Tales from a Panamá-mama

On Gettin' Clean

2013-05-09T05:04:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I tried a new recipe for laundry detergent.

I usually make a liquid detergent because I just think it dissolves better

when it's colder weather (especially if you use mainly cold water to wash.)

I love my recipe and it's so inexpensive to make. The liquid recipe makes equivalent to about 9 bottles of the HE detergent (medium bottles) or probably one of the giant ones from Sam's Club.

Since it's getting warmer I wanted to try a powdered detergent recipe and

see how it compares.

Powdered Laundry Detergent

1 bar of soap (I use Dr. Bronner's Citrus)

1 cup of Borax

1 cup of Washing Soda

*if desired a few drops of essential oils- I use tea tree oil for antibacterial properties and a drop of bergamot because it smells nice

What you need

Put borax, washing soda, and essential oils (if using) in bowl and stir.

Grate bar of soap into bowl.

I used my blender to mix it all into a fine powder

Finished Product

So far it's working great.

I like that it takes up less space in my cabinet.

I'll let you know if it lasts as long as the other recipe.

(Especially since it costs a little more to make.)

Laundry,

the never-ending battle.

Spring?

Are you here?

Guess I have to get cleaning then...

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2013-05-08T09:27:00.000-05:00

5th grade field trips-

Our Beautiful State Capitol

Cute Old Gas Station Next to Central High School

Kids Listening @ Central High Museum

Ballet Fundraiser and Recitals

Flower Arrangements @ Ballet AR's "Turning Pointe" fundraiser

Dove Family Saying "Thank You"

*The baby dove that the boys rescued was fed by his parents under our watchful eyes.
The other day my husband called me out to show me the whole dove family sitting on the wire.
I just know that they were thanking us!

On Bake Sale Fun

2013-05-06T11:40:00.000-05:00

The Arkansas Food Blogger Bake Sale for No Kid Hungry was a wonderful success!

(with a side of fun and a sugar rush!)

The grand total of $2000 was achieved (DOUBLE last year's total!)

and you can still contribute here!
Did you know that Arkansas is #1 for Childhood Hunger?

My Momma's Brownies on Display!

Momma's Brownies Up-Close and Personal


Just a few of the Lovely Bloggers Who Participated!

And here are just a few recipes from the sale:

My Mom's Brownies

Fancy Pants Foodie- Daybreak Chocolate Cake (vegan)

Gina's Lil Monster's

Amanda's "Better than Oreos"

It was so great to meet up with some of my bloggy friends I'd met at AWBU last year and some I've never met but have wanted to! What a great group of people who love food!
A big "Thank You" to Christie (AKA Fancy Pants Foodie) for organizing everything. You rock!

Brownies Anyone?

2013-05-03T22:41:00.000-05:00

Come on down and get some goodies

TOMORROW from 9AM- 2PM!!

at the

Argenta Farmer's Market,

Main Street- North Little Rock!

All proceeds go to NO KID HUNGRY

to help fight childhood hunger in the U.S.!

Arkansas food bloggers raised $1000 last year and we hope to top that this year!

My momma has made her fantastically marvelous, special, nutty brownies

for the occasion and I can tell you you won't be disappointed!

Can't make it (maybe because you don't live nearby?)

You can still help fight childhood hunger by

donating on this secure site!

REMEMBER...

Arkansas has the HIGHEST childhood hunger rate in the entire United States at about 20%.

$35 can help a child care center begin providing free after-school snacks and supper to at-risk children

$65 can provide a grab-n-go cart to an elementary school making it possible to provide free nutritious breakfast for all their students as they enter their classrooms

$100 can help provide 25 children facing hunger with backpacks full of healthy food over the weekends and holidays when school meals are unavailable.

Green is Good

2013-04-19T20:38:00.002-05:00

"Green is the prime color of the world,

and that from which all loveliness arises."

- Pedro Calderon de la Barca

Tulips in downtown dog-town,

Sliding down the green hills,

A king on his patch of green,

A friend searching for greens in the backyard,

*Sweet baby dove

Just some green love that made my week sweet.

