Fun with Cousins

As a part of the wedding festivities, we had our cousins from Virginia here with us for several days.  There were a few fun adventures.  One was a ferry ride that I didn't go on.  So I have no pics.  But we also went to a yummy ramen house and to the zoo!

RAMEN!  Kukai Ramen house is a pretty authentic experience, according to Derek.  Except we got to sit on chairs instead of on the floor.  

Ben hanging with an otter.  

Chilling with my friend Bear.  I love the bear exhibit at our zoo.  It is the best to be so close to the giant bears.  

Riding the Tiger.  Or snow leopard or something.  

If you look closely you might see the penguins behind them...

Cuddling up to the penguin.  

Keri and the "Panda Cow"

It was a great day for the zoo because there were lots of animals out, and not to many of the human variety at the zoo.

So, while we are ready to have the house all to ourselves, we had a blast hosting our cousins.  

THE Wedding

When I suggested to my sister-in-law that I would love to host her wedding reception at our house, it was a long time ago.  Before I got called as a Relief Society President, before I knew I was going to have surgery, before we invited our friends to stay with us for 2 months.  So, when things got closer, I started to wonder if I was going to make it.  If we were going to give my sis-in-law the day of her dreams....But, with the help of MANY people, including my visiting teacher and teachee, my client Kathy, and all of the family that came into town, we did it.  Leanne said her day was PERFECT.  Even with the splashes of orange thrown into the decor (which unbeknownst to the decorator is the Groom's least favorite color) it all came together.  (The wise words of my mother-in-law turned out to be true, "I bet Josh loves you more than he hates orange...")

I was also in charge of the Bachelorette/Girl's Night Party games.  I made her this awesome video of epic wedding tragedies to start things off.  Then we played a round of he said/ she said where everyone got to read statements and decide if the groom or the bride said them.  It was fun to hear what the bride and groom said about each other.  Then we finished with the TP Bridal Boutique.  Each team created a wedding dress from toilet paper and other fun dollar store supplies.  Leanne got to put a ring (pop) on the bride she liked best.  It was so fun to have Paige and Fran do some modelling!     

I was in charge of the "flower horde (5 of them!!)" hair.  Or at least Leanne's 3/5ths.  Sarah hated my first attempt.  

They all liked the end result hair, two braids, joined with a bow.  

Keri and I with our girls.  

Uncle Wayne helping with the ceremony set up.  I didn't really plan much for the beach because I figured if I did, it would certainly rain and ruin all my work.  When the day turned out to be sunny, I think the simple decor worked anyway.  

Dave my brother-in-law helping with the set up.  Together with Clark we were a balloon blowing up assembly line.  Dave was tall enough to hang the stuff from the trellis.  

The finished ceremony set up.  It was a gorgeous day!  

Libby playing the cello after the ceremony.  She was actually picking out tunes.  Love this girl's musical talent.  

Libby loving on Josh, the handsome groom.  

All the Norton nieces and nephews.  

Richmond Beach view.  Breathtaking!  

I decorated the house with lots of Ls and Js.  I didn't take many pictures of the home decor.  Hopefully the photographer did.  It was pretty awesome.  

My other contribution were these delicious and lovely cookies.  I had a team help me decorate them. They got rave reviews.  (PS, all the hot air balloon stuff is because they got engaged on a hot air balloon ride!) 

Leanne and Josh, 10/20/15. 

An Unexpected Project...

I wasn't really crossing my fingers when I wrote that blog post last Sunday.  I wasn't.  I didn't really want to do another project.  When I went to get the guest room ready for our wedding guests to arrive on Thursday morning, everything was great.  Mopped floors, fluffed pillows, done.  Then I came back in later and discovered that the wallpaper was literally falling off the wall.  The longest wall.  AHHHHHH!  Slight panic.  Derek wanted me to just try to glue it back up.  But I can't just leave something like that.  I am a scab picker!  So, within a few minutes of the discovery, he heard me walk back in there and start ripping down the wallpaper.
Thankfully I had already decided to pay carpet cleaners, window cleaners and my amazing gardener.  I had gotten ahead in the decor and the cookies are made (just have to be frosted on Monday).  So, I had just over 24 hours to clean this wallpaper off, get the mold out, prime and paint.  

