Saya was so cute in our town’s big parade last weekend. I thought she wouldn’t want to be in the parade because she is usually really timid about those kind of things, but the start point was right around the corner from our house, so I took her over to see if she would join. To my surprise she said she wanted to try it. She was on the float with her spanish class and she stayed right next to her teacher the whole time. But she had fun and said she wants to do it every year.

It was such a fun weekend here in Oberlin. There were lots of activities for kids in town and we saw a few performances at the college. Our favorite was Taiko drumming!

I ordered some Nani Iro fabric from missmatatabi on etsy, and it arrived from Japan so quickly. Thank you Frances!

I got Saya’s baby futon out of storage and made a cover for it. (This is what she slept on when she was a tiny baby in Japan. We all slept on futons then.) I thought it would make a comfy mat to sit or lie on while we are playing on the floor. The fabric is so soft, I just love it.

Of course this isn’t my first post about moving things around, and it won’t be my last. I do think it is a good thing though. I like to keep things fresh, and there are always ways to improve the functionality of our space based on the changing needs of our family. I have been wanting a new sofa forever, but it’s not happening any time soon, so I brought back our old Karlstad sofa from IKEA. (It had been in the garage studio.) I do still like this sofa after many years…

I got some some new cushion covers on sale from West Elm when we were in Portland, and my favorite ridiculously good deal was our new rug from Anthro. It was originally sold for $900 but was on big time sale (down to $200), plus I had a gift card and a shirt that I decided to return and I ended up only paying about $50 out of pocket. (The only thing that could have made me happier was if it was during the 50% off of all sale items time of year, but I guess that would have been too good to be true.) I am so happy because I have been wanting a softer rug for our playing area.

This room is where we keep a lot of Saya’s toys plus my sewing/craft supplies, so it is pretty full of “stuff.” When I decided to rearrange it I moved every last thing out of the room including furniture. I put things back one by one until it felt right, then I stopped. There is less furniture now, but I am enjoying the room so much more. It is the brightest room in the house and where I spend the most time.

pics from Cargo in Portland

pics from home sweet home

doll + accessories.  This is the birthday present I made for Saya. I got carried away making lots of little things for her, but it was just too much fun…

A few more pics from our spring break trip…

These are from the Oregon coast near where my sister is now living, and the last two from the Portland Japanese garden. So pretty.

We only spent one day in Colorado before we set off on our drive to the west coast. We explored Colorado National Monument. It was gorgeous (even though my fear of heights was kicking in big time) and I loved the color of the rocks. We were dying to see some bighorn sheep, and we got lucky!