*I know, she's not so green...
My boys found this sweet baby dove and we thought she was a goner. The second day we put her outside to get some sun and her mama and papa came down to greet her! So sweet. We put her in a bush and they've been taking care of her.

Spring Break -Part 2 (or On Being Snowed In: St. Louis Style)

2013-04-18T05:00:00.000-05:00

Part 2 of our Spring Break...

Thursday of our week off we drove to St. Louis, MO.
(It's about a six hour drive from here.)

What is fun to do in St. Louis for families? (Just for you, Kelly!)
Our top picks:

1. City Museum
(This is honestly the main reason we go to St. Louis.)

An old shoe factory that's been converted into the most awesome artist colony you've ever
seen. Artists have turned empty spaces into a magical wonderland for both children and adults.
Your imagination can go crazy (and so can the kids!) Plan to spend an entire day here. This is the most expensive thing we do in STL and it's around $13 a head I think.
There are lots of clubs and restaurants in this area also so you won't be bored!

My kids want to live here!

Inside the "caves" 15 story slide!

Opera Poster exhibit I adored

Waiting to hear it play

2. Forest Park (Home of the 1904 World's Fair)
So many things to do IN the park (and many for FREE)- We've been in the summer and rented bikes there- that way you can explore the park and go from attraction to attraction.

St. Louis Zoo (FREE, and as my happy husband said "They have BEER!" If you park in the zoo's lot it costs $10, but you can also park along streets in park for free.)

Beautiful butterflies

St. Louis Science Center (free)

Grand Basin (or the grounds where you can fly kites, picnic, or just let the kids run- and free)

We happened upon a nice guy flying a kite so high up you could barely see it. He let us all "fly" it for a bit and talked about the science of kite flying.

My family visiting the second silver tree in a week- second state!

Missouri History Museum

St. Louis Art Museum (free)

Dear Old St. Louis

3. Fitz's American Restaurant
In the DelMar loop- A fun family place to go after the park, Fitz's makes their own Root Beer and soda right there. You can see the bottling plant working while you eat.

Be warned- This is a float SPLIT in 1/2!

4. The Gateway Arch (This was the first time we didn't stop to see it. You can ride up to the top, or just explore the park and the Museum of Westward Expansion under the arch which is free.)

5. Anheuser-Busch Brewery
(We didn't visit the brewery this time either. It's a neat FREE tour of the factories and stables for the Clydesdale horses. I find the history and actual factory very interesting. Some like the free sampling and snacks at the end of the tour... Kids like the horses the best I think.) Grant's Farm is also supposed to be a really neat place to visit but it wasn't open this trip due to weather.

My honey had to work the next week so our plan was for us to drive up and stay til Sunday morning, and he'd fly back the following week after working at his company's office there.

However, Mother Nature had other plans! Snow started Saturday night and by Sunday morning this was our view from the hotel...

Snow Dancers Outside the hotel

12 inches of snow by the time it was over!

Another day of vacation is never a bad thing, right?

On the way back we stopped at Lambert's Cafe "Home of the Throwed Rolls" in Sikeston, MO.

Really a fun place for kids- they actually yell "ROLLS?" and if you want one you raise your hands and have to catch them. Really hot, good, homemade rolls. Wish the butter was real...
The kids liked the giant drinks and all through the meal they come around asking if you want this or that. Make sure you're hungry or share a meal. We shared and still had leftovers for days. Oh, and they don't take credit cards...(this is when a teenage daughter who doesn't spend money comes in handy- Thank You, E.)

For more fun in St. Louis check this out:
They have a great food festival Labor Day weekend that's FREE and fun!
St. Louis in Fall

*If you're driving up from LR, also check out Blue Owl Bakery in Kimmswick, MO (fun!), Mastodon State Park and Museum of Transportation right before you get to St. Louis. REALLY fun with kids!

On Keeping on the Sunny Side

2013-04-17T11:35:00.000-05:00

My sweet friend, Jerusalem, launched her new book this weekend

with a Homemade Hootenanny!

