tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3742067177671685712024-02-07T20:39:59.918-05:00Virginia Beach Housewifemichellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.comBlogger963125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-58134270407593856472016-07-12T22:30:00.001-04:002016-07-12T22:30:36.611-04:00Chicago Trip ReportLast week, Josh and I jetted off for four fabulous days in Chicago. It was a city we had long been talking about visiting after hearing wonderful things about the sights, food, and overall vibe of the city.<br />
Well, sneak peak to the rest of this post: Chi-town did not disappoint! Both Josh and I ultimately agreed that Chicago was our all-time favorite city we have ever visited. We can not wait to go back and maybe even bring the boys along to experience all there is to offer. <br />
In the months leading up to our trip, we both did a lot of research, but as I do whenever I visit somewhere new, I had a hard time figuring out the lay of the land. When trying to decide what we should/could do each day, it was hard to figure out what was near what and therefore feasible/logical to do together. But through a combination of that research and some dumb luck (probably more the latter than the former), we maximized our time in Chicago and saw everything we wanted to see (and then some). I kept commenting that it ended up being the perfect Chicago itinerary, so I figured I should share it in case someone else is feeling equally as stooped as I was before going.<br />
As for accommodations, we stayed at the Hotel Palomar in River North. We are a big fan of the Kimpton hotels as they usually cater to our style/needs. Plus, I have noticed they are typically located pretty centrally, and this one certainly followed suit.<br />
<img alt="Image result for hotel palomar chicago" 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" /><br />
We found the hotel to be very convenient. We could walk pretty much everywhere. In fact, we only took the subway once, and Ubered it a few more times!<br />
That one subway trip, though, was basically minutes after our arrival day 1. We had tickets to a Cubs game at Wrigley Field for 1:20 the day we got to town. So we basically arrived, dropped our bags, and headed over to Wrigleyville. Considering neither of us are Cubs fans per se, we were really aiming to take in the atmosphere that is Wrigley. We walked around for awhile (just long enough for Josh to purchase a hat anyway!) and then stopped in to have a drink at Casey Moran's, one of Wrigleyville's famed bars.<br />
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And then, of course, we headed into the game.</div>
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It was a great day to spend the afternoon, but by the time we got back, we were ready for some grub. And what could be more satisfying than a big ole Chicago deep dish. From our hotel, we walked over to Giardinos. Don't let our couple leftover slices fool you...it was awesome!</div>
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On the way back to the hotel, we stopped in at the Rock Bottom Brewery mainly because of their rooftop bar...our first of many rooftops over our four days! This was super chill and easy, which was nice after a long day. And with that our first day in Chicago came to a happy close!</div>
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Day 2 was sightseeing day for us! We started out pretty early as I had read it was best to get to the Willis Tower (or Sears tower or Skydeck...all three names were used!) right when they opened at 9. We Ubered over to it and didn't get there until a little after 9 but still had virtually no wait. The line was considerably longer when we left, though, so I guess it was good advice. </div>
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I should also mention that Josh had purchased the CityPass for each of us, getting us admission into 5 of our choice of Chicago attractions. The pass was well worth it! Anything that we would have wanted to see or do (Field Museum, River architecture tour, Navy Pier ferris wheel, etc( was included and we got quicker admission to each of the things too with our pass. </div>
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So anyway, we used our pass to soar up the 1451 feet to the Skydeck of the Willis Tower and caught some pretty amazing views...</div>
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stood where Ferris Bueller had stood...</div>
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and then braved the glass platforms to get some amazing pics standing/sitting on top of the city! I must admit those first steps were really disorienting, but luckily you don't get to stand there very long because there's a whole line of people waiting for their few seconds on the platform!</div>
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After we got back down on the ground, we took another Uber trip over to the opposite end of the city to check out the Field Museum. This really wasn't my thing, but Josh wanted to go, so along I went. It was cool if you're into animals and all (which I'm not really!), but we did see Sue, the famous T-Rex.</div>
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After taking in the highlights of the museum, we decided we were hungry and started off along the lakefront to Grant Park. I had wanted to see the park (and mainly the Buckingham Fountain) anyways, but the Chicago Food Fest was also happening there while we were in town. We had been told it could not be missed, so we figured it was the perfect lunch stop. Without being locals, it was hard to figure out what were our best options though. We pretty much struck out with some just ok food, although I did have some pretty amazing gouda ice cream from Pastoral!</div>
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From Grant Park, we walked the couple more blocks to Millennium Park, home of arguably the most iconic Chicago figure...the Bean! Of course, we did the typical tourist thing and took a ton of pics and selfies in front of/under the giant mirror!</div>
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At this point, we needed a proper break, so we took the opportunity to check out another rooftop bar...Cyndi's which is on top of the Chicago Athletic Association (which is actually a hotel). It was really cool up there with the Fixer Upper/farmhouse look that I'm currently loving, and the view of Millennium Park was pretty awesome. Plus, I had a mojito...in the middle of the day...with no children to go home to! So it was a major win!</div>
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From there, we decided to head back and rest up for dinner. We had negotiated between trying a few different places, but on our walk back, we decided on the Purple Pig, and oh my goodness am I glad we did! It was a completely unique, but so, so yummy dining experience, They don't take reservations, so we got there around 5 PM. There was about a 30 minute wait, but we managed to find two seats at the bar immediately and just decided to do that (which ended up being pretty cool as we watched the owner/staff hustle out dinner after dinner!). I didn't take any pictures of our meal because we were seated too close to the staff for it not to be embarrassing, but honestly, it was one of my favorite meals ever...the manchego cheese balls, chicken thighs in tzatziki sauce, and the cauliflower were all perfection! I can't wait to go back.</div>
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After dinner, Josh had made us reservations at the Aviary, an exclusive, high-end cocktail lounge. I can't decide what I think of this place! Honestly it was like entering an alternative universe. You show up at a door on a quiet side street where the guy has to radio in to get approval to let you in. And then when you walk in they usher you to a dark table among 10 or so other groups drinking super expensive, super fancy cocktails. Josh ordered a whiskey in an ice rock that he had to use a sling shot to break open, and I had some concoction with frozen peach slices strung over it that I had to release in. We also shared an infused drink that seemed to be really popular. It was definitely an experience...and certainly something we can not do here in VB...but then again, I think I just prefer a simple vodka tonic!</div>
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The drinks put an end to night 2, but day 3 began with quite the recovery: some doughnuts from Glazed and Infused. We tried the vanilla bean glazed, red velvet, and strawberry frosted and they were all so good!</div>
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Afterwards, we headed to the river for an architecture river cruise. Again this was something I repeatedly read was a must do, and again, people were so right. It was an awesome way to see Chicago's riverfront, learn a little something about the city, and just spend some time riding and relaxing in the midst of a few days of lots of walking.</div>
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When we got off the boat, we walked along the Magnificent Mile for some browsing and then noticing we had plenty of time decided to take a trip to Wicker Park. Our boat guide had recommended Big Star for tacos and guac which was as good as it sounded...and maybe even better. We got a fish taco, an al pastor (roasted pork and grilled pineapple), and a walking taco (basically beans and cheese inside a fritos bag). I didn't try the fish one (and honestly Josh didn't love it), but the other two were amazing!</div>
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We had planned to explore Wicker Park a little, but we were really hot and over it at that point, so we headed back to our part of town! I had wanted to check out the City Winery (a wine bar on the Chicago riverfront that was the perfect, relaxing place for people/boat watching) and Josh had wanted to check out the rooftop of Trump Tower (which, despite my personal feelings about the man, probably offered some of our prettiest views).</div>
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That night was actually Josh's birthday, and my meat-and-potatoes husband had long ago selected the iconic Chicago steakhouse, Gibson's, for his birthday meal. The food was good, the portions huge, the service left something to be desired (our first and only issue in Chicago with service at probably our most expensive meal...), but the birthday boy was happy and called it the best steak of his life.</div>
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After dinner, we walked off all that meat and headed to the Signature Lounge at the Hancock Tower. By this time, we had obviously seen the city of Chicago from several different rooftop vantage points, but seeing it at night was pretty spectacular too. Plus, the lounge just makes a really cool setting for a drink or two.</div>
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By our last day in Chicago, we had pretty much checked off everything from our wish list, so we decided to take time to get an actual breakfast. We walked over to Yolk. We both had basic scrambled eggs with bacon, but Josh had a side of french toast and I couldn't resist trying the red velvet french toast...OMG! I'm no food photographer, but I hope I did them justice...</div>
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We were a short walk to the Navy Pier at this point, so we decided to walk down there and ride the ferris wheel. Honestly this was kind of womp womp. Sure it gave incredible views of the city, but at this point, we had pretty much seen them all! And the ride itself was a lot more anti-climatic than I was expecting, but we had time to kill anyway so it worked!</div>
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From there, we walked about 2 minutes along the lakefront and found the Ohio Street Beach. Truthfully, we didn't "find" it...I was very much headed there! Ever since I had read about the beaches in Chicago, I knew I, at least, wanted to see one. As kind of a running joke in our relationship, Josh protested (he ***hates*** the beach; I love it...been dealing with it for almost 15 years). But once we wandered on to the sand, even he had to admit that he was so glad we had found it. Not only was it amazing to see a beach with a sprawling skyline as its backdrop (at least to a beach lover like me), but there was also a really cool, beachy bar in the sand that we stopped at too. I think we both could have stayed there all day...</div>
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If you are visiting Chicago in the summer, I can not recommend the beach enough. Or for that matter, I would also make sure to walk or rent a bike and ride along the lakefront. We walked that path back, and it was just a perfect ending to our Chicago vacation.</div>
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Til next time Chicago...</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-62610470113831855462016-03-06T11:20:00.000-05:002016-03-06T11:20:22.948-05:00Levi is FORE!Back in January, our boy turned four and had a very specific request for a golf party. Of course, we had to make this dream a reality for him (especially after I realized the whole four/fore pun!), but finding a place for a golf party...in Va. Beach in January...had me a little stressed out. After researching every option I could think of, the obvious hit me.<br />
We have been members of our JCC for years and on site, they have a putt putt course. I figured if we coupled that with some gymnasium golf-themed games the outside time would be limited and we could give my boy the golf party he requested.<br />
The kids started out in the party room decorating their own visors.<br />
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After they were done/everyone had arrived, we headed down to the gym for some games: putting relays, pool noodle golf, and some target practice. Most of the kids seemed to really enjoy it, except the birthday boy who got frustrated he wasn't winning and then wanted nothing to do with them.<br />
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But luckily Levi's day was saved when it was time to head outside for putt putt. And even more luckily, the weather was a near-perfect 60 degrees, a rarity for January here! So everyone enjoyed an amazing afternoon on the course. I later commented to Josh that with how nice it was, we could have gotten away with just the putt putt, but he appropriately pointed out that it wouldn't have held the kids' attention long enough.<br />
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So with the activity portion out of the way, it was time to have lunch. I love a good theme, so obviously we had to oblige. If you can't read the signs, we had chip shots (chips), fruit par-faits (a fruit tray...I was originally going to do layered fruit cups to make them more of a parfait, but scratched the idea day of because it just seemed like more effort than it was worth!), club sandwiches (just turkey and ham sandwiches from local favorite Taste Unlimited), and peanut putters and jellies (uncrustables). </div>
