Farm Livin'

Well, because the one and only Aunt Steph was one of the leads in an opera in NWA we decided to make a little overnight trip with the fam. Manly's grandparents VERY generously met us and took the kids for the evening while Manly and I went to the opera. It was WONDERFUL, and Aunt Steph ROCKED the stage.

The next morning, after a yummy breakfast made especially by Great Pa we all threw on our play clothes and headed out on the farm. Manly's grandparents own a beautiful little farm in NWA. The kids were in heaven! The first order of business was to say hello to the horses. 

 

Next up was picking corn. They have corn. Lots and lots of corn. The kids, especially KK thought picking real live corn from a real live stalk was the coolest thing ever!

 

 

 

 After that it was time to explore a bit. There are lots of things for them to discover and explore. They quickly found apple trees and blackberry bushes. Also spotted, a playset, more horses, and the tractor Manly rode when he was a child.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Mia learned to feed the horses, but she was still a little too scared to actually do it! This was before she decided to put her mud boots on and get in there with them.

 

Great Pa tried to help KK feed the horses corn husks. This girl kept saying, "BEST DAY EVER!"

 Manly showed Mia how to show the horsies that you were nice and that they weren't actually out to get her.

 

THEN, something lovely happened for my littles. Uncle Mark brought out a horse and a saddle and let them ride! Everyone, even Mia and Eli, rode. Well, not me! Ehh, I haven't done horses since I was a little girl. Anyway, it was a huge hit and they all loved it very much.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

KK picked lots of pretty flowers then Great Gran and Great Pa told her what kinds they were. She was fascinated with every part of the farm. She even tried a cucumber fresh out of the garden which is WAY outside her comfort zone as far as food goes.

 

Last on the list was the boys driving a REAL tractor. They LOVED it! Brubbs was in HEAVEN!

 

 

 

When we got ready to leave all the kids wanted to come back as soon as possible. Lulu asked if she could stay for a week some time. We were really glad to have time with family, and happy to watch them get to enjoy our family! While I'm a city girl through and through, it seems like these littles have country roots!

Smittlez Overhaul the Hizzy-Kitchen, Pantry, and Laundry Room

I've been gone for so so long from the blog world. I keep starting a post, then deleting it. I actually almost deleted the entire blog the other day, but I decided just to sign off and come back today. Wanna see the progress in my house? Oh alllllright!
Here is a before picture of our kitchen and another of the dining area.

 

Sorry these pics are from Christmas, this is actually photos my mom took at our housewarming party right after we moved in. It didn't change much from that time though. Just a few more chairs at the table.

 

And here are the after pics!! I like to call my style eclectic. These pictures are pre-decorating for the most part, so keep that in mind.

 

We have plans to upgrade the fridge and oven soon, but they are still in great condition, so for now we'll just have them there. The upper cabinets are KC168 Chelsea Gray by Benjamin Moore. This is the color you'll see in the main living areas of our home. The lower half is HC 166 Kendall Charcoal. This is the color you'll see in my smaller rooms(pantry, dining room, etc.)

 

I decided to keep the upper cabinets open. I love the look and how much it opens up the room. Sorry the pics are blurry, my phone camera is terrible!

I recovered the barstools with a simple red/oat chevron and clear vinyl to make them easy to wipe clean. I got the fabric for 50% off at Hobby Lobby. I wanted something fun, but simple.

I LOVE how they turned out, and this was a quick and cheap project!

My sweet sweet Manly found this beauty in the garbage and painted it and added hooks. We use it to put "getting ready to go items." Each of the kids also has a given color to make things easier on their momma. Those little file boxes hold their school/church work that we'd like to keep.

For now I have a serving cart in the room as a table, but I'm on the lookout for a CHEAP small round pedestal table. We don't eat in this room anymore, but the kids snack in here, so I'd still like to have some seating in here. I have four wooden chairs I'm planning to paint to go with the table. I also have my eye on this rug to go underneath. I just have to talk Manly into another IKEA trip! 

The wall color is HC172 Revere Pewter. At first I HATED IT, but once we got everything else finished I've fallen in love with it. I needed something that would blend well with the gray, but still be a tanish color that would work with the existing tile and silestone countertop. I think this shade does that job perfectly! You'll see it again in the dining room once I finish that up(waiting on a stencil).

 

I don't have ANY pictures of the pantry before we started it. I racked my brain trying to think of if I'd ever taken a picture in there, but came up empty. SO, here is the after. The before was about the same, only really dark brown. I'm amazed at how the gray still brightens up the room so much. Also, this is a small space and I'm basically the worst phone photographer EVER...

Walls are HC 166 Kendall Charcoal. The shelves are OC17 Dove White.

Nothing spectacular, just a pantry. Yes, it looks like a grocery store. That's how I like it. After I took this picture and noticed the flour and powder sugar were lopsided I fixed it. Don't judge! Ha!

Love this adjustable shelving unit. It was already in the house when we bought it, but it's SO easy to use.

The VERY cheap($5 cheap) light fixture we bought to go in there. I chose this because it mostly matches the one that was already in the laundry room and because it's REALLY bright, but in a clear easy to see way...

 

 

AND, last but not least, the LAUNDRY ROOM! I have a love hate relationship with this sweet little room. I love it because it's adequate and quiet, but I hate it because it's tiny and will never hold two sets of washers and dryers. I've made it work, and NOW it has a tiny bit of design! Ha!

 

It all started with this little pack of tape and this idea.

 

I decided AFTER I was done that this looks a LOT like a candy cane, but I don't even care!!

 

I needed a little help from my sweet Addi Fae. She's so artistic and accurate with design things. Freakishly for her age, really. She helped me cut all the tape strips.

 

We also needed to do a little construction. We decided to build a shelf to help with tricky storage of all of our bajillion laundry baskets.

Addi got to use a power tool with the help of Daddy.

Here is the shelf. It's PERFECT for what we needed. I was proud of Manly to putting it together for us quickly! HEY, here is the dark brown color of the rooms before.

 

And now, the finished product!

  

Love my fancy washing machine! These walls are Kendall Charcoal too. The trim, cabinets, and shelf are all dove white.

 

 

Have you ever seen anything cuter?! LOVE this idea. It took me less than an hour and $3 in tape!

 

 

Our new shelf in use.

Another shot of the room. Again, small area bad photographer. Sorry.

With all the rolling laundry baskets in the room.

  

And, because it's the cutest little appliance in my house, one more of my confetti dryer!

And now, I need to go paint something else. Later.