this is art therapy.
was THE thing i had to do.
right that minute!
it was absolutely therapeutic.
this is talby's dinosaur bus…i love it so much.
looks like fisher price little people.
annie drew the emily cat yesterday while i was painting.
and i think sean made the tiger scratching the tree.
lauren's OLIVIA is just perfect.
she drew that free hand…amazing.
while i painted i thought about all my friends who are hurting…
and i prayed for them.
it felt good to use my hands while i did it.
then today…some more therapy of a different kind.
cleaning, coffee and cupcakes.
i cleaned that bathroom….and it just felt good.
not good to start but so good to finish and have it sparkle and smell fresh?
maybe i am crazy?
coffee with a friend.
that's always good therapy.
and then i made cupcakes.
not to eat them….just to enjoy decorating them.
i really didn't eat them.
and happy mail.
that's a kind of therapy too right?
all this has come this week.
the toddler bed i won from the
i have no idea what to do
with this right now.
so it sits.
and this package of goodies
just to be nice.
i really love it all.
a blog reader/friend melanie sent me her hot cocoa machine!
(the same one i said i was wanting.)
she said she hardly ever used it
and thought my kids would like it.
how cool is she?
thanks melanie…it rocks.
AND
i ordered fabric
i found her through
today's creative blog.
(or TCB as i call it)
she had heather bailey
fabric for $6 a yard!
it is just
BEAUTIFUL.
i want to wrap up
and roll around in it.
or make a cape for my self…as Super Mama?
Queen of the Laundry?
The Caped Dishwasher?
i could wear knee high pink go-go boots too.
yes…i like that image.
HA.
*************thank you for praying for all my friends.**********************
Anj - Thanks for keeping it real Meg! Love love love what you did. So pretty!!
Shutters Perth - I was very delighted upon going through your article that ponders me with bucket of productive and essential information. And I just admire your creatively personal touch for your home designs.
anna see - Wow! Oustanding job. It looks like a happy home.
Kristen @ More Than Mulberries - Came over from Kimba’s – I LOVE your mudroom!!! How great is that? (and how jealous am I? a lot) Red is one of my most favorite colors – it just makes me happy. Great job on those curtains too – so cute!
Misti of Studio M Designs - I’m a first time visitor, and love your blog. I am a major fan of everything red, and post about red all the time. You did a fabulous job on your room, thanks for sharing the “real” photo! Funny how crazy things get when the kids get home…
~Misti
natalie meester - Hee Hee Looks like my messy mudroom in the keeping it real phase@!
Love your posts
Kimba @ A Soft Place to Land - Hi Meg! I love your mudroom. The red looks fantastic.
I linked to it from my post today.
Kimba
http://asoftplacetoland-kimba.blogspot.com/2009/02/linky-love.html
Jess @ Just a Blink - Thanks for keeping it real!
The red is superb!
Jen - Looooooove it all!
♥Jen
Lauren - I love the last picture, which brings your awesome entryway to life. The red looks awesome, great work on the entryway, you’ve definitely got style.
patricia - Each and every time I come back here, I say stupid things like you made my day – but keepin it real, this time, your bit o red made my february.
You got heart!
pve
Dawn - I love red too. Just the littlest burst of it tucked in somewhere makes me feel happy. =)
Andrea - Oh YAY for “new red thing”. Love them all!
Linda@ Restyled Home - It turned out beautifully (of course) but I’m loving that final shot. Makes me feel at home…
Linda
Jen R - I love the red too…. that is how my house looks every day!
Patty - Your entry is so crisp and bright and WOW it’s lived in, too! Thank you for the organizing inspiration, but mostly for sharing that last photo! Have a nice night!
Shannan - 55 comments? Holy Moses. I am way behind here… I guess we are all loving the red. I am only recently learning to truly appreciate red, now that my Shabby Chic phase is finally fading into oblivion. Oh, I’m love little bits of black, too. Is that a little cubby-hole curtain I spy? Makes me wonder what’s behind it! Beautiful entry way for a beautiful home.
Taryn - My mom loves red too- she tends to buy a lot of red. I love your birds and your entryway. (And the keeping it real photo! It is nice to know that we are not the only messy ones around.)
Victoria - Ohhh I would be so happy walking into that entryway every day. 🙂 It’s beautiful and happy!
Chaos-Jamie - you made me snort my soda with that last photo! Looks just like my entryway at 3:32. (minus all the cute details)
Carla - Red is my favorite!
Your entry way looks GORGEOUS!
At least you “keep it real” is style, Girl!
That’s what I’m talking about.
Nina - oh yeah……I love red too!! Like you, it just make me happy. And can I ask you something…..how do you get your pictures so big on your blog??
thanks….
jimaiemarie - how much do i love you keepin it real??
THISSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS much!!! lol!!
i love your mudroom, it looks so cute!!!!
kasey@lolabboutique.com - what i wouldn’t do for an entry way with cubbies!
looks great.
xo
Nessa Dee - Love red! And love those curtains!! Beautiful mudroom!
