The Nursery and the Office/Guest Room

Here it is, folks, the final before and after pics of the house.

The nursery with orange shag carpet with pink flecks. I actually loved it and planned on making area rugs out of it, but it was just too old and nasty.

If you look closely you can see the shape of every frame the previous owner hung on these walls.

After. A great surprise to find gorgeous hardwood floors under the shag.

If you ever come to visit us, this is where you'll stay!

The Master Bedroom

Before. Oh darn it, I cut off the cat border.

After.

This dresser was given to my grandmother when she got married.

Her initials and the year she got married are on the front.

Zane in the womb, rocks from the Bay of Fundy in New Brunswick, Canada, and a doily my Great Aunt Lydi made.

The Living Room

Before. No, the fireplace is not real, but the heart border is.

After.

In Defense of Art

In the beginning of October our church hosted an art show and Saturday night they hosted a "coffee house" with live music and the art from the art show was displayed for all to enjoy. On Sunday an art pastor from Austin, Texas, spoke during the service and if you are at all passionate about any form of art I highly recommend listening to it. Even if you just "merely" enjoy art, which you have to admit if you're breathing you probably do, I recommend listening to it. It encouraged me and reminded me that God is not only interested in that which is practical, useful, and purposeful, but that He enjoys and wants me to enjoy those things that have no function other than to bring joy.

The Kitchen

Blankets

Tis the season for curling up in a nice cozy blanket, especially if you have a frugal, energy saving husband. My favorite kind are of the homemade variety especially blankets made by someone special. Here are my favorite.

My mom had me pick out all the fabric for this one. It took her 2 years to get to it, but then she completed it from start to finish in one week (the week before Christmas). Go Mom.

This is one my mom knitted when she was a teenager. She thinks it's the only thing she's ever knitted. Pretty impressive.

This one Jake's grandmother (Nana) made for Zane as shown below.

Toys

Today, I'll just leave you with a link to a list of some great staple toys for the kiddos.