Bathroom Makeover Re-do

Over this past summer, due to some plumbing issues, we needed to replace the toilet in the kids' bathroom.  As usual,  one thing led to another and before Tim knew it, he was planking the walls for me.  And since he had to take everything out to plank the walls, we decided to go ahead and switch out the vanity, as well as the light fixture too.

So the kids' bathroom got a fun freshening up.

Here's a look back at what the bathroom looked like when we moved in.  So much tan and brown, I couldn't take it!

So not too long after we moved in, I tore down the wallpaper and the shower doors and gave it a fresh coat of paint.  We also updated the vanity, the medicine cabinet, and the light fixture, but we left the toilet, the floors, the tub and surrounding tiles alone because we weren't ready to jump into a major renovation.

After that update, it looked like this

It was definitely much better (and very colorful too!).  

But after living with it this way for a few years, we realized some of our choices weren't working in there as well as we thought they would. Live and learn! For one thing, the vanity was really too big for such a tiny bathroom.  It made the already small space feel even more cramped.  And it wasn't holding up very well either.  Tim had already had to fix a drawer that had come loose and the paint had also started chipping and bubbling up in places.  

I had the hardest time settling on what to replace it with though.  I really wanted a wall-mounted sink, but finally decided one wouldn't be very practical for us right now.  I also looked at smaller vanities, but just didn't find one that I loved.  Plus I wanted the bathroom to feel very open and airy and I didn't think I could get that feeling with a vanity.  So I ended up going with a pedestal sink, which originally was not even on my radar.  But it has opened up the bathroom so much.  I made sure to get one with space on both sides of the sink so the kids could sit their toiletries on it.  And I chose one that feels a little bit vintage, rather than sleek and modern.  We already had the medicine cabinet to hold things like toothpaste, a brush, hair gel, etc...   I just gave it a fresh coat of white paint to match the walls.  And there are some open shelves on the other side of the bathroom to hold baskets of things as well as the kids' towels.

The other thing we'd come to realize was that the light fixture we originally put in the bathroom wasn't nearly bright enough.  This bathroom doesn't have any windows, so it's important that our lighting be very bright.  The light we had in there only used two low wattage light bulbs and since the top of the light fixture was covered it also blocked much of the light from spreading out around the room.  So this time around, we bought a three-bulb light fixture with open glass so that the light could really brighten the entire bathroom.  It's so much brighter now.  We can finally see!

I painted the sign and Tim made the frame for it.  For when self-esteem and body insecurities become a battle, I just wanted a big reminder that they are fearfully and wonderfully made. 

I found this little bin at Magnolia Market to store washcloths and other little bathroom things.  

So that's the kids' bathroom now, looking open, airy, a little vintage farmhouse, nicely refreshed. and of course, white!

It will be nice when we eventually get the bathtub, surrounding tiles, and floors re-done, (they're all the original almond color) but for now, we're really enjoying this update. 

White couches with kids

Lately it was becoming more and more apparent that we needed extra seating in our living room.  For years, we've just had the grey couch and two accent chairs.  When the kids were small, this arrangement worked fine.  We could all pile on the couch with the kids sitting in our laps and snuggle up with a book or watch a movie.  But as they've grown, this just hasn't been working for us any longer.  For one thing, they don't sit in our laps as much anymore, so five people on one couch is just squished.  And squished kids fight.  They fight about who's taking up too much space or touching them with their feet or hogging all of the blanket.  Sometimes one person would want to spread out on the couch and relax but then no one else had a comfy place to sit because no one wanted to sit in the not-so-comfy chairs. 

The problem was I really loved my grey couch.  Actually we all did.  It's just so comfortable. We've had this couch for four years now and I still love it just as much as when we bought it.  

I didn't want to move it out of the living room.  But last weekend, I faced the facts (or maybe I just got worn out by kids fighting on the couch) and decided it was time to try out something new.  So we lugged our white Ikea Ektorp couches upstairs from the basement and plopped them down in place of our existing furniture (which went downstairs to the basement).  And I promised myself to give it at least a week before I made a final decision because I was sure I was really going to miss the grey couch and want to switch it back immediately.

But as I've lived with it this week, I've realized that I like it.  It feels relaxing, cozy, and comfortable.  And we love having the extra places to sit and spread out on.