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And then, of course, we had to have cake! Levi had specifically requested cupcakes which was great because we were able to do these super cute golf ones (the balls are just white sixlets).</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBuvimENAF7wQ7tLwcdxj-tftzcAYlT3IUCT4WOhamXSO-t67qXIJIlBkAQ4BjswvxjaHlfmAaOyqCANy50dbHVPQwAePW3KQbXE7wg9-N4VVbPLx-lBROZInlaeOpDz1nwYRMPQWNDKg/s1600/01+09_3767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdBuvimENAF7wQ7tLwcdxj-tftzcAYlT3IUCT4WOhamXSO-t67qXIJIlBkAQ4BjswvxjaHlfmAaOyqCANy50dbHVPQwAePW3KQbXE7wg9-N4VVbPLx-lBROZInlaeOpDz1nwYRMPQWNDKg/s320/01+09_3767.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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And with that, Levi's fourth birthday was a wrap. As part of the birthday party package, the JCC provided some basic goody bags for the kids, but we also gave out some golf clubs I found at the dollar store a few months back.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdgERVAh4kVDnRgN7HNDajSRaBwgoWVbiP8h7by5cfvJ_z9ZLn9QLv89dz_TY79uYoJr-KIO6rltDaaB-eS_V_mPzBqKT0iFLX31IS0JOyxgJMEmk4i3-R6puxzTOMr77Qc3_T3zu9G9t/s1600/01+08_3776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQdgERVAh4kVDnRgN7HNDajSRaBwgoWVbiP8h7by5cfvJ_z9ZLn9QLv89dz_TY79uYoJr-KIO6rltDaaB-eS_V_mPzBqKT0iFLX31IS0JOyxgJMEmk4i3-R6puxzTOMr77Qc3_T3zu9G9t/s320/01+08_3776.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Oh, and if you've made it this far, you've caught glimpses of the decorations, but I would be remiss if I didn't properly show them. Admittedly, this wasn't my best decorated party! Another thing the JCC provided was the plastic table cloths. My OCD party brain had a very hard time just accepting them and not buying my own prettier ones, but I had to put some stuff on the tables to spiff them up some. My parents live on a golf course, and my mom (who happens to be her own breed of OCD) likes to find golf balls, so the buckets were easy to fill and and obvious choice for decor! The green grass is a paper version I ordered from Amazon. We scattered some more golf balls and some tees along it. And the golf cart was a too-cute-to-pass-up find from Hobby Lobby. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyyla96E2IOZ-F7e7M0trPj0HKs0oslZ2vQD8I0qT5LQiyNCUG0HzsTHesdtLX_DWVTb45m1p0SI8T399U7_zvt3-Cvc8YzHWhbCw8rKd9J-EUPUP0OataE7PRiBMVoHhk5zUf3AW5RTU/s1600/01+08_3777.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPyyla96E2IOZ-F7e7M0trPj0HKs0oslZ2vQD8I0qT5LQiyNCUG0HzsTHesdtLX_DWVTb45m1p0SI8T399U7_zvt3-Cvc8YzHWhbCw8rKd9J-EUPUP0OataE7PRiBMVoHhk5zUf3AW5RTU/s320/01+08_3777.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzn8LYFEZrAYZWuT_9q-IBE3M65bzc6HsE6iLNoWwT2rHxUz4WjBcdgBsBPJ7ld5HKLKc85OoTUoQQ_2oKLtZC3DwsY7-llo5CcxSR3KDo7B20iLyACMl0K2YsHf8xIy-Ha-s-OSfbPPiL/s1600/01+09_3707.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzn8LYFEZrAYZWuT_9q-IBE3M65bzc6HsE6iLNoWwT2rHxUz4WjBcdgBsBPJ7ld5HKLKc85OoTUoQQ_2oKLtZC3DwsY7-llo5CcxSR3KDo7B20iLyACMl0K2YsHf8xIy-Ha-s-OSfbPPiL/s320/01+09_3707.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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The only other decoration was Levi's "happy birthday" banner. I must say it was my favorite element. I made it by attaching moss to chipboard pennants, and then using sticker letters to spell out the words.</div>
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So there it is...Levi's fourth birthday golfing extravaganza. Don't worry...he's already starting to come up with ideas of what he wants next year (who's son is he?!?).</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-74884379543535427792016-02-18T17:32:00.001-05:002016-02-18T17:32:29.673-05:00House Tour 2016As of tomorrow, we officially been in this house for six years. Over those six years, this house has been the home that we brought both our sweet baby boys home to, the home that hosted both of their first birthday parties (and a few others after that), the home that transformed Josh and I from a couple to official parents. This home has witnessed so much laughter, some tears, and lots and lots of memories. But it is finally time to make memories elsewhere (or at least I hope so!). We are finishing up our financing and then, if everything goes according to plan, we should be putting our house on the market next month..AAAHHH! <br />
It seemed only appropriate, then, to take one final house tour and check in on the progress we've made in the past year. And just for fun, I also tried to grab pics from what our house looked like one year after we moved in (turns out I didn't take any pictures when we first moved in...a mistake I wont make again when we move!)<br />
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<strong>Front</strong></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSgXkRja9wc71fH5wcCWRGmHxrxqARycemKakDGNRgeZE3G0-yaPGxT9v_Q_-1-c_dhyMholrd81vl2AQklvE5W5vXqb-Ezi_pgTUCOigNTw-npw08UwPHvv3XvLpg1iAR2zK7QdtFJna/s1600/DSC00774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnSgXkRja9wc71fH5wcCWRGmHxrxqARycemKakDGNRgeZE3G0-yaPGxT9v_Q_-1-c_dhyMholrd81vl2AQklvE5W5vXqb-Ezi_pgTUCOigNTw-npw08UwPHvv3XvLpg1iAR2zK7QdtFJna/s320/DSC00774.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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year 1</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJcC3cANO6dc7eBWugSlZp1kDZ84V6RbpYAAZJI5UfAHeOMO6lRRC5XL-bHwYVB-6pwwhvGdTrYT91Fmc75kAX0hbqTmVrisnc_IPa21SHFV0WQIY-a8eBoqeDoDSrG8ozVLVaJ4ye-Yv/s1600/02+18_3793.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsJcC3cANO6dc7eBWugSlZp1kDZ84V6RbpYAAZJI5UfAHeOMO6lRRC5XL-bHwYVB-6pwwhvGdTrYT91Fmc75kAX0hbqTmVrisnc_IPa21SHFV0WQIY-a8eBoqeDoDSrG8ozVLVaJ4ye-Yv/s320/02+18_3793.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23lOajkoTs2LHNcPRUV-_MKVtOt3TEcf4InKVU7Yxd77-WVc-D6BZwfNlKNpYiuBwT5D1T5kD_lnPhKe9QDlhz_LwvAVKT4jkykvnJBHOGK8zb3Dix5Lmq1bgS8hQ1ZYTY9NMxSszR87W/s1600/02+18_3794.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg23lOajkoTs2LHNcPRUV-_MKVtOt3TEcf4InKVU7Yxd77-WVc-D6BZwfNlKNpYiuBwT5D1T5kD_lnPhKe9QDlhz_LwvAVKT4jkykvnJBHOGK8zb3Dix5Lmq1bgS8hQ1ZYTY9NMxSszR87W/s320/02+18_3794.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2016<br />
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Progress: replaced storm door, planted grass seed so hopefully it will look better in the spring<br />
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<strong>Entry</strong> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgez46O0j4efHYFvwmTxZZ8PmiYoL5DFwSZiSshyphenhyphenpUhwTefJX3neZNJ7JoEM-jAuCIGvek-bF9MAsW3KdhPGpj_M_B3zEDbl-diyiOOms6GeBlQFJfy0gWFenTGqe77K1qeAchO_ywXuoGi/s1600/DSC00775.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgez46O0j4efHYFvwmTxZZ8PmiYoL5DFwSZiSshyphenhyphenpUhwTefJX3neZNJ7JoEM-jAuCIGvek-bF9MAsW3KdhPGpj_M_B3zEDbl-diyiOOms6GeBlQFJfy0gWFenTGqe77K1qeAchO_ywXuoGi/s320/DSC00775.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2011</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">2015</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmP5_DYuWYOcJibmNLWmJ-W2iSnsuCCk4t2B65TBbEPbOLcaSxUbEiKjIT3Ec3k5VhQfHF-u66pPvbdzNKabDQifxLRNTtvSa0qwUjd1jjcdJfcy8KFRv_po66V0xpft_tiXpGFRpojA2T/s1600/02+18_3795.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmP5_DYuWYOcJibmNLWmJ-W2iSnsuCCk4t2B65TBbEPbOLcaSxUbEiKjIT3Ec3k5VhQfHF-u66pPvbdzNKabDQifxLRNTtvSa0qwUjd1jjcdJfcy8KFRv_po66V0xpft_tiXpGFRpojA2T/s320/02+18_3795.JPG" width="212" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAK8T0gPI5zZ43IcPUxRPEuUw9hB81KJ1KDOlNknPEDHVw4yrJUxoR-I4ItzNGmw1Pj3fhLoc575X1xVmE9SX3CJKWTTZ_pHvObCwrNNkbJHV4jl2fSfNkp8ns9bJNCuYwnzVxJt7UYj0P/s1600/02+18_3801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAK8T0gPI5zZ43IcPUxRPEuUw9hB81KJ1KDOlNknPEDHVw4yrJUxoR-I4ItzNGmw1Pj3fhLoc575X1xVmE9SX3CJKWTTZ_pHvObCwrNNkbJHV4jl2fSfNkp8ns9bJNCuYwnzVxJt7UYj0P/s320/02+18_3801.JPG" width="212" /></a><br />
2016<br />
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</div>
<div align="left">
Progress: new console table (yay!), new coat hooks (finally included an L for Levi instead of making him use Chipper's hand-me-down C!)</div>
<div align="left">
</div>
<div align="center">
<strong>Dining Room</strong></div>
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2011<br />
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2015<br />
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2016</div>
<div align="center">
Progress: new chandelier (my coveted West Elm capiz I've been wanting for years!)</div>
<div align="center">
<strong>Kitchen</strong></div>
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2011<br />
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2015</div>
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2016<br />
Progress: new art over trash can (you can only catch a glimpse) and new stainless steel pans hanging (not that you can tell, but I sure am excited about them!)<br />
<br />
<b>Living Room</b><br />
Man I wish I could find a 2011 one cause we had some old ugly carpet<br />
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2015<br />
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2016<br />
Progress: new recliner for Josh (still just as hideous!), lots of new pillows<br />
<br />
<b>Porch</b><br />
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2011<br />
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2015<br />
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2016<br />
Progress: new white chairs, pillows, candles for table<br />
<b>Levi's room (Colton's nursery at one point!)</b><br />
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2011<br />
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2015<br />
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2016<br />
Progress: hat board and tons of Levi stickers on the wall!<br />
<b>Bathroom</b><br />
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2011<br />
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2015<br />
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2016<br />
Progress: none!<br />
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<b>Master Bedroom</b></div>
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2015</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2016</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Progress: hung a new picture of the boys</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Master Bathroom</b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2011</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2015</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2016</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Progress:new artwork/jewelry board</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Colton's room</b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2015</div>
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2016</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Bathroom</b></div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2011</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2015</div>
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<div style="text-align: center;">
2016</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Progress: new art work</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Laundry</b></div>
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Progress: fridge, but no doors have been added...need to do that before house goes on the market</div>
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<b>Playroom</b></div>
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2015</div>
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2016</div>
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Progress:shelves, desk, decorations</div>
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Well there she is...our abode, crica 2016. I must say looking back at the pictures I'm pretty please with the way it has evolved over the years, and I'm pretty proud with the product we'll be putting on the market (especially because we're listing it, per realtors' recommendations at about $50,000 more than we bought it for and have made no major upgrades...only minor, cosmetic ones). </div>
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In all respects, this house has been good to us, but it's on to the next one...wherever that may be!</div>
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michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-45417953253278809672015-11-23T07:00:00.000-05:002015-11-23T07:00:06.255-05:00Check that Space OffWhen I last wrote, I showed you our updated playroom. As part of the changes there, we had shifted my craft supplies into a closet thus freeing up their previous space in our laundry room/closet.Now hold your breath folks because this post is about to get really exciting! After talking about needing one for about as long as we have lived here, we finally have a second refrigerator in that space.<br />
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For years, I have loathed our kitchen refrigerator because it just does not have enough space, especially in the freezer...and especially when we are about to entertain and have extra food/beverages on hand (like for thanksgiving this week). Now that's no longer a problem! Plus, the fridge really did wonders to finish off that space and make it look clean and organized...which may be the even bigger win in my world. </div>
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Adding to that polished look is the sliding shelving doors we added on top as well. Really this was a Josh project; I just say we because I technically had the idea! Our shelves in that room are constantly packed mainly because that's our only storage space besides the outdoor sheds. Knowing we will never keep them but so organized, we decided the only solution was to literally hide the chaos. Josh did some research and decided to install tracks on the top of the lower shelf and the bottom of the upper one. After that all we needed to do was get wood cut to size and squeeze them in. The doors simply slide back and forth so we can get to whatever we need.</div>
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Overall, I am thrilled because this space finally looks like it is a space and not just a junk closet. </div>
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michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-78918380164617075992015-11-13T07:00:00.000-05:002015-11-13T07:00:08.467-05:00Playroom Progress I've always intended for our playroom to be the place in the house where the boys can truly play: more noisy, more messy, more fun! But since we officially made the room a playroom, it has been much more a place of chaos than a place of play. I don't know if it's just my boys, but they have a tendency to take out stuff just for the sake of taking out stuff. And before we know it, there is so much freaking stuff that you can barely walk in there!<br />
But finally a lightbulb went off! If the boys can't get to the stuff, they can't make a mess of the stuff! So we headed to the Home Depot one Saturday and picked up three 8 foot long shelves and some brackets, and Josh did a little open shelving installation. While he was doing that, I organized the stuff and made a plan as to what we wanted beyond the reach of the boys' grubby paws: board games (so the tiny pieces no longer end up everywhere), puzzles, play doh, etc. Once the shelves were up, I strategically placed all the stuff using some baskets from Hobby Lobby and the result is a bit more organized chaos.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQxcc-CS56GgZ8dSSFtbX4BLn7N8jf0wZoQAq4H-wMvN-wY-_yA29218ai1w-W0u1TTM22vr92YE-NCfsXFhKPuaqiWkSQNHKLCfaIw4c4NP8AB5GMZyJ5vnO8WXTBHRoLGNpq08f7LO6/s1600/11+12_3406.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQxcc-CS56GgZ8dSSFtbX4BLn7N8jf0wZoQAq4H-wMvN-wY-_yA29218ai1w-W0u1TTM22vr92YE-NCfsXFhKPuaqiWkSQNHKLCfaIw4c4NP8AB5GMZyJ5vnO8WXTBHRoLGNpq08f7LO6/s400/11+12_3406.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
