Category Archives: Home + Garden

To Boston

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Boston 2010-2

Boston, city I have loved since I first set foot on the cobblestone streets. The place where Darren asked me to marry him standing by the water on the Back Bay. The place where we spent some of the first days of our marriage. The first place people want to see when they come to visit me and the place I love exploring still.

I can’t understand why people hurt each other. There is so much violence in the world but it’s easy to forget about it until it happens in a place you love.

I don’t know what to say. I don’t understand it. All I really wanted to say is that today my heart is with Boston and the people there.

Weekend.

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I love lazy weekends. The cat curled up in my lap and took a nice, long Sunday afternoon nap.

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I drank a big mug of hot tea with lots of honey and cream and played with my new camera, trying to figure it out.

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I may or may not have looked into the sun for 30 minutes trying to see what color my eyes are in the light. I may or may not be blind now.

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Oh the light though, it is great fun to chase with the camera. Katniss and I played games with the shadows.

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And then I chased the sun flair, trying to capture it and make it immortal.

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The sun got caught in the bottles.

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And then it slipped away behind the trees.

This is Our Life

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I keep waiting for the world to wake up with spring color so I can get my camera out and take pictures. Everything is brown and gray here in New England and I’m just about stir crazy waiting for the flowers to bloom and the grass to grow. I decided to get my camera out and take pictures of things around the house–bits and pieces of our lives—to get by until its warm outside and there are lots of green things to photograph and share with you. Until then…

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DSC_0087Sleepy head

DSC_0115Last week we had blue skies and the beginning of buds

DSC_0024I love that patch of gray above his temple

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DSC_0049 (2)Seaside memories

DSC_0018 (2) I have a bad habit of starting one book while still reading two others and never finishing any of them. This is what’s on my nightstand right now.

DSC_0040Creative spaces

…And that is all for now…

{Bread and Wine Book Review} Life Around the Table

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Have you heard of Shauna Niequist? I’ve been gobbling up her writing lately so when I had the chance to review her latest book, Bread & Wine, I jumped at the opportunity.

Bread & Wine is all about building life and friendship and community around the table. It’s about opening your heart and home to people and letting them in to be fed and loved.

Shauna writes:

“This is what I want you to do: I want you to tell someone you love them, and dinner’s at six. I want you to throw open your front door and welcome the people you love into the inevitable mess with hugs and laughter” (p. 256).

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After finishing Bread & Wine, that is exactly what I wanted to do—throw open the door to my home and let people in to be fed and nourished. Shauna’s book is filled with a collection of recipes—some her own, some from friends, others from restaurants and cookbooks—all look delicious. I decided I would take Shauna’s challenge to let people into my home and life by inviting a few friends over for dinner.

I have a group of friends who get together every now and then for what we call “Girls Night.” All that means is the husbands watch the kids and the girls hang out watching a movie or going out to eat. After reading Shauna’s words though, I thought it would be nice to have all the girls over for a real dinner made at home instead of snacks or restaurant food. I chose a couple of recipes from the book and worked out a time when everyone could get together.

I have to admit, I’m not a very good hostess because I get nervous about everything not being perfect. My house is tiny and there are never enough matching glasses or chairs at the table. I’ve let little things like this keep me from having people over. I always tell myself I’ll be more hospitable when I have more room…when we have a real dining room and enough forks for an army…sure, sure.

Shauna encouraged me with this:

What people are craving isn’t perfection. People aren’t longing to be impressed; they’re longing to feel like they’re home. If you create a space full of love and character and creativity and soul, they’ll take off their shoes and curl up with gratitude and rest, no matter how small, no matter how undone, no matter how odd” (pp. 106-107).

I reminded myself of those words whenever I worried about not having enough room or messing up the food.

On the day we were all getting together my friend Sarah stopped by early, when I was still in yoga pants with messy hair, to drop off home-made Mexican ice cream. I tasted a spoonful before she left and about died and went to glory—it was that good.

I spent the day grilling chicken and corn and prepping the food. Evening rolled around and the girls trickled in one by one, two by two. Jessie came first with a salad. We stood in the kitchen talking and laughing. Next came Sarah with Emily. We spread out in the kitchen and talked some more. Maya and Alicia came last with my little baby nephew. I took the baby out of his car seat and snuggled him up with kisses…aunties rights, you know.

