Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Storms, Sugar, and Hinge & Screw Stew

My parents had a garage sale this past weekend, which Matt and I contributed a few things to. None of us fared too well on the selling side of things, but we did get to spend a fabulously stormy day together!

The storm rolled in...
Meanwhile, Sugar kept us company!
After the clouds rolled away, Sugar took interest in a tiny pear...
Mom and I found this little guy wandering around outside of the garage. He was tiny!

Matt and I did a little work in our hallway earlier this evening. We took the doors off of the linen closet and also removed the door that goes upstairs. All of this was to prepare for Patty's trip over tomorrow to help Matt paint the trim & doors. They were going to work on our dresser, but it is so hot and humid in the garage that it would take forever to dry! Not to mention the awful working conditions. :o(
We counted about 3 layers of paint under the hinge...
Door to upstairs
As for our Hinge & Screw Stew, we'll be serving it at the next family BBQ. :o) Matt found an awesome, eco-friendly idea online for removing paint off of metal surfaces (ie. hinges, screws, & door knobs). Place everything into an old crockpot, add liquid laundry detergent (just a bit of it), and set it on low/medium overnight. I don't really trust our old pot, so I had it on for a few hours tonight and Matt will turn it on again in the morning. However, when I took this picture, I was able to easily peel away some of the paint with an old butter knife. It revealed the beautiful brass underneath!


Friday, June 18, 2010

Kitten Love

We have been fostering a mama cat (Claire) and her babies for about a month and a half. We brought them home the day after the kittens were born -- the shelter feared that they may succumb to a virus if they stayed.

Kittens are a very precarious thing. For the most part, mama takes care of them, but if she is sick she may try to take time for herself and not stay around the kittens as much as she would otherwise. Unfortunately for Claire (and us), she lost 4 out of her 6 kittens over a stretch of a few weeks. Two of them made it through with flying colors and are the cutest, most adorable fosters we've ever had!

I took pictures of Dora (the girl) and Huck (the boy) today for the shelter. Claire was hiding under the bed and was in NO way, shape, or form coming out to be photographed! After I can get a snap of mama, I'll post it. She is beautiful.

Huck Finn

Dora (The Explorer)

Monday, June 14, 2010

Life

Life flies by so fast that I keep forgetting to update the blog! Here are some highlights of the past month:

Matt and I won tickets to see Brad Paisley!

He was nice enough to come visit the folks in the 'cheap seats' :o)
Great singer, songwriter, and all around nice guy
We have some very friendly (and strange) squirrels in our neighborhood
We've been watching our garden grow! This is our Potato Row.
We got to meet little baby Jonas Daniel Woodley, our friends newest addition. He is precious!
Did I mention he was precious?

Mom and I (finally) started our own Etsy store! We haven't uploaded items yet, but that will be happening very soon.
Eco Chique Boutique
~Emily~