Playing with friends...and turkeys!

We had a fun morning here at Grayce Lane.

A few friends came over for some craft & play time...you'll be seeing more photos soon...

Nicolle will be sharing all of the details from this morning in a few weeks.  In the meantime, I want to share the cute little craft we did with the kiddos...

A Thankful Turkey

Get This:
Toilet Paper roll (or Paper Towel roll cut to size)
craft feathers
glue/glue stick
googly eyes
beak/waddle stickers (or make your own from construction paper)
5-8 'feathers' cut from colored card-stock

Do This:

• Have your child write something they are thankful for on each of the card-stock tail feathers.  (If they are too little to write themselves, you can ask them & write it for them).
• Glue the feathers on the back of the toilet paper roll.
• Use the glue/gluestick to cover the front & sides of the toilet paper roll and then stick the craft feathers to the 'body'.
• Add googly eyes, beak & waddle.

Hope you've had a great hump-day!

Shopping!

This weekend, I planned on going to check out the Grand Opening of the Garden House at Chartreuse & Co..  Sadly, I didn't make it...

Earlier this month, I was able to drag convince hubby to go with me to their Fall Market Days Event.  We picked up these goodies...

Vintage Coca-Cola cooler...we're keeping it on our side porch for the milkman to leave our milk delivery in.  Check out the little bottle opener on the side.  (I can't take credit for this find...Hubby actually had to talk me into it)...

This old door-turned-chalkboard for my laundry room...I had been looking for months for something to cover the circuit panel box underneath and this fit perfectly.  Thinking a new color will be an upcoming project.  (Ok, so we compromised...he got the cooler if I got this...)

I've also been picking up little goodies here & there to finish some other spaces around here.

I found these cuties for the Guest En-suite...

Available here

And these lovelies will make an appearance in the Girls Bathroom...

Available here

Available here

Both of those spaces will be finished soon and then I'll be sharing with you.

I've also been stalking admiring this console for our family room...but the price-tag has had me passing this up...

Restoration Hardware:  $1375

And then, I found THIS!  Pretty darn good Look-4-Less, huh?

Stein World via Wayfair: $427.93

So, I'm off to get this Monday moving...

Also, don't forget about the awesome 10% Discount over at Tyler Candle Store!  It's good until September 30th!!!
Enter tyler-c@ndle$ at checkout.
(enter the promotion code in the 'discount coupon code' section at checkout & apply)

my week...in photos

It's been a busy week...and this weekend will be as well!
I realized as I was syncing my phone this week, that I take A LOT of pictures throughout the week...so here are few...

Monday, I got to spend the day with Miss M, while Miss L was at preschool...a rarity, since it's usually the other way around.  We had a fun afternoon making this (and to my surprise, my family has eaten almost all of it this week!).

I also received the September Birchbox (and Martha Stewart)!

Tuesday, we got hit with a crazy storm and lost power (AGAIN!).  Needless to say, I fully anticipate the 'generator conversation' coming to the forefront again soon.

Wednesday, power was restored, and I spent the morning doing some 'research' for this lovely little lady.  I'm finding some cool stuff that we'll be sharing with you in the next couple of weeks.

Miss L had a busy day at preschool, too.  She sat down on the mud'room' bench to take her shoes off, and this is how I found her...

Thursday, started with a birthday party for a couple of Miss L's classmates.  This was the 4-year old version of the American Girl Store (if you've been to AG, you know what I'm referring to!)...you don't leave with just a bear...

and of course, every trip to the Nordstrom beauty department, requires a stop for Mac lipgloss (the brighter the purple & more glitter, the better!)...

and can you believe what Target has?  I've loved the Arteriors version forever... (good work, Threshold!)

Today...well, TGIF!!!
I have 5 full hours of 'free time' and although I have visions of sipping coffee & catching up on my reality tv magazines...I woke up with a cold and will be doing laundry, prepping dinner, making beds, cleaning a chicken coop and hopefully getting a second cup of coffee and a shower before the little girls get home.  Seriously.

Tonight, I'm going to relax outside, wrapped up in a cozy blanket, watching the deer & chickens (more details on them soon) and enjoy one of these:

image via Martha Stewart

Apple-Pie Spiced Cider

GET THIS:

• 1 1/4 quarts apple cider
• 3 tablespoons firmly packed light-brown sugar
• 7 whole cinnamon sticks, (6 sticks for garnish)
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• Ground cloves
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt
• 1/2 cup Calvados, or other brandy 

DO THIS:

• In a medium saucepan, whisk together cider, sugar, spices, and salt. 
• Bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. 
• Remove from heat; pour in brandy. 
• Strain into a pitcher; discard solids. 
• Serve in mugs, garnished with cinnamon sticks.
• Yields 6 servings

Original recipe can be found here.

Here's to a great weekend (and lots of cold meds)!

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

For the past week, I have had almost every window in our house open 24/7.  The cool air is such a wonderful reminder that autumn is almost here!

On Monday, Miss M was home from school for the holiday, and since Miss L still had preschool, we decided to make a yummy, autumn treat.

Until I can dig up my mom's Zucchini Bread recipe (which is just as fabulous as her Yellow Squash Muffin recipe!), this one will surely be a keeper!

Enjoy!

Pumpkin Zucchini Bread

GET THIS:

• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 c sugar
• 1 c brown sugar
• 1 c canned pumpkin (I use 'Libby's', of course!!!)
• 1 c butter, melted (or 1 cup oil or 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 3 c all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 2 c shredded zucchini
• 1 c chopped walnuts (optional)

 
DO THIS:

• In a bowl, combine eggs & sugars. 
• Add pumpkin, butter (or oil/applesauce) and vanilla. 
• Combine dry ingredients; gradually add to pumpkin mixture and mix well. 
• Stir in zucchini and nuts. 
• Pour into two greased and floured 9-in. x 5-in. loaf pans. 
• Bake at 350° for 45-55 minutes or until breads test done. 
• Cool in pans 10 minutes. 
• Remove to a wire rack. 
• Yield: 2 loaves.