We were crowded in the kitchen now with dishes coming out and different conversations bubbling over into laughter. We filled our plates we enchiladas, salad, and Mexican grilled corn. I didn’t have enough chairs at the table, of course, so we ate in the living room instead. Even then, three of us ended up sitting on the floor with plates in our laps. That is one of the reasons I don’t normally invite very many people over—who wants to have company sitting on the floor while they eat dinner? Well you know what, it didn’t matter a bit.

We talked and laughed, told stories and went back for seconds; we looked at pictures and caught up on each other’s lives. Soon we were streaming back into the kitchen for bowls of Sarah’s Mexican ice cream and brownies on the side. We filled mugs with coffee and hot chocolate and talked and talked.

Before Darren left that night he asked what time I thought we would be done. We were getting together at six so I told him we would probably be done by eight…I think it was ten. We just kept talking and laughing and every time someone would say something about needing to leave, another story would start and no one ever quite made it out the door. I love that. I loved the whole night. In fact, I think I needed it.

Life is busy and demanding and I forget sometimes when I’m hurrying through one day right into the next that I need to stop and make time for people, for love and friendship and community. I need these girls in my life because they remind to slow down and live for what really matters. They make me laugh and build me back up when I’m tired and torn down. They love me and encourage me even though I’m not perfect and never have enough chairs at the table. I need them and I’m so thankful Shauna’s book reminded me of that. I’m so thankful Shauna’s words gave me the push I needed to throw open the door to my home and my heart. I’m so thankful I invited people in and they came and filled a need I’d forgotten I had. I need friendship and love and community. I need life around the table to feed my heart and soul. We all do.

Look kids, I’m not trying to sell you anything. It’s true, this book was given to me to review but what I’m telling you are my own thoughts and feelings. I love Shauna’s words and I love this book. I hope you will read it because I sincerely believe you will love it too. You will be challenged and encouraged to slow down and live. To taste and feel and to let people in. That’s the truth and that is all :]

shauna1About Shauna:

Shauna Niequist is the author of Cold Tangerines, Bittersweet, and Bread & Wine. Shauna grew up in Barrington, Illinois, and then studied English and French Literature at Westmont College in Santa Barbara. She is married to Aaron, who is a pianist and songwriter. Aaron is a worship leader at Willow Creek and is recording a project called A New Liturgy. Aaron & Shauna live outside Chicago with their sons, Henry and Mac. Shauna writes about the beautiful and broken moments of everyday life–friendship, family, faith, food, marriage, love, babies, books, celebration, heartache, and all the other things that shape us, delight us, and reveal to us the heart of God.

Shauna blogs at ShaunaNiequist.com

A Winter Wonderland

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Eleven inches of snow fell flake by flake into our yard last night. We woke up this morning to a winter wonderland. We tried and tried to get out of the drive, but alas, we are stuck. Since we are snowed in and I have nothing better to do, I decided to treck out into the snow for some pictures.

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DSC07129“Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast

In a field I looked into going past,

And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,

But a few weeds and stubble showing last.

 From Desert Places By Robert FrostDSC07147{The bird house is wearing a snow cap}DSC07154

DSC07127{Today is the perfect day to put your feet up and watch the world go by}DSC07185{I’m going to sip some coffee and finish reading The Hobbit}DSC07187{Katniss thinks he should be sipping coffee too}

Are you snowed in too? :]

{2012} A Year in Review

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A year has come. A year has gone by.

I look back at what has happened. I look forward to what is to come.

These are my memories—my favorite moments from a year of life lived.

We spent our days on the water—boating and jumping in the salty sea.

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We soaked up the summer sun and built driftwood fires when the sun grew tired before we did

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We went on our first real vacation together—exploring Puerto Rico and the islands of the Caribbean

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We celebrated our 4th year of marriage exploring the beautiful city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire

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We went to campgrounds and fairgrounds

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We adopted a wild little kitten and fell completely in love with our stripped little trouble maker

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I saved my pennies and bought that bike I wouldn’t shup up about

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We blinked and summer slipped into fall

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 We flew away to meet new nephews and nieces and to spend time with family

DSC06918Family Vaca CollageThe leaves fell and the snow flakes began to fly.

