Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

One of the many things I love about my husband is that he not only tolerates, but supports and encourages me to pick up things off the side of the road.  Imagine my delight when he came home with this ugly ass mirror...

He pulled it our a garbage can.  The things we do for love...  

Other than the light oak colored laminate and fake marble pieces (see below for picture), this baby had some real potential.  It is huge and has a nice shape to it.  I hoped a little spray paint could fix her right up.  But I was also knew there was the chance that no amount of spray paint could save this puppy.  Since the  mirror was free and spray paint is only $4 a can, I decided to go for it.

 

 Yes, those would be laminate counter top bits on top...  Oh my...

 

I started by wiping everything down really well and tapping newspaper over the actual mirror.  And then it was time for Valspar's metallic silver spray paint.

It only took a few coats to make this baby look good as new.  It even covered the laminate counter bits perfectly.  Having the frame in just one color (not two different types of laminate and metal) made a huge difference- it looks much more cohesive. 

And then it was time to hang it.  I forgot to take pictures of the mirror that was in this spot before, but don't worry it has a new home. 

I love that the mirror has similar detailing as the sideboard.  And  the scale of the mirror is much more appropriate based on how big the side board is.

Anyone else redeem a piece with some spray paint?

Whose Your Favorite Pollinator?

Baby G isn't the only new addition (to-be) in our household.  The story goes like this...  My dad has been keeping bees in his backyard for several years.  After seeing how enjoyment he get's out of his insects and knowing how much the world needs more honeybees, Seth and I mentioned that we would be interested in doing a little keeping of our own.  So for Christmas, Dad graciously gifted us with a hive body, frames, and the rest of the stuff we needed to get started.  We got everything set up and in late April, Dad delivered some bees.  We got a queen (pretty important) and I think around 200 bees to assist her.  In my ever growing state, I have not played such an active part in the bee keeping process.  Luckily, Seth has taken to it and last weekend, he opened up the hive to check around.

Seth got the smoker all started and opened up the hive.  The bees were none to pleased.  The smoker is important because they smoke calms the bees down a bit (basically it gets them a little high).  This is crucial for a sting free process.

Inside the hive body, we have frames for the bees to build comb on and store honey.  Sometimes, they build in places they shouldn't, like the top of the box.

Sweet little bees...

When they build where they aren't supposed to, Seth gets to scrape away the comb.  If you leave the comb near the hive, the worker bees will come and pull all the good stuff out and return it to the hive.  Its pretty cool.

Pure, raw, honey!  We do plan to harvest our honey.  The hive needs time to be well established, so it will probably be a year before we are able to do that.

Hive maintenance also calls for pulling out the frames to see how full they are.  This one is getting there.

This frame is almost full.  Once all the frames are full, we will add another hive body on top.  This helps prevent the hive from breaking into two and swarming. 

And there you have it- bee keeping as narrated by me.  There are way more technical terms for all this and probably a bunch of stuff I am leaving out.  Overall, bee keeping is relatively simple and honey bees are badly needed.  PSA: Everyone go get a hive.  Now.  But really, they are easy and beneficial. 

Storms Coming

Storm door that is...  Sorry, I couldn't resist the batman reference (Seth is way too excited about the new one). 
On with the point, if you remember, our house has two front doors and no back door.  Both front doors have storm doors, which is nice because it lets us leave the doors open when we are home (more light and air flow).  The first front door got updated when Oliver broke through it about a year ago.  Long story short, my dad brought his dog, Bishop, over to see if all the puppies could be friends.  It seems Oliver thought he had enough friends and decided that Bishop must die.  Seeing as how we didn't want Bishop to die, we put Oliver inside.  He jumped on the door, smashed through it, cutting his chin in the process.  Much blood and chaos ensued.  The good news is no puppy (or human) was too badly injured and we got a new storm door out of the whole thing.

So this weekend, Seth and I (Seth) really got around to updating the other door.  The old door was in bad shape:

Please note two features:  One the obvious dent in the bottom of the door.  I'm not sure where that came from, but it's not attractive.  Two, if you look right above the dent, you can see where the screen in torn and Seth sewed it back together.  We figured out that Ava could fit through the hole in the screen (there's another fun animal story), so we tried stitching up the screen.  That didn't work so well, so we generally left the screen closed, meaning no air flow. 

So a trip to Lowes and a few hours late, we had this:

Major improvement right?  So much nicer, more secure, and we can open the screen.  AND it matches the other front door...

A major YAY if I do say so myself.  AND a big thank you to my hubby for his work on getting the new door in.

mushy mushy

So apparently there was a big old wonderful wedding this morning...  And no, my sleep deprived self didn't join the hordes up at ungodly hours to watch the whole shebang. However, I have spent the first part of my morning catching up.  I don't know why, but this whole thang has me feeling just a bit nostaligic for when Seth and I tied the knot way back in September.  So while this is not a big old recap of the  happy day, I figured I would share a couple of my favorite pictures...  Well, maybe more than a few of my favorites...

Up first, a couple getting ready shots.  I got ready over at my mamas and my sisters were crucial to helping me out.  Sister #3 did my makeup, girl is gifted with that stuff.  Sister #2 helped with my hair and sister #1 got me in my dress, jaws of life, I'm telling you.

