Summer Daze

Things are moving pretty slow around 25th and Skillern (both the house and the blog). In the spring, I told myself I would get a lot done inside the house come summer, but that has yet to be true. It's hard for me to get motivated to do anything in the summer. Is it like that for you? All I want to do is go to the pool or go get drinks with my girl friends or...just do nothing. I blame it on the heat.

While I have been using my sister's arrival as motivation to get stuff done, I recently realized she won't care about anything because she's my sister. That was a great realization. But then I volunteered to host a wedding shower on the 20th of August. Having a bunch of people I don't know in my house in just a few weeks is all the drive I need to get things going, I think.

I can paint these cabinets, I can paint these cabinets, I can..........I hope!

In other news, our 2 year anniversary is coming up in just a little over a week. My, how time flies. We decided to go back to St. Louis this year because a) we had so much fun last year, and b) with work and money, we just can't afford anywhere else. I've been trying to "name my own price" on Priceline, but dang if it won't accept any of my offers. Priceline, can't you please sympathize with me? I'll try again tomorrow. Maybe they'll except 52 dollars instead of 51. I'm so excited just to get out of town and spend the weekend with my hubby, it doesn't really matter where we go.

I hope you all are staying cool and hydrated! I think Tulsa is on day 23 or 24 of 100+ temps. Doesn't look like there will be a break in there anytime soon, unfortunately.

May your weekend be filled with love, joy, and peace!
More later,
A

It's the small things...

 

 

I recently discovered how beautiful the blooms of an okra plant are. I wish I could pick them and make a bouquet with them. The okra plants are doing well. I think they are just very hearty plants, so they don't take much maintenance. They're so tasty when they're eaten right of the stalk, too.

  

My first cantaloupe - I am SO excited about this! After a couple months with not a single cantaloupe, I randomly found this little guy last night. I have a couple more babies that are in the works, too. I love cantaloupe. It's such a refreshing summer snack.

My squash plants have also done great. I have about 8 or 9 growing right now. They should be ready to pick early next week. They take a little more maintenance as it's so hot, the leaves start to shrivel up. I try to water twice a day. I made bow tie pasta and sauteed mushrooms and squash for dinner last night. It was gratifying to eat something I grew all by myself. Is that silly?

 Nikoo has nothing to do with the garden. But she is always waiting for me by the back door when I come in, so I decided to snap a picture. She sure is cute... but don't let her fool ya!

Home Reno = A Lesson in Patience

I've found out that renovating a house can test your patience just about as much as your spouse can. That's not always a bad thing...

We are just about finished with the upstairs of our house (minus finishing out the kitchen cabinets and staining one bedroom floor). Our next project...dun dun DUN........the basement!

It looks like an old hospital room..too sanitary. Needs color ASAP!

The view from the back door, staircase opening on the left

 The old bathroom (it's completely gutted right now)

 The utility room

Looking at these pictures nearly exhausts me. I think our primary goal for the upcoming month is to get the bathroom fixed up. My sister is coming to visit from Australia for a little over a month, so it will be nice to have an extra bathroom while she's staying with us. We are planning on putting a stand-up shower in there, so that's definitely our biggest task. Once we figure that all out, I have a feeling the rest will be easy peasy.

I am so thrilled to have a basement. It will be such a great place to hang out and fellowship with our friends (and for Scales of Motion to have band practice). Did I mention it is about 10 degrees cooler in the basement, too?! Kevin and I have talked about moving down there just for that reason...we might just do it.

Kev and I hope to get to work on it either this week or next, so stay tuned for some bathroom reno pics!
Sometimes it seems like this house will never be finished, but when I look back a pictures from just a couple months ago, I can see we've come a long way. I'm just ready for the inside to be done so I can focus on making my yard and garden look grand (am I selfish or what?!).

Wishing you all a peaceful and blessed day. Don't forget to drink lots of water!

Johnny skating the gap while Dillon looks on.

The other day, the doorbell rang. I am always curious when the doorbell rings, because we never have visitors. I was so, so happy when I opened the door to find Kevin's little skateboarding friend, Johnny and Johnny's friend on the front step. 

Johnny said, "Is, uh.....(leans over to other kid and says, "what's his name again??)" 

I said, "Kevin?"

Johnny: "Uh, yeah, is Kevin there?"

Me: (trying to contain my excitement) "Let me go get him!"

KEVINNNNNNNNNNN! YOUR FRIENDS ARE AT THE DOOR!!!!!

[I have been waiting for this to happen since Kevin met the kids]

Long story short, Johnny and his friends just wanted to skate the gap in our driveway (as seen above).

Kevin went out there and hung out for a while and took a few pictures. 

I know it might not seem like a big deal to most, but the fact that these kids came up to our house and asked to skate on the driveway really meant something special to me. I really hope Kevin and I can pursue relationships with the kids around our neighborhood and just provide a welcoming and loving environment in our home. Shoot, if we're going to live here, we might as well figure out what our purpose is for being here.