Suzanne McGrath Photography

Six on Sunday

And just like that it's March!  Wow.  That also means our family's first birthday of the year.

 

1.  We now have a 16-year-old.  I swear it's not possible as I remember being 16! (And I know I say that every year, but still.)  Anyway, it's true.  #1 turned 16 yesterday.  Doesn't she look old?

Sidenote:  I guess choker's are a thing again?  Who knew.  At least not me - I guess I'm not cool anymore.  Or was I ever?  I digress...

At 16, she is

• tall.  At 5'9" I have to look up at her now.
• gracefully confident.  I feel like she exudes quiet confidence.
• athletic.  She still swims but also loves to ski - on the water or on the mountain.  
• smart.  She's good at school and actually seems to enjoy most of her classes.
• an aggressive drive.  Hey - I have to throw in the bad with the good, right?  We're working on it.
• messy.  Her room used to be so clean but I don't think she has time for it anymore.  That's why God made doors.
• reserved but still loving.  I know she loves us and her sisters but she does NOT wear her heart on her sleeve.
• funny.  She has a great sense of humor and still loves to pick on her sisters.
• an adventurer.  She is going to Spain this summer with a group from school and she signed up without knowing who else was going!

I suppose I could go on and on but those things comes to mind first.  In a nutshell we love and we'll keep her!

 

2.  This weekend was much quieter than last weekend.  

Friday night was a bit nutty, though.  #1 was a team captain for Relay for Life.  It was from 6pm to 6am.  The hubby chaperoned from midnight to 6am.  It was not his idea of fun but I will say he took one for the team.  #2 had a soccer game at 9:30pm which meant we didn't get home until after 11pm.  That is late for me!  (They ended up in a tie - 1 each.)  #3 had a sleepover which meant only #4 was home all night.  She managed to talk the hubby into half price Sonic shakes, though, so she was happy!

I cleaned the entire first floor of the house and the master bathroom Friday night.  I didn't want to sit down and get all tired before the soccer game.  I hate cleaning but it sure felt nice to wake up to a clean house yesterday!

 

3.  Last night #1 took three of her friends to dinner at Louie's Wine Dive and Restaurant to celebrate (using our credit card of course).  They had a ton of fun and came over here after dinner:

 

4.  The hubby and I went on a Craigslist adventure yesterday to downtown.  We came home with this baby:

I am going to paint her navy blue and shine up the brass knobs.  She's going in my foyer.  (That means I'm selling the current situation for $200 if you're interested!)

 

5.  My website was down for a few days last week.  Gotta love technology.  Network Solutions had my old email address which showed me the owner of my domain.  So I had to call them and get it all sorted out.  Then I had to prove I was really me which took a couple of days.  Sheesh.  I don't love dealing with technology sometimes.

 

6.  Next weekend #1 is headed to Columbia, MO for swim Sectionals.  The hubby is going with her this time.  I am kind of bummed not to go but it's his turn and I don't have a lot of vacation with my new job.  (Major bummer!)  I am really excited to see how she swims against the next group of fast kids.  But I'll be back at home getting us ready for our quick trip out to Breckenridge!  So pumped for long weekend skiing (and snowboarding).  I can hardly wait!

 

Allright, that's all I've got for tonight.  Have a fabulous week!

 

 

 

2016 Wrap-Up

I know.  I know.  This is, what, 3 weeks late?  Oh well.  It's before February so I think it counts.  I like to capture what I accomplished from the previous year's list so here goes...

 

Music room. It needs a good jute rug.  Something simple that will flow with the dining room and yet I can layer another rug on top of it.  I'm totally thinking Craigslist for the win here!  (This picture is a bit dark but you can see the plain floor staring right at you.) 

I accomplished this one before January 2016 was even in the books!  Check.  Mark.

 

2.  Kitchen - You've seen my kitchen many times.  I still want to paint the backs of the glass cabinets.  Or rather, I'd like to paint foam board (so it's removable) and stick that in the back of the cabinets.  I think my white dishes will pop with a dark shade of gray in the back.

