Snack Pack Pudding Bakery Shop Collection review

Have you heard about The Dish from Conagra Foods?  Well let me encourage you to take a look... and possibly even sign up.  I mean we are talking about everything from recipes to try to foods to sample and review on your blog.  Have I signed up?  You bet your bippy!  And do you know what arrived in the mail last week???

A 4 pack of from the Snack Pack Bakery Shop collection to try... what was our flavor?  Lemon merengue pie!  Two out of three of our boys loved it!!  What happened to the third?  Well he got a single taste as his brothers descended upon the others like a horde of locust.  Would we purchase them on a regular basis?  Probably not, only because we are on a pretty strict budget.  But would we purchase them for a special treat or maybe even for long trips... MOST DEFINITELY!

Now the guys are harassing me to try out the other flavors.... chocolate cupcake, apple pie a la mode, frosted sugar cookie, and banana cream pie.

The family room makeover... a sneak peak

This apparently has been the summer of changes.... quickly being followed by a fall full of changes as well.    Do you see this corner?  Yes... atrocious!  I agree wholeheartedly!!  What you are witnessing is the complete emptying of a room.  Yes, the once spare/guest/music room is now our middle son's bedroom!!! I know he is over the moon happy to have a space of his own.  The only consequence... well the entire contents of the previous room ended up piled in the family room with a few spilling over into the dining room and living room.  

However this crazy mess is slowly but surely being transformed into....

 a desk to dream about....

 stylish storage....

 family heirlooms.....

 quirky decor.....

fabulous rehabs....

Details are on the way as we get closer and closer to completely the transformation of a hum drum room into a favorite family hangout!  A room filled with memories, yard sale rehabs, and repurposing galore!

A whirlwind of action

Can you say whirlwind?

w3rl wind: 1. a column of air moving rapidly around and around in a cylindrical or funnel shape
                   2. used in similes and metaphors to describe a very energetic or tumultuous person or                  
                        process.

Wow both of those definitions fit us right now... ha ha!  You see for the past month we've been working on projects. not my every day, run of the mill projects but BIG ones.

Things like making over the boys' bathroom, moving Sean into his own room, moving the contents of said room elsewhere (i.e. the family room)... and so it snowballs.  If you think I'm complaining... NOT for ONE moment! :)  Its so exciting to see a plan come together!  Even when it does snowball into something so much larger... but that in turn is a super duper good thing.  Seriously!  I mean when this whole thing is over and done with our whole house will be done... mostly.. haha! :)

However my blog and photo program are not on speaking terms at the moment so I'll just give you a rundown of how things went down... or rather how the first project had a cascading effect.

-paint boys bathroom, move "pie safe" out, move short cabinet in. love the decluttered look!

-decide to move Sean into spare/guest/craft room since Ian is not going into military but is looking for work & filling out applications for Bible college/aviation ministries (possibly)
  -empty contents of said room into space behind loveseat & wall, in front of dart board.

    -decide to paint Evan's room, now that he has room to self
     -clear room out, decide against painting room but paint drawer fronts and add artwork to room

      -clean out closet of too small clothes.

       -decide maybe a yardsale would be in order due to clearing out closet & explosion of stuff in  family room.
         -sort walk-in closet in order to move things from spare/guest/craft room out of family room.

(terrible lighting and no editing... bad blogger, bad bad blogger.. ha ha!)

          -start to sort bathroom closet to make room for items from walk-in closet, extra bedding, etc
           -clean out under bathroom sink to move stuff from closet in order to make room for stuff from
walk-in closet to make room for things from spare room.
            -decide bedroom could finally use to be painted... paint test splotches all over room...
                                 now which one do we use???? Left, Middle, or Right???

             -end up with gorgeous bedroom, organized closets, comfy teen bedrooms plus lots of stuff for yard sale... which has prompted cleaning, clearing and sorting out of garage! ha ha!!

And add to all this.... its harvest time in the garden...  corn, tomatoes, herbs, and the occasional posey... Can you say lavender and dried hydrangeas for the winter?? Woo hoo!!

So as you can see we have been pretty busy around here.... and very happy about it too!!  Did I mention school started a week ago, it was our 22nd anniversary, we took a mini family vacation, and fall sports are now in full swing... tennis, marching band, cross country?  I LOVE every minute of it!!

         
                       

A touch of color...

A touch of color is normally a good thing.....

but a touch of color using spray paint, painter's tape and a drop cloth is a WONDERFUL thing!

And the young one loves it!!  Score!!

One small throw pillow down, two large ones to go... and the room "remodel" is under way!

Now to convince said young one that a change is paint color would really do wonders for HIS room.  Yes he now has his very own room, all to himself... and he is loving it!  In fact all three boys have their own rooms now.  It did mean giving up the spare/guest/craft room but that is okay as they are all at an age when having a small bit of space to themselves is a good thing.

All about Color at Thistlewood Farm

Let the clearing BEGIN!

Yes you read that correctly! ha ha!  You see with all the projects we've been working on lately I've just felt an overwhelming need, yes a need to start "purging".  A good ol' fashioned clearing out and cleaning out!  

