So, this is the upside to getting up at the crack of dawn to get to work, right?
The front yard is mostly secure, so now we have started working on the backyard. Since this is not just "pay thousands of dollars and VOILA!, done in a week" it will be a much longer project. Oh well. Kevin is loving it. We did get a new table so that we can sit on our butts while the little kids play on Zane's new playset. Ahhhh...sitting on my butt. Ha. Here are some pics of our first picnic outside...
We have been all about the curb appeal since we bought our house last year. Well, even before then, when we were getting ready to buy it. We watched a lot of HGTV. One detail that is sometimes overlooked by homeowners is the look of the mailbox. Of course, details make all the difference, so if you're looking to have some nice curb appeal, it's worth considering the state of your mailbox.
Mailboxixchange.com is a great place to shop for just the right box for your home or business. They have high quality products and a good variety of styles from which to choose. In addition to many different kinds of single and multiple mailboxes, they also carry mailbox components, curbside decor, and address numbers and plaques.
With multiple manufacturers and testimonials from customers, Mailboxixchange, is worth checking out.
~t
The quality of light in a room can make a huge difference in how it feels, from cheery to sedate, from peaceful to happy, and more. There are so many fabulous lighting options out there these days, that it's really fun to shop around and get something just perfect for your house.
You can even get some amazing prices by getting Discount Chandeliers. These fixtures will go a long way towards updating and beautifying your home.
We've replaced some fixtures in our house already and hope to do more. This year, Kevin is working a lot on the outside of the house, so I'm hoping to eventually get some great outdoor lighting. I can't wait for it to be an outdoor paradise.
~t
Is it really February 17th? (I had to double check to make sure I actually had the date right when I asked that question.) My point is: It's GORGEOUS out. Apparently, other parts of the country are not enjoying the beautiful weather we have today. We took a walk this morning to see our neighborhood llamas with Zane and Luke. Luke likes to trot right next to the stroller. That dog can run, too!
Right now, Kevin is out back ripping up the yard. He's getting ready to build his big ole wall back there. He's happier than a rutting pig. That's just his kind of thing. Taurus moon. Here is a pic:
Over the years of being a parent, I have done my share of looking for furniture for kids' rooms. In general, the places I have been to have a few options for furniture for children. Oftentimes, they are cheesy or don't look particularly well-made.
However, that couldn't be further from the truth with the Young America collection. There are pages upon pages of choices in a number of finishes. It looks as if they are really solid, quality pieces, as well. The prices do lead me to believe that. They are a little higher than I've seen for most children's furniture, but I imagine it's a case of "you get what you pay for". On this site, you get a lot of quality choices. It's definitely worth a look.
~t
Kevin has always wanted to own a second home. I'm not so sure, because I think one home is quite enough to manage. But, when I see things like this Property in Calabria, I start to consider it.
For me, it brings to mind movies like Roman Holiday and Under the Tuscan Sun, and even a screenplay I started in college and never finished. There is something both idyllic and real about living the Italian lifestyle that appeals Americans and Brits. It's about slowing down and being sensuous. Enjoying beauty and art and fine food. Drinking wine and dining al fresco. When I think of owning property in Italy, that's what comes to mind.
And I have to admit, it's pretty darn appealing.
~t
I tend to trust in the wisdom of the universe. But I still believe in the importance of insurance. Kevin got into some trouble a few years ago when he let his car insurance lapse. Unfortunately, that's just when his accident happened and he lost his car. This goes on his record for something like 7 years. That is something you don't want to have to experience.
So, since then, we've been very good about keeping our insurance up to date. I tend to find something I like and stick with it, but it's a good idea to home insurance on the same policy with your car insurance. Usually, companies will give you a discount when you "buy in bulk", so to speak.
I know that none of this is any fun to deal with, but it goes a long way towards making sure you can enjoy some peace of mind, especially if something happens (like our roof just blowing off in a windstorm!) We were really glad we had good insurance then.
~t
We have been enamored of Ba Ba Bock's since we first purchased Zane's awesome Halloween Costume. Since then, we have collected a few other Ba Ba Bock's. This one became attached to Zane the other day, much to his amusement.
