Ok, so this random Friday post is 25% about a quick little project, 25% about some house crashing-ish shots, 25% about general Clara cuteness, and 25% about Jewel. Yes, the singer. Who’s ready?
It all began with a weekend trip to DC to visit my BFF Cat (who John and I set up with John’s cousin Travis and then they got married and had two kiddos- so yes I’m now related to my BFF). She, Travis, and their cute kiddos Elsa and Edison live in Arlington, Virginia and took us into the city to check out the National Aquarium in DC (John’s sister Katie along with her two sons John and Ben and her hubby Martin came too). The aquarium was definitely a hit with the kiddos. The baby alligators might have been the highlight…
No wait, it was the exhibit with a Nemo and a Dory fish (they looked just like them). Clara and Elsa were especially enamored.
Bam! Then we saw Jewel. She was doing this book signing thing a block or two away from the aquarium, so we were just walking by and we’re all “wait, isn’t that Jewel?” and then I had to use everything in me not to start singing “Whooooo willll saaaayyyaaayyaayyyyve your soul?” – but I successfully resisted. Whew. I just snapped this picture and we kept moving. But it was pretty funny and random. She looked sweet, btw.
Then we went to Gravely Point, which is this awesome spot where giant planes fly right. over. you (they land within eyeshot at the airport, so they’re really low and loud). Yes, the kids went wild for it.
As in – all out crazy every time. It was adorable. There was fist pumping.
Elsa and Clara are BFFs. Which completely melts my heart. I mean, my kid is going to marry my other BFF’s son (yes, we’re talking about Will Bower here) and she has a for-life bestie in Elsa. Life is good. And completely unpredictable. Who woulda thought we’d successfully set up John’s cousin with my best friend and then I’d meet another real-deal-holyfield friend through blogging. Random, I tell ya. In the best possible way.
And then there’s the fact that Clara is here on this earth (miracle!) and that John and I randomly met in NYC at a job I loved and John loathed (he had actually applied to go back to school – so I’m forever grateful that he didn’t leave NYC forever before I got my mitts on him).
Sorry, this post is especially meandering today. Like a long dirt road in the country. And I might have some dirt in my eye. Sniffle. Anyway, back to the house related stuff. Tangent over.
Check out this awesome chalkboard wall that Cat has in their playroom. She added magnetic paint before the chalkboard paint, so magnets also work on the wall. Clara was in animal-magnet heaven.
And this was a cute Craigslist find that Cat picked up for Edison’s room. One of those expensive Pottery Barn book racks, except it was cheap-o thanks to being scored secondhand through sir Craig and his list. All hail craig and his list.
Is this post getting weirder? Wait, don’t answer that.
Look at this pretty original chandelier that they inherited in their dining room. The best part? Cat’s not that into it. So once they buy a new chandelier I get it. Picture me rubbing my hands together maniacally. So excited about that…
You can see more sneak peeks of her house here from this older BFF-visiting post. We really need to properly House Crash her, but there are always a million kids running around (oops they’re ours). Haha. Someday!
And in organizing news… look at Cat’s photo albums. Doesn’t that make you green with envy slash “want-to-go-to-there”-ness? I want my family albums to be that organized. Cat said all it took was grabbing a bunch of the same type of album and pulling out all of her pics from mismatched piles, boxes, and old tattered albums and loading them in with some idea of chronology (but not being too anal, which is key so this doesn’t take five million years). Update: due to a bunch of folks asking, Cat clued me in on where she gets her albums: Target!
Ok, now here’s the mini-project portion of this post. See this fireplace in Cat’s living room? Cat called me up a few weeks ago and said “Darn you Petersik!” Seriously, I answered the phone and that was her first sentence. Turns out she was staring up at the wall, realized she wanted some candle sconces to beef up the mirror over the mantel and to fill that blank space on either side of it, and then did some googling and found the exact sconces she wanted. Only problem? They were on our site and were now sold out. Haha. Seriously, her google search took her to this image in this old post of ours.
