some seasons have come and gone....

Spring came with sunny skies...

chartreuse leaves...

and eighteen cups of rhubarb.

summer was spent canning pickles...

taking Polaroids...

and developing film.

we caught Monarchs in vintage coffee jars...

and took impromptu dips in the surprisingly warm lake.

we assessed the damage of the 'big flood'...

and spent several days with family relaxing by the lake.

there was outdoor dining on our new patio table that Scott built...

several outdoor art shows (Facebook page here)...

and lets not forget that a certain somebody turned three. :)

Autumn brought us a kindergartner...

more apples than we knew what to do with...

a sky that was on fire...

some autumn knits...

Halloween...

and another room made 'liveable'

these last few months have been a wild ride with our share of ups and downs.  it feels good to be sharing here once again.

what i've been up to

This time of the year can get quite hectic with birthdays, graduation parties, baby and bridal showers, and the onset of 'wedding season', but all the excitement really gets me going.

I recently returned from my first trip to Las Vegas.  Four great (and long time) friends from high school joined me for a weekend in the city that seriously NEVER sleeps.  We stayed at the beautiful Paris hotel for three nights, wasted away the afternoons sitting by the pool, and danced, laughed, and talked the nights away at some of the city's hot spots.

We all had such a wonderful time together and we're all looking forward to our next girls weekend... this time maybe a bit closer to home. ;)

We received our new rug from Overstock yesterday.  We had originally ordered it several weeks ago, but they sent us the wrong one and then claimed that it was sold out.  Scott somewhat surprised me with this when he got an email saying it was back in stock.  I love it and I now feel like I have something to work off of for this room.

I've also started a new knitting project for Maria and have been busy sewing in my new sewing room.  It's sew nice to finally have a permanent spot for my machine without having to drag it out every time I want to use it, especially when it comes to repairing clothing.

And tomorrow is a VERY big day in our house.  Maria turns 5!!!  I can't even believe how fast she's growing up.

It just so happened that Scott had the entire weekend off, so tomorrow we will travel to Duluth with her cousin Luke, and meet up with my cousin Stacy and her daughter Zhaina at a local playground.  Afterwards we will treat them all to dinner and ice cream at Maria's favorite restaraunt, Bridgeman's.  Yum!

On Saturday, Scott's mother will be here along with some other guests for an afternoon of talking, laughing, and playing.  A lasagna dinner and my version of the 'Super Epic Rainbow Cake' will follow.  It should be a fantastic weekend.

Oh, and one last tidbit of information... I have finally upgraded to an iPhone!  Seriously what was I thinking two years ago when I didn't think I needed it!  What a great device!  I have completely fallen in love with the Instagram app for taking pictures and have used some of them for this post. My mother mentioned that I'll never use my real camera again, and I think she may be right. :) My username is lateniteknits if you choose to follow me.

Lots to do today, so I guess I'd better get crackin'!  Enjoy your weekend folks!!

pieces of home

I thought I'd share some pictures of our newly decorated living room.  Scott got some shelves up a couple of weeks ago so I was finally able to bring out some things that have been packed away. The room still isn't finished, but will it ever be?

I'm still trying to sell our recliner that I've tried to crop out of the picture, but no bites yet.  Our coffee table (which was left here by my parent's) used to be about a foot or two taller, but I had Scott cut it down so we could use it here.  It has a drawer on the other side where we currently store all of the DVDs.  The table on the far right is actually a record player that I found at an estate sale.  However, We need to take it to 'the doctor' because the sound coming out is really quiet.  That's on my to-do list. :)

The plaid chair was a $20 steal from Goodwill.  It's one of my favorites.

I made all the pillows except for the one with the bicycle.  I intend to make one more yellow chevron pillow but haven't gotten around to it.  The quilt was an Arizonian birthday present to myself last year.  I love it!

The sea fan (or whatever you call it) was purchased at Hunt & Gather in Minneapolis.

Our shelves are made from some old barn wood my Dad had in the attic of the garage.  We had them in our old house too.  The Angelus picture was another Goodwill score for $1.  My mother had the same framed print while she lived here, so I think it's kind of funny that I found one that's almost exactly the same.  The black framed photos are of my Mom and Dad.

And this is our current mantle.  I'm sure it's something that will always be changing, but it currently holds the pussy willows that Scott picked for me last week...

a couple of vintage cameras, a bird's nest, and an old photo of my Grampa.  And you can see our new gray carpet!!

It's a work in progress and I'm hoping to get a lot more done this spring before the weather gets nice and warm outside.  Once that happens, I know I won't want to be inside too much.  I still need to finish up the east room, both girls' rooms, and the sewing/playroom.

We're in the process of painting Ginger's big girl bed and I'm on the hunt for a retro school desk for Maria's room... one with the flip up top. :) The majority of our walls still need pictures hung too.  I swear it never ends. :)

Wishing you all a joyous Easter week.

Our days...

have been looking like this...

an early morning sunrise

walks through the neighborhood

with pit stops on the hillside

fall colors that once were

quiet coloring

and posing for the camera

we've also been...

~baking lots of desserts containing apples~

~finishing up and starting new knitting projects~

~enjoying our local library~

~trying new dinner recipes, most of which only I liked~

~anticipating the move into our new house (one week left!)~

~spending our days in sweatpants and t-shirts~

~brainstorming ideas for the new house~

~playing 'picnic' and 'zoo' with the girls~

~carving pumpkins (Ginger is afraid of the finished product)~

~gearing up for Halloween and Scott's 32nd birthday~

Hope you're all enjoying these last few weeks of fall.