(for those of you who don't know a "Hootenanny" is an old time throw-down, or PARTY!)

Of course, most (ok, pretty much all) of the pictures I took were of food or people stuffing their faces. I didn't have even one of an adult not eating!

Jerusalem really is a Jolly Goode Gal.

She's one of the sweetest,

most down-to-earth people I know

AND she also happens to have

a fantastic blog and now book-

A Homemade Year!!!

Monkhouse, Jerusalem's hubby's band,

was in full swing with great folk and gospel tunes.

I really adore their music!

Such a fun night!

Jerusalem and her sister Jeanetta at Wordsworth books

Make sure you stop by Jolly Goode Gal today and get your copy of A Homemade Year!

If you buy today Jerusalem is autographing them for you! :)
(They'd make lovely Mother's day gifts!)

Spring Break (Part 1) or On Painting

2013-04-06T06:00:00.000-05:00

Spring Break has come and gone...

Here is a breakdown of last week-

Part 1:
We tried to get old house packed out and ready to sell and paint living room and hall at our new house and hang pictures. (Half accomplished anyway, still a lot to do!)
I've struggled with paint colors so much at this house- plaster makes everything look different when you get paint on the wall.
With lots of help I settled on:

Sage Tint by Benjamin Moore for living room

(on walls it looks almost like a robin's egg blue)

Amulet by Benjamin Moore for hallway/stairs

Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

We managed to squeeze in a quick day trip to Bentonville to see the Norman Rockwell exhibit at Crystal Bridges. I have always been a Rockwell fan, and this was the exhibit to end all- I think all of my favorites were there. Seeing the brushstrokes and sketches really makes you understand the complexity of the paintings. It was absolutely amazing.

Maybe my favorite?

Or This?

Max's fave

Artistic kids (My fave)

My mom brought my niece and nephews, and my aunt and grandpa met us there for a fun day.

Coming home we stopped in Eureka Springs for dinner at DeVito's!

What is your favorite Norman Rockwell painting?
Not sure? Go see the exhibit at Crystal Bridges and let me know! :)

On Dreaming of Spring

2013-04-05T08:30:00.003-05:00

It's the simple things that make me really happy,

like a burst of yellow on a sunny day...

A bouquet found,

Rolls hot from the oven,

Or a smiling hen.

Come on and join the fun! This week's challenge was "yellow/Easter."

On Simplicity?

2013-03-13T09:25:00.000-05:00

Last month a fun group of ladies started a challenge based on the book

"7: An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess" by Jen Hatmaker.

It's a super concept where you take 7 months,

identify 7 areas of excess in your life,

and make 7 choices each month in ways to cut back.

Our first month was FOOD. (You can insert a scream here.)

I really didn't participate last month except to try and NOT eat out.

We are always on the go with kids activities and if I don't plan ahead every day we end up grabbing something for the kids or getting a chicken or other quick fixes from the grocery store.

I'll have to say I did really good-

and then made up for it this month by already eating out WAY too much.

It's made me aware of how much money is wasted when a family of five gets anything out (even snacks or drinks.)

This month?

CLOTHING

This I have in the bag.

I AM a jeans and t-shirts kind of gal.

My choices of clothing for the month:

Pure Charity T-Shirt (Thanks, *Pure Charity!)
Jeans
Park Hill T-shirt
Black Yoga Pants
Bird Shirt by Erin
Heifer Project shirt
Purple tie-dyed shirt

I'm not counting some things like shoes, pjs, or undies-

and not counting jackets because AR weather is crazy and some days I might need one and others not.

The funny thing?

I was apologizing to my daughter for picking her up from dance looking like a bum with paint all over my clothes and she said "OH! I didn't even know you were doing the challenge, you dress in 7 things anyway I think!" Maybe after this is over I can get a makeover...

What I'm realizing is that even though I try to live

SIMPLY

the fact is that I am accustomed to excess.

