Max loves dress up- and Penguins!

Max loves wearing anything Lucy wears, which includes necklaces, skirts, earrings and scarves. He also loves Penguins, which he calls Quinney's.



Lucy turns 4!

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Stairway Snooze

 
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Jack Visits



Jack and Sarah Dixon came to visit and we had a great time. The highlight of the weekend was sledding at Longfellow elementary. Seeing Lucy and Jack sled down the hill together was heart melting! 
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Basement remodel!!




We added a light at the top of the stairs because it was as dark as a dungeon!

Our previous staircase was a death trap- here we are looking down the beautiful new stairs

The carpenters made this staircase match the one going to the second floor. I think they did a remarkable job!

Deail of the Newel post, replica of the one between the first and second floors

The light at the landing

Landing area with exposed chimney. Also note the laundry chute. Our contractor and Andrew found hardware (doorknobs, etc) that matches the original hardware of the house
Detail of the landing- the cat hole! I plan to take a dremmel to the sloppy areas of mortor on the chimney- and whatever that white stuff is at the top.
Looking into the bathroom. We re-used the vanity from our demolished house, which had chrome fixtures. Here you can see the arts and crafts inspired octagon and dot tiling.

The new shower! Classic arts and crafts subway tile. To break up the white a bit we added a glass tile stripe. Some day we'll add a glass door, but at a $1,000 price tag we elected to put up a free shower curtain for now.

We saw other people add these recessed shelves and thought they were a wonderful improvement over those annoying shower caddies.

The vanity with vintage mirror (courtesy of my Aunt, who has an arts and crafts house) and new chrome sconces to match the chrome sink fixtures.

Detail of the mirror. I couldn't take a picture with the lights on because of the glare, but the lights from the sconces really warm up the wood and soften the chrome so that vintage compliments modern.


Barn door entrance to the play room- we travelled up to Guttenberg, IA to buy this barn door from a guy who salvages old barns.

Looking into the play room. We salvaged the bamboo flooring from the demolished house.
Play room with new egress window. Lucy's been busy painting at pre-school!

View of the play room showing the barn door, once painted red.


This kitchen was once Grandma Pat's when she was a girl. Her father made it for her from scratch! What kid doesn't love a kitchen.

Makaila's Party

Max's daycare provider Makaila had a great Halloween party for the kids, complete with a bounce house! The ladybug and the spider approved.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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Kroul's Farm

Up near Marion there is a pumpkin farm owned by the Kroul Family. We went up there on my day off after a soggy weekend and the weather was amazing. We could have spent the entire day there, just enjoying the lovely farm and eachother.