Five on Friday - Things I've Been Working On

It's been pretty quiet here on the blog lately...that's because I have been super busy here on the farm doing some projects.  I am totally embracing my Word of the Year and crossing things off my list from left to right top to bottom!!  Thankfully I have a super supportive husband that encourages me to do all the things - and he even helps out!!

::ONE::

Adios 1989!!

I am working on a more detailed post...just waiting to finish cleaning up and styling Ellie's room and then the post will go live.  Hopefully I'll have it up next week ;)  I've been dying to replace the flooring in our rooms practically since before we moved in.  We finally did it!  We no longer have any carpet in our home and I cannot tell you how much cleaner I feel.  Minus the lingering dust from the construction I feel like our air quality increased substantially and I just cannot get over how much better and updated our home looks.  I still have to paint and install the new baseboard but seriously it looks a million times better! Here is a sneak peek:

::TWO::

Last weekend we hosted Finnley's 1st Birthday Party.  It was an Alice in "ONE"derland theme and it was totes adorable.  Finnley is a pretty shy girl and was a bit overwhelmed by the party and guests as a whole but once we got to opening presents she really embraced the whole "party" idea, I guess you can say she's a girl after my own heart ;)  I spent the whole week deep cleaning our house and prepping for the party.  I feel like the more parties I throw the easier and less stressful they seem to get.  So that is a bonus...so is keeping the decor to reuse from party to party when possible.

::THREE::

Since we had to move all of our furniture out of our bedroom for the new flooring I am now trying to sell our bedroom set so that we can totally start over.   Once the floors were finished we only brought two pieces back in; our bed (because we need somewhere to sleep) and our dresser (because we need somewhere to put our TV) and honestly I am loving how light and airy it feels.  I don't think I want to put much furniture in it when I redecorate.  I finally got a fresh coat of paint in our room, I went with white and I am so in love with it. I am just itching to get started on this room.  Just like everyone else I am going with the Farmhouse theme (have you seen my Pinterest board?) and am really hoping to get the set sold here soon so that I can start decorating and styling our Master....why is it that our master's always take a back seat to every other room in the house?? I mean Finnley and Ellie haven't been in our house as long as I have and their rooms look fantastic!   Meanwhile we still have the lighting fixture from 1989 in our room....

::FOUR::

Ellie's birthday is coming up next month and she has requested a Moana birthday so I am wracking my brain coming up with ideas for how to execute this one.  Check out my Pinterest board and let me know if you have any good ideas.  I have almost picked out an invitation and I better get on that soon so I can get them ordered and mailed out!!

::FIVE::

Finally, we made a BIG decision.  Ellie has been asking for a playhouse for nearly 2 years.  We've been waivering back and forth as to where we would put it and what it would look like. Well that is no longer an issue!!!  We are down to 2 chickens and have been kicked out of the coop.  Don't worry they are still in an enclosed area and are still thriving unfortunately even though they haven't laid an egg in over 18 months... So I got the bright idea to convert their coop into a playhouse!!  I have gathered all sorts of inspiration on Pinterest.  This is going to be quite the project let me tell you! 

Here is what entails in PHASE 1: The Interior

*First I had to do a deep clean to get all of the chicken stuff out of the coop

*Second I had to wash the entire inside - because I'm OCD like that

*Third I have to primer the whole inside of the coop: walls, floors and ceiling (finishing that up this weekend!!)

*Fourth we have to lay a new floor down because the existing one has some holes (eyeroll)

*Fifth  Ellie has requested an "upstairs" so we are going to build a loft

*Sixth we are going to insulate the walls (and maybe ceiling) and put up beadboard to cover, add in a dutch door, move a window and maybe add another window or two

*Seventh I have to paint the entire interior again including the windows and doors.  I'm thinking white walls and black windows/doors.

*Eighth we are going to put down linoleum for the floor, I found some that look like wood floors and I'm obsessed!  And also install some baseboards.

*Ninth we have to figure out how to install some sort of lighting option

*Tenth I get to finally decorate!!

I'm pretty sure that this to-do list is a bit long and extensive that the playhouse won't be done in time for Ellie's birthday but it's my goal to get as close as we can!!

PHASE 2: The Exterior

I'll share more on Phase 2 once I complete Phase 1 (oh and this can't happen until the chickens are no longer with us...)

So that's where I've been lately...working on my creative side a bit.

