What are you guys up to this weekend? We are having some friends over for dinner tomorrow night, and cooking out with the neighbors Sunday. Im hoping that we can build my garden beds one of the days too. We need to get the vegetables going! Ernesto bought a bunch of chili pepper seeds. I hope its not too late to start!
We have had a very productive week. Boy, it feels good! We finally got the tile back splash grouted (I hate grouting!) and it looks great! Curtains are hung. Closet is organized.
We bought a platform bed last night (on Craigslist of course) Now our new king mattress is off the floor. It is very sturdy, but is getting a makeover. Ill share my plans for it next week!
After taking a closer look though, I knew that I could make them myself much cheaper. I want to use these to display some of Mateo's books in the nursery. The Ikea's shelf was 21" and cost $9.99.
I wanted 24".
I went to Lowe's and bought the following:
2- 8' 1x4
1- 8' 1x2
Lowes cut them for me [at no charge] into 2' pieces, which gave me enough to make 4 shelves.
This cost me $11.
You will also need some wood glue, hammer and finishing nails. (I already had these at home)
Each shelf will use two of the 1x4's and one 1x2. The wider 2 pieces are the back and bottom of the shelf and the 1x2 is the front piece.
Here is the side view.
I literally whipped these up in 15 minutes.
After they were glued and nailed together, I gave them a good sanding and wiped them clean with a damp cloth. They were ready to paint!
I had a gallon of oil-based primer on hand, so I gave them all a quick coat with a foam brush. After that dried, I put three coats of Valspar's "White Lacquer" spray paint.
I have to say they turned out pretty awesome!
To hang the shelves we used two screws on the back piece and added the plastic anchors. They are super strong. We centered them between the window and the corner and made sure little hands would be able to reach the lowest shelf. Four shelves hold a lot of books, but Mateo has even more. These were so easy, I may have to make more. A longer one would be great for artwork and oooh, maybe a certain sand collection?!
For Christmas last year, Smita and I bought our husbands a weekend in Savannah with golfing at the Westin Harbor Golf Resort & Spa. We both have Starwood points and knew this would be a great present for them (eh em...and us!) Well the weekend finally arrived and it was perfect.
Savannah is gorgeous! A city made for strolling. Everything was in bloom and I could not get enough of the HUGE oak trees draped in Spanish moss.
I felt like I wanted to live there. The streets were so quaint with beautiful historic row houses and mansions. Every few blocks there was a shady square with a monument.
We ended up staying at the Four Points Sheraton hotel [in the historic center] instead of the Westin [across the river]. The guys still enjoyed the awesome golf course of the Westin. The Four Points was just more convenient for walking around the city.
The Sheraton had a cute rooftop pool and knowing how much Mateo loves bath time, we were excited to get him in the water. Dressed in his new lobster swim suit, he was ready to dive in.
{this may be the cutest pic of Mateo yet!}
He splashed around like a pro.
We also wanted to spend some time at the beach. Tybee Island is only 15 miles east of Savannah. New sand for me!! It was overcast, but warm and breezy, great conditions for relaxing.
Our neighbors are from Savannah and recommended that we eat at the Crab Shack. We love seafood so that was on our "must do" list. The place had character...tons of outdoor seating, alligators at the entrance, cats roaming around and talking parrots! (my favorite)
Most importantly, the food was delicious! Although Im sure this restaurant is a place where tourists flock, I think this is all you need know:
Can you say "low country boil?" BIG ASS crab legs, buttery raw oysters, shrimp & crawfish, Oh my!
This is definitely a repeater trip. It was just 3.5 hours and little Mateo slept through both drives!
There is so much more to see and do here. We concentrated on food (of course) and walking around.
Here were our pics for eats in Savannah:
Paula Dean's restaurant The Lady and Sons. It was 3 stories high and overcrowded with tourists. (I'm talking bus loads of people) It was in need of a serious renovation (in my opinion) but the southern classics were deeeeee-lish y'all! Saigon on Broughton served up yummy Thai and Vietnamese food. We loved it!
Two breakfast places were J. Christophers and Caraway Cafe. Great food with outdoor seating. I had to eat grits at both places!
I can hardly believe you are 6 months old! Slow down Matiti, you are changing too fast! You had your 6 month check up today and you weighed 15 pounds and were 25 1/2 inches long. You also had to get a couple shots but you only cried for a few seconds. What a tough guy!
Your papi and I have been checking for teeth because you are showing all
the signs that they are coming. You're drooling all over the place and
rubbing your gums on Sophie the giraffe, and anything else you get your hands on. You also have been waking up in the middle of the night these last couple weeks. You have spoiled us and been such a great sleeper, that we are now scratching our heads. Do your gums hurt? Do you want mama to swaddle you? (you still looooove the swaddle) Are you hungry? I try not to feed you when you wake up because you gave that up a while ago and I don't think either of us need to go back there. (well, I know I don't) Sometimes though, when I can't console you, I give in to your cries. You usually fall asleep quickly, which lets me know that you really weren't hungry, you just needed some extra comfort. I am weak at 3am...and really at any hour. I hate to hear you cry.
You have gotten so chunky in the last month. (As proven in your 6 months photo shoot)
I can't believe eating just breast milk does this, but what can I say, that's good stuff your mama makes! Look at those thighs!! Just like mama's...nice n' thick!
