Red Bluff Fair 2013

We went up to red Bluff the last weekend in September for the FAIR! My favorite weekend of all time :) and for once we didn't have a newborn or pregnant belly in tow :) We stayed at the 4H/FFA auction from 9am to 4pm and bought four hogs to have processed into sausage. We take this "know where your food comes from" thing seriously at Bumble! It took a lot of due diligence to talk to hog leaders and find out which pigs had never had hormones and were 100% sure fed all natural grain. The girls really got into it asking the kids about their pigs in the line up and running to tell us the stats. Francie even did her own bidding n the last ones!

Loaded up 5 kids deep - cousin Clara rode with us too!

Stop at FreeBird Burrito in Vacaville- rice and beans never disappoints

driving up - we saw smoke from far away and were shocked to find Hay Kingdom burning to the ground! Well I was shocked, Heff called it from 40 miles away!

Dinner at Oma's!

AHhhhhhh, Red Bluff. :) Oma's house is like a sanctuary!

Right on the swing - and JJ's already half naked of course

Saturday morning cousin wake up at Oma's - the best

Sprinty loaded up with 12 to go to the Fair!

Cousins

Let's do this

Corn dog pit stop

yum

tiny animal petting zoo

getting a good look at the pigs and 4H kids before they went in

Tessa hanging in there

cuties and corn on the cob

nothing healthy here - slushies (had to give um a sugar high to hang in there til 4pm!)

the girls carting around our buyers baskets and sneaking out candy

Uncle Mark took his crowd home half way through and came back for us in the Sprinter - haha at the sign Uncle Mark :)

little crowns

swingin

crazies getting dirty

Pinata time

Go Maisie Go

love these cousins!

Candy trading

lots of kids- and lots of large cars in this family

and driving home we made it 2.2 miles before we had a big time PUKER! poor tess. and poor Sprinter! :)

Dear Francie,

Dear Francie,

On your last night of being FIVE - I wanted to write you a note. Your Dad and I can't believe you will be a SIX year old tomorrow. We are so proud of what a smart, kind, sweet, thoughtful big girl you have become.

Your favorite saying is "Where there is a will there is a way!" (mine too :)

Your favorite food is: pasta and fruit, and anything Dad cooks on the BBQ. maybe popsicles sometimes too.

You area an expert swimmer and can go two lengths of the pool under water. You can stay in the water all day and when I retold you the story of being in my belly breech/upside down when you were due you said "that was because I like being in water so much!"

You are very sweet with all three of your sisters. You carry Tiny on your hip like a pro. You take extra good care of your little buddy JJ, making sure she has her shoes on and helping her learn how to do things. You always include Maisie, even when playing with new friends and you two are so cute together - I hope you will always be best friends!

You teach them all you know - and like to remind me that being the OLDEST girl is your favorite position (just like Mom and Jannie!) but lots of work!

You are very proud of all you have learned and you work hard to keep learning new things. You learned how to read this summer and nothing stops you - you pretty much taught yourself (with some help from the hundreds of books Dad never tires from reading to you at night) and now you read signs, menus, books to your sisters and chapter books for yourself. It's so cool to see your eyes opened up to this whole new world! You are a math whiz, counting by 5s and 10s and doing double digit addition in your head and on paper. You quizzed ME the other day and said "Mom, what is 60 plus 60?" and when I answered "120" you said "Ahhh! Impressive!" thanks France :)

You love to do art, color, draw, create and make new things. You are very creative and also a thinker. I can't wait to see the great things you will do :) You already do so many!

You love rainbows as much as I do! You also LOVE older girls and being around them - especially your older cousins Kate and Ellie (and all of your cousins!)

and cousin Ella too!

You love the outdoors and all the things your Dad can teach you about camping, archery, fishing, hunting, raising animals and being an adventurer.

and you love to dance, practice gymnastics (you do a great headstand!) and you are wokring on a cartwheel.. but what I especially love is that somehow Maisie has perfected a cartwheel and you are the first to say "Now that Maisie is a cartwheel EXPERT!" You are proud of your strengths but always proud of others too.