Happy Friday and Happy Weekend Y'all...if you need me you can find me painting ;)

♥ Ashley

linking up here

Weekending - Baby's First Easter edition

Lately we've been packing our weekends so full there is hardly any time for us to sleep!!!  This weekend was no exception.  It was the tail end of Thomas Spring Break and we wanted to make sure to make the most of it.  

The funny thing about having a baby born in early/mid April is that sometimes they get to celebrate Easter twice in one year (or every other year).  Finnley got to celebrate her First Easter this year just days after turning ONE since Easter was in March last year!!   Let me tell you that ONE looks good on her ;)

Our Friday night was a late one after I got home from work.  Our floors got finished while we were in Victoria so I had to vacuum and mop (b/c I'm a control freak) before we could put our bedroom back together...and when Ellie saw me get out the mop she begged to help!! So you get a sneak peek at our room/closet (which needs a complete overhaul btw).

my little "cinder"Ellie

Saturday morning we were up and at 'em pretty early to get our farm chores completed before we had to catch the Ferry to get to our favorite island...Vashon!

It was a beautiful day and Ellie had so much fun on the quick boat ride...she jumped and squealed with excitement when we were docking in Vashon.  I think it's safe to say she loves it there as much as we do.

We stopped for coffee and breakfast pastries at Snapdragon and y'all it was so good!! I didn't get any photos of our food but believe me when I say I might have to go back next weekend and pick up some things for Finnley's birthday party!!  So freakin' good.

Then we went into town and started our walking around.  They have the best grocery store with an awesome floral dept and Ellie was taken with this Sheep Balloon!

As we were walking to the park for the Easter Egg Hunt (the reason for our visit) we ran into the Easter Bunny herself!!  Ellie was beside herself with excitement and couldn't wait to wrap her arms around her.  Finnley jumped in the pictures too...and once she realized all the fuss was about squealed in delight at the Easter Bunny and kept trying to climb out of the stroller to get back to her once we started walking away.

At the park we playing on the swings, a whirly-gig, slides and whatnot.  It was getting close to naptime (actually passed it) and the Finn almost fell asleep in the swing!! Then she got her second wind and was raring to go for the hunt.  Which was a little too crazy for our non-walker so Ellie just made sure to get some eggs for Finnley too!

The Egg Hunt was crazy and I'm glad we kept Finnley out of it.  After all the eggs were picked we took Ellie to a nearby table and started opening all of the Eggs...when what should we find? The Golden Egg Ticket!!!!!! I don't know how this girl gets so lucky.  She was awarded an awesome Easter Basket for her find and it was the highlight of the day.  Along with some candy in the eggs there were also coupons for many of the shops on the island where the kids could go in a pick out a prize (candy, toy, ice cream, or a coupon for Mama to get a bouquet of flowers).  A great move to get the stores some extra action.

After all our playing and hunting we got pretty hungry and decided to have lunch at The Hardware Store Restaurant and it had a bit of a wait so we put our name and number down and went over to the Pharmacy to play while we waited.  The food did not disappoint, Thomas had a burger and I had falafel, both were incredibly filling and delicious.  Then we had to stop for some ice cream before getting back in the car to catch the Ferry back home.

moments after Ellie finished her ice cream she fell a sleep and missed the whole Ferry ride...Finnley was rearing to go so I took her up to see the sights!

It was a late night once we got home as I put together the Easter Baskets, put out some bunny footprints, and got my flowers into vases.  Fresh flowers in your bedroom are always a great idea!

For the first time in forever Finnley woke up first and was able to have a bottle before Ellie got up.  Ellie collected all the bunny footprints on her way to the baskets and the girls had so much fun seeing what they got!

Then we had some playing around before we went out on another adventure!

We stopped by Thomas' grandma to have a quick visit and then made our way to see my Mom.  It's always so hard and emotional for me to see her...so I don't go very often.

We then made our way up North to have lunch in Snohomish.  We ate at Thai Naan and it might be our favorite place in town.  We got the Golden Noodles and Special Fried Rice...I might make a trip up there specifically for eating ;)  We looked in a couple of shops, stopped in The Snohomish Bakery for a treat and then made our way to Flower World...if you're local make a trip there.  They have a huge nursery and then a whole area of animals: goats, chickens, ducks, sheep, and peacocks!!

The only "farm" animals Finnley won't cry about ;)

The girls fell asleep on the way home so we were able to set up our egg hunt while they were sleeping in the car.  Once they were up they went for it.  I think it was a success and am so grateful we had such beautiful weather to celebrate Easter...it's not often it's sunny in the PNW for outdoor egg hunts!

How was your Easter Weekend?

♥ Ashley