{Nate the Great} Picture Time

Being 2 is hard. It's been hard for the boy and it's hard for this momma to get a good picture. He's all about "no take picture!" 



The below photo cracks me up. He was mad at me after I yelled at him this weekend because he almost walked into a thorn tree. The thorns were 3" long and EVERYWHERE. The downside of country living at my parents' house, I guess. So he refused to follow us to the other side of their smaller pond. And there he sat, mad as can be, until he got over it and came to see what we were doing. In about a month, these paths will be different and so much better to walk on - as in no bugs and hopefully no more poison ivy!!! 

{Garden} Buggy Visitors

Hello!

So apparently September just flew by. But if you follow me on Instagram (at thebrickbungalow), you might have seen some of the following garden visitors. I never found their crysallis or any sign of them changing to a butterfly but they've disappeared, so fingers crossed. 

This was the big guy that showed up. After that, some babies came and hung out on my milkweed. 



After the above visitors, there were at least two babies on the plant at almost all time. 







I've seen  monarchs in the garden since, so I'm hoping these made it. I'll plant more milkweed next year and spread it around our yard. I bought four plants this year but only two made it. But they were definitely enjoyed by these caterpillars!!! 

{Garden} Buggy Visitors

Hello!

So apparently September just flew by. But if you follow me on Instagram (at thebrickbungalow), you might have seen some of the following garden visitors. I never found their crysallis or any sign of them changing to a butterfly but they've disappeared, so fingers crossed. 

This was the big guy that showed up. After that, some babies came and hung out on my milkweed. 



After the above visitors, there were at least two babies on the plant at almost all time. 







I've seen  monarchs in the garden since, so I'm hoping these made it. I'll plant more milkweed next year and spread it around our yard. I bought four plants this year but only two made it. But they were definitely enjoyed by these caterpillars!!! 

{Doug's Office} Bare Bones

Hello! Welcome to Doug's "new" office. 

This used to be my space before I moved to the basement. And before that, briefly, it was Doug's office but I stole it from him like the good wife I am. Ha! It's back to being his so he can get his master's in the next year or so. 

Until then, I repainted it a nice, light gray and started adding some if his items. This will be his "man cave" as well, seeing as he lets me do whatever I want with the rest of the house and so he needs his own spot. I'm all for people having their own areas in the house. 


Doug, as you can probably tell from these photos, likes rugby. He's played it the entire time we've been together and even before then, so roughly 15 or so years. 


His parents took that photo for him while on one of their vacations. I'm not sure about that black tray in the back but it'll eventually be something…maybe… and the "whistle for your beer" is something Doug's had since before my time. Again, we're going for a man cave here so it works. 


The horse, above, is from Doug's grandparents. The little jar of money was given to him with a note from Doug's mom that has to deal with a family story from his grandmother. The jar of matches came from his dad's parents collection (it's not all) of their travels over the years. I simply put them in a glass pickle jar to display. 


The desk was mine, and before that my mom's. It has great storage and is huge. Like 5 feet long type of big. It'll have some stuff on it at some point but he uses his laptop or iPad for everything so he won't need computer space. The "Terms of Rugby" wall hanging is actually cloth and will be framed at some point. I bought it off Etsy awhile back. The blue curtains and floor length but pinned back for our AC unit. We gutted and insulated this area but it still gets really hot in the summer. 


The pennant, above, was my brothers. It's from the 1992 World Champions Basketball team. I gave Doug the rugby parking sign for a birthday gift. The chair was my grandmothers. I don't know if it'll stay. 

As for the tan section of wall… I'm going to paint it white and that's where some built ins will eventually be. I need to call our contractor…aka my dad… and grab him some time he's not busy. Which is never, even though he's technically retired. The man likes to work! 

I'd love to add more of Doug's rugby items and some of his hippos. We'll see what happens but for now I thought I'd share this space. 


{Life Lately} Throwback Thursday

While prepping my old office to become Doug's new office, I found a bunch of photo disks. I had to look… and so I've taken a walk down memory lane and will be posting a few of the goodies here. For those that follow me on Facebook, you've seen some. 