You are hoping for a real gear bike for your birthday from mom and dad, and ice skates from Jannie and Grampa. Jannie is a shoe-in but we'll see what Mom and Dad come up with :)

You chose a lunch date at a fancy restaurant with Mom and Dad for your birthday tomorrow. ANywhere fancy and "Italiano!" you suggested! We can't wait :)

Happy SIXTH BIRTHDAY my big girl! We love you! xoxo, Mom (and Dad :)

Scarlett's Baptism

Scarlett was baptized at Nativity church - we all went to celebrate (except Brian who was on his Alaska hunting trip) and had a great time. We tried to sneak Tess' head under the holy water - we have yet to baptize her!! But it was a beautiful day to celebrate our little buddy Scarlett James.

Emmy and Tiny!

we always warn Jannie about the "cheeese" face - ;)

I rushed out of the house with all four dressed in their Sunday best pretty proud of myself we got there on time - until I noticed Maisie's zipper was broken and her dress was wide open in church! hair bow saved the day

cute godfather Uncle Jerry

she's a Catholic!

big girls after church with Cousin Ella - she is so sweet with them!

and throw Tiny in the mix

Tainted LOVE!

We rocked out with TAINTED LOVE two weeks ago in Downtown Los Altos at Outer Space gallery - it was awesome!!

ready to rock - and testing some awesome cocktails!

JJ solo time - warming up

end of every song - splits for the win!

Tiny dancer and her sweet buddy

our neighbor girls showed up at 9:30pm - late night rockers

we were all dancing so long we were sweaty and had no voice left - but it was so much fun!

Rosebowl Flea Market

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Alicia, Marisa and I Sprintered (yes, it's a verb :) down to Pasadena this weekend to scavenge the Pasadena Flea Market! We left early Saturday morning and drove down 101 to the Langham hotel - just in time to enjoy sidecards and the sunset! Then up EARLY Sunday morning to shop til we dropped. It was 100 degrees and PACKED! We didn't love this flea market as much as Canton Texas (could never get any better!!) or our home turf Alameda Antique Fair. Rosebowl was not well organized so it was hard to stick to a path of travel and there were lots of grouchy people - maybe didn't help we had our GIANT cart going down small isles collecting our goods!

And to top it all off it was Marisa's birthday!! Happy Bday!

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we walked all over the property to find the last inches of sun

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and we found sidecars on the terrace bar - cheers OJannie!

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Early morning arrival!

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We bungeed out carts together - it was awesome. and yes that's an industrial launry cart!!

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what? We're pickers!

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The saddest moment of the day - realizing we MISSED this white peacock taxidermy!! But we made BFF's with it's new owner. Love the flea market culture! (just better in NorCal and Texas than LA!)

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and our final round we couldn't leave 400 year old St Francis behind. We love him even with his missing fingers (No, saints do not flip the bird)

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Back to the hotel to crash- Juicy pants, club level snacks and cocktails and BAD TV! heff asked why the heck weren't we going out on the town... TOO TIRED!! And when 3 moms leave 8 kids at home, THIS is vacation.

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surprise evening entertainment from our balcony. An intense Persian wedding, complete with Cinderella carriage and a 3 hour set up (guests dressed and waiting for three hours)

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Monday morning heading home - love you Sprinter!

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Somebody's gotta do it

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Thanks for another fun scouting and scavenging adventure A & M!

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I was pretty excited to come home to my stinkers... and my husband for taking such good care of them (he took all four to Target on a Saturday - he's nuts!)

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Great Aunt Marge and The Bradys

Last Friday we had an afternoon we had a visit with the Bradys at our house! Aunt Marge is so cute - she's going to be 90 soon and is still so active and looks beautiful. Molly and her kids were up from SoCal and Beth brought her new baby Emily. Brady was a good sport as the only boy in the bunch! We had fun catching up, toured around downtown Los Altos and let the kids run wild in the creek.

