We are remodeling our kitchen floor. It had linoleum on on it. The boys and Joffre ripped up the subfloor. ( the boys LOVED getting to be destructive). We were frustrated when we rented a dancer from Lowes because they were out of the coasters sand paper for the machine. We found that we just couldn't get up some of the glue without the rougher sandpaper. So it looks like we will have to rent again. It is very exciting though. 

I am choosing a paint color because there is water damage in one area. I am choosing between various mushroom colors (Brown grays).

Postpartum Necessities

So I am 29 weeks and starting to think about labor a bit more. As I was thinking about the baby coming I decided to write a list of things I should get before he shows up on the scene. "Things for the baby?",you might ask. Nope. Things for moi. So here is my list so far:

1. Pinot Grigio- this might seems like a given but right after the birth I especially like to enjoy a glass. Last time I had to drink it from a sippy cup because I was too exhausted to sit up.

2. Scrubbing Bubbles bathroom cleaner- I am usually all frugal about bathroom cleaner. I put in a little Bon Ami or Comet and scrub away, but after and right before birth I love using this cleaner. It is so hard to bend over the stupid bathtub and it is so fast and easy.

3. Pomegranate Mango bubble bath. I just like how it smells.

4. York Peppermint patties- You have to eat them straight out of the freezer. So good.

5. P.G. Wodehouse novels- While I am nursing I get bored and love to try to do a little reading. Usually my brain is so sleep deprived I keep it pretty light and Wodehouse helps me stay cheerful.

6. Iceberg Lettuce- we never buy it to eat but when you are engorged it feels great to shove a cold leaf in your bra.

That's what I've got so far. I am sure the list will grow.

New Stuff

I got some fun new things from Pottery Barn while my mom was here. (She works there.)

Plant Stand 

New library bin

Wicker lamp shade

Painting My New Office Space

 I finished painting as much as I could reach in my new office nook and stair wall. I chose a high gloss white.

 Clean white wall. I know this is not exciting for you to see but it was so dirty and gross on this wall I am jumping for joy at it's cleanness. I decided to only use high gloss paint for my house. It is so much easier to clean.

This corner is still a bit of a mess.

I Love Making a Mess

This is what my room looked like for a couple days while I was working on making those baby shower gifts. I actually wanted to leave it and get some more scrappy projects done but I was going to have company. I think I will make a mess again this week trying to work on some bath mats.

Wardrobe in Progress

I painted this wardrobe white awhile ago but have been mulling about what to do with the panels on the side. I started working on it and have only gotten to poppies and grass. I am still working on them and need to find a good fabric to put in the middle. I definitely am going to add some bent buds and maybe a second poppy on one side. Still mulling and thinking about the next step.

The Organizing Has Begun

Sorry for the long silence, my friends. We got sick, went to Florida, got strep throat, and had Christmas and I just didn't feel like blogging much. We actually had a great Thanksgiving and Christmas between sicknesses. I hope you all had great holidays too.

I am resolved to get back in the blogging habit.

I am also resolving to get organized like everyone does this time of year but I have such limited closet space that I was struggling with where to put stuff. Then I had inspiration hit me. Hanging door organizers. So I started making them and haven't stopped. Here are a few of the things I've made to try and get organized.

This is a trash receptacle for my car. I used the cut off sleeves of a dress I decided to make short sleeved. The sleeve ends were tapered at the bottom with elastic. I sewed up the top ends and folded them in side the plastic.  Then I put a cut off 2 liter bottle in the tube and sewed on a velcro strap and voila!

 This is our new chore chart. Each child has 2 pockets. (They got to pick what fabric they wanted.) One pocket has laminated cards with the jobs on them. As they finish a job they place it in the 2nd pocket. They have to finish all their jobs before school time. I drew pictures of each job for the nonreading little kids (and because it was fun =).

  A shoe holder for my bedroom door. I am making a very similar one for packs of papers and craft supplies for the back of our homeschool closet. These and the chore chart are made from some plain old curtain panels I had. I have more and I am thinking of making some more for other closets.

Projects

 I have been working on some other projects. Like making this planter holder for the chicken coop. It's from an old display shelf from our bookstore.

 I also planted a jasmine vine to make the coop prettier and hopefully a little smellier (in a good way). Next I am re roofing the coop and then I'll get a full shot.

 Here is the beginnings of our fire pit. I want one similar to this one. we've just begun but we put an old church pew from our bookstore out by it.

Here is a rock bed I am expanding.I've been using cardboard as weed barrier.

There are mostly the "before" picture to the hopefully great "after " pictures I will later show you.

A New Table

After our party we decided to switch out our old kitchen table with this one from the old store because we like it so much. Now I think I will finish painting all the chairs different shades of red.

