Want It Wednesday {Garage Dreaming}

Organizing and cleaning up our garage is on this summer's bucket list and how is this for inspiration! Completely do able, no?  In all honesty though, in a dream world this would be exactly what our garage would look like; white wood work, built ins, and a chandelier for me & a Porsche parked inside for Hubby (except it would be white and sans roof rack).

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Since our budget in more in the range of a Porsche matchbox car, I'll have to put these plans on the back burner. In the meantime, I've put together a quick inspiration board of a few garage must haves to help corral and contain all our garage mess.

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The garage walls, ceiling and floor all need a fresh coat of paint so swatch hunting is in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled for details in future posts.

Manor Monday {Good News...Bad News}

Seems like ages since I've done a Manor Monday post. In fact, last time I posted I'm pretty certain there was snow on the ground. We are now well into Spring and that means it is time to turn our attention to the outdoor goals on the 2014 Home Goals List. One of which was a larger garden space. After pacing the backyard and deliberating various schemes and layouts, we've opted to clear the bed where the current garden sits and repurpose it entirely as a new garden plot.



As of now my thoughts are raised beds, gravel pathway & small fence for bunny protection. Seeing as how it is nearly May, I need to kick this project into high gear if we are going to get our plants in the ground on Mother's Day (our traditional planting day).

And because mother nature isn't always pretty, look at what has become of our beautiful flowering plum tree. It has contracted a disease known as black knot, which is virtually impossible to cure.





I attempted to cut away the affected branches and within 5 minutes I stopped; nearly 85% of the tree is infested leaving us no choice but to cut it down (insert tears).

For now, the plan is to transplant the flowering bushes from the new garden bed to the spot the tree once occupied. Granted they won't provide shade or privacy, but they are free and buy us some time to decide on an appropriate replacement.



So that is where we stand on the garden front. How about you all? Anyone else reworking a garden bed or two? Anyone ever dealt with black knot? Or if you've got a favorite ornamental tree, I'd love to know that too.

Family Friday {Easter 2014}

Easter this year was a hopping good time. Nouno P came in from Seattle for the holiday and countless hours of church services. I have to say that this Holy Week the B family attended 5 services including a double header on Good Friday (or as as Peanut insists on calling it "Sad Friday"). I am so very proud of all of us for truly reliving Christ's Passion. 

Onto the big day's festivities. Bright and early Belle & Peanut awoke eager to hunt eggs and see what they scored from the Easter Bunny. They lined up on the stairs for the staggered start: Little M first, followed by Peanut & finally Belle. You know that Bunny is a generous fella and there are always more than enough eggs to go around.

He insisted on opening each egg as he found it and empty the contents into his basket.

After all the baskets were uncovered, we sat down for a light breakfast of eggs and tsouriki (traditional sweet Easter bread). We paired up to crack eggs reciting, "Christos Anesti (Christ has risen)/ Alithos Anesti (Truly He has risen)". The match ended in a final tie between M & Hubby.

Later that morning we were joined by a table full of family to celebrate Easter brunch. I wanted to serve something delicious and easy and the recipes I decided on didn't disappoint. We began with mimosas & bloody marys before moving to the dining room for a brunch of egg casserole, cinnamon french toast, fresh fruit, cheeses,  homemade yogurt with honey and another tsouriki. The littles went off to nap or play afterwards and left us to enjoy each other's company in peace...a rarity.

Later in the afternoon Belle & Peanut completed the 2nd egg hunt of the day compliments of YiaYia & Bopi. The weather was unseasonably warm and we took full advantage of the 80 degree day by spending as much time as possible outdoors.

The third and final event of the day took us to Hubby's sister's house for their annual lamb roast....fear not, I spared you all pictures of the animal on the spit. Before heading out we snapped official Easter pics in the front yard.

 The littles and their cousins enjoyed romping around Thea C and Theo A's backyard hunting for eggs again...pretty sure collecting oodles of candy never gets old!

Before they all disbursed to sort their candy, we managed a few cousin photos...our sensational 7.

What happened when I asked for a shot of the brothers together...ha.

Easter 2014 was a fabulous celebration and we ended the night feeling very blessed for the life, home & family we've been given. Hope your celebration was just as memorable.

Spring Break Road Trip {Part Four: Out and About on Hilton Head Island}

Hubby had a conference to attend at the Westin Hilton Head Island Resort & Spa and he was gracious enough to let us tag along. The weather had taken a turn for the worse, but between the rain we managed to take in a few tourist sights and several client dinners out.

When the rain got the best of us, we headed to Barns & Noble to pick up a few new books and returned to the room to pass the time watching the ocean & painting/coloring/reading.

Finally there was a break in the weather and I was able to coax the littles into a photography session on the beach before meeting Hubby for another client meal (not that any of them read this, but seriously some of the best clients out there not to mind our kiddos crashing the party).

The water was frigid but Peanut didn't mind. He jumped and splashed till his lips turned blue.

After lunch we headed out to the Hilton Head lighthouse. Not sure if I've shared the fact that I'm scared to death of heights, but it is amazing the courage you again when you don't want to disappoint your children. 

 

So up the stairs we climbed until we reached the top. Granted it wasn't a very tall lighthouse (roughly 50 feet) but adequately sized for our first climb. 

We stopped in the Christmas shoppe to pick up ornaments to commemorate our trip. As we returned to the car, the skies opened up yet again. Having less than ideal weather made it a little bit easier to return home. And by this time, we all were more than ready to be reunited with the 5th member of our family waiting for us back home.