Suzanne McGrath Photography

Thrifty Thursday...Let's Talk About Lightbulbs

This will be a quick one tonight.  And truly a thrifty idea!  Lovely, yes?

If you have read any of my posts (anyone?  anyone?), you know I like clean lines.  Simple pieces.  And I thought changing out the light bulbs in my laundry room chandelier just might bring a little something-something to the light fixture.  Turns out, I was right!  (At least in my own head!)

Before - which I blogged about here:

There was nothing wrong with the light and in fact I loved it.  But I thought changing the shape of the light bulbs would look a little more me.

After:

I really love this new look.

For the price of two packs of light bulbs (of course I needed five and they only come in packs of FOUR) I have a whole new look!

I think it brings a hint of modern to an old, traditional - albeit red - chandelier.  Simple!

See?  I said this would be a short and simple post.  Do you have any presto-quick changes to suggest?  

Project Life Week 17

Wowsers!  17 weeks already?  Love it.  April 22 - 28.

Full spread:

I'm gonna be honest - I barely had enough photos.  Well, actually, I didn't have enough photos.  Hence, you see the art work on the bottom right.  Regardless, I really like how this turned out!

Left side, including a fun Before/After:

I didn't have enough - or the right - letters to spell out "before" so I went with the text short-cut version.

Around here we drink Starbucks (Yukon blend, of course) like we drink water.  I highlighted it:

Right side:

So I love office supply stores (hey Staples!) because they have fun pens and other goodies.  I used a Martha Stewart label for the picture below:

Here is #3's artwork I talked about above.  It was so cute I loved including it!

Short and sweet this week.  But there you have!  I'll be back next week with Weeks 18 and 19.

 

Six on Sunday...Brought to you from Hilton Head Island, SC

Dedication.  I am here on Sunday night.  On my vacation.  You think it's dedication, right?  Actually, I've got a sick little girl laying on the couch next to me.  We are watching Shrek for the second time today so I figured I might as well blog, right?  Alas, this is not dedication.  Rather, this is called Opportunity.  But it's all good, right?!

1.  The girls all had their last day of school last week.  Last Friday, to be exact.  I failed to get a picture from #1 because she leaves for school so much earlier than her little sisters.  But I did manage to get a shot of the three littles:

I LOVE the last day of school.  Not for it actually being the last day of school but for what it represents.  Summer is awesome.  The girls get to sleep in.  That means I don't have to get anyone up and out the door in the morning.  Halleluiah!!  Our evenings are less stressful.  There is a lot less running around.  And a lot more time spent as a family.  At the pool.  At outdoor swim meets.  Just with each other.  I'm so looking forward to that beginning next week!

2.  South Beach diet is complete.  Meaning, we survived two weeks and now we've had enough.  We each reached our goal weight.  Now I just have to reset myself going forward.  I've switched out Cheez Its with assorted nuts.  I've started chewing a lot of gum rather than snack on junk food.  And I have been loving 5 calorie lemonade.  It gives me that hit of sweet and takes away the need to eat junk food.  Another win-win. 

3.  I'm sure you figured out we are in Hilton Head by now.  (Did the title give it away?)  I have to say, it has been a really rough beginning! 

We left our house yesterday morning at 9:30am and didn't roll in to the resort for another 12 HOURS!.  That is one LONG DAY!  That wasn't the worst of it, though.  Oh, no.  Not even close!  Here's how our day unfolded yesterday:

• Left the house at 9:30am
• Flew out to Nashville at 12:05pm
• Landed in Nashville at 1:30 pm
• Flew out of Nashville at 3:05 pm
• Landed in Jacksonville, FL at 5:30pm
• The rental car company was out of mini-vans.  Tried something else.  Didn't fit.  Got switched to a Tahoe.  Barely fit.
• #4 said her tummy hurt.
• 6:05pm #4 puked.
• 6:45pm #4 puked again.
• 7:30pm #4 puked again.
• 8:15pm #4 puked again.
• 9:00pm Can't find the hubby's dad
• 9:10pm Find the hubby's dad and follow him to the resort
• 9:20pm Get out the car and #4 puked again.

Do you see a theme?  Yeah, it was rough.  She proceeded to puke (or rather dry heave) until 2am or so?  We had her sleep with us so we could keep an eye on her.  Basically, no one slept.  It was joyful.  Not. 

