Monday, October 29, 2018

Here We Go...

Thank you so much for the welcome back messages on my previous post!  It warmed my heart, I honestly didn't know if there would be anyone here when I returned.  I tried to answer all of your comments, but if you didn't get an email it's because you came through as no-reply blogger, meaning
you need to change your settings to accept emails. I appreciate the encouragement I received so much.

I'm going to give just a few highlights of my spring and summer today to get you caught up. If you follow me in instagram you may have already seen some of these, but for those of you who aren't on that platform, this is for you :)

You may remember that last fall I painted the back wall in the kitchen with blackboard paint.  I had it on hand and was itching for a change and since I am prone to wake up some days full of determination to change SOMETHING, and since it was fall and the days were getting dark and moody I took the plunge.  I liked it, I really did, until spring when it just seemed too dark.
 So I grabbed some wallpaper online and lightened things up.  This is a Joanna Gaines paper and I did this area with one roll.  It was touch and go but I made it work, and I love how much lighter and brighter it looks.  I also decided to paint the pantry cupboard a glossy black as an accent and I love that one touch of dark in my white kitchen.  Who knows what I'll do next, but I think this will be staying for a while. I love it!
 Earl took up beekeeping this summer and it has been so fascinating! I have gone out to help him a couple times. Fully suited up because I'm, (ahem) allergic, as in epipen allergic.  As I said, I have the head to toe gear and I have been amazed that the bees are calm and friendly. Earl often doesn't bother with full gear.  This is him and his Uncle harvesting the frames a few weeks ago to extract the honey.
We got around 30 lbs. this year!  Having our own honey is fun and just feels special.  Did you know some of the honey in the grocery store has added fructose, or sugar water?  I found that out recently and it made me even more happy that we have our own and know it isn't adulterated. 
 This little peanut has been keeping me busy. I see my darling every week. Even with a broken arm and surgery our weekly visits continued thanks to her mom bringing her to see me.  I had to have someone put her in my arms but she was happy to cuddle and I was so happy to have her!  She turns 1 year old next month.
 She has changed so much in such a short time!  This is Clara and her Aunt Lauren in May. Lauren came home for a birthday visit and Clara slept over so she could have some quality time with her Aunt.  She adores her Aunt and Uncle even though they live far away and she doesn't see them much.
And of course, they adore her!
I love, love, love this baby. This grandparent thing is the bomb!  I'll try to reign it in but oh my goodness the love is overwhelming. 

So that was my summer (minus the boring recovery bits), tell me what the highlights of your summer were!

13 comments:

  1. Love your new wallpaper! Clara is so adorable, I can totally understand loving being her grandmother. As you know we worked on our back courtyard and had our first raised beds at our new house this summer. Glad you are back. xo

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  2. HI Kahtleen, The Chalk wall looked good too but the wallpaper is beautiful!.. I also love the pop of black on the pantry.. Your grand daughter is precious!!!..Thanks so much for sharing the photos with us :) XO

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  3. Oh I liked the dark wall and I love the papered wall. I didn’t know that Joanna Gaines had a wallpaper line. This is giving me ideas. Clara is such a cutie pie Your readers will all forgive you if you go on and on. Nope, we won’t mind a bit. Congrats on all that honey! No, I did not know that store bought honey could have added fructose or sugar water. Shocking! I try to purchase local honey at the farmer’s market, but have every now and then purchased honey at the grocery store. I never will again!

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  4. I really like the wall paper. I had no clue Joanna Gaines had a wall paper line. I will defiantly check to see what she has.
    Oh, I am such a lover of all my grandbabies, share away I just love babies.
    We buy our honey direct from the grower. Do they call them growers?
    so happy you are back blogging.

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  5. Lovley wallpaper Kathy.
    Honey is so much better if bought from the beekeeper. We had a lovely man in France who told me that he sent his bees off to areas locally for specific flavours, rapeseed, lavender, acacia. I wonder how they knew where to fly!

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  6. You have a lot of good, no great, going on in your life! :)

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  7. Your grandbaby is a little doll! She's so cute and I know you are going to keep having more fun with her than you can imagine. Our summer was spent between home and the Oregon Coast. We made three trips to the coast with our cabin-on-wheels where we joined dear friends from Arizona who were spending time there through the summer. Projects at home took some time and the summer seemed to fly by. I'm so glad you are blogging again. Love the way you changed your kitchen. It's gorgeous.
    ~Adrienne~

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  8. Babies are wonderful and you sound like you're really enjoying her! I love that black wall, so elegant and dramatic. That said, I'm a huge cottage style decor fan. That's where my heart really is and nothing says cottage style kitchen more than flowers. The wallpaper is amazing. What a great look!

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    1. I enjoy her so much! If I had known how much fun grandkids are, I would have pressured my girls to have them sooner, lol...Just kidding! ;)
      I liked the black but it really was a bit too dramatic for this cottagey little home. I always like my results more when I remind myself that some homes have a personality and ours is cottage. Nothing seems to be quite right when I forget that.

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  9. Really like the new and bright kitchen. May I ask where you got the hanging light fixture? I've been looking for something and that would look perfect for my old kitchen. Thanks.

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    1. Hi Pam, We found the light fixtures at either Home Depot or Lowes, I can't remember which!

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  10. What a lovely kitchen. I really like that wallpaper. I am a cottage dweller also, but mine is a very old tiny 570' farmhouse cottage. Looking forward to exploring more of your posts. Happy New Year.

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Thank you for taking the time to say hello :)