Lafayette Government Building Photography Show

Today I will be hanging these ten photographs at the Lafayette Government Building in the Atrium with four of my fellow Lafayette Photographic Society and Lafayette Art Guild club members. I adore the work of these photographers I also call my friends, Joe Pons, Aline Conque, Debbie Burkheiser and Tommy Broussard. The theme of the show is People, Places and Things and it will hang from today until October 29, 2009. We will be having a reception soon, I will post the invite and details on my blog soon!

House Update Sunday

I took a few photos on Friday but never posted them. I'm going to have to make two updates today because they've started the roof decking. I will take more photos later. Here's a pic of the house with a little of the solid exterior walls that are being put up this week. The other photos are of the twins in the house, Alex loves to use the push broom and Eli is fascinated with the little space beneath the stairs. They're checking it all out on a regular basis.

This shot is of the kitchen/living room archway.

This is a shot of the stairs and front hallway goes to my office.

Here are Alexa holding Eli and Erica holding Alex in the upstairs den.
Dave taking a break while checking out the house on Saturday morning.

News Since Saturday...

Kali went to dance class on Monday. Mom helped her get dressed then she put her own ballet shoes on and showed me a few of her dance positions. The boys came over for supper with Dad while mama had a little night out with the girls. They played in the tractor of course, with Pop watching at the door and I snapped a few pics of the little cuties. Some of their new favorite words are tractor, drive and door, its no wonder! They love the big tractor, Daddy took them for a ride around the pasture and they just loved that!!

The framing phase of the house is near completion! Amazing!!

New Dishware I got this past weekend in Lake Charles. Dave and I went with my sisters Robin and Debbie and Deb's husband Normand to a few flea markets and antique stores ... these are a few of my finds. I'm lovin' the blues and greens in this little Noritake Cookin Serve set. They totally match the items found recently while on my shopping adventures!

Three sweet kids with Pop

This Sunday while Krista and Zach helped Davey and Claire work on their house to get ready for the big move, Kali, Alex and Eli spent a few hours with me and Dave. He took them for a ride on the mower (with the blades OFF of course). They went around the pond, through the yard and around the new house. They all had a great time before the boys and Kali were ready for their afternoon naps. We love these kiddos so much, its such a pleasure to have them over!!

Little Miss Audrey Hepburn

Kali went to the back to school "Red Carpet" themed party at SES last weekend. She wanted to be "glamorous" so we dressed her up as one of our family's favorite actresses. Miss Audrey Hepburn was the perfect one for her. She loved the hair, makeup and glam silver dress along with the jewelry she was just too adorable. She had a wonderful time at the party with her cousins Riley, Jack and Ethan. Here are a few photos of her that we took during a little dress rehearsal and a layout I created with one of the photos!

Monday Morning Update on the House

Three photos of the progress on our new home and one photo of the builder, Shannon with my wonderful husband Dave. The framing crew took last Tuesday off to make some changes to another house they completed just before starting our job, then they worked Wed through Friday, we thought they would take the weekend off, but they were here from 7AM to 8 PM on Saturday and worked from 8AM to about 2:30PM on Sunday. This morning they're working on the roof framing on the East side of the house, I'll get a few photos this evening of the progress! I know in a short time, once the framing and solid exterior walls are on that the whole project will feel like its coming to a screeching halt, but... 1. we're in no hurry. 2. we're blessed to be able to build this home. 3. I'm one heck of a lucky woman. 4. I'm married to the most wonderful man I've ever met. I'm going to keep reminding myself of these things over the coming months when it looks like nothing much is happening to complete the project. Another post coming soon... pics of my favorite little people!

Lovin' the progress...

Here's a photo of Dave in the doorway entrance of the house for a point of reference as to size and all that jazz. We're enjoying walking through the house and checking out the spaces. Making sure that everything is exactly as we want it to be before they go on with the framing. The crew working on the house is so fast and efficient, wasting no time and very little wood. Its been a super exciting experience so far!