This morning after I gave her some Children's Motrin she rebounded.  But of course once it wore off, she faded.  Fast.  Hence, she is sleeping on the couch next to me.  Here's to hoping tomorrow is better. 

4.  I did manage to squeeze in an 8 mile run this afternoon.  I needed to get it in since I took last weekend off and am running Hospital Hill (half marathon) next Saturday.  It was a nice run.  I really enjoy running in new locations because what better way to see the scenes?

5.  We flew to Hilton Head to be with the hubby's parents and all their friends.  There is a huge contingent from Omaha down here.  Not to mention the hubby's whole family (well, his sister and brother-in-law get here Tuesday).  The girls are constantly entertained which is awesome.  All the girls hung out the pool this afternoon with the hubby and #3's godmother, Mikaela.  They had a blast!

6.  I'm hoping to do a few different things while we're here.  Hopefully we make time to squeeze it all in!  Shopping at the outlets (I'm a wimp - I can only hang for so long), lots of bike rides, seafood dinner out one night, visit the light house and the Salty Dog Cafe, breakfast out, run on the beach, etc.

Here's wishing no one else gets sick and #4 wakes up a new child.  I'm crossing my fingers.  And my toes.  I hope you all enjoy Memorial Day tomorrow!

Project Life Week 16

Week 16.  I'm catching up...

I didn't want to forget the tragedy of Boston so I included a small insert with a bib I rec'd at one of my long runs.  I think it's a simple way of remembering.

I love this project.  Seriously.  Love it.

This week was a big one for us - #4 turned 4 years old.  That is big time.  4 years is no longer little.  It means independence.  Putting on her shoes by herself.  Riding in a booster seat rather than a 5-point harness carseat.  And most importantly?  Not asking to be carried everywhere.  I am loving four!  

Full spread:

Left side:

And some of the details:

I adored the picture above of #4 before blowing out her candles.  Since it was taken inside, with low light, I decided to embrace the grain and just turn the picture into a black/white.  I love it.  It tells the whole story without one word.  

Getting a sprinkler system installed was big time for us.  After living in this house for 10 years without one, we decided THIS was the year.  We pulled the trigger and the hubby was and still is THRILLED!  So of course I had to document the occassion.  Just a couple words on the picture and presto!

 

Right side:

More details below:

This next picture shows how I documented #4's birthday party.  Since it was such a low-key event I didn't include a special spread - just a couple pictures, instead.  Also, I included one of the tags she received on a present.  So cute.

I highlighed the picture of my new dining room chandeliers by cutting up a journal card and just writing a little something to document the occasion.  I like how the little something helped to break up the gray space.

Another Ali Edwards inspired overlay:

Lastly, I just made my own flag to attach to my picture.  I like how it turned out and it was super simple.

And there you have it!  One more week down for the record.  I love it!

Project Life Week 15

I had this post all scheduled and ready to go.  But I wanted to take just a moment to say those in Oklahoma dealing with the aftermath of the tornado are in my heart and mind today.  I am wishing them a safe and speedy recovery.  If you'd like to do something, you can donate to the Red Cross.

On a lighter note...

I'm getting caught up...Welcome to week 15!  April 8th - 14th

Full spread:

I included both the hubby's and my race bib this week.  I just stuck them together so you can see it from the front and back.  I chose not to put it into a plastic page protector again because it's just so easy to do it this way.  Easy is good.

Here's the left side:

This page makes me happy.  I think it's all the green repeated throughout.  Green is one of my favorite colors!  (And pink.  Duh.)

This notecard below just happened to be the perfect size for the 6x4 pocket so naturally I had to include it!  I mean, seriously, how cute is that?!  Love #3.

I thought it was a fun idea to include the paint swatch that matched the walls of #2's room.  I just put a little asterick next to the color we used.  

Right side:

I just loved this Instagram shot I took of the big girls and their friends.  Since Instagram is only 4x4 I just put an inch of black on either side of the photo before printing.  (Basically, just opened a new canvas in Photoshop, Filled with black, and Moved my picture on top before flattening.)  I wanted to give it a little something-something so I added the glittered SONIC letters.  Fun!

I loved this picture of me and my "sole" sisters.  And I wanted to highlight it in some way.  Hence, the Ali Edwards-inspired rectangle and arrow.  