Can't have a wedding without bubbly

Sister helping me get ready

Seth and I opted to see each other before the wedding (we did a first look) and get all the family pictures out of the way...

Hi!  Its me!!!!

mama and my sisters

Dad, his wife and my sisters

Seth's family

wedding party

It was a million bazillion degrees that day, so we sent the wedding part back to the AC and snapped just a few more...

And then it was time for the wedding!

I sure do look like my daddy

 

 

Vows

Blessing of the marriage

smoochies

We're married

I won't say that our wedding day was the happiest day of my life, cause lets face it, Seth and I have had lots of very happy days and anticipate a lot more very happy days.  I can say that it was so wonderful to finally be legally joined with my partner and best friend.  Okay, I promise, all done with the sap...

Any one else feeling mushy today?

Cherry Blossom Festival

Seth and I spent last weekend in DC celebrating his brothers wedding.  The ceremony was great, as was the food and of course, the bride was beautiful.  That is all I will say about the happy occasion.

Despite the less than spring like weather, we did get to enjoy the cherry blossoms, which were at their peak...

If you've never been to the cherry blossom festival, I highly recommend it!

For My Valentine

First, a quick note on Valentine's Day- I know a lot of people dismiss this holiday as rubbish, calling it a capitalist, Hallmark holiday.  True enough, but Valentine's Day was celebrated for many years before Hallmark came about, and really, there is something lovely about taking a day out of the year to celebrate love.  I'm not talking about just romantic love, but all love (familial, friendship, etc).  So, with that said, I wish you all a very happy Valentine Day and hope that you find a reason to celebrate love today.

And now, for the mushy.  I have a pretty great husband and he deserves a lot of credit for putting up with me.  I tend to be a bit on the messy side, so three cheers for my husband for this...

Yes, thats right- yesterday Seth changed the sheets and made up the bed, and...

and washed and folded my laundry.  Wonderful, practical husband.  But, there's also this...

My dad gave up this now lovely piece of furniture (it belonged to my Great Grandmother Stokes).  However, when it was dropped off, it wasn't in such good shape.  Seth lovingly put it back together and restored it.  So lovely.  But there's more...

He always makes sure I have fresh flowers sitting on the sideboard.  So sweet.

So again, I say, Happy Valentine's Day to all, especially my sweet husband!

Valentine's Day

In the past, Valentine's Day has tended to follow one of two specific patterns.  Option 1: I spend all day in the kitchen, planning and executing some elaborate meal. At some point, I get pissy because I have been on my feet in the kitchen all day.  Option 2: We go out to dinner, eat way too much, come home, put on sweat pants and veg in front of the TV.  Neither outcome is ideal.

This year we are trying something new!  Instead of an elaborate meal, we'll be cooking at home together, but keeping it simple.

For starters, we're trying this:

Pink Parsley: Recipe and Image

What are those you ask?  Nothing other than pimento cheese fritters.  Yes, I went there.  Cheese and mayo mixed together, rolled in panko and fried.  I have died and gone to Paula Dean heaven.  But to keep it light (ha!), we're only planning on making a few.

Our main course will be crab cakes from the Fresh Market, along with a salad.  And dessert will be fruit and chocolate.  Easy Peasy.

And what to drink you might ask?

We're staring with one of our favorite, light wine- vinho verde.  If you haven't tried a vinho verde, get yourself to a Total Wine stat!  They're light, bubbly and have a fairly low alcohol content, so no worries about getting smashed too early. 

Dessert will be accompanied by a very special Pinot Noir.  For Christmas, Seth's brother and his wife gifted us with a 2006 Pahlmeyer Pinot Noir.  The reviews are glowing and the description is to die for (The 2006 Pahlmeyer Pinot Noir has a deep dark garnet color. In the glass the aromas open immediately, revealing layers of rich dense fruit, earth and sweet spices. The palate also offers layers upon layers of concentrated small berries, black raspberry and cherries, balanced with nicely integrated oak. This full bodied wine finishes with finesse and long lingering flavors.” – Erin Green, Winemaker).  I can't wait to try this lovely bottle!

And lastly, to really set the tone for a very special day, Seth has promised to take me to see Gnomeo and Juliet.  I can't WAIT!

What kinds of Valentine's Day plans do you have?

The Hazards of Pet Ownership

We love our pets to an almost ridiculous level.  However, occasionally there are moments when we want to hang them up by their little toe nails (something we would never ever do).  Lately, Seth and Matilda have been having some of these moments.

Really, it started late last week.  Seth made himself a lovely sandwich and popcorn for lunch and set it down (big mistake).  Recognizing an opportunity, Matilda picked a fight with her brother.  Once Seth got them separated, Ava joined the fun, enticing Oliver to chase her.  By the time Seth had stopped the madness, Matilda had managed to devour the entire sandwich and all the popcorn.  Bad Matilda.

And then Sunday morning happened.  While trying to get out of the house to check on the driver, Matilda dashed under Seth and tripped him.  It wasn't until much later that I realized how badly Seth was hurt.  I left work early on Monday and lovingly (ha) forced Seth to go to the doctor.  3 hours and 2 sets of X-rays later, it was determined that he only had a severe sprain.  Poor boy is now on anti-inflammatories, pain killers and will be strapped into a boot for the next 3 weeks.


Want to see the damage?

Poor Seth.  Bad Matilda.