Veggie Beef Soup

Its terribly rainy out around here, the dark clouds sure put me in a mood. So I decided to cook one of my favorite comfort foods. Vegetable and Beef soup. I used a beef stew meat that was already cut up into small chunks, added tomato paste for the base and used loads of onions, celery and pretty red, yellow and orange bellpeppers. I had tiny baby lima beans and corn in the fridge, added some green beans and fresh zucchini all chopped up, the last thing to go in was sliced mushrooms. I enjoyed my bowl of soup with buttery tasting club crackers. It really hit the spot.

Wall Framing... finally!

Our builder Shannon says it will only be a matter of a few short weeks and the entire house will be framed. I didn't believe it could be so... but when I returned from the day out of the house, there were a whole lot of walls up. Its so nice to see the house taking shape! Stay tuned for more pics and updates!! Dave and I spent the afternoon in Lafayette, we ordered windows and doors, looked at the brick we selected, picked out the shingles and checked out the clay capping and ordered the two tubs for the house today! We got a lot done in a short amount of time!

New Layouts with School Time Kit!

I had a fun time making these layouts with Shabby Miss Jenn's new School Time kit. Click on the layouts to see full credits in my SMJD gallery.

Painting With a Twist

Tonight Krista and I went to a painting workshop with Ali, Kim, Lauren and Chandra! It was a hoot! Everyone had a great time and the paintings were super, very different and unique! Check it out here at Painting With A Twist online, its a super thing to do with a buncha girl friends.
Synopsis of the workshop: Looking for a fun evening out with friends while creating your own masterpiece?

We have the answer! Bring your favorite bottle of wine or beverage, and paint a picture along with a local artist. She will show you step-by-step how to paint a beautiful work of art that you will take home at the end of the evening.

Join us for an evening of creativity and camaraderie. We'll provide your paint, canvas and brushes and you'll have a fun evening with friends. Plus, at the end of the evening, you’ ll have a one-of-a-kind creation and, hopefully, a newfound talent you'll want to explore!

This is the teacher's original artwork:

These are our pieces of artwork. Mine is in the middle at the bottom. Top row, Krista, Chandra, Kim, Lauren and Alicia.

Krista working on her painting.
Krista and I with our paintings.

Kindergarten Orientation

Kali is at orientation for kindergarten right now. She's excited to find out who her teacher will be this year. Her best friend Abigail already called to let her know the class she will be in as her orientation was yesterday. they're hoping to be in the same class again this year.

Arnaudville and Breaux Bridge Trip

Debbie and I loaded up the kids (her three youngest and Kali) around noon and headed toward Arnaudville with a quick stop for lunch near the Louisiana Drive Target. We went to the "St. Theresa's Rummage Sale" and I found a few cool items. Almost all drink related. Do ya think that says something about me? hahaha. Two of them are juice/milk carafes, one is a sweet pretty one with a lid/stopper that I think will be great for my simple syrup for mixed drinks. I also found a pretty container that would be a pretty container for wine or almost any other liquid. I also got a cute little vase for small arrangements, perfect for those flowers Kali picks out in the pasture for me. ;) After scoring some cool things there at St. Theresas we drove down to Breaux Bridge and went to Old Time Flea Market and the renovation on it was simply delightful. Not only was it sparkling clean, it was organized and the new items were awesome.
At Bayou Town Flea Market a little closer to downtown in Breaux Bridge I scored big with another Vintage Pitcher. This one has red, white and black rings around it and is in excellent condition! I know it will be awesome with my red and black dishware that is a little more retro and modern looking!

I found a copy of The Prudhomme Family Cooko Book there too and it was signed by Paul Prudhomme and all of the Prudhome family members who contributed to the book including Enola Prudhomme. The last thing I found was a cute little set which consisted of a serving bowl and four salad sized bowls. The colors in these are just to die for gorgeous. Blue, aqua, teal, golden yellow and brown. I found a little something for my sister Robin as well but I'm not going to share it until I give it to her! But I'm sure she'll love it too!