The Midwest Momma

Diapers and Darts

2012-02-10T08:13:00.003-06:00

Do you ever wonder what happens to your children when you leave them home for a few hours with their daddy?? I found out. Apparently it gets a little crazy... Pretty sure she isn't ACTUALLY drunk in this picture even though that is what her face says to me:

Clearly loving her daddy time: Happy Friday!

Dresser Re-Do

2012-02-08T03:37:00.000-06:00

First, Cookie says, "What's up?!"
She is so ridiculous. And growing! Over 15 pounds now! What a baby. So her favorite place to hang is our closet. I knew she was my dog :) I am in the midst of super organizing our closet. It is pretty organized already thanks to my OCD, but it just isn't doing it anymore for me. I know. That is sad to say. The hangers are all mismatched and I haven't weeded through clothes in YEARS. Also I needed a space for tanks, Chad's gym shorts, various small items, etc. They were all piled on shelves and I. Hate. Piles. OMG DO I HATE PILES. So, first up, get rid of the piles. We had a little chest of drawers up in the toy room that I had found at Hobby Lobby for $30. It was white with purple/teal/orange/yellow stripes all over the front. Super cute for kids, but not what I wanted. I needed a quick fix. I have this problem with projects. I hate only partially finishing something. So. Painting wasn't really an option at the moment. I got some random scrap paper and my Mod Podge and went to work.
This is what I ended up with: I wish I had a before. Dang it. I covered the drawers with a leopard print paper and actually has sort of velvety-fuzzy spots on it. The Mod Podge handled it just fine. I reattached the original handles and voila! Ignore the lovely basket next to the dresser...I have to find the perfect hamper still.
That is one of the many bins I have purchased sitting on top right there to continue with the organizing...it would be a Cookie-casualty if it wasn't off the ground :)

SUPER EASY. Mod Podge does it all people. So now I have a snappy new place to store my littles. Important to remember? Don't put the drawers back in until the Podge is COMPLETELY dry..that bottom drawer was a you-know-what to open the next day when I realized it finished drying with the drawer closed. WHEW.
Look, Cookie is giving you the stink eye whilst hiding under Chad's clothes...

She's a feisty one I tell you...

Last Weekend

2012-02-07T09:22:00.009-06:00

Blogging has just not been a priority this week. Eh. You don't want me to ramble just for the same of rambling, right? I am sure Chad wishes that was the case at home too :)

Last weekend the men of the house took to cutting down trees and burning them. My boys love to burn stuff. Oh dear. The weather has been so crazy awesome lately that we have been outside a bunch. Elizabeth and Bobby came for a visit as well. Elin was so excited to see her aunt! She is also very proud of her belly. She will gladly show you at any time. Hope she keeps up with that killer confidence ;)

The day after the burn pile, the kiddos played outside again. Crazy that it is winter and we are hanging outside in light jackets?!? So Aidan broke out his bike and Elin was just going to follow where ever he decided to go. He loves going to our side "yard" where all the tall wheat-grass grows. PS...wheat doesn't mean we are farmers. Definitely not. That makes me laugh just thinking about it. We have a wheat-fescue mix in our yard...don't ask me why...something about staying green, deer/wildlife love it and something else. Aidan loves it to play in because he can hide in the taller grass and "hunt" things. Well Ein will NOT sit in the grass. Duh. What girl wants to do that?? So she hauled her little chair over to him. It was quite a task.

I think she is starting to rethink the distance she is carrying her chair. She kept turning around to me with the look on her face of "uh really?"
Eh, she quit before she got to the grass. The rocks will do just fine.

She was over it pretty quickly. She was done. Enough outdoors thanks

Aidan and Cookie would NOT come in for anything

Elin packed up her chair and then started pushing her little scooter back to the garage. She was DONE.

Yeah, she gave up about 2 feet later. She just left it all and went inside. The chair stayed in the middle of the driveway and the poor tricycle was in the rocks. Perserverence is not her strong point currently :)

My outdoors boy:

Our front "yard" in the gloomy winter:

It was so nice to be outside. Such a tease for spring! It is back to winter temps this week...booooo. Oh well. It had to happen I guess!!

That's my boy!

Brownie Time

2012-02-03T10:48:00.002-06:00

Enjoy some random brownie-making photos (AKA...children eating all the batter...AKA my daughter does not like to wear shirts) courtesy of a very blurry cell phone :)

After baking? Time for an evening read...Happy Friday all!

Real Houswives: Camille

2012-02-02T03:30:00.000-06:00

So are you watching the Housewives reunion??? GOOD STUFF. It's a 3 part reunion in case you missed that!! This was just the first episode this week. Do you remember the episode that the ladies went to Camille's house in Beaver Creek?? I was IN LOVE with that place. It was actually featured in Architectural Digest (when she was actually married to Kelsey Grammar). via
Isn't that amazing? I could totally live there. I believe they still own the house and are actually still making arrangements on who gets what (yeah, I learned that on Monday while watching the reunion hehe).
See? This episode:

You have to remember Lisa's hat!!
Let's look around:

All images from the AD website

My most favorite thing about that whole house? The staircase.

When I think of rustic design...I think of this place.

I definitely think Chad and I should own a lodge-y mansion in the mountains...don't you??

Fantasy Home: Polar Opposites

2012-02-01T03:30:00.000-06:00

Let's talk celebs. One of my favorite subjects of course. Do you recognize this home? If you ever watched MTV you should!!! This was the home of the Osbournes. WAS. Christina Aguilera and her then hubby bought the place from them way back. It is now for sale (she got divorced in case you live in a hole) for a mere $13.5 million. I thought we should take a look! First we are going to look at what I consider to be the most important part of a house: the closet. Seriously. This is bananas...

Yes, that is a beauty salon IN HER CLOSET. I just died. How about another view:

I have a serious case of closet envy. Ugh. The whole house is over the top...probably why I LOVE it sooo much. No one has ever called my taste "understated." Check out the Chihuly chandy:

Max's toddler room:

Master Bath:

The Master Bedroom. I LOVE this. Give me dark and dramatic over light and airy any day. The bed is up there on the plattform under the black canopy...

The other side of the master:

Check out this kitchen...it's insane. And by insane, I mean AWESOME

If Chad says I can have this kind of game room, I am all aboard the train to finish our basement ASAP:

Clearly the home was completely redesigned before Xtina moved in

Isn't that dining room out of control? Chad would die.
And finally, the ol' gift wrapping station:

Apparently this is incredibly important in celeb world since it became public knowledge about Candy Spelling's room :)

Speaking of a Spelling...ha, like how that worked out?? My other fave celeb house? Tori and Dean's home that they have for sale currently. It is in Encino and is listed for $3.199M. It is like the polar opposite of Christina Aguilera's home.

Outside? They appear very similar. But that is where it ends. I promise.
Lovely living room that I can actually imagine having...

Awesome kitchen...no graffiti here

all images are from hookedonhouses.net

As much as I love a dark bedroom, I could totally sleep here:

The colors are so serene and the actual design is really gorgeous.

So there you have some celeb house comparison for thought. What are you? More of a Christina or a Tori??

Busy...

2012-01-31T07:49:00.002-06:00

Clearly things are kind of busy this week...See? Important phones calls are happening... Blogging will be sporadic this week as we get our act together! Hope to have a new window project for this weekend!! Okay, enough boring-ness. Have a great day!

Calling In Sick

2012-01-27T11:40:00.002-06:00

So today I officially am sick. For the first time in MY ENTIRE LIFE I have strep throat. Awesome. My throat feels like glass particles are being swallowed. It's LOVELY. I guess the bright side is I have never had to deal with this EVER before...also, what I THOUGHT was an ear infection is just residual nasty from the ol' strep throat. So my ears look glorious!! That's a plus :) Anyhoo, calling it a day on the ol' bloggy. See you Monday!! Yay Antibiotics!

I Am a Nerd

2012-01-26T03:30:00.001-06:00

I love history. I am a nerd. I own it. MSNBC had an article the other day about touring famous author's homesteads. Clearly I was intrigued. It led me to some fabulous homes. Here are just a couple:

Edith Wharton's The Mount:

The stables at The Mount and then the grand hall of the main house:

via Edithwharton.org
How amazing is that???
And since good ol' Samuel Clemens is from around my neck of the woods, I thought this was appropriate:

That is Mark Twain's adult home in Conneticut. I love everything about that house. I love a huge porch and the setting is perfect.

Clearly not a lot happening so I thought I would share those random Internet finds. Yes, you are welcome. I am sure they made your day. Maybe tomorrow I will post photos of some interesting species of trees!! Yes, that's it.

Another Wedding?!

2012-01-25T03:23:00.000-06:00

Just a few pics I swear! A few weeks ago we went to my friend Kelley's wedding. It was waaaay more Chad's style!! This one included jeans, cowboy boots and Bud Light. We all wore our jeans and boots to the celebration. Major crisis mode almost happened when Aidan realized his boots did not fit! How could you go to a "cowboy wedding" without boots?!?!? Luckily on our way there happens to be a boot store. Well how convenient. Aidan and I ran like maniacs in and out in under 10 minutes. I am sure that store has never seen more determined boot-purchasers. So Aidan was thrilled. He was evening where his "cowboy shirt." You can see here, by the groom's cake, Aidan in his red cowboy shirt (which he had unbuttoned because he was burning up from the dancing that was happening!)... In case you were curious, James (Kelley's new hubby) is a farmer. They are moving North to the big farm. So of course the groom's cake had his Red Tractors on it. More precisely, the Case tractor pulling the John Deere out of the mud. Oh farmer humor!! Elin had a blast. She ate more fruit kabobs than any adult there and then devoured the delish wedding cake. See, she is serious:

See the evidence of the cake eating???

The ladies began the evening of dancing...this would be me, Aidan and Elin (as I am HOLDING HER) doing the ol' Cha Cha Slide. PS...do you know how HARD that dance is with a 27 pound toddler in your arms?!?! She had a blast though!!

See??? I even got down low...with a baby on my hip!!!

Elin would NOT STOP THE DANCING!!! Making new friends on the dance floor:

If you happened to notice, yes our poor E does not have her own boots. I swear, we love her just as much as Aidan! The only boots that Larry's Boots had when we dashed in were teeny tiny boots or the Ropers in her size and uh $50 for toddler boots?!?! I THINK NOT. So, she is waiting her turn. Next time they have some sassy red cowboy boots in her size? SOLD.

Congrats Kelley and James :)

Getting Married

2012-01-24T10:00:00.004-06:00

via BravoTV

Yeah, not me. Well, after this, I think I want to do it again...with the same groom of course :) Are you a fan of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills??? Lord knows I am!! I also think Chad secretly likes it too. He will NEVER admit it. Though he watched the finale with me last night and actually laughed out loud! SCORE! If you watch, then you know last night was the long awaited finale of Pandora's wedding. SWOON. If understated and muted is your thing then this was not the wedding for you. It was glam and fabulous to the 100th degree. It was gorgeous. And Ken and Lisa were just the most adorable parents of the bride. I mean Giggy even got jazzed up for the occasion (as if you are surprised!). Here are some pics I found online of the event: via BravoTV
Pandora's dress was insanely gorgeous. I forget who they said made her dress, but I remember the price tag was $6000: I wish there was a better picture of the actual ceremony. It was stunning. The pink and white roses were beautiful.
via RadarOnline

My favorite? Um yes please. Look at the reception:

Hard to believe that is their tennis court. If I had THAT kind of budget, this totally would have been my wedding.
Who wouldn't want to get married at this place:
via RadarOnline

The cake was lovely. Plain yet glamorous. The roses were just stunning coming down the cake. I loved how poor Lisa was so frantic about the cake and then about died when Ken came in with part of it. They are just too adorable. I feel like if we had like 10000x more money and British accents, that would totally be Chad and I ;)

via BravoTV

Did you watch??? I loved the sparklers at the end!! Ugh. Hmm...my anniversary is coming up, maybe we need a vow renewal-Vanderpump style!!! Surely that is up Chad's alley right?????

Valentine's Day

2012-01-23T12:45:00.004-06:00

I cannot believe that Valentine's Day is just around the corner!! January is flying by. It's Monday so that means I had a lot of Pinterest to catch up on. I thought I would share some of my favorite Valentine-inspired pins:

I mean seriously...this is the best way to my heart...BACON: via Pinterest

Food seems to be on my brain today...Maybe it's because I am back on the exercise/eat well wagon (HELLO...vacay in March!). I guess I can DREAM about these babies:

Red Velvet Cheesecake Brownies

And finally, YUMMMMMMMMMM...

Valentine Blondies

Not much happened this weekend as we got hit with a sick little one. Elin has been one crabby woman for the last few days and so I took her into the doctor over the weekend: double ear infection and sinus infection. Hmmm, that explains it! 2 doses of antibiotics in and we can already see a big improvement! Whew!!

Friday Thoughts

2012-01-20T03:30:00.000-06:00

Not really a lot going on this week so I thought I would leave the week with some good thoughts via Pinterest :)

EXACTLY...

Always must remember...

Best Plan Ever...

This is probably the number one crazy thing I do...

Good point...

You know you do this too...

I swear this is absolutely true. Think about it...

AMEN...

Love me some HIMYM...

A good motto:

Tonight is our first night of puppy school with Cookie. Should be interesting!!! Have a great weekend!!

Our Office

2012-01-19T09:53:00.005-06:00

I use the term "office" extremely loosely at this point :) It is technically a "room that holds our computer and printer" and that's about it. It also collects all the random furniture that we don't have a space for at this moment. I really want to focus on the office this year since it is one of the first rooms you see when you come in our front door (if a person was to ever come in through our front door...is it like that at your house?? People always come in our mud room/garage door!!). You walk in the front door and the dining room is on your left and the office is on your right. Here are some terrible iPhone pics of the space right now:

Um I have no clue why our trim looks blue! I swear it is white. Weird night time cell phone photos I guess :) We have glass french doors to the room. There is a giant double window on the right and a small closet in the corner on the left. The furniture that lives in there now is a big ol' leather chair and ottoman (stuffed into the corner at this moment), the armoire that actually goes in our bedroom, but I was too scared to let my hubby and his buddy manuever that beauty through the corners in our hall to our room so I made them put it in the office. I know. Sad. And a little temporary desk so the hubs can have somewhere to work (he works out of our house). Notice we don't even have an office chair...Chad currently steals one of the dining chairs and drags it in there when he is doing office work.

So that is our sad little room. I have a hard time deciding what would be best in this room. I seem to go from one extreme to another. Our dining room is more traditional/transitional so I want it to flow nicely with that. Ugh. What a pain.

Here are some offices that I currently LOVE:

via

This is probably my all time favorite, but Chad would probably die before he would let me make his office pink :)

via

I love dark wood. I usually gravitate to the dark over white stuff. I love this desk:

This is so bright and organized:

Both images via

So clearly we have a lot of work to do. I also want to do this room on a budget (just like everything else in our house!). Should be interesting!!!