I've been asked how I have all white furniture with three kids and a dog.  I thought now would be as good a time as any to address that question.  For me, the easiest way to do battle against dirt and stains is prevention.  And the three things that cause the most mess and stains in our home are food/drink, art supplies, and dirt. 

Now obviously you want to live in and enjoy your home, so you have to find a balance with this that works for your family.  We have a few rules set in place that help at least contain the mess and protect our furniture, walls, and curtains.  

One, is that except for special occasions like family movie nights, food and drinks (except for water) stay in the kitchen at the table.   I don't let my kids wander around the house eating or drinking.  This prevents them from dropping food all over the floor or down in the couch cushions, spilling drinks on the furniture, and wiping their sticky fingers on the walls. Maybe when they get older I won't be such a stickler to this rule, but for now, I think it saves me a lot of time in cleaning up after them.  And when they finish eating, I always remind them to go wash their hands (without touching anything first!) and wipe their face off.  

Another rule in our home is that we pretty much keep art supplies contained to one area - the art closet.  By keeping all art supplies and projects in the art closet,  the mess stays there and I don't have to worry about accidental marker stains on the couch or glitter glue stuck to the coffee table.  Another benefit to this rule is that I don't have to constantly pick up crayons, markers, and papers that have been scattered all over the house.  Most days, the art closet looks like a glitter bomb went off in it, but at least my house stays clean. 

And finally, no shoes allowed on the couch. If the kids want to put their feet up, they are welcome to, but they have to take their shoes off first.  Whether you have white couches or brown couches, this just makes sense for keeping dirt and stains off the couch.   A lot of times, we will even take our shoes off right when we come inside.  I'm not fanatical about this and even as I type, I'm wearing my shoes, so it's not a strict rule.  But especially if it's raining or muddy outside, I will remind my kids to kick their shoes off at the door.  The less dirt that comes inside, the less I have to vacuum up later.  And this goes without saying, but if they are extremely dirty for some reason, they aren't allowed on the furniture at all until they clean themselves up.

So those are my tips for having white furniture with kids.  I think just by having a few simple rules set in place, you can prevent a lot of the the dirt and stains from happening.  Obviously, my kids aren't perfect and these rules get broken or we make exceptions, but in general, this is what works for us.  On top of that, these couches are slipcovered, so when they do get a stain or start looking dingy, I can throw the slipcovers in the wash with some bleach.

Here's a look at the grey couch down in the basement.  I think it works well down there too. 

What do you think?  Do you have any tips for me on keeping a clean house with kids?

De-cluttering and Simplifying with Kids

Maybe it's due to the start of a new year or to the overload of stuff that comes with Christmas or maybe it's because I've been reading a lot of minimalism and even some tiny-home blogs, but lately I've been really motivated to de-clutter and quiet our home.  It's something I do pretty regularly anyway (I actually love to de-clutter), but then there are also times, like lately, when I get extra motivated to get the excess out of our house and find better ways to organize what's left. (Helpful hint: Always wait to organize until after you've first de-cluttered.)  

Over the past several weeks, I've gone through clothes, kitchen drawers, closets, toys, books and even our basement storage and laundry rooms. I've been donating, selling things on Craigslist, and giving things away that we no longer need or use. It's not that I want to be a complete minimalist or live in a tiny-home (although I do find this a little bit fascinating), it's just that I love the idea behind all of it…. less stuff to maintain means more time to focus on other things that you love… your family and friends, travel, hobbies, whatever it is that you find important.  I also love how my house feels with less stuff in it.  I am way less overwhelmed when I don't have stuff everywhere to constantly pick up and put away.  In fact, when I am feeling overwhelmed by the state of our home, instead of just cleaning and putting things away, I usually start tossing things in the trash and into the donate pile.  And afterwards, I feel so much better!  Give it a try sometime and let me know what you think!

