You may have seen some of our fun on Instagram last weekend. We were both in New York City with our husbands to see Prince Igor at the New York Metropolitan Opera. I’d like to say that we are opera aficionados and we were well aware that this was the first time Prince Igor had been performed at the NY Met in 100 years, but to be honest, this was a first, for all of us! To attend an opera was on both of our bucket lists and seeing as my cousin, Maria Dolan is an opera singer and was performing in Prince Igor…and…seeing as the dates of the performance lined up with my birthday, well, we just couldn’t let this opportunity pass us by.

Maria Dolan

Our husbands agreed, but we must confess, we didn’t tell them until the week we were leaving that the opera was 4 hours long. Not that that would’ve been a deal breaker, because they love us AND we had already bought the tickets. Friends of ours joined us for dinner before hand at The Lincoln where we had an exceptional  meal, great conversation and superb service…and some of the best salmon roe I’ve ever tasted!

Our hostess at the restaurant knew we needed to be done in time to get to our seats at the opera house. “The opera waits for no one!” she said. Most of us finished dinner with a coffee (to help with the long night ahead) and left with plenty of time to spare. The New York Metropolitan is everything you think an opera house should be; ornate, grandiose, extravagant and beautiful. Chris Ann immediately recognized the painting on the wall as a piece by artist Marc Chagall.

We found our box seats and settled in. Devon and I had read the synopsis of Prince Igor on our ride up to New York. If you’re as curious as we were, you can read it HERE. My cousin told us afterwards, that we had chosen quite a first opera to cut our teeth on. She was impressed. She went on to say that most operas are 2 1/2 to 3 hours long. We did have bets as to which husband would be asleep first. (I’m not going to rat out who won.) The chandeliers raised and the lights dimmed.

The orchestra started playing, the music swelled, the curtain rose and for the next four hours, we were mesmerized by powerful, melodic, bold and sensual voices. The sets were awe inspiring and the people watching during our intermissions was fascinating. But the best part of the evening, was being with the people I love while watching someone I love, pursue her passion for all to see.

Baker Boy bribed me. He said, “Mom, if you take me to get my tregus  pierced, I’ll pay to have your nosed pierced.” Yup, he did. Yes, he wanted something for himself, a ride to the piercing/tattoo shop and he was willing to pay to make it happen. But, as a mama of 3 teenage boys, I like to think there is an unspoken need in between those lines.  He didn’t ask his dad or his brother (who drives), he asked me.

I know a lot of parents who are against piercings and tattoos. Many of whom I call friend. I have a very good friend who strongly disagrees with my stance on tattoos. She’s okay with them if they are not in the “No Zone”. The No Zone to her, is any place that can be seen wearing a short sleeve shirt and shorts. If there are tattoos under those garments, she doesn’t care how many her children get. I have a friend who will allow her son to get his ears pierced but will not allow him to gauge his ears. And I respect their boundaries. I get it.

Being from a predominately right brained family where life is expressed through the arts, my boundaries are different. I’m raising artists. Baker Boy is an honor roll student at an all arts high school, studying Stage Tech and Design. He’s a good kid with a kind heart. Drama Boy, a theater major in college, worked really hard through high school and went through some rough situations I’m not sure I would’ve survived. We have a good relationship. They talk to me, share stories about their friends, their girlfriends, trust me. I trust them.

I know they are not perfect, neither am I. But, if they invite me into their world, to spend time with them, I’m not quick to turn that down.

I went with Baker Boy to get his tregus pierced. We waited in the packed tattoo parlor for 3 hours. It was $20 Piercing Night. It was a bit of a meat market, moving customers in and out. I did have a few fleeting thoughts about the cleanliness of the equipment, wondering if sterilized products could be maintained under such busy conditions. As a business owner, I even calculated the numbers in my head wondering what $20 Piercing Night could mean for their business. But, while I waited, I was with B-Boy. We looked through tattoo books, talked about school, did a lot of people watching and eaves dropping and then when it was our turn, went into the back room together.

My boy sat down, pointed to the spot he wanted pierced, below his cartilage piercing and above his gauged ear lobe. He took that needle like a man. Then it was my turn. My teenager’s iphone was immediately turned onto video mode to document the moment. The needle went in, then the stud. As my eye watered up (it does naturally as the nerve is hit) my teenager laughed. I could tell he was proud of his mom.