I can't wait to see more rolls in the future. It's going to happen too, because you ate your first meals today like a pro.
Although you have been showing interest in the food mama & papi eat for the last month or so, we waited to give you your first "meal."
{first taste of rice cereal}
{first taste of sweet potatoes}
I took a couple videos for your viewing pleasure. Yes, you will have your whole life documented.
So yes, that was your first meal! Now that is not to say that your papi hasn't given you a few tastes here and there. He likes to slip you things when your mama is not looking. You have puckered your lips to a lime, rubbed your gums on a orange wedge and most recently, sucked the juice out of a watermelon. Needless to say the watermelon was your favorite.
Last month we bought you this exersaucer [on craigslist for $40!] and you LOOOOOOVE it! You can play sometimes for 30 minutes. Mama loves it too because I can get things done around the house. Your papi and I even took you outside while we worked in the yard, you were so happy! Of course, this is the norm for you. You always have big smiles for us. (except when you cry cry cry)
You love tummy time and can occupy yourself on the floor with your toys for a long time. My little independent papasito. You also recently started doing "yoga." You have mastered the cow pose (on hands and knees) and downward dog, as pictured here:
You aren't crawling yet, but we know you will soon. You did your first scoot on February 17th and now you are cruising at record speed....
Last week you did your first 5k race and you fun watching all the people go by wearing green. You stayed awake until minutes before crossing the finish line.
We tried to strap you into your stroller without the car seat, and although you looked as cute as can be, we thought we better wait another month before we run with you in it. Just a little longer buddy!
Same goes for your new highchair. Another few weeks and you'll fit perfectly.
On a final note my sweet Mateo, you have made your papi and mama so happy (happier)! We STILL can't believe how cute you are. You just keep getting better and better. You have the sweetest smile and your laugh is intoxicating. I can't get enough. I'll do anything to make you laugh, your padres can be a little weird you know...but we aren't going to share those details here. (as if we need to)
te quiero muchisimoooooooo, tu mama
ps. Your mama is so glad she has this blog to document everything going on, there is no way I could
keep all of this straight otherwise. I bet you are going to love
reading this/looking at all the pictures when you are older.
Happy Monday! Guess what? I have a new rug!!
I wish I could say it was a steal from Craigslist, but alas, it was full price at HomeGoods.
I saw this [Ikat] beauty last week and couldn't stop thinking about it. I love the subdued colors. What about my huge orange rug I scored on CL?
It is still awesome and Im not getting rid of it....I can just move it
upstairs to our bedroom. (Which will be FILLED with color!)
Now one the first floor, all of our "big pieces" are neutral. A good backdrop for colorful accessories.
One thing is...I just wish it was a tad bigger. It's not quite 8 x 10 and compared to the orange West Elm rug (9x 12) it seems small. But really, either size works. With the larger, furniture was sitting on the rug, and with the smaller, just the front legs. Both "legal" in the design world....yes, I checked!
I rolled it out in the living room and Ernesto approved. It is much softer than the orange rug. Mateo did a scoot test and approved as well. Then he amazingly started doing yoga!
Downward dog!!!
The downstairs is really coming together, and I love how bright and airy it looks. I'll take pics this week. We should be ready to host a housewarming/meet Mateo party in the near future!
Last year I went "shopping" in my mom and dad's basement. Remember the vintage chairs I got reupholstered? Besides those, I found an old, outdated globe for Mateo's room and this hideous footstool.
It was my grandpa's, so that part is great! The fabric? Not so great. It really shows its age wouldn't you say?
Anyhoo, my parents brought it to our house and it sat in the extra bedroom for ohhhh, about 6 months. Until I saw a picture on pinterest where someone used a flokati rug to recover an ottoman. And I thought- Wait! I have one of those in the garage! It is probably 13 years old. In fact, I think I would have tossed it had I not found this redo-idea. (Incidentally, I followed the picture back to a blog called The Brick House. It's hilarious, I love her sarcasm...plus she seems to be addicted to Craigslist...like someone else I know...hmmm. check out her finds-they are ridiculous!)
It was quite dirty. I tossed it in the washer and also dried it in the
dryer. I knew it would shrink, but I didn't care since I was about to
cut it up.
Even after the washer I had to vacuum and brush it. Evidence of a couple [black] dog-sitting weekends last year were still buried in this thing. I don't want to mention any names.
After I got it looking pretty good, I grabbed Ernesto's staple gun, some 14mm staples and got to it.
This process took me all of 15 minutes. Crazy fur is very forgiving. Even the corners were easy.
If only all upholstery projects were this easy.
I think it is pretty great! What do you think?
I don't know where this thing is going yet, but it sure looks cool and I love that it cost me $0 to make!! That's what I'm talkin' about! Nester-the tester liked it for it's functionality. Practicality. Yes, there is a purpose to my madness.
Most importantly, the food was delicious! Although Im sure this restaurant is a place where tourists flock, I think this is all you need know:
You love tummy time and can occupy yourself on the floor with your toys for a long time. My little independent papasito. You also recently started doing "yoga." You have mastered the cow pose (on hands and knees) and downward dog, as pictured here:
