Friday, April 22, 2016

the guest bath mini updates

Tiny mini tweaks for the guest bath.
 I replaced the builder grade towel bar with this black one that has hooks and a towel rack all in one.
And the toilet paper holder as well.
Awhile ago I took some wrapping paper and put it here as wallpaper. I dig it.
 Wouldn't this mirror look cool in here? Painted another color I think but wouldn't it?
I got another basket to replace this one from my idols.
Top of the cabinet is looking like this lately.
Three years in and still haven't painted it. Next big break right?

Wednesday, April 20, 2016

backyard playspace plans

Remember our original plan for the backyard where we'd have a playspace for Alice set up? There was one thing we did not take into consideration when planning to go with the mulch was the dogs because they POOP all over this place. We will be working on teaching them to do their business in a designated area BUT in the meantime the best way to guarantee they won't be in there would be to build a fence around the area.
So this is where I'd put the fence as designated by the broken lines. 
With the whole farmhouse thing in mind, a fence about yay high with this chicken wire grid fence business would be perfect. And not to be a super lazy parent/aunt but how great would it be to toss some kids in there, close the gate and let them hang while we're sitting on the couch nearby chatting it up and getting our drink on?
Now as to ground cover... due to the drought I want some fake turf. I've asked around and I'm convinced it's the way to go. Not only will it be nice to see something green out here but the lack of maintenance is very appealing. 
As far as actual installation goes I think we're gonna hire people to do it. The dads and the husbands can handle the fence install no problem but since there's a level of prep work and machine equipment that goes into it, I'd rather we stand back and watch people that know what they're doing do it.
When we planned the backyard we really didn't take into consideration the mess those rascals were gonna make out there which is why all these ideas are coming into play now. Live and learn!

Monday, April 18, 2016

a day in her life (4/11/16, 21 months old)

You know what I love reading online? Those day in the life things. So I says to myself, slef, let's do one of those for Alice. This was Monday, the day before I went back to work and with the pressure of knowing I was doing a day in the life this was a little extra outdoorsy and out of the average. 

9am ish: I was up and she still wasn't. This is unusual. She's usually up by around 8/8:30 but on this day she slept in. I think she's growing because she's been sleeping pretty well lately. I spent some time starting breakfast and coffee until I hear her.

10am she finally wakes up. We give her some private time when she wakes up and go in when her sounds change from happy to bored. Usually takes about 20 minutes. It is BAD to go in there earlier because she will not want to come out and you'll be waiting anyway.
11ish: I change her diaper and put her in something other than PJs. I cut up some berries for her as her 1st breakfast and let her play in the kitchen with me while I make Matt and my breakfast.
She found the task of moving dried rice from one bowl to the other SUPER riveting.
11:20am: Matt and my breakfast is in the oven. It'll be done in 30 minutes.
Drinking a warm cup of coffee is also next to impossible so I brew it and put it in a cup with a lid because otherwise it's cold by the time I get to it.
12:13pm: 2nd breakfast for Alice, breakfast for Matt and myself. Breakfast for our family is a challenge because neither Alice nor Matt eat eggs and Alice is being ridiculously picky and impatient. I want us to eat together but usually it takes awhile for our food to be ready so we give her something to tide her over until our food is ready. Unless I decide to make either muffins or pancakes or pb&j's for all then we are talking about almost three different breakfasts because it's a toddler, a vegetarian, and a vegan breakfast. This is no wonder that by the time we actually eat breakfast it is lunchtime. I made tempeh bake this morning which Matt and I both enjoy, except mine has cheese on it. Alice sits with us and eats an apple while playing with the cheese grater. Least we're all together.
12:41pm: We go into our room so I can change and she entertains herself with the iPad.
1pm: We play outside. I try to weed a little while watching her which is not super productive but at least I got it started.
2:35pm: An out of the ordinary middle of the day bath since she got really dirty outside.
2:56pm: A really late nap time. Usually they're from 1-3. If 2:30 rolls around and she's not napping it is bad news for all involved.
Matt installs hardware and I clean up while she's napping. 
5:23pm: She's up and it's dinner time. 
She had snacks before but now it's early dinner/really late lunch. I was not responsible about lunch time today. Whoops.
6-6:43pm: We play and she watches some Disney Junior.
7:17pm: Family walk around the park.
7:47pm: Our dinner's been eaten, she knocked down blocks I built, and she "colored".
9pm: Since she had a bath earlier we just get into PJs, read a book, and go to sleep.
And that's a wrap on a day in the life of Alice Rosemary! I'll do another one when she's two. 

Wednesday, April 13, 2016

new hardware in the kitchen aka matt is my absolute hero

On my last day before I started a three week job, we got stuff done. It was supposed to be a super easy update but I dumbly didn't realize the previous hardware in the kitchen was 3" apart and the hardware I purchased was 3 1/2". DOH. I tried to find alternates that I liked better that were the right size but I just couldn't find anything I liked more than the simple one I had already purchased.
Matt being Matt sensed I was lollygagging on the project (as in I kept moving the box of pulls from one room to the other) so he took it upon himself to just knock it out. Took him about 4-5 hours to drill new holes. We traded places and I spent Alice's naptime in the backyard pulling weeds and cleaning up after the dogs. 
He's my hero for doing it and what a difference it makes. Definitely more our style now.
Don't they just make the cabinets POP?
Whenever we eventually gut the kitchen and change the cabinets, we plan on reusing the hardware so hey, that'll save us money later!
Thanks for doing that honey. LOVE YOU.

Monday, April 11, 2016

the new entry sideboard

In our efforts to modern farmhouse the place we changed up the entry way with a sideboard that I normally wouldn't have gone with. 
Since it was going to be bigger than the one we had before, we decided to move the bench to the dining area and now we have a way bigger area to walk through which is very nice indeed. I would love a new runner sometime, we'll find it. 
And so after trying a few iterations with the challenge of floating a couch in a room with three windows and no wall really wide enough for a TV, this is where we are now. Oh and the kid element, because a table behind the sofa really did not work with grabbing of things... thing.
The coat rack is super loaded with our goodies. I think about hanging hooks but honestly, this sucker can take a licking and take on ticking.
Galvanized metal means farm.
I don't care if they're overplayed, I love chalkboards.
So we took the stuff that was in the tv and moved it here. One side of just board games!
One side with video games and the bottom for shoes. 
And then we got a bonus drawer where we put smaller entry supplies that are not as purty.
Not sure why with a whole section of board games there's still the need for a drawer of cards.
Kept the same stuff mostly on the top. More galvanized.
Real working sconces would be great but for now I just used what I already have. I have seen some cool rustic ones that might be good here too.
So that's the new sideboard, a big improvement. 
The Gaines duo are our guides and we shall obey them.