3 Things

1. The last week I have been unpacking and hauling from storage...with a detour to IKEA and another to the ER. Our things have been in storage for 2 years, it is so fun to start opening boxes and unpacking! I am trying to be disciplined and "stir what I have"...so use what I have in new ways! The picture below is an example of that...this is the table in our foyer area. It was a painted white nightstand, but I painted it this red color we had leftover from a project over 2 years ago! I changed out the knobs with some extras we had (also from a project many years ago.) A few decorations...and we are done!

I do have a list of things that we will need to purchase...eventually...but for now it will be finding a place for what I do have. (I also have a nice pile started to sell on Craigslist and at a garage sale!)

2. Did you notice what's on the bottom shelf? Probably not...

I was not planning on fall decorations until after Labor Day...but sometimes things just happen ;)

Yep...that's an owl pic and a little ceramic acorn dish...both found at garage sales!

3. Just thought I would share with you the easiest salad in the world! My sister and I saw this at IKEA and it looked so yummy! It's just salad greens of your choice with strawberries, pineapple, blueberries and mandarin oranges spread on top. Serve with poppy seed dressing! My husband thought almonds would also be good with this...and I agree! This one is supposed to feed 20 hungry construction workers at lunch today!

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I've Missed You!

It's true...we've moved!!! We're here! Actually we've been here for almost a month now....and I've been without Internet until today...not fun, but it's in the past right? Moving was a crazier process than I had envisioned...here was the plan:

the girls were at my parents for the weekend while we moved.

we traded my parents our van for their truck so we could move over the weekend.

it all depended on the final inspection by the city.

my husband pulled an all nighter to get ready.

the inspection was friday afternoon, it finished at 5:00 pm.

did we pass? of course not! did I mention we live in a crazy strict building code town? we do...in fact the major thing that needed to be fixed that restricted us from moving in...we're the only town in the nation that has that code!

Instead of taking the weekend to move, my husband spent it fixing things that did not pass our city code.

It took the inspector until the following Wednesday to come back to inspect.

Since my husband was busy at the house, I kind of ended up moving myself (with children of course!)

My mom came on Thursday to help clean our apartment, which was a huge blessing! We finished at about 9 pm...just in time to pack everyone up for a weekend vacation with my husband's family.

Things have slowed down, still lots and lots to do, but it's nice just being together and having one residence to take care of!

We're happy just being together as a family again!

The cook top with pot filler...I actually love it a lot more than I thought I would!

Some of our carpet was back ordered...so we were moved in for a few days before it was installed.

I am ready to make a quilt for Sophia's room! I think that will be my first room to do, it mostly requires material and paint...and digging a big girl bed out of storage!

I put up a few summery decorations, which will be replaced in a few short weeks by fall decor!

This is the pile of decorations for the master bedroom...just sitting in the corner...looking longingly at me to decorate with them.

Yes, sometimes I do think I am going crazy.

We have curtains in our master bedroom! I'm sure the neighborhood thanks us.

The curtains throughout most of the downstairs are actually canvas painters drop clothes. The sides were already finished, they came in a 6x 9 ft. sheet, and they cost under $10 each! I did have to hem them, but that was it!

I've learned to appreciate the simple things in life...like a towel hanging by the shower...instead a pile of them in the hallway.

Doors...they're a good thing.

Some more seasonal decorations.

The End.

(for now)

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Finds Around Town...

Here are a few items I found while I was out and about running errands!

Above: a curtain panel found at Hobby Lobby. I've never seen these there before, I found them in the 54" bolts of decorating fabric. One Panel cost $24.99, but could easily be less with one of those lovely Hobby Lobby Coupons!

I don't think I could have made a panel for much less...and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for color wise...the den is painted the Camel color and the other colors I will use in there will be Black and Cream!

Above: Another Hobby Lobby find...clocks for the girls rooms. Regular Price-$9.99. But I bought them when clocks were 50% off!

Above: Cute red clips from Staples (under $5.00)...will be perfect for my little desk space!
Binders- Wal-Mart! Yeah! They had other colors, including a pretty chocolate brown! These ran $3.50 each. Another item for my desk space.

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A Lovely Shade of Blah...

One week and counting!!!!

If all goes well we will close on our house next Friday!

I have been cleaning and washing windows...

but yesterday I decided to repaint Sophia's room.

It was a color called Summer Fields from Lowes, and I really liked it.

But then I found this and really really liked it (the fawn and owl did it!)

And I didn't like the idea of those decals on a green wall.

Then it took me a few weeks to think it over in my head....how things would be arranged, other colors in the room, etc.

So yesterday I took the leap and painted it an original color (I didn't want to buy new paint so I mixed what I had) I call it:

Antique Alabaster

(antique white and alabaster mixed together)

Which is creamy white...which will be accented by creamy white carpet and the creamy white trim....that's right...

a lovely shade of blah for now!

Just trust me...I can see the finished product in my head...and it's not blah!

It will stay in blahland for awhile...until we:

paint her bed and bookshelves the Summer Fields color (thankfully I have over a gallon left!)

Her little kids harvest table will stay stained

the chairs will be painted pink

still unsure about the curtains.

The bedding will be made from this or similar colrs/fabric.

and I can see something like the edges of her sheets embroidered with this pattern.

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Another Update

Not many words...just some pictures of the house progress.

Above: the powder room

Above: the master bedroom fireplace...a few things to do before it's finished.

Above: master bath countertops, faucets and lights.

Above: locker close-up

Above: mudroom lockers

Above: kitchen lights

Above: kids bathroom...we finally have lights!

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The Monster Is In!

The countertops we purchased from a stone fabricator were put in on Friday. The girls countertop is Carrera Marble. Here are 2 tips I found out when purchasing countertops for the house:

#1: If you want natural stone (marble, granite, etc.) -For small areas (like a bathroom) look in the fabricators remnant area. It's leftovers from their other projects, and they want to get rid of it, so they will sell it to you for considerably less. In our case, it was $20 per square foot less!

#2: They have very nice Carrera marble countertops for VERY reasonable prices at Lowes....and the price includes a white, already attached, undermount sink. The only catch is they are in standard sizes, but a little pre-planning is all you will need!

The price for the countertop and sink at Lowes is what the fabricators charged us just for the labor of installing an undermount sink! See, big time savings!

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I Need Your Help!

In about 3 1/2 weeks we will be moving! I am very excited...but there is so much to do in between. Packing up an entire household can take up any "extra" time I may have...but on top of that, a house that we are finishing ourselves, and that has to be finished to move in! I'm thinking about that first week or two in the new house, and how much unpacking and projects we'll be working on...and how that will translate into feeding my family.

I have decided homemade freezer meals is the way to go...it's nothing new to me...I've done it in the past...usually devoting a day to filling the freezer. This time around I don't have an "extra" day...so my plan is to just double 7-10 meals I make in the next few weeks.

Here's where you come in!

Do you make freezer meals?

Would you mind sharing your favorite recipe?

I would greatly appreciate it!

Leave a comment or email me!

Thanks!

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