Friday in Pinehurst

Friday is the day the family was complete.

Lisa and Kari were both driving and arrived that afternoon.

The family that was there started early {ish} and headed over to Pinehurst.

The goal for the day was to sort thru Grandma Dorothy's house and get it ready for an estate sale.

And holy cannoli, I was in heaven.

Why, for the love, do I like going thru people's things so much? It's why I love thrift stores, garaging and dumpster diving so much! 

Grandma's house held so many special memories for the family. Throughout the day, we heard "remember this" or "Grandma would say...." it was a fabulous day, filled with warm hearts and crying eyes. Her spirit was still in that house. I'm so grateful the family was able to go through everything and take a piece of memory here and there home with them.

I think I was so HAPPY to be sorting and tossing and keeping because I never got the chance to go through my own Grandparents homes. Something I wish I would have gotten the opportunity to do. Sorting thru memories, being able to walk down memory lane for an afternoon or two. Being able to take home something of theirs to put in my home....I'm so sad to have missed that chance!

Sometimes things ARE just things....but not when it comes to memories. Those THINGS are our past in one way or another.

Anyways...I think we did a really good job cleaning out Grandma Dorothy's house. I wish we would have had a Uhaul! So much cool stuff.  

{my new rug}

Our old rug just wasn't cutting it...it was lame.

So I had been planning on buying a new rug for months. MONTHS, I tell ya.

I even knew the place I wanted to buy it from! A outlet that a friend had purchased a rug from, where they let you bring it back after a few days if you didn't like it. How sweet is that?? Cause buying a rug is such a small thing...yet not. You have to look at it EVERY. SINGLE. DAY.

So you better be in love with it.

Which I am.

She's a beauty...simple, chocolate brown with a slightly raised damask pattern.

And there's no hiding the fuzzies!

And of course, because she's brown...I have to change my black and white decor. Darn. Ü

A little bit of this, a little bit of that....

Holiday weekends for us are usually spent chilling out...eating out...going to a movie...or traveling. Ya know...stuff where we usually get OUT of the house. But I wanted to make the most of having my husband off today...take advantage of having some muscle around ;). So...we tackled the back door.

This gross monstrosity is what we have been living with for the past 2 1/2 years. Back story: when we bought the house, it had a deck. But it wasn't sturdy and water collected inside the backdoor when it rained, so James and his dad took it out. Then after we took it out, it rained and rained and rained...and James had to go out in the pouring rain and pack brick with mud to keep the rain from flooding our 'mudroom'. And then we just never got around to fixing it. Who knows why not, it's not like I haven't had 100 other things to do with this house!

But today we did it! I dug everything out...yucky dirt and blocks.

Then James helped me place our new planter bricks (it was the only thing I could think of that would work) and filled in the holes with some cement caulk. It's not absolutely perfect...but I think its 100% better than what it looked like before!
My goal is to build a planter across the whole back of the house. It will help with more regulated watering, since you have to water your house here in Texas (fun, fun). But we're taking it one step at a time!

Since the weather has turned the dial to HOT....our pool has been getting some use. But it hasn't been all fun and games....I can't even count the times I've been asked "can we swim, mommy??" this week. Why is this?

Because the pool looked like something from a scary movie at the beginning of this week! We had an algae problem, to say the least. We did everything we could, but nothing would get rid of it. So finally, our pool service peeps came out and put this stuff in that clumped everything  up and made it sink to the bottom...then they were able to vacuum it all up. Yummy.

Within a day, it was back to being clear, thank goodness!

We had a little Memorial Day get together with friends and celebrated the start of summer in the pool!
Jax got his first taste of swimming...and he was NOT happy! Poor baby. After the initial shock of coldness, he settled in...but man, he was UPSET for a bit there.

Even Aube wanted to help! Jax kept sticking his head into this back little hole....making him look even more uncomfortable! lol.

All we really needed to round out the day, was a good ole fashioned small town parade! Doesn't that sound like fun? I'm going to have to find us a parade one of these days!!
But we did have yummy potato salad, healthy brownies (yes thats right!), good conversation and happy kiddos. Beautiful day!

But now the weekends over. Dangit. But tomorrow is our 9 year anniversary...and we are celebrating at Texas de Brazil...holy canoli, I'm excited.

Oh crap! Our tree fell down...

Kidding...it didn't...but we finally got it CUT down. We were outside cleaning the van and some dude came by and bartered a decent deal with James, so it's all gone now! Just a big bunch of sticks and stumps sitting out by the curb. Thank goodness, too....cause the dude was showing us just how rotted out and close to falling over the tree was...and we probably would have had a big hole in our roof the next time a big storm came thru!

