There's no such thing as a simple project



On Friday, while Charlie was at work and I was home with the kiddo, I decided it was a good day to strip some wallpaper and repair the cracks in the walls of the downstairs bathroom. Seemed productive and reasonable enough.


Several hours into the mess, most of the wallpaper was down and I came across old house oddity # 3,995: the poorly patched spot where a medicine cabinet once hung. At this point the evolving dreams solidified, and I was well into plotting a full bathroom renovation. Since everyone dreams of coming home after work to discover plans of gutting and rebuilding a bathroom, I'd also whittled those plans down into the fewest, biggest impact tasks we could do in, oh say, a weekend. I don't know how I do it, but every "small project" I dream up seems to take less than 2 days to complete...in my mind. The reality that I should know by now? Very different, especially considering the old house oddities I mentioned before..


C came home and I gave him a "Look! It'll really be simple, here's all we have to do" pep talk and he was on board with the project. Our Friday night included visits to 2 hardware stores, a couple of purchases (including paint and a pedestal sink), and a few hours later a hungry little family ready to chow down on pizza.

There are a few things I've come to know about the Mr. in our several years of marriage and one of those things is that if I want to stay involved in a massive project I've just started, I have to firmly butt my way in, otherwise he'll take it and run with it while I keep the little one happily engaged for the weekend. 


So here's where we are: the wallpaper is stripped, the new floor is down, the beadboard has one coat of paint and is installed, except for one piece that needs some holes drilled for plumbing. The baseboard and moulding need to be installed and painted, as does the other trim work and the entry door. Plumbing needs to be hooked back up and the medicine cabinet spot needs insulation,  wallboard, and patching to be installed.

Then I can finish painting those walls I started on Friday.


Helping Hands: Drawn Together



In the past W&tS has offered wares as an incentive to support different needs: Owego, breast cancer research and support groups, aid to personal friends...Many things speak to us, and it's difficult to reach out and help all of them, but the recent school shooting in Sandy Hook cannot be overlooked.



While brainstorming ways to aid in the healing process. I kept going back to art therapy. I know my pregnant-mama limits, and I know Charlie has an ever-growing list of things (I'd like for him) to do around the house. We just have too much going on to spearhead something, so I put a little hook in the twitter waters and heard about Drawn Together.  Amber, the brains behind Damask Love and Drawn Together, is a pediatric psychologist, so she knows the ins and outs of the hapless victims of last week's violence. She has the knowledge, she has the plan, she needs the "stuff."

If you have some money to spare, might I suggest you donate some to help cover the increasing shipping costs for this project? Drawn Together has already collected enough supplies for about 200 creative kits for the kids to use as part of their healing through art therapy.

As an incentive: If you donate $20 or more, and send confirmation to nobiting at gmail dot com, I will send you an 8 1/2 x 11" print from the shop! If you have a print preference, please let me know and I'll try to get that one to you.

I don't have any experience in art therapy on a professional level (obviously) but I know how clarifying making art can be when you have time to put pen (or paint, pencil, etc.) to paper and let everything out. I can plainly see the joy on our little one's face when she gets to do the same. Providing such an outlet  during a difficult time seems like it would provide unlimited benefits for their future.


“One important aspect of art therapy is the creation of a safe space where traumatic feelings can be processed. Sometimes the verbal skill is lacking to describe traumatic experiences and by creating art, the person can feel more confident.”
— Breat, E.A., & Ostroff, R.
American Journal of Psychiatry 142: 417-424 (1985)


Since we learned the gender of baby #2, I've been a little nervous--well, a lot nervous. The anxiety is fading and turning into excitement, but I thought sharing my feelings would help me speed up the process, the transition of mindset.

When Bunny and Dolly asked me to write a guest post about pregnancy, I thought about a billion different ideas, but settled on the one that was most personal during this time around. Take a look and see what you think: Coming to terms with raising a boy.


How do you indulge?



I was chatting the other day on twitter about the Neiman Marcus/Target partnership, and why they decided to partner up. I don't really see the benefit, but someone suggested perhaps it was a way for Target shoppers to splurge or indulge without feeling the wallet-pain of indulging at an actual Neiman Marcus store.


Tis the season to indulge, right? Cookies to the left, cocktails to the right (sparkling water for me)...chocolate chocolate chocolate. Other indulgences slip into our subconsciousness, whispering, urging us to buy every fancy thing in sight.

When I indulge myself in a little something fancy it usually ends up being skin care. I don't really know why, but I suspect it's because I put everything else before the priority to take care of myself (acceptance is the first step).  It doesn't hurt that winter weather dries my skin out and makes me feel especially blah, or that this year my hormonal, bloated, pregnant-self can't get enough sleep, and my entire epidermis should be called epidullmis.

I used to use Benefit make up while actively ignoring their ingredients. These days I'm on the search for  brands that contains fewer preservatives. If I love something, I go back to it again and again, so there are a few mainstays in my not-quite-routine:  Collective Wellbeing Hot Pore scrub, Kiehl's Superbly Restorative Argan Lotion and their Musk Eau de Toilette.


Those mainstays were recently supplemented them with this year's indulgence: Acure toner, night cream, and facial mask. To round off my order, I added Isa's Restoratives Lilac Rouge to replace the Benefit Benetint I've been so fond of (bye bye parabens). My Cisthene total was less than the cost of a new outfit, and 10 minutes with my skin every evening and we at peace again.

Of course, finding make-up might be a little trickier. Anyone have a favorite brand? I've been eying Tarte... Do you indulge? What's your favorite personal treat?