This will shock you most likely. But it is pouring down rain in Texas this morning. Again. And it's freezing. Again. Yesterday, well a few days this week, it was gloriously sunny and nearly warm, you know...warmish. Barely 70's. But still...in the sunshine and the heat of the day it felt decent. Yesterday was really pretty. Blue skies, a few soft cottony clouds for sky decoration and warmth! And then, we closed our eyes for a few short hours and woke up to....torrential downpour and the thermometer reading 38 degrees...and falling! Our rain could turn to snow flurries a bit later. The weather in Texas is just so weird! Of course, any weather after living without it for five years seems a bit weird really.
What's happening with the Roberts family? Besides the weather woes? Well, we've been tackling some home improvement the past few days. We've really done essentially nothing to the house since we moved in, save for adding the hardwood floors downstairs right after we moved in. We had planned to do that...but not until a bit farther down the road. But then we found such a smokin good deal (got to love the hurting economy!) that we moved that project way ahead of schedule. And then we've pretty much done nothing since. This past week we added two new rugs to the hardwood. One under the dining room table and one in the living room. It made a huge difference in the appearance of both rooms and I finally feel like they are nearing done. The living room still needs a bigger lamp, or an additional lamp. And the dining room needs some greenery I think. In addition to the rugs, we added some beautiful bar stools to the kitchen. I had been drooling over some for quite some time, but as usual, my tastes were a bit on the expensive side. And as much as I loved them, there was no way I wanted to pay nearly $500 PER barstool! I had looked online endlessly and really had made little headway into finding them any cheaper. I'd find them for a little cheaper...but then once I had to have them shipped to me...well...the savings was gone! I had nearly given up on having any. I didn't want barstools just for the sake of having something there. I had a specific vision in mind. Then, the other day, my friend mentioned this little place down the road. It's a furniture store that is not exactly fancy. And by that, I mean they operate out of a sort of garage. Literally. They roll up the big door on the front every morning and there sits all the furniture in one huge space...no walls or fancy arrangements. It's just there, on the concrete floor. Anyway, she asked if I had been and told me they had some pretty barstools. She had been with me when I found the $500 barstools. When I asked her if they were more reasonably priced she said that she remembered that they were. And so I swung by there just the other day. And I found EXACTLY what I was after!!! And they were only like $150 each, as opposed to the $500 ones that were my benchmark! I sent Chris by the same day to take a look and he liked them as well. And we got them home and assembled and in place last night and they are BEAUTIFUL! They are exactly what I was after and I love seeing them there. I am also looking forward to being able to serve breakfast there at the bar and feed the kids there too when Chris is gone! Unfortunately, the discovery of THE barstools, also led to the discovery of some other really groovy and FUN barstools that I could NOT get out of my head. They are horse saddles, and they have been mounted on a bartstool. And I started thinking about how fun it would be to put them at one of those high bistro tables up in the game room. It would give a nice place to sit up in the gameroom, and give a hard surface for doing puzzles or working on scrapbook stuff or playing boardgames. They are so totally precious and fun. That idea then kind of started another whole snowball idea and I envisioned a whole western, cowboy themed gameroom. a room painted a warm, deep gold and loaded full of Texas stars and lariats and cowboy "stuff". I have AWESOME canvases of the boys in cowboy hats that go up there. And it wouldn't take anything to do one of Clara to compliment them. I think it would be such a fun room up there when we were done with it. Of course, those two barstools are going to cost me $800...more than the FOUR barstools I just got! But they are SOOOOOOO cute and fun and different and I think they SO totally would make that room. I LOVE them. And by that, I mean I am truly obsessed with the thought of them and cannot even begin to stop the flow of ideas that just come with them. I LOVE them. Chris pretended to think it was a good idea too. I don't know if he loves the idea as much as I do. He asked why I wanted to paint that room. I suspect it's mostly because he hates to paint that he really wants to know...not because he doesn't like my idea. Anyway...that room is FULL of holes and dings and when I take the things off the walls that they have up there that need to come down then it's REALLY going to be obvious how many more holes are there...and so...it needs to be painted regardless. It's a cool, soft, gray green right now. And it's pretty. But I want bright and warm and inviting and FUN. And I want a palette that I can bring in lots of reds and browns on. And the green....well, I'm not feeling it so much! We'll see what happens. Perhaps for mother's day there will be two barstools for me? Or, better yet, maybe the Easter Bunny will bring them for me? I have been very, very good this year. I mean VERY good. To say that I am deserving of the silly cowboy barstools...well, that's the understatement of the year. I SO deserve them!
What else? It's been Spring Break this week. WHICH was a total bust for the Roberts family. We had planned to go camping somewhere Thursday through Sunday. HOWEVER....apparently, the entire state of Texas goes on Spring Break at the EXACT SAME TIME. The ENTIRE state!!!! Which a big old royal pain in the fanny! Do you know how big Texas is???!!! YIKES! There was not a campsite to be held. Anywhere. And so we let go of the idea of camping and decided that since we have barely explored this new place we live in, that we would just do some day trips. Yeah. Well. That didn't happen either. We TRIED. But every single attraction or park or point of interest in Texas...due to the entire state being on break at the same time, was BEYOND slammed. The interstates were gridlocked. The airport was a nightmare. Every parking lot for every big thing around was full beyond full and people were hiking miles at a time just to GET to the attraction. It was all manner of craziness. And so we came back home and put together some barstools instead. Next year we will make our reservations WAY in advance and we WILL be leaving this crazy metropolis for a getaway! The kids are out of school in two weeks again...just for one day, but still, it gives us a long weekend and we hope to try the camping thing then. We'll see how that all pans out. But this spring break, in the here and now was officially a BUST!
In other news? Well....there isn't much. Kids are all healthy. Boys are typical moody teenagers. Clara is her typical, nonstop chatty self. I'm more than a little ready for them all to go back to school on Monday. And life...for the most part...is good in Texas!
No comments:
Post a Comment