As soon as Drama Boy turned 18, we made an appointment to get his first tattoo. He asked me to take him. I parked our 18 passenger Econoline van on the street and followed him up the stairs to the studio. I had Little Man with me which meant I had to wait in the waiting area with him. But, I had a clear view. I watched the needle paint his skin with the word “Perfect” in white ink.

The T was in black, a bit larger in the shape of a cross. He had earned that badge of honor. He struggled for four years in high school to fit in, to feel like he belonged. As he inched closer to adulthood, he began to feel comfortable in his own skin. Inspired by the Pink song, Perfect, he commemorated his triumph…and he asked me to be there.

What is your stance on teenage piercings and tattoos? I’d love to hear.

We were a little nervous. We’d never been to their home before and here they had invited us to celebrate their son’s 1st birthday with them. We pulled up and squeezed our Hyundai Scoop in behind a few other cars. There were a lot of people here. We unbuckled our son, popped the trunk and got our gift out of the back. Linking fingers, we walked up the sidewalk towards the house. We heard a lot of voices coming from the back yard. “Do we go to the front door or just walk around back?” I asked Devon. “Let’s just go around back,” he said.

We gingerly rounded the corner only to be greeted by the church pastor. “Hey! Welcome!” After a few introductions, Chris Ann came out from her kitchen door, walked over and thanked us for coming. We plopped our son on the blanket under the tree with Chris Ann’s son and preceded to make small talk with a group of people who obviously knew each other pretty well. We were the new kids on the block. “Yes, we just moved back from Colorado…No, we’re both from Maryland…We’ve visited the church a couple of times…Devon is training at a French restaurant in the kitchen. Yes, this is our first son.”

I don’t remember much more about that day, only to say, it still felt somehow right that we were there. Devon and Todd seemed to talk to each other pretty easily, our boys were the same age and Chris Ann and I had conversations yet to be had, lingering between the awkwardness of just having met.

After extending an invitation for Todd, Chris Ann and their son to join us the following week for our son’s 1st birthday, we left with friendship possibilities plowing us forward, to explore more.

READ PART 1 HERE.

This is the second part of our Friendship Story. You can read Part 1 HERE. We’ve had so many people ask us about it, we thought it was about time we began to write it out and share it. We’ve been friends for 18 years…there is so much to tell! Just to give you a glimpse, we lived in the same neighborhood while raising out first 7 (Kristin 4, Chris Ann 3) children. We sold both of our homes within a month of each other with Chris Ann’s family moving back to Minnesota and Kristin’s family traveling the world. We wanted a way to see each other, so a few years ago, we started a business. (And our plan is working!) Thanks for joining us on this journey! It will be fun to share with you how our friendship has grown throughout the years.

Colorado was behind us now. We had left our sanctuary, our beginnings as a married couple. He was just 19 and I was 22. We had married on a mountaintop and had our baby in a town where no one knew our past. Our little town of LaVeta only had 700 people in residence. LaVeta was the perfect stage for falling in love. We woke up every morning, facing the Spanish Peaks, the only mountain range in Colorado that ran east to west. It daily pointed it’s majestic finger to home. We would drive up a windy road, weaving in and out of the deep veins the mountain exposed, and some mornings a ram would bend it’s head and look down at us from the butte. Wild columbines gently swayed in the breeze that swept the valley as summer came into full bloom. We were alone to discover each other, to explore who we would become as a family. It was safe, nurturing and peaceful.

One day, while Devon was at work, the quietness began to fold in on me. I knew it was time to go home. He didn’t take much convincing. We packed up our Hyundai Scoop and hitched a small trailer to the back. We tucked our 1 month old in his car seat and headed back home, to Baltimore.

I had grown up babysitting a family with 8 kids. I was kind of like their big sister. They invited Devon and I to join them at church a few weeks after we moved back. Hand in hand, we walked into the elementary school building where the church was held. We were greeted by people wearing neon green t-shirts. They were friendly and welcoming and they pointed us to the nursery. We wandered down the hall and checked our 6 month old in. There was an adorable, bleach blond, round faced, brown eyed boy, about the same age sitting on a blanket looking quite content. We felt comfortable leaving our son on the blanket with his new friend.

