Family fall pictures... what?

Can you believe that we don't have ANY pictures of all 4 of us yet? It's true. Those empty IKEA frames are looking mighty lonesome hanging on the walls.
Last weekend I took some photos of our friends Lindsey and Collin and their little stud muffin, William right here in our back yard. In return, Lindsey offered to snap a few shots of our family.
We aren't known for moving too quickly in the mornings, plus ALL of us like to sleep in. But the pictures were scheduled for noon. Plenty of time to get ready. Or so I thought.

Annika says...

- Annika, what comes after 11?
- Friday.

Winn Weekend 9-13-14

Last weekend was a bit uneventful. It actually started kind of disappointing, because in the very morning I did 2 things that I want to never do. I bailed on a friend and I was too lazy to get out of the house (to go to an apple fest). On Sunday we had friends over. It was a cool evening and we lit our fall candles, ate a hearty potato soup with warm biscuits and then pumpkin cookies for dessert. A fine welcome to the beautiful season that is Fall.
The weekend before last, however, was much more eventful and a lot of fun. The type of fun...

Dining room metamorphosis

We have been in our house a little over 2 months now. Which is about how old Mr. Leo is; which is exactly why the house is still not completely organized or even unpacked, which is exactly why one of our cars still won't fit in the garage. All of that plus the empty photo frames on the walls notwithstanding, it already feels like home. Quite possibly the only room that is the closest to completion is the dining room. It's where we/I spend most of the time, and I want to say it's because of all the natural light (which I DO LOVE), but let's be honest - the reason is its close proximity to the kitchen where there is food.

Let's take a trip down memory lane.

Chalkboard wall * Kitchen Tales, Part II

At some point during last Sunday's church service I caught myself thinking of the long list of things I wanted to get accomplished during our 3-day Labor Day weekend. Paint a chalkboard wall in the kitchen, put 2 coats of polyurethane on our Ikea kitchen island, assemble Leo's crib finally, hang curtains in the kitchen and in Leo's room, finally connect our TV, get my Warby Parkers fitted at Walmart, have friends over for a cookout, clean, do laundry... I went over the to-do list several times in my head before tuning into the pastor's words. Ironically, the sermon was on the importance of resting in order to rejuvenate. I felt a bit convicted, honestly.

Winn Weekend 8-23-14

So it's Monday and time to talk about the past weekend (and dream about the next one! always!). It was a pretty eventful kind of weekend, and I did make myself a promise to take note of all the little things, especially those that do your heart so good.

baking with a toddler...

... is a lesson in patience, I'll tell ya. Have you ever baked with a 2-year-old? How did that go for ya? Did you have any batter left for those muffins? Were you able to find your kitchen under all the flour?

I love involving Annika when I cook. I always know it's going to be a lot of work, but it's either that or she will nag me senseless. So I choose the lesser of two evils:)