A Full Week of Goodness

 It's been a full week - here's what we've been up to...

I started painting the kitchen cupboards the first week of September. This is the before. 

It took almost four weeks longer than I hoped it would, but this is the after. 

I'm really happy with how they turned out. This is a project I've had on my list for four years. Ultimately it cost two gallons of paint, and about $150 in hardware, plus two window treatments ordered off Amazon. 

Then I decided the downstairs guest bedroom needed a dresser, so I went shopping at the online swap and shop and found something that would work well, but it needed painting. 

It did come with drawers, they're somewhere in the room. 

See it sitting in the corner? So sweet I think. 

Another quart of paint and a little bit of elbow grease and it works out well I think. It's also hard to go wrong with off white. This little downstairs room happens to be Charlotte's favorite napping spot during the day. She can lie on the bed and watch the birds cleaning up the birdseed that falls from the feeder hanging above on the deck. 

Not that anyone will ever necessarily put a single thing in the drawers, but it does make for a nice spot to put a lamp. There's that. 

I also found the lamp at the local mission thrift shop for a whopping $15, and with a can of satin nickel spray paint to the rescue, it was vastly revived. I keep cans of spray paint in white, black, off white, and satin nickel on hand just for jobs like this. 

We've had a second home here in northern Idaho for seven years now, and I do believe this is the most beautiful fall so far. This one tree, a bit off in the distance out our back window, has just thrilled my soul day after day. I'll hate to see it drop its leaves. 

Then I bought a used copy of a cookbook, "Love Soup" to use for our church's meal ministry, and it had a recipe for focaccia bread. It was so easy to make, and amazingly, it called for fresh or dried lavender and I was able to go out my back door and pinch some off the plants in my bed of lavender. 

See that teensy purple? It's crushed lavendar! The green is rosemary. 

Fun secret ingredient, and we've enjoyed it with our meals all this week. 

Then I found the cutest bright yellow donut maker, called Babycakes, at the local thrift store for $7.00. It was so neatly packaged it looked brand new, but I saw a few notes on the recipes so someone used it a bit. I surprised our granddaughter, S.G. by taking batter, frosting and sprinkles to her house this past Tuesday morning and it was a bit hit. So much more fun than just buying donuts. 

She was delighted to help me make them, and they took a matter of minutes. This week we made chocolate, but I've promised her we'll try the maple applesauce recipe next week. That's a pretty great smile for $7.00 I do believe. 

Added benefit of baby donuts - you can eat two. Or three if you're age is single digits. 

Now we're deep into Halloween celebrating, with a kid parade today, 

Isn't our  granddaughter, Hallie the cutest candy thief ever? 

This is her mama, dressed as Bob Ross, very appropriate for an art teacher. 

Our car is going with the theme 'Junk in the Trunk'

We're having our first Trunk or Treat at our church this Sunday, followed by our family gathering of soups galore, then Cub Sweetheart and I man the porch, under the heat tower, while the rest of the group goes out trick-or-treating. Our only payment is a pile of Almond Joys and Heath Bars culled from the kids' bags and buckets and pillow cases. I've got my orange and green long socks and my googly eyes on a headband ready to wear Sunday night. The kids always seem to love any adults who dress up for them. 

That's what we've been up to - how about you?