Photo Session

Since we were all together for Dad's birthday recently, I had a photographer come and take a few pics.




I see a few Christmas cards in the making...

Jake the Builder

Jake is a master at finding stuff in the lake and repurposing it into cool things. For Mother's Day two years ago, he made a bench out of an old board and an old rake handle that he found in the lake. It is one of my favorite things on my patio.
This year, he found another cool piece of wood in the lake and made a sign for my office.
So when he pulled yet another board out of the lake, he decided it was time to make something for daddy. We decided on an old fashioned tool tote that we could fill with fireworks and give him for father's day.
Safety first - notice the glasses! He also found a small old wooden handle to something. No idea what it came from, but he thought it would make the perfect handle for his tote.
So we measured and cut...
...and started building.

We got some major pyrotechnic devices (fireworks) at the grocery store and filled 'er up. We also did a little paint job on the outside to make it "cooler."

I love it and want it for myself. Scott can have all the explodable stuff in it; I just want to fill it with flowers and put it on my kitchen table. (And yes, I pulled Jake out of the lake for the above picture.:)

Musical Wreath

Mags and I needed something to do while Scott and Jake were away one evening, so we broke out the old music and the hot glue gun and went to town.
We used the entire "John Thompson's 3rd Grade Book" of music; rolled each page up, glued it, then glued the rolls to a circle of cardboard.
We love free artwork.

Towel Hooks

Remember these? Old spigot handles that I found at an antique store.
This is where they ended up. On my deck railing, just waiting for beach towels to be hung on them.
Come on over. You don't even need to bring your own towel - we have plenty!

God Bless America

I love the red, white and blue. I love the fourth of July. And I believe you can decorate like it's the fourth of July all year! I love to play hostess, especially when we can spend the afternoon in the boat and then grill burgers.

So I decided my deck needed a little sprucing up. American-style sprucing up. I bought some tableclothes made of outdoor/indoor fabric, got out my scissors and sewing machine and went to town!

I made new chair pads (which, apparently, Max and Maisey approve of).

A fitted round tablecloth (that won't blow off!!)

And some pennant-style bunting to add a little whimsy.

I will eventually be taking down the old broken lights and putting up white lights in the pine trees that can be left up year-round. (I only have about a million left over from the wedding...)

Now, just bring on the warm weather and we're ready to go!

Scenes From Spring...by Maggie

Maggie grabbed my camera recently and went outside to "take some shots."

12 years

12 years ago today, I married the best guy in the world...

A Transformation, Thanks to Scott!!

We live in a 1970's rambler, which was completely devoid of character when we moved in. Over the years, we have added hardwood floors, new woodwork, crown molding, etc. to try to add a little interest.

So, when I decided to repaint Maggie's room (hadn't been painted since before she was born, paint was peeling, it was time!!), I thought some built-in shelves and a window seat would be a nice touch.

Enter Scott. He did an amazing job and we are so pleased with the finished product. So is Maggie!

We used paneling that looks like beadboard for the back; pine for the rest and trimmed it out with crown molding and pine boards. 3 tubes of caulk later, (not the small tubes, the mongo ones you put in your caulk gun) and some glossy paint and it looks like a million bucks.


Maggie and I picked out some fun fabric and we will be making a cushion and some pillows to finish it all out. We'll post pictures when we get that all done.
We also found a funky quilt at TJ Maxx...

...and she wanted a chandelier, so I found this wall decal at Kohl's for 6 bucks. Her ceiling is way too low to hang an actual chandelier, so we thought this was a good compromise.
I painted everything white for three reasons.

#1: I tend to pick out dark colors and then regret it; I really like homes that are bright and airy, so as I redo things in our house, I'm trying to keep it lighter. It also really highlights our mahogany wood floors.

#2: I'm lazy. The ceiling and trim all needed to be repainted and I am not all that great at cutting in, so this was easy. I did use flat paint on the walls and ceiling and glossy on the trim, but it's still all white, so it didn't have to be as precise.

#3: Maggie likes really bright accessories, so this gives us the ability to go a little crazy in that direction without completely overwhelming the room. And, I hopefully won't have to repaint it again when she's older and sick of it; we can just get new bedding, etc. (Again, the lazy part.)