One Reason to Love Wisconsin

Frozen custard.  Possibly the two most delicious words in the dictionary. 

Google Culver's and you'll find a Wisconsin mainstay.  My kids have become big fans.  It's impossible for them not to.

So I stopped for a sundae while running a thousand errands with the big boys. 

This Looks Like An Ad

I may have had a chocolate malt.  And I may have hit multiple Targets during the errand run. 

Disclaimer: I still have four months to go before the bullseye hits Canada...

Fun With Frugality

Haircuts. 

$15 each.  x 3 boys.  Plus tip.  = $50.

Before

At that price, I drag my heels and let the hair get out of hand. 

Then my star of a sister-in-law says she cuts my nephew's hair.  And if she can do it, I can do it, too.  All I need is the $20 kit from Costco. 

But use her's first as a trial run.

After x 3

Looks like I'll be saving that $50.  And those hairs won't be out of hand anymore...!

Man Down

This happened on Wednesday.

The exact quote was, "I totally underestimated this surgery."

So did I.

Who knew a pumpkin could land you in a hospital.  And that a tendon reattachment would be so involved.  We'll be plugging in fake jack-o'-lanterns for the rest of time.

Until then, we have 8 weeks of physio after a follow up consult on Tuesday after we drive 10 hours tomorrow for an extended Thanksgiving holiday.  Steve included...he's flying back home for work and doctor before re-joining us in time for turkey.

So, since I've just been managing to cover the bases here at home without much time to blog, I'm looking forward to a bit of downtime with my side of the family.

And maybe some small projects at my mom's house...you never know when opportunity strikes!?

A Cozier Basement

I love our basement.  Henry's recent birthday party weekend marked the one year anniversary of the ginormous renovation's completion.  Every time we're down there, we marvel at the transformation.  Love.

Suddenly, with a month to go before the big party, I realized we hadn't done much to "finish" the space since Henry's last party.  We needed artwork on the walls.  But since the basement is the gem of the house, we're careful what makes it down.

Enter Etsy.

Before

After

We fell in love with the map art prints the moment we saw them.  And they're personal.

It's A Story

Steve and I met in NYC, we spend a weekend every summer in Chicago...

...and I'm from Milwaukee.  Born and raised.  Go Packers.

Our first choice was to have Toronto in the mix because that's where we live.  But because of the way the city is laid out, it was only offered in landscape (instead of portrait like above).  That threw a wrench in the whole layout of the wall.  I asked the seller if he could manipulate it into portrait, but he couldn't.  Instead, he sent me the three cities above and surprised me by throwing in Toronto for free.

Could I love the artwork any more?

Cozy Couch

I also bit the bullet and grabbed some raw silk pillows and a favorite throw from West Elm.  It was an impulse purchase.  I knew I could return them for sure.  But they're staying. 

The throw was on sale, and since I have one in the living room, I knew I'd like it in the basement, too.  The pillows were in the right place at the right time.  I can't tell you how long I've been looking, and suddenly they jumped into my arms.  The color compliments the grey in the bathroom.  No pattern, just textured.  Perfect. 

My favorite is the view I have coming down the basement stairs. 

That couch is finally calling my name...


*Thank you to MrCityPrinting for the beautiful artwork and the extra Toronto print...we're still looking for the perfect spot to hang it and I'll let you know when we do!*

Our Halloween: Rain, Sirens and the ER

But don't freak out...they weren't in that order.

Phew!!

Back up.

Halloween is a bit of a milestone for this blog.  One year ago today, I posted for the first time!  Who could forget those faces...

Halloween 2011

And one year later...

Halloween 2012

I started the day by getting the house all spooky.  Nothing like leaving it 'til the last minute.

Done During Naptime

When the boys came home from their after school program, it was quite a surprise.  So it made last minute feel special.  At least that's what I tell myself.

Another surprise?  Coming home to a husband who carved his hand while doing last minute pumpkins.  Yup.  This is the ER part. 

We all hopped (back) in the car, drove to Mt. Sinai emergency, dropped daddy off and sat in traffic on the way back home to trick-or-treat. 

In the rain.

WET

This shot of the boys is not the highlight.  That bullet through the frame is...it's a raindrop.  And we got hit by many of them.  But I had to make good on my promise to go around our whole, huge bigger-than-a-normal-city-block-because-this-is-the-annex block and finish at the fire house. 