I happily accomplished this item while I was enjoying my "early retirement" this past fall.  (Alas, my retirement ended in November when I went back to work.)

 

3.  Family room.  I'd like to replace the chairs with something upholstered in a velvet.  We've had the current chairs for a few years and I am just ready for a change.

So I halfway accomplished this item.  I managed to sell the old chairs and I purchased the velvet fabric for the new chairs.  However, when I started to get quotes to have someone else reupholster them, I had heart palpitations.  So I will do these myself.  I just need to buy the foam and get to work.  

 

4.  Laundry room.  Of course this is no surprise since I showed you the half-finished countertop.  I need to stain the countertop and finish the floating shelf with a face board.  (Funny story - I had the piece all cut and ready to pin up on the shelf when the hubby took it, cut it in half, and used it for garage storage.  Ugh!)  I'd also like to tile the back wall.

This room is nearly finished.  And I think I've painted it three times in the last 13 years.  But in the end, it's like putting lipstick on a pig.  It's still a pig.  (It's still way too small!)  I think I am going to hang up these fake tiles instead of actually tiling in there.  Seems faster and easier and after all, I'm the only one who sees it!

 

5.  Basement.  We still have a space to install a bar but that project will have to wait.  Right now I'll just settle for the little things.

Cover the circuit breaker with some art:

You know what's funny?  I didn't even realize I still needed to paint the wall behind the art.  Oops!  And I hate that stupid cable box thing but I am at a loss.  If you have any suggestions, I'm all ears!

Cover the two poles in reclaimed lumber.  Paint the doors and add door knobs.

Oops!  This so didn't get done even though painting the doors would be so easy.  I really should make this a priority in 2017!

Lastly, paint the handrail that the hubby installed back in 2014!  (No picture of that one.)

Not only did I accomplish this one, I also removed the little wood pieces the brackets were screwed into and replaced them with prettier wood pieces from Hobby Lobby.  

 

Let's move upstairs to the second floor...

6.  #2's room.  (Remember there are no pictures of her room - always a MESS!)  I'd like to DIY some sort of fun ceiling mount light fixture since she does not have a ceiling fan like her sisters.  Yep, didn't happen.  I finally got her to pick out what she wanted and then the holidays were here.  Hopefully we get this one done this year because it will be easy.

7.  #1's room.  She has requested blinds for her bathroom window.  Imagine that!  Plus, I'd like to add two more shelves to her closet organizer:

Nuts, didn't happen!  I actually looked for blinds for her a couple times but walked away empty handed.  And I think I'll outsource the shelves to the hubby.  He can easily cross that one off the list.

 

8.  The Little's Room.  I'd still like to paint #4's desk.  There is already one stained desk in the room and the stain colors don't match.  Plus, the desk is pretty beat up, anyway.

I sort of called an audible in here...I ended up painting #4's desk and then selling it.  (It was the most pretty navy color when I was done.  Gorgeous.)  We decided to get rid of her desk and the bookshelf that was originally in that corner so we could bring in my old secretary.  So now when #4 wants a desk, she just has to fold down the flap (whatever it's called) and she magically has a desk!  It's such a difference because their room is now much less cluttered!  Also - they wanted me to take their picture with their friend, Ellie.  Aren't they cute?

 

9.  The three little girls all share a bathroom.  It's adorable.  It has green stripes on the wall with a froggy shower curtain.  However, they are now a little old so it's time to give them something a bit more grown up.  I'll be sad but it's time.  Ultimately I'd like to give them double sinks and tile the floor.  But for this year I'll settle for new paint and a mirror/medicine cabinet.  I forgot before pictures but I will definitely take them before I paint over it all!

I absolutely love how this room turned out!  I captured it all in my One Room Challenge series and you can find the full reveal Here, as well as the 5 weeks prior.  

 

10.  The office.  Eventually I'd like to ditch the current desk situation but that isn't in the cards this year.  So I'll settle for new blinds that actually work and a floor lamp that emits decent light!  Easy enough, right?

