Life Happenings

We've had a busy week. It started last weekend with our test trip for a huge trip we have planned for later this summer. We are planning on driving up North and spending a couple of weeks with family and friends, but before setting out in a car for multiple days, we decided it would be a good idea to see how Will did on a mini trip. So, we headed up to Gainesville to visit Nate's cousin for the weekend. 

We took a nice walk (and saw a croc up close... it never gets old!) and went to a butterfly sanctuary on Saturday. We spent the night, grabbed some breakfast the next day, and then headed home. It was a quick trip, but Will did great and we were able to get a much more accurate list of things we need and what we can leave at home.

We spent the week working and spending time with friends. Will started being entertained by his play mat for much longer periods of time as well as wanting to sit or "stand" when he's not playing on his mat.

We also got a Bjorn Bouncer which allows him to sit up without us holding him all the time and it bounces when he moves which he like a lot. I also can't get over his super long red eyelashes!

We had friends over on Saturday for a BBQ/swim but a pretty severe thunderstorm came through putting the kibosh on outside activities and knocked out our power. Will also freaked out which we think was weather related, so we all headed over to the other side of the lake where our friends' houses still had power to watch movies and play games. 

Of course yesterday was Father's day and we spent Nate's first father's day going out to breakfast and getting him sunglasses (after not having a pair for 2 years in FL he desperately needed them) as well as a haircut (which he also desperately needed... see pics above). We spent the afternoon hanging out as a family watching the new Arrested Development episodes on Netflix. We also grabbed the camera and my tripod and got some pics in front of some cool metal gates near one of the lakes nearby.

Overall, we had a great week, but they sure go by a lot faster when we're this busy!

Kitchen Ceiling Sneak Peak

When we started this kitchen reno about a year ago, we wanted a nice clean looking kitchen that could be the backdrop for pops of color coming from accent pieces. As a result, we've stuck with very neutral choices and the only place right now that has a non neutral color is the backsplash with the accent of a soft sea green tile. We love the look of our neutral kitchen and we are really loving how the ceiling beams are coming together but as soon as they were primed we knew that we couldn't leave them in a neutral on neutral state... the beams just disappeared too much.

We had talked about adding color to the ceiling a couple of times and after seeing everything primed, we immediately knew that we were going to be picking out more paint and it definitely wasn't going to be neutral. 

So are you intrigued? Do you want to see a sneak peak? Ok then, you get to see what I've had time to paint... the smallest rectangle on the ceiling... but I sure am loving it!

And hopefully when I eventually find more time to paint the rest of the ceiling, beams and after we put up all the crown, it will look something like this:

Source

While the color isn't neutral, it does go with the backsplash and with a lot of other colors. Also, since it's on the ceiling it gives a punch of color in the room without being in your face. We're really excited to see what it looks like when it's all done.

Will's Week

1. Multi-tasking at an early age: Playing on his play mat, sucking on his paci and watching TV
2. Hanging with his pals Madeline and Zoe
3. Figuring out his hands while he sleeps... almost all interlocked
4. Hanging out on our new bed quilt
5. Sitting up all by himself (if you ignore the multitude of pillows propping him up)
6. Taking a walk around the lake while facing out in the bjorn (I'm not sure how much longer my back will let me walk the 4+ miles while wearing him)

Spicy Breakfast Rice and Eggs

We often have rice for dinner and almost always have some leftover. If we don't have plans for the leftover rice for lunch or dinner the next day, I like to use it for breakfast. Sometimes I go sweet with my rice pudding but sometimes a savory, spicy breakfast is just what I'm in the mood for.

This recipe can be whatever you want it to be so the ingredients below are just a guide. I usually grab the veggies from the fridge that need to be used up and sometimes add a bunch and other times just a small amount. Also, if you like things spicy, you can add more Sriracha sauce or you can nix it all together.

 I use fish sauce in this recipe which you can find in the international section of most grocery stores. I personally HATE the smell of fish sauce but love the salty flavor it adds to the dish. If you're like me and think you've ruined a dish the second you add it, just have faith ... it will taste amazing when you're done!