And of course I had to document my PR (personal record for those of you non-runners).  And what better way to do that then with green, sparkly stickers?

I'm still loving adding journaling using a bit of a journal card cut to size and adhered to the photo.  It's a great way to add just a little bit of oomph.

And there you have it.  Week 15 done!  

Six on Sunday

Howdy!  I hope everyone had a great week.  Ours was typical and busy.  Let's get on with it, shall we?

1.  My parents came for a visit this weekend.  Their goal was three-fold: 1.  See their six grandkids play their respective sport, 2.  Pick up their Crate and Barrel purchase, and 3.  Check out the goods at Nebraska Furniture Mart.  They were 95% successful.

They picked up their purchase.  They even made more purchases - one each day from NFM.  So where did they strike out?  Well, they made it to everyone's game or meet with one exception.  #1 was supposed to have her last regular season soccer game tonight and it was cancelled.  At the last minute.  Due to lightning.  UGH!  That cancellation also meant I wasn't able to shoot her soccer game with my big girl camera.  Double UGH.

However, they were able to see #2 play soccer Friday night, #3 play soccer Sat. morning, #1 swim in two events Sat. morning, my niece play soccer Sat. afternoon, my nephew play baseball this afternoon, #3 played soccer again tonight, and then CANCELLED.  I think they are tired.  Probably more like exhausted!  But we were so glad to have them:)

#2:

#3:

2.  South Beach Phase 1 is still going.  I'm not going to pretend I haven't cheated here or there.  Maybe I had ONE beer last night? (Definitely earned!)  Maybe I had one bite of an English muffin this morning (pure heaven)?  But I'm not telling.  Anyway, it's been fine.  I'm just getting sick of tired of vegetables.  I just really want to bite into an apple!  We're only going to finish up the week and then ease back into normal eating.  Hopefully it will be worth it!

3.  While running around to activities this weekend we were busy at the house.  The hubby and my dad (with a little help from me) managed to re-lay the hardwood floors.  (Remember the ceiling debacle?  Yeah, it's been THAT long we've been living with a 4' x 5' patch of subfloor.)  The hubby also managed to lay a bunch or quarter round tonight.  Score!

Meanwhile, I was able to finish upholstering a chair for my bedroom.  I even spent an hour or so out on the deck sanding the gross white paint.  I figure this is my year!  I WILL tackle the deck!  And honestly, it can't get any more gross than it already is.  For reals.  

4.  Darby.  Our cat.  She has taken to eating grass and then puking in my house.  It is disgusting!  Any suggestions?  Because I need HELP!

Here she is looking innocent.  She probably puked 5 minutes prior to this picture and hence the satisfied look:

5.  Let's talk about Sonic, shall we?  I am growing in my love and appreciation for the little drive-up joint.  Happy hour slushees?  Yes, please.  My kids love to walk up there and get a slush.  I have to admit, I think I enjoy it just as much as they do.  And now?  Now half price shakes after 8pm?  I feel this could cause my waistline problems after South Beach is over.  Do you know how reasonable their shakes are at half price?!  It's probably too good of a deal for me.  Here is the evidence where I cannot say no to half price shakes on a Friday night:

6.  I finished reading The Great Gatsby.  It took me a little longer to read than I anticipated.  It was not a book I could fly through.  I had to read it carefully.  Actually, sometimes I had to re-read a sentence or a paragraph to make sure I understood it correctly.  I have to say, I no longer want to see the movie.  The ending was so bleak.  So disheartening.  I don't think I want to see it played out on the big screen.  And Daisy?  I wanted to ring her neck!  She made me so mad and that is not what I want to watch in a movie, either.  In the end I'm very glad I read the book, but the book shall suffice.

I've moved on to Anna Karenina.  I saw it at my girls' bookfair and thought, Why not?  Plus, it was the only book that appealed to me and I had just finished Gatsby so I needed something new.  I hope it's good.  So far I'm enjoying it and it didn't take long to get into it.  At over 900 pages, I doubt I'll have a review for you any time soon!

And there you have it.  My six on Sunday.  Have a great week, everyone! 

10 Tips to Painting Ceilings

After painting our kitchen, breakfast nook, family room, and later the dining room ceilings, I now consider myself to be an - ahem - expert.

