I've been Pinspired :)

I have a built in bookshelf/cabinet area in the master bedroom and I didn't really know what to do with it, the obvious answer - books...duh!  But soooo many of my books are on kindle now that I don't buy regular books anymore.  I do have my trunk full o books from when I was much much younger - but I didn't really want to break those out either.  So hello Pinterest - best.website.ever for ideas.  I was able to find an idea....

like this.

And the picture below is what I actually have in house and now it looks like this.

Liked the placement well enough but needed to do one more thing to make it more of what I wanted.  Paint!!  I love paint (when it's done) (whole side note, I used to love painting because I could transform an entire room in one day - but these days - not so much because of the tall ceilings, it is a HUGE job now, no longer a simple oh I can whip that out on a Saturday kind of job - but that's ok....) so back to my shelf.  I had a helper.... 

And our transformation was complete, now I just need to find a blue "hello" and I'll really be pinspired!!!

So there's my before and after for the cabinet :)  I'm so happy!!!!  I'm sure things will change on there, actually they already have which is good!!!  

I have another before/after... I am soooo happy on one hand...but on the other hand...oh shoot what did we do!!!

We started with the look below.

These poor trees

The things I don't like:

they're crooked, that really bothers me

they're spindly - I want a nice full ROUND tree

the branches were breaking, last week we had to cut them higher up because I couldn't even pull my car in the garage because they were hanging sooooo low

another thing, a 4 inch in diameter branch broke off during a very mild storm, the branches are weak/brittle and we can pull them down with very little effort.  Also, an entire section is dropping low again and will need to be trimmed up....

those things added up = scary trees in hurricane season....one big storm and they are either in Mikayla's bedroom or the neighbors house.....

Did I mention they're CROOKED.... oh and at the highest point one of the branches is completely and entirely resting on the roof of the house. Yes...the whole thing.... and that's the only branch on that side of the crooked tree.

So we made the painful decision to take them down and start over.  I can't say I'm a big fan of cutting down a tree that has hope to kind of be something pretty special, but in this case even the tree doctor recommended taking them down.

and while yes we did this, my goodness what a SHOCK at the difference!  We can't get over how different it really is....

So now we start our quest for a good tree, big but not too big, round but not too round, shade but not too shady, it needs to be ok within about 15-20 feet of house foundation without impacting it and obviously it needs to be heat tolerant.  Would love it to color through the seasons but not drop nuts/balls/junk all over yard/driveway.  Birds are optional but would be preferred to poo in the grass and not make such a mess on the driveway. 

Suggestions??

(wish list is totally realistic, right?)

Oh and we do have plans for that whole area too - we are thinking, additional parking, one big tree (vs two), shrubs/bushes and overall gorgeousness. 

Awwwww 2nd Grade!!

Well it is here already.  Mikayla is officially in 2nd grade!!!  I can't even believe how fast the time is going.  Of course we took time for some pictures this morning, naturally my camera lens fogged up when we went outside - steamy before 7:00 am HA!

 

 

Isn't she a gem!! She is the most darling little girl. She comes up with some seriously wonderful and witty commentary!!

 

 

She says her favorite subject is reading... and yet...we struggled to read what we were supposed to over the summer break.  She loved being in AR (advanced reading) last year but doesn't like all the reading except reading is her favorite subject... or is it??  I'm really not sure after that conversation.  I decided that I just needed more coffee to try to keep up with this gal!

 

 

She was a bit nervous, a bit excited and a bit ready but incredibly happy to be going back to her friends, she spent the last few days wondering if her friends would be there and who was going to be in her class.

 

 

She's grown up so much since the end of last year.... it's so strange how that happens.

 

 

I am so proud of the little girl she is.  She truly has a heart of gold!

 

 

Here she is with some friends - she looks like she was really waiting for an answer.

 

 

She was so excited and nervous in the picture below, she walked right up to me for another hug and kiss and well wishes for her first day.

 

 

and off they go :)  Have a great day babe!

 

 

I am so excited and scared all at the same time to see how much she grows and changes this year.  It is going so fast, I don't want to miss any of it! 

 

Good times ahead!! 

 

I can't wait for school programs and dance recitals. 

 

I can't wait for stories of the kids at school (I'm pretty sure only 1/2 of it is completely true) but I enjoy the stories anyway.

 

I can't wait for her to read more books to me.

 

I can't wait to celebrate her achievements from a great spelling test grade to learning fractions.

 

I can't wait for the end of each day as she still runs into my arms screaming MOMMY at the end of our work/school day and we drive home and discuss all the happenings of the day and head in for homework/quizzing/dinner and fun.

 

I LOVE this!!!

Our little seamstress

Mikayla has been really showing interest in sewing so the other day I was doing something with the sewing machine so I had her get some fabric, she learned how to iron and sew!

She ended up making three pillow covers that day - they're on the small side but heck, have to start somewhere.

I was able to sign her up for official sewing lessons, her first one is on August 17.  I hope she continues to enjoy it. I love that she's into this.

Here's a quick video I took of her on her first experience on the sewing machine!  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMIEqqn1A-U