Amy Scott's Thoughts

Going Gray and Other House Projects July 29, 2014

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf,Getting Creative,Home Improvement — Amy Scott @ 7:36 pm

I mentioned in my book blog that I just finished a book called The Nesting Place by Myguillyn Smith. It’s a book all about how home decorating doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. I’ve never super interested in home decor. I don’t have a Pinterest account or anything like that. My decorating style is practical, functional and not a lot of frill. I like clean lines for the most part. I’m also partial to the colors blue, brown, cream, gray. And that about sums me as a decorator. However, this book got me thinking about my home. I decided to read it based on the recommendation of some of my favorite authors, but also because I’m spending a lot more time at home these days. It seems like now is the time to take some risks and do projects that I’d been contemplating. Here is what Jeremy and I have been up this last week.

It all started with a trip to Home Depot to pick up some paint swatches to put on the walls. For a long time Jeremy and I have been waiting to change the color of our living space. Back in the day when we had cream carpet, the brown wall in our kitchen/dining space worked for us. But… we added a back splash with blues and grays and the brown didn’t quite go as well. Then we changed our carpets out for laminate floors that are brown and suddenly the space at a lot of dark brown in it. When we first painted our house, we painted everything in the front room Toasted Cashew. It was a tan/cream color, but I’ve always wondered if it had too much yellow it in. I’m not a huge fan of yellow. The tan/cream neutral was marvelous when we had all dark brown furniture. But then… we got cream colored furniture that blended with the wall. We also got a set of cube bookshelves that came with cream colored bins. The cost of replacing the bins with a different color was too much, so the cream bins stayed and added more cream to the room. Thus, you now understand our decision to repaint. We wanted to paint the walls all one color again and get rid of the two tone we had going with the brown and cream. We also wanted a color that wouldn’t blend with the floors and furniture. This led us to Gray Mist – the new color of walls. After having the samples up on the wall for a week, Jeremy decided to go for it. I didn’t expect to paint this last weekend, it just happened… Jeremy tackled all the painting while I kept Owen out of everything and alive.

The Samples

Gray Mist

You’d think painting was enough, but we also did other projects around the house this last weekend. We have started to childproof our cabinets now that Owen is on the move. We added safety latches to the bathrooms because of the chemicals that we store under the sinks. Next will be the kitchen, but because of the hassle, we are waiting just a little while longer. Right now Owen doesn’t know how to open cabinet doors, but we know it’s only a matter of time.

Baby proofing

I also had a few design changes I wanted to make to our front room. First, the bins I was talking about earlier have a plastic covered pouch on the front of them. I’m assuming it’s so you can label the bin with the contents inside of it. I, however, didn’t want to label my bins. I like to keep the insides a mystery to my guests. I wanted to add some visual interest so inside of using the pouches for labeling, I just filled them with scrapbook paper that matched our walls and rug. I really like the pop of color the bins now add to the room while still maintaining their warm, creamy color.

Making the bins pop

We also removed a piece of artwork that has been on a random small wall. We had a picture of the ocean which we loved in our small apartment, but really didn’t have a place in our home. In it’s place is now a framed white board that is also magnetic. I think we’ll use this board a lot in the future and it gives the wall a sense of purpose.

Our new white board

And for an added cuteness factor, here is a picture of Owen “helping” during the painting project. There was lot of gunk to get off the floor after we moved the furniture around. The Swiffer was Owen’s best friend. He might be like is mama in that regard! Swiffer love!

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Getting Around July 28, 2014

Filed under: Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 11:54 am

It’s amazing the changes that can happen in a span of a week. Owen has grasped on to the concept of mobility and he is getting around! Owen went from being able to inch his way here or there to full on scooting this last week. It’s not a true crawl because he can’t get both legs under him. It’s a scoot and it’s working for him. He is now into everything. With this new found mobility, Owen is learning to hear a new word a lot – no! No, you can’t put the door stopper in your mouth. No, you can’t push the buttons on Daddy’s Xbox. No, you can’t climb on the hearth. No, you can’t pull the books off Mommy’s bookshelf. I certainly have to keep my eyes on him now. Gone are the days of leaving him for a minute knowing that he will be in the same spot when I return. My life has taken a drastic change. I know someday this will be normal, but for now I’m in major adjustment mode.

