Around the house....

I know I have mentioned several times what a struggle this last move was for me....I officially unloaded the U-haul on Easter...I still am not moved in or unpacked. I have never been a procrastinator, more of a mover and shaker actually! I have moved a lot. Too much really. I am a professional at this stuff. I look around and this doesnt even look like my home yet. Olivia really gave me a wake up call. She walked in for the first time and walked around really quiet peeking in the garage and looking in the rooms. She came up and looked at me really serious and then said "What has happened to you Maga?" Words from a ten year old. Since then, I have hung up a few more things, put a few more boxes away and made more of an effort but still I struggle. I am a homebody....my home is typically a reflection of who I am. I love color and art and things that get turned into something else. A home of mine will never be in House Beautiful magazine and I am ok with that...I am too eclectic but if you came in a house of mine previous to this one, you would have known it was mine and it would have welcomed you. Olivia has gotten me thinking about what I can do to claim this space that I live in....I picked colors for the walls downstairs....















I bought some upholstery fabric and am in the process of redoing my dining table and chairs.....

















Here is one chair alongside the "before" chair. It isnt done yet but you get the idea....














I also have been taking an old antique mirror with me from move to move...It hung on my family's living room wall when I was a kid...It is so old it was falling apart...literally crumbling away and the mirrored glass had lost all its silver on the back. I tried to fix it and it wasnt working at all...I finally took the glass out....I sanded carefully and painted it and now I have the memories and the frame. It was kind of hard to get myself to do it but it is better than having it sit in an attic for another ten years.













Olivia and I have been hanging out when I am not working. We went scrapbooking at a local store. She just loves to do it and I let her pick the pictures and paper and stuff. I can tell she misses her brothers cause' the pages she did were of them.
We went to a water park with Julie for her birthday. She had some friends with her and she had a great time. I can still see her running by me with a big smile on her face in my head.
We also have done some sewing and crafting.... We made flower fairies and she put hers on her backpack and shows it to everyone. I love that she loves to sew and make things. I know what a good outlet it can be and she isnt afraid to try anything.
The other night she went to Julie's and I painted a little tiny ladybug scene on an atc size piece of paper...
















Then I changed it to a black and white print and printed it out 5x7 size....













Then I turned the prints into cards....I had fun doing these. Paper and glue seem to relax me these days.







Happy Summer!