We are kind of sad, tho...no matter how mangled and rotting that tree was, it provided some nice shade in the summertime. She will be missed!

Last night, I was able to go to the temple and be an escort for a friend I visit teach. It was her first time going thru and receiving the ordinances. Such a wonderful experience! I loved being able to sit in and listen as they explained the different steps to her, it reminded me of how much I had forgotten and how I need to make a better effort to go to the temple regularly! One of the temple workers had asked how long it took us to get there, and we live close...only about 30-45 minutes and she says "Oh, you are so lucky" and isn't that true?? When I was growing up, the closest temple was 6, maybe 8 hours away...we would go up as a youth group and stay overnight. Even after they built the St Louis Temple, that was still 2 hours away from home...easier to make a Saturday trip. Then after we were married in the Las Vegas Temple...we were so close, that we could go and make it a date night, but we hardly ever did....so, I hope that we can make a better effort to go to the Dallas Temple.

I know the Lord blesses us when we make that effort and do the things he has asked us to do. The promises of the temple are so sacred and special, it's nice to have that reminder on a regular basis of why we are here and what we have promised to do for those blessings.

"We unavoidably stand in so many unholy places and are subjected to so much that is vulgar, profane, and destructive of the Spirit of the Lord that I encourage our Saints all over the world, wherever possible, to strive to stand more often in holy places. Our most holy places are our sacred temples. . . . We must strive for holiness by being 'an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity' (1 Timothy 4:12). In this way we can maintain and strengthen our own individual relationship with our God." ~James E. Faust.

And the "Worst Bathroom" Award goes to...

MINE!

So...in a month, my inlaws are descending on me to throw me a baby shower (and no, that's not like DESCENDING...but like 'descending like angels from Heaven'. I love them!). And I've made a list of home improvement/redecorating projects to get done in that month. One of which includes: MY BATHROOM....gag. Seriously. If there was an award out there for ugliest, most out-dated bathroom...I would win it. I've wanted to submit pictures to HGTV or something, but they never seem to be hosting any of those cool shows in the Dallas area, bummer.

Our house was built in 1955 and it shows, from the wood paneling to the stone wall to the stone planters to the cracking walls and ancient, broken furnace (I hate you, too, furnace) to the smell that you smell when walking in after being gone for a week...it's OLD. The previous owners did the best they could in their own ghetto-way...I guess they told themselves to just not look that closely, or maybe I'm just picky?? Who knows. It's definitely the epitomy of a "first home" and now I know what I want in my second home!

I've never done anything with this bathroom, mainly because I've just been at a loss as to what to do. After taking the wallpaper off the kitchen walls and re-painting the kitchen, I didn't want to EVER tackle another wallpaper project again. But, 2 years later...I cannot stand it anymore and I want that wallpaper OFF...it just doesn't go with anything...the best I could do is a lighthouse curtain/theme, with no hope of changing it...what matches with blue plaid? So, guess what I'll be doing in the coming weeks...hoping it only takes me a week or two. The trauma of the kitchen project still lingers.... Ü

So, here it is...another thing that is hard to work with is the blue tile...and the pink sink, along with the pink tub...and yes...that's some sort of heater, don't quite know how to use it...right now it just sends a chilly draft into the room! If I knew what I was doing, and wasn't so afraid of what I'd find BEHIND the tile...I'd take a sledge hammer to it and put down some linoleum.
There are two things I DO like, one is the trim around the mirror and above the top of the tub (shocker, I know...I actually like something...). Of course, it needs a touch up of paint, as do the cabinets and drawers...but thats easy!

See....lighthouses....makes me feel old. But notice...our tub is made for short people, lol. Poor James' head probably touches the ceiling when he showers...it's like a cave! lol.
The heater....this past week has been very cold...so it would be nice to know how it works!

Blue tile...matches the blue plaid...but thats just ALOT of plaid! The other thing I like is the amount of space...counter-wise, the two cabinets and the 8 drawers. We don't use all of it so far (tho, when Emily lived with us, she used the space!) but if (heaven forbid) the girls use this bathroom as teenagers with their hair products, curling irons and makeup...there would be PLENTY of room! I've been trying to decide what to do after I take the wallpaper off...
Option #1: paint the walls white....problem: the white-white paint may just increase the dingy-look of the white-ish tile on the walls.
Option #2: paint the walls this neutral tan color I have on the rest of my house. Problem: don't quite know if it will compliment the blue and pink (PINK!, for goodness sake).
I would love to do another color...but then again, the problem with anything matching blue and pink...and I don't dare try to match the blue, cause who knows if it would work!

