Update

Well, it has been a long time since Labor Day and we have covered some ground! I will try to do an update of all the big things we had going on. First, poor, sweet Kellis broke his arm...like not a little, a lot. And I wasn't even there. He was at a roller skating birthday party. My wonderful, fantastic friend rode in the ambulance with him and I met him in the ER. He also had one of his best friends (my friend's son...apparently they don't usually let you have a party in an ambulance) ride with him, so I am sure that helped a little.

 OUCH!

So here he is a few weeks after the fact, luckily, it wasn't his right arm so he can still write and play chess. He has to wear this huge cast for 8 weeks...not something that 7 year olds really like to do. Rainey asked him if he cried when he broke his arm and he said, "Why wouldn't I cry?" Ahhh, true.
This photograph was at his first chess tournament last week, that kid loves chess.
Okay, I don't want to bore anyone to death so I'll be back tomorrow. Seriously.

Here is a great new necklace in case you want to see something fab! Green is such a great color right now and I love the rough stones.

Ok, I am really leaving now.

Labor Day Weekend

Well, we had a very low-key Labor Day weekend. A little pool time, some movies and baking made for a relaxing few days. Of course, the wonderful drop in temperature made the weekend that much more enjoyable. Coffee on the back porch this morning just made me giddy!

Unfortunately, Friday night had Rainey and I a little under the weather so we missed the TCU vs. Baylor game. It was a thriller, during which I managed to conveniently drifted off to sleep right at the time TCU pulled ahead. I woke up the next morning and felt like I had been in a time warp...maybe it was because of all the head congestion I had. Oh well, I did start back on Nasonex and this...I swear it is a miracle and tastes much better than straight water.

 Brownies...not a great picture, you can tell that we didn't spend a lot of time on grooming this weekend! Also, obviously Rainey has done something that is highly annoying to Kellis.

 Rainey made American Girl parties all over the house, this one happened to be in the part of the island that is supposed to have bar stools.

                                                                  Menchie's monkey

The End con brownies

Well, with the end of summer (beginning of school) it is only natural for someone like me to lament all the things we didn't have the time to get around to doing. Seriously, it's a character flaw...I have come to accept it as my internal Debbie downer. I casually gloss over all of the amazing things we did all summer. I am going to blame it on the heat, it has fried my brain and my short term memory.

We have just completed (mostly) the remodeling project, praise sweet baby Jesus! I am so excited to have it done in time for school. So, yesterday I found the right dishes, utensils, pantry supplies and made a crazy dessert...Oreo, chocolate chip cookie, mint milano Brownies, it was sick. I showed the kids the recipe and they thought it was imaginary.

Kellis said, "No way, that can't be healthy!"

I showed Pat the recipe and he thought it was necessary to at least attempt (he added the mint milanos).

To commemorate the last weekend of summer break, I let them have the brownies for dinner and we went bowling. I am an amazing mother because I did make them brush their teeth. It's all about balance, right?

Greece photos

I would love to post more Greece photos, however, there is one hitch in that plan...I left my camera in Greece. Silly me. Lucky for me the boat captain, George, called and is going to mail it to me! My friend, Kelly, had posted many on Facebook so you can see some on my Facebook page. Of course, I wouldn't put any on there's myself because of my fear of Facebooking...don't worry, I am in search of a counselor for this ridiculous phobia.

Anyway, I digress. Since I have a shortage of Greece photos, I will show you a (not very good) photo of another type of island. My kitchen island was installed while I was out of town. Apparently, the contractor was nervous about what I would think about it. He has these two hilarious tile sub-contractors that happen to have known our contractor since he was a little boy and they love to mess with him. So they talked me into "giving him a little hell", a challenge which I gladly accepted.

Travis sent me a text the day we got back asking if I had any feedback on the island. I responded that there was something off about it...like maybe it was too thick. I tried to think of something that he wouldn't even really understand. FYI, the island top weighs about 700 lbs and took 6 guys to bring into the house. I waited approximately 2 minutes before calling him to tell him I was kidding, I felt so mean, but it was too late. His head had already spun around! Luckily, I was on my way to get my kiddos in West Texas and it gave him a whole day to calm down. So his 2 buddies got a kick out of it and I definitely got one over on him!

