Chase at 8 years

[Previous Chase updates: 7 years, 6 years, 2nd year of school, 5 years, starting school, 4 years, 3 years, 25-32 months, 2 years, 15-20 months, 1+ year, first four months in Cambridge, data analysis from first 2 months, first few months]

Chase turned 8 years old this spring. On his actual birthday, we played an escape game together. For his birthday party, we had planned an outdoor lawn game party with crafts. He was very excited but unfortunately, it ended up raining all day so we had to move the party to an indoor play place. Chase still had a lot of fun with his friends and we ended up playing the lawn games and doing the crafts over the summer during various play dates. Chase requested a van Gogh cake that Nate had made at the local Stop & Shop. It turned out great! 

Baltimore and DC trip

For Easter weekend, we visited Tahir, Anaan, and Azhari in Baltimore and day-tripped to DC! It was Nate and Chase’s first time in the Capitol! In Baltimore, we visited the harbor, the National Aquarium, and a baseball game (Chase’s first one, and on Jackie Robinson day: Orioles vs. Yankees). In DC, we walked a lot around the mall, went to the National Gallery (where Chase traded his normal Van Gogh love for Monet), the National Archives to see the original Declaration of Independence (super faded!) and the Constitution, and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum. We also ate lots of Baltimorian foods (crab cakes, pit sandwiches, and a famous brunch place) thanks to our nice hosts! We lucked out with some beautiful weather and a very chill trip due to taking the Amtrak there and back. 

Baltimore harbor and baseball game. 

Walking around the Mall.

Some posing in DC. 

Us near the Washington Monument and Chase near some Monet. 

Some sun in Charleston

At the end of March, I went to the South for the first time. I joined some Articles Club ladies and we ventured to Charleston, SC. We stayed at a beach house on the Isle of Palm, where I was able to go running on the beach in the mornings and relax outside, soaking up the sun. We also ventured into Charleston, visiting the McLeod Plantation (super interesting tour from the perspective of the slaves), the Angel Oak, touring a historic house in the city, and checking out the many waterfront sites. We had a great time catching up after not seeing each other for many years and I really enjoyed my first time in the warm (both weather and people-wise) South!

Strawberry picking!

Charleston downtown and the beach. 

Angel oak and walking around downtown. Not pictured are the multi-colored houses all over downtown. 

Embroidery Month

Thanks to a local craft shop (BonnahCo; IG: @bonnahcofiberarts), I participated in a February (embroidery month… who knew?) bingo project. They made different 5x5 boards for all participants, drew a different stitch every day, and demo-ed it in a daily Instagram live. I had so much fun learning new stitches and it was the perfect amount of time and energy commitment (most stitches were 15-30 minutes a day except for satin and turkey work which took wayyy longer) to feel like I was being creative but not overwhelmed. Love the look of the final project. 

The finished product: front and back. 

Close ups of some stitches.

Update: In the month of December, BonnahCo did an ornament class which consisted of two consecutive Thursday nights for 1.5 hours each. We made this cute ornament using fun stitches, two buttons for the birds, and some fun sparkly beads. So fun! Since February, I have also been working on another of their kits called Bloom and Bee. 

Weekend trip to Philadelphia

For president's day, we took a full family trip to Philadelphia. We had an intense 3 days: (1) Franklin Institute (and Planetarium) and Barnes Foundation, (2) Philly Museum of Art and Independence Hall and Liberty Bell, and (3) Lunch at the 4 seasons on top of the Comcast Building and Immersive Van Gogh exhibit. Chase had a great time with all the science and art, especially everything Van Gogh (he’s still obsessed -- as mentioned a few months ago) and all the armory at the Museum of Art (oh and the flags on the street leading up the Museum of Art since he’s super into flags these days). We also walked a lot, had some nice coffees, and ate quite a bit! A fun and full weekend for all.

Reupholstering the dining room chairs

Due to the supply chain issues, I wasn't sure when an ordered dining table would be delivered. Therefore, I looked on Facebook marketplace for a wood table (to match the wood beam/frame in our dining/living room) that had 2 leaves. There was one not too far away. I thought it might fit in our CRV but after trying, it was obvious that it wouldn't fit. I rented a van from Home Depot and drove it home (it was quite intense)! The couple selling the table said that they would throw in the chairs because they were planning to take them to the dump anyway. Since I had a huge van, I figured I'd just take them and figure out what to do with them later. When I got home, I looked up the table and chairs and saw that they were mid-century vintage (John Stuart, Inc. NY/Grand Rapids). The chairs actually seemed quite comfortable but looked like they had not been reupholstered recently (maybe never, actually). 

I knew reupholstering these myself was doable thanks to a tutorial from YoungHouseLove. I thus set to the task of reupholstering the chairs. I bought some fabric that matched the living room carpet/couch that I thought would look good. I also bought 6 square sections of 1 inch foam -- all off Amazon (can't remember how much it all cost but probably about $20-30). I went to Home Depot and bought a cheap $15 staple gun. With that in hand, I started by removing the cushion part of the chair just by using a screwdriver. Thankfully, these chairs only have one cushion so that was relatively easy to do.

Afterwards, I traced the old cushions on foam and cut that out using normal scissors. There were two types of shapes: the four normal chairs and the two that had arms as well. I made sure to trace each one individually to make it as customized as possible. 

Next, I arranged the foam on top and used the staple gun to attach the fabric tightly. I made sure that the corners were nice and crisp and that I was pulling it tight at all times. Finally, I screwed the cushions back on to each chair. I took me about 30-45 minutes per chair. 

Some of the corners and the finished product in the middle. 

A comparison of the new and old chairs. You can see that the new ones are a bit more plush and comfortable:

The finished products in both rooms. The table usually has only four chairs and no leaves as we only have 3 people. Even when my parents visit, we just pull up one chair. The two chairs with arms are on either side of the living room. Oddly, the beam/frame that matches the table isn't pictured in either of these pictures! In this entry at Christmas time, you can see the right side of the beam/frame behind Nate's arm on the lower right hand picture. You can also see the table with one leaf and the old chairs. The reupholstered chairs are much more comfortable and look much nicer in the space!

Update: After almost a year, the chairs are holding up great and have gotten tons of use both by us and guests throughout the year. 

January in CT

We welcomed 2022 with the Minevs and my parents and brother. The weather was warm and we were able to shoot off model rockets that my brother and Chase made together. For New Year’s eve, I made tons of Olivier salad and Christine made Banitsa, thereby honoring our respective Eastern European traditions. It was so nice to be together and to have Chase and Theo catch up. They played legos together and we all went to the aquarium together on New Year's day. 

Just a few weeks later, we had tons and tons of snow, which we can now check by looking at our backyard. We went to Wavenly Park to do some sledding. Coincidentally, this is also where we did our family pictures last fall. The hills were perfect for Chase and he used the sled my parents brought from San Diego in their move. Snow fun for all!