  

Over the years, I've learned a lot about keeping the stuff in our home under control.  I still have more to learn and this is an area I always push myself to do better in because it feels so good to have a tidy, organized home.  One of the biggest challenges to having a tidy home right now is all the things that come with having three kids.  Early on as a mom, I bought a lot of stuff for my kids.  If it was on sale and I liked it (and we had the money), I bought it.  It didn't so much matter if they already had all the shoes they needed, if I found a great deal on a cute pair of shoes, I would buy them. If Gap had a sale, I was there stocking up on cute clothes. This was not such a big deal when I just had one kid, but as we had more kids, the stuff just grew and grew.  The more kids, the more stuff, and at times it just overwhelmed me. I felt like I was always picking up and putting things away, organizing and re-organizing. And finding spots for it all was challenging and frustrating.  I don't remember when it happened, but overtime, I learned that constantly buying so much just wasn't working for me or helping me keep a tidy, un-cluttered home.  So I started de-cluttering and it felt so good that I just kept doing it.  Somewhere along the way, I learned about minimalism and although I don't think I would ever be true minimalist (I like warm and cozy spaces with textures and layers too much), I am so inspired by their perspectives on life and stuff.  I could read minimalism blogs for hours.  And over time, I feel in love with de-cluttering and organizing our home.

This really is a never-ending process because as much as I try to limit what comes in to our home, there is always stuff coming in. Whether from Christmas or birthdays, paper clutter, free things given to my kids, hand-me-downs from others, or stuff we buy on our own, there is always stuff coming in. So I have learned that I have to be very pro-active in consistently getting things out of our house or the stuff starts to take over.    

In a sense, I am constantly challenging the things that are in our house with the statement, "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."  (quote by William Morris)  Once an object stops being beautiful or helpful to our family, it's more of a hindrance to us if we keep it because then we have to maintain it, store it, clean it, pick it up, organize it, step over it, etc.  Getting rid of things we neither need or love frees up both our time and our space to allow other things that are more important to us into our life.  

   

Here are a few tips for de-cluttering that I have learned over the years... 

1. Throw stuff away….all the time. Plastic junk toys (especially if they make noise!). Free stuff. Broken toys. Toys with missing pieces. Magazines. Socks with holes. Trinkets.  Art projects.  School papers.  Random objects that you are clueless about.  Just throw it away.  Secret tip: when you put it in the trash, cover it up with another piece of trash so your kids don't see it and pull it back out like it's their long lost most favorite thing in the world. 

2. Always have a donate box.  Whether you keep it in the basement, laundry room, garage, or closet, have a box that is specifically for donating.  Then when you come across anything that you know you no longer want or need or like, you can quickly just toss it in the box. So as soon as your kid grows out of a pair of shoes or pants, instead of shoving them back in the closet or bottom of the drawer to deal with later, just toss them in the donate box.  It's that simple and you don't have to give things a second thought or waste a lot of time going through things.  When the box gets full, donate it.  And then immediately get another box and keep that process going.  Another secret tip : Keep this box hidden from your kids or they will go through it and beg you to keep all the things!

3.  Have a "toy holding box". This is a secret box or black garbage bag that you keep out of sight from your kids where you toss their toys, books, or stuffed animals when you notice that they don't play with them anymore.  Don't donate these things right away, unless you're sure they are done with them.  Wait and see if your kid asks for the toy in the upcoming weeks or months.  If after a few months, your kid never even notices that you took away a toy, it's probably safe to donate it and it will never be missed.  On the other hand, if they miss their toy soon after you take it away, it's great to be able to pull it out of the box and hand it back to them.  

I do a very similar thing with their drawings, crafts, and art work.  I will put it in a drawer for a while and see if they ever ask to look at it again. Sometimes they will and I can pull it back out and give it to them. But if several weeks go by and it's been forgotten, then I toss the picture, craft, art work, etc… in the trash (unless it's super special).  Otherwise, I would have these things coming out my ears. 

4.  Be very selective and buy less.  This is a big part of keeping your home tidy and de-cluttered.  The less you bring into your home, the less you have to pick up, maintain, and find places to store.  Remind yourself before you buy something that you will have to find a place to keep it.  This thought automatically keeps me from buying giant plastic toys that will take up a large amount of floor space and become part of the room decor.  I also remind myself that most likely I will be the one cleaning said toy or clothes or shoes up off the floor a lot.  When you are buying birthday or Christmas presents for your kids, really think through each purchase because you are going to be the one tripping over it all the time. Think outside the box of just more toys too. You could get them tickets to a special event,  sign them up for an extracurricular activity, camp, a sports team, piano lessons, etc.  

I've read articles about  how having less toys benefits your kids in many different ways. It really makes me think about how much my kids have and I feel better about limiting the amount of toys in our home.  I also read about this mom who took her kids toys away and although I don't think I will ever go as far as she did, her story has stuck with me and I am intrigued by all the benefits like contentment, creativity, less fighting, and patience that she noticed in her kids afterwards. 