I've also been looking for a new shower curtain...something that kinda matches...
This one I LOVE....the tree's are just too cute. Don't know if it would exactly GO...but it's just so dern cute!This one is my 2nd runner-up...I found it randomly on the Target website. I'm not a big fan of paisley...but it has the pink and the blue...and it's just wild enough to catch my fancy. But of course...this is 'James' bathroom'...he's a sweetie and gets ready for work in this bathroom b/c the bathroom in our room doesn't have a door...and he knows I need my sleep.

Which is why I should probably go with something more bland like stripes or a solid color....but after hating this bathroom for so long...I'd like to have some fun with it! After putting in the work to remove the wallpaper and repaint everything...there needs to be some FUN left! Ü

This old house....

Ahhh...the joys of home-ownership. If it's not one thing, it's another. The minute we thing we have "extra" money for frivolous things (you know like a pool cover or a new sink disposal) something happens. Thank you, Murphy's Law.

This time...the toilet, or sewer pipes, really.

The toilet in my bathroom has been broken for awhile now. The previous owner installed the toilet all wonky...so when you sat on it, the wax seal gradually broke away. Well, it finally broke enough last week, that on Wednesday, when I was draining the girls' bath....the bath water flooded out the bottom of the toilet and ended up all over the floor. Handyman James fixed the wax seal that night. And we thought all would be well.
Then I noticed that after doing a load of laundry...my tub was backed up with some icky discolored water. And then it got worse and worse...when flushing the other toilet or using the other shower...the water would back up into my tub. Ick. Just ICK.

Monday did not come fast enough! There is nothing more irritating than being afraid to go to the bathroom! I remember when I was a teenager, my parents bought this fantastic old house...built in 1905...it was gorgeous....but the toilet was fickle and liked to back up! After a few episodes of running for Daddy to use the plunger, I finally got brave enough to use it myself!
The plumber showed up this afternoon and snaked the pipes out front (where a good collection of toilet paper and umm...icky stuff was collecting). We found out this has been a problem before b/c the city came out and set up a cleanout right before the street. Nice. Reason #482 not to buy an old house Ü. Ok, ok...so it could happen in ANY house...I just like to blame it on this house.

My apologies, house....I do love you....well, not really. But I am GRATEFUL for you. For a roof over my head, for building equity (though my realtor friend gives me doubts), for a yard that will have a playset in it soon, for pipes that are now clear and running. Grateful, grateful, grateful.

{DO OVER}

Well, we have been in this house for a year now. Last year, before we had even moved in, I had big plans for this big wall in the girls room. I searched and searched on the 'net....trying to find ideas and found this awesome site called WallNutz. I debated and debated what to do, what the THEME should be...and decided on this cute beach mural. I fell IN LOVE with it, actually. I went a little crazy buying up bedding and sheets from Pottery Barn in the Pink Island patchwork theme (which I am selling by the way, if anyone is interested)....along with knicknacks and pictures that were never hung! A year later...this is how far I got:
Not too shabby, but not complete at all....and of course...I am SO over it! Can you believe that? All the work that went into it (though obviously not enough since its NOT DONE) and I give up.
But I do have a good reason. I saw this room:

And fell in love with the TREE! I want to paint a tree on their wall, and have bedding like this or like this! (*Warning...the PBK's website is addictive, and should be used wisely*)
So...now I've started over on THE WALL... how sad!

And now I have been searching and searching again....trying to find the right tree to paint (or TRY to paint) on the wall. Here are some that I have come up with so far, along with other little details that would be nice to put in the room. These are the two tree's I love.

Though the one on the bottom is my favorite so far. Mainly b/c of the idea of the actual SWING hanging from the ceiling! How rad would that be???
On an adjacent wall, I would like to have this castle:



Bella flipped out when she spied these pictures on the computer screen! And no...these won't be painted, I found a rub-on decal at WM for a decent price!
And it wouldn't be complete with out a small field of daisies.

I guess I should have jotted down the blog that I found this fantastic creation on, so I could give props! But I thought it is just the most fabulous thing I've seen!! Too cute!

And...thru out all of this, I really want to paint the ceiling to look like the sky.

If I was really talented, I would try and re-create this masterpiece (though we will be lucky if the tree looks halfway decent.) Could you even imagine???

