Buzzed

We live in the middle of the cornfields. 

And soybeans.

But this is about the corn.

This is the view from our living room window.

Our front yard, dogwoods that are only a few feet tall, the gravel road, and fields.

But what's that in the sky?

Why, a crop duster, of course! 

The soybean field in the foreground doesn't need to be sprayed, it's the corn on the horizon that's the target.

And the duster?

It was THIS CLOSE!

Just kidding. I cropped this picture.

And yes, I took them from inside the house, just like here. Don't judge!

But really, he was circling around right over our house!

  

Here he is again, headed south to buzz the field.

See it? That field is about half a mile away. 

I like to watch the dusters cuz they fly so low!

But when they fly right over the house, it wakes up my nappers. 

No thank you!

Wingbacks at the Table

I hate to admit it,

but sometimes I'm influenced by blogs, pretty magazines and yes, pinterest. 

One of the latest trends I've seen is using wingback chairs at the dining table.

Here's some eye-candy illustrating said trend:

Source: caitlinwilsondesign.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Source: cocokelley.blogspot.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

Delicious, right?!

Well, I just bought some wingbacks second-hand. Hence the mauve.

(The story and inspiration pictures are in this post.)

So I pulled one of my new chairs up to the kitchen table today.

Not a bad look! But I felt like a 4-year-old!

Seriously, what's the deal? 

How do these fancy people with wingbacks at the table actually eat when the table goes up to their armpits? Is it just me? Do I not realize how short I am? Are there special Wingback Chairs: Dining Room Edition?

For now, my wingbacks are going back to my living room.

For us short people.

I couldn't resist! This little guy is 2 months old. I adore each scrumptious little roll.

Yum!

Summer Storm

Summer around here means heat, humidity and frequent storms. 

This front rolled by this morning.

See that tiny barn on the left? 

Those are our closest neighbors, just under half a mile to our west.

If there wasn't the threat of tornadoes or damaging winds like this storm just over two weeks ago, I might find these storms more enjoyable.

(There's crazy amounts of damage from that storm--seriously, go check it out!)

Pretty dark, eh?

This is the view northwest and the corner of our property.

That's a lilac bush to the left (that didn't bloom this year!!!) and hybrid willows along the property line in the back. The tree? I think it's a black locust.

Here's the view to the west. Love that old shade tree!

Our garden is that weedy mess in the foreground and more willows along the gray horizon.

This is westish, south some. Technical! 

What? You noticed the grid on all the pictures? Oh dear. 

Ok, fine, I'll admit, I took these pictures through the windows. 

WHAT?!

I have three kids, man! And a storm was coming! We were not all going outside!

Sheesh.

Oh, look, north again! There's the barn that looks cool and serves no other purpose.

That white pole is the clothesline that I never use. 

I'd like to.

Again with the 3 kids excuse.

You try carrying a heavy basket of wet laundry and a 2-month-old!

But we're talking about the scary gray clouds! Yes, aren't they?!

Nice layering of grays! Can't you just hear the thunder?

To see another storm post from last summer, go here. I may have gotten outside for those pictures. Go me! (I only had 2 kids then...)

Oh, wait, I just read through that post and it says my husband took the pictures. 

Sigh. Yeah, they don't let me out much. 

Nursery Reveal: Closet

The closet in the nursery is cute, efficient and organized AND I did it for free! 

Wanna see? Of course you do!

Isn't that a cute, clean space?! I love how it turned out.

I asked my ever-capable husband to take the sliding doors off of the closet to open up the room a little more. He thought I was crazy, of course, but did it anyway. 

I used some leftover paint from my older boys' room and added white to it to get it the shade I wanted. I like that it's not the same as the wall color in the rest of the room.

After sorting and organizing baby clothes, most of which fit into this dresser, I needed some storage bins for the top of the closet. I downsized some of my old things (including a bin of clothes from my freshman year in college. 1994. Why did I keep them?!) and added them to the closet. The one on the left is for baby extras--the bumbo chair, training potty, a mobile for the bouncy chair... you know how it is. The one on the right is for clothes as he outgrows them. The little bin in the middle holds some keepsakes and parenting books.