But I thought I'd share some of the house ones on here. I FINALLY found that I did take a picture of the dining room with the string curtains… just not an up close. Now let me say that these string curtains were just that, strings. It wasn't anything even close to the macrame type yarn art that is going on today. And they were dingy.

Remind me why we bought this house?? Umm.. never mind. 

Here's the dining room in all of the dark red (with black glaze) glory… This was pretty much everything from the previous homeowner, minus the glassware in the cabinet and the place mats on the table. Back in 2007…  


And the dark guest room before it became a dumping ground and then eventually Lily's room


However, I did take a photo of those curtains up close!!! 


 And then there's the middle bedroom that once started out as my office (before I stole the upstairs office from Doug) then moved to Lily's room and now is Nate's bedroom. My stuff, previous homeowner's paint choices. 


And just so I don't leave your eyes burning with those hideous paint colors (which, I can say have all been taken care of), I'll leave you with this oldie of the snow before we ripped out the giant hedges, the lamp post, and the other bushes and everything else we've done to create a welcoming front yard and view into Lily's Garden


Too bad those two whiskey barrels didn't last. We brought them here when we moved and after the first winter, they were trash. Also… I'm so glad our neighbor's house isn't mint green anymore! 

I love these photos only to show the progress that has been made. Now if only I could remodel my kitchen and do a before and after on that one! Some day!!! 

{Life Lately} July

Is it me or did July come and go in a blink of an eye?

We started the month getting ready for our trip to South Carolina. We left on the 4th and were there for a week.



We came home for enough time to do some laundry, spoil our pups, do some gardening, and clean the house in preparation for being gone for our annual lake trip.

Before leaving for the lake trip, we went to our local fair. It's been a tradition for 6 years now and both kids love it! 


For four days, we were down at our favorite lake with my parents, cousins and aunt.


After that, we spent some time at my parents' house on my brother's birthday. He would have been 37. This is a shot of their back yard patio that they made themselves. My mom is a huge fan of Japanese style zen gardens and so she uses a lot items you'd find in those, plus a huge tie into nature in many forms (the line of trees at the top of the photo is the beginning of their woods). There are two small water ponds just out of sight on the right of this photo that are home to many frogs and an occasional snapping turtle. 


Swimming at my parents' pool adds more fun as the kids slow down from the trips.

And although after that has slowed down, the month is now gone. As teachers, our month of July is special time. August is already half over too but as teachers, we've spent the majority of our time getting ready for the school year. Meetings, room prep, curriculum, lesson plans... you name it, at least one of us has done it already.

Why do summers have to go by so quickly?!? 



{South Carolina} Day 8 - Goodbye South Carolina!

Our time in South Carolina is up and we finished it back in Charleston at the popular Hominy Grill. 

Nate seems to be saying he's done. 


Breakfast at the Hominy Grill. Absolutely delicious! 


Peace out, South Carolina! 


Back in Missouri for an early dinner than home by 9:30. What a long, fun day! 


We all had an absolute blast in South Carolina. 

If you've missed any of the days, here's a rundown:

Day 4 - Charleston and the Charleston Aquarium 
Day 5 - Dolphin Cruise
Day 6 - Beach and Relax
Day 7 - Botany Bay and Family Photos
Day 8 - Goodbye SC! - you're here! 

{South Carolina} Day 7 - Family Photos

On the last night of our vacation, we took some family photos. Or we attempted at least. Nate + sand + water = chaos as shown below. We did look cute though!













Bird? Crab? Nope… Nate!


My parents 














The dolphins returned for one last visit. You can't see them but they're there. 


It was a great way to finish our beach vacation.

Day 4 - Charleston and the Charleston Aquarium 
Day 5 - Dolphin Cruise
Day 6 - Beach and Relax
Day 7 - Botany Bay and Family Photos (you're here!)
Day 8 - Goodbye SC! 

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