Well...

But until then...

Franklin will make out with his cheese-whiz filled Kong...
And pose for pictures.







































































































































Andrew will mow...



































And Franklin will pose again.



























Happy weekend to all!

Reading Is Fun!

Just an update on one of my favorite summer hobbies.

Since my book club last met (attendance: one), I've finished The Pilot's Wife and threw a spontaneous loan from a neighbor in, as well - Chasing Harry Winston.

The Pilot's Wife did not fail to disappoint.  I mean come on, it was on Oprah's Book Club list.  A pilot dies in a plain crash on one of his routine flights.  His wife is bombarded with secret after secret revealing itself after his death.  Sound familiar?  I'm pretty sure this has been made into a Lifetime movie.  So you know it hast to be good.

My scotch-loving neighbor down the street loaned me here copy of Chasing Harry Winston for a fun chick-lit read.  It's from the same author who wrote The Devil Wears Prada.  It was really cute and read pretty quickly.  Three friends in NYC vow to change their lives in one year - mostly their relationships with men.  The Devil Wears Prada is better, but not a bad find regardless.

I'm just a quarter of the way into Salem Falls, but already hooked!

Happy Reading!

Bling Bling

Pretty big news - my sister got engaged this weekend!  Doesn't she already have the "I'm getting married and going to be a bride" look down?
























So excited for she and my soon-to-be brother-in-law, Jon! 

Of course I have already butted my way in and asked to take their engagement pics.  :)

You Shouldn't Have

Today while grocery shopping over lunch I decided to buy myself some flowers.  Yep, again.

I am a sucker for hydrangeas.  I planted some this summer; hopefully they survive and produce blooms as beautiful as these next year!















Question: is it really buying myself flowers if I use Andrew's debit card?  Hmm...

Pretty as a Picture

This obviously isn't the first post entirely focused on Franklin posing so I can practice with my camera, and it definitely won't be the last. 

These pictures turned out pretty great (if I do say so myself), so of course I had to share.
 

Really like the warm light on this one taken yesterday evening...

Caught him singing this song.

Maybe getting fed up with me at this point.

Happy now after a treat.  Didn't you wonder how I get him to sit so nicely??

Doesn't everyone want to run out and 1) get their own Franklin and 2) get their own fancy camera?!  :)

The Wheel Deal

Andrew was a groomsman in Josh Wheeler's wedding this weekend.  It was so great having all of his college buddies in Wichita with us and we had a great time at the wedding, even if it was the hottest weekend of the summer!

I didn't want to compete with their photographer's huge cameras on Saturday, but I did take a few pics at the rehearsal on Friday evening. 


What a beautiful location!  I want to go back...in the fall...when the temps are much lower.  :)

Credenza Update!

This credenza just keeps getting better; I don't care what Andrew says.  :)








I hinted to needing to decorate about our newly renovated credenza, and I had in my mind that I wanted to do yet another photo wall.  But instead of a collage look, I wanted it to much more grid-like. 

I'm so happy with the results.  It's such a fun place to show off new pictures I've been taking, and we can swap them out with the seasons, too. 
































































Or new Franklin pictures.  Because four out of the nine just might not be enough. 

Potty Paint

As mentioned, Andrew and I decided it was time to paint our guest bath last weekend.  I've been putting this off because I really wanted to paint very subtle stripes vertically on the walls, and then obvioulsy paint the wood and trim white.

However, Andrew vetoed those ideas, and I really wasn't up to tackling all of that by myself.  After all, it's summer, and I'm not going to spend my free time in a bathroom.

So, we settled on a color that looks kind of like chocolate milk.  Yum.  Just what I want to be thinking of when I'm going to the bathroom...?

Anyways, I'm really happy with the results.  We have really great tile floors, and the countertop is new, but also happens to be ugly.  There's a slight deep purple, maroon color that runs through the spackled pattern, and the previous wall color only accenuated it.  I would have described it as creamy, yellow salmon.  Barf.
















































Now that the walls are a darker color, I hardly even notice the purple/maroon.  Hallelujah!







































There is a lot of decorating to be done, but we're on the right track.   The framed picture is actually one of the pictures I took on our trip to Philadelphia with the Dawson's (below).








Guess I just need to go on more vacations to get more pictures for our walls.  :)

America's Next Top Model

I'm loving my camera Andrew got me for my birthday.  I've been playing with it a lot and am just starting to edit my photos I've taken.  What a difference it makes!  Now if I could just find time to read the manual...

I must say I'm so lucky to have such a good model.
























Franklin is afraid to go downstairs by himself, so he makes for a pretty captive subject at the top.










 













































































































What's not to love about this squishy face?!
























Bathroom painting post coming up next!

Not a very exciting post...

I'm behind on posting, and this one is a disappointment.  No home reno jobs to report on.  Although we did do an impromptu paint job on our guest bath this past weekend - more on that to come! 

We had a very slow, laid back weekend.  Which was great because our next three weekends are busy with weddings, house guests and family visiting.  Let's hope we make it to August!

Anyhow, we had good intentions of taking Franklin to Bark in the Park, dog's day at the Wichita Wingnuts baseball stadium, but it was just so stinking hot on Sunday.






























































































Capped off the weekend in the best way possible.  Cold beer on our back patio.  I love summer.  :)