Greece

Well, my life is now complete...I rode a smelly donkey to the top of Santorini. Wow, what a gorgeous place to visit. We saw so many amazing things that made me inspired by the ingenuity of the human race to create beautiful things and practical things they needed to make life easier. I loved seeing art that was created thousands of years ago. No offense, but it sure makes abstract art look like a cop-out!

Things I learned:
1. The pronunciation of the Greek alphabet you learn in college is, well, not even close. I don't think it really mattered though because I know now what "It's all Greek to me" truly means.
2. Hummus is, in fact, not Greek.
3. Sun dried octopus is so yummy...kidding, didn't try it (I'm not that brave!)
4. Jet lag is the worst part of any trip.
5. I can tread water in the ocean indefinitely.

Greece is an amazing place that has been on my bucket list and I am so glad that I was able to experience it with my husband and friends.

 A lot of the sidewalks are these cool mosaics with different patters...really cool to look at but a little tricky to walk on if you are clumsy like me.

 My favorite place we visited..Oai on Santorini

 The boat ride to Santorini

This is a shot of the island called Milos. It was so cool we snorkeled and boated through the caves. It was like snorkeling through a meteor field because there were floating pumice rocks all around.

Austin

Here are some highlight pics from our trip to Austin last weekend for Father's day...of course, we had Maudie's but we also managed a trip to one of our favorites:

The cows at the Arboretum and some Amy's Ice Cream!

That is one of my favorite things to take the kids to do...however, I am a little sad that the Arboretum just seems to be getting a little sad and run down these days. I think they have just lost a lot of tenants because of the Dominion.

Pat had a small show at a ranch while we were in and the kids got to go...they had a ball!

Countertops!

*Warning, if reading about my countertop choices sounds exceedingly boring, read no further.*

Choosing countertops is giving me an ulcer...do people still get ulcers? Maybe that was hot in the 90's, I'm thinking people don't get them anymore. Well, I might be being a little dramatic, maybe.

The thing is, I love honed white calacatta counters but Pat is really against white counter tops. So my second choice, I think, is soapstone. However, people will tell you how terrible it is and then the next person will tell you how wonderful they are...it is very confusing. Also, I feel like if the counters aren't great, it brings the entire kitchen down. So after several trips to various stone yards, I think that I have chosen a couple of slabs. They are soapstone so I will let you know a year from now how I feel about them. They have some crazy veining...

Here it is next to calacatta marble

Here are some of the other things I came across:

 Above is "Green Leather" Soapstone...it is definitely not for me. Of course, it is much cheaper...that is the story of my life.

Above is a more traditional soapstone without the treatment to make it darker...I like it, but I went with the crazier veining in the first picture. I am happy to have made the decision but my 1998 ulcer is still flared up worrying that I made the wrong decision!

Finds

Well, I have posted about Uncommon lighting before but here are a few more great things I found...

These are some old gas knobs that we are going to refinish and use as pulls on the island...I think that they will turn out to be really interesting.

I love this chandelier...they finish it however you like. It is really supposed to be a massive two-tiered chandelier, but I don't have the luxury of the space do something this large. So this is a possibility for the dining room.

 I also love these guys for above the island but sadly they are not large enough.

Soooo...the one I may end up with is very different from all of these guys and maybe a little more boring. I am officially not very smart about how to get photos onto my blog but the link is in the previous post and is called Paris Flea Market chandelier.

ceiling lights PARIS FLEA MARKET CHANDELIER

ceiling lights PARIS FLEA MARKET CHANDELIER

Rainey's Birthday

Well, after celebrating Rainey's birthday for what feels like a solid 2 weeks, we have come to the end. It's crazy to me that she is 5, I am thinking I have counted wrong...seriously. Anyway, it was a fun time. We celebrated in Tyler on her real birthday and here at home with some of her school friends.

We, of course, couldn't resist this cake since she is the girliest of girls...I know it's cliche.

Oh yes, we did!

Also, sadly this is not my fabulous new dining room, so don't get excited. Here is her "birthday table":

Some of friends celebrating with us...

These were also the fun favors we sent home after I got them good and sugared up at the party. (Your welcome, everyone!) They are from Jenspopshoppe.com and they are yummy. They were hard to see in this picture but they were really detailed and cute. I wish I had the patience to make things like this.