Em and Em with the babies!

Marge and the Baby Girls

Creek play

Francie's got the one arm hold down pat :)

Maisie getting some baby lovin

Aunt Marge has a special place in her heart for Little Maisie - they have the same name! (Marjorie Sheehy) and Marge says Maisie looks just like her siblings

Marge and all the kids in the Sheehy third generation

Francie and Brady - the big kids

Emmy and Triple Trouble!!!

We love you Aunt Marge!

Black Butte Family Reunion 2013

We had a blast in Black Butte Oregon with allll the Heffs! Recap by iPhone photos...

First day walk to the fields for Olympics Field Day

competitors ready!

team purple (Tess was a huge help ;)

and after Olympics - a group swim! 7 uncles and 26 kids in the pool

and talent show preparations - I was so proud of the big girls who took the lead and practiced by themselves all week

Tess my little Kangaroo and I checking on their progress one night :)

and Saturday Annual In-laws versus Out-laws softball game!

Opa Bob has a slide/bounce house he sets up between the houses - somehow after 4 years it's still standing

Ticket to Ride with Oma

Sweet Maggie was such a big help with Tess and by the end of the week Tess was jumping in her arms!

Dinner Sunday night at Pat and Tricia's cabin on the golf course - lots of family pic opportunities! Here are Oma and Opa with all 15 grandkids. Love all the expressions on this shot!

after dinner golf course play (sorry to the sand pit)

Talent show 2013!! The kids were so good! We had joke tellers, songs, card tricks, musical instrument playing, poems and a surprise skit by the adults too :)

iPhone family photo! (most of the BBR pics this year were iPhone - I am just going to own in and admit I am much preferring these lesser quality but REAL LIFE shots!! My big camera comes out occasionally, but I love what I can capture with my pocket cam :)

Tuesday morning horseback ride. DAD took them! what a guy

General store ice cream pop and chips stop

and then an afternoon trip into Bend to check out a barnwood supplier for The Alley - JJ approved (what is this pose)

lunch at Worthy Brewery - my cute husband! (kids were running around roughshot on the grass - it was a very relaxing family lunch!)

Wednesday Dad took these stinkers fishing!

fiesty one! love their faces

cleaning the fish at home

Craig and Andrea made a cool puppet show theater and did a show for the kids - they were into it

sleepy baby heading home - with toys piled on her by big sis

Drive to Black Butte

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We had another succesful Family Reunion in Black Butter Oregon the last week in July! We left Los Altos Thursday afternoon and drove up to Red Bluff to meet the crowd at thehalf way point for an overnight - then took off on I-5 headed to Oregon early the next morning! 12 hours on the road total -but half of the famly vacation is the forced family fun in the car!

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sleepy JJ in the truck - only time we really get to talk without her noisy chatter!

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pit stop diaper change

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overnight in Red Bluff with cousins... 2/3 the way there!

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Dad spoils them with gas station burritos and corn dogs for breakfast. ummmmmm.

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ordering Makery stuff on my drive - these awesome 3fish prints we sell now - very fitting these are the states we have!

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arrival!

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Finally... A Sprinter!!

I have the best husband EVER! I was away overnight for a friend's birthday celebration and I came home to THIS in front of the house. EEEEEKKKK!!! I've wanted a Sprinter forever. It's a total Dugger style people mover (12 seater!) and bare bones basic, hose-it-out inside.... and I LOVE IT! We finally decided it was a warranted purchase to help with business stuff and flea market shopping, and Heff surprised me for our 7th anniversary present :) I am soooo excited! Going to put some good business logo car wraps on this thing and might never drive my Suburban again!!! THANKS HEFF!!!

