Outside my window…
Sunshine and Sunflowers! We have been enjoying the (moderately) clear skies the past few days, but it looks like the smoke will be a problem again beginning on Wednesday.
I am thankful…
that Sean was able to take Sunday off and has a break from the fires this week. He has a project that needs to be caught up at his regular job, which will take all of this week, then he will probably return to the fire lines next week. He is still working extra long days, but thankfully he has been able to get a little more sleep.
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| Morning Picture – Paint looks lighter |
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| Afternoon Picture – Paint looks darker (and so does the whole house) but this will give you an idea of how it looks |
Learning all the time…
This past week I had a call from the principle of the local Catholic school offering our family a very generous scholarship for our children to attend this coming school year. The school is small (many of the grades are combined) and, if I had to put the children in school, it would be our best local option… And yet the thought made me so sad. Home Educating is such hard work, but I do love it. I love having the children home, I love being able to customize our curriculum to their learning styles, and they love homeschooling too. Plus, what would I have to blog about if we sent them to school! 😉
Celebrating the liturgical year…
the feast of the Assumption is this Thursday! We will be attending Mass and then enjoying some delicious Assumption Parfaits after dinner.
From the kitchen…
we came home from town this afternoon to discover a fun package that had been overnighted from dear friends in the midwest. These amazingly yummy sugar cookies reminded us all immediately of our last visit and tide-pooling. Come back soon, we miss you!!!
I am working on…
projects around the house. I hope to finish before school starts. Is it possible? Probably not…
I am creating…
color coded checklists! I have the oldest two boys’ lists completed… Just three more grades to go! I am already starting to feel so much more prepared for this coming school year, which will begin on September 3rd.
I am going…
to be a Godmother again, for the 10th time! We are all so excited to be able to make the trip north this weekend to attend Rose’s Godparents 10th Anniversary Mass and Celebration, which will also include the baptism of their newest little girl who was born last month! We missed their wedding 10 years ago, since I was on bedrest while pregnant with Twinkle Toes that summer. It is going to be such a fun weekend!
I am hoping…
I am praying…
for more rain, minus the thunder and lightning, and for the safety of the firemen. We are also praying for some dear friends who could use extra prayers.
I am reading…
Bambinelli Sunday: A Christmas Blessing. I preordered this book awhile back, to save for the feast of St. Nicholas, and it arrived this afternoon!
Pondering these words…
from today’s page in Small Steps for Catholic Moms. My copy is out of print but it has recently been republished by Ave Maria Press and can be pre-ordered for 24% off at the moment!
I am listening…
to Knee Deep! It gets us dancing and singing along (and wanting to jump in the van and head to the ocean!) every time the smokey skies start getting to us. 😉
Around the house…
My mom and dad came over last week to help me hand some curtains in the living room (they match the ones in the dining/family room and were on clearance!) and a couple weeks ago the boys helped me switch around the couches. It was quite the challenge getting them through the kitchen, but after flipping them upside down we were able to make it work. Once we settle on a color for the accent walls we hope to find a chair in coordinating colors, as well as a new fan, table, and a couple lamps. In the past our focus has always been on remodeling and adding on to our home, it’s been fun to put a little more thought into furnishing and decorating lately.
home educating our children. And color coded checklists! 😉
Swimming Lessons, haircuts for a couple of the girls and I, finish creating the color-coded checklists, Mass on the feast of the Assumption, and then head out of town for a fun-filled weekend with friends!
Green is the hardest color to work with in the art world, and I can see how that's reflected in home decorating! I used "Cargo Pants" (I know… I know… it sounds awful, but what's in a name?) It's from Sherwin Williams and I had them mix it up at 50% concentration. Perfect green that isn't too light and pastel, but isn't army green, either… You might want to experiment with 50% and 75% based on the lighting for your room. Or, maybe green isn't the right color???
I am loving Rose's new hair style–what a cutie. I actually really like the color you picked for the fireplace walls, so I'm no help there.
I have a couple friends with a similar yellow and they used more of a salmon color in the adjoining room. That might work for your fireplace as well. Are you thinking of uploading your checklists when you're done like you have before? I've enjoyed looking at them in the past for help in completing my own. Thanks so much!
In the picture of the starfish, It looks as though they are the best of buds! What a thoughtful and creative gift. Good friends are such a blessing.
Jessica
We've painted our house in British Paints Paw Paw
http://www.paintmyplace.mobi/tag/color-palettes-2/page/2/
It is warm and inviting. On a personal note, we are now plastering the last room!! So excited, then we just have to paint our massively long hallway and the last room (the Great Hall), three years since we began plastering and painting. So thrilled!!!
Rose's hair is darling, I just love it.
I'm truly not trying to plug my own blog BUT I do have the BEST zucchini bread recipe at the bottom of the post I'm sharing with you. Just scroll to the end for recipe and don't forget to add the crumb topping, it is divine!
http://www.9peasmom.blogspot.com/2013/07/tasty-tuesday-southern-edition.html
I just looked up that color and I like it, but I'm worried that it is too light. I'm thinking that something dark (just not too dark) could provide a nice contrast to the stone, as long as the colors coordinate well. Now I am considering Cleveland Green. I don't know! 🙂
Hmmm… I'm not sure about salmon colors. Originally I considered a reddish burgundy but my husband wasn't crazy about that idea (we already have burgundy on the front door) and didn't want anything too red or pink… I thought the greens would be a little safer… It is sure hard to come up with paint colors!!