I have some fun things to post about the kitchen later this week... I have actually ordered several things and am making progress. We will hopefully finish someday, it has been slow go lately with nothing really new to show. Strike up the Tejano band...

Progress?

Well, we are moving in the right direction...window disaster averted. (Kind of) Now we will have to sets of windows that match with a larger distance between the sets. This is why you need a real designer!

Also, now we have a lighting snafu.

Today, I said to the contractor, "Look at these cool lights I found to go over the island." Blank stare.

Me: What's wrong?
Contractor: What lights over the island?
Me: The lanterns I wanted over the island
Contractor: You didn't say you wanted lanterns over the island.
Me: Remember about how I made a big deal about how I wanted the beams centered over the island so that the lights would be centered between the beams?
Contractor: I thought you meant that light.
Me: Blank stare...the recessed light?
Contractor: yes
Me: hmm...I think I did say light...I meant chandelier.

Lesson: I say light, you say chandelier...apparently not the same thing.
Anybody need a designer job?

It would maybe would have helped if I showed the poor guy the sketches I made before 6 weeks into the project. He said next time we do a project I want to see the sketches before we start. Hmm, that is a really clever idea. I was maybe going for the element of surprise. If so, then I have accomplished my mission.

Dang IT!

Our first real hiccup of the remodeling project...the contractor and I had our wires crossed about the window placement. Of course, they are custom and have already been ordered. I have always hated the placement of these windows because they are so random...something about vents. Come on, do we really need vents? Ok, maybe so...still it is messing with my flow. Ugh. I'm so glad that their randomness is punctuated with sconces to highlight the whole mess!

On the bright side...sheetrock is up! I am needing to look at the bright side...its like an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other.

I wish I was Alice...

I went to a cool store today called Uncommon Market in Dallas. I am on the hunt for some unique lighting. Several friends have recommended this place to me and it was worth the trip. Uncommon Lighting is next door and, wow, did it have a ton of lights. They were busy making room for a new container they are getting at the end of the week. I can't wait to go back and see what comes in that shipment.

I will say it is very overwhelming...I got vertigo, I had to step away because I was afraid I was going to fall and impale myself!

Love this one...

Well...I also found this guy and I'm not sure if he is cool or creepy! Might be neat above the range, etc. on the end wall. 

Then, of course, my favorite thing I found today was this completely impractical banner that was at least 25' tall. I imagined some man planning a beautiful dinner party to celebrate his wife's 50th birthday party and having this made. I wish I knew the story...I also wish I was Alice!

Rainey Ballet Recital

Well, we lived through Rainey's first (maybe last) ballet recital. It was precious but very LONG...Kellis was miserable, but I told him it was his penance for the last 27 seasons of baseball, soccer, football, basketball, etc. that Rainey has attended without complaint. Anyway, I am going to post some photos of rehearsal, as that was the only thing we were allowed to photograph or video.

The prequel is that at the Christmas demonstration the poor thing broke out in real hives and cried in the corner for at least half of the performance. Anyway, we were shopping on Thursday and she saw a very shiny dress that she really wanted.  I told her if she would cooperate and do dress rehearsal and the recital without crying or freaking out the dress was hers. Well, she hopped all over the stage and had the best time at rehearsal and the first thing she said when she got off of the stage was, "Do I get my dress now?"

I am truly creating a monster...I'm not big into bribery but I will say it was worth it this time!

Moose is miserable!

The individual in our household that is most annoyed by the construction. He can't see out to bark at everyone walking by and the noise is killing him!

(Sorry, I was trying the mobile app for blogger and I failed at the photo part)

Testing

Kitchen Updates!

Well, it has been interesting around here lately. I have new photos to share of the kitchen after demo, removal of crazy mobs of wires and framing of the new ceiling. I am very excited and still a little nervous, there are just so many things to think about and choices to make. I am very happy with the progress and the contractor and I seem to work very well together. He has a great attitude...I don't like it...he takes it out, with a smile...so far!

This is a view of the bar and living room from the oven wall.

 A view of the living room from the stove...

 A view of the kitchen from the dining room...

 A view of the wall that is still my achilles heel because I am not sure how I'm going to jazz this up!

 View of the kitchen from the Living room...
So that's it for now...hammering + sawing + Tejano music=progress in the Green House.

And 1 very shy, grumpy ballerina at costume check....pretty cute though, huh?