As for the artwork surrounding the shelves, I, of course, had to fill in the blank space. I've always wanted to try my hand at melted crayon art, and figured what better place than a playroom?!? So those are the ones on top. And or the C and L, I just used a pencil eraser to stamp them in the colors of the playroom.<br />
We actually completed the project almost a year ago, and it really has helped keep the room more manageable. For the most part, it keeps the boys from playing with too many things at one time, although there still are plenty of other toys that they can reach on their own.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQkRhtHVn611xqTrS8XTlhMfNsKdRc01h5X2dbDtbdUtmc3GinlKHRfcNOvRSbRKJl-IbBpB9DVLqXLqf_459Uq8XmGOcPPDLklNvioe2KhUwZ8VVjyC5OK4pGzQANf-rtjWws06n_lwG/s1600/11+12_3407.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHQkRhtHVn611xqTrS8XTlhMfNsKdRc01h5X2dbDtbdUtmc3GinlKHRfcNOvRSbRKJl-IbBpB9DVLqXLqf_459Uq8XmGOcPPDLklNvioe2KhUwZ8VVjyC5OK4pGzQANf-rtjWws06n_lwG/s400/11+12_3407.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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But that wasn't the only part of our playroom to get an overhaul. With Colton starting Kindergarten this September, we knew he would need a space to get his homework done. His room really doesn't have a place for a desk, so the playroom was the next logical place. And we knew that if Colton was getting a desk in the playroom, Levi would want one as well (that's just how things go in this house!). So this is what we came up with.</div>
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The picture is not the best, but it's another shelf from Home Depot hung on the walls with brackets. In the center is a two-level cubby from Target. We use it to hold paper, pencils, scissors, and other things you would probably store in a desk drawer! Oh, and their chairs are from Target. </div>
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Because we moved that desk into the playroom, we also got rid of the desk that was previously in the playroom's closet since we never used it. By freeing up that space, I had room to move my craft stuff in there (which worked well because we had other plans for where my craft stuff used to be...ooooh cliffhanger!). I could have/should have left the boxes covered like they were, but my OCD tendencies wouldn't allow that so I had to recover the boxes in a fabric that coordinated with the playroom. It looks really crazy in the picture, but in person, the boxes are actually fairly organized!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigC_HPAefhOH8qM_Nq_oDUzpR-0lGsjgVT0M4JVs_YsHJaa4aYuPMXc0pEnRrjXrqcEeiKfJ8b7NwZ8nTwDEBHQyWB7v9q6-4nw7ELxreyO9bPd7pWPoLMIRO7JEtvFAa7TjJDNia057UJ/s1600/11+10_3418.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigC_HPAefhOH8qM_Nq_oDUzpR-0lGsjgVT0M4JVs_YsHJaa4aYuPMXc0pEnRrjXrqcEeiKfJ8b7NwZ8nTwDEBHQyWB7v9q6-4nw7ELxreyO9bPd7pWPoLMIRO7JEtvFAa7TjJDNia057UJ/s400/11+10_3418.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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And with all the reshuffling of the pieces of this room, I was left with an awkward space above the boys' kitchen that needed some decorating. Surprisingly (or maybe not?), we don't have a lot of personal photos on display in our house. But I wanted a place to display and look back on some of our travels, and since maps seem to be playroom-appropriate, this is where it landed.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNelEVqMXcMPOROirHtsrWI0HmU3QinTcjHFg0ZHlnOirWeafWDKMpNX1hIkM9-eWAR_G14D5rG5W3xNs-WCo-26B8OvbJiYyAdeSJHkORfBrza_h-pyBTuph-iDdMrleSZSvqIi6EF1lT/s1600/11+10_3415.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNelEVqMXcMPOROirHtsrWI0HmU3QinTcjHFg0ZHlnOirWeafWDKMpNX1hIkM9-eWAR_G14D5rG5W3xNs-WCo-26B8OvbJiYyAdeSJHkORfBrza_h-pyBTuph-iDdMrleSZSvqIi6EF1lT/s400/11+10_3415.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The map has pictures of us in the various states we have visited. It's not very filled in yet, but hopefully will be one day! Oh and for the record, we've been to Texas (and Virginia obviously), but I have yet to put in pictures for them.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83knD3t8lJm-ohc-W-fsFXsj-lszKJdddNaAzfiy5iiw4pSE5voizb_x-1B5jSFlBMOZOem97HyhOGe6K7WUxpwXc_Ea9WoS_nyhsqAY9TvaOKE-b3SKDaLGRzBvQX6QtLWFRiRA1Oxu2/s1600/11+10_3413.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg83knD3t8lJm-ohc-W-fsFXsj-lszKJdddNaAzfiy5iiw4pSE5voizb_x-1B5jSFlBMOZOem97HyhOGe6K7WUxpwXc_Ea9WoS_nyhsqAY9TvaOKE-b3SKDaLGRzBvQX6QtLWFRiRA1Oxu2/s400/11+10_3413.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Because some of our favorite travels have actually been international (well, in the Caribbean), I wanted a way to include those pics...and some others that were favorites but too big to fit in a state! Hence, the frame arrangement around the map. </div>
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So there's an updated look at our playroom. I think we could live here 100 years and I would never be fully satisfied with the space, but it fulfills its purpose and I guess that's really all I can ask! </div>
michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-40316676684413022102015-11-12T14:26:00.001-05:002015-11-12T14:26:16.985-05:00Thankful AgainIn an effort to get our house a little bit more Thanksgiving ready, I wanted to add a banner of some sort to our mantle. I knew I wanted it to say "thankful" (because, well, that is what Thanksgiving is all about), but I went back and forth as to how I wanted to pull it off. Our mantle this year is a bit more natural than in the past, so I wanted this banner to add a bit of sparkle that was missing. I think mission accomplished:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2XPe07K_yRumtRc4ezJamSjHN42wIXqxxgj5WQJYH2yIBBycD2bfOO06BFjT0HNP0LSVHl-QHau4zb1c-Z1GITPVCxqJPh7cm_Grj3V2IX8wofYuNZ28rR0oQbmjlXBjGZ3ysX-qRk3x/s1600/11+11_3409.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo2XPe07K_yRumtRc4ezJamSjHN42wIXqxxgj5WQJYH2yIBBycD2bfOO06BFjT0HNP0LSVHl-QHau4zb1c-Z1GITPVCxqJPh7cm_Grj3V2IX8wofYuNZ28rR0oQbmjlXBjGZ3ysX-qRk3x/s400/11+11_3409.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Making it was so incredibly easy. I scooped up some wooden letters from Michaels along with some pretty Martha Stewart gold glitter. I bought the big bottle, but needed way less than I thought I would, so keep that in mind since there are way more color options in the small bottles! I applied a thin coat of mod podge on the wood using a foam brush. Then, I sprinkled the glitter on, spread it around with another foam brush. By the time I was done with all the letters, they were dry enough to apply one more thin coat of mod podge to seal the glitter in. I hot glued the letters to some twine I had on hand and voila...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQhaw-0_7BBVgEVozfP5qZXRGTCWYSR_iEf7bICBjbBrE5XwWAyKYyM8vIfn44Qi9sjIVgIpcW5ojHiurQ3cTYDCvmWXu3aJo_RP8Dvwh45pP8SXrxl7UZ4EpYSXGAPzMZTynO2iNevYb/s1600/11+10_3423.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSQhaw-0_7BBVgEVozfP5qZXRGTCWYSR_iEf7bICBjbBrE5XwWAyKYyM8vIfn44Qi9sjIVgIpcW5ojHiurQ3cTYDCvmWXu3aJo_RP8Dvwh45pP8SXrxl7UZ4EpYSXGAPzMZTynO2iNevYb/s400/11+10_3423.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Seriously the whole crafting process took about 10 minutes! And I just love the bit of fun it adds to the room (plus it has proven to be a great way for Levi to practice identifying the letters of the alphabet!).</div>
<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-50068094179516520802015-11-10T14:12:00.000-05:002015-11-10T14:12:00.184-05:00Dining Room RedeuxWhen we moved into our house 5 1/2 years ago now(!), I tried to continue our former dining room color scheme into this house. Back then, I was going with a lot of oranges, greens, and browns and so our dining room looked like this...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWG2V6w9GD9XS5g7hsu1ksoiT3seYz078aLTVk6JBs7TonFaIpRfp2SStrUAYneeKBFu3vsxW_pKmHtcZckfG6I9QKpi5kOHi1-06Ve8iUmXEGblbi85FleHrIs-Z1iSWSljM8KHYdsunL/s1600/DSC04030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWG2V6w9GD9XS5g7hsu1ksoiT3seYz078aLTVk6JBs7TonFaIpRfp2SStrUAYneeKBFu3vsxW_pKmHtcZckfG6I9QKpi5kOHi1-06Ve8iUmXEGblbi85FleHrIs-Z1iSWSljM8KHYdsunL/s400/DSC04030.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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But the room always stuck out like a sore thumb amongst our lighter, blue/green house. So I finally got around to giving it a makeover.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEcZ0-IivZIh5SzYw_5p2hdtndDk5amClBA1RsnDNEi4lS3RsUEONDw1ru_NMN1AwkClVJoBA8EbC0lLPZpMGRAvSFJfX75Mvuy46flbs6UV_GK1zC_fRkKx7zWSwuCsIbKYf-rhiQlqT/s1600/10+22_3227.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifEcZ0-IivZIh5SzYw_5p2hdtndDk5amClBA1RsnDNEi4lS3RsUEONDw1ru_NMN1AwkClVJoBA8EbC0lLPZpMGRAvSFJfX75Mvuy46flbs6UV_GK1zC_fRkKx7zWSwuCsIbKYf-rhiQlqT/s400/10+22_3227.JPG" width="265" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGCqENIZOMiOF8dS-mN-FDcTzvavrA0StWQHnFtKzGH7HUlHAe8NJbKRN0_m3E-LuQBGph2fGjUlsGaBkXD-JP-oCISKUNnXYnTpnV1vm7sHv6I9MUrBzir_RrGsR3-FC5fKapVAK_JSV/s1600/10+22_3228.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNGCqENIZOMiOF8dS-mN-FDcTzvavrA0StWQHnFtKzGH7HUlHAe8NJbKRN0_m3E-LuQBGph2fGjUlsGaBkXD-JP-oCISKUNnXYnTpnV1vm7sHv6I9MUrBzir_RrGsR3-FC5fKapVAK_JSV/s400/10+22_3228.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The best part is that a lot of the elements were DIYed from older elements, so we saved a lot of money. For example, we had owned the lamps since our days at our town house...I just spray painted them blue and they work perfectly on the buffet. As for the plates hanging on the wall, I literally spray painted the ones that were on there white and then handpainted the ikat designs on. And the large abstract art on the wall...well, I created that by just making a bunch of dots. We had the canvas framed left over from my parents, and it was the perfect scale for the space so I figured I just had to make it work somehow. I really love all the color it adds to the room!</div>
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Of course, not everything could be DIYed. The curtains came from West Elm. The rug is from Crate and Barrel (although it was one major sale at the time!). And then there's my coveted capiz chandelier from West Elm. I have wanted that thing for as long as I can remember, and my parents were kind enough to gift it to me for my birthday last year. It immediately transformed the space...and maybe even our entire house since it's the first room you see when you come in! It will definitely be listed as an item that will not convey when we go to sell this place!</div>
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I swear just looking at the before/after photos makes me giddy all over. I can't believe how much better our dining room looks...and for less than $150...woot woot!</div>
<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-33086025539048651252015-11-09T14:23:00.000-05:002015-11-09T14:23:00.235-05:00ThankfulIt's November...has been for a few days now! We have a lot of traditions in our house (just ask Josh...), but one of my favorites is doing a thankful tree with the boys each November.<br />
There's no doubt about it: my boys are some very fortunate children. They lead fantastic lives, and while I am thrilled and very proud that we are able to provide them with so much, I want them to recognize just how lucky they are to have all the people, things, and experiences that they do.<br />
So like I said, we've done a thankful tree each November. Each morning, I ask the boys to name something they're thankful for and we write it down. In the past, I've hung them on branches, but I wanted to switch it up a bit this year. So I made a tree out of newspaper on our pantry door.<br />
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On the leaves are the things the boys are thankful for (at least so far).</div>
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That's just a sampling, but it should be noted neither have mentioned their mom (or dad for that matter) yet! </div>
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Overall, I'm liking our new "tree." We walk by it constantly throughout the day, and it's nice to catch a glimpse of a leaf each time and smile at what the boys are thankful for! Plus, it makes the house look a bit more festive!</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-3472168950278547142015-11-06T14:48:00.000-05:002015-11-06T14:48:00.513-05:00New York City Girls WeekendToday is my little sister's birthday (happy birthday G if you happen to be reading). Last year, it was her big 3-0, and to celebrate my mom, sister-in-law, and I joined her for a weekend in the Big Apple. Because it was a year ago, I'm not sure I remember enough details to give you a full blow-by-blow, but I can certainly give you a run down on the highlights:<br />
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*sangria and totally delish apps at Haven Rooftop to start the trip off right<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">very artful, no?!?</td></tr>
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*seeing "The Book of Mormon" on Broadway...it was my first Broadway show and honestly I was kind of eh about going, but seriously the funniest show I've ever seen in my life (and that includes movies)...I literally cried from laughing so hard!<br />
*early morning visit to the "Today" show...it was the weekend crew, but still fun to see!<br />
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*getting a bagel from EssaBagel...a NYC must, right?!?<br />
*a visit to the 9-11 Memorial Museum...definitely a somber few hours of our trip, but something we all really wanted to see. Such a well done museum. Just make sure to make your reservations for the right date!<br />
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*stroll through Central Park and drinks at the boathouse</div>
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*doing a bit of shopping and taking in sights like Times Square, 5th Avenue, etc</div>
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*dessert at Max Brenner's</div>
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*a visit to Top of the Rock</div>
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*brunch at Norma's in the Le Parker Meridien. I tried to freak Josh out by texting him a picture of the menu and telling him I ordered the lobster frittata. But really I couldn't resist the chocolate peanut butter waffle, even after Max Brenner's the night before!</div>
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We stayed at the Omni Berkshire which I would highly recommend. On my last trip to New York 10ish years ago, I stayed in a very trendy hotel in the Meatpacking district. It was really cool especially because it's frequently in the celeb sightings, but we were relatively far away from a lot of the sights you think of when you think New York and only saw them when we went on one of the bus tours. This time around, though, we were close enough to walk just about everywhere which made it super easy to get it all in at least sight wise. Restaurant-wise, though, I already have a few I'm mentally adding to my list for my next trip!</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-67040695942414172362015-11-05T13:59:00.000-05:002015-11-05T13:59:12.833-05:00Round 3So it took me awhile to get this one right, but the good news is I now finally have a functional, pretty jewelry holder! I won't bore you with the failed attempts because...well, they failed! The good news, though, is I finally figured it out.<br />
