It Matters

The Kitchen.

I've had lots of people ask to see more pictures of our remodel. I hesitate because I don't want to be like, "look at our house, isn't it so great." The remodel has been a good learning experience for us, but in the end it's just a house and we have a long way still to go.

Having said that we love our kitchen, especially the extra space for family and friends. And seeing that I now have a working camera, I can take pictures to share!

My favortie part about the house in general are all the windows. However It proved to be difficult in the kitchen because there were so many windows that it left little area for wall cabinets. Therefore we added an island with extra storage, I'm so glad we did. 

There was also no existing pantry and really no options for building a walk in pantry so my mother designed a really great cabinet pantry that I love. 

As you can see I have cool window cupboards along the top of all my wall cabinets. Yes, they are empty. I guess I need to go buy dishes to display? Fiesta in every color- now that's not a bad idea:)

There was originally french doors leading out to the deck. We made it a single door which allowed us space for the peninsula/bar and additional cupboard. This is my favorite cupboard full of bright dishes that i love. 

I chose penny round tiles for the back splash. They're a little different but the minute I saw them I loved them. I chose the same tile in blue for the powder room floor.  

Last but not least is the farm sink. It was the FIRST thing we purchased in the whole remodel process. My mom, the one who designed my entire kitchen, says you always have to start with an inspiration piece, the sink was mine. It's a good thing we purchased it before we realized what we'd gotten ourselves into. It would've been on the chopping block just a few weeks late.... farm sinks are more expensive than one might think:) I love it.

The best thing about the whole deal are these 4 chairs that are usually filled with 4 happy kids. In truth my kids are usually spilling things, leaning back and breaking the chairs, fighting over what chair they want to sit in or listening to their mother yell,"eat your food over the counter!" But that's all good too!

I think I'll go make some cookies....

Darci

 

 

You won't believe.....

what I found in the Bahamas,

That's right, Cannon Rebel battery charger!

It went missing right after we moved last September. We had only lived in our little apartment a week or so when my camera died.I soon realized I couldn't locate my charger and therefore didn't have a camera to use. It was a major bummer since we were in the middle of a re-model I desperately wanted to document and the holiday season, namely Halloween, was quickly approaching. I made several attempts to purchase a new charger but found I needed a charger that was outdated and discontinued. Even the most sophisticated of camera stores didn't carry it anymore.

A dear friend loaned me her little camera and I put it to rest. I knew that when we moved into our new house I'd find my charger packed safely away and all would be well. The problem was we moved in, unpacked every last box and no charger. I finally concluded that I must have accidental taken it to the DI or Goodwill during the purging process that took place prior to the big move. I've been broken hearted ever since. I've been trying to convince me husband amidst the roof, yard, deck and new driveway expenses that I NEED a new eight hundred dollar Cannon Rebel. (the convincing wasn't going very well)

Not to worry. We were packing up to leave the Bahamas and I unzipped the outside pocket of my suitcase to stuff a souvenir...... you guessed it, my battery charger. I now remember putting it there as I packed up the last of my clothes to take to over to our little apartment. I wanted to be sure I had it in case my camera died. 

What a smart girl I am to have planned ahead like that:)

Oh, Happy Day

Darci

Totally recommend

These.

They're healthy no-bake granola bars from Fooddoodles.com. They won't satisfy an intense sweet tooth but they're filling, healthy and yummy enough to make you eat several at once, I should know!

You start with mashed bananas and then add oatmeal and a few other yummy ingredients before scooping them into muffin tins and popping them into the freezer.

We did very from the recipe by using agave syrup instead of maple and omitted the coco powder. We also used white chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet and were pleased with the outcome.

Smiles all around. 

If you try them let me know what you think. 

Happy Hump Day,

Darci

Good to be Home.

Home again, home again, piggy pig PiG!

It's always good to come home to happy children and the comforts of home life, but we had a great time in the Bahamas last week. We stayed at the Atlantis Resort,which was like nothing I'd ever seen before. I felt like I was walking around in a movie half the time. It was beautiful.

Kevin had a conference so we jumped, actually I drug my feet...but eventually came around, on the oppurtunity to spend a few days in the paradise. 

It really did look like paradise. It was full of Marine wildlife from sharks, to sting rays and sea turtles. There were 20 pools to lounge by and white sand beaches lining the entire resort. Here are just a few pictures.....

It's funny how we have only pictures of us. I'm not a huge fan. I like having kids in pictures because they're way cuter. They make Kevin and I look good:)

Every pool had it's own D.J. I thought it was pretty cool. This is a picture of my favorite D.J in his booth rocking out. 

Look at that handsome guy...it's a good thing he doesn't read this blog:)

These bright colorful flowers lined all the paths. Loved that!

It was really breezy & rainy the first two days. This is a photo snapped as we ducked under the D.J. booth to let the storm pass. 

As you can see it was a beautiful place and we had a great time. I'm grateful we had the oppurtunity to go, but it's wonderful to be back home refreshed to do what I love most..be a mom.

