Flashback: Reupholstery Project & Still My Favorite Chair

Things have been crazy busy around here lately, and we are looking forward SO much to our upcoming trip to New York for the Mockingbird conference and a visit with Jacob and Mel!  This morning I was thankful to have a little time in front of the fire (that's right, because it's still winter here!), reading the paper in my favorite chair.  

Remember this project?  This is the chair that made me respect anyone who reupholsters furniture for a living!! :)

Here's the first part of this DIY tutorial, and here's the second.

More after the jump.

DIY TENTS

Now that we are into February, I have begun planning Henry's 4th birthday party. I love a party and dreaming up ideas is my favorite part of the process. When I asked H what he wanted for his bithday theme he was very clear in asking for an elephant party. Now, you remember last year's party when we created fun sock horses and popped up Ikea tents for his fiesta. This year, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. They involve homemade elephant masks and ears, along with a few tents for our friendly animals. 

The kiddos will be transformed into elephants, and lucky for us our friend Jackie is going to tell our guests a fabulous story then turn each child into elephants. Sounds like fun right?! So, while most people were making nachos and fabulous snacks before the Super Bowl, Jeremy and I were busy bees building little casas for Henry's party. 

Now, the challenge over the weekend was to find my materials. I went to my favorite fabric store in the city, Mood, but sadly it was closed. What to do? I decided to go through my closets and piles of "someday" fabrics, and pull something together. I love a project that involves repurposing materials in your home. It  just feels right. In the end I did not buy any new fabric and only purchased wood from Home Depot. 

For each tent I spent just $14.00 in materials. Before I decided to make my own I looked at several sites and found the cost of similar tents well over a $100, which was more then I was interested in spending. 

Just a note, you can choose to use fewer wood pieces, but I wanted to make sure my fabric was taut and our tents were stable. When you have a dozen four year olds playing in tents you want to make sure they are sturdy. I promise you, this project was so simple, complete in an afternoon, and Henry is already enjoying his birthday present. 

The best part is, you can fold the tents and tuck them under a full sized bed, so if you think you don't have space for such a thing like most New Yorkers, you can easily tuck the tent away whenever you like. 

Come back Wednesday for our tent reveal.

Happy Monday!!!

MEL

The Art of Hosting: Part DOS

Hello Friday!

I am so pleased to find ourselves at the end of another fabulous week.  How are your New Years resolutions coming along?  I have been so proud of the Rev. He is working hard to keep healthy this year, and we have just had a couple great weeks as a family. You know in life you have phases and weeks, and days in your relationships. Sometimes you hit a great rhythm and I feel like we are in one, which I am enjoying every minute of.

Now for the good stuff. 

The Art of Hosting: Part UNO

Today I am planning a dinner party for 8 on Friday. After the month of December, 8 feels so easy, but I know when it comes down to it, 8 takes almost as much prep as 50. We are planning a Taco Party, because who doesn't want to pretend they are on a beach in Mexico in the middle of January? 

The Winter Blues

New York is fabulous throughout the month of December, but come January the city can be pretty depressing. The lights and trees come down along with all the festive window displays. So, if your going to make it through the winter without becoming too depressed you must have a plan. 

This year the Rev. and I decided to celebrate the 12th day of Christmas, which also happened to be the first day of school for our kids. We figured we would draw out the festivities to get us through our first week back to work and school.