Knitting Narwhales

Narwhales are, in a word, awesome. A whale with a horn!?! Hello! They're the unicorn of the ocean... and they are real!

I just had to share my most recent score. We are trying to decorate our home with orginal pieces of art and I found this print, by Sally Harness of Sadly Harmless, on Etsy while looking for artwork for Violet's room. When we were in the condo, I hadn't really thought about nursery decor since she was sharing Sophie's room. But I wanted somethng original and not "babyish". I'm not actually sure how I stumbled on it, I call it artsy fate. 

I actually toyed with hanging it elsewhere in the apartment, but I think Violet will dream happily with sea unicorns in her room. 

Girls Just Wanna Have Clean: Tip #1

I ran out of glass cleaner months ago. When it happened, I was in the midst of Saturday morning cleaning. Having a newborn and a 9 year old in the house, and a husband at work, I did not cherish the thought of running to the store in my pajamas with kids in tow. That's when I remembered a cleaning tip my Great Aunt Julie had bestowed on me {queue hazy sepia toned imagery}.

For about 10 years, before she passed away, I use to go over to her house every Wednesday after work and she would cook me supper and afterwards we would chat or, being elderly and alone, she would have me help her with some chores she could no longer do. One evening we were cleaning the picture window in her dining room and I asked her where the Windex was. To which she proudly informed me:

"I have never bought Windex in my life. I always just use rubbing alcohol. It cleans the glass and doesn't streak."

Aunt Julie had one of the cleanest homes I have ever been in. You know how on sunny afternoons you can see dust dancing in the sun beams? Well, at Julie's there were sunbeams, but no dancing dust... THAT'S how clean it was.

She would often give me pointers and tips on how she had kept her home clean through the decades - some I used and some, like the rubbing alcohol trick, were tucked away in my head.  Figuring a little old fashion cleaning couldn't hurt and would save me from going out, I went to the linen closet, grabbed the rubbing alcohol and a rag (made from re-purposed old t-shirts), and went to cleaning the bathroom mirror. Shiny, happy, streak-free perfection. Once again, my great aunt did not steer me wrong – rubbing alcohol makes a FANTASTIC and INEXPENSIVE glass cleaner.

When you think about it, our depression era relatives were really better then we are at re-purposing and reusing materials around the house – rag rugs, scrap quilts, empty containers for left overs, button boxes – you name and they probably didn't waste it. They cleaned with natural things like lemons and vinegar and while I won't be making my own starch like she did, I am really excited to try out some of her other household words of wisdom and reporting back!

Why yes, that IS a full size sofa in our Ford Focus!

{OK, so it didn't look quite like that... but it was close!}

My husband is one determined man. He fit a 80 3/4" sofa into the back of our Ford Focus. How?? I'm glad you asked. But first, let me start at the beginning...

Space, glorious space! Our front parlor just screams turn-of-the-century charm and to me, that says, the new digs required a new modern sofa to balance it out. I love all the original warm honey colored woodwork through out our new home and the architectural details that you just cannot find in home built post-World War II. My personal style leans towards the eclectic, so traditional furnishings were just not going to cut it. Living in New Hampshire, options are limited in acquiring non-traditional furniture. And, as much as I wish it wasn't, money is an object – as is the need for strength against children. So, where does one go when you need to find a sofa that has style, comfort, affordability and durability?

After checking out the local offerings - IKEA-land here we come. Design geniuses extraordinaire, those Swedish designers have the market covered on utilizing small space in a most eye pleasing way, but it is their flat packing that have my most sincere kudos.

Eric and I made the trek through Boston and into Stoughton/Avon to the nearest IKEA. It's just over an hour away - but it's a far enough distance that if you get down there and they are out of stock on an item, one can get very irritated. I've tried calling and having them hold an item that is in stock until I can get there - but they won't. You can purchase some items online, but you can't pick them up in the store. They will ship them to you and, in the case of a sofa, it's an extra $199. They do have an online inventory check that they say is accurate (because stock moves so quickly, they claim to err on the side of caution on inventory counts). We had been a few weeks prior and found the sofa we liked, but they were 'temporarily out of stock'. That was OK, because at the time, we weren't ready to commit. Now we were.

In our case, the online inventory said there were 6 pieces in stock at 5pm. Surely, there wouldn't be a mad run on sofas between now and the hour and 15 minutes it would take us to get there. We hoped in the car, and drove down. For anyone who have never been to an IKEA, it is a playground of gizmos, gadgets and glorious decor for a person like me. Eric firmly directed me to the sofa section to keep me from straying to a random lamp or pillow case, where we quickly tested the sofa out one more time, jotted down the aisle/bin numbers and went back down to the warehouse to pick up our sofa. We got side tracked in carpeting and lighting, but no more than an extra 15 minutes.

