We did the jello thing

My bff and I have several things in common - curiosity, determination, and stubbornness being some of our shared attributes. Add in my wild hairs and it makes for interesting experiences. Naturally the mention of a jello-filled pool meant for both of us a challenge that we WOULD see through to the end.

And we did although with different results than we hoped.

Here's how it went down.

20 boxes of sugar free peach jello

 Thrown in with some water and boiled

 Ice bags ready to quick-set the jello.

Added to a cooler with some ice

Stirred until started getting jello-like

Cue large thunderstorm that ruins everything, almost.

As I mentioned above, we're stubborn so lets take this to Jello-Pool day #2.

Pool filled with jello (this word is used very LOOSELY here)

 Evan got in but said it was too cold

Kaley refused to get in (even when offered a $10 bribe)

Jello was moved to the water table - fun commences! Success (sort of)

Brought to you by these lovely ladies (at 9am Sunday after not-a-lot-of-sleep)

Other than the husband and furry children

There is another reason I look forward to being back home in TX.

Sometimes reading food blogs ISN'T a great idea - especially when you read reviews of books like this. I bought it that same day! :)

Fact: I like making sweet things, tasting them, and then letting the husband eat the rest. Fact: The husband LOVES sweets. So it works out well!

With chapters like these I can't wait to try out some recipes!!

Check out some of the pictures of various ice cream, toppings, etc. This book will totally make your mouth water.

Raspberry Rose Sorbet

Mojito Granita

Marshmallow topping

Toasted almond and candied cherry ice cream

Buttercrunch toffee

Tartufi (Italian for truffle)

Can't wait to try it out when I get back!

Rearranging

We have two connected back rooms that haven't made appearances on this blog, mainly b/c they've been pretty awful (you know, stuffed with all the extras that we don't feel like putting away don't have a home). I wanted to move the sewing stuff to one of the back rooms for some time so I took a recent past weekend and visitors as the necessary motivation to move things around. Here's what the it looks like now.

You can see that we still have A LOT to do in this room. Oh well, one day at a time.

The sewing area.

Ikea desk, chair, basket (spray painted white).

Proof that I might have a fabric sample problem.

Opposite to the sewing area is what I will call an "art" area. I don't really make art but I pretend sometimes so this area is setup to help with those moments of pretending! :)

Repurposed top to an old ikea tv stand on ikea desk legs.

Summer entertainment

We turned off the sprinklers when we had the one day of rain this month and when the husband turned them back on, he decided to readjust the coverage. In the midst of this, he came inside and got the camera to take some photos of Gracie as she attacked sprinklers and water. (We took some not-great photos but they're still pretty funny)

I came out to watch (and make sure the camera stayed nice and dry). It is pretty hilarious - Gracie will even attack sprinklers in people's yards while we're walking.

And yes, as I stated on facebook, watching Gracie wasn't my only entertainment for the evening. The husband turned to me mid-laughing and said "Their switching zones - you better move!"  Two seconds later I was right smack dab in the middle of a zone - literally everywhere I looked to run was being sprayed!  It was pretty funny and reminiscent of childhood, except those little suckers will get you way more than the little oscillating sprinkler my parents had back in the day.

Commercial break

I will be taking a sort-of break from blogging for the next few weeks. Why, you wonder?

I will be in NC for 3 whole weeks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, it's amazing isn't it? Unfortunately it will not be all play but I know I will love every aspect of being back. I'll fill you in when I get back on what takes me to NC.

Although I won't be blogging as often, I will be blogging some. Mainly because I promised small children play time in Jello-filled pools and nonsense like that - the perfect stuff for blog posts! :)

I will miss these three quite a bit but I'm sure they'll have there share of fun while I'm away!

 

In the works

Last week, in a fit of wild hairs, I started two artsy projects. One is super close to completion and the other is well, still in the early stages. But here are some sneak peeks!

Much improved

We're on our way to a fully redone (except for the floor) laundry room. We're not quite there yet but I wanted to share some pictures. I would love to have a fancy laundry room and I would love to have it for free but alas, that isn't the way life goes so this is our new and improved budget-friendly laundry room. The husband worked really hard on so much of this last week and I'm so appreciative!!

A reminder of what was before.

 What we did:

• Painted (using leftover paint)
• Installed new shelving
• Reused old shelving for a newly located clothing bar
• Installed new wall cabinets and a new floor cabinet with a counter (ikea)
• Installed new heavy duty shelving to store stuff (ikea)
• Sewed curtain and sink skirt and installed both (ikea, fabric on sale from joann fabric) 

    

 

 

What's in the works:

1. A drying rack that attaches to the wall
2. A few more accessories like baskets for the shelving (reusing the current tubs elsewhere in the house)
3. Revamp the roller curtain currently on door (maybe by stenciling)
4. Hang these hooks

July 4th

We had a fun weekend celebrating July 4th with friends. We had two celebrations - one Saturday and then a pool afternoon followed by a Mexican feast at our house.

I made (but didn't serve - everyone was stuffed without it) this tasty blueberry tart. The husband and I enjoyed a slice last night - I love homemade whipped cream and adding lemon made it even better!