First thing I did was instead of searching out a pretty frame, I just went with one of the totally basic bulletin boards you can get at any craft store for about $7! And then I made sure to pick out a fabric that a. I really liked and b. actually matched our bathroom decor where this thing was actually going to hang. In addition to the fabric, I also picked out a coordinating ribbon for the edges mainly because I couldn't find a fabric I liked that incorporated the whole bathroom color scheme.<br />
After spray painting the basic bulletin board frame white, using a little spray adhesive to stick the fabric to the board and hot gluing the ribbon to the edges, I had this:<br />
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Of course, it looked a lot better once my jewelry was hung on it:</div>
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And even better when hung with all my other bathroom decor.</div>
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In case you're wondering, the other ombre art is from Hobby Lobby and the other is a framed piece of paper from Paper Source (seriously, thank goodness VB has finally expanded its shopping options!). </div>
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So there we have it! I must say I'm pretty pleased with the way the whole space has finally come together! Plus, it's a huge bonus that my jewelry actually stays put on my board and doesn't randomly fall off in the middle of the night, waking us up with a clank...and then Chipper's barks!</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-21074444403383577022015-10-22T14:43:00.001-04:002015-10-22T14:43:20.581-04:00Here We Go...My dad's 60th birthday is in a couple of weeks. My dad has taught me and my siblings a lot of things over the years and provided us with countless opportunities and experiences, but a love of the Pittsburgh Steelers is certainly one of the most identifiable.<br />
As far back I can remember, I have watched Pittsburgh Steelers games with my dad...first at our house when they happened to be on tv, then at a hole-in-the wall bar after Sunday School when I was in my early teens, next back at our house with a bunch of bar friends turned Steeler Sunday crew, and all the way until now where me and my boys meet my dad (and other family members) every Sunday at a bar/restaurant to watch the Steelers. Even though I have never lived in Pittsburgh for even a moment, I learned to love the Steelers, and consequently passed that love on to my boys, because of my dad. So it seemed to be apropos that for my dad's 60th we should all be together in Pittsburgh (his hometown) doing what we do best...rooting for the Pittsburgh Steelers.<br />
We left bright and early Saturday morning, and in bright and early, I mean <i>early. </i>Despite a 6AM flight, the boys were super excited to start off our journey and did an awesome job on both flights!<br />
Luckily, Levi did manage to squeeze in a nap on the second flight, so once we arrived in Pittsburgh, the boys were ready to hit the town. After a quick lunch in Market Square, we headed over to the Strip District for some Steeler gear shopping. One of the boys' highlights of the trip was getting to ride in a couple Ubers...without car seats!!!<br />
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Once in the Strip District, the boys were quick to pick out their purchases: new Steelers hats each! Levi also got to wave to a man in a pink tutu, and we heard the Steelers Super Bowl song on repeat, so overall it was a successful trip!</div>
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We headed back to the hotel to rest and warm up for a bit and then headed out to dinner at Six Penn Kitchen. </div>
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We came back to the hotel and waited in the lobby for a bit hoping some of the Steelers would come through for autographs (they were staying in our hotel too), but we really didn't have any luck and were pretty exhausted, so everyone headed up to sleep.</div>
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We repeated the same attempted Steeler sightings the next morning with a doughnut breakfast in the lobby.</div>
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And then, with our Terrible Towels in hand, it was finally time to head over to the game! We took the metro train over which was super quick and easy.</div>
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We arrived with some time to kill before the stadium actually opened, so we walked around checking out the tailgates and getting the boys' faces painted.</div>
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Prior to the trip, my dad had been gifted three field passes. We weren't sure if we were going to be able to share them, so at first my dad had us draw envelopes to see who was going to join him and my mom on the field. Luckily, it turned out we did get to pass them off, so everyone got a turn...including the boys! While the boys definitely enjoyed the experience, I'm sure some of the significance was lost on them. I just hope one day they realize how fortunate they are!</div>
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And after all that excitement, it was finally game time. We were a little wary going into the game because the Steelers were really not expected to win, but we ended up witnessing a really exciting game...and a Steelers victory at that! The weather was a bit more of an adventure, as we basically went through all four seasons in one 3 hour game...it went from rainy and cold to sunny and relatively warm to sleeting (!!!), and finally back to sunny and comfortable. I really hadn't packed appropriately, so the boys ended up with new gloves and a blanket out of the deal. </div>
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A lot of people have expressed surprise when they find out we took the boys to a football game. But honestly they did great...and had a blast! They definitely got a little cold and cranky for a few minutes, but as soon as the game got exciting (and they got their coveted stuffed animals), they got really into it.</div>
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We walked back to the hotel after the victory, and thought about trying to squeeze in the incline, but in the end decided just to relax at the hotel for the evening. I was kind of bummed we missed it, but hopefully there will be another Pittsburgh trip in our near future because I definitely have some Steelers fanatics on my hands!</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-29136265405447397852015-10-07T07:00:00.000-04:002015-10-07T07:00:01.624-04:00Charleston/Kiawah Trip ReportAll these rains in South Carolina (how awful, right?!?) jogged my memory that we had vacationed there during my blogging hiatus, and thus hadn't shared a proper trip report! So let's journey back to August 2014, shall we...<br />
We rented a house on Kiawah Island, South Carolina for a week. With so much to bring and air travel basically taking as long as car travel by the time you accounted for layovers, having to get there early, etc, we decided to drive down. We left on a Friday afternoon and stopped half way to stay in a hotel overnight in order to break the trip up for the boys (or us?). We also packed<i> tons </i>of activities, treats, and other bribes for the boys to enjoy on their 8 hour car ride! Colton was awesome...Levi had a little more difficult time!<br />
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Driving also gave us the chance to stop in Charleston for a couple hours on the way in. We got some lunch at the Butcher and the Bee (yummy BBQ squash!) and explored a downtown farmer's market...and the beauty that is Charleston...for a bit.</div>
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After a bit of a scare in the form of a car accident which luckily turned out to be nothing more than a time delay, we finally arrived at our house for the week. Before our vacation, I had a lot of confusion as to what Kiawah Island actually was. Turns out the island itself is home to several condos, homes, bike trails, beautiful beaches, and the Kiawah Resort. The resort itself has several restaurants, pools, and its own beaches. Our house was technically affiliated with the resort which meant we got resort privileges...could use the pools, gym, chairs on the beach, golf course at a discount (not important to me, but for Josh and my parents who were with us), etc. We debated whether that was necessary before booking, and once it was all said and done, I think we were all glad we had gone that route. It just gave us more options as far as things to do, especially because the Resort had two kid-friendly pools with slides and things that the kids loved! </div>
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Over the course of the week, we did a lot of swimming...</div>
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And, of course, hit the beach.</div>
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One of Kiawah's trademarks is that people literally ride their bikes on the beach during low tide. Luckily, we were able to rent Colton a training wheels bike so he was able to experience it too!</div>
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Aside from tons of fun in the sun, we also managed to make it back to Charleston one day (it was about a 45 minute drive). We had lunch at the Tatooed Moose where we were sure to autograph the booth, did a carriage tour, and spent some time walking around. It was hotter than hot, but I'm glad we got to see some of the city. </div>
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We also took some time to explore the Angel Oak, a 300-400 year old tree on Johns Island (which is about 20 minutes from Kiawah). Everyone made fun of me for scouting out this tree and wanting to see it, but it was pretty darn cool!</div>
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Of course, it wouldn't be a vacation without eating, and we did lots of it! Our best meal by far though was the night we had a chef come to the house to cook for us. I'm still dying over his shrimp and grits!</div>
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Overall it was a great week in a beautiful place. We made lots of memories, and have some beautiful pics to show for it!</div>
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But hands down my boys' favorite part...the part they still talk about most to this day...were the bunk beds! Their room had bunk beds...their first experience sleeping in them..and from that point on, they have expected each hotel to have them as well (which amazingly we have managed to find...). Every time they ask to go on vacation, my boys ask to go to the bunk beds in Kiawah (or Disney World, but that's for a different post), so it seems only fitting I leave you with a shot of their beloved bunk beds...</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-1643206036196941652015-10-06T14:37:00.004-04:002015-10-06T14:37:49.979-04:00It's Fall Y'allI interrupt my trek into the past to bring you all some current looks into our abode. A few weeks back, I put up our fall decorations. Each year, I tend to stick with a lot of our previous pieces while adding in a few new touches. Last year, I did a lot of green and blue pumpkins, squash, gourds, etc. and loved how they blended so easily with our normal, year-round decor. I created a vignette on our dining room buffet last year, and loved it so much, I recreated it again this year!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And I used another one of my painted gourds (from a pack from the Dollar Store that I just used acrylic paint on!) in a little display in our living room.</div>
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But on our mantle this year, I was eager for a couple more natural touches. </div>
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I love the wheat stalks, but I am absolutely obsessed with my cotton wreath. I have loved them from afar (read:Pinterest) for awhile, but always got discouraged because when I would click on links to DIY them, it would cite getting cotton from real fields. Well, there's no cotton field anywhere near me (yes, I even googled to find out...I was that desperate to find some branches!). So after striking out, I was completely thrilled to find faux bols at Michaels!!!! I bought their entire supply, figuring I'd use them to make a wreath and save the rest to incorporate into our Thanksgiving table. Making the wreath was a breeze too, once I just stuck with my glue gun! At first, I was trying to use wire to tie each bol (cut off the branches with wire cutters) to the grapevine wreath, but it was time-consuming and frustrating trying to tie each one securely. So I whipped out the glue gun and finished the whole thing in about 10 minutes!</div>
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The process was so quick I actually made another wreath too. Going with that natural look still, I decided to make a leaf wreath with some leaves I purchased from Hobby Lobby. I played with the idea of just leaving them natural looking, but ultimately chose to spray paint them in metallic tones...ORB, gold, and rose gold. Once they dried, I just layered them around a foam form and voila...</div>
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As I've done for the past few years, I picked up some mums for out front, so now our front entrance looks especially festive.</div>
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Especially because our scarecrow, Freddy Johnny (named by the boys) is out there too! We made him a couple of weeks ago at an event to benefit our local childrens' hospital, and the boys are very proud of him although I really think the rain did a number on him the last couple of weeks. You probably can't tell in the picture, but he's struggling a bit!</div>
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michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-57650087319898706562015-10-03T08:01:00.001-04:002015-10-03T08:01:17.210-04:00My BoysThese are my favorite posts to write, mainly because I know one day I will love going back to read them. In the past year and a half, my boys have done a lot of growing up. They both have such distinct personalities.<br />
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<b>Colton</b></div>
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Colton is in Kindergarten now, a fact I can hardly believe! Academically, he has always had a lot of success and school continues to come very easy to him. Colton continues to be a really shy kid. Part of it is that he is just pretty content by himself...and especially with an iPad or his Wii (both of which we have to work to limit for him). But I often worry about how he is doing socially.He can be really fun and goofy (and sometimes annoying and goofy, especially when he gets into the potty word stuff...uh!) when he's comfortable, so we see that side a lot, but it doesn't come out at school. His teachers always ensure me that he is social in class (which I actually do observe on the days I work there!), but I honestly think he's more of a follower than a leader and has a harder time finding good friends (as opposed to kids he just thinks are funny because they get in trouble)! Colton is small in size and has a speech articulation disorder, so the worrying mom side of me fears that kids will start to pick on him...but so far, so good and I definitely need to learn to relax on that one! As I mentioned, Colton's favorite things are his iPad and Wii, but we limit his screen time so when he's not on one of his devices, he loves playing Ninja Warrior (he was really into the show this summer and now runs himself through "obstacles"), swinging on the playset, or taking care of his stuffed animals (which he has named his "kids"). Colotn often seems kind of clumsy, but we have recently realized he may have a bit of an athletic streak! He loves riding his bike, has become a pretty strong swimmer, and recently started soccer...which much to our surprise, he's actually really good at! Colton is a sweet, sweet boy. At five and a half, he still loves to cuddle, and kiss, and always tell me (and Josh, and Levi, and Chipper) he loves me. </div>
