Treasuring the Moments

The Boys’ Bedroom – Getting Some Inspiration

Friday, February 17th, 2012 at 10:52 am

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Hey, hey folks! Things are happening in the laundry room today. Our tilesetter friend is coming out today to lay the tile in my sewing corner and there are a few other things that have been done in there. You’ll have to wait for pictures till after we get this tile in. I know it will be torturous but it won’t be long till I show you it all again.

Today, I’ve got some cooking to do but I’m also hoping to do a little project for my boys’ bedroom. I think I’m starting to get some direction as to how I want to decorate it.

It’s going to involve the word….

Excelsior

Ernest Shackleton’s ad for voyage to the South Pole

The American Flag

The Canadian Flag (this has meaning because my kids are now dual citizens of the US and Canada)

I found this room on Pinterest and may use a few parts of it for inspiration.

But I’m not totally sure what direction I want to go… maybe a travel/geography or adventure theme.

So, I’m hoping to paint a few flags today on some wood from a pallet we had lying around here.

Cute flag I found on Pinterest.

Source: brownpaper–packages.com via Elisabeth on Pinterest

We’ll see how it goes. Wish me well.

Valentine’s Family Dinner 2012

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012 at 1:10 pm

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How was your Valentine’s Day? Did you do anything special?

I almost let it slide this year. Every year I like to plan something but this year I was really not feeling energetic enough to think about it… until the day of! Serenity was my little encourager. She enjoys planning things as much as I, so she was an inspiration for me to get going. So a little planning, a little cooking and everything came together and we had a special evening.

Here’s how it went.

As soon as Audrey saw me preparing for our special meal, she wanted to make something, too. So she got out her ingredients to make “jelly rolls”. Instead, she ended up using sugar and cinnamon on her dough and she even cleaned up her mess when she was done. Blow me down(!) but I sure do get excited when that happens.

For our special Valentine’s meal, I decided we would have the various courses in different rooms like we did a few years ago. We had fun with that one and I thought it was worth a repeat.

So Outback Steakhouse Walkabout (Onion) Soup was served in the living room.

I took the picture frame that I had painted and made into a chalkboard from my Winter Mantle and wrote the message…

”You Are Sweet”.

In the little jar I placed individual pieces of paper on which I had written the meaning of someone’s name in the family. After they drew a piece of paper from the jar, they had to guess who in the family it was and then say why they appreciate them.

Some of the kids couldn’t figure out who they drew.

Then we played boys against girls Pictionary for a few rounds – just long enough for us girls to know we had the boys whipped soundly.

The next course was served in none other than the master bedroom. A lovely green salad was the fare – made similar to our Thanksgiving one that we thought was so DELISH! This time we used a Raspberry Vinagrette with a dollop of plain yogurt added on the side.

For our activity we played Taboo.

One of the few pictures with me in it. I’m usually the one behind the camera.

Our main part of the meal was served in our dining nook. (sorry, no pictures) The menu consisted of:

Meatloaf (this definiately does not have a lovely presentation to it, but it sure tastes good)
Mashed Potatoes
Grilled Zuchinni
Grilled Asparagus
Rolls

We.were.full.

Ahhh, but everything was so yummy that I wished I could have ate more.

For our last activity, the kids each drew another red slip of paper from a jar. This time I had written on it small clues, like “Tis so sweet” and “Hot Household Appliance.” The kids had to figure out what it meant and then find their treasure. Moolah was the treasure - various amounts ranging from $1 – $6.

Then it was dessert time. Waffle bowls made by Martha (my niece), a sliver of banana, a few scoops of ice cream, berries and some hot fudge for those who ~~wanted~~ needed their chocolate fix. I’m NOT mentioning any names.

A delicious ending to a sweet evening.

xoxo,

Elisabeth

A Finished Laundry Room… Almost

Friday, February 10th, 2012 at 12:59 pm

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I am so happy with my laundry room and the recent changes I’ve made. First we finished my sewing corner. Finished may not be the right word since there are still some things I want to do in this corner. For starters I’d like to fix that light cord that’s hanging along the ceiling. But I’m loving having a dedicated sewing spot. Love!

