Category — Creative Juices

We are finally experiencing some cooler weather! Yesterday was really the first day of cooler temperatures and I couldn’t wait for Will to wear one of his new fall outfits. He wore the hat all day – and has it on this morning too.

Several blogs that I read have been about decorating for fall lately and I caught the bug. I always get overwhelmed when I think about decorating for different seasons or holidays but I came up with game plan this time. I usually have the mindset that my ENTIRE house has to be decorated differently but really, that is not very practical. So my game plan includes switching out a few things in our living room and kitchen for each season like artwork and decorative accessories. I picked up a few things this weekend to go with some things I already owned and am well on my way to being decorated for fall. I still have a couple of things on my “wish list” that I am going to look for this week.

One project I saw on two different blogs (Thrifty Decor Chic & Homebody Holly) was a “Dollar Store Wreath.” I already owned a huge bag of fake leaves so I had to buy a foam board ($1), hot glue sticks ($1) and a hot glue gun ($5). $7 total is not too shabby since the inspiration was this wreath from Pottery Barn that cost about $50.

Inspiration Pottery Barn Wreath

I cut my large piece of foam board in half then traced an 8X10 frame in the center.

Next I cut out the center.

Then came the fun part – gluing all the leaves onto the wreath. I only burnt myself twice!

The finished product. I love it! Now to get some ribbon to hang it. I’ll have to have a fall decoration reveal post when I get everything just the way I want it.

We currently use our third bedroom as a hold all our junk room guest room. That includes a very large, nice corner desk that has lots of work space, drawers & cabinets. When Bill worked at home he used the desk and then I took it over to store all of my scrapbook and crafty things.

In 10 short days we find out if baby Dixon #2 is a boy or a girl and at that point I am sure that I will be anxious to start either decorating a nursery or a big boy room for Will. In preparation of converting the guest room into a kid’s bedroom I started on transferring my craft things downstairs today.

We rearranged our master bedroom a couple of weeks ago to make room for a small desk and Will and I picked up the desk this past weekend. The desk was my great-grandfather’s and that makes it really special to me. I love having things in my house that have history and sentimental value!

The only thing I got accomplished today was bringing all of the stuff downstairs! Seriously, I don’t know how I’m going to organized these things And I still have more stuff upstairs that I know just aren’t going to fit down here.

Another angle. I don’t know if the white board will make the final cut!

While I was transferring things from upstairs the kid was either following me up and down the steps or playing. Isn’t he the cutest?!?!

We are having a lazy Monday morning around here today! We had a very busy weekend full of parties. Then I had a horrible dream all night last night that didn’t leave me feeling very rested. So Will and I hanging out on the couch me blogging and him watching Dinosaur Train. And we might be eating tortilla chips as a morning snack.

On Friday night we went to Diane’s house for a going away party for her sister, Heather. Heather moved back to Maryland on Saturday so a few of us got together to say goodbye, eat delicious snacks, and the plan was to play games. Once we got there we all realized that game playing was probably not going to happen since there were 5 kids there 4 and under I think the game playing commenced after bedtime! Will had a great time with his friends Javen, Liam, Aubrey and Brody running around like crazy kids.

On Saturday afternoon we went to Ellie Kate’s 1st birthday party. It was a joint birthday with her dad, Josh for his 30th. The theme was Dr. Seuss’ Thing 1 and Thing 2 and it was SO cute! Complete with green eggs and ham

We finished the weekend with a Freshman/Senior Swim Party. It was fun to see my new Sunday school girls outside of class and I think they had a really good time. Will certainly had a good time – he even jumped off the diving board!

While we were at Ellie Kate’s birthday party on Saturday, Bill stayed home and worked on the playroom. He made a lot of progress – it actually looks like a real room now. He only had a little more framing to do then it’s on to sheetrock! Will and I are getting so excited. We haven’t decided what kind of floor to put down yet. I think it would be really neat to have cork flooring but it’s a little pricey so that might not be an option.

Right side of the room.

Will loves “helping.” Here Bill is showing him how to hammer a nail.

Will is a fast learner.

Then Will learned how to pry the nail out.

I told Will he could probably get a summer job at Fine Homes, Inc. And I think he liked that idea!

Last week was a busy week with something to do every single day including work, museums, playdates, Papa’s visit and doctor’s appointments. Whew So this weekend we decided to stay home except to go to church on Sunday morning. But we were anything but lazy! Ok, Will and I were lazy while Bill was a weekend warrior.

Did you know that we are adding a playroom to our house?!?! Will and I are so excited. I particularly can’t wait to have a place specifically for toys so that they’re not all over the living room. On Saturday Bill finished putting the insulation and flooring down and he was ready to put up the walls.

