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.
Tiffany says
I’ve got 2 random musician encounters. The first being Michael Buble walking passed my husband and I. He was all alone and it was close to midnight.
The 2nd (and much cooler) was seeing Paul McCartney at Heathrow airport. This terminal was completely deserted and there he was walking (very quickly). Being a huge Beatles fan all I could do was just stare, pretty sure my mouth was awkwardly wide open too.
YoungHouseLove says
I. Would. Die.
And then I would call my dad and he would die.
Amazing!
xo
s
Susan says
We are having awesome fall weather out in the NW so we are headed out to the Oregon coast this weekend.
We ended up at a small little Italian resturant with Sean Connery a number of years ago. It was especially cool because where I was sitting I could gawk without being too obvious. Gold finger….
YoungHouseLove says
See, now if that were me I’d have to show him my best Sean Connery impersonation and then die of embarrassment. What’s with me trying to “be” whoever I see?
xo
s
Alice says
ohh! that chandelier is from home depot! it’s discontinued now but it’s definitely ranked as one of the best store bought finds!
EmilyThompson says
I have to join in and say this kind of post where $herdog is out in full force is so so awesome. It makes me feel more normal to know other people’s brains work this way too. :) I feel like John hasn’t ever let loose all of his full weirdness in a post yet. John, we’re waiting.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I think he’d like you to believe he’s just not as weird as me… but he is! I’ll have to get him out in full effect someday…
xo
s
Caitlin says
I will now have Jewel who will save my soul stuck in my head for the entirely of the weekend :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah! Lah—di—-dahhh!
xo
s
Allyn says
I love thinking of what ifs, and all the little steps we take that mean a lot in the long run. I mean seriously, my husband grew up all over Asia. I grew up in the same house all my life in Memphis. Yet somehow we both moved to the same town outside of Nashville the same year and met just a few months later.
Dang, now I’ve got dirt in my eye too…
Clara is getting so tall! Cutie pie!
YoungHouseLove says
Isn’t it amazing how things work out? Gives me chills sometimes.
xo
s
Laura B says
I’m too lazy to read all the previous comments to see if anyone has already said this but I love that kids all think every clown fish is Nemo and every whatever kind of fish Dori is is Dori! I volunteer at the Georgia Aquarium and in the Tropical Diver gallery, every time a new kid walks in, they all say, “it’s dori” and are so excited. It makes me happy! My friend who runs a day care takes the kids there once a year and (jokingly) planned to mess with the kids by telling them to find the “real” Dori by looking for her freckles.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s so funny!!
xo
s
Jennifer says
The Fall Leaf Wreath kit is from Paper Source, as are most of the papers that were used to wrap the books (at least, I’m assuming that’s where she got them) – I can verify because I work there. ;)
Yay decorating with paper!
YoungHouseLove says
So pretty! Thanks for the confirmation Jennifer!
xo
s
Karen says
Oh yes, I have seen a famous singer while walking around town… and I DID sing his song to him! He even danced with me!
I guess that I should mention that I was about 7, the town was Orlando and the famous singer was Baloo from the Jungle Book, but it was still pretty thrilling!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahhah! Thrilling!
xo
s
Kate says
I bumped into THE Dave Matthews at the Seattle Ikea once. Random! I went up and chatted with him for a minute, but FOOLISHLY forgot I had a camera in my purse and did not get a photo :( *sniffle*
YoungHouseLove says
Aw man!!
xo
s
Megan says
I noticed on the top shelf of the Pottery Barn/Craigslist book rack there are two Recordable Storybooks from Hallmark (and I should know, because I edited one of them!). Love those books, thanks for (sort of) featuring my company’s product!
YoungHouseLove says
So funny!!!
xo
s
Ashleigh says
So fun to see places that my husband and I frequented often. Gravely Point is a local secret and we often stopped there after dinner in Old Towne. I LOVE that place and the feeling that you can almost touch the planes. We used to live in Springfield (about 20 miles outside DC). We love to come back & visit. Funny thing– we WERE THERE THAT WEEKEND TOO! Wish we had run into you. We were there for the National Book Festival (where Jewel was signing her books).