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We gathered around warm fires and our merry little Christmas tree

Winter fire winter welcome

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And here we are, just like that, we have reached the end of another year.

It’s okay though.

Because we lived through the Mayan apococlypse.

And I’m sure we’ll live through whatever 2013 has for us too.

All Things Merrily and Bright

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{Christmas is almost here. Ask the bird in the snow cap, he will tell you the same. Tweet Tweet! Christmas is almost here} Christmas Collage 1

{The stockings are hanging, the fire is burning, the tree is filling the house with the smell of Christmas}

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{The presents our wrapped and ready to reveal all the secrets we’ve been keeping}

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{And the cat, oh the cat, he just can’t take it—he’s so full of Christmas cheer. He climbs under the tree and up the tree. He pulls ornaments off the tree and bats them around on the floor. He tries to open presents even though we tell him not yet, little kitten, not yet. He bites the branches and spreads pine needles everywhere. He’s a trial and a trouble, that cat so full of Christmas cheer}

It’s time to spread some Christmas cheer! For your viewing pleasure, click here to see a video of me and Darren doing a funky Christmas elf dance. I know, it’s the best Christmas present anyone has ever given you; you’re welcome.

Happy holidays.

Love, Kari

May the Odds Be Ever in Your Favor

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Darren and I went to Maine this weekend and came home with a little baby kitten. I’m not an animal person. I’m also not a committment person. I like being able to pick up and take off whenever I want to <————————– and that is the number one reason why I don’t have kids. True story.

Anyway, if I’m not an animal person, I’m really not a cat person. I would much rather have a big fluffy German Shepherd or a cuddly little Chocolate Lab. But as it turns out, Darren and I are both softies and this particular little kitten had a sob story. Mamma cat had too many baby cats and by the time this baby cat got here, mamma cat was done feeding and taking care of kittens. This kitten was the only one of her litter to survive and was starving. Darren’s aunt and uncle starting feeding the kitten and taking care of her but they needed to find a permanent home. We listened to the above sob story and took the bait like the suckers that we are.

So now we’re animal people—even better—we’re cat people because we’re a couple of sob story suckers who can’t let a neglected little kitten without a mother go without a loving family :]

Darren wanted to name her Cleopatra. He wants to name everything Cleopatra. It kind of creeps me out. If Cleopatra didn’t die a thousand years ago, I might even be jealous.

I wanted to name her Poppy. I want to name everything Poppy including one of our children. Darren won’t let me. Sigh.

Then Darren mentioned the name Katniss and there was no going back. If you’ve read The Hunger Games or seen the movie then you know exactly where we got the name; if you haven’t, well then read the book and “may the odds be ever in your favor.”

Darren loves The Hunger Games so much I’m a little concerned our children are going to end up with names live Everdeen and Primrose. When Darren found out I never finished reading the book I thought he might divorce me…jeez man, it’s just a story…and if I didn’t have you to take care of then I would probably have more time to finish reading it ;]

Anyway, Katniss has the word “Kat” in it so Darren thought he was very clever. Not to mention Katniss in the book also had a neglectful mother and was starving, so I think Darren is very clever too :]

So, here is little miss sob story Katniss—orange and white stripped trouble maker that she is.

{Lately} Feathering Our Nest

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Here’s the pictures I promised of my projects around the house. I’ve been working on our bedroom and building a cozy little nook in the guest bedroom. The thing I kept in mind as I worked away was “warmth and light.” I wanted our home to feel feathered and cozy—especially as we go into the colder months.

{Guest bedroom nook}

I kind of love forts and nests and cozy little corners where you can snuggle up and hide away. Watching Darren gave me the idea for this nook. When it’s cold he snuggles up on the floor with his back against the baseboard heater.

You know what he’s doing in that corner? He’s freezing to death. And yes, he’s wearing his coat…in the house…next to the heater. So, to keep the man warm and give him a better spot to read than the hardwood floor, I decided to build a cozy spot with fat pillows and soft blankets next to the heater in the guest bedroom.