We are moving and as I go through the piles of "stuff" that I will never

use I realize that it's crazy how much we can accumulate over time.

Even giving away an average of 2 bags a month I have a houseful of things I really don't need.

We got broken into last week and I was almost grateful.

Crazy, I know

but I was thinking

Maybe he will take it all away so I don't have to deal with it.

Not the right attitude.

So...

I'm baring and paring

Stay tuned...

*On Pure Charity...

Rewards Network Promo from Pure Charity on Vimeo.

Monday Mantras: Beauty

2013-02-11T10:18:00.003-06:00


Ross Perot Science Museum in Dallas, TX

Go join the fun!

Getting There

2013-02-06T11:50:00.004-06:00

My accomplishment for the week:

Kitchen tile DONE!

Stove Area

Sink area

Breakfast Nook

The countertops need to be re-sanded and oiled now though (I'm a messy grouter!)

We went with Cepac small subway tiles in Vintage Moss Green (I found them online for almost half of what I could get locally.) The border is Cepac mosaic tiles in Abalone. I did find them locally for a decent price, and it didn't take much to do the border because they came in 12 x 12 squares that I cut into strips. The beautiful handmade Celtic tiles I ordered from Earth Song Tiles. They were so nice and I even sent them samples of my tiles first so they could tell me what colors would look best with them. I think the hardest part of tiling is picking the tile!

Hubby's accomplishment:

Playroom floor DONE!

We ordered cork floor from Lumber Liquidators. It was floating floor and honestly was harder to put in than we expected. Took him two days. It is beautiful though and the kids have already moved toys in even though there isn't any furniture in there. (Now for furniture...)

Now on to painting the hallway and living room!

On Shopping Locally

2012-12-11T09:40:00.001-06:00

Christmas is almost here!

With the crazy rush of the season I was happy to take some time

to visit with some bloggy friends and taste some goodies from

Argenta Market!


Chef Brian telling us about some of the goodies from their catering menu.

We sampled:

Buffalo sausage bites from Ratchford Farms in Marshall, AR (well, I didn't try them as I don't eat red meat, but they looked good)
Wonderful Coconut Shrimp with Cranberry dipping sauce. (Argenta Market has very fresh seafood flown in weekly from the Gulf- see their website for what's in this week!)
Lovely fruit and cheese tray with Honeysuckle Lane Arkansas cheeses from Daley Dairy in Rosebud, AR.
White Chocolate and Cranberry cheese ball with cookies from a mix by Resident Chef in Maumelle, AR. *I normally don't like sweet dips but this was so yummy. Like a cheesecake on a cracker!
Spinach Parmesean dip also by Resident Chef. Everyone loved this but I thought it had a tad too much onion for me. My hubby would love it.
Croque Monsieur- a lovely Monte Cristo-esque sandwich made on jalapeno cornbread by Arkansas Fresh bakery, with Petit Jean ham, Argenta Market's smoked turkey (my kids ADORE this,) and chipotle mayonnaise. It's dipped in an egg wash and panko breadcrumbs and oven-fried. (Again, I didn't try this but it had rave reviews by fellow bloggers!)

Need fruit or cheese trays in a hurry? I've gotten entire fresh smoked salmons for parties that are DELICIOUS. Just give them a few days notice as they smoke meat once a week I believe.

Entire holiday meals are even available!

Small Turkey Dinner (serves 10-12) – $89.99
Large Turkey Dinner (serves 20-24) – $149.99
Small Ham Dinner (serves 10-12) – $99.99
Large Ham Dinner (serves 20-24) – $169.99

Dinners include meat, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, dressing, cranberry sauce and rolls.

Pie is also available (a necessity.)

Call 501-379-9980 to order!

(Ordering information can also be found online.)

For Christmas dinner the deadline is December 14th and pick up by December 24th at noon.

My family adores Argenta Market. It's on the way to school so if we have time we stop for snacks or last minute dinner ideas. One of those local places where people remember you and

make you feel at home. My kids beg for their smoked turkey.