The Botanist

The Botanist is the newest addition to The H & H :) (and for a good long while - hopefully the last new addition!!) Marisa Lyssand is the official "Botanist" and has such an amazing eye for all things flowers and garden. She and her sister Alicia, who is Director of The Makery, have been helping me with a bunch of projects around work and home. Our little town flower shop just went out of business and a space opened up - so we put our heads together and came up with The Botanist!

It's a beautiful store for all things floral and home... succulents, air plants, orchids, cut flowers that are local and seasonal and lots of awesome one-of-a-kind flea market and vintage finds. We've been scouring the fleas for months and will continue to do it to keep our stock ready for buying! Come check us out at 363 State Street in Downtown Los Altos.

Arrangements - small to large for $45-150

Photo of The Week Project Update!

A little update on the Photo a Week project to document Tess' year one! We are still going strong at week 44, trying to have a little fun with weeks that we travel or fall on a holiday :) Full photo project here

44 weeks - how Tessa feels about a 12 hour road trip

43 weeks - Oregon Family Reunion! My little hipster :)

42 weeks - just looking cute

41 weeks - Happy 4th of July

40 weeks - chewing on those thumbs getting more teeth! (she has 5 now)

39 weeks - after we caught a baby rattlesnake in Red Bluff!

and the rest of 'um here

A Land of Nod Shoot!

It's no secret I LOVE Land of Nod and everything they do. The catologue is like candy! When we moved into this house - I knew I wanted the girls' rooms and spaces to be bright and cheerful and full of toys that would stand the test of time (as in four little girls who play tough)

Over the past few years, I have stocked the playrooms at PLAY and Bumble with Land of Nod adorableness and I had so much fun picking pieces and accessories to fit our "new" old home with lots of character... and COLOR!

Then one day... my new friends from Land of Nod CAME OVER TO OUR HOUSE! I was so thrilled to met the people behind the genius. I had sent them some photos of my girls' rooms (aka land-of-nod-obsession) and they wrote me back and asked if they could do a feature in "real families || real kids" - ummmm... YES! So we picked two days in April and had so much fun sprucing up the rooms even more and sharing creativity. They added a bunch of touches I never would have thought of and really completed the rooms.

They even raided my closets to pick outfits for everyone- my sister was thankful someone else brought some fashion sense to the table :) It was a really relaxed, easy shoot and we got some family photo opportunities too, pretty rare these days.

First was the girls' bedroom. We wanted the three oldest to share a room as long as they can and it was a perfect fit for three Jenny Lind twin beds and sweet night stands in between. We mixed up the bedding in yellow, teal and purple on each bed and the pink chevron rug brought in our household favorite color ;)

I love all the garlands from Land of Nod but sleeping beneath the stars can't be beat. They added these silver and gold garlands to frame the headboards - and they are all still up today!

(and no they NEVER jump on their beds. ever. yours do? ;)

Sweet Maisie in the middle - I love all of the personal touches on the nightstands - one of my favorite things about Land of Nod is that even all the new stuff feels a little vintage!

Then there is a big, square closet next to the girls' room that wasn't built out for shelves yet and by some miracle we had enough storage for linens etc (since they are always alternating between laundry and the kids beds!) so we turned the closet into a reading nook - something I had always wanted to do. We kept it simple with book shelves along three walls and my FAVORITE hot pink tiny chevron chair from Land of Nod - that and a pouf was all it needed. Janie showing her favorite "lady pose" reading Goodnight Moon while sisters were at school.

through the keyhole - it's a closet? No, it's a reading hideout! (and yes the Q is missing - did you notice? Every quilt has a mistake and our alphabet wall just likes to keep people on their toes)

The playroom was a small "half room" on the side of the house that was just like an attic space I had off my room growing up in an old farm house in Menlo Park that my parents restored (we were lucky this old Craftsman was meticulously restored by the previous owners!) but I knew my girls would love the hideaway feel of the sloped ceiling just like I did. I painted and stenciled one wall with a fun "tribal" stencil and tried to keep the furniture sparce to leave room to play. I picked the colors for the stencil from one of my favorite Land of Nod floral rugs that fit perfectly in the space!

before:

after!

the stencil was a tribal chevron from Cutting Edge Stencils - I was planning the whole wall but quickly realized that was a little aggressive! So a Charlie Brown stripe did the trick :)

Maisie was loving the camera moments - which is usually unlike her!

