"I'm looking for a dollhouse . . . "

" . . . because I was thinking about getting one for S____. I know Boogie isn't there yet, but what do you think?" That's how my college roomie started off our conversation today. I actually paused, "Are you being sarcastic?" I thought she was. "I'm OBSESSED with dollhouses."

Anyway, we had a too-brief conversation about her preferences (plastic vs. wood) and I promised to send her a few links to some houses to look at. After I hung up, I gave this question some more thought. What would be the first dollhouse for Boogie?

I had joked with DH that there was an Emerson House with Boogie's name on it. But, honestly, as a first dollhouse for a toddler, I think the parts to be assembled (and potentially disassembled by wee fingers) makes it ill suited for a child that young. Plus, let's face it, *I* want the Emerson house for myself, and although I'm more than willing to share with Boogie, maybe she needs to be a bit older. I would be heart broken the first time she took crayon to the floors.

Back when Boogie was still baking, I also scored one of the fully furnished plan toys Eco Dollhouses. But, it's not too colorful or detailed, and one adult's modern aesthetic might be monochromatic dull for a toddler.

If money were no object (and Husband allowed me to), I would think about the fully kitted HaPe Bamboo Sunshine house:

Or the Momoll RayRay or Ding 3, seeing as how I already own the coordinating furniture.



Or should I crush the my modernist leanings and get something that Boogie would love, like the Calico Critter's Cloverleaf Manor? (Eeek. But the animal dolls are really cute . . . )



In the end, I'm sure I already own more than enough surplus dollhouse goodies that I can share with Boogie. Like the extra Voila and Selecta furniture sets. The Voila dollhouse looks like it could withstand some hard use from one (or more!) kids. I'm curious though, if you were going about buying a first dollhouse for a girl, who is around 2 years old, which house would you get?

Mini Project - Status at Four Months

At four months, my current mini obsession, aka Boogie, is going down reliably in the early evening and giving momma some much needed personal time. Husband and I are starting to feel "normal" again. I've barely kept a toe in the mini world, although one of those Emerson Houses does have my name written all over it.

In some ways I've felt pangs of longing, as the mini world is passing me by. CallSmall is in the NYT! Mini Modern is back! Huzzah! Nevertheless, as I'm sure most of you could have told me, I wouldn't have changed a single minute of the last four months. Not the sleepless first nights spent terrified "Am I responsible for a little life!?", listening to an infant's surprisingly noisy breathing. Nor the hollering at the top of her wee lungs - who knew such a loud noise could come out of such a small person? I wouldn't even change the numerous dirty diapers. Or all the times, more than I care to admit, that I got pooped on. It's been a crazy ride, every delicious second.

So for now, I just get to watch from afar. Our plans are to find a 1:1 scale home for Boogie. When we finally do, watch out! The dollhouses come out of hock (from storage at my parents' house), the pinky girls come out to play and, most likely, Boogie will go rampaging through it all, Godzilla style.

Meanwhile, I'm just putting one foot in front of the other, trying to do my best on my most important mini project to date.

Some photos from an afternoon photo session, hiding indoors from the beastly heat.

Bennett House

Oooh. Pictures of Brinca Dada's Bennett House are up on their facebook page here.

Bennett House

Now I just can't decide between the Emerson House and the Bennett House. I doubt Dear Husband will be sympathetic towards my arguments that our sweet 9 week old daughter needs two dollhouses in her first year.

In between marathon diaper changing sessions, I've been working through a backlog of old memory cards. I'm real good at taking photos, not so much about processing the RAW files and clearing out old SD cards. *sigh* I came across these two old pictures of Pinky rampaging, Godzilla size, through Muji New York.





Happy Tuesday!

Newborn Nursery

Thank you to everyone for the best wishes! We're in the middle of our bundle of joy's first month home. Let me just say that my OB was not kidding when she warned me that the first month could be (would be) "intense."

We live in a state of mild terror of our 9 lb wee one. I kid. Mostly. But, we're also delirious with joy that she's here and we finally get to meet her acquaintance.

