Cleaning out the Closet and a Drawer

We have a giant front closet in our foyer, and I’ll admit, it’s long overdue for a little better organization. I think I cleaned it out over one year ago. Before I knew it, the coats had somehow magically multiplied with hand-me-downs and seasonal additions. I was sad that there was hardly any room for guest coats.

So, a little trip to IKEA (we love it there), a few purchases and time to sort…

…and voila! There were so many coats and sweatshirts that weren’t being worn because 1) they’re too small, 2) they’re too big or 3) they don’t belong to us. A few things have since found new homes and other things are being packed away for future use. We’re planning on converting a lot of our clothes hangers to wooden ones, just a little at a time.

Think our dry cleaner will be happy with my little hanger donation? The plastic ones will find a home in the laundry room in the meantime.

Onward to the kitchen where you’d think we might keep our plates in the top cabinets… nope, not us. For accessibility sake, we have our plates in the drawers below where pots and pans are sometimes stored.

I had bought four of these plate holders three years ago, but was short two. I just kept forgetting to buy them over the last few years.

Kiddie plates just stack with everything. I love, love, love these holders. Minimal or no assembly, plates don’t rattle, they all have their places. It’s awesome.

(FYI: I have not been paid, given product by, or asked by IKEA to advertise or “plug” their products. This is simply a post about products we like.)

Tags: favorite things, home, IKEA, living, organizing, shopping

From our home to yours

Hunkering down with new toys

We’re having fun with family in town, visiting relatives and friends who have come home for the holidays, hosting family and friends at our home, not to mention playing with new toys (Santa brought me Copic Markers!!!) It’s been a whirlwind of activity, and so there hasn’t been too much time to write.

See my kids personalities shining through

Just a sincere thank you to our friends and family for visiting “So This is Julie” this year. It’s been fun sharing parts of our life with you. We hope you’ve had a wonderful 2009 and look forward to sharing more home, crafting, food and party ideas in 2010!

2009 highlights

Little Man’s
-learned his ABC’s and can count up to 20 fairly well by himself
-started going to “Tiny School” (once a week program)
-took a memorable plane ride to California
-was ring bearer when his aunt got married

Daughter’s
-lost her first tooth right before school started
-learned how to ride a two-wheeler, finally
-took a trip to California
-started second grade

Husband’s
-sister got married in October
-being introduced to the cheese counter at Whole Foods (we love Joanna)
-losing some weight
-getting braces for 18 months
-teaching Abby to ride her bike

Julie’s
-started this blog and has made some cyber-friends
-seeing some icons: Martha Stewart and David Foster (now I just have to meet Oprah)
-visited family in California
-started exercising…again, but actually enjoying it
-got a new bike and will be gearing up for a “century ride” in September ’10

Tags: Christmas, family, highlights, living, thanks

Cookie Exchange

Another year of over indulging. Another year of amazing cookies, and a little, just a little, unspoken competition. More cameraderie, I’d like to think. Another year of seeing our friend’s children grow a few more inches. Another year of welcoming new friends into our lives. Another year of opening our home to loved ones, another year of laughing and catching up on all that has happened.

We paid tribute to John Hughes, writer, director of movies that define moments of high school in the 80s: Ferris Buehler’s Day Off, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, Sixteen Candles, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. He holds a special place with some of us because we graduated from the same high school he attended, Glenbrook North High School.

So, our friends brought their best cookies. We tried to name them accordingly, too, (i.e. Cookies-when-you’re-”Home Alone”, or “Ferris’s thumbprint cookies”, Sloane’s Sugar Cookies, Blaine’s Butterscotch shortbread, Abe Froman cookie) Still, it was a Christmas cookie swap, so if the creative mood didn’t strike them, it was okay.

After sharing two dozen to sample, we swapped six dozen (plus some leftovers) more. Seventeen households/families… it was quite a party! We recognized the best theme-related, best tasting, best decorated, best-in-show, and best haiku.

See some pictures here taken by my brother-in-law and my pictures below. If you roll your cursor over the pictures, you should be able to see their names. Want recipes? Let me know. Enjoy!

Tags: Christmas, cookies, Friends and Family, holiday, living, party

One Fall Day

Hope you all had a nice weekend. We certainly enjoyed ours. I should have been getting ready for the Craft Social, but I had other projects in line.

The boy is crying not because he was hurt. He tried to lock me up in the garden and I yelled at him. Needless to say, he went back inside the house for a while.

