papa

Weekend fun

June 21, 2015

Our weekend has been full of family, friends, food and fun.

On Friday night we hosted our annual Media Five Miler Party. We had loads of fun as usual, so much I didn’t take the time to snap a single photo!

Last night we hosted family to celebrate Father’s day and my Nana’s 91st birthday. The evening ended outdoors with card games on the patio and then down to the ball field to release sky lanterns!

As you can see Chris has been busy building us a new back porch. It is not quite finished so stay tuned for an entire post on that project. We are excited to share with you the many details involved.

In the mean time check out the beautiful Kentucky Coffee Tree table he made for our patio, perfect for card games and a cold G&T! He’s thinking of burning a chess board into it!

Chris and I make a good team. He likes practical and I like beautiful. Lucky for me everything he makes is beautiful!
I enjoy my home when it is neat and orderly which means I like things put away (or hidden away according to Chris).
I am always switching things up around the house which means where things live sometimes changes.
He is always asking me “So where did you hide it now?” about many of his belongings.

His slippers are one of those things. I may put them in his closet, or by his bedside. Sometimes they make their way by the back door on the shoe rack. Or placed in a basket with all of the other slippers.
I knew he was trying to make a point when he came home last week with his newest invention- Slipper Hooks.
As much as I like things put away out of sight, I had to admit I loved his idea.
He came home the next day with a hook to hang above for his pajamas. And there you have it a new “practical” place for his things with no excuse for me to hide them away.

And while we are on the subject of inventions, check out our affordable version of a new recliner for Chris. To back up a bit, we had been searching for a leather recliner similar to this one for a while. Since they were hard to come by in our price range we settled for an Ikea POANG chair. It was the right size and is actually pretty comfortable. Since the matching ottoman was too bulky for the space Chris decided to make a custom one that slants down at just the right angle that he prefers. Not only is the whole combination beautiful but it is surprisingly ergonomic!

A New Piano

February 5, 2015

I grew up with a piano. I took lessons and played along side of my Pop as a child. I always loved playing but didn’t stick with it.

When Chris and I first moved in we bought a relatively inexpensive piano from Craigs list. I couldn’t imagine a home without one. I played a little but then running a farm and raising two babies got in the way and it just sat there untouched unless my Pop came over for a visit or the occasional friend who played. We decided to get rid of it and make room for other things.

A few years back we were given another piano on a long term loan. I was determined to play and get the girls lessons but the long term loan turned in to a very short visit and the piano had to go earlier than expected.

I decided to put the idea of a piano on the back burner and began to fall in love with my open and airy dining room without one. I replaced it with a secretary desk which I used for my every day dishes and it worked well as a serving piece when entertaining.

But a few months back the girls began asking for a piano again. When visiting my cousin over the holidays, Hannah sat down at the piano and asked me to play with her. When my fingers touched the keys I was filled with warm memories of playing with my Pop. I Love Coffee, I Love Tea, Send in the Clowns, One Enchanted Evening and songs from Fiddler on the Roof, were some of our favorites to play and sing together.

When we were in Florida last week I got an email from a friend who was looking for a new home for her piano. I thought about how much I love my open and spacious dining room with my little plates stacked neatly in the desk shelves and was ready to decline but then I thought about my girls, my Pop, learning to play again, a home filled with music and something made me write yes and press send.

It was delivered last night and I am adjusting. I get a little grumpy sometimes when I bring in something new. But I do love it.

It needs tuning and I so do I. Lessons will begin in a few weeks.

After everyone went up to bed last night I sat back and admired the new addition to our home. I dusted it’s wood and adorned it’s top. I greeted it and sat down to introduce myself and played a few songs.

It felt good and I swear I heard Pop humming along.

