Ruining your coffee, every morning

The closer we get to the 4th of July, the more I think about posting our Easter pictures. Still pondering it. I'll get back to you on that.

But you know what I decided to do last night, instead? For some reason, I was thinking about a comment left by a long-time reader some time ago, someone who said she thought she ought to have earned a magnet or sticker for her car for reaching the end of a particular blog post. Might have been Disney? Can't recall.

Anyway.

It tickled me, and I started making up magnets or stickers that I would award you guys for your cars and vans if that were a thing.

HUMOR ME.

Thanks for continuing to read. You're my favorite.

Yes, you.

If you were making a Grass Stains sticker or magnet for your vehicle, what would it say? Take your best shot. I can take it. Pinky swear.

Before & After (take 2): The den

I know I shared a wide shot of the couch and ottoman with you the other day, but I wanted to come back and give you some more details about the den today.

We've come a long way from the days of brown walls and lots of brown furniture!

The mauve carpet is still there (unfortunately), but I've got a large Moroccan Trellis rug laid over it that takes a little of the sting out.

You might remember when I painted the brass fireplace surround and then the red brick a little later ... I think those were worthwhile projects.

When we replaced Big Brown, we ended up going with the Laurel sectional from LaZboy (this isn't sponsored ... just sharing the info with you).

I went back and took some more pictures on a different day to show you that one of the pillows in particular is already starting to lose some of its shape ... I may call the store and see if they have an option for adding stuffing. We've only had it for two weeks.

We also invested in the Laurel ottoman. (Sorry that these pictures have a browner tint to them than the truer grey color. Different time of day, I guess.)

I'm really happy with the prints I chose for the pillows and ottoman ... I think they give the room more personality than solids or more conventional prints would.

I DO LOVE TUFTING.

Just behind the couch, I purchased the Everett Foyer Table from World Market to use as a sofa table. I love it, but I hope to add a basket or two to the bottom shelf.

It's not a really expensive table to begin with, but I will say that I used a Friends & Family coupon code that I read about on a design blogger's blog, AND World Market was running a free-shipping special on purchases over $50. So I saved a good bit on it.

The other newish piece in the room is the Parsons Desk from West Elm that sits just to the left of the entertainment console and TV. I'm a huge fan of this simple, streamlined desk.

I can't think of any other source information to give you, or any other questions to answer, but please let me know if you have any!

Uncomfortable truths, vol. 60

1. When I pull bread slices out to make sandwiches, if a slice has a hole in it, I put it back. The possibility of ANY condiment leaking through to my hand while I'm spreading it on the bread strikes fear in my heart like nothing you've ever known.

2. I have two iPhones -- one for work and one for personal use -- and everyone wants me to consolidate. But if we're all in a hostage situation one day and they have everyone throw their phones to the middle of the room -- AS THEY DO -- I'll still have a phone to save us all. WHO'LL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH THEN, INTERNET?

3. Before I see an animated movie, I have to look up who voices all the characters. Once I had to go out to the lobby in the middle of a movie and Google it because it was driving me bonkers.

4. I'm afraid to wish anyone "Happy Birthday" on Facebook, because then I'm afraid EVERYONE will expect me to wish them "Happy Birthday" on Facebook.

5. Nick pushed Jake into a kitchen cabinet a couple of weeks ago while they were playing "chase" around the house, and Jake got a fairly severe cut on his head. We didn't take him to the ER because his pupils were equal and reactive, and he didn't throw up. Also because the scar is going to be under his bangs.


If you liked these Uncomfortable Truths and would like to read more, click here to read them all.

My new love! Aka: our new sectional

I'm sharing a lot of details about this because several readers asked me about our sectional -- which I couldn't recommend because it didn't hold up very well. I told them that when I got around to replacing it, I'd share what I found.

We've been hoping to replace "Big Brown," our aging sectional, for a while now. The photo below shows it in its better days, but believe me: IT NEEDED TO GO.

The pillows were all destroyed, and the arms were black with grime. Now that I think about it, that picture might be like six years old, because that was two ottomans ago. And we knew where all of our Wii remotes were. AND were charging them. #goodolddays

Anyway, a few months ago I started seriously shopping for a new couch and ottoman. One Saturday, Amelia and I took off for parts unknown (we literally went out of town) and shopped for seven hours. HAVE MERCY.