Thanks to our friends, the McAtee’s, Bill was able to work fast on the framing using a nail gun. I was a little jealous that I didn’t get to use it!

Will liked staying upstairs and watching Bill work through the doorway. He loves his daddy! I worked a little downstairs but mostly relaxed and played with Will. Here are a few recent pictures of Will chillaxin’. He does it with such style!

His favorite place to relax is on our bed (usually covered up).

Look at that cheesy smile! Will got a nap mat for school and he LOVES laying on it with puppy (who is his constant nap and bedtime companion)!

Dear Kitchen,

I hate to say it but you are drab. You work well and efficiently and have nice stainless steel appliances. I even like your countertops. Really the only complaint I have is the color of your cabinets. I think if your cabinets were a pretty white I would cook in you more and keep you cleaner. So, if you want to magically transform into something like this, please feel free.

(Photo taken from http://starterhometodreamhome.blogspot.com/)

Or if my kitchen decides not to spontaneously combust and prove the big bang theory true who want so come over and clean, sand, prime and paint my cabinets? And while we’re at it paint the kitchen and put up backsplash?!?!

Just when you think it can’t get any hotter outside, it does! Whew! I can hardly stand this heat. This morning we went out to play before 9 and it was already 90+ degrees. I have been on a little “kick” lately to freshen up my house a bit and my first project was to spray paint a couple of candle holders. I forgot to take a “before” picture but they were black.

This is my “halfway done” picture. I spray painted them white and next I am going to distress some of the edges. Believe it or not, this is the first time I’ve used spray paint! I was ridiculously nervous but I think they turned out pretty good.

While I was spray painting (and carefully avoiding breathing in too many fumes) Will was playing with his basketball and golf club. And I could NOT get him to even glance at the camera, silly boy. And yes, he didn’t have any clothes on. We’re classy that way – and I mentioned how hot it was.

I then thought it would be a good idea to go to a few thrift stores. Ha, ha, ha! It was not a good idea! It got so unbearably hot that Will and I were both sweating, I got a headache and Will was generally cranky. We made it to 1 store. But we went to a Goodwill Outlet. What? You’ve never heard of a Goodwill outlet? I hadn’t either until Bill told me about it this weekend. I didn’t know what to expect but I think I liked it. For most of their stuff – you pay by the pound. Yes, by the pound! It is not organized like a regular goodwill store so you have to dig but I found a couple of picture frames and a little rocking chair. The chair needs some TLC but I think with a good cleaning and some new paint it will be perfect!

We were close to Bill’s work so we called him and went and ate lunch together. Will was acting like a crazy fool (as usual) and fell on the pavement. It was a big milestone – his first really skint knee! He cried and cried. And when he got done crying he continuously relived the event by having the following conversation.

Will: Mommy (or Daddy)

Us: Yes, Will?

Will: Down! (while emphatically pointing towards the grown)

Us: You fell down?

Will: Boo! Boo! (while pointing at his knee and generally looking ready to burst into tears)

Us: You got a boo boo? I’m sorry!

This is the best picture I could get of the boo boo. It doesn’t look that bad now but it was pretty impressive when it was all dirty and bleeding!

Today  Will and I had a great time at Playcation today! It was a packed day full of games, crafts and music. Will’s teachers said that he was a good boy and he even ate all of the food I packed in his pink lunch box.

This is how Will posed this morning for his first day of camp.

At Playcation he went on a scavenger hunt and found grass, flowers, rocks & sticks.

He made a belt because he learned about David & Jonathan and their special friendship.

A close up of his belt – he has been wearing it ever since we got home.

He also made a “friendship mix” snack one to eat and one to share with a friend.

Have you missed me bloggy world? The past few days I have been super busy preparing and throwing a surprise 50th birthday party for my Mom! It was SO great and she was SO surprised! My Dad, Dana and I started planning in February and we were pretty proud of ourselves for keeping a secret for so long.

We went to Chattanooga late Thursday night in order to get ready for the party on Saturday. My Mom had no idea we were in town! We spent Friday doing this:

We also bought all the party supplies and stayed up until 3 am baking cookies and cakes. I am really too old to be staying up that late Here we are pretending to bake (we forgot to take pictures of us actually working):

We had the party at my parent’s house so it was my sister’s job to get my Mom cleaned up and out of the house for a couple of hours. They went by boat to Steve’s Landing Restaurant and the everyone was outside or on dock waiting for them to get back.

Dana, Mom & Me

The whole family!

Bill took a lot of pictures so I will put them in a slide show later this week. Thank you to everyone who helped and came out to celebrate. Mom was truly surprised – she has planned a vacation on her actual birthday so that we couldn’t throw her a party But we are sneakier than she anticipated.