When you are more selective and buy less, it also affords you the possibility of buying better quality things.  Whether we are talking about toys, clothes, shoes, tools, or house stuff, less really is more!  I finally learned that my kids don't need that many clothes and shoes. They almost always wear the same clothes over and over anyway.  They have their favorites and the rest just takes up drawer and closet space.  They just need enough so that I don't have to wash laundry all the time without them running out of anything. I feel the same way about shoes, the less the better. Otherwise I am constantly tripping over their shoes or trying to find the particular ones they want to wear.  It's so much simpler to have less shoes.  

5. Ask your kids what they don't want anymore.  If they have 40 toy cars, could they pick out their top 20 or 30 and donate the rest? Can your daughter narrow down her baby dolls or stuffed animals to just a few favorites?  If you have an older child that is reluctant to part with things, offer to sell their stuff on Craigslist or in a garage sell for them and let them have the money (This always motivates Tyson to find things he doesn't really play with).  Or challenge them to find 5 things they don't want anymore, then celebrate with ice cream or a cookie.  Baby steps.   

6. Get rid of extras/multiples.  Shampoo bottles and other bathroom supplies, duplicate toys and books, sheets, towels, blankets, travel coffee mugs, dishes, the list goes on.  Figure out how many of something you really need/use and get rid of the rest.  We don't have to be prepared for the apocalypse.  Let some things go and trust that you will be able to survive with less.  This will open up a ton of space in your cabinets and closets.  

So those are my tips.

What about you guys?  Do find it hard to keep your house de-cluttered?  What's your biggest challenge in this area? Do you have any great tips for me?

One last tip: Start with the easiest stuff first and then work your way to the harder things.  This way you  will see a difference faster and be encouraged to keep going.  Have fun!!

Master Bathroom Renovation

In my last post, I gave you a sneak peek of our Master Bathroom Renovation. So today I’m back with all the details and lots of pictures.

But before we get to the After photos, it’s always fun to take a look back at the Before photos. That way you can fully appreciate the transformation.

This is how our master bathroom looked when we moved in a year and half ago.

 

Brown, brown, tan, cream, and more brown.  So drab and dated. It felt depressing to me.  We knew we would eventually renovate it, but there were other things that took a higher priority (like the kitchen).  So all we really did in the beginning was remove the shower doors because they were gross and I hated cleaning them.

Then, about a year ago, Tim was on a trip and I  just couldn’t take the brown anymore. So I ripped down the wallpaper, painted the walls a light blue and painted the cabinet white.

It wasn’t much, but it was definitely an improvement.  It made it more livable for me. 

 

But one of the things I really missed was being able to take baths. It’s how I relax and unwind after a long day. The kids have a bathtub, but it’s tiny and uncomfortable and always full of toys.  It’s also made of cast iron, which feels cold to the touch, no matter how much hot water you put in it. They don’t seem to mind this, but I hated it because I always felt cold when I was taking a bath. So I only used it a few times before realizing it wasn’t at all relaxing or worth it for me.  

Then, several months ago, we discovered the tiles in the bottom of our shower were cracking and leaking water into the basement.  Tim sealed up the cracks with caulk, but this moved our bathroom renovation to the top of the to-do list.  The caulk was just a temporary fix that we hoped would keep all the leaks sealed until we could make design decisions, hire professionals, and get it fully renovated.

Finally, the day came and all the ugly went out.

 

And over the course of a few weeks, the beautiful came in.

 

It’s such a tiny space, but we really tried to get the most out of every inch.  I wanted it to feel like a spa retreat when I walked into the bathroom. As usual, I used lots of grays and whites in the space.  I debated on painting the walls a “color”, but in the end, I think all the neutrals makes it feel calm and serene.  Which is exactly what I need after a loud and chaotic day.

 

The bathtub is a four foot soaking tub by Kohler. Most tubs are five feet, but since our bathroom is so tiny, we didn’t have room for a normal size tub.  Four foot tubs are hard to find. I was so thankful when Tim found this one because having a tub was such a high priority for me. 

The floors are Carrara marble hexagon tiles.