So she was calling to lament the sconces that got away. But then I revealed that we never found a spot for them in our new house and they were just sitting in our piles-o-stuff playroom and I insisted that we bring them up to her house and hang them for her during the aquarium-trip weekend. Of course she refused my birthday sconces a few times, but $herdog is a stubborn girl. She always wins…
We even packed anchors and screws and our drill with the sconces in the car. Haha. No excuses for not getting those on the wall while we were there. Only thing I didn’t pack? Two matching candles. Oops. Pretend there’s not a shorter one on the left and a taller one on the right.
Oh and isn’t that little leaf wreath cute? Cat’s a crafty gal. She DIYed that baby. She told me where she got the kit but I forget. Maybe she’ll stop in with the info. I did a homemade leaf thing for our cousin’s bridal shower last fall though, so this post might help anyone who wants to make a whole mess o’ paper leaves. And speaking of DIY, Cat had some pretty leftover wrapping paper and decided to use it to cover those stacks of books on the mantel. I was in love. The paper was so soft and glow-ey. Just imagine that candle sconce all lit and flickering. Pretty, right?
Then after a marathon fun-fest weekend full of fish-watching and Jewel-watching and plane-watching and sconce-hanging we loaded ourselves into the car and drove back to Richmond. The kiddos were sufficiently exhausted.
So there you have one of those random Friday posts full of smorgasbord and stream of consciousness. Hope it was as good for you as it was for me. Do you guys have any road trips planned? Have you ever seen a famous singer while out on a walk and said “wait a minute isn’t that ____?” and then wanted to sing their song to them? Have you ever packed things like screws and a drill into the car in the hopes of hanging something in someone else’s house? Isn’t it weird to drill into someone else’s wall? It’s kind of like driving someone else’s car or wearing someone else’s clothes. It’s thrilling but a little scary since you don’t want to ruin anything. Haha.
Kimberly L says
Sherry, I am having the same problem as Mizden. I’m on a computer. I tried in the Chrome and Mozilla Firefox browsers and cleared all the data/cookies/cache in both. No dice!
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry guys! I think it’s spyware. Do you have McAffe or some other virus software? Sometimes it randombly blocks pics for a group of people (usually like this, around .01% of our readers) and then they pop up later. Disabling that can help, or just waiting for them to come back a few days. So sorry! We haven’t changed anything on our end.
xo
s
Jen says
Where did your friend find those photo albums? I have a ton of unorganized photos!
YoungHouseLove says
She’s on a trip right now but when she’s back I’ll ask her!
xo
s
Leah says
I love the rambling posts, that’s exactly how I think and write!
Oh, and I set up one of my BFFs with my brother-in-law. They got married and their little girl is 8 days younger than mine, so now our girls are built-in BFFs in the making. It’s pretty awesome.
YoungHouseLove says
So cute!!!
xo,
s
Lindsay says
I have a crazy weekend ahead. I’m moving to a new apartment today. I’ve been at my parents house for the last year, so I’m excited for my own space again. And since I’m a teacher (math), I can’t take the day off. My dad is supervising the move.
And tomorrow is my alma mater’s homecoming. The University of South Dakota is celebrating 150 years. Tom Brokaw is parade Marshall, as he went here too! Go Coyotes!
Cinemarie says
Such a happy post! Feels so “Friday-like” :)
Thanks for being such positive people, you really lifted my spirits with this post today.
Love the chalkboard wall and the “under-the-planes” hangout. Good idea for free entertainment, who says you need complicated and expensive outings?!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Cinemarie!
xo
s
Angela says
Isn’t it funny how life can be sometimes? My husband and I were both Indiana natives but met while working in Connecticut. Now 7 years later, with a four year detour in Florida, we’re back to living in Indiana but together for the first time. We’re even 20 minutes down the road from where we got married which was 1 1/2-2 hours away from where both sets of our families lived so its kinda random and awesome.
