Eccentric or Looney?

Jason and I managed some spectacular feats this four-day weekend.  Jason gets a lot of four-day weekends, but it was nice to have one together for once. It also meant that Jason did a lot more work since I was there to hold a whip, instead of holed up in my office on conference calls and fighting the backlog of emails that never dies.

Instead of doing my normal Thanksgiving weekend holiday decorating, we focused on finishing painting some areas of our house.  We did the trim last weekend (all trim in the house is eventually going white instead of the super shiny foak that it is now) and so this weekend we applied color.  The living room was the only major downstairs room not to be painted yet, so it looked just a little out of place  It's now the same color as the kitchen, Guacamole!

And we finished the hallway upstairs.  It's a slightly paler yellow than the front room and dining room, and I had previously painted the stairwell, just not the hallway at the top. It's something I had been procrastinating on because of the amount of trim and cutting in required (4 bedroom doors, 1 closet, and 1 bathroom door).  Unfortunately, only one door is white already, and it's going to stay that way until Spring when the weather is warm enough for me to take everything out to the garage for painting.

And we hung pictures last night!  Hooray for stuff on the walls!  There is still a lot of dead space around the house because we haven't yet figured out the purpose of our front room and I don't want to hang anything in the living room until... our new furniture is delivered!

Here's what our current furniture looks like:

It's nice, but it's over sized and really only comfortable to lay on, not sit on.  It's also been hardily abused by the whole family over the last four years, and I'm not comfortable having guests over with our unsophisticated look.    So, we went down to American Furniture Warehouse and got ourselves a new couch, love seat, some end tables (hallelujah!) and a coffee table.  Oh, and for Jason we got a new 50inch LCD TV with a entertainment center that should also serve to shelve some of our ever-growing collection of books.  Needless to say, our Christmas shopping (for Jason and I) is done.  No Kindles, no kitchen island, no TRX training system this year, we maxed out our budget and then some.  But I couldn't be happier.  I just hope when our furniture arrives on Tuesday, I'm still happy with what we selected. I'm pretty sure it will look awesome, but is it practical?  Before I post pictures, let me just preface it with the fact that for the last four years I've been berating Jason for allowing me to make the purchase of our current furniture while I was pregnant. Hormones do funny things to your judgement and at the time, I just wanted something really soft and comfortable.  But here I've done it again, only this time, it's the dust and dog hair around the house that has been bothering me and I'm craving something fresh and clean.  So without further ado, our new living room. (pictures in setting to follow on Tuesday or someday shortly after).

This color isn't very accurate, it's actually much closer to the entertainment console below.

And there it is.  Is it cool?  or just crazy?

My son, budding photographer

Dominic has definitely shown a keen interest in photography from as far back as I can remember.  In fact, it was with a kid's camera as the prize that I was finally able to potty train him.  This is fun in so many ways, but can be a pain as well.  For instance, I love seeing his crazy shots, but when I want to take pictures, my camera batteries are always low.

His Fisher-Price camera has never really satisfied him, the quality just isn't there.  So more often then not, he snags my little point 'n shot and goes to town.  It's so fun deleting a hundred pictures of the floor and people's butts.   Every once in a while though, he get's a few good shots in.  Here are some of his latest:

Self-Portrait (but he really does have hair, I promise)

view out his bedroom window- I'm impressed with how in focus everything is

Me, painting trim this weekend

 

Da da da Done!

So, I FINALLY  have Darcy's room ready to welcome the little girl.  Her crib and dresser are painted and in the room, and I've finished all the crib linens that I'm going to be making.  (Well, I may sew more sheets come summer, but I'm not committing to that now). 

I have her clothes sorted into the drawers of her dresser (how are six drawers already packed?), and the newborn and 0-3 month sizes have been washed.  I've also washed the carseat cover and the bouncy chair cover in anticipation of her arrival, but I have to dig the carseat base out of storage. 

In actuality, Darcy will probably spend the first month in a pack 'n play in our bedroom so I have easy access to her in the night, but we'll see.  However, when she is ready to move into her own room, this is what will greet her:

I'm little frustrated by the hitch in the crib skirt, but it can't be helped since this is a drop-side crib.    I am, however, extremely proud of sewing my own ruffles and the crib bumper came out exactly how I wanted it to.

I wish I could show you the rest of the room, but it's covered in junk that I'm still sorting, cleaning, washing, assembling, etc.   It definitely still needs a few homey touches, like artwork and a pretty lamp, but were she to arrive early, I'd be ready to meet her.

November Monthly Menu

Okay, so it's half-way through November already, but I only just finished the four weeks from my last menu, thanks to a cooking hiatus in Milwaukee for work.

Without further ado:

Week 1

Asian Turkey meatballs with carrot rice and stir-fried veggies

Sauteed Chicken with Linguine with lemon-cream sauce and steamed broccoli

Black Beans and Sausage

Spicy Apricot glazed chicken w/ French bread and sauteed green beans w/ slivered almonds

Chicken carcass soup w/ baking powder biscuits

Week 2

Grandma’s Veggie Chili w/ Cornbread

Lighter chicken Enchiladas (add spinach)

Open-faced cheeseburgers w/ mushrooms and onions /w sweet potato home fries

Chicken, carrots, and broccoli stir-fry

Herb-roasted Pork Tenderloin w/ pears and roasted acorn squash w/ cinnamon butter

Week 3

Very Veggie Lasagna

Ginger chicken stir-fry

Cottage pie

Fish Tacos

Chicken and kale hand pies w/ cheddar crust

Week 4

Turkey Keema

Slow cooker Chicken taco soup

Tuna Nicoise Sandwiches

Baked Ziti w/ Sausage and Fresh basil w/ green salad

Easy Beef Stroganoff w/ green beans