I knew I wanted a couch with pillows that stayed put (attached back). At our first stop, TD's Fine Furniture in Jasper, Ala., the sales woman was great, but none of their attached-back couches were available as custom-order pieces -- which meant that I could only get them in the colors they were shown in on the showroom floor. Read: brown or red.

I wanted grey, and I was firm on that point. I've had enough brown to last me a lifetime, I think. And the only custom-order couch I liked didn't have attached-back cushions. She tried to convince me that my kids wouldn't take these cushions off and strew them all over my house, but YOU'RE SMOKING CRACK, LADY.

 For the record, if I HAD gone with that couch -- the one with the "molded cushions that they won't throw on the floor" -- I would have gone with these fabrics for the couch (solid) and ottoman (print):

From TD's, we went on to a smaller store up the road, but they didn't even have anything worth photographing. Then we came back down to Hoover (my hometown!) and hit several stores on Highway 150.

I found several potential options at Bassett, all of which -- again -- you have to picture in kind of a charcoal or slate grey in your mind. Also, no chaise.

The one above? That grey one? That was actually my top choice, but with the rear cushions shown below, more of the traditional shape instead of the square edges. They're the same couch at Bassett, just one is a sectional and one isn't. They can make them with either pillow shape, as it turns out.

Amelia's and my last stop that day was LaZboy, where this was the main contender in their store. You REALLY have to use your imagination on this one. It was really, really comfortable, and the LaZboy recliner that our wedding party gave us as a wedding gift is still in great shape 19 years later, so we felt good about their quality and durability. But I stood there in the store thinking, "WHY THE COLOR OF BABY POOP?" It was literally like tweed baby poop.

Now I don't have vision when it comes to most things, but I've kind of developed a small sense of design over the last several years. My own style has really evolved, I know what I like and don't like, I'm aware of trends and classic looks, and I don't feel like I need to consult a designer to get it right anymore. I'm not going into BUSINESS or anything, but I'm just saying I can buy a couch on my own.

A couple of weeks later, I got Grayson to come out with me to sit on the final five options at Bassett and LaZboy. (He got to help make the final decision once I'd narrowed it down. I CAN BE A BENEVOLENT RULER WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT, INTERNET.)

He ended up choosing the baby puke couch at LaZboy, so I got to work looking at fabrics as quickly as possible to get That Color out of my head. I also walked around the store to see if I could find another ottoman option ... that big cube wasn't doing it for me.

I found an ottoman I liked better, I chose fabrics for the couch, ottoman and accent pillows, and we ordered it all  that night. They delivered it a couple of weeks ago, and we're really happy with it so far!

Now obviously if you've been reading for a long time, you know that I've made a lot of other changes in this room over the past few years, so it's not like the COUCH made all of the difference. But it makes a big difference to our butts. And it's just more in line with my aesthetic.

I made a couple of other additions to the room that aren't in this picture, and I'll try to share them later this week. But for those of you who were curious about the new sectional, this one was for you!

Disney on Ice has added 'Frozen'

As usual, this post is not sponsored by anything other than my consumer-driven, Frozen-obsessed mind. I have not been paid or otherwise compensated to push or promote this film or icefest that has heretofore taken on a life of its own and -- in point of fact -- does not need any "help" from Grass Stains. BUT JUST IN CASE THERE WAS ANY DOUBT.


Don't get TOO excited, because I'm not giving away tickets or anything. This is strictly a Public Service Announcement.

Since we are ALL ABOUT FROZEN around here, I couldn't let another day pass by without letting you know that Disney on Ice has added Frozen to its lineup for this Fall.

You can click here to see if it's coming to a city near you -- I'll save you the trouble if you're local: It's not coming to Birmingham, but if you're willing to drive to Atlanta, you're in luck. It's going to be there in October.

And shout out to all my North Carolina readers ... if you love Frozen, December is YOUR MONTH. You lucky ducks have a whole bunch of dates from which to choose.

It looks like tickets in some markets are already selling like hotcakes (no surprise there), and if it asks you for a special offer code, enter SOCIAL. (I already looked for six tickets together in "great seats" on the one date we'd be able to go, and I was out of luck.)

If you want to go, click quickly!

The most amazing 'first' of all time

The photos in this post are the result of a dramatic reenactment. If these photos had been taken at the time of the actual event (20 minutes earlier), the part of the Cat Turd would have been played by an Actual Cat Turd -- not a Miniature Twix Bar.


