As the poem suggests, I will certainly treasure these for years to come!
Sister, Mother and Bird were dolls to pop over for a few minutes while out running errands to help douse the PCP in silly string as he disembarked the big yellow bus. He was a bit stunned and took a few seconds to be able to react. As usual, I’m sure we were quite the sight to our neighbors hootin and hollerin around the road, Sister's cast and all.
Once he came to his senses, I guided him to his “kindergarten walk of fame”. Using yard stakes left over from his cowboy party, I printed out his major milestones of the year and lined the sidewalk with his accomplishments:
He stopped to read each and every sign and was beyond thrilled when he sounded out “promoted to first grade!”
And at the end of his walk of fame, he crashed through the “Welcome to Summer” banner!
Waiting on the other side was a sweet and simple celebratory snack!
I reused the Kindergarten banner from the end of summer ice cream social and first day of school snack. Other than the silly string (Dollar Tree), I had everything else on hand and threw it all together the night before.
We dined on Trix Treats, watermelon pops, grape and blueberry push pops and mini tomato, mozzarella and basil (fresh from our garden!) bites.
And I presented the PCP with the same (but updated) medal that he got on the first day of school!
It was a little celebration to let him know just how loved he is. I mean, I’m not anything if I’m not his number one fan!
After loads of swimming, flips, diving and general craziness (what do you expect from twelve boys??), coach S passed out trophies and we dined on pizza and cake.
And speaking of coach S, I just want to say how thankful we are for the strong, positive influence that he is on John (strange picture taking pose aside.) As our coach for five seasons now, outside of family, he stands out as the most influential person shaping our son’s first experiences in teamwork, sportsmanship and drive for success. We expect coach S will always be remembered by John and we have our fingers crossed that we get this lucky with Whit down the road! Not to mention that we've made some of the best friends we could dream of by lucking out on his team two years ago :-)
We enjoyed a fantastic evening picnicing with friends and teachers and look forward to many more years at this great school!
We’ve got our end of season baseball party tonight. Things are wrapping up left and right around these parts!!To wrap up all the goings and doings of our tenth anniversary Serenbe getaway, I was positively delighted when Honey suggested we tour the HGTV Green Home. While I must admit I haven’t been over the moon with the pictures I’ve seen on-line through various blogs and the Green Home site itself, in person there were quite a few drool worthy attributes. If only I could take the interior of the house and wrap it up in one of the cottage-ish facades dabbling the Serenbe landscape, I’d be in heaven. But, at the end of the day, should I be the lucky winner of the give away you can bet your bottom dollar I’d be screaming from the rooftops :-)
So, without further ado, on with the tour…
The tour started in the mudroom of the otherwise unfinished basement. I thought the nail head grid on the wall was nice, but not something I’d attempt at home.
The stairs leading up to the main living space were open and airy…
…and led right up to the kitchen.
The kitchen was smartly designed and very high end and the polished concrete counters were just stunning! They are made by Atlanta’s own Dex Industries and showcase bits of shells and Sweetwater Brewery beer bottles right in the material. They can be made with nearly anything and I just can’t stop thinking about how gorgeous they’d be with my favorite mollusk (the oyster)!
I adored the large farmhouse style dining table and benches constructed from reclaimed pallets. I also loved the lamps on the sideboard.
I think my favorite space in the entire home was the sitting room. Should I win the home (fingers crossed), I’ll be transporting the two wing chairs and that gorgeous mirror made from reclaimed fences straight back to Atlanta first thing.
Those chairs look very Restoration Hardware-ish but they’re not. Anyone know a source for them or something similar?
The living room fully opened onto a functional courtyard. I saw those rubber cubes all over Serenbe and wasn’t super crazy about them. Those pillows, on the other hand, well I’d take the lot!
The master suite was also on the main level. It was small but nice. My favorite feature was that it too opened onto a darling patio space, complete with a doggie house that would almost make me want a dog to go in it. I looooved those chaise lounges and cushions.
A central feature of the main level was this roof top patio. Very nice for grilling and dining alfresco.
And do you see that room to the left of the deck? That is the home’s interpretation of a screened porch (though I wasn’t sure why they specifically said “screened” porch seeing as there are no screens.) Sliding doors on both ends of the room completely open. The space is not heated or cooled and is furnished with outdoor appropriate pieces. It was a little dark for my taste…I think painting the walls in a much lighter shade would have really brightened up the room.
The last room on the main level was the study. It was nice, but my least favorite space (decor wise) in the house.
Heading on upstairs are the other two bedrooms, a bathroom, laundry and a work space. This bedroom was teeny tiny but nicely appointed.
In the hallway between the bedrooms was a functional and delightful work space. I would love to have something like this in my home. Plenty of room for homework, crafts and artwork in a light and bright, often under utilized space.
The shared bath was nice, but again a bit dark for my taste. I just like things light and bright. I did love the tile in the shower and would be giddy to do something like this in our boys bath should we ever get around to renovating it.
The laundry was dripping in penny tile (lovely) but, again, a tad dark for my taste! I loved the laundry sink, of course, and thought having a closet space off of the laundry (not really pictured) for hanging / organizing / steaming clothes was quite genius. It would be a smart area for storing bed linens, beach towels, etc.
And my second favorite space in the house was the bunk room. My boys would go mad for a room like this. Ever single detail was fun and functional and I loved the modern eclectic colors and furnishings for this space. The tall, graphic upholstered headboards were a striking use of space. And that little pulley system bucket to the top reading loft was adorable. There were two small closets on either end of the room, perfectly sized for two little ones.
I was ga-ga over these little chunky wood paintings and am going to have two have my talented artist bestie Angie make me something similar for somewhere in my house! (Add that to my ever growing list, Ang.)
Back on the main level, we exited the house through the mudroom to the back yard. It too was a very functional space (there were stacked laundry machines in the cabinets!) done just a little too contemporary for my style.
And, looking back onto the house I admitted to Honey that, while it wasn’t exactly what I’d choose, I’d be as happy as a clam to win it!
So that wraps up our Serenbe get away. Fingers crossed we don’t wait five years to do it again :-)
xoxo
PS. Y’all let me know if you know where I can get me a pair of those wing chairs!!!