Brandi from Bloomington says
I like what you did with the mantle but I also loved the pumpkins. I probably would’ve drilled a hole in a few of them and added a dowel rod to keep them in place on top of one another.
YoungHouseLove says
That’s fun!
xo
s
Koliti says
Meandering is such a wonderful thing…
that’s how we’ve all ended up right where we are…
you & John meandered into each other…
your paths then crossed with Burger’s…
Clara’s little soul found yours…
many readers meandered onto your blog…
It’s AMAZING all of the twists and turns our lives take and how connected we all become.
One of my FAVORITE tv shows is “Touch” on the Fox channel –
it shows the common threads that unite people and bring them together in unexpected ways.
So Sherry, “Meander Away”! Love your style!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, you’re so sweet Koliti!
xo
s
Holly O says
Great post. Those photo albums are gorgeous, and I’m officially inspired to get my pics organized. Know where they came from?
YoungHouseLove says
I have to ask Cat when she’s back from her trip! Here’s hoping I have that info for you guys soon!
xo
s
Emily F says
This might be my favorite post ever!!! I LOVE the randomness!! I feel like we are old friends who got together to catch up and you just told me about this great trip you went on and all the things that have been going on in your life. And in our fake/imagined friendship, we are sitting on the comfy chairs at Starbucks. I’m having a Salted Caramel mocha. You can have whatever you’d like… my treat. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha, I like it.
xo
s
Jules says
We were in New York a couple weeks ago and went to the Today Show with Al Roker which was taped outside. We could only see the backs of the news crew inside the building and after we left Al we were walking down the street. There were like 5 guys with cameras standing around and this lady comes walking down the street. I told my hubby that she was one of the news girls inside because I recognized her dress. She walked right past us as the photographers were snapping her picture and yelling Ivanka, Ivanka. It was Ivanka Trump!! I wish I would have had my camera ready. I got some pictures of her but I could have gotten some really good ones if I had been prepared.
YoungHouseLove says
No way!
xo
s
jina says
My husband and I were on vacation (pre-kids) and saw Huey Lewis reading a newspaper. No joke. The rest of the trip, we bragged how we saw Huey Lewis and the News. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! I love all these stories everyone!
xo
s
Wendy - Old Town Home says
So glad you had a great time in our ‘hood! DC and the surrounding neighborhoods are really great for adults and kids alike. :-)
Cassondra says
While I don’t know if I’ve ever seen a real celebrity unexpectedly, last weekend during a tour of the Parade of Homes, visiting an amazing 3 million dollar house, we saw a well known real estate agent in our area and my husband got so excited. We have his notepads at our house and often have a good laugh at his expense. The best part was that when we noticed him he sort of covered his face like a celebrity would to not have photos taken. He is also about 5 feet tall and was with a supermodel-esque woman at least 5’10”, making him even more like a real life celebrity with his hotter than him wife.
YoungHouseLove says
For some reason this story is hilarious to me. Love it!
xo
s
Linda says
This was a wonderful post! Some years back I had third row aisle seats to Michael Flatley’s Lord of the Dance at the Rosemont Theater (now the Akoo) – very nice smallish theater outside Chicago. The show was held for about 15 minutes and the entire second row was empty, so we all expected some celebrity to arrive.
Turns out Phil Collins and a few of his tour musicians walked in and Phil sat right in front of me. I had the hardest time not squealing or gushing what a huge fan I am of him and Genesis – throughout the entire performance. Oh, Lord of the Dance was really good too. Some of my fellow 3 percenters may understand my excitement.
BTW, you know how you and I might tap our feet to keep time with music? Turns out professional drummers tap more intricately and keep way better time!
I will try hard not to squeal or gush when I see you in Chicago.