December 28, 2012

so it’s that time of year again where i brag about my talented hubby and show off the handmade goodness he gifted to us this christmas. he kept it simple this year and stuck to two gifts. but what amazing gifts they are!

i was more than speechless and in awe when i opened my beautiful ukulele that he built from top to bottom.
i kept asking him “you really built this? the whole thing? even the neck, the frets, everything?!!”
i am truly amazed at his talent. he can build anything.
not only is is beautiful but one of a kind and somewhat romantic if you ask me.
the sound holes are also peep holes that look in to little dancers from an old coo coo clock he salvaged for parts. it’s like i have little people inside dancing to my music.
it is inspired by a cigar box guitar but he couldn’t find a box he liked so he built his own.
and it even can be plugged in to an amp to be electrified. seriously.
he showed it to our cousin who is a musician who immediately ordered two to be built for the new year.
timber and co. now builds musical instruments!
he is designing a cigar box amp to go with it too.
it plays just beautifully and the best part of all is it was built just for me.

the other beauty that he made was gifted to the girls. a gorgeous kick sled inspired by this story. if you have not seen this yet, i highly recommend this magical and beautiful movie.
the sled is impeccably made from poplar, with runners sanded and polished with bowling alley wax. the girls are looking forward to some snow tomorrow to try it out.

we are all still in holiday bliss here, sleeping in and snuggling by the fire, nibbling on sweets, playing with our new games. we are all loving these.
there is always a tray of chocolates and cookies out and ready for friends and family who stop by.

today we are heading into the city to see this. and then out for tea and cakes.

christmas has really just begun at our house.

https://secondandedgemont.com/2012/12/28/3115/

July 13, 2012

we went on a date last night to see these two.
i can’t count how many times i got the chills up in the balcony holding my sweetheart’s hand.
they were amazing. beautiful. perfect together.

today as i was about to throw my ticket away from last night’s performance i stopped.
i tend to get rid of things.
you know, the whole clutter thing.
chris however is the sentimental kind.
i wondered what he did with his ticket.

he saves everything.
he has a basket full of movie tickets, playbills, letters, notes written on paper napkins, cards, all from our last twenty some years together (yes we have been together since we were 19).

sometimes i will open a book to find a poem i wrote him or open a drawer to find a valentines day card i gave him from when we first got married.

those are the things i just can’t get rid of and as much as i want to organize them all and store them together in one place, i kind of like the surprise of finding something from the past in places i would least expect.

so i think i will tuck this little ticket of mine somewhere safe. somewhere random. somewhere i might find in ten years and remember listening to bluegrass up in the balcony holding his hand.

https://secondandedgemont.com/2012/07/13/2475/

June 12, 2012

when the girls caught wind that chris and i had written a summer manifesto they wanted in too.

last night as the four of us were lying in bed ready to drift off we began to create a family summer manifesto.
since i am usually the first one asleep this is what i can remember. i’m sure there was more.
we have our work cut out for us.

:: ride a roller coaster (papa)
:: go on a picnic (norah)
:: swim in a creek, a pond, a lake, a river and the ocean (papa)
:: make homemade ice cream (mama)
:: make pies and crisps with each summer fruit (hannah)
:: master a homemade barbeque sauce recipe (papa)
:: canoe and camp in the pine barrens (mama)
:: set off fire works (papa)
:: find a nearby swimming hole (mama)
:: go crabbing (hannah)
:: invite friends over more often (papa)
:: make batik print tee shirts (mama)
:: make friendship bracelets (hannah)
:: have a summer restaurant on our back porch (hannah)
:: spend a weekend in cape may (mama)
:: eat tomato sandwiches (hannah)
:: ride bikes on the boardwalk (norah)
:: pick wineberries (mama)
:: catch fire flies (norah)
:: be together (mama, papa, hannah, norah)

https://secondandedgemont.com/2012/06/12/2294/

May 25, 2012

chris is away for a few days as a chaperone for the annual OC teen trip.
yesterday he spent the day here.
yeah i am a bit jealous.
he keeps sending me photos and texts saying how much he wants us all to go back.
he just sent me a text saying “architecture is my new passion.”

the girls and i have a few things planned while he is away but it’s all pretty low key.
our schedules are calming down and that summery relaxed feel is creeping in.

https://secondandedgemont.com/2012/05/25/2131/

March 2, 2012

i made a beet chocolate cake to celebrate chris and his 39 years today.
i’m not gonna lie though, the guy wishes for a duncan hines cake every year. just like he got as a kid.
but that i leave to his mom.
he liked my cake though.
he’s a good sport.
happy birthday c.
life is so much more fun with you in it!
xo