Another loser room.  Didn't get it done.  I will definitely add this one to 2017.  It would actually be nice to do a bit of a room refresh.  

11.  Master Bathroom.  I'm already painting the two doors that need to be hung back up.  And we need to install a marble threshold.  That's it.  Those small tasks are holding us back from 100% finished.  We will do it!

The doors were finished.  The marble threshold?  Ha, still not done.  It's so easy, too!  Sometimes I'm just lazy.

12.  Master Bedroom.  I would love to install a modern sliding door between the bathroom and bedroom.  That is a rather large project.  I know what I want it to look like but I have to figure out how to build it.  And my poor bed looks so sad.  I need a headboard!  Stat.

I LOVE HOW THIS TURNED OUT!!  My favorite project from 2016, hands down.

While I didn't finish everything on the list, I also added a few things, too.

13.  I built a new garden from scratch.  Meaning, I pulled up the sod, edged it, planted plants, and laid mulch.  It was back-breaking work!

 

14.  I painted all the upstairs hallway doors black and I love how it turned out!

 

15.  I framed three prints I purchased in Paris.  I hung them in the powder bath on the main level and I love them!

 

16.  I designed and built storage for my running medals:

 

17.  I sold my old china cabinet and bought and painted a new one.  

 

18.  The nightstands in the master bedroom got a new coat of black paint.  It's a vast improvement!

 

Man, that was a long post!  If you stuck with it, thank you.  If not, I get it.  I will be back with a 2017 list, though.  Did you accomplish any fun projects last year?

 

One Room Challenge | Week Six | The Reveal! A Shared Bathroom for Three Girls!

I'm so excited!  I made it!  Just barely, but still, I made it!  I'm really happy that I decided to participate in One Room Challenge as a guest.  It was quite the challenge and I one I never would have done on my own.

When I left off last Thursday I I had a lot to finish.  And much less than a week since I was gone Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  Not good timing.  Also, I wanted to outsource the ceiling pendant install to the hubby but alas, that did not work out either as he has been out of town for work all week.  I just couldn't catch a break.  All that said, I am breathing a sigh of relief that I pulled this off.  

The best part of this whole bathroom redesign?  The girls absolutely love their new bathroom.  For reals.  All three of them have commented on it.  That makes this mama's heart happy!

Here come the pictures...

I love mixing metals and think it works here.  It's mostly brass with hits of chrome in the faucet and light switch covers.  I like it when everything isn't match-matchy.

 

 

That light!  It was so fun to make and I still can't believe that it actually WORKS! 

 

 

Can we talk about the toilet paper holder!  I love it so much it's insane.  It's so beautiful and a steal to boot.  (<<affiliate link)  Plus, the girls can barely manage to change the T.P. in the powder bath downstairs because you have to LIFT A BAR.  I think this gives them a chance to actually change it out.  Fingers crossed.

 

I've had this print forever but I love it in here!  I think it's by Christine Lindstrom.   

 

The Target shower curtain was actually the jumping-off-point for the entire bathroom.  I found it on clearance for $9 last spring.  I love a deal!  The towel hooks are vintage and I heart them.  I just wish I had three of them rather than just two.  Oh well.  The girls will be just fine.  I gave the girls the Turkish towels I bought for our bathroom.  I tried to love them, I really did.  But alas, I do not.  I want a super plush towel when I step out of the shower and these are not that.  Hopefully they like them more than I did.

 

 

The shelves are just Ikea brackets that I spray-painted gold.  I simply bought a 1x8 and cut it into 20" lengths for the tops.  Ta-da!  Easy peasy.  

 

Phew!  That's it.  I'll be back in the next couple weeks to show you a few DIYs like the ceiling pendant.  Holler with any questions.  I hope you enjoyed!

And if you're new here and want to catch up, here's the past five weeks:

• Week One - The Plan
• Week Two - Lighting Options
• Week Three - Painted Cabinet
• Week Four - Painted Subfloor
• Week Five - Painted Countertops

 Thanks for reading.

