To Do

http://www.hernandoluxuryhomes.com/ HernandoLuxuryHomes = Spring Hill Real Estate

My to do list keeps getting longer. I think I should change it's name to my wish list. Why? Because it's starting to feel like wishful thinking! :) What happened? I thought I'd move in, presto change-o: perfection! Not quite, ha ha. We've lived in Spring Hill a little over 3 years, and there's more to do than there was initially. How does that always happen? In any case, I'll share a few with you below.

I've begun some of my Halloween decorating, which falls under the fun portion of my to do list (oh! don't forget to click on the pic for a larger version so you can see how insanely cute that little sign is ) :

It begins...

Yes, I know I'm super early...I always am. Soon this area will be used as a picture spot by moms taking pics of their little ghouls, goblins (come to think of it, I've never seen one dressed as a goblin), princesses, batmans, etc. I love the thought that my entry way might just be in a scrap book or two, and someday, somewhere, someone will look through and say "I remember that house, it was always so cute for Halloween".

Now, I know my Snew's birthday comes first but she's turning sweet sixteen and will just not pick a theme, or settle on what she'd like to do. This is the first year I've come to realize her birthday plans are no longer in my control. It's a hard pill to swallow, and it's causing me so much anxiety. On the other hand, I guess it should be a relief. One less thing on my shoulders, right? I think this is one of those parts of life you hand off to your child as they become young adults that you secretly wish you could hold on to forever. Maybe once we're past the teens she won't mind if Mom plans a birthday or two? Huh? Maybe? Please?

Well, enough about my letting go issues, lol, and back to my unfinished projects:

Not exactly how I planned it...

I've been wanting to add roll-up shades to the lanai, and eventually flowy curtains at the posts. We had two out of the 3 up so far. Had them rolled all the way up so the wind wouldn't break them. Um...yeah....not so good. The one in what would be the middle has already broken somehow and just hangs completely flat...flapping in the wind. Dang it. The 3rd one is still in my garage. I'm going to make it work somehow. :) Oh! And we want to cover all that concrete w/ pavers. Someday...

Liya's "Daddy Roses"...

I don't want to go into it all right now because it is still so emotional for me, but to make a long, sad, story short - my brother-in-law passed away Christmas Eve before last, leaving behind his 5 yr old daughter, my niece Li. Upon her return from the Republic of Georgia, we planted this rose bush (Elle) and surrounded it with angel statues lovingly chosen by a sad little girl. Each angel was carefully placed in what she determined to be the perfect spot in her "Daddy Angel Garden". I still need to figure out how to finish it off - what type of border, mulch, rock, etc. It sits under my pink grapefruit tree, in which we've strung crystals that sway and twinkle in the sun, giving it a magical feeling. That little rose bush grows and grows, and each beautiful flower gives off the most insanely delicate but strong rose smell I've ever smelled in my life. She calls them Daddy roses, and it makes her happy to have one sitting in her room...I imagine heaven must smell similar.

Many of my to do's are too embarrassing to post, lol. Bad enough I've bared my grungy lanai, yikes! I'll move on to a project we finally accomplished: changing out those 80's style circle globe lights out on the lanai. My goodness they were dated, but we lived with them until very recently. When working our 3rd investment property we came across these gorgeous fixtures...it was love at first sight. They were perfect for the house. The price was insane for how gorgeous they are. I'll let you see them before I reveal that. Well, as time went on I couldn't get them out of my head. I needed them. They were perfect for the lanai. No more putting it off. At that price how could I risk never finding them again? And so:

Tadaaaa!!!

"Ferosh", right? "I die", no? (I get all my catch phrases from Bravo.) Perfection. And the price? 2 for 60. I know!!! Now, this wouldn't be a Natalie story if some weird thing didn't go wrong...here's the other one:

Let's just call this one energy efficient, k?

The second light fixture has one socket that doesn't work. We tried numerous bulbs, it's the socket. In another example of the many differences between Jeff Lewis (my guru) and myself, I'm keeping it. Making it work. (another Bravo'ism. If that channell ever goes off air I'll just stop speaking.)