Posts in living with kids
five kid decorating don'ts (and what to do instead)
five kid decorating don'ts (and what to do instead)

I spent several days last week living in a rainbow. The outside was absolutely amazing. So fun. My room was another story. Purple carpet, lime green walls/headboard and curtains, and my bathroom was orange with beige tile. I should have taken a picture of it to share with you but I knew it would be forever etched in my memory as a bad dream so I didn't even think to photograph it. 

The lime green and purple (as well as a keynote by Stacy London of What Not to Wear) got me thinking about good ideas gone bad. (Also, just a quick footnote from this design snob to whoever decorated those bathrooms: if you are going to go big, go big. For heaven’s sake, don’t leave the old brown tile and think it just works with an orange and purple bathroom.) This can happen to the best of us, for sure. Decorators are not immune. So let’s talk briefly about some decorating decisions we should try to avoid and what to do instead. 

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living with kids, kids, interiorsadrienne robideauxkid rooms, decorComment
what I'm loving now
what I'm loving now

It occurs to me that I should have given this post a better title because unless I'm Joanna Gaines, not many people care what I'm loving now. Also, I just have to get it right out of the way for those who know me personally and are reading this wondering why there is a cat photo in this post. No, I have not gone to the dark side. There is a point to the picture. Keep reading. 

Anyway, I’m in California this week for two design related conferences. When this post goes live, I will be leaving the first conference in Palm Springs and headed to Los Angeles. I’ll spend a few days recovering from information overload there before heading on to more information overload in Beverly Hills. I intended to leave you with a light little look at the things I’m loving right now in order to show that I am a real person who is not totally motivated by wallpaper or and who is not trying to sell you her services 24-7. Of course, each one of the identified things I’m loving right now would be casually tied to some amazing decorating item or other, subtly pulling you back into the “hire me!” abyss. To bastardize Shakespeare, all the internet’s a marketplace and the men and women merely salespeople in it.

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lagniappe, living with kidsadrienne robideauxmom life, family livingComment
the epic guide to decorating with your teen daughter
the epic guide to decorating with your teen daughter

One of the most terrifying parts of the mother-daughter relationship is that day when you are no longer friends. Those of you with younger daughters are clicking the close tab button right now but you might consider staying with me here for a minute if you can stomach it.

No one is ready for that day, I promise. Yesterday, she told you all the news about Sarah and how horrible the math test was and wanted you to take her shopping. Today, you are lucky to get a simple yes or no. The good news is that mother-daughter frenemy status is usually temporary. Sometimes it goes as quickly as it came. One thing is for sure: all girl moms can count on the inevitable day when we wonder just who came up with the idea for boarding school and whether robbing a bank to pay for it is a risk we are willing to take for the sake of sanity.

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design, interiors, living with kidsadrienne robideauxkid friendly, teen rooms Comments
newsflash: not all girls want a pink bedroom
newsflash: not all girls want a pink bedroom

Last week while dropping my kids off at school, I discovered that there were new lines taped on the ground where kids stand in line to wait for the restrooms. Earth shattering news to start a post with, right? Stick with me. One line was pink and the other line was blue. Now, I may not have noticed or even taken issue with the pink and blue lines had it not been for the nearby sign on the wall, written in childish hand, that said “Stop Stereotypes”. 

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design, interiors, kids, living with kidsadrienne robideauxkid rooms, girlsComment
still framing (modern southern bungalow week 15)
still framing (modern southern bungalow week 15)

A couple of weeks ago, I mentioned that we were waiting on approval from Historic so that framing of the dining room could be completed. We finally got that approval last week and the permits were issued yesterday. The walls are now up, with windows framed in and ready to be installed. And you thought bloggers planned what they were going to write weeks in advance. You are getting real time information right here.

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living with kids, modern southern bungalowadrienne robideauxmodern southern bungalow, remodel, family livingComment
the no fail route to mother of the year
the no fail route to mother of the year

My daughter asked me on Tuesday if I could come to lunch at school this week. When I told her I didn’t have time, I got, “You never come to school!” Apparently, “never” doesn’t include helping her class in the library every Monday, editing stories in her classroom last week, or leading her girl scout troop for the third year in a row. I’m at the twins’ school so much, one of my son’s friends asked if I worked there.

I’m convinced that even if I were to give the kids ice cream whenever they wanted it and unlimited iPad time every day and candy in their lunch boxes (while I sat with them in the school cafeteria watching them eat), it would never be enough. So I’m redefining what it means to be mother of the year. This year, I’m going to win.

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living with kidsadrienne robideauxfamily livingComment
expired: family living trends whose time is up

Quick quiz. List as many things as you can think of with an expiration date. Was any one of those things shiplap? Because unless you live in a farm house in central Texas built at least a hundred years ago, shiplap should have been the first thing to pop into your mind.

Let me back up a minute. The internet clearly has enough haters, and I won’t add to that by ripping on Joanna Gaines. I mean, she is EVERYWHERE, so that must mean people love what she is doing. And as much as I hate to admit it, I do like some of the rooms I see coming out of Magnolia. I really am going to do my part to remain positive. That said, I think we can all agree that some decorating trends need to have an expiration date.

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design, interiors, living with kidsadrienne robideauxfamily living, design Comments
what's your why?
what's your why?

As we get deeper into the decisions on our remodel, and I try to balance that work with projects for clients and building a sustainable business and finding new clients and being a parent and a spouse and a daughter and a volunteer and generally splitting time between all of life’s roles and responsibilities, I’ve been thinking about why I do what I do. Some of you are new here, and may not know what I do. Some of you have been around since this blog was Susie Makes Supper and are wondering where all the recipes have gone. Some of you were just surfing the internet because your list is so long you don’t even know where to start and you aren’t actually sure why you are still reading this. Welcome.

Really, though, I do think it is important to remember why we choose the paths we are on and occasionally to question whether we want to stay on them. When we are thoughtful about our choices, not only are we happier (or at least more content), but we teach our children to be thoughtful about their own choices. Can I get an amen on how easy it is to lose sight of this? I’m in constant self-reminder mode that I have the power to choose what my life looks like and it looks pretty damn rad.

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design, interiors, living with kidsadrienne robideauxdesign, family livingComment