This is Why...

My tupperware cabinet NEVER stays organized.  

Who me?

**And since this picture of the kitchen is up, I need opinions.**

  I'm not digging the light wooden cabinets and would LOVE to redo the countertops and cabinets.  However, my darling sweet husband, who so generously pulled up and reinstalled countertops in our old house, is not up for that challenge again any time soon. Thus, my options are limited...

Do I paint the cabinets white? 

Would love to hear any feedback or suggestions -Thanks!

How to Make a Dish of Baked Apples

Step 1:   Find an eager little helper and load up a wagon with the essentials...a juice cup, some cookies, sunglasses, & sunhat

Step 2:   Ride until you find an apple orchard (or just a few apples trees hidden in a garden will do.)

Step 3: Scare away any deer that are snacking on the very tree you came to pick from (just seconds before I snapped this shot, there was a large doe nibbling an apple off of the tree.  She just stared at us until she heard my camera turning on...and then she fled.  So sadly, no picture of the deer. :(

Step 4: With great concern, check to see if the deer is close by.

Step 5: Select tree with the most plentiful apples and pick the ones that look the most delicious.  

Step 6: Gather any apples that have fallen on the ground and load them into wagon.

Step 7: Head home with the your bounty, being VERY careful to keep ANY apples from rolling into the bottom of the wagon.  

Step 8: Stop to pick a tomato to serve with dinner, but decide to have it for a snack on the ride home instead.

Step 9: Wash and peel your apples and then follow your grandmother's recipe for the best baked apple dish.

The End!

Table for Two

Anna Cate and her cousin Ian enjoying a bite for lunch while Stephanie and I work on planning our 10 year high school reunion.  She has really enjoyed playing over at Ian's house for the past couple of weeks and he has been sweet to share all of his fun toys with her!  They have been good sports about the whole thing...whether we are on the phone getting prices and info or toting them around town to look at different locations.  What a pair! 

Rainy Day Tent

What could be cozier than a reading some books under a tent on a rainy afternoon?  

My little bookworm 

Will surprised us and was home early Friday afternoon.  He got her up from her nap and she was so excited to show him her new little space.  He promptly "improved" her tent into a fort (I guess boys will always be boys no matter their age).  

And just look at those cute little undies!! I love em, love em, love em!!! ;)

An Owl, a Book, and a Shiny Bracelet

One of my favorite things to find waiting on me in the mailbox is the Pottery Barn Kids catalog.  Although I've never purchased a thing from the catalog, it is full of ideas and inspiration for children's rooms.  These adorable little owls caught my attention in the latest issue and I have been itching to try and make one for Anna Cate.   

She turned out so cute and Anna Cate loves her!  This afternoon, I was trying to get a picture of them together.  During out "photo shoot," Anna Cate picked up a book and started reading.  It is one of her favorites, Mommies Say Shhhhhh.  The book goes through the different farm animals and the sounds they each make and at the end it says that Mommies say "shhhh".  

Although we've read it a hundred times together, I've never seen her attempt to actually "read" it herself.  Sometimes, she'll pick up a book and babble like she is reading, but today, she actually followed along and made the appropriate animal sound on each page!  Then, on the page with the mommy,  she put her fingers up the her lips to say "shhhh"!!

I love this age!! We are having the most fun watching her develop her imagination and her own  personality.  Our baby is all but gone, but in her place is a little person and we are having so much fun finding out who she is! :)

(And I forgot to mention the bracelet...but you can see it on her wrist.  It is an old one I wore in a wedding that has fake diamonds all the way around it.  Anna Cate thinks it is a must have accessory and wears it everywhere.   She loves to put it on and off and admire it as it shines.  Sorry to Daddy if he thought he had a tomboy, but I think we have a girlie girl on our hands here!!)

Little Fish

We enjoyed a little family outing to the lake on Sunday afternoon.  We took Silar and Anna Cate swimming and I'm not sure who had more fun in the water.  It took her a minute to enjoy being in the lake verses her warm bath, but once she was use to it, she did not want to get out! 

Exciting News...

I'm super excited to say these little ladies are on their way up to a shop in New Hampshire where they will hopefully find loving homes.  I've had several buyers purchase dolls for their online shops, but this order was the first to go to an actual brick and mortar location...how exciting!  I wanted to ask the lady if she would send me a picture of them sitting on their little shelf in the boutique, but I didn't want to seem obsessed (which I totally am) and weird and scare her away.  Guess I'll just have to imagine what they look like up there...

As a side note, Anna Cate has had a cold for the past week which translates into longer naps for her and a little extra time for me to work on her playroom.  My plan is to be finished by this weekend.  Hopefully I'll have soon have some pictures to share. 

Fun in the Bath

A few pics of one of the highlights of our day...BATH TIME!!  Also please note that this child's hair is already long enough for just ONE ponytail.  Unbelievable how much hair she has, and how blond it has become.  What a cute little stinker!

Sarah Jane Studios

                                 

I've been looking for artwork to use when we redo Anna Cate's room this winter and I stumbled upon this fabulous artist, Sarah Jane Studios.   I love her work and her prices are fairly reasonable compared to most pieces of children's artwork I find in local boutiques.   Looking through all of her pieces makes me wish so badly that I was talented with a pencil and paintbrush.  I love almost everything in her shop!!  

Snapshots

I know I've been slack in posting lately, but we have been so busy that I can't seem to find spare minutes to sit down and translate everything onto here.  It seems the more we do, the less I can think to write about!  

I will say that I am working on some exciting projects that I hope to be able to share within the next few weeks...but for now I'll just share some pictures I snapped today of Anna Cate playing in the yard.

We found a single gardenia left on the bush and picked it to put in a vase in her room.  She loves to smell flowers now, and anytime she sees one, real or not...she immediately starts to sniff. She has a bathing suit with a flower on it and when she is wearing it, she constantly bends over to "smell" the flower on her tummy.  It is too funny! :)