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! These stories are so much fun you guys. Who knew about drummers and foot tapping?!
xo
s
Sue says
Any idea where she picked up those great basic black photo albums? Also – congratulations on the book! I’m super-excited to see that your tour kicks off in Cincinnati. :)
YoungHouseLove says
She’s away right now but when she’s back I’ll have to ask and report back to you guys!
xo
s
Deidra says
My husband and I met and fell in love on Capitol Hill (a mini Senate office scandal that was really innocent). We would walk from my apartment in Crystal City to Gravelly Point and talk for hours. Like someone else has mentioned, there was always plenty of making out to be had, too! :) I still love thinking about it. Flying in and out of DCA makes me happy, hoping someone gets to experience my plane, huge overhead!
Stacie says
You guys are so cute. I love this post :)
janetl says
I don’t think I’ve seen wrapping paper on books…that’s a fantastic idea!
Teresa says
Why, yes…as a matter of fact I have randomly run across a famous singer! 35 years ago, on my honeymoon in L.A., my husband and I ended up at the same hotel as Pat Boone! Can you imagine anything cooler!?! We actually weren’t that thrilled as he wasn’t any cooler then than he is today , but it’s a fun, odd memory for us both.
Amy says
I’ve never commented before (well okay, except for the giveaways! LOL) but I read you every day, and it’s posts like these that keep me coming back! Cuz you’re funny and quirky and weird (in a good way) and even tho your house is freakin gorgeous and you have such great taste, you seem so down to earth and fun. So there you go. Hoping to make it to your Portland book signing!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Amy!
xo,
s
julie. says
I too am curious about the type of photo books she used…I love how they have that band around them – makes them look like moleskines. I wonder if they came with that band or it is some kind of book band she added. Hmm.
Very nice post. I used to live in Charlottesville VA and always liked going up to DC! (oh and when I lived in c’ville, the closest Target was in Richmond – Short Pump!)
Lori Wojciechowski says
Living in Los Angeles provides for celebrity sighting, but my 2 favorite involve the elevator at my Dr. Office. In the parking garage a guy got on with me and I thought “oh great, I get to ride with a homeless old man”. When he got out on his floor he said “Have a great a day” and that’s when I realized the “homeless old guy” was Jack Nicholson! Second time I was waiting for the elevator to go to the garage and the other guy waiting kept turning his back to me. I was busy on my phone and thought it was weird but didn’t look at the guy. On the ride down, a guy got on with the biggest smile, but didn’t say anything. It wasn’t until everyone who was waiting for their cars started taking pictures did I realize it was Sylvester Stalone.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahah! No way!
xo
s
Teresa says
Why, yes…as a matter of fact I have randomly run across a famous singer! 35 years ago, on my honeymoon in L.A., my husband and I ended up at the same hotel as Pat Boone! Can you imagine anything cooler!?! We actually weren’t that thrilled as he wasn’t any cooler then than he is today , but it’s a fun, odd memory for both of us!
Andrea says
Love the chandelier — we had a similar one growing up and I used to unhook the pendants and hang them around my ears like earrings when we would play “dress-up”!
BoredAtWork says
Yes! Me too!
Bob says
“they land within eyeshot at the airport””
I would certainly hope so!
Also, “eyeshot” has some connotations that might not be appropriate for this blog.
Sherri says
I enjoyed the post also.So fun. The picture of the three of you sitting on the ground is so good! The posts that all your readers have shared about seeing celebs is hysterical. I have so much to do but couldn’t quit reading them. I had two random sightings in Vegas casinos years ago.( Dennis Rodman and Bill Walton- not together!)But the most bizarre was seeing Phil Donahue in a dept. store in Dayton, Ohio. Before he was nationally syndicated and before Marlo Thomas. He was shopping for his daughter and I was also shopping. I was in high school at the time. He turned to me and said, in a very condescending manner, ” Where are the girls clothes? ” I looked him straight in the eye and said, ” I don’t work here Mr. Donahue,” and went on my merry way.
