milestones

eight, nine, ten days ago...

i have to be random.  i'm sorry, it's who i am.

so, as usual, here is a lil update on all the comings & goings around the bski household.

this past weekend was perfect.  well, perfect isn't the right word but it surely was filled with fun, joy, laughter, friends, family & more.

friday:

my husband did all the sweetest husbandly things that he could do.  many of those sweet things being chores that we had been putting off for weeks days.  one example being a desperate run to the grocery store.  ben loaded us up on all the goodies i had been depriving us of.  he also bought us dinner for the evening.  benny cooked us steaks on the grill & i manned the stove top {or womanned the stovetop?}.  yummy food & blessed conversation.  i can't recall much after dinner.  maybe i entered a food coma?  all i do remember is not taking care of anything else i had needed to do for the rest of the evening.

not my bag. our groceries are 90% sugar.

not my steak

saturday:

due to a series of gloriously unstable plans we actually had a relaxing, blissful day out on the lake scheduled.  as the skies grew gray and the rain beat down we thought that our perfect boat outing might nearly be foiled but, with hope, we drove and drove toward lake cumberland with 4 of our favorite couples.  when we arrived it was still overcast but we headed out nonetheless.  we had a double-decker pontoon {with slide of course} at our disposal for the entire day.  after a few hours sheltered by clouds the sun decided to join the party.  the boys {husband included} did rediculous tricks and the girlies sunbathed.

not our boat. or our friends.  the only camera on the boat was a boy's so i'm sure those photos will never be seen again.

as we pulled into our court i saw ben's car from afar waiting for us... covered in car chalk from our yl girls.  they are hilarious.  our driveway was not forgotten either.  they mainly left hate mail for benny & love notes for me.  they are so sweet.

then off to the movies.  i went to meet the little ladies at the next karate kid and let me just tell you...that jaden smith is such a cutie.  i could only stay for half of the movie because a migraine was ruining my life, but as of last night i got to see the film in its entirety. i really loved it.  it wasn't terribly cheesy {which i had feared} and it was based in china {TREAT}.

although i went to sleep feeling like death on saturday it really was a day filled with all my favorite things.  those days don't come along that often.  it was a blessing.

sunday:
FATHER'S DAY.  oh poppa's.  i have two fantastic dad's and i am incredibly blessed to have them in my life.  i don't know what i would do without them!  i got to see one dad and eat dinner with our whole family.  visiting & catching up is one of my absolute favorite things to do.  i will see my other poppa this coming weekend {now already past}!  they are both so dear to me!

because it was father's day i spent a good chunk of time whipping up some snicker-doodles in the kitchen for my dad that loves sweets.  i have to say...they weren't too shabby.  i can definitely take on baking {cooking is another story}.

the remainder of the day was filled with other pleasant happenings.  we ran to home depot to begin our "dresser project," benny worked, i got to spend time with my dear friend rach, started priming and priming that big ol' dresser & prayed with our team & high school friends for our up-coming trip to yl camp.

.more updates to come.

{lovely}

i have a feeling that my next post will be filled with many words & few pictures so here is a post full of inspiring images and few words.  it all evens out right?  love love.

some things i'd like to take part in...

i'd like to enjoy a big ol' bowl of cereal right about here...

drop my keys by this door

snuggle up on my homemade couch

and enjoy little pleasures

do you spy another eagled mirror? me too

 

work hard & play hard...

it's a billion degrees in kentucky.  i need this pointed directly at my face.

oh and a bundle of pretties to top it all off.

{this gorgeous bed is from the style files}

welcome home

meet harley.  this is my mom & pop's new baby.  he is just the cutest, most darling little baby fluff ball in the whole world.  he likes to run, do flips, make friends, bite long hair & follow people.

i really want him to come stay with us.

harley has a friend.  this is windel aka winnie the pooh-dle.  he is very sweet too.  this is my sister & brother-in-law's new pup.  they love to chase each other. 

{i learned that it is very hard to take pictures of active puppies.  i they were so cute playing together i wanted to capture it so badly, but by the time my camera would take...the moment would be gone.}

while my parents & sister are welcoming new furry additions to their homes i am adding a few pieces to our house as well.

weeks months ago i saw garden stools at big lots for $20.  i stood and stared at them for about 10 good minutes & in my thrifty-ness i decided i didn't need the garden stool & passed it up.  from then on i was suffering terribly from "non-buyers remorse".  i thought about them all the time.  i would see something similar at other stores & want to snatch them up but unfortunately they were about 3 TIMES more than the big lots steal & i just couldn't bring myself to fork over the cash.  even target wanted me to pay $69 for one on sale.  LAME.

and then the fateful day came.  right before i left marshall's i found this.  $25.  my garden stool.  perfect.  i dropped everything else i had in my hands in order to take this baby home.

