This WONDERfilled Life...

Week 26. WEEK 26!! We're halfway through our 52 week challenge, and what better way to celebrate than to show off our latest project in a two part series! I am so freaking giddy about this project. Phase one turned out great and as soon as we're done with our little heat wave here in Chicago I'll get chomping on phase deux ! So are you ready for it? Drumroll...take a peak at our new.......... . . . . . . . . . . . . . WINDOW BOX!!! We own a 1920's Chicago Bungalow.  When we first moved in years ago we were obsessed with maintaining a sense of the period with the home.  I researched the old window boxes and discovered that they went by the way side long ago. You can read about the history of the Chicago Bungalow and the forgotten window boxes  HERE .  I then started to brainstorm ways to replace the missing box and had planned to reproduce it with concrete...years went by and I never had the time or will to actually make it happen.  Th...

Happy Earth Day! Yesterday the whole WONDERfilled family headed out and helped to clean up our local park.  P was super excited to be able to help "clean up the earth" and we were out for almost two hours (longer than I thought she'd be entertained). So in the spirit of Earth Day I tackled a project that focused on the three R's - Reduce, Reuse & Recycle. I didn't buy a single thing for this project, believe it or not I had everything on hand and/or re purposed things. In the summer of 1999 I had one of the best experiences of my life.  I was chosen as a fellow for the Pacific Music Festival, based in Sapporo Japan.  I could write for days about all the cool adventures I had while there, and that wouldn't even begin to touch the amazing musical experience it was. But one of the many "take aways" I got from living there for a whole summer was how amazing sleeping on a buckwheat hull pillow can be.  I distinctly remember arriving, tired fr...

In the crafting/sewing world there are UnFinished Objects (UFO's).  I have lot's of those...in fact that is the reason I started this challenge.  With older age comes the want for simplicity. And with simplicity comes purging...and purging comes finally finishing the unfinished.  A recent online challenge I participated in referred to this process as "closing loops". We feel better about ourselves when we complete something. I have a few UFO's laying around...but I have more UnStarted Ideas (USI's).  These are usually concepts for things we need that I just haven'g gotten around to researching.  You know, we NEED a curtain in our bathroom to block the bright afternoon sun.  I could buy one...but what's the fun in that? I know I want to make one but I don't want to just make a regular curtain I want to make one with hidden tabs and a vent for the bathroom steam. These kinds of ideas end up taking quite a bit of time (and brain power)...somet...