Tomas and I were playing around with iPhoto’s book-making tool & one of the pages it made from our photos jumped out at me. My daughter, Maggie is eleven now and has really glommed on to the social arts (I can’t think of any other term for it, so feel free to help my English).

One of her favorite things to do when we have guests or will be a big group for a meal, is to help set the table, she always comes up with the prettiest arrangements for flowers, simple, natural, and lovely. {yep. I’m her Mom – super proud- can you tell?}

The last picture in that row is of a desert she and Bjørn (9) invented: fruit salad in tartlettes, topped with home made whipped cream and a yummy chocolate.

{Heh… I probably shouldn’t have called it ugly, since my Mom reads my blog and the lamps were hers ages ago. Sorry, Mom}

Continuing with my quest to make Maggie’s room a prettier and more inviting space, I spray painted her two lamps. The tall one is made of wood, so I spray-painted it white and after a looong search found a white shade that’s still not what I’m looking for, but I haven’t found a large drum shade anywhere nearby, and trust me I’ve been to many, many stores in my quest. (more…)

Poor Maggie has been living in a state of transition for many months now ever since we moved her into her own bedroom, far away from our rowdy boys. All her furniture is a mish-mosh of mis-matched pieces from other rooms and other times. We’re lucky that she’s such an all-around happy kid and has been thrilled to bits with her room as is. (more…)

With three kids between the ages of four and eleven, it can be somewhat of a challenge to make sure everyone actually has brushed teeth twice a day. Mine, in particular, have a talent for being sent to brush teeth, and yet somehow manage not have done it after emerging from the facilities. Mine also have a tendency to not always grab their own brushes. This drives me nuts. Really. (more…)

About a year ago we turned our guest room into a space just for creativity. It was wonderful those first weeks and we loved it very, very much. This past month decided to reconfigure it for a few good reasons: (more…)