Francie

and there was a "bonus" room off this room that was used for storage but a little chalkboard paint and a pink-on-pink chevron rug turned it into the Secret Clubhouse! We painted the frames in white paint so they don't erase and then the girls can chalk in whatever they want. The stars on the ceiling are paint too - can you tell I am slightly obsessed with sparkly stars and lots of COLOR!?

SO after a few months wait... the July issue is out! It hit the east Coast first and my friend Sherry in Florida texted me these photos before I saw it in person, I was so excited to see us in print!! (full catologue online here soon)

We got to play around the the backyard too - and toured our new Land of Nod friends around The Makery and our businesses downtown Los Altos. It was pretty flattering the most creative people I can think of were loving all the DIY creativeness there too! Hope you guys all come back sometime and thanks for such a fun experience!

Thanks for reading! Love The Heffernans, Mary, Brian, Francie, Maisie, Janie and Tessa.

Outstanding in the Field

We went to an "Outstanding in the Field" dinner Marty cooked for at the beach a few weeks ago. It was a blast! My parents had been to a few of them - it's an organization that takes "outstanding chefs in their field" to a dinner out in the middle of a field or on the beach - the chefs use local ingredients and cook out in the field and you sit communal style with a big group. Great wine and a bon fire round out the night - it was a great evening to enjoy some California weather and food!

We borrowed a Sprinter (still my dream car) to haul 10 adults over the hill to the beach - and so we could consume some adult beverages on the way :) It'd been a long time since any of us had enjoyed a little party bus action!

Arrival at the beach! (always 10 degrees colder than you think it will be!)

Date night - with great friends - the best!

This was the view as they prepped us for dinner and introduced Marty - there cooking on behalf of The Alley, which was cool to hear it so official! (and we are sooo lucky to have Marty's amazing talent)

Heff got behind the "kitchen" with Marty to check out the grill - they did a pretty good job feeding 160 people with a makeshift kitchen

This heirloom tomato, mozz and crouton salad was amazing!

Dinner - table for 160!

You bring your own plates to the dinner which makes the table really eclectic and fun!

cheers! and thanks Marty and for our friends for coming along for a great night!

OUTER SPACE - with The Novogratz Family!

We just opened a pop-up gallery in Los Altos called OUTER SPACE in collaboration with Bob & Cortney Novogratz from NYC and it was really 'out of this world'! I have been a big fan and follower of the Novogratz for a long time - I went to college with Bob's brother and traveled with his sister Jacquline. I followed their shows "9 by Design" on Bravo and "Home by Novogratz" and love their books, their style and their kids names :) They have 7! Wolfie, Bellamy, Tallulah, Breaker, Five, Hollader and Major. They are pretty much my idols (I mean SEVEN kids in NYC and they do all this uber cool stuff?!)

So when a space in Los Altos came available for a short pop-up during the summer street closure - and next to the newly opened Botanist - my wheels started spinning (Heff hates when they do that :) I contacted Bob to see if they had any interest in a West Coast gallery to showcase a curated collection of art they love. They were excited about the idea so we started working together remotely for a few months to bring it all together! Here is a sneak peek at the final result!

They came out last week to bring it all together and it was a super exciting week/weekend. We had deliveries coming everyday from the floors from London designer Richard Woods to the art on the walls to some of their own collection from CB2 like the FAMILY light boxes (sold out online but we have 2 for sale!) and the Breaker chair. Francie helped me unbox with them one afternoon and got to meet Cortney

They arrived on opening day of The Botanist and we were excited to show them our hard-earned flea market finds... they love a good hunt as much as we do!

