bedroom update. or, how one thing lead to another...

Several months ago we realized we needed to put some shelves up by Amelia's bed so she could store her books for reading at night. And somehow hanging shelves took a few months.

Before we could hang shelves, I had to repaint the whole wall. When we moved the bunk beds there a year ago, we removed some big shelves from the wall and there was some serious paint damage that we never fixed. So I painted the wall.

Then it took a few weeks to decide on shelves. We thought about making some out of an old pallet since I had seen several tutorials for that. But that didn't really fit the style of the room. Then I saw a quick IKEA solution on Pinterest a few months ago and immediately ran to IKEA and picked up $4 spice racks to use as book shelves.

Then the spice racks sat in our house for several weeks. I finally decided to paint them white, but that meant I should probably paint the bed white too (something I had always meant to do). So, multiple coats of paint later, the bed and shelves were white. (See the before here, although I photoshopped out the yucky wall.)

And I figured as long as I was painting things, I would repaint the table and chairs since they had been destroyed by marker and crayon (see the before here). Ben suggested making the top of the table a chalkboard since the kids write on it anyway. And I already had chalkboard spray paint laying around. And I figured as long as I had the chalkboard paint out, I would use it to add "labels" to some mini drawers that we finally hung up.

And I updated Elsa's bedding.

And that is how a project as simple as hanging shelves can take me months.

Eating my way through fall.

I saw this recipe in the Washington Post the other day and knew I had to try it. The cake by itself is yummy but there's nothing like soaking your cake in a delicious caramel sauce.

My friend Jessica and her kids came over Friday night to make pizzas while our husbands were camping with the Scouts. The kids demanded cheese pizza, but we made some fancier pizzas for ourselves. One had sharp Vermont cheddar and apple slices...sooooo simple and yummy. What is it about apples and cheese? The other had caramelized onions and gorgonzola and then we topped it with avocado and parsley post-oven. Such a wonderful flavor combination. I had more dough so we made it again Sunday night.

I've been collecting lots of other fall recipes on Pinterest. I think this rainy week might inspire more baking.

 Spiced Apple Pudding Cake with Caramel Sauce

Pizza with caramelized onions, gorgonzola, and avocado

virtual photobooth.

It's hard to beat the real thing, but this site is pretty fun.

preschool + elsa

Elsa started preschool on Tuesday and was beyond excited. After watching Amelia head off to school every September, she was ready for her turn. She is going to the same preschool that Amelia attended but is in a different class...Lil' Buckaroos. Her teacher is from Texas and the room has a Texas/cowboy theme. She was really excited about carrying her backpack around. She had fun her first day but was upset that her teacher wouldn't let her jump off the slide in the soft play room. (She definitely doesn't have the same "must follow every rule" attitude that Amelia has.)

She also refuses to look at me when I'm taking pictures.

Oliver wondering why he was left out of the photo shoot.

Ben pulled Elsa aside during the open house and started explaining that we wouldn't be staying with her the next day. She said "dad, you have to let me go." Of course she just wanted him to let go of her arm so she could keep playing, but we were amused.

Discovering her classroom at the open house the day before school started:

the fate of the peaches.

I had a huge list of peach recipes to try when we came home from our peach picking expedition. I never got around to the peach galette, the peach pie, the peach pie shake, peach butter, grilled peaches, or the peach cupcakes. Although now that I read the list, it's probably for the best. There's always next summer.

I did manage a few peach delights.

Peach and peach-raspberry freezer jam.

 

Mango peach salsa. On a fresh tortilla with black beans and cheese? Heaven.

Peach dumplings (recipe here). Amazing. And the sauce smelled like fall.

Peach-raspberry crisp (recipe here).

Peaches 'n cream in a crepe. Peach jam and cream is even better.

the first grade.

Amelia started school on Tuesday. And right on cue the weather dropped about 20 degrees. We found ourselves walking to school completely unprepared. And it rained. And it rained the second day. And the third day. And it hasn't stopped (although the warm weather is back). We've actually had fun walking home from school in our boots, splashing in puddles. *Update: School has already been canceled for tomorrow due to excessive rain and flooding.

So far Amelia seems to like first grade. We are SO pleased with her wonderful teacher, Mrs. Canty, who is a perfect fit for Amelia (i.e. not the boy teacher she was dreading).

Elsa is adjusting to life without her playmate and can't wait to start preschool next week. Oliver, not to be outshined, started crawling on the first day of school.

Amelia and Mrs. Canty

More prepared for the walk home.

And my favorite part of back to school time...shoe shopping!