A great day to meet W.

I have to share with you all.  I met Former President George W. Bush this morning!  He was in Houston for a book signing and I happened to be one of several hundred who had a 'reserved bracelet' to get into the event.  My opinion of Dubya has changed over the years.  I didn't vote for him in either election.  And up until rather recently, I didn't care for him much at all.  However, I will always remember his speech in the days after 9/11... when he showed up to tour the horrific scene and meet the firemen and first responders.  When he grabbed the bullhorn and shouted that he could hear the workers, and that the whole world was about to hear him (totally paraphrasing here).... I suddenly had a whole new respect for him. 

I also absolutely loved Laura Bush's book and started to really like W as a person as I read her account of life with George.  So by the time his book was released, I was sold.  I also came to the realization that as a President, he made decisions that we could not possibly understand unless put in the same shoes.  I do think that history will decide what kind of President he was (along with every other).  But I was thrilled to meet him and see that he was a gracious and funny man, and a true patriot. 

This will be my one and only political post, but it's not truely meant to be that at all.  It was just a cool moment in time that I will never forget!  If you haven't read Laura's book.... it was a wonderful account of her life growing up and leading up to life in the White House.  There are some fabulous decorating secrets of which first lady decorated which rooms too, and how they've changed over the years.  I couldn't put it down!  

Hello Friends, It's been awhile!!!

Ugh, I am the WORST!!!  The past few months have been nothing short of crazy (CRAZY) busy... and I have totally neglected my little blog.  The funny thing is that I totally miss it ~ and reading all of yours ~ when I am not staying active on it.  But here I am again, resurfacing for some much needed blog time.

We've been baking up a storm 'round here.  My little miss and I made some sweet little scarecrow cupcakes for Nana and Pop Pop when they came for a visit.

We also enjoyed our first official year of trick-or-treating.  Oh to say it was a hit, would be quite the understatement! The night went a little something like this...

Now we are preparing for Thanksgiving! Grammy is coming to visit, and we are hosting our first annual "Big Hair Texas style Thanksgiving".  That's right folks.  If you want to eat, you've got to come with big hair and big bling.  It should be fun.  In the meantime, we are all carefully considering our hairstyles... my husband included.  I know he'll bring his A-game.

Happy Fall and Happy early Thanksgiving to all! We feel quite thankful for where we are right now, with good family and friends, health and happiness!

A little bit of Fall... Houston style

It's here, it's here... my favorite time of the year!  Pumpkins, lattes, scarves and holidays.  I really think this is a fantastic combination all around.

We hit the pumpkin patch last weekend and my little friend found quite a few keepers

She thought the bumpy pumpkins were rather hilarious.

After a day at the patch, we headed home to decorate.  This was taken the next day after school. Betsy had to make sure that everything was just right.

Happy Fall to you all!  Can't wait to see what costumes / decorations you have going!

lessons from Bill

Wow, it's been awhile!  Time to dust off this old blog and get back to it.  The funny thing is that I've really had nothing new or exciting to post recently.  It's been strangely calm and quiet around here, which is just what I like.  So, while things roll on, I'll leave you with this (which was posted on facebook and borrowed from kent summers below).  I hope to have more interesting things to say next time.  Or maybe not, but thanks for checking in anyway!  I'm still following and reading all of your blogs out there!!!

Bill Gates speech: 11 rules your kids did not and will not learn in school

by Kent Summers on Wednesday, May 26, 2010 at 7:34am

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it! 

Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. 

Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. 

Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. 

Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity. 

Rule 6: If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them. 

Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room. 

Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. 

Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time. 

Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. 

Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.

We survived the first day of preschool

Well, it's official. We are back to living in the sweltering heat and humidity of Houston.  We had only three days to adjust to the time change and prepare for Betsy's first day of school.  I frantically went to work on unpacking boxes, re-washing everything and then ironing tiny little name labels into every piece of clothing that kiddo owns. 

And then it was the big day. 

My girl woke up feeling "a little bit nervous", which we explained was perfectly normal and that certainly every little boy and girl were also feeling a little bit nervous too. 

She clung to Daddy's leg, not wanting to venture into her classroom alone.  It was pathetic.  Kids all around us were crying as parents proudly snapped their photos and tried to manage just a tiny little smile.

We gave our last hugs and handed her off...

and away she went, straight for the dollhouse. 

The bathroom makeUNDER before & after

Happy Saturday to all!
I have finally managed to snap a few photos of the finished bathroom~ aka: the bathroom on a budget makeunder.  I will remind you what it looked like before (much to my horror).

can you believe that we lived with this for two years? 

ICK!!!

and now.....

classic and simple, and more 1908 than 1968

the shower curtain is from Anthropologie. I've waited SEVEN years to buy it.

I've got a little dressing table for this area under the window

but it's in our guest room for now

ahhhhh!!!  It's DONE! 

It's been awhile!

I hate to think that summer as I know it is wrapping up.... but it is.  Seattle has been such a wonderful (and much needed) break from the Houston routine.  We've been enjoying our little Emerald City as if we are tourists~ traveling to different islands by ferry, hopping on the monorail to head downtown, and buying Space Needle snow globes, along with other silly little items to "remember" our home sweet home.

But come August 14th, we're headed back to Texas for another nine months. In the meantime, my posts will be short.... because I've still got a whole bunch of Seattle to enjoy before we go. 

Oh... and the bathroom is done. Yay! Photo coming soon. Happy summer to you all.

It's my birthday! How much ice cream is too much??

