5.27.2011

an entry table, applique attempts and the pool

As you can tell from the title this post is going to be all over the place :) Let's start with the a table redo.

I have been looking for an entry table for our foyer for about a year. The criteria was an open table that would be small enough to fit our foyer but big enough to throw our keys, cell phones and mail on.  It also could not cost a lot of money. Seems like that would be an easy find right? After MONTHS of searching I finally found something that would fit our foyer for about $15.00. I loved the lines of the table but it was covered in a very dark stain which did not help to show off the beautiful table. Also our foyer/mudroom has tile floors so I wanted something light to contrast with the dark tile. A few weekends ago when my parents were visiting I got the chance to sand the table and decided to paint it a soft blue grey that I left over from another project. It was a color match so I am not sure what the original color name is. Here is the after.
 It sat like this for awhile but it just felt boring. I was going to distress it in some places but  I just felt like that was not going to be enough. So the other day I decided to add stripes to the top which I think adds just enough interest without being to much for this small space.
While I am not painting I have been sewing like crazy. I have been attempting applique outfits for Will since the real deal costs an arm and a leg. Now I don't have an embroidery machine so this is not a real applique and they are far from perfect but I still think my little man looks cute! I will post the details later but for now here is a sneak peak at what I have been up to.
We ended the busy week with Will's first trip to the pool. He loves the bath so given that the pool is pretty much like a bath but outside I thought this would be a good way to spend the afternoon. Apparently in Will's mind there is a big difference because every time I put him in the water he would cry. However, while he did not love the pool he was a champ at laying out :)
I met a friend there and she had her little boy with her who loves Will which is a good thing since he is about to get a cute baby brother just like Will.
I am certain that by the end of the summer my little guy will LOVE the pool. After all both Dave and I were on swim teams and not to brag but I won a few metals in my time. Will's dad on the other hand attended the swim meets because of course given the name he was certain they would be serving meat. I wonder who Will is going to take after :)

5.26.2011

Patrick's Graduation

We have had a crazy past week. I have been busy locked up in my workshop cranking out things for Will that I cannot wait to share with you all but first I want to recap my weekend.  My family met on Saturday to celebrate Patrick's graduation from UVA. We decided to stay at Wintergreen which is right outside of Charlottesville so we would not have to deal with the crowds. We used to stay here at least twice a year growing up so it was fun to go back with Will. He however did not seem to excited for his first trip to the mountains. This was the best picture I could get. Can we say grouchy pants!
 
I tried again at dinner but he quickly let me know that this was boring him :) Also if someone reading this knows how to put on eye makeup please come teach me. Apparently, dark shadow is not very flattering as it looks like I have not slept in years.
We have so many fun family memories here. Nana and pop-pop would usually meet us here as there is a golf course nearby and they LOVED to golf. My pop-pop would always try and get us to play with him but my brother and I were never that interested. My pop-pop passed away last summer and I so wish he could have been there this past weekend because he would now finally have a golfing buddy since my husband also loves to play. I am not sure what was going on in the below picture but Dave really knows how to make us laugh. I am glad he caught this on camera as it might be one of my favorite pictures of the family.
On Sunday we made the trip down the mountain for Patrick's graduation ceremony. My brother is somewhere in the sea of people in the front.
They ended the ceremony with singing the "the good old song". My dad went to UVA for undergraduate and medical school so of course he knew all the words :) Will does not seem to impressed. This may have something to do with the fact that he is a little partial to the JMU fight song :)
 
We ended the day with lunch and pictures by the lake at Boar's Head Inn.  It was a fun weekend and we are so proud of you Patrick. Welcome to the real world!

5.19.2011

easy summertime pasta

I wanted to share a pasta recipe with you all that is perfect for the summer. I make it at least once a week when veggies are fresh and we never get tired of it.
Ingredients:
-Pasta - you can use any kind of pasta but I used penne for this batch
-Shredded Chicken - I use rotisserie if I am in a hurry and don't have time to boil and shred chicken breasts
-Feta - again any kind of cheese would work I just had this on hand
-Cucumber
-Tomatoes -  I used vine ripe tomatoes for this batch but typically I use cherry tomatoes
-Green Onion
-Italian Dressing - or whatever you favorite dressing is. Sometimes I just do balsamic and oil.

Chop and mix all the ingredients together in a big bowl and then add enough dressing to lightly coat veggies and pasta (you can always add more later). Refrigerate for a few hours until chilled (or you can pop it in the fridge for a few minutes to cool off if you are starving) and then devour!
Sometimes to mix it up I will add fresh spinach, carrots, green peppers or really whatever veggie I have in the fridge. The pasta tastes even better the next day after all of the veggies have sat in the dressing! Enjoy and let me know if you make it!

5.18.2011

peonies, best buds and rolling over

Peonies are one of my favorite flowers so last night when a friend offered me some I did not have to think twice about my answer :) This morning while Will was on his play mat I took some time to take pictures of my beautiful new flowers.
While I was in the kitchen with the flowers Will decided that he was going to be sneaky and roll off of his play mat. Of course me being the great mom that I am did not pick him up or move him but ran for the camera so everyone could see what I had just walked into.
Recently, Will he has been rolling over a lot which has not been fun for me at night when he cries out for us to come and flip him back over (can we say lazy boy!). Obviously there will be no more middle of the night flips since he just proved to me that he can roll fine by himself. What a sneaky little man.
After the whole rolling over episode I decided the bumbo might be better suited for this moving boy.
I was calling my mom to tell her Will's big news of moving across the dining room when I saw the below take place. Thankfully my mom didn't answer so I quickly hung up to take some more shots of this in action.






This was the first time I had seen Will pet Miley and by pet I mean grab her fur. I have been a little worried about how Miley would react to Will doing something like this and all the crazy girl did was give him a kiss on the check. Thank you Miley for loving your baby brother! I think these two are going to be best buds :)

5.16.2011

a garden redo and more

You know it has been a productive weekend when this is what your to do lists looks like Sunday evening.

 
My parents came bearing flowers and plants this weekend so I thought this would be a good excuse to convince everyone to get out there and clean the backyard. I did not get a before shot but just imagine a garden filled with weeds and dead plants that come up to my knees! Here's the after shot.
We still need to:
-add more rose bushes
-plant veggies in the back half of the garden (where the tomato stand is)
-straighten bricks around the perimeter (they were left from the previous owner)
-mulch the garden
-edge the garden and our lawn (weed whacker will be Dave's Father's day gift)

My mom also planted zinnia seeds in the middle of the garden so I will hopefully have flowers to cut this summer!  It might not look like much right now but it will be full and beautiful in a few weeks/months. Also the hose will eventually lay flat (hence the bricks) and once all of my seeds start to come up we will mulch which will hopefully hide some the soaker hose as well. Also the stones mark where the seeds end so I know where to plant more bushes. This is not our attempt at garden art :) I cannot wait to have a beautiful garden this year!

Besides making my parents slave away in the garden I did let them have a little Will time as well :)

My mom will probably kill me for posting the above pic but we had all just woken up and Will would not take his cheek away from my mom's. It was so cute! (Please ignore Will's slicked hair. Someone obviously needs a bath!)

Will also wanted to show off his dance moves to my dad.

Dave grilled some steaks for everyone Saturday night. A well deserved meal after all their had work.
While the adults feasted on steaks Will got his first taste of oatmeal cereal. The doc said to give him oatmeal instead of rice cereal due to his digestive track if you get what I am saying ;)

My baby is growing up. Now will you please excuse me while I go cry and water my new garden :)
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