This month is flying by. I haven’t been in the kitchen too much, so I need to do something about that. Here is a little peek at what I’ve been cooking in the kitchen.
Today the morning started off cool and a bit rainy. Sounds like a good day to do some baking.
Last week we had several bad storms… We lost our favorite tree to one of them.
The City visited us after the storm, and inspected the tree. It didn’t look so good.
I was sad to see the tree go, but thankful that everybody was safe.
They closed off the road, and brought down the biggest parts of the tree. They completely covered the road.
Agnes was so sad. We were unable to dig up the flowers planted around the tree. She loved the tree. 
The City finished cleaning up the site, and they did a great job too.
The yard looked so different with the tree gone.
The yard looks much bigger too.
The new natural light in the foyer is really lovely. Agnes’ room has pretty new natural light too. I still miss the tree when I look out the window, it has been a lovely green sight for the last eight years.
There are just four more days left to Summer vacation, and my oldest isn’t too happy about it. Thade will be entering the fourth grade, and Dylan will be heading to the first grade. Thade isn’t in too big of a rush to go back, but Dylan is pretty excited about it.
I’m not quite ready for the early mornings… I’ve become used to relaxed lazy Summer mornings. Agnes has been waking up extra early, so maybe she is ready.
We went back to school shopping on Friday. The boys have new backpacks, and lunch-boxes too. Agnes even talked Dad into getting her a new backpack and lunch-box too. All of the school supplies are purchased too. I need to make another run to the store and pick-up lunch supplies for the boy’s lunches.
This week is going to be a bit bittersweet. I’m looking forward to days that are a bit more quiet, but I miss my boys when they are at school too.
We’ll see how this week goes…
Last Friday, my Mother in law was visiting for the afternoon. The kids were restless, so we took them out for ice cream. When we made it back home, she told me to head out for a bit, and I knew exactly where I wanted to go.
I headed to a few of my favorite Antique shops downtown, and did a little Pyrex hunting.
I stopped at Trader Dave’s first. I really like this shop, and they have expanded their backroom too. There are lots of large furniture pieces there, and lots of antique dishes too.
I wandered around the store for a bit. I saw lots of furniture that I would have loved to bring home, but it was a bit out of my price range. I did find one cool purchase though.
After Trader Dave’s I headed over to my very favorite local shop, The Treasure Hunt.
This is seriously my very favorite place to antique. The store is two stories filled with awesome finds. The sweetest lady runs the shop too.
I always find something.
I love this little book nook under the stairs. I need a little room like this at our house too. 
I wandered to the second level of the shop, and I found something that was on my wish list.
They also have beautiful pressed tin ceilings there too.
I loves these sweet little curtains that lined the windows upstairs too. I would love to have a set like this in the kitchen.
I found a few little pieces that had to come home with me, so I headed for the check-out. I did really well too, and I had a little bit of time left too. I decided to head to one more shop, before I headed home.
We’ve lived here for around nine years, and there are a few shops downtown that I’ve never visited. One in mind that I’ve always window shopped, but never shopped in, was The Iron Star Antiques & Such. It looked like a great store to shop in, but not really to take children too, because it is full of breakables.
I headed over to the shop, and well it wasn’t my cup of tea. There were some antiques, but it was mostly modern pieces. The prices were out of my comfort zone too. I looked around a bit, but I quickly headed out. I think I’ll stick with my favorites for antique shopping.
So after all of those stops I came home with a few items. I’ve just started adding Fire King pieces to my kitchen collection. I spotted this one at Trader Dave’s for just $3.00, and that included the lid too. I like the pattern on this dish, and it looks extra cute by my cookbooks.
At the Treasure hunt I found two Pyrex dishes, and a super cool giant coffee cup too.
I rearranged the kitchen a bit to find room for my new Pyrex bowl.
I also put the new coffee cup to good use. It makes a nice tea cup for my favorite blueberry tea.
It was nice to get a little break out of the house, and the kids had a great time too. Grandma kept them busy, and they didn’t miss me at all. I hope to check out a few more stores once the boys are back to school. It will be nice to have a few more quiet afternoons too.
This has been one crazy month already, and I am way behind on my posting. I took lots of photos in July, and the month flew by way too quickly.
Thade has grown so much this Summer.
Dylan has too. He is so ready to go back to school, he can’t wait to start the first grade.
Agnes has been busy playing all Summer.
We’ve checked out some local sites.
We’ve played a lot in the sprinkler too.
I’ve kept busy crafting, and staying in when the weather is just too warm.
The pets have been keeping cool too.
We are just a few days away from the start of school. In some ways I’m ready, and in others I’m not. I think it will be good to get back to the routine, and I’ll have lots of back-to-school pictures to take too.