Winter Sucks

2012-01-18T03:30:00.000-06:00

In "celebration" (I use that term LIGHTLY to say the least...) of winter, let's look at where I would rather be spending my time...

via

via

If you happen to be the owner of any of these homes, I hate you. But if you would please invite me and my family to hang out, that would be lovely :)

via

Ugh. Send me to the beach. Stat.

via

Movie Theater AKA Elin's Room

2012-01-17T03:30:00.000-06:00

Well this is what the kids use Elin's room for currently...their movie theater. It's perfect since there is almost no furniture in there at all! I know. FAIL. At least the little people of the house love it!! See? Set up in their makeshift movie theater. The bucket of Bakugans was their popcorn. Of course. Those pesky Bakugans. Have you experienced those at your house yet?? Yeah, get ready. Tiny, pokey little plastic balls. AWESOME. While we are in Elin's room, let's take a looksy. The walls are Baby Pink by Benjamin Moore, in case you were curious. I ordered this lovely from Southern Proper Monograms:

It currently hangs over E's crib.
Across from the crib wall is the TV wall. Yup. Our 20 month old has a TV. What can I say? We LOOOOVE our TV. Relax, Walmart.com actually had an insane deal on TVs so we got one for all the bedrooms upstairs...she will want one eventually!! I actually had to "reauthorize" the TV thru DirecTV since it had been unplugged for so long!! E's tutus live there:

The dormer window is where her little table and chair set normally lives, but on days that the movie theater is up and running, they get relocated :)
Look at these sweet faces:

I wonder how long it will be until I get a normal smile out of Elin???
Nope, not there either...

Momma's boy...

There is also a dresser in there, the one I re-did. And that's about it. We will finish everything up once we get her big girl bed. We are in no rush with that so it will probably remain the movie theater for some time :)

Oh well! That's life!! Also, I am sure that it totally impresses my dear hubby that I am allowing her room to stay partially finished for such an extended period...usually my OCD goes bananas and I just can't handle it anymore. Must. Finish. Room. But nope, this one still sits as it is!!

Weekend Antics

2012-01-16T08:22:00.011-06:00

We had a low key weekend! Hurray!! Not a lot happening so I will just share some pictures from what my two kiddies do when they are hanging out together (Aidan will probably die over this when he is 17)... Elin picked out her outfit, by the way. Aidan was in charge of head dress.
Aidan's nervous smile...It's as if he is already thinking, "hmmm, should she really get my picture carrying this baby bed???"

Elin rounding the corner...

Excuse me lovely lady, can I get a photo?

"What?!? NO PHOTOS PLEASE"

I SAID, NO PHOTOS PLEASE...

Okay fine. CHEEEEEEEESE...

Apparently this is now Elin's "cheese" face. Everytime I asked her for a picture, that was the face I got. That will make a lovely Christmas card :)
And in case you were wondering what the most adorable English bulldog in the world was up to, I give you: Cookie...

She is getting sooooo big!!

Hello friends!!!

Cookie starts puppy school on Friday. We will see what this stubborn girl has in her!!! Besides being an excellent cuddler, snore-er and sleeper :)

Happy Monday!

Meat and Potatoes

2012-01-13T03:35:00.001-06:00

Part of my resolutions this year are to cook more (let's be serious, cook AT ALL)...SO. I am a big fan of The Pioneer Woman. She has awesome recipes that seem to be idiot-proof and they use normal ingredients that I usually have already!! I set out this week making a week plan for what my dear family will eat. Wednesday night was the first night I attempted the cooking. We had these: Spicy Roasted Chicken Legs

You can see her whole recipe/photos HERE

This is the recipe minus all Ree's fantastic accompanying photos:

You will need: Chicken legs, 2 sticks of butter, 1/2 cup of lemon juice, 1 Tablespoon of your own blend of seasonings (she used Hot Salt; I used Tony Cheshare and Lawrys)

Seriously, this is soooo easy.

Heat oven to 400 degrees

First, melt the 2 sticks of butter in a sauce pan.

Then pour in the lemon juice.

Next stir in your seasonings.

I learned that you can go a little heavy here on it. More is better in this situation!

Rinse off your chicken legs and pat them dry.

Proceed to dip each leg in the butter mixture and place them on a baking rack. Do this until all your legs are buttery! After they are on the rack, brush a little more of the butter mixture over the top of them

Then sprinkle a little extra of your season over the legs for a little extra kick

Put them in the oven for about 30 minutes. You can then broil them at the end for a couple of minutes if you want them a tad more crispy.

THAT'S IT. Take them out and they are golden and delish.

With our chicken I then made the Crash Hot Potatoes courtesy of Ms. Ree again. If you have not seen her recipes, I advise you to!

CRASH HOT POTATOES

You will need: New potatoes (like the little red ones, not "new" potatoes, all potatoes should be new, not used!), Olive oil, kosher salt, pepper and Rosemary

Heat over to 450 degrees

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and add as many potatoes as you are wanting to make

Cook until they are fork tender

Take a baking sheet and generously drizzle with olive oil

When the potatoes are done, place your potatoes on the sheet leaving a lot of space between them (remember you are going to mash them down)

Take your potato masher and smush each potato once, then turn the masher 90 degrees and smush once more. Do this to all your potatoes

Brush a little more olive oil over the potatoes, sprinkle with salt, pepper and Rosemary

Put them in the over for 20-25 minutes or until they are brown and sizzling. EASY!!!

Take them out and enjoy!!!

These recipes were soooo easy and soooo tasty. I also looked fancy to my husband :) And we all know that is the real goal in cooking dinner!

Chillin'

2012-01-12T08:06:00.003-06:00

Cousins just hanging out...I wish I was doing that today :) Also? That is not Cookie that Elin is holding in case you were confused. This was Aidan's precursor to the REAL Cookie. This is Bully (can you tell that his daddy is a MSU alum??).

It snowed here today. Finally. Not that I am excited. Cookie certainly wasn't. She wasn't impressed at all. The kids were stoked.

We have had a guy come to look at building us some storage in the kid's playroom so it doesn't look like an explosion 24 hours a day. This post is totally all over the place, but I think the snow has frozen part of my brain today. Hopefully it will thaw out by tomorrow :)

For The Spring

2012-01-11T08:07:00.001-06:00

Our house is a work in progress. Yes, construction is obviously done. Now we are slowly completing rooms and making some headway. We finally have grass! Yay! What a difference grass makes. I cannot even tell you! I have some other plans for outside when spring finally shows up. This is basically what our house looked like when we moved in: Yeah, not a lot happening out there. The kids LOVED the massive amounts of dirt. Me? Not so much. So now we have grass out there. I want some large hanging baskets for the front porch and adirondack chairs. I would like two urns for the front door. I also am going to be painting the front door. My biggest request? Shutters. I feel the front of our house looks so naked!! This is what I imagine:

Like my Photoshop edition? Ha!! I would love some black country shutters. I think it will really make the green, white and stone pop. Poor Chad. He has a lot of work to do! I am the project manager afterall :)

Quick Change

2012-01-10T07:59:00.002-06:00

Okay remember the dresser I got off Craigslist that I attacked with the Annie Sloan Chalk Paint?? This one here: Well the matte look just wasn't doing it for me. It wasn't exactly the look I was going for. I wanted something a little more "modern" (not that that is the exact word I am looking for). If you have ever used the chalk paint, you know it is a matte, chalky finish (go figure). The color was also a little off from what I really wanted in there. The color is graphite. It's beautiful, but I was hoping for something more black. But I lived with it.

Until now! I decided it was time to make the change! I picked up some Rustoleum spray paint in black gloss. I have decided I am more of a Rustoleum fan than Krylon. They are both awesome, but the spray can is so much more "finger friendly" with Rustoleum. It has a trigger. I feel like I spray more evenly that way! So anyhoo. I didn't prime and applied 2 coats and this is what I ended up with:

Nevermind the fingerprints all over the top please :) The picture was also taken with my cell phone so not fabulous! We had an old silver mirror in the basement so I broke out the antique brass craft paint and painted the silver mirror goldish. I am super happy with how it all turned out.
The gloss is shiny, but not crazy glossy. It has a super smooth finish. And it only cost me 2 cans of paint.

I found the pulls at Lowe's for $1.05 each. I actually need to flip them over but that required drilling new holes and there wasn't any time for that this time around :) Maybe soon!

The dining room is slowly coming together...finally. I have made some tweaks from before. We are installing wanescoating in a few weeks. I am very excited for the changes!

Our Weekend in Pictures

2012-01-09T10:48:00.002-06:00

This was one of the last busy weekends we will have for a while! Thank goodness!!! Saturday we had a wedding (the kids had a BLAST) and Sunday we went to see my parents. Aidan of course made time with his daddy for some manly activities on Saturday before the wedding:

Hanging in the tree stand:
Hunting buddies: Down at the pond:

In the tree stand:

Made Aidan's day of course! It was a crazy weekend and I am happy to report that things are majorly slowing down for us finally.

I did some projects over Christmas "break" and will share this week. Just little stuff that made a huge difference!! Easy peasy!!

In the meantime, Happy Monday!

Diet Coke Addicts

2012-01-06T03:30:00.000-06:00

Do you love diet soda like I do??? I am absolutely addicted to Diet Dr. Pepper. Pretty sure I drink a two liter a day. Seriously. Hey, I could have worse habits!! I cannot survive without a morning Diet!!! So. When I saw this snappy craft on Pinterest I got super excited... How cute is that?!?!? Check out the Diary of a Crafty Lady blog and see how easy this thing is! I am totally making a Diet Dr. Pepper one. I must profess my allegiance!!! Beware! This project involves sharp objects and cutting!!

Redneck New Year

2012-01-05T03:14:00.000-06:00

We had crazy awesome weather over New Year's weekend. The cousins got to come spend the weekend with us and that meant busy busy!! We spent the gorgeous Saturday outdoors. However, it started a lot earlier than planned when there was a muskrat spotted at the pond. The elusive muskrat has been on the radar for the last month. Apparently these nasty fellows can cause quite a problem with the pond. So. What does that mean? It means grab your shotgun and run for it! That is exactly what my dear hubby did. What happens when three boys see someone running with their gun? They get excited. Everyone charged for my bathroom as it has a big window looking straight at the pond. Once the first shot went off, the boys took off like maniacs for Chad. They were going to help. And help they did. I of course wanted to document the hunt, but I thought I would snap a few pictures of the front porch view first (just testing the new camera of course!)...

This is right out our front door:
The gravel is our driveway and that is the cow pasture and lake across the street. The sun sets over there and it is amazing in the evening.
This is the view off of our front porch to the south:There is the pond (and the muskrats!) and the open grassy area of the land.
The hunters in the house were successful in ridding the pond of 2 muskrats. Those boys were so proud! They were very serious about the hunt :)

Running back to the house to report the outcome of the hunt
Two of the smaller hunters...

After successfully taking out some wildlife, we headed out for the main event of the day. Gun slinging. No. Not really. Skeet shooting. One of my most favorite activities! Seriously, this country living is changing me!!!
We loaded up and headed to the Smiths. Even Marley and Mud were excited for a day of shooting...

Everyone had a go with the various firearms. The grown ups used the 12 gauge (wait, that may be a 20 gauge...whatever...it was a gun)

Some spectators...

The kiddos had fun with Aidan's .410

Waiting patiently for their turn...

My little Aidan...

Of course the boys were sure to sport all their camo. It has become a daily routine in our house. If Aidan isn't head to toe in camo, something is wrong or it's laundry day.
Woo! Momma's turn!!!

The kids were so excited to run out and check the soda bottle after they had shot at it to see how many times they hit it...

Yup! They hit it!

Next up? Shooting the .22!

Searching for skeet that didn't get busted up...

My little hunters for the day...and Marley

They didn't have any fun ;)

Aiming...

My little man...

It was such a great day. The weather was perfect. The boys had a blast and we were all pooped. It was a low key New Year for sure. The boys all can't wait until the weather is nicer to shoot guns again :)

Yay for country living!

Master Bedroom Re-Do

2012-01-04T09:39:00.003-06:00

I am on the tail end of re-doing our bedroom. If you remember, it was sort of a shabby chic-ish white combo this summer and I hated it. So...much to Chad's dismay, everything had to change. I LOVE our furniture and will never ever get rid of it. I love oversized, dark and heavy furniture. We have the TS Berry Hillsboro collection. Chad's only rule this time: no painting. So we are sticking with the gray walls. I actually have ended up loving the gray with all the other gold, brown, cream neutrals we have going on. It's a nice change. I have since added in the other night stand and lamp. I have to finish up the rods for the curtains and then we should be done. I also have to find one of those cover thingys for all the cords we have coming from the TV. Sorry, I MUST have a TV. That cannot be sacrificed at any cost :) So, here is what I have so far: Across from the bed is the dresser and TV (also Cookie's kennel is located here temporarily). I would love to paint the entire tray ceiling a marble-y gray. I love doing faux finishes. I have become pretty fantastic at faux painting.

I am happy to say that I am finally getting satisfied by what this room looks like. AND it was all done on a super tight budget. I mean like Chad-friendly budget. So you know that is good!!Hope to have it all done soon!

Oy!

2012-01-04T08:00:00.003-06:00

Well.

Yesterday was bananas. At my job, a long weekend is no bueno. It was a looooong day to say the least.

Posts will come later today. After I answer about 100 voicemails.

Just In Time...

2012-01-02T03:30:00.000-06:00

Well not really. If you had a New Year's resolution to not eat cake, then you are screwed :) I made this Thursday just in time as to not break my resolution already! It is the BEST white cake ever. Seriously. It's like wedding cake. Don't judge my photos. I didn't think to take a pic until it was half eaten :) So, I will share this super tasty recipe: 1 box white cake mix
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 tsp salt
2 T vegetable oil/Canola
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
4 large egg whites

I used Pillsbury Whipped white frosting (2 cans)

This makes about 36 cupcakes...I used my 9 inch round pan.

Preheat over to 325 degrees
Combine ingredients in a bowl an mix on medium with a mixer for 2 minutes. Disperse into the cupcake pan or round pan
Bake for 18 minutes if you are doing cupcakes. If you are making a cake, it is more like 40 minutes...I know this is very precise, but it really just depends on your oven and pan. Just watch your cake dang it!

Remove and let cool
Frost with icing

For my little rosies I used the Wilton 1M tip and just make little clockwise spirals over and over again. Seriously, it is like rocket science :)

This recipe is also floating around on Pinterest...what would we all do with Pinterest??? Try this though. It's delish.

Obsessed

2011-12-30T03:54:00.000-06:00

I thought I would compile some of my favorite things (you know, since Christmas is over...it makes total sense). So, I give you:

A FEW OF MY FAVORITE THINGS

Yup. That's right. Tori and Dean. My absolute most favorite show ever. Right now. I love me some Tori Spelling...

This yummy new scent from Bath and Body Works...

My Erin Condren planner... Of course, mine is the leopard print planner :)

English telephone booths...

Seriously. I have no idea why I am so fascinated with these. These are giant (probably 3.5 feet tall) shelving units that look like telephone booths. I found them at Hobby Lobby (obviously). I just think they are such a fun way to have some whimsy in a room...if only I had room for one!

Black dining rooms

So much drama and I LOVE dark colors

This shoe HERE from Ann Taylor... Need I say more really?

I have lots of "favorite things." I am pretty positive every day, or every hour, I have a new favorite song. What can I say? I either love it or hate it :) And apparently I am more of a lover. Are you a lover or a hater??

