Goodbye ice-cream

A couple of nights ago we shared some goodbye ice-creams with my friend Lisa and her family.  Lisa and I met at church and became good friends.  She's a fellow mommy, lover of Anne of Green Gables, and blogger.

She also has two adorable kids who are always so sweet to Baby Chuck.    

We're going to miss them lots and lots and lots.

Hubby alters lockers

With only a week left to go, we've been making our last trips to the thrift stores to stock up on furniture before our move back East.  (Sure, they have a lot of great stuff in New Jersey and New York, but everything is just a lot more affordable here.)  

Last weekend hubby spotted two lockers at a thrift store.  Here's what a locker looked like: 

(We didn't bring our camera, so I borrowed this photo of a similar locker from here)

Hubby really liked their industrial feel and thought they could replace for our current television stand.  (Now that Baby Chuck is starting to move around, he tries to grab the books, plates, and wires sitting on that thing.)  I was a bit skeptical about the lockers.  Would they look good with our big green sofa?  Does metal "go" with tufted buttons and curvy white feet?

After lots of back and forth discussion, we decided to get the two pieces on one condition:  hubby would modify them according to my specifications.  Lucky for me, he agreed.

I wanted to soften up the pieces and make them more quirky.  So, I asked hubby to spray paint the front panels white and change the door locks to drawer handles.  Here's the final result of hubby's labor:

Note:  This is hubby's first time spray painting!  He said it was lot of fun and easier than painting with a brush.

I really like how the pieces turned out.  They look modern and playful.
Hubby is a superdeedooper diy-er!

Doggie doctor visit

Lately Charlie hasn't been feeling too well.  He's been lethargic,disinterested in his food, and having accidents in our apartment.  The vet diagnosed him as having a urinary tract infection.  So far we've tried two types of antibiotics and neither one seemed to help.  Today we're taking him in for an x-ray.

Hopefully they'll figure out what's wrong.

Update:  The results were inconclusive.  The vet doesn't know what's wrong.. so we're now debating our options...

Goodbye dinner

This weekend a friend threw a wonderful goodbye dinner for a couple of us that were leaving.  It was a lovely evening, full of good food and good conversation.  I enjoyed the company and felt sad when the night was over. 

Baby Chuck meets Baby Isaac

The hostesses topped cupcakes with marshmallow flowers.  Aren't they amazing?  Don't tell them... but I'm going to copy their idea... muah ha ha.

Wait a moment...you're not Charlie!

It's finally hitting me.
We're leaving soon.

I keep repeating this Dr. Seuss quote to myself:  "Don't cry because it's over.  Smile because it happened."

Hubby alters a dress

I've learned something this weekend:  I am a craft planner and hubby is a craft doer.  I have tons of ideas about what I want to make or how I can upcycle thrifted items.  However, I only try out about 10% of my ideas because I get stuck in the planning stage.  My poor ideas end up sitting in idea purgatory.  Hubby, on the other hand, takes only a couple of moments to plan and then he just dives in.  A few hours later, he's done and onto the next thing.

I'm fortunate to be married to someone like that.  I admire his "can-do-what-the-heck-I-will-do" attitude.  Whether he succeeds or fails, he inevitably learns something in the process.  I also rely on him to help bring my craft ideas to life.  For example, he helped me hem a pair of polka dot shorts.

This weekend, hubby helped me resize and hem a thrifted dress.  The dress was initially a couple sizes too large, but I purchased it anyway because I saw potential.  This weekend hubby finally tackled the challenge.  He pinned and sewed and after an hour my dress transformed from frumpy to fitted. 

 I was ecstatic. 

Note: As you can see from the background... we've been delinquent about packing.... eek! 

Happy father's day

Dear Dads of the world,

You rock.  

Love,

me

Photos via Tito Ric and Tita Tina

Goodbye family!

I think Baby Chuck is already missing everyone.  
Thankfully these goodbyes are only temporary.



Thanks Tito Ric for this lovely bouquetlishious photo

It's Friday?

Where has the time gone?  Can you believe that we only have about a week and a half left before we move back East?  Eek!

We had such great momentum before the yard sale.  We were sorting stuff, tossing out stuff, and donating stuff.  After the yard sale I just let things slide.  We're a tad bit behind on packing (we currently only have one box packed.) But that's all going to change this weekend.  Now that a kind friend gave us a ton of moving boxes, we're going to be busy bees and pack a whole bunch of stuff... after we go thrifting with family...and hang out with friends.... and celebrate Father's day.....

It will get done, I promise!

Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Critter Barn

Yesterday we took our family around downtown Holland.  We enjoyed popping in and out of the shops and eating yummy sweets.  We also enjoyed seeing the Critter Barn animals in Centennial Park. 

Baby Chuck and I are trying to convince hubby to buy some chickens...or maybe a goat?   The goat could help mow the lawn.  I'll let you know how that goes.

Funny bunny

Pat the bunny

Oooh, chickens!

Big brain?  Or big hair?

Feel the soft fluffy chick

A future farmer

Do goats eat tires?

Bucket list- Lake Michigan

Our family made the 15 hour trek from NJ to Michigan.  We welcomed them with a picnic at the beach.  It was Baby Chuck, Auntie Ana, and Uncle Richie's first time seeing beautiful Lake Michigan.

I think they liked it a lot. 

Photos c/o hubby and Tita Tina

Bucket list- Garage sale success!

They came like swarms of locusts, devouring all of our items. 

Bucket list- Garage sale

It's finally garage sale day! Today we're co-hosting a garage sale at our friend's house.  Hubby and I spent last night packing everything into our car and driving the stuff over.  (It felt like we were playing a really really big game of tetris.)  I really didn't think we had that much stuff to sell, but our poor car was packed to the brim and completely weighed down.  Luckily we were able to squeeze everything in.    

Cross your fingers for us!  We're hoping for a good turn out and some sunny weather. 
    

Organized chaos

Things are picking up around here.  

We're currently in the midst of packing our stuff, purchasing new furniture, and preparing for our first ever yard sale this Saturday.

Bucket list- Berry picking

A couple of days ago, I helped a friend weed and harvest strawberries from her backyard garden. 
 

 

They were delicious and tasted like summer.

Mission accomplished

Last week hubby went back East to find housing for us.  

Baby Chuck, Charlie, and I missed him very much.  

We're ecstatic that he's finally coming home today.   

We're also thankful that we finally have somewhere to live.  

Let the countdown begin

Our move-out date is about a month away.

I'm really sad that we're leaving Holland.

But, I look forward to seeing Baby Chuck growing up with his family.   

 

Thanks for the photos Esther!