Purple

I painted my toenails purple today. I decided to take a little time for me whily my boy napped.

On my son's due date I got a pedicure with my mom. I chose a bright coralish pink. I wanted them to be a happy color when my baby (we were surprised with the gender) came...just in case they were they first thing he/she saw. I have continued painting my nails that color for 16 months. I am not sure why it was time for a change, it just was. We will see if my sweet pea notices.

Back to cleaning

After neglecting my home for almost a week to finish the chairs...here they are:

So today I dusted and swept my kitchen floor (not to mention the 4 loads of laundry I folded and all of the minor picking up). I am tired!

What have I done

Hmmm...it feels like we have been so busy. There are 2 coats of primer on the chairs. After spending last Monday calling around, the wee one and I are in a tumbling class on Mondays. I bought make-up for my September treat: foundation and blush from Bare Escentuals and a sample of mascara. Life had been so hectic for the last week that a day "off" felt odd, really odd. So I packed up my boy and we went to visit my husband for lunch (and to get mommy make-up :)). I need to learn to enjoy the free days.

Squashy

Today was a beautiful day in the northwest so instead of painting my chairs I had friends over. I made a butternut squash soup for starters then a chicken pot pie with parsnips, rutabega, carrots, peas, lima beans, leeks and, of course, chicken. We also had a salad with goat cheese and raspberries. We ended with a pumpkin pie that I didn't make because I didn't have time to make an apple crisp :(. Everyone was full and happy but I forgot to photograph the food. Oh well.

Let there be...FIRE

If yesterday was about eliminating light, today was about adding it.
We put in the new fireplace front (there was nothing but a dirty brick hole (sounds like I am calling someone a name) before. Now, as we sit enjoying our first fire in years, we wonder why it takes us so long to do these things.

Maybe I can sleep in tomorrow

 
Just as the sun is rising later in the morning, my blinds arrive for the master bedroom. They are a week early but we put aside any other plans (sanding chairs) and snapped them up. I am pleased. On another note, the fireplace front arrived more than a week early as well so we will work on that tomorrow.

Pampering myself (September)

So, September is halfway over and I have yet to select my personal treat for the month. Last month I bout the $25 eye cream and have seen no improvement. I have been going back and forth between new makeup (bare minerals) and a haircut. I need both but I still have some makeup (no blush though) and my son loves to bury his head in my hair. It is getting pretty long, longer than it has been in years...that gave me a new idea for September. A perm. I have been toying with the idea on and off for years, so maybe now is the time.

For about the last month I also tried a foot treatment I read about where you rub your feet with something like an Oxy pad then vaseline then wear socks to bed. After subjecting myself to socks to bed in August and September I do not see much inprovement so I am stopping until it is cooler out.

Containers

It is amazing to me how difficult it is to store storage containers. I just spent 15 minutes re-organizing my food storage container drawer. I have Ziploc Snap n' Seal food storage containers, a few odds and ends mostly from Ikea and glass jars and lids. It seems that no matter what I do this drawer gets destroyed within 24 hours of any reorganization efforts. I tried "systems" but the containers were never good sizes and usually cracked after a few rounds in the dishwasher. It is an endless struggle...that and the sippy cup drawer...another day...

Clothing

I wish this post was about me and my clothing...but it is not. Keeping up with my son's clothing is a full time job. Out with last season, in with this one. Out with last size, in with a bigger one. When he was just born he ran through sizes at an alarming rate, shooting into 12 month clothes by the time he was 6 months old. He has given me a break and spent the summer in 12-18 months (except for his pjs - 2T). He is just too big for anything in the 12 month range and I got a bundlee of clothes in 18-24 months from my cousin so I spent sunday sorting and laundering bith the new clothes and the old. Today was folding and putting away... He now has too many pants for his drawer. I feel like I have been growing out of my clothing too; I had better watch that.

Sunday also brought a roadside find. I picked up these chairs (well, my husband did the actual picking up) for $10 on the side of the road. They feel sturdy and have nice back support. I think I will paint them white...

Lint

Today I cleaned the dryer lint trap....you know that thing you clean before/after every load? Well, you would be amazed how much lint had accumulated down in the hole that didn't cling to the screen. I got a huge pile! I purchased a lint cleaner from Target (that I cannot find on their website. It looked like a toilet brush un-looped...all bristly. I had wanted a microfiber one but couldn't remember where I saw it so I went with what they had. This is another chore for my dad :). Floors and vents are his crusades (I have never seen him dust).