We had dinner at our house Thursday night - Bellamy was so sweet to entertain the girls half the night. They were enamored with her (until Breaker and Holly stole the show with the skateboard lessons)

Marty cooked some burgers up for the crowd since it was our weekly Thursday night Alley tasting anyway! Everyone LOVED the lamb burger this week.

we showed them a good California backyard BBQ style

I tried not to take too many photos and be annoying - but I kept looking over thinking "Is that really Cortney Novogratz at my house holding my baby?!" eeeeee ;)

and the boys gave us a skateboard show - what's the only thing more dangerous than skateboarding down a hill? trying to jump a stool while doing it!

tiny tess got a front row seat and was cracking up :)

probably thinking "are these kids CRAZY?!"

Francie setting up Holly for the jump... success!

cool dudes Friday before the big opening!

we made up some t-shirts for the opening at The Makery! I was a little star struck to see my logo on a shirt with theirs :) they are way cooler but certainly fun to work with!!

people were gathering out front to check out what was going on in this bright colored, beautiful new space!

the floors are my favy. and that baby too ;)

and last minute spray paint duties... we had these "twiggy things" in Heff's old office no one really ever liked except me :) We called them the duck blind! But needed some barrier for the last minute parking lot patio we made for the party - so white flat paint with pink tips spruced up the duck blinds! (and covered my arms, legs, hands and HAIR in paint, oops.)

and photos of our opening night party - coming next post!

Skater Girls

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The girls have turned into little skater girls :) Their new friend Breaker taught Francie and Maisie how to skateboard last Thursday night when we had dinner - I came out in the cul de sac and the girls were crusing from the top of the hill down where the boys would catch them. I almost had a heart attack but they looked like they knew what they were doing!

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At the end of the night Breaker GAVE Francie his skateboard to keep. For reals it might have been the best moment of her life to date :)

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Francie slept with her skateboard all night and when Emmy came over she opened the door and said "EMMY. A 12 year old boy... named Breaker... GAVE ME his new skateboard." 

and we were the first ones in line at Skateworks in Downtown Los Altos Friday morning for skate helmets - they used their 100 bonus points, hard earned helmets!

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Dad and his skater chicks (oh JJ always got to be the joker)

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Skating the afternoon away with Dad

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CrayCray JJ

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and one afternoon we went to the park so they could skate around and around.... Tess and I had time to catch up on the swings

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Then Friday they had their first official skate lessons!! Skateworks has a half pipe in the back and gives lessons - all three at the same time!

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Maisie taking it seriously - J not so much

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Francie looking like a pro

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and Tess is happy to watch from the sidelines!

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Go skater girls! Now let's hope we don't end up in the ER anytime soon...

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New Photos, New Header!

After the Land of Nod shoot (which is still so fun to hear from friends and family who see the girls in the catalogue!) one of the photographers asked if she could come take some portraits of the girls. Her name is Lisa Wiseman and she came to hang out with us one afternoon while there were about a million things going on in the house! Marty was cooking up a tasting for Alley burgers in our kitchen, things were getting delivered for work and people were coming and going. She was really easy going in the background and got some beautiful shots of the girls just hanging out in their swim suits on a warm summer night. Great pictures to cherish those memories, thanks Lisa (and photo credit to Lisa for 3 of 4 photos on my spruced up header :)!

A Land of Nod Shoot!

It's no secret I LOVE Land of Nod and everything they do. The catologue is like candy! When we moved into this house - I knew I wanted the girls' rooms and spaces to be bright and cheerful and full of toys that would stand the test of time (as in four little girls who play tough)

Over the past few years, I have stocked the playrooms at PLAY and Bumble with Land of Nod adorableness and I had so much fun picking pieces and accessories to fit our "new" old home with lots of character... and COLOR!

