The old me...that showered.

Sometimes I sit and think about my old jobs -- specifically the one in Chicago where I worked downtown, ate lunch at places that served wine at lunch, and shopped Bloomingdales on Michigan Avenue.

While I wouldn't trade being home with the kids and working from home for anything in the world, sometimes I miss the old me. The old me that showered more than three times a week. And GOT HER NAILS DONE. Seriously, I used to do that. And get my hair professionally cut and styled by Bette Midler's old hairdresser. It really feels like a whole other lifetime. I was even a full-time working mom at the time but i still managed to take care of me somehow. Maybe it was the drugs!! :)

As I sit here, my toe nail paint job is mostly chipped, my hair is in a ponytail, and I haven't shaved my legs in days. And I can't tell you the last time I actually had my eyebrows done. I forget they're part of the regimen anymore.

When people ask me what it's like to work from home building furniture I say it's awesome. And when they ask what has to "give" since I'm working from home, I normally say regular sex, showers, dentist appointments and styling the back of my hair. There you have it....the cold hard truth.

I'm off to not shower and completely ignore the stain that's now embedded in the cuticles of my fingernails. I think that might be a good thing, though. I don't have to bring stain sample to appointments...just my fingernails!!

YOU the builder...yes you can! (well I can but you can tell me what you want)

I'm taking notes...from you....so please let me know if you're on the hunt for a mod kid furniture piece that isn't being sold that you'd like to see built or something you think a modern kid would love. I'm always open to suggestions from the people in the know...the parents.


Here's what I have in my head and/or sketched poorly on paper....

• I'm currently working on designing an art desk contraption of some sort (doesn't that make you just want to rush out and buy it. It's all in the name, isn't it?)
  


• And several new types of storage options.
  


• Mod Barbie House -- that doesn't look like anything on the market and is tall enough to fit actual Barbies (and Kens).
  

Thoughts? Suggestions? If it something I think I can make, I'll work out an arrangement with you, i.e., discounts, naming the thing after your child, credit on the store front, etc....

Whatcha think?????

Ahhhhh....the smell of technology?!?

My Star Wars-loving, Playstation-playing son, who just turned nine (pictured above in a really poor excuse for a pirate's costume for pirate day at school. A seamstress, I am NOT) has to go with me sometimes to the lumber yard. Both kids do, actually. I try not to, if I can help it. Not for their sake, but for my sanity. :) And because most of the time I can't fit the wood in my minivan unless one child is not in the car. "Which one of you wants to run beside the car today?? That's a fun game we play. Just kidding about that. Really, I'm totally kidding.

One day this summer, both kids were with me. I bribed them with an ice cream and had even thrown in the promise of a couple of those cheap foam paint brushes for extra measure. That is, if they could resist the urge to push, pull, tug, nudge, or hit, each other the entire time we were at the yard.

Anyhow, we were walking over to the plywood section and I said to them, "Ahhhhh...the smell of cut wood. I love it. Don'tcha love it guys?" Grace, my lumber yard lover, chimed in immediately with, "ohhhhh yaaaaah that's niiiiiiice." Noah just looked at me and then said, "No, Mom. You love the smell of wood.... I love the smell of technology."

Which kid do you think will get the family business? And which one will be supporting his mom and dad and the family business with his high-powered, lucrative, high-tech job? YEAH for techies!!!

Cool Article Written By Apartment Therapy Nursery Editor

I'm thrilled to have been included in this great article by Julia Cho (Apartment Therapy). She wrote it for Etsy's online spotlight journal called The Storque. It's full of great handmade mod kid finds...

http://www.etsy.com/storque/section/spotlight/article/trends-toys-accessorize-the-modern-nursery/341/

Do-it-yourself Wood Working Tips

Woodworking tips I've learned over the past couple of years....

1. When you're cutting across or against the grain of the wood (a cross-cut), use tape on your cut line. Like masking tape. It'll help keep splintering on the edges to a minimum.
   
2. Apply stain BEFORE cutting. It will help prevent the discolorations or saturation of color on splintered edges (if you have any). I also apply a wood conditioner before staining to make sure the stain goes on evenly.
   
3. When drilling holes, put the piece of wood you're drilling through on top of a throw-away piece of wood. Clamp the two together so they are secure and drill. You won't have blow-out splintering on the backside like you get when you just drill through the top piece of wood by itself.
   
4. Don't stand on the table saw legs to help you get leverage to finish getting a huge piece of ply through the saw when it gets stuck right at the very end. My Dad is mortified that I resorted to this once or twice. But I had a deadline, people, and the wood had to be cut! (I won't do it again, though.)

Now get out there and create some knock-offs! Just kidding about that.

