Capture the Everyday: Place Where Things Pile Up

When I saw this week's prompt from Adventuroo, my immediate question was "place"? As in singular? Like I just have one pile and everything else is neatly put away?

Yeah, right.

A couple years ago I wrote about the pile on top of my dresser as an archaeological dig. Thinking of it as a science experiment somehow made me feel better about this mess.

For this post, I just made the circle around my downstairs and found the following ELEVEN gems -- by artsifying them in Instagram, I am somehow less ashamed.

Laundry Room

In theory, the hooks are a good way to organize. In reality, they become a messy catch-all for things that don't belong.

Paint supplies and furniture sliders from the renovation (that we finished in APRIL), plus laundry bags, two sun hats and the corner of a Zappos box for returning the ugly hats.

Kitchen

 The primary counter, which should be for people sitting at the counter stools we haven't bought yet, is covered with mail, cups, purse, lunch boxes and my husband's iPhone.

In the floor area under the counter where we don't have the counter stools we seem to be storing our borrowed card tables (for monthly summer happy hour), two rugs we had to pull out of the attic after the latest leak and a duffle bag and table cloth left over from camping.

This is my lovely kitchen desk area. Too bad you can barely see the fancy granite we picked out. This is more mail, coupons, bills, lists, school pictures, preschool projects, travel-sized toothpaste and phone messaged. The pile is going vertical by creeping up the wall, too.

Foyer

The pool bag and a stack of at least five beach towels rest on the chest by our front door. At least they're not on the floor anymore.

This pile on the table beside the font door is unusually small -- just Pippi's artwork from today's preschool camp, one list, a copy of The New Yorker and our empty Produce Box.

Living Room

This sad space is my tiny desk, crammed with stickers, Flip cam, iPod, photos, lists, newspaper clippings, birthday party invitations and a basket full of random papers leftover from my last attempt at organization. At least my laptop isn't on the kitchen counter anymore.

Stacked on top of my grandfather's china cabinet you'll find children's books that I bought to give as birthday and new baby gifts. Note that not one of them is wrapped. And on top is the enormous, glamorous hat #5 that Casey (so far accurately) predicted I would never actually wear.

Dining Room

 On one side of the dining room cabinets you'll find my grandmother's deviled egg dish (c'mon, every Southern girl has to have one) hidden by empty gift bags, gift list (for which not one single thank you note has been written), party favors and presents from Junius' birthday party. Which was almost a week ago.

And on the other side of the dining room cabinets, there's the birthday head band thingy, a kid's book CD, a picture from Pippi and a friend-decorated picture frame that needs to have the picture put in it so we can hang it on the wall.

Ugh. 

Clearly I am in desperate need of an intervention from my friends Julie at Simplify Your Life or Molly at Go Mom! Inc. 

How about you? Help me know I'm not alone -- what piles are building up around your house?

Capture the Everyday is about getting you to capture those everyday moments in your life! Each Thursday, Melissa at Adventuroo will issue a simple challenge to capture something that’s a part of your daily life. You can post just a picture or add some words to go along with it. You’ll have a week to get it done and then she’ll issue another. It’s a quick, easy way to start capturing those little parts of life we sometimes take for granted.

Friday's 5: Selecting Hats

Because I can't seem to make my wound heal any faster (turns out I've got a staph infection, so I'm taking an antibiotic FOUR TIMES A DAY FOR TEN DAYS), I'm focusing now on how to prevent any more skin damage. I've decided it's finally time to embrace the hat.

So I ordered five hats from Zappos. Just as Zappos' return policy is genius for online shoe ordering, it is equally brilliant for selecting hats. Now I need some advice from you on which ones to keep. But first, a few caveats...

• I took these photos myself, which was a little tricky given how big the brims are on some of these hats. My arms are long, but they're not Inspector-Gadget-long or anything.
• With the lump of bandage on my forehead, I can't get the hats all the way down on my enormous head. And when I try to do it anyway, it hurts. We'll just have to pretend for now.
• Looking at pictures of myself is one of my least favorite activities. Let's just focus on the hats, shall we?

And here, in order of brim size (more or less), are the hats:

1. Lightweight bucket hat: I love the super lightweight fabric on this hat -- some kind of magical Columbia sportswear fabric. The brim is smaller in the back, so it doesn't bump against my neck. And if I could actually pull it down on my forehead, I think it will give more shade in the front. Is the color too bright? Or cute and summery? Maybe hard to tell online.

2. Big brim bucket hat: I'm just going to go ahead and tell you, this hat is going back. It looks so terrible on my that I couldn't even get a decent picture. It's too shallow and won't sit down far enough on my big ol' head, even without the bandage. A shame, really, because it seems very pack-able.

3. Taupe ribbon hat: I had high hopes for this hat, but it just doesn't seem right. Not sure why, but I couldn't get it to bend evenly  so that it would sit straight. But the little ribbon lines are very cute, so maybe it's worth trying?

4. Tan ribbon hat: Much easier to bend than #3, this hat is very light and has a bendable wire edge to help it hold its shape. But is the color too light for my pale skin?

5. XL brim brown hat: This hat is so big that I honestly wasn't sure I could capture it all in the picture -- it shades not only my face, but also my entire shoulders. When I put it on the first time, Pippi stopped in her tracks and said breathlessly, "Mommy! That hat is FANCY!" I want to believe it's very Audrey Hepburn, but someone else in my house (who will remain nameless) made sombrero references when I pulled it out of the box. Too much? Or just the sort of glamour my poor head needs?

Okay, readers -- help me out here. What do I keep and what do I return? Or if you've got better hat options I should consider, leave me some links in the comments.
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Can You Get a Convertible with a Third Row?

When my husband and I were first married, we had a Honda Accord and a Toyota Celica between the two of us -- both were paid for and working fine. After Junius was born, we needed more room for a car seat, so we traded in my convertible Celica -- for a convertible Solara (I am the Convertible Girl after all). Driving smaller cars -- and eschewing the bump up to a minivan or big honkin' SUV -- has been a source of quiet pride for both of us. It always seemed more financially and environmentally responsible -- plus it gave my husband a chance to show off his skill at packing a family of four for a week's vacation into one regular-sized vehicle.

But after a few years of watching friends help us out by picking up our kids from preschool or taking them to the park and not being able to return the favor -- because no amount of squeezing will fit three (much less four) car seats and/or boosters in the back of an Accord -- we're considering a big move. We don't need anything large enough to hold the whole swim team, pack luggage for 20 and tow a boat at the same time -- just something with a third row so that we could take our two kids and a couple of friends in the car together.

So here's where I need your help... taking into consideration that I want to seat at least six people without spending a fortune or buying more vehicle than necessary, what would you recommend?

Photo from A 2 Z Limosine Fleet.