Door County

Daniel, the awesome guy that he is, planned a little get-away for us for my birthday this year! We have not done this in ages. We had such a great time!! His Dad was coming out for work in Milwaukee, so his Mom decided to come along for the ride. She also became the babysitter. She is awesome! We drove up to Door County for our little trip. It was just breathtaking. First, we enjoyed a delicious dinner, walk along the bay, take-home desserts, and a darling bed and breakfast in Sturgeon Bay. The following morning we walked through a "fall fest" happening just a block from the B&B. This also included a car show--we took lots of pictures for Andrew.
We spent the rest of our day meandering up the peninsula and enjoying the sights. I was so stuffed from our amazing breakfast that Daniel ate at Al Johnson's. It is a Swedish Restaurant with loads of character. Our waitress was from Sweden, another was from Romania. They had a gift shop with lots of things from the Sweden, Norway, and Finland. But the funny thing was they roof their restaurant with sod! And have goats roaming around on top. I guess this is a thing they do in Sweden! Look in the window--you can see the waitresses in their traditional Swedish dress.These are some beautiful cliffs at one of the parks along the coast.

And this is my Ariel pose (according to Dorothy) on the edge of the cliff.
Some really beautiful scenery! We toured two lighthouses and learned about the people that lived at and operated the lighthouses. Also about the use of the waterways for ships, cargo, hazards, wrecks, etc. Quite an education, quite a life!
We couldn't have had a better time. It was great to know the kids were having a wonderful time with Grandma Stewart. She even gave them their first sewing lesson while we were gone. We came home to three new fleece pillows and three very happy kids.

Another birthday

They seem to come every year! We usually open gifts first thing in the morning--who can handle waiting!?The kids decorated the cake with my variety of frosting tips, they did a great job. The evening was full of fun and funny games. One of which was Abby's much awaited, much anticipated pin the chocolate chip on the cookie!!
Givin' it my best shot. Promise I wasn't peeking!
And yes, if you're confused, my birthday is in September. I'm a little behind in getting pictures up.

Bathroom before and after

This links to a more complete bathroom before picture, but here's another. More like a before "Andrew" picture. :)Daniel finished this a while ago. He worked so hard. He, with the generous help and education from some friends, removed the toilet, ripped up the floor and cut out some subflooring. This got rid of nasty stains and extra nasty smells from old leaking problems. He put new subflooring in, new plywood, backer board, tile, grouted it, sealed it, put in a new cabinet (because with all the ripping up, it came out too), put in the new sink, and redid the trim (funny how one thing leads to another). It is so new and clean now and everything works! And nothing stinks. What a guy. What a room.

Must be a combination...

...of my mother's flair and my Willowbrook upbringing that I love this so much.Eliza and her little friend (whose name is Katie Stewart, no joke!) gathered things from the yard and we tied them into this little piece of art. It makes me happy.

(And this is your peek at my new drapes hanging in the kitchen.)

Desk--before and after

I'm not ashamed. I picked this little beauty up off the side of the road several months ago. I though it had a great shape and since it was already painted it'd be easy to paint over.
The color wasn't quite what I expected, but I kept it. Debra (my MIL) got me these cute white accessories for my bday, I sewed some little curtains for the top cubbies, covered cardboard with the same fabric to cover the back where the holes were, and voila! I have a cute workspace and somewhere to stash my papers and craft stuff.