This garden tool was pretty nice to use once the hard clay was amended with peat moss.

After planting the garlic, it was time to enjoy the leaves.

**Updated: Wow! This is my 100th post – a great way to “celebrate”. Thanks to everyone who takes time out of their day to share time with us!

Tags: autumn, backyard, fall, family, fun, kids, leaves, living

Random Conversations with My Kids

It’s so hard sometimes to capture all the little snippets of every day conversations that you’d like to remember so that you can tell your kids one day, “You were sooooo cute when you were (insert age)!!” I have these moments all the time, and I’m sure many parents do, too. Whether you’re in the car, doing chores, fixing them a meal, sharing a meal – there are just those fun moments.

——

One night I sent the kids to brush their teeth and I said I’d be right behind them. Ollie is only 2, so he needs helps, usually. Not even 2 minutes later, Ollie comes waltzing into my bedroom.

“Did you brush your teeth, Ollie?”

“YAH!”

“Are you sure?”

“Ahhh-beee say I good, so… I done!”

“Really, Abby said you’re good, so you’re done?”

The answer was a definite YES, and when I checked with Abby, she had a good chuckle. Now she says, “I good, so I done,” anytime she can.

———

Ollie’s ABC’s needed a little work and this is how it went in the car. Please sing along.

Ay – Bee – Tsee – Dee – Eff – Gee – Aych – I – Jay – Kay – Emm – Oooo – Pee – Kew – Ahr – Ess – Tee – You – Vvvv (long pause) Seven – Eight – Nine – Ten

Now he says, “Tee – You – Vee – Duhbuh You – Eck – Why and Szhee”

———

“Ollie, how are you today?”

“Pine.”

“You’re Fffff-ine?”

“Yah. That’s what I say, Pine.”

“Try saying “ffffff-ine”, Ollie.”

“Ffffffff-Pine.”

“What about Fat Cat?”

“Fffff-Pat Cat.”

“Okay, we’ll work on that somemore.”

———

On the way to school one morning I had such the Mom-moment. Mom-nesia, if you will.

“Abby, I should record that new tv show with the show choir-high school show.”

“Yeah, it was cool. What’s it called, Mom?”

“I can’t remember.. uh, you know, we watched it the other night, Geek? Yeah, I think it’s called Geek!”

“Geek? Oh, MOM, don’t you mean GLEE? Bwahahahaha. Mom, you’re funny.”

“Ollie says, Punny mommy.”

———

Ollie: I wuv Unc-kuh Gweg. (our new brother-in-law)

Mom: That’s really nice, Ollie.

Ollie: I big wike Unc-kuh Gweg. I big boy.

Abby: Uh, Ollie, you’re not.

Ollie: Yah, I AM!

Abby: NO, you’re still LITTLE!

Ollie: NOOO, I big boy. Maaaaahm, Ah-bee say I wit-tuh, but I big!”

“Ollie, if you think you’re a big boy, then start using the potty.”

Yeah, that ended that conversation really fast.

—————–

Tags: favorite things, funny, kids, living, talking

Lunching in the Napa Valley

Most people go to the Napa Valley for wine tasting. We don’t drink much, to the bewilderment of some of our friends, but we do love to eat!  On another note, do people call it “THE Napa Valley” or just Napa Valley? I think that I might be a little too much into my Chicago-ese, like “da Bulls”, “da Coach”, “I buy my meat at THE Jewel.”  *sigh* Oh, well, we digress. DA Napa Valley was great… we celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary slightly early with a lunch for two at The Wine Spectator Greystone Restaurant thanks to our cousin watching our kids.

Greystone Cellars was beautiful. Built in 1888 as a co-op winery, then bought by the Christian Brothers in 1950, it’s easy to imagine monks wandering around campus and stomping on grapes to make wine. The Culinary Institute of America now inhabits the campus, and it’s their students who work in the kitchens and are wait staff.

Eastman’s mock mojito… he couldn’t get enough. Like Summer in a glass… except, for the lack of rum.

Chef’s choice appetizers were fabulous.

Eating this crepe with rose syrup (It tasted like roses) was like tasting Spring on an early morning.

We wandered into the campus bookstore after lunch to take a peek at the wares. The book section was so cozy. I just wanted to sit there and read. These were just the cookbooks, too.

We ended our “day date” with a visit to the V. Sattui winery, but opted out for the tasting. It was so chaotic, we could hardly get a server’s attention!

Tags: California, eating, eating out, living, vacation