Happily Ever After...

This afternoon, Joji and I went to the wedding of some friends or ours. When we initially heard they were renting a campground and everyone was going to camp prior and after the wedding, we were a little unsure. Phil is an outdoorsy kind of guy, but his fiance' Breann seemed a little too girly for a campground wedding. We didn't know what to expect. Now everyone knows Western Washington and outdoor weddings no NOT go together and with the weather (rain, rain and more rain) we have had this past week it seemed to have disaster written all over it. However, despite downpours last night they could not have asked for a more beautiful day. It was warm with a cool breeze and blue skies overhead.
Phil and his groomsmen were looking very studly in their kilts and, of course, Breann looked gorgeous. A beautiful day to start a beautiful life together.

Inspiration

The first room I painted when we bought the house was the upstairs bathroom. I love this shower curtain and this shade of blue really makes it pop. The best thing about the shower curtain is that it has all the colors I love.
A long time ago Lynette Jennings had a decorating show and she did a segment on choosing colors for your home so that rooms "flow". She had and "inspiration piece" and then pulled the colors from that. She said it would "work" in the rooms because it already "works" in the fabric. That advice must have stuck because all the paint in our house can be traced back to this shower curtain. I find it funny to paint a house around the bathroom, but you gotta go with what you love :0)

Furniture Shuffle

Well here is the armoire's new home. I have to say I kind of like it here. It is tucked away so that you don't see it when you enter the room. ( The bottom pic is the view from the entry)
My living room is a bit of a bugger. It is a big room, but the fireplace is off center and the vaulted ceiling is asymmetrical. It has been tricky to find a way to arrange the furniture without spreading it out too far or having the traffic pattern cut the conversation area in half. As I was moving everything around, I kept hearing the voice of the Decorating Cents' interior redesigners saying, "this room is predictable and boring". Ugh. Oh well, I like it :0)
I am trying to get a pic of the new tv. Everyone I've taken has been blurry. The good news it the buffet is now reloaded and I'm able to see most of my dining room table. As far as bags for the goodwill, I have 4 bags by the door and I'm hoping to fill at least 2 more tomorrow (I am tackling Sammie's room and the play area) :0)
UPDATE
Here is a pic of my buffet with the new tv. I am still trying to make the bookcases look a little better. I really hate all the cords everywhere, but this is the "boy room" so I have little control. Oh well, at least the M's are spanking the Red Sox. Go M's!!

And so it begins...

Friday morning, Joji headed off with a buddy and the boys to good old Chuck E. Cheese. As he is walking out he says, "oh, I might buy a tv". We only have one TV and it is pretty old by today's tv's standards and I know he really wanted one, so I was okay with that. He came home with a 42" plasma.
Now, of course, our current tv was housed in a nice armoire. This tv won't fit. So where will we put the new tv?? on the buffet of course. Okay, lets unload the armoire of all videos, games, random cd's, the dvd player, the tivo box, the cable box and the clock. Now let's empty my buffet. I'll just pile all my dishes on the table and stack the linen drawers in the corner to make it easier to move downstairs. Buffet downstairs and armoire upstairs, check.
Now the downstairs was pretty straight forward, put buffet where armoire was. Moving the armoire upstairs was a whole other can of worms.
First of all, I thought I would try the armoire in the corner where the cable outlet was. This required emptying and moving a very tall and full bookcase as well as the couches and end tables. Of course, it looked awful, so it had go somewhere else. How about the opposite wall, sure why not? (move everything again out of the way again) Okay, looks good there but, where am I going to put all the stuff that was here originally? Move some to the empty looking dining room and add the rest to the "deal with it tomorrow" pile. It seemed like all I did today was move furniture. It wouldn't have been so bad, except these pieces all contained a bunch of stuff. Yikes, tomorrow I'm planning the big "purge". It is amazing how much junk gets stuffed out of sight. My goal is to fill at least 4 big bags for the goodwill. Wish me luck!!

It's not easy being green or fuzzy and blue

While trying to find a picture for a Martha post, I came across muppet radio. Apparently, there is a DVD set out of what they call "old school" sesame street. It has episodes from the first 5 seasons. How fun is that? I loved Sesame Street and wanted to move to New York and be a Muppetier. I will still watch with my kids, but I miss the old episodes.
Some of my favorites:
There are 2 G sounds
Ladybugs Picnic
Loaf of bread, container of milk and a stick of butter
Roosevelt Franklin counts to 10
Take the golden "AN"...
Any Prairie Dawn pageant
Muppet Newsflashes
Anyway, I think we definitely have to check these out. And if this isn't fun enough, They are also releasing the Electric Company. I will definitely have to introduce my kids to "Easy Reader" and "Fargo North: Decoda".
Happy Friday