Here are 10 tips I picked up along the way:

1.  Use a drop cloth big enough to cover your whole floor.  It's so much easier than having to move a drop cloth as you go.

2.  Get a nice roller.  Don't cheap out.  Take it from me, the few dollars extra is totally worth it.  It will paint a nice, even coat without leaving chunks behind.

This is the one I used and I loved it.

3.  Use a nice, angled brush to cut in the perimeter. 

4.  Tape off your walls.  I usually don't tape off anything anymore.  (I've done so much painting that I have a pretty steady hand.)  However, this is where I make an exception.  It's much easier to spend the time taping your walls since you are looking straight forward than it is to have to oh-so-patiently-and-slowly trim your ceiling since you are looking upwards. 

5.  Saturate your roller.  Don't be shy.  Don't skimp.  Trust me on this.  And because your roller is saturated, twirl it while you are brining it up to the ceiling to prevent the paint from dripping.  But alas, if you do - you have a whole drop cloth covering the entire floor (See #1)!  Don't try to eek out every drop on the roller.  If you do, you'll end up having to do more than two coats.  Again, trust me on this.  We had to do three coats on our kitchen/family room.  NOT FUN. 

6.    If possible, paint during daylight.  I've painted both during the day and at night and daylight is much better - even with a spotlight at night.  I used a really light shade of gray so it was hard to tell the gray from the white primer.  Good light is key.

7.  Wear a hat.  Enough said.  Wear long sleeves.  Again.  Enough said.

8.  Get an extension pole for your roller.  I can't even imagine trying to paint a ceiling without one! 

9.  OK.  Here is where I'm going to get a little technical.  I wish I knew this the first time we painted 1,000 square feet of ceiling vs. 100 sqare feet!  But, I'm glad I learned:

• Start on one end of your ceiling and work your way over.
• Paint two stripes.  Leave about half a roller distance in between the stripes.
• Go back and paint in between the stripes.  This will provide solid coverage.
• When you paint a "stripe", start in the middle of the ceiling and push your roller to one end then back over your stripe to the other end and then back to the middle.  This will give you two swipes across your "stripe".  Again, solid coverage.
• Keep up this pattern all the way across the ceiling.   
• Below is my attempt at a visual explanation:

10.  Walk away.  Again, trust me.  The ceiling will look horrible while it's drying and you'll think you did a terrible job.  Nonsense. 

If you employ these strategies, painting your ceiling is truly a job you can do yourself and save some bucks in the process!  Good luck and holler with any questions.

Project Life Week 14

Two days in a row!  I'm catching up, I tell ya!

Week 14.  I worried I wouldn't have enough photos and I have to say, I stretched it.  But it worked out, as usual.  I'm still loving this process.

I stuck the bib from my Bentonville half marathon in here.

Left side:

As you can see above, the bottom left picture shows our new dining chairs.  And below you can see the small journal card on the far left tells "their" story.  A story of compromise:

 

I used my trusty old Photoshop to add words to the photo below.  That is so easy because, print. Done.  I love that.  

 

And now for the right side:

I wish the hubby was better at taking pictures because this entire side documents our trip to Bella Vista but fails to touch on what the hubby and big girls were doing back here.  I suppose I'll have to lean on my girls to fill in when I'm gone.

I included this letter #3 wrote to my parents shortly after we left town.  I added the transcription notes so I'll remember what it says when I'm old and can no longer read 6-year-old writing:

It says, "I do not want to leave Arkansas because I had too much fun.  Bye Gamma.  Bye Papa."  Seriously, how sweet is that?!

Since I run with my iPhone, I had it handy and took a picture of the start of the half marathon:

I added the stickers to give it a little oomph.  I used two different kinds of stickers but thought it was a great way to use up letters or make up for missing letters in one set.

And finally, I added my race bib.  Since the material is somewhat silky and tear-resistent, I just threw it in here by itself rather than using a page protector.  Easy peasy.

And there you have it. One more week COMPLETE.  Score!

 

Project Life Week 14

OK.  So I am committed to catching up since my pages are done.  The pages are now all photographed.  I just have to edit them!

Week 14:

This was clear back in March - the week after spring break.  I know.  Awhile ago.  What you can't probably see very well on the photo above is that the top three photos are a series from a panoramic shot of our first floor.  That was the view when we walked in the door after being gone for a week!

