Look what we trashed picked Monday!!

Seriously, someone put this on the side of the road with a free sign on it! John went out for a bike ride Monday morning (yay John) and called me a couple hours later. I, of course, thought he was hurt or needed help, but no! He said he was standing guard by a piece of furniture and I had to come right away to pick it up. So I grabbed the boys, we hopped in the minivan (how fortunate that we have one) and away we went. It does need a little TLC, but we have been looking for a piece for our dining room, and this will work out quite well. and, come on, it was FREE! By the time I got to John, he was chatting with the owner's of the piece. They helped us load it into the car and everything. They had had the piece for 30+ years....
Not sure what we will store in it though. Maybe linens?? Maybe some silver that we have from John's family? Not sure yet. I do think we need to do some rearranging though. This should be centered on the wall, and currently there is a mirror there....not bad problems to have though!
I am off to the paint store to get some paint for our 1/2 bath floor. I will hopefully post some pictures of that project tomorrow!

First day of school and I'm BACK!!!

Well, here they are, ready to go! This day has been looked forward to by me for many weeks, and now that they are off, believe it or not, I miss them! (although the silence in the house is quite lovely...) You can go here and see the first day pic from last year...C was certainly more cooperative this morning than last year. Must be because he is in 1st grade now. :)


Just an out take, but I love how happy he is!!

When did this happen?? I can't believe he is off to 3rd Grade! (and yes, he seems to be wearing the SAME sweatshirt in all the pictures!! He is going to look awfully silly in that when he is a senior in HS. Seriously, I must have bought them big to begin with...)

And this one, off to 1st. Oh, they seem to be growing up SO fast...

I hope everyone had a wonderful summer and I will be back soon with updates from ours. We had a great time on Nantucket and took our first ever family road trip (and all lived to talk about it)

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Playroom Edition

It's time once again for Show Us Where You Live hosted by Kelly over at Kelly's Korner! This week we are showing playrooms (or laundry rooms, and my laundry room is boring, so i am only showing the playroom!)
The boys' (I include my darling hubby in this description) playroom is in our basement.



Train table that is now mostly used for Legos and Playmobile
Storage of all the wooden toys and legos (these pictures were taken awhile ago, all the legos are now stored by color in those bins you are supposed to use for screws, or they are stored all over the entire surface of the floor. I have a love hate relationship with legos)
Puzzles (that are going to be donated to a younger cousin soon) other toys. I painted the picture with the rubby ducky when I was in high school. I'm so glad to have it hanging now!

Arts and crafts. This island was in our old kitchen, works great as an arts and crafts table! The cabinet has been relocated to my studio. They just get a bookcase now.
This door is the reason we have our alarm system activated! The door and windows provide great light though! We are so fortunate to have them on our basement! Oh, and I just realized these pictures were taken before we had the baseboard moulding installed. It looks much better! Trust me.

And finally, John's playroom! This is where poker happens.
This is the mural I painted on the stairs going down to the playroom in our last house. I need to do something for the boys in this house....Not sure what though!

Thanks for stopping by!

Day out in Boston

Well, schools out and it has been cold and rainy, so no beach for us... :( Yesterday we decided to take the train to Boston and go the the Museum of Science followed by a stop at the Scooperbowl and then dinner at Pizzeria Regina in the North End. Yum. We had a great day, the rain held off (for the most part) and the boys were thoroughly exhausted when we got home!
Balancing at the musuem
Dinosaur fossil.
Here are the boys at the scooperbowl. No idea who that little girl is.....guess she likes getting her picture taken! It was $8 for adults and $4 for kids to get in to enjoy all you can eat ice cream! J jut thought that was the best thing ever! I think he had 10 bowls. C (who finally got a haircut this morning) probably had 5 bowls. He likes ice cream, but not nearly as much as J. We will definitely be going back next year! John was able to meet up with us around 4, so he got to enjoy some ice cream and join us for dinner. Fun!
After the ice cream, we walked the North End Harborwalk (never knew about it before....) and went through a rose garden for Rose Kennedy. I couldn't resist taking a picture of this gorgeous bloom.

