Knock-off

The IKEA Docksta table is a knock-off of the more costly Mid-Century Mod Saarinen table at a fraction of the price. "Fraction of the price" is key in this house. It needs to be able to stand up to markers, crayons, play-doh, as well as breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Paying thousands for a table is not in the cards for us nor would it be very practical for us.

I love the look of this mod table paired with totally unexpected chairs. Right now I have French country chairs with it, but I also like the look of Bentwood chairs (painted or natural) pulled around it (see below). I bought 1 Bentwood chair on Craigslist, but am still hunting for 4 more. If you see any please let me know :)

On a sidenote: A round table brings a different feeling to a meal compared to a rectangular or oval shaped table. It really brings people closer makes it easier to communicate. What family doesn't need that?

We just returned from a very simple weekend in Lancaster County, PA. A place where people, not things, are what matters most. It was just what we needed. The girls had fun with friends and so did we. There were lots of laughs and memories from the weekend.

You can see them above with their buddies building a fire with corn stalks they plucked out of a corn field behind the Amish Country Motel. They were calling them "whackersmackers," and I laughed today when I saw 2 "whackersmackers" that were snuck into my car. The little motel we stay at every year for the last 10 (?can it be that long?) years is right at the edge of the corn field, and surrounded by Amish farms. You can watch and listen to buggies pass. This year a major bonus was the playground and playhouse right outside our room. I cannot believe we never found it before. Also above is a day after picture from the "Mud Sales," an Amish auction held every year at this time. You can see the farm equipment and buggies waiting for the highest bidders to come claim them.

I don't have too many pictures because a lot of our time was spent with an Amish friend and her family. Out of respect to them and their beliefs we stash the cameras and just absorb as much of the simple life as we can.

Being Baby #3

Here is Baby C at her 12 month well visit. She is a little obsessed with her tongue right now. 25lbs 2ozs and I cannot remember her height. I know she was 95% for both. I am not as up on her stats as I was with BP and BB. And realizing that I did not remember her stats really got me thinking...that is the cool thing about baby #3, we are more laid back, and so is she. I feel like with Baby C I am in the moment more. Most likely because I know she is the last. It is less worry and more fun. It shows with her personality. With BP we were a nervous wreck because she was our first and we treated her like a very delicate egg, and this definitely shows in her personality. Then BB came into our world a month early and surprised us with her "ready or not" attitude, which still holds strong to this very day. She is a firecracker in every sense of the word. Now with 3 we have become experts at managing chaos. And yes, everyday is just chaos, but I love it because it is our chaos!

Busy Bees

They love to be busy. Give them a project or a job and they are so happy, (and better behaved too).

Ikea finds under $5

My Favorite Ikea finds... All very inexpensive but qulity items that are extremely useful. In order as seen above:

Neglinge Tapered Candle holders / Tealight holders .49 Very heavy and toddler safe. So cool because they can be used 2 ways.

Signe Throw Rugs $3.99 Come in many color combinations. Washable and great for in front of the kitchen sink.

Reko Cups $1.49 I think the price is for a pack of 4. They are the cutest plastic cups and also great for letting the little ones set the table.

Kids Breakfast Set $4.99 My girls don't have this, but would love it!

Tekla Kitchen Towel .49 The ultimate kitchen towel. Washes well and the price cannot be beat.

Cool Catskills Wedding & New Client

The barn at the top belongs to a new client of ours. I have not seen the inside yet, but I have heard it is really cool. So are the pictures of their wedding which was featured on Martha Stewart's website. If you search "Catskills Wedding" you can find the complete feature on it. I really love the rings in the little nest, the honey favors, the heart shaped mowed field where they held the ceremony, and the fact that they held the reception in the barn where they are now living. These pictures make me really long for Spring! We live in such a pretty area 3 seasons of the year, but this Winter thing is getting rather old :)

I am in love with this dining room, designed by Tracery of Rosemary Beach, FL.

Up next week: New blog...new endeavors...lots going on here at casa de Goldstein, but we like it that way.

Happy Weekend!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My favortie flower: Yellow Tulips

Long stem red roses are a complete waste of $ with me (lucky husband).

These were $3.99 for a dozen.

What is your favorite flower? Please share...

This picture is pretty self-explanatory. I guess she gave up on the bottle at her side.

