Two days to celebrate…the 4th of July, of course! And a turning of the tide for our house; yesterday E and I went to work on it and my breath was literally taken away by how much had been accomplished between dear husband and fabulous friend Peter. On Monday, Erick had to take off from the house early, but good ol’ Pete asked to stay and finish a “few” things. And you know what he did? He painted the kitchen! And my heart is GLAD! It’s gone from this horrendous thing:

to this:

to this:

(and this):

Obviously we are no where near the end, but that first coat did my heart wonders! I’m not fond of the beadboard but it will have to do for now; I’m going to try and sand a bit then whitewash. We’ll get new doors for the cabinets, and put up open shelving. (I know, I know…the dusting! The keeping order of open shelves! But I believe everyone is entitled to a first homeowner mistake or two, and I love them anyway. Besides, we can’t afford all new cabinetry).

Funny thing; I’m practically paralyzed by indecision when it comes to paint schemes, so I believe that for the time being, EVERYTHING in the house is going to be primed white, and after we are in the house for awhile I’ll decide what color to add. I’m pretty sure the kitchen will stay white, though…with black countertops and silver accents. And the color from my bowls and things on the shelves. Oh, and a chalkboard painted wall.

I was so motivated yesterday that I scrubbed and scrubbed away at the rug remnants on our bedroom floor, preparing it for the engineered hardwood. Erick was the mudder and sander of the day! We accomplished quite a bit, and felt great for it!

Therefore, we relax and relish today. I hope you all enjoy (or did enjoy!) the 4th!

Here is a varied list for you!

I’m currently munching on the peanut butter cookies that the boys and I made yesterday: 1 egg, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of peanut butter. Whip it all up, drop spoonfuls on a pan, and bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees. Can it get any easier than that?!

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2 artists that are truly amazing-The Maine Grind in Ellsworth carries their work, and you can also purchase the prints online here.

Alan Claude? LOVE HIM. I particularly want this print. Here is a close up of Portland Head Light. It’s beautiful!

And this print is delightful. Can’t afford it anytime soon, but maybe someday! It’s by Philip Frey.

Ok, I am in need of art classes.

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Yesterday I received an email from Tintypes, a really fabulous store in Bath. On July 18th from 5-7, they are hosting a gathering focusing on the International Princess Project, and will be selling Punjammies for $30 ($40 after the initial evening), wherein all proceeds go to help women in India get out of the sex trade and start a new lifestyle. Click on the Princess link to discover more about this organization; it makes my heart sing when people start something so amazing as this. It’ll break your heart a little bit, but also make you glad for people who put things like this into action! I do believe I’ll be saving my bucks to buy a pair!

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One more delightful thing? Nonnie and Papa return tonight, and we are going to take the day off Wednesday or Thursday to go strawberry pickin! Shortcake, here we come!

Let me share with you!

Delightful Thing #1?

I am sipping on an incredible iced coffee that I just threw together. Replete with whipped cream on top.

Delightful Thing #2?

The Carnival for Modern Home Dwelling has begun! Go here for the first installment, and prepare to be terrifically inspired. Thank you Sarah, for this fantastic idea!! We are in for a super week!

Delightful Thing #3?

Have you ever made a blog friend, only to be saddened that you couldn’t pop over for a face to face conversation because you lived too far away? That happens to me all. the. time. I’ve even made blog buddies here in Maine, but because of my lack of transportation (we are a one car family), getting together would be a mite difficult.

Well now. God decided to turn that trend on it’s head, because not only did He introduce the lovely Debbie into my life, but turns out she is just down the road a piece. A very minuscule piece. And she hails from Texas originally, so we were neighbors earlier on in life, too! And she has a newly formed website, which you will fall head over heels in love with, entitled The Romantic Mom. It’s chock full of super ideas and inspiration. She’s in the midst of writing a book, which I’m going to be the first to buy! We are getting together with her family very soon for a Tex-Mex feast. I’m thrilled. And you will be too, even if you won’t have the priveledge of meeting her face to face. Her site will draw you right in!

