Just One of Them Days

Anyone else remember Monica? I was a fan…even had the cassette single (remember those days!?!) Well yesterday folks was truly "One of Them Days".

It began at 1:15 am as Peanut came to me burning hot with a fever of 103. I dug the motrin out of the "Kiddie medicine" cabinet, coaxed him into chewing one and a half tablets and laid him to sleep in our bed. Then I made my way into his room & managed to catch a few hours rest.

When Peanut came trotting into Belle's room later that morning I assumed his fever had broke & that was the cause of his wet clothing. Wishful thinking, turns out poor thing had an accident. No biggie on a normal occasion, his bed is fully protected, but I suddenly remembered he was asleep in my bed….ugh. Baking soda works wonders on removing odor & stains from a mattress…or so I tell myself.



The morning quickly passes with laundry, bathes & school work. Lunch was now upon us. The little love dining al fresco & are even bigger fans of carrying everything from the kitchen to the deck. Just as we were ready to sit down, I hear the distinct, "Uh-Oh" come from the kitchen & find this:

As the kiddies sat on the deck, I wipe chocolate milk from the floor careful to get every last splatter off the island trim. Then I mop, one of my least favorite chores, because chocolate milk is quite sticky even when put to the bounty challenge.

Thinking that the milk & bed incidents were it for the day, I come outside to discover my sweet baby had shoved his entire lunch (partly regurgitated) through the holes in the table and onto the deck floor. And at exactly that moment, the skies parted and it began to rain….back inside I cart 4 meals, a toddler in a highchair, a bowl of grapes, strawberries and 4 cups.

Needing a reward I opt to swap my lunch, which is now wet, for my traditional afternoon treat.  I head to make myself a cappuccino only to discover we are out of milk! Needing the caffeine rush, I drink it black and hunker down for whatever else the day has in store.

Surprisingly the afternoon passes without a major causality…or so I thought until I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. Only the second time I had worn this top.

But seriously how could I be mad the culprit?

Today has gone smoother thankfully….VBS for Belle & a trip to the doctor for Peanut. I think every Mom has had "One Of Them Days", but fingers crossed they are few and far between. Wouldn't trade these days for the world.

Project Curb Appeal Continues

Back when I was debating what color to paint the front door, several of you commented on carrying over the front door colors to the garage area. So over the weekend I got to work transforming an overgrown brier patch into a welcoming spot to rest and watch the kiddies play.

After quite a few clips with the hedge trimmers, I had room for a chair from our old patio set (painted to match the front door) along with two potted hydrangeas.

I relocated the stepping stones out from under the fast growing day lilies. Since the little ones venture out barefoot constantly, not having to walk on mulch will pamper those little tootsies. 

The former owners left these pots behind on moving day. They had been wasting away under the work bench in the basement until I dug them out and brightened them up with a new coat of paint to match the front door's accent color.

Since I had the paint leftover from the front door makeover this whole project only cost me $20 for two hydrangeas. And you gals were right, having this little vignette near the garage pulls your eye right across the house and I love having the opportunity to duplicate the charcoal, mint & peony pink color combo…. I am obsessed with it.

Next up,  deciding on a new roof and re-staining the garage door. Thankfully those are not DIY projects.

Whereabouts & Little Sprouts

Now that summer vacation is upon us, we've been busy going and doing. Last week we took a jaunt up to the cottage and enjoyed some boat time. Unfortunately, storms rolled in and cut our stay short. Hubby & I both had to remind the littles that the summer has just begun and there will be many more lake days to come.

Even though it hasn't made its blog debut, our newly furnished deck is getting tons of use. We've already had a few BBQs and plans are to host Hubby's 35th bash back there.

Some how bedtime has gotten pushed back way too late (ummm 10pm folks!!) yet the kiddies still have energy for daily outings.

Yep that is a June day at the park in fleece! Dear Mother Nature, please take note and adjust your weather accordingly. The plants out front don't seem to mind the colder temps and torrential rains though. I just love how green and lush everything appears.

I am still smitten with the door color and now that the pale pink peonies have bloomed. The color combo is superb!

Sunday marked the official end of the 2012-2013 school year with Greek School graduation….Peanut was the youngest student & the first to receive his certificate from Principal Stella.

He is Here!!! Bestie B & her Hubby welcomed Baby W into the world on Wednesday. Weighing in at 8lbs 12 oz he is a pint-sized perfection:-) Mommy is doing well & happily smitten with her little boy. There is just something different about the Mother/Son bond. Don't you Mommies of boys agree?

And speaking of babies, look who isn't one at all anymore (tears). My baby Bear is finally standing and taking steps by himself. Thankfully, his fever earlier this week was a 24 hour thing…the Dr. told me she though it was hand foot mouth! None of my kiddies have had that, but it just sounds horrifically painful. I was happy to see a smile back on his face today during Peanut's tennis lessons.