YoungHouseLove says
No way! Bummer we didn’t see you!
xo
s
Ellen says
Did you know that Jewel was part of the Kilcher Family from “Alaska the Last Frontier?”
YoungHouseLove says
Never knew that!
xo
s
Kate @ Read Make Do says
DUDE, Jewel is a real gem of a person (pun pun pun). Did you ever see her Funny or Die karaoke vid she did? Just cements that she’s the bomb.
Also, weird posts are the best. Weird posts FTW. <3
YoungHouseLove says
Yes! Someone shared that link and it was hilarious!
xo
s
Jamie says
YOU WERE HERE!!!??? I live in Arlington and run/bike through Gravely Point often…I would have done a double take and then probably some version of a weird/ugly/giddy “hello and I love you” had I come across you guys here. Can’t believe it!
I need to start preparing for the book tour… Must. Act Normal. So excited for you guys btw!!
ps. sorry for weirdness :)
YoungHouseLove says
Hahah!
xo
s
Lindsy says
What a great post! I have definitely packed the drill into the car before. My husband and I regularly stay overnight with our friends (our “couple BFF”) in nearby Chicago. They aren’t very fast-moving in the DIY dept., so there were still no blinds/window treatments up months after moving into their place. The room my husband and I slept in would get hit with blindingly hot sun from dawn on. It didn’t take very many overnights for us to beg them to please pick out some blinds and we would happily install them!
Melissa says
Best Friday post ever! Love the smorgasbord of it all. Did you see the mini replacement Mr. Ceramic Dog? Tagged you in an instagram (joemimi).
YoungHouseLove says
LOVE HIM!
xo,
s
Deborah says
My musician suprise was of Alecia Keyes at a Barnes and Noble while visiting my daughter in Chicago…BAM!!! AND THERE SHE WAS….loved it!
YoungHouseLove says
Hahaha!
xo
s
Meredith Jones says
looks like a fab time! Just in time for another weekend to look forward to!
One time in Disneyland we were sitting on the curb waiting for a parade to start, and Travis Barker (famous Blink 182 drummer) and his kids and (ex) wife walked past us. I didn’t realized until they were a little ways away. I was like WWHUUUUUT! Why is he with his EX WIFE in Disneyland?!?! lol… well duh they were with their kids…. This was not that long after his plane crash, and I was REALLY mad I didn’t get to see him closer to see if he had any scars…
YoungHouseLove says
Ahhhh! I’m obsessed with Shana and Travis. That is amazing. I want them to be in love again. I used to watch that show… what was it called? Meet The Barkers?
xo
s
Lauren says
Don’t know if anyone has mentioned this in the past 399 comments, but there is a similar kit, if not that exact one at PaperSource. They have all kinds of wreaths. Flowers, leaves, owls, etc
YoungHouseLove says
Oh yes, that’s the one!
xo
s
Lauren@FilingJointly says
My husband says I am a celebrity magnet. For some reason everywhere I go I see someone famous. Like we went to Nashville and Boom, Kirsten Dunst, walking down the street. We’ve been out to breakfast and sat one table over from Demi & Ashton & Bruce & kids as well as George Lucas another time. Queen Latifah, emerging from her hotel. Shannon Elizabeth at a bar. Kelsey Grammar walking his dog. Matthew Broderick in NYC. Plus I shared a revolving door with Bob Sagat once, so that was awesome.
It probably helps that I live in a big city (Chicago). I have yet to meet Justin Timberlake and have him fall in love with me and write a song about me but at this point it’s bound to happen right?
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, it’s only a matter of time.
xo
s
Kacey says
I worked at J.Crew and Adidas in Georgetown after college before I decided what I wanted to do for a career and I had numerous celebrity sightings there, to include George Stephanopoulos and Stockard Channing. But in case you are a Terminator fan or Washington Wizards fan, I learned a couple interesting facts. I found out that Arnold Schwarzeneger (however you spell that), Maria Shriver and fam used to visit family every Thanksgiving and they were J.Crew fans. I was definitely surprised to look up one day to the Terminator in my face and even more surprised that I wasn’t looking that far up (I’m only 5’5″). I don’t know if they still visit since I believe they were visiting Maria’s mother Eunice Kennedy Shriver who has since passed away. As for the Washington Wizards, some of them had sponsorships with Adidas and so would come into the store and receive anything they wanted for free. Gilbert Arenas and Jerry Stackhouse were the big names who would come in while I was there. Laila Ali also had an Adidas sponsorship at the time.
