Fall and a Burlap Wreath

I made a super easy wreath this year from burlap and a wire form.  I found the idea on pinterest and was so surprised on how easy it was!  The hardest part was actually finding the roll of burlap, which you can buy at Joann's Fabrics or Michaels.

As you'll be able to see from the below pictures, I made quite a mess as I was putting out all of my fall decorations.  B just chuckles to himself as he watches me sqiry around and try to figure out the best place for each of my pumpkins :) 

Getting ready for fall this year was fun because the colors seemed to be so vibrant!  One day I came home from school and saw that one of the big trees above our house has turned and so I tried to get a quick picture of it.  We definitely had quite a few leaves to rake this year, but B and I always say that having trees around our house is definitely worth it when we need their shade in the summer!

Kitchen

Before..I strongly disliked these wall colors!

B getting lessons on how to install a new light fixture.

After, a much better color!!

So, our kitchen is not big by any means, but it really is perfect for us.  As a bonus, we even have a pantry and a built in china cabinet, which is something we didn't even ask for!
 
When we moved into our house, the walls in the kitchen were this horrible 70s goldish color and as I stared at them day after day, I started to hate the color more and more.
 
Choosing the color wasn't terrible, I had my sister-in-laws and mother-in-law vote on a color and the final was a light yellow called 'Banana Pudding.'  The paint, I believe, is Dutch Boy Refresh paint.  The paint guy at the store recommended this paint especially for kitchen because of the odors that can be aborbed into walls.  I think it is pretty good at fighting those odors!  I found some crisp white lace curtains to just act as a very faint window accent and it has come together really nicely. 

I repainted all the cabinets and trim this summer and we are currently working on hardware for them.  You can even see in the picture that there is a little door to the left of the stove and that means we have access to our laundry shoot (love it) from our kitchen and that is a huge life saver!

Tofu Parmigiana

Yes, folks, you better believe that I got my husband to eat TOFU!  Here's a great recipe called Tofu Parmigiana.  The leftovers seems to be even better than when you eat it the first time!  Enjoy!

Jewelry Hangers

This summer I made a holder for my dangly earrings from and old frame and some screen.  I am pleased on the result.  To continue the theme of hanging up my jewelry I looked to my mom for ideas.  For years my mom has hung her necklaces and scarves on an coffee mug holder.  In my own house, I've continued that idea for my necklaces.

Mirror Mirror on the Wall

I found this mirror a couple of years ago at Goodwill and was never sure if I liked the dark color.  When I finally found a place to hang it, I decided that it definitely needed to be painted.  Since we live in a vintage house, of course if needed to have a little distressing done as well :)

House Updates

What a boring post title...I know, but I couldn't think of a better one!  Here are some updates that have been going on here lately.

Before...

During...

Before...

Just a little paint (gray of course) can make a bit difference!

And after!

The Clipboard Toss

The title of this post is a way more positive thing than the actual event itself. 

For the sake of keeping our blog fairly anonymous and for the fact that I am a public school teacher, I'm going to be vague in details. 

There was an incident this afternoon (thankfully at the end of the day, because it made me pretty upset) at the end of one of my music classes that involved clipboard getting hurled across the room at my desk, that seemed at the moment to rival the speed of a major league baseball pitch.  Thankfully no one was hurt, nothing was broken, but I had a very angry boy to deal with. 

Fast forward about 20 minutes, he's cooled down in the office and the counselor, this student, and I have a little conference about what happened.  The details of the moment don't really matter here, but in the end after some prodding and pulling information from him about why he got so angry; he tells us that he's mad because his mom is never around.  Sometimes I get the background stories on my students, but sometimes I have to find information out other ways, like a clipboard being thrown for instance.  It just broke my heart when he said that.  It also makes me very angry at his mother, for not being home and it's clear that this boy is crying for attention.  Not literally crying, but through aggressive actions and negative behaviors that get him attention at school.

B and I have talked a lot about starting our family and the timeline of it and other considerations that need to be taken when we're thinking about adding to our family.  I think we are very mainstream in those thought processes.  However, I see almost on a daily basis, children who are getting neglected, maybe because parents have to work long hours in order to provide or maybe the child was a "oops" and the parents don't really feel they need to do much for that "oops", even though they are a person with feelings who never asked to be put in that situation!  I just wish, that people would realize that each child is special and needs attention and love!