The Atlanta Children's Museum (& a walk through Centennial Olympic Park!)

I was feeling really stifled. All the strange cold-warm-wet weather and the wintry hours and let's be honest, CABIN FEVER, were really getting to me. So when Stevie got home from one of his work trips, I sort of exploded (while laying on the kitchen floor) about how I need more adventure and city life and thank goodness for that sweet man, he just asked me what that meant to me. "I don't know - I want to go to more museums!" Don't laugh, guys. I love a good museum. We decided on the Atlanta Children's Museum, because even though its not a real museum, it's recently reopened and we knew Everett would love it. So we ordered tickets online at 11pm that evening and woke up early the next morning, ready to seize the day.

We parked at the CNN Center because - hello! They have free parking for electric vehicles! Nissan Leaf for the win (praise hands, praise hands). And we walked a verrrrrry bitterly cold walk from the CNN Center, through Centennial Olympic Park, to the Children's Museum. Seriously, the wind was out of control and we were NOT dressed appropriately. I keep anticipating Spring, but no. It's still winter. I should have pulled out my Boston coat.

Pictures!

Have you been to the Atlanta Eye? This was the closest we got, but I still think it would be fun to go on at some point.

The Atlanta Children's Museum. Such a great place for kids on a chilly day.

The stairs play musical notes like a piano!

With all the toys and games and activities, you know what this boy wanted to do? THROW A BALL. Well, we could have done that at home, Everett.

They had an interactive story time that was really sweet.

He got SO wet.

This one kills me. I said, "Boys, smile for me!" And look at what I got.

Centennial might not be the poshest of parks, but Stevie asked me to marry him in the middle of this park at Christmastime 10 years ago, so it holds a special place in my heart.

We had such a great time! It felt really good to get out of suburbia and do something different on a Saturday. I will say that we got to the museum right when it opened, and that first hour and a half was the best because hardly anyone was there. Then people started filtering in and it got really crowded - so word to the wise - get there early! Plus everything is super clean then :) I would definitely recommend this at the perfect place to take your kiddos, especially on a cold or rainy day. We could have stayed much longer, it just got a little crowded for our taste. I thought Everett might be too young for the activities, but they offer such a wide range of things to do that it wasn't a problem. He will definitely love it even more when he gets older, but there was still plenty for him to explore as a 19-month-old.

We visited Ponce City Market after this little adventure - check back for those pics tomorrow! xox

Wonder, Waffle Makers and Adulting.

So we gave our son a waffle maker. Technically, this was our "family" Valentines gift, since it was ridiculously marked down at Williams Sonoma and since our son eats an insane amount of waffles. But we let him open it because, lets face it, kids are just really fun to watch open presents. This time was no exception. Everett had no idea what was in that box all wrapped up pretty with paper and a bow, but he sure liked figuring out how to unwrap it, with Daddy's assistance, of course.

This isn't really about the waffle maker though. There was something especially striking to me about Everett's demeanor as I watched him open this particular gift - an unfeigned wonder. He was genuinely thrilled about the present because he had NO IDEA what could be inside. He didn't know that the paper was from Williams Sonoma and he didn't know that the box stating "Breville" meant it had anything to do with kitchenware (or his favorite food!) He didn't know to be anything but himself, opening that gift. He didn't fake his reaction. He didn't think, "I can return this and get a gift card". He didn't have to like the gift at all. He just had to be himself and open it and for me, it was such a joy to watch it. Did I think I would get a strange reaction from my toddler opening up a waffle maker as a gift? Oh sure. That was like half the fun. I mean, what is a kid supposed to think about that? It's not a ball or a truck or a train. It's a waffle maker. I actually think he "got it" a little more than we anticipated. Once the gift was unwrapped, we explained how we would make his waffle in it and he seemed to understand. You guys, he really loves waffles.

As a side note, he definitely understands the concept now. He waits for it to heat up (completely impatiently) and once it beeps, indicating it is pre-heat ready for batter, he almost loses his mind with glee. "WAFFLE. WAFFLE. WAFFLE MOMMY!!!" He points, practically with his whole body, while I pour in the batter and, you know, let it do its thing.

