Summer time

I haven't died or completely forgotten about my blog. The truth is hat I'm just super busy right now and haven't taken the time to update my blog. And now that it's warm outside we are busy painting, planting, playing, and all that fun and not so fun stuff that happens when the snow is gone here in North Dakota. So please forgive my absence and lack of posts. I will be back and hopefully with some fun new stuff to share. Unfortunately I can't guarantee any consistency right now. Hope you are soaking up the beautiful sunshine.

pinterest love...cafe curtains

So I've decided to go with a cafe style curtain for our kitchen window above the sink.  We need something for privacy but also want to let in light.  Here are some cafe curtain inspiration from Pinterest.

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and then there was tile

I'm a few weeks behind on posting on my blog.  I'm gonna blame it on sick kids, too many home projects going on at once, and warm and unusual weather that has drawn us outside to play and soak it all up.  Today it was 70 degrees!!  I'm hoping this warm weather isn't followed by a blizzard because one thing I have learned is that anything can happen when it comes to weather here in North Dakota. 

Anywho....onto my latest kitchen update...  The countertops are in and I LOVE them more then I expected.  (I often second guess myself)  We also have finished tiling the back splash and that too turned out fantastic. My kitchen already feels like a completely different (and better) kitchen. 

The best part was that my husband tiled it himself. That man is so handy. The great thing about my husband is that he doesn't have any prior knowledge or experience with home renovations, tiling, remodeling, etc. He's (well, we really) are learning as we go. He's very direction oriented and does a ton of research before starting a new project. I'm the complete opposite. I jump into projects without directions or a plan. I do things on a whim. It drives him nuts. Luckily, most of my ideas are realistic and do-able. And when I get in over my head my husband is always there to help me out even if he isn't happy about it.


So that's it for now. Next thing we are working on is lighting, bead board accents, and window treatment.

moving along

Our new countertops are here and awaiting installation. 

What is holding up the process you ask?

We are waiting on the arrival of our sink. We ordered it from Home Depot along with our faucet but only the faucet has arrived.

So for now the countertops sit in my craft room.

But while waiting for the sink my husband removed the tile back splash and we will have our electrician come in and put in new outlets and bring those babies up to code in the next week.

It's coming along.  Hopefully my next progress report will include pictures with our new counters in.

Friday LOVE

Instead of my usual Friday Pinterest love post I'm gonna share some Houzz love today.

white kitchens are so popular. I like the pendant lights....a lot.

(love the chandelier)

This is a laundry room...crazy big.

 Love the painted table legs.

minneapolis or bust

Last week we headed out for our usual winter trip to Minneapolis for my son's doctor's check-up with Shriner's Hospital.  He usually goes 2-3 times a year depending on what medical treatment is needed at the time.  This visit was just a check-up which was so nice.  Last time he had to get Botox injections.  The great thing about Shriner's hospital is that even during those 'hard' visits my son doesn't really see them as all that hard or scary thanks to the awesome people at Shriner's.  From the moment you walk into the lobby you are greeted with smiles, activities, games, toys, familiar faces, etc.  They are like a second family to us and we love catching up with our favorite nurses/doctors when we go.

My in-laws flew out to our home and drove to Minneapolis with us.  They live in Arizona and so it's a great treat for the kids when they visit.  Now that we are a family of 5 we no longer can fit grandparents or really anyone else in the van with us so they drove a rental car.  We also found that we needed a really big hotel room to house us all.  We stayed in a 2 bedroom penthouse loft at the Marriot.  It was like a mini apartment.

My favorite part was the fireplace which we took full advantage of.  Here is one of my many attempts to get a picture of the kids in front of the fireplace.

If you look closely to the far left of the photo you can see my father in law's knee.  He was trying to assist and get my kiddos to pose for the camera.  He's always helping out.  He's cool like that.

My kids' favorite Minneapolis activity has to be Nickelodeon Universe at the Mall of America.  My son is a roller coaster junkie and I think this trip converted my daughter into one as well.

My favorite stop was Ikea.  My husband and I zoomed through this store in a record (for us) 1 hour while my oldest son played in the play area, my toddler slept in her stroller, and my hubby wore the baby in his Baby Bjorn.  We were doing some serious shopping/multi-tasking but it was so much fun.

Oh, and this place takes a very close second (if not tie for first) for me

We didn't buy a ton of stuff but I am so happy with the stuff we did buy. It's always exciting getting home and finding a new home for all your new goodies.  My kids' came home with new Build A Bears and have been cuddling and playing with them since.

Our trip was a bit chaotic and we were often short handed with the kids but we still had a great time making new memories, carrying on our traditions, and next time we go it will be easier.

pinterest love

Every Friday I am gonna attempt to share with you some of my latest Pinterest LOVE. Here is what I'm loving today.

1. This Irish family goes all out for St. Patty's Day!!

2. Wanna ad pins to places we've visited and put it up in my son's room.  Thinking maybe we should just go with a US Map for now.

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5. Must make a book wreath sometime before I die!

6. Can I live here?  P-L-E-A-S-E!!!!

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this one goes out to the one I love...

Happy Valentine's Day! I am so blessed to have married my soulmate and my best friend.  He still gives me butterflies like the day we met.  So cheesy...but so true. 

Honey....I know you don't like me posting photos of you on my blog but you are too cute not to share with the world so hopefully you won't mind me posting this one photo on Valentine's Day!

you're the PEANUT to my BUTTER ,

you're the STAR to my BURST,

you're the M to my M,

you're the POP to my TART,

you're the MILKY to my WAY,

you're the FRUIT to my LOOP,

you're the MILK to my DUDS,

you're the LUCKY to my CHARMS,

you're the ICE to my CREAM,

but mostly....

you're the BEST to my FRIEND

- Unknown



pinterest love.....

Everyone is on Pinterest these days and there is no wonder why.  It's AWESOME!!  And somewhat addicting as well.  I'm sure if you are anything like me you have many folders on pinterest.  Heck, I even have a folder for haircuts and styles I love.  Yeah, it's that bad.  But it could be worse, right????

Every Friday I am gonna attempt to share with you some of my latest Pinterest LOVE.  Here is what I'm loving today.

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(must do this in my bedroom using a poem my husband wrote me)

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(part of my inspiration for mykitchen remodel)

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(this is hilarious, seriously)

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(made these with my son's boy scout den and they turned out so cute)

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(my kids would LOVE this)

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(cute for Valentine's Day, but I might need a shorter heel)

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can you HANDLE this?

The next thing we handled on our kitchen remodel to buy list were the kitchen cabinet handles. Get it...handled?!  Ha Ha Ha...I crack myself up sometimes.  Ok, enough cheesy word play.

I have always loved the cup pull style handle.  They are so classy yet functional.

We used them in our bathroom remodel and I still love the way they dress up the vanity. 

So clearly I wanted to use them for the drawer handles in the kitchen, right?  Of course.  And because I shopped around for the best deal and paid under $2 shipped per handle I was overwhelmed with joy when I found out the same store on e-bay was still selling these pulls. (doing my happy dance)  In the few stores I shopped around for similar handles they were priced from $5 and up. 

Here is the link to the actual pulls I purchased on e-bay. 

As soon as they came in my husband put them on my freshly painted cabinets.  What a difference some shiny new hardware makes, right?

We kept the round knobs for the cabinets.  They are a satin nickel finish and match nicely with my new cup pull handles.



And here are some other really cool handles we came across while shopping for handles.

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3. (my hubby's favorite)

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5. (looooove the glass)

6. (have these and LOVE them)

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