Weird

Is it just me or are all of Olive's toes the exact same length?

Now it was hard to try and document this because she did not want to hold still and was much more interested in the screen on the camera. And I only had the point and shoot camera which comes in handy occasionally but mostly is just a pain.

Obviously the pinkey toe is the smallest, but not by much. Weird right?

Golden Locks

How gorgeous is that? Olive's hair is starting to get really long and full which is so fun because now I can put it into cute pig tails which look extremely adorable.

Usually though, I only put a clip on top and leave it down because I am so overjoyed at how much curl her hair has. I was so worried that she would loose her baby curl, but it seems to be getting curlier! Granted, this picture is straight out of the bath which is when her hair is the curliest, but it gives me great hope that these beautiful curls will stick around for awhile. Someday she may hate having curly hair, but I absolutely love it!

Can you hear that?

Time for a break from posting about our house because I am sure you are getting weary of it.

Here is my piano. I inherited this piano from my great grandmother and it is about the only thing that I know about her. It is beaten up and out of tune and not that spectacular but I can't even tell you how grateful I am to have it. Because of living in apartments or up multiple flights of stairs we were never able to actually have this piano. Now it fits perfectly in our little front room and I couldn't be happier about it.

I had always begged and pleaded with my parents to let me take lessons and they would agree and sign me up. It would only last for about 3 weeks because there is just not much room to improve on a little keyboard. After a few rounds of this I just decide it was too hard without the real thing. Then, when I was in 9th grade, this piano joined our family. I took lessons all through high school and I would drive myself over to my piano teachers house once a week. I was maybe a bit of a difficult student because I refused to cut my nails and only wanted to play "real songs" not scales and technique. I was not great, and still am not. I have always loved music, but there was something so magical about creating music. So many sense are in use for one purpose.

When I was teaching school I so desperately wished that I was better at the piano. It was difficult to practice with such a busy schedule and even though some mornings I would arrive early to try and play, it never was very productive. So I had to rely on the amazing music teacher to play for us twice a week. The rest of the time we could only learn songs that had a cd.

I can't tell you how amazing it was to play Christmas songs this year. Now, I have a VERY long way to go to be like the concert pianists that Scott has for sisters, but I am practicing. I practice every day. Slowly, I am getting better. Even better I think, than when I quit at the end of high school.

I didn't really set any New Year's Resolutions. I kinda feel like if there is something I want to change or a habit I want to develop I should work on it any time. But, I have set the goal that I need to perform the piano pieces I am learning at a real recital. I can play semi-adequately at my house, but I am a nervous wreck in front of people. I figure though, what is the point of practicing if you don't share your hard work?

Last night I went to a relief society activity about a Celestial Univeristy. I am not sure I am going to do the program exactly as they laid it out, but I think I might modify it a little. And guess what, one of their suggested goals in the College of Fine Arts is to take music lessons and perform.
So, here we go. Let's hope there is a fabulous musician inside of me waiting to be born!

I appreciate our fireplace

I think our fireplace is so great. I mean, look at the built in cabinets with glass front doors! I also really love the huge mantel that spans the whole wall. This is the first thing I saw when we walked in and I was already sold on the house.


This close up shows the great cast iron detailing of the original fire box. It is not safe to use the fireplace and we aren't sure if we are going to put the money into making it functional so now it is only decorative. I was convinced that we needed to refinish the tile around it because I felt like it was too puke-y green/brown. But with the floors and everything I like how original it looks now.

These cabinets are so fantastic! I love that I can finally display things and know that they are not in Olive's reach. You may notice that the wood detailing mirrors the doors to the dining room. I know I have said it before, but that detailing and how Craftsman these are makes me so happy.

I also love the symmetry of the two windows, two sconces, and two cabinets. Now I just need the perfect thing to hang right in the middle.


Lately I have been shocked at how grown up and toddler-ish Olive is. I swear she has changed a ton these last 3 months. This binky got put in her toy box and every once in awhile she will come over with it in her mouth. It always makes me laugh because she seems so big, and the binky seems so newborn. Nobody else might think it's funny but I find it hilarious.

It's Dining (Room) Time!

There are so many things that I love about our dining room. While we were looking at houses, I thought dining rooms were rather unnecessary and wasted space, especially since we don't have anything regarding formal dining. But as we walked through our dining room I knew it was perfect.
One of my favorite things about our dining room is the original chandelier. Typically this would not be my style. But it has a simplicity and antique-ness that I really appreciate. It is all brassy and tarnished and I love it.


I know this is an odd picture but, yes I really was photographing the sunlight from our window. I wish I had a photo of the actual window, but I couldn't get it to work because it was so bright outside. Anyway, the wonderful HUGE (120 inches!) window in our dining room has leaded glass in it which casts the most beautiful wavy reflections all over the room. We love it so much that even though the glass is cracked in one corner, we are not replacing it.

Our dining room has these brilliant glass doors that separate it from our front room. I love the wood detailing that matches our windows. It feels very Craftsman to me. They are also quite functional at blocking out the noise and keeping toddlers corraled.

Here is another view of the doors while open. I love this view. This is looking from my kitchen through the dining room and into the front room. It all flows and feels open. This is what I get to look at while I am working in the kitchen. Magnificent!

This picture is showing that I am not the only person that loves this dining room. Our kitty lays in the warm sunlight cast in by the lovely leaded glass all afternoon. If you look closely you can see Olive walking by the table. She loves to walk under the table and climb in the chairs, until she gets stuck that is. I must say, it is quite the dining room!