The Great Escape

2011-12-29T03:30:00.001-06:00

Did I mention that we have been super busy? I will tell you how frazzled my brain is right now. See this car:

That is a Ford Escape. My hubby drives one identical to this one for work. Well. Apparently they are very popular. I went to lunch one day with the hubs and his buddy. They were kind enough to meet me over at the Ford dealership right after so I could have some maintenance done on my car. Easy peasy. We all know how super quick and efficient I am at completing tasks. Clearly my hubby thought he could take his sweet time going ACROSS THE STREET to come get me.

I drop off my keys and come barreling out to the parking lot. Already looking impatiently at my phone to call my darling spouse to see WHERE HE IS. Oh wait. There he is. Sheesh. Sitting right there in front. Good thing I didn't call him! I run over to the car. Whip open the back door to start complaining about how long it took them to get there when...wait...um...you are NOT my husband. And who is the stranger in the passenger seat?!?!?! Yes. This was not our car. I was now a passenger in some random man's Escape. A man with quite the quizzical look on his face at this point. My response? "Oh. You are not my husband." Clearly, Captain Obvious. I jump out and run the other way just as my hubs pulls up not knowing of my peril moments before. Awesome.

Of course I had to blame it all on him! If he hadn't have taken so long I would not have jumped into some random man's car! Who could have kidnapped me, by the way! Sheesh, he could have sped off with me as his bounty just like that! I mean really, Chad! Right. So clearly I learned two lessons: 1. Patience and 2. Count to 10 before I start yelling at my hubby (you know, to verify that the man in question is actually my husband)

So if you are having a bad day, just be thankful that you get into your proper vehicle today :)

Merry Christmas!

2011-12-28T04:00:00.000-06:00

We had a fantastic Christmas season this year! Busy, but fantastic! We had Christmas at my parent's house. The kids had an abundance of loot and were so excited by everything. We got wonderful gifts as well. The pictures are awful because I just had my phone.

It also didn't help that the little ones would not stay still for two seconds!

Ms. Muscles showing off her new princess tent...

Grandpa helping E open her picnic basket... Camo for grandma! Of course!!

Can you tell my child is into camo and hunting right now? It was 50 degree out (and 75 in the house) and he is dressed head to toe in camo fleece, including gloves :)

See how bad those pictures are??? Yes, they hurt my eyes. Well my friends, my loving husband solved this problem...enter my gift this year:Ta-da! WOOOOOHOOOOO!! My dreams have come true! Momma's got a new camera!! Now I just have to figure out how it works! Good thing my in-laws are professionals!!!

We had a fantastic Christmas at home and then saw Mark and Rebecca in St. Louis. It as a wonderful weekend with family. The weather was great and so were the sales ;)

This time of year is crazy! Can't wait to bring in the New Year!

Just What You Need!

2011-12-27T04:30:00.000-06:00

In case you didn't eat enough over the lovely holiday weekend, I found some recipes that will make you cry with happiness. I have tons of pictures from our many Christmases and have to work on uploading those. SO. In the meantime, try this out:

PEPPERMINT BROWNIE TRIFLE

via Dashing Dish

This is easy and delish. And pretty :) Dashing Dish is a site devoted to "healthy alternatives to the food you crave!" How perfect is that! So here is their recipe for a delicious dessert perfect for the winter season...

INGREDIENTS:

-1 box brownie mix

-1/3 cup low fat plain yogurt (to replace the oil that the brownie mix calls for; the amount of yogurt will vary based on how much oil is called for on the brownie box)

-eggs (use what is called for on your brownie mix box)

-1 small box sugar free instant white chocolate pudding mix

-1 small box sugar free instant chocolate pudding mix

-1 (16 oz) tub fat free or light Cool Whip

-2 cups skim milk

-3/4 tsp peppermint extract

-OPTIONAL TOPPINGS: additional Cool Whip for topping, 2 candy canes, crushed, or 2 squares peppermint bark, roughly chopped

WHAT TO DO WITH IT ALL:

1. Prepare the brownies just like the box says, except replace the oil with yogurt, and adding 1/2 tsp peppermint extract to the brownie batter. Bake brownies just like it says

2. While that is all going on, in a small bowl, mix together the white chocolate pudding mix and 1 cup of milk. In a separate bowl, mix together the chocolate pudding mix, 1 cup of milk, and a 1/4 tsp peppermint extract. Next divide the Cool Whip between the two pudding mixtures, and fold it in until each mixture is combined

3. Once the brownies are completely cooled, cut into tiny squares and start creating the layes in a large glass dish or in small glass cups for individual trifles. Start with the brownie layer. Follow with the chocolate peppermint pudding and the white chocolate pudding layers. Repeat layers, ending with the white chocolate pudding (or you can top it with some additonal Cool Whip to make it pretty)

4. Store in the fridge until ready to serve. Just before serving, top with crushing candy cane or peppermint bark

Dashing Dish even provides the nutrition info!

Servings: 16 Calories per serving: 125 Weight Watchers Points Plus Value: 4 per serving

Seriously...

2011-12-26T04:00:00.001-06:00

In the spirit of Christmas shopping being OVER, I figured I would share something I learned regarding buying the "hot toy" of the season. Short story? People are OUT OF THEIR MINDS.

Have you seen this:

It's the Leap Frog Leap Pad Explorer. I really didn't know much about it. My friend told me about one in October and how she got a great deal. Okay. Sure. Whatever. What's the big deal? Um, it is a pretty cool little gadget! Dang! A little iPad-like toy for my kids?? I MUST HAVE THAT! So, yeah. I came to that conclusion at the beginning of December. Along with the rest of America. I stupidly jaunted over to Walmart to just pick one up real easy...pretty sure the Walmart worker laughed in my face. "M'am we haven't had those for weeks." Say wha??? Crap. So then starts the online search. NO WHERE TO BE FOUND. Oh wait. I lied. Yes, you could get one. On Ebay for $200 or Amazon for at least $200. HELLO!!! It only costs $99!!! Jackasses!! Hoarding up the toys and then selling them online to make a quick buck. Though I am pretty sure I was only mad because I didn't have 2 to sell online either!!

So enter the grandparents. I put all grandparents on alert for this device. I even talk to the Walmart people in Iowa to give Luke and Ruthie the delivery schedule. If you want something accomplished for your kids, put the grandparents on the mission. They never fail. Both were able to score the magical tablet. How in the world they were able to and I wasn't??? I didn't ask questions :)

So my mom had hers in hand so we told Luke and Ruthie they could return theirs. The thing that made me crack up about this situation (and the point of this very rambling post) is how my mom had to pick up this TOY from Walmart. Here is what happened:

She gets the "call" -- She was apparently on some super secret wait list.

She arrives at Walmart and is instructed to head to the back of the store with 2 members of management.

She pays for the device (when I say device, it sound more intense and exciting...) and the employee instructs to her take the now double bagged pad (so you can't see through the bag) and place is under her arm under her coat. They radio to the front of the store that my mom is now leaving and proceed to describe what she is wearing because the "alarm will go off, but just keep walking...keep walking straight to your vehicle and GET OFF OUR PROPERTY"

Good grief you would have thought she was transferring a bomb with this sort of protocol. Apparently they are having issues of people MUGGING others for this damn toy. I mean seriously. People are clearly nuts. I find it hilarious now since my mother safely exited Walmart with the Messiah of all toys.

Aidan was so pumped to open the Leap Pad. It is a pretty cool toy. You should totally buy one. But wait until you don't have to break someone's knee caps to get it, ok? Or just be totally find with paying DOUBLE for it. Riiiiight. Merry Christmas indeed!

Things That Make Me Go Hmmmm

2011-12-23T04:00:00.000-06:00

I was browsing HGTV's Designer pages and chuckled at what I found. Disclaimer: You may LOVE what you are about to see. I on the other hand, think this is a joke. Like maybe they haven't updated their photos in 20 years (that is NOT the case apparently). And here my friends, is what I found:

I love wallpaper. I love window treatments. I love fabric and texture. But really. These rooms just kill that for me... Yikes
Okay, now this one isn't TERRIBLE, but still...I think it is because they luckily could not find that pattern in a wallpaper as well...

Again, not horrible, but we are teetering dangerously on the border...

I just had to share these today.

Oooh and Christmas is this weekend! Hurray!

Merry Christmas!! Yes, I know that was a horrible way to end a post. But eh. Oh well. It's the ADHD in me :)

Finally You Can Sleep At Night

2011-12-22T04:00:00.000-06:00

In case you were freaking out about not having some luxury duds for your wee ones...you can relax. I know. It is very important to have that superstar, matchy matchy, J. Lo (oh wait, that is Gucci) look going for your 15 month old. Well my friends, Versace has heard your cries and they bring you: Young VersaceThe fashion house just opened up the kids/infant store on the main floor of the headquarters in Milan. I pretty much think it is the cutest store ever. They even boast having "Swarovski covered leopard print baby bottles." Sold. I don't care how many kidneys I need to sell. How much plasma can one safely donate a week anyways????? Look at the fabulous lavender... Those chairs you see in this picture below? Yup, a merry go round. Because even the fancy people love a carnival ride.

At least this store makes me feel better about my Gymboree guilt. Hey, at least those pants weren't $200! Though Gymboree only has a bench with Yo Gabba Gabba playing at the back of the store, no swanky merry go round...sheesh, amateurs!

Room Inspiration

2011-12-21T05:05:00.000-06:00

I can't wait until the holiday madness is over! Life is so hectic right now!! My goals for next year are to finish/actually start the playroom and Elin's room. The play room seriously looks like a toy explosion. Like Toys R Us just threw up in my house. Needless to say, the fancy "stack all the toys around the walls" look is not really working me for. I need organization and storage!!! The OCD in me is making me twitch...which is why I leave that door closed :) So... This room is a great inspiration for me:I love this storage system from Pottery Barn, but not the price tag! I am going to see if I kind have it made for muuuuuuccccchhh less: That toy room in the pic is totally fun, lots of storage and organized. My sister and I grew up in a house with a big ol' brick fireplace "stage" in our basement. I don't know what we would have done without our "performance area." My kids definitely need one too :)

THEN my little girl needs a finished room! It drives me bananas. I love this Moroccan nursery:

Nothing like what I am wanting for Elin, but I love it still hehe.
This is adorable:

Not my style either, but super adorable for a little one
I love this, but would ADORE it if it were in pink:

This is more what I am thinking:

Or something like this:

Over the top pink, girl, princess-glam :)
If she was 16? I would do something like this in a minute:

I am a huge fan of black and white with a pop of color! What a snazzy room :)

So hopefully this will be a year of completions! And maybe some building projects for the hubs! Put those skills to work!!!

DIY Upholstered Wall Hangings

2011-12-20T04:52:00.000-06:00

This is turning into a Pinterest sort of week!! Sheesh! I found this project and was totally WOWed by it. The New England Southerner blog has a tutorial on making these fabulous wall hangings...
All it involves in a trip to Home Depot, foam insulation boards, fabric of your choosing, spray adhesive, an upholstery staple gun (maybe you could try hot glue??)
Click here for the entire post: DIY WALL HANGINGS

Bambi Love

2011-12-19T08:46:00.002-06:00

Christmas is just around the corner and we are busier than ever!! Not so busy though that I can't spend some time perusing Pinterest! I found a fabulous picture of antelope print stairs and died. I hate to admit that I LOVE the look!! Chad would be so proud!! Also, I know Bambi wasn't an antelope, I just don't know any "famous" antelopes at this moment :)
So let's all fall in love, shall we? Looky looky: Pretty sure that is my inspiration for our office when I get my act together!! I LOVE that rug.

Here is the photo that started it all:

All of these photos were found on Pinterest
I cannot even believe that I am about to say this, but...this nursery??? Freakin' awesome.

And finally...

I am in love with the teeny tiny antelope chair!!!! Seriously, where do you find one of those????

Big Surprise

2011-12-16T08:09:00.002-06:00

We had a huge surprise at our house last night. It appears that Santa happened to be in our neck of the woods and dropped off an early gift for the kiddos. Meet Cookie:
Cookie made her appearance after swimming lessons last night. I made a trip down to meet my sister to pick up sweet Cookie then drove back to town, met Chad at swimming, made the super secrete car switch and waited for the kids. It all went so perfectly. Well, mostly. Cookie did finally have to relieve herself on the long car ride. It just happened to be in Jamey's lap. I never knew a puppy could pee so much. It was hysterical. I almost drove off the road I was laughing so hard. THEN, when I left in Chad's car for literally 30 seconds to switch places with him...she crapped all over his floor. At least it wasn't my car!!! Ha! Pretty funny stuff I tell ya.
But it all went off great. Chad told Aidan that he had heard on the news that Santa had been seen flying over our town and that no one knew what the heck he was doing there. Aidan's wheels were churning all the way home.

THEN, we pulled in and there are two huge buck in the yard. Aidan said "Santa MUST have been here because those buck were probably with the reindeer!" Right before this, we saw a falling star. Aidan explained that that happens when Santa flies to high and he must have knocked it down. It couldn't have been more perfect.
We go in the house and Chad has the puppy in a kennel under the tree with a huge bow on it. Aidan's face was priceless. He figured out it was a puppy and freaked out! He was sooooo excited. He then says "Can we keep this puppy, like, forever?!?!?" He didn't know that it was ours to keep! It was adorable.

Elin kept barking at her. Comical. It was a great evening! The rest of the night was spent loving on Cookie.
I mean really, look at that pile of wrinkles!!!!

Happy Friday!

Sorry, these are cell phone pictures so not the best, but you get the idea :)

Artic Vacation

2011-12-13T15:04:00.002-06:00

Last weekend we made the jaunt up to Iowa to visit Chad's parents. It was a great trip, well mostly. On the way up there we ran into major snow! It was about 50 degrees when we left home and by the time we hit the Iowa border it was snowing like mad and about 15 degrees!!! Sheesh!!! See...That was us on I-29. No, I was not driving :) The kids did awesome on the ride. Totally impressed! We met Luke, Ruthie, Marv, Glenda and Michelle at Merrrill for some awesome Mexican on the way in. By the time we got to their house the roads were completely dry! THANK GOODNESS! We did what we usually do in their town. Hung low, ate Pizza Ranch (YAY!), ate some MORE Mexican, went to Sioux Falls. Always a blast!!! The kid's favorite part is playing at the studio. They want to go there all the time... Aidan decided this was his "boat"
My favorite pictures:

We also delivered Luke's Christmas present from us and Mark and Rebecca a bit early because we knew he would REALLY appreciate it now :) He is the proud new owner of some Carhartt bibs and coat! Perfect for snow shoveling in the Artic Iowa.

Speaking of the Artic, this looks like an excellent idea when the temperature is reading 8 degrees, right...

That's Chad. On a moped. On the ice. GENIUS. Well it had to be moved to storage and the best way to get it there was to drive. So we all followed warmly in the van and watched him become a human icicle. It was hilarious. For us at least ;)

Again, Aidan's favorite playground:

We went to the movies, road the train and saw old friends. It is always such a treat to visit up north. It is a LONG drive so we don't get to do it as often as we would like, but we try!!

We are home now for a while and there is a BIG surprise coming very soon!!!!

Get To Work

2011-12-12T14:27:00.004-06:00

Dang it. I can't even make this photo post correctly. I was going to gleefully share with you how we roll during the busy holiday season! It's not easy with all the things we have going on to keep the house clean or make fancy treats!! You know how we do it??? Child labor. I mean really...Exhibit A: If you turn your head sideways, that is Elin. Cleaning the floor. With a baby wipe.
Hungry? Just put your 5 year old in charge of eats and the oven. No biggie...