Baby C turned 1 last week. I cannot believe it + I may be in denial :)

Here is her puppy cake. (She loves dogs)

I will post more pictures when I get them off Nana's camera. Unfortunately, my camera went MIA when we sang Happy Birthday.

Super Soccer

BB would love to be 5 so she could play "super soccer". Here she is practicing inside on a snowy Saturday.

ipad education????

Barefoot Dad found a bunch of Montessori ipad apps. Here is BP doing the Hundred Board, which is one of her favorite "works" to do at school. Scary thing is this is what our world will become. It will be like..."Welcome to Kindergarten Johnny, here is your ipad. Now get to work".

My babies with their "Bitty Babies"

Your Life...

Saw this on my friend Jenny's blog the other day and I CANNOT stop thinking about what it says. I agree Jenny we need a poster of this in our house too!

A Thousand Sisters

A Thousand Sisters: My Journey Into the Worst Place on Earth to be a Woman

A book every woman should read. I highly reccommend it.

If you do read it please let me know if you would be interested in a 5K for Congo Women?

Snow Day

We have had so any snow days lately I cannot even remember which day these pictures are from...but I can tell you that BP, BB, and Baby C all love the snow, don't mind the cold, and could care less about Spring coming quickly. I am trying to learn from them.

How can such a bitter cold January day have such a beautiful ending? Mother Nature has such an oxymoronic side to her I guess...kind of makes me think about how good can sometimes come out of other bad situations in life. I'm off to ponder this some more. Happy Friday!

Baby Sushi

Mr. O made Baby C her own little entree, which he called "baby sushi." She devoured it!

Sushi

BP and Daddy at our favorite Sushi restaurant in the town we used to live. It is an hour away now, but totally worth the drive.

It all started with a rug.

An IKEA rug to be exact. I caught a glimpse of it out of the corner of my eye + immediately thought of BB. It is bright + spunky just like she is. She had definitely grown out of her toddler bed. (We could hear her bashing into the sides of it at night). It was time for a big girl bed for BB + I thought with a few simple + economical changes I could give her a big girl room also. First, I asked my dad if he could dig out my old bed from when I was a little girl. I knew it was stored somewhere in one of my parent's barns. A couple days later he delivered the bed to our house. I sanded it + spray painted it with Rustoleum high-gloss Candy Apple Red. Then I spray painted the rails with a textured metal paint that keeps them from ever rusting again. I like the simple look of the four poster bed + a canopy is too girly-girl for BB so it was ready to go as is. Barefoot Dad took BB to Home Depot to buy wood for the support slabs. They cut it up in the basement + we assembled together. New white sheets + some other linens we already had + voila BB has a new bed + room!

Stay tuned for curtains that I am going to try to make myself. I may need to borrow BP's sewing machine Uncle Matt + Aunt Nicole gave her for Christmas. Ha! And also for a do it yourself project for BB's wall art.

Skating

Over Winter Break we spent the day with friends on the ice. At one time or another we each had a pair of skates on. Some of us were better than others :) Ok, I'll admit...everyone was better than me. Except Baby C who was happy being pulled around on the sled most of the time. We decided that since she was a very new walker, walking on the ice would not be a good idea for her.

I have this on-going list of "The Best Country Days" since we moved a couple years ago, and this one at the top of the list. The setting was breathtaking. The views panoramic. The company was warm and funny. The pond, barn and house pristine. The chicken noodle soup and hot cocoa to die for. The ice hockey game hilarious. We did not want the day to end.

We all slept really well that night. One of us was pretty sore the next morning.

3 + 3

Taking this picture has been on my "to do" list for a while.

I was so happy to snap it on Christmas night.

From Left to Right (in birth order):

Mama + BP

Aunt Cynthia + BB

Aunt Debbie + Baby C

Now on my "to do" list is to make a copy for each of my girls for their memory boxes.

Flashback: Chrsitmas Morning

Almost 1, 3, and 5 I would say are the perfect ages for Christmas. It was so much fun this year!

Flashback: Christmas Eve

Opening gifts at Aunt Debbie's house.

Guess Who's Walking?

Excuse the boogie nose She has been battling it for two weeks. Poor kid! But Baby C is walking...really walking. She started on Christmas Eve. (It will be easy to remember the date) She is into everything + our lives have changed once again :)