It's also a great place for lunch! During the season it's across from the North Little Rock Farmer's market (all organic and local!)

Our favorite cashier!

We were given wonderful gift baskets to sample. The baskets are made in Little Rock and contain all Arkansas made products. Beautiful and already wrapped! They have two options available and both are limited so call and reserve yours today! (I'm going to!)

My basket had:

K-Bee's Cream Honey & Blueberries- great on fresh biscuits
My Brother's Salsa (medium)
The Resident Chef's Spinach Parmesan gourmet dip mix
Stutzman's Pantry Peach Jam
War Eagle Mills- Hot Roll Mix
Southern Girl Soapery's Home Brew Soap (made with Diamond Bear beer!) Great manly gift!

It was so nice to see my AR Women Bloggers friends again and get great holiday ideas.

Thank you Stephanie and Argenta Market!

For more Arkansas goodness enter for a chance to win a Petit Jean gift basket
on Arkansas Women Bloggers.

On the Rush

2012-12-09T11:14:00.001-06:00

What a busy few weeks...

Nutcracker week and one more show to go!

If you are in LR make sure to come see the last show at 2:00 PM today!

My tiny cannon soldiers are the 3rd and 4th from left

Old Statehouse


*Lights Downtown*

I have two cannon soldiers, an Arabian girl, and flower in the show this year!

Also downtown today is the AR Craft Guild's show at the Statehouse convention center.

Lots of great deals on beautiful things by Arkansas artists.

If you say you're a FB fan they will give you a free ticket to get in the art show.

Helping his dad with French Drains

Off stage we are trying to get the house done so we can move in this week...

Wish us luck!

Hip, Hip, Hooray!

2012-11-20T09:34:00.001-06:00

HIP!

Hip!

Hooray!

Now you can have fun in your boots too!

The winner has been emailed... I haven't heard from them yet so please check your mail!
Thank you Country Outfitter for giving us this fun Giveaway!

On House Progress

2012-11-12T11:38:00.002-06:00

Trying hard to get in the house by Thanksgiving...

Cabinets and Countertops are done!

I adore my cabinets and glad I didn't compromise.

Thank you to HomeWorks of Arkansas for Dwight's gorgeous woodwork.

We did green granite on island, and cherry on rest of countertops.

I had vintage colors we found matched for island and cabinet colors.

Still have to pick wall color, install tile backsplashes, dishwasher/fridge panels, and install faucet.

The floors came out beautifully. We used Monocoat in Dark Oak (an all natural, LEED certified product.) Scott did the upstairs and we had McMillon and Sons do the downstairs.

This weekend we framed in the playroom and got most of the sheetrock done (except for all of the ceiling.) Hopefully we'll get it floated soon and then I can paint and start cabinets there....

Thankful for a great hubby who knows how to do everything and an awesome brother in law that takes time from his vacation to come help us!

And the Winner Is....

2012-11-10T21:12:00.002-06:00

Here we go!

My cute assistant about to draw a name

Out of a real Panama Hat..

The winner of the baby basket from Healthy Families is....

Terri!

Congratulations!

On Turning the Truck Around or BOOT GIVEAWAY!

2012-11-04T11:12:00.000-06:00

What do you get when you have eight lady bloggers,

a gorgeous candy-apple red truck,

and a sultry, early fall evening?

FUN!


*Photos by Whitney Loibner*

A few of my bloggin' buddies got together to show off boots that Country Outfitter gave us this summer. (Just give us any excuse to get together!) Pictured above from left to right are: Alison, Jacklyn, Me, Jerusalem, Melissa, Kyran, and Sarabeth. Whitney (who also takes all our family pictures) took all of these beautiful pictures and she and Alison made the yummy homemade margaritas and snacks.

Putting our feet up

Jerusalem, Me, Kyran, and Whitney being silly

I have always wanted cowboy boots. I adore my Ariat's from Country Outfitter. My feet don't like many shoes so you know they are comfortable. Hey, don't tell my kids but I think at least a few of them are getting boots for Christmas...