He started in the family room with me in the center of the rug… Someone is getting around!

Owen didn’t know how to get from laying down to sitting position until this last week. He quickly grasped that concept as well. I walked into Owen’s room a couple of times to find him sitting up in crib. Then I saw him sit up while playing and I realized that it was time to lower the crib. Jeremy and I debated lowering it just one setting, but we figured we would go all the way down. At this rate, he’ll be standing and running marathons in a month. Okay, maybe not, but it seemed the best use of time just to lower it all the way. The changes just kept coming as we decided that Owen is done with the penguin bathtub. He has loved it so much that we didn’t want to miss with the bath time happiness, but… after seeing him play well in the pool, we figured he would play well in the tub too. We were right. So now Owen takes big boy baths.

He’s got the whole tub to play in now!

When I bend all the way down to pick Owen up out of crib, I am reminded just how big he is getting. He is heavy and long and feels less like a baby in my arms. When he started scooting, Jeremy said it’s like he is not a baby anymore. I exclaimed that he is for sure a baby because is not toddling and if he is not a toddler than he is a baby. This is my mommy logic. While, he is still a baby, he is certainly becoming more a big boy each day. This last week of milestones has grown him up in our eyes. It’s hard to believe how much can happen in one little life in such a short amount of time. He continues to amaze us (and keep us on our toes)!

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Welcome Summer! July 26, 2014

Filed under: Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 1:00 pm

This week I got the chance to drive up north with my mom and Owen to meet Miss Summer Taylor Boone. My forever friend, Maggie, is a now mom! I’m so beyond excited for her and her husband, Chris. There are a lot of little boys in my circle of friends and family (and I love them dearly). This last weekend at my one and only niece’s birthday party, I was reminded again just how precious little girls are. Brinley’s sweet exclamations as she opened her presents melted me. I love little girls! All this to say, I am SO happy to have another little girl in my life. As an unofficial auntie, I now have another reason to buy something pink. This gets me really excited. As I held Summer, I remembered how small newborns are and how quickly they grow and change. She is beautiful and tiny and loved! I can’t wait to see who this little girl grows up to be. Being on this road of motherhood is more fun with friends. I’m sure Maggie and I’s relationship will only deepen as we love on our kiddos and do our best to be the moms they need us to be. The road ahead is full of adventure and a lot of love. Can’t wait! Welcome Summer!

We prayed for these babies and here they are! We are moms! Crazy and amazing!

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Book Report July 25, 2014

Filed under: Amy's Bookshelf — Amy Scott @ 3:27 pm

It’s been a while since I posted anything about the books I have been reading. I’ve certainly been reading a diverse mix these days. Some books are by beloved and favorite authors and some are new finds. I’m really enjoying downloading eBooks from the library, but sometimes that means hunting down the right book and waiting for it to be available. Overall, I’m trying to spend less money on books so the library is a great option. Also, in a day of instant gratification, eBooks get me what I want, when I want it. I do miss making my bookshelf look impressive as I fill it up, but lately Owen has taken to pulling my books off the shelf. Maybe eBooks are safer for a while!