I've gone global

Maybe I am a little bit of a geek, but seriously, how cool is the Internet? It boggles my mind just how much stuff is out there.
When I first discovered ebay, I was completely blown away, that not only did someone else own (and was selling) a whamo blue and white sand airplane window thing, but I would actually have to complete against others for it. Insane!!!
One night when I couldn't sleep I started googling random things. One of the things I googled was "cottage". All these wonderful blogs popped up on my screen and unfortunately, I was hooked. These little peeks into everyday lives are truly addictive. It is also nice to find out I'm not alone. (I'm not the only one who feels "laundry challenged", phew)
When I was little, there was a lady in our neighborhood who would walk up and down our street with coffee cup in hand and "make the rounds". Well, I've turned into a "virtual Carol" with my morning Mt. Dew.
On one of the blogs, I found this very fun map feature. It shows you where folks are who read your blog. How fun is that? I know the blogs I read take me all over the world and now it's nice to know the world is checking in once while too.

Free at Last!!!

I must be permanently 10. I have been counting down to the last day of school for weeks. Ben could care less. He likes school, he likes vacation, he's good either way. Not me. I crave freedom. Freedom from the "have to's" of school. You have to get up. You have to get dressed in appropriate attire. You have to find your homework/backpack/library book/permission slip. You have to keep tabs on all the happenings at the school - what time is this meeting, who is double checking on that committee, how many cookies did I agree to make (okay I actually do like that one).
Once spring break is over, I start my countdown. (I even did this when I taught- hope that wasn't sending the wrong message to my students) So many of my mommy friends are dreading summer vacation. They are worried about how they will fill the time and keep the kids from getting bored. Well, I guess I'm a little old school and boredom is part of summer, but it also sparks the best creativity.
Ben is out at noon today and I think we will pack a lunch and hit the beach. Ben and Sam can splash and play til their hearts content. Look out summer here we come!!

Happy Father's Day!!

When we got married, Joji's hair was jet black.
The addition of kiddos sure changed that in a hurry.
Thanks for being a great dad, even if it means a few grey hairs :0)

Everyday Food

I have been a Martha fan since her PBS days. I've always enjoyed being inspired to create all kinds of "good things". Well, tonight I have to say old Martha let me down.
Once a month my husband has the boys over and I prepare a small feast. Every now and then I like to try something new. For dinner tonight the hubby flipped through the current issue of "Everyday Food" and picked the recipe that was featured on the cover (Pork kabobs with Ginger/Pineapple rice). Seemed easy enough, no complicated ingredients, I'll give it a try. It was awful. There was no flavor at all. I even tried to kick it up a bit, but no use. One of the guys asked "what kind of meat is this?" Not a good sign.
I hate when you put all that time into a dish and it is such a flop. It really says something when there is food left (usually these guys lick their plates clean- I wish I wasn't exaggerating) About a 1/3 of the kabobs are still waiting to be eaten. Maybe the late night munchies will kick in and they will be gone when I wake up, but I'm not counting on it.
This was my first recipe out of "Everyday Food" and now I'm a little leery. Anyone else have this experience? I am hoping this was a fluke, because a lot of the other recipes look so good. Oh well, live and learn :0)

The lost art of baked goods

Maybe I am a dying breed, but I like to bake. I love making cookies. One of my favorite Christmas gifts was my yellow kitchen aid. I enjoy showing up to places with a basket of warm cookies and watching them disappear. I especially enjoy the look on peoples face when I tell them, "yes, I did make these from scratch". I find humor in the fact that people will spend $15 on a tub of cookie dough that would cost $3 to make (not to mention you get twice as many cookies)But I feel my kind are slowly disappearing.
More and more it seems "baking" has turned into a trip to Costco. Don't get me wrong Costco has a great bakery, but I think it has become some type of mandate that no group of people are allowed to gather without a tray of costco muffins!! I recently was in charge of putting together food for "Parent Day" at our school. Wanting to prove a point that we could serve food without spending a bunch of money, I called some fellow parents and I was able to put out quite a nice spread (if I do say so my self) for free. We had cookies, bagels, quick breads and brownies- something for everyone. We also had a tray of costco muffins that were donated. Everything was gone before those muffins were touched. Hmmmmm...
I know lives are busy, but isn't that even more of a reason to take the time to slow down and actually make something? In a world of "instant everything", I want my kids to know how to "do" and not just where to buy. We make goodies you can only get from our (and Nana's) kitchen and I know that someday Ben and Sam will be making those same goodies with their kids.