We are blessed aren't we??? Though seriously, one of Elin's favorite things to do is wipe things up. She is a clean gal. What can I say??

I may start a cleaning/catering business run by small children! GENIUS! I know that is what you are thinking :)

Playin' Possum

2011-12-12T08:27:00.004-06:00

Today I thought I would share some "farm stories." We have been running a mile a minute at home and so the projects have kind of taken a back seat until after Christmas (Isn't Chad sooo happy???? hehe). SO. Let's talk about wildlife. I am going to tell you a story. A true story. I have changed the names of those involved as to protect their manhood and pride :)

Do you know what this is?Yes, it may look cute and cuddly, but these things are nasty and mean. Possums. So let's begin.

There is abundant wildlife out in the country. I am learning this very quickly! Back to the possum story...

**remember, names have been changed**

Living out on the farm, the Smith family learned to love all kinds of wildlife. There were lovely animals of all sorts roaming about the ol' farm. Until one day. One day this nasty possum decided he wanted to hang on the farm as well. This was not a good idea. Those things are mean. Not something one wants around people, kids, pets, etc. SO. Something had to be done about this mess. So one day everyone is outside and BEHOLD...there is the possum!! Young Lad runs for a firearm! Of course, those are readily available in the ol' country. He snatches...a BB gun. Well he fires off at the possum and OMG he hit him! He is dead! WOOO the nasty rat is gone!!

Well Mama Lad is not going to let Lad leave that dead thing in the yard...it has diseases! So Lad scoops up the ol' possum and dumps him in the burn barrel (come on, everyone in the country has one!) and drops the match and walks away. Easy right? Well. As the family is high fiving the kill, a flaming ball of fur comes shooting out of the barrel. Yes, my friends. That possum was not dead. He comes the flaming possum, pissed, and very much alive. Scurrying towards the people of the farm. Holy crap. Quickly another firearm is chosen (NOT a BB gun this time) and the problem is taken care of. The flames are put out. And the animal is properly disposed of. It didn't come barreling back from the dead this time. No Satanic possum fluttering around the farm.

Lessons learned? BBs do not kill possums. Possums actually DO play possum. Do you know how YOU would react to a crazy flaming possum chasing you?? Hmmm, something to think about today, huh?

Lad was fine. It has made him a strong country man. He was the hero that day :)
And don't go all PETA on me and my story, we hunt and eat meat. Well, not possum meat, but you know.

The Kiddos

2011-12-08T03:30:00.003-06:00

Aidan...5 years oldElin...18 months

Crazy Week

2011-12-07T11:38:00.001-06:00

It has been a crazy, long week already. Sick kiddo, nasty weather and lots of work. The blog is going to suck this week :) Instead, enjoy these precious peeps: Is December over yet????

Girls Night!

2011-12-01T08:17:00.002-06:00

Tonight is Girls Night and it is going to be a good one! This will be me tonight with the girls: And then some of this...
If you have never experienced a Nebraska Furniture Mart, I encourage you to do it. It may be one of my favorite places on earth...not that I am being dramatic...at all.
And finally...

WOO HOO!! Watch out!! I guess we will find out how much stuff the ol' Edge can carry!!!

Have a good weekend!!

Why I Love David Bromstad

2011-11-30T11:09:00.003-06:00

One of my favorite shows on HGTV is Color Splash. As someone who is in love with color, this makes sense. I am a HUGE fan of David Bromstad. I would kill to have him make me a painting :) Even Aidan likes Color Splash! He, like me, just can't understand why Chad won't let us paint a room bright magenta?!?! David did it! It looks cool, Mom! I know. Sheesh, Aidan sees it! Baby steps. So since I am way busy at work and have a ton of photos from Thanksgiving I still need to get off my camera, I am sharing my 6 reasons why I love David AKA Some super fabulous before-and-afters from Mr. Bromstad:

Before:After:

Before:

After:

That is probably one of my favorite rooms. I am a big ol' fan of Old World style and this is an excellent way to execute it!

Before: BLAH...

After:

Before:

Booooorrrrrinng....

After:

Sexy and adorable!! Hehe.

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

I love the teal walls. I cannot believe I love this as much as I do given the mid-century modern chairs because let's face it, MCM is my arch nemesis. Nothing I probably hate more, but I LOVE what David did there. See? David is amazing.

After David, I actually LOVE Donna Decorates Dallas. I know people either love what she does or think that it's over the top Jerseylicious, but I am on the love side of that. I love oversized, plush and blingy. Give me Donna any day!

What's your style? Who do you love (well besides me of course!)??

TV Disguise

2011-11-23T09:07:00.003-06:00

Do you have a TV over your mantle? We do. I really wish they would make TVs in different colors so the big ol' black eye sore wasn't so bad. Hmmm, that's a great idea. We could be millionaires with the colored TV idea...riiiiight. Anyhoo. I read a blog, Gus & Lula, and she has a GREAT TRICK. Seriously, look at her living room: See that pretty picture?? That is their TV. I MEAN REALLY. How awesome is that??? She has the tutorial on how to do that on their blog: HERE . All it takes is some moulding, paint and some elbow grease. Easy peasy.

Thanksgiving Break

2011-11-21T08:16:00.003-06:00

I am going to pretend I am back in college and am taking a Thanksgiving break from the ol' blog this week. It's a short work week so that means I will be extra busy! We had a busy busy weekend with the family so I have a lot of work to do to get our house ready for all the visitors this week!!

Run down of the weekend for those of you who are curious as to what we did:
1. Saw Breaking Dawn with the girls...ahhhh it was fabulous and went out to dinner
2. Bass Pro and lunch with the whole crew on Saturday (very thrilling)
3. My parents came to hang out after getting home from their vacation on Sunday

See? Thrilling. Actually we had a lovely time with the family. The kids played like crazy. I took absolutely no pictures I discovered. So yes, time for a break!

See you next week!
Happy Thanksgiving!!

Roman Shades

2011-11-17T08:09:00.003-06:00

Yesterday I had to hang around the house to watch paint dry. No seriously. I did. We had painters at the house doing touch ups. I was supervising. So with all the "free" time I had while supervising I decided to finish up the roman shade project I had started Sunday when Elin decided to go pukey on us. I had never done this before. I found a tutorial on Pinterest, read it once and decided I could try it out. I kind of did things my own way after reading it. I figured I could figure it out somehow :) So here is what I learned:

1. Buy SUPER CHEAPO mini blinds. Mine were $3.50 at Big Lots. They were already the size I needed for the window. Easy peasy.

2. Do not have a sick child while attempting this project

3. No for reals, I went ahead and put up the mounting brackets now before I lost them. You will have a lot of spare parts because you really don't need them all after the blinds are done. You won't need the little twisty-wand-stick thing they give you because you will not be opening the blinds like mini-blinds

4. Next, open the blinds up all the way. Extend them as long as they go (sorry I didn't get a picture of this). Now you are going to go thru and cut the ladder string off. DO NOT CUT THE THICKER STRING. This is the one that raises and lowers the blinds. You NEED THAT ONE. See? The LADDER STRING = SNIP SNIP
Once you have done that, all the blind slats will move freely. Also? I am not numbering these directions anymore LOL. Just follow along.

You need to know how tall your window is. Mine was a 23 inche wide window that was about 34 inches tall roughly. You are going to remove all excess slats so this information is important. You have to do a little math to figure out how many you need. I have my slats spaced 6 inches apart (the tutorial I read said that smaller windows look best with a 6-8 inch spacing). So, the math:

6 inch spacing
34 inch window (I made the math for 36 inches to make it easier)
I would need 5 slats, plus the end one to make it 6! (duh)

Once you know your numbers, you must remove the extra slats. This is easy.
On the bottom of the blind is the little plug thingy. Remove it, untie the knot and slide off the slats until you have what you need:
Plug removed:

Slide all the unneeded slats off:

Once they are removed, spread your fabric out on a flat surface. Leave about an inch in either side of the slats to fold over. Also leave enough at the top and bottom to cover the mounting portion and the bottom slat. Cut off excess. Make sure your blinds are face down. Remember what side you want the fabric on.
Next step, space out the slats.

Go along each one with tacky glue. I used just some fabric glue I had from Joanne's. Glue the slats to the fabric and press firmly on each one for few minutes. My glue didn't take long to adhere and stay put. I put some books on the completed ones as I went down the blind:
Once all the slats are attached, you have to do your edges. Super easy. Just dab some glue on the edges and fold over like the photo below:You basically do the same thing with the top mounting portion and the bottom slat. I didn't get pictures of those (sorry!). Just make sure to not have a ton of excess fabric at the top where it mounts. The blind has to fit into the brackets.

Once it dries, you are good to go!

That was a fabric I had a home that was a really light weight. It is a little see through, but for $3.50 total, I DO NOT CARE.
I also tried it in our master bathroom with a heavier, upholstery fabric. Works just as easy for the heavier fabric as well:

This is SO EASY. If you are like me, you will get sticky and covered in glue. I am not the cleanest crafter. These are so easy that when I get tired of them, I can just do new ones without having to put different holes in the wall!!!

Super Easy Window Fix

2011-11-15T08:18:00.003-06:00

We have a big ol' window over our tub in our bathroom. It was naked. The window, not me. I have been trying to figure out what to do in there without spending a fortune. I decided that it definitely had to be something pre-made, no custom budget for me! I was perusing Wayfair and came across this:

It is a solid khaki color. They call it linen. It was $29. I also had some reward dollars banked up there and so it cost $10 (shipping and everything). I figured I could make it work somehow. Our window is 48 inches wide and 40 inches tall. Before we go any further, I want to advise that there are only a couple of very non-helpful photos for this process because I didn't think about it until I was done and also, this is so easy you really don't need pics :)

I already own a glue gun (duh) and had some ribbon trim in my stock pile. So my valance arrives and I break out the supplies. I ironed the valance first (well a very half-assed approach at ironing...I had a short time frame to be able to complete this whole project so ironing was the least of my worries--story of my life!). I got my ribbon trim and measured out the amount needed for each of the "tie ups" And then, the very difficult task of gluing the ribbon to the valance, following the tie up:

Um yeah, Aidan could have done this. SUPER easy. But it did the trick. The valance hangs down about 18 inches so I had the hubs mount my rod above the window about 8 inches. Easy peasy. After it was hung it took a little adjusting to get everything evened up and poufing just right so be kind with this picture:It is perfect for what I need and cost $10. SWEET.

Lessons Learned

2011-11-14T10:41:00.003-06:00

We had a weekend that was jam packed! It was opening deer season so Chad was clearly MIA for most of it :) Friday night Aidan and I had date night to see Puss N Boots...totally adorable (if you liked the Shrek movies). He fell asleep on the way home. Lesson #1: 7:15 movies are not great for little people if you want them to stay awake on the say home! He had a blast so that was all that mattered!

Saturday we were going to have a BIG day. First, take Aidan to the Ballers practice. Well. Lesson #2...don't sign up for random sports teams that you really don't know a whole lot about. We got there at our appointed time. We were the only car in the area. Mind you, this "arena" was near a place that was just closed down for prostitution and gang banging (AWESOME) and we were the only people within a 2 block ratio...also? The front door has plywood over it where it was busted out. You know I was all over that right?!?! UM NO. I called Chad to politely tell him we were aborting this mission. He laughed and said that he had a bad feeling already about it and was on his way to meet us because he didn't want us to go alone. Awwww. So needless to say we left for St. Louis a bit earlier than planned. Aidan was just pumped I let him wear his "basketball" shoes all day. Easy to please!

We met Sarah, Natalie and little Lexi at Incredible Pizza and the kiddos had a blast. I have lots of pics I just need to download. Aidan and Natalie were PUMPED that they could drive bumper cars by themselves. Pretty sure that is all he will do next time :)

For now, here is the basic gist of that adventure:

It was great. We were able to go hang out at their house and see the new puppy Rudy. ADORABLE. Aidan now realizes what a youngy puppy does hehe. They have a lot of energy apparently (GASP! SHOCK! How did he not know this!?).

Before heading home I took Aidan and E to see their cousins Michael and Preston. The kids played like crazy. They loooove their cousins. It was great to see them play. We loaded up (with the additon of one GINORMOUS teddy bear) and made the trek home. It was such a wonderful weekend. Lesson #3: Always have room in case you inherit a teddy bear that is larger than your 5 year old and need to drive him home.

Until Sunday. Ugh. Well we had to make the ol' Walmart run since you know, our home had nothing to eat unless you have a recipe using Boy Scout popcorn that I need to know about. So we went to eat at my secret pleasure, Golden Corral. Yup. I said it. That place it trashtastically awesome (seriously, on a sidenote, one time on a date night, Chad and I went to Bass Pro AND Golden Corral...I will wait while you compose yourself.). So we did the GC and Walmart. Hilarious. We headed home because Aidan and Chad were going hunting and Elin was getting crabby. She was sniffly all weekend and just didn't look great. Well, the boys went hunting, Elin was playing and I began my project of making some Roman Shades. This is as far as I got:I opened the package and Elin went bananas. She was so pissed at all the snot. I know. I hate that! It gagged her and make her puke all night. Sorry, I know you really wanted to know that. So we had a really long night of nose blowing, thus I have no project or pictures downloaded. But, ol' girl is just fine now and hopefully I can get some things accomplished now!!!
Lesson #4: it is NOT Golden Corral's fault Elin got sick, CHAD. Don't hate on GC. The sniffles suck. That is Lesson #4 :)
I have adorable pics of Aidan and Chad hunting but for some reason they will only load upside down. Huh. So I am figuring that out today too :)

Bike Chains

2011-11-11T04:15:00.000-06:00

I read a blog by the fabulous Abbe Fenimore at Studio Ten 25. She does really amazing work. Well I about died when I saw what she is working on currently: a place that has bike chain chandeliers. They are amazing. They are made by Carolina Fontoura and seriously, crazy.

I mean really, look at this:

All images are from StudioTen25's amazing installation...

I wish I had somewhere for these!! Abbe's blog has lots of amazing inspiration and she also has a shop. She sells lots of the things she uses in her designs. It's fabulous. That's what I've got for today :) A little weekend inspiration...

Don't worry, I will not be attempting a DIY version of Bike Chain Chandeliers...your Huffys are safe.

Huntin' Time!

2011-11-10T07:56:00.002-06:00

Okay so technically I believe "huntin' time" is officially on Saturday, but clearly Aidan CANNOT WAIT. This has been his regular attire each evening after school. This kid is ready. Too bad he can't ACTUALLY kill a deer himself this year! Next year! He is ready to go sit with dad though!! Watch out Bambi! I know, not actually Bambis, more like Bambis big ol' sassy dad. That's right. I just called Chad's future big buck, "sassy." I love you too dear :)

Amazing Dresser

2011-11-09T03:30:00.001-06:00

See that dresser? Yeah, someone made that. Like, a regular (well fabulous, but regular) person. AND??? IT IS NOT EVEN HARD to make your own! Seriously. I am all over this. Check it out on Lindauer Design's blog: HERE

TOLD YOU! Amazeballs. I have to get my hands on some furniture to try this out on now!!!