Karlstad Korndal Brown Sofa from IKEA

Eric grabbed a flat cart and we were quickly steering that left leaning cart to our new sofa. There, in our aisle, was a lone man, loading a sofa onto his flat cart. That's OK. There are still four more... three if it's been busy. But man, that bin looked really, REALLY empty. As we peered in and saw darkness, I felt a flutter of panic. We looked at the man with the sofa and Eric was quickly calculating how much cash the man might would accept to hand over the Karlstad... when the man said "You're lucky. There's just one left."

One? ONE! There in the shadows was the LAST Karlstad sofa. (queue angelic music and heavenly beam of light)

Eric loaded it onto the cart. We checked the stock numbers one last time to make sure we had all the right boxes and headed towards check out - content in the realization we had successfully scored our first sofa chosen together.

No Water Bottle Left Behind
Of course that happy, fuzzy feeling quickly faded as I looked long and hard at the main box of the sofa. How they H-E-Double hockey sticks was this going to fit in car? I have a 2004 Ford Focus Wagon that is a little work horse. The seats fold flat down and it is actually roomier than most mid sized SUVS –  but I was definitely getting nervous that perhaps I had over estimated my little wagon this time around.

Hubby said not to worry, it would fit. Cheerily, he folded down the seats, grimaced at the  stash of candy corn (remind me to vacuum and de-goo-ify) and various snacks that made their way in to the seat cracks, and loaded the main box.

It was to big. Not to be put off, he moved the front seat up a bit. It almost fit. Since the box was really just one side of the car, he moved the front passenger seat up again. It fit, IT FIT!!!!! But there were still the other boxes of cushions and covers, I told him to leave the case of water out so everything would fit.

"Nonsense.", says he.

Squish, swish, smush and crunch... (why, oh why didn't I get  picture of this?!?!)

Never mind the fact that Eric had to ride shot gun in the knees-to-nose position, everything made it in the car. And, of course, about a mile into the trek home, those darned water bottles started rubbing together and squeaking the whole trip. It took about five miles for me to stop giggling about the whole adventure.

So there you have it... one part (afore mentioned) determination + one part IKEA flat packing + one part wagon + one part knees to nose sitting position =  new sofa at home! Now to find some fun, bold graphic pillows.

Remembering Paris... oh Yeah and our one year anniversary

It seems like just yesterday that Eric and I were strolling along the river Seine, hand in hand, admiring the beauty of Paris and stopping at sidewalks bistros for a glass of wine (mmmmm... Côtes du Rhône) and some delicious French nibbles. A whole year (and 10 days) has gone by since we tied the knot and headed to Paris {with a quick stop in Iceland... more on that later}. So much has happened in such a short time! 

On top of getting married and traveling to Europe, we took the Bean to New York City to visit a friend and have a family adventure and where we informed her, much to her delight, that she was going to be a big sister ("I've waited my whole life to be a big sister!!!"), welcomed little Violet to the world, turned our condo into a investment property and moved to a new place. 

To some it may seem like a lot and to others... not much at all. But whatever it is... big or small... it has been one of the best years of my life. I am so lucky to be able to share it with Eric who is my best friend, soul mate and a wonderful father to both our girls. Even though we celebrated our anniversary with a quiet dinner and enjoyed some much needed grown up time together, I just thought I would share a little post to once again (and a tiny bit belated) wish my husband a happy anniversary. Year one was spectacular – I expect nothing less from every year to come.

No heat curls... FAIL

I have been happily pining away on Pinterest for months now - finding all sorts of recipes, hair style tips and tricks, fashion, home decor ideas, crafty projects to do with the kids. The problem is, I am so busy pinning, I have yet to try any tips, tricks or crafts.

Last night, I decided to attempt the 'No Heat Curl'.  My hair is naturally wavy and I thought this may tame them into a more 'beach sexy' wave rather than the 'every which way wave' I get when I let it air dry. I enthusiastically started twisting and tucking away, fantasizing about the luxurious hair I would wake up with in the morning with little to no fuss.

Wow.. simply wow. The trick worked.. a little too well.

My hair held TIGHTLY to the curl... I think it holds too well and my hair is to layered and too short. I will attempt thjis again in a few months when my locks are longer... but now.. I ended up looking like a cross between Shirley Temple and a French poodle. Hair fail and i left the house in my summer updo standby. I will tame you wavy hair... I WILL!!

Pouf!

Pouf! Pouf pouf!! Besides being really fun to say - I am in 'adore' with poufs. What a great way to add stylish extra seating or a spot relax those tired toes while hunkering down for movie night with the hubby.

