Let's Get Moving...

Happy September!

 Swim, swam, swum...

I cannot believe that summer is drawing to a close (well, the kids are going back to school, right?). I am going to miss the little buggers, but I am really looking forward to getting back to my routine and not cleaning up the kitchen 48,569 times a day. It is one of my parenting shortfalls: I am terrible at getting my kids to truly pitch in; I am a bit particular and my kids play dumb when I try to explain how I want things put away, soooo...I usually wind up doing things myself.

Which kind of gives me license to be a martyr now and then, but most of the time it just makes me feel stupid.

Well, there are lots of things going on around these parts, one of the biggest being that our house is on the market. Anyone who has ever put their house up for sale knows how much fun that is, right? Don't you just looovee all the questions you get from people about number of showings, your reasons for selling, and what you are going to do once you DO sell? It is kind of like being in your final weeks of pregnancy when you feel like giving the stink-eye to well-meaning inquiries, but instead you just summon the same, practiced reply. 

So, to answer the obvious question: we decided to put our house on the market because it just felt like the right time. We always knew we had roughly a five-year expiry date with this house, to coincide with making a bit of money for upcoming college tuition for our teenage boys. New reasons have popped up to reassure us it is the right time to make our move, so we are happy we "got off the pot."

(And no, I'm not talking about illegal substances!)

We have a tentative plan to build a new home; but with us and our penchant for spontaneity, I never commit to a plan of action. So, what will transpire is a bit of a mystery, even to me.

My eldest had a birthday in July, and I can't believe how quickly my sons are becoming young men:

As for the rest of our summer, August was a bit kinder to us, weather-wise. We did experience some high winds, courtesy of Irene, but she didn't hit us like she did others, for which we are grateful. I hope you and yours stayed safe, if not plunged into darkness for a wee while.  All of my fellow East-coasters were on my mind.

 

Scratching away at The List, I also hosted a Fear Factor party for Sophie and a few of her friends a couple of weeks ago, which was fun. They did cold water stunts (our pool is unheated!) and had to eat some pretty yucky food (a "choice" of olives, dulse, or big dates). I was kind, though, and relieved their palates with some french fries and flower pot ice-cream cakes. I'm not cruel, after all....

She has a mouth full of crumbled Oreos, not dirt!

I have been having fun finding inspiration from many of you for my new home. I do know one thing for certain, I am going to be buying myself one of these gorgeous lights for somewhere in my new abode. 

Have you ever seen anything so awesome?

I found it while perusing one of my favourite sites for design inspiration, House and Home. It is also, coincidentally, one of my favourite Canadian design magazines. If you have never picked up this magazine, you are seriously missing out. It just keeps getting better and better. I still deeply miss Canadian Home and Country, though Erin McLaughlin is doing a fabulous job transforming Style at Home to incorporate some of the winning elements of CH&C. I wonder if she still misses the magazine as much as I do?

I am also very proud to report that we have completed both Autumn with Matthew Mead (sold on the website) and Holiday with Matthew Mead 2011, which will be sold on newsstands throughout the U.S. and Canada. It is so exciting for all of us involved, and for the loyal readers who have supported us from the get-go. I hope you check out both issues and let me know what you think!

So, good-bye summer! 

(But let's not make it official...you can hang around as long as you like!)