Eleven

Eleven years.

This weekend the hubs and I celebrated our 11th wedding anniversary. And I cannot believe it's been that long. Time flies, doesn't it?

We got married when I was 20 and he was 22. We spent the next 7 years figuring out how this marriage thing works (still working on that!), doing lots of traveling, living in a 2-bedroom townhouse, and mostly just growing up together.

Then, year 7, there were lots of changes.

We got pregnant, bought an old, fixer-upper house (still working on that too!), and had a beautiful little baby girl!

Fast forward 2-1/2 years later, we were still working on the house and our little guy Jack was born!

And now, with 2 kiddos and another one on the way, we are still figuring out this marriage thing (it gets better every year), still love each other more than we ever did, and having such a great time in the process!

We spent the weekend with the kids and my parents (I know - how unromantic, right? But it was perfection.) at my parents' beach house in Delaware.


We dug in the sand, played in the waves, swam in the pool, and just plain relaxed, which is pretty rare for us!


Saturday night the hubs & I went out for dinner to a fabulous little seafood bistro in the town of Lewes, Delaware, which is about 15 min. from the house.

We had a great time walking around the little historic town - beautiful beach homes and such a relaxing atmosphere!

I had to snap some pics as we walked...





I hope you all had a wonderful weekend too!

And, oooh, sneak peaks of the Jack's nautical-inspired bedroom coming soon! I'm getting close to the finish line! YES!!

Painting Patterns on Hardwood Floors (or "How I spend My Saturdays")

Ok, so remember how I said a few days ago that painting ceilings is kinda like torture?

I was wrong.

So very wrong.

I learned this weekend that painting diamond patterns on a hardwood floor is much, much closer to torture. Much.

But I got it all DONE!! What a fantabulous feeling. And here's how I did it...

The floor was previously unpainted hardwood but very worn. I painted the whole thing with B-I-N primer, which is the greatest stuff in the world.

Then I painted the entire floor with two coats of the light color - a very, very light blue. I used Valspar porch and floor paint from Lowes. Will give the colors in another post.

Then came the excruciating part, for me anyway. Because it involved measuring. And math. And being precise. Qualities that I don't deal with very well. Lucky for me the hubs installs cabinets for a living and was very qualified to help me with this.

We measured out the diamonds using a carpenters straight edge and traced in out on the floor with a pencil. The diamonds are 14" square.



Then I used Frogtape to tape around each square. This takes a lot of time because each edge has to be very straight. But after I got started and got into a rhythm, it really wasn't so bad.


All done taping! Hallelujah!! This project involved lots of bending over my 5 month pregnant belly, which wasn't exactly fun, but I plowed through the aches and pains. And took lots of breaks.



Then I painted every other diamond with the darker blue paint - also Valspar porch and floor paint. I used a brush for the edges and a roller for the larger areas.



Hey, Jack! How'd you get in here?!

He is saying, "Mommy, come play with me. And feed me. My sister and I are tired of Pop-Tarts."

Poor little guy.



Removing the tape and viola!! It is finished!!


I had to do some touch ups after I removed the tape, but I was surprised how well the tape kept the paint from bleeding through, considering how uneven the boards were.


This was a fairly time-consuming project, but actually didn't take as long as I thought it would. If it would be a high traffic area, I would apply a sealer yet, but this floor won't get used that much and I don't mind if it looks a bit worn. It'll just add to the look I'm going for.

Now onto the FUN STUFF!! I'm so excited to start moving in furniture and accessorizing!

A Winner!

And the winner of the Lisa Pearson baby gift package is....

#13 (courtesy of Random.org)
A Meek Perspective!

Please email me your mailing address so I can send your package!

Thanks to everyone who entered!

Project Week

I wasn't planning on working on any major projects this week, but, as often happens, inspiration hit.

Full force.

And when I decide to work on something, I go all the way. Until it's done. Without thinking about how tired I will be at the end of the day or how neglected my dear children will be.

They have been wondering around the neighborhood begging for attention and food. But don't worry, I set out Pop-Tarts and crackers for them to eat for lunch.

And lest you've forgotten, this is usually what happens when I'm working on a project and they are left to fend for themselves.

They "rearrange" my office.

You'll have to pardon my warped sense of humor today. It's probably the paint fumes. Or the lack of sleep from way too much thinking.



Anyway, the project I'm working on is Jack's nautical-inspired "big boy" room. There's no hurry to get it done, but I've just been inspired out of my mind lately, so I thought - why not?



So far I've painted the ceiling and the walls. I tell ya, painting ceilings is probably just about as close to torture and you can get. And word to the wise, when you paint a ceiling, be sure to wear a hat. Because your hair will be covered with paint speckles. At least if you paint like me. Which is very fast and very messy.



An entire tray of paint spilled from the top of the ladder onto the floor yesterday. NICE. Good thing I'm going to paint the floor anyway. And good thing this type of mess doesn't faze me in the least. I once spilled an entire quart of dark red paint onto a white carpet. Yeah, doesn't get much worse than that.



Did I mention that I have a very patient, forgiving husband?


Moving along, here are some of my inspirations...

The floor is hardwood, but the boards are in really bad shape and can't be refinished, so I'm going to paint it this pattern and similar colors. I'm more than a little nervous!

I bought an old bed recently at a barn sale for the room that is very similar to the one below and I LOVE IT!

