Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Moved In?

Well, people.  We did it.  We're back home.  Been looking forward to this day for the past 3 1/2 months!!!  I am dying to show you all pictures but I can't.  You see, the house looks like a bomb went off!  I can't seem to get things straight.  We moved in Thursday, almost two weeks ago now and then moved out to the beach with my in laws that Sunday(3 days later) for a week?!?!? Crazy, right!  It actually was the most relaxing week I have had because I just checked out.  I couldn't deal with the disarray our house was in so I just avoided it.  We live only 7 minutes from our in laws beach place (fyi) so it would have been an easy trip over, but I just didn't want to deal!  HA!  So now, I'm dealing.  It's coming together slowly.   A few have asked so I will share a couple photos but there's nothing too exciting yet because I haven't hung very many pictures and I am kind of Type A like that.  

Get ready for 100 photos.  Sorry...

First shot of our pantry with butcher block counter.  I'm in love to say the least!


View of our breakfast area off the kitchen looking out to backyard


Before shot


View from L.R. into kitchen with a peek of blue in the dining room.  This picture was taken before our blue Moroccan tile backsplash went in.  And I thought it would really bother me not having our light fixtures in yet, but so far very little annoyance.  Talk to me in a few months when they still aren't installed.


A before shot



Blue Moroccan Tile=LOVE


This is Mr. Big's bedroom.  I already had it painted with stripes before we moved out so I decided to keep them.  He moved into a big boy bed when we moved back in so I'll have to take a picture to share with you soon.  He is so proud of himself!!!


Master bath.  Still waiting on a mirror, but loving the transformation!


Came home from the beach on Sunday to find our house painted a new color.  This is only primer on the porch and the house only has one coat so far.  I'll give a more updated pic at the end of the week.  Can't wait to see the porch painted in my favorite color.....


Before shot


Lowes indoor/outdoor fan.  


Did a little picture arranging/hanging with my dad the day after we moved in.  
Right: My dad's painting
Bottom Left: my painting


Little R's masterpiece


Moving on to the beach, Sullivans Island to be exact.  Heaven on earth!  Our view each morning...hard to beat!


Triple threat
My cuz, Jane's little boy on the left with my two


A sweet moment with my boys


Little R and his big bad self


Caught a few sunrises with my littlest badger:o


"Machi" (my MIL) and her boys


My precious, precious nephew


Lobster birthday celebration last Friday night with my sister in law.  Big R bought 2 1/2 lb lobsters for each of us?!?  Didn't think we could make a dent, but we did???



A little light eating after a glutonous week at the beach:)


Ok, sorry to go on and on.  I can be a little long winded!!!  Hope everyone is having a fantastic week!  Big R and I are off to celebrate my birthday tonight at The Grocery and I CANNOT wait!!!!

Monday, May 14, 2012

House Update

Totally been MIA this last week.  My apologies!  We have been trying to get all the finishing touches on the house completed before inspection day this Wednesday!  A few shots of what things looked like last week.  

Master Bath




Dining Room and Foyer painted
What do you think?  Went really bold in the dining room but I'm loving it!  Especially since the whole house is primarily white!



Kitchen cabinets went in, faces put on and hardware installed. Today the countertops are coming , then the backsplash is going in!!  Cannot wait! 
Can you see the blue dining room peeking through....



Our living room looking into the kitchen.  We decided to do a built in media center for the tv and books.  TV will go where that cardboard box is.  Kitchen sink, dishwasher, etc are on the other side.


Blue stone patio went in the end of last week.  Door and stairs will go in this week...can't wait to show you what color the porch will be painted...any guesses?  My new color obsession....


*PS-when building or doing a house renovation, be sure to order all light fixtures at least 3 months in advance!  Lesson learned. All my fixtures are due to be delivered in JULY!!!!  So we're dealing with temp lights-aka light bulbs til then:)

And a few extra Iphone shots from the week...

Teacher gifts-stationery from Bon Vivant




Balboa Jewelry's Sidney necklace


Blue Chickadee sea life trio 


Navy Blue slipcover option for our white sofa.  I can't take the "dirty" look anymore!!!!  My boys can't keep their dirty feet and hands off...wondering if navy blue would be  a better option?


Rikshaw Design trunk show held at Novel.
How adorable are these bloomers?!  If only I had a little girly tush to cover!!!!





Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Tuesday Food Day + Extras

Let me start by saying that life is absolutely insane right now for us so I am sorry I completely missed blogging yesterday!  We are due to move into our house NEXT THURSDAY!!!!!  I am just a tad overwhelmed!  SO bear with me over the next few weeks, posts may be slim to none.  But I enjoy this, so it may end up being my outlet.  

Back to food.  One of my best buds Libba, sent me this recipe yesterday thinking I would like it.  Does she know me or what?  This recipe is right up my alley!  I was all geared up to make it last night, only problem was I had not gone to the store since last week.  So completely random pickin's from the fridge.  This recipe did get me started with an idea though.  The original recipe can be found here, which looks delicious and then I will include below MY recipe made from "things in the fridge."  