Yes I confess I am a bit of a hoarder...no not in epic proportions like the show but on a much smaller scale.  Doing things like taking the zippers off of backpacks that are irreparable, saving ALL the mismatched socks, clipping buttons off of shirts to be disposed of, keeping egg cartons and empty glass jars.  Now don't get me wrong these are not bad in and of themselves, in fact they are quite practical until you realize you have one full shelf of egg cartons and no plans to use them.  Yes I'll continue to clip buttons and zippers and save old pants because you never know when you might need to test a new pattern for instance.....

But the egg cartons.. well unless it is coming neigh unto planting season I think donating them for VBS is a much better plan.  The the empty glass jars, yes there is recycling... :)

And the rest of the miscellaneous stuff in the house... well it is high time to find new homes.  So I may or may not be hosting a yard sale in the upcoming days... it all depends on how much we haul out and what all it is that gets hauled out.  

So if you happen to be local I will give you fair warning.... stuff is being cleared out.  If you are interested in books, miscellaneous crafting stuff especially scrapbook supplies, cookie decorating supplies (i.e. more sugars and sprinkles then is necessary for a house full of teenage boys!), hair ribbons, books,  knicknacks,  board games, cookie cutters, and who knows what else... contact me!  Or just ask if I really am going to have a yard sale.... probably after school is back in session.

Be sure to check in periodically to see if I have emerged from beneath..... 

Have a great day!!

A sneak peak of the guys' new and improved bathroom

 Hello!  Wow where has the summer gone?  It seems like school just got out but I just realized we only have 3 weeks of summer break left!  Seriously... how did that happen?  The guys agree... between sports camps, music camps, missions trips, day trips, pool parties, and just hanging out together well summer has been speeding by!

But did I mention we have been working on projects?  Together even!!  Yes we are currently giving the guys' bathroom a bit of an update.  Trust me it needed it!! Ha ha!

I give you exhibit A:

Can you say beige, boring, and bland?  The guys even brought up the fact that it was BORING.  Yes it was that bad.

Exhibit B:    new wall color... Sherwin Williams High Tide        

Sherwin Williams SW2241 High Tide at MyPerfectColor  

                    

As you can tell its a really hard color to photograph especially since the room has ABSOLUTELY NO exterior light!  Really?  What bathroom has no windows?  Apparently ALL of ours!  Yes, really... it is just crazy if you ask me.

Is this it?  Nope, not even close!  but I'll save the rest for the reveal later this week.  Until then I give you a sneak peak of some of the quirky elements we've added so far. 

plus a bit of artwork!

a great piece of artwork even if I do say so myself... even if the letters are a bit lopsided.  It just fits the room!

All I will say is it got its humble beginnings from this....

Exhibit C

a sheet of styrofoam!!

(stockpiled packing materials from a large package but thats another post in and of itself...)

Searching for a new name

Hello and how are you today?  We've been keeping busy around here... enjoying summer

and all.   

hitting yard sales and coming home with glorious finds such as vintage star molds, mini tart tins, and hammocks.  drinking chai frappes from this glorious concentrate from the delightful Vanessa!

making these adorable stars by the dozens.... okay maybe not the dozens yet but by summer's end!

gathering bundle upon bundle of lavender, enjoying the hydrangeas, and stumbling upon a stack of crates at a divine yard sale... 
$5 a piece... old coke and pepsi crates... yep they have new home now.  
Can I help it if they just followed me home???? (but that's okay as that's where my sweet hubby got his $5 hammock and stand... yepper another vintage find!!!)

after all that rambling we have come to the crux of the matter.... I am changing my blog name.... this one just doesn't feel right any longer.  you know kinda like those shoes you simply adored and then one day you woke up and took a good look at them and discovered, that well, they just weren't a good fit.  the fit was wrong... they just weren't all that comfortable... in fact they kinda pinched your toes.. but whats a girl to do?  get rid of them!!  plain and simple!  yep it might cause some separation anxiety... in fact so much so that you put it off... and put it off and put it off!  but finally one day you notice the dog won't even bother with them any longer.  so off they go..  


So....... now i am striking out, taking that first step
 

"And what is that first step?" you ask.
  
Why coming up with a new name!!!


"What will it be?"


Well I don't know... have i ever mentioned i'm not good at snap decisions.  like going to a restaurant... it takes me FOREVER to order.  even if it is only Mickey D's or even worse Starbucks!!!  

and do you know what I normally do?

order the same exact thing!  until recently when i ordered a white chocolate cafe misto (blonde roast) with a splash of raspberry syrup... yep i stepped out and tried something DARING, new, adventurous!! 


(and for the record now its the only thing i order because i love it that much!)

oh the name... well here are a few suggestions...

1. Artifacts for the Future
2. Artifacts of the Future
3. Artifacts from the Future
4. Intrinsically Eclectic

Now.. here is where you come in....

Suggestions... ?????

Do any of the above strike you?  good?  bad?  indifferent?

Comment, e-mail, phone... the votes are out! 

Trust me ALL and ANY suggestions would be appreciated!!

(and yes a decision will definitely be made... before the next decade!)

Have a great day!!