Six on Sunday

It's been an interesting day.  Not a busy, run around all day, just interesting.  Anyway, I digress...  Our weekend was lovely.  We only had three soccer games and one tennis lesson.  I can handle that!  

1.  Today started pretty early with a 7am soccer game for #3 but she scored a goal and it was so worth it to get up at 6am.  She scored on a breakaway and she is so darn fast that the other team just could not catch her.  And her shot was right into the corner of the net.  We celebrated with a stop at McDonald's on the way home for coffee (me) and hot chocolate (her).  

The rest of the day we were completely open.  That NEVER happens around here.  The hubby spent the whole day - I'm not exaggerating here - the whole day working on our refrigerator:

It turns out some part was frozen and it should not be frozen.  (I think it was more than just a part but I didn't really listen to details because BORING.)  So he unplugged the whole thing and spent the day blow drying it to get it to defrost.  He FINALLY got it done right as we sat down to dinner.  I guess there is some hack about sticking a piece of copper down there to prevent it from freezing again.  Who knows?  But if your refrigerator ever starts getting pools of water below the bottom drawer, holler!  We've got you covered.

Meanwhile, I edited pictures and worked on our Christmas card.  I know, right?!  But I had the time so I figured, why not?  The Littles played outside most of the afternoon while #2 did homework and #1 refereed a bunch of soccer games.  The moral of the story?  It was a perfectly lovely quiet day at home.

 

2.  If you follow me on Instagram, you've seen my porch at night.  I had a little time on my hands and thought it would be fun to surprise the girls when they got home from school last Monday.  So this is what I did:

 

And here it is at night:

It's really fun!

 

3.  I took our family pictures yesterday.  We were in and out in 20 minutes!  I spent most of the time shooting the girls but I did get two good family pictures thanks to my tripod.  Here's one of the girls that I won't use for our Christmas cards:

It's hard to get all four of them standing up due to their various heights but I think this one works.  Also, check out #4's shoes.  I refuse to buy her cute shoes she will never wear.  Hence, she just wore her tennis shoes.  But I figure it really captures her spirit right now!

 

4.  I posted this picture last Thursday, but if you didn't read my One Room Challenge update, then you haven't seen this yet.  Here is the floor in the little girls's bathroom:

I seriously love it so much!  This weekend I painted the walls.  Again.  (Darker.)

 

5.  Last Friday night my friend, Christi, and I went to the Midland Theater downtown to see Elle King again.  She did not disappoint.  She is so good live!  We had a blast!

Her voice is the perfect blend of bluesy and raspy.  Seriously, if you haven't listened to her, you are missing out!

 

6.  Tonight after dinner the girls all carved their pumpkins.  I love that the big girls are just as into it as the little girls!  And you know what else I love?  That they are able to clean up their mess after they are done.  Priceless!

 

The finished products:

Didn't they do a great job?  I wanted to carve a pumpkin myself but I forgot to buy one for me.  Oops!  Next year.  

 

And with that, you are all caught up!  Happy Halloween Eve!







 

One Room Challenge: Week Four | Painted Floor

Hello!  I'm back with another installment of One Room Challenge.  This past week was a fun one for me!

If you'd like to catch up, here's Week One, Week Two, and Week Three.

The room is really starting to take shape now that I finished the floors.  You guys, I can't even believe how good they look!  They completely surpassed my own expectations and I couldn't be happier.  If you remember, I left you hanging with several options.  I loved them all but I let #2 pick and she nailed it.      

Anyway, in case you missed it - I just painted the subfloor.  Yep - the subfloor.  And truly, it feels great under foot - it's not splinter-y or cold at all.  Very smooth.

Here is what it looked like before I worked my magic:

Ugly, right?

 

Well, here it is now:

Awesome, right?  

Here are a couple more gratuitous shots:

What do you think?

 

Anyway, there is still a ton left to do!

First and foremost, I must paint the counters.  The situation is scary.  Actually, it's just very off-white and not pretty.  Like so:

 

What else is on my list where I only have TWO WEEKS TO GET IT ALL DONE?!  Let's see...

