happen to prefer natural stone and more specifically marble. I love the movements and patterns found in marble. I have friends with kids that have marble in their kitchens and it has worked out for them. Sure their counters had some character marks in the the form of etching, staining & scratching but they said they were fine with it. I then planned & plotted my purchase of my very own marble slabs. Those slabs were then going to be honed and fabricated into something fabulous. Once in place, the kids were never to bring anything acidic or oily around and I was going to keep plenty of poultice around. Most stone slab places were against these plans. Then one day I found some quartzite slabs at three different places that were so beautiful and almost as white as marble. What I loved about them is they mimicked the movements of marble but were almost as hard as granite. I was sold. In fact I ended up going with what is called a calacatta quartzite. Want to see a sneak peak...




I also found more quartzite slabs that I loved just as much called white macaubas. I only decided not to go with them because the were 2CM as opposed to a 3CM. I found out that the calacatta and the macaubas are actually from the same quarries..same coloring but different veining patterns. Here is the one we almost went with:



Even though the below quartzite is not as white I aslo really loved the look of the below:



Have you used marble or quartzite in your kitchen???
Any particular findings you would like to share???
I kind of love that we can be in this together.  I especially loved all of the input on the last post.  Thank you!!

FOR THE LOCALS

Some great stone places with the best selections of marble and quartzite:

Cactus Stone
(50th St. & Washington)
401 S. 50th Street
Phoenix, AZ 85034
602-914-2202
8am-5pm

Arizona Tile Scottsdale
(101 & Frank Lloyd Wright)
14700 N. Hayden Rd.
Scottsdale, AZ 85260
480-991-3066
7am-5pm

Arizona Tile Tempe
(I-10 & Warner)
8829 S. Priest Dr.
Tempe, AZ 85284
480-893-9393
7am-5pm

Bedrosians Tile & Stone
(32nd St. & Broadway)
2946 E. Broadway Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85040
602-268-2000
8am-4pm

Aracruz International Granite
(I-17 & Buckeye Rd.)
2310 W. Sherman St.
Phoenix, AZ 85009
602-252-1171
8am-5pm

P.S. - We've had other outings going on as well.  Kids have been home from school for over a week..Apparently it is called October break.  We went on a field trip to the train park in Scottsdale.  Have you been?  My kids love it there.  Usually I am a loner when it comes to taking kids on outings.  Somehow I managed to gather up a bunch of lady/sister friends to accompany me.  That there below is A LOT of kids.  Surprisingly it was FUN.  I don't want to shock the pants off anybody but as much fun as we had and as much as I loved lazy mornings..my bosom is filled with much joy & excitement with the prospect of all of the items of business I can get done with all of the kids back in school.



P.S.S - Speaking of sister friends. I have just discovered that cutting bangs makes me the younger sister...which is a good thing when one is the oldest sister and not 24 anymore. Just thought I'd share...you know because yesterday a nice man at the grocery store stopped me and said that he had seen my "older sister" earlier that week. I might have made a fist pulled back my elbow and arm and said "YYESSS"!

{raising the roof}

Here's the deal.  We are about to raise the roof..literally.  We bought a home.  We are currently renovating.  The above kitchen is now a white box.  The old floors have been torn out.  I think we are going with one of the wood floors pictured in the top photo.  I also have decided against marble in the kitchen.  Don't worry I have found quite a few options that will give me a similar look and of course will be sharing with all of you dear readers.  In the meantime I'm a little bit scared coupled with excitement.

I read over here that making it through a renovation is sort of like trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. If you can make it through that then you can make it through anything. I too now believe it to be a stressful thing.  In fact selling all of our stuff and buying a home not on prime land on Maui has never sounded so good.  Did I tell you about the time one of our servers over on Maui told us he had just purchased a 1800 square foot new build home 20 minutes away from Paia..for $280,000..it is true..and I've pondered that thought on more than one occasion.  I also ponder about the fact that all earthly possessions do not mean that much in the end but that it is also important to have ones surroundings feel good.  Anyway I guess my objective is to remain calm while doing this on a budget.  I just hope that I can pick out things and achieve a certain look that I will still like in a decade without spending much more than a couple shiny nickels;-).

Alright, pls. confess if you have done a renovation..did you survive?  Any tips?

precious glossies {international style}

Do you still like grey walls and herringbone wood floors...cause I do. Do you have a split design personality..cause I do. I find myself very attracted to international design magazines. The above images come from this months Architectural Digest Spain. Let me tell you it is a pretty darn good issue. I feel very inspired to think outside of the box when I see some of the spreads in these international magazines even if they would not exactly translate to things I would do in my own home.

You owe it to yourself to at least buy this months online copy of Architectural Digest Spain. Found here.  Doesn't take much for me to convince myself that I owe it to myself to by a magazine...such a major weakness.  In fact I recently had a friend text me with a picture of her large very organized collection of magazines with the following:

"With Pinterest and etc should I be hoarding all of these mags?  Feel guilty throwing them out.  But will I ever find the ideas I need out of them"



Within minutes I then shot her back the below image..there were no words needed.
I am just so thankful for kindred spirits who make me feel normal about certain tendancies.