Elin 18 Months

2011-11-08T05:57:00.001-06:00

Elin had her 18 month check up. Our shorty is measuring up at 31.5 inches tall (25th percentile if you would like to know) and 26 pounds (50th percentile). On par for my kiddos, her head is off the charts. What can I say? We make babies with big heads :)

What is she up to these days?
Very independent...you want help with that, E? HELLS NO. Stubborn like her daddy (you didn't think I was going to say like her momma did you??)
Loves her babies...she is such a little momma. Unlike THIS momma, Elin's babies have to be naked. Yup. She only wants her babies au naturel. Lovely. At least she leaves her own clothes on!
Has crazy curly blonde hair, like CRAZY. Mornings? She looks like Bob Ross. I have learned the value of No More Tangles
She wants to do whatever Aidan is doing and she wants to play with whatever he has
She loves to color
Sings along to any song in her own way of course
Will show you her "muscles"
Dances to the tunes in the car
Gives you "the hand" if she doesn't want you to talk (or look at) her :)..clearly has a gentle temper like her mother

Baby girl is growing up! Aidan loves that she actually plays with him now :) They are too adorable hanging out together.

Easy Pillows

2011-11-07T07:51:00.003-06:00

I got my fabric that I ordered this past week so I thought I try out my skills with pillow covers. I actually ordered the fabric for some art, but I had extra so I thought I would test them out. I do not own a sewing machine. I KNOW. I would really like one. I would also like some sewing skills. Ha. But I do know you can make no-sew pillows. So I attempted them. I am actually pretty impressed with myself! They turned out pretty fantastic, besides the first one. It actually looks pretty uh "home made" on one seam, but LESSON LEARNED. The final seam to close up the pillow is tricky!! But if I can do this, anyone can. So let's see!

Get your fabric out and iron all the creases out. Measure the amount you need for the pillow you are covering (duh) I used this for my seams:
I also had a 40% coupon for that so it was like almost free!
After the fabric is all ironed, I folded mine over (making the folded side one of the seams...one less place for me to "sew")...FOLD IT OVER INSIDE OUT
Lay the hem tape where you need your next seam

in between the two layers. Then take your iron and hold on the fabric for about 5 seconds. Do this all along the seam. Voila! You just sewed a seam!! Repeat that on one other side to create a pocket for your pillow. Then turn your creation right side out:

Ta da! That was super easy! Next, put your pillow in your cover
This is where I had trouble the first time. I did not leave enough fabric for this seam. For the ironing part, it is very tricky if you don't have enough fabric

Fold the edges in, press them to make a crease like this:

Then put the hem tape on one side like this:

And PRESS. You will have to hold here a bit longer because there is more fabric. It's not actually difficult, but can be frustrating until you figure it out.
When you are done with that, you are done with your covers!

Hurray! I was so PROUD of myself :)
I did all these Saturday night:

Yes, I said Saturday night. We are clearly a bunch of party animals at my house. After that I knit a sweater and played bridge. Not really.

I was pumped that I got snappy new pillows for close to nothing and Chad was happy that I didn't go buy a bunch of new pillows :) WIN WIN SITUATION!

Like A Fish

2011-11-04T08:16:00.002-05:00

We have Aidan back in swim lessons. We attempted lessons a few years ago and frankly it did not go so well. He was NOT interested in learning at all. So we took a break. Well SO glad we did because now he is all over it. He has his goggles and he pays attention to the instructor, NOT his parents watching :) My little Michael Phelps: We are stoked because he will actually put his face in and go under. Before this was like death to him. NO WAY was that happening! But now, he does whatever he is told and tries really hard. We are so proud of him!

We go after work so Elin is with us too. Obviously she is so patient and can sit so still for the 30 minutes we are there...um no. Chad ended up at the humane society with her this day. Apparently puppies and kittens are way more entertaining than watching her brother swim. Sheesh!

Aidan is a rockstar with his swimming and next weekend we start basketball. I can't wait to watch little boys (maybe girls too? I have no idea what exactly I have signed him up for except that they are called Itty Bitty Ballers...seriously, how adorable...half the reason I wanted him to do it hehe) run around with the basketball!! Cuteness overload.

On a house note, my fabric has arrived! I am thinking of attempting some no-sew pillows as well. We shall see how this goes :)

Excellent Pricing on Adequate Floor Coverings

2011-11-03T09:57:00.006-05:00

The title was actually just "Rugs," but my crazy post font made it look like a relative of a dirty word and it totally bothered me. So there. Needing an area rug?? Best place ever for snazzy rugs at my kind of prices...Rugs USA. And if you don't live in NY, no sales tax! I have been looking for a chevron rug for our kitchen for awhile and haven't bought one because I am cheap :) Did you read that Chaddie??? I said I was cheap! We can all wait for a moment while he composes himself.

......................................

Okay then. So I was looking and this is my favorite rug:

But at $100 for just a 3 x 5 this was not going to work. 1) It is way too small and 2) Way too expensive. After a little searching I found this one:
5 x 7 rug from Rugs USA for $109. BUT that is not even the best part! Free shipping and also an additonal 30% off! This beauty is only $76!! If that isn't the buy of my life I don't know what is!!
Now quick, find a reason to need a rug. Stat! I know I did...hehe.

Halloween in the 'Burg

2011-11-02T03:25:00.001-05:00

We had our first Halloween out in "the country!" Our original plan was to load up and head on over into town to our old 'hood because let's face it, they gave out some awesome candy. Well, then we heard of some local stuff and decided to try it out. Also? Yay for not driving 20 minutes into town and then back out with tired kids!!! So Grandma and Grandpa showed up and we headed into town. Just a reminder, this is "town": The good ol' four way stop. Yup, that's it. Okay, I guess technically there is a service station and BBQ joint, but that's it. It is adorable and the friendliest place ever :) We then experienced our first ever Trunk or Treat. The kiddos LOVED it!
Obviously, the Red Power Ranger was focused on the goods. Tinkerbell was just excited to have wings on. Grandpa was just happy to be there!
The family as best as we could corral for the evening:

Things I learned: Kids costumes with masks? TOTALLY stupid. Yup. That's right. They look snazzy, but five seconds later Aidan was all "Can you take this? I can't see! Will you hold this PLEASE!" So yes, we were a Power Ranger without the almighty mask.
Elin was a doll...as long as she had a sucker. We have learned the way to a happy girl: food. I am pretty sure that will be the story of her life. I know it's mine :)

Grandma decided to wear her Spiderman shirt to show her Halloween festive-ness. This photo looks awful; sorry, it's the phone pics...

Our amazing neighbors (they live down the road on the farm across the way) had their trunk all snazzed up for the kids:

Everyone had their trunks all decked out for Halloween and the kiddies went up to get their candy at each one. There was someone with their fishing boat all set up and then there were these people:Do you notice a spider hanging? Yeah, it moves. Like drops down. That plus Aidan equals HILARIOUS. It scared the daylights out of him. I know. I shouldn't laugh, but it was so funny. Even when the sweet man showed him how the spider worked, Aidan would not even get the candy. Grandma had to get the candy that he pointed at. TOO FUNNY. We all loaded up after that and headed back out to the house. You know what isn't funny? Having a car that fits 5 and there being 6 people in your party. That means someone gets to ride in the cargo space (don't worry, just for small jaunts into town)...the lucky winner?? Yours truly. Seriously. This was my view all night:

Hey don't mind the creeper riding in the back of that car. It's just that family's darling mother. Sheesh. Also I learned that yes, I do have carsickness. Score!
It was a great night! The kids were pooped...until they got all hyped up on candy. But then they went to bed. Finally. And I passed out. Whew.
Hope you had a Happy Halloween!!

A Neutral Bedroom

2011-11-01T12:00:00.000-05:00

Okay, one more client board for the week. This is a bedroom done where we had to keep the existing side tables and bed. There is also a dresser that is staying as well. Again, done on a super low budget. I love when a bedroom has hardwood floors. Actually, I love it in THEORY :) In my house I couldn't have anything, but my snuggly carpet. We have wood in the main living areas, but the cozy places have to have carpet!

Aidan's moose has gone through a makeover to finish up my little hunting buddy's room. I will actually share that this week. Finally. My fabric for the living room art is on its way! This is going to be a busy week!

Ghost Hunting: The Bloodiest 47 Acres in America

2011-10-31T14:45:00.004-05:00

In "celebration" of Halloween AND the SyFy channel premiere of the State Pen episode of Ghost Hunters (Wednesday at 8pm!!)...I am reposting about my adventure in ghost hunting at the prison this fall...

This weekend was the 175th Anniversary Celebration for the Missouri State Penetentiary. They had activities set up for the entire weekend. We headed down to the prison on Saturday morning for all the family friendly stuff they had going on. Aidan was super pumped. Elin had no clue what we were doing of course, but she happily participated. On our way in: When they closed the prison in 2004, they tore down the administrative buildings and entrance to rebuild the street that runs along the side of it. Apparently this is how it actually used to look when it first opened in 1836 so that was pretty interesting. It's a creepy old building. Usually the front has a big board covering the entrance that they open when you go on one of their guided tours. Today though it was open and you could walk right in. Standing at the front entrance:

When you walk in the entrance you are in the old "check-in" area. It was crazy that there were still signs and postings from when it was a fully-operational facility. Being the history dork that I am, it was fascinating. Chad was being a trooper by happily attending with us (so not his cup of tea)!

EntranceThis is one of the main halls that we walked by to get to the main yard. We learned later that this is one of the very haunted halls there...Our in the main yard there were lots of activities all set up. There was food and music. You could go in a few buildings, but just right inside. They had a lot of the historical information available. We learned that when it closed, the prison was the oldest operating prison west of the Mississippi River. It was built at the same time of the Alamo, and when Alcatraz was built this prison was already 100 years old. Beware, this post is both going to be possibly extremely boring if this kind of stuff doesn't interest you, or totally creepy by the end.

We were able to walk in the main entrance of the housing unit in the picture above. They had a movie playing about the history there.

We took Aidan down to check it out real quick. We didn't stay to watch the video as it wasn't "mommy screened" and who knows what Aidan might have learned ;)

He thought it was so cool. He was looking around everywhere.

I was completely creeped out when later that evening, I learned that we were in the death row housing building and the room where the movie was showing had some crazy ghostly history with fires and murders. LOVELY.

From the main entrance you walked out of the door in that red brick building and entered the main yard:

We took Aidan to the kids stuff. He made a license plate (they actually did that at the prison back in the day), a "wanted" poster, and played some games.

Making his poster:

His license plate:

Flinging frogs at the castle moat. He loved this game. Guessing because it involved the equivalent of a GIANT slingshot:

After playing the games, we kept walking to check out the open buildings. The architecture was amazing. This building is the oldest housing unit on the property:

It was built in 1868. It was only open to paid tour guests so we just looked from the outside. Very creepy looking.

Right down the steps from Housing Unit 4 is Unit 5. This is where the REALLY bad guys were put. It was the solitary confinement cells and their exercise yard. Aidan was fascinated with the exercise "cages." He kept wanting to go in them and shut the doors. I was waiting for the super rusted doors to stick and then we would have to call someone to fetch our son out of the prison because his confinement cage was locked. Luckily, that didn't happen :)

We finished up our tour and headed home with some very tired kids. On the way out, Elizabeth and I stopped to check out tour information. I have been dying to go on a historical tour of the grounds since we have been in Jeff City. We were getting some info when one of the guides starting telling us that we needed to come back for the "special" tour they were having that night. Apparently they were having a special GHOST HUNTING tour with a little class before to show you how to use the tools and then they took you around the places that were most haunted and basically scared the crap out of you. I definitely made sure that they weren't doing something stupid like a haunted house and were going to jump out and scare me. Nope, just a ghost hunt. So Elizabeth and I took the bait and signed up to come back that night for some "fun." Riiiight.

Here is where the post gets creepy/spooky/gross/weird/whatever because I took pictures of all the stuff we saw and will tell you about them :) You have been warned!

This is the Warden's House. It was built in 1855 and is right across the street from the prison. It is a gorgeous home that is now a law office:

The happy hunting crew (or COMPLETE IDIOTS...whichever you feel is most appropriate. At that moment, I was going with the second option):Elizabeth's boyfriend, Fun Bobby, joined us. I am pretty sure he was just pumped to see the most dramatic person in the world (me) and my sister in this situation. If we had not already paid, I definitely would have chickened out at this point because it was getting dark and I am a big baby.

The first part of this little expedition takes us in the front door and down the hall to a room. We sit and learn about all this ghost hunting stuff (whats totally a hoax, what the different stuff looks for, and blah blah)...it is getting hot and we were antsy!! Off we go then to the first stop, down the hall and up the stairs to the Women's Housing (PS I didn't even know women were housed at the same facility! But apparently they were for quite some time!). This is what we see and also, this is how bright it was:

Um yup. I paid to do this. They gave us "free time" to ROAM AROUND this area. It was four stories (but we were only allowed on the main floor-LIKE I WOULD WANDER THAT FAR FROM SAFETY?!). We had flashlights and you could look in the cells. It was crazy. There were drawings in some of them. It was nuts to think that this place was still being used in 2004.

Looking up from the main level of cells:

The paint is peeling so bad because most of the buildings never had air conditioning so as soon as they stopped caring for the building, it went down quickly.

The Blind Cell:

The Blind Cell was for punishment. It has no windows or light. It was creepy to say the least.

Bobby is nuts, I mean brave, and went in to investigate...

At this time, I had some electro-something monitor and the numbers were going crazy. I had a mini-heart attack and quickly pawned it off on someone else in the group. I have no clue what those numbers meant, but holy hell I did not want to see anything that may mean I am hanging with a ghost over my shoulder.
We headed out of that building and to the main yard (we passed that hallway we saw earlier and were told that this is where many have see the residual haunting of Jack. Some prisoner that roams that hall). Again, I moved quickly into the fresh air of the quad. If you are wondering why in the world I went on this tour when clearly I was petrified, I will explain it as I told my sister. It is like Fear Factor. I know I don't like haunted houses. I LOVE history and am fascinated with prisons and weird stuff like that. I thought if I was going to ever do something like this, now was the time.

So we head on out to go over to Housing Unit 3, the building we couldn't go in during the daytime. It is the oldest housing on site. We walked in and sat down so they could tell us a bit about the unit. There were some violent deaths there (OH great) and also some famous inmates housed there. We were told of some ghost that shows up with bloody eyes or something like that (I started to tune this out ASAP) up on the 3rd floor...everyone looks up, I look in the complete opposite direction. If I saw something, I would have peed my pants. No joke.

We get more free time (YAY, good lord QUIT LEAVING US UNATTENDED!). Elizabeth FINALLY talked me into walking into a cell. It was awful as expected.

The weird fluorescent lighting caused pictures to look green (I am not just trying to be all spooky): The cells in A-Hall (that is what they called this housing unit)

The cell doors originally looked like this:

They were short so a prisoner couldn't come out and look an officer straight in the eye. It made them bow their head as they came out. I found that interesting. There was only one cell left with that kind of door on it.

