Home Project #1

I haven't been blogging as much as I was before but I haven't yet given up on it. I'm still hanging in there and every now and then I feel inspired to write but I just don't get around to it. We have been pretty busy over here with some home projects that I'm so super excited about. Some things are even completed and I'm so happy I get to share some "after" pictures! But I'm going to have to break it up into a few posts for the sake of time and length.

Our first project is happening only in my brain. Well, I've done some shopping around but my home has not yet seen the fruits of my labor. And my labor has not been very involved. We are waiting on moola before we start this because we have been working on the other projects simultaneously and our bank account has been feeling it. But I'm still very excited for it. It's a... (drumroll)... mud room/ entry. This is what got my wheels turning. We always park in the garage and enter through that door, which is our laundry room. The laundry room then leads into the kitchen. All of our items then get dropped on the kitchen counter or table and they never move. The mail, my purse, diaper bag, trash from the car, keys, phone, you name it. Everything we happen to be carrying. Oh, and our shoes and jackets. I really don't mind it very much because I do a pretty good job at clearing the counter often. But one day I realized that most of those items don't have a home. Like, my purse and shoes are always in the kitchen and I don't move them unless company is coming over and then they get thrown into the coat closet. I remembered that at our old house we had a coat rack and some shelves when you first walked through the door that was our catch-all and it kept everything neat and orderly. We need that here. But we need it to be fancier, of course. This is what I'm dreaming of.

bhg.com

Thank you, Better Homes and Gardens! I love this so much that I seriously think I'm going to try to replicate it as close as possible. I love the setup, the colors, everything! This is what I'm thinking: The wood will have to be dark, not white, because the rest of my furniture in that room is dark. I think I'm going to buy this padded bench from Target that has cubbies underneath, and I just may buy the exact same Billy Bookshelves from Ikea, except that I may buy the wider ones. If I don't buy the Ikea ones then I will buy Target ones that are a bit shorter but way way cheaper. I think what really makes this mudroom incredible is the paneling in the back above the bench. I think it would look way different if the wall was showing there. We are talking about the possibility of putting fabric up instead of the paneling to save some money but I'm not sure how that would turn out. Of course, I want to top it off with a shelf and hooks and that green color that the accessories all match is beautiful.

ikea.com

I'm loving these green storage containers from ikea to hide all of our junk. They also have some in orange and I'm kind of a sucker for orange. More on that next post!

Random ipod post

We just dumped all of the photos from the ipod onto the computer and it's been fun for me to look back on what we have been doing for the past couple of months. I love that the ipod pictures were all taken at times when I didn't have my camera but I felt a picture needed to be taken. They aren't posed and they are unexpected. The best kind. So here are some random photos and stories.

First off, let me explain the scrapes on Liam's face in the first few. We were playing at the park one day when I sat him at the top of the slide and told him not to go down until I was at the bottom to catch him. We do this all the time but we, apparently, were going through a phase where he wanted to do the opposite of everything I said. So, I'm running down the steps of the jungle gym when I hear him scream. I found him face down on the ground because he had gone down the slide, flew off at the end, landed on his face, and got all scraped up and bloody from the wood chips. It was a fun day, indeed. So, he had some scrapes on his face for a few days and he is all better now. I actually completely forgot about it until I saw these pictures.

Anyway, we spent a day trying out all of Target's patio furniture. Not because we wanted to but because Liam felt he absolutely needed to.

There were a few days at Disneyland thrown in, of course.

We have been trying, unsuccessfully, to keep a hat on Liam's head in the sun.

We even tried it "Chandler style" as Paul calls it but that only works for so long. (That's a Friends reference by the way in case you aren't familiar.)

Liam has overcome two big fears. More like two of his irrational fears have disappeared over night. One is carousels and the other is his rocking horse. He loves them both now. Next fear- newborn kittens.

Paul and I have had two amazing dates at Prospect Park in Redlands. We used to go there all the time when we lived in San Bernardino but we don't usually go to parks that don't have playgrounds anymore. Our "dates" usually include a meal, maybe a movie, and usually errands that involve Toys R Us. We have decided that we much more enjoy a picnic in the park followed by cuddling and conversation on a blanket in the shade. It has been incredible. Oh, and playing with ipod apps that take panoramic pictures.

To be on top of the game, Liam and I did some Father's Day shopping one day that turned into trying on fun hats and playing in the toy aisle.

We also play with chalk (and bubbles) pretty much daily.

And we took Liam to sushi with us and he ate all of the tofu out of both of our soups then slurped a bunch of it down. He must have very strange tastes for a kid because it was a Japanese soup with green onions and sea weed. Not your average mac and cheese.

He likes feeding his bubbles to the dogs. Boo is smart enough to walk away but Emilia will eat anything Liam gives her, including rocks. I'm serious.

I can't wait for our front yard to be finished in a couple of weeks because then I can start dropping hints about the back. Liam always wants to lay in the dirt with the dogs.

Aaaaand my new favorite app is Instagram. I love all the filters you can put on your pictures. Was this post random enough for you?