littlewing1020's Profile

This made me smile because I'm from Iowa and living in San Francisco, and every Spring I get the no-lilac blues. At each of the houses my family lived in we had lilac bushes, and every Easter we would go to the local park to marvel at the acres of blooming lilacs; it was one of my mom's favorite traditions. This year, when I saw the first branches of lilacs appear in my neighborhood's flower shop, I decided to do a homage to my mom's tradition by keeping a branch of lilac in my apartment throughout its availability in SF. And you know what? It brought back a little of my childhood's magic. Every time I passed through the living room I'd stop and smell the lilacs, which made me instantly happy, and every time I even glanced at the lilacs I'd remember my mom.

Cozy all the way!

I don't understand minimalism, with its emptiness and single revered object upon a single table. Why would anyone want to come home and have it feel like they are in a museum? These spaces always say "DON'T TOUCH" to me, and I can't imagine living in a home where I can't touch my own stuff.

LOVE all the color! It is so beautiful and energizing. Rooms with white or beige walls ALWAYS look so boring and sterile, I can't take them seriously in terms of design or inspiration; this house tour was a welcome relief from the typical bland (white walls) house tours that AT usually shows.

Love this post! My sister has a 4 month old boy, I'm passing this on to her.

Reminder: it's not just about showing little girls strong female characters, little boys need to learn about strong and smart women too. If boys aren't taught that it's good when girls and women are smart and tough then they won't become men who value girls and women who are smart and tough.

Congratulations on this new phase of your life!

I have two pieces of advice:

Tip 1. Make a list of everything it takes to run your household, from paying bills to doing laundry to shopping for groceries. Then divide up these chores evenly, in whatever way you both agree "even" means (time-wise, labor-intensive-wise, gross-wise, etc.). Hooray! Chores cause tons of fights when you live with someone, and this approach basically eliminates all that fighting because you both know exactly what needs to be done and who needs to do it. No more secretly keeping track of who has done the dishes more often or most recently because now only one person is doing them. Revisit the list after a couple months and see if there are any chores either of you wants to swap. Bonus tip: don't comment on the other person's chores. When you notice that the laundry is getting cleaned but not folded, or dishes are stacking up, try to give some leeway because you'd want a little leeway yourself. If it really bothers you, sit down and talk about it.

Tip 2: Remember that your boyfriend may have different ways of doing things than you do, and that his ways may still work even if they are different than yours. Be open to it. Focus on the fact that he is took care of X thing (putting away dishes, making a salad, whatever) rather than on the process he used to get it done. He takes 3 hours to clean the clutter around the house, when you could get it done in 20 minutes? Don't freak. He is doing it his way, and the point is that it gets done.

Where did you get the wall-mounted white holders for your wooden utensils? Those would be super useful for my tiny kitchen, but I can't find them online. Thanks for the help!

I grew up in a town in Iowa that is basically a suburb with no city attached. No farms, small bits of culture, and no excitement. Basically what most parents would agree is a perfect place to raise a family. Having grown up in that environment, it's funny that suburbs are the one place I just cannot live. Cities? Sure! I love the energy and stuff-to-do-ness of an urban life (I live in San Francisco). Rural? Okay! My heart soars and I feel the beauty of life when I'm out in the country. Sorry suburbs - a little piece of me dies when I see a strip mall. ;)