Spring Has Sprung

We didn't just play and travel over Spring Break. Once we returned home and ended the traveling fun (not because we wanted to but only because Daniel is a party pooper. Okay, he's not a party pooper. He had to go to work.), I took one look at our front yard, and knew I needed to get busy.

After snow and ice and freezes and draught, my fall/winter pansies were a sad, sad sight.


Well, these guys are not completely horrific. Maybe this group around the tree tells the better story.


Just sad. If only you could have seen them before their demise. They really were pretty at one point. Trust me. But, their pretty days were over.

I headed to Lowe's for the spring/summer replacements. It's not a tough job each season because I stick with what works for me. I'm not adventuresome with my planting. I wish I could be since there are so many beautiful plants calling my name at Lowe's but, I know what works for me. It's pansies and/or mums in fall/winter and petunias and/or marigolds in spring/summer. The few times I've strayed from those choices, I had to invoke the return clause at Lowe's. (It's a beautiful thing, that return clause, that lets you sack up the dead plants and return them to Lowe's. If you have your receipt, they will refund your money. That's why I only buy at Lowe's.) Okay, back to my front yard...


Ahhh.... Aren't they just gorgeous?! These are French Marigolds, but they look just like the African Trailing Marigolds I planted two years ago. Those were the most gorgeous and successful flowers I've ever planted. I hope these are just as great.

The yellow marigolds, paired with these purple and white petunias was the perfect combination I wanted.





Now, that's much better.

Giddy Up

Of course, I have to give both children the same amount of "air time." Right? In the interest of fairness, and because I love how it came together, I'll share images of Cooper's room today. While Abigail is on her third room, this is all pieced together from Cooper's nursery. I know that may not be fair. But, when I designed Cooper's nursery, I knew I couldn't make the same mistakes I'd made with Abigail's, and had every intention of putting together a room that could grow with him. Mission accomplished!


When we found out we were having a boy, I immediately began looking for masculine-themed bedding. I'd still be looking if I hadn't given up, found fabrics and put my very talented mother-in-law and grandmother-in-law to the task of creating bedding and window treatments. I wasn't interested in pastel colors or trains or teddy bears or sports themes. Once I decided to make it a cowboy-themed room, I still wasn't successful in finding western items that weren't baby-ish. And, fabric stores are a rarity these days so I resorted to online fabric shopping. After the incredible length of time I spent putting it together, I can say that it was all worth it. I still love it, almost four years later!

When we moved him from his toddler bed last year, my mother found this antique bed at a garage sale for $30. Daniel had to do some welding (and still needs to touch up some of the wood), but it is perfect! And, my mother-in-law currently has the bedskirt from his crib and is re-working it into a bedskirt for this queen-size box springs. I can't wait to see how it turns out because it was adorable to start off with. It is almost identical to the valance but also features a fringed, brown leather trim. Cuteness!

The wooden toy chest at the foot of the bed was mine when I was a child. And, the rocking chair in the left-hand corner of the photo was mine that I received for my first birthday.


I especially love the rustic painting above the bed. My parents gave that to Cooper for Christmas last year.


Here, you can see that rocker I've been dragging around for almost 30 years. Ha! On the corner of the bed is the quilt from Cooper's crib. Hanging on the wall is a painting of our beloved dog, Maui. A friend of Daniel's grandparents' painted this for us a few years ago, and the frame was made by Daniel's grandfather.




This dresser was the integral piece of this room. Don't ask me why, but it didn't come together until I found this dresser. I'm terrible about getting an idea in my head and not settling until I find what I'm picturing in my head. The problem intensifies when I affix a price to that idea. Apparently antiques aren't the way to go when looking for a deal, unless you're determined and keep looking and looking and looking. My family was so happy when I finally purchased this dresser and they no longer had to spend Saturdays traipsing from one Craigslist dresser viewing to another. Ha! Again, the time spent was totally worth it. This dresser is my favorite piece of furniture in our home.

The lamp was an old lamp that I covered with a scrap of fabric. And, this treasured painting sitting on the dresser was painted by my great-grandmother. I spent years trying to get a hold of one of her paintings, and my grandmother graciously sent this to me a year or so ago. I wish could get at least one more, but I won't be greedy. I'm incredibly grateful that I was able to get this one.


