Furniture Shopping Isn't Fun

Lane and I don't like to shop for furniture.  It stresses us both out to go to a store and have a salesperson follow us around.  We've pretty much had the same furniture since we got married, with the exception of adding the kids' items.  We've actually had our sofa since before we got married (I went with Lane to shop for it the summer we started dating), and it's really (beyond) time to think about replacing it. But we don't seem to be good at shopping and making decisions like this.  We've now made three trips to this same store (and looked online at options, too), and every time I think we've left with a different opinion on what would be the best choice for us.  And I can't seem to just go look and focus on a sofa decision.  We get there and I start trying to imagine what rug, chairs, wall color, pillows, lamps, mirrors, etc. etc. would look good with it...and before long I'm overwhelmed and ready to go home.  So if you are reading this and have any advice about decorating or sofa-decisions, please feel free to help!  :)

I think we've almost decided to order this one, only in a different (slightly darker) color.  I would love to get it in white, but I know I'd regret it the first time the kids hopped on it with shoes on, Bogart ran inside with muddy paws or I spilled coffee on it!  

The top left picture below is the color we're thinking about--I think it's called platinum.  It's kind-of blue-grey.  We'd like to have some color and bold print, but mostly just a calm/cozy/cheerful room. 

Some things we've liked: 

top left:  potential color of sofa

top right:  ottoman at I.O. Metro

bottom left:  rug at a local home store here

bottom right:  pillows and lanterns (behind sofa) at Pottery Barn

The dining room is currently a dark brown, but I'd really like to paint it a lighter color--the brown is a little depressing to me.  I like the shades on the paint sample below, specifically the third one from the bottom.  What do you think?  I was thinking it would tie in with the colors in the living room, since it's an open plan and you'd see both rooms together.

A painting and two other rugs I liked...

Maybe we will make some decisions soon and I'll post an update.  :)

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Nothing super exciting going on lately.  I finally made our annual Valentine pies.  It's funny because cherry pie isn't my favorite, but I don't want to break tradition.  I told L that next year I might make mine a buttermilk pie instead and he said, "Oh, can I eat some of it?"  I suggested maybe I just make buttermilk pies instead of cherry, but he also thought we should stick to tradition...ha!  It makes sense to continue to bake something we don't like, right? :)

"Better late, burnt and cracked than not at all??"

We've had a few warmer days lately and tried to take advantage of it by going to the park after school.  Fresh air is always good!

Lane studied most of the day Saturday and the kids played in the back yard while I raked leaves.  I'm so ready to see green grass!

Alexee brought this home from church on Sunday.  :)

She has been asking me to come to school for her lunch and recess time so she could show me her progress on the monkey bars.  She can go all the way across now without dropping to the ground!  I think that must take a lot of arm strength--I doubt that I could do it!  Good job, A!

Morgan, Chloe & Alexee climbing together:

Lane was off that day so after leaving the school I met him at Big Orange for lunch--love that place, especially their BLT wedge salad.  I'm not sure why I took a picture of tea and water.

Tuesday afternoon Alexee and Crosby played at Kylie and Cole's house, so I picked Rhett up from school and took him to pick out new glasses.  He has worn contacts for over a year now and does great with them, but his vision has gotten worse, and he wanted a pair of glasses to have for home and weekends.  I think he looks handsome in them! Growing up TOO FAST.

Valentine Weekend, A's Check-up

The kids were out of school on Valentine's Day (Friday), so we went to my parents' house for the weekend.  My mom actually met us and took the kids for the afternoon while Lane and I went to the new house (see here) to meet with the previous owners before they moved out.  We stopped for lunch before the meeting and had kind-of forgotten that it was Valentine's Day until we saw the restaurant's special holiday menu-ha!  We were pleasantly surprised to find out that Red Velvet Cake was their dessert for the day!  (It was really good, but still not as delicious as my Mom's cake.)