This is when the guide dropped the bomb on me. We were about to go to the dungeon cells. They were downstairs. We were going to go down there, shut the door, sit in the cells and turn off the lights. I kid you not that I felt my blood pressure go bananas. I thought I was going to pass out. Holy hell. I told my sister there was no way I was going in there. She made me. Darn her. So down the stairs we go, first thing we see are the showers:

Gross. You turn and there is a tiny door going to the dungeon cells. I finally get myself under control and agree to go in there. Everybody goes down the halls exploring. Yeah, I look at the cell closest to the door and that is enough for me. They all look the same, right? We get the countdown for lights off, I already decided that the safest place to be would be right next to the guides. They are clearly my quickest route to safety. The poor man. He had to deal with me and my drama. At least I told him I was a big baby and would need to stand right next to him before the lights went out. So it went dark.
While we were standing here:

That's one of the cells. There was no lighting down there back inthe day. There were a few small lightbulbs lighting the hallways but they didn't have those way back then. The cells were pitch black. They were reserved for the worst of the prisoners. The story is that the prisoners would be in the cells either by themselves or with 2-3 guys. To not go crazy (which I don't know how that was possibly; to NOT go crazy) they would take the buttons off of their pants and flick them into the dark. They would spend their time searching for the button. That was their daily entertainment. It was such an unimaginable way to spend your life.

Also important to note, I was definitely second guessing my whole "Fear Factor" theory.

I was more than ready to get the heck out of there. We ended our little "experiment" then headed to FRESH AIR. Many lessons learned, 1) I will never need to participate in any sort of "scared straight" program. I don't need a prison of prisoners yelling at me to scare the crap out of me. An empty prison does the job JUST FINE. 2) I LOVE FRESH AIR.

Next stop: Death Row housing. Telling you, it just keeps getting better

We go downstairs into the unit and explore the death row housing. The cells were awful. no windows. Bare minimum. Clearly the worst since it was death row for goodness sake.

Some of the cells:

This was a high risk cell:

The highest bars were covered so no one could "hurt themselves" and they slept on cement slabs so they couldn't use their cots against themselves either. I have no clue how one uses a cot to hurt themself, but clearly it had been done. There were also 2 doors into those cells. They looked intense.

We left and headed towards the back of the property, towards the river. I had no idea it was so large. Back in the day, the prison had been named "The Bloodiest 47 Acres in America" by TIME magazine. Lovely. Such a reputation to have!

A guard tower by the river:

It was so quiet outside. It was also almost 11pm at this time. The quietness made everything a hundred times creepier.

We saw the various factories they had for the prisoners to work at. There was an ice house, bread factory and of course a license plate factory. We went by a housing unit they used for mafia people. It was said to be indestructible. Apparently mafia people had a reputation for blowing up buildings to bail their people out. Interesting. The last stop on the tour: the gas chamber. I had been dreading this stop since the beginning. I was hoping we would start there, since it was less DARK out. No, that would not be dramatic enough.

So we walk up on this tiny building...just sitting there like the others. The only thing noticeable is the white cross on the sidewalk to the door. SPOOKY does not even begin to describe it.

I think they executed around 40 people (yes, men and women; sometime 2 at a time even) there until 1989. It was a gas chamber, but then they also started doing lethal injections. See, I warned you. This is morbid and creepy, yet strangely fascinating.

On the left, the door went to the viewing area for the family. It was so tiny. I imagined it would be larger. It was hot and stuffy. There were spiders. I was in and out QUICKLY.

The door on the right side of the building went into the chamber. It looked like some sort of space ship. The vent went out the top. It was hilarious when the 4 boys (they were like 11ish) ran to be the first to check out the chamber. They were in there and 2 of them were sitting down when the guide flips the vent switch (IT STILL WORKS). The motor started running. Those boys jumped 20 feet in the air. It was hilarious. I personally jumped out of the building faster than anyone else, but no one saw me since I was in the back. Hehe.

We had to be gross and morbid like everyone else and sit in the chair since I can say without a doubt that I won't ever see one of those again (well unless I take another tour).

Elizabeth opted for the gas chair:

What a lovely nervous smile

This is the I-am-petrified-but-am-so-glad-this-is-almost-over smile on the chair that they modified for lethal injection:

Yes, those are morbid. And gross. We know. I am totally creeped out that we were there. But it was amazing history. When I was freaking out, it was so interesting.

After that, we made a quick stop in the upper parking lot where there are apparently some "unaccounted for" bodies of prisoners buried. IS THIS OVER YET??? Yes, thank goodness. They take us back to the front and release us to freedom. As scared as I was, it was awesome. I am definitely going back for the regular history tour. Just info, no drama :)

Bobby celebrated our freedom by striking a pose in the window:

We hit up Mcdonalds for a cold beverage before heading home. I am shocked I slept that night. If you are anywhere near Jeff City, I highly advise you to check out the prison. You can do the less creepy version of the tours. It was amazing. You can even SPEND THE NIGHT there doing a MAJOR GHOST HUNT. Like from 9pm-5am they lock you in the old housing unit and you play Ghost Adventures. Have fun. I will NOT be there.

It is very cool to learn that today they announced that SyFy Channels Ghost Hunters have been filming at the prison all week. I don't know if it's cool really or if it scares me even more since clearly there is enough haunted crap happening there that THEY FILM A TV SHOW there??!?!?

So there it is! Back to reality today! THANK GOODNESS

Client Office

2011-10-31T08:21:00.005-05:00

Here is a mood board done for a client's office:They wanted something neutral but glamorous. The room has French doors leading in to it and has tons of natural light. The design also needed to be budget friendly. The walls in the room are a true gray and they had to stay. She was super excited with the ideas and I am excited to see it come together.

Wanting some help with any part of designing your space? Check out our services and contact me!

Living Room

2011-10-28T03:30:00.001-05:00

Our living room is moving along. The room has giant walls. See the massive amount of nothingness on the wall right now... It drives me crazy!!Behind the couch is another 5 feet or so. We need some more furniture and that will come eventually. There is a large chest in a corner where I would like to do a vintage map or clock on the wall. I just didn't include that in the pics because it currently looks like a toy explosion with a small castle and other playtime goodness.Our living room is open to the second level.We have leather couches and the basic coffee table and end table. I figured out what to do with the 20 foot wall on the south side of the room. I wanted to hang some art, but somthing more abstract than not. I couldn't find anything I liked that wasn't $200+. I am trying to do everything on a super budget. SO. I decided to order some fabric (like 1/2 a yard) and I am going to frame squares and hang on the wall. This is what I have ordered:

Do you know how much that cost???? $15. AND the frames are at Hobby Lobby (of course) and are the most "expensive" part of the project...each frame is like $10. For big ones. You can't get any cheaper!! I am pumped. Things are coming together.

I fininshed up the kitchen minus one tiny wall. I was pumped to recycle things I had in our bedroom and bathroom at the old house (Chad will be so proud!). They work perfectly in the kitchen now! I only wish that I would have bought these zebra (relax, not as crazy as they sound) bar stools when I wanted to. I KNEW it was my destiny to have those in my kitchen!! Dang it!! They are gone now :( Lesson learned: don't fight your destiny!! Haha.

Good for a Laugh

2011-10-27T03:30:00.000-05:00

I am working on getting some pics of Aidan's room up since it is finally finished. Until then, I thought this would be fun to share. I found these and they made me laugh out loud. Literally. So basically, this is holding your attention until I can get my act together with Aidan's room :)

Note to self, review cards before sending them to small children... VERY Important information:
No words for this one:

Understood.

This is where I prefer to play soccer...

This blog will be back on track later today :)

Serious Real Estate

2011-10-26T03:30:00.000-05:00

We all know how much I heart the Real Housewives of Insert-Random-City-Here on Bravo. I love all of the shows. Did you watch Jersey this year??? OMG the reunion was BANANAS. Anyways. My absolute favorite "edition" of the show is Beverly Hills. I am a big fan of ol' Lisa Vanderpump. You cannot tell me you don't love her if you watch that show. Hilarious. Well, her home is on the market (it is actually listed by Kyle's hubby Mauricio)...for a mere $29M. As in MILLION. Yikes. But seriously, check this place out: It is 15,000 square feet and in the Beverly Park neighborhood in Beverly Hills (Also, Adrienne Maloof would be your neighbor!)
Built/designed by architect Richard Landry

7 bedrooms

10 bathrooms

2 Offices
Pool
Tennis courts

Billiards room

Wine cellar and tasting room

Tons of gardens and outdoor space (I think I read it was somewhere near a total of an acre of patios)

I would do just about anything for that closet...

So if you are looking for an upgrade, here is your chance!

Maybe you can talk them into throwing Giggy into the deal :)

Pumpkin Party!

2011-10-25T03:30:00.000-05:00

This weekend we went to a pumpkin painting/carving party at one of Aidan's friend's house. Aidan and Wyatt are new BFFs. They are so adorable. I mean really, check this crew out: In case you are wondering what in the world is on their faces, that is my interpretation of vampire make up. I swear I followed the picture. They looked more like devil faces if you ask me. The boys certainly didn't care. They LOVED it. In fact, Aidan loved it so much he requested the same face on Sunday...for fun...no party, just make up. NICE. The boys spent time on the tractor of course:

The lovely hosts, Runner Girl and um, Hippy Man:

Elin LOVED the tractor even though she had no idea how to run the thing. She accidently made it go while getting off and it scared the daylights out of her though!

See, check out the nice make up job:

Blood and everything! Also, that is his "mean" face. The child has a heart of gold. Can't even fake a mean face :)
Here is their best attempt though:

Very intimidating. I know.
The kiddos had a blast. Aidan and Elin painted more pumpkins than I know what to do with.

Elin went all Picasso on us and painted up a storm. She would get super pissed anytime you tried to help or intervene. Fine. You got it drama queen :)

TRYING to her help...

Okay, I couldn't help but maybe dad can???

She let him for like one second then was all Miss Independent again.

Tara and her girls with their "advanced" pumpkin carving :)

Chilling on the porch enjoying the "eyeball" treat:

I mean REALLY enjoying it...

Hello, yummy donut on a stick! My name is Elin and I LOVE YOU.
It was a great time! The weather was amazing. The kids collapsed when we got home. Halloween is almost here!!

Canvas Art

2011-10-24T11:13:00.003-05:00

I am sure everyone has some wall art they are sick of and want to change. I know I do. I have lots :) I also have a budget though. What do you do with all that awesome canvas without making yourself sick over throwing them out??? Cover them! With just a few supplies I already had (well mostly), I saved an old canvas and found something that worked in my bathroom!
What do you need?
-Any old canvas...it doesn't matter what is on it. I had one with black paint and stuff on it, but it covers just the same! (Actually, I went ahead and spray painted white a bit over it since my fabric was light)
-Hot glue gun
-Spray adhesive (not totally necessary, but it helps)
-Some dazzle and random accessories

I spray painted my black canvas since I was going to use light burlap as a cover. I then used my spray adhesive all across it to lay the fabric down. Like this: I did another one and didn't use the spray adhesive and it was fine. So that part is just up to you. I then went around the edges with my hot glue gun (in the above pic as well) and when you flip it over, you get this:

Woo hoo! That is the most tedious part! Now the fun part! I found some bling at Hobby Lobby in the scrapbooking section:

I also printed out old documents online for the paper I wanted (I just googled "vintage documents")

To make the paper look more vintage, I had to break out the fire.
I cut them down to size like this:

Then I took a lighter to the edges (OUTSIDE!!!!!!!) and only slightly caused a dramatic interlude. Things to beware of??? WIND. Fire and wind are tricky :) You end up with this:

I then went about attaching my stuff to the canvas with my hot glue gun. It was SO EASY.

Sorry, lighting sucks. I was on our kitchen island taking pictures with my phone :)
When it was all done, I ended up with this:

Nothing amazing, but it met my two goals: 1) REPLACE what I had on the wall there and 2) The replacement had to be SUPER budget friendly.

Goals achieved!! I already had the canvas and glue. I bought the burlap for $3 and the "accessories" cost me $6 at Hobby Lobby. WELL PLAYED.

Paint

2011-10-21T10:31:00.003-05:00

I know I said I wouldn't be posting today, but I found a blog that I HAD to share. I am on a quest for a new kitchen color and found this blog: Favorite Paint Colors.

It's awesome. She has all sorts of colors and then pictures of rooms that actually were painted in those colors. I have already read all the way back to the February posts. Very productive day!
Check it out and I am sure you will love it!!!
Have a great weekend!

Donna Decorates Dallas

2011-10-20T14:32:00.003-05:00

Have you seen this show? It is one of my favorite shows on HGTV right now. I love Donna. Her style and taste are certainly not for everyone. Her stuff is usually big, dark, glamourous, "blingy" and fabulous. She loves her some animal print and so do I! These are two pieces she used in a client's home that I would love to have: I have a bunch of projects going right now so I need to round them up and finish so I can share! I was very productive (well to people who value a good closet) last night and organized our entire closet. When we moved, we just hung everything up to get it out the way. It was a disaster... It's a larger space and it was just stuffed full every which way. I cringed whenever I walked in. So now, the clothes are organized (by color if you must ask, yes I know that sounds ridiculous to many) and just a few last adjustments and I can breathe :)

The main point of this was to say I probably am going to slack on posts for the rest of this week and have something interesting to say/see Monday!

Yes Please

2011-10-19T03:30:00.001-05:00

I received my Restoration Hardware catalog yesterday. OMG. Seriously. SWOON. I fell in love. I need about a million dollars and then can buy everything that I would LOVE to have. Oh well. I will just covet my catalog and dream :)
My two favorite things?? The new chandeliers. Look at these beauties: No problem. I always have a few thousand dollars laying around for sparkly lighting. Riiight.

BUT, if any of you would like to gift me one I will gladly send you my address...hahaha.

Homecoming Weekend

2011-10-18T03:30:00.001-05:00

This weekend was MU's 100th Anniversary of Homecoming (in case you didn't know, homecoming was first started at MU...for real...it was even mentioned on an episode of NCIS so you know it's true!). We had some visitors (Chad's brother and boys) come in for the festivities. Obviously Aidan was STOKED. They decided to "camp" in the toy room: That was taken before I went to bed while they were zonked out. It was adorable. We got up BRIGHT AND EARLY Saturday to make it to the parade. It started at 8:30am (I still have issues with this early parade business) and the kids scored huge with the candy. It was the longest parade ever. Seriously. Two and a half hours. LORD HELP ME. The kids didn't notice the time at all of course.

From the parade we walked through campus to get to the football game. University of Missouri has a beautiful campus. It was a gorgeous day. Couldn't have been better. Oh wait. Yes it could. I could have had a rickshaw or some other mode of transportation to take me to the stadium from downtown. That is a long walk! Oh well. Got my exercise in for the day. We walked there and back thankyouverymuch! The Columns on the Quad:Quite possibly my most favorite picture ever...it looks like one that comes in frames when you buy them...Michael, Aidan, Preston and Uncle Lee: We arrived at our spot and began the tailgating fun. Justin (AKA The Sausage King of Kirksville) fired up the grill and we had brast and dogs. Delish. I wish I had a picture of Elin. She was very happy holding her whole brat and chowing down on it like it was a popsicle. It was hysterical. Brothers hanging out:
Part of the crew:

The boys playing some sort of game that involved flinging contraband from the parade and sending poor Amanda to fetch them from the parking lot. Over. And. Over. She was so kind :)

Elin enjoying her beverage:

She really wasn't feeling the Bud Light that day so she opted for water. Someone (ahem) forgot Elin's sippy cup in the car and since it was about a 100000 mile walk back to our car, big kids cup was going to work! She actually did just fine with it to our surprise!
Me and Kristen

Lee and Me

The gals partying in the back of the truck:

Also? See that package of cookies right up there? OMG. BEST COOKIE EVER. I hate Justin for introducing those to me. Chips Deluxe Peanut Butter Cup cookies. I DIED.
Would you like a chip?