Surprised by Motherhood by Lisa-Jo Baker – This book started off really funny. My favorite quote was one she wrote about looking back on mothering and saying she wishes she would have eaten more chocolate cake. This deeply resonated with me because I was in an intense chocolate phase at the time. However, the book took on a more serious tone as it went on. It’s about a woman who lost her mom and in turn decided she never wanted to be a mother. However, three kids later, she is learning and growing in motherhood despite the pain of her past. It was a good read, but more serious than I expected.
Happier at Home by Gretchen Rubin – I found this book on the library website. I knew that some of my favorite authors really liked Gretchen Rubin’s The Happiness Project, so of course, I started with the squeal. Makes sense? The book is all about investing in home because it’s an important place and it greatly affects our happiness. Rubin did various things to improve how she felt about her home. It’s more of a philosophy and mind set take on home. It’s not a DIY and spend money kind of book. It was interesting, but didn’t move me to do much around my house. I figured that now that I’m a stay at home mom, I might want to invest more in the environment I’m in most of the time. Turns out my house is pretty functional for me.
Bridge to Haven by Francine Rivers – I like Francine Rivers as an author because she knows how to write a love story. It’s a romance novel and I liked it a lot because I like romance. It’s not my favorite book by her, but it is still pretty good. Worth the read for those who like her work.
Help. Thanks. Wow. by Anne Lamott – A lot of people have mentioned Anne Lamott as a favorite author. This book probably wasn’t the best one to start with. I’m currently reading Traveling Mercies by her and it’s much better. Help.Thanks. Wow. is a book about prayer. I almost skim read it because I didn’t find it super moving. But reading about prayer always sounds like a good and holy endeavor so I did finish it.
Jane of Lantern Hill by L.M. Montgomery- I loved it! Every book by L.M. Montgomery makes me want to read more by her. I really should make it a personal goal to read all her works. I’ve yet to be disappointed.
The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin – Since I read the squeal, I thought I should go back and read the original. Gretchen Rubin spent a year improving and investing in her happiness. I loved insights like “Be Gretchen” and “What makes other people happy, doesn’t make me happy.” It was empowering to focus on being yourself and do what makes you happy without shame. So often we try to fit into other people’s boxes, I am grateful for authors who embrace who they are and encourage you to be yourself as well. I can see why this book became so popular.
Forever with You by Robin Jones Gunn – I grew up reading about Todd and Christy through the many books of Robin Jones Gunn. After a decade of only glimpses of Todd and Christy through her other stories, Robin Jones Gunn has started another series dedicated to my two favorite characters of all time. I felt like a teenage girl when I heard she was writing about them again. This book as an excellent addition to the love story I have loved since middle school!
The Nesting Place by Myquilyn Smith – Again, my interest was peaked by a book about home. The premise of this book is that home doesn’t have to be perfect to be beautiful. I don’t have a huge interest in home decor, but lately, I’ve been thinking more about the home I am creating. This is a great book about creating a space that works for you and showcases what is important to your family. I’m thinking a lot about not just having a functional home, but a warm and inviting home. This house will be the place that Owen remembers his childhood. This will be the place that he invites friends over to. What kind of home am I creating? As a result of this book, I have the strong desire to paint and buy new throw pillows.

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Owen Art July 22, 2014

Filed under: Getting Creative — Amy Scott @ 3:01 pm

While, Jeremy was away at camp last week, I wanted to do an art project with Owen. I thought it would be super cute to have Jeremy come into his office and find a one-of-a-kind piece of artwork made with love by his son. I had heard of moms doing finger-painting with their babies. I thought it would worth a shot. My original plan was buy finger-paint, but then I got trapped in a classic “mom” dilemma. Even if finger-paint is non-toxic, what would happen if Owen ate some? Would a responsible mom really let her baby be exposed to those chemicals even if they weren’t toxic? I got worried about killing my kid and judgement from other parents, so I looked for another option and decided to do edible finger-paint made at home with safe ingredients. After googling a couple recipes, I settled on one that was made with flour, sugar and water (because I had all of these ready on hand). I combined the ingredients and whisked them on the stove top until they thickened. I then poured the paint into different cups and used a variety of food colors. Of course, the paint needed to cool before use and I wasn’t planning on doing the paint project the same day I made the paint, so I threw it into the fridge thinking that would keep it from going bad (if that is possible? I don’t really know). The paint thickened up even more in the fridge. When I pulled it out the following day it was a lot like pudding with a skin on the top. Lucky for me, I stirred it up and it was perfect. I used paper plates to pour the paint on. I laid a blanket down on our kitchen floor and dipped Owen’s hands into the paint colors individually. Adding Owen to the mix created some drama in a project that was going smooth up to that point. It turns out that Owen didn’t want to play with the paint. He had no clue why I wanted him to put his hands on the paper. I envisioned him making a merry mess and creating multiple pieces of artwork. I got one page done. That was it. I was concerned that the food coloring would stain Owen and the blanket, but it remarkably came out of everything. Owen promptly got a bath and the blanket got washed. No harm done. While the painting project dried, I ran some errands and got Owen some of the Crayola first markers and crayons. I thought that might be more his pace in the art department. It turns out, Owen isn’t interested in making art at all. He wanted to lick the crayons and markers. Again, he had no idea why I wanted to mark up the paper. It just didn’t click. Oh well. I now have some art supplies for him when he gets a bit older. I also really enjoyed the process of making my own finger-paint and it is a project that I wouldn’t mind doing again in the future. The project gave me something to do while Jeremy was away and I liked being able to do something that let Jeremy know we were thinking of him. I framed the artwork and put it on Jeremy’s desk with a bunch of Hershey’s hugs and kisses as a welcome home gift. Overall, it was a fun experience for me. Good thing Owen is too young to remember this escapade!

