country living

just got my country living magazine in the mail and holy cow. i love the idea notebook section. i love the new uses for old things article. i really want to do this....

well the picture won't load. but it's of a bookcase/shelving unit made out of 3 salvage doors. so cool.

also... look for a catholic endorsement of dexter soon. he's praying now.

just kidding. if you haven't seen it, don't. it's bad. but terribly addicting.

i want to do this to my couches. after i recover them.

i would have loved to do this with all the old du monde newspapers that i didn't buy when i was in paris.

mid oct. 2011

lately i have enjoyed listening to the melodious sounds emerging from our music "studios".

S in the basement with her cello.

L in the family room on the piano.

and D set up on the keyboard in the office.

L and D rotate between the keyboard and the piano. they are moving right along and so proud of themselves when they master a song.

we haven't found a cello instructor for S yet, so she is self-taught. it reminds me of my glorious and successful days in 6th and 7th grade orchestra. let's just hope she doesn't get in trouble for passing around inappropriate jokes and putting her instrument in her mouth. boy may parents must have been proud.

(kind of) funny story: since my husband played in the chandler orchestra in college, we actually ran into my 6th grade orchestra teacher, who was also in the chandler orchestra. i ducked my head down , but paully called out her name. she marched right up to the car and said "is that nellie welch in that car?? you know i almost changed careers after having you and courtney that year." i was so embarrassed and apologized. she said it was her hardest year but made her a stronger teacher. i can still play boil them cabbages tho.

let's just hope that the apple falls far from the tree for my sake.
we attempted to make caramel apples. after getting all set up, we could not get the caramel to stick to the apples. tried another caramel batch.... no luck.

plan b: slice the apples and let the kids dip them in the caramel, peanuts, coconut, mini choc. chips & sprinkles. not as pretty, but easier to eat :)

S and D had a little halloween crafting session. they were chatting and giggling and happy. they said this is so fun. S said "yes, we can hang these crafts on our walls. our room really needs to look more halloweenie."

D thought that was the funniest thing ever.

mommy dearest moment: L and i were removing labels from water bottles and reapplying tape that matched the color theme for a baby shower. totally necessary. L is very precise, so she was the perfect companion for this job. we had them all lined up and i was inspecting them. i pointed to one that needed to be redone. L nodded her head a little and agreed that it should be re-taped. she tried her best to get it straight and quickly put it in the back of the line and glanced up at me to see if i was watching.

i told her she did an awesome job and thanked her for being so industrious.

goll.

this morning, while enjoying the beautiful weather and green grass in our backyard, i changed baby's poopy diaper and let him run around naked. he was so happy. in a flash, he had climbed up on the swing set and slipped down the steep slide. i put the diaper on the table and rushed over to the naked baby lying in the grass. it was a sad sight. he was totally fine, but it scared me.

in the meantime, the dumb dog swiped the diaper and was running around the yard like a maniac. he has a tendency to shred things like lightening. i really wanted to retrieve the diaper before he shredded it and distributed big chunks of poop all over the yard for us to step in. oh i was so mad. i finally got the diaper and he then swiped the jammies baby was wearing. grrr.... i was really mad at this point. luckily he dropped them quick without putting any holes in them. i really like those jammies. why did i think it was a good idea to get a dog?

well, it's friday and i am looking forward to seeing a family movie tonite and going up north to a pumpkin patch. i need to see if i can gather up some cute outfits and get a cute picture for christmas cards. hmmmm.... i wish matilda jane clothes weren't so expensive. they would be perfect.

dc trip

i'm not really sure where to begin with my adventures in dc. a trip without kids means to me....

cram it all in! no stops! go until we drop!

which is what we did the first day. we literally dropped. i think i napped on the floor. i was tie tie.

there is a lot to see and do in dc. walking. walking. walking. which is why i justified my cupcake crusade. i hit up 3 shops.

cakelove- too much icing and too rich. i ended up tossing it :(

red velvet- good.

georgetown cupcake- delish!

georgetown was definitely the best. i waited in a 30 min. line to get in the joint. thank goodness it was worth the wait. there were beautiful fresh flower arrangements on all the tables. they even had the cheapest price! $2.75 ea.

day 1

* arrive at 10:30 pm

* auntie whips up some delicious pasta for me at midnight. aglio e olio. yumm.....

* sleep

day 2

* get coffee and croissants at PAUL french bistro

* walked around penn. ave. and checked out the newseum & the front page newspapers of all the 50 states. conspiracy theory if you ask me.