Now that I use this cubbyhole as my sewing corner, I wanted a place to put supplies, materials and other craft projects.

I have a folding counter in my laundry room and at the end of it there is some open space where I have my trash can as well as my laundry detergent. This area was always meant to be a sewing counter but it was never completed.

Do you have any spaces like that? I have a lot of them.

Well one day I got the inspiration to put a shelving unit there with baskets. And this is what that area looks like now but instead of baskets this unit from Costco came with canvas containers.

A place to put any projects I’m currently working on… I’m happy. I’m really happy that this laundry room is almost completely finished (after how many years? don’t ask). I just love the colors in there and the order, too.

Want to see more?

The view from the door of my laundry.

That counter is another project. someday…

My laundry organizers are so very handy. All my laundry is sorted and I can see at a glance what load needs done. You have to remember we are a family of 8, so if you’re a family of 3-4, you might not need as many organizers as I have.

Over my folding table I have this picture hanging.

I’ve had it for several years. I really enjoyed putting it together because the pictures did not have to be perfect. As a matter of fact, I tried to find lots of pictures with the kids dirty and muddy.

If I were to pick one of my favorite household duties I think laundry would rank right up there in the top 3.

What about you?

My Sewing Corner Reveal

Tuesday, February 7th, 2012 at 1:37 pm

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I am really excited to tell you about a home project that we (ahem) my dad finished for us when both mom and dad were here around Christmas time. A few years ago we made a bedroom for our boys in the attic. (I’ve never posted pictures of it because ~~I was trying to~~… ~~I was really wanting to~~… I planned to show it after I had finished decorating it.

No, it’s still not done. It’s been 2 years and I’ve done virtually nothing. Zilch. Nada

But I’ve got plans people. Plans to finally at least start on it.

Nevertheless, I’m in the laundry room right now. So let’s get back to that, shall we? When we added stairs in the boys’ room to the attic, I ended up with a cubbyhole in my laundry room. I thought about what I wanted to do with the space for a long time. Two years to be exact but who’s counting?

Here’s the before

Some ideas I had for this space were:

Putting in shelves and hanging a curtain/material over the opening
Making it my sewing area
a many other ideas that really weren’t feasible!

I finally decided on making it my sewing area. I’m not a big time sewer but I like the idea of having my sewing machine out all the time for any mending that may need done and plus, I also like to quilt. Since I never have large chunks of time to devote to quilting, I find that I don’t get my machine and supplies out because I know that I’ll have to clean everything up in a few hours when its mealtime.

So even though this space was small, I decided it would suit my purposes.

Well, this Christmas when my hubby asked what I wanted I ~~begged,~~ ~~pleaded,~~ graciously asked for my little cubbyhole to be tiled.

Then dad came to visit and he also asked me what I wanted for Christmas. Well, since he’s a carpenter by trade I knew that he could make my counter top. Yes!

Thank you, dad. You’re THE best!

He got to work right away.

Here’s another picture showing this spot in my laundry room. My laundry room is narrow.

The door leads outside.

I have to tell you I’m loving this space! There’s still some things I want to do here but… I’m not sure what they are yet. It takes me awhile to decide. When I finally figure it out, you’ll be the first to know… well, maybe the second or third.

Here’s what it looks like now.

The tile still needs to be layed and hopefully will be done this week. Russell did some mechanical work for a tile setter friend and in exchange our friend is going to lay my tile. I’m really excited to get this completed.

Russell put in a light for me since this can be a darker corner.

My sister is making me a curtain for my window. At least I think she still is. How’s it going, sis?

This is the fabric I chose for the window covering.

I’ll be looking for a different chair and although I don’t know much about refinishing furniture I thought it might be fun to paint the chair I eventually get. Paint it a color that’s in my curtain. Just to give the room a pop of color.

And here is the before and after once again.

And yes, I’ve been sewing !

Linking up with:

Romance on a Dime

Thrifty Decor Chick

A Yellow Accented Tablescape

Wednesday, February 1st, 2012 at 11:44 am

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This past week we had a small dinner party. I had so much fun coming up with this tablescape using the napkins I bought for my Thanksgiving tablescape in 2011.