Loft

I came across this loft conversion today on Desire to Inspire. Isn't it great? I'm a big fan of lofts, and love the open space. A couple years ago our house was on a house walk. And one of the editors of Chicago Home + Garden wrote it up on her blog, saying "One favorite was a gut conversion of a brick bungalow—inside it feels like a downtown loft." Kind of cool. Interestingly, we never considered that ourselves, but she's kind of right. When I met Brian, he lived in a warehouse loft in the West Loop. We eventually moved across the street to a smaller (1,200 sq. ft.) loft for a couple years. But in 1995, the opportunity came up for us to move back into that original building. It was 5,000 sq. ft. with ceilings that were 12-20 ft. high. And, needed a ton of work. Want to see?

The kitchen. Check out our heater!This is what it looked like after the walls were ripped down and it was painted. Behind the doors was an awesome freight elevator.
Move in day! We had month to work on it, and it wasn't quite ready. Brian's dad essentially moved in with me to help for the month. Brian was in a band at the time, and I think he was home maybe 4 days that entire time. Not good planning. But then again, we started the gut renovation our current home a month before C was born. I guess that's kind of how we do things around here. Everything had to be pushed over to one side so we could paint the floors. We didn't even have the bedroom walls finished. (Can you find the bed in the picture below? I can't. I have no idea where we slept -- somewhere amongst this mess).

Eventually, it turned it something more like this. We did more to it as we went along, but essentially, this is what it looked like.
We didn't have much of a budget for this sort of endeavour. We used a lot of drywall, particle board and scrap metal. Imagine what we could have done if we owned it! I know it's not for everyone, but we really liked living here. And until we became homeowners two years later, this is what we called home. Minus the very loud band practice that went on every weekend in the space below us for a year (so loud, we had to have a strobe on our phone so we could tell when it was ringing), it was good times, I tell you! I'm so glad we did it.

Dates with our Boys

H likes to hang out with Brian. C tends to want to be around me. But yesterday, Brian and C had a little Dad-Son date (he did have to be bribed with gum to get him out of the house). H has been playing soccer on Sundays, and I think C might be a just a little bit jealous. He's been talking about getting some new kicks (I will admit, he is wearing hand-me-downs from H that are very worn) -- and wanted indoor soccer shoes. So off they went to Chicago Soccer. He got the shoes. Brian also let him pick out a jersey and shorts (he chose Deutschland). Then, they were trying to figure out where to go eat, and no joke, C asked him to stop at the Chicago Brauhaus. That's my boy! While they were on their little adventure, H and I visited the Oak Park Conservatory. It's only a five minute walk from our house, but we really don't go enough. Such a great little place. The bottom line is though, all had a wonderful time -- and we really need to make more time for little "dates" like these.

Super Bowl

I've never really been into football. I like the concept, but I honestly don't totally understand it. However, living in a house full of boys, it was bound to happen. They are really into it. H in particular. He and Brian would watch it almost every Sunday and Monday night, and he was really looking forward to the Super Bowl this year. We decided to just lay low and watch it at home. H & C were rooting for the Colts. Brian and I for the Saints. We pigged out on Super Bowl food, and had some friendly betting going on (I think H owes my dad a quarter, and thanks to a fourth quarter win by New Orleans, Brian and I may have pulled ahead by $2 each -- they were creaming us before that). Congrats Saints!

Polaroid Scarves

I totally dig these. Polaroid inspired scarves by Phillipe Roucou. (via Poppytalk)

Critter!

I noticed these little critter prints in our back yard today. Kind of looks like these, doesn't it?
That's a raccoon. My friend and I were having wine on our porch a couple years ago and it was like "The Aattack of the Giant Raccoon Families." Seriously, we saw a little raccoon couple dart across the street. About 20 minutes later, an entire family was spotted scampering along the sidewalk. So yeah. I kind of think that's a raccoon who's been visiting our back yard. Gross.