The guest bedroom is the perfect place to snuggle up because it is flooded with natural light. In the winter we go in there, close the door, turn on the heater, and chill. The room is tiny so the heater works fast (unlike the rest of our cold little house). We spend a good part of the winter in there and now we have an even better spot to snuggle up with books and movies.

{Bright happy quilt on the guest bed}

This puffy little blanket is on the floor in the nook. I’ve had it since I was 18. My sister-in-law, Rachel, gave it to me as a high school graduation gift and I carted it off to college with me in South Carolina. I still remember I was sitting on it in my bunk bed there in the dorms when Darren called me for the first time. He introduced himself and asked me out all in that first phone call. I had no idea who he was…but I liked his deep voice and agreed to meet him :] This little blanket went back to school with me every year. It was mine and Darren’s first blanket after we were married and still sleeping on a futon mattress on the bedroom floor. It goes camping with us up in Vermont every summer and keeps us warm and cozy through the cold nights spent in a tent under the stars. The rest of the time it lives on the guest bed. Until now—now it’s the cushy bottom to my happy little nook. Good job Rachel—that little blanket is one of the best gifts I’ve been given :]

We also did a lot of work on our bedroom. We painted, replaced the carpet, and bought curtains, lamps, and a duvet.

{I just adore these curtains. I love the pattern and the way they filter in the morning sunlight}

{Our duvet…it’s covered in words…imagine that}

{I love the soft, warm light a lamp casts across a room}

So, that’s what I’ve been doing. Now I’m going to go cozy up in my happy little nook :]

{Bam. The End}

A Change of Heart and Mind

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The other day I looked around the house and realized the whole place was going to hell in a hand basket.

It all started when I got a new fall jacket. Now this was no ordinary jacket, kids. It was a jacket I had fallen in love with at first sight but couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on. Then it went on sale…and I still couldn’t bring myself to spend the money on it. Then it sold out and I was sad I hadn’t spent the money on it.

I ended up ordering a couple other things from the same store and when I went to check out online I noticed my beloved jacket was still sitting in the shopping cart where I had put it back when I was thinking and dreaming about buying it. Not only was it still in the cart but it was even cheaper than the original markdown. I double checked the website to see if it was still available and it still said it was sold out. I decided to check out with it in my shopping cart and see if the order would go through. And it did. And my sweet little jacket came in the mail a few days later. I might have danced around the kitchen for a few minutes. And then I had to find a home for it. The coat closet was the obvious choice but the coat closet…oh my gosh the coat closet….was such a mess all packed full of nonsense and I didn’t think it was a suitable place to put my sweet little jacket.

So, I decided to clean out the closet and make a nice cozy spot for the jacket. Who knew what cleaning a coat closet would start around here.

This is what was living in our teeny, tiny closet. Furniture, car parts, the Christmas decorations from last year I never quite put away, and ten million other coats and jackets (hey, we live in New England—don’t judge me). I pulled everything out onto the living room floor and reorganized the whole thing. I found a place for everything and only stuff that actually belonged in the coat closet went back in.

{Forgive the blurriness—my camera hates me}

I felt so refreshed and satisfied after that little project. It felt good to conquer a mess I had been avoiding and regain some control over this place.

And then I started looking around.

And I started noticing junk drawers that wouldn’t open or close right because they were too full of junk. I noticed cob webs because I never dust. I noticed how I can’t ever find anything because it’s buried in the basement or under one of the beds. I noticed a lot of things around here needing work—and in the process of cleaning all those things up, I noticed something else far more important.

I noticed that the reason this place is an unorganized disaster is because I never really settled in here and made this place home. We bought this house a couple of years ago with the intention of only staying for three years. I’m the kind of person who doesn’t bother settling in if I know I’m going to move back out. I figure it’s a waste of time to put roots down and get attached if I’m just going to have to leave anyway. So as soon as I heard “three years” I stuffed everything anywhere it would go and kept telling myself that I would do a better job making a home once we got to the place we’re going to stay.

But then I realized when I started going through things and getting this place organized that I’ve never really lived here. I’ve never really considered this little box with four walls a home. I’ve just been treading water and counting the days and minutes until I can get out of here and get on with life. And then, I told myself, then I’ll settle in and really start living in a place.