• Repaint the walls.  I'm just not happy with the color.  It's lovely but not quite deep enough.  Ugh.
• Paint the trim.  It's so banged up and in desperate need of a refresh.
• Make the light fixture, hang it up, and install a dimmer switch while we're at it.
• Make and hang the shelves using Ikea brackets for over the toilet.
• Find or make artwork.
• Caulk the floors now that the linoleum is gone there is a gap all the way around the room.
• Hang the new mirror.  From Target.  Love!
• Find new covers for the light switches.

So, while it's a long list, I think it's doable in the next two weeks.  With that said, I better get my a$$ to Home Depot for some more paint!  

See you next week.

 

 

A Halloween (Half) Birthday Party

So I talked about #4's (half) birthday party on Six on Sunday.  But I didn't want to hijack that post with tons of pictures of the party, so I thought I'd do a separate post.  So here goes...

As you know, #4 actually turned seven back in April.  However, I couldn't get my sh*t together until October. It all worked out great because we were able to leverage Halloween and make the party even "funner"!  (What movie is that from?!)  Also, it was great because our house is already decorated for Halloween so I just added a few touches here and there to make it "birthday" decorated.

I started with a simple banner that I made from black and orange plates - courtesy of the Dollar Store and Target.  I just freehand cut out the letters and glued them on to the plates.  I found the cutest clothes pins from Target's Dollar section and used those to hang the plates to bakers twine that I strung across the windows with 3M hooks:

The color scheme looks great with my black and white Roman shades.  Bonus!

 

The Dollar Store had the cutest goblets and I couldn't resist.  Isn't the table setting fun?!

 

The girls made their own pizzas using my favorite pizza crust recipe and then had fruit and pretzel rods dipped in chocolate for dinner.  So easy and they loved it.  I did make a watermelon that looked like he was puking - I thought that was Halloween-ish:

 

And the drink was awesome - witches brew.  The secret is dry ice which I just picked up at Hy-Vee (in a small cooler in the frozen food section).

Witches Brew:

• bottle of sparkling grape juice
• bottle of sparkling apple juice
• 2 cups of OJ
• 1/2 cup Lemon Juice (cuts the sweetness of the others)
• Dry Ice

After dinner the girls played a ring toss game.  I forgot to take pictures but they just threw glow bracelets (from the Dollar Store) around the stem of small pumpkins.  They thought it was super fun and took lots and lots of turns!

Then they each painted a pumpkin.  I just set out all my acrylic paints, some stickers, and they went to town!

I actually pulled out the chairs and had them stand at the table which worked great.  They were able to get close enough to the table and keep the mess on top - even though I had drop cloths on the floor.

 

Lastly, we celebrated and sang Happy Birthday with this ghost cake:

That cake is the easiest thing in the world!  Betty Crocker and I made the cake.  Then I cut off the top to look like a ghost.  I took those two pieces and attached them to the body of the cake with toothpicks so they look like arms reaching out.  It took me almost two containers of frosting to frost the whole thing.  The pièce de résistance were the flaming eyeballs. (Admittedly we lit them at least three times because they were so fun to blow out!)  

The eyeballs are just eggshells with a sugar cube nestled inside.  Then I put a little lemon extract on top of the sugar cubes and lit them on fire.  That's it!  

The girls ended the evening "watching" the classic Ghostbusters movie.  But honestly, I think they watched it for 5 minutes while they ate popcorn.  The rest of the evening they just ran around - inside and outside, jumping on the trampoline, and playing.  They had so much fun that I didn't care what they did!

And there you have it - how to throw a Halloween/Birthday party.  Let me know if you have any questions!   

 

 

 

One Room Challenge: Week Three | Painted Cabinets and Painted Floors

Week Three!  That means HALFWAY!  Holy cow - the time is flying.  Luckily, so is my paint brush.

