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Allison Larkin

Internationally Best-Selling Author

You are here: Home / life / We don’t have any unicorns either.

We don’t have any unicorns either.

November 30, 2009 Filed Under: life

Nothing says Thanksgiving like major bathroom renovations, right?

The in-laws were ever so brave and kind and came all the way out from Michigan to help us. The Larkin men finished demolishing the bathroom and even got the new tub/shower combo in (and it’s beautiful!), and I served up a dinner made by Wegmans (because finishing book edits, coming up with new book ideas, and demo-ing a bathroom really don’t lend well to cooking a beautiful Thanksgiving feast and no one makes better mashed potatoes than Wegs does anyway). But the holiday weekend was not without its hiccups.

On Wednesday, they delivered our new kitchen island/table, and I discovered that the stools I bought were so tall that they were almost the same height as the counter.

On Friday morning, I locked us all out of the house.

And throughout my in-laws’ visit, pieces of our upstairs bathroom were continually falling into our downstairs (and only working) bathroom through the drop ceiling, making for quite a dramatic restroom experience.

But these things were minor blips in comparison to what happened on Friday night. . .

My three-year-old niece’s hair was in her face. My mother-in-law said, “Maybe Aunt Al has a pony-,” she pulled Niece’s hair into a ponytail to show me what she was talking about.

“Sure,” I said, remembering a box of old junk jewelry I’d found during my cleaning binge a few weeks ago, thinking it would be my best shot for a kid-sized hair clip. I ran downstairs, and heard little feet and kid giggles behind me. And I felt like the coolest aunt in the entire world, because my three-year old niece was so excited to look for a hair clip with me that she was literally jumping up and down.

I rifled through the box of old earrings and broken necklaces. Niece walked over, rested her hand on the chair next to me, and leaned against it, crossing one leg in front of the other like she was trying oh-so-hard to act casual. She looked up at me with her big blue-grey eyes and said, “So, where are the ponies?”

And I had to tell my favorite little girl in the whole wide world that we do not keep ponies in our basement.

8 Comments

Comments

  1. courtney says

    December 1, 2009 at 12:53 am

    Ha! That is quite a disappointment to a little girl, to expect a pony and get a rubber band instead. Your Thanksgiving was certainly eventful, but I’m glad you have a beautiful new bathroom to relax in!

    Reply
  2. Kate says

    December 1, 2009 at 12:58 am

    That’s an awesome story.

    Reply
  3. Allie says

    December 1, 2009 at 1:49 am

    Oh, no no no no no! We have a beautiful new BATHTUB. We still don’t have walls, or a sink, or a toilet. . . But last night, I took a fantastically relaxing bath amidst the studs and insulation. :) Tonight, I drywall!

    Reply
  4. Reluctant Blogger says

    December 1, 2009 at 5:49 pm

    Awww poor little mite.

    I remember when I was tiny watching an advert on TV which said that a certain sort of sweetie made you able to fly. I talked my mother into buying me a packet of these sweets (Refreshers) and ate the whole packet in one go and then launched myself from the top of the stairs. I had a big bruise! Lucky I didn’t jump out of the upstairs window really.

    Sounds like an eventful weekend.

    Reply
  5. Corinne Bowen says

    December 2, 2009 at 2:16 am

    Hope you’ll update us with some pictures of your renovations! I have this dungeon-like basement bathroom picture in my head. Is it that scary down there?

    I want more book news! Are you working on your next novel?

    xo

    Reply
  6. Ryan says

    December 5, 2009 at 11:58 pm

    I remember being so very very disappointed that the Thunderpunch He-Man toy didn’t actually knock down items several feet away, like in the commercials. I didn’t even like He-Man.

    Reply
  7. Wendy says

    December 6, 2009 at 3:48 pm

    Aww, Allie you’re so mean! You could have gotten some “pretend” ponies down there for her. Or painted some ponies on paper and hung them up on the walls together. Or made pony cookies and had a picnic in the basement (maybe you could do that for Christmas – ponies instead of reindeer). LOL!

    Reply
  8. Mickey says

    December 9, 2009 at 3:27 am

    Oh, you destroyer of dreams!

    Reply

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We are in the habit of starting and ending our day We are in the habit of starting and ending our days side by side in our lawn chairs, while the light rises or dims. It’s still chilly at the outer edges of the day. Sometimes Roxy shivers. I bought her a sweater, but she won’t wear it. Sometimes I try to wrap her in my jacket, but she’s not having that either, so I throw her ball and try to get her run and then she comes back to her chair, warm for a little longer. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogssittinginchairs
“I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to “I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to heaven in a split pea shell.” ~ @petermulvey43 Words Too Small to Say
Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyro Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyroxydog #huskymixesofinstagram
I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic ant I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic antique store sometime in November and didn’t buy it. But then, of course, I kept thinking about her. She’s the perfect size for my office, and I found those drawer pulls hilarious. When I finally went back in December, I told myself I was shopping for wall art, because I assumed she would be gone. But she was right where I’d seen her last: balanced on another dresser with boxes of old picture frames and tchotchkes piled on top (the true mark of a magic antique store). I didn’t even realize she had a towel rack — that she was a wash stand, not a dresser — until I asked about the price, said I’d take her, and my favorite magic antique store person asked if we needed to unscrew the towel rack to fit her in my car. I suspect this little sweetie is not from the days of necessary wash stands so much as from a country kitchen in the 80s. She was in rough shape, and not made from wood worth stripping and re-staining, but her price reflected that. I had to disassemble that door and put it back together, but I’d been in the market for some experience working with old furniture, and she made me feel brave about trying. I thought about painting her something more neutral, but I’m so glad I didn’t. She deserves to be pink. She’s not perfectly painted and needs a few touch ups. I learned some things about chalk paint and finishes. The drawers stick a bit. Eventually, I’d like to line them with fabric and when I do, I might plane the edges to smooth things out. But goodness, I love her in a way that I wouldn’t if I hadn’t spent time cleaning away her cobwebs and scrubbing the grime from her hilarious drawer pulls. She’s also become a little shrine for the book I’m working on, which makes me love her even more. I’ve always been a person who sees some soul in certain things, and I’m learning to cherish that idiosyncrasy, because there’s so much joy to be found in a brave little toaster or an underdog wash stand. We’re not here in the world for all that long. We may as well love some bright little things. #furnituremakeover
After Roxy started stealing my seat, I dragged a s After Roxy started stealing my seat, I dragged a second lawn chair out. She nudges me over and we sit in our chairs, side by side, and watch the sun set. Well, I watch the sun set. She spies on the neighbors. #dailyroxydog #dogstagram #sundayevening
I truly don’t understand how anyone is this cute I truly don’t understand how anyone is this cute. I never get used to it. There’s no immunity. She’s adorable beyond what pictures can capture. #dailyroxydog #huskymixesofinstagram #ilovemydog
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