A Horse-Lover's Home

My friend, Lori, is very much the horse-lover....how can you tell? Just take a look around her house. In the above photo we have a carved bust of a horse behind the couch....

The antique bicycle horse...and practically all of those framed photos on the cabinet (and every other place around the house) have horses in them, too...

And in the entry we have a painting of horses in the pasture in front of  her house...which, by the way, coincides with the Babycakes that's out there now....

Hi Baby!

 

Upstairs we have more horses in the fox-hunter wallpaper border in her daughter's previous bedroom (now a guest room)...which happens to coordinate with these cheerful broad stripes in the upstairs bathroom....

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There's another antique rocking horse next to her desk, and a huge horse painting in the living room. Anyway, I think you get the general idea. So while we're at it, I'll continue to show you more of this lovely horse-lover home....

We're still upstairs and this is the room I enjoyed during our stay. I helped her hang the taupe curtains...that was my idea....softens that window a bit and looks great with that lampshade. We decided that her son wouldn't mind too much....since he's off to college anyway. Do guys even notice that kinda thing? Maybe he'll notice how great they look with that lampshade! : D

Back downstairs I'll show off her new granite counter tops that were installed while I was there....all in less than 24 hours, I might add! A friend of  Lori's turned her onto this company that deals in granite remnants and over-stocks. They came in on one day to measure the whole kitchen, then on the scheduled day, they replaced the whole deal and included the under-counter sink. All in one day! And for a fantastic price to boot! Don't they look great!

And the new sink and faucet....I love all those graceful curves!

Now, down the stairs to the basement....

This is the very nicely appointed workout room that I actually put to use while I was there....and, yes, all those unused muscles did rebel....and this is why she stays in such beautiful shape. Now let's head outside....

She's accomplished some pretty landscaping around the house....with spilling-over window boxes and containers on the outdoor deck and pool area....

Asheley lost one of her first front teeth...you can see the gap from here!

Once it finally decided to stop raining and give us some gorgeous weather, this was the kiddos' favorite place to hang out....and mine too! : D

To The Lake Shore

It's a gorgeous sunny day today...and may even hit the 80's! We're off to the lake shore....a cute 'n cozy lake camp (cabin) that we have access to for the next couple of weeks. Turns out it's right around the corner from us....less than 2 miles away. Yet it feels very remote and wonderful! The children can ride their bikes over while I haul the stuff. There's a wide-bottom canoe with wooden paddles and a bright yellow paddle boat that the kiddos have been cruising around in....over to a small island where a bald eagle is nesting!....and calling out to the loons that dive under and pop up all around the boats. Of course, I've mostly enjoyed taking in the deck action, redecorating the inside of the little camp (sorry, can't resist!), and cranking up the wood stove in the evenings. What a treat....and great way to bring in the Fall! : D

Gone Fishin'!

Daddy also rigged up a rope swing to launch out over the water....

The deck and screened in porch above. Christmas lights glow in the evenings inside the porch. I also brought over the citronella candles to light up the deck....and ward off the occasional mosquito....

Burgers are served! : D

Ahhh....Our New Spa!

This Fall....and winter... I felt the need! But not for speed. In fact, quite the opposite. I felt the need for spa...aaaah! So we began searching craigslist for used hot tubs and finally found this one that was still in really good shape and at a really good bargain. So while the kiddos and I were away in New Hampshire, my husband went to pick up our 'new for us' hot tub, built a platform, and had it ready to install by the time we got back home....

Then came the base for the platform to sit on....and strong enough to handle 3000 lbs. or 5000 lbs. or whatever it is....it's heavy!

Next came the very easy part....putting down the plastic flooring panels. Don't they look nifty? I like simple and easy....

This was the tricky part....actually getting the thing off the trailer. Andrew jacked up the trailer with the farm jacks to where it was even with the platform. Then we rolled the jacuzzi onto some long sturdy metal tubes and moved it into place....

Done! And in its new home...ready and waiting to be all hooked up and heated up and doing its jacuzzi spa thang....that it does so well!

And boy, does it do it well! YAY! As many of you have guessed already, I'm very much an outdoorsy kinda gal. However, I'm also very much a pamper me and let's do this thing right, relaxed, and resort-like outdoorsy kinda gal. This being the case, I've really enjoyed decking out our deck....and its new ambiance has been so inviting and wonderful! We've been using it like it's never been used before! It's great eating and relaxing and entertaining outdoors....enjoying the nice end-of-summer weather and soaking in the scenery. However, as I've been mulling it over....I knew that something was still missing. I soon decided that our lovely little deck really needed a jacuzzi spa at the end of it. And ooooh! I was soooooo right! : D