Last night when we returned from Jake's last soccer game and team party, I needed to run upstairs to use the facilities. (TMI, I know. But I feel like it's relevant to this particular story.)

As is not unusual, once I was in the restroom, I heard Amelia's little feet padding across the bedroom carpet, not far behind.

But then (and at this point it's important that you understand that for about nine reasons, Scout's litterbox is located in a corner of our master bathroom) ...

Amelia: "Mommy! Scoutie pooped!"

Me: "He did?"

Amelia: "Yep. On deh flo'."

Me: "Uh oh. Is Scoutie a bad kitty?"

[Amelia pokes her head around the corner of the water closet to look me squarely in the eyes]

Amelia: "NO. SCOUTIE IS GOOD KITTY."

Then she turned around and left the bathroom, and I heard her little feet padding off in the other direction. I assumed she'd gone back downstairs to hang out with the boys. But about 15 seconds later, I heard her coming back. Then, briefly, silence. THEN ...

She walked around the corner of the water closet, holding a baby wipe in her hand WITH WHICH SHE HAD PICKED UP THE CAT TURD FROM THE CARPET.

Amelia: "He-ah, Mommy. I keened it up!"

Internet, this was a real crossroads in my life. I was simultaneously the most horrified and the most proud I have EVER been of this child. Horrified because CAT TURD IN HER HAND. Incredibly proud because she had the presence of mind to go all the way to her bedroom, pull a baby wipe out of the container, come back and carefully scoop the dingleberry up off the carpet while protecting her sweet little hand, and hand the bundle over to me. AT 2 YEARS OLD.

Also: the Mommy side of my brain was screaming, "Get the cat turd out of her hand immediately!" But the Blogger side of my brain was screaming, "Grab your camera!"

You will all be SHOCKED but pleased to know that the Mommy side of my brain won out this time. I know you can't even believe it.

Hence, the reenactment:

Also, if there is any question at all, I told her that she is NEVER to clean up cat poop in the future, even if it is to protect Scout's reputation. That is -- sadly -- Mommy's job.

Another afternoon at Railroad Park

I know I go on and on about Railroad Park like you guys don't have parks.

It's probably because, for a long time, we didn't have a really great park in the middle of downtown Birmingham, one that nestles right up to the train tracks and abuts our skyscrapers -- such as they are.

But now we've got Railroad Park, and because it's only a couple of blocks from my office and I literally watched every mound of dirt being moved as it was built several years ago, I have a special affinity for it. So we go as often as we can.

A couple of months ago when Grayson, Nathaniel and Jake were out of town on a Boy Scout camping trip, I took Nick, Amelia and Nick's friend Drake down there for a few hours. And we met Jamie there, too.

All Nick wants to do is find the nearest hill and ride down it a thousand times.

And all Amelia wants to do is follow him.

At top speed.

Let me tell you something: Watching this child run down hills in all of her two-year-old, uncoordinated glory gives me a series of coronaries as it happens.

But YOU try stopping her.

NO SIREE, BOB. She's having NONE OF THAT.

I just have to let her go and hope for the best.

Nick's friend Drake had borrowed one of our skateboards and some extra safety gear, and he gamely tried to keep up with Nick.

Me again with the mini-coronaries on the sidelines.

Drake and Amelia, GIVING NOT A SH*T ABOUT MY HEART-HEALTH.

Of course I'd been the responsible host-parent and asked Drake's parents if it was okay for him to try skateboarding with us, and they'd given their permission.

And for a first-timer, he actually did GREAT.

He stayed up most of the time, and when he fell, he popped right back up.

After all, he WAS learning from The Best.

Meanwhile, I was getting in some good visiting time with Jamie, who'd kindly come down to keep me company. It was EXTRA-NICE of her to STAY at the park once she saw the condition of my hair.

After the boys felt like they'd conquered the sidewalks, we moved over to the skateboard bowls.

The weather was so stunning, I could have just sat and chatted with Jamie and watched them roll around in the bowls all day.

But I'm not gonna speak for EVERYBODY. I mean, that could POSSIBLY have been the day that Jamie definitively decided that she's not having kids. She MIGHT have scheduled a hysterectomy for the following Monday.

Blue skies, perfect temperatures and the ice cream truck can only offset so much screaming and whining, amiright?