Baby's clothes take up just half of the hanging rod. I have his current size and season as well as some things to transition into for fall. His winter clothes are in storage in the basement, as well as next summer's clothes. Most of these clothes were given to us for our first son, but are just as adorable the third time around!

My dad made this bookshelf for me and my brother when we were little. I sanded it down and stained it walnut. 

The white baskets are from Target over 10 years ago--who knew that one day they would house baby toys for my third son?!

I had a Classic Pooh theme for my two older boys--though not in the same house. Each son has gotten a completely different look in his room! The cherubs in the Pooh frame are none other than myself and my husband. 

This Pooh was from my brother while I was in college and the storybook collection was from a friend in college. 

In case you were wondering, the curtain hanging in the closet is actually a quilt. I hung it using a shower curtain tension rod and safety pins.

My 2- and 4-year-olds like to close the curtain/quilt and hide! They can easily do that as the tie has a velcro closure.

The quilt is from the Transportation by Tiddliwinks collection sold by Target a few years ago. I believe it has been discontinued, but things are still available through ebay. I got the crib bedding through craigslist for a steal! 

I know, that's not part of the closet, but I started talking about the bedding... 

I have three more fun projects to do before the final reveal. If you missed the gallery wall, go check it out! To see my older boys' uber-organized closet, go here! 

Hope you enjoyed seeing the cute, efficient, organized and FREE closet!

 

Nursery Reveal: Gallery Wall

I posted this on Facebook yesterday:

It's hard to get projects done around my real job!

I'm sure all you moms out there know what I'm talking about. You wouldn't think it would take several days to get a few things hung on a wall, but it did for me this week. It seemed there was never a chunk of time to get it done!

Guess how much this gallery wall cost? No? Ok, I'll tell you! $1!!

I know, I know, major blogger faux pas--nighttime pictures. Please refer to above paragraph!

I also use a point-and-shoot camera! Another faux pas! 

I really like how this gallery wall came together. And all for $1!

Oh, look! Daylight pictures! Yeah, my flash still went off and the blue looks too blue.

My husband made this star for our first married Christmas tree. Aw... 

I like the natural element and the texture it brings.

This is a Creative Memories item. I'm using it for a calendar to mark all of baby's firsts. 

(I have to admit, I'm not doing so well keeping up on this! Third child syndrome!)

I love the idea of displaying a special outfit as art! So cute!

I chose this tan knit Wendy Bellissimo puppy outfit to bring some warmth to the wall. This outfit was a gift from my dad and his wife for our oldest. I just hung the hanger from a loop of ribbon attached to the back of the picture frame--nothing permanent. I plan to switch it to something else if and when the mood strikes.

This is where I spent the big bucks. A whole dollar! At the one yard sale I've been to all summer.

First I gave the frame a couple coats of spray paint (it was brown), then I threaded twine thru the staples sticking out of the back of the frame. You know, the ones that should be holding the glass, the photo or art, and the back of the frame together? The ones that kill your fingers when you decide to pry them off to switch out the picture? Yeah, those!

I've had this little star mirror for longer than I've had kids. It's painted metal of some kind--tin? My Mom bought it at our favorite coffee shop near her old house. Where she still lived when she bought it. Where we all used to live, like, when we were still kids. 

This lovely piece of fencing will soon display baby's name. At this point in the game, all I wanted to do was get. everything. on. the. wall. Now.

This piece is a couple inches deep and opens up. There are little hooks inside for keys. Before it found a home in the nursery, it was in storage for a few years. Before that, I used it in my condo during my single days. Before that, my BFF/SIL used it in her apartment. Before that it was for sale somewhere. Ross? Before that it was probably made is some factory with special attention to making it look old and shabby... Even though it was brand new. Hmm.

So there you have my nursery gallery wall for $1!

And I can get a good night's sleep knowing I got a project done today!

I love my real job.