I love the way they can add a pop of color and and element of texture to a room without being overwhelming. My goal in decorating our new home is to make it well designed, yet inviting place where our family and friends can just sink in and be cozy, rather than feel as though there are 'No Touch' signs all over the place... plus, we have kids so 'elegance' has to also be durable.

I saw a home tour on Apartment Therapy not to long ago and started noticing them. It got me thinking about how I could utilize them in our new space. We have a side console table in the dining room that has lots of open airy space underneath. I like the idea that I could easily tuck these away under the table and still maintain a well designed look AND add that splash of color I mentioned. I tend to lean towards very clean lines when I am looking at furnishings. I need to remember to add some softer elements to keep from creating too many harsh edges. Not being the traditional cube ottoman (which is what we have now), these poufs create a more interesting white space.

The coral rope pouf above is from Target and is reasonably priced at just $56 smackers. Sure, they come in lots of shapes, fabrics – leather, cotton, velvet, patterned or plain – but something about this woven/knitted look just makes me smile. It just oozes a casual and comfortable lifestyle while still holding on to a bit of elegance.

Homing cat

You've heard of a 'homing pigeon'. They show up in all sorts of cop dramas, books and Ewan McGregor even did voice over work in an animated tale about heroic WWII homing pigeons. But have you ever heard of a 'homing cat'?

Well, here at Chez Jodoin, we seem to have an adorable new porch mate. Mittens (as the Bean as dubbed him) is the super sweet gray cat with white paws (thus Mittens) that has begun the habit of sitting on our porch underneath the window peering in with those sad Dreamworks animation-like eyes. Of course, this habit of his is aided by the fact that Eric and the Bean feed her chicken and ham bits in the evening and our landlord feeds him some moist cat food in the morning.

Mittens is a petit little declawed feline with a red woven harness. He is obviously someone's cat, but I have yet to determine if he is really a stray. I would think by the fact that he is declawed, he should be sitting pretty on someone's window sill dreaming of successful squirrel catching and not haunting our side porch in search of attention and scoring free nibbles. My first guess, is he escaped right between the house coat clad knees of an adorable white haired old lady opening the door to get her morning paper or saved himself from the humiliation of being dressed up in Build-A-Bear princess clothes by a precocious little girl having a tea party.

Or, perhaps he is let in and out of his house and isn't lost at all. So what is a girl to do? I tried calling the animal shelter to find out if anyone reported a lost cat, but my sense of timing is awful. I either tried to call before they opened or in the one hour gap they are not around - my mind (which with everything going on in the past few weeks has resembled shredded swiss cheese) was just not able to remind me to call mid day. Fortunately, I had enough brain power enough in reserves to contact a friend (thanks, Crystal!) that works with the shelter - she suggested that I attach a note to the cat's harness and see if anything comes back.

Brilliant!!!

I remembered another friend of mine, Lela, while living in LA, had a cat that went out during the day. One evening, Sweet Pea, returned home wearing a brand spanking new collar. Either he had gotten a five law discount or that boy was hanging poolside with somebody else. Lela attached a note to the new collar to find out what was going on and VOILA! she had herself a homing cat. A note went out... a note came back.

 

When I got home that evening, there was little Mittens on the porch stoop rolling over for his hello belly scratch. After that little formality was completed, I dashed into the house to grab a small zip lock snack bag, painters tape, a note pad, pencil and the Bean. I scratched out a little message:

Does this sweet little boy belong to anybody? He's been spending a lot of time on our porch and we are curious if he has a daily home or is lost. {mobile number}

The Bean sat down on the ground and Mittens, seeing his opportunity for some attention, pounced over to her lap. While she was distracting him with scratches, I attached the note and he seemed none the wiser.

Not an hour later, I get a phone call from a number I didn't recognize and an unfamiliar voice said "Hi, someone attached a note to my cat."

Turns out Mittens is a Maxwell and he lives a street away. His owner says he comes home several times a day but he gets out when she opens the door to go outside or let the dog out and that he is very determined to get outside... so she has given up trying to keep him in. She said she tried to attach another note to his harness, but he wiggled out of her grasp and dashed away again... obviously she does not give heavenly kitty scratches like the Bean. I'm not going to lie - I was a bit disappointed that I got a phone call rather than a note back. What a unique way to get a pen pal!

Every morning since, I wake up, open the shades in the sitting room and there he is lying like a king in a sun patch on the porch, looking in the window and waiting for treats or scratched or both. I am wondering if I should send his owner notes home to let her know his daily intake of treats... you know... like they do in daycare :)