We're making progress on the unpacking. The kitchen is done. The dining & family rooms are done-ish. And Anna's room is done. Mostly, I'm in the stage of unpacking and just plopping things somewhere. Anywhere. The real organization and beautifying and decorating will come later.
But for now, here is a preview of what's going on around here. (photos were taken on Saturday)
The kids and I spent a few hours on saturday cleaning up the front porch and weeding about half of the backyard (there are a lot of weeds). That big black thing on the left is a giant spider web for Halloween.
Mat from Target
The kids have had fun placing these spiders in half-hidden locations. My favorite was when I came out of the bathroom to find one right outside the door.
The neighborhood. We feel pretty lucky to have snagged a house here. Great area. Great schools. Great location. Every yard is well kept. The neighborhood is quiet. One of those places that you feel will hold it's value for a long time.
This has become Conner's homework table. We bought this table 6 years ago but this is the first time that we have ever put the leaf in! It will be a great table & space for holiday dinners.
My new table from West Elm! I love it! It's from their Mix & Match line -- stainless steel top + industrial steel base. I haven't decided what kind of chairs I want to get, so for now it's the Costco folding chair special.
Somehow this room is quickly becoming the man cave -- giant tv, lots of dark furniture. I need to add some color and a fun rug to bring some balance! Nothing has struck me quite yet. For now it's simmering.
I love that our backyard has several areas that can serve different purposes. As for this table & chair set . . . I'm afraid that the hot sun (on black metal) will be deadly during the summertime. I have visions of a spray paint project . . . colors to be determined.
After all of our work on Saturday the kids went swimming. Not for long, but they swam on October 20th! It was a nice 86 degrees outside.
A few more notes:
*I unpacked the entire kitchen and only found 2 broken dishes -- a vase, and the handle off a casserole dish from Crate & Barrel.
*Payton has been elbow-deep in Legos ever since they came out of the box on Wednesday.
*Yesterday we had 4 new toilets installed in the house. There were issues & a yuck factor with the old ones. Is it weird to think that a new toilet is pretty?
*Our handyman also installed a new ceiling fan in the master bedroom (sorry, but the broken banana leaf fan was not going to work) and a new faucet in the master bath (the previous one was also broken).
*I went to the pool store and bought chlorine and shock for the pool. My family has had a pool since I was 6, but the maintenance always went to my brothers or my parents. Looks like it's time for me to learn! Next week I'll visit the pool store again and get my pH testing strips. Oh, ya.
*Scott was able to clear a spot in the garage yesterday for my van to park. We have a 3-car garage, but it is currently full of stuff. And cardboard. And things that need to go to Goodwill. That's a big project all on it's own.
*We have attended church twice in our new ward and the people have been very welcoming. It has also been fun for the kids to go to church and recognize friends & classmates from school.
*Did I ever tell you about the dead cat head that we found in the backyard? Yep, just the head. It was sooooo gross. Mostly decomposed, but the face was still on there. Blegh - shivers. Scott threw it over the fence for the friendly walkers/joggers to find.
*And then a week later we found a dead bird. The kids have come up with all sorts of theories/stories to make sense of the multiple animal deaths in our yard. Let's hope these were the last!
Next on the agenda for the house: window coverings & pest control