Chickpea Quinoa + Roasted Tomatoes + Grilled Shrimp

  
1 cup quinoa
1/2 container roasted grape tomatoes (what I had on hand but any variety would work)
bibb lettuce( wish I had other greens on hand like swiss chard or kale but lettuce would have to do)
1 can chickpeas
1/3 cup raisins (recipe called for golden but I had regular)
scallions
lemon (would be better with lemon dressing-olive oil, garlic, lemon, s + p)
shrimp-peeled, deveined, marinate with honey, sriracha sauce, olive oil, s + p
*brussel sprouts-side item

First make the quinoa by boiling 2 cups of water + salt and adding 1 cup of quinoa and cook for 10-15 minutes with the lid on at a low simmer until all liquid is absorbed.  

roast tomatoes for about 20 minutes at 400 with s + p + olive oil.



marinate shrimp with honey, olive oil, s + p and sriracha sauce and grill.

*roast brussel sprouts with garlic, s + p, olive oil, sriracha sauce, and soy sauce at 400 for 10-12 minutes

saute olive oil, s + p, garlic, raisins, chickpeas and add roasted tomatoes at the end with a  squeeze of lemon.  

We served ours in bowls.  Lettuce first, quinoa, chick pea mixture, shrimp, side of brussel sprouts, scallions and lemon juice to top it off.  When making this again I would make a dressing for the "salad" such as my go to lemon dressing!  Not sure if Big R was starving or if he really loved it but he went back for more!  He also drowns his food in soy sauce so he may not of even known what he was eating:)  I loved it and it was really healthy, light eating which I always love!  AND I was able to be inventive and use only ingredients I had on hand!  

Scenes lately via my Iphone

We spent Saturday night at Sullivans with my cousin and her hubby and their little one/godson.  Is he not the cutest!!! He and Mr. Big are 6 months apart so I know they will have the best time misbehaving together!  Is it just me or do you see what he is doing. Full extension of leg to knock his cuz off daddy's lap....fortunately we're dealing with two tough guys so we let them duke it out!!!



Little R runs every time I pull my phone or camera out so only this little badger ends up in all the pics!  My in laws brought both boys back these cowboy boot glasses from their recent trip to the mountains and next thing I know baby cakes has pulled them out the cabinet and is slipping them onto his feet trying to walk.  




And don't forget to come to our Rikshaw show at Novel. 341 King Street Suite B this Thursday and Friday!!!!!  SOOO many cute things for momma and/or babe


Friday, May 4, 2012

Hoarder


 I'm thinking I can give some as gifts since Mother's Day is around the corner and my mom and

mother in law will need a little sursi.  

 Which one is your favorite?  Have you found any good, cheap finds lately?!


My loot-this is wrong.  Can't believe I'm even showing y'all this.  
Some will be gifts I promise!


*PS not sure why the wording decided to act crazy like this????


Thursday, May 3, 2012

Take A Load Off

So, it was brought to my attention that I need to "start" thinking about furniture placement when we move back into our house.  Hmmm, really should have been thinking this over all along, huh? 
 Playroom, we're set. 
 Bedrooms, pretty set. 
 Dining room we're fine. 
 Kitchen 1/2 check.  
Living Room-rut row:( 
 All we have to put in there is a sofa.  A completely destroyed off white slipcovered sofa.  Why oh why did I not listen to Big R when he said, "Why are you getting a white sofa?  We have two boys.  That's dumb is all I'm saying." and I said "  No it's not.  It's going to be totally fine.  I'm right.  I'm always right."

  At that point Mr. Big was still in my tummy and Little R just hadn't fine tuned his devilish ways yet...  So, here we are 2 years later and it's ruined. 
Found an "R" written ever so neatly in ball point pen on the arm this morning as well as a side order of doggy poop smeared on E.V.E.R.Y. cushion bc it was on the bottom of Mr Big's shoe.  Yep shoes on the sofa, I've thrown my hands up...  Enough on that, maybe one day soon I can get another slipcover, preferably in navy:)  

Back to the issue at large, we need to start thinking about seating other than the sofa.  Such an odd layout we are dealing with but we need two thin chairs to go on either side of the fireplace.  I've been searching and of course end up coming right back to IKEA, well, because their the cheapest and cheap is good! 

This is NOT IKEA.  I wish!
Would love these...too bad way out of my price range


I like and for only $69!  Wonder if they are comfortable???  


Like these too-kind of fun!  
Only $119! 
I could throw a pillow on the seat and they would be perfecto!


This is categorized as an outdoor chair but I kind of like it indoor.  You could totally spray paint this bad boy any color you like and slip a cushion in the seat.

And while I was "surfing"  I came across some lusts on Serena and Lily.  How about this coffee table?!!!!  LOVE!!!


Obsessing over these rugs!!  You know I love blue annnd white annnd stripes and lookahere...




  Kinda want to step out of the box of a traditional slipcovered chair but not sure...  We have a bit of a contemporary look going in there so I'm thinking I could get away with something fun.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.  Send any good chair finds my way- preferably on the cheapie side..