1) The neighborhood. We have gone for some good walks and met so many families! There is a good number of them who are several years ahead of us but Ashton already has a new friend in Caleb who is 5. It's also fun to watch Ashton marvel at the bigger boys playing basketball - there are a LOT of hoops set up on the sidewalks and the kids just shoot from the street! There is zero traffic and it's awesome. There's also a beautiful pond you can walk down to and toss rocks into the water.
2) The Hannah Williams playground. Technically, you have to drive to it and technically, it's in Wayland, But I am very much a "leave the house as much as possible" mom and this is the best destination I've found so far. The boys and I spent our entire morning there this past Sunday. The sandbox area had one of those diggers where kids can pull the handles to make it scoop - Ashton didn't get off that thing except when I made him because others were waiting for a turn.
Ashton is a great climber and can do the monkey bars and big structures all on his own and I don't even worry about him anymore! What??
This park had all the cozy coupes and push toys for Alex as well and in general was just a great spot! They both took 3 hour naps that afternoon.
3) My commute. I officially have my route(s) down - it depends whether or not I have Ashton with me, but when I don't, I can make it from my front door to my desk in 30 minutes. And the roads are beautiful right now. I avoid all the major highways because the traffic lines are red a lot of the time. So I take the back roads through Weston and Wayland from the lower left hand corner to the upper right hand corner (sorry for the small map, I guess you can't really see anything):
It looks far, but there are really no big stops and the roads look like this right now:
So it's beautiful and I'm happy.
4) Bargain finds!! This house needs furniture in a bad way. The boys have outgrown their gliders, we have more space, and the general filling-up process has begun. As it turns out, there is a place called ReStore in Dedham. There's a lot of these in fact - they are like thrift stores for furniture, appliances, etc. As it happens, Jen's boyfriend Mike has an uncle and his uncle works there. Occasionally, there is an "inside scoop" to be had. For example, if a movie is being shot in Boston, the furniture used on the sets might be donated to ReStore after filming. They get factory seconds, estate sale stuff, cabinets from kitchen renovations...it's generally a mish mash and you never know what you will find.
Enter relevance. Mike told me that Wayfair (the home decor site) was having a big clearance sale in downtown Boston on Friday night, October 2. Wayfair had told ReStore that anything that didn't go, ReStore was welcome to come get when the event was over. Boy do I wish I had been at ReStore on Saturday morning, October 3, when they opened. Apparently they had SO much gorgeous brand new furniture (and we are talking steep, steep discounts because whatever they make goes to Habitat for Humanity). Alas, we showed up at 11 am or so and a lot was sold. BUT, I spied these chairs:
They are big oversized comfy armchairs and I LOVED them. I bought two for $150 each!! And put one in each boy's room for their new reading chairs. They are huge and I am obsessed. Naturally I got right on Wayfair to rate my find and similar chairs by this designer are in the $700's. Yessssss.
I also scored a really sweet Land of Nod bookcase for Alex's room on Craigslist for $20. I love Craigslist.
5) THIS.
THIS is my new vacuum. It's cordless. And does a 360 spin. It's lightweight. And FUCHSIA.
You won't watch this, but it's the Dyson V6 Motorhead Plus Cordless Vacuum product video. No more sweeping, no more vacuuming on my knees. I zip around with this, take corners by storm, go under stools, over the rug, and I'm done. It's, say it with me, AH-mazing. Gosh, you know what, if you have hardwood floors, just get one. You will thank yourself.
6) My weekend starting tomorrow. Jason and I are heading to Long Island for one of his best friend's weddings. We will be gone two nights. Without the boys. Poppy and Mema are staying at our house for a night and then Jen and Mike are staying for a night and we will be home on Sunday. To say I'm excited is an understatement. I've been away from Ashton for a handful of nights in his past 4.2 years, but never Alex, and certainly never three days where we are out of town! I am so looking forward to the wedding, my sparkly dress, the mini-break with my husband, all of it. I can't wait.
Anyway, that's all I've got for the past week. We did get some bedroom furniture delivered today - due to the master closet in Watertown, we never needed any! I have a new bed picked out as well but for now our mattress and box spring are just sitting on the floor until I order it. After that, window treatments and then I should be able to do my first Craft Road before and after post. Happy things!! :)
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