simple gifts in the art of baking soda

I guess if you are going to dump anything on the new carpet, it may as well be a cleaning agent. It could have been worse...like the time when Kieran somehow got into the can of unsealed primer left out by his daddy. I was too frantic to take a picture of it then, but I learned my lesson that these are the times that I need to take a step back. I will take baking soda and paint any day over things that could be far more complicated. It's easy to take the simple things in life for granted. It's not about what I don't have, it's about the gifts that I have received. The simple gifts-like the art of baking soda.

Simple Gifts, Joseph Brackett, 1848
'Tis the gift to be simple,
'tis the gift to be free,
'tis the gift to come down where you ought to be,
And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
It will be in the valley of love and delight.

When true simplicity is gained,
To bow and to bend we shan't be ashamed.
To turn, turn will be our delight,
'Til by turning, turning we come round right

'Tis the gift to be loved and that love to return,
'Tis the gift to be taught and a richer gift to learn,
And when we expect of others what we try to live each day,
Then we'll all live together and we'll all learn to say,


'Tis the gift to have friends and a true friend to be,
'Tis the gift to think of others not to only think of "me",
And when we hear what others really think and really feel,
Then we'll all live together with a love that is real. 
Thoughtfully posted,

Decorating Derby

In what was an otherwise uneventful weekend, I moved on to our next house project, which is to paint our bedroom. Everyone that walks in to our room, always pays compliment to the color. I remember loving it too, because coincidentally, it went perfectly with our Pottery Barn duvet cover. Not to mention, the color reminds me of wine which is something that quite frankly, we have WAY too much of (hmmm...wheels are spinning for a future post)! 


I love the color, but after 4 1/2 years and a couple of remodel projects later, it's time to get rid of remnants of what once was our rental. Granted, there are some things in my home that I like that the former owner installed, otherwise we wouldn't have rented (or bought) in the first place! 


There is something to be said for making a home your own and I think we've done a tremendous job so far (next summer is 1 of 2 bathrooms)! The second reason I want to paint a new color is that because the wine color is so dark, it always feels like we are closed in.


Here's what our bedroom looks like now:

 If you haven't been to our house, the bedroom is located at the front of the house. If you are looking head on at our house, we have two french doors. No, this is not the living room, it's our bedroom! And I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have any peeping toms scoping out my bedroom, so our shades are always down. I do intend to get some shades that go from  the top down just to let light in, but for now, the room is dark for this reason.

Part of the room is primed and we are painting the color on the right:

I'll take pictures of the final product, the color is Sky's the Limit, by Kelley Moore. I hope it turns out okay, they say that blue in a bedroom is supposed to be restful, and that's what I'm going for!


Just when I thought I'd only be decorating walls, Kieran heard our next door neighbor talking about making cupcakes. Since Pinkalicious (yes, this is Anna's book, but it's a cute story) is one of Kieran's top picks right now, I told him that we could make cupcakes.

If Kieran had his way, all he'd ever drink is milk, all he'd ever eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner is pancakes, and all he'd ever eat for dessert is, you guessed it-cupcakes.


With a mouthful of grilled cheese sandwich, Kieran announced to me that he had eaten it all, and was now ready for his cupcake. I think with the combination of not napping today, and the anticipation of eating the cupcakes, a few licks of frosting and one bite (that's it!) of cupcake later, Kieran declared that he was tired and going to take a nap. At least he was in bed by 7:30, reading what else?

So, from paint to frosting, it's been a colorful weekend. If you know me well, you know that I can cook about as well as my mom's sense of direction (fill in any synonym for horrible), but I can bake and I make one damned good cupcake

(compliments from Chef Erik P. himself)! Here's to hoping my room turns out as good as my Pinkalicious cupcakes!