Happy Day

Darci

doing it.

I've done it before. My senior year of high school a day before school started. It wasn't pretty. I never really liked it. I look back at pictures and question, "what was I thinking?" I'm sure that's not uncommon of what we all think when we look at a high school picture. Nevertheless I'm ready for a change. It's kind of the theme with my lately, so I'm cutting all my hair off! It sounds so dramatic like I have locks of beautiful hair...not really the case but I do have a flair for the dramatics:)

Here are the choices.

I'm not telling which one I'm leaning twords.......however I do have a favorite.

Let me know what you think, I'd love your imput.

Tomorrow at 12:30. Wish me luck:)

Darci

Happy Herd.

We have a happy little herd of deer that visit about twice a week. The herd consists of 10 deer that roam the neighborhood, and often graze in our yard then nestle under the decrepit swing set out my kitchen window.

We think the deer are pretty great, but have started hearing rumblings that we might be the only ones in the neighborhood who are enamored by their over-all coolness. 

Apparently they'll eat everything we eventually plant. They have a reputation for wiping out hundreds of dollars in new landscaping and flowers in a single afternoon. 

But for now they're more of a novelty than a nuisance, and we love looking out our windows at these beautiful animals. 

We'll see how we feel next summer when we landscape, we may have to remove the "rose colored glasses" when they start eating all our fruit trees. I guess all good things must come to an end.....for now we love our family little herd:)

Happy President's Day,

Darci 

5K Friday. 80/20 rule

I've been thinking about the 80/20 rule in regards to personal health and fitness. I've heard it said, and read in books that....80% of your heath and fitness is what you eat, while only 20% is how much you exercise. I've always known this but to think of it in those percentages has been eye opening. What it means is....

                                                                                                                        image found here.

You can't eat junk and think, "I'll exercise it off tomorrow..or I ran this morning so it's O.K.." They're not created equal. Exercise is essential to helping us feel good, it gives off endorphins, builds strength and endurance but it doesn't compensate for eating poorly. It's more important to eat good than to exercise hard. 

Therefore the 80/20 rule also becomes a guilde to help us make good food choices as well. If you eat a clean healthy diet 80% of the time you can treat yourself 20% of the time.  Isn't that great? There's a time and place for treats if you eat good 80% of the time. 

It's weird that I think about this stuff huh? Oh well, I love little rules or visuals like 80/20 that help me make better choices and ultimately keep me on track feeling good. 

I do however hope you have a great weekend 100% of the time!

Darci

 

a SWEET treat.

The last few years in february our family's set up a little mail system and left each other love notes throughout the month. For whatever reason I didn't pull our mailboxes out of storage this year. I've missed receiving thoughtful notes, and watching the kids compose them for one another.  So I decided to implement another little treat for this weekend leading up to Valentines Day. 

I purchased a few bags of cheap gummy hearts and a pack of stick pins to attach acts of LOVE onto each one. My plan is to leave them on the counter all weekend long and let the kids eat as many as they desire....but they get to carry out the act of love that comes with each sweet treat. 

The acts of love are small, simple really. Give your sister a compliment, look someone in the eye and say, "i love you." Be sneaky & do something nice, draw a picture, write a note, say 3 nice things about your mom, tell your brother something you like about him....give a HUG, a KISS, Simple little things to get us thinking about showing our love for one another. Grandma and Grandpa will arrive this weekend and we're excited to have them join us as well.

I left a bowl for the "arrows" and will attach new notes each evening or morning. The kids are excited, and it's easily maintained since it's just a few days. It would be a great activity for a family night or even a Valentines dinners??? You could attach notes with arrows onto rolls:)

How is your family feeling the love this year? I'd love to hear...

Happy Day,

Darci

 

Official.

I feel so official. I'm 34 yrs. old and just recieved my first Passport in the mail. 

It sounds cheesy, but it was exciting to open it up and see my picture. You see, I'm not much for traveling. It's not that I'm a "home body" I just have 4 young children that I have a hard time leaving for any extended period of time. Therefore we've vacationed as a family within the state and taken an occassional outdoor adventure into Idaho. However next month I'll be putting my new passport to use on a trip out of the country with just Kevin. I'm excited, nervous and anxious all at the same time. Either way it's happening and this little Navy book makes it seem all the more official!

Happy Day,

Darci

Weekend Wrap.

 The kids had their last ski lessons....

Brooklyn waiting for the BIg end of session race. 

Worked on a few projects around the house...

Painting an old dresser and workig on putting together a new fancy bed ensemble in the guestroom. I'm anticipating some special guests this week!!!

Watched the BIG GAME with some of my favorite people. It was my first & last NFL game of the year, but I sure did get "into it" in the last few minutes. Gotta love the Super bowl.

Right now I'm snacking on this left over "football" cheese ball for breakfast, 

and watching these two play games around the kitchen...

You gotta love a great weekend, and the Monday morning that follows.... 

have a great day!

Darci