Beauty & The Beast

Jake and Maggie recently participated in a community ed play - 1 week of practice and then the performance!  It was a (more than slightly) modified version of Beauty & the Beast.

Maggie was a gypsy.

Jake was a gargoyle.

Kind of our own little beauty and little beast. :)  It was fun; Mags isn't so sure she'll do it again, but Jake would love to.  Practice was every day after school from 3:30 - 7:45.  It got a little long.  Then the play was Friday night at 7 & Saturday at 1.  It was a BUSY week, but we got through it and it was fun.

And everyone lived happily ever after.

The end.

There's a hole in my wall, dear Liza, dear Liza

Remember this?  My little sneak peek?

It's for my bathroom.  Yippee!  Our main bathroom on our main floor has been in desperate need of some updating and repair.  The tub was very chipped; the faucet was broken and the counter top had some issues.

This is what it used to look like.

So, we ripped the vanity top off and VERY CAREFULLY pried off the backsplash.

Until someone took the pry bar to do it more efficiently and put a hole in the wall.  No names will be given.

But doesn't the new counter look pretty?  We're having the cabinetry painted white and haven't made any decisions regarding the walls.  I'm leaning towards board and batten...if you don't know what that is, I'll show pictures if we decide to go that route. 

And I love the faucet - especially the part where the drain actually closes.

The plumber capped off all the plumbing so we ripped out the tub the other day.  We were a little bit afraid of what we might find.  The tub/shower was all one piece (even the ceiling) and even had a light fixture in it.  Hmmmm.

Scott did the demolition and did a marvelous job, I might add.  We brought the new tub in; and then Scott said three little words that just melt a girl's heart... "Let's hire someone." 

So, the bathroom is on a bit of a hold until we meet with our contractor after spring break.  (Scott even made the phone call - which proves how much he did not want to tackle this project.)  Which is TOTALLY FINE.  I was not looking forward to us bumbling through this project and being unhappy with the end product.

We are much better at demolition.  Except for the hole in the wall, dear Liza.

Book Nook

It took awhile, but I came up with an idea for Maggie's class for their auction donation this year.  (Someone else took on Jake's class this year - whoo hoo!!)

I thought it would be fun if each family donated their favorite book; we've gotten some great reads donated so far!  But we didn't just stop there.  Maggie Doodle Designs added a couple of things to make it super special - a ready-made book nook.

This old chair had been in our basement for years.  Scott bought it at a thrift store when we first moved here and I had painted and recovered it then.  (Notice the kitty string art in the background. A rainy-day craft...)

Anyway, we really didn't have room for this chair anymore after we did a little rearranging.

And then there was this cool vintage door/shelf that Scott had made for Maggie's room way back when.

It had originally been pink; I painted it this color when we redid her room recently, but it just didn't fit anymore with the built-ins we did.

So, it also got a facelift.

And here is the final result: chair.

Made a fun throw pillow to go with it...

...which matches the curtain on the door.

Scott built the shelves so the door would stand up on its own; he's pretty handy that way.

One mom decided this guy needed to go with her family's favorite book - "Stand Back Said the Elephant, I'm Going to Sneeze."  Love it!

Wish I had a little place in my house that needed a ready-made book nook.

If you want it; it will be auctioned off on April 14...let me know, I can do a phone bid for you. :)

The Ottoman Empire

I decided the ottoman in our family room needed a little help.  This is a very old picture.  Ottoman looks ok from a distance. (Not sure why I felt the need to have all of our furniture crammed into the middle of the room like that, either.)

Up close, ottoman not so nice.  You could see the quilt batting I used sticking out from underneath; it was wobbly; and the little shelf thingy underneath was made of two boards that were uneven, so anything I put under there eventually toppled over.

So, I recovered it and added a skirt and more padding.  (More comfy for the feet, that way.)