Happy Friday Everyone! 

Featured at PicMonkey Today

My cupcake tutorial from Peanut's birthday party some how crossed the blogging eyes of the PicMonkey staff & they shot me an email to ask if it was ok to add my tutorial to their post. After the rush of excitement and feelings of validation subsided, I replied back that the honor would be all mine. So head on over to their blog to check out it out. (Ii just headed over there and the post isn't up yet so I'm guessing it will go live later in the afternoon.)

Dining Room Stalled {Motivate Me}

I have just lost all interest and motivation in finishing this project. Maybe it is the nice weather calling my attention to things like gardening, curb appeal & pond repair. Whatever the reason, the dining room's update is slow going.

For a refresher, this is what I started with and up until now I've made a fair amount of progress.

The rug was initially purchased for the living room. Then moved to our master and finally brought back down to the dining room. I love how it ties all the first floor colors together and surprisingly works well with the wallpaper. Plus, it has a lot of movement in it so stains are easily hidden (we do dine in here after all.)




The buffet table is my favorite piece so far. I initially thought of having Hubby build a long table, but instead purchased two adjustable height folding tables from Target. For a small investment of $70.00, I like having the flexibility of using the tables down the road for other purposes along with easy maneuverability to set up a buffet elsewhere in the house or yard.



The skirt is all pinned and ready to go, I just need to sew it…ugh not a task I'm looking forward to. And the accessories have been camped out on top there for months.

The new drapes and chair covers are not feeling much love from me. I think the drapes aren't full enough and the blue ribbon accent isn't the right choice.  The chair covers I've had since we got married and I think I'm just over them. I would die for a set of Chippendale bamboo chairs..swoon. I keep stalking Craigslist as I'm not willing to shell out $1,000 per chair.

I don't want to be a downer though. I do love the relocated and re-staged china cabinet. It now sits on the opposite wall that is much better suited for the piece's size.

And I'm also loving the way light pink accents the colors in the room. I am hoping use pink accents with blue & white pottery in the living room (down the road of course) and maybe there is a way I can tie some touches of pink & navy into the dining room. For now though I just enjoy catching a glimpse of these peonies I plucked from my front yard…heavenly.

So anyone have some words of wisdom for me? Can you kick my tail into gear? Maybe you've hit a wall on a project around your house too and we can commiserate together. Whatever your thoughts, I'd love to hear them.

And sending lots of hugs & prayers to Bestie B who is in labor & delivery as I type….can't wait to meet the little bundle once he arrives.

Art for the Family Room

If you've been following the blog for a while, you might have caught on to the fact that I was not blessed with a single artistic bone in my body. In fact, the only time I ever cheated in all of my school career was in 7th grade art class. The art teacher took pity on my horrific skills and allowed me to take my assignment home to complete. My best friend at the time however was a fabulous artist, in fact she currently makes a living painting you can check out her site here, and completed the masterpiece on my behalf. Sad but true.

Lately though I've been drawn to the use of abstract artwork in traditional home decor (all images from my pinterest living room board)

And I am in love with the beauty by Kerry Steele on etsy. But at price tag of $1,550 I had to figure out a way to recreate the look for my price point….free.



Thanks to my hoarding tendencies I had the perfect 30x30 canvas sitting in the basement. After painting over the existing black & white flower image, I was left with a clean slate & I just went to town dripping, painting & splattering various shades of gray, taupe & blue onto the canvas.

And here is what I ended up with:

And a close up

I think it turned out pretty decent. I'm still toying with the idea of adding gold leaf like one of the inspiration pictures above. And I am set on getting rid of the brown accent wall & probably painting the fireplace brick…it all reads too orange to me. Any thoughts? Are you a painted brick fan? Well I've gotta run…sick baby is crying…fingers crossed his fever goes away soon. Isn't it suppose to be summer!?!

Living Room Switches

While working on the Dining Room, I had a little detour and started rearranging window coverings and furniture in the living room. Seeing as how the two rooms are open to one another, I deemed it fully necessary to spruce up both rooms.



I rehung the valances I had custom made for the room when we moved in. I had relocated them to our bedroom, thinking that I would prefer drapery panels in the space. I am so glad that I decided to return the valences to the living room…they just add a level of sophistication that the panels didn't. Not to mention the fact the the blue & white paisley print helps pull the blue & white from the kitchen (and now dining room) around the house.

If you have eagle eyes, you'll also notice that I swapped out the rug & coffee table with the family room's. Both look much better in the living room.

The space isn't nearly complete. It actually isn't even part of my 2013 Home Goals, but I sure am loving the new look. More changes to show you all this week!!! It's like a whole new house over here:-) And fingers crossed for good weather so I can finally photograph the deck project too.