These two prints were purchased online, but I have great plans to replace them. I know I've seen a photo of my father on the same pony when he was a boy. That would be a great addition to Cooper's room.


My mom found this wooden growth chart in a boutique several years ago. I've been too lazy to use it. I've got to start keeping track of it! My grandmother used to keep track of my on the door frame of her bedroom closet. I'm sure it's been painted over, which is a bit disappointing so that makes me think Cooper would enjoy having this as a keepsake many years from now. And, he's growing so quickly, so I better get to work!

Abigail's Room

I've written several blogs lately, but have chosen not to share them with you. Mostly, it's ended up being what I would consider a journal, and I don't think you're interested in reading my thoughts on parenting or politics or anything personal. Usually I just start writing without a real plan in my head, and lately, those thoughts have mostly been introspective. I think the dawn of a new year/decade will cause that for most, and I'm no different.

Moving on, I do have some images I've never shared and missed "talking" to you guys, so I thought I'd give you a peek into our home this week as a way of touching base with you. For some reason, I don't feel that's too personal to share...

Abigail's room is the epitome of a little girl's room, which she's never had prior to this home. In her previous rooms, dating back to her nursery, I did everything I could to avoid pink and flowers and anything girly. Now, she's old enough to decide what she wants for herself, and she is as girly as it gets!


At the room's entry is a pair of photos (by the lovely Allison Richardson, whom we miss dearly) that span from age 3 to 4. My, how much she changes each year! In the middle is a shadowbox of the dress she wore home from the hospital after birth and her birth announcement. I'm not normally sentimental, but this is the only piece of Abigail's clothing I've held on to. It is the first item Daniel ever gave to her, as he did his own shopping during my pregnancy. I hope she treasures it one day.


The rest of the room is Pottery Barn-inspired. The bedding, from bedskirt to duvet, to shams to sheets, is all PBKids. I love that place, but even moreso when I can get it for a steal on eBay. Ha! You didn't think this couponing queen would pay retail for expensive bedding for my five-year-old?! Never! But, that doesn't mean I don't drool over the rooms in all PB catalogs.

Please excuse the lack of window treatment in this photo. Fabric was purchased and a plan was hatched almost a year ago. However, the planner fell through and the windows are still naked. So, I've taken it upon myself and now have the fabric in my possession and am determined to have a window treatment in place by the end of this month. (Also, I picked up fabric to create a tablecloth and chair coverings for one of Abigail's small tables not currently in her room. I'll get that together and gift her my porcelain tea set that my great aunt painted for me when I was a little girl. Fingers crossed her brother doesn't destroy it...) Another thing bugging me in this image is the missing headboard. I put in an order for Daniel to create a white picket fence headboard. I need to check on that order...




There's quite a few crafty items in this room, from the rose-covered lamp to the painted wooden letters hung by ribbon above the bead to this bulletin board. I just covered the cork with a scrap of fabric and used ribbon to make photo holders.




The two dressers in this room were purchased from an unfinished furniture store when I was pregnant with Abigail. We actually got new furniture for her when we moved her into a big-girl room a few years ago, but we sold that last year and gave this back to her when she wanted a girly room. This mirror was removed from one of the bathrooms in our home in South Carolina. Daniel framed it with this moulding, and it's beautiful in her room. Now, that's thrifty!

Speaking of moulding, did you notice the lovely chair rail in the room? Daniel installed this perfectly, along with painting the ballet pink and white walls. He's so handy... I think I'll keep him! That is, if he makes my headboard...

Chocolate Deluxe

At the beginning of the year, I set out to paint and decorate one room per month. Ha! It's November, and we've completed three bedrooms and one bathroom. Oh, well it's better than nothing.

The first room we painted was the master bedroom. If I had endless free time and energy, I would probably re-paint this, as I wasn't entirely pleased, but that's not going to happen any time soon.

It's probably too dark for most people, but (as if you can tell) I LOVE chocolate brown. And, it serves another purpose of helping Daniel sleep. He works a night shift half the time, so the dark walls combined with the black-out drapes help him sleep during the day even though we have a large window in the bedroom.