The Mom in Mod Mom -- Birthday Edition

Both of our kids birthdays fall within a week of each other. Noah's is September 29th and Grace's is on Oct. 3. Four years and four days apart. (Guess we had a FANTASTIC January several years ago!) Anyhow, this was the first year we couldn't convince them (now 9 and 5) to have their birthday party together. So last weekend was a sleepover for 10 kids ranging in age from 5 to 12. This past weekend was Grace's party -- a carnival party in our front yard -- complete with bouncy (no carnies, though) and many things made by Mod Mom and Mod Dad.

So Mod Mom furniture had to take a back seat (or as much of a back seat as I can make it take) for us to crank out our best carnival gear. Check out the photos. Do you think there's a market for handmade from old wood that got wet, shot-ily put together, carnival gear?

Oh, the ring toss. A artistic masterpiece, don't ya think?

Grace insisted the popcorn be sold for $8 or be free.
I thought $8 was really cheap given that it WAS microwaved. And this is LA.
Most opted for the "or free"


Who doesn't like a good game of bean bag toss??


The "AMAZING" Jesse was a friend's bunny. Turns out Jesse
was Jessica just last week. Right up until the vet visit. Either
way, Jesse was AMAZING!

New Links!

I'm excited to announce that Mod Mom Furniture is now being sold at the following stores:

Cool Baby is a really cool store with art and dance/yoga for kids. It's on the edge of Beverly Hills on Pico near the Beverly Center.

http://www.coolbabyplace.com/

An incredible online modern baby gear and clothing store. I'm selling mostly storage pieces on this site. You can shop by brand too so look for Mod Mom Furniture

http://www.spunkysprout.com/

My Job According to Grace

Kiersten: "So Grace, ya know how you were talking about what moms and dads do at work the other day....what is it that Dad does for work? Do you remember?"

Grace (age 5) : "He has meetings about TV."

Kiersten: "Yep, he does. He works for a TV channel. What do I do for work?"

Grace: "You talk on the phone and clean the kitchen."

Kiersten: "Anything else I do for work?"

Grace: Pause....Pause...."And sometimes you make stuff for other kids."


There you have it folks. I better get back to talking on the phone WHILE cleaning the kitchen or my "pay" will get docked. :)

The Almost-Cut-Off-My-Finger Story

So I mentioned earlier that I almost cut off my finger. I'm keeping a tally of mishaps in the workshop in hopes to not do them again, if I can help it.

I was building a bookshelf for my kids and was using the biscuit joiner (for anyone not knowing what this is, it's a power tool used to hollow out wood.) I STUPIDLY decided to brace the wood myself, holding the 3/4 inch ply with one hand and the joiner with the other, I drove the joiner (and it's really sharp spinning blade) into the wood but instead, the blade skipped across the wood. It then cut my wood-holding finger (ring finger) at the tip when I tried to get that hand out of the way.

Next up, I look down at all the blood and then start yelling for my husband who, thankfully, was home at the time. All the while he's helping me he's giving me that mixed emotion part mad/part worried look that says, "why the hell don't you do something like paint or knit." We bandaged it up knowing I really probably needed stitches. I then took some Tylenol and made a gin and tonic.

The story ends well because I (a.) had a gin and tonic, and( b.) the finger healed just fine with a nice scar little scar. Although two days later, I finally dragged the kids to urgent care with me and received a slap on the hand for not coming in earlier and a tetanus shot.

Naturally, after the tetanus shot, I went and poured a gin and tonic. That shot hurt for TWO DAYS!!! Damn Tetanus.

My Garage Life

My husband took this of me tonight in the garage. This is standard attire although I've been known to use the table saw while donning a skirt. (No heels, though.) I just go out when I have a minute between kid things and work away until I'm pulled away - no matter what I'm wearing. Cuz frankly, changing clothes would waste time. Guess how many pants have glue stains on them???

My one constant when I work is listening to country radio. I love all kinds of music but when I'm building/designing, it's almost like a drug. I have to it on in the background. I think I'm a better builder with a little Dixie Chicks or Johnny Cash playing just loud enough to not disturb the neighbors. My almost 5-yr-old daughter even knows all the words to just about every country song out there because she's always "helping" me when I'm working. I won't even go into how or why she also knows most of the words to Amy Winehouse's Rehab.


I'm finishing up a few new pieces -- a table, a chair with a back and stool/backless chair you see me working on to the left. They will hopefully be going in a store in Beverly Hills and (and on my site). I'll let you know if/when they land in the store.

Anyhow, for the two of you out there who are reading this blog, here are some new photos of new stuff coming out. These are by no means professional shots but you get the idea. Below is a kids' table made from birch and baltic birch ply with lazy suzan on top. Two chair choices: stool with leaves or mod chair with back.