After service a few people introduced themselves to us, but out of the corner of my eye, I saw a young couple, about our age, holding hands too. They confidently came up to us and introduced themselves. “Hi! I’m Todd and this is my wife, Chris Ann. We’re so glad you guys are here.” They went on to ask us about ourselves. Somehow in that few minute conversation, we spilled out life details, like the fact we were parents of a 6 month old boy and big life dreams, of wanting to own a coffee shop one day. The synergy was almost immediate as they shared back, their little blonde haired boy was in the nursery and they too had dreams about a coffee shop. The conversation was short, but somehow, every detail is seared in my memory.

We said our polite good byes. As Devon and I got into the car to head home, I said, “They seem nice. Maybe they could be our friends.”

This is the first part of our Friendship Story. We’ve had so many people ask us about it, we thought it was about time we began to write it out and share it. We’ve been friends for 18 years…there is so much to tell! Just to give you a glimpse, we lived in the same neighborhood while raising out first 7 (Kristin 4, Chris Ann 3) children. We sold both of our homes within a month of each other with Chris Ann’s family moving back to Minnesota and Kristin’s family traveling the world. We wanted a way to see each other, so a few years ago, we started a business. (And our plan is working!) Thanks for joining us on this journey! It will be fun to share with you how our friendship has grown throughout the years.

“My name is Kristin, and I’m a homeschool mom.” This is a phrase, 15 years ago, I never thought I’d say. Kinda like when I announced to my husband, “I’ll never drive a wood-grained paneled mini van.” You guessed it! That was the very, next car I drove. I ate my words.

Nine years ago, I embarked on a new adventure, the one of a homeschool mom. Our family sold our home, our belongings, packed it up and moved to Hawaii for a few months where we were training to serve abroad. I didn’t have a choice but to homeschool. Really, I was getting schooled, quickly! Our travels took us around the world and it didn’t take me long to realize my kids were learning from life experiences in ways classrooms and books would never be able to deliver. We studied about castles and knights, months before we knew we were headed to Ireland to explore old castle ruins. My oldest four kids were getting a real life education.

So, when Little Man came along, I knew from jump the value of real life experience learning. He just started kindergarten this year. A couple of weeks ago, I was approached by Medieval Times. They invited us to come and have a Medieval feast. I jumped at the chance! Little Man is right at that age where sword play and “good vs. bad” guys is the theme in every make believe game. He even has his action figures arranged in his room with the “good” guys on one side of the room and the “bad guys” on the other.

He had been begging me all last spring to take him to Medieval Times. I can’t begin to tell you how fun it was to tell him we had reservations! He did a little dance.

He got his crown and was quickly greeted by the falcon and his handler.

We sat down at our banquet table, ready for the show to begin.

And my husband and I watched the show through the eyes of our five year old.

He took in every knight, every sword, every battle move and fight stance. How do I know? Because he’s been recreating them almost every day since we visited.

The feast of roasted chicken and ribs,  filled us up, the servers in character made the evening more realistic and the show came to life for our Little Man. I think Medieval Times is a great place to take the whole family, but if you take kids between the ages of 5-10, it will inspire a love for learning through a real life experience!

Thank you Medieval Times for your hospitality and for kicking our homeschool, kindergarten year off right!

*I was invited along with my husband and son, to Medieval Times’ Baltimore Castle, as their guest. The opinions about the experience, however, is entirely our own.

I shared with you A Sofa Story and how our current sofa helped to create a home. We loved that sofa for a long time, but I must confess, the love is wearing thin. My kids wanted to put their two cents into the ring. So, we created a Sofa Confessional in our closet and let them rant.

*I am participating in Su Casa Furniture’s Test It, Blog It, Win It. I get to choose a sofa of my choice, let it live with me for a month, blog about it, try it out and if I’m chosen as the winner (based on creativity) I get to keep the sofa. If I’m not the winner, I can purchase the sofa for 1/2 off. 

There is nothing like have house guests that think to pack fresh, farm eggs from their chickens into their carry on bags, for you. Thank you Mike & Terrill for bringing such a thoughtful gift! What is one of the most thoughtful gifts you’ve ever received?

We were happy to be back in the States. We had just spent 6 months traveling abroad with 4 young kids under the age of 10.  We had backpacked the 2 year old all over China, taken our 9 year old to a Chinese clinic to be treated by a cigarette smoking doctor that we couldn’t understand, bathed children in a bucket in the Philippines heated with an electric (yes, electric!) heater

and eaten food unknown to most Americans.