Letting my son open this gift opened my eyes to the simplicity of a child's wonder. If only I could bottle it up and take it myself. I guess we adults would call that naivety - a grown up experiencing life with a childlikeness. But there is something about that spark, I wish I could naturally summon up a bit more wonder in my own heart for the things around me. I wish that opening up my laptop gave me the butterflies. Or driving my car made me feel like I'm in the Jetsons. But its Monday and I woke up a little groggy and a little overwhelmed and honestly, a little uninspired. Then I found these few photos and felt the laughter in my heart over such a silly experience- having my son open up a waffle maker as a present - but also the wonder. And I wish for all of you today - a bit of childlikeness that makes you fond again for the things that may seem mundane.

May you feel a sense of wonder today while you go out into the world and, you know, adult with the best of them :)

DIY Ant Destoyer.

You might laugh at this post, but I am for real. I discovered an amaaaaazing way to treat those pesky ants that might be marching through your house right now. Since we've had so much rain this winter, we have experienced a lot of ants trying to find refuge in our kitchen. We have followed their trail and honestly have no idea how they are finding their way in. But we knew we had to get rid of them.

Specifically, I knew we had to take action one night after I laid Everett down to sleep. The house was quiet, it was that wonderful (exhausting) time of night where we could just relax and eat dinner. Then all of the sudden, I hear dramatic exclamations coming from the kitchen. I mean, DRAMA. Stevie was talking, nay, yelping and disciplining and whacking the counter and making proclamations of - "YOU'RE SO GROSS" - to the ants. He was shouting at them. Shouting at himself, just so disgusted by their little march into everything on the counter. He was over it. I came downstairs and laughed at my drama-king husband, because nobody ever believes me that he is WAY more high-maintenance and dramatic than I am. No one believes it. But whatever. I know my truth :)

I took care of the ants. Stevie cowered in the corner. Okay, not reallllllllly, but almost. I am definitely the one who TOOK CARE OF BUSINESS. And he was grateful. That man really hates ants.

Want to know how to get rid of ants in your house? It's so easy you guys. You probably have everything you need already.

Supplies Needed:
- 1-2 tbsp. Borax
- 2-4 tbsp. Sugar
- A few empty matchboxes
- Scotch Tape
- A few drops of water

Method:
1. First, you want to cut little holes in the tops of your match boxes. Make them ant-sized holes. This will be the channel for them to march in and out of.

2. Then using a little spoon, you want to add the sugar and Borax inside the match box. You want there to be a 1:2 ratio, with twice as much sugar as Borax. Just make sure you mix the Borax well in with the sugar. Add 2-3 drops of water, to moisten the mixture. Ants like syrup. Ants are gross.

3. Open the matchbox slightly, ensuring an opening for the ants to march into. Now you want to tape the partially-open matchboxes in the high-traffic areas where the ants are coming and going. Tape it good. You don't want an earthquake to make your box budge, so seriously, tape it GOOD.

NOTE: Borax is poisonous and you should absolutely NOT put this ANYWHERE that a child could access. You should also not tape the box in a way that it could easily fall or accidentally sprinkle some of the powder out of the box. We had to be very strategic with where we taped these boxes, since we have a toddler. Please consider the safety of your family and anyone who might enter your home with children, and place this ant destroyer high above a child's possible reach.

Why This Works:
Just like any other ant killer, the ants are attracted to the sugar. They load it up to bring it back to their queen, though little do they know that it's laced with the Borax. Sad day for their leader. Great day for my husband.

This literally took one day to clear the ants completely out of our kitchen. We made three matchboxes, and taped them in strategic places, one being in the space between the dishwasher and the granite. About a week later, we noticed a few again, and we refilled our matchboxes and re-taped them again. We've had no trouble since then.

Don't spend money on pest control if you don't have to. Spend money on shoes. Spend money on beautiful shoes that you can call art. Because this method totally works! And if you're having this issue, I'm certain it will work for you, too!

I hope you have the happiest weekend, enjoying a taste of Spring weather. I'm excited to get in my yard and do some garden prepping and planning! xox

My Whole30 Diary. Part 4.

This was the final push - the 4th and final week of my Whole30 experience. You can read about why I'm doing Whole30 here.

