there's no place like gnome.

I painted the front room blue. Now, before you think I’m super crazy, it’s a blue I pulled from the fabric wall just past the kitchen. (Wait, what? Fabric wall. Did you know you can turn fabric into wallpaper by applying it to the wall with liquid starch? Suuuuper easy and effective.) So I pulled a blue from the fabric and painted a couple walls in the front room/dining room that blue. And you know what? We like it. I also spruced up the rest of the walls with white, covering the dirty cream that was there to begin. There was also the matter of dying the existing curtains and painting the rods black as a manner of updating.  (Empty house photos are from the house listing.)

And now for the big one. The kitchen island. The project I’ve been waiting for since we moved in and lived with the silly oddly-shaped island with built-in indoor grill. We shopped around for cabinets and found that Klearvue cabinets from Menards fit our budget best. They’re cabinets you (*ahem* Dave) assemble yourself with bunches of options for combos. We also knew we wanted butcher block and – again- after shopping around, ordered a piece of butcher block actually marketed as a workshop table top.  It saved us hundreds of dollars (even more so because Dave was able to pick it up from a local warehouse to avoid shipping costs) and came in just the right size. And so a couple weekends ago, we demolished (and found a newspaper clipping from 1981) and assembled.

We have the toe kicks left to do and the shiplap to paint and more stools arrive tomorrow but it is usable and we are in love. Our neighbors stopped over the other night to see it and mentioned how – despite the island itself being huge – 3 x 8 feet – it actually makes our kitchen look bigger to be rid of the kidney bean formica island.

This past weekend we welcomed Dave’s sister and her family – two adults and three kids. We had to pull in extra stools but we all ate meals around the island. It was lovely. We also went to the Milwaukee County Zoo where we especially lingered with the flamingos, tiger, and elephants (real and shrubbery).

No post since the end of July? Uffda.

Things have been a bit crazy.

Let me catch you up on our whereabouts.

I mowed the lawn bunches of times. We fell in love with a cauliflower rice stir fry mix from Costco and have ate it three times in the last two weeks. Our bedroom has been (and still is) a disaster. I’ve binge-watched Veronica Mars whenever I’ve had a chance. More significantly —

I volunteered at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly in Milwaukee for a couple days in August. I got to see some of my favorite SEMN synod friends who invited me to worship with them as if I had never left. 

We camped. We pulled the camper to Waupaca where we were able to stay AND also attend our niece’s birthday party in Stevens Point.  We had a wonderful weekend, weather-wise. Coffee on our campsite deck. Playground fun and s’mores when Dave’s sister and kids came to visit one evening. Sleeping with the windows open. A great visit with my Aunt Janice on the way home. All around lovely. We do love camping.

Four days later, we packed the car (+ dog) and headed for North Carolina to visit Dave’s brother and family. They have a backyard oasis complete with pool so we chilled (literally) there for a couple days (picture #4 below). We also set out to do some exploring in Greensboro and Roanoke (pictures #5 + 6). Super fun. Emmett met his cousin, mini golden doodle Marty, (picture #1) and had loads of fun playing in the backyard. Emmett also explored his first two arcades. We’ll definitely be back.

Let’s see … what else?

Oh, right. I GOT A JOB. Maybe you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to, not working and all. It was the agreement that upon moving I would take my own little sabbatical. I left church pretty tired and, really, I didn’t know the extent of how tired until I had said goodbye to Austin. This past summer was all about taking the dog for walks, spending time with Dave exploring our new place, and progressing projects around the house. But, alas, summer came to an end and it was time. I had applied for a few positions – mostly non-profits, a few I really hoped I’d at least get an interview – with no luck.

And then Thursday happened. I had an interview to be an elementary special education paraprofessional in a local school district and they hired me on the spot. (School has started, alas. They need their slots filled!) It’s part-time (9-3) and a good fit (fingers crossed) for this fall. Starting Monday, Emmett won’t get his lunch-time walk as I hang out with elementary schoolers instead of him. Sorry, bud.

Let’s throw a craft show in there too, shall we? I’ve been sewing up a storm because today I had my first show of the fall. It was just down the road at a pumpkin patch that was hosting a watermelon festival. (Follow? Me neither.) It was my first outdoor show and besides being a bit sunburned and suuuuper tired, we had a good day.  (Can you believe the adorable BOO pillow didn’t sell? I thought it’d be the first to go!)

And so that, my friends, is why I haven’t been great at blogging.

Chances of it improving in the weeks to come? Slim. Starting a job, demolishing a kitchen island (It’s almost new-kitchen-island time! New-kitchen-island time! Everything is ready to go, waiting in our garage. We just need to be home for a weekend!), prepping for a weekend of visitors with whom we will visit the Milwaukee Zoo, another craft show around the corner …

I guess I’ll see you when I see you. *shrugging emoji*