It was a trip of a lifetime and the stories and friends we collected along the way, were priceless. When we landed back on US soil, we weren’t quite sure where we fit. We had sold our home and all of our belongings, thinking we wouldn’t be returning for some time. So, when we got back, a family took us in until we could figure out what to do next.

We knew we would need furniture so we began to look even before we knew where we’d live. The first piece we found was this sofa.

We got it at a discount furniture store for $299. For us it was a steal! Yes, it was just a “piece” of a sectional (notice cut in fabric where the other piece was to attach), but it was originally priced $1,200 and it was comfy. That was 8 years ago…and back then it wasn’t a trampoline, teenage lounge and crumb catcher.

This is what it looks like most days.

And about a month ago, we discovered the frame had broken  (it creaked when we sat on it) and it had been tearing up our new hardwood floors. Yikes!

I have to admit, I was a little sad.  This sofa represented us finding our place again. It was the place we all crammed onto on Friday nights for family “pizza movie nights”. It was the place new friends and old sunk themselves into with a hot cup of coffee to linger the night away. It was the place our dog Lexy had tried to make her own. (I had to put a stop to that! But, I’ll save it for another day. I’m still working out some forgiveness towards her.) My husband and I had snuggled on it, spent countless evenings folding mountains of laundry on it and curled up with a good book, while wrapped in a blanket.

After all of our travels, it represented coming home.

I began to look for a new one, meanwhile stuffing a rag under the broken end of the sofa so as to minimize the damage to the floors.

There were a few criteria we were looking for in a sofa:

1. It had to fit the space. My living room offers up some challenges.

2. The sofa had to be able to maximize the seating. There are 7 of us and our current sofa allows for only four of us. The other three lounge on the floor or draped over a chair. It would be great to get a few more of us on the sofa.

3. Seeing as we have 5 kids and a dog, it has to be stain resistant and (preferably, be slipped covered so I can throw covers in my washing machine.)

4. It has to be beautiful. It has to make me happy every time I look at it. And if I had my first choice, it would be covered in linen. But, I know that’s probably one of the least practical choices….so…we’ll see.

And then I received an invite to participate in Test It, Blog It, Win It at Su Casa Furniture in Baltimore, Maryland.

I felt like I was a perfect participant for this contest. I had a real need. And firm ideas of what I was looking for in a sofa. So, I applied…and they accepted me!! Basically the deal is, I have to go into their store as a real customer. I have to go through the process of picking out a sofa, looking at fabrics and options, asking my regular questions and then when I go to purchase, let the salesperson know, I’m one of the bloggers. My sofa will be delivered to me in 8-10 weeks, stay in my home for 1 month. During the process I have to blog about my experience. If my posts are the most creative, I could be chosen to keep the sofa for free. If I’m not chosen, I have the option to buy it for half the price.

I’d love for you to follow me on the journey as I share with you A Sofa Story. 

What do you look for in the perfect sofa?

I just wanted to share with you a treasure I just received…Sibella Court’s Nomad….A global approach to interior style. Have you ever received a book that you just don’t want to end? You digest a page a day, let the words sink in, the images take hold in your mind…you savor, taste and try out how they land in your space. I’m only a few pages (10 to be exact) into this book, but each page I’ve read has delivered pure inspiration.

This morning I’m sinking my creative juices into Siblella Court’s “About Me” page:

I am
I am
A treasure hunter,
Beachcomber, and bowerbird
I am a designer of hardware, among other things.
I create spaces and interiors.
I talk in pairs and write with ambersands:
bits and bobs, haberdashery & hardware
Travelers & merchants.
I am a namer of paints.
I am a gypsy, a globetrotter and explorer, but love to come home.
I am lo-fi.

I think I would add to her description:

I am a sharer of my trinkets
Giver
I keep my hands open, not clasped to exchange and receive

She reveals and pulls back the curtain on her favorite places and jaunts.  She’s not selfish hoarding her ideas, but a true artist that shares what she’s discovered so the rest of us can experience life seen through her eyes.

She’s a guide and tells the reader how to use her book, “To be able to share your laughs and travel frustrations (which are often funnier) in a ‘remember that’ kind of way is a clever, emotive way to treat your interior and be surrounded by the things you love. It’s about your stories reflecting your life.”

Stop by Society Inc. to learn a bit more about Sibella. I think you’ll like her…and share with us your favorite global travels. Did you bring a treasure back from a trip that you have used to decorate your home?