What do you do when things get too busy?

The he** with getting stuff done around the house. Instead, we decided to go to the beach for the weekend, leaving the chaos behind us (unfortunately it was still there when we got home).

Some pictures courtesy of the husband:

A big oil tanker boat, in the background is a pumping station.

Granola

I went to the dentist last week. My dentist is pretty cool and has tv's in each of the little exam rooms. Said tv, with a segment on the Today Show about healthy snacks for kids to take to school, led to the following conversation.

Hygienist: "Do you have a child that goes to school?"

Me: "No, but I'm always looking for ideas about healthy snacks."

(Today Show lady talks about hummus)

Hygienist: "My son loves hummus but my husband said I can't send him to school with it because people will think he's granola."

Dang - add hummus to the list of personal facts NOT to share with Texans - I already don't fit in (for religious and political beliefs), I can only imagine what would happen if people found out I eat hummus in public.

Above water

We're doing our best to keep our heads above water these days. Making messes tends to be about all we do - evidenced by the ladders, plastic drop cloths, industrial vacuum, pieces of various projects, etc strewn about the house. We also have a few other big things going on that are making it hard to get stuff around the house done.

Either way, we keep trucking along. In the recent chaos I've gone to downsizing our meals even more. I tried a terrific salad while the husband was out of town for 8 days (yes, part of the chaos). It has been a go-to for the past few weeks - its the perfect sweet and salty and healthy too.

We should have some good updates soon on house related improvements and other updates about professional stuff. The blog will probably go by the wayside a teensy bit while chaos remains our friend. But fear not, I'll still try to post some fun pictures every once in awhile!

A reminder

To be honest I feel a lot more doubtful these days than sure, a lot more incapable than capable. There are bright moments, like when a good friend helps me remember that maybe I do have it in me. But often I find myself needing some kind of reminder that I am (probably) ok.

I read this on pinterest today and I think it's a great reminder for everyone, and definitely hit home with me.

Trading Phrases | Inspirational Wall Words | Inspirational Wall Decals

Beating the summer heat

As the rest of the nation prepares for fall, we here in the great state of Texas are preparing for nothing except the continued heat of the summer.

To be fair, we have seen a recent reduction in temperatures. I found myself sitting outside on our screened porch 'enjoying' the cooler temperatures last week - the highs were only in the 90's!

This weekend I took our extended summer as an opportunity to try out a sangria recipe. I love sangria but the few times I've made it, I've been less than thrilled with the results. This recipe was definitely an improvement. It gives me hope that I might master sangria! :)

Next up on the fun food items to beat the heat: honeydew cucumber margarita popsicles (maybe)!

Progress

The husband painted the dining room this past weekend. Yay!

Wanna see it?

Ok - first, here's the way it was when we bought it.

Primed here.

Now painted Behr Ashes. I really like this color - it doesn't quite come out well in the pictures b/c of lighting issues but you can get the general gist.

Of course we still have to paint the trim and stuff but its a big improvement (and it's only been 1 yr and 10 months)! :)

A little color

One of the little projects on our to-do list (from here) was updating the front door with a new coat of paint. The original door color was red (we love red) but with a slightly recessed entry way and the surrounding red brick, our front door blended into the house in a not-so-good way.

See?

We considered painting the door a brighter red but eventually decided we wanted more contrast. We picked up a few paint samples and eventually decided on a Behr color that is a mix of blue, green, and gray. It's a big change but we both love it!

BTW - painting a door is not that easy - 3 coats and a lot of attention to detail later resulted in this new color.

Oh, and Gracie was a big help when the husband needed someone to hold his shirt!

Tailgating

We got together with some friends to watch the first NC State football game this past weekend!  We won so that's good - here's hoping the season continues this way!

And I of course used it as an excuse to try some new tailgatey recipes! We made macaroni and cheese cups, blue cheese dip, jalapeno poppers and hatch chile poppers, and s'more turnovers. All were easy and so very yummy - I'm glad we have leftovers! :)

Not a great picture but you can see some of the yumminess!