THE SHIRE

Misc. pics

 

 

Scar kicking back in the MKE condo.
 
oh no...my kids NEVER jump on the sofa!
 

Adler playing piano at the Halloween Recital 2010

 

Adler playing piano with Mr. Yang.

Toni's birthday

Happy birthday, Toni!

 

Aidan playing Andantino

 

 

Adler playing his twinkles graduation.

Thank you Nana & Papa for driving such a long way to celebrate Adler's graduation.

 

 

rastell

 

First day of school

I just uploaded photos from my camera and realized I did not post pics of the boys' first day of school.  Adler started kindergarten and Aidan started 2nd grade.  Adler didn't even look back and has loved every single day.  I thought for sure he would be bashful, but he wasn't.

 
Walking to the bus stop.

 
Waiting at the bus stop with Scar.

 
 
There they go...my babies!

 

Then they got off the bus and ran straight over to SCARLET!!!!

Florida - lovely as ever

We just got back from Florida and today is Adler's first day at kindergarten and Aidan's first day in second grade (I will take photos).  It was really nice and relaxing in Florida and I actually felt sad to leave the house.

 
The boys went swimming with a manatee.

 

Then Aidan was turned into a vampire.


Captain Agger sailing ship in his own private ocean.

 
This is the only pic of Scar that we can show on the internet (if ya know what I'm saying).  She has no fear and was jumping to Shiloh whether he was ready or not.

 
I'm missing that pool already.

One day Shiloh, Scar and I went for a walk and the boys didn't want to go.  We left them strict instructions that they could not go outside or in the pool while we were gone.  This is what we came home to:

 
Yes, those would be Mike's Hard Limeade.  They said they didn't like it...but one is missing more than a sip.

 
This is the lollie-pop that a salesperson at J. Crew gave to Scarlet.  The boys (well, Adler) had much envy in their eyes and kept asking why I didn't get them one too.  Scar enjoyed it for days.

 
Welp, we are home and I have to go wake up the boys so we can practice piano and viola before their first day of school. 

Kids' MKE fabrics and an eye catching rug

Lately everything catching my eye is from Australia.  Here is a rug from www.loomrugs.com.au and there is page after page of amazing rugs.  I've sent a request for prices and we will see what the shipping is like.

 
The kids' room is getting the beds built and should be installed this weekend.  I have the fabrics for the drapes, but the seemstress can not start on them until well into September. 

 
The fun fabrics from Thomas Paul are on the way. 

 

 

I'm trimming pillows and drapes with small hits of orange, so I would love to find a rug with orange and grey.  It seems that everything is on backorder (including the light fixtures that were ordered in May) and it has been a very slow process.  Turns out that it is a good thing everything has been so slow because I have had the time to look at more sources and the place is going in a different direction than I invisioned. 

 

how's this for a t-shirt

MKE condo

For my friends who like design...I fell in love with Schumacher fabrics, but the final prices came in and I can not swing it.  Here is the print I wanted from Schumacher for the living room (the zig zag just didn't hang as well as I imagined):

However, it would cost about $1,000 per window just for the fabric and then the expense of the lining and the labor to make it.  There are two windows in the living room and if we didn't have little kids or it was our only place then I would because I absolutely love that fabric.  So, I had to dig in and found this replacement:

I am really hoping it is okay because I bought the fabric without looking at a sample first.  It is polyester and I may regret it, but at $11/yard compared to $105/yd I will take the chance. 

Then there is the master bedroom.  I love, love, love this image:

 
I wanted to make the drapes from the floral (Schumacher for $105/yd) and the geometric is Kravets for $40/yd.  Have I mentioned that the ceilings are really high and the drapes will be about 140"?  Yes, that is about 9 to 10 yards per window for the fabric alone.  I got a couple of yards of the Kravets in the "haze" color (it is a taupe color and I just liked it best in the room).  It is the softest, nicest linen fabric in the whole world.  I figure I can make a few pillows for the bed.  I found this fabric to replace the floral:

 
It is called Little River Lagoon.  It is not as pretty as the Schumacher Hot House Flowers and I do wish it had a bit more white, but it is 40% of the price, Shiloh likes the cranky bird, the taupe geometric will work with it, and I already have a couple of Asian bird scrolls to go in the room.  So, we have a bird theme in the master bedroom - but that is good feng shui so I'm going with it.  Some of the fabrics wont be here until October, but I will have plenty of pillows to sew until then.

I have to throw this image in because I adore the print (Schumacher, of course) and the orange trim....oooooh la la:

It comes in a chartruese and if I could afford it I would make drapes, put it on the walls, and just go crazy with it.  Sarah Richardson sits on a chair with this print on it in one of her episodes.

I am on the look out for a print like the horses in this image:

I need either a copy of that image or a place to print out large-scale images of my own.  Let me know if you have a resource.

Adler's 5th birthday

Adler & Aurelius had their birthday party yesterday in our back yard.  Except for the mosquitos, it was really fun.  This is his buddy, Johnny Woo.  They went to 4k together and Adler talked about him nearly every day.  There is an album on the left under the frog.

There is a photo album with all the pics from our History tour of Baltimore, Williamsburg, and Fort Delaware. It was really fun.

Civil War Trip Inspiration

The boys wanted to know everything about this canon, so I decided to take the kids on a little Civil War trip.  We leave tomorrow (Wednesday) for Baltimore, Williamsburg, the beaches along MD and DE, and then Pea Patch Island off of Delaware City.  We'll be back on Tuesday.

 

Fort Delaware (Pea Patch Island) was actually built well before the Civil War, but it was used as a prison during the Civil War.  I grew up in the town that the ferry takes off from to take you to the fort.  We always had Civil War stuff all around us and it seems that in our area of Wisconsin we just don't get a lot of history.

 

 

 

The kids can't wait to go to Pea Patch Island!   

66 bug

Shiloh's latest addition.   

 

 

 

I guess I really can't make too much fun of Shiloh.

 

 
   

new direction

I don't think I'm using any of those fabrics afterall...I am going to stick with a color pallet that I really love which is different levels of grey and hits of chartruese.  How about this fabric from Schumacher for the drapes in the living room?

 

MKE Condo fabric selection

I'm not sure which direction to go with fabric for the master bedroom.  I'm really drawn to this:  The big lavendar flower with bugs is calling my name, but is it too youthful?  The giant berry colored print isn't an exact match, but I like it.  I might even put it in the living room.

 
 
 
I do think the scale is big enough for the room.  

Then there is this fabric (below).

  
  
 

Here's the berry print in the living room.

 

 

Anyway...tell me what you think.   

dirty kids

Aidan enjoying a chocolate ice cream cone.

 

Scar on the same day.

 

 And then there is Agger.

 

boo boo

Here is Boo Boo sporting the shirt that my neighbor made for her.

 

Don't ask me why she is so sad, but I do enjoy a crying photo once in a while.  It's not because of the shirt...she loves the shirt.

 
She forgot to squeeze out a few tears.
 

Garden

Every year the garden is different.  Here are the ligularia at the tree in the front yard and there is a nettle (I think that is what it is) that has planted itself.

  
The sweet woodruff has taken over as the ground cover in the shade.

 

 
First year I've planted tulips.

 
The popcorn butter cup is trying to take over.

 
 
 Agger next to the clematis that is very happy.  It took several plants and a couple of years to finally get a clematis to grow.

 
I'm trying to get the back yard as nice as the front, but a sun garden is so much more work than a shade garden (and I'm more of a shade person).