Vacation

YEAH!!!! A snow vacation with family!!! It's finally here so I won't be posting for a few days. I'll be back on the 20th so look for more Life in My Garage action but for now, I'm off to pack my snow boots.

Happy Holidays!

Kiersten

Tangled and True Post About Mod Mom

I'm running out of time before our vacation with my parents and my sister and her family but I had to post a link to a really amazingly kind post by Kelli from Tangled and True. She's a very cool person with a gorgeous and very helpful blog.

Check it out when you have a minute...

http://www.tangledandtrue.com/2007/12/mod-mom.html

My Proudest Building Accomplishment of 2007

So I was thinking about what I've built over the past year and what I'm really most proud of and I immediately thought of the play house my hubby and I built for our daughter's preschool. We LOVE LOVE LOVE the owners (and even vacation with them on occasion) which made building the playhouse even more special. SHAMELESS PLUG: If you live in LA in the Valley and are in need of a preschool, you have to check out The Little School! You won't find a better preschool!!

Anyhow, I designed the playhouse after looking at plans for several different houses online. I scaled it to fit the space and then learned (also online) how to build a roof. We built it in sections and then put it together onsite. Scott suggested taking the siding we used for the sides and cutting it into squares to make the shingles for the roof. Brilliant!

So far so good -- the house is still standing and from what I can tell, the roof doesn't leak.

I have to say I feel relatively confident that I could build us a little house if we're ever running from the law and and having to live in the woods somewhere in Oregon. That's a damn good feeling!

Check out one of my favorite blogs -- Lineanongrata!

One of my favorite bloggers, Julia at Lineanongrata is giving away a gift a day. She's an amazingly talented artist living in the south of France.

I'm proud to say I own one of her pieces. Leave a comment on her post and you might end up being the proud owner of a Julia gift.

My To Do List

I'm just now sitting down to my frozen meatloaf + mound-like form of mashed potatoes during my "lunch minute" so I thought I'd post today. As I'm sure you're all experiencing right now, I'm feeling a TINY bit overwhelmed by all the holiday + family + work stuff. So I thought this post might help me remember what I need to do today...

Does it look like yours???

TO DO TODAY
1. Get kids ready for school. Dress Grace in unmatching clothes and a skirt that keeps riding up around her mid-section. De-geek Noah by mashing his hair that keeps sticking up on his head with hair gel.

2. Drop both at school and drive like a maniac to Toys R Us before everything is picked over and I'm forced to buy the "almost what they wanted but not quite" gifts.

3. Rush home. Write this post while eating something that says it's meatloaf but I'm not sure. In fact, it says "Eating Right" on the box but maybe it should say "Eating Shite"

4. Put together toy box that I've cut and stained already. Add hardware. Finish a second toy box with a last coat of poly and adjust lid support. Finish a third toy box by adding casters to the bottom and one more coat of poly.

5. Pick up Big N (that's what Noah calls himself since Grace is Little G.)

6. Keep working on number 4.

7. Do bills

8. I think I'm just going to stop this list now.

9. Wait...have a gin and tonic. If only we hadn't run out of gin....and tonic.

10. Ok, now the list is done and I don't feel much like doing any of them except #9.


I'm sure I'll have more get up and go tomorrow....right??? Right????

Thanks for coming out to the Little Monster Market!

I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who came out to the Little Monster Market on Pico yesterday! It was a great success even considering we had to change venues at the last minute BACK to Cool Baby's parking lot/side walk. We lucked out because it was a gorgeous day -- no rain as had been forcasted!

I enjoyed meeting everyone at the show! My next trade show/craft show is the Baby Celebration LA at the convention center in April. It's ENORMOUS!!! So if you're in LA and shopping for baby/kids things, be sure to come shop thousands of vendors at Baby Celebration. I'll be there in a tiny booth with very large furniture!!!

Check out the website Baby Celebration LA for all the details and a look at the vendors.

The Father of Mod Mom

I love this picture of my husband and my Dad. It captures his warm, fun-loving, goofy-joke telling side. Today's post is dedicated to honoring my carpentry mentor who happens to also be my father.

He's always been, as has my mom, a hero of mine. He chose a profession that pays very little and comes chock full of headaches -- he was a health/PE teacher and a football coach turned athletic director up until a few years ago. And he put everything he was into doing the best job he possibly could. There are many former students/athletes that still keep in contact with him because he made a positive impact on their lives.