(If you are new here, I am making over my little girls's bathroom as a guest participant of the One Room Challenge series.  I should title this series, "Ode to Paint" because I am painting nearly every surface in that room!  If you'd like to catch up, you can read Week One here and Week Two here.)  

This past week I painted the cabinet and I LOVE it!  Phew.  I just used some leftover paint I had on hand and it is awesome.  The navy blue with gold pulls is just gorgeous.  

But that's not all!  I also painted the floor with three coats of porch paint.  Yes, three - and that was after two coats of primer!  I think one more coat of white and I'll be done.  But not really.  Just done with WHITE.  But it's all good.

I pinned a ton of painted floors and here were the top contenders: 

via

 

via

 

via

 

via

 

via

 

via

 

(I know the above photo came from The House That Lars Built but I couldn't find the specific image.) 

 

So - which one did I choose?  Well, I didn't.  Womp womp.

Just kidding.  I let #2 pick the pattern and it wasn't my top choice.  But in the end, it's her bathroom more than it's my bathroom and I want her to be happy and feel like she had a say in it.  So, I'm going to keep you on the edge of your seat and make you wait until next week!  Any guesses?  

Until next week... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My Halloween House...the Decorations, I Mean...

I'm finally here.  I wanted to get this post up last week but then I decided to take a detour down the One Room Challenge path...

Anyway, I thought I'd share my Halloween decorations.  They don't vary much from year to year but that's fine with me.  The kids remember all the details and love to follow traditions.  So it's all good!

This post will be quick and mostly pictures - so here goes...

This is the view when you walk in the front door:

 

The floating witch hats are sort of a pain to hang up but the kids love them.

 

Here's a close up of the round table:

 

If you are standing on the striped rug in the foyer and turn left, this is the table I put together/painted several years ago.  I still love it.  And I'll be able to keep this wreath up through Thanksgiving which is awesome.  I love decorations that pull double-duty!

 

Now, if you turn right, you look into the music room.  I get a kick out of this little vignette!

 

Walking in to the family room...

This little vignette will take me through Thanksgiving, too.  Bonus.  (Don't you love those hydrangeas?  I cut a TON off our bushes this year!)

 

Here is the mantel:

 

Moving on to the kitchen via the breakfast nook...

 

We added a little something to our bar cart this year.  

 

The kids had a BLAST working on the potions.  We downloaded Harry Potter potion labels from the internet and used Modge Podge to attach the labels to glass jars from the Dollar Store and Target.  I think they are so clever!

 

We just added a couple small touches to the kitchen:

 

I'll leave you with a couple nighttime scenes of the mantel.  (Hint:  We never light the candles but we ALWAYS turn on the lights!)

 

And there you have it!  I hope you enjoyed this quick little tour.  Have you done any decorating?

One Room Challenge: The Girls's Bathroom

Hello there!  I decided to throw my hat into the ring known as The One Room Challenge by Calling It Home.  What is it, you may be asking?  It's basically a challenge to finish one entire room in 6 weeks (which is really only like 5 weeks of work time.)  Since I had already decided on re-vamping the little girls's bathroom, I figured, why not?  But I have to say - the timeline is tight.  When we remodeled our master bathroom it took us about a year.  Yep - as in 12 months.  365 days.  Yikes!

So I'm here.  I've talked about their bathroom before.  It's pretty much the hardest working room in our house.  The three little girls all share this bathroom while #1 gets a bathroom all to herself.  Clearly, we didn't think that through very well but it's where we are right now.  So we make it work.

Anyway, I am making over this room on a shoe-string budget.  Basically, that means for the cost of a little paint and a few pieces of new hardware.  Like I said - a shoe-string budget.  However, it's actually kind of fun and it's pushing me creatively!  At least that's what I'm telling myself.  Down the line I'd like to add a floating vanity with two sinks and a new tile floor.  However, that is not happening this round.  And it's all good.

Here is the before.  It had a froggy theme but I got rid of the shower curtain and bath mats before I took these pictures.  Still, you get the idea!

It was really cute in its day.  But now that the girls are 7, 9, and 13, they have declared it time for a change.  I don't blame them!