*Showing off our swag from AWBU- Thank you sponsors!*

Now for the part you've been waiting for...

Country Outfitter is giving you a chance to win a $150 gift certificate! You could pick these great boots I picked or whatever your little heart desires! (Believe me it's really hard to choose!)

It's as easy as these two little clicks:

1. Click here to submit your email address to Country Outfitter (you may receive occasional e-mails from them.)

2. Leave a comment below on my blog letting me know you submitted your e-mail to Country Outfitter, and let me know which boots you like the best!

A random winner will be selected in two weeks and announced here on November 19th, 2012!

DISCLOSURE: CountryOutﬁtter, a retailer of Ariat Boots gave me these Women's Heritage Western R Toe Boot -Brown Oiled Rowdy Boots to review and I love them!

*Make sure to enter my baby basket give-away too!

On Flowers in the Fall

2012-11-03T19:30:00.003-05:00

I found these sweet surprises in the new yard

they made me smile...

Tiny Roses Blooming Again Under the Vines

Camelia- I thought was a Hawthorne Bush

Purple Salvia Along Driveway

Purple Tickseed Loving the Sun

Dandelions in the Grass

On 39 Weeks (Birth Stories Condensed) & Giveaway!

2012-11-02T08:29:00.000-05:00

If you know me you know I am huge advocate for natural childbirth.
Having given birth to three healthy kids I thought I'd share my experiences.

It was so hard for me to carry to term. Due to a hyper auto-immune system and crazy hormones we've suffered seven losses. Just last year we had a tiny son born before his time come into the world and leave it before his first breath. We were given a 4% chance of ever having a baby, so my children are like precious gifts.

With our first- I wanted to have a home birth, but our family was too terrified, so we went with a hospital and doctor. We did the Bradley method classes with a wonderful midwife, made a birth plan, and went to a doctor that claimed to understand it all. Ha. (I won't go into details on that one but let's just say he wasn't ideal and kept saying to hurry up so he could go duck hunting...)
The ONE good thing he did was let me carry my girl to term.
"Don't you want to pick her birthday?" he asked. "Everyone is doing it."

Emily, true to her nature, was stubborn and at 42 weeks still wasn't going anywhere (despite castor oil and daily long walks.) So, the doctor induced (which I don't recommend- Pitocin makes for horrific contractions when you are opting for no pain meds) and twelve hours later a beautiful, healthy, stubborn girl was born.

Second birth- we were going with a midwife/hospital birth but insurance changed and we had to switch to a doctor/hospital birth. The baby was breech. Also being stubborn he refused to turn when the doctor (yes, a different and wonderful one) tried to point him in the right direction. At 40 weeks I went to my acupuncturist to try and get him to turn and while on the table he moved into the "ready" position! The doctor decided that he wanted to induce at 41 weeks (again, I have to say Pitocin is not fun - I did have a epidural for him which I also don't recommend because it was scary and didn't help pain) and 12 hours later Max was welcomed into this world.

Third birth- I wanted the whole natural route with midwife at home. At 39 weeks I went to the acupuncturist again to start inducing me to prevent another hospital induction. It worked! A week later during one of the worst ice storms in ten years I went to bed with a little tummy ache, woke up thinking "Am I in labor?" and then decided I couldn't be because- a) there was almost no pain, b)My midwife was in Japan and c) The baby wouldn't come on Christmas eve, right? But... "honey, call the midwife chain just in case and put on the Hypnobirth CD..."
Sweet baby Jacob was born in the most beautiful, comfortable birth I can imagine. At home, at 40 weeks. Healthy and happy.

If you're pregnant (or thinking of it) please remember that a baby carried to at least 39 weeks has a much better chance of making it without complications.

What can you do to prevent a pre-term (before 37 weeks) birth?

From my midwife:
"Best way to avoid preterm labor is eat enough protein, especially deep sea fish all through pregnancy and most importantly avoid infections of the vaginal canal. Smoking and bad nutrition can lead to preterm labor also."