When he wasn't teaching and coaching (and sometimes roofing in the summers to make extra money), he was building furniture for our house. I remember he took old bleacher boards made of oak that were tossed out and put them through planer and built a coffee table out of them. He even used gym floor varnish to coat it so that baby was solid and very well protected!! We could stand on it, it was so well made, and very scratch resistant. He built a beautiful bed and a writing desk for my mom's late-night paper grading sessions (she was a teacher too). Not only is he handy with wood, but he completely turned our upstairs attic into a master suite complete with bathroom and adjoining guest room.

I did a lot of tinkering in his garage workshop as a kid but never really fully appreciated his talent, creativity and attention to detail until I started building myself. He inspired me at a young age that I could do anything I wanted. He, along with my mom, also made it very clear to me that if I wanted to be an athelete or do something that is considered "a boy thing" I could do it, do it well, and still be feminine. I didn't have to give up my feminity just because I was using a table saw.

I am very honored and proud to be Barry Parsons' daughter and am extremely grateful for all his guidance both growing up and now. I turn to him quite a bit with woodworking and general life/business questions. I can say thank you a million times but it's not sufficient enough in my eyes. He is my mentor and best of all, my dad. So no matter how many times i tick him off, he's stuck with me. And I'm VERY GRATEFUL to be stuck with him.

Family Update

Some of you who read the blog know us from school, are family or good friends. So you know a little about some of the recent medical drama that has plagued my sweet husband.

I won't go on too much about it and I'm mentioning it because it has affected my production schedule a bit (so if you're waiting for furniture from me, this is why I'm a tad behind.) My husband has experienced TIAs (transient ischemic attacks or mini-strokes) recently. He suffered one two years ago and spent four days in Cedar Sinai hospital. He recently experienced another whichi is the "medical drama" I mentioned above. The episodes last just a short time but affect his vision, speech, memory and cause numbness in various body parts. He's been undergoing tests ordered by his neurologist to get to the bottom of why he's having these attacks at age 36. So far, everything is inconclusive. And scary since we don't know why or how this is all happening. Hopefully we'll know soon.

He's armed with an aspirin a day and a wife who tends to his every need. Ok, that last part was made up. But the aspirin is true! To my customers, thanks for your patience. And to my husband. I love you and TAKE YOUR DAMN ASPIRIN...please.

The Daily Candy Post about The Little Monster Market

The Daily Candy Kids' Edition ran a post about The Little Monster Market today! Check it out below...

http://www.dailycandy.com/kids/los_angeles/article/33926/Hardcore+Wrap+Stars

See the text below......

SHOP

Little Monster MarketWhat: Crafty goods for kids by Mod Mom Furniture, Mahar Drygoods, Eeny Meanie, and others.Why: Handmade? Hallelujah!When: Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.Where: 6136 W. Pico Blvd., b/t S. Alfred & S. Orlando Aves., W. Los Angeles (818-795-5202).

SEE

Lights in the SkyWhat: Kids Interactive Theater Ensemble kite troupe performs.Why: Theater for kids by kids.When: Sat., 3 p.m.Where: Noho Arts Center, 11136 Magnolia Blvd., at Lankershim, N. Hollywood (818-340-5333). Tickets online at theatermania.com.

FEST

Festival of LightsWhat: Holiday music, games, crafts, bouncy houses, and snacks for all.Why: It’s a gelty pleasure.When: Sat., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.Where: Silverlake Independent Jewish Community Center, 1110 Bates Ave., at Effie St., Silver Lake.

ANOTHER Monster Market is coming!

Apparently, I'm an idiot. Holding two Monster Markets back to back sounds like a good idea back in September. But when it's smack in the middle of December, it's not so whooohooo!

The markets themselves are great but the prep and advertising and organization of them are a lot of work! Anyhow, I've been gone from the blogging world for two days due to Monster Market mayhem and building madness. Enough of me whining now.

The Cool Baby Cool Market is being held on Pico down in Beverly Hills Adjacent. ( I do love that you can throw adjacent to the back of a well-known name and voila! -- you're almost that place but slightly to the left and slightly not as posh.) :)

The address for the market is 6136 West Pico, LA 90035. It should be a lot of fun with a ton of LAs best independent handmade designers. There will be music and food and much more! And fun for the kids, too! Since we all know keeping them happy while you shop is the most work of all.

www.littlemonstermarket.com


Ok, back to the garage I go.....