I had to document the hubby hitting the ceiling with mud to commemorate his 40th birthday.  The picture isn't the best (iPhones don't like backlit shots!) but that's OK:

And of course I needed to document the loot delivered by E.B. (Easter Bunny):

Now for the right side:

The shot above showcases the girls in their Easter dresses.  I really liked the portrait orientation but wanted to put it on a landscape canvas so I turned to Photoshop.  I created a blank 6x4 canvas and colored it with a coordinating color.  Then I took my original photo and resized it to 2.5" x 3.5" and moved it over and dropped it on my larger canvas.  After adding a white stroke around the picture, I was done!  Presto magic.

I did the same thing last year where I put a small picture of each of the four girls across on one page.  I liked it so much I repeated it this year - with the addition of a sticker with the first letter of their name added to the page:

And lastly, we documented our dinner to celebrate the hubby's birthday at his favorite restaurant, Tanner's.  (I know.  We're very classy people.  A bar and restaurant is his pick every. single. time.)

I loved adding that piece of a journal card on the corner of the picture.  Such a cute and easy little detail!

And there you have it - Week 13!

 

Six on Sunday...the Mother's Day Edition

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there!  I hope you all had a fantastic day - for reals.

1.  I had a nice Mother's Day.  We didn't have anything scheduled - no soccer games, no swim meets, nothing!  It was almost strange not to be running from activity to activity.  We enjoyed a slower day, that's for sure.

I slept in - 'till 8am.  Seriously awesome.  The hubby made a fantastic breakfast of homemade cinnamon rolls, sausage, and scrambled eggs.  The coffee was ready right when I rolled out of bed.  That is perfection.  This afternoon the whole family rode our bikes to the playground.  Now that #3 can ride a bike without training wheels it's getting really exciting!  And after a steak dinner we headed to Orange Leaf for a little dessert.  So nice.  Not to mention the weather was beautiful.  All in all, it was a lovely day.

2.  My friend, Carmen, and I paced the Scout Strong half marathon yesterday.  I have to say - it was my least favorite half marathon.  Ever.  It was out by the Legends where there is not a tree or a building to block the wind.  It felt like gale force winds plus it's really hilly.  I didn't mind the hills but the wind was out-of-this-world awful!  And to make it worse, the first aid station wasn't until mile 3.8!  That's a little far.  Lastly, the mile markers were WAY OFF.  And for someone like me who doesn't wear a Garmin, I count on the mile markers.  I doubt I'd do that one again.

3.  #4's class had a birthday party for a dog on Friday.  It was so funny.  The kids were SUPER excited!  #4 informed me that I was expected to attend as were all her sisters.  Of course we didn't want to disappoint her, so we hit up the party.  Too funny.

4.  Carmen and I just couldn't get enough of each other this weekend and she came over last night to catch up on a little scrapbooking!  I've been doing great keeping up with my Project Life but I want to have a School Years book for all the girls.  Well, I had only gotten through first grade for #1.  (Remember, she's now almost done with 6th grade.)  I had purchased a kit years and years ago for #2 (who is almost done with 4th grade) but hadn't even started it.  

Well, I have now ordered all the pictures that need to go in those books.  The next time we get together I can assemble the books.  They're really very simple - just a few pages for each grade.  And this way each daughter will have a book of her own.       

5.  The hubby and I are going to South Beach it (the diet) for the next two weeks.  We'd like to get back to a baseline weight and start the summer off on the right foot.  That means one important thing - we are giving up beer for almost two weeks!  Yikes.  It will be hard but it's time.  Wish us luck.

6.  My friend, Christi, and I went thrifting again this weekend.  We had so much fun!  We each came away with some sweet items.  Here's my loot:

I found two cute milk glass vases - $2.50 each.  I can afford that!  I also found that sweet milk glass serving bowl - or whatever it is.  It was just too pretty to pass up.  I think it was around $17?  Those two brass ducks?  $3.  Yeah, baby!  And finally, Pyrex.  I've been wanting to buy new stacking bowls for awhile and these were so cute.  $45 for the set.  And the Pyrex rectangle container with the lid?  Already used it today.  Sweet!  $20.  

And there you have my recap.  I hope you have a great week!