We have the keys now, but I still can't believe we're moving.  It's only about 15 weeks away now...very mixed emotions!  Meanwhile, the kids were busy feeding with Mom.  They saw the birth of this calf and told Mom they thought its name should be "Windy Jo" because it was such a cold, windy day.

On Saturday I went with Mom to feed.  I wanted to try to help her, but I honestly think I just slowed her down because she had to tell me how to do everything.  I enjoyed the time with her though! 

I showed the kids how to play Chinese Checkers Saturday evening.  I always liked playing this game with my Great-Grandmother at her house.  The kids seemed to have fun with it too.

My Grandparents came over Saturday evening and gave Alexee her birthday present--a pretty heart shaped necklace, which she loved!   It was a great weekend!

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Love Alexee's artwork:

At the church playground after guitar lesson:

Alexee also had her 7 year well-child check-up last week.  I'm always so extremely thankful for healthy children!  I asked her to smile for a 7 year old picture and these are the expressions I got from her.  :)  She seems to be doing great!

Age 7

A little late, but we finally took a few birthday pictures by the rock wall:

What a blessing she is!

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Rhett was at an after-school activity so I didn't get pictures of him that day...but I snapped these of our little clown!  :)

Valentine's Week

Last week was busy...

Tuesday night I tried a new recipe for Chicken Enchilada Chili.  I made it to take to a friend on Wednesday, but I sampled it and really liked it--I'll definitely make it again for our family!  I also made red velvet cookies for her family for Valentine's Day.  They are super easy cookies to make, and really tasty!

We also had our kitchen cabinets worked on on Wednesday.  A company called Kitchen Tune Up did a thorough cleaning of all the cabinet fronts and hardware and fixed every little scratch.  We thought they did a great job and really made the cabinets look new again!  

Crosby and I went out for lunch that day.  We enjoyed our date at Old Mill Bread.  C loved his grilled cheese sandwich--ate every bite--and also liked the Oreo cupcake.  It had an Oreo cookie baked inside.   He brought motorcycles and other little vehicles to play with while we waited for the food.

We went to the library after school that day.  I'm glad R knows how to use the self-check out station because I can never get the machines to work on the movies!

Crosby and I made heart-shaped animals one day.  We made a dog, bunny, penguin and raccoon.  He wanted to add a super-hero mask to the dog.  :)

 

The kids' Valentine parties were all on Thursday because they didn't have school on Friday.  We didn't make fancy Valentines--everyone had the same kind:  goldfish with printable these tags.  We gave their teachers cinnamon bread or cranberry pecan bread.

at Crosby's school:

And it was also the day of the 1st Grade Valentine Dance.  Alexee wasn't happy about this.  Sadly, she frowned the entire time.  They had assigned partners, and I told her later that she might have made her partner sad because she was so grumpy.  She told me her partner had no interest in dancing either.  She even said she hoped it snowed and canceled the whole thing, even if it meant missing out on the classroom party which followed the dance.  I thought she looked super sweet anyway. She didn't want me to snap her picture, but I just couldn't skip documenting this event.  (It doesn't seem that long ago that Rhett was doing the 1st grade dance.)

She was much happier after the dance part was over and she could just run around the gym with her friends.

After the dance I went to Rhett's classroom to see how his party was going.  They had Chick-fil-A and cupcakes and made cards for children at the hospital.  

The weather was finally sunny and nice that afternoon!  We went on a walk across the neighborhood to deliver a few valentines to the kids' friends.  It was great to get outside and get some fresh air.

Snow Day

It snowed last night!  The kids are having a great time playing in it today:

 tiny little bird prints in the snow

 They were excited about trying out the new sleds from Christmas!

Bogart with snow in his beard

 sledding and snow angels

Crosby has been interested in watching birds lately.  We try to look them up in our Arkansas bird book and keep a list of what we identify. I'm really surprised at how many birds we have here in a neighborhood.

Alexee & neighbors with their tiny snowman.