And this was what was behind it.  MOLD.  LOTS OF MOLD.  It is a really thick vinyl wallpaper, and behind that wall are 2 showers (ours and the kid bathroom).  Obviously some moisture was coming through and couldn't get out.  Trapped!  Until this Thursday when the wallpaper gave way.  Can I just say scrubbing mold off, least favorite job.  Maybe just above cleaning hair out of the bathroom drain.

It's not perfect, but it's done.  And, I already had this awesome color, that actually goes with the wallpaper.  If you didn't know, you'd just think it was a lovely accent wall.  And it is going to stay that way.  FOR. A. LONG. TIME.  

OKAY, NOW I'M SERIOUS. NO MORE PROJECTS.  

Sarah is 7!

It has been such a wild week.  Last Saturday we celebrated Sarah's birthday with a movie where I let kids share popcorn and drinks.  Oops.  Little did I know that a stomach flu was lurking.  Ben threw up later that night and then the rest of the family followed down the rabbit hole or to the toilet, I guess.  And some of the party guests.  So so sorry!

But, the day we celebrated and Sarah's actual day were days of health and joy for our little sweet girl!
On her birthday Ben and Libby were still home sick (well Libby was probably not sick anymore, but she was milking it for all the movies she could watch...)  So I walked to school and picked up Sarah and we got to walk home just the two of us.  The next day she said, "Mom, I miss yesterday...not my birthday, but the part where you came and walked me home, just me and you."  Seriously.  Melt my heart.

Yes she is!  7!

This year she decided she was done with the "Witchy cake."  She wanted a SPIDER (the rice crispies actually look like the furry stuff on spiders in this picture...gross)!  (She is apparently not scared of spiders btw, just slugs and snails--panic attacks on the way to school some days).  The kids and my friend Heidi helped me frost the spiderweb cookies.  They did a great job!

The crew for the movie.  This was sort of the last hurrah with Cora and Caitlin.  Their family closed on their new home the day before this picture.  They moved out over the weekend.  We are missing them!  (Although our guests for Derek's sister's wedding are here now, so we didn't have an empty house for long).  Guess which 4 of the 5 pictured here spent at least 1 day throwing up (or having gut rot) in the week since this picture was taken?

With the SARAH candles (you can't see them unless you look carefully).   She got lots of books from her aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents.  She couldn't be happier.  She also got a razor scooter (to replace the one that Libby took from Sarah after Libby's got run over my some crazy lady in a Honda Odyssey (me).  

On her actual birthday--a new dress from Grandma Debbi.  

Celebratory ice cream sundae at Red Robin.  My birthday wish was that her other front tooth would come out.  No such luck!

Laundry Room Project--99% Done!

A few months ago a video went viral of this woman explaining her AMAZING laundry room.  This isn't quite that awesome (no fans for drying sweaters).  But I am really happy with the results of my laundry room/mud room overhaul.  I'll walk you through the changes...

This was our old mudroom.  We had a shoe bench and a set of hooks for kids backpacks and coats.  And then it became the spot for the piano.  I hung up over-the-door shoe racks in the laundry room and tried to pretend it was going to be okay.  And it was.  For the summer.  But with school approaching, I knew that this wasn't going to work.  We all needed somewhere for coats, shoes and backpacks that wasn't ALL OVER THE HOUSE.  

If you remember, I was pretty excited to move into a house with an actual laundry room...including desks for serger and sewing machine.  Except I don't really sew very often.  And these desks just ended up being repositories for junk. The way the drawers opened made it so I couldn't fully utilize the space along the walls for storage of shoes like I wanted to.  

And, the butterfly wallpaper...it really had to go.  

These cabinets over the washer and dryer were great.  Except that the washer opened right into the center cabinet, so I couldn't store the laundry stuff in there, or else I couldn't access it with the washer open.  (It is the little stuff that bugs me, I guess).  So the giant box of Tide sat right on top of the dryer.  Kinda hard to make the room look clean and neat that way.  

Gross damage under the utility sink.  The flooring had one seam, right under the sink.  Bad news when there was a leak at some point.  

So, in my post surgery funk, and with school rapidly approaching, I started working, getting help from anyone who happened to come by.  One of my clients and her husband pulled desk #1 off the wall.   At this point I was still thinking I would just throw in some shelves and leave the flooring....maybe put a rug over it...

Derek did desk #2.  Then my niece Paige and my current but soon-to-be-former housemate Emily (they closed on their house this weekend!) helped too.  2 of 4 walls still had wallpaper that wouldn't come off.  So we oil primed.  Then I used the same color from the kitchen, just 50% of the pigment to make a complimentary room color.  