Show Us Where You Live Friday - Offices (and Guest Rooms)

Time again for Show Us Where You Live Friday's! Hosted by Kelly over at Kelly's Korner. This week is home offices (and I am also going to share my guest rooms, since I didn't get pictures taken that week!)
Welcome to my studio/office! This is one of my favorite rooms in the house. (for my regular readers, you may remember I posted about this space earlier)
My rarely used iron. Desk (door with file cabinets). Sewing machine, paints, brushes, etc.
Hot pink wall!
Paints. (Rainbow order. Of course.)
Other supplies. Pencils, more paint, markers. Paint fan deck. All these pink and green bins were red. Love spray paint!
More storage (that means more paint!) And fabric. And my drill charger. Yes, I have my own drill!! ;) Love the trees out the window!
Iguana. J made this in school last year. Love it.
Exercise ball. Used less than the iron.

Hubby's Office. (see the boomerang??) SIL spent some time in Australia and brought this back. I've never tried throwing it though. I need to make some window treatments. desperately. Maybe this desk would look good painted a glossy black????
this also functions as a guestroom. This was my dad's bedroom furniture.
need something on the wall here. hmm, maybe some black and white photos??
Our other guestroom. (Pays to have our boys sharing a room!!) :) This is where my 4 yr old niece stays when she comes for a sleep over. I love this room. I sleep in here when I am sick.
I really love the view! All those trees. This bed has a trundle, so we can sleep two in here.
Thanks for stopping by! You all left so many nice comments last time! Please comment again, and then I can visit you too!

Cheers!

Beach Day!!

Off on the Kindergarten Beach Day! Will be back with photos and weekend updates later......

Portobello Parmesan Recipe!!

Here is the promised Recipe!! Enjoy. I think I may make these tonight... Portobello Parmesan by Mollie Katzen from The Vegetable Dishes I Can't Live Without (Hyperion, 2007) Makes 4 single or 8 shared servings There are so many ways to use a portobello. This one can be a light main course if served whole, or a substantial appetizer or side dish if cut in half. Assemble the ricotta mixture while the mushrooms are cooking. After you cut open the tomato, hold it over the sink and squeeze out the juice and seeds before slicing it. Use a skillet with an ovenproof handle so this can go directly from the stove to the broiler. Make this dish just before serving — it tastes best fresh from the broiler. Ingredients 4 firm portobello mushrooms (4-inch diameter) 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil 3/4 cup ricotta cheese 1 teaspoon minced or crushed garlic 1/2 cup grated mozzarella cheese Freshly ground black pepper, to taste 1 medium-sized ripe-but-firm tomato, thinly sliced About 1 tablespoon thyme leaves (or about 1 teaspoon dried thyme) 3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese 1. Remove and discard the portobello stems, and scrape out and discard the gills, being careful not to damage the mushrooms' edges. (Okay to leave a few gills around the edges to protect them.) 2. Place a large skillet over medium heat. After about a minute, add the olive oil and swirl to coat the pan. 3. Lay the mushrooms cap-side down in the hot oil, and let them cook undisturbed for about 10 minutes. Turn them over and cook on the other side for 10 minutes, then flip them over one more time. 4. Meanwhile, combine the ricotta, garlic, and mozzarella in a small bowl, grinding in some black pepper, to taste. Add about 3 tablespoons of this filling to each mushroom cavity (okay to do this while they are still in the pan, if you can), spreading it gently into place. 5. Arrange a few tomato slices on each mound of cheese and sprinkle the tomatoes first with a little thyme, then with a nice coating of Parmesan. Heat the broiler. 6. Place the pan under the broiler for about 5 minutes or until the tops of the filled mushrooms turn a lovely shade of golden brown. (Watch carefully so they won't have a chance to burn, which can happen quickly!) Remove from the broiler and serve immediately