While I'm waiting for her to wake up for a midnight feeding, here are some pictures of the design project that's taken up my past couple of months. I almost forgot how to post pictures it's been so long! As Husband and I are both avid fans of scuba diving, a hobby that we've given up for the timing being, we decided that we would do an underwater ocean theme for our daughter.













Uh . . .Credits, in case anyone is interested in the non-mini kind of houseware:
Nursery furniture from Argington. (Don't get me, or Husband, started on how long it took me to decide on the crib. I actually picked the dresser and changing table first, but for some reason resisted getting the matching crib until something like two months later . . . )
Wall hanging from Inhabit.
Wall stickers from Wee Gallery for Blik.
Glider and ottoman from Monte.
Lamp from CB2 (because I couldn't stomach the idea of paying $1000+ for the Sebastian Wrong Spun table lamp, beautiful as it is).
Fishbowl rug from overstock.com.
Origami art folded with my two little pregnancy swollen hands and cobbled together with Ikea frames and craft paper from Michael's and inspired by another wonderful ocean-themed nursery featured on Ohdeedoh.com.

Update: the rabbit on the dresser is actually a clever brush and comb set. The handles of the brush and comb form each of the "ears" of the rabbit, and there's a mirror on the bottom of the base. Hare Brush and Comb set is by Skip Hop. They also have it in a green colorway. Adorable! It's pretty widely available at BabiesRus, BuyBuyBaby, etc.

The Emerson House will make me a LIAR

With the impending arrival of our new family member, my go-to site for wasting time the past couple of months has been Ohdeedoh. It's been a great resource for decorating our former toy-dollhouse-sneaker-collection-room-turned-nursery.

Imagine my heart palpitations when a post on Brinca Dada's Emerson House popped up. Big open spaces, sliding doors, a design that opens up for easy access and play - oh man! This house surely is going to make a liar out of me (when I promised the Husband that the Plan Toys Eco House would be the last for a good long while).



There will be furniture and accompanying figures for the 3/4" scale house. Retail is expected to be a within reason $299. More details on Brinca Dada and the Emerson House here.

In the meantime, as the belly grows more unwieldly every day, I've been getting my design jollies with the nursery. A few final touches remain (if baby gives me time), and hopefully I'll be able to share some photos.

Photo Credit: Ohdeedoh

Curious absence and a deal on a House

I know, I dropped of the face of the blogosphere with nary an explanation. At first, it was just the crush of three-ish crazy months of work. I would look longingly at my houses, and even set up a few rooms, but I never had enough time to myself to actually get around to photographing (much less blogging) the new rooms.


And then . . . i got news. The sort that tells you you are going to be really REALLY busy say . . . in like nine months time.


As glee (mingled with trepidation) turned to reality, my better half and I had to admit that our "play" room, filled with my houses and his massive collection of urban vinyl and even MORE massive collection of sneakers, would have to make way for more demanding tenants.


So, I've really been dreading writing this, but over a very long painful weekend, husband and I packed up everything (ok, I salvaged one or two pinky girls for a bookshelf) and sent it to my parents' house, where everything waits until we buy our own home. One that's not an apartment, and has more than two bedrooms and some space for a cat.


I've had so much fun with this blog and the world of modern mini fans out there, and still a bit sad that it came to an abrupt (but not entirely unexpected) temporary end.


Lest you think my mini instincts have completely dissappeared, instead of looking at real suburban houses, I snagged one of the Green Dollhouses by Plan Toys that MiniModern featured. It's currently on sale at the Land of Nod here, for $114 including furniture. If you poke around, you should be able to find a free shipping code somewhere too.

I begged and pleaded with husband, who didn't see the point of buying something we don't have space to set up. I argued that it was an investment. And it was for erm . . well . . for someone ELSE. And well, since he couldn't really stop my mouse clicking, I bought it. It'll go straight aways into storage, but I'm glad I managed to sneak in one last dollhouse purchase. (i swear, husband, honest!) If you've always wanted one of these houses, hurry! There appear to be limited quantities available.