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahahahah! No. Way. I love it!
xo
s
Becky says
Love the family pic at Gravelly! We live in DC Metro and that park and the aquarium are two of our favorite places. There are about a million kid friendly places here and we are never at a loss for fun things to do. So glad your trip was great! Looking forward to seeing you in Nov at the DC book signing!
Debbie C says
I love these random posts! Really, that’s life isn’t it? And speaking of Sir Craig and his list, we scored a wooden play kitchen for our toddler the other day. She loves it!
YoungHouseLove says
Wahoo! Awesome score!
xo,
s
Crystal says
This is simply a great post. Leaves me wanting to have a great weekend and savor it.
Rachel says
Ahhhh! The chandelier!!!! That is the same exact one that was in my parents’ house when I was growing up. Definitely put it somewhere where it gets loads of natural light. That chandelier makes the best crystal rainbows ever! I used to love playing with all of the “wall rainbows” when I was a kiddo.
Sarah says
Ahhhhh so jealous of that pretty, light-filled Arlington home! I want onnnneeee.
I love hearing that John hated his job and was thinking about going back to school, and that he ended up doing something so unconventional instead. It seems like the default option for everyone I graduated with at UVA is to go back to get your Law degree or MBA or something. I always think, really? That many of you want to be lawyers? Blogging is way cooler!
Bob says
Jewel has a great sense of humor too – liked her even more after seeing this prank she pulled: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmv1VhrtYRo
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahhhahah! Hilarious!!! Everyone go watch this right now! Made our Friday!
xo
s
Penny says
Enjoyed reading this post, but have a technical question-when I look at this post on my phone,it shows some blank squares with one of those tiny icons in the center, as if there is an unloaded picture. It shows a square after the sentence about the alligators (but only one picture at the aquarium looking at fish), a square after “the kids went wild for it” but only one picture after the fist pumping sentence, and a square after “all lit and flickering. Pretty, right?” but no picture until after “sufficiently exhausted”. On my computer there are no additional pictures, but no spaces for them either. So I’m just trying to figure out if this is a glitch in my idiot phone! (Smart phone often equals idiot phone when I’m annoyed with it;)
YoungHouseLove says
Hmm, so strange. Maybe try clearing the data/cache/cookies on your smart phone? They can definitely be glitchy!
xo
s
Penny says
Okay, my question is SHOULD there be pictures in those three places where the boxes are? Because they aren’t showing on my phone or my computer.
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, there are photos there. So sorry they’re not loading for you!
xo
s
Dominique says
Awesome news about that chandelier! Wow! I think it’s absolutely gorgeous.
I work for a lighting company (Remains Lighting, remains.com), restoring the antique fixtures that we sell, and believe me, I see A LOT of crystal chandeliers.
If this one really is original (by which I assume you mean older/vintage/antique?), I have to say that it looks like it’s in fantastic condition, and it’s kind of incredible that all of the glass arms are intact and none of them have broken.
What a great score for you!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Dominique! Wahoo!
xo
s
Amanda C. says
I literally almost ran into Brad Garrett (Robert from Everybody Loves Raymond) in our hotel in Las Vegas. I was opening the door, walking forward, but looking back at the person behind me to hold the door for them and almost smacked into him. Not sure how you miss someone as tall as that….his comedy club was in the hotel and he was in town for a show!
Elizabeth says
Hi – Can you tell me where the photo albums came from?
Thanks!
Elizabeth
YoungHouseLove says
Sure! Cat’s on a trip right now, but when she’s back I’ll pop in with an update from her!
xo
s
Laura says
This was probably the greatest and most entertaining post y’all have put out in a while. Also: all hail sir craig and his list. Yes.
Jessica S says
When I was in college (almost 10 years ago now!), I worked in the University of Arkansas basketball stadium where Wal-Mart holds their international shareholders meeting every year, and they always have really famous entertainment (for free!). One of the years I worked there, Jewel was performing so we sneaked into the stadium to watch her sound check, and she was awesome. I’d never been a huge Jewel fan (I’m just not the crazy fangirl type anyway) but she was so genuine and sweet and funny that I immediately when out and bought her new album. It was really cool.
