This to That Tuesday

The wooden bench

Here is the "This" portion of my latest "This to that".  I've just started sanding this beautiful bench.  It was once Josh's grandmothers bench.  We had it inside for a while, but we ran out of room inside and it had to be replaced for some other not so pretty, yet more functional piece of furniture so it was banished outside, left to deal with the weather.  Since it has lost almost all of its paint and become a little rickety. 
Planning on sanding off the rest of the paint and putting a fresh coat of a bright green on the whole thing.  Ideally, it would be a pale yellow, to match our metal garden furniture, but we had this can of bright green in the closet from a failed attempt at redoing our living room, so to save money, I'm going to use it.  Once it's painted I'm going to scour the fabric stores clearance shelf for out door fabric to make a cushion.  Or maybe I'll use some of the barkcloth my mother in law handed down to me (it's a little more tropical than I usually care for, but it might work well out side).  I'm really excited about this project.  Our little courtyard has been severely neglected, and with the weather being so beautiful, we've been spending a lot of time out there, and I want it to be a space that makes me happy.

 Here are some inspiration images

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There is also a wonderful blank wall just above the bench which would be a great spot for one of these bad boys

Succlent Wall Garden

Succulent Wall Garden by fellow blogger and gal pal Erin over at turquoise violets.  But that will be for another time. 

Fair Day

This Saturday we spent the whole day at the fair, and I mean the whole day.  We left the house at 9:30am to arrive at the South Florida Fair around 10am.  Poked around the nearly deserted fair grounds until 11 when we had to register Abby and Zoey for the Twins Contest (which they won first place in last year).  A quick carousel ride and some deep fried goodness for lunch and we headed back to the Expo Center for the contest at 1pm.  There were a lot more contestants entered in the contest this year, and unfortunately the girls didn't place this year.  I think this will be the last year we enter them in, until they are old enough to decide if they want to do it themselves.  It's pretty boring for a 3 year old to stand around on stage when there is such awesomeness going on on the midway.  The girls were a bit more brave this trip to the fair and went on a train ride, a few fun houses and the pony rides.  We looked at some of the livestock and stopped for some snacks.  The kids had ice cream, Josh chose an elephant ear and I decided on cheese fries.  All of a sudden it was 5:30pm!  How did that happen. Everyone was beyond exhausted,  my back hurt like crazy from walking around on pavement all day.  A long, super fun day, a little warmer than preferred, but amazing day at the fair!!!!

 

Contestants lucky # 13

 Cherry being very patient while the girls compete for most alike twins

 Ice Cream!

 Train ride with daddy

 

Train ride with daddy

 

Pickles!!!!!

 Playin in the Corn

 My sweet girls

   

Mildred Burton's Whole Wheat Bread

Let me start by saying making bread intimidates me like crazy.  Actually anything that required rising and kneading and complicated steps other than measure and stir intimidates me.  Today I tried my first attempt at Josh's family's bread, and low and behold it was a success!  I made bread.  Now it really was easy, I'm not sure what I was so afraid of.  It's not quite the same as my Mother-in-laws, and I'm sure Josh will critique it, but wholly crap, I made bread. 

Mid mixing

 Put in the pans and fingers crossed!

 Wholly Moly!  It actually rose! Getting ready to go in the oven.

 Right outa the oven, smells like heaven in here!

A little afternoon pick me up, bread, butter & ice coffee!  This would be even more delish with some apple butter.

this-to-that Tuesday

Going to start a "this-to-that Tuesday" post where I'll blog about a recent project I've worked on reusing and re-purposing things I have around the house or find in my journeys.

I've been in total nesting mode lately

***Nesting - In human females, the nesting instinct often occurs around the fifth month of pregnancy, but can occur as late as the eighth, or not at all. It may be strongest just before the onset of labor. It is commonly characterized by a strong urge to clean and organize one's home and is one reason why couples who are expecting a baby often reorganize, arrange, and clean the house and surroundings.***

Cleaning, organizing and redoing some stuff in the girls room to get ready for this boy! Editing some of the pink and bringing in a little more bright red and such. Here is a little project that took only a few hours to do and I'm kinda obsessed with the out come!


Abby got this super cute Melissa & Doug pony set for Christmas and I held onto the box because I knew it would make something wonderful. After peeling some stickers off, a few coats of paint and some antiquing, I came up with this little shadow box. It's perfect for some of their little knick knacks. Their room is circus theme (don't worry, you'll see more of it in the near future) so this "big top" shadow box fits in perfectly!

Florida Monday

So I think it's a little disgusting that it's reaching 80 degrees this week here in sunny south Florida in late January. I'm supposed to be able to put on my cute sweaters and cardigans (lord knows I have enough of them that I rarely get to wear). But there are some advantages to the warmer weather.



The water was still a bit on the chilly side, but it kept us busy for about an hour. I certainly can't complain too much about the weather when we can go out and do this. Happy Monday all!
xoxo

Maternity Dress Project

The husband got me this adorable vintage maternity pattern for Christmas. I should be prepping for Retro Indie Market, but instead I'm making a cute dress to wear to it. Here's a sneak peak.

Pregnant Again

So here I am, about 5 1/2 months into my 3rd pregnancy with my 4th child which is my 1st boy (did you follow that). I really can't complain too much. I haven't been nauseous or had any morning sickness, no terrible indigestion, no excessive weight gain, just the usual baby pounds, no swollen feet or ankles. My back has been giving me some trouble, the doctor said because it's my third pregnancy the baby is sitting really low and my back will probably hurt on and off the whole pregnancy, nice. There are how ever a few silly things I would like to complain about.

#1 Boobs. I've never been very well endowed, however, with pregnancy comes boobs. I miss being able to throw on a tank and not have to worry about support or discomfort. Don't get me wrong, I think breast feeding is an incredibly important thing and have full intentions on nursing this baby like all my others, but common...... I miss my small chest.

#2 High waist pants/ skirts. Nearly my whole non pregnancy wardrobe has evolved into a higher waisted retro style. I miss my clothes.

#3 No new ink. no explanation necessary

Now I could go on, no sleep, very little patience with the other kids, my belly button is popping out.... but those are the 3 main things that have been annoying me lately.

Here are some sonogram images of the little cowboy