Back to Work!

Hello friends. Vacation is over and boy did it go by so fast! For the most part except a day or 2 last week it went very well. I got some things done and pretty much took it easy with the boys. I miss those days when I stayed home full time with them. Hopefully with my new schedule it will feel more like "normal". It's been a tough year, so I guess I'm confused on how "normal" feels...but I do feel extremely blessed, that's for sure.

Wow, where to start on...I didn't get all my projects planned as expected during my time off. I kind of created a new list as things got done. LOL I finished the end hallway with the stencil I made. Lots of corners and tall ceilings involved but I got it done in a couple nights. Then that led to decorating that hallway. So at least I got that done!

Here's a view right outside the boys' bedrooms.

A look down the hall...Kellon playing in his room. :) I bought these bowls at garage sales last year and made them over. I took the plunge and drilled holes in them because I've always wanted to hang some up. I'm glad I did.

A new shelf gathering for the hallway. I made this shelf out of an old window.

A closer look at my new stitchery. I received this RAK from my prim friend, Bonnie. She is so sweet and thoughtful. My hubby is still amazed on how cool my online friends are. :)

Our colonial family portrait and free wall box found a new home. :)

Another gathering in the hallway. The angel picture I removed out of Taran's room. My grandma gave me this, she said that my mom won the print at the fair when she was little. I have always had it hanging in both the boys' rooms when they were babies. So now it's time for everyone to enjoy. How I wish there were 2 little boys in that pic. :)

Maybe a little more tweaking in the space then I'll be done. I have one empty big wall that I have a plan for. A fun project planned, so stay tuned. :)

I received another RAK from my A Primitive Place forum friend, Donna last week! It definitely felt like my birthday or something! She made these 2 prim lights for me. They both have found good homes.



Yesterday, Dave cut down our ugly bushes out by our deck. We had to cut some of them down to restain our deck a couple years ago and they have always stayed brown on that one side. Our tree is getting bigger and so were those bushes. So we decided to remove them.

Much better! Now we can see the boys play. Our yard feels so much bigger now!

Saturday was my last night off, so we had planned something special for Dave, Kellon and I. See the picture below. :)

There is a beautiful park just outside Lincoln. Every summer they put on a musical and we knew this was a must on our to-do list. Kellon is just old enough to sit still (plus he was free). So we thought he would enjoy it. Taran is on the go all the time so he stayed at my aunt's for the evening. Thank you Lisa!

We picked a nice shady spot on the hill and had a nice picnic before the show. People show up a couple hours before to pick the perfect spot.

The weather was awesome! We enjoyed some games while waiting for the show to start.

There is a wonderful amphitheatre for these performances.

I thought you would get a kick out of the 80's looks. :)We had a great time! It was pretty late when it got over with and Kellon fell asleep at the end. But he says he's ready for next year.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Are you still hanging in there? One more project to share. :) Bench look familiar? Seems like a lot of us have a heart shelf or bench that we like/don't like. :) My mom bought this for me at a craft fair when I was about to graduate from college. It has traveled with me to different apartments and houses through the last 12 years. It's served as a decorative bench, end table and coffee table. But now I think it's time for a makeover. :)

Hearts, hearts everywhere! 6 total! Kind of a lot for such a little bench, don't ya think? I ended up taking off the 2 side scrolly work boards. I let out my aggression I was having last week with a hammer and they came off pretty good. :)

I had a more than willing painting helper. Kellon painted most of the red base.

I'm a red, black, mustard kind of gal but wanted something different. So I painted the top coat, Country Tan. I added some side boards and 2 round wood pieces (I hand painted a design on them) to cover the side hearts. Then I primmed it up and bam, a different piece! Looks great in our middle hallway. Don't know if it's staying there or not but looks good for now. :) I just love trash to treasure moments, don't you?

Another great idea for a heart wood item: my mom has a heart shelf and she simply put a small sign over them and it looks like part of the piece. I thought that was a great idea!

Well I'm off to do some never ending laundry and everday clean up. It seems like I'm always picking up after the boys...but I wouldn't trade it for the world. :) Have a great week!