9/11: Where were you?

I think Gen X'ers will always remember where they were on 9/11 when the planes hit the Towers.  Similar to our parents who so clearly remember where they were when they heard that John F. Kennedy had been assassinated.

Where was I? I was living in Arlington, less than 1 mile from Washington, D.C. and about the same distance from the Pentagon. I was enjoying my last week off before going to work as a lawyer in a large firm. We had come back from Bermuda the night before, celebrating our first wedding anniversary.  I had a medical appointment in D.C. so I jumped in my car at about 8:30 to head in for a 9:15 appointment.  I heard the news while sitting in traffic waiting to get into the city. It was surreal. I call my husband to tell him and he turns on the television in his office. By the time I got to the doctor 15 minutes later, everyone is talking about what happened. Both planes had hit the towers and it was clear it wasn't a freak accident as people thought the first one was. The receptionist had put her radio on the counter so everyone could listen. People with kids start leaving the waiting room to pick up their kids at school.

For some reason, I choose to stay. I wanted to get the appointment over with I guess, and everything seemed to be happening in New York. At about 9:20 p.m., I go in for my appointment and come back to the waiting room at 9:30 p.m. While I am checking out the, flight 77  hits the Pentagon. I call my husband at his office which is about 2 blocks from the White House. I beg him to leave and walk towards my doctor's office about 8 blocks away. He leaves quickly and must have half-run to get to me. We get in the car and start to head towards home in the most unbelievable gridlock. It takes us about 2 hours to go 3 miles. We could have walked in about 45 minutes.

I spend all my time in the car on my cell phone trying to get through to our families to tell them we are okay. Jim's brother, Rich, somehow got through on Jim's phone. We tell him we are fine and ask him to call everyone in Jim's family in Massachusetts, and my family in upstate New York.

While we are in the car, we hear on the radio that both Towers collapsed. We get home at around 11:30 a.m. and watch the news for an hour until we cannot stand seeing the footage of people jumping from the Towers, or video of the fires at the Pentagon. There's nothing new to see or understand and we wouldn't know for a long while after what actually happened.

For some very strange reason, we decide to go golfing with our friend in Fairfax. We head to a par 3 course not far from us and swing away for 2 hours to get our minds off everything that is happening, knowing there is nothing we can do to change what has happened that day. Finally, we head home later in the afternoon and watch the news again.

I don't remember anything else about what we did that day. The following few days were totally strange since most buildings were closed in D.C. so pretty much everyone was around and not sure about what to do next. Of course, we fell back into our regular routines later in the week. I started my work as a securities lawyer the next week. I started to understand the impact on New York because so many of our clients were based on Wall Street. I heard stories of friends who had been close to the events or new people who had died. We were fortunate not to have lost any friends or family that day.

I'll never forget.

Just when I was about to give up...

It's pretty frustrating to hear about everyone's awesome Goodwill deals. The Goodwills that I frequent in Arlington are generally really picked over, filled with junk, or way over priced. In my last few trips there, I have barely found a single thing worth picking up. I don't want an Ikea glass for $2.95 that I can buy new at Ikea for $1!

Then last weekend, I found this...

Original artwork for only $2.95!! I even like the frame. It's not too big or too small. I have a couple of ideas on where to hang it. Just when I was about to give up on Goodwill.

Bathroom painting is almost done!!

Linking to: Southern Hospitality

Off to Kindergarten

Hard to believe that my oldest went to Kindergarten today. I'm still in shock and a little dehydrated from so many tears but I think I'll make it!  Her teacher is really wonderful and I know she is going to love everything about her school years, but it's a tough milestones for the moms especially.

Of course, I had to do the obligatory front porch picture. It was raining but who cares?!

Hope everyone survived the first day of school - especially the parents!!

Lamp Shade Makeover

We're still working on the powder room so hopefully I'll have some after photos later this week for you. Fingers crossed! In the mean time, I've been working on a few other things. You might remember the floor lamp that I painted last year for my daughter's room.

I really liked how it turned out but the white shade was always a little dullsville for me. I bought some rick-rack trim but it wasn't getting the job done no matter how I tried to make it work. I finally came up with a quick and easy embellishment after seeing so many fabric flowers all over blog land! Bingo!

I watched a couple of videos on YouTube and realized this was very doable even for not-so-crafty me could handle it. I had some leftover fabric from a few different projects including the fabric I used for Elizabeth's first birthday party (she's 5 now!), one that we used for her nursery (now Alex's nursery), and one that came off a stool which I bought a long while back (and recovered).

I had a helper of course.

I started by tying a not in the end of a long strip of fabric (size depends on how big you want your flower to be).  Then I attached the knot to the center of a circle of scrap cardboard (cut from a cracker box) with a dab of Aleene's Fast Grab Tack Glue. I then twisted the fabric around the knot and pressing the fabric into a bead of glue. My five year old helped with the glue which made it go quicker because she could apply glue while I twisted and pressed the fabric.

(She got a manicure with me last week and she was REALLY proud of it. Her dad was not so happy about it. Haha.)  

When we ran out of fabric, I trimmed the extra cardboard from the edge, then glued them on the lamp with the same Aleene's glue.

I think it really goes well with her gallery wall since it's also funky and cheerful (just like her!).  I may make a few more tweaks to both the lamp and the wall so stay tuned.

p.s. Like this post? Vote for HOUSEography on Picket Fence Blogs by clicking here (and that's IT!). Thanks!

Linking to: A Bowl Full of Lemons

What a difference a year makes

Hard to believe today is September 1st!  Only a few more days until my first baby starts Kindergarten! Last spring I planted some hostas along the fence next to our driveway. It was an attempt to fill that space so there would be fewer weeds to pull!  Here's how it looked last May.

Here's how it looks now...

I added some inexpensive annuals between the hostas this year but the effect is really great now. And very few weeds to pull!

Moral of the story: Have patience with your perennials and they will reward you!

See you back here on Tuesday - have a great weekend!