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<b>Levi</b></div>
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And then there's this guy...the life of the party! As Levi's teachers told me last year, " all the girls love him, and all the boys want to be him!" I think that may be a bit strong (they were only 2 after all), but Levi always makes friends easily and people (adults and children alike) seem to flock to him. He is a busy, busy boy never sitting still for a moment and constantly telling a story, asking a question, or generally making conversation. Levi is super athletic and really has a natural draw to all things sports. If he sees a sport (on tv or in person), the boy literally stops and fixates on it... and then wants to try it, so some of his most prized possessions are his golf clubs (including the balls and tees), lacrosse sticks, basketball, soccer ball, hockey sticks, and baseball bat. Thus far, he's only old enough to actually play soccer, and just as we figured, he's really good. I am really eager to see where his talent takes him one day because I have a feeling we will be on some sort of field with this one for the next several years! Academically, I often have to remind myself that Levi is actually smart and doing well. In comparison to his brother, he is definitely behind where Colton was at this age but that's a pretty lofty standard and Levi just doesn't have the same interest in showing his knowledge that Colton did! Truthfully, Levi probably has the same articulation disorder as Colton does, but when he was tested last year his errors were still developmentally appropriate, so we're going to wait until he turns 4 and try it again! Levi doesn't really have the time to sit and cuddle like his older brother, but he still gives the best hugs and kisses when he wants to. Levi is a really needy child (literally, he always <i>needs</i> something), but he's also a lot of fun! He constantly makes us laugh and always keeps us entertained with his expressions, comments, and activities.</div>
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Even though my boys seem to have opposite personalities, one of my favorite things about them is that they are truly best friends. These two flock together through thick and thin. They play well together at home, but when we are out with others, they stick together like glue. My friends always comment how lucky I am that they are so close. I just hope they always maintain that bond!</div>
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<b><br /></b>michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-38393788499632207652015-09-30T16:58:00.002-04:002015-09-30T16:58:58.699-04:00A Grown Up Boys BathroomWhile I was on my self-imposed blogging hiatus, my DIY bug didn't get shelved but so much. I certainly didn't keep up the pace I had for the past few years, but I still managed to accomplish quite a few minor projects and even tackle a couple whole room re-dos. Hopefully, over time, I will get a chance to share them all, but for today we're going to start with the boys' bathroom.<br />
This bathroom was one of the first rooms I worked on when we moved into this house 5+ years ago. I feel like I never had a direction for it. Even though Colton was just a newborn at the time, I knew I didn't want it to be but so childish because it's probably our most used "guest" bathroom as well. So I found a paint color I liked (or at least thought I liked), a shower curtain to go with it, and DIYed a bunch of stuff from there. And it worked...for awhile at least. And then one day, I looked at a picture of it, and hated it! There's DIY that looks good, and there's DIY that looks DIY...that bathroom looked DIYx1000!<br />
From that day forward, I couldn't get over my disdain for that bathroom and set out on a plan to make it over into a classier, more polished space. Here's how it turned out:<br />
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It's actually a really large space with lots of weird angles so it's hard to get a complete picture, but hopefully you get the idea! </div>
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The only holdover from the old bathroom is the DIY sunburst mirror I had made a few years back; everything else got a refresh. The shower curtain and bath mat (although it's not pictured) are from West Elm. The towels and timer by the sink are from Pottery Barn Kids. The baskets by the sink are from Hobby Lobby and hold the boys' toothbrushes, toothpaste, washcloth, etc. And the hamper is from Wal-Mart (a much more affordable option than a pretty much identical one I liked from Crate and Barrel!). The rest of the elements...the artwork, the towel hooks, the redone shelves and the ottoman (which we use as a seat when giving the boys a bath) are all DIY. </div>
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It's been almost a year...or maybe even over a year...since I completed the bathroom redo, and I'm still really pleased with the room!</div>
After all, this is what I was starting with:<br />
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Big improvement, right?!?<br />
<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-9085579220488604832015-09-28T07:00:00.000-04:002015-09-28T07:00:07.881-04:00Cowabunga!After spending the last couple posts looking back on one son's birthday celebrating, I figured it was only fair to continue my stroll down memory lane with my other son's birthday party recap.<br />
Problem is I may be a bit behind the times already! When Colton turned 5 back in March, both of my boys were totally TMNT (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle if you're not in the know!) obsessed. Naturally, then, Colton <b>had</b> to have a TMNT-themed party. Flash forward six months and the poor turtles are pretty much completely off our radar...replaced by Paw Patrol, Mario, and even Star Wars...crazy how fickle these boys can be, huh?!? So the Ninja turtles may be a thing of the past, but Colton's party was a big hit so it's definitely worth a share!<br />
We held Colton's party at Cloud 9, a local trampoline park. My boys both love it...and as a bonus, they even have a "ninja training" area, so it fit with our theme perfectly...something that was probably noticed only by me! For the first hour of the party, then, the kiddos (and grown ups) bounced, climbed, dodged, and swung to their heart's content.<br />
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And then we headed into the party room for food. Cloud 9 does "Kid Jump" from 9-10 each morning where only 6 and unders (and their parents) can jump. We made sure to book Colton's party during that time because it tends to be a lot tamer than the other times! However, it did create a little problem when it came to figuring out menu. As obvious as pizza was a food choice for our TMNT party, we had to go with breakfast-type stuff instead! Eventually, we landed on an assortment of bagels and cream cheeses, a fruit tray (oranges, purple grapes, blueberries, and strawberries to represent the four colors of the turtles...forgive me for not bothering to remember their names!) with a marshmallow fruit dip (dyed green for extra ninja turtle flair), and some of the Ninja Turtle yogurt cups. We also did coffee for the grown ups and Ninja Turtle water bottles and juice boxesfor the kids. Of course, this was all back in my non-blogging days, so I really don't have great photos but you can maybe get the idea here!</div>
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Admittedly, that's a really lame pic! But you do get a general idea of the decorations. This was a major dilemma for me. This was the first party I've ever done that I wasn't able to decorate in advance. Literally, I had to be able to throw everything up in about 30 minutes while the kids were out jumping...talk about panic-inducing for this OCD mama. Considering the time constraint, I think it turned out pretty decent. The brick background was from Hobby Lobby (hallelujah VB has finally come on board and has one now!). I made the sewer pipes from PVC pipe and the "Colton" sewer cover from a Dollar store cake pan and tin foil. I bought the banner from an Etsy store, and the only other decorative touch was the skateboard I used to put the yogurts on.</div>
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Oh, and then there was the table set up...again, not a fantastic picture, but...</div>
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Continuing with the colors of the turtles, I just used cut plastic tablecovers in half (folded a couple times) and spread them out down the table. It was also set with Ninja turtle face plates and cute polka dot napkins so it looked much better before the kids got a hold of it! I was also going to put green polka dot balloon centerpieces along the table but forgot/didn't feel like dealing with helium, so we just skipped it!</div>
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Following breakfast, we naturally moved on to cake. Again, my neighbor and I created this one with a store-bought topper for good measure. You obviously can't tell from the picture, but the inside was actually four different layers of cake, each colored red, orange, purple, and blue for reasons that I'm sure are obvious by now. I must say it looked pretty cool when it was cut! </div>
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And based on these sweet pics, my Colty was thrilled with it!</div>
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And then we concluded the party like we do all parties...with a Ninja turtle pinata and favors. We gave out Ninja Turtle pez dispensers and masks that I had made. I honestly thought the masks were kind of corny, but they were actually a big hit with everyone, including my boys! </div>
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Overall, the day was a huge success! Colton is our shy kid and I often worry that he gets lost in the shuffle socially sometimes. But he had so many people that wanted to celebrate him, and watching him have a blast with all of them completely melted my heart. Josh (who was very much in attendance at the party despite being woefully absent from every pic!) and I both agreed that we feel incredibly blessed to be able to provide our boys with these memories. </div>
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And speaking of memories, even though they didn't fit anywhere in the post, I have to leave you with my three favorite pictures from that day as they just perfectly showcase how sweet my Colty is...how I hope he always maintains that!</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-52731688729762054182015-09-27T07:00:00.000-04:002015-09-27T07:00:03.053-04:00Chocolate Chip Waffle CakeSince I finally shared the details of Levi's 3rd birthday party in my last post, I figured the perfect follow up was his completely delicious cake I made for his family celebration at home...<br />
Birthdays are all about the food around here. <i>**Who am I kidding? Most of our days revolve around food** </i>But, birthdays are <b>extra special! </b>Choice of birthday breakfast, birthday lunch, birthday dinner (out or in), birthday cake...you get the idea!<br />
When Levi turned 3, he was very clear with his choices. He wanted donuts for breakfast, so we headed out to Krispy Kreme bright and early that Sunday morning. Unfortunately, he threw up as we were waiting in line for our treats (Josh waited in line while I rushed him to the nearest bathroom), so we had to abort mission and cancel our planned trip to the Children's Museum. After a few hours at home, it appeared Levi's issue was a fluke, so we decided to save the special day and head to <strike>hell</strike> Chuck E. Cheese per his request.<br />
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For dinner, V had requested pork chops and green beans (his very random favorite at the time), so we had invited all of our family members over for the special meal and cake. Unfortunately, it was around that time that we noticed Levi's stomach bug from the morning was still lingering. Luckily, he didn't get sick anymore but he kept sneaking off to the bathroom thinking he was going to get sick. I just felt so bad for my boy that he wasn't able to fully enjoy his special day, especially this star of the show...</div>
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As random as pork chops and green beans were, Levi's request for a chocolate chip waffle cake was probably even more bizarre. I pride myself on being a master googler (yes, that's a thing) and being able to search for just about anything, but "chocolate chip waffle cake" just wasn't out there. So I had to get creative, and I'm a little embarrassed to reveal just how easy this thing was. A box of yellow cake mix prepared per directions + a handful of chocolate chips per waffle scoop...prepared in a waffle iron just as you would regular waffles and voila...I had some pretty yummy chocolate chip waffles. But what's a cake without frosting, right?!? Again, just a can of premade chocolate frosting spread between each waffle, plus a few sprinkles for a good, festive measure and we had a big hit of a birthday cake! Seriously, everyone raved about how great it was! </div>
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michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-80891272807385006172015-09-26T15:59:00.001-04:002015-09-26T15:59:41.739-04:00All-Star Sports BashNever mind the fact that my baby is just a few months away from turning four, today we're going to talk about his third birthday party...way back in January!<br />
For the entirety of Levi's life, he has been a sports enthusiast. If it involves a ball, the boy is naturally drawn to it. He doesn't watch tv, but if there's a sport on, he'll literally freeze in front of it to watch. He spends every waking moment playing one sport or another. I'd like to think he's destined to be some sort of athlete (or mascot, I guess?!?), but only time will tell.<br />
Naturally, then, when it was time to start planning Levi's birthday party, I knew we had to go with a sports theme. This party represented a major turning point for us in that we had decided we would absolutely be doing no more parties at home after a debacle of Colton's last party where the weather literally forced everyone, including their chaos and mud, into our house. Luckily, Virginia Beach has an amazing indoor sports facility, the Field House, that I knew would be perfect for our boy!<br />
And luckily, they were kind enough to let me get in the afternoon before to do a bit of decorating.<br />