Sara - I love your mud room!!!! Where did you find your fabric?It is gorgeous,also love your door.
Kim - Red is my favorite color – I’m thinking about painting our kitchen island red. Still trying to talk my husband into it!
Cecilia - Red IS a very beautiful color! Me, myself and I are having a pinkish-period right now. I love pink, and turqouise!
Love from sweden
Aubrey - Oh and where did you get those red buckets? I think I have a weakness for buckets. And I think I’m too weird.
Aubrey - Ooh–I love red, too. If I were you neighbor, I’d want to come and steal all that stuff–even your purse–except I’d leave all the contents. I’m not THAT psycho. Your house is so cool. My back entry opens right into the kitchen. Really. If you’re not careful or blind and don’t walk straight in you’d run into the table and sometimes my kids come rushing in so fast they slam the door into the oven door handle and stuff I have perched on top of the oven come crashing down. Maybe we should have moved to Kansas to get more house for out $$$. Or maybe I’ll win the HGTV house. big fat YEAH RIGHT.
Are you going to make cute red pillows or cushions for that bench under the window? Of course it’s fabulous the way it already is.
Anna - Can you please tell us where you got the red boots? I really want them…you know how I like red and white polka dots :o)
LuLu - Oh I am crazy for red too, I want your wellies- dang cute, and i am so glad to know that my kids are not the only ones who come home and dump their stuff! hee hee so thanks for keeping it real.
LuLu
Kate - red is one of those colors that just pops.
and makes you hungry.
*stomach growls*
but yeah, beautiful curtains, beautiful house even when the kid-nados (like tornadoes, except in kid form) attack.
-kate
Brittany - Thanks for a glimpse into your reality! I feel better now! But I LOVE the red as well!!! And the curtains look lovely!
Kelly - love the red, it’s gorgeous. and I love that you “keep it real” because I only have two kids and my house is a mess like that a lot!!
alyssa - my eyes are drawn to your house. Can we move in?
The Rauths - ooooooooo….eye candy! i LOVE red too! it just makes me happy! =) love your entry, too. that fabric is fabulous.
Mary Lou - What is it about RED??? I LOVE it too because…it reminds me of birthday party balloons, Christmas, happy flowers, etc. It’s just a happy color, it can’t help itself. : )
You did a great job on your red damask projects. The velvet border was a stroke of genius!
Katie - Love your curtains…especially with the red velvet on the bottom. Kind of a happy accident!
Staci - OH man do I love red too!!! You would LOVE my new stove that we are putting in our new house…it’s old, from England, old….and it is all garnet red and I think I’m naming her Ruby 🙂 I mean, seriously, do people really name their stoves?? I do. I really must have that fabric for something!!!! And oh yea…I love it when you keep it real 🙂 You make me smile so much!
Lee Ann - Love it all! I want a red laudnry/mud room. I saw a red and black one years ago and fell in love!
Lee Ann - Love it all! I want my new laundry/mud room to be red! I saw a red and black one years ago and fell in love.
Sandy - You make me laugh (thank you!) I love the red and beauty in your entry way – and even more I love your keeping it real pictures. Thanks for helping us to know we aren’t alone. 🙂
Mindy - I just found your blog this week and I am loving it! I have 4 kids so I love the keeping it real — instead of all those “fake” blogs who make their lives look perfect. Your red curtains are so gorgeous and I think they are better with the velvet!
Julia - Hi, I just found your blog – I love, love, love the pictures of your house. I’ve been wanting to get something from Tanya Whelan’s new line (I thought I recognized the red fabric as being from “Darla” – if not, it sure looks like it!). The curtains are wonderful. I just got a new red accent for my kitchen – red is really growing on me – http://www.flickr.com/photos/29635318@N07/3251338104/
carissa - FOR THE LOVE OF RED… i just love it!
the curtains turned out GREAT… that trim… perfect!
the funny thing… the polka dot red boots… the hot pink snow boots… the brown snow boots with pink trim… the exact same pairs are in our entry! 🙂 peas!
Heather - Love, love, LOVE your entry way! I fantasize about turning the laundry room into a kid-friendly entry with a bench and hooks . . . your “keeping real” photo reminds me that likely it’ll still be a bit of a disaster:)
Lisa - Hilarious! It’s so comforting to know that with your five kids and a dog, your house does get messy like the rest of us – phew *wipes forehead* I thought you were superwoman for a moment there. I still have my suspicions. I actually think you were meant to make the drapes to short. The red velvet makes them so interesting. I would totally by these in a store.
Take Care,
Lisa
Tracy - Red is my favorite color and I absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE your curtains – the Red velvet just made the curtains PERFECT! See… you were supposed to mess up that way and make them too short so you could add the “real” finishing touches! Great job! :o) And I LOVE the fact that you “kept it real” as always – that’s what my foyer looks like always too between the kids and the dog! LOL Thanks again for sharing! Hugs, Trac~ :o)
Beth - You know it’s “wear red” day for women’s heart issue awareness?? How appropriate!