YoungHouseLove says
Love all these stories guys!
xo
s
Trina says
When we were in Santa Barbara we were sitting on a random bench when Will Smith walked by with Jada. It was funny because as they walked down the sidewalk there was a wave of people stopping to figure out if Will Smith really just walked past them.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- it must be so weird to be someone who makes a wave of people look back at you. Hilarious! Will Smith makes people do the wave.
xo
s
Kimberly says
Has anyone mentioned the wreath might be from Paper Source? It looks super familiar :)
YoungHouseLove says
Yes, it sounds like it’s definitely from there! Thanks for all the tips everyone!
xo
s
Nelle says
Love the randomness of is post! ;)
Jessica G says
There may have been a million of these comments, but that photo of you 3 on the grass? Seriously, so beautiful. Clara is just stunning there with her genuinely happy smiling face. Have a fabulous weekend!
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks Jessica!
xo
s
mp says
Sherry, this is the funniest and best post you’ve ever written.
YoungHouseLove says
Aw thanks MP!
xo
s
Jennifer says
This is one of my favorite posts that I’ve read on here! I’m into the randoms… perhaps you should make them a regular thing!
Tyra says
Love the ‘143’ in the window!!
Rebe says
Well my run-ins with the famous are few and far between, though I did get to shake President Bill Clinton’s hand once.
A better story though is that Arnold Schwarzenegger once called my grandma’s house looking for my Dad. I promise we are not people who know famous people but my Dad’s boss was on a committee for something important w/ Arnold(I have no idea what) and my Dad was his boss’s right hand/always knew how to reach the boss. Anyway, he called my grandparents house during a big family get together. As those things go, someone answered the phone and it was one of those, “Hi is Chris there?” “yeah let me go get him, can I ask who’s calling” “Arnold Schwarzenegger” “okay” wait…WHAT?! :-)
YoungHouseLove says
hahhahhhaha!
xo
s
Megan B says
Not sure if someone asked this already but where did Cat get her albums from! I love their simplicity!
YoungHouseLove says
She’s away on a trip right now but I’ve asked her so I hopefully will be in the know when she returns.
xo
s
Joanna Banana says
If you are ever in the DC area again go to Eastern Market on Saturday. Outdoor crafty flea market. It’s a good time. We were there last weekend visiting my sister.
YoungHouseLove says
We’ve been! Granted it’s been a few years, but we loved it. We even posted about it: https://www.younghouselove.com/2008/11/finding-love-at-the-flea-market/ This is a good reminder to try to go back though.
-John
Ashley C says
I love that you take Burger everywhere! Where did he stay/what did you do with him while you guys were at the “no pups allowed” places?
YoungHouseLove says
On our honeymoon he stayed back in the hotel when we had to do non-dog friendly things and sort of the same thing in DC – he just hung back at Cat and Travis’ house.
-John
Gracie says
Ahh, if you saw Jewel signing her book, you just missed her yodeling at her tent talk! It was awesome. I love the National Book Festival, one of my favorite DC events.
YoungHouseLove says
Boo! Book Festival Fail on our part!
-John
Megan says
The DIY and decorating tutorials are why I read your blog.
Posts like this are why I love it!
karen says
“Have you ever seen a famous singer while out on a walk…????”
YES!! In August I was at a Marine Land and saw my ALL TIME FAVOURITE SINGER!!! She was totally in cognito! I was waiting with my 2 year old as the others whet on the ride…and i heard this voice…was intrigued..then heard her talk to her daughter …she said her name Dakota….then my heart skipped a-bit…then looked up at her face and saw her chin from under her large floppy hat…her beautiful distinct chin….then my stomach went upside down…and thought “could it be!?!?!” Then i saw a tatooo on her arm that said Molly (other daughter)…and that’s when i almost passed out!!! It was Dolores O’Riordan from The Cranberries!!! I walked up to her in a daze and said hi….at that point i was an unfit mother because NOTHING could take my attention away from her. dudes….she’s my elvis and i friggen found her!!!