This scripture writing on a wooden box canvas was my attempt at being creative.

On another side of the room we have some wonderful family photos to display, courtesy of my friend Allison in South Carolina. She's so talented, and I'm so grateful to her for these images!

Just outside of the master bathroom is a sitting area. I'll be honest and tell you that these chairs are more often used as clothes drying racks than their intended purpose, but it was a nice thought.

Also in the sitting area is a collection of items from our wedding: our engagement photo, my bridal bouquet in a shadow box frame and our wedding guest sign-in book, which was actually a framed and matted wedding invitation. I know the red doesn't even begin to match the room's decor, but it's the sentimental effect that I appreciate.

Now, I'm off to enjoy my clean room!

Mr. Clean Was Here

I feel like I've greatly neglected my blog and my three readers lately, but really, there's nothing exciting going on. And, it feels awesome to be able to tell you that. Aside from the regular ins-and-outs of a full work day and taking care of the kids, the most exciting thing I did today was clean out the refrigerator and pantry. 

There is something I love about having sparkling refrigerator shelves and organized pantry shelves. I know, I'm weird, but cleanliness and organization relaxes me. I was wishing I had some chalkboard paint to make nameplates for each shelf of the pantry. I've decided that the other people I live with and our many guests must not be able to follow my (obvious) organization patterns in the pantry, so I'm sure it would be more helpful if each shelf were labeled. I'm sure I'll have time to add those nifty nameplates to the shelves this weekend. And, I'm itching to get a shoe-organizer to hang on the back of the pantry door to make my spices easier to see. 

If you're still reading this and haven't fallen asleep due to boredom, I'll share with you some images of my freshly cleaned and organized kitchen. I'm sure you'd much rather see photos of us somewhere exciting like Sea World or on an innertube behind a boat, but I'm happy that this is all I've got so far this week.

I hope the rest of the week stays as boring as it has been thus far!

Secretary of the Department of Defense Against Dirt

UPDATE: A few of you asked about the Shark steam mop so I thought it best to give you a better review. It's takes no more effort or time than any other mops I've owned: Clorox mop, regular sponge mop and Swiffer spray jet. Plug it in, and it's ready in about a minute. (One tip I'd suggest is to get the mopping pad damp before using it.)  One of the best parts about it, is that the floors are dry just a few minutes after cleaning them, thanks to the hot steam. No residue or streaks are left behind. Once you're done, throw the pad in the washer and put the mop back in the closet. I see them on sale at Target every so often for about $50. There is a newer "Deluxe" model out, but I'm not sure what makes it so special that it is priced at $100. I've also heard that the Bissell Green Tea is a good steam mop. 

I've never thought of myself as a collector. Unless you count the shoeboxes of baseball cards I owned as a child, or the mounds of shoes I contributed to our marriage years ago, I've never had a formal collecting hobby. That is, until I was cleaning floors at home last night. In one night, I happened to be able to use every electronically powered floor cleaning device I own, which is 5. How can that be? How did this happen without me even realizing it?! However it happened, I'm not going to apologize for the obsession, err... I mean, collection. Each part of my floor cleaning family has a special job and I couldn't keep the house clean without it.

The Dyson Animal was the first to join our family. We were living in our first home with carpet since owning a dog (didn't have carpet in our townhome in Hawaii), and were aghast to discover just weeks after moving in that our dog's hair was embedded in the living room carpet. Although freshly vacuumed, the carpet yielded mounds of dog hair as we raked our fingers through one spot we were sitting in. We went right out to Linens 'N Things and spent way too much money on this thing, but it's so worth it. I love, love, love this vacuum. My favorite part about it is being able to clean the stairs and leave the vacuum at the bottom because the nozzle will stretch up to 20 feet!

My Roomba, or robot vacuum, was the next to join the crew. It's not the tidiest of the collection, but wonderful for a quick surface clean of a room without having to be there. 

Soon after acquiring Roomba, her sister, Scooba, came to live with us. I love, love, love Scooba because I hate, hate, hate to mop. Like Roomba, Scooba doesn't get the floors super-duper clean, but she's cheaper than a maid and just as productive.

