I had THE BEST President's Day/Valentines weekend. This post is going to be long with lots of photos because I don't want to forget this!
On Friday, I was able to go on a date with my sweetheart. Jaron took me to a Buffet (Thank you Shawni for the free tickets!) and I guiltlessly ate FOUR of their buckets of steamed crab and more cheese biscuits than I care to mention.
We sat, ate, and talked about our dreams of owning a farm and a whooooole bunch of land. We have been making it a priority to go on date nights once a week- and I have been loving it.
As for the rest of our Valentines Day mushiness.... Jaron surprised me with my favorite flowers, and a teddy bear for each of the kids. He also made me chocolate covered strawberries- my favorite!
Our sister and brother in law came down for the long weekend, so we spent a lot of time hanging out with them.
Saturday was spent outside. The weather was perfect. We built a firepit, and Grant helped Grandpa with the sprinklers.
Photographers- I CAN'T GET ENOUGH of back button focus. If you don't know what it is.. look into it. If you don't use it... start learning. It is seriously sooo fun! I love the action shots I am able to get now! Grant playing in puddles was perfect. Look at those little hobbit feet!
More rambling about back button focus... look at the sprinkler's water droplets! CRAZY. This is what happened when the sprinklers came on- Grant was surprised and so he pulled quite the face, then he tried catching the little water spritzes (I make up words?) with his hands.
Even Miss Saggy-Dipe Grace was able to play in the water for a bit!
There are a lot of other fun things that happened that didn't get pictured, like Marissa and I playing guitar & singing in the bathtub (killer acoustics), my nephew being hilariously delirious, playing Suck A Duck, our DELICIOUS trip to Even Steven's (GET THE RUBEN!), and the fire pit that we built.
On Monday, Kayli + Tyler and I decided to repurpose some old D-I art into giant chalkboards. We struck gold, and came home with tons of huge framed photos, puzzles and paintings.
I wanted my chalkboard to look really old, and really used. Kind of like it came from an 1800's schoolhouse or something. I went with classic red, because it is the cutest color that matches my puke green sectional that we bought on Craigslist a few years ago.
We went to Home Depot and bought Rust-E-Oleum Chalkboard Paint, Black Finish, and A few different colors of Chalky Finish Paint Stain.
This is the chalkboard that I was able to finish last night. Before and afters!
While we were at DI I also really wanted to find some old books to put in the Nook in my hallway. I have had such a hard time decorating it since we moved here, and I am so happy that it finally doesn't look so bare or awkward anymore! The books I found were perfect. The best $9 I ever spent.
I'm excited to use them for photo shoot props for my clients as well.
When you open these bad boys man- they smell like delicious, ancient, dusty, books and I LOVE it.
My nook is complete with my Willow Tree figures, old books, and my favorite picture of Christ.
Speaking of Kayli + Tyler.. I never got to post the amazing entryway shelf that Tyler made me for Christmas! HE MADE THAT. Amazing.
Empty frame I refinished that I took off a neighbor for free before she took it to DI (I love DI) my cute walmart clock and purple flowers to remind me of my best friend in Indiana.
This mirror window thing was actually my parents. My mom was also about to donate this to DI before I snatched it up. It was originally stained brown, but I refinished it to match my entryway shelf. I know, I have lots of Willow Tree Figures.. I actually have another in my bathroom lol. NO MORE.
This post is getting to be really random, but I couldn't post the entryway shelf without ALSO posting the cute shelves that Tyler made for Grant's toy room. These were Grant's birthday present- but it totally is more of a present for me! ;)
I am also in the process of refinishing my dining table and chairs. Look at the beautiful wood underneath that hideous 70's stain! I can't wait to see what they look like when they're done.
I love power tools.
I hope your long weekend was wonderful too!
-C