Well, nap time has begun! Time to get to work finishing my pillow covers so I can HOPEFULLY pop them up here for you to see very soon!

We are home!  And the trip on Sunday was excellent, by the way.  We weren’t too sure at first how things would turn out; between the forecast and the fact that when we stepped out of the van in Lubbock to a TREMENDOUS wind…so strong that it actually scared the boys…we figured we might be stuck in West Texas all day.  However, the wind died down, and minus bumpy plane rides, all went well.

I was incredibly impressed with the kids, to and from NM.  I expected wily, crazy boys in the air, but they were delighted with the whole flying thing, and never once gave us trouble.  In due part to a Travel Aqua Doodle, an Etch-a-Sketch, and a portable DVD player, but so much of the time they were content to stare out the window to see the world below.  And a good portion of the time they charmed the socks off the other passengers.  Completely different from what I envisioned!

The only hitch?  (There always has to be a hitch).  Mom and dad had a missing bag in Lubbock, AND in New Hampshire.  We haven’t yet received the latest bag but have high hopes to get it today.  The Murrays and the Schumperts never fail to have missing luggage once arrived at our final destination, but so far it has always been returned.  Hopefully that return trend will continue.

On driving into Maine from New Hampshire, Erick actually admitted that after spending a week in NM, he was ready to spend time at the ocean.  (YAY!)  Not that he doesn’t usually enjoy the ocean, but growing up around something you tend to lose appreciation for it.  Meanwhile, I could spend the remainder of my life on the coast and be happy as a clam.  I’m holding him to it!  As soon as we have a free weekend, I’m ready for a day trip!  Now it’s just deciding between Belfast, Camden, Portland, Bath, etc and etc.  Too many choices.

Part of the reason for the need to see Big Water?  Saturday evening in Clovis we experienced a nasty sandstorm. Dirt was sky high, blocking out half the blue.  Birdies were clinging to the telephone wires-I actually watched one slide right down the wire, and no help for it.  They would duck into our backyard for cover.  I’m so glad that for the most part, dirt in Maine stays moist and rooted to the ground under trees and grass.

Even though we are thrilled to be home, it was hard to leave. It’s difficult to live so far from family.  The week was filled with wonderful little moments, and I’m going to list them just to have them firm in my memory:

• Hours of play in the backyard for the boys.  Throwing rocks, digging in the very dirt that I grew up digging in.  So strange to see your own children playing in the same spot that you did!
• Seeing Aunt Susan and Uncle David.  It’s been wayyyy to long and they are so wonderful. Same goes for Uncle Glenn, who is probably one of the most unselfish and generous people I have ever met.
• Having time to sit and chat with both of my grandma’s. The telephone is great, but not as good as face to face!
• Watching the boys interact with their Great-grandpa. They were instantly at ease with all of the family that they either hadn’t seen in 2 years or (in Jack’s case, never met!)
• First time flying a kite for Ry and Jack.  THANK YOU Aunt Susan for such a a wonderful idea!
• First visit to the zoo!  We have a small zoo in Clovis, but I was incredibly surprised that it had expanded and was in great shape.  They even had a giraffe!  Our absolute favorites, though, were the funny spider monkeys and the twin-baby lemurs that never stopped wrestling and rollicking and having a generally wonderful time playing.  My grandpa deemed them Ryan and Jack.
• Having Ryan exclaim “It’s Taco Box time!” whenever we pulled in for a bite.  Good ol’ Taco Box is always our first stop when we come into town.  Cool that my son now loves it, too.
• Spending more time with Joy than I have in, literally, 10 years.  Sitting at the Java Hut until 10pm, having wonderful conversation over hot chocolate and cookies.  Meeting her amazing husband Jason, and drooling over her precious 3 week old, Jackson.  The boys were also fascinated with the baby.  Especially Jack!

Well, I could go on and on.  Here are just a few pictures of the good ol’ southwest…then Happy Tuesday to You!  I have a plethora of laundry to do!