Hello friends!

I'm tired. No I'm pooped!! The laundry room is full of sandy clothes and suitcases.  We left our bathroom under construction on Friday and headed for Cannon Beach, OR to celebrate my birthday (and escape the dust & noise!).  Have you ever been to Cannon Beach?  It's absolutely delightful!!!  It reminds me of the very tiny town that I grew up in.  And by tiny, I mean pop. 2300.  It's much larger now.... I think they've hit the 4500 mark.  But now I'm off on another subject.

Ahem.

Ok. Cannon Beach.  It's quaint, picturesque, filled with adorable shops and restaurants, and the best (BEST) ice cream parlor.  We went all three days that we were there.  Ok, well~ on day 2, we realized that we hadn't had any ice cream, but it was far past Betsy's bedtime... so once she went to sleep, I snuck out (Tom was still in our hotel suite.... no need to call CPS), and got us both double scoops.  Is that mean?  We ate our ice cream in bed watching 48 hours Mystery while Betsy slept.  It was after all, my birthday eve, and since I celebrate all month, I figured it was justified.

We also had a great time on the beach. The weather was perfect! A bit chilly and windy at first, but then, just GREAT.

We had to purchase the purple hat / mitten ensemble for our girl

Haystack Rock... quite a sight!

Plenty of sandcastles 

and long walks

and this gorgeous sunset, a view enjoyed from our balcony

We have just returned home.... to a bathroom STILL under construction.  But since it's my birthday, we had a bit more ice cream and it seemed to be the perfect ending to a perfect weekend away.

Have yourselves a wonderful week ahead!!

Bathroom photos coming soon!

Please meet my ugly bathroom

Hi Friends! I hope you are all having a great week out there.  What I'm about to show you is the source of our home's embarassment.  But since you're friends, and not here to judge...

I present to you..... (drumroll please)
our.
ugly.
bathroom.

This is the one room in our house that we were too afraid / too tired / too worn down to tackle when we renovated our home a few years ago.  Once we moved to Houston, it was a non-issue.  But now that we are home for the next few months, I just can't let her look and feel so dated.

This radiator is my first project.  Anyone ever painted a steam radiator out there?  I hear it's quite a fun process. And by fun, I mean messy & stinky.

Next up... a new bathtub and surround.  We're going completely classic and doing white glossy subway tiles.  The flooring will be 1" white & black hex tiles.  Let me tell you.....  finding 1" white AND black hex tiles has proved to be like finding the elusive Bigfoot.  But I've got 118 square feet on order, and I'm 100% thrilled.

This is a minimal makeover.  A mini-makeover if you will, because I promised my husband that we wouldn't get carried away.  So, no fancy chandelier, no taking the ceiling up to its original vaulted position, no new vanity.  This is a freshen up (ie: keep the budget-low) makeover.

I can't wait to show you the results!

We are home! Come on in!

Ahhhh. There is NOTHING better than leaving 102 degrees (with yucky humidity) in Houston for cooler days in Seattle.  When we landed on Saturday, it was a rainy 51 degrees and completely freezing (comparitively speaking of course).  So, after a quick trip to buy JACKETS, we came home and settled back in for two months of summer fun!  There are so many projects that I can't wait to tackle.  But here's a glimpse for now...

Circa 1908

I can't wait until it's warm enough to repaint the porch and freshen

everything up with flowers!!

Our living room... I've got big plans for this coffee table but for now, it's still doing the job. Oh, and the TV is tucked away when we are in Houston. It looks so much nicer hidden away behind those armoire doors!

When we bought this house it was a complete gut-job. But the fireplace was enough to make me want to stay.

Sofie the cat has claimed her spot on the sofa

another view

My favorite armoire, purchased for $200 at a San Francisco estate sale 8 years ago

I have a thing for vintage suitcases. 

They are particularly useful for storing Christmas ornaments!

Pocket doors mark the entrance to our dining room

We boxed in the radiators to keep little fingers away. 

The bonus is that kitty has extra lounging space!

An old shabby dresser works perfectly for wine & spirits when guests are here

I'm a huge fan of gallery walls for hanging photos. 

I love the uniformity!

Welcome to our kitchen~ 

we took it down to the studs a few years ago and here's the result

We opted for store bought cabinetry over custom and I love how it turned out!

another view

The breakfast area~ where we spend most of our time

Needs a tablecloth, don't ya think? Maria from Dreamy Whites is having a contest
right now to win a lovely tablecloth & napkin set from Cabbages & Roses...
check it out when you are done here!

Fresh peonies straight from our little garden

I found the phone hidden away in the garage when we moved in

Now let's head upstairs! 

I won this very cool canvas just last week from a giveaway offered by My Sweet Savannah. The artist Melissa, can be found at Momma Rhyne Designs. She did this custom canvas just for us, with our wedding date.

Here's Betsy's room. Another complete re-do! 

There are two giant closets so I removed the doors from one to create a special little hideaway just for her

An old measuring tape finds new life as a curtain tie-back

the reading nook

special treasures

Raggedy Anne & Andy from my husband's childhood home

We ordered this decal years ago from France, and it hangs above the second closet in her room

another shot of the secret hideaway. I painted the wall inside with chalkboard paint and then used white paint to create a "frame"

she loves it in here..

Every girl needs some sparkle!

and onto the master bedroom

Our garden shed, which is completely covered in white lights..

a perfect backdrop for evening get togethers!

our little backyard "green" space

That's it, that's all.

Thanks for visiting!