Day 22.
I went into this week knowing it was going to be a big one. Really busy with writing stuff and really busy with mommy stuff, because Stevie was going to be out of town for the week. There was also an emotional component of losing my Whole30 buddy, because I gave him my blessing to stop eating Whole30 before his trip. This was the beginning of a slew of business trips he was going on, and we didn't really want him to be put in a position where he's the awkward guy on the team not eating anything normal because of his "diet". He didn't want to be that guy, and I really didn't want that for him either. So he prepared to break the Whole30 commitment a little early, but still eat super clean until I was finished. All that being said, I went into this week with lots of feelings...

Breakfast: Quick egg scramble. Black Coffee.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings (kalamata olives, marinated artichokes, sundried tomatoes and sliced avocado).
Dinner: Leftover Spaghetti Squash Spaghetti.

Day 23.
Breakfast: Egg scramble with random veggies thrown in. 1/2 grapefruit and black coffee.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings.
Dinner: Pulled beef with homemade ranch dressing (recipe in the Whole30 book), kale chips, cauliflower mango rice, and 1/2 sweet potato.

My sister came over and had dinner with me, so I wasn't such a lonely lame eater. Also, I resumed rewatching Gossip Girl. Because I was missing New York and Stevie was having slamming amounts of fun somewhere without me and I just needed a little indulgence.

Yeah, I was pouting a little. But the sweet potato tasted like pie and that was the jam!

Day 24.
Breakfast: Frittata with diced onion, tomato, chicken sausage and spinach. Hot tea.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings. (You might get bored doing this same lunch everyday, but I finally found one that I love so I just kept making it :)
Dinner: Sweet potato and kale chips.

I'm telling you. The breakfast frittatas are delectable.

Day 25.
Breakfast: Frittata, sliced apples and hot tea.
Lunch: Mexican salad (ground beef, salsa and avocado on a bed of spinach, drizzled with homemade ranch dressing).
Dinner: Pulled beef, cauliflower-mango rice, sweet potato, kale chips.

As real food continued to taste better and better during the course of Whole30, cauliflower tasted increasingly worse. It's probably because it's a broccoli cousin. I kept trying to cook with it (like in the above cauliflower-mango rice) but I just kept hating it more and more. Ugh. So cauliflower-y.

Day 26.
Breakfast: Egg scramble and 1/2 grapefruit. Black coffee.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings.
Dinner: Baked salmon with lemon-herb mayo, sweet potato, steamed kale.

Again, I was eating so many sweet potatoes because PIE. They tasted like pieeeee.

Day 27.
Breakfast: Egg scramble, sliced plantains pan-fried in coconut oil and dusted with cinnamon. Black coffee.
Lunch: Leftover salmon with homemade cream dressing, capers, olives, diced cucumber, sundried tomatoes and avocado.
Dinner: My homemade Grandma Soup (no noodles, but add diced red potatoes).

Dressing up my usual lunchtime salad with leftover salmon instead of chicken was so fancy. It tasted SO GOOD. I loved the leftover salmon times. As much as I could love anything, with all the lack of chocolate in my world.

Also, salmon felt fancy and celebratory because Stevie was home for two days before resuming more travel. We partied so hard. With our sparkly water and early bedtimes and church in the morning. Are you getting the sense for our wild life? Like the JUNGLE.

Day 28.
Breakfast: Church day, so this was an early, busy one. Breakfast was a banana and a Lara Bar. I hunted for coffee in our new church location until I found it. And then I had a lot of it.
Lunch: Grandma Soup!
Dinner: Don't judge. Stevie was out of town, so I had soup again for dinner. Hallelujah for not having to cook again. Good times had by all. But mostly by Everett. Because he was blissfully eating waffles every single day.

Day 29.
Breakfast: 2 fried eggs and 1/2 grapefruit.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings.
Snack: Lara Bar. My favorites are blueberry and key lime :)
Dinner: Leftover pulled beef and a sweet potato.

I honestly wasn't feeling pouty about food at this point. It was all sort of routine and not heartbreaking anymore. Because I got to have my sweet potato, so I was pretty good with life.

I know what you're thinking. WEIRDO. Well I would have to agree with you.

