House Rules

This frame used to have a mirror in it.

It was a floor mirror up in the girls’ room.

Till Meg took a nap.

Or rather, didn’t take a nap.

And shattered the mirror.

So, it sat around for a while.

Till we redid the pantry

and had some left over MDF

and the chalk board paint out.

And now it has the house rules and the family routine.

I saw the family routine on Pinterest and thought it pretty much sums up what I want to tell my kids each day before they leave the house:

make good choices, be nice, stick up for yourself, enjoy school, play hard, be an example, eat all your lunch, come home happy, be a good friend, don’t be sassy…

in other words:

Be Awesome

I picked up the antique looking glass bird plant terrarium at Hobby Lobby.

My mother-in-law had an old bird’s nest in her garage from when her kids were little.

Early 80s.

And I made the pom poms out of yarn using Pinterest.

Kinda unsure about them.

Hope you’re having a good week.

Adeline’s home sick.

Bleh.

Katie

And They Call It A GIVEAWAY!

The Giveaway:

lap size twister quilt made from men’s shirting material and cream on cream floral print tied with embroidery floss….like 10 months ago, but who’s counting…

Starting:

now

Till:

Monday, February 4th at 8pm Pacific Time (not open to Canada residents)

I’ll announce the randomly selected winner Tuesday morning, February 5th.

You must email me within 48 hours with your mailing address to claim your prize, otherwise another winner will be selected.

Enter By:

becoming a follower and leaving a comment stating your celebrity crush.

Good luck,

Katie

The Newest Member of Our Family

I love it.

It has flat arm rests so my book, magazine, or pin cushion doesn’t slide off.

Genius, really.

I think I might recover the pillows – which normally end up on the floor – and use them for the day bed in the sun room.

The old couch was a hand-me-down that was already pretty old, perhaps 30 years? that we got 10 years ago.

I’m going to recover and use the cushion from the old couch for the porch swing.  Turns out it’s the perfect size.

And this morning I thought the basement had flooded again. 

Apparently I’m just a dork.

I was defrosting pounds and pounds of tomatoes on my kitchen table last night

and neglected to put anything to catch the water

which dripped onto the floor

and into the basement.

I’m such a loser sometimes.

Katie

The Final Pantry

Before-ish

The shelves weren’t the same size and there was a non-supportive middle divider somethingorother.

And a terrible cream color and a forest green floor.

And mismatched shelving.

And rat poison.

And cobwebs.

And water damage on the ceiling?

And un-helpful labels.

And ant killer.

After

I did the same stenciling on the back of it as on the front of the doors.

I put chalk board paint on the panels so that I can jot down when I’ve run out of something.

Excuse the hideous light fixture, or lack thereof.

And I love it.

And I love not having pantry food strewn all over the kitchen.

And because the kitchen got a complete over haul on organizing and getting rid of unnecessary items, I decided to use this bird hook that I picked up at Joann’s on clearance for the aprons instead of having them smashed into some drawer all havy-cavy.

Before

And I got around to distressing and rehanging my sunshine sign.  It’s above the doorway in the kitchen that leads to the sunroom.

Hope you’re having a productive week.

Katie

In Case You Felt Neglected…

I’ll tell you what’s what this week.

Bryce started on the new pantry and my kitchen is a complete disaster.

Seriously.

Starting to feel claustrophobic with all working surfaces covered in food.

But I’m so, so excited for a new pantry.

And I don’t have before pictures because Bryce started the project when I was out and I neglected to convey the importance of that necessary act when working on something of this magnitude.

I’m using every other room not covered in food to lay out the interior components to paint.

It’s a mess.

And I can’t do it outside because it’s freezing, and foggy, and cold, and yucky.

And I can’t do it in the basement, which is still a mess from the slight flooding last month.

And after reading that last sentence I realize what a whiny wimp sounds like.

I’m trying to get three quilts bound as well.

So if you notice my large biceps from hefting those things through the sewing machine, don’t hesitate to compliment.

And we’re getting a ton of eggs.

Please leave recipes requiring at least three eggs in the comments.

Or stop by and I’ll give you some. 

And by some,

I mean a dozen.

And three chickens laying at once is on the loud side of obnoxious.

And my pot of spaghetti sauce that’s simmering on the stove over flowed,

Adeline dumped a can of mushrooms on the kitchen floor,

and Elizabeth spilt juice all over during breakfast.

And I’m pretty sure my children thought that I was trying to kill them yesterday after I made them take a walk outside (for the 45 min. the sun was out) to get out of the house.

Walk?

Epic fail.

Hope this finds you well,

Katie

Christmas Gifts

What the kids got for Christmas:

Elizabeth:

Adeline:

Meg:

and Spencer:

(please ignore the wrinkles or don’t, either way, I’m not ironing it)

I made Bryce a fabric bowl cover with elastic to use when he has some bread dough that is rising.

And I got a new pantry.

Well, I’m getting a new pantry.

Starting tomorrow.

After I clean out the old one.

Lame.

Have a good weekend.

Katie

Sometimes It Is What It Seems….

a conversation with Bryce:

Me: “I can’t believe your doing that right in front of me.”

Bryce: “Why?”

Me: “It’s so gross.”

Bryce: “Well, you never give it to me.”

Me: “That’s because I have some sense of pride and dignity.”

Bryce: “I thought you’d be happy that I was getting it from somewhere if you never give it to me.”

Me: “You thought I’d be happy!?”

Bryce: “Kinda.”

Me: “…and in front of the kids!?”

Bryce: “I think it’s good for them to know there’s options other than what you can provide.”

Me: “I can smell it on you….”

Bryce eating meatloaf at a buffet….

Also, in case you thought I’d forgot:

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Katie