Organizing in our basement

Nelson has needed a new desk for a long time, he has been using mine from when I was in grade school. It was really small and just not working for him (white very small desk in middle of the picture below)



Our basement has also been pretty disorganized (pics below-make sure you compare them to the after shots later) and we really wanted to get everything taken care of.




As you walked down the stairs


Looking back at the stairs

So our weekend began. . .
We have spent a while looking for just the right thing for him. We finally found one on line at Target. It was a great deal and free shipping so we were very excited about that. It was supposed to be delivered last Thursday but it was raining that day so they took it back to the UPS distributing center. They were going to redeliver it but not until Monday so we decided to go pick it up. Unfortunately on our way there, we realized we forgot the directions at home. But not to worry, there was a UPS truck on the highway so we figured he was heading that way. So we followed him and low and behold, he led us right to the distributing facility and Nelson's desk! We brought it home and did some assembling (see next set of pictures)





Then we needed a file cabinet type thing for Nelson to put his things in and real computer chair for him to sit in. We checked out chairs and file cabinets at Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Office Max, Office Depot, Ikea (on line), Container Store, Overstock (on line) and figured out that we liked a cabinet and chair at Office Max. So we headed to one Office Max and found the chair on sale but did not find the file cabinet. For some reason (I can't remember now why) we didn't get the chair at that time but later had time to go to the Office Max by us. We found the chair but it wasn't on sale and the file cabinet. They didn't have the file cabinet in stock (except at a store far from us) and they weren't going to give us the sale price of the chair so we left feeling pretty frustrated. We went to the other Office Max close to us and they had the chair there on sale (or so we thought). They did not have the file cabinet. So we took the tag for the register and they said it wasn't on sale. We brought them the sale tag and they said it was a mistake that it was listed on sale but thankfully they owned up to their mistake and gave us the sale price anyway. Now we just needed the file cabinet. It was exactly what Nelson wanted so we decided to make the drive to the little bit further away Office Max to get it. They had it there and we were so releaved! So after we got home, we did some more assembling and some major organizing. Here are some after pictures of the basement:


As you come down the stairs


Looking back at the stairs


Hanging out area


Nelson's new desk and"office area"


New Desk


Whole hanging out area again


Nelson is very excited about his new desk


Looking back from the TV area

So that has been our weekend so far and we feel good about all our accomplishments! Sorry for the world record long post, if you have made it this far, you should be proud!

New Kitchen Window

Well we didn't get new actual window but we did put up a curtain and some decorations around it. Here is a picture but it looks a little yellow in the picture but I think it was just because the flash wouldn't go off since the light was coming into the window. Anyway- here it is!

Homemade Granola Bars

So I stole this recipe from a friend's blog and made some homemade granola bars. I stuck to her recipe for the first batch and we really enjoyed them. Nelson even really liked them but he was hoping for a peanut butter flavor. So I did that for the second batch. I omitted the butter and nuts and added a cup of crunchy peanut butter and didn't add any fruit. So just oatmeal, sweetened condensed milk, flax seed and peanut butter. They are quite tasty! Thanks Emily for the recipe!

Recycling Center

Here in the heart of Kirkwood (a little suburb of St. Louis), we have the recycling center (or the RC as the cool people call it). It is a great spot to take all your recycling. They have a spot for everything. My dad and I would go every weekend during high school. It was great. There is nothing like smashing old beer bottles with your dad on a Saturday morning. So even though our recycling gets picked up at the curb, Nelson and I occassionally take a trip to the RC to do some recycling. It is great. The pic is not the greatest because it was late at night (no James we did not see any homeless people drinking the last little bits of alcohol out of beer bottles) but it gives a little glimpse of the amazing recycling center.

Schlafly's

We went on a private tour of the Schlafly's brewery tonight with some friends. It was really cool to see how the beer is made, especially how it is different than AB. It is much smaller and they brew really different kinds of beer so that was fun. We got to try 6 different kinds of beer. I am not a beer connoisseur by any stretch of the imagination so I am still not sure which ones I liked or not, but here are the ones I remember-pale ale, lager, pilsner, Hefeweizen, Dry-Hopped APA, #15, Raspberry Hefeweizen, India Pale Ale and probably a few others that I don't remember. There were some pretty hilarious signs on one of the machines (pictures of that later). We had to wear huge protective glasses and we got a free pint glass at the end of the tour. It was a great time.


Where they cool the beer


Crazy glasses (since Nelson has his own glasses he didn't have to wear any-not fair)!


Beer Graveyard


Definitely keep your fingers clear of this machine


Getting ready to to


Everyone is really into the tour


Our free pint glass

Bare Escentuals Makeover

So ever since last summer when I went to New York with my mother-in-law and sisters-in-law, I was very intrigued by their Bare Escentuals makeup. I didn't know that it was so amazing until I tried Winsor's. I really liked it but it kinda went to the back of my mind-until last night. We were at the mall and we walked past the Bare Escentuals. I think Nelson noticed that I was kinda peering into the windows and he suggested I go in there and check it out. I really am almost out of makeup at home so it was a perfect time. He bravely went in there with me and I decided to get the Bare Escentuals Starter Kit.



A really nice lady showed me how to do the "swirl, tap, buff" steps of the application process and Nelson really noticed a difference in my skin! So I went for it. I really like it a lot and would recommend it. I decided to do one of those funny before and after pictures where the person is crazy in the first picture and normal in the second. I am not sure if the makeup had any difference (I tried to look extra crazy in the first picture) but it was fun doing it!

Finally, my Crocs have arrived

After waiting for a long time for my crocs to come (they should be called turtles not crocs because they took so long to get here-ok that was a little cheesy), they have finally come. Now my feet are happy and not hot when we are working in the yard! Yeah!