The Colors

What am I supposed to do?

Messy boy!

The end result

Redecorating the office

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How the Week Finished July 20, 2014

Filed under: Family Time — Amy Scott @ 3:11 pm

Last time I blogged I was midway in my week without Jeremy. While the first half of the week went quickly, the second half flew by in the a blink! It’s been busy times as I have traveled all over Washington state. Thursday, Owen and I drove up north of Seattle to visit Jeremy at kid’s camp for the afternoon. Friday, Owen and I went down south for a play date with Cousin Nolan and Aunt Beckie. Jeremy got home Friday evening and then Saturday we all took off over the mountains to celebrate my niece’s 2nd birthday. I almost didn’t want to get into the car today to go to church. I’m so ready for some home time with my boys! I’m grateful for that today! All the travels and adventures made for an exciting close to the week. Owen and I missed Jeremy so much while he was away. We are happy to be back together! One happy family! Here are some photos from the end of the week!

Reunited for an afternoon at camp

This is how nap time happens at camp!

Play date with Nolan

Daily gifts from Jeremy

An Elmo birthday for Miss Brinley!

Swimming with Carson

Love being an auntie!

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Soda Experiment & Other Randomness July 16, 2014

Filed under: Parenthood,Simply Me — Amy Scott @ 4:10 pm

I’ve passed the mid-week mark. I am now in the home stretch of Jeremy’s absence. The week has been a good one. It’s gone better than I expected. I’ve maintained my watering regime and even got the trash can and recycling can out on time. Owen has enjoyed our adventures and he has gotten some new toys to entertain himself through this week without dad. Thanks to the wonders of FaceTime, Jeremy and Owen have had daily chat times and Owen really enjoys being able to see his dad on the screen.

New toy from Grandma

Like I mentioned in my last post, its been a week full of projects and visits. Yesterday, my big project was sorting and boxing up some of Owen’s baby clothes and moving them to the garage. Owen is still in 9 month clothes, but will be transitioning to 12 months sooner than I care to admit. Owen happily played in his room while I sorted his clothes. The other project was taking apart his mobile and getting it out to the garage as well. The mobile had become something Owen tugged on and kicked when he should be sleeping. It seemed like it was time to take it down. Now his crib looks weird… Something is missing.

New toy from Dad - Jeremy has left Owen a herd of new toys this week!

New toys from Dad – Jeremy has left Owen a herd of new toys this week!

I had an odd experiment that I wanted to try for a while and today seemed like a good day to do it. I used to be addicted to Dr. Pepper (very hardcore in high school and college). Once I decided to stop drinking my calories, I couldn’t switch to Diet Dr. Pepper because if I couldn’t have the real stuff, I didn’t want a knock off. That is how my addiction transferred Diet Pepsi. It’s been years since I had any Dr. Pepper product and I got curious. Do I still like Dr. Pepper? Is Diet Dr. Pepper really has bad as I think it is? Is Diet Pepsi better than Diet Dr. Pepper? So I set out on an experiment. I poured each of the sodas into a cup that was labeled on the bottom. I mixed the sodas around until I wasn’t able to remember what soda was what. I then did a blind taste test. I was able to figure out which soda was what instantly. The verdict was surprisingly the same as the past. I still think Dr. Pepper is the best. Diet Dr. Pepper is a sad version of the good stuff, but it’s not as bad I remembered and well, diet pepsi…. It’s my second love, not my first. Now I won’t start drinking regular Dr. Pepper again because it has a lot of calories, but it was an interesting experiment to see my taste buds had changed over the years. Turns out that they haven’t. Also, I should mention that I couldn’t let the sodas go to waste once I opened them. I’ve now had double the caffeine I usually have in day (it’s still less than a cup of coffee). I’m hoping it will give me a little extra get-up-and-go as I finish out the day. We’ll see!