Day 30.
Breakfast: 2-egg scramble with diced tomato, chicken sausage and spinach.
Snack: Clover coffee at Starbucks and 1/2 bag of dried apple crisps. The clover was my treat to myself for being such a GOOD GIRL for thirty days.
Lunch: Chicken salad with Greek toppings. Hot tea (Trader Joes Harvest Herbal Tea!)
Dinner: Grandma Soup (minus the noodles, add diced red tomatoes) and some pineapple.

Overall Recap:
Honestly, this last week wasn't hard. It was challenging in other ways - I felt extremely busy and didn't have time to really pine away for treats. I finally had my cooking/meal prep routine down, and I needed to be in autopilot in order to keep our lives running smoothly while single-parenting it with my husband out of town. So those emotional and time-management components were challenging - but the Whole30 had become an almost fond way of living.

"Almost" is the key word in that phrase.

I still obviously was excited to have wine and chocolate and, you know, breaded stuff.

In fact, I was anticipating the end of this Whole30 experiment with glee.

And, my friends, it ended. With glee. More on that next week!

P.S. Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 of my Whole30 diary :)

6 Easy Tips for Styling Your Built Ins.

A few weeks ago I shared a peek at our living room and the concept that went into the design. In my opinion, the things that really "make" this room are the high ceilings, the built-in shelves and the natural lighting. None of that really has to do with the decor. But those elements certainly enhance the decor and showcase its best qualities! I am a bargain shopper and don't really have a lofty budget to spend on home decorating. So I've combined a lot of items that were given to me or that I picked up inexpensively (some of them, literally, for free on the street!) Today I want to share my 6 tips for how to style built-in shelves easily and inexpensively.

1. Only Use a Few Items.
You know what you will love the very most about your shelves? How clean they look. It's really important to use less items than you think you need on those shelves. Trust me - this is what will keep them looking fresh and chic. Only use a few items! Between 1-3 for each shelf.

2. Keep the color palette complimentary - and neutral.
Pick a few shades that are represented in the room and stick to those tones. Your eyes will thank me. Because you will have so many different objects to look at, it's best to keep things in the family of neutral, with a hint of a color pop here and there. Use the colors already found in your room. In my case, I used a recurring theme of gold and silver elements, with lots of white space. Then I added a few pops of color, which coordinated with other colors in the room. The black frames coordinated with the black fireplace, the blue pictures coordinated with the main art piece and the rug, and the random pops of color came in the form of my green peacock-inspired plate and the wooden elephant.

3. Use different textures.
Using an array of textures on your built-ins is what makes the uniform palette come to life. Though the colors may play it safe, the types of objects and the different textures create enough intention to keep your eye interested for a while. For this reason, I mixed the elements and included glass, wood, live plants, framed fabric, books, etc. to create dimension on the shelves.

4. Include things you want to look at.
This might seem silly, but its not. So often, we can look at others' homes or flip through books (or watch HGTV) and think that the way someone else does something is the right way. But if we try to replicate that same look, it might not feel natural. It's important to use others' experiences as a launching point for inspiration, but make sure that everything you personally use in your home, especially on your built-in, that you completely love. Because at the end of the day, it's not a designer looking at your shelves everyday, it's you and your family. Make sure you love each of those items and want to look at them.

5. Consider the Scale.
In this case, the scale really matters. If your book shelves are enormous, you are going to want to use larger items to fill that space. Using tiny items in a big space can make the shelves look cluttered, which is the opposite effect you want to have. Make sure to choose varying sizes and shapes of items that fit to the scale of the shelves.

6. Never finish.
The most important (and often most frustrating) part of home decor is the journey: it's always a work in progress. But instead of letting this get you down, treat it like an exciting journey. There is always something inspiring on the horizon! Keep an eye out for items that you want to trade in and out on your built-ins. It will keep the scene fresh and hopefully keep your inspiration hat on. I am often walking books down stair and pictures upstairs, swapping their position in the house and finding where something feels "final". That almost never happens, but I like to put items somewhere on display for three months or so, then move it again, until it finally feels done. Let yourself enjoy the journey!

Thanks for reading! For more information about the items in this room, you can check the Living Room Home Tour post.