* walked "the mall" a little bit & checked out the castle smithsonian which gave us an overview of all the museums.

* freer museum. asian art. kinda boring.

* hit up the american history museum. my fav exhibits were the original ruby red slippers, julia child's kitchen and the life and deaths of the presidents. so interesting.

* freedom plaza to witness occupy dc. kinda exciting but lame. jumpin' on that peace train.

we did learn the basics of protesting tho.... integrate, agitate, educate. no stripping of clothes or chaining happened tho.

* changed gears and headed to the willard for an upscale white wine kind of lunch. very fancy :)

* walked to the white house. looked for the doorbell to ring & ask if we could come in. no luck.

* took a taxi to cakelove.

* took the metro home to rest.

* got up and walked some more.

* checked out a pretty awesome corner. cupcake store, liquor store (with local beer) luke's lobster shack.... ummmm sooooooo good. and a starbucks to top it off. what else do

you need in life?

* headed back for a delicious dinner and a scrabble game.

day 3

* oatmeal and coffee for breakfast.

* mass at st. patrick's. awesome. founded in 1794. met the ambassador of spain. he had a driver.

* red velvet cupcakes and starbucks.

* the national gallery to view the presidential portraits. loved this. so cool. a must see.

* walked to the lincoln memorial. very cool.

* walked to the viet nam memorial. joined in more protesting. realizing that the protests are actually annoying.

* my aunt and uncle picked us up and we drove to see my uncle's fancy downtown dc office. very cool. they are both really smart and amazing people. they should write books.

* headed to georgetown.

* ate delicious pizza and waited in line at georgetown cupcakes.

* realized that someone swiped my aunt's phone and had a good adventure trying to track it down. but to no avail. we did have a police officer come to the apartment & filed a claim.

all very exciting.

* joined up with my cousins at an irish bar and headed back to their swanky dc apartment. sat on the rooftop and enjoyed views of the capitol and the washington monument.

day 4

* woke up to my mom staring at me.

* went over to the national archives to see the declaration of independence and the bill of rights. pennsylvania is spelled wrong. i don't know if it was just because i was hungry, but the lack of lines really annoyed me. you have to wait a long time to get in and then you have to push your way in to get a good look at each document. i'm into non-contact sports, so that part was annoying.

* headed to chinatown for some lunch.

* walked to ford theater and the peterson house to relive the assassination of lincoln. amazing. you can sit right next to where he was shot. you can go in to the house he was taken to, see the exact replica of the room. see the tiny bed where they laid his 6'4 body. so sad. but a really cool tour. also a must see.

* an anthro stop

* walked back down penn. ave. checked out taste of dc. getting hot and sweaty and irritated at this point.

* big hold up at the white house. roads blocked. grrr....

* but then the presidential helicopters flew over and it was very exciting. even tho i waved so nicely at the helicopters, i still did not get into the white house.

* checked out the folk art museum. at this point i was a little overwhelmed, trying to take in the sights. there is just so much to look at. i asked for the kids scavenger hunt to help me focus. i'm not sorry i did it. i didn't get the prize at the end tho.

* headed to old ebbitt grill. it was so cool. we got cold beer, shrimp, oysters and crab claws. it was just what we needed. it was perfect.

* made a stop to pick up ice cream and went back home for a delicious italian pasta dinner.

day 5

* wake up early to fill our last day with fun.

* walk over to capitol hill for breakfast at market lunch in the eastern market.

* walk around capitol hill neighborhoods

* take a tour of our nation's capitol building. again. a must see. very well done. loved all of it.

* walked to air and space museum.

* walked to natural science museum. i liked the exhibit on race. i also liked the big whale. i like whales. they are big. very big.

* went back to the apartment, packed up and headed to union station to catch our train back to the airport. :( saw oprah's boyfriend... steadman. he was tall and seemed nice. he was stopping to take pictures with people.

* non eventful plane ride home and so glad to see mi familia!!!!!!!!

i really missed them!!!!

i'm off to see the wizard...

today i'm headed here....

i'm pretty pumped.

i also plan on stopping here..... first stop :)
luckily it's in walking distance from my aunt and uncle's.

will i get cupcakes or coffee cake.... maybe both (since i'll be walking there)

i also plan on joining a protest.

i'm not sure which one.

i guess i'll figure it out when i get there.

i always envisioned chaining myself to something for a cause.