ChloeSF's Profile

Beautiful! And it matches your home's exterior perfectly. Lovely job.

I'm an only child but had bunk beds because I was always having sleepovers with girls in the neighborhood, and I LOVED IT. I had it until the last semester of senior year of high school! Of course by then I was really ready for my full sized bed, but it was so awesome as a kid. I would definitely get one for my kids! It also had built-in shelves on both levels which was awesome for storage. My room wasn't small at all, but it still worked really well for me and our needs.

My mom is a Montessori master teacher (full-time teacher, plus part-time prof at a local university's master program, trained by Mario Montessori in Italy, Maria's son) SO needless to say I went through Montessori from age three to age ten, lol. My children will absolutely be educated in Montessori, without question. Every single child that went through my program has become an exceptionally successful (by many various parameters, least of which is financial), creative, thoughtful, active, and compassionate person, and the classes were incredibly diverse, both ethnically and socio-economically, so it's not like all these kids came from incredible privilege.

When I had to switch from my Montessori school to another private school, it took a good five years for me to be challenged again, and these were supposed to be some of the best schools in the city. It was actually shocking to me how behind all my peers were and after the brilliance of my old curriculum, it was a mind-numbing, horrible experience. It wasn't unique to me; my classmates all had similar experiences.

My mom teaches in a gem of a Montessori school in the San Francisco Bay Area, which is actually PUBLIC! And last week it actually just won THE School of Distinction Award for the entire state of California . It works so well that they recently expanded it from just K-5 to K-8. It's the most wonderful community, and all the teachers are some of the most dedicated, hard-working people I know.

What amazing about Maria Montessori is that she developed an entire teaching philosophy that has only been substantiated and validated by the majority of subsequent studies in psychology and neuroscience, and I just hope that the general education system can catch up with it as well. As my mom's school has shown, it is absolutely possible (though of course it takes small class sizes, which Shwarzenegger began dismantling after Davis set the limit at 20 pupils per teacher, and that is a real threat to the efficacy of the program).

On a final note, I don't understand the anti-Montessori tone in some of these comments. To respond to one comment in particular, one tenet of the philosophy is TO make sure children aren't left behind... For example, in a traditional classroom all the kids read from the same text at their desks and are taught AT. But one third might be too advanced for that pace and they get bored and disillusioned with their education, while another third might be developing at a slower pace, so they become discouraged, lose self-confidence, and feel that education is difficult and that they're stupid. Montessori teachers evaluate each child's skill level and plan a curriculum that is AT PACE with that child, challenging them just enough to continue and facilitate their growth.

LOL, sorry at this screed, but I am a very passionate advocate of this system! I've experienced it firsthand, and have seen the long-term benefits in my peers, in our adult lives.

Dupont Girl, I love Sleep Pillow! I listen to it every night and it's really effective. My favorite settings are the first rain one, the car, thunderstorms, and indoor fireplace. It's fab!

I would go for a solid white duvet with a bold border stripe, like this style of duvet cover, which comes in lots of different colors: http://www.pbteen.com/products/suite-organic-duvet-cover-and-sham/?cm_src=OLDLINK&pkey=gthmgrlhai

So cool!! I love the paper crafts AT has been featuring lately. There was one post about making paper cutouts of city maps and I've since made two! Keep them coming :)

I hate to be the obnoxious person who says there's nothing I would look for that my current place doesn't have, but it's mostly true. I have huge closets, tons of storage (both are very unusual for a Victorian, so I'm lucky), great proximity to lots of stores and various types of transportation, a washer/dryer, quiet and nice neighbors, bay windows, high ceilings, crown moulding, and hardwood floors throughout most of the place, and an amazing landlord... But there are definitely things I wish I could change about THIS place to make it perfect.

- Take out the peeling ugly wallpaper in my living room (it's fairly neutral, but I hate it).
- Replace the royal blue carpeting in the bedrooms with a neutral berber, or even better, the same hardwood floors as the rest of the apartment
- Paint the ugly 60s wood-paneled doors the same color as the moulding trim, and change out the equally-hideous hardware.

These things are so simple to do, and I have written to my landlord requesting that they happen, but I haven't actually sent it. . . The other thing I love about my place--great rent for the area--might be in the balance, since I'm now on a month-to-month lease. I don't want to rock the boat, even if he is awesome!

Er, dump* not dumb (ironic typo!).

I love how all the art and decor pieces really tie together in complementary ways rather than being matchy-matchy. Great job!

Also, this option in 'paprika' may be a more affordable alternative to the Crate and Barrel blanket: http://www.overstock.com/Bedding-Bath/Cashmere-Showroom-Washable-Faux-Cashmere-Throw/5942807/product.html