Travel: Fort Walton Beach and Destin, Florida with Kids
School is out for the summer in Georgia! Thank goodness. I don’t know who was more tired of homework, me or the kids. Who are we kidding? It was totally me. I documented the occasion by taking a picture at the last bus stop of the year. I’m sure my daughter loves me taking pictures while an entire bus load of kids looks on. So, how did we kick off summer? By going to the BEACH! We have spent the first full week of summer break soaking up the sunshine in Fort Walton Beach and Destin, Florida. We built epic sand forts with help from Daddy. Mommy left this task…
Kitchen Refresh Part 7: The Reveal
Have I kept you waiting long enough to see how our kitchen refresh turned out? I’ve been living with it in a final-for-now state for a little more than 2 weeks. Remember how it looked before? I know, I know. Try and contain your jealousy. Not everyone can have sticky, puke green-colored cabinets. Ready for the after? Here’s that same corner now. Much better, right? I’m so glad this house presented the opportunity to paint the bottom cabinets black because that might not happen again. It’s my favorite part about this little refresh. The black paint works like magic and almost makes my black appliances disappear! The other thing I’m so…
Memorial Day
To all who have served our country far and wide. To those who have stood by their side. To the souls who have ultimately died. Your sacrifice is held with great national pride. Let’s all take a moment on this Memorial Day to remember the happiness and freedoms we enjoy in the United States of America came at a great cost – one we should never take for granted. Share this:
A Simple, Yet Fun Birthday Tradition
My children are 3 years and 23 hours apart. One day I was at Chuck E. Cheese celebrating my daughter turning 3 and the next day I was told if I left the doctor’s office to go home, I needed to carry blankets in the car. Since they were being all melodramatic about it, I decided to go to the hospital. Turns out I really was having a baby that day. We’re long past the diaper and pacifier stage. This week, these two turned 5 and 8. Photo Credit: Meg Davidson Photography I haven’t quite figured out the “best” way to celebrate birthdays that are one day apart. It seems we just go…
Joanna Gaines Made Me Do It – Wire Baskets
Have you guys seen HGTV’s Fixer Upper show? It’s my favorite. I truly hope Chip and Joanna Gaines are as kind, funny and down-to-earth in real life as they appear to be on the show. I was binge-watching Fixer Upper episodes on the HGTV site while painting my kitchen cabinets when I saw Joanna hang some wire baskets on a wall. I know that, in and of itself, is not revolutionary. However, it inspired an “aha” moment. Or maybe that was the paint fumes… Anyway, I couldn’t find a picture of the actual image that got me motivated, but Joanna uses wire baskets often, so this is another instance of how she attached…
4-Banana Banana Bread
Here’s the deal. I think I’ve said this before. Pardon the repeat. My family doesn’t tell me when they suddenly no longer like a certain food. All anyone will eat for breakfast for weeks is Rice Krispies. Then when I go and stockpile a bunch of Rice Krispies to prevent someone from snap, crackle and popping when we run out, of course, they decide they don’t like Rice Krispies any longer and only like Raisin Bran Crunch. This story could be told over and over in our household, just change the name of the characters for different foods. Apparently, I’m the only one who hasn’t caught on to the rules…
My Favorite Corner – Living Room
I have a favorite corner of our living room. I don’t spend nearly enough time there. Ironic, much? Want to sit and enjoy the view with me? A little bit of water and a whole heck of a lot of trees. It makes me very happy! As a girl who grew up in the Pacific Northwest, I’ve seen my fair share of forest. When we moved to Georgia, I was surprised there were so many trees. I’m not sure what I was picturing. Cotton fields? Peach orchards? I still have not seen a peach orchard, by the way. Instead of focusing the furniture IN on the room, I turned the furniture OUT…
Kitchen Refresh Part 6: Hardware
Before I typed this post, I was working on the backsplash. No, really. I was genuinely working on the backsplash, which is the last part of this little project. I’m ready to wrap this thing up in the next few days. Not that I’ll get final pictures taken that quick! In the next two weeks we have birthdays for both of my kids, end of year parties, kindergarten round-up, sports and I’m sure I’m forgetting something else. In the meantime, I have some lovely, not-so-lovely iPhone photos to share. After I painted the cabinets, I reused the cabinet knobs to save some dough. Someone still makes these knobs, by the way.…
Mothering Without a Mother
When I was pregnant with my daughter, my first child, I sat alone on the exam table at my first ob-gyn appointment. My doctor’s office didn’t book initial pregnancy visits until somewhere near the end of the first trimester, so I had waited what felt like forever to get some clarity on this situation. Things like, were the first 15 home pregnancy tests I had taken accurate? Ha! Part of me really hoped I just had the world’s longest case of food poisoning because the enormity of what a pregnancy meant for our lives was just a little too new, a little too big to fully comprehend. Don’t get me wrong. I…
A Quiet, Neutral Vignette
I visited a friend’s house the other day and she had the most amazing multi-colored rug and fun, colorful art prints on her walls. It was bright, fun and happy. I loved it! It was a cheery place to hang out and hang out I did! It got me to thinking about my own home and home-decor choices. While I do have some color in my home, by and large, I tend to go with a lot of neutrals. Case in point, this vignette, which is located in our dining area and is visible from the front door. Wood tones, black and white, natural elements, texture – these are some of…
