Well, instead of picking up our friend we are prepping for Frankenstorm as they are calling it. Yesterday Annie and I talked and decided it made the most sense for her to avoid the storm and come at a later date. So sad! We are getting our emergency stuff together and just trying to be prepared. Not sure still when or how hard it will hit. It’s a bit of a funny test to go through after nearly being done with so many projects. Hope she holds up! And that chimney, hope it is as strong as they think it is. We shall see!! This area has had some bad storms in past years so everyone is nervous for good reason. We have made some friends with neighbors and people through the school so we are thankful to have someone close by. To avoid boring you further with storm preparations I am going to oooohhh and awwww you with my friend Nina’s space!!!

Nina is my friend that is originally from Germany but was living in Bern while we were there. She has two little boys around the same age as ours. Owen and her son Mica did swimming lessons together and we enjoyed many fun times with them.  They moved to Warsaw, Poland in early May.  It was such a sad day!! We made them this little polish air cake the day their movers came! Many tears were shed that day!

The most fun part for me with my friendship with Nina is that it really was not just about the kids or for the kids. Most of my friendships these days tend to be finding friends that have kids my kids will enjoy playing with. Nina and I hit it off with our love of fabric, crafty stuff, brocante shopping, pumpkin pie, chocolate croissants, Green Gate pretties…you know the important things in life! I knew when I asked Nina to contribute some pictures that she would have some amazing new space. And I knew that it would be colorful and cheery!!

This space is in the playroom of Nina’s house. I love all of the use of mixed fabrics, all so cheerful!

look at these fabric guitars!! My kids need to trade in their noisy ones for some of those!!

Nina has a little sewing business if anyone is interested in checking her out! You can look for her shop on facebook at “MySweetToBe”. She does lots and lots of custom orders. You can message her to ask about pricing and shipping!

Thanks for sharing, Nina!  Miss you tons!

Hey y’all. Day 26, can’t believe we are still keeping up. Makes for some hectic mornings and sometimes evenings but it is helping me to be mindful of what we are savoring of home lately. Previously I was just feeling a bit foggy and tired from projects. I think the blogging this month is helping me regroup a bit and realize how thankful we are for this home.

Today it’s all about sprucing this place up. Toilet cleaning, laundry washing, treat baking, and other such things. Why you say? My dear friend Annie is popping in for a couple of days. And when it comes to cleaning for the sake of friends coming I kind of like it. I have let the house go quite a bit these days with distraction of bigger projects but I like getting back to the details and readying for time with a friend.  She arrives Saturday and we are hoping to sneak in some fun times outside before the storm comes and once it comes we are praying we keep power so that we aren’t sitting around a candle, singing kumbaya (sp?) and eating tuna out of a can. The great thing is though, if I was to be stuck in a home without power with my family and a house guest, she is the one I would pick!  She is one of those sister friends I have described before. She knows us well and we consider her family. So we have big fun plans but we also know that even if we are just together that will be enough to fill us up. Just hope Seth and the boys can tolerate the non-stop chatting for 72 hours straight…okay, okay we will take a break to sleep. But during waking hours we will might just be non-stop. I haven’t seen Annie since she and a posse of teenage girls came to Switzerland to see us!

Annie will be our first house guest in this home. I have to admit that the perfectionist in me feels a bit insecure that things aren’t quite done yet. We still have a few doors without handles, one random wall remains unpainted and the list goes on. I can see every single unfinished thing like a magnified glass is pointed at each of them. But the thing about having a home that is open to friends is that it doesn’t have to be perfect, it needs only be all that you have to offer. Back to the cleaning and sprucing! And reminding myself that it does not need to be perfect as I prepare! I am going to attempt these Whole wheat Apple Crisp muffins from Dwell on Joy if you need an idea for your weekend baking!!  I’ll be back on here this weekend to share Annie’s house with you.

And completely not on the topic of home, Owen and I are taking a little break from our cleaning to meet Seth for lunch today. He happens to be working from the Foreign Service Institute today which is right around the corner from a little Colombian restaurant. I am so looking forward to some ajiaco and arepas!  It’s so strange, we have so many great memories of friends and experiences from our time in Bogota but there were some intense family times there too. Like Jackson’s cancer diagnosis. Such bittersweet times to remember.  We will be thinking of our Bogota “family” while we have lunch today!