Sandi says
1. Sounds like a fun weekend! We have been wanting to go to DC, but for us it would be a cross-country adventure! One day…
2. Meandering posts are awesome.
3. My bestie and I spotted Shakira at Disneyland. Granted, it seems like every celebrity known to man is spotted there, but in my 25+ trips, she’s the first one I’ve actually seen. And no, as much as I wanted to sing “Hips Don’t Lie,” I refrained :)
Crystal @ 29 Rue House says
I love that chandelier too! And I also love the family trips. All the DIY is so much fun but I just love love love going out as a family and having fun together!
Veronica says
I loved the randomness of this post. It was awesome. My husband and I are temporarily living in Jerusalem so I get my DIY fix from you since I can’t DIY anything in my apartment. I am saving up fabulous ideas for when we move back Stateside next year.
Shanda says
Please, please, please don’t alter the chandy in any way! When you said “it’s original,” I immediately prayed to the ORB gods that when you do come into possession of it, they would sway you to put down the spray paint and slowly walk away. I’m sorry. I’m an architectural historian, and I have a tendency to be protective of anything “original” to an old house (the photos in the post just kind of had an old house vibe). I am very glad that it will go to a good home! I’m with you on the brick – glam and brick is a cool combo!
YoungHouseLove says
Not to worry- I love it all sparkly.
xo
s
Jess says
Oh snap! super random jewel story: she used to babysit my husband when he was little! They are from the same small town in Alaska. Just a 6 degrees of jewel connection. NO BIG DEAL! Haha
YoungHouseLove says
No way!!!!
xo,
s
Susan says
Ok you MUST get more details on Cat’s photo albums. What kind, where did she buy them? I’ve got a whole 38 year marriage and family to put into albums. I need direction.
YoungHouseLove says
Will do! I’ve asked and will report back as soon as she gets back to me (she’s on a trip right now).
xo
s
Thomas Sanfilippo says
Jewel is looking sweet as always. Thanks for her pic.
Krystal says
I’m pretty sure every aquarium is required to have a Nemo tank. haha We recently went to San Francisco and went to 2 different aquariums (definitely go to Monterey Bay Aquarium if you ever find yourself there!), and BOTH had Finding Nemo tanks! lol
Kate says
I haven’t had a wait a “minute isn’t that ____” moment for a famous person, but I have had a similar moment when friends/relatives pin things that I’ve seen before on your blog after several years of following! I guess that means you guys are famous in the diy world!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I don’t know if that means that. Haha.
xo
s
Elizabeth @Food Ramblings says
love the chandelier– and of course sleeping burger and clara!
Joy says
Hi! I have been wanting to go old school and put actual photos in actual albums like your friends and I adore the journal style of those albums. Any idea where they got them?!?
YoungHouseLove says
I’ve asked Cat for that info. She’s traveling right now but here’s hoping I hear back soon!
xo
s
Ellie says
I just wanted to write a quick note to say that I recently found you guys via Pinterest and have been hooked ever since. Seriously, I spent an hour and a half reading your posts/ideas/pictures yesterday alone. I have to stop the madness! My husband has been teasing me because I’ve been talking about y’all like I know you since I’ve been reading so many of your ideas. Anyway, I thought you would like to know. Excellent job on the website and on being generally funny and witty! :)
YoungHouseLove says
Aw, you’re so sweet! Thanks Ellie!
xo
s
kelly says
Love the Craig and his list too! I don’t think I can pay full price again!
Claudia says
I’ve gotta say…this has been one of the best posts in terms of writing style! Little snippets of different aspects of your lives, not “wordy” but full of info and fun that kept me reading on without feeling “tired” or “bored” (sorry, keepin’ it real :P)…all around awesome! Lpoking forward to the release of your book! Congrats! Any chance you want to gift (including shipping :P) who lives halfway around the world in Sydney, Australia?? Just thought I’d ask, hehe!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha! We’re definitely going to be doing some book giveaways!
xo
s