This past Christmas, my mom gave me the Shark sweeper. It's awesome, and gets used at least once a day in the kitchen. In fact, I store it in my pantry. And, Abigail loves to vacuum with it since it's light and easy for her to handle. It cleans up carpet as well as the tile floor and keeps it's charge for a couple of weeks.

On my recent birthday, Mom brought another Shark, a steam mop, into the family. My favorite things about this new mop is that it doesn't require a specific cleaning fluid, only using water, and seems to be the most sanitary way to clean a floor since it emits so much hot steam. I feel like I'm sterilizing the floors. 

If you're still reading this, you're just as crazy as I am, and for probably the same reason. After not sweeping the kitchen floor after breakfast, lunch and dinner yesterday (because I knew I was going to do some deep cleaning later), I discovered why I love and absolutely need all the assistance available. Feast your eyes on one day of damage to my kitchen floor.

 

Need I say more?

Out With the Old, In With the New

What better way to lead into the Resurrection weekend than to plant new life?! The kids and I spend Thursday evening replacing the fall/winter pansies throughout the front yard flower beds. It was refreshing to get rid of the color-drained winter blooms and replace them with vibrant new life. 

See what I mean?

Those wilting and dieing pansies are gone. In their place are bright red salvia... 

and white-as-snow petunias 

and golden yellow African marigolds. 

Abigail picked out these marigolds, much to my dismay, but seeing and hearing her delight after they were in the ground made it worthwhile. 

And, hearing the compliments of numerous neighbors tell us our yard is the prettiest in the neighborhood is always nice. I wish I had taken the time to explain the significance of our time of planting. So, I'm taking the time to tell you. We delight in the new life God has given us through his death for us on the cross, and these flowers bring new life to our yard and brighten our home, or at least what the neighbors see of our home. I hope people also see the way God has brightened our own lives with the new life he's given us. 

It's Coming Up Roses

In the past few weeks, we've been re-decorating Abigail's room, and we're finally getting down to some of the finishing touches. I can't wait to share photos of the entire project, but I can only show you this latest bit of it right now. 

Monday night I set out to create my own version of a lamp I adore in the Pottery Barn Kids catalog. I just love that catalog and store. I lust after everything in every catalog cover to cover.) But, I think their prices are exorbitantly outrageous, hence why I set out to create my own version of the lamp. I picked up a lamp at IKEA, so you know that was Swedish design but within my budget. And, I grabbed all the pink rosebuds the Dollar Tree had to offer, plugged in my hot glue gun and went to work.

In just an hour or two, I had an adorable lamp for one of Abigail's nightstand. 

Daniel is giving it less than a month before either Abigail or Cooper destroys it, but I've threatened them both with their lives so I'm hoping they fear me.

Out With the Old, In With the New

The kids accumulated a few new toys for Christmas. The new loot, combined with their organizing skills, had created an annoying toy room/closet.  I was living in fear of the toys taking over. When the kids are tucked away at night, it's nice to know that their belongings also have a place to be tucked away and not strewn about the living area.

So, I was excited to tackle the room Saturday while Daniel was gone hunting. And, no, I'm not being sarcastic. I love organizing and creating order in a room. I set the kids up with a movie and emptied the contents of the oversized closet into the entry way and went to work.

There were a few toys that Cooper had outgrown along with a stash of dress-up shoes and clothes that Abigail has physically outgrown. By weeding out those items and putting everything else back in the appropriate bins, I was able to restore order to the kids' domain. 

They were so excited, and I'm proud to say the room is still in order after nearly a week. They are great at cleaning up after themselves and will hopefully be able to last another 5-6 months before I start to see chaos in toyland. 

Pumpkins & Corn Husks & Gourds, Oh My!

I've never decorated for any season other than Christmas, but was inspired by a variety of pumpkins being sold at the grocery store to take a stab at fall decor this year. I'm not anywhere near crafty, so this was my first attempt at gathering items and assembling decor such as centerpieces and a mantlepiece. It was fun, and I'm certainly enjoying the finished product, especially the apple-orange scented twigs added to each piece. Between the scented candles and twigs, the house smells wonderful!

The front yard,

...the front door,

... and the dining table in the kitchen,

... and the dining table in the dining room,

... and the fireplace mantle in the living room.