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Why Not?

Friends, the Barnes, and more DIY

This past weekend we were visited by our dear friends, Teri and Francis. Teri brought along her sewing machine to assist me with some DIY projects I had in mind because, frankly, my sewing machine really seems to have a disliking for me.

We started the weekend by visiting the nearby Barnes Foundation--a private museum that houses one of the largest impressionist painting collections in the world. It will soon be moving to Center City Philly, much to the dismay of many (though not city officials or politicians). You can learn more about it by watching the movie "The Art of the Steal". Andrew and I went with Matt and Natalie shortly after we moved here. We wanted to see it again--with the girls--before it leaves our little part of the world. I am not sure how moving it into the city can really do it justice, but we'll see.

Here the girls stand in front of the museum.
A view from the back
Outdoor seating near the garden (not yet recovered from winter)
The girls running across the side yard

Checking out the fish
Ella, not wanting to leave
Lunch afterward. The girls with Teri.
Ella and Teri--the best of buds. Oh and Francis was there, too.
Teri gets to work on a pillow case
Ta da!
And another...
The sofa is getting more interesting...
Ella checks out what is going on
The study with it's new valence

The bathroom with it's new valence

and a gnome.

"New" chair

Chair, before:
Chair, after:

Quote of the Day

Nora: Oh no! The monster went poo poo on the floor!
Me: Oh no. What are you going to do about it?
Nora: I dont know. I need to talk on the phone.
(Another reason we wont be getting a dog...)
Nora holds her "phone" up to her head. "Hello? Talk to you. Bye"
(I wish most of MY phone calls were that short)
We then go down stairs.
Nora: Where's the monster?
Ella: Oh no! The monster is eating our breakfast! No, Monster! No!!
(The fact that is was 5:30pm apparently made no difference to the monster and his meal preference)

Our Father...

So, in case you haven't heard, the girls can now recite "The Lord's Prayer". It started out as an "experiment" by me to find out how much, really, a 2-year-old can memorize. Within a week of saying it about once a day, they had it. Amazing and absolutely adorable (and I gotta admit, it's kind of weird to hear two-year-olds say the words "hallowed", "temptation", and "evil".). We now say it every night before bed. At church on Sunday it was recited and Nora stared at a couple sitting behind us--she seemed to be absolutely amazed that other people knew their prayer:)

I, again, am having difficulty getting videos to upload onto the site. However, I do hope to get a video of them saying their prayers at some point. Because I love it.

Tricycling

I got two tricycles at the Mothers of Multiples (re)Sale this past weekend. $4 each. Score.

DIY Curtains

So after years of not having curtains, I spent several hours yesterday shopping, trying to finally find the right pair. I tend to be, um, "cheap" with things so I went for these nice blue curtains from Ikea. There was another pair I like a bit better--but they cost more. So I figured these would be fine enough. I liked the way they looked in the store, but was not so thrilled once I hung them up. As you can tell by the pillows, it was not the shade of blue I tend to go for--turquoise, teal, or robin's egg blue. No, these looked like they were made from denim shirts. Not terrible, but it wasnt the right shade. So I was either going to have to get new curtains, feel like I settled, or get all new bedroom decor...
On my way to work this morning I came with an idea--dye them! If I can find a shade that more closely matched what I was thinking, it would surely work!
And it did. It colorful. It's bold. But I am finally happy with it.
Now, if only Ikea would stop being out-of-stock of the rug I want in the room--then I'll be thrilled (and done shopping)!