Picnic at Hillcrest

Traditional meal at Pizza Hut in Portales

We bought both boys Cowboy hats.  Now we just need good pictures.

Don’t let me fly away, Uncle David!

I’m doing it by myself!

Fun at the playground

Good grief.

I have absolutely no sense of urgency to get packing. We leave tomorrow! Driving to NH then flying to NM on Saturday morning. And other than doing some laundry, I don’t have anything else accomplished. Anyway…this might be my last post for a little bit-tomorrow I’ll probably be running hither and yon like a wild woman, berating myself for not being more prepared for a cross-country vacation.

I thought I’d give you a few sneak peeks at what I’ve been working on lately…a tweak here and there after the trip and they should be ready to put on etsy. I’ve also finished some canvas paintings, but they are rather orange and the colors absolutely jarred my senses when I posted them with these particular pics.

And take a look at this lovely fabric that I just can’t wait to dive into when I return…

I’ll miss you! I’ll try to post while we’re away, but if I can’t, have a super weekend and beyond!

Ah, what a blessed weekend.  Erick and I took off after church and made it to Rockland around 1:30.  While he gallavanted off to his conference, I snuggled under the down comfortor and watched HGTV for hours.  What a treat!  We have two fuzzy channels at home; PBS and CBS.  I was in home-decorator heaven.

Later in the evening we went on the great restaurant hunt, and completely lucked out when we walked into the Park Street Grille.  Although it has everything you could want, it had a bit of a southwest flavor which I obviously enjoyed because of my NM roots.  We wolfed down the chips and salsa and I chose the chimichanga over haddock (gasp!) Although I rarely turn down a fish dinner on the coast, the chimi was calling my name.  And it did NOT disappoint, which was actually surprising, because it’s hard to find authentic southwest in the northeast.

We enjoyed our evening back at the Resort (it’s so fun to say resort instead of Motel 6), and then slept like babies.  Babies that sleep through the night, that is.  At 6 am on the dot a big thump from the next room woke me up, and when I saw a little sliver of light from the window I hopped out of bed and peeked through the shades to see a big orange sun sitting on the water.  Beautiful!  Pink sky, blue water, orange sun.  Sunrise on the coast!  Can it get any better?

I took my time getting ready (had to get in some more Candace Olsen and Design on a Dime) and left around 8:30.  I pulled into the Willow Bake Shoppe on the way to Camden and ordered a Hazelnut coffee (Rock City brand of course) and a Chocolate Raspberry croissant, then continued on to Camden.  (I could so do this every morning!)  Parked on the bay by the library and lingered over my breakfast, then hit the shops. Bought a few art supplies, dreamed quite a bit, picked up my favorite mud pie chocolates from Maine Gathering.  I bought 4 of them, quite intending to make them last throughout the week.  That plan fell apart a few hours later when they started to melt in the car! (We are not quite used to sitting in warm cars here yet).  I unfortunately had to gobble them down.  Didn’t hurt my heart too badly. Oh, wandered through Josephines-I’m in love with the store although I can’t afford a thing!  Anyway, finished my Camden excursion with a slice of quiche and pomegranate juice from the Camden Deli, then shot off to downtown Rockland and lingered for a couple of hours there. Hit the Lucky Dog Gallery (awesome) and the Black Parrot and The Store (also wonderful) then wrapped up with Bookland which is a super independent bookstore.

Pulled into the Samoset and read a book for about 30 minutes until Erick finished and we drove home to see our babies who, while we absolutely relished our freedom, could not wait to wrap our arms around again.

Came home to hugs and kisses, the news that my best friend had her baby (Welcome, Jackson!), and oh…barring any disaster the inspector might find, we are well on our way to a new house. Had to counter back and forth a bit, but we are very pleased with the last number.  How’s that as an end to the perfect weekend ?