What are my suggestions?
-Get pre-natal care right away. (Doctor or midwife)
-Eat right
-Ask friends, nurses, midwives, ladies on the playground, who they suggest as an OB
-Make sure to check out the Healthy Families website for wonderful information on pregnancy, early childhood development and more. You can also order a paper copy if you are someone who likes to have a book to highlight! :) I can remember using this book during my first pregnancy and highlighting every step of the way!

Now for the good stuff...

Enter for a chance to win this great basket containing:
- Graco baby bag
- Pampers Swaddlers for newborns
- Winnie the Pooh baby blanket
- Thermometer
- Nipple cream
- Two pacifiers and a clothes clip

HOW DO I ENTER?

Leave a comment below and remind me what you did to enter (A must!)
Follow my blog! (1 entry)
Tweet about this give-away #HFNow @ThePanamamama(1 entry)
Follow me on Twitter (1 entry)
"Like" my Facebook Page (1 entry)
Like "Healthy Families Now"on Facebook (1 entry)

You can do most of the above by clicking the cute buttons in the top righthand corner too...
After seven years of blogging this is actually my first give-away so I'm going to be actually drawing a name the old fashioned way! Good luck!

*Disclaimer... I am not an expert and don't claim to be. I was given this great bag of goodies to give-away by Healthy Families of Arkansas. None of the opinions expressed above are influenced by anything other than my own experiences. Winner will be drawn on Friday, 9th of November!

On Cotton Candy Apple Fun

2012-10-16T10:58:00.002-05:00

Yesterday the boys were out of school

AND

it was $1 day at the Arkansas State Fair!

(Guess what we did?)


Jac showing off his Heifer Int. T-shirt with a friend

On Hayrides and Such

2012-10-15T13:36:00.001-05:00

Pretty Pumpkins

It's starting to feel like fall now.

Our school went to BoBrook Farms for a pumpkin fest last week.

(Sunflower maze, hayride, pumpkin patch, corn pit, petting zoo, and haymaze!)

Best friends

This pig and horse were so cute.

The boys came home wanting a pet pig....

Happy Fall!

Spooky Ghosts

I can't really get too into decorating right now because I keep hoping we'll move soon.

But, it would be cute to put these ghosties around a tree in the yard.

Might have to attempt it!

Flowers on my Front Porch

On Kitchen Decisions (Countertops & Backsplash)

2012-10-05T17:19:00.001-05:00

The kitchen is coming along...
Very (VERY) Slowly...

Cabinets are in and painted (but without doors until next week)
Undercabinet lights (LED) are in. Haven't picked lights for ceiling but not in a rush.
I am not going to put pictures on until the doors are on!

We've decided on butcher block countertops for several reasons:

They are pretty
The green factor (we'll use an oil finish and use a company that uses sustainable woods etc.)
Toughness factor- just have to sand to get dings and such out
It's pretty cheap

Not sure about the countertop for the island though. I wanted something I could roll dough on, that was cooler like steel or marble but the prices I'm finding are crazy!

Trying to decide on a backsplash now.
I want recycled glass tiles I think. Maybe some handmade tiles for accent. To keep costs down this is the way to go. I found glass tile from $3-$9 per square foot which isn't bad.
For the glass I'm waiting on some samples from a company we used for our bath remodel in our current house (we used Hakatai Emerald blend and it's beautiful.) LOVE their tile and it wasn't expensive. Also considering ordering from myknobs.com if the shipping ends up being cheaper.

The handmade accent tiles I've found on etsy and on earthsongtiles.com I really like.
Debating these now:

Handmade Tiles from www.earthsongtiles.com

On Autumn Memories

2012-09-26T10:30:00.003-05:00

Fall Haiku Memory from 2010...

Leaves fall to the earth,

Autumn's children spinning fast,

My own growing up.

On Fall Break

2012-09-25T10:04:00.000-05:00

Fall is officially here

which means

Fall break for the boys,

Nice weather (meaning under 100...)

Mushroom picture (by Emily)

Boys playing in the park

My crepe myrtle in bloom