 

We looked all over for a new vanity, but couldn’t find one that was the right size for our space and still met all of our storage needs. So we ended up just keeping our sink base and updating it.  I gave it a fresh coat of paint and we replaced the top with a Carrara marble top from Home Depot.  We also added drawer knobs and a new faucet.

 

The shelves offer extra storage space for things like towels and toilet paper.

 

I’m so happy with how it turned out. What once was a tiny dreary room that I hated is now a beautiful retreat for me at the end of long days.

 

Carrara Marble sink top – Home Depot

Carrara Marble hexagon floor tile – The Builder Depot

Shelves – Home Depot

Kohler 4 ft soaking tub – Amazon

Grohe Seabury Faucet/Showerhead/Tub spout –  Amazon

Drawer Knobs – Restoration Hardware Outlet

Mirror – Restoration Hardware Outlet

Light – Pottery Barn

Towel hooks – Pottery Barn

Toilet paper holder – Pottery Barn

Toilet – American Standard Champion 4 from Home Depot

Shower curtain – Amazon

Basket – Target

Wall color – Irish Mist by Behr

Vintage Rattan Hanging Chair

Last week, Tim screwed a giant bolt into a rafter in our ceiling so I could hang up my new-to-me Craigslisted rattan hanging chair.  And I LoVE it!

 

We had to scoot the fireplace over a tad to accommodate it, but I think it’s just perfect for that little corner.  It’s so fun!  And it has a peaceful little view into the woods behind our house, where this time of the year, the trees are especially pretty and colorful.

 

I’m on the hunt for a giant cushion to plop down in the bottom and a few pillows to toss in there (this one is borrowed from my couch), but don’t you just want to grab a good book and a cup of coffee and curl up for awhile?

I sure do!  In fact, I’m blogging from this chair right now.

It’s become the new favorite (and fought over) seat in the house.

 

The first day that we had it hanging up, the kids were spinning each other and getting a little bit crazy with it.  Several times I warned them to calm down. My warnings went unheeded and I think I was too busy with something else (I can’t remember what) to intervene immediately. Then all of a sudden, the knot I had tied came loose and Tyson and my chair went crashing to the floor.  Oops!  Thankfully no one was hurt and my chair survived the crash unharmed.  The kids all learned their lesson.  And I learned to tie and secure a better knot.  And so far, this one is still holding….

Quick and free kitchen update

 

So I am very much a light and bright kind of girl when it comes to decorating my home.  Over the last two years or so, I’ve have slowly gone through my house and painted walls and furniture to reflect my tastes.  But there is one area in my house that isn’t at all my style and I have felt stuck and unable to do anything about it.  That would be my kitchen.

It is filled with lots of dark wood cabinets and dark countertops.  My dream kitchen is white and airy, with open shelves.  I have thought a lot about painting the cabinets, but for several reasons, I’ve decided (for now) not to paint. 

My Reasons:

1. It would be an insane amount of work and mess to sand and paint all the drawers and cabinets (37 in all!). And I’m not sure I could sanely handle weeks of kitchen disaster with three small kids under tow right now.

2.  Eventually we will move with Tim’s job.  It could be six months from now; it could be three years from now.  We don’t know, but I can’t hardly fathom doing all the hard work to make it my dream kitchen and then moving away.  It would seem pointless. 

3.  Our house is only six years old and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the cabinets.  In fact, for resale value, it’s probably best that we leave them the way they are. 

So, for all those reasons, I have left them alone.  But my heart yearns for light and airy with fun pops of color.

So I found a way to have a little bit of a compromise.

 

Here is the before picture of the brown cabinets, gray counter tops, and tan floors.  Blah.  It’s not me.  There are more cabinets to the left side of the room, which contributes to overloading of dark blandness all across the room.

 

Yes, I know that it’s nice and all, but like I said, it’s just not me and it leaves me uninspired.  So in an effort to appease myself and my desire for less brown and more color, one afternoon, I had the bright idea to just take off some of the cabinet doors.

Ta-da!

 

I instantly liked the change.  This was a no-cost, little effort, quick fix that allows me to bring in more lights and brights to my kitchen, while also making it possible to quickly and easily change it back at some point if/when we end up moving.  A friend suggested I wallpaper the backs of the cabinets with fun patterned scrapbook paper to make even more of a statement.  I think that’s a great idea and hope to do that soon.

So that’s my quick kitchen update.