"Before" photos

I am going to just post before pictures today...I feel like it looks pretty good in the pics. We are hopefully going to make it better! I just think everything seems so dark in the kitchen. I wish that I had taken a set of before photos with all of the stuff in it. Oh well, I know that it is too late...I'm not getting the stuff back out!

 This is a photo of the wall of cabinets that is going away. This aspect makes me the most nervous...that we won't have enough cabinet space.

 The wall with the fridge is going to come out and be an island.

 Different view...or really the same but farther away

 The former wall ball court!

Dining room

The Fall

Yesterday, I was the kind of mom I have always wanted to be...the fun mom, who doesn't worry about the breakables in the house, who has time for everything. Both kids had play dates (a rarity) and one friend spent the night. We had wall ball (in the house no less), swimming and an iced tea and cookie stand, they had an idea and I said, "Sure!"

Then, this morning my out of body experience ended and I had to go back to being me.

What a bummer. I woke up to two of the cutest little guys you ever saw. Kellis said, "Can you come outside and play a baseball game with us?" Umm, no.

Ten minutes later (8:30 a.m., PJ's still on, all the yucky packing still to finish)...Kellis comes back in, "Can you take us to the park?" Umm, no.

I hear the little friend ask, "What did she say?"

I want to go back to being that mom I was yesterday...the fall is heartbreaking! Oh well, packing prevailed today, I'm on a short rope in that department because D Day is upon us. Maybe I can be yes, fun mom again another day...soon.

Well, Well, Well....

Ok, the prodigal blogger returns! Lots has happened since snow days...no, I did not jump off of a cliff. I can see how you might wonder though. Anyway, Spring Break happened and we were having a wonderful time until my beloved grandmother got sick and passed away. Sigh. Then, some sort of vicious parasite or virus attacked my alimentary canal, in Round Top, of course. (I'm just hitting the highlights here.) All that, on top of baseball 8 nights a week and packing to begin our kitchen remodel. Enough belly-aching onto the rest of the story.

I know that I have promised before to be better and record things more often, but now I REALLY want to document the progress of the kitchen remodel so I am determined to be more vigilant. It is very bare in here at the moment and my imagination is running wild, so I am a little frightened. It is either going to be fabulous or I am going to make myself crazy with indecision.

There are so many wonderful blogs/products/magazine pictures out there that I have a bit of decorating schizophrenia. In a beautiful contemporary Fort Worth home, someone once asked me what style my house was...contemporary, she asked? I replied, "Ummm, no, my style is more like, if it looks unsafe and rusty, and you might contract tetanus, I love it, style." She had no response...I think I took her off guard. I am coming up with a new name for my style and I hope I can pull it off.

I wish that I had taken before pics of these rooms furnished, but alas, I did not...here is the empty living room. The kids are loving it...so far there has been indoor basketball and then a mean wall ball match that got even a little too rambunctious for an empty room. Rainey has now set up an art studio on the bench in the corner. They had better enjoy it, it will soon be off-limits. So I am planning to post progress photos and ideas I have for the space, should be fun...loud and dirty. I think it will get worse before it gets better, but bear with me!

The 4th Snow Day...and Chas Dean

4 snow days can really take a person to the edge of sanity...I found myself watching Chas Dean on QVC. Mind you, I have in the past spent at least another hour of my life watching a Wen by Chas Dean infomercial in a San Marcos Holiday Inn. I am transfixed, I want to order so badly! My friend Jacqueline talked me of of the ledge said it doesn't work, that stopped me...this time.

Ground Hog Day!

Okay, seriously this is our third snow day in a row...the natives are getting restless! We have been slightly productive with all of our extra time at home. Besides the countless design blogs I have been scouring to decide what to do with our kitchen renovation, we have embarked on several projects.

First off, Rainey's rolling black-out outfit....

Then, while I was stranded on the side of the road (I don't really want to talk about that part), Pat baked a strangely dense bundt cake. Pat is a great cook, but there are 2 things to know about his cooking...it is either fabulous or horrible. So when life gives you strangely dense pound cake....

Bake some back-up cookies and make bread pudding! Voila...what isn't made better by cream, sugar and vanilla? (and 3 loads of dirty dishes, so much for conserving energy)

 Then, Rainey and I decided to make some homemade Valentines for her classmates.

Now what?