Some Fun Finds: Works for me Wednesday

BEFOREAFTER

For the past four and a half years, Todd and I have not really put a whole lot up on the walls except family pictures. Combined with the neutral color of the walls, this made for a maddeningly blah feeling in those areas. Now, in the ideal world, I would have traveled to Spain or Mexico to discover an antique grate or gate just the right size to fit on our wall to help us with the nod to The Southwest we're going for. However, since we don't have any current plans to jump The Puddle to Europe or run for the border, Linens and Things helped me out. Note that the first one was in the taken in the day the other at night so the lighting is a bit different. Reason: Normally I would have immediately got home and put them up myself, but since they were going to need to be very well placed to not be "off" on the vertical or horizontal, I had to wait...sigh...Thankfully Todd is amazingly precise in measuring - I love that about him! I also LOVE sales, and when I can combine discounts even better. I'm sure there are other sites out there that do this, but I stumbled upon RetailMeNot.com that has promotional codes to use online for additional discounts to a ton of stores. So after 70% off, two sets of these were quite reasonable! THAT works for me!
One area down, and a dining room wall to go...

Cheers!

EDWR 5176
(Writing the Picture Book)
DONE!

YAY! I've now completed the last course work I'll need to do until after 2015! (Major reason for the silence - I had to put myself on restriction - no blogging [writing-wise] and no "fun" reading in the past couple of weeks for me...)

But, now I can be as care-free as Sarah... and just wish the sun would return... OK that was COOL! JUST as I was typing "the sun would return" the sun (and therefore this room) got a lot brighter! God has been showing His faithfulness and humor to me in these past couple of days in a really fun way...

Now for the next project... Our kitchen (and eventually front entryway/hallway/laundry area/ poweder room) floor. Brazilian Cherry. I'll have to post this pic with the after pic once we get to "after"...

I'll probably go crazy for a few days blogging to make up for lost time... So hopefully I'll get caught up! Whatever that means...

Randomness...

Good-bye to my favorite snack...

Our strawberries are wrapping up for the season (late as it was), but I will look forward to next season and the intoxicating sweetness of luscious redness that can only come from home grown berries ...

HEL-LO to a new sink! One of my two favorite new additions these past three weeks... If you'd seen my old sink, it was like a kiddie pool - this is like an Olympic-sized event pool by comparison. I just might take up high diving... (Another gleeful experience is using the disposal that now is quite polite and doesn't rock the house like the old one did...)

I really never knew how much I love earth tones until I got all my spices happily situated in the spice drawer that Todd and I collaborated on... I designed, he built. No more rummaging around to find the white pepper...

Will soon be arriving... a new print to go in our bathroom... "Agave" you say? You're right! God is so amazingly creative to blend the prickliness of a cactus with geometric symmetry and cool colors... You'll have to see the bathroom to see it all together...

Ciao for now...

Fashionably Late

A is for age: 35
B is for beer of choice: Shiner Bock Please...
C is for career right now: Stay at home Mommy/Home Manager ;)
D is for your dog's name: N/A
E is for essential item you use every day: water
F is for favorite TV show at the moment: not watching TV these days, just movies
G is for favorite game: Pushing Todd's buttons (in a good way)
H is for hometown: Spokane,WA a.k.a. "The Can", a.k.a "Spokain" if you're not from the NW...
I is for instruments you play: -ed, the recorder (didn't we all in 4th grade?), the flute
J is for favorite juice: cran-pomegranate
K is for whose butt you'd like to kick: Satan
L is for last restaurant you ate at: Applebee's - bleh, never again.
M is for marriage: 5 years on Aug. 15th!
N is for Number of Piercings: two
O is for overnight hospital stay: Twice - once when I was 3, once when I had Sarah
P is for people you were with today: Todd, and later neighbors for the fourth!
Q is for what you do with your quiet time: Read
R is for biggest regret: When I care more what other's think than what God thinks
S is for status: content
T is for time you woke up today: 7am
U is for if you are unique: Yep!
V is for vegetable you love: Sauted onions
W is for worst habit: procrastinating
X is for x-rays you've had: on wrists/arms, foot when I broke it in 8th grade
Y is for yummy food you ate today: fries
Z is for zodiac sign: ditto Amber on this one: fooey on that garbage

Consider yourself tagged if you read this.

Kitchen Project Update

Happy me with new "do" and a project to work on...

The new crown and bottom border, spackled, and awaiting painting...

wrapping a whole kitchen with miles of painter's tape and plastic sheeting...

Yay, painting done! Well, except a few touch-ups...

our very messy garage...

...and one very tired, but pleased, Abbey...

P.S. Thanks Clint and Amber for lending us your saw horses, and Amber B. for the painting advice!