Pottery Barn

The room will mostly have shades of blue with red accents. Looking through old PB catalogs has given me loads of inspiration!

Pottery Barn

Oh, and so many of you have asked where we got our screen door.

We bought it at a local lumber store but Home Depot has similar styles as well.


Gotta go! The paint brush is calling my name! Tootles!

"His Eye Is On The Sparrow" Baby Gift Package Giveaway!!

*This giveaway is now closed.

Lisa Pearson has generously offered to make one of her adorable baby gift packages for a giveaway today! And the one she made for us is themed after the nursery I just finished at our house.

She makes personalized baby gifts that are perfect for baby showers! And her blog is chock-full of delicious-looking recipes and fun party ideas!



Lisa's baby gift package includes:

-1 handmade felt bird
-"His Eye Is On The Sparrow" gift tag
-2 plain white burp clothes with ribbon
-1 keepsake tin containing 12 bookplates
-1 keepsake tin for baby's first lock of hair
-Baby's first fork and spoon (heirloom quality)
-1 gift box

Enter the giveaway by leaving a comment on this post. Giveaway ends Friday, June 18 at NOON EST.

Good luck!

Weekend at the Lake

Add one gorgeous cabin (yeah, not very rustic, eh?)...

Plus swimming in the lake with new friends...



Plus one dirty little boy who likes to dig in the sand, put sand it in his mouth and hair, and who just learned that playing in the water is quite possibly the most fun he's ever had...


Add them all together and it equals one fabulous weekend! Hope you had a good one too!

Easy Summer Dress

After walking through a vintage shop last weekend that sold handmade little girl dresses, I got totally inspired to make one for Avery.

I looked online and found really easy instructions for making a very basic dress, using leftover fabric from the birthday party I threw for my sister-in-law.

These are some shots I took around our house...


I'm definitely a beginner at this whole sewing thing, but if I can do it, anyone can! It just takes a little time and patience.

Here are the step-by-step instructions that I followed. The instructions are for a pillowcase dress, but I just used my leftover fabric. And I added the ruffle to the hem of the dress.



A few days ago as I was putting Avery to bed for her nap, she said, "Mama, it's not time for a nap yet! Just chill up!"

Oh.my.word. Ok, missy, not only is that NOT the correct terminology, but I am WAY too young to have my daughter telling me to chill out!!

Wow. So NOT ready for that stage of life!



Happy weekend everyone! :)


Linking to these linky parties...

Shabby Nest
Lovin My Love Bugs

Yummy, Delicious, FaBuLoUs Recipes

Last night we had friends over for a cozy little dinner and I had to share some of the recipes I used.


So, so, so good. Perfection. You must try it. Drippy Swiss cheese melted on French bread, floating in onion soup deliciousness..I'm mean, come on!

Tyler's Ultimate French Onion Soup

Ingredients:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 onions, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 fresh thyme sprigs
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup red wine, about 1/2 bottle
3 heaping tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 quarts beef broth
1 baguette, sliced
1/2 pound grated Gruyere (I used Swiss)

Directions:
Melt the stick of butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and salt and pepper and cook until the onions are very soft and caramelized, about 25 minutes. Add the wine, bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the wine has evaporated and the onions are dry, about 5 minutes. Discard the bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Dust the onions with the flour and give them a stir. Turn the heat down to medium low so the flour doesn't burn, and cook for 10 minutes to cook out the raw flour taste. Now add the beef broth, bring the soup back to a simmer, and cook for 10 minutes. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

Ladle the soup into bowls, top each with 2 slices of bread and top with cheese. Put the bowls into the oven to broil the bread and melt the cheese.

~ ~ ~

And this little bit of cinnamon and whipped cream goodness is divine...and so easy to make!


Hot Cinnamon Cake

Ingredients:
2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. cold water
4 T. butter, divided
1 c. sugar
1 c. milk
2 tsp. cinnamon
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 c. flour

Directions:
Mix brown sugar, water and 2 T. butter in saucepan. Bring to boil.

Meantime, mix the rest of the ingredients and pour into greased 9x13 pan.

Pour the hot mixture over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 min.

Top with whipped cream (the real kind!) and serve warm. See, easy peasy!

Enjoy!

Fabric Flower Bling

So I saw this fabric flower tutorial on Rhonna Ferrer's super-creative blog and of course my head started spinning.

I have to try that!

I am such a copy-er.


Isn't it cute? All it takes is a piece of satin ribbon or fabric, some needle and thread, and hot glue.

It's as easy as that!

I have a container where I keep embellishments, little silk flowers, pearls, stuff like that. And it comes in handy for making little projects like this.


I want to try making some more in fun colors. If you want to try it, Rhonna's tutorial is really helpful! Go for it!

Free Paint!

You know how obsessed I am with paint, right? To the point of ridiculousness.

Give me some paint and sandpaper, and I'm in heaven!

Well, Glidden is giving away free paint for you and a friend! Click here for the link.

Free + Paint = No Brainer

Summertime Brings

Country Living

A new screen door installed by the ever-so-handy hubs - I'm in love!



Sunny, casual, summer skirts worn 'round the house...

Country Living

Yummy 25 cent finds at yard sales - a French grammar book! I clutched it to my chest and ran!



Summer blooms outside my office window...


Hope you are enjoying these early summer days too!