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The table runners are just turf that I had cut from Home Depot's "carpet" section. I don't remember exactly what it cost, but it was super cheap. I designed the pennant flags myself (going with a black and gold theme for our beloved Steelers), and the baseball is just scrapbook paper.</div>
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One of my...and Levi's...favorite details were the sports card cake centerpieces. I didn't realize trading cards were so freaking expensive, so these came in a big higher than I had intended, but the good news is almost a year later, he still has them displayed in his room!</div>
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The favor/gift table featured a PVC goal post and field table cloth I had gotten from Target.</div>
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For the actual party, Levi got to choose 3 sports/activities from a list. He chose obstacle course, soccer, and baseball. Honestly, the staff didn't do a fantastic job of organizing the games (I think they were a bit thrown off by the 25ish 3 year olds!), but the kids...and most importantly, V...didn't notice! My boy had a blast.</div>
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After an hour, we moved into the party room for lunch (hot dogs, chips, and fruit). I had set up a concessions table, but it sadly never got filled because the place brought the food on carts right as they were serving it:(</div>
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And after lunch, we went ahead and did the cake. My neighbor/good friend helped me make the cake, as in I did the baking and she did the decorating. It was pretty darn tasty and looked amazing, but man that was definitely more time-consuming than I had banked on! Levi was in love with those baseball guys on top, though, so in the end, we'll call it a win.</div>
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Following cake, we concluded the chaos with a baseball pinata. My boys both insist on pinatas after reading a Llama, Llama birthday party book that featured one. This one was filled with sports ball chocolates, which I'm sure the parents loved me for, but one has to stick with a theme, right?!?</div>
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To bid everyone adieu, we gave them each a favor...a sports water bottle from Oriental Trading filled with a sports bouncy ball and some Big League Chew...and sent them to the awesome indoor playground at the Field House. </div>
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While they played, the staff brought all the gifts, decorations, etc to our car, and we happily left without having to clean up...a major plus over all those home parties where we cleaned up for days afterwards. Mom and Dad were happy, and Levi was happy because he had a blast...so much so that he is already mentioning having his fourth birthday party there. Little does this kid know mom can't repeat a theme, so we'll have to see who wins!</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-31085004264107443942015-09-26T15:21:00.002-04:002015-09-26T15:21:26.238-04:00Is This Thing On?Crickets? Do I hear crickets?<br />
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It's been months since I blogged...close to a year and a half actually if we don't count my one random house tour about 8 months back! Considering my absence, I hardly expect anyone to actually be reading this. But that's ok because that's where this ole blog is headed!<br />
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When I first started blogging 5+ years ago, I did it for a lot of reasons...I genuinely enjoy writing, I enjoy creating and sharing my creations (especially when I feel like they're good ones!), and honestly I was half-hoping my little blog would somehow take off and give us a financial boost thus enabling me to stay home with my kids. As such, I treated the blog like a job for years. I made sure to post 5 days a week even if I didn't have good content. I purposely crafted, cooked, or decorated just to have something to blog about, and when I didn't, I racked my brain for what I could possibly write about. It became a bit tedious, and once it became obvious that I was not going to "hit it big" with this whole thing (and we luckily no longer even needed me to!), I began to question why I was devoting so much energy to this project.<br />
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A year and a half later, I think I may finally have an answer! Blogging is modern day journaling. I still love creating and documenting those creations. I love having a place to share those creations...or thoughts...with the world. I love having a place to go back and look at how my style, or my boys, or my house has evolved over the years. While I'll be the first to admit, I get really giddy when I see how many of my posts are pinned (please tell me others check theirs too!), I blog for me! If you happen to be reading this, you're just my cherry on top!<br />
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And if you still happen to be reading, let me just warn you. This blog is going to be no-frills, low-pressure blogging moving forward. No more five posts a week...shoot, I can't even promise one a week! No edited, staged photos either. And the posts won't be proofread or grammatically correct.<br />
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But I will use it as a place to share things I want to remember...whether that is projects completed, experiences with my boys, recipes, or whatever else may seem note-worthy! And because it's been a year and a half, I have a lot of backtracking to do! So here we go...michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-16712357713576607392015-02-23T15:28:00.000-05:002015-02-23T15:28:07.966-05:00House Tour 2015<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Surprise! After a 10-month absence, I am back...at least temporarily! Each year on our house-ervarsary (the day we moved into our house), I like to document our progress in each room and take some time to make some goals for the year moving forward. I love looking back at each year's post to see our house's evolution. So, I am back to do just that. Whether there will be more blog posts moving forward is kind of undecided, but for now, let's take a look at our humble abode 2015 style!</div>
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Our goal (at least when Josh is willing to admit it) is to be moving about a year from now. Therefore, we probably won't be doing any crazy upgrades, but instead fine tuning the place and getting it in tip-top shape!</div>
<b>Entrance:</b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXwslnxjygdbaIRHd_fwoQ2CMMc3-nZrm6ga1tN96kF30YErXClTDFkbu3kuGXW911TrqhJ0vhASEKRKYWr7lG5JI4ZRq1hxNY2oyevIWQDgPkltNYENib8epC4xI8pJh8MtrcJRvlV0g/s1600/DSC04056.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibXwslnxjygdbaIRHd_fwoQ2CMMc3-nZrm6ga1tN96kF30YErXClTDFkbu3kuGXW911TrqhJ0vhASEKRKYWr7lG5JI4ZRq1hxNY2oyevIWQDgPkltNYENib8epC4xI8pJh8MtrcJRvlV0g/s400/DSC04056.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcTGjL8qjqhZpym7oqDsU8reKnN9WZC4P2P0TxrBkZHWrEOMH8y5w0hfcIqT3zVmkEBMJl453Q9Gs2p4RdoMt8mmGhNZjMexSoyYQK6JzMQIzccde5bPXt0DQfMjNx97Dn7KIy2NZVp9VC/s1600/02+19_2033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcTGjL8qjqhZpym7oqDsU8reKnN9WZC4P2P0TxrBkZHWrEOMH8y5w0hfcIqT3zVmkEBMJl453Q9Gs2p4RdoMt8mmGhNZjMexSoyYQK6JzMQIzccde5bPXt0DQfMjNx97Dn7KIy2NZVp9VC/s1600/02+19_2033.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Present Day</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Accomplished: not a thing!<br />
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Goals: new storm door (it has actually been ordered and just needs to be installed), redo walkway (but probably won't happen!)</div>
<div>
<b>Entryway:</b></div>
<div>
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhl1nsyXL2A97Z_h27_xkDC8-ZvWO0rQLxXI3l0vBS7isgdvpSnpuMRvcNqnId1p3x5OlPAxvaGIYrR-VfCa1USvcF5Muc86d7AfQdckXrCjWWn3onog9aoETGUxZkkINgUCcq7yJN2K_9i/s400/DSC04027.JPG" height="400" width="265" /> <img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkQGtuJC3g1i050oknSjwC5YIXWBMbvXaxDKgh01m0OZ-dBf0eU0R8AGMowwdbnSaSYiuyEy2I4o4BCViiOaBjidsjTvuMgtbNVH-g23Yq8oolJ34YwomEZNJ5cLaIarCyB8DVS2Bb_UvA/s400/DSC04028.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></div>
<div>
Last year</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdV8MRp5g4ej8b1agJeNPXSnImK-Lm1FjT_PMfl7j290q-Jr9lZkZcHSdDBZ5_O5YDokRR4KZKKcOi1iBUltWXf1doMtzIeqdm0BOuz3kHXX5cZqg2qMPaTadvDHf8ulyRJb5CvNxrhYwx/s1600/02+19_2022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdV8MRp5g4ej8b1agJeNPXSnImK-Lm1FjT_PMfl7j290q-Jr9lZkZcHSdDBZ5_O5YDokRR4KZKKcOi1iBUltWXf1doMtzIeqdm0BOuz3kHXX5cZqg2qMPaTadvDHf8ulyRJb5CvNxrhYwx/s1600/02+19_2022.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-Mxh9Wx8aFGJLmVTYkSG5hcmG9GX59hkWRIMU3FNRGdYfo8QI1p1FXcQigm9EUlUjlOMUisyTYXGHsTXm0QCyxuPTG9pLy1NPA2RJU1dp-zFDn_DliGMrNHdRUbMIz7Q8qim05QAEMyJ/s1600/02+19_2023.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ-Mxh9Wx8aFGJLmVTYkSG5hcmG9GX59hkWRIMU3FNRGdYfo8QI1p1FXcQigm9EUlUjlOMUisyTYXGHsTXm0QCyxuPTG9pLy1NPA2RJU1dp-zFDn_DliGMrNHdRUbMIz7Q8qim05QAEMyJ/s1600/02+19_2023.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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Accomplished: you probably can't tell, but there's a custom print of our family added to the gallery wall</div>
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Goals: new console at the entrance, clean up coat area</div>
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<b>Dining Room</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEghQWr1UnteAl_a4lmtZRu2t6P50i2Ijry8Ghf7ipbvlHlzn7Y1jlmLmbzk6JrDY7spc_QR9mcsLCshofNxhwL7neLQn4FKU16DTFreCzfiolZPKW6gAd-Zt9Rt2WgilR8HWyMrbWjnd3iR/s400/DSC04029.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-F7sqJ8OqQWuGMeR5EoryFfe6h6nUzfdWfxxMzrlqRIUUf65PMe9DTZcjZvrJBMsgfyOrwsgEAeMNArUJMk6FOM4XWtj6wLI6Oeu_OhN3rprL9rdR_ZGdO7nB7HxCOrkMw8e37H2Haf0/s400/DSC04030.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last year<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLU1QFiJgtbA91u04SjfaGaz7CXREJsPMXx7wBQbY8HPVXVfxJDb30AnG6jVunvPCf9VJpe93cE2JK0s52mnyaY9gSg3-TSBtUhE6e9Z-Nm3dERmXuhRPnMYwQ_SsuIeIVmS8wNonsCBT/s1600/02+19_2031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuLU1QFiJgtbA91u04SjfaGaz7CXREJsPMXx7wBQbY8HPVXVfxJDb30AnG6jVunvPCf9VJpe93cE2JK0s52mnyaY9gSg3-TSBtUhE6e9Z-Nm3dERmXuhRPnMYwQ_SsuIeIVmS8wNonsCBT/s1600/02+19_2031.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1jzB7bv0P7hRSG2OCBg0YvNmIkPYdNFtMFYb4crCU-1CFApuepzj8Q3ETP-VOpTm5tTQFxJ4C0u2HY0L_U0KyvKb96_U1RbS8CsSkMXxyOc99sn-vCjylB5dlsp0hY5YNv1wv8D-FV_M/s1600/02+19_2032.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO1jzB7bv0P7hRSG2OCBg0YvNmIkPYdNFtMFYb4crCU-1CFApuepzj8Q3ETP-VOpTm5tTQFxJ4C0u2HY0L_U0KyvKb96_U1RbS8CsSkMXxyOc99sn-vCjylB5dlsp0hY5YNv1wv8D-FV_M/s1600/02+19_2032.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Accomplished: total redo!<br />
<div>
Goals: replace fan with chandelier, replace fork,spoon, knife art (although that's technically in the kitchen)</div>
<div>
<b>Kitchen</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdB5YHt5YjDpz568tqzXlDp2ScG1wpko9QHP86yZ2jCM9HurDuB-CUIIReGWsiEDZ-RjjvfmuUleWthMtpV9oRkTPEGgzETzzK0dJHVt6cgvJ5AVPyAIyHT8lU6wHR5F9JTug27IkKMF-/s400/DSC04031.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfmVbabaPYrbirwhHXZYBxixO3NuFguFtgwCeVkx2cGqSS_OI0p2_ohhYuxTxZh9BVEH3p6GwlgGXtegMf3yl9j7_j7qOJwSKkuWDQrSmy2ZZ0YAmUqIzTE7NPHknFrfAPcEyB5CfHrjER/s400/DSC04032.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9mb7mFTw9TI-WkA1nKG0DAD8qdgnWptT59XbdLB1eRbLOe1K0DZ__kw8X1yWn231jpI6S00ThydwBlslwBQ_Y46J0-AiUy5YqbaK3iGv_lOBjRnDN0jUqG0mzoPYgpkJgK4S6QLnL1gE/s1600/02+19_2020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEis9mb7mFTw9TI-WkA1nKG0DAD8qdgnWptT59XbdLB1eRbLOe1K0DZ__kw8X1yWn231jpI6S00ThydwBlslwBQ_Y46J0-AiUy5YqbaK3iGv_lOBjRnDN0jUqG0mzoPYgpkJgK4S6QLnL1gE/s1600/02+19_2020.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7QqiT4VimNcIUQZtEk6mpmGDPey0UKdliBlB4MIkecLPrEL-RxljadKmcdJL1wqBozJzXSey5gKYs6RBg09Bz0_-JskMQ_U31dbQ8CkkveGvBFL2orO_JfNo6nTUexEy6hc9DcYUYKjR/s1600/02+19_2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgt7QqiT4VimNcIUQZtEk6mpmGDPey0UKdliBlB4MIkecLPrEL-RxljadKmcdJL1wqBozJzXSey5gKYs6RBg09Bz0_-JskMQ_U31dbQ8CkkveGvBFL2orO_JfNo6nTUexEy6hc9DcYUYKjR/s1600/02+19_2021.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Accomplished: my Keurig, new pennant lights above island</div>
</div>
<div>
Goals: replace other nipple light with recessed lights (again, already in the works), replace countertops (but again probably won't happen in light of probably moving)</div>
<div>
<b>Living Room: </b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGb-oYOpirBllEW7yVbwKFf5ERmbH6o3DVkb1OijkgfeXR7FUQq27fHfCfw3qzupVE_cRRYvm4zfqmBBEznAFeGC1zl9W4gidAtX8Qg6MaE74I-4kV8LOSyezlCgq1folMIWlhp8Hjl9M/s400/DSC04033.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLfHh4GES3vxOkR7e2pzU8jpDdKaLKcuzA1gltYsbF_U4IjeSTLAkRKz7vKAWWLfi_Bocn1EiaiNSDBmwK1AZZMLDxaYuhm1AgqiYhu-Rl7OdcmogB__T-YQODFRqx7Lb3YVH3RTsFH8NK/s400/DSC04034.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Last year<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-gw2s0p6dxkVsfVfoYOHh6HhAiK9wRR1eXOOAMwDzn0x2TMDu6vStlgbBo78C-ScBiIKovVyLFJvSK6WBwKD-4Fxqg8qyUmGOaErQ5llzn_kcwfPbH9Zt7fT5xWikTEGQy1MQP8YdIRx/s1600/02+19_2017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEho-gw2s0p6dxkVsfVfoYOHh6HhAiK9wRR1eXOOAMwDzn0x2TMDu6vStlgbBo78C-ScBiIKovVyLFJvSK6WBwKD-4Fxqg8qyUmGOaErQ5llzn_kcwfPbH9Zt7fT5xWikTEGQy1MQP8YdIRx/s1600/02+19_2017.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy7YnQmMS5js1WVDn-tmC4gUPJuHImYWiJGR5LFJWN9l3pqlnQmtLPHShtfdDOfUrOdj0fuea0zL505SnsvPxfXPXgVaza63J826F2voEtuiIVY7-mqWk2jihfTyS-VIZM-L5gWpMcqNu/s1600/02+19_2018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZy7YnQmMS5js1WVDn-tmC4gUPJuHImYWiJGR5LFJWN9l3pqlnQmtLPHShtfdDOfUrOdj0fuea0zL505SnsvPxfXPXgVaza63J826F2voEtuiIVY7-mqWk2jihfTyS-VIZM-L5gWpMcqNu/s1600/02+19_2018.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywjO4rlGyvtfzH1Z7IMlCTgbr45KnrbD9Dul-zKwsL2i6oN4WJGzKBcm7qYZI-vlSYUD9yNtPxW5rai5hTPBf32h6xDc-r-8F6LZldgVCIToslnmJ7HxZtZUzHbxTpqgzYobhKiYDZvef/s1600/02+19_2019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiywjO4rlGyvtfzH1Z7IMlCTgbr45KnrbD9Dul-zKwsL2i6oN4WJGzKBcm7qYZI-vlSYUD9yNtPxW5rai5hTPBf32h6xDc-r-8F6LZldgVCIToslnmJ7HxZtZUzHbxTpqgzYobhKiYDZvef/s1600/02+19_2019.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><br />
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</tbody></table>
Accomplished: new chair (a hand me down from my parents I couldn't pass up), new pillows, new artwork above couch<br />
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Goals: Josh desperately needs a new recliner!, clean up wood burning stove</div>
<div>
<b>Patio</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoKlrgOn9aWTuoc63K2qZt4dbGfHJ0d96I2h_gWPa1yEPKe2B_m7pv1lJnUtnQ50HUrSDBOkReW3XsYQkQkudbtscmLuj3Pr3LXBv3K2929wzRrwckGhJVvnatvDl0d5fZG28Sq2jvUti1/s400/DSC04036.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_RkecTqXGTkfPzNMzn5qaDfqnwEt4RbWWD-G2zVBDYDvn7wfKLOkZ4v0CdsX77Uy1pjXe1zW8NAQY_ZnDMBM582u02q7GsilpToXR8wfuYkELhtSwrmYZLIFOAcBFfc0ENlnC5S6O2fp/s400/DSC04037.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption">last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofz6c8RDGq8unIPxCBVAlx9puCa_T4QVDa7IH-OCylt1lLLkvsJ-tlmRBRb_wG474lGJXejJ6SbJXnSwQ9snopGKyeozcifbEIJSJba1iStDdcNPaz7LlyxYxSxhFoQrhtpXzseuIR_yW/s1600/02+19_2047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjofz6c8RDGq8unIPxCBVAlx9puCa_T4QVDa7IH-OCylt1lLLkvsJ-tlmRBRb_wG474lGJXejJ6SbJXnSwQ9snopGKyeozcifbEIJSJba1iStDdcNPaz7LlyxYxSxhFoQrhtpXzseuIR_yW/s1600/02+19_2047.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This year</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Accomplished: new pillows</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
