{life happens more on instagram} for now.

Life is happening.

A little too consumed with renovating a home on a major time constraint....I don't care for things that are all too consuming unless it's peace and love.

For now how about life through the eyes of Instagramming (@full_house101..in case you feel the need to follow along):

The kids made it through their first real hike.  I decided to show my excitement through posing.

It took me 15 paint samples to settle on the original paint color that I picked out for the boys bunk beds. Paint is so darn tricky...you win some you loose some.  You guys the beds are coming along and are so cool.

I secretly was a little sad to see the yellow paint in the master bedroom go bye.

Kids had their very own Thanksgiving Day eating station.  I kind of want to do Thanksgiving again next week.

Beautiful ch ch ch chard makes me happy.

Made some hardware out of galvanized plumbing parts.  Spray painted them brass.  It is really working for me.

Apparently marketing does work...one of my kids in particular has asked for every single thing they sell on the toy infamercials.  I sold out and bought Stompeez..shhh.

Kids up to making a ton of art projects..including the installation of the paper hearts with black electrical tape.  The best was when they took the scissors to their bedspread.  When I asked the boys why they had scissors in their room they told me that it was in case they had an art project to do in the night...well there you go bedspreads are the next best art projects.

Finally we are hoping for a Christmas miracle.  It could happen you know..especially if our kitchen decides to be a little more advanced than in the above photo.  At least there are some cool wood beams.

What else you all???  Any words?  I am excepting?

For now all I can offer is loves.

risky business (the boys built-in bunks, blue and Dimore Studio)

(my boys built in bunks progress)

Do you ever have a little battle going on in your head when decorating?  I do!  Here is the deal... I like a little visual tension and I like to take a little risk but when it is my very own money I get nervous and the conversation in my brains starts to say that it would be best to play it safe and go with the more neutral choice.  Then I can not fully rest because that may not be what I really want to do.  For example in out new home we decided it would be best to keep the boys together in one room and so it made sense to have some built in beds to make the space more efficient.  The wheels were set in motion and when it came down to picking a paint color I would close my eyes and see the color..blue.  Then the feedback came rolling in saying the beds needed to be more neutral, as in a mushroom, taupe or tan.  One of these said people delivering the feedback is the guy fronting half the funds so you see there is pressure and then questionings pertaining to my ability to pull off the vision.  Then my sister reminded me of Mr. S. R. Gambrel because he uses the color blue in his designs like it is never going out of style and his stuff is SO good it hurts.  Then that same day I came across a space in Architectural Digest France and it made me feel so inspired and gave me that little boost that I needed to at least go out and get 15 samples of paints leaning toward the blue side. The below space as designed by Emiliano Salci and Britt Moran who make up Dimore Studio.  The space really fuels my vision to go ahead a take a little more risk (I love it when that happens).  I completely understand that this space is not realistic for most people and their everyday place to dwell in but to me it is art, very inspiring and so chic.   So many different elements that could be translated into a space that works for me and my home.  What do you all think?  Are you a risk taker?

(all images from my issue of the September Architectural Digest France)

having a moment with a hexi and an octi...

I can not get the the above hexagon/octagon shapes off my brain.  I'm dreaming of floors, ceilings, moldings and light fixtures.  Then again I have also been dreaming of a husband who won me 5 toys from the toy grabber machine game thing....one even retailing for $10.64..dreams these days.

How could one not be happy after having thoughts of a toy grabber machine.

HAPPY MONDAY!!!

images 1/2/3/4/5/6/7/8/9/10

{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?