The experiment

Since it’s Wednesday, I have church tonight. Half of my class is summer camp with Jeremy, so I’m expecting it to be a quiet night. For the girls that do come, we’ll have outside play time, a card game and root beer floats. We’ll take a night off from the serious stuff since it will be a small dynamic. Breaking routine is fun every once and a while and hopefully it make the absence of our classmates a little more bearable.

That’s the update. Jeremy should be reunited with us soon and we are looking forward to it with great anticipation!

PS – This little girl is 2 today! Happy birthday to niece, Brinley!

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Holding Down the Fort July 14, 2014

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 5:34 pm

Owen, Toby and I are keeping on eye on the homestead while Jeremy is away for 6 days at Kid’s Camp. Jeremy had an overnight commitment in April and I had my sister come spend the night with me. That makes last night my first official night alone with Owen. Obviously, we lived to tell about it the next day. Only 4 more nights to go! While I miss my hubby terribly, I have packed my week full of projects and outings to keep myself and Owen occupied. Yesterday, Jeremy took off after church so Owen and I had the afternoon/evening to fill. We went up my parent’s house to have dinner and play with their exciting toys. After dinner we came home to finish off the evening with DVR’d television, laundry folding and book reading. We’re an exciting bunch.

The mystery bags! I’m trying to patient and not open them all at once!

Jeremy left 5 bags of surprises for us while he is gone. Today Owen and I got to open up the first bag! Jeremy got cookies for me and a toy for Owen. At least, I assume that was the gift breakdown. He didn’t say. I do love little people so maybe the toy was for me. I’m not sure I would like to see Owen on an Oreo sugar high. I’ve already dug into the cookie stash today!

Monday’s surprise goodies!

Apart from keeping Toby and Owen alive, I am also responsible for watering Jeremy’s many plants while he is away. There are two planters in the front of the house, the flower beds, his garden and the green house. Lucky for me, Jeremy has most of these set up with sprinklers and drip hoses. All I have to do is remember to turn on the water… and off. I’m two days into my watering commitment and so far so good. If these plants die, it’s not for a lack of water.

Trying to keep the green things green

Today, Owen and I have worked on a couple of projects (I will blog about these next week – they are a surprise for Jeremy, who reads this blog). I ran some errands while my mom watched Owen and we have a meeting with a family at church. Tomorrow we have MOPS in the park in the morning and we’ll be stopping by sister’s house to check it out. We haven’t been over since moving day, so I am excited to see how she’s settled in. I have packages to get into the mail, baby clothes to sort, my regular house chores to do, root beer floats for my Wednesday night class and a new book to finish. I even have a soda experiment to perform this week. Never a dull moment! I hope all this activity helps us to sleep hard at night and makes the days fly by so we can be reunited with Jeremy sooner! I sure miss that man!

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Celebrating 8 years of us & 9 months of Owen! July 8, 2014

Filed under: Family Time,Parenthood — Amy Scott @ 12:37 pm

Celebrating 8 years!

Today is a very special day. Two things coincide on this one day. Today is Jeremy and I’s wedding anniversary. We are celebrating 8 years of wedded bliss! I’m grateful for the 7 years that Jeremy and I had together before having Owen. Our marriage has been built on a strong foundation. It’s been an adventure figuring out our lives as parents. I’m so glad that I get to be on this adventure with Jeremy. He has the ability to make me laugh whatever mood I am in. He is giving and caring. He does little things often to show me he loves me. He is a wonderful provider for our family and I am blessed by his strong work ethic. It’s been fun to watch Jeremy with Owen. They are good buddies. Owen is lucky to have a father who is so invested in his life. The last 8 years have been filled with ups and downs. Jeremy has been by my side for all them. I’m so excited that this is still just the beginning of our love story!