She hauled that bag around forever and ate straight out of it of course.
Amanda entertaining a VERY tired Elin with a random balloon. She was an excellent kid entertainer :)

After we left the football festivities, we headed home. I was thinking the boys would need to take a nap or something! Um nope. They were ready to go! Fishin' time.
Aidan caught a bass, but wouldn't hold it (hehe) so Preston modeled it for him:

All the boys caught fish

They cruised around on the four wheeler and just had a general amazing time. They never stopped. The boys all passed out that night from exhaustion. They were having fun up until the lights went out!

Sunday they had to squeeze in one last activity...shooting the guns. Of course! You can't come to "the country" and not shoot some firearms!! That would be ridiculous! Aidan got out his gun and Chad showed the boys how to shoot it. They each took a turn shooting. They're boys so they absolutely loved it. Pretty sure they were shocked to know that their Auntie Kat is such an ace shot with a firearm. Hehehe.

The boys all loved on Elin. Michael was so sweet and hauled her around in the wagon. She was totally in love.

It was such a great weekend. The kids had the best time ever. We so enjoyed having them!!!
Everyone had to go home and mama had to get started on some serious laundry and cleaning. We were pooped! I am sure the boys are ready for next time already!

Laundry Love

2011-10-17T03:30:00.001-05:00

Besides a few little accessories, the laundry room is done! I am so excited with how it turned out. It is all the flashy, pink goodness that I hoped for. The walls are Benjamin Moore Marina Gray (and look a bit crazy with the crappy iPhone pics I have). We have some cabinets over our washer and dryer, a sink and countertop. The counters are just a high def laminate travertine. I just need to trade out the big bulky laundry sorter you see under the counter still. In time my friends, in time. The space is longish and narrow so it is very trick to get a good overall photo. This room was done on a dime. Totally. I made that shade and also the wall art to the left of the window.

In the photos, the pink rug looks way more "zebra" than it does in real life. In reality you can just barely make out the zebra pattern. It is so fun. I made the three frame art here:

I bought three glossy black frames at Hobby Lobby (50% off of course!) and then some different scrapbook paper for like $1. Voila! Art!

This little box holds sewing kits and various laundry needs. The hot pink board is a pin cushion:

And let's not forget the star of the room, my favorite chandy ever:
The room just sparkles :)

I think a laundry room (or closet) are fabulous places for getting wild with design. It isn't a room that everyone sees (well usually) and you can always close the door! Obviously no where else in my home is there hot pink and zebra- though I wish sometimes hehe...so I wanted to indulge my love of flashy and bright somewhere! The laundry room is a perfect option for this. Oooh, if only LG would start making hot pink washers and dryers!!!!!

Disney World

2011-10-14T03:30:00.000-05:00

It's a small world after all! It's a small world after all! OMG The most annoying song ever invented. Ever. Ever. Ever. You know who loves that song??? Aidan. And my dad. That's right my friends, we experienced The Happiest Place on Earth last week. Love that slogan. Do I believe them? Well, my kids were pretty dang happy there. We were lucky. Let me just say we started playing a game to see which kid was the um "happiest." There was a LOT of this:

At one point it was hysterical. The crowning moment was watching a mom and dad (bless their hearts) haul, yes haul, their screaming child out of Hollywood Studios...the mom had one arm and one leg and the dad had the other arm and leg. I wanted to hug them...them send them a bottle of Grey Goose to their room and give them a high five. ANYWAYS :)

We left for St. Louis at 4am last Wednesday. The trip started off GREAT. If you count almost slamming right into a big ol' deer standing in the middle of the room like 100 yards from our driveway. I prayed that wasn't a sign!! It wasn't. WHEW. We made it to the airport without harming any animals and survived the flight with two kids. It actually was awesome because my parents and sister all met us there and we flew together. My kids are angels when with any grandparent :)

The flight was great. We landed and headed on over to our hotel. We stayed at the Caribbean Beach Resort. Aidan was pumped to ride buses everywhere. It's the little things. The weather was amazing. We took a little time to regroup and rest. The kids went out to check the beach area. They were in heaven.
This is our building at the resort (if you want to get technical, we stayed in Martinique there):

Elin loved the sand. She probably would have been stoked to hang out here for the whole week. We knew she wouldn't really know what was totally going on, but we knew she would love it. Hanging out with her bucket at the beach: We had time for a park that first day so we loaded up for Epcot. We didn't figure the kids would last long here since A) there were no Star Wars people there and B) Not a lot of little kid action

We rode all the rides we could and explored the World Showcase. Everyone was pooped by then. It was 8pm and we had been up since 4am.

I can't tell you how many chuckles Aidan had over "big balls" and Epcot. I know. We are totally awesomely mature people. What can we say? He is a Wipeout fan.

I am a big fan of Epcot. I love walking through the World Showcase. I guess I am just so cultured and fancy that it suits me. Ha ha. Sarcasm fully intended. But it really is beautiful at night. We had a great evening enjoying the sights and weather.

This pretty much sums up how we were feeling by dinnertime at 9pm!!!

DAY 2: MAGIC KINGDOM

We were up and at it early the next day for the Magic Kingdom. Aidan was all pumped to tackle Space Mountain. I was shocked frankly. Well, we did it. And let's just say we didn't need to do the ride again. He was good. When we got off he said, "Um I don't need to ride that again. I think I cried a little." It was so funny and so cute. He rode every other ride at the park. Splash Mountain was his favorite by far. Elin tackled the less intense rides. I was surprised at how many she could actually go on. We had a great day. Again, SO TIRED at the end of the day.

I find this photo hilarious. The kiddos loved riding the carpets of Aladdin. My sister and I had our own carpet. We look really excited don't we??? Yeah, the ride just went in circles and up and down. No where near what our expressions seem to be implying. Hehe.

Getting ready to tackle Splash Mountain...

Elin and the grandparents waited for us at the bottom :)

Aidan's #2 favorite ride: Big Thunder Mountain Railroad:

We rode this and Splash Mountain about a 100 times.
Watching a show at the castle:

We took lunch breaks at the hotel. It really was one of the best vacations. It was so easy and fun. I know the kids LOVED being their with Grandma and Grandpa.

Doesn't Elin look excited to be in the stroller? It was really our only challenge the whole time. She just wanted to be with Grandma. Of course.

Those darn carpets again!!!
While we were there, it rained one day. And by rained, I mean MONSOONED. The Orlando area got 8 inches of rain in 24 hours. It was bananas. Chad, Lizzy and I decided we were going to try and go to a park anyways with ponchos. Excellent idea. It was fine when it was just raining. But then add the 40 mph winds and you have two very unhappy kids (and a crabby momma and Lizzy). So that day was spent at the hotel. Elin spent her time reading some novels:

DAY 3: HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS
Awesome day at Hollywood studios. Sun was shining. Aidan even rode the Tower of Terror (Or if you are Aidan, Terror of Tower).

Aidan's favorite ride at Hollywood Studios was the Toy Story Midway game. You rode in cars and shot at targets with guns. The car keeps score and you compete with everyone in your car. It was a blast. The line was actually fun too!

Did you notice the awesome blue skies we had? Guess what? Florida weather changes quickly. Five minutes after that pic of Aidan and I??? We looked like this:
100 gallons of rain just poured on us non-stop for 10 minutes. We were in a part of the park where there was no where to hide. We decided to just book it to the bus stop. We were soaked to the skin. As soon as we got to the bus stop? STUNNING SUNSHINE. SERIOUSLY!?!

And what is Disney without some rock n' roll light up Mickey ears???

DAY 4: THAT DAY OF RAIN

And you can't leave the Magic Kingdom without enjoying Mickey Mouse's head on a stick! Of the chocolate and ice cream variety of course!

Seriously if you haven't seen enough of my pictures, I can totally email you about 200 more!

Enjoying the awesome kid's pool at the hotel:

Before leaving the hotel:

At the airport ready to go home:

I have so many pictures that I forget when and where they were taken. My days are probably all confused, but I think you get the point :) We did a ton of stuff in 5 days and everyone had so much fun.

Aidan's airport photography skills:

We had the greatest time with the family. It was a trip we won't forget! Aidan asked on the plane ride home when we were headed back to Disney...oh boy!

Our Kitchen

2011-10-13T03:30:00.000-05:00

As strange as it is to admit this outloud, our kitchen has become one of my favorite rooms in our house. We finally have a kitchen that has just what we need: quiet appliances and tons of cabinets. I already told you about our appliances and now I will show you all the fantastic cabinet space we have. You would be absolutely SHOCKED at what it cost to do our kitchen. No where NEAR what I envisioned it costing to do an entire kitchen. It was actually one of the few things we came in UNDER budget on! HA!!! So anyways. Our cabinets are ebony with a black glaze. The range hood and island are acorn with the black glaze. Our last house had a tiny kitchen and no where near enough counter or cabinet space. Therefore I went to the complete opposite end of the spectrum: cabinet overload! It is awesome. Everything has a home. I am a crazy OCD person who wants everything organized. I achieved it with our cabinets this time. So here is the range area: That tall cabinet to the right of the range has to doors. The shorter of the two has shelves for cookbooks, measuring cups, etc and the taller cabinet has my favorite thing:

A separate home for our little appliances. The drawer at the bottom is where all the sippy cup lids and straws live. It is so easy to find whatever we are looking for!! We have the same set up to the left of the range. Yes, we have a ton of random small appliances (don't hate, the quesadilla maker is the coolest thing ever. Ever. I tell you.). Also to the left of the oven is our spice rack. I know lots of people have the spice rack cabinet, but this is my first experience with one and I don't know how I survived without it (I am never dramatic. Never.) . It is so great to have everything in one place. Ahhhh...

So on the opposite side are just your average cabinets and tons of counterspace. Not a lot happening over there really. And we love it that way. The sink looks out into our living room. I am actually in the process of finding a paint color for the kitchen. I really thought I could live with the uber neutral palette, but that is just NOT me. I hate not having bright color in my kitchen. I am perusing the red family right now, but NOT true red. BLECH. I said before that I love it in other people's kitchen, but not in mine. On a side note, I LOVE red with stainless backsplash. Soooo pretty! I have found some really awesome red-oranges and red-browns. I will shared more when I actually get to this project!

And just for fun, looking into the kitchen from the living room. We have an island with more storage and then that white door goes to our walk in pantry. I am so thrilled to have storage in my kitchen. I cannot emphasize that enough. YAY STORAGE.

The granite is Venetian Pearl and the wall currently is Benjamin Moore's Sandlot Gray. Do you see our dinky barstools?? We had those babies in our basement bar at the old house. Priorities people! Those are next on the list to be replaced of course. Those stools however we are STEAL at $25 a pop. We also have an eat-in area in the kitchen that is currently a work in progress and will be shared soon. Most likely when it's done after paint. But this is what we are working with right now. More to come :)

Fall Catch Up AKA The Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-12T10:26:00.007-05:00

It may take 5 years to upload the amount of pictures we took at Disney last week. But, I have to play catch up anyways so here we go! The week before we left we went with the Cooke's on our annual pumpkin patch visit! The weather could not have been any better. It was GORGEOUS OUT!!! The usual pumpkin patch festivities were present. There was goat feeding, hay mazes, bunnies, and pumpkins (shocker, I know). Seriously though, check out that blue sky. I LOVE the fall.

The whole goal of this year was for Aidan to actually HOLD the bunny. Not throw it across Bunnytown as it jumps out of his arms. We were mildly successful this year. That was a lucky bunny:)

This bossy pants loved the patch...

She was less than amused by the greedy goats. PUH-LEASE.

The goats were some of the fattest goats I have ever seen. I have never seen a goat refuse food and at one point they actually turned down our food. You think they are fed enough?!?!

Chillin' in the patch of course...

Taking a seat on the biggest pumpkin I have seen...

And also taking a photo directly into the blazing sun. That makes for a stunning picture :)
Chickens were a tad more exciting for Big E. She was quite enthralled by them.

She was definitely NOT feeling the hay maze. Wise girl. It was dark and smelly. Aidan loved it. Obviously.

The BFFs, Elin and Riley...

After pumpkins, we were starved and hit up Kostakis for some yummy grub. The gals kept each other very entertained so the more civilized people in the group could actually enjoy their meals!!! They were so adorable

It was an awesome day and everyone was wiped out.

Whew. One outing down. 500 to go. Not really, but be patient! I will have my Disney by Friday. I swear :)

I'm BACK!

2011-10-11T10:03:00.006-05:00

Well, sort of. We went on vacay last week. Obviously I didn't feel it would be all too bright of an idea to alert the Internets about my house sitting vacant for a week hence the quietness of the blog. But we are back! With stories to tell! But not today. Vacations are great. Coming home to the mountains of laundry it makes is not. Today is catch up day. So instead, my friend Stephanie is going to share some of her fall fun ideas. She has a blog too! She is crafty! She is fabulous! I will be back tomorrow sharing all the madness we experienced at "The Happiest Place on Earth" Let me just tell you, they may want to rethink that title...I will tell you why tomorrow...hehe.

I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Stephanie Backus and I wear a lot of hats … not literally, of course. I spend my days running the website for KRCG along with the Twitter account and Facebook page. In the evenings, I split my time between photography, a part-time job, crafting and my most important job – being a mommy to a toddler. And I write the blog “Sounds like a bunch of craft to me” when I have a little bit of time!

When Kathleen asked me to guest blog for her site, I was super excited, but I wasn't sure what I was going to write about! I didn't know if I wanted to write about photography or crafting, or how to do both with an incredibly active two year old running my house.

I decided on a little bit of both!

Fall incites a passion in me. I love the colors, smells and sights Fall has to offer. I'm at my most creative during this beautiful time of the year. Autumn in Mid-Missouri seems to be nature's perfect backdrop for many things, including photography and crafting. I love finding a place encased in trees to take gorgeous photos. I encourage clients to wear rich, bold colors during fall photos. Dark purples, blues, reds and of course oranges always look good with the backdrop nature provides.

It also gets me excited to do new projects. Right now, I'm working on two major projects and a minor one. I am transforming my dining room into an oasis for eating. Several months ago, I sold our kitchen table to a friend because it was unpractical for us, and frankly, a little uncomfortable for eating. The table was a pub style table with stools and not chairs. At the time, we had a one-year-old who was more interested in trying to climb the stools than anything, so we ditched the high fashion chair and went with a more practical version. It came to us with cream painted metal on the legs of the table and chairs. I'm painting them black. Then I'm going to find a fun fabric to use for the cushioned chair-seats. This part of the project will be super easy, because I'm not going to re-pad the chairs at all. I'm just going to cover the current fabric with a new one that matches my red, black and silver kitchen and dining décor.

