Camp Happy.

This weekend we took a whole gang load of kids camping. I have to be honest when I say that I was doubtful of this trip for two reasons, the weather and sleeping. But I was wrong. The weather was perfect and the sleeping was a breeze! 

O spent a good hour inside the tent when we got there. He just loved it so much and needed to inspect it.

We did a little hiking and found a river to dip our toes in. The kids just played their hearts out with bubbles and dinosaur chases. It was so much fun!

We finished the evening off with a very long and very serious marshmallow roast. These boys couldn't have been happier. It's such a simple treat that really made their night!

I do not take any credit for the ease of this trip as we were with some seasoned family campers but it really was so easy. The site was nice and secluded but the cars weren't far away. Between the six families we had each other covered, bubbles, trucks, a kids only tent...it was a great weekend. I hope you had a good one too!

In the Details: The Master Bath.

It is very likely that one day soon, this post will serve at the before photos. Our charming little master bathroom is day by day providing us with new challenges. First the toilet, then the sink, and now the shower. We are hoping that we can fix this shower too but things are looking drippy right now so it's a toss up.

The room is nice and bright and we love all of the white tiling too. I'm just hoping that we aren't on our way to a total shower demo because we don't have another one right now and I truly don't like baths. 

We've rehung my favorite Rise and Shine poster and the little details throughout do make for a nice room. This shortened post is brought to you by my impatient child. Have a good day!

Sunday Funday.

It was gloriously sunny here yesterday despite the chilly temperatures and we took full advantage of our day off. Lately our weekends are torn between family fun time and get sh*t done time and it's hard to decide what's best sometimes. So this weekend we did a good balance of both. Yesterday was the Earth Day festival so we took Little Man to the Cuyahoga County Fairgrounds to see what was up, and of course I took lots of photos.

We learned a little bit about animals, clothing recycling, and rain water. We pet an adorable baby goat (I mean seriously, look at those goats!), danced at the drum circle, and ate from food trucks. But I don't think that a thing in the world could have topped the two dollar ride on the carousel. He spotted it from afar and set his sights on getting on it. There were a few tears when it wasn't his turn to get on and then again when it was time to get off, but that's a two year old for you. Here's to a good week for all of you!

Not So Pretty in Pink: Before and After.

I have to start of by saying that this entire post is pretty trite in the wake of the Boston news. I am holding my friends and their friends in Boston in my thoughts, what I nightmare.

This is the last photo I will ever show you of the pink room, I promise. Look at this rosy cheeked little helper. He was eager to climb the ladder but it turns out that his painting skills are subpar so we sent him off to bed and powered through this room. Truthfully, we got the primer up and then had to stop for about four days before we had time and energy to power through.

So last Friday night we did it up real good. We put on our sweats, grabbed some brushes and painted this room!

We found the color through a home tour on Design Sponge and fell in love with it! Originally we wanted it for our bedroom but it was just too dark. I thought I had to let it go. Then JJ had the vision for the dining room and it's so awesome!

Here are some details of the room that I once disliked with the pink but now think look really great. The ornate fixtures clashed so much with the previous color that it was hard to take them seriously. But once the new shades were up they suddenly looked classic.

We are still in the process of decorating and clearing things out but it's looking better everyday. I attempted to get curtains for the big french doors that open to the street but wasn't in love with anything and was told not to force it. So instead, I picked up this cool gold vase as inspiration. I hope you like our new room. Happy Friday!!

Cashew Heaven.

The newest addition to our morning smoothie routine has been cashew milk. I started making it to substitute dairy, not really because I don't want dairy but more because whenever I buy a large container of yogurt we don't finish it, all small containers get eaten with no problem, go figure. Have you ever made homemade cashew milk? It's tasty and really add some healthy bulk to our meal and I like the creaminess of it too!

There are loads of recipes out there to choose from. Some tell you to add a pinch of sea salt and a splash of vanilla. Some suggest a bit of agave for sweetener. But I just use it plain since I only use in my smoothies and not for drinking. Here's how you make it.

Ingredients
1 cup of raw cashews soaked in water overnight
3 cups of water

Dump and rinse the cashews that were soaked. Add cashews and 3 cups of water to the blender and blend until smooth, 1-2 minutes. We decided that we like the cashew milk better than almond but you can basically use the same recipe for almonds. You use have to strain it through a fine mesh sieve or through cheese cloth. Add to your smoothie and enjoy a rich and healthy morning!

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In the House.

I hope that you are ready for nothing but house updates on here for a little while! We are deep in the thick of things and are finally seeing some results so I don't know if I can hold back! We've mostly been painting and unpacking but this weekend we really got some things settled and it feels good!

This pinkness is now officially gone and I can't wait to share the before and after with you! The new colors is so awesome I can hardly stand it. Oliver's room is almost done so that will be a fun reveal soon too! Like I said I'm ready to bombard you.

Not to worry, we haven't kept the boy cooped up during all of this. We've been out and about checking out the hood, hiking at the lakes, and checking out some fun Cleveland events that I'll share this week too! Have a happy, happy Monday! With an extra special mention to our favorite lady, happy birthday Mama!

Alive and Well

I went missing from the face of this blog. Moving kicked our butts, we didn't have internet, oh and we are settling into our amazing new space. But I am back and here to assure you that we are alive and well. It's unbelievable how happy we are in the new house, the extra space has more than made up for the very close quarters of the apartment. The weather is warming and there is just a whole lot to do. These boxes don't unpack themselves and this move is completely different from our move to Kingston. There's a little guy running around now in need of 99% of our attention so settling in is harder than I imagined. He goes upstairs, I unpack in our room for five minutes. He wants to go back downstairs so I unpack for ten minutes in the kitchen, repeat. Add in some outside time and that's our day. No bother really, we have thirty years to get it right. Here are a few snapshots of my favorite spaces around this new place.

The staircase is so lovely and surrounded by some old school damask wallpaper. This little one has regained his confidence on stairs so up and down he goes. When we saw the house there was this perfect red rotary phone in the phone closet. So naturally we asked to keep it. 

The playroom gets the best sun all day long. I have coffee, he plays with trains and trucks, and the sun shines on in.

Our shower stall is a little odd. It has lots of handles but only two of them work (there are a few more not pictured). But my favorite thing is the one that controls the temperature. It reads "Hot, Warm, Cold, Shut." The shut part makes my morning.

I'll save a photo of the new studio for when it's a bit more photo-ready. So last but not least, the backyard. It comes equipped with a friendly neighbor cat that O squeals with joy over whenever he sees it. Happy Friday, friends! I've missed you!