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil, divided
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 yellow onion, diced
• 1/2 habanero pepper
• 2 stalks of kale, de-stemmed and shredded
• 1 1/2 cups left over rice (white or brown)
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp Sriracha sauce
• 1-2 eggs
• 1 scallion, chopped for garnish
• salt and pepper to taste

Heat half of the oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 20 sec). Add the onion and pepper and cook until the onions are translucent and slightly golden. Add the kale and cook until it is wilted, about 2 min. Add the rice, fish sauce, lime juice and Sriracha sauce and stir to combine. Continue to stir until the rice is heated through. 

Move the rice from the skillet to a bowl and add the rest of the oil to the skillet. Crack the eggs and cook to your preference (I like over hard but sometimes feel like having over easy) adding salt and pepper to taste. Slide the eggs on top of the rice and top with the scallions. Grab a cup of coffee (or tea if you're me) and Enjoy!

Linking To: Hi Sugar Plum, The Great Indoors, House of Hepworths, My Repurposed Life, Our Delightful Home, Five Days Five Ways, Serenity Now, Lovely Etc., The Rooster and the Hen, Six Sisters Stuff, Tatertots and Jello, Wayward Girls Crafts, Twigg Studio, Serendipity and Spice, Ask Anna, Home Stories A to Z, Uncommon Designs, House wives of Riverton, Crafty Texas Girls, Southern Institute, Watch out Martha!,http://www.myrepurposedlife.net/

Beam Bottom Trim

I don't know about you, but trim takes forever to get done in our house. This is mostly because we spend so much time thinking about how much time it's going to take that it takes a lot of motivation to work on it... then we're always surprised with how fast it goes up... then when we take a break we start all over again with the no motivation... it's an evil cycle. That being said, we have now completed the trim on the bottom of our beams in the kitchen and have even primed the beams!

Our beams are made out of just regular plywood but in the end we don't want them to look cheap. We used corner trim on all corners of the beams and flat trim on the seams (and where there wasn't seams but where it would be symmetric) as well as boxes around the lights. It looks so much better now and the trim hasn't even been caulked (another no motivation task)!

Next up for trimming the beams is crown all around. Also, if you're thinking everything looks really white right now, everything is just primed and we have big plans to make the beams stand out so stay tuned for that!

Two Months

Right now I'm:

• Perfecting my smile

• Learning how to use my hands

• Trying to figure out how to get my entire fist in my mouth

• "Talking" more and crying less

• Regrowing my hair (still reddish)

• Being mistaken as a girl and at least a 3 month old (and even as old as a 6 month old) by almost everyone that stops to check me out

• Sleeping for ~10 hrs a night and getting up 1-2 times

• Weighing in at 13 lbs 2 oz (69%) and 24 in long (88%) and with a noggin at 89% (big head like daddy)

Happy Memorial Day!

I hope you all are having a wonderful day. We celebrated the long weekend by bringing Will to the beach for the first time!

We headed over to Siesta Key and finally made it to the water after hunting down a parking spot. It was especially festive with everyone's brightly colored umbrellas. After a successful dip in the pool earlier in the week, we tried a dip in the Gulf:

After an initial positive reaction, it was quickly determined that the Gulf water was still a little too cold.

The couple of dips in the water and some hang out time on the blanket tuckered Will out so we took a walk down the beach to a less crowed area while Will napped. A lot of people oohed and ahhed at Will as we walked by but only one woman actually stopped us to take a peak at him. We always find this a little awkward but she also offered to snap a pic so now we have a family photo of Will's first trip to the beach which is really nice.

We also now have a smiley boy on our hands and in the attempt to capture the elusive smile, we get some great shots, so here is another installment of the many faces of Will. The colored pictures are from the beach and the black and white ones Nate took in the car while I ran into Trader Joe's on the way home from the beach (it's the closest one to our house and the reason we chose to go to Siesta key :) ).

We finished off yesterday with a BBQ at a friend's house and today we're laying low and relaxing!