Seven

Lulu's 7th Birthday! UGH, SEVEN...my baby girl is seven! She had a costume party and loved every second of it!

The table all set for cake and ice cream.

I decided to forgo the goody bags and just do chocolate covered pretzels for the kids to share with their families.

Pumpkin Bowling Lane

Spooky Cake

 Guesstimate the Monster Eye Balls

Costume Contest Awards...Caroline and Emma were the judges.

My girls waiting for the guest to arrive

The Mummy Wrap Game

Pumpkin Bowling

Make a WISH!

Good time had by all! My wish for Lulu this year is to stay seven forever!

Before and After

Before...french door with faux wood blinds.

After:

I installed these yesterday. The pictures do not do these justice...they turned out BEAUTIFUL. If I do say so myself....TOOT TOOT...oh, excuse me that was me just tooting my own horn!

At my suggestion the homeowner is going to paint the doors black. I think it will make a huge difference.
This is the first time I have made romans like this...lined, with dowel pockets in the lining, wieghted at the bottom and three lined up in a row. I was thrilled with the finished product. Everything hung straight and level and the pattern in the fabric matched all the way across!
A lot of fun to make...except hand sewing on all the rings...OUCH! I think the girls bathroom needs some new roman shades!

The pictures of the blind down didn't turn out very well...BOO HOO

Back Burner

A few weeks ago, I mentioned greener pastures for us...well we have put the whole thing on the back burner.  After meeting with the realtor we have a clearer picture of the housing market and mortgage crisis. ...the housing market is in the potty, we would take a hit on our house, if we could sell it at all (only 3 houses in our price range, in our school district have sold in the last six months...UGH!!!!), we are heading into the holidays which is a TERRIBLE time to try to sell, not to mention try to keep the house tidy for showings.
So, we are going to revisit the move after the new year...from what we have learned, we are pretty confident the farm house isn't going to sell before then...all goes back to the mortage crisis. And if it should sell...then it wasn't meant to be!
My yard sale was rained out...so my dining room is still a mess. I am planning on dragging everything into the garage until the rescheduled date of the 31st, yes, Halloween as if yard sales are creepy enough!
Our house has no signs of fall in it that is my goal today! As usual...late to the party!

Yard Sale!

This  is the current state of my dining room. I am preparing for a yard sale on Saturday. This doesn't even scratch the surface of what will be out there for sale.

I have been going through every closet, drawer, and cabinet, if I don't LOVE it or if it is not imperative to our survival...it goes.

Furniture, clothes, shoes, window treatments, pictures, kitchen stuff, knick knacks, books, electronics...

and I have priced things to move because once it is out of the house it is NOT coming back in! I am considering selling my wedding gown...what do you think?

Thanks Preppy Sue for the tag...I am thrilled to play along!

So here are the rules:

You Can Only Use One Word!
Pass this along to 6 of your favorite bloggers!
Alert them that you have given them this award!

Have Fun!



1. Where is your cell phone? purse

2. Your hair? brown


3. Your mother? busy

4. Your father? retired

5. Your favorite food? Italian

6. Your dream last night? nada

7. Your favorite drink? wine

8. Your dream/goal?  simplify

9. What room are you in? office

10. Your hobby? sewing

11. Your fear? failure

12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? farm

13. Where were you last night? bedroom

14. Something that you aren’t? jealous

15. Muffins? pumpkin

16. Wish list item?  barn

17. Where did you grow up? Pennsylvania

18. Last thing you did? laundry

19. What are you wearing? pajamas

20. Your TV? off

21. Your pets? dog

22. Friends? true

23. Your life? full

24. Your mood? content

25. Missing someone? neice/nephew

26. Vehicle? Volvo

27. Something you’re not wearing?  shoes

28. Your favorite store? Target

29. Your favorite color? Green

30. When was the last time you laughed?  last night

31. Last time you cried? finish line

32. Your best friend? Matt

33. One place that I go to over and over? market

34. One person who emails me regularly? MIL

35. Favorite place to eat? Mom's

Tag your it!
        KERRY
        BEACHY
        BISCUITS
        LISAGH
        NEST
        LADYBUG

Cleveland

This past weekend we headed to Cleveland to visit MBM's college roommate and his wife. On Saturday, we all went to Cedar Point, it was fun and crowded...Lulu wasn't tall enough to ride most of the rides...total bummer for her!

Sunday, I ran my very first half marathon (13.1 miles) that was really fun! That's me heading toward the finish.

Still Distracted

No news is good news? I am not so sure about that. We are still in a holding pattern...waiting, waiting, waiting. I always pride myself on being patient, clearly, I am not as patient as I thought.

Here is the deal...MBM and I have always wanted a small farm with a "party barn" and over the years we have looked at a bunch.  They are either, too expensive, too much work needs to be done, etc... Well, we found one...that we love, the barn has been completely renovated (it is still a barn), the house needs some reno to make it work for a family of five (it currently has one bathroom), the acrege is doable, lots of wooded area, a pond, a stream,  an orchard, there is a two bedroom carriage house, it has been on the market for two years, the price not outrageous and we are pretty sure they would entertain a lower offer.

The hold up? Our current house...selling it for what it is worth...in this market...we just don't know. We had a realtor come yesterday, she said our house shows like a model home, that was nice, but, how much and how long will it take to sell...she is getting back to us tomorrow. Another realtor  is coming this afternoon, I am a bit sceptical of her, she gets the job done, but, if you are not on board with her marketing strategy (aka..shelling out nearly 1000 beans for inspections and appraisals, before putting on the market) then she is not interested in working with you. While I can, appreciate her strategy...we still need lots of questions answered. Like...how much? are there buyers out there? how long would she estimate it being on the market? (her average is something like 85 days)... we realize we are heading straight into a slow time, how will that affect us, etc.....

The not knowing if it is something we can do...IS KILLING ME!!!!!

So I am distracted...and do you know how hard it is to keep this house clean with a family of five....ANSWERS, I just want some answers. Even if it is not what I want to hear...so I can move on!

In the mean time: I delivered and installed these last week...love the print, she was willing to step just outside the box with me...

Valance over the kitchen sink

                                   

Faux Roman Shades in the eating area

Functioning flat panels on french doors