Sunday

Brian's gearing up to watch the Super Bowl with the boys this Sunday. H has been really into football this year. It's kind of weird. (Ok, not really, but I grew up with a sister and we could have really cared less about the sport). C is not quite there yet with his attention span. Here's a conversation Brian just had with him:

B. C, are you going to watch the Super Bowl with me Sunday?
C. No.
B. But there will be a picnic upstairs, with chicken wings.
C. No. (Pause) Ok, but only if I can have a sharp knife.

(NOTE: he's been using a knife forever at dinner. He may be behind in speech, but the kid has always been a whiz at utensil usage. We've moved on to steak knives, when appropriate. It makes cutting a breeze -- I think he's obsessed.)

World Map

I've been searching for a world map for our guest room for awhile. This modern version by "These are Things" might just be the perfect one. (via Design*Sponge).

Arroz Con Leche

I don't know what it is, but I've been craving this dessert like crazy. I made it twice in a week, and it's taken all the restraint I have to hold myself back from making it again and again. It's that good. I used the Arroz Con Leche recipe from Cannelle et Vanille. The first time, I followed the recipe exactly, and found it was a bit runny for my taste. The next time, I doubled the quantity of rice, and it was too thick. I think I've got it figured out now -- but I really do need to test it to make sure. We've had it with graham crackers on crumbled on top, as well as ginger snaps and vanilla wafers. I bet it would be great simmered with fresh vanilla beans. And it's good warm or cold. It does take some tender loving care (lots of stirring), but I'm a big fan of a simple delicious dessert like this.

Art by C: Reindeer

What I Have To Put Up With....

Let me tell you a story. The year was 1988, and I was an exchange student in Germany. My host family took me on a ski trip to the Italian Alps. I confidently said I knew how to ski. But really my experience consisted mainly of visiting a land fill. (I didn't know any better, really.) There I was, on top on the mountain. MOUNTAIN, people. Not land fill. And right on the other side was a cliff. A cliff ... on the mountain. I did what most people would do. I stood on top and cried. And I slid down on my bottom. And my host family decided pretty much on the spot to put me in ski school for a week. Well, if I do say so myself, by the end of that week, I wasn't half bad. When I came back from my year abroad, I was in college. I didn't get a lot of chances to go skiing. And then, my junior year, I decided to switch over to snowboarding. So I snowboarded for about ten years (a lot more than the years spent on skies). Then we bought a house. And got married. And had kids. And we just didn't hit the slopes very much. So last year, I decided to switch back over to skies. My body is thanking me for that (although, I'm tempted to bring out the board just once more to try it out again -- I really love it), but here's the point. I'm not a very confident skier. I can get down pretty much any hill. But I'm not very daring. This is a little video of me. I'm the one in the middle of the hill cautiously contemplating my next move. And the rest is what I have to put up with pretty much on a daily basis. You feel sorry for me, don't you.

Ski Weekend

We went to Wisconsin this weekend to take the boys skiing at Cascade. They were so excited. They spent the morning in ski school. We went a couple times last year, and figured they could use a refresher. H did really great. According to C's "report card" from class, he did good too. But each time we spied on him, he was doing something more like this:

He'd seriously wait like this until an instructor walked by and picked him up.
By having the boys in ski school, Brian and I had some time to ourselves to test out our new skis (our Christmas present to each other). They were awesome!
After ski school, we took the boys on some of the other runs (besides only the magic carpet area and bunny hill).
H wanted me to take some pictures to show his teacher.
This one's just for her. He specifically asked for me to take this one to show her what the hills look like.
H was confident going down by himself. In fact, Brian took him alone on the last run, and was a bit nervous because he was going so fast. H said he was in control. But he did have a big crash on the bottom. C still needed a bit of support.
Overall, both did really well. We put in a full day, and can't wait to go again in a few weeks.

Pretty Pathetic

Art by C: Lovely Bones

Here's an oldie but goodie that just made it's way to our home. A skeleton made by C. I adore the noodles popping out of the eyes for pupils. And the mouth. And the jumbled alphabet noodles. And of course, the bow on top of it's head. Clearly, it's a girl skeleton. That C sure digs the ladies.

Rear View Mirror

On our way up to Milwaukee this weekend. C snuggling his blanket and sucking his thumb. I wonder how long it will last. He says until he's ten. We'll see.