Who wouldn't love trick-or-treating at the fire house!?

So we pressed on.

With George in tow.

Poor guy was supposed to stay at home with daddy.  Instead, he tagged along strapped into his stroller.  I just couldn't let him toddle around.  Not in the rain with his older brothers sprinting from house to house.  At least they hit up the neighbors for candy on his behalf.

In Action

Henry got a few raised eyebrows when he asked for a second helping.  But when neighbors spotted the caged tiger, they gave extra. 

Cold!

Who could deny those red raw numb hands?

Rounding the corner on the homestretch to the firefighters, we stopped in at a few more houses.  Only the ones that were brightly lit and on the way.  The bags were getting heavy.

Our final house was the one next door to the firehouse.  As soon as she opened the door and the kids yelled "Trick or Treat!" we saw this:

Noooo!

The garage door opened, full lights went on and the siren started blaring.  They left. 

Par for the course. 

So instead of our regular picture with firefighters who gave out tootsie roll pops, we have a picture with the closed garage door.

Better Than Nothing

Again.  Awful picture.  But a great memory.

As soon as that picture was snapped, we hightailed it home.  I couldn't feel my fingers anymore and George wanted out of the stroller.  The boys ran behind me to catch up...

LOOT!

At our house, I let the kids gorge themselves when they get home.  They get that one big night.  After that, the candy magically disappears.  Usually overnight.  Few questions asked.

Jake went right for the chips.

Henry ditched his costume immediately and tried to jump in his bag.

George followed in his brother's footsteps...CHIPS!

We left our house lit while the gorging ensued.

Mummies on the Steps!

There were a few more visitors to the door, but most had come and gone.

Honesty Policy

The rain must have dampered attendance.  Normally that bowl is empty. 

Once all 3 were in bed, I cleaned up the wrappers.  This is probably a record year.

Demolished

Also a record?  Steve's wait time in the ER.  He saw people who came in after him get attended to and leave before he was even looked at....!!!

Four hours after being dropped off, his hand was wrapped up.  And papers were in his hand with information to contact the hand clinic.  The tendon in his pinky was severed.  Next comes surgery and physio.

Love

So I did what any loving wife would do.  As soon as his cab pulled up, I poured him a glass of wine and chose the best piece of chocolate from the evening to ease his pain while the painkillers set in. 

Yep, this halloween is one for the record books.  Literally. 

I'm Not Crafty - Mummy Mason Jars

I am the opposite of crafty.  I can't do it.  I'm terrified of it.  My kids love it.

So imagine my smiling face when I found this post from a fellow Canadian (Toronto!) blogger who described the easiest halloween craft known to man.

Mummies!

It involves mason jars, tape, googly eyes, gauze and glue.  That's it.  Really.

Jen's step-by-step instructions are amazing - they show you just how easy this craft really is.  Combine that with the local dollar store and you're laughing. 

Or oooh-ing and aaaah-ing like George every time he walks by them...

Happy Halloween!!

Dining Room Done

There's another room in our house that got the finish treatment.  At least, finished until we rip down the walls.  Eeek!

Behold, the dining room.

Picasso!

Let me just say, it took over 10 years for me to frame those prints.  10.  years.  plus.  But it was well worth the wait, because they look amazing over the storage cabinets.  And there's nothing like more Spain in the house!

Since I'm officially calling this room done, here's a look back on how far it's come.

Before - Green

To be fair, this should really be a "during" picture because this room was a disaster before I started my blog...but here's where I started sharing pictures of it.

During - Cloud White

Then we painted it BM Cloud White like the current majority of our house.  (The color is second to none)

During - Storage

When guests were imminent, we moved the antique jelly cabinet up and an Ikea Expedit down.  I bought a second Expedit to balance the room out.  And splurged on bins.  That's a joke.

After - Ta Da!

Combine the artwork investment with the Ikea Expedits and fabric bins...and you've got a nice looking set up.  It really frames the living room when you walk through from the kitchen. 

We've half-heartedly joked that maybe we don't need to renovate.  But the truth is, we've yet to eat in this room since cleaning it up a year ago.  We stay in the updated eat-in-kitchen for 100% of our meals.  Our new floor plan will eliminate "repeated space" and turn this into a much better use of square footage. 

Let's see that before and after one more time...

Before

After

Not too bad, if I do say so myself!