valerian's Profile

This is so beautiful! What wonderful, warm spaces. I also love that you have devoted two whole rooms to the girls' play.

a favorite so far--this is excellent!

i think the idea here is to be mindful and respectful of the fact that new parents have just had their lives change in a MAJOR way and as others have mentioned already, everyone deals with this differently. some people need a little bit of calm, quiet time to chill out *on their own* before allowing their loved ones to swoop in, while some can take it right away. as a member of the former camp, i can say that telling us to "chill the eff out" is NOT going to help get you closer to a visit.

many women go through some strong emotional turmoil just after giving birth and some find the event a little traumatic and need to find some quiet and peace with their new family before the parade comes to town. that doesn't mean they're bad people and it doesn't mean that they don't love you and want you to visit when they're ready. remember visitors: this time isn't really about you.

i love martha! such a great aesthetic. this is simple, clean, yet also so full of whimsy--a difficult balance to strike, for sure.

oh! we just got the skwish and though alden can't hold it yet, he will stare at it for A VERY LONG TIME if we hover it over him. it makes a wonderful, woody sound when tilted and turned.

i'm american and i have absolutely no qualms about taking off my shoes in *anyone's* home, regardless of where they're from or what is considered the cultural norm. personally, it makes no sense to me to wear shoes in the house and doing so just makes a mess, more noise and as mommy2aya pointed out, is possibly harmful.

we don't wear shoes at home but i admit that it can be uncomfortable to ask guests to remove theirs. luckily most of our friends are highly conscientious and notice the shoes by the door and remove theirs naturally. for parties, we just clean thoroughly afterward.

got it today! now i don't have to choose between paying bills and paying rent! happy spring to me!
(oh, and we might add another plant or two to our place...gotta use some of it for sprucing-up, right?)

gah! this chair! saw it in an ikea catalogue and thought it must be too good to be true. and it totally is. i'm sorry to say, but in person it is even more hideous than the close-ups here of the composite show it to be. i can't afford the real deal either (which is why i was so excited at first to see the ikea version) but i'd rather go without than make do with a shoddy knock-off.

i hate recommending this, as it's gross and sad, but it does work (or has for us) every time: get one of those standard snap traps and leave it out one night with some peanut butter on it, without setting it. the mouse will eat the peanut butter and learn that the trap is just a snack station. the next night, set the trap with the peanut butter and you will have a dead mouse in the morning.