WISE WORDS

A small group of my 3rd graders talked as they worked on a Christmas craft. Somehow, they got on the topic of boys doing gymnastics. A sassy blonde with a mischievous grin stated with great authority that boys only do gymnastics so that girls will like them more. My interest suddenly piqued, I paused to eavesdrop.

The little guy next to her nodded seriously. "My big brother is always working out at the gym...except he's never been on a date. And he's eighteen."

Miss Blondie, suddenly aware that I was listening, turned to address me. "Mrs. Ashmore, the only reason Mr. Ashmore goes to work everyday is because he wants you to be more attracted to him." 

I responded with appropriate nods and words of validation. For this was valuable information indeed. :)

Though I couldn't help but wonder, as I continued on my way. Has Andrew been aware of this truth all along and using it to his advantage? 

And here I though it was my secret! 

Big trucks...ripped Levi's...heavy lifting...power tools...

Attractive indeed.

AAAAAND...WE'RE BACK!

Hi, there. It's been awhile. Andrew and I decided it was time to start blogging again--for reasons we will explain later. But in the meantime, here is a speedy update on the last four months via cell phone pics. I apologize if you are already an Instagram follower. 

A new school year began. I have fifteen third graders, and I love them. I'm excited to show off my entire camping theme classroom in a future post. 

The kids made class "camp shirts" with tie-dye. 

Andrew and I enjoyed a lovely Idaho autumn. This was our view from our hike up to Cress Creek.

Our garden was a success. 

Sort of. 

We have pumpkins, squash, and zucchini coming out our ears! But honestly, who actually wants very many squash and zucchini? 

The goal next year is to harvest a single onion, carrot, spinach, lettuce, or bean plant from the backyard. Apparently, the soil around is here is super heavy in clay. It takes a few years of rich fertilizer before you can have much of a reward with gardening. 

Andrew now officially runs his own business! It has been fun and a blessing that he's stayed busy. Here, he shows me the progress on a lovely house he's building in town. Andrew's good at what he does.

Moose is still kicking. This is largely due to the fact that he is no longer allowed to sleep with a blanket...regardless of how cold it is. He now gets wood shavings. Otherwise, there is a 99% chance he will chew it to bits, ingest a vast majority of the fiber, requiring a second expensive surgery to save his life. 

Big, crazy lug.

We've been enjoying a gym membership. 

Well, Andrew has been enjoying a gym membership. I still find little joy in formal exercise. As motivation, we shake it up with an occasional racquetball game. This picture is after a close, tiring battle...that didn't seem to wear Andrew out at all. 

Andrew lives and breathes BYU football. For his birthday, we bought a package deal and got tickets for two home games in Provo. Fun memories.

For Halloween, we dressed as a hiker and a bear. It took us approximately 20 minutes to throw it together, yet we ended up winning the award for "Most Original Costume."

We inherited 800 square feet of free sod from a neighbor. This isn't a lot of grass, but we feel blessed to have a patch of green in our backyard. Moose is strangely squeamish of too much mud and dirt, so he has been especially grateful to have it...rolling around on his back for ten solid minutes for no obvious reason except to revel in its soft glory.

The rest of the sod will have to wait until spring. In the meantime, we have been busy making progress with steel banding to create flower beds on three sides of the house, and a handful of twiggy trees planted along the driveway and deck. 

The sprinklers are also installed and ready to go. 

In somewhat related news, Andrew is still studly in plaid. 

My last blog post (back in July!) was asking for input about a rug for the front room. This is the one I chose. 

Unfortunately, it was not the lovely light blue it appeared to be online. It was more of a hunter green! Thus it did not match, and it was shipped off to be returned. I have yet to replace it with another one.

My current project is a painting for over the fireplace. Here it is in its early stages. My inspiration is our view from the kitchen window. It's been fun to get back into art after so long!

Well, I'll be seeing more of you from now on. I'm going to have to dust off my 'ol Canon, so I can have some real pictures for you next time!

HOUSE TOUR {master bathroom}

I know it's been awhile since I've given a room tour of this new house of ours. 

If I wait just a little longer, the house will be more complete! That's what I keep thinking.