But the problem is this is where I live—right now, today, this is my home. And it may be my home longer than I like. Our three-year mark is next March and we have nowhere to go as of yet. So the odds are I’ll still be here even after we had planned on moving out. I realized I’ve been wasting time and not really living just because I’ve already moved out of here in my head (actually, I never really even moved in). I’ve lived here for 2 1/2 years and I’ve never settled in and made this place home.

It’s funny how you clean a coat closet and you realize you need to work on a million other things around the house, and while you’re working on those things you realize you need to work on more than just the house, and while you work on that you realize there’s more to this whole “not settling in” problem than just making a house a home.

I realized along the way that there are a lot of things in life I haven’t really embraced because I don’t plan on doing them long-term. My job for instance. I’ve always known my job is temporary. I know I want to raise a family and when I do I want to stay home with them. There has never been any question in my mind that this is my long-term plan. That’s great…only I don’t have kids and I am working….and I’ve been working for years. But I’ve never really given 100% at work or fully committed to what’s before me because, again, in the back of my head I tell myself, “oh this is just temporary so who really cares.” I show up for work every day and do my job. And that is all. I come home from work and make dinner and keep this place clean. And that is all. I just do what I have to do to get by until I get to where I’m going.

Only where I am is part of where I’m going.

And I see now that just getting by until the next thing is not a very good way to live. It has made me pretty miserable actually. I’m miserable in this house because I don’t want to be here. I’m miserable at work because I don’t want to be there either. You put those two together and it equals me being miserable 90% of the time.

Because I’m just getting by until things get better.

But my life is today, not tomorrow—not yet at least. If I don’t start living in the present then I’m going to look back and realize I’ve let my whole life pass me by in my anticipation of the next best thing.

With all this in mind, I decided it was time to really settle into our home and my job. I’ve been working on getting the house cleaned up and organized. I’ve cleaned out junk drawers, under beds, in closets, and everywhere in between. The more I do the more I realize needs to be done.

I’ve also been getting the house feathered and cozied up. Darren and I finally tackled our bedroom. We painted the walls, replaced the carpet, and bought lamps, curtains, and a duvet. It’s so warm and cozy in there now. I’ve also been working on creating a cozy little nook in the guest bedroom where we can snuggle up to read and write. I’ll show you pictures of all these projects when they’re done and I have time to snap pictures.

In order to finance all the work I’ve been doing around the house and to help me jump into work wholeheartedly, I’ve started working more hours each week. I’m full-time again for the first time in a long time and I’m actually enjoying my work more than ever. Of course working extra hours and using all my free minutes at home to tackle project has meant less time on here—but that has been good for me too.

Being on the computer too much makes me restless and unhappy. You can only spend so much time reading about other people’s lives and looking at pretty pictures of things you want before it leaves you discontent and unsatisfied. Getting this place pulled together has meant walking a fine line between getting a few new things to make this house feel more like a home and letting myself get obsessed with new things just for the sake of having them.

I really struggle with materialism. I struggle with always wanting more, more more. More clothes, more things for the house, more, more, more. But more things won’t make me happy. There is nothing wrong with having nice stuff, but “stuff” shouldn’t be the most important thing to me either. So now that we’ve completed some projects around here and this place is starting to feel like home, I’m taking a break from buying anything else for the house until after the New Year. There is plenty more I want to do. I have lots of plans and ideas and a whole list of things I would like to get but I need to step back from it all for a bit and just enjoy what we already have and what we’ve just done. If I immediately move onto the next thing then I’ll never stop and really enjoy what we already have. I have a cozy bedroom and a cozy little nook and for now those are the things I need to step back and enjoy before I move onto another new project.

Anyway, That’s what I’m learning and doing of late. Our days have been filled with crisp blue skies and sunshine brought on by the cooler nights. Fall is teasing us and here on the last day of August, I’m ready to jump into September and fall and all the new life and adventures that come with my favorite season of all. Football is starting, lattes are coming back, and the whole world  feels like it’s wrapping up in a cozy little blanket after a hot busy summer. I couldn’t be happier.