For the love of Benji

Ever since I started this little blog, Ben has felt rather left out. He was less than thrilled to see Sammie and Tinker on the header and insisted I do an entry on him. So today I will.
Ben is great. He is the kind of kid I loved having in my classes when I was teaching. I once had a student named Lyle and everyone would always say, "how can you not love Lyle?" I think Ben is the same way.
He is quickly growing out of "little boy" (although he was only actually little when he was born - now he's a good head taller than everyone) and into cool kid. He just finished his 4th season of baseball. He has had the luck on being a team with the best coaches, kids and parents. This was the last year of "A" ball and it is likely the team will be split up next year when the group moves up to "AA" ball. Too bad, they are all good players but a great team (14-0).
Saturday was the end of the year picnic and this year there was to be a Dad & Son game. Everyone was so looking forward to it, but in true Washington fashion, it dumped! Everyone was soaking wet, the food all got soggy, but we had a blast anyway.

Hair today, gone tomorrow

Well, the time has come to say good-bye "Princess Sammie" and Hello to "Dora Sammie". Of course, she has the hair I have always wanted (corn silky and straight). I, on the other hand, have straight in the front and wavy in the back (think Roseanne Roseannadanna)

Anyway, it was time to for a new do for Sam. It reached past her waist and it was not fun to maintain. It reminded me of the poem below. When we started talking about cutting her hair she was not having any part of it. Then I told her about the little girls who were sick and didn't have any hair. We went to Locks of Love and she got to see the girls without and with their "new" hair. She was on board. Our friends cuts our hair and she chopped off the 10" ponytail. I have to say as much as I loved her long hair, this is definitely more "her". Short and Sassy, yup, that's Sam.


Janella's Hair
by
Teresa Bateman
Janella's hair flies everywhere
And crackles full of static.
It leaps around
With bob and bound
And acts most acrobatic.
Janella's hair flies everywhere;
It's living on its own.
It leaves her head
To stay in bed
And giggles on the phone!
At school it said, "You knucklehead!"
The teacher was appalled.
Janella's in the office now
(and wishes she were bald).

Inspiration Friday :0)

I've seen "Inspiration Fridays" on many blogs, so I thought I would play along.
This is a picture of a living room that was in a house by us that was for sale. I LOVE the piece above the mantal and the wall color is to die for.
I can't remember where this cute little shelf came from, but I just loved the "funkiness" of it. It is very Northwest and we do live by the water (kinda).

Country Style = MIA

One of the shows I really enjoy on HGTV is "Country Style". (this was one of the kitchen they featured and I LOVE it) I was so excited when I saw on Acorn Cottage a couple of months ago that it was returning to the daytime line up. My tivo was set and I was happy. I loved watching those shows and finding inspiration. Now it seems HGTV has revamped their line up and "Country Style" has once again disappeared. Oh well, thank goodnes for TIVO :0)

What a Weekend!!

I can't remember a weekend that was so full of fun stuff. Of course I am totally exhausted, but it was well worth it.
Friday, my good friend Jessica came down and we hung out while the boys DND'ed at another house.
Saturday was mega garage sale day around here. Between Jessica and her hubby Bob, my sister-in-law and myself, we managed to fill the back of my van. We all got screaming deals, but I think Bob scored the biggest with a working universal gym for $10. Jessica found a $10 non pink kitchen (not to mention a bunch of food and accessories) for her little guy and Akiko scored with a 25 ft. soaker hose for $1. I think my best score was either the mother of pear wind chime for 25 cents of a pottery barn style bathroom cabinet for $5. All and all it was a great morning.
Then Jessica and I headed off to a bridal shower for a friend of ours. She will soon be the latest addition to the DND wives club. We had a good time, but for some reason (we think they may have spiked the punch) we found a lot of comments made by other attendees VERY funny. We tried to be good, but just could not stop laughing. After our 2 hour gigglefest we met up with the hubbies for Jessica's birthday dinner.
It is so nice to have friends were everyone likes each other and gets along. I think it is rare when both the husbands and wives are actually good friends.
Dinner was so good, half of it ended up coming home with us. We are yet to actually make it to dessert. Oh well, nothing like leftovers for breakfast :0)
Sunday was another full day. We were off to Safeco Field for a little Sunday baseball with another couple of good friends. The M's are actually fun to watch these days. They were playing the Rangers and they played great. We actually got to see a suicide squeeze, how cool is that? We were sitting in the third row on the first base line. We all got a little pink, but the M's won so it was worth it. In the 4th inning the M's were down, Joji joked that he was going to go walk around so the M's would score. Sure enough during his absence, they scored 6. Poor Joj, that always happens.
So all in all a FANTASTIC weekend. Although, I have to say I'm looking forward to a nice and mellow Monday.