Some Things We've Been Up To

So, the last few weeks have been really busy.  I've been enjoying the fall weather coming in, and it makes me really want to get in all the fun the pretty weather will allow.  I also am busy preparing for the cold that I can feel creeping in, putting out all the winter clothes, trying on coats, making plans for scarves and mittens and hot chocolate.  Maybe I've been reading too much A Game of Thrones, but the phrase "Winter is coming" is hitting a chord with me lately.  I feel like a squirrel gathering nuts, trying to make sure we're all warm, comfortable, and safe in the cold this year.

We have been taking lots of time together and it's been wonderful.  I think this fall is going to be one full of wonderful memories.  A few of the things we've been up to include:

Serious Construction Projects

Always wear proper headgear when building with blocks!

 Making friends.

Taken at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies.

 And, creating masterpieces.

Persephone's pumpkin she painted for our front porch.

I hope that this gorgeous weather holds...we have lots more memories to make!

Cedar Chest as Chalkboard Coffee Table

When we moved, we had a LOT of things.  Our home was pretty big, with a garage, attic storage rooms all along the second story, and a basement.  We also had tons of closets.  When we moved here, we knew we were going to have to pare down and simplify.  I wasn't horrified by the idea, since we've been trying to embrace voluntary simplicity for quite a while.  It WAS a challenge to figure out how to fit our entire lives into a 6x12 moving trailer, though.  It really gave us a chance to evaluate what was important to us, what was necessary, and what we were ready to let go.

In the end, we ended up giving away and donating truckloads of our things.  We also had to rethink our furniture because what we had just wasn't going to work in our new small space.  One of the things I had hiding in a spare room was an old cedar chest.  It had a big ding in the top and the finish was flaking off, but it had a lovely shape and I really just love cedar chests in general.  They make me think of family.

We decided it would be a perfect coffee table, taking the place of our large octagonal one which was simply too big for the space and too heavy to move.  The chest would be both narrow in the room and would do double duty as a storage space for blankets.  I didn't have a chance to do any refinishing on the chest at all before we moved, other than a good wipedown as we had less than a month to pack and move after Preston accepted the job here.  So, once we got here, I decided to simply give the top a coat of chalkboard paint (thank you, Pinterest!).

Everything is sort of temporarily arranged until we get a chance to get our new couch.

I think it looks pretty nice, and it's a great spot for impromptu art!