Room by room - laundry

My laundry room is one of my favorite features.  It has a large counter which is wonderful, plus many storage cupboards.  So many that I don't even use them all (yet).  Crazy, huh?

Here is a shot of the laundry room from the kitchen doorway. Gotta love the kids' bins, eh?  Easiest system for me.

I found a cute lamp at the thrift store last week and it was in perfect condition.  I thought it looked good in this corner.  Then I went shopping in Salt Lake after some errands we had and I fell in love with this "We are blessed" piece at Hobby Lobby.  But it was like $17 or something so I didn't get it.

The next day I ran into Ross to look for shoes for Strider and on my way to the shoe section I stopped dead in my tracks.  There was the same "we are blessed" thing for $4.99.  Yippeeeee!  No other saying is more appropriate for how we feel right now. 

Here is the other side.  Kinda boring.  Any ideas?  I want to add a rod of some sort for my clothes that need air dried.  Still figuring things out.  Pinterest maybe?

Outdoor spaces

 Around my yard:

A peony bush

Perennial geraniums

Plums

Peaches

Raspberries

Cherries (across the back fence)

Not really ours but the neighbor said "Help yourself!"

The kids have a fun time playing out back, and Aunt Jess did, too, when she came for a visit.

Not sure what this was, but I think Jess won

I thought it would take a long time here till I felt like it was "home".  I was wrong.  I absolutely love where we moved from, but just the same, I know we belong here.

Just as the sun was going down yesterday, I stood on the front porch.  I love my life.

Room by room - dining room

I have decided to bounce around and show progress of different spaces that we're working on in the new house.

  After getting the table positioned in the dining room I decided on big plans for this lonely little corner.

I had Strider take these fragile boxes personally (not on the moving truck) to the house in their own special trip.  I am really excited about the prospect of having my wedding china out where it's usable instead of boxed up in a crawl space!  I still remember the day we (I) picked them out.  Greenbrier by Noritake.  Ahhhhh, hello lovely.  We registered for 8 settings.  We received 6 place settings for our wedding, and were able to afford just one more on our own.  Grand total of 7.  They were $50 ea in 1996.  :(

BUT a years ago I stumbled upon an Ebay auction for 16 unopened place settings of our (now retired) pattern at a killer price.  I snatched them right up.  Yes, folks.  I now have service for 23!  They deserve a proper home, dontcha think?

After much searching in the classifieds, and finding WAY too high of prices, I found this great piece -  an oak  corner china cabinet.  The seller listed it for $27.  I thought maybe it was a typo, and she meant $270.  Nope.

Strider picked it up for me and the lady only asked for $20!  Twenty buckeroos.

Jedi and Bugs helped me paint.  Strider added a top coat.

5 cans of Canyon Black spray paint later?  Awesomeness!

Linking up with

  Between Naps on the Porch

Cozy Little House

Time for an update

As we scrambled around trying to move, packing kept getting interrupted by scouts, sports and end of school stuff.  In one glorious week, here's what went down.

Jedi advanced from cubs to scouts 

 Jedi sang in concerts and programs

Princess did a recitation on the Civil War during her "museum"

Potter was showered with multiple end of year Drama dept. accolades

Jedi had more baseball.  Since that week, Jedi has now finished another championship season with the Yankees.  17-1 and first place!  He got better and better and ended the season with a stellar game where he went 3-3 at the plate and had a nice play in the outfield.  

Potter auditioned for Show Choir and made it (not as fruitless as it would seem - more on that in another post).  Here he was kidnapped at 5:30am. 

 Bugs had his spring band concert

Half an hour later he became a Star Rank in Boy Scouts

The Bishop presented Potter with the On My Honor award for Duty to God and Scouting

AND we saved the best for last:

He passed :)