Until I have my own white kitchen, here are some white kitchens I’m drooling over:

via here

 

here

 

via here

 

via here

 

via here

I love those aqua cabinets!  I could totally do that!

 

And just because I’m curious on your opinion, would you paint or not paint your kitchen cabinets if you were me.  Have any of ya’ll ever painted your kitchen cabinets?  If so, how terrible was it? 

Living Room Chair Update

After buying our new couch back in January and then selling our old sofa and loveseat, our living room was looking a little bit sparse.  And although our new couch offered plenty of room for our own family to cozy up on and the kids thoroughly enjoyed all the open space to run and play, we were quite limited on extra seating for any guests. So I knew I wanted to add in a few comfy chairs to complete the room. 

I have learned my lesson in the past from trying to replace something too quickly and then ending up with something that’s not really what I want because I was too impatient.  So this time, I set my mind not to settle and to wait patiently until the right chairs came along.  For a while, I dreamed of white tufted chairs, but once common sense kicked in, I knew that white chairs would not mix well with kids.  I didn’t want to be fanatically yelling at them all day not to touch the chairs. So, eventually, I let that dream die and although I didn’t know exactly what I wanted instead, I felt like I would know when I saw them.  The problem was that I really had no time to shop for chairs.  And I know this might sound weird a little bit, but I had felt the Lord leading me to trust Him more in providing us with the things we need and even want for our home (rather than stressing and exhausting myself trying to make things happen).  So in an effort to follow His leading, I told Him that I would trust him to provide the right chairs for us in His timing.  This is kind of new to me (to trust God with decorating my home), but He’s God and He knows what I like, what we need, He’s intimately involved in the details of my life, and He loves to bless us as His children.  I also figured He would be an excellent decorator and I was excited to see how and what He would provide for us.

So after a few months of patiently waiting (and maybe sometimes reminding God that I was patiently waiting), one day I was perusing through my daily email from Joss and Main and I saw some chairs that I thought were cute and might possibly work in our living room.  If you’re not familiar with Joss and Main, it is “a premier members-only site that offers private, limited-time sale events on the world's best brands for your home and life. Each day, members receive an email invitation to exclusive sale events on the best merchandise at prices up to 70% off retail.” (from J&M website) The only hiccup was that these chairs were non-returnable.  And since there was no way for me to check them out in real life, sit in them, or make sure the color and pattern would work in my living room, it would require a pretty big leap of faith on my part to order them. I mean, it’s not like we have money to burn around here.  And I definitely didn’t want to be stuck with something I hated.

So I went on about my day chasing kids, cleaning up messes, and squelching squabbles and I kind of forgot about the chairs.  Then that evening, as I was cleaning up dinner, those chairs very clearly and randomly popped back up in my mind.  I showed them to Tim.  He liked them and he especially liked the price, but he was leaving the final decision up to me.  (Cause he’s super smart like that.) And so I stared at the empty chairless spots in our living room and then I stared at the photo online.  Back and forth I stared.  I tried to mentally imagine the chairs in the room.  I walked around the room.  I sat and stared some more.  I totally stressed myself out over the decision.  I asked Tim about a million times if we should go for it.  And I prayed.  And in the end, (with a little encouragement from Tim) and on a little hunch that these were the chairs God was dropping into my lap, I decided to leap.  And then I held my breath for several weeks while I waited for them to be delivered.

And once they arrived, I ended up loving them even more than I originally thought that I would.  (Cause God’s pretty awesome like that.)

Wanna see them?

I hope so, because I’m about to bombard you with pictures of my living room. (These are all iphone pics, so the quality is not amazing, but it gets the job done.)

Here are my new Shadow Tufted Swoop Arm Chairs.

 

 

I may have had to let go of the dream of all white chairs, but the tufts were a must have for me.  I love tufted furniture right now.  And I love that the chairs go with the couch, but aren’t super matchy.  The pattern is light and fun and playful (without being over the top) and that adds some interest and personality to the room.  I don’t like super serious furniture (hence the spool being used as a side table between them) and I actually think these chairs probably fit better with our style than all white chairs would have anyway.  And clearly, the gray pattern will hide things a lot better than the white would have.

 

 

And in case you are wondering what my children do while I stage the house and take pictures, these last two pictures are for you.  Where’s Hudson?!!

 

Happy Memorial Day weekend!  Have fun.  Be safe.