a fling

Yes, it's true. We've had a fling. It was glorious, and I don't regret it for one second... Until it was over, that is. I'm talking about Spring Break. It's such a tease. It gives us gorgeous weather, days to sleep in, work around the house and just enjoy BEING. By about Wednesday by brain had completely made the transition to vacation mode and I actually caught myself thinking that it was summer vacation. Yeah, wishful thinking. We return to school and real life tomorrow.

Still, I have no complaints (we all had 10 days off! - what do I have to complain about??) and we truly could not have asked for a better way to spend our days.

Here are few highlights...

We did this everyday. Even when it was a pleasant 75 degrees outside but the water was much (MUCH) colder. They played through the pain.

Kelly & I both logged many hours of physical labor. I had intended to take before & after pictures of everything, but didn't think that you'd be interested in seeing ALL the details. Day one & two were spent outside loping (love that word) tree branches and overgrown shrubs, pulling weeds and tending to outside projects.

We tackled many inside jobs, too. What was once this...

Became this...

The wall color looks different in the two pictures, but that's only due to lighting. (Just another reason I love 'Relaxed Khaki'. Oh, the versatility.) I still didn't get rid of that yellow. Next on the list.

We were very fortunate to acquire some new furniture pieces. New to us, anyway. A fellow baseball coach has 4 (count em, 4!) storage units full of stuff that he's just dying to get rid of. We helped him by taking a few things. There is more I want to go back for. I felt a little greedy. Especially they all came at the low price of free-ninety-nine!

This little chest of drawers now hold my "unmentionables". All she needed was a quick sanding and a clear coat of poly. I really love her. She doesn't match the other, much larger, dresser in the room, and I think he'll have to go soon. Looking for a replacement.

Isn't she pretty? A little bit country, but I'm still smitten.

We also got this lovely little side table. I sanded the top and wiped on my trusty poly, once again. A basket I already had fit perfectly. Again, a little country, but it works.

We also got a round dining room set which we put in the study. It's exactly the size and shape I was looking for to use as a homework/craft/game table. I didn't take a pic, since I haven't decided if I'm going to refinish it or not, but I'm totally stoked on it (oh, there's the California girl in me coming out!).

I also hung some art, a Pottery Barn memo board, and added to the mantel. Here's the view as you walk through the front door:

Birds are EVERYWHERE this season. I don't mean the real ones. Pottery Barn, Crate & Barrel and every design blog in the nation is featuring birds, nests & eggs. I really like it. Very seasonal. Mine only cost $1 - from the Dollar Tree. Chirp chirp.

I'm still tweaking the mantel. The left side:

We had some other transformations, too. Plain ol' white eggs turned into this, with the help of Claire & Nolan:

The next day, they looked like this:

Yum! I learned something about myself, too. While I love carrot cake, one slice is enough for me. So when I made an entire 2-layer cake, it was a bit of overkill. Not to mention, I under baked the layers and they sunk in the middle. I enjoyed my piece anyway...

I mean, who wouldn't, with all that ooey, gooey, sickening sweet cream cheese icing?

So now we're just counting down the days until June, when our real vacation begins. Spring Fever anyone??