(I seem to catch my floor in photos a lot. Hmmm. I guess perhaps I am subconsciously super-proud of our beautiful hardwood floors. Love 'em. Especially with puppies and toddlers, who make MESSES!)
~t
Looking for a house can be a lot of fun. Paying for a house isn't always as fun. When you find that perfect casa, you need to make sure you are checking out the Mortgage Rates in order to be sure you can afford it. (I know, details, details.)
It can be intimidating to figure all of it out, especially if you're a first time home buyer like we were. (Now we're seasoned veterans. Ha ha ha. I'm sure if we decide to buy again, we'll need a lot of help still, since this sort of thing tends to go right out of my head.) Luckily for all of us, here is a great online mortgage calculator. Tools like these are great to help you make sure that not only are you getting a good deal, but one that works with your financial needs. That way, you can truly live happily ever after in that new castle.
~t
I don't believe in letting fear rule my life. However, having the added peace of mind that a Security System can bring does have a lot of benefits. I am pretty accustomed to them in the workplace, but this one is a nice model for the home.
The Lasershield is portable, easy to install, and can expand in order to connect multiple systems. It's a wireless unit that provies 24/7 monitoring perfect for a small office, home, or apartment. The unit is wireless, pet friendly, and also has a keychain alarm. Not only that, it's readily available at the following stores: Comp USA, Home Depot, Costco, Kmart, Montgomery Ward, and Sears. Now those are some benefits. If you're in the market for some added security, I'd definitely check it out.
~t
So, we've had some weird weather lately that has not done great things for our house. Our roof has scattered to the four winds, exposing some, well a lot, of wood on the top of our house. It's not so good. Our State Farm insurance guy came out to assess the damage and got straight up on our roof to do a temporary patch. Let me say that again. Our STATE FARM INSURANCE GUY just hauled it up to our roof to do a temporary patch. I, my husband, my mother, and our roofer were all quite surprised. As was Zane, who said, "Guy, roof, hammer" for the rest of the day.
The real roofing dudes are coming tomorrow to fix it, and our insurance guy, Pete Mattich, smoothed that over so we could make it happen quicker, too. I'm sure I'll be hearing a lot more "guy, roof, hammer" tomorrow. And thanks again to Pete!
~t
My life is relatively uncomplicated at this point. I like to stay organized, but I don't have a pda or anything like that. I just don't need it. However, there is a free online calendar I just learned about that could help me keep my life organized and that of my family, too.
This calendar is fairly straightforward and easy to use, yet has a lot of functionality. (It even has different themes you can choose to customize the look of your calendar.) You can add holidays and events, and set up reminders for these.
I especially liked that you can share events with others by email. I just sent my husband a reminder about my birthday. (It's over a month away, but you can't be too sure.) I wanted to make sure the other person didn't have to be registered in order to receive the reminder, and he isn't. It seems to have sent just fine. I could see that sort of thing being very handy for keeping track of the kids' school activities, too. You can also have reminders delivered to your desktop or your cell phone. Nice!
~t
Here's is Zane's new trick...
Start here.
Exit Kevin to get a coffee or a coke or a smoke or what-have-you.
This is what happens.
The freakin' heat tries to trick us with all these numbers. Degrees, I think they are called. 68, 70, 72, 73, 74. Really, it has two settings: freakin' cold and freakin' too warm. Along with freakin' too warm comes, "You will be parched in the middle of the wettest state in the nation." No wonder my baby still wants to drink milk all night. Sheesh.
~t
On a recent trip to Walgreens, Zane and I were diverted. I had seen them before and tried to stay away. This time, it just happened. I could not stop it. The impulse buy...
He's got his own throne! Ok, you can't really see that it's Elmo. But trust me. (You can sorta see Elmo's hand.)
~t
Currently, the bed situation at our house is a little unique. Kevin and I have two full size mattresses on the floor in Zane's room and the three of us sleep in there. It's pretty cozy, especially since we are sleeping under the lovely tree mural that Kevin painted, but we don't really intend to keep it this way forever. Caspian has his own twin size bed.