 

Here is the mood board.  Think painted everything - porch and floor paint on the floors, new painted vanity (blue), blush pink walls, and white countertops.  (Did you know you can "paint" countertops?  So excited/nervous to try it!)

 

Wish me luck!  I'll be back next Thursday with an update.

Six on Sunday

Can you believe this is the last Sunday in September?! Holy cow - where did the month go??? 

Anyway, let's get the show on the road, shall we?

1.  I painted the backs of my kitchen cabinets a couple weeks ago but finally took proper photos this past week.  Here is the Before:

 

And here is the After:

 

And here is another section of cabinets with glass doors.  I was getting a terrible reflection from the windows behind me which is why I opened the doors:

I know the difference is subtle, but I'm so pleased.  I love how the white dishes and milk glass really pops off the dark, charcoal gray.  Seriously, for $3 and some change, I'm wondering why I waited so long!

 

2.  I've been on a roll with paint lately.  Nothing is sacred!  This past week I decided to paint all the doors upstairs.  That's SIX DOORS!  And I did it in 3 days.  WooHoo!  It's virtually impossible to get a good picture and I for sure can't get all six doors in one picture, but this will give you an idea.  

Before:

 

After:

I'm in love with the look.  It just adds such a great punch - all for a few hours of work.  I had the paint laying around in my stash (which is pretty big!) and I figured, why not?!  So happy.

Also - let's talk about that mirror.  It was hanging up in my room but I had to take it down when I installed the barn doors.  We seriously have NO ROOM for it in our master bedroom, so I am seriously considering putting it out in the hall.  That way we will all have access to it and it has enough room in front of it where we can use it to get a full view of our outfits.  Thoughts?  Are you down with it or no?  I'm thinking it might actually balance that wall a little bit?  

 

3.  In the last two weeks - while working on my numerous paint projects - I've worked my way through a full season and a half of New Girl, and the whole first season of Stranger Things.  I don't generally watch a lot of TV but I've fallen in love with Netflix!  It makes the time just fly by.  Any recommendations for new series?  My sister says I should watch The American on Amazon Prime but other than that, I don't know what else to watch!

And I am thinking of sanding and priming the walls in the Little's bathroom (they are currently green stripes) and scraping the ceiling so I will be needing a new series to watch!  And if I don't do that, I'm going to paint the nightstands in the master bedroom.  Who knows - maybe I'll get to both!  That's a lot of opportunity for some serious Netflixing!  

 

4.  The three little girls all had Friday afternoon off school.  #2 went shopping with friends.  And #3 and #4 had their friend, Ellie, over to play.  We took advantage of the beautiful day and walked up to Sonic for slushees during Happy Hour.  I love doing little things like this - they think it's awesome and for less than $4, they think I am also a "cool" mom.  Win-win!

 

5.  I am 90% done decorating for Halloween.  I still need some white pumpkins which the grocery store did not have.  (They only had "special" pumpkins.)  Ugh.  That means a separate trip to Home Depot.  But, I took pictures and have one preview ready:

The kids - especially the Littles - LOVE the decorations so it's all worth it.

 

6.  Today was 60* and rainy.  Add to that - both the Middles had soccer games this morning.  That gave me a hankering for a Pumpkin Spice Latte.  Since Starbucks uses some questionable ingredients, I decided to try my hand at making my own.  (Also - I was way too lazy to leave the house!)  Let me tell you - "S - U - C - C- E - S - S.  clap-clap  That's the way we spell Success."   (Name that movie!)  

It was so good!  Seriously, if you love anything pumpkin, try this recipe!  (Hint:  It just uses strong coffee.)

If you are too lazy to click the link - just warm up 2 cups milk, 2 Tbls pumpkin puree, 1 Tbls honey.  When it's heated up, add 1/2 cup or more strong coffee, 1 Tbls vanilla, and 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice.  Top with whipped cream.  I was in heaven.  

 

Wow - Those six things just flew by tonight!  That's all I've got for you.  Have a fabulous week!