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- Look at my mudroom!! It’s FINALLY coming together!!
Last weekend, while our kiddos were enjoying the last weekend at Deep Creek Lake (and all of the Autumn Glory festivities) with their Grandparents, Derrick and I stayed home. I had a wedding on Saturday and a day of mini-sessions on Sunday and Derrick was attending a media event at Kennywood. But in between all of that, we got this room painted!
We were originally just planning on priming the walls – there are a few spots that need some additional spackling, but we knew it would be easier to see what spots needed fixed with a solid coat of paint.
Well, it turns out, we bought the most awful primer imaginable. Not only was the quality of the paint super bad, but it was this awful, gross yellow color. I like the color yellow, but this was a horrible shade!
So, we ended up going out and buying the actual “real” paint that we were planning on painting the room and putting that on the walls on top of that awful primer. (Oh, we never were able to get the paint gun to work right either – so we painted it all by hand.)
Needless to say, it’s still not done. I have to paint the trim around the windows and door (I will do that this week!) We still have to hang the hooks up for our coats (fingers crossed we’ll get that done today!) and a few more finishing touches need added – but the room is finally far enough along that we were able to put our bench together and move the shoes out into it!! It feels SO GOOD for all of the shoes to be out of my living room! - Additionally – the space has already proven itself an AMAZING entryway! A friend stopped over on Monday (my birthday!) with some coffee and treats and she was able to step inside, out of the wind, and we were able to chat for a few minutes without feeling like we’re awkwardly standing in my living room. My family came over Monday night (for my birthday!) and they were able to walk in, drop all of their shoes, coats, and purses in the entryway and then proceed into my living room.
Needless to say, I was so happy to finally use the space as it was intended! It’s been a LONG road, but I’m so excited to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! - So, yes, Monday was my birthday!! It was a delightful, low-key day – full of surprises, delights, and my favorite people. Derrick threw me a little party Monday night, and right in the middle of me opening my gifts, Luis walked into the living room and popped a confetti cannon over everyone! It was HILARIOUS and something we’ll never forget (and I’m afraid a precedent may have been set – we’ll see what happens at the next birthday party!)
- Braelynn slept over at my parent’s house last night (because my Mom is home “alone” – my Dad is up north hunting), so Leander has been living his best “only child” life for the last 18ish hours. He has been loving being the center of attention and has been absolutely living it up. He came strolling into our bedroom this morning at 7am on the dot (when his okay-to-wake light turns green) boldly declaring: “GOOD MORNING! GOOD MORNING!”
- We went to Phipps Conservatory this week! My sister Ellen has a membership there, so she was able to get a bunch of us in at an extremely reduced price – so a whole crowd of us went! We had so much fun! It was cold and rainy outside, but the perfect morning to stroll the greenhouses and gardens inside. My kids loved it, but I honestly think they just loved being with their cousins most.
- Last night, I did a “spooky” photoshoot with my sister Ruby – she has been wanting to do “ghost photos” for a long time now – we brainstormed about it last year, but never got around to doing it, so when October rolled around this year, we agreed that we needed to make it happen. And last night was the night! We centered the photos around White Tree – the new coffee shop in Downtown Irwin (where Ruby works!) and we had a BLAST! One of her coworkers joined her (so I had two ghosts) and we just laughed the entire time! Talk about a break from the normal things I photograph and an amazing way to stretch and exercise my creativity!
- I did family photos for my sister Amy last night – and with that, I believe I only have one more session to shoot before my season officially ends! (Now, I just have about 52,305 photos to edit!) 2022 has been a GREAT year for photography – I am so blessed.
