Herbs

I found these adorable little pots at Marshalls and when I saw they were only $3 each they jumped into my cart! I'm working on my black thumb so I thought I'd try growing some herbs. I love to cook with herbs so if they survive it will be great to have some around all the time.

Zeke really liked them too (or maybe he just thought there were treats hidden in the bottom)

Its been a couple of days and so far so good!

To-do List Mania

I am someone who likes lists (actually loves lists) so naturally I have to-do lists in my head and on various pieces of paper of projects I want to do in the house. Well its getting hard to keep track of all these lists and since I posted my April house goals the other day I thought I'd better get organized. In an attempt to simplify things I decided to give each room its own to-do list.

Sounds like a good idea right?

Well I tend to be a little too detail-oriented so somehow this:

* Finish guest room

Became this:

* Finish guest room
- Install crown molding
- Paint inside of closet
- Find removed closet doors and reinstall
- Paint door and trim
- Replace door knob
- Hang curtains
- Sand and re-stain bed a darker color
- Stain bedside tables to match
- Move furniture in and decorate

(I wont bore you to tears by posting the other rooms’ lists.)

It’s nice to have it all down on paper to refer to but now it looks like a lot more work … maybe the original disorganized list wasn’t so bad after all! :-)

Out of town guests

Josh's dad and step-mom were in San Francisco for a conference and when it was over they came to stay with us for a few days. We did some touristy stuff but mostly just hung out because they live in Philly so Josh doesn't get to see them very often.

And now for some photos - once again I forgot to be in a single photo. This happens a lot!

We went on a little drive over the Golden Gate bridge to Sausalito

That's the San Francisco skyline in the background

Father and son

On the way back we stopped at our favorite Golden Gate lookout spot

Zeke enjoyed meeting some of his grand-parents



The end.

April Goals

I am a fan of lists. I enjoy checking things off but I am also guilty of just making a new list and rolling things over if I miss my deadline (this happens a lot!). I usually keep my lists to myself but I'm going to try posting it to see if it helps keep me on track.

These are my home-related goals for April:

1. Work on the guest room - so far we've painted, and put in a new ceiling fan and blinds. Now it needs all the details.

2. Paint the living room - totally dreading this because of the high ceilings. I'll post some 'before' shots soon.

3. Make some freezer meals - I love to cook but I work 10 hour days Monday to Thursday so I get home late and usually don't feel like cooking. I would happily eat cereal for dinner on those nights but my dear husband looks at me in disgust every time I suggest this.
(Anyone have any suggestions? I don't have much experience with freezing cooked food.)

That's it. I know it looks like a short list but believe me the painting alone is going to take forever. I'll report back at the end of the month with my progress.


And because no blog entry is complete without a picture, here's a cute shot of Zeke (who's 5 months old today) and Josh.

Sun bathing

Today I should hem the sliding door curtains ... but then what will Monkey lie on when he takes his cat naps?

Blooms

I love having fresh flowers in the house but seldom buy any because there about a million other things I should be spending my money on.
I would grow my own flowers but I have a black thumb so it would be a waste of time.

Well I've been lucky this week!

Check out these daffodils I got at Trader Joes for $1.30 for a bunch of 10:

Sure, I had to put them in water and wait for them to open, but a few days later they look like this:

What a steal!

...

Also, we have these crazy, untamed rose bushes in our back yard that we’ve been trying to kill off because you risk your life every time you walk past them. So far we’ve cut about half of them down but the remaining ones are starting to flower. The roses are huge and so fragrant!

...

I love spring!

Feline Love

*Warning: cat lady post*

Today is Monkey and Hobbes' 6th birthday!

To celebrate I am posting some of my favorite photos of them. They are my darlings and were my only friends when I first moved to California and didn't know anyone.