Goals: seasonal clean up</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<b>Boys' bathroom:</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj83Y_DeENmYqxTZkZVaOuthRjeNBblM_WC6MYhHd2PaA5L2VPU6TbWib7xF-MzRdob3of-GKQLts7QZuA1S_O6S_mdJjSrp4ur-XBoaVGMAWCzD2p4NChsQ4e56_JHE9RoUmv1LdVVyNgi/s400/DSC04038.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgT9MnfNbxknEJFrPU4BtMp3M-Nvu-OM7RKxSbvCjjoAs0xCulepOgerlyK12XZE3Z4EyDrl8LC8oxSlKxt5_qdM6vZvamrtmpSGiSz6ikR_hYsPs1dTLwWHoZeAdvK8s9ygJdg9TCyro3/s1600/02+19_2024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgT9MnfNbxknEJFrPU4BtMp3M-Nvu-OM7RKxSbvCjjoAs0xCulepOgerlyK12XZE3Z4EyDrl8LC8oxSlKxt5_qdM6vZvamrtmpSGiSz6ikR_hYsPs1dTLwWHoZeAdvK8s9ygJdg9TCyro3/s1600/02+19_2024.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchzWGScaX9_DPPEKbghc4sCzVQej_JF1pex3NswoF614RKkxZSvfebsamnRZ9DkjD_-JJTJiMOcm63pBZl5Kk4k2OuRHpfDY4s3eOejL677ECAIZJbTPlajRLAxMoM4MagnO8kzxfP0A0/s1600/02+19_2025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjchzWGScaX9_DPPEKbghc4sCzVQej_JF1pex3NswoF614RKkxZSvfebsamnRZ9DkjD_-JJTJiMOcm63pBZl5Kk4k2OuRHpfDY4s3eOejL677ECAIZJbTPlajRLAxMoM4MagnO8kzxfP0A0/s1600/02+19_2025.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">This year</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Accomplished: total re-do!</span><br />
<span style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Goals: nada!</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<b>Levi's Room</b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKMPjm47GXqxa9wdaA09W4zrSmmH8LYB59ZxBP1tnbQNBpZpVvqMIzEyyXT9ll0COkKqgzGBpRRJkURXgKX4t5FwX4J1DWdpshmSz2EnIi-AgagbkxqFQdzSYqqB9eCSL0xmrZCfhBEpLP/s400/DSC02674.JPG" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="265" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPvb5ORm8xefA38RRhAeYW-hwAqkjySELqz9eYgWaChO17f9ZhGV26aRauuRxx0W1njH9s2cfq7IZhdS607aPPxj9wJkw4h-OR8IV0JdwJesObvE8AgnCJG9oLKoQy6s8EwG6W3PjtWTZF/s400/DSC02676.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last year<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5eH7Ud__FyLKVlyxclPetPdmZPhP4VEURoHgm7qkhvQ04ccVLAxUfda-4oYv8dmthECT4F-RnetUowfWeH8B3EVb70CsO5uYdyJTZtXtD26Y7UqDWhqDaXFmZFekZ2tIg8U9joumG3WE7/s1600/02+22_2065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5eH7Ud__FyLKVlyxclPetPdmZPhP4VEURoHgm7qkhvQ04ccVLAxUfda-4oYv8dmthECT4F-RnetUowfWeH8B3EVb70CsO5uYdyJTZtXtD26Y7UqDWhqDaXFmZFekZ2tIg8U9joumG3WE7/s1600/02+22_2065.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYcA9tXkYRPusvjLC6XF4uJT_u3ChOVjKNtn2v7c88O-JH_UvTHX4DGGtbVvHATfd4rId1EP07YTsWq4pIzKazNDmzam_urDAdbnQaFiTm5px3yznFMgKnGISUqd42rdPRDZY2cvmT6KU/s1600/02+22_2066.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcYcA9tXkYRPusvjLC6XF4uJT_u3ChOVjKNtn2v7c88O-JH_UvTHX4DGGtbVvHATfd4rId1EP07YTsWq4pIzKazNDmzam_urDAdbnQaFiTm5px3yznFMgKnGISUqd42rdPRDZY2cvmT6KU/s1600/02+22_2066.JPG" height="212" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This year<br /><div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Accomplished: reading corner, new rug (not that you can see it)<div>
Goals: clean it up<br /><br />
<div>
<b>Master:</b><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZu7L2fZbO3QrY0eNu9XxmGTZ0nvnt6acXzqMGRv4fbhGMkFEEg8-_Idn8JfiKEvM5V-bKYri_Gc_92NgNdypQWx3CFh1QcmirJW8LUBNNTMaQTwimohXtAyRCsZllCAoJ9JTveHBgbWi3/s400/DSC04054.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhP1E8dAmJVICe5zfT7EINLk92o5MHAXadrlxMAeX_k4boxm6WU4YoaA7Xb0jfe5xe6LLxAtPPxQa_gP9-AElTXJNrpg__9kQ_0Q5BgWSJx3RUHzDtcOJIF02KjvaSDBRb-7rtfJwFzVekt/s400/DSC04055.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Last Year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04mefCpBEqwUpBhxQISfz0YuY5O5UH8KzsULqSWXoFFqRjIwVPM1zyN3ubhfft_57hA6wOfqgQvDZC7MOVTG3CslAE0n4AQ4wrVEZcZAx9eGBeVp_smFu9mZEdTJYYVJMcU_uYL7pqQ4V/s1600/02+19_2028.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi04mefCpBEqwUpBhxQISfz0YuY5O5UH8KzsULqSWXoFFqRjIwVPM1zyN3ubhfft_57hA6wOfqgQvDZC7MOVTG3CslAE0n4AQ4wrVEZcZAx9eGBeVp_smFu9mZEdTJYYVJMcU_uYL7pqQ4V/s1600/02+19_2028.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfO_-IpI04iWTRVLm44b5dG15ctgiFEiFsEeoi_CmQNxcS1VOYnhS8ROhsnLyekXfciDPo_-wvq0sofBvfSs_SyCY7aOlqdkDhL1YN0vtW6ucSN9Bw2QbR2dwidoPuvFHy8KAenMzevRxZ/s1600/02+19_2027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfO_-IpI04iWTRVLm44b5dG15ctgiFEiFsEeoi_CmQNxcS1VOYnhS8ROhsnLyekXfciDPo_-wvq0sofBvfSs_SyCY7aOlqdkDhL1YN0vtW6ucSN9Bw2QbR2dwidoPuvFHy8KAenMzevRxZ/s1600/02+19_2027.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Accomplished: new rug, new mirror, removed chair</div>
<div>
Goals: nothing really</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Master Bath</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzhI6KIIpjHafomEH3c3YAni-fbgNN_nwNNkINXy25O52qjBZXAahdKI3J4RDD_SNGL1EUBByRBa4y_CTQWN3nnufbFcamH9ikVF2CU_b2vAGL25FfoxG79ThxXYQRSziJbBqtKM3Jw7Uy/s400/DSC04039.JPG" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="265" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmBXuvXi0oDIKdjsD1Bj998RRaUFOr2Sr-DS4twglAgSCw73Z8F-iZw4aSiC3W7VOcT10ah_OfE5mSVV0Xd9F3eS7ZBCtyK3GQDHGav2kn3egkkJPclf5qzk0xbx7XMZFusJ8TfJYyQBBW/s400/DSC04040.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Last Year<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLKSXJQcNOB3uQoOLhprAR3q4vDhuLWc64Xam5PZ_I95WTre6Y09VhhyV_cVPsSCZA5ntnl5yprdh6et5GMi2PlTySXZvlCeAxSF7UrvrokbS_rnZ5kmcgXFDO-4wNGHd8O2I0yYIoXye/s1600/02+19_2029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPLKSXJQcNOB3uQoOLhprAR3q4vDhuLWc64Xam5PZ_I95WTre6Y09VhhyV_cVPsSCZA5ntnl5yprdh6et5GMi2PlTySXZvlCeAxSF7UrvrokbS_rnZ5kmcgXFDO-4wNGHd8O2I0yYIoXye/s1600/02+19_2029.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzefnKvnR4x3aMtdVZQEsXBhadGqKzh0XK9d7sSpoQYOE9uVn46Z5Ce9M34vKpRcyLkcqjUdRiJg8S11MnY4lMLqyNApiYHg78-UDgFdv8MnLNA1fMFeY3hrlUK6QWSazQI8gkIQTg2W7f/s1600/02+19_2030.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzefnKvnR4x3aMtdVZQEsXBhadGqKzh0XK9d7sSpoQYOE9uVn46Z5Ce9M34vKpRcyLkcqjUdRiJg8S11MnY4lMLqyNApiYHg78-UDgFdv8MnLNA1fMFeY3hrlUK6QWSazQI8gkIQTg2W7f/s1600/02+19_2030.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
This Year</div>
<div>
Accomplished: new towel unit, new art work/jewelry organizer</div>
<div>
Goals: paint jewelry frame, fix toilet paper holder and towel hooks</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Colton's Room</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilroGiywzb0ZjmVW57npOTptsQwpew7C8K6M8iE95tSRbJWT2BSVy6nDM62aPp5hfz12yKmQfPTboE-xp9fgd7hIHYaP4eAc79wQuS0c26SF5RuFATewG34WIPdr4TwlmI867WZC5n5qEb/s400/DSC04041.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br />
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3JN9UUq2zoTHHwbx7xCEQZEwZ3K-q_jsF8qp7awD8JzNgy9DGmoL1lYazZ_ahwguvPchEy0IzrntkL1uj86sE5M9xUySco5-OC9uDocwiKgIsmim9mXPGAAx_42Uzwty86gmw__X7DNf0/s400/DSC04042.JPG" height="265" width="400" /><br />
Last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdggNOssU0Q7J8JjUNmBqFjKha8qTxYWRO5iQ9cwQiWYm9hLZ_fqu22x8-DnJ7jOb6yESURa34JcwD3aiXCIyGrE1HXvlzT5CLhyac0WJqB0Po9ZjUSYK8HVhdT6AosXs55VSqIu92nzS/s1600/02+19_2035.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxdggNOssU0Q7J8JjUNmBqFjKha8qTxYWRO5iQ9cwQiWYm9hLZ_fqu22x8-DnJ7jOb6yESURa34JcwD3aiXCIyGrE1HXvlzT5CLhyac0WJqB0Po9ZjUSYK8HVhdT6AosXs55VSqIu92nzS/s1600/02+19_2035.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCzVi2Bc_JqY5PTP30q9rL3Yxsi_196n9B2QiQ-iQRqaEpzjcki_haFACCyAMs63LCl61F7EfbE_I7aNiFyKWTBI1ibLoKGbi76wmaLpMk_z0jiDH4JNnuW9vEqI1ZFs12wgMPzyVWK8n/s1600/02+19_2034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsCzVi2Bc_JqY5PTP30q9rL3Yxsi_196n9B2QiQ-iQRqaEpzjcki_haFACCyAMs63LCl61F7EfbE_I7aNiFyKWTBI1ibLoKGbi76wmaLpMk_z0jiDH4JNnuW9vEqI1ZFs12wgMPzyVWK8n/s1600/02+19_2034.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><br />
This Year<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Accomplished: more toy storage (and more chaos...the boy has become a major pack rat!), new light</div>
<div>
Goals: clean it up</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Bathroom</b></div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSpDpETT1DQ-JXyyyzit7EgEo8vih5UwSnb6IwNkHlTzxg-ZoLT6iEE407xUAchkaFHXIxrvJguIgXsh8V7LwJ46Z2fL7iGlDFbYPzONCT5lXKnRnqd0JvHE9KbksWlMUnvxrHsHB4V7UJ/s400/DSC01586.JPG" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="265" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnxBZnGLhz8JMufHlUue3FBXOrEgxDt5TLotP6ngDOv9HwW3xqi92ElufmnGBPBO7kxkBFNe0Q99mzCidbta4NYtpgL6JbpOe2EJGXMkm6JhrAsUwS98yx0CnHzWeBH_AvwWf1IQmNFqN4/s400/DSC01590.JPG" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="265" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Last year<br />
<br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0igEMsVF6VbFBETbUS2am1OibpDVSzzqelKgOOxBpg6RcP33XW3633KUIqc_sCXvW4P9w2B18DZrBqNu5OCTm367MsRQNgVinXk2wQp6NepJX3Qe6XjTHa-Hzkir1Xz3UOyb8jQK0Q0x7/s1600/02+19_2037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="font-size: medium; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0igEMsVF6VbFBETbUS2am1OibpDVSzzqelKgOOxBpg6RcP33XW3633KUIqc_sCXvW4P9w2B18DZrBqNu5OCTm367MsRQNgVinXk2wQp6NepJX3Qe6XjTHa-Hzkir1Xz3UOyb8jQK0Q0x7/s1600/02+19_2037.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxkoSGEmMRcc_W8iMief8lWJW_Dd_9z74mgWdM6czYcEiRFR0UYfyxk7dm_GeQiHIxFDr5y3LmXyqRhv17Mi8MFyjcwtkFHNlmwlllA_C-pkEqeat4YyjiyjNQVGJ9GzmJg9nCA03zpt8/s1600/02+19_2038.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOxkoSGEmMRcc_W8iMief8lWJW_Dd_9z74mgWdM6czYcEiRFR0UYfyxk7dm_GeQiHIxFDr5y3LmXyqRhv17Mi8MFyjcwtkFHNlmwlllA_C-pkEqeat4YyjiyjNQVGJ9GzmJg9nCA03zpt8/s1600/02+19_2038.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This year</td></tr>
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Accomplished: nothing!</div>
<div>
Goals:fix toilet paper holder</div>
<div>
<b>Laundry Room</b></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4x6Ze1ViDlcrVZVCIJKSmfUT3GAvSsvHc2dirlQZpTSZyuENlf-0XnITK3EjCl1Vq6020M3ZmpQDp-XMBHiShKxu5iIKVC_PQFC_W2B8bUWa9e9Z2Imw96OUpe8iUnboawshcSOPe96L/s400/DSC04045.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
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<tr><td><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO4x6Ze1ViDlcrVZVCIJKSmfUT3GAvSsvHc2dirlQZpTSZyuENlf-0XnITK3EjCl1Vq6020M3ZmpQDp-XMBHiShKxu5iIKVC_PQFC_W2B8bUWa9e9Z2Imw96OUpe8iUnboawshcSOPe96L/s400/DSC04045.JPG" height="265" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8000001907349px;">Last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcwKP9Z96gMGVt5xUA56dj2ecCSgZMwskJa9YROZlSqDsgCs5e0vs7gBCxgby98IHT7vXJ5SDIenKQontpU8GNNdeHpcvZt_vQ7DPL2SymRwriatuohUHBnS7e4KA80KaXZsT5t7XlgHd/s1600/02+19_2040.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpcwKP9Z96gMGVt5xUA56dj2ecCSgZMwskJa9YROZlSqDsgCs5e0vs7gBCxgby98IHT7vXJ5SDIenKQontpU8GNNdeHpcvZt_vQ7DPL2SymRwriatuohUHBnS7e4KA80KaXZsT5t7XlgHd/s1600/02+19_2040.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_3rlDW-5uK9M65dbCGYzbMZKB29DkNGMHygbei9aJvprpfVPMc-lthgrFJgdXSL8aRmRDMZFAm1Rrp092jdU0KvPp7-Ub0wxyZecYtIKydYzeNnUmQMF-5PVuhPaUPBgQzLfojQxxGCU/s1600/02+19_2041.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK_3rlDW-5uK9M65dbCGYzbMZKB29DkNGMHygbei9aJvprpfVPMc-lthgrFJgdXSL8aRmRDMZFAm1Rrp092jdU0KvPp7-Ub0wxyZecYtIKydYzeNnUmQMF-5PVuhPaUPBgQzLfojQxxGCU/s1600/02+19_2041.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;">
This year</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;">Accomplished: curtain removed, doors added to shelves and tubs to top</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;">Goals: tame chaos of crafting/cleaning area, figure out a way to hide dryer hose (suggestions?!?)</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="text-align: start;"><b>Playroom</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilALk-04cI6Xn-ArA1nOsB2PlFyh1dzKPWIBQffUDDP7nhg8gMeSABTMnIPqAk6PMqWPcXzq9DOBILTdj5e8SWEOtTyVyC-PMumwVR8nsOaQP6F2Lz76mj-64LkyRxq2P_j9zaLqpcDVKW/s400/DSC04049.JPG" height="400" width="265" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<div style="text-align: center;">
<img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhln27jrVZCJwOf-yHM1T3m-cs8CCUE6ehl1Uii7v5Zi_G41ABmyaVFGmlfhb2ky0XHaexhKRCcutprawWUYiOFLm8sb_qHhiS6WwzuB7-iW3uVd7fic0QgbyxArmM9YS-DlqS3SqLQPQAn/s400/DSC04050.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuMFiUvsvNyAT8HCqS76niGy-mJchKJ3ge6bD6Y_gSwX7Ufv86aJnFdoGD5XLaLcp9RkL_xZfOo6aQUXNVDm5sywf4s48sCqV-iv3TaHoo877JD-_KkJLqalxjL2IR3rx-jst7Z7ZqKESZ/s400/DSC04051.JPG" height="400" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="265" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Last year</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL86xFKZjEj-Q_wruwM7rNE7p-qqFJXrQtcjav6Iet3yVtkex3blpybSyo00GyMuwT0gOZ-RPgv_9oD56iF-FA7bql9XZWucfrvwPsvXw_fdGAjFXDlhBKvolajFDdmoG6y7C7IZnuO7pY/s1600/02+19_2042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL86xFKZjEj-Q_wruwM7rNE7p-qqFJXrQtcjav6Iet3yVtkex3blpybSyo00GyMuwT0gOZ-RPgv_9oD56iF-FA7bql9XZWucfrvwPsvXw_fdGAjFXDlhBKvolajFDdmoG6y7C7IZnuO7pY/s1600/02+19_2042.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gSD5h-c3wrHrDvd_blYRUmfvk20gMg1nBNTjKKc4FW96Pi9kf1MAH5o72RSRGGBSzfVTD11atE_Q7S0a97YWutSYtKSeHYQRvtWoAT6P_HSi-_rzsJ_iUSQikEILb7zJWh6fGUfLov-a/s1600/02+19_2043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4gSD5h-c3wrHrDvd_blYRUmfvk20gMg1nBNTjKKc4FW96Pi9kf1MAH5o72RSRGGBSzfVTD11atE_Q7S0a97YWutSYtKSeHYQRvtWoAT6P_HSi-_rzsJ_iUSQikEILb7zJWh6fGUfLov-a/s1600/02+19_2043.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UMNI12NmDOlcMtwNRuj5RhKBSYMp0jbjDtv1UTybE1oojFmiYQyJ7FjPqzyrw0GjIm6oEyvWLCTxVcSop_76w3mOeMe5JaKUzymTapJgW1kotDoo3pmRYyEUOXvZHKstzCgIA2DA62jN/s1600/02+19_2044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9UMNI12NmDOlcMtwNRuj5RhKBSYMp0jbjDtv1UTybE1oojFmiYQyJ7FjPqzyrw0GjIm6oEyvWLCTxVcSop_76w3mOeMe5JaKUzymTapJgW1kotDoo3pmRYyEUOXvZHKstzCgIA2DA62jN/s1600/02+19_2044.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
This Year</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Accomplished: believe it or not, a clean up/reorganization</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Goals: yet another clean up/reorganization (possibly more shelving), updated decorations, new desk and chair</div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><br /></span></div>
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michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-36418165816514638612014-05-20T07:00:00.000-04:002014-05-20T07:00:06.622-04:00May His Memory Be a BlessingIt is with a heavy heart that I write this post I have been mentally crafting for awhile. Yesterday, at the age of 85, my Papa passed away. Two years ago my grandfather was the picture of old-age thriving: golfing, out with his girlfriend nightly, working, etc, but his heart gradually gave way over the couple years, and towards the end, it was clear that <i>our </i>Papa would not be coming back. As much as you prepare for these things mentally, and as much as I truly believe he deserved to move on to a place free of pain, it is still such a hard reality to face that my Papa will not be in Florida when we arrive later today. <br />