As I think about how we're going to change this bed situation in the next couple of years, I've been really considering bunk beds for one or both boys. It would be really handy to have an extra bed around if one of them wanted to have a friend over, or if we have out-of-town guests and would like them to bunk together. (Pardon the pun.)
Bunk beds have really changed since I shared a set with my older brother in the '70s. (And he DID say one night that he wanted a Donny and Marie album, even though he forever denies it.) In addition to the standard bunk beds, there are also futon bunk beds. Not only are bunk beds space-saving, but "most bunk beds can be separated to create two beds if desired, they come in twin over twin, twin over full and full over full. The top bunk features guard rails and a sturdy ladder for safety." Nice. Safety is big with me.
And check out the look:
How fun is this one?
Check it out!
~t
The weather being what it is in Olympia (not usually super warm, even in the summer), we really have never considered getting a pool. However, it has been a goal of ours for quite some time that we will have a hot tub. We even have a spot all picked out for it in our backyard (which, admittedly needs some work, especially since the fence issues we have had recently). But there's that nice little grotto behind the shed in the above picture. That's where it will go.
I just found this great Pool Supply store online that also carries hot tubs and all sorts of accessories for outdoor entertaining. They even have hammock chairs, which I love.
Thanks to the mostly temperate climate for much of the year, outdoor entertaining is very big around here. It's one of the things I really love about this area of the country. Now we just need to do some outdoor renovating, and Blue Haven looks like a nice place to start getting some things together.
Their site features:
"Substantial savings over local pool retailers.
Our 99-day money back guarantee.
Industry leading customer service.
Ease of ordering.
In-stock, fast shipping of our wide variety of swimming pool, spa and home leisure products."
I love the 99-day money back guarantee. They give you an entire season to make sure it works for you. That's great. Now it would be nice if Santa would bring us a hot tub (and a fence)!
~t
One of the coolest new things to come out in photo reproduction is Wallhogs. You submit a photo or graphic and it can be blown up to up to 7 feet tall by 53" for use on your wall. It's like a photo mural and can be completely personalized. You know we are all about murals at our place (with a nod to Lynn Fontanne and Alfred Lunt). Not only that, but they can also take out anything in the background of the photo that you don't like and make it more like a cutout. Here's a sample of one:
There are so many possible fun applications to Wallhogs. (Pardon the pun.) Kids rooms are an obvious choice, using fun graphics or photos of the kids themselves! What about a life size wedding photo in your bedroom? (Ok, maybe not?) How about a huge portrait of the inlaws in the game room for dart throwing? Well, in that case it might need to be a secret game room, but sounds like fun, no? (Not MY inlaws, of course. They are awesome.) The nice thing about Wallhogs is that they are also super durable. So, I'm not sure if your inlaws would even be harmed in the darting process!
~t
Since we just got a new/old house, we have been working on it a LOT. Of course, there are still many home improvement projects that we would like to have done. I've just been daydreaming about what we'd do if money were no object.
First on our list is our fence. Kevin's been tearing it down due to termites, so we'd like to replace that. We'd especially like to replace it with something high enough for privacy in the event that we see one of our other home improvement plans come to fruition: the hot tub. Oh yeah.
Hmmmm...what else would I do if money were no object? It's fun to think about. We'd get some art. Stainless steel countertops for the kitchen. That would be fun. We'd really like to trick out the back yard more--a little patio, some great furniture, probably an umbrella of some sort. And a fire pit with seating. Somewhere Kevin could play guitar.
But, I think, more than anything, I'd like have a super deluxe bathroom attached to our bedroom. We have a bathroom upstairs right now, but it definitely needs work, isn't very convenient, and doesn't even have a tub. That is truly a bummer. I loves me a good soak. My mom has a tub I can use if I need it, but it's not the same. Especially if Zane is sleeping. When I was in Vegas, I took a bath while he was sleeping in the next room. If he woke up, no big deal. Now, if he woke up while I was downstairs in my mom's bathtub...ehhhh, I don't bother.
A dream bathroom. Good to think about while Zane watches Rent for the gazillionth time.
~t