I decided I wanted to the floor to be something awesome, different, and super easy to maintain.  (Read NO GROUT).  I was thinking kind of 1950s vintage-y.   So I went with Marmoleum.  I am in LOVE.  It is fun and looks so good.   Has no grooves to keep dirt out of.  I still need to put the finish on that makes it look shinier, but I'm happy.  We ended up having to put down a new sub floor, so it was over budget to say the least, but the room is DONE.  (Derek's main contributions to the project--he would be happier to have had NONE--were removing the 2nd desk, removing the old flooring, and cutting the baseboards.  Oh, and putting up with my manic behavior and lousy meals while I focused on the project.) 

I took the doors off of the center cab and painted the cabinets.  I took of the weird pulls and found new fun ones at Hobby Lobby.  

For my laundry soap and fabric softener I got candy jars and a candy scoop.  I love how vintage it feels.  The fabric that I used on the back of the space (put up with liquid starch) was my inspiration piece for everything else.  The polka dots are super fun.  I made the curtains out of the same fabric.  When Libby came it to see it, she said, "Mom, wallpaper?  Really?"  But no!  It's fabric.  And could come off easily with warm water and soap.  I also covered the shelves with starched on fabric.  

I loved this sign from Hobby Lobby, but this is a total lie.  I am the laundry maid around here.  Then I can move laundry in, move it out, and get it put away.  And I can listen to a podcast or watch a show while I work.  My favorite chore really! 

I splurged on a couple of things I had been wanting.  This pops out for hangers so I can use it while I'm folding.  I think of my Grandma Louise every time!  This was her method.  

Also, a drying rack that pops out from the wall so my floor space doesn't get cluttered by a stand up drying rack.  

I got a little laundry table from Ikea.  Underneath I am using a couple of their recycling bins as my Thrift Store bins.  When something comes through the laundry that I know is getting too small, I just toss it in.  Then I can make regular trips to the Deseret Industries (which is actually right up the street).  

Shoe BINS GALORE!  And a place for every backpack and coat.  (You may notice that Libby's new school backpack is missing...that is because it got lost at school on Wednesday--FULL OF SOPPING WET CLOTHES from a rainy day recess--and on Friday after school she mentioned that it had turned up.  But was still at school.  I can't wait to smell those clothes.)  I put up a clothesline to hang up their daily schedules (with things like Library Day--so that maybe at least 1 or 2 weeks out of the month we will remember to send the books back on the right day).   Notice how many shoe bins are empty?  The bin system is working--sort of.  But there are a few pairs scattered through the house still.  

Martha Stewart agreed with my color selection, obviously.  These fabric bins are from her collection at Home Depot.  The coat hanger in the corner I got ages ago from IKEA.  Perfect colors also.  It was like the universe needed me to do this room.  

So remember the 99% done part?  Well, when we took out the old rusty, nasty utility sink, we found that the wall behind it had suffered a great deal of water damage.  So the last part of the room has been the backsplash behind the sink.  We hired a tile guy to help us put it up.  He is going to teach me to grout it tomorrow.  But I figured if I didn't post this today (while I am home from church with Ben who barfed all night) the post will get lost in the excitement of Leanne's wedding.  

This sink was the original splurge in the laundry room.  Then it was--GO BIG or don't do it.  We needed a narrower one than the cheap ones at Home Depot, and this filled that ticket.  It also has storage that is hidden (always a bonus in my mind), and a top (see picture above) so when you don't need the sink, it doubles as a counter space.  I wasn't sure how much I used my utility sink until I didn't have it for the last month or so.  I use it.  A LOT.  

The view from the kitchen/family room.  

And, special thanks to Shawn Weeks--(the husband in my housemate family).  He did so much work in here.  Drilling and hanging up the coat racks, drying rack.  Electrical, plumbing help.  Seriously, I am SO SO sad to seem them leave.  Their new house is going to be amazing.
Anyway, laundry bliss can now ensue.  And, if I have to pick up after my kids at times (or order them to put their stuff away) at least now there is somewhere for their stuff to go!  And in case you were wondering about the budget...when I told Derek I could do this project for $500  I was WAY OFF.
But, the main floor is done.  And now, no more projects.   I promise this time.    (fingers crossed)