Tippity tapping and a bit willy-nilly

It's Saturday night, the girls are sleeping, the T.V. doesn't come in, and I don't feel much like knitting that adorable dress for Maria that was supposed to be finished by now.  Instead I'm tippity tapping away at my keyboard much like Dottie Angel likes to do. :)  Gosh I love her.

We're leaving tomorrow for a getaway to a resort near Pleasant Lake.  We came across a deal that was to good to pass up, and we'll be spending the next few days swimming in lakes, exploring new places, sleeping in real beds, and having the luxury of making a mess and not necessarily having to clean it up... although I probably will because I'm just like that.  The bags have yet to be packed and shopping lists are still to be made, but I have a feeling this is going to be a great mini vacation.

So since I won't be around this here space for awhile, I thought I'd share some willy-nilly pictures and a little story telling with you that I think are relevant to our everyday lives.

Lately I've been observing Maria and Ginger wrapped up in this playful scene...

Maria looks bound and determined to fasten that barrette into Ginger's hair, while Ginger appears to be oblivious to what is actually going on with her head!  I should've informed Maria that all good hair stylists let their clients see the final result.  It was a cute and funny scene until I cleaned their room later that day and found roughly 20 scattered barrettes all clutching onto broken strands of Ginger's silky, blonde hair.  Perhaps I need to teach Maria a lesson on barrette removal. :)

Earlier this week we went to a park in Scottsdale where we walked and talked around the lake.  Afterwards, we stopped at a vintage car dealership that we have passed by during previous outings.  This Chevy Nova was practically screaming my name...

Parked right out front for all to see, was this pristine 4 door wagon in perfect retro colors.  The interior appeared to be in mint condition with an odometer that read over 300,000 miles!  Not knowing much about cars, I'm going to assume they replaced the motor which would resolve this high mile issue.  It was by far the coolest one in the lot and I suggested to Scott that it would make the perfect addition to our little family.  Unfortunately, Scott's far too smart to fall for my crafty ways.

On Wednesday, it rained!!

And it smelled so friggin' good outside!  The only other time we've experienced rain while in Arizona, was on a trip to Tucson... and it was only about a 5 minute shower.  On Wednesday, it sprinkled off and on all day until we got in the truck to go enjoy a Chinese buffet.  It started to pour!!  We couldn't believe our eyes.  And the scent... ooooooh, the scent was like heaven.  I have come to appreciate many things while being on the road that I used to take for granted... rain, lilacs, pussy willows, and green grass just to name a few.  I can only imagine how African farmers feel when the rains finally do come, much like in this wonderful book.

Last Friday we went to a movie in the park... Aladdin was the feature film.  The blow up screen was supposedly one of the largest screens in Arizona, but it did not compare to the huge screen we would watch while enjoying a summer movie at Lief Erickson Park.  Ginger got tired quickly and began wandering around and falling into the people next to us.  That was our cue that it was time to go.  Maria was quite sad about leaving and cried for much of the way home.  We explained to her that we would find the movie the next day and rent it, which we did.

A few weeks ago I had a craving for real donuts... from a real bakery.  We headed into downtown Phoenix to Rainbow Donuts.  A small little place where the raised glazed literally melted in my mouth. 

The girls equally divided one plain cake donut and one that was slathered in white frosting and brightly colored sprinkles.  Ginger engulfed her halves before I could blink and the other one ate just the frosting.  I should've known.  The rest of that day escapes me.

And as soon as my camera was back in my hands after being repaired, I took a picture of this...

My homage to knitting and coffee (or tea depending on my mood) and it's there for life.  I couldn't possibly be more pleased with the way it turned out.


I had every intention of finishing this blog post last night while enjoying the warm night with Scott out on our 'patio'.  But conversations of child birth, traveling, and Duluth kept me from tippity tapping away.  We're leaving in just a few hours and the bags still need to be packed and I still need to drink my two cups of coffee while I slowly, but surely, wake up.


I hope everyone has a great start to their week.  If you need to find me, I'll most likely be sweating to death at the lake while watching my children frolic in the cold water.  You see, I'm not the type that finds joy in getting wet, but I just might not have no other choice.

Currently....

taken last summer at Lake Superior

~going through old pictures on our computer~

~wishing I had an abundance of rhubarb~

~getting ready for another weekend trip to Tucson~

~wishing my camera wasn't broken~

~reveling in these spring time photos~

~finding it hard to believe how much the girls have grown~
~anticipating a nice summer rain up north~

~expecting visitors this weekend~

~and wishing the trailer would magically clean itself~

~loving this on ice with a slice of lemon~

~loving this daily visit~

~realizing how badly we need an outdoor eating area~

I hope you all have a great up and coming weekend.  As I mentioned, we'll be leaving for my parent's tomorrow morning and then expecting some Montana travelers on Saturday night.  See you all next week!

A few Polaroids from the road

Thought I'd share a few Polaroids I took while on our way to Arizona. 

So far we have...

~been to the dessert museum in Tucson~

~saw hillsides filled with cactus, maria calls it a cactus party~

~spent time at 3 different pools~

~went to a ball game~

~spent time with my family and Scott's family~

~enjoyed several cookouts~

~purchased a much needed patio rug~

~tan lines!~


I will be compiling a blog post about our trip to Disneyland and our journey to Arizona.  Much to tell, but recently time has been limited.  Scott will be starting orientation on Monday and there are no plans to see family next week, so there's no reason I won't be able to get it done.


Stay tuned you won't wanna miss it :)