I'm also taking a wood dresser from upstairs and reassigning it a new place in my home. I started painting the drawers today, and will do the body of the dresser on Sunday. This project is probably my favorite I've done in awhile. I am turning a dark wood dresser into a black buffet-like table in my kitchen. Maybe if the Midwest Mommy will let me write another guest blog at the end, I can show end results! I am using Vespar primer and gloss black paint on the wood. I told the guy at Lowes that I had no plans to sand anything, but wanted a fairly glossy finish. I think this will produce great results.

I'm working on one other big project right now and that's decorating for fall. I'm doing several crafts to do so, so I will only tell you about one of them and you can see the others at my blog – I'm decorating the front area of my house. This is the first time I've really had a front stoop area to decorate much, so I'm excited about all the decorations. I still have to find a straw bale (anyone know where I can find one?!?) but if I don't, I'll improvise. I love this part of fall the most because it's something I can do with Alex. Last Sunday, I was spray painting pumpkins for my front door step and Alex wanted to help, so we took the third pumpkin I had, and cut it open so he could feel the guts of the pumpkin. It was a little scary for him, so I gave him a spoon and he went at taking out all the icky stuff inside the pumpkin. OK, so mommy helped a little, but he really did a good job at scooping stuff out.

And ever since, he's been obsessed with pumpkins. I don't think he even knew what a pumpkin was before that, but every time he sees one (and we have a few dozen around the house right now!) he says “pumpkin?” and tries to pick it up, even when it's too heavy for him.

Then he came outside with me and watched while I diligently spray painted the entire pumpkin silver. My plan is to carve the letter B into the pumpkin, but we'll see how motivated I get to show my not so great pumpkin carving skills. I've got some plants to put around the pumpkins and then I'll line up three pumpkins along the opposite side of my front sidewalk, and hang a fall wreath I purchased at the Jefferson City craft show this year, and I will be done. I'm not too far away from a complete project!

I'm also pretty obsessed with pallets these days. I have one that I'm going to use leftover paint on and turn into a coat/hat rack behind my front door. So, as if life wasn't busy enough, I've added three pretty big projects onto my plate. I hope you'll come over to It sounds like a bunch of craft to me and see my progress as I turn my house into an Autumn wonderland, just in time to take it all down and start over for Christmas!

Thanks Stephanie for your crafty fun! Her bloggy has pics of her fall crafts for you to explore. Okay time for laundry and cleaning! YAY!!! Riiiiiiiiiiiight. See ya'll tomorrow!!

Back at It Tomorrow!!!

2011-10-10T10:11:00.002-05:00

Cheap and Easy Window Treatment

2011-10-03T18:41:00.004-05:00

I have a small window in my laundry room. It would look silly with curtains, but I cannot stand to see any more white blinds in our house!!! Also? Nice blinds are expensive! I am trying to show Chad that I can be good and not spend $$$$$ on the house :) Sooooo. I have seen various ways to dress up a window online. I saw tutorials and kind of tweaked it a bit to make it work with what I had! The whole window treatment was done for less than $10. Seriously. Can't get any better than that!!

What You Need:
Roller shade
Fabric (size depends on your window)
Spray adhesive
Ribbon
Hot Glue Gun (or any other fabric glue will do!)

I picked up a cheap-o roller shade at Walmart for less than $5. You can size it to whatever size you need. It is EASY. So I laid out my shade and size it to what I needed: This process is seriously so easy that I didn't really take many photos. It is pretty much idiot proof :) I bought some fabric at Hobby Lobby. My window is less than 30 inches wide so I only bought 36 inches of fabric (it is already 48 inches wide so it worked out well for my window). The fabric I found and my coupon made the purchase $4. NICE. I measured out my fabric on top of the shade to see what would fit. Sorry no photo. Just size up the fabric over the shade so that it covers and has enough to fold around the edges. I took my fabric and shade outside with my spray adhesive. I saw another way that involved just gluing the edges, but I thought it would be better to have the whole fabric stick to the shade so there was less bubbling.

I just laid the fabric face down, sprayed it with adhesive and then laid the shade on top. I smoothed it out from top to bottom (kind of like when you smoothe the bubbles out of wallpaper). I then folded the edges of the fabric over the sides of the shade as well. I warmed up the ol' hot glue gun for my bottom edge. I needed a bit more color and something to make the bottom look more finished. I attached a ribbon across the bottom with the hot glue gun. SUPER EASY

You are then ready to hang! Just follow the mounting instructions in your shade. This is a quick and easy fix to a naked window without spending a fortune. AND it is easy to switch up if you get tired of it!
The laundry room is slowing making progress!!

Farm Fun

2011-09-30T03:30:00.001-05:00

It is going to be a busy weekend and upcoming week so posts may be slacking. Much like this one! I shall leave you for the weekend with some of the most ADORABLE kids you will ever know :) Hanging out and enjoying the GORGEOUS weather we have had lately! The leaves at the farm our changing and it looks sooo lovely!!! My big boy Aidan... He had decided to ride his bike after the game of "bury the plastic snakes and find them" went awry and we started forgetting where said snakes were buried. Yeah, that game isn't fun when you have no clue where they are!

Elin was in charge of washing the snakes and lizards :) She loved it. She also poured an entire bucket of water on her lap. Awesome. Clearly, she was shocked.

Happy Friday!!!

Chalkboard Paint

2011-09-29T03:30:00.001-05:00

I mean really, who doesn't love The Simpson's???

This is not a post about Bart and Lisa. I swear. This is about chalkboard paint, not to be confused with CHALK PAINT. I love chalkboards. I like anything with a chalkboard surface. I have snappy little canisters on my counter with chalkboard labels. Let's face it, chalk is fun! I always wanted to be a teacher just so I could write on a giant chalkboard. How sad would I be now since most don't even use them anymore??? Or maybe they do. I don't know. I am not a teacher. Clearly.

ANYWAYS. Chalkboard paint. You can buy it at Lowe's or Home Depot or other places. It comes in a spray version and can. But you know what is even better??? Making your very own so you can make it any color you want!!! You know who already knows this??? Martha Stewart. Of course she does. I found this little recipe and felt it VERY important to share:

Martha's Chalk Paint

Start with a flat finish latex paint in whatever shade you like

This "recipe" uses 1 cup as the amount of paint

Pour 1 cup of paint into a container

Add 2 Tablespoons of UNsanded grout and mix with a paint stirrer until all the clumps are out

Paint your surface! Do a couple of coats letting each coat dry in between.

Smooth the area with 150 grit sand paper and wipe off the dust

To prep the "chalkboard" for use, make sure you rub chalk all over the surface first then wipe clean with a damp sponge. This is VERY important. Then you are ready to use!

I also read somewhere else that you can subsitute the latex paint for regular ol' crafting acrylic paint that you can get a like Hobby Lobby or whatever. Lots of color options and much smaller investment! I believe then you are supposed to use 1.5 teaspoons of grout to 1/4 cup of paint...if my math is correct :)

Give it a try! Gotta love Martha Stewart!!!!!!!!!!

New Appliances Anyone??

2011-09-28T08:06:00.004-05:00

If you have known me for any amount of time you will know that I am not a cook. Not that I CAN'T cook, I just don't like it. I think it's the mess. I don't even like my food touching on my plate and I eat my food one category at a time. I know. I am WEIRD with food. Luckily I married a fantastic cook and he looooves to cook at that!! However, I do LOVE to bake. I have a crazy sweet tooth. I actually have no idea where this is going other than to tell you that I baked some delicious cupcakes the other night from a recipe off of Pinterest AND I used a feature on my oven that AMAZED me. I am sure most people know of convection ovens, but this here amateur had no idea!! I baked those dang cupcakes in 6 minutes!??!?! As soon as I figured out how awesome our oven was, I wanted to bake anything I could. I put chicken nuggets and tater tots in there one evening and I have never had more perfectly crispy and fabulous kid food ever. Now that I am incessantly rambled about my gourmet food I prepare, I really am sharing to tell you what I learned in the quest for appliances.

So what did I learn in all this? Research your appliances and spend a little more (A LITTLE) and get what will make your cooking experience a joy :) I love using our new oven and cooktop. I admit I was petrified to use the cooktop. I have never used a gas one before. I know, you are shaking your head because that is pathetic. I GET IT. Open flames just make me nervous! We have always had an electric range. Our new house is all gas so we went for it and got the KitchenAid Architect II Series gas range. BEST THING EVER. We got a killer deal on it and I am sooo thankful that we made the purchase. Here she is, in all her cooking glory: Besides the fact that there are more buttons and controls than I know what to do with, it is great. There are 3 different "types" of baking. Don't ask. I still have no idea what one of them does and am scared to try! It also took my dad and I to figure out how to turn on the oven and change the temperature. What can I say? We don't like instruction booklets in this house. I am also glad we went ahead and got a slide in range. I love that our backsplash (my New Jersey mafia backsplash which I will share about soon because it is sooo worth sharing about!) goes all the down to the counter/range. It just looks so clean! While I am on my appliance tangent, I will tell you that our last dishwasher was awful. It sounded like a semi-truck coming through the kitchen everytime you turned it on. NOT GOOD. Forget about watching TV if we were running it. It was almost funny how loud that sucker was. I swore I would buy the nicest, fanciest dishwasher they made. Well, do you know how much those cost?!?!?!!? OMG. NO WAY. Over $1000 for a dishwasher??? You are outta your mind. My buying all our appliances together we were able to get one heck of a deal and got our KitchenAid dishwasher. It was just their normal standard model. Nothing fancy. BUT YOU GUYS. It is soooo quiet. My mother in law had to stand there with her ear by the door to decide if it was actually running!!! HAPPY DANCE!!! I also am thrilled to have the buttons on the inside/top of the door where tiny hands and fingers can't mess with them. Dishwasher SUCCESS!!

So if you are looking for appliances, do your research. Totally worth it. Our fridge is the same series as our range. Just a normal side by side. I don't get too excited about fridges. Though I would love that new one by Samsung (or maybe GE?) that has the smart board thingy with apps on it. How crazy is that?!?!?!

Did you know that there is actually a time of year that appliances are cheaper? Yes, you should buy your appliances in the September and October. During this time, manufacturers bring out their new models so you can get a steal on the current or "last year's" model. I have read that on multiple websites and found it to be true when we were searching for our appliances this past year. Also pay attention to holiday weekends. Like ALL holidays, even Columbus Day. Appliances usually go on sale during these times as well. I prefer online shopping and usually you can get a better deal that way. I also always wonder about those extended warranties too. Consumer Reports advises you to stay away from them. They say that statistically most appliances don't break during the extended warranty period. We have never bought one and have not had an issue with any of our appliances (knock on wood!)...even the truck driving dishwasher.

Appliances can be scary to buy. They are a big investment and you need to get a ton of use out of them. I would love to have gotten some fancy commercial-style Viking kitchen, but for us that clearly was out of our budget range. Do your research, set a budget and find what works for you! It may even make you into a master chef! I know Chad is shocked at how much I want to cook now!! I guess it helps that we live in the middle of nothing and it's either cook or starve :) HEHE.

Jerseylicious

2011-09-27T09:37:00.003-05:00

Have you seen this show? It's awesome. It's ridiculous and obnoxious. All things I look for in great trashy TV. Poor Chad. Our DVR is loaded with this show. I mean really though! How can people who look like this daily, not be bananas!??!?

Chad secretly (or not so secretly) thinks that I have some hidden Jersey roots. If you know me at all you know how I feel about animal prints. LOVE LOVE LOVE. They are just another type of neutral if you ask me!! People are scared of animal prints sometimes I think. I guess if the only encounter you have ever had with animal came from someone named Snooki or looked like the above photo, I would understand. But I LOVE them. I would have it everywhere if I could. So fun. Enter: My laundry room. Obviously I have to share my master bedroom with Chad :) I have already made him nervous with the amount of pale pink that has found its way in there so I have made my next target our laundry room. If you recall, I had a blingy fantastic chandy put in the laundry room. If you don't remember, ask Chad :) I am sure he will be glad to tell you about that!! Ha! So this is where this room is headed:
My three most favorite things ever in a room: Pink, animal print and blingy chandelier. My theory is, it's the laundry room. It is at the end of a hallway all on its own. Why not have fun with it??? I think the laundry, mud room or playrooms are great places to have a bit of fun in your house. Face it, laundry is BORING. Why not do a little happy dance everytime you have to go in there?? I THOUGHT SO!

The wall color is Marina Gray from Benjamin Moore. This was a major compromise. I wanted a color called Hot Lips SO BADLY. Ugh. I cry about it a little still. The hubs was just NOT comfortable at all splashing hot pink all over a room. So we ended up at gray. It's okay, I can work with that! This room will be black, white, gray and HOT PINK. I am so excited. There is a small window that I plan on covering with a fabric covered roller shade...SUPER CHEAP...because we know momma rolls on a budget!! We have a travertine counter top and ebony cabinets in there. It's a great space. It is going to be the most dramatic room in the house! It should! It has already had its share of drama (remember the CSI incident?!?!). I love surprises in unexpected places. Our house is not flashy colors or blingy anywhere so you never expect to open the laundry room door and see what you will find! Hope to be working on this room this week!!

Headway!

2011-09-26T08:57:00.004-05:00

We had a weekend at home. It was great. I love when we officially have nothing to do! Obviously, I can never have "nothing" to do so I was a busy bee!! Elin's sad little empty room bothers the everliving daylights out of me!! SO. I did some work! Her dresser has some color and life finally! I got my prints from Chez Jolly and they are beautiful!!! I put 4 of them in these gold frames on her wall in the "nook" by the window. The picture I took is in the middle of things so you don't see the little parlor table and chairs that are in there now as well. It looks soooo much better! I will update those this week.
She has a wall with a TV on it (again, can I emphasize how UGLY black TVs are on girly, white and pink rooms...) and I had Chad hang up 3 little antiqued white crown hooks. On each hook is a tutu or pettiskirt in pastel pink, white, yellow, blue and purples. I am in love with them. I still need the froo-froo hangers to put them on, but the plastic ones get the point across at this point!

The last piece to the puzzle arrived today. The monogram letters for over her bed/crib. They are white and fabulous. I found them on Etsy of course! I have been waiting 3 months for the monogram!!! Totally worth the wait though! I fell in love with these monograms from Little Crown Interiors:

Did you see the price tag on those????? ONLY $350. For MDF board. After I fell out of my chair, cried (mostly because I knew even I couldn't justify those, and only partly from falling out of my chair) and tried my best to think of ways to convince Chad that these were a great idea...I began my search. Have I ever said how much I LOVE Etsy. Yes. Lifesaver! I found a place that made the monograms at a FRACTION of the cost!!! I guess the trade out was waiting 3 months for it to come. It's okay. I got my monogram. My crazy design OCD can almost be put to rest. I hate half or partially finished things. Ugh. It gives me the twitches.

I was also able to get the rest of the things up in Aidan's room and his window treatment up. Whew. I feel a LOT better!!

I just realized how PINK her room looks in these photos. I swear, her room just gets a TON of natural sunlight and I am not a professional photographer and take very crappy photos in that light. It is a very soft pink. We could not handle any bubble gum overdose pink :)

So more pictures to come to update all this work that took place this weekend!!! I also cleaned like a maniac. Chad had a horrific sinus infection all weekend and didn't even get to hunt. I know he was mad about that!

This week I am also going to post about all the stuff we learned building this house. This is the third house we have built and we have definitely learned some things along the way!