I even got all handy and ripped out the old boards underneath and cut a piece of plywood to fit and made a nice, big, sturdy shelf and put our games under there.  Didn't paint it or anything, because the lovely skirt hides it all. 

(Actually, the reason I didn't paint it, is because while I sewed the cover, it's not just a slipcover; I stapled it on, which made it look better.  Then I decided to redo the shelf; so I had to do that with the fabric on and I figured I would get paint all over the fabric.  I also realized it wasn't hemmed to the right length - too long - after I had it stapled in place.  I thought I would just use liquid stitch and shorten the whole thing.  MESSY.  Had a brainstorm - decided to cut small squares of plywood and screw them into the bottom to add 1/4 of height.  But don't tell Scott, because I had him cut the whole thing down before I started the whole process.  Oops.  The little plywood feet make it really easy to slide across the rug, though, so, happy accident, I guess!!)

I texted Mom a picture when I was done and she said, "Did you do BOX PLEATS?!?" Because it is a little shocking that I pulled that off.  I am not much of a seamstress.

It turned out to be a little much color-wise (BAM-BIG ORANGE OTTOMAN), so I just put some stuff on it to tone it down a little. :)

And no more furniture crammed into the middle of the room.  Life's good.

Down with Clutter

The great purge is continuing at our house.  I vowed in January that I would clean out every closet, every drawer, every room...

I am getting there.

The kitchen is almost done; just a few more cupboards to go through, but I am waiting until the painter comes to do my cabinets before I finish that.  Everything will have to be taken out and all the cabinets wiped out after the painting is done, so I figured I would just finish it then.

Laundry room, done.  Back entry and closet, done.  Family room, done. Dining room...kinda done.  I need to go through my hutch, although I don't have a lot in there.  Office, done a few times, will probably be done again.  Paint storage room, done.  Bathroom, cabinets done, linen closet, getting done today.

And here, you see my totally organized master bedroom closet.  (HA).

 And the rest of the story.

I am geared up to tackle this; and I have been waiting for a day when I really felt like getting rid of stuff to do this room.

Scott and I do not have a master bathroom or walk-in closet.  We share one closet with bi-fold doors; so you really can't get to part of the closet.  To be honest, not sure what's all in there.  The "far reaches" is where I keep all my formal gowns...which I pull out and wear when gardening.  Just kidding; I really have no formal gowns (unless you count old prom and bridesmaids dresses in the dress-up bin), but I do have gardening clogs.

I am vowing to get rid of enough stuff that I can put all of my clothes in my closet, instead of keeping "off season" stuff in bins under my bed.  I think I can, I think I can, I think I can....

I did it! And the purged items are going somewhere very special. Scott and I are excited about an opportunity we have coming up...I'll share more on that when I can.

Spring...right into Summer!

Sunday, we went to church with the lake fully socked in with ice.

By mid-afternoon, this is what Jake was doing.  Crazy, crazy kid.  Crazy, crazy weather.  We have never had the ice off the lake in March.

The Biggest Ever

You may remember that I mentioned a big surprise at school during spirit week?  Well, it was the world's biggest banana split (or at least our school's biggest banana split).

Thankfully, the weather cooperated and we could be outside for the gooey goodness.

That's 150 feet of rain gutter, lined with foil, with cardboard dividers taped in place.  Each student had their own little trough.  There was even a television news reporter there, which whipped everyone into a frenzy.  I just felt sorry for the poor girl; I remember those days, schlepping a camera around with no photographer, wanting to cover "real" news and instead getting sent to the middle of nowhere to tape a bunch of kids eating ice cream.

Yum.  I think.  I didn't try any.  It didn't take long for it all to disappear, and then we got to unfoil the rain gutter, wipe everything down and about 30 minutes later, you would never know it had happened.  Except, you might wonder why you were sticking to the pavement if you walked in that area...

Spring & Sneak Peek

This is what spring in Minnesota looks like. Flip-flops and shorts, while walking on the lake.  With a baseball bat to bash in the ice.  Genius.