I do not know why it is so hard to get rid of all my glossies.  Anybody else have this problem?




P.S. - I especially love the color of the above herringbone wood floors.

fabric commitment issues {inspiration for girls room)

Uh oh I just bought a substantial amount of the above Paule Marrot fabric. I have commitment issues with fabric.  Its a done deal though because it's making it's way on over from the east coast.   Hopefully we can work this one out.  My little girl told me her favorite color was green and that fabric looks like green exploded all over it sooo....

Currently the room has been painted and the bedding has been purchased (as seen in the last post). With the ever changing mind that I have..I now find it necessary to ditch the faux bamboo headboards and aquire a pair of brass beds. I know I surprised myself with that one too..but I have it in my head that there needs to be brass beds..not like Grandma's brass beds but some really cool brass beds. Now I could change my mind again on this one due to budget issues but I'm thinking Craiglist will come through. (will you pls, join me in using the secret on this one)

I'm not set on any one of the above items..except the fabric because like I said it will be here any day this week.  Another notable is that I really wouldn't mind if there was a hint of art deco and a dash of chinoiserie going on without looking too fancy.  The above etagere is on Craigslist and I think would look great all painted and such.

WORK IT OUT..work it out.

lamp/art/bed/bench/duvet/

{fleeting sunlight and quarters glued to the sidewalk} Happy Monday!

It's not quite cool enough to really get the full effects from a Sunday afternoon stroll. I did however notice while we were on our walk how the fleeting sunlight lit up the kids hair (wish I could bottle that one up), the many gorgeous established trees (I think I took 12,000 pictures of trees when we were out), a quarter glued to the sidewalk (we fall for that trick every time), a cool black and white feather, a dreamy treehouse and some really cool architectural details. There is a particular home in my neighborhood that always gets me dreaming of a place we used to see on our walk from Santa Monica Blvd. on up to grab an ice cream sandwich at Diddy Riese in the historic Westwood village.  Historic Spanish cottages and ice cream sandwiches are a good combination.

I scored love points on the life-o-meter today {Happy Friday}

I am usually way too uptight for my liking when it comes to our morning routine...perhaps my neighbors have heard me hoopin and hollerin at my children while I attempt to get them corralled into the car so that we are not late.  I can pretty much count on one of my kids in particular to make our family high risk in the tardy department.  This morning I could not get that kid going.  I was annoyed but then I felt so strongly that this would not be the morning to let her know of my strong feelings.  I also knew that in order for this little girl's twin sister to not be late we would have to all get in the car even if she was not ready.  Usually if I think that there is no way we would make it to school on time I would make the other twin wait because why would I want to make two trips to take kids to the same exact school.  Well this morning Maren came home with me after we dropped off sissy.  In the end it turned out beneficial for both of us.  It gave me a chance to hang out with her in her room at a much slower pace as we continued to get her ready.  While we were in there I looked around the room and many of the things that usually bug me seemed to all of a sudden strike a different chord.  The girls room is always so cluttered because they save every last thing and they like for all of these items to be displayed. In fact I think all of my thumb tacks have disappeared even though I have told them to stop using the thumb tacks to hang every single paper and handout on the wall.  This morning though I saw bright happy artwork that gave character and when I saw Ramona Quimby displayed ever so neatly next to the Brave doll I saw and felt love.  All of their other treasures were telling me so many great stories this morning.  I especially smiled when I saw that Maile had saved some leaves and flowers that a little boy had given to her on the bus...they were beautiful.  I really was just so touched by what my kids add to our home.   You know what...I think that if anyone is holding anybody back it would be me and not them.  It's interesting because from the outside I am sure it may appear  to some people that my kids are the ones holding me back when in reality they are the ones that are helping me to advance further in this life than I could ever do without them.

I guess I just love life today..and can't help but get it out there...so I 'm just going with it.

PEACE & LOVE!!!

P.S. - I think it is very fitting that Maren is wearing her heart shirt that she made out of bleach.

{reach for the stars}

I really love the look of star wallpaper on the ceiling.  Today I am considering either buying paintable wallpaper and painting my own stars or just buying a stencil and forgoing any wallpaper and just go to town with some paint.

UPDATE:  Reader alerted me to some really cool decals found here.  Thanks Ashley!!

Below are a couple stencils I am pondering.  They can be found here & here.



On a nother note I am off to find some treasure.  Do you shop consignments shops?  I recently picked up this little number but in a different color.  Apparently I got a good deal considering that they are kind of hard to find and considering that on 1stDibs I couldn't really pick one up for less than $10,000.   I'm thinking that the $250 that I paid isn't too shabby.



P.S. - I love the idea of a room with built in wall to wall beds. Erika Powell did such a great job designing such a space.