And yes! I will post the checklists as soon as I have them completed. 🙂
Don't they! That is what Erica said when she took the picture. I thought I had taken one of them too, but I hadn't… And I completely agree, such a blessing! 🙂
So exciting!!! You are so close to finishing! That is awesome!
Thanks for sharing the color link, Erin! 🙂
Thanks!! I just printed out the recipe! 🙂
Benjamin Moore citrine is a perfect gold not mustard but not too gold it goes with anything…Benjamin Moore also has some nice greens..
Warm beige and tan colors would look the best. Dark colors would shut down the room and it would be rather depressing during the long winter. Have fun!!!
I'll have to look into that color… Benjamin Moore is where I've been getting the paint/samples. My mom picked up the "Cleveland Green" for me this afternoon and I just put a patch on the wall. I'm not sure at the moment, but maybe I will like it better once it dries.
This has been such a challenging wall for me. Generally I love tans, but the one we had on the wall before just wasn't the right color… Maybe I should just try some other tans. We'll see how this current color sample dries first.
What about a shade of blue. I find blue and yellow work really well together – like a french country blue..?
I am very new to the facebook world, but when checking it today someone "shared" a zucchini bread recipe and said it was the best yet. I am not sure how to even get the link to direct you there, so all I can do is copy and paste lol. Sorry! I hope it turns out delish!
"Health is wealth"
August 12
Healthy Zucchini bread
3 cups of shredded zucchini
1 cup of unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup of coconut oil (melted)
3 eggs
3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup pure organic maple syrup
1.5 cups of whole wheat flour
1.5 cups oat flour
2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Spray your loaf pan or muffins pans with non stick baking spray. Set aside.
In your stand mixer with the paddle attached, blend zucchini, applesauce, oil, eggs, vanilla and sugar. Then blend the remaining ingredients adding the nuts last and stirring those by hand. Spoon the batter into your prepared pans and bake. Loaf – bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Muffins bake for approximately 20-24 minutes. Enjoy!
Based on the colors of the stone in the fireplace, a warm toned salmon blush color (matched to one of the stones) would be the proper color to bring the fireplace and wall into unity. The paint shown in your photos isolates the stone creating a problem.
Hi, Jessica – I cannot get over how big Rose is getting. It does not seem that long ago that we were following your blog as you eagerly awaited the birth of your "Christmas Rose". Wow, time has flown by 🙂
So much here Jessica! I'm going to have to get that song now…since I love the water so much! (and warm weather)
http://jamieskitchenblessings.blogspot.com/2009/08/chocolate-zucchini-cake.html
(a favorite zucchini cake recipe!)
Love your home, your living room looks great! I'm sure whatever color you come up with will look beautiful!
Rose's hair is adorable.
We made our blue jello this morning!
(we dont' have the cool cups you have though…bowls will have to do!)
Those starfish cookies as a gift–what a sweet and very thoughtful thing!!
And that phone call, I think the same thing about sending my kids off. I just can't do it. I just this morning picked up my copy of Rita Mumm's A Catholic Journal, to re-read(CHCWeb)and read the first chapter on why they homeschool, and so agree with everything she said. I really believe it is a calling, and that is why we have these strong feelings about it.
Now to remind myself that on the really hard/bad days.
God bless you Jessica.
Thank you for posting the Bambinelli book. That is one of my children's favorite Advent traditions. I ordered the book immediately. Even though I have so many Christmas books for the kids already, but that's nothing new. Plus, I still feel badly that I forgot it was Baminelli blessing weekend last Advent, and had some pretty disappointed children leaving Mass that night.
I know… It is so hard to believe she will turn 4 this year! The time really has flown by!
It is such a lovely book! And the illustrations are beautiful! Now I just need to decide which of my children will receive this one on the feast of St. Nicholas this year! 🙂
Hi 🙂
We used Eiffel Tower as part of our palate in our main living area. It a very interesting color–it's in the yellow family. In some lights it looks taupe, in other lights gray-ish, and there seems to be a hint of green too. We love it! It's a very interesting color. (The swatch on the internet that I linked to does not do it justice!) I thought of you because we used it as a contrast to the main color called Stonington. Good Luck!!
http://www.lowes.com/pd_144532-86-D174EIFFELTOWER_4294729371__?productId=3325680&Ns=p_product_avg_rating%7C1&pl=1¤tURL=%3FNs%3Dp_product_avg_rating%7C1&facetInfo=&AID=10935405&PID=7149033&SID=skim52061X1266454X904c7d6a37286d667a70677f15c77749&cm_mmc=AFF_CJ-_-7149033-_-2617611-_-10935405
Sherwin Williams Hardware, if that is too dark, try Techno Gray or my favorite, Sedate Gray – all are within the same family.
Also, Sherwin Williams Ancient Marble – awesome! I have all these colors in my home – neutral, warm, green undertones. Try Houzz.com and search colors you are interested in to see a room with that particular shade. This was so helpful to me when deciding paint colors for our home. Best of luck!