WBS Block Party

When we moved, one of the things we liked the most about our new neighborhood was the way it was laid out.  We are in the very back of the larger development, in a loop - think giant cul-de-sac with an island of homes in the middle ;). There is only one way in and out, so we don't get a lot of traffic and it's as though we are our own little town back here.  Plus, almost everyone on the block is a young married couple with young kids, just like us.  Since we plan on being in this house for a loooooong time so we wanted to make sure we met our neighbors and started building friendships with them.   I mean, why not?  We live close and will literally raise our children together....we may as well be friends!  

Dan and I really started talking about organizing a block party for the new 'hood before we even moved in.  Then when we got to know some of the people on either side of us and mentioned the idea to them.  They thought it sound great too!  One of our neighbors  even dubbed Dan the 'Mayor' of the block because we haven't lived here that long, but we have met the most people.  So we couldn't disappoint and finally decided it was time, set the date and passed out flyers to all of our neighbors.  

Saturday night was they 'First Annual' block party and it was a HUGE success!! Most of the neighborhood came.  I think we probably had around 50 people, plus 20-25 kids!!  The kids played really well together too.  We blocked off the street, there was a pool set up, a couple jump houses and we projected a kids movie on the garage door when the sun went down.  The adults ate a little and drank a lot.  Everyone had a great time getting to know each other and have already planned on getting together more often for informal hang outs.  And, I know there are going to be some great Buckeye tailgates this Fall.  It was fun to see everyone else get as excited as we were about it.  We made a Facebook group for the neighborhood that most everyone has joined and is buzzing about the party and what else we can do.

The girls loved every minute of it!  Hannah was being sooooo cute running around playing and flirting with the boys.  That is the only problem - there are only a handful or girls, but a ton of boys! Middle school and high school should be fun for us...  Aly played with her new best friend, Lainey, who lives right across the street and will start kindergarten with her next Fall.   Dan and I got to know a lot of people too. I ended up coming home around 10:30 to put the girls to bed because they were so tired, but Dan stayed and didn't come home until people left at 1am!! 

It is just really cool for us.  For a while we weren't even sure if things would work out for us to get this house.  We wondered if we were even doing the right thing trying to sell in this market, then I got a job teaching in Gahanna and after a lot of frustrating showings our old house finally sold...just days before our contract deadline with Westport.  We feel like we have really been placed in this neighborhood for a reason.  After all, Dan was appointed to neighborhood mayor...which make me the first lady ;)  Our hope is that we all, as neighbors, genuinely become good friends and enjoy spending time together.  I am sure it won't all be butterflies and rainbows, but its good to know we are all in this together!  We LOVE our new 'hood!! 

Princess Playroom

One of the things on my list of stuff to do this summer was to finish decorating our house.  It has been slowly coming along.  Over the last week or so I have been working on the girls playroom and finally finished.  We spend a lot of time playing in here together so I wanted it to be a space they would enjoy.  I really wanted to painted the walls a light gray and then hand paint stones on the walls so it felt like they were in the tower of an enchanted castle, but it turns out I am not that artistic and definitely don't have that kind of time.  So, this is what they ended up with:

 

The expression on the wall near the fish tank says: 'Welcome to the land of Make Believe'.

The art center...

The learning center...

The pink, glittery castle above is a growth chart (but I still need to mark their milestones) and the door says, "No BOYS allowed".  Below is the walk-in closet that was converted into a playhouse by taking off the door, complete with a kitchen and dinette.  Yes, that is a nutrition pyramid by the kitchen ;)

I am pretty sure the girls like it...when Aly saw it the morning after I painted it she ran in, gasped and kissed the walls.  That is why I did it...there really is nothing better than knowing your children are happy!

F-R-E-E

That spells 'FREE' and that is exactly what this swing set was!  Lori had a client who sold their house and the buyer did not want the set, so she asked us if we did.  Umm, let me think..YES, of course!  It was the exact set I was planning on buying from Home Depot that was over $900!!  Moving it wasn't too bad, but leveling in in our yard was a different story. We had to raise one side of the tower up and dig the A frame down about about 1-2 feet! There is no way this is going anywhere!

I have been majorly guilting about this lately since Dan quit HD because of school and there are some of the other things we need right now, so we didn't know when we would be able to get one for the girls.  So, even though we had to replace a few boards and the swings (we have not hung the glider swing or the hanging 'thing' yet, but will after we get home from vacation!), this was truly a blessing!!  Thank you, Jesus...and Lori!! ;)

Look at the joy from their first swing, captured on my newly SHATTERED iPhone (that is a sore subject right now).

A Diamond in the Rough

Our neighborhood recently had a community garage sale.  Even though I am usually not a garage sale-er, because I am terrible at it, I went with my mom for fun.  To my surprise, I found this dining set that would be a perfect fit for our empty 'dining room'.  They were asking $75 for the set...my mom talked them down to $60.  Sold.  The solid wood set came with the table, two extension leafs and 8 chairs.  Sure, the chair seats were wicker-ish and it screamed 1980's, but it is solid and I saw potential.  This was two weeks ago:

 

I still have to put the finishing touches on it, but this is what it looks like in our room today.  I painted the wood black, upholstered the chairs with a 'charcoal' gray fabric to darken the 'sterling' gray walls and made a simple flower arrangement with a red bow for the center.  After buying set and the materials to make the changes, I have about $150 in it...total.  I am pretty darn proud of how it turned out.

Now, I just have to buy the chandelier we have had my eye on at Lowe's since we moved in.  At $250, it will be the most expensive piece in the room :) That, unfortunately will have to wait now due to the milk incident.

Going {garden} Green

I love, love, love cooking and eating fresh ingredients.  I always thought it would be a great way to get the girls involved and teach them about where vegetables come from  to get them excited about eating them, but I never really considered having a garden for a variety of reasons.  Then, Dan found these really cool raised garden beds at Home Depot this year so the girls and I decided to give it a shot.  

We planted as much as we could in the little 4x4 bed, including: cucumbers, three varieties of peppers (red, yellow and banana), two varieties of lettuce (romaine and butter crisp), green beans, broccoli, and some of my favorite fresh herbs (cilantro, sage, rosemary, thyme and basil).  Then, we also have a strawberry planter hanging on a shepherd's hook nearby. 

I most definitely do NOT have a green thumb...in fact, is is almost black.  You can see that from the pictures.  The green beans may not make it, but the cucumbers seem to be doing really well.  I don't know how much - if anything - it will yield, but it has been a fun experience so far!  

Here's hoping we have lots of wonderful, fresh produce on the way!! :)

And then there was a Wall...

Dan, with all of our help, built a retaining wall in our front yard today!  Alyssa loved helping and was so encouraging, giving us a 'thumbs up' and telling us how good it looks.  She was right.  We still need to put the caps on the bricks, but it looks great!!  It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be...next up, a paver patio!  Hopefully this summer...

 

Gotta' love the goofy expression...