Swait's Super Summer Soiree

 Joffre and I decided to have a big party this summer, the Swait's Super Summer Soiree. We brought home some furniture from our old bookstore and got out some decorations. I made 3 big pots of Fejioada, a Brazilian stew of pork and black beans. We bought some rum for mojitos and beer. I started preparing for the fun early in the day.

.

 I hung paper lanterns and some of the colorful banners I made for parties.

 I cut some hydrangeas from the hedge of them we have at the old store ( they  are huge and beautiful.) This is one of tables from the store I repainted with chalkboard paint on top because the top was a mess.

 My friend had the brilliant idea of putting my too small chalkboard painted door in the yard for the kids to draw on outside.

I was all set and then.....it rained!!! The bane of all outdoor parties. I had to take all this down and try to reset up 10 minutes before the party (no joke 10 minutes!). I was all for canceling but Joffre was determined to make it work. So we reset up on our porch and in our carport and it all worked out. I was just a little flustered and out of breath when everyone arrived. My neighbor came and helped out setting up all the food stuff (you are awesome Amie!). My good friend from out of town arrived and it was so terrific seeing her and her family. Later in the evening we were able to move everyone back out to the backyard and had a great time. Yeah!!!

Extract Experiments

I had such good success with making vanilla extract that I tried orange and peppermint extract. You make the orange (or lemon) extract by using a veggie peeler to scrape off the skin of the orange but not the white bitter part. Then you stick it in vodka for a few weeks. It has been 2 weeks and mine smells nice and orangey. I also tried peppermint but it was trickier and I am not as sure about the results. I used fresh mint leaves and put them in vodka for a few days then strained them. But I think I needed to either cook it or use dried because it doesn't quite smell minty enough. I kept worrying the leaves would rot or something.

Painting the Bathroom

 Before in seafoam green

Add caption

After. They drywall is a bit lumpy but I get what I need to do next time and it is am improvement. The color didn't end up as brown as I wanted but it looks a whole lot better.

Unfinished Projects

 I think it is a very bad thing to have lots of unfinished projects. Ahem... I have lots of unfinished projects right now and guess what? I want to start new ones! (and I am not even showing you the unfinished chair and painting in my room.)

My neighbor and good friend has told me I can not start anything new unless I can finish it in a day.
So I am determined to get these projects done the next 2 months or less.

Some are almost done and some are waiting on funding or help, etc. (Just trying to justify the madness a little!)

So here they are to keep me accountable:

My chalkboard door that needs to be hung in the den in front of the bathroom.

 

My bathroom that needs to be finished painting (this is the biggy
because it is oil paint and not fun to paint with.) You will notice I am also painting some frames to hang the kids artwork in along our stairs.Just another little added side project. I am so bad right now!

)

 A really cool armoire that needs some serious love.

A coat rack that I made with different knobs that I really need to figure out how to hang on the wall!
 One step at a time.

Resurrection Ball Centerpieces

We had our annual Resurrection Ball and I did the center pieces for it. I didn't know I was doing them till a week before and I had very little to spend on them. The day before the ball I decided to do what I usually so which is float a few flowers in a bubble bowl but I came up with a more exciting twist to it. I added iris leaves wrapped around the bottom. They came out nicely and were so easy. For the flowers I was excited that it was at a later date this year because my peonies were blooming except the day of the ball there was only one in bloom! So while trimming a hedge I realized I liked the greenery and just stuck the one peony in with it. I used some of my peach colored iris with the other. Viola!

Garden Tour

 I've planted 2 rows of blueberries and I'm working on an arbor for the 2 raspberries I have.

 As you round the corner I have 2 rows of trees I am planting. We already have 2 dogwoods that are great for climbing and then a nectarine and a peach tree. I am hoping to get two apple trees soon.

 The kids corner with the playhouse and sandbox.

 Then this year I have built 7 raised beds myself ( I'm not proud or anything.)

 This is the beginning of a rock raised bed I am placing by our patioish area. It looks pretty rough right now but I am still working on it.

 This is the patio area.

 Some of the raised beds are terraced with a higher half of the bed. I really liked how these came out.

 This is my tepee for the pea plants. I thought it would look neat and be fun for the kids. I am in the process of making trellises for all these beds.

I had to make a new trellis for this rose and used an old baby gate I got at a garage sale. And I forgot to add the crape myrtle and iris by the back door but otherwise that is the fenced part of yard in a nutshell. I also have blackberries, and a fig tree  among other plants on the outside of the fence and we planted hedge plants ( holly and boxwood) outside the perimeter of the fence this year in preparation for taking it down in a few years.