Cami - I so LOOOOVE the color red! Your house is awesome. I like the keeping real picture too!!
Heidi Jo the Artist - I loooove red too! I’m finding that is the one color in every room of our home. Thanks for sharing! You are definitely an inspiration to me. I especially love the curtains and what was a problem with them being too short became even more beautiful with velvet!
I also love to play shoots and ladders (we have the Sesame Street version) with my kids or any game for that matter. Playing with our children is very important, not only for our children, but for a parent to have memories too of having fun with the kiddos.
We’ll continue to keep Cora and her family and friends in our prayers.
Have an awesome weekend!
Heidi Jo the Artist
http://swirlsofcreativity.etsy.com
http://swirlsofcreativity.blogspot.com
Jennifer - Oh my gosh…. love it all! I have been addicted to red lately. And not the earthtone red… the bright-make-me-smile-‘cuz-it-pops red! Too fun!
I love the curtains… glad they were short because that velvet is the perfect touch!
Red smiles,
Jen
Trina - I love the perfection and I love the keeping it real.. that is life…. try for perfection but live in pic # 2 most of the time.. wow your curtains are fab!
I’d be happy living in that little mud room. xx Trina
Laura Phelps - thanks for the real life shot. I feel better now!
Gini - You’ll love brown eyed fox’s blog today then!!! Anyhoo – I have a fabulous blue handbag that is lined with a lovely red….love love love it!!!
Tracie B - I love your blog and I appreciate your “keeping it real photos” so much! It’s incredible important to be inspired by the small things in everyday. When you show us your mess after we’ve been looking at the rest of your fantastic photos, we can take that inspiration and leave the behind the all the pressure to live a “Martha Stewart Lifestyle”. Thanks.
Suzan Freeman - I found my way to your blog by way of the Sticklers blog. I LOVE the fabric you used for the curtains…just what I have been looking for for my kitchen. Could you tell me what the name of the fabric is??? Thanks so much for sharing a picture of your life.
betsy - And today is National Wear Red Day for woman’s heart disease awareness. How fitting!
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/educational/hearttruth/events/wear-red.htm
Emily - I love all the little touches of red and the bird hooks, anything with birds really. I laughed when I saw the brown suede boats, because my daughter has the same pair and they are laying on the floor in my mudroom as I type. Glad you kept it real!
Suzanne - love, love red!! my favorite color!! i even had two red cars…unfortunately, the first one was totaled by a man running a red light, the other we had to let go since we were growing out of room…hard to load kids in carseats in a two seater…
love the keepin’ it real photo! i have plenty that could rival it!
happy friday!
Lisa - The curtains are gorgeous and I love the keeping it real photos.
traci - love the red!!! so cheerful. cute curtains, i so wish i could sew!! that’s what my front porch looks like all the time, shoes and bags everywhere!!!
Rachel - This gives meaning to “a mother’s work is never done”…love the pics…especially the “real” one!
Arielle - Thanks so much for posting the “keeping it real” pictures. I LOVE blogland for all of the incredible inspiration it can provide, but it can also suck me into this distorted world where I start to think that messes don’t happen in other people’s houses and if I just worked a little harder my house would look like a page in a magazine all the time. I appreciate that you can blend insipration with reality. It’s more than inspiring, it’s downright encouraging!
Stacie - I LOVE that red purse!!!! And lovin’ the keeping it real photo . . nice to know I’m not alone 🙂
Rachel Berry - Okay Loving your entryway!! 🙂 Love the red and white so much and thank you for making me feel so normal. Our entry way is sadly enough our laundry room (old farm house) and when my kids get home from school or rooms look exactly alike!!! Sigh…. Thanks for a bit of normal. 🙂
r.
Alyssa - I love the red too…Love the curtains and I noticed them in the first photo in the cubbything. I think you can fix that floor up…..Your Meg….aka Miss Crafty…I am sure you can go into Mary Poppins craft room and craft it up with something.
Love the keeping it real photo. Thanks for making me smile.
beckley Vining - me, too. i threw what has become our definition of a party lat night and got out all my red stuff. it was fun. and the curtains? nice work. and i like the velvet. it anchors the fabric since you have the darker blind at the top. my opinion. and i think it looks fab. if we lived in the same area, i’d give you my jute rug with the red trim that i have no use for 🙂
but my main reason for visiting (aside from a common love for red and jealousy over your ability to make your own curtains!)—i think you said you are going to visit the Macs today? would you please hug them from milwaukee? we are praying. and loving. and hoping. and extending grace and peace to them in this time. maybe as some “wood for the fire.”
grace and peace.
Heather - LOL I adore the keepin’ it real pictures. Awesome. The red is so fresh.
Beth - that last pic still has me laughing. soooo true!
Alyssa - very valentinesyish! do you get tired of hearing how inspiring you are? i sat up and read some of your old blogs for hours last night! wierdo alert! kidding. really, you should have your own magazine. i love the lamb or donkey or whatever he was & the look on his face! i would never thought to put that into words, bravo! keep it coming!