Before and After, Take 3

BEFORE

 Notice the rugs and towels...

AFTER

Both the rugs and the towels were from before we got married.  They were old and stained and we just needed something new.  The new (lighter) rugs actually help make the room look bigger.  I never realized the red rugs were making it look smaller until I removed them (and Michael pointed it out!).

BEFORE

 See the things on top of the fridge?  The candlesticks are actually from my missions trip to Africa.... only candles don't stand up in them.  The clay vase/pot was from my trip to Romania.  But those dried flowers had been around and I was sick of them.

AFTER

We bought a hand blown Murano glass vase while in Vegas for a steal.  (It was priced at $1850!  We obviously did not pay that--although, that is a typical price for such pieces.)  Murano glass is famously made in Murano, Italy.  My boss had just purchased quite a few pieces, so I was familiar with their value before going and stumbling on this piece.

It's hard to pick up the color in pictures, but it is beautiful

 Honestly, the few updates we did has really helped.  We were all ready to put the house on the market and move.  When that couldn't happen anymore, we were a bit bummed.  But some simple little changes here and there has made the place feel new and fresh and bearable.

List o' fun-- Berry Pickin'

Going to farms and picking fruit or vegetables is one of Little Man's favorite things that we do.  You can only do it a few times a year, so I think the anticipation and the rarity of it helps peek his interest.

We recently went strawberry picking.  We generally do this the first week in June, but there still should be time for you to go.  This isn't just a local thing.  Everywhere has u-pick places.  If you haven't taken your little one, you should give it a try! 

For those of you who are local, I know there are plenty of places to choose from.  We usually go to Jacquemin Farms in Dublin/Plain City.  (We also went there for pumpkin picking.) 

You can pick fruits and vegetables from around June (sometimes May depending on the harvest) to October.  Depending on the month will depend on what you will be picking.

We went on a day after it had rained and poured.  This was maybe not the best idea.  The path out to the patch was very muddy.  However, once we got to the row we were to pick at, we didn't have any problems.

A worker points you to a row and you just pick down that row until you are done.  Then you put a little flag where you left off.  That way, people that come after you aren't looking at already picked rows and you aren't trying to pick strawberries from a row that has been picked through.

You can pick as much as you want.  They have those little cardboard cartons, or some people bring huge buckets.  We picked two little buckets.  The price was reasonable as well.  You pay by the pound, so make sure you are getting rid of all the leaves and stems before putting them in your basket.  No need to pay for green stuff you aren't going to eat!

Don't these look yummy?!?

Then you take them back to the barn to pay.  They also sell already picked vegetables, jams, and snacks.

Little Man was asking to go back almost right away.  I'm not sure we'll make it back for more strawberries, but we may try raspberry picking.  The only problem is, I don't think he'll eat raspberries.  We'll see.

Happy Father's Day!

I don't think I have very many men reading this blog.  The one man that I know who reads it (my husband), is not a father yet.  But regardless, I didn't want anyone to feel left out since I saluted all you mom's on mother's day.  So to any of you father's out there who are reading this...

I hope it's a great one.  Thanks for all you do for your family.  And please remember that you play just as an important role in your children's lives as their mom.  Sometimes it may not seem like it when all they want is mommy.... but it's true.  Today we celebrate you.

Mini Vacation: Greenfield Village

On Tuesday we went to Greenfield Village.  It's one of those old time places that have actual houses or buildings from back in the 1900's or replica's.  I enjoy those kind of places, and while it was tons more walking, we had lots of fun.  Again, we have tons of pictures, but I'll just give you a few highlights.

The general store

Martha Mary Chapel

We ate lunch in a old time place that actually had a menu from that time period.  Interesting!

Schoolhouse

This is a washing machine.  Ever seen anything like it?  I can't remember who's house it was.

The courthouse

Making pottery

Railroad turntable and roundhouse

I appreciated this much more after watching Thomas and Chuggington! :)

Well, there's a glimpse of it anyway.  We had a great time.  It was good to get away.  Now... back to reality.

Mini Vacation: The Ford Museum

Every year for our anniversary, we like to take a little mini vacation to celebrate.  Since the beginning of our marriage (and even before), we've been pinching pennies, saving money, and tackling debt.  That being said, our trips are generally things that we can drive to and aren't too expensive.  (Our only real "big vacation" since our honeymoon was when we went to Vegas in April.)  We had both just switched jobs for our first anniversary, so we did a bed and breakfast here in Ohio.  It had four wheelers and that petting zoo with the camel.  Last year we went to Cedar Point and Put in Bay.  This year we ventured out of Ohio and went to Michigan.

On Monday we went to the Ford Museum.  Now I've heard some people say this seemed a little boring.  It's not roses and candles, but it was fun and interesting to us, so that's all that matters! :p

Michael took a ba-jillion pictures!  I can't share them all, but I'll give you a few highlights.  It's not all just cars.

The museum is separated into different sections.

First we walked through "Made in America"

The white thing in the middle is a hoop skirt.  What?

This was labeled as a lawn mower.  Again, what?

The next section was "Fully Furnished"

This wasn't as interesting to me, but there were a few good finds.

Like this potty chair....

and this crazy looking thing

it also had some fully furnished doll houses that were neat to see

It was time to eat lunch... we went to the Wienermobile!  Oh how I love a good hot dog! :)

This is the first ever weinermobile!

After lunch we headed to "Agriculture"

Nothing like a good old fashion milk truck!

I don't even know what this, but it's huge!

Harvesting corn?

Next up is "Your Place in Time"

A teenager's room in the 80's

After that there was another section called "Made In America" that had a bunch of huge machines half in the ground.  It was my least favorite section.

Then was "Heroes of the Sky", which I really enjoyed

This thing was weird.  It was like an airplane and a helicopter.

After the airplanes we went to "With Liberty and Justice for all"

 We both that this drum was neat.

The Rosa Parks bus

Last was "Automobile in American Life"

The car Kennedy was shot in

C'mon... doesn't this make you want to go camping?

This Allegheny train was HUGE

This bike just makes me want to say "ouch"

We saw so much and did SO MUCH walking.  After the museum we headed to our hotel to check in.  We had dinner and then went swimming and relaxed in the hot tub.  Then we just got "comfy cozy" (as Little Man says) and watched TV.  It was a good mix of sight seeing and relaxing.  Greenfield Village tomorrow...