In other news, here is a sneak peek at a project that will be forthcoming at our house.  Any guesses?

Pans and Pans and Pans

We didn't do a lot of cooking around here while we were without Glenda (who, by the way, is requesting that Barbara Diamond be her fairy godmother and wants her to come visit as soon as possible...).

Anyway, Maggie has been requesting Broccoli, Chicken and Rice and since she knows the recipe by heart, I put her to work.  

A great big bowl of cheese.  YUM.

And the best part...

We stuck one pan in the oven, the other five in the freezer.  They'll be gone in a week or so.  :)

Yee-Haw

Giddyup.  It's Spirit Week at the kids' school and Monday was Western Day. 

Jake is wearing my cowboy boots.  Yes, my 10-year old and I have the same size feet.  Too bad he's a boy and I don't want to wear any of his shoes.  I guess I should be grateful he doesn't want to wear any of mine, either.

Tuesday was pajama day and, well, half of the pictures of the kids on my blog are in their jammies, so I didn't even take a picture.  Not to mention it was a bit of a rushed morning. 

Wednesday is green & white day (school colors) and there will be a HUGE surprise in the afternoon.  I'd tell, but somehow, someone would find out and then I'd be the big surprise ruiner, so you'll just have to wait and see what it is.

Drumroll, please...

Here she is.  Glenda.

Beautiful, no?  (Yes, I named my sink.  It happens.)

After two weeks of doing dishes in the basement in a laundry sink, I got to do dishes in my kitchen.  I think I heard angels singing.  For real.

Still waiting for the painter to turn my cabinets white.  (Yes, I'm having my HICKORY cabinets painted.  Gasp.  I think I'm giving my mother-in-law a heart attack in the process.)

Also need part of my backsplash to be finished, so full kitchen pictures are yet to come.  But, the granite is in.  I love it.  So much so, that I climbed up on it and took a nap on the counter the other day. (That's a lie, but it's tempting, with a pillow and blankie, of course.)

Houseguest

I got a text from Jake's teacher on Friday, wondering if we wanted a houseguest for the weekend.

I wanted to decline, but knowing that we are supposed to be hospitable, I politely accepted.

Here she is.  Smores, the guinea pig.

Smores doesn't do much.  Just sits in her blue rubbermaid tub, drinks a little water and eats a little bit of food.  She's scared of people, so we just left her alone all weekend.

My favorite thing about Smores...how she got her name.  Her parents' were Marshmallow and Hershey.  How's that for creativity?

Spigot

Where did the word "spigot" originate?  Just wondering.  Anyway, I hung my cool spigot hooks that a friend of mine bought for my birthday.

They make me happy.  And I can always find my purse.

I have a problem

Hello.  My name is Barb and I am a paintaholic.  Apparently, admitting that fact is the first step towards recovery.

Since we are in the process of remodeling our kitchen, I have been doing dishes in a laundry sink in the basement, in the same room where I keep my paint.

In the ten years we have lived here, I have never gotten rid of any paint.  And there was paint here when we moved in.

Needless to say, having to stare at all of that paint while doing dishes has been driving me crazy.

So, I decided to do something about it.  (Step two in the road to recovery.)

A bazillion trips up the steps later, and this is the pile that I had to load in my car and take to the recycling center.  EGAD. 

I am ashamed to admit that I even added a couple of gallons to this pile after I took the picture.  SHAMEFUL.  I filled the entire back end of my SUV; the gallons were stacked two high. The man at the recycling center just said, "Oh, my" when I opened my vehicle for him.  Oh, my, indeed.

I still have a shelf full of paint cans in the basement; but it consists of primer, the colors that are currently on the walls (for touch-up purposes, of course) and spray paint.  (And I have about 40 cans of that...sick, I know.)

So, after I am done putting this out there (accountability is step three in the road to recovery), I am going to finish cleaning out the storage room.  I might even hang curtains in there.  But I am NOT painting anything.