The Garage



So our garage is a bit of a sore spot lately. I think I am idenifying in myself some OCD about things piling up. I was almost to the point of twitching just thinking about the state of the garage. UGH!!!
Our garage is someday going to be our studio. We hope to paint and seal the floor, drywall in the walls and make it more "studio like". But for now, the garage is our storage which I am slowing going through and organizing and ridding of junk we've accumulated.
Its hard because both Mike and I are creative minds. We like to dabble in many different hobbies which means we also have a lot of hobby stuff. We are beginning to simplify and prioritize our hobbies. We decided to get rid of his candle making stuff and instead wants to venture into making micro-brew in the large crawlspace under the house. For now he is just reading about it, no micro-brew yet!
So today I started tackling more of the mess out there. I took a huge load of stuff to the Goodwill and we are selling a few of the larger pieces of furniture out there that don't fit into the house.
The worst part about the garage at this point is the spiders! YUCK! Holy cow--everything I moved had a spider under it. Yucky, disgusting spiders that I had to stomp on one by one.
So after a couple of hours I had made huge leaps and bounds in the garage. A few more hours to go and we may be able to actually use the space!

My Blogging Friends


I thought I'd take this post to share with you a couple of my friends blogs. They are so fun and creative and inspiring to me....I hope you think so too!

Kristie Harris
Freedom Martinez


Also--many of you tell me in person that you read the blog. I would love it too if you would post in the comment section from time to time so I know you are out there! :)

Lastly, cooking around here has been minimal. It always seems to be in the summer anyhow, but for some reason this summer we have been so busy that making a nice meal is not on the forefront of my mind. Here is a pic I took of our dinner a few nights ago. A pre-made pizza we picked up at the grocery store and brought home to be made even better. We added lots of seasonings, toppings, cheese to make it more "homemade". Not too bad for a meal on the run :)

Late Night Scrabble with friends.



Our friends Allan and Mandy Caley and their son Andrew came in to visit this weekend from Orlando. It was such a nice visit and we always enjoy our time with them. Last night we sat out on the porch, played scrabble, and ate Banoffee Pie late into the night. Mandy (in the picture) put us all to shame.
Banofee pie, which is a British thing (Allan and Mandy are from England) is so unique and delish! I do ours in a tart shell so I guess it is more of a Banoffee Tart-but anyhow. It has a tart shell which is layered with homemade toffee, bananas, homemade whipped cream, camp coffee, and sugared almonds. Maybe I'll post the recipe soon. It is a Jamie Oliver (the Naked Chef) recipe. Yummo!

Ezra made himself breakfast


I came out from cleaning the bathroom this morning and Ezra had climbed up on the new stepstool we got at Ikea--got himself a bowl, spoon, and Cheerios--and made himself a bowl of cereal. Atleast most made it in the bowl :)

Peace & Quiet




Last night I stepped out of the shower and it was quiet....very quiet. The boys and daddy were upstairs listening to music in their room and there were no lights on downstairs. The sun was going down and the whole downstairs had that dreamy sunset glow. I love those times. The end of the day when the dishes are done, the washer and dryer have done their work for the day and the toys are (mostly) picked up. I love to close the curtains at the end of the day and snuggle in with Mike on the couch for a couple of hours of "our" time before going to bed.
We have such a wonderful life and I am so blessed and thankful for each day I have with my amazing guys and having the opportunity to pursue my dreams and passions.

Our new Boden catalog




Once in a while we get a new Mini Boden catalog in the mail. This is a fun time for us (Canaan and I) because it means we get new shirt design ideas. I have always loved buying plain tee shirts for the boys and adding applique or embroidered designs myself. Mini Boden has great appliqued tee shirts that we glean ideas from. So today Canaan sat down and picked out 3 that he wants me to do. A dinosaur, a fried egg, and a monster. They cost anywhere from $28-$38 in the catalog and at home I can make them for about $4 and a half hour of work. Plus its super fun!
The music in our CD player this week has been a great Woody Guthrie kids album. The songs are hilarious and even Ezra can sing them :)

Our Bedroom (Ignore the aweful paint)






Our bedroom has been a source of frustration and anxiety for me. It has been a cluttered mess with us trying to have our home office in it as well. Papers, books, bills, etc...have been everywhere. For me, my bedroom needs to be a relaxing and clutter free space and it obviously just wasn't happening which made me not even want to spend time in there.
So last week after being sick in bed for 2 days and having to stare at the disorganization of it all I tackled it all in one day. I eliminated 2 pieces of furniture ( a filing cabinet and a dresser) which really opened the space up. Then I organized all of our paperwork and in the white dresser I gave Mike a drawer, me a drawer, and a combined big drawer for all of our papers and things we need to work on. The room still needs painted...SOON!....but otherwise I am a much happier person and enjoy spending time in my little oasis.

A little theif!




We caught Ezra red handed the other day! We came into the kitchen to find Ezra standing on his art desk stuffing TONS of money into his pockets. Money from our "Boat Money" fund that Canaan has so dilligently been saving for a cruise. Thankfully he put it back without too much of a fuss and hasn't stolen anymore (atleast I don't think so :)

Date night pics with the hunkiest little 5 year old in town



Friends and Dates...


This weekend was a whirlwind of events as usual but Sunday was a nice chill day. We had several friends over throughout the day and Canaan and I snuck away on a date night to his favorite restaurant for cheese fries (its a tradition for our date nights). Although Lexington isn't where we thought we'd be at this stage of life, we are so thankful for the little "detour" and love our community of friends.

Artwork



It has always been important to us to fill the house with artwork and craftiness that is personal to us. Whether it is the copper hearts Mike made for me when we first got married that I have hanging above our front door or the baskets Mikes mom has made for us that I have around the house..
Last week I hung the boys paintings above our couch. That wall was SOOO bare and I kept thinking I would paint a big picture for that area. But as I started looking through things that had yet to be hung from our other house I ran across these and decided they would be perfect for that wall. Canaan did 4 of them and Ezra painted 2 of them. They are so proud of their artwork up there and I think it is important to have the boys contribute to our home.
My mantle has changed again - as it does quite often - Mike thinks it looks to bare with all white but for me it is a nice change and a bit more clean and simplistic for summer.

Ezra




Ezra is so much fun nowdays (as well as incredibly whiny at times but that comes with the age :) The other day I asked him to go get dressed and he came downstairs in this outfit that he was SOO proud of. He completely dressed himself in a pajama shirt, adidas pants, and blue cotton shorts to top it off! Quite an eye for fashion, eh?
He also loves digging in the garden (or anywhere in the yard for that matter). He and Canaan are interacting so much more nowdays. Today they spent time throwing the frisbee back and forth together. Actually taking turns, playing nice, and having fun!! Indoors they love to make little "tents" out of quilts and play under them. Unfortuantely Ezra is still learning how to play that game. He inevitably crashes the tent down at some point or another which frustrates Canaan who has spent time constructing it. They are both learning :)