{sorry for the fuzzy picture above.  i hope someday it will be nestled in a room and look as pretty as these}

{material girl's blog}

{high heeled foot in the door}

{the lennoxx}

{the things we heart}

when i was in louisville visiting parents, puppies & having a sewing day my mom & pop decided to get rid of this little guy.  yes please.  i will find you a new home.  gray oval mirror. {please don't look at the trash surrounding my perfect gray oval mirror}.

here's my peddler's mall find.  i had the same "garden stool experience" with this little guy.  i saw it.  thought of all the things i wanted to do with it and then left it there.  as soon as we got back to work i knew i really wanted it.  so very next day...peddler's mall round 2.  $9.00 woot woot & it's a good size too!

.here's some inspiration pics for what i should do with him.

{elle decor}

{unknown}

{albert hadley}

happy friday everyone!

hope all is well & that you have a fabulous weekend filled with fun & friends planned.  benny has to take the ACT tomorrow morning & the empending 72 hours of thunderstorms that are supposedly rolling in don't have me all excited but i know we'll enjoy our time home nonetheless.

if you're in town...holler friends!

the most wonderful things

so a few weeks ago i mentioned all my adventures on our most recent trip up to northern ky {refresher here}.  but i also mentioned that had withheld my favorite part of my time there.  i promise i wasn't trying to be mean...i just felt as though this info needed its own little place in the sun.


while visiting with my parents-in-love i found that they were going to be sending us home with some goodies.  not cookies or cake...something better.  much better.  mary gave us a bundle of ben's childhood items. 

basically, memories in a box. 

it was so awesome /sweet / cute / hilarious to look through.


here's just one gem.

a huge picture of benny.  ben's response upon seeing this: "why would my mom want such a giant picture of me in a baseball outfit?"  duh!  because it is so great.  17" X 20" of greatness.  where can i hang this?


here is some of hubby's art from middle school / freshman year of high school.

i want to hang these two charcoal ones in our office.

and finally...the grand finale.


ben's journal from 4th grade.  he was ten years old.  it was one of those daily journals where your teacher gives you a prompt and then you have to write about it.  i read & loved every single page in this journal.

{he had excellent 10 yr. old penmanship by the way}


here are a few of my favorites: {no changes to grammar or spelling}


first entry 
8.25.95


ME


"I am ten years old.  I was born in St. James hospital in Chicago Hts. IL.  I was born at 2.X.85. My hobbies are playing sports, fishing, working on my models, and writing.  Let me tell you about my first football game.  The center had the ball  the quarterback said hike he gave me the ball i was jumping over people finally I broke free I made a touchdown.  And that's just me a sports loving fool."


my husband is still "a sports loving fool".  can you believe he said that?  hilarious.






9.26.95


The Music of My Life


"I like the new coolio c.d. it is called dangerous Minds soundtract there is one song that is my favorite.  it is called dangerous minds."






9.27.95


An Important Call


"My mom and dad always say they have an important call so I just wait and guess what nobody calls so I just ask my mom if I can have a celerler phone.  she always says no."


baaaaaahhahaha






10.6.95


Lost


Once when I was five years old I got lost in a store in chicago I went to the window to see if our car was still there and then I stood up on a ledge and looked for my moms black puffy hair.  Then I saw her hair she was franticly looking around for me.  Then I ran down the aisle she was in.  And then she hugged me and we went home.






10.13.95


Good Luck


"On Sunday I always have good luck I like it. sometimes I get to go wherever I want to."






11.1.95


Candy and Gum Yum, Yum, Yum


"When I went trick or treating last night I must of got at least 200 pieces of candy."






11.10.95


I am proud to be an american


"My Grampa was in the navy.  Although I can't remember anything that he did.  But I am sure he did something heroic.  I don't know what he did but I still love him."






If I could redo my room


"I have a bay window where my other window is I'm going have a door leading to my very own patio.  my carpet is going to be astro turn from the Chicago Bears field and to build a loft where there's going be my personal arcade with a jucuise and my very own pop machine. {his addiction started at an early age} And half court with posters of Micheal Jordan all over the walls.  Every USA Dream Team Jerzey's autographed and in cases on the wall, too.  Also with a big screen T.V.."






5.2.96


Performing


"Last night was fun for me.  I danced really good.  I like the part when Adam Simmons was singing he got the parents going good they were screaming and some were even dancing.  My favorite part was at the end everybody got on the floor and started dancing."