Ok. I have to admit I’m a little green-eyed, seeing as though my friends due South are experiencing the full glory of spring, while our forecast is calling for…more snow tonight. In order to remind myself why I live so far north, I spent the better part of the boys’ naptime browsing our summer pictures. Sanity is restored! THIS is why I live here, and never, ever want to leave.

The boys were away at Grandma’s yesterday, so I focused and put together a reversible apron that I have wanted to sew for quite awhile. It’s out of Lotta Jansdotter’s Simple Sewing book, which is fabulous. I originally bought the fabric for pillows, but decided a springtime apron would be fun. Don’t you feel professional in an apron? I think that next time I’ll use a lighter weight fabric, though. This fabric is a bit of a medium weight, and doesn’t drape like I’d like it too, although it’s definitely usable.

Ryan also had fun with a new dog that Nonnie made…out of gloves. You can’t see the detail too well, but it’s terrifically cute.

And! Oh And! I’m incredibly excited, because I found out about Habitat for Humanities ReStores yesterday. They are filled with overstock and extras from building supply stores, contractors, etc, so the prices are a fraction of what you would normally pay. The proceeds go towards Habitat. There are FOUR in Maine. Four! Camden, Portland, Bath, and Lewiston. Good timing, I’d say, seeing as though we are house hunting. I’m eager to get out and shop!

In case you don’t have toddlers, the title is part of the theme song from Super Why! on PBS, and it’s been running through my head all morning long. But it is incredibly APT for my blog today, which is dedicated to my beloved.

Yesterday was SUCH a good day. It was fantastic from top to bottom, the best part being that it was Erick’s 28th birthday. Our church service was spirit-filled. One of those inspiring, goose-bump mornings. Our pastor started out by showing us the video below, and even though I know you are busy and 5 minutes seems like an eternity, you won’t regret watching this! The boys and I have watched it 3 times today, and they clap and clap and smile and it melts my heart!

After church, I asked Erick what his heart’s desire was for the Big Day. He thought and pondered and said “I want to see my kids have fun”. What he said next struck fear in my heart. Struck FEAR! “Let’s go to Chuck E. Cheese!” He exclaims.

I reluctantly gave in. (It was his birthday, after all).

CC is in Portland, so we drove to the big city (I will go any chance I get-one reason I was willing to go along with this insane plan). We walked in the doors, and after 30 seconds I looked at Erick and told him this would only, from here on out, be a ONCE a year thing. The boys were momentarily stunned with wide-eyed wonder then hit the ground running. It was all we could do to keep up with them. Jack wanted a piece of it all. Once Ry discovered Skeeball he was in love, although standing next to him while he tried to launch the ball was a mite dangerous. I was worn out, I was ragged, I was frazzled…

I had a BLAST!

My parents came along for the fun, and it truly was wonderful. We took this picture in one of the little booths at the end of our time there, and even though it’s goofy, I’ll treasure it forever.

What kind of husband would wish for a birthday celebrated at Chuck E Cheese? All in the name of it would be fun for the kids? My Erick, that’s who! I love him so!

After CC’s, we went to the mall, and I was blown away with the new look at Pottery Barn. PB sometimes delights me, sometimes lets me down, but it’s all good this time around. I think I’m going to try my hand at Polyvore and come up with some inspiration boards. Because I was inspired from my head to my toes yesterday.

We made a stop at Whole Foods and grabbed a chocolate cake, which we dug into on the ride home. YUM. As soon as we walked in the door E and I had to hand the kids off to Nonnie and Papa so we could scoot across the street to our Alpha Course. Perfect end to a perfect day.

And perfect end to this blog because I have things to do. A million things on my plate, and as soon as Erick gets home we get to go see a house! Wahoo! I’ll report our findings tomorrow…

Be Blessed.

Woot! Woot! Let me tell you how excited I am about this!

Here’s a verrry, verrry brief description:

Wednesday, May 14th through Wednesday, May 21st, we are going to have some fun. In the spirit of celebrating the best in modern living, we are rounding up our favorite picks from all over blogland and displaying them for all to see.

Anyway, click on the graphic to learn what all it involves. And start your search engines!