9 months

The other fun element of the day is Owen is now 9 months old! Somehow our little boy has reached the 3/4 of a year mark! How? I do not know. Owen continues to grow in personality. He loves to laugh and talk. Our baby is not a quiet baby. I know I say this monthly, but I am amazed at how vocal he is. He now says Dada and Mama in a way that makes me think he understands what he is saying. Another big milestone is Owen got two teeth this month! With the addition of teeth, Owen has shown slightly more interest in finger foods. He is still cautious, but he seems more willing to lick things and try to put them in his mouth. If you hand Owen something, he will immediately hit it on something to see what sound it makes. He loves to make noise. Other random Owen news, he now likes to hang out on the wood floor. On the floor, he has the ability to scoot. Owen isn’t crawling, but he is moving. He knows how to get around in a very makeshift kind of way. He loves to hit the bins on our bookshelves and he enjoys laying under is jumperoo (weird kid). He also loves to walk while holding our fingers. He can practically run! We did have our mishap where Owen let go of Jeremy’s fingers and biffed it. The couch leg caught his fall and cut his eyebrow. He handled it well, but there goes that modeling career! Overall, Owen is a happy 9 month old baby boy! It’s been so amazing to see the changes month to month and I am excited for the little boy he is becoming. He is a sweetheart who now gives hugs and kisses. I could keep sharing tidbits endlessly, but alas, all blogs must come to an end. I will leave you with some recent photos!

Hanging with Grandpa

The socks totally go with these jammies, right?

Pool time with Daddy!

New favorite spot

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4th of July Weekend July 7, 2014

Filed under: Family Time,Getting Creative — Amy Scott @ 6:02 pm

Happy Independence Day from the Scotts!

It’s been a great long weekend! Anytime you have the words long and weekend in the same sentence, it’s a good thing! Friday was the 4th of July and we celebrated with friends and family. We got a visit from our favorite Californians. It was a fun morning of playing games, chatting and munching. Friday afternoon was spent at my parent’s house where we had steaks to celebrate Independence Day. Our evening was a quiet one spent around the house. Owen went down just fine despite the firework noise. Our Toby dog was freaked out as usual. He ended up in sorts of unique places in our house. His favorite spots were under Owen’s crib and tucked behind the toilet in our bathroom. Poor pup. I always feel for him as he shakes in fear. A lot of people asked how Owen liked the fireworks. I’m sad to admit that Owen didn’t see a single firework this year and neither did I. The last few years, Jeremy and I have decided not to blow up our money. Jeremy watched some of the neighbors fireworks through the trees. I hung out with Toby and went to bed. Very exciting stuff, huh? Maybe next year we’ll do a small show for Owen.

Saturday was my dad’s birthday, so it was back to my parent’s house for another round of celebrating. This time there was furniture rearranging and pulled pork sandwiches on the agenda. My dad makes yummy pulled pork and he made a ton of it. We were sent home with leftovers and we’ve been enjoying them the last few days. We also stopped by Home Depot on Saturday to do some daydreaming/research for future house projects. While we were there we purchased the supplies to re-stain my dresser. I didn’t realize it until I started cleaning my dresser on Saturday night, but my dresser is as old as I am. My grandparents gave it to me as gift. One of the top drawers has an apple painted in by my grandma and the other drawer has a note on the bottom saying it was given to me on June 12, 1986. I figured that a 28 year old dresser really was in need of a touch up.

The rest of the weekend, I’ve been in dresser project mode. Saturday, I got it all cleaned up and the old hardware removed. Sunday, Jeremy helped me sand it and I started the process of applying two layers of stain. Today, I did some touch up spots and one last layer of stain. Once that dried, I added the new hardware! It looks like a completely different dresser. I said that if the dresser went well then I might stain our bookshelf to match it. After tackling this project, I will leave the bookshelf alone. Jeremy might tackle that. I am too much of a perfectionist. I like how the dresser turned out, but I’m not extremely handy so it stretched me. We are letting it dry one more night before bringing it inside from the garage. It will be nice to get the contents of my dresser put back in order. Right now our room looks like a giant closet. For those of you who know me, that is not my style! I can’t wait to see the whole room put back together.

That was our weekend in a nutshell. Hope you had a great holiday weekend as well!