In Judaism, we say "may his memory be a blessing" when speaking of someone who has passed. I think it just meant to be a sing of respect, but I prefer to look at it a little deeper. Because with my Papa, the memory of him and the memories we have with him will continue to bless my life...and the lives of my boys...for many more years. He may be gone physically, but I will always remember:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>standing on my tip toes to give him a hug and kiss him good night and/or good bye</li>
<li>putting the mezuzah he wore around his neck into his mouth to have him spit it back out at me when I was little...and then watching my boys do the same with him years later</li>
<li>the man's incredible quick wit and amazing one-liners. My personal favorite: as we were driving through Miami as I was a teenager, we passed a billboard at a Christian school that read "thank you Jesus for a great season." My grandfather commented, "that Jesus must have been one hell of a quarterback."</li>
<li>his fierce love and loyalty to his family</li>
<li>how proud of us he always was...he may have embellished some facts (like when I was an intern at an NBC affiliate in college, but he told people I was working for NBC), but he sincerely believed that my cousins and I were the best at anything we tried to do</li>
<li>watching him dance with my Grammy (who passed about 10 years ago) at their 50th anniversary party</li>
<li>playing with his robot outside their former Florida house when we would visit each Spring Break when I was younger</li>
<li>getting ice cream for no reason, Butterfinger bars on the way to Disney World, and dessert for dinner because with Papa you could always have sweets</li>
<li>watching him tear up when he met both boys for the first time</li>
</ul>
<div>
My grandfather was such a good man, and we will miss him more than words can possibly say. At 85, he lived a good, full life and I am incredibly thankful that I had him there at so many of my milestones.</div>
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We love you Papa.</div>
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michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-34563073664738787262014-05-05T07:00:00.000-04:002014-05-05T07:00:15.354-04:00Go Fly a KiteThe weather in VB was absolutely perfect this weekend. After a long, hard winter, I wanted to spend as much time as possible out in the glorious sunshine. Which meant we had to come up some fun outdoor activities. After doing the park (a couple of them at that), the zoo, and even the beach in recent days, I was looking for something a bit different. So we made kites!<br />
These were the easiest, most basic kites you could probably ever make. And if you're a little crafty like me (or maybe even if not), you'll likely have all the supplies on hand. All you need is:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>large paper or even a grocery bag</li>
<li>scissors</li>
<li>wooden dowels or skewers</li>
<li>tape</li>
<li>yarn</li>
<li>crayons to decorate</li>
</ul>
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To make them, simply cut out a kite shape from paper. Tape dowels or skewers along the edges and across the middle as shown.</div>
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Truthfully, you probably don't even need the outer edges ones, but I found it helped to hold the kite better together. Tie and/or tape (I suggest doing both) yarn across the kite lengthwise. Finally, tie another long piece of yarn to the one you just tied. And voila, you have a kite...</div>
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I let the boys decorate their kites (which lasted all of about 2 seconds).</div>
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And then we took them outside to fly.</div>
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We quickly realized there really wasn't enough wind, though, for our kites. Luckily, Mt. Trashmore (VB's lovely man-made mountain) is only a few minutes away, so we packed ourselves up and headed there instead.</div>
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You may not be able to tell, but we were more successful there (despite the fact that I lost my keys on top of the mountain and then we spent a half hour tracking them down...). As easy and low-budget as our kites were, they certainly held up well enough to entertain these boys and give us a good morning!</div>
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michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-38795926301868923352014-05-02T07:00:00.000-04:002014-05-02T07:00:11.267-04:00CrossroadsI've been a SAHM for almost three full years now. When I left work, my decision was rooted in the fact that I felt strongly that I only had one chance to be "mom" to my boys, while my career would be there if/when I wanted to come back to it. And three years later, I still feel very strongly about that. It is so cliche, but also so true that time with our little ones goes by so quickly, and I am so grateful that I have gotten the chance to witness first-hand so many moments of my boys' lives. <br />
However, for the bulk of the three years I have also constantly battled the the guilt of not working outside of the home. Primarily, I hate that I don't contribute any real income. I also feel like I need/want an additional purpose in life; I don't want to be that mom who is just mom and lose myself in it. And lately, I have begun to wonder if having an outside outlet might be a bit of a relief when it comes to dealing with my boys. I know all jobs are stressful, but most people get to leave work stresses behind. You may come home to additional stresses, but at least they're different stresses. While, for me (and other SAHM), if the boys are being particularly difficult one day, I get no relief from that. <br />
So, I arrive at the same conundrum I have faced for the last three years...what can I possibly do? <br />
When I get down to it, I have three main priorities (listed in their order of importance with 1 and 2 being pretty close, and 3 being a little more distant).<br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><b>Time</b>. I still believe very strongly in being a SAHM in that I don't want to sacrifice too much of my time with my boys. And I also hate the idea of sacrificing our very coveted family time when Josh is home with us. Obviously, that doesn't leave many options...work from home possibly being the only, so I have begun to accept that I probably will need to sacrifice some sort of time!</li>
<li><b>Money. </b>As I have said, I really hate that I do not contribute to our income. Josh and I have some high goals for the coming years, and I would like to play a part financially in getting us there.</li>
<li><b>Passion.</b> No one wants to work...no matter how little...at something they don't enjoy. If I'm going to work, obviously I want it to be at something I enjoy/am good at.</li>
</ol>
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So with those in mind, these are the options I have been throwing around lately:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Party planning. If you have been a reader here for awhile, you probably know that I do have a party planning business. But as my business picked up, I quickly realized that for that business to be successful I would have to sacrifice a lot of my weekends with my family...no bueno! Plus, to be honest, the money was completely unreliable. Sure, I would make a good amount when I did a party (and if I wanted to really push it, I'm sure I could make enough to not only contribute but really make a sizable income), but I'm not as aggressive with it as I should be and therefore still have very spotty bookings. On the major plus side, I do definitely enjoy it (or at least the planning and decorating). Moving forward, I could continue to use it as a side business/hobby, but I don't think considering it my "job" or expecting to make a reasonable income is realistic.</li>
<li>Subbing/Preschool Teacher. I have recently begun to substitute at Colton's preschool. Honestly, this was kind of always my back up plan in my head...to one day teach (part-time) at the boys' preschool. But Levi is still only in school two days a week which creates two problems: 1. I only have two days to sub (and considering the pay is pretty measly, it's definitely not going to be a big money-maker), 2. I give up my super, super treasured time alone when I usually get errands done, clean the house, etc. Really, though, I realize that working moms never get alone time, so the pay, or lack thereof, is definitely more of the concern. Again, on the plus side, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed being back in a classroom. Plus, if I want to get a regular position at the school, I have to start with subbing, so I'm thinking it's something I should continue to do.</li>
<li>Stella and Dot. So this is where the money starts speaking. From what I've read/discussed, an average SD show brings in about $250 in commission. To put it in perspective, that's about 8 days worth of subbing (told you the pay was measly!)! So I would really only have to do a couple shows a month to make an income that I would consider contributing (obviously, over the years we have worked within Josh's income, so an extra $500 a month would actually be pretty big to us at this point!). As another benefit, a lot of the shows are on weeknights. As much as I hate sacrificing my family time, I must admit that weeknights are much easier to do...and sometimes even a welcome change of pace after spending the whole day with the boys by myself. As for enjoying it, I can definitely say that hanging out with a bunch of girls and having a few drinks is among my favorite things to do. So what's the problem? Well, there's the whole sales thing. I'm not a salesperson. I hate pushy sales. And I am certainly not aggressive. Which leads me to question (and Josh to flat out doubt) whether or not I would be successful (even by my relatively low standards). Sure, I have a few close friends and family members that I know would help me out by hosting shows initially, but what about after that? Plus, you do have to make an investment of about $200 to get started, so I don't want to feel like I've wasted that away.</li>
</ul>
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And in all the times I've gone through this in my head, I keep feeling like there's gotta be another option that I haven't yet thought of. What do you think blogland? I'm open to it all...any opinions, advice, suggestions, etc. are not only welcomed, but really hoped for!!! What should I do with my life (at least for the next couple of years when both boys will be in school full-time and then I have more options!!!)?!?!</div>
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michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-27355228221382127002014-04-30T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-30T07:00:02.597-04:00FumingWe have been pretty fortunate to have a kid like Colton. He is a very easy-going and even-keel kind of kid who rarely gets worked up and has never had a tantrum (at least in public)...until the other day! And let me tell you, it was the most infuriating, frustrating, embarrassing event I can remember.<br />
Let's set the stage, shall we? Colton has been playing soccer after school for the past few weeks through a Soccer Shots program. Basically, he stays after school for an hour while they come and teach them the basics of soccer. After a rough first week, he has loved it. Well, this Monday was the final session, so the director sent out an email inviting parents to attend the awards ceremony. I was confused as to whether that meant we should come for the final 15 minutes or so or for the whole session, so I emailed back to ask. When no one responded, though, I just took a chance and showed up about 15 minutes into the session.<br />
When I got there, Colton was sitting on the side not participating. I asked him why and the other parents who were already in attendance (yep, messed that one up) told me he had been crying. He's never been good with me not watching him, so I assumed we would be in the clear now that I had arrived. Especially when his coach started handing out jerseys for their "game" and Colton eagerly lined up to get his. All was going great. Colton was having a blast playing soccer (although he seems to think soccer means trying to tackle other kids as evidenced by this video...he's the tiny one in a red jersey and black pants).<br />
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And then the game ended...before his team got a goal. He stood in the middle of the field, crying, and refused to give his coach his jersey. I tried to let him work it out, but I also didn't want him to ruin the ceremony for the other kids who had already gathered nicely in front of the coach. So I marched out there and told him he needed to join the group or we were leaving. He went and sat about 3 feet away from the rest of the group...with his back turned to the coach. Can you say brat?!? So again I marched over to him to inform him he needed to get it together or we were leaving. Finally, about 5 kids in the coach called his name to get his award (a medal he was very excited about), and he refused to go up. I yanked him up, and we walked out.<br />
I was fuming, he was screaming as we walked out, and poor Levi was just following us! It was not pretty!<br />
When we got home, I sent Colton to his room for a nap. He hadn't taken one for about a month (not for lack of trying...I still put him in each day, but he was not sleeping), and had pretty much handled it well. Until Monday. When he crashed! He slept for over 3 hours after his tantrum, a break we both very-much needed that day!<br />
That night as I was giving him his bath, he said "mommy, I didn't like you very much earlier." To which I replied, "I didn't like you very much earlier either." He said, "but I like you now." And I replied, "I like you now too, and I love you always."<br />
It was a painful, but good lesson for both of us.michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-374206717767168571.post-87879525817094514852014-04-29T07:00:00.000-04:002014-04-29T07:00:06.649-04:00Tasty Tuesday: Garlic Feta DipI told you yesterday that we had my good friend, Claire, and her husband over for dinner the other night. What I didn't tell you is that I kind of wussed out and just ordered pizza for all of us (sometimes easier is better, no?!?). As we waited for our faithful delivery driver, though, I knew we would need something to snack on. I had never made this dip before, but figured it fit the theme and would give it a go. Um, total success! This stuff was so good, and may just be my new go-to dip, especially because it took me all of 10 minutes to put together!<br />
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<b>Garlic Feta Dip</b></div>
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<ul>
<li><b>8 oz. crumbled Feta</b></li>
<li><b>8 oz. cream cheese, softened</b></li>
<li><b>1/3 cup mayo</b></li>
<li><b>4 cloves garlic, minced</b></li>
<li><b>1/2 tsp. dried oregano</b></li>
<li><b>1/2 tsp. dried basil</b></li>
<li><b>1/4 tsp. dried thyme</b></li>
</ul>
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1. Mix all and and chill in refrigerator. Mine chilled for about 2 hours, so I would probably recommend about that!</div>
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Serve with pretzel chips or pita chips, and enjoy!</div>
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<br />michellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17684134265964500081noreply@blogger.com0