You ask me? WHY SARAH WHY? Why did you paint over the beach mural, waste all that? Well...what fun is a beach for a little girl obsessed with princesses, tutu's, castle's and fairy godmothers? Yes...what fun?

In my searching, I came across more fabulous ideas than I knew what to do with! There are some extremely creative people out there. Could you imagine having room like this:

No matter that the brightness of that green would give me a headache....too cool.
And I fell in love with this lady and her creative ladder:

Other then my search for tree's for the girl's room, I try here and there to find myself a "family tree"...and this would be perfect, with attached pictures of ancestors and all....

Swoon...

Of course, I put myself on a deadline for painting this wall, too. I would like to have it DONE by the time family visits next weekend. But that seems a bit much....as always, I leave it all to the last minute! So, it looks like when my MOM GETS TO VISIT (in 13 days, 3 hours, 27 minutes and 34 seconds) she may be put to the task of helping me complete my project!

The week in review

This has been a pretty interesting week, to say the least...alot going on both good and bad! The girls started off the week by giving me no personal space of mine own, such a kind, kind gift! This is them RIGHT next to mommy while she does her hair!

Monday night Bella had her second Blast Ball game of the season, which was alot of fun...James only had to chase her out of the outfield once and only once did I have to chase her as she ran totally OFF the field! It's all good...we did get some pretty good video of her batting as a lefty.
Tuesday seemed to start out a pretty good day, until I come back into the living room with Bella talking all about "bugs"...to find my tile covered in small little ant-looking creatures. I was totally horrified, especially since I was expecting Kelli and her boys to come over! But, Kelli being the trooper that she is Ü helped me squish bugs, figure out that yes, they ARE termites, and finally figure out that they were dropping from the ceiling. On suggestion of my exterminator, Million-dollar Phil...we taped up the cracks in the ceiling to back them up. That night, someone came out and assessed the situation, measured the house and wrote up a bid for us....we scheduled for Phil to come and do the treatment for Thursday.

Wednesday was a pretty laid-back day...I got alot of yard work done:

I'm trying to clear away all the brush from around my now blue semi-clear pool (yay for no more green pond thanks to James' hard work!) so that I can landscape and get some cool stuff going on there. I had entertained the idea of hiring a landscaper, but then the termites decided to make their entrance and eat my money! But it is slow going, tedious yard work...hopefully I can find a tiller or something to help it along!
Thursday Phil came and drilled about 8 holes in my floor, down into the foundation...and then in the ground all the way around the house, too. The concrete holes are a bit unappealing, but I'll take a bit of cracked tiles and holes over termites any day. Phil actually told me that people get really upset w/ these tiny holes....I guess I understand...wait, no I don't.
And a picture of the taped ceiling/wall/overhang for kicks, looks quite ghetto-fabulous.

Thursday night was supposed to be Bella's second Blast Ball game this week, but we get to the ball fields and it's deserted...so the girls got lucky and we all got ice cream from Sonic!
Aube makes this hilarious scrunched-up-nose face, which I can never seem to catch...and Bella wanted to show off her cute 'funny' face, too!

TGIF...Friday finally came! And we had a nice treat of Jenny and the boyz coming over to play. They gave us several photo opportunities...but this one was the most hilarious! The little musical genius' were going to town!

I guess the week isn't over...but hopefully Saturday will be enjoyable....James has some great plans to play capture the squirrel tomorrow! **Crossing fingers**

Burn baby burn

For dinner on Rainy Tuesday
I thought it would be fun to broil
some hamburgers...since we have never
invested in a grill
(which we couldn't have used anyways with the rain)
But I set the rack too high up...
and smoke, baby, smoke!!
They didn't actually catch on fire...
some of the grease did...but nothing too serious.
Didn't have to bust out the fire extinguisher!

James did, however, manage to
open all our windows...
which I didn't think was possible!
And we even got to turn on the attic fan...
the smoke was gone fast!

I am WOMAN!

These are my before and after pictures. Looking at them I have made a lot of progress on things!!

It's at a little bit different angle but that area by the chimney is where I have been working all week! I cut down TWO oleander trees that were there. We have been told to get rid of all plants near the house to save our foundation. So, I've been trying to get get rid of a lot of it, follow the directions given to us....hopefully the walls will stop cracking! :) Looking at these pictures, its amazing what we have gotten accomplished! I have to give some credit to James and his dad, they did a marvelous job taking out that icky deck. We are finally starting to see some good grass come in, James actually had to MOW it last weekend!

So much done, yet still so far to go!