My first year of work after college, I was sent to Hollywood for training, and the hotel we stayed at was hosting the ESPY awards, so there were TONS of sports stars that I had NO IDEA who they were. I did have LeBron James pointed out to me but I’d never heard of him before (this was about 8 years ago! I’m feeling old). Other than that, my ‘celebrity’ sightings were limited to Pauly Shore and seeing Jimmy Kimmel film his opening segment for his late show. Jimmy came within about 2 feet of me, and let’s just say it seemed (smelled) like he had pre-gamed. Some people claim they saw Ben Affleck, but I had no such luck.
Jocelyn Pascall says
Looks like you guys are having a great time!
Carrie says
My brain works in this bouncey way so I loved this post!
Except for some reason I can’t see all the pics. :(
YoungHouseLove says
So sorry! Are you on Google Chrome? We didn’t change anything on our end but some folks on Chrome seem to be having glitchy issues, but here’s hoping they pop up in a day or two once chrome fixes whatever they changed!
xo
s
melissa says
Where are those photo albums from, they are SO cute?!!?!?!
YoungHouseLove says
Cat’s away on a trip so I’ll have to ask her when she’s back!
xo
s
Lana says
Just curious if Clara’s birth brought you closer to the Lord & walking with Him. Are you Christians? : )
YoungHouseLove says
Yup, we’re Christians :)
xo
s
Kate says
Ack, I’m decorating for our first little girl’s nursery and had been debating where to add some front-facing bookshelves. Maybe under the window, maybe on the little bit of wall between the door and the chaging table… Now maybe I’ll have to consider over the changing table because I like that too, though then the little one can’t reach them herself (but that might be a good thing?!?). I hate indecision!
Pallavi says
dude! i saw molly ringwald at a winery here and i totally froze. my husband sensed my inevitable gushfest and escorted me out so we wouldnt bother her. once outside, i literally yelled “molly ringwald! you’re my hero!” and she definitely heard me … yikes!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahaha!
xo
s
Jimmy says
We drove from DC to Minnesota and back at the end of the summer with my wife, two year old son and infant daughter. If I never get in a car again it will be too soon.
Glad DC treated you guys well. We have some of the most random celebrity sightings. Jewel though – that is way up there for random.
Jen says
Oooo, I really want to do that with our pictures, there are so many different albums and loose photos scattered around our house, it would be quite the task!
As for singers, I was waiting tables at Chili’s one night and my manager told me I had one more after he had already told me I was done for the night… I walk up to the table, and there is Taylor Swift! I was probably so awkward trying to keep calm while getting their orders! The girl apparently loves fajitas! I so wanted to ask for an autograph, tell her my husband and I sing “Our Song” whenever it comes on, and just tell her how gorgeous she was! But, I refrained. Now I really wish I would have asked for an autograph! Oh well! One of the guys in the kitchen got fired that night because he was being all stalkerish and not doing his job!
YoungHouseLove says
No way! That’s a big one! So cool.
xo
s
Leanne Wight says
Loved this post, seemed like such a fun weekend! It made me smile. Last year when my husband and I were on an anniversary trip to Venice, we bumped into Alice Cooper! Super nice guy, he posed for pictures with us and introduced us to his wife. It was awesome!
Michele C. says
Love it – love the randomness of the post and those sconces. And I just might have to make a leaf wreath like that next year. I’m thinking a cardboard circle, ribbon, and silk/fake leaves with my glue gun. Done. Thanks for the inspiration!
YoungHouseLove says
Sounds cute! Send pics!
xo
s
Amanda says
The way you write — it kills me. I love reading posts like this. It feels like being inside my own ADD, quirky brain.
Super excited to see what you do with that chandelier! I’m guessing you’ll put it in your bedroom (and potentially move the paper one to… Clara’s big-girl room?). Who knows, it’s fun to guess!