But with Andrew working much of the time in another state, and then breaking his wrist, not much else has gotten done. Such is life. I am going to show you the master bathroom anyway. It's close enough. 

Here are the before's. 

I'll begin with the vanity.

Jump ahead several months and Andrew and I add crown, Andrew builds cabinets, and I paint walls a lovely grey-blue called North Star from Sherwin Williams.

Then the checkerboard tile floor begins.

Yeah, that right. I'm taking your picture.

Base boards are on and Andrew builds the concrete counter top. 

Then the sinks and light fixtures. 

The sinks were inherited for free. (yay!) We will eventually switch out the faucets for oil-rubbed bronze. It works for now. 

Andrew adds a tile back splash and we've started moving in! 

Since then, cabinet knobs have been installed..and Andrew has called my bathroom rugs "Grandma-ish". At 5 bucks a piece (from Ross), he just has to deal with that. 

What's left at this point? Kick plates, mirrors, and upper cabinet storage. To function until then, we've had a cheap Family Dollar mirror propped up on the counter these past 9 months. Wow. Has it really been 9 months already?

{source}

Here is an example of what we hope for eventually. Two individual mirrors and a mini cabinet running up the middle. 

My lovely representation.

Just last night, I assembled this jewelry holder thingy...for lack of a better word. I used this thrift store find from several years ago, some suggestions from friends, and turned it into something useful with paint, chicken wire, and fun mismatched vintage knobs. 

I've been in need of a more effective/practical jewelry organization system for some time now. The chicken wire will hold clips and earrings. Necklaces and bracelets will hang from the knobs. 

It'll mount to the wall right above the counter there. 

Let's move on to the shower progression.

Here is Lane, my brother-in-law, who did all the tiling for it. It was a big, time consuming task, and he did a wonderful job.

We actually used some of the cheapest possible subway tiles from Home Depot. 

Interior completed. I like.

The best parts are the double shower heads, one on each end. Now I don't have to sing solos while I shower.

The outside tiling is almost finished. 

What a mess! This is the result of trying to move into and live in a house that isn't finished yet. 

And here is the shower door. The day we went shopping for it, there were limited options in our price range. And we were on house decision number 2,785,37 and 1...and sick of it all. So we picked one and called it good. But I'm not a fan. *sigh*

This door is what looks Grandma-ish to me. 

But then there's the tub!

More cheap, white subway tile. I love it with the wall color. 

The tile is almost completely grouted at this point. My Monet prints are ready to hang (they now hang above the towel rack), and the wood wrap around the tub's base is on. Andrew did such a masterly job on this!

I love, love, love this unique look. I wanted to include lots of beautiful wood in the master bath to carry on the feel from the master bedroom's wood ceiling. 

One more look.

And a few weeks ago, Andrew finished the tile on the lip of the tub too. 

It's coming along!

And the grand finale, here is our private little toilet room just after the toilet was installed. 

Ta-dah.

That's all folks. Which room should I show next?

Adios,

Rachel

HOUSE UPDATE {linen closet and kitchen beam}

For the last five months, my linen closet has been open and messy and not very pretty. 

 

So I was very excited when Andrew set out to fix that. He started with a frame. 

Then he attached the cabinet doors built and stained in his nearly nonexistent spare time. 

Add some knobs and my hallway looks a million times better!

This week, Andrew is finishing the rustic beam across the kitchen ceiling. This project is free except for the cost of stain...thanks again, to our lovely collection of old pallet wood. More to come on this later. 

HOUSE UPDATE {exterior trim}

The last time you saw the outside, we had just finished the stone and cedar siding. 

This is what it looks like now. Can you see a difference?

We added white vinyl trim.

First, we added a separating line between the stucco and stone.

Then, we added it around each window on the stucco. The windows surrounded by stone will eventually get dark wood shutters instead. 

Not having trim has been bugging me for a long time. It felt like something was missing. 

Our house was like a woman without eyeliner. 

Much better. It needed that definition. 

Before the trim.

After the trim.

Now all it needs are the shutters and porch columns. And landscaping, of course (but not 'til spring).