a beautiful home ~ and a quiet Mother's Day

 Yesterday afternoon I drove into Chicago to attend my VFF's (Very First Friend ~ we met when were were barely 4 years old!) girlfriend's dinner. I left my house a little early so that I could do some shopping and sight-seeing in the city, but traffic going down there was worse than anticipated, so I didn't end up with much time to look around. Driving down Clark St. in this certain section of Chicago, I saw so many stores that I would've loved to browse in. I found a parking space, got out of my car, and it was like my head was on a swivel. So many cool looking stores and cafes on corners and good smells coming out of restaurants. This area is definitely on my day trip list. I only had time to go into one store - a huge resale shop where I found some great treasures! I'll save that for another post.

In the meantime, I wanted to share some of my friend's house with you. I've talked about Cin on my blog before and showed some photos of her house, but each time I visit there are different vignettes depending on the season. I love her house. It's warm, inviting, beautiful and charming. Just like she is. By the way, Cin is a professional poet. If you're interested in taking a look at her web site and what she does, click here.

 How I would love to have windows like this in my house! Look closely at the arrangement on the buffet. Cin incorporated her son's Lego creations into the vignette. :-)

The table is beautifully set for our dinner. More details in this room I love: the original light fixture and the built-in china cabinet (little bit showing on the left).

Part of the charming kitchen. There's a chalkboard wall to the right with the door to the basement and then a recessed nook where the fridge is.

Open shelving on the kitchen wall...

Standing in the kitchen looking the other way... great space for Cin's little guy to play while she's preparing a meal. I love the brick floor and the wood ceiling. 

 

It was a quiet day here for Mother's Day. Brian doesn't cook, so instead of making me breakfast, he went to Panera to get me an egg souffle. He texted me to let me know the line was out the door! Poor guy waited in that long line only to find out that the souffles were all gone. He was off to work a couple of hours after that. Tim had to work today too, so the day was spent by myself. It was cold and rainy and just generally yucky today, so I took a long, hot bath, did some yoga, read a little bit, did housework and puttered and organized, then treated myself to Chinese food for dinner. Haven't had that in ages. It was really good, but my tummy felt yucky afterwards. I'm not used to eating heavy, greasy food. After my stomach was settled a bit, I took a walk around my neighborhood for some fresh air and exercise. I also called my mama to wish her a Happy Mother's Day and to have a chat. We'll be seeing her in person later this week.

Mother's Day is hard for a lot of people...for those who have lost a child, such as myself; or have lost their mom; or for those who have lost their wife/mother of their children. A male friend of mine who lost his 36-year old wife about eight years ago to cancer, posted on Facebook yesterday that he hates Mother's Day. When his wife died, she left behind their six small children. On top of it, he also lost his mother to suicide many years ago. So I can totally understand why he feels the way he does. If you're so inclined, click here to read a wonderful article ~ "For Those Who Hurt on Mother's Day".

My beautiful boys...Philip Thomas (forever 21...you can read my dedication to Phil at the top of my page) and Timothy David.