I am still devoting my free time to needle felting :)

Speaking of Christmas

For the kiddos in my life I put together a fun little kit:

I love needle felting

Last night I began to research needle felting. I went to JoAnn today and bought some supplies (my coupon came in the mail 3 hours later :( ). I see some Christmas gifts in my future...it is amazing...pics to come.

Where I have been

I gave myself some time off from blogging this weekend, though I still reorganized the snack cupboard. I am beginning to find it difficult to find something to do that still "counts" since I didn't want to do the same project twice and I didn't want to count the everyday items. Today I put things on my calendar. I had some stuff sitting in email and I moved it to my google calendar (nice little resource). I just read an article about being on-time and I have realized that I have gotten tardy, or just stopped having start times for events other than "lunch time" or "after nap." Since I haven't had to be time conscious I have chosen to let it go. I have a few events coming up this fall that have real start times so I need to work on this. My mantra has always been to let sleeping babies lie but I have to admit that I now have a little boy and if we need to be somewhere at 9:15 I can't count on him getting us up on-time.

Surprise

Walking around my living room I saw two things that made me think of my new color scheme (that I have yet to find the right pieces for). Obviously the second one is the page from a calendar so it will eventually make it in the garbage, but the first has been hanging on my wall for years. It used to be in the kitchen but got bumped to the living room about a year ago. Now, if only it were a rug...

Two small jobs

Yesterday I bought new containers for my cupboards. I make muesli and that requires a lot of weird ingredients. They were taking up many of my food storage containers so I decided to get these ones so they will stack nicely together. (Old on the left, new on the right.) Here is the recipe I use for muesli.

I also made pico de gallo with tomatoes from the neighbor, jalepenos and onions from my garden and store bought garlic, lime, and cilantro.

I used about 2 garlic cloves (crushed), 2 LARGE tomatoes (seeded and diced), 1 1/2 diced jalepeno, 1/2 white onion (diced), the juice of 1 lime, 2 Tablespoons chopped cilantro and salt to taste. It is pretty good if I do say so myself (and since my hubby doesn't like pico de gallo, I do have to say it myself). We will take a pot over to the neighbor later today.

Cheating

Today I picked up some stuff in the master bedroom. See, a little after 5 this morning our cat knocked over a small bookshelf (I have no idea how) so I had to pick up the books and computer stuff that was all over the floor on my side of the bed. I also cleaned off the top of the dressers, updated the bulletin board in the kitchen to September and ordered pictures from my wee one's first trip to the zoo to put on it tonight. I feel a bit slackerish...I am not sure what projects to do this weekend but I can always find something to clean :).

Back to cleaning

After so many projects, today was a cleaning day. I got back on my hands and knees and scrubbed the floor in the entry way. We really hadn't cleaned up from the dust caused by drilling so it was easy to watch my progress. I feel like that room is done. For about a 10 square foot space we have packed in a shoe cabinet that holds more than a dozen pairs, 6 double coat hooks, a mirror and a umbrella stand doubling as a scarf, hat and mitten holder (yes, I have become an umbrella-less true northwesterner).

Super productive

In another slow project we finished the new coat rack in the entry corner today. We hung two pieces of moulding with a total of 6 hooks. 2 are at kid height and 4 are for us big folks. I am most impressed that my hubby and I pulled it off without fighting :).

I wish I had this much energy

I was reading a blog recently and this wonderful woman churns out sewing projects at the rate I do loads of laundry (and I am sure keeps up on her laundry as well). Amazing

A week long project

Last week I began a project that has been on my to do list for a long time...sprucing up this:

(before)

When I was first married my mom and aunt bought this for our microwave to sit on in our first apartment. My dad and I built it. It has followed us home to home ever since. I have long thought it needed new handles but it wasn't until I painted a chalkboard on the side and decided that the drawer handle would be the perfect chalkboard tray that I swapped them out. Now I have nice new handles, a chalkboard with tray and a new top that overhangs in the back to offer wine storage. The top was a free piece of scrap wood and I found faux stainless contact paper to cover it, I just need one more roll. The whole project should come in at around $20 since I already had the chalkboard paint. I am really pleased with how it has turned out.

We also ordered a new fireplace front while at the hardware store. I bought some childproofing supplies that should work and hooks for our entry room coat rack (I decided to change the tone I had purchased before). My little man is becoming well acquainted with the hardware store.

Scanning

Today I scanned...odd huh? There have been some legal documents on my scanner for a few months and today I got them scanned. I got started since I needed to scan and send in the order form for the blinds in the master - so that is done too!!!