5.15.96


Father {excerpt}


"My dad is so nice to me he let's me have things that my mom won't let me have he also would take me places that I've never been before."




at the VERY end of this journal there is a page that says "live, learn and pass it on"  this was definitely not school related.  here's some of my favorites from benny's list.  ohhh he had learned so much :)


I've learned you can't take drugs.
I've learned that you can't get nervous when ever you see a girl.
I've learned that school is boring. {he wrote this 6 separate times}
I've learned that you get excited when ever you hear somebody say we are going somewhere
I've learned that I can never wait for recess.
I've learned that I can never wait for lunch.
I've learned that you can have 4 girlfriends at one time.
I've learned that I always have good luck on Sundays.
I've learned that I need gloves.
I've learned that spreading peas on your plate makes your parents think that you ate most of them.
I've learned that my mom likes exercise machines.






thank you mary for saving this for benny.  so so so awesome.  this has brought me much joy.

a stitch in time

sewing day was a COMPLETE success.  we had such a blast!  please read about it {here}, great pics included.

some things i learned:
what the length & width stitches mean on my machine
what needles to use for different projects
that i have a thread cutter
how to read a pattern
confidence to cut material
what interfacing is
how to make a ruffle {self taught but first time i wasn't too scared to try}
how to make a pleat {ultra excited about this.  i love pleats}
how to shank a button
what tension is on my machine
why you would use different stitches at different times
that girl craft days are SUPER fun

things yet to master:
sewing curved lines {giant fail}
and...everything else

next projects:
drapes {simple drapes...like giant rectangles}
skirts / dresses

it is such a blessing to have good girl friends, shared interests & wise people willing to teach us!  sewing our totes gave us a really cute & useful result but i think all the little steps along the way really served to teach us skills that we could use in tons of different projects.  so valuable.  double score & blasty blast.

anybody ready for round 3?

excitement isn't the right word...

tonight, yes, tonight...my husband will be going ghost hunting with his poppa, tony.  i'm pretty sure that neither ben or his father believe in ghosts but we'll see what happens on their adventure.  they are going to {waverly hills sanatorium} in louisville from midnight until 4 am.  check out that link for the history of the place.  i'm sure they will scare each other to death.  maybe ben will make his first ever appearance on {with grace & lace} to fill us in!  hint hint.  benny, it would be a perfect debut.  my husband, the ghost hunter.

{via}

i, on the other hand, will be going to louisville for another reason.  i will be having a weekend filled with fun for me {and ammunition for ben}.  me & some girlie friends are luggin' our sewing machines & tools down to louisville to have julie's momma teach us some tricks of the trade.  she is super knowledgeable so we're hoping some of her skills will rub off on us.  i'm sure our trip will also include giggling, driving, squealling, world market & fabric stores.  all of the above sound like bliss {and also sound like things YOUNG ladies would take part in....not OLD ladies}.

can't wait to share our happenings!  happy weekend friends.

lettuce be together

i wish i had this memory on film.  it most likely wouldn't be a movie that anyone would want to watch but me {but i would love it}

when i was in college, ben was still living in northern kentucky.  while dating long distance we would see each other maybe every three weeks or so.  perhaps needless to say, our visiting time was always treasured & special.

one weekend in particular we hadn't arranged to be together.  he was going to be home & i in lexington.  {my memory is hazy but i don't think that we had discussed an impending trip either}.  our friend steph was coming to town to visit her boyfriend who lived in the same apartment complex as me {exact same situation as ben & i, just reversed}.  i was expecting steph, she stayed the night with us every now & then on her visits.

steph came through the door, i was back in my room and hollering away {i yell in excitement frequently}, all while being dressed indecently {if memory serves}.  i don't like to get ready with pants on...is that a crime?  she rushed in and shut my bedroom door to prevent any unexpected guests from accidently stumbling upon said indecency.  the unexpected guests were not unexpected to steph....she had rode down with benny and couple of guys for a visit.  i was so surprised & excited to see friends, and of course, BENNY.

the surprise is not the best part of this visit. ben also brought me this.

yes, it is a head of lettuce, carved into the shape of a heart.  it came with a note that simply read:

how cute is he? 

the sweetest boyfriend / husband a girl could ask for.  and punny too.  i'm oh so very blessed.

i'm sure he's sufficiently mad that i've recorded this via blog but it had to be done.  i don't want to forget all my favorite memories!

prequel to this weekend:

...in 3 short days...
.just add sewing machines.
{and cheryl}
{and a few more buddies}

{clip art via}