This recipe can be found here.
Original recipe can be found at Taste of Home.

Grayce Lane: Playroom (part 1)

So we moved into Grayce Lane just over a year ago.  I have slowly been making final decisions on furniture & designs.  I've been getting side-tracked with other projects, so by the time I get back to Grayce Lane, I've either forgotten what I was working towards or changed my mind altogether.  This is not a problem for me though...we are settled and here to stay, so I have all the time in the world to finish this house (albeit, the sooner the better, right?).

I will be showing you peeks at finished spaces here at Grayce Lane, but thought it would be fun to show a portion of the progress as I finish some of these spaces.

First up...the girls' playroom.

To give you some background on the room...
It is at the bottom of the stairs into our finished, walk-out basement.  Although there aren't any windows in the playroom, it does have glass pocket-doors, which allow all of the natural light from the 12, full-height windows that are in the space adjacent to them.
It is a 12'x15' room with a little 3'x4.5' nook...
We installed the outlets mid-wall, to keep them out-of-reach (they are the new, code-required outlets that have the child-proofing inside them)...

Here's the room in December 2012 (3 months into construction):

image my own

Here it is in February 2011:

image my own

March 2011...the pocket doors went in:

image my own

April 2011 (move-in day!!!):

image my own

So, don't ask me WHAT I was thinking with that horrible yellow/gold paint color (and believe me, this was not the only room that had a bad experience...I'll share the others later).  I blame it on my lack of sanity (that's putting it nicely) from living 170 miles away from hubby & this house with our 2 girls in our tiny beach house for 8 months...all while trying to design & finish Grayce Lane and maintain some semblance of a normal routine...it was crazy...to say the least!  :)


I have since, repainted and added some storage (thanks, IKEA) and FINALLY finished my design for this room.  I am going to take full advantage of the 15 full, free hours I get this week to get these ideas finished!

Here's the BEFORE:

image my own

And here's my design:

image my own

I am 100% positive that hubby is going to flip out when he finds out I am painting this room again...I think as long as I don't ask him to help in any way, he'll be ok (painting is his one, absolute hated tasks...the dude will build an entire house, but will refuse to paint...that's the engineer for ya!)

The fabrics will be making appearances throughout the room.  I fell in love with these prints last year when I was designing/sewing for Miss M's bedroom.  I've been trying to figure out where I could use this colourway and was so excited to see them work in this space.

I will be making Miss M go to Home Depot with me today to stock up on spray paint & other supplies, while Miss L is at pre-school.  And then, let the fun begin!!!

Hopefully, next week, I'll be sharing the AFTER photos!

(you are welcome to use any of my photos, but PLEASE give credit to me when using them.  K? Thanks.)

My Favorite Things: Tyler Candle Company

When you walk into my house, it is guaranteed that I am burning at least one candle all day long (yes, I do frequently occasionally forget to extinguish when I leave...hopefully hubby isn't reading this!).

Last year, I found a brand that I've been pairing around here.  They smell absolutely wonderful and you definitely get a lot of candle for a little cost.

Meet, Tyler Candle Company.

Right now, I'm burning the 'Mulled Cider' and 'Pumpkin Spice'...which are the absolute PERFECT autumn scents!

Almost every time someone asks me, "What smells so good in here?", I can't name the scent.
Reason:  I LOVE to layer scents by burning 2-3 different candles throughout the house.  I'm thinking the 'Homecoming' and 'Vanilla Rumba' might be delicious with the 'Mulled Cider'???

image my own

Some other favorites of mine are, 'Diva', 'High Maintenance', 'French Market' and '24K' (I'm noticing a trend, now that it's in writing...)

The 11oz & 22oz candles have a double wick, so the candles burn evenly.  And don't you just love the print on the lid?

It gets better!  There is also a line of luxury hand wash & lotions AND laundry scents!
The hand wash is the softest hand wash I have ever used...truly LUXURY!  ('Diva' is a regular at my personal bathroom sink!)

Now, here's the best part!!!

As a special treat to my readers, new & old, the generous folks over at Tyler Candle Store are offering a 10% discount on your next order!  This offer is good through September 30, 2012.  Just enter the promotion code: tyler-c@ndle$ at checkout.
(enter the promotion code in the 'discount coupon code' section at checkout & apply)

I know many ladies who would LOVE to receive one of these as a gift (hmmm...I smell 'teacher gifts!).

So, head over to Tyler Candle Store and try one of these fabulous little luxuries!

Have a wonderful weekend!!!

Happy Days...

It's that time of year, again...
the kids are in school...
the cool, crisp air that washes through the sunshine...
warm, coffee & hot chocolate...
enjoying the last few days with flip-flops...
extra blankets at night...
autumn.

This is truly my favorite time of year.  Just regaining a routine among the crazy schedules of school, dance class, riding lessons, work...I find it to be relaxing (if that even makes sense?)

We've had an amazing summer here at Grayce Lane.  Some new projects were started (some were finished,  most are still in-process)...we have some new guests (which I will tell you about soon)...and I'm so excited to have some time to bring this blog to the front burner again.

I'm going to start featuring some recipes, favorite products, projects, tours of Grayce Lane...just to name a few.

I hope that you'll follow along and enjoy these moments with me.

image via