Then one day... my new friends from Land of Nod CAME OVER TO OUR HOUSE! I was so thrilled to met the people behind the genius. I had sent them some photos of my girls' rooms (aka land-of-nod-obsession) and they wrote me back and asked if they could do a feature in "real families || real kids" - ummmm... YES! So we picked two days in April and had so much fun sprucing up the rooms even more and sharing creativity. They added a bunch of touches I never would have thought of and really completed the rooms.

They even raided my closets to pick outfits for everyone- my sister was thankful someone else brought some fashion sense to the table :) It was a really relaxed, easy shoot and we got some family photo opportunities too, pretty rare these days.

First was the girls' bedroom. We wanted the three oldest to share a room as long as they can and it was a perfect fit for three Jenny Lind twin beds and sweet night stands in between. We mixed up the bedding in yellow, teal and purple on each bed and the pink chevron rug brought in our household favorite color ;)

I love all the garlands from Land of Nod but sleeping beneath the stars can't be beat. They added these silver and gold garlands to frame the headboards - and they are all still up today!

(and no they NEVER jump on their beds. ever. yours do? ;)

Sweet Maisie in the middle - I love all of the personal touches on the nightstands - one of my favorite things about Land of Nod is that even all the new stuff feels a little vintage!

Then there is a big, square closet next to the girls' room that wasn't built out for shelves yet and by some miracle we had enough storage for linens etc (since they are always alternating between laundry and the kids beds!) so we turned the closet into a reading nook - something I had always wanted to do. We kept it simple with book shelves along three walls and my FAVORITE hot pink tiny chevron chair from Land of Nod - that and a pouf was all it needed. Janie showing her favorite "lady pose" reading Goodnight Moon while sisters were at school.

through the keyhole - it's a closet? No, it's a reading hideout! (and yes the Q is missing - did you notice? Every quilt has a mistake and our alphabet wall just likes to keep people on their toes)

The playroom was a small "half room" on the side of the house that was just like an attic space I had off my room growing up in an old farm house in Menlo Park that my parents restored (we were lucky this old Craftsman was meticulously restored by the previous owners!) but I knew my girls would love the hideaway feel of the sloped ceiling just like I did. I painted and stenciled one wall with a fun "tribal" stencil and tried to keep the furniture sparce to leave room to play. I picked the colors for the stencil from one of my favorite Land of Nod floral rugs that fit perfectly in the space!

before:

after!

the stencil was a tribal chevron from Cutting Edge Stencils - I was planning the whole wall but quickly realized that was a little aggressive! So a Charlie Brown stripe did the trick :)

Maisie was loving the camera moments - which is usually unlike her!

Francie

and there was a "bonus" room off this room that was used for storage but a little chalkboard paint and a pink-on-pink chevron rug turned it into the Secret Clubhouse! We painted the frames in white paint so they don't erase and then the girls can chalk in whatever they want. The stars on the ceiling are paint too - can you tell I am slightly obsessed with sparkly stars and lots of COLOR!?

SO after a few months wait... the July issue is out! It hit the east Coast first and my friend Sherry in Florida texted me these photos before I saw it in person, I was so excited to see us in print!! (full catologue online here soon)

We got to play around the the backyard too - and toured our new Land of Nod friends around The Makery and our businesses downtown Los Altos. It was pretty flattering the most creative people I can think of were loving all the DIY creativeness there too! Hope you guys all come back sometime and thanks for such a fun experience!

Thanks for reading! Love The Heffernans, Mary, Brian, Francie, Maisie, Janie and Tessa.

Red Racer is OPEN!

Last week we opened Red Racer Hobby Shop! It's so much fun!! When we moved PLAY's entrance to the back we had a great little retail space in the front and wanted to do something that would tie into The Makery - Heff had lots of great ideas for a hobby shop!

pulling the window paper off - one of my favorite all time tasks :)

We have a custom built slot car track where we can race

and a construction zone to build your own creations and enter our monthly contest for free pit passes

and lots of really cool retail like rockets, models, kites, race cars, building sets... and tons more

Now let's get RACING!