Boring House Stuff

 The girls started their classes today, and I haven't heard anything about how they're doing, but there will be a lot of trial and error.  Can't beat the excitement of the first day though.  

I've not been able to settle on anything particular to do today, just flitting from one thing to the other - a little laundry, running dishwasher, vacuuming balcony, reading, making a menu and grocery list.  

So I have only the things around me to discuss in excruciating detail.  

The tiered stand that I ordered from World Market that came all bent up last week?

They promised to send me another one, and it arrived yesterday.  I was almost afraid to open it, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It's just perfect for what I wanted it for.

I still have the old one and will take it to Ryan and see if he can straighten it.  But then I don't know what I'll do with it.  Maybe they can use it on their patio.

I was just looking at another blog I like, The Inspired Room and happened to see this under "14 Cozy Kitchens for Fall."  Looks like I'm not the only one who likes it. I think I like the towels there, but I do need a place for tea.  I'll see how inspired I get for the fall.

Elise and I had a pantry purge.  I had bought some can risers several months ago and sort of cleaned the top half of the pantry myself, but there were things I needed to ask her about, so I took every single thing out of there and set it on the counter in categories.  It didn't take us long.  We had 3 choices:  Keep, Put in Garage for Emergencies, or Give Away.  It worked.  We agreed on everything, and now we know what we have.  In this place anyway. 

I found a bigger carousel than the middle shelf has for things we use a lot, but it's empty now.  Grocery store time.

I'm all ready for Taco Soup and pumpkin bread when the time comes.  We have to use some of the zucchini and squash from the garden first though.

My new chair cushions for the wicker chairs arrived today.  I had not been able to find any I liked - for any price - so had given up for this year when I saw these on the Bed, Bath, and Beyond website when I was looking for something else.  They were only $20 for both, so I figured they would do.  I still like brighter color with red in there somewhere with the black chairs.  I wish I could have found the same ones, but I think they came from Wal-Mart in Montgomery many years ago.

These will be fine.

I probably should put them in the garage over the winter and try to get them fresh longer.  Strangely, they don't have ties to keep them secure, but I think I like them better without.

This is not home related, but I've had this in my Amazon cart for a couple of months and didn't figure the girls needed it.  After they enjoyed doing the mosaics so well Tuesday, I decided it would be a fun thing to keep here in case they get to spend any time with me.

It's a little tempting to keep this one for myself.

A couple more videos of the trip and a bunch of pictures.  Graysen did well learning to paddle, and Katherine was obsessed with digging and building moats.  They learned so much, and they all had a great vacation.