Back Porch Update

If someone told me 6 months ago that this fall we would have screened in our carport, put up new a new carport, and had everything completely finished, I probably would have laughed and told you that you were crazy.  We started entertaining the idea of screening in the carport earlier this year, started the project in August, and as of last weekend it is 99% complete!  I am absolutely THRILLED with the result and have said on multiple occasions that I wish we'd done this sooner. The first phase was the framing in and screening in of the carport, which also included the television that was hung on the wall and a couple of cabinets.  We didn't have a counter top for it so we stuck a table on top so it was usable.  It worked well, but we knew wanted to put in an actual counter top, stain the cabinets, and do something with the floor because the concrete was stained with oil remnants and who knows what else.  Last weekend we made all of those things happen.  I came home from work one day and Eric had leveled out the cabinets and put a counter top on them.  That night he stained the floor with concrete stain to paint and seal it. He put the cabinet in the next day and hooked up the water...yes we have a sink in the counter, too.  Next it was my turn.  I decided to take on staining the cabinets...easy enough, right?  It is if you read the directions on the stain.....  Apparently I was supposed to wipe the stain off after I painted it on (which to be honest doesn't make a whole lot of sense because if I'd wiped it off it would not have been as dark and I wanted it to be...just sayin).  I painted on 2 coats and 24 hours later it was still wet and sticky; and 48 hours later it was still wet and sticky.  It was around that point that we realized what I'd done. It FINALLY dried about 6 days after I applied the stain after we left the fans on full blast for a few days.

Our plan was to break it in this past weekend, but then winter decided to give us a little preview.  I told Eric there was no way I could stay outside in the cold to watch football.  I think he was concerned about the cold, too because when I came home Friday afternoon there were two tall heaters (like the kind restaurants use on their patios) in the carport.  I am pleased to report that they did the trick and even though temps were in the high 40s on Saturday night, it was toasty warm on the porch!  I never even put on my jacket.

Here's a few before and afters.  I still can't believe the transformation!

Top: the very beginnings of the project.
Bottom: the finished product!

Top: the very beginnings of the project.
Bottom: the finished product!

So what's the 1% we have left to do?  That would be to finish up our counter top.  The plan is to cover it with beer bottle tops.  We have about 1/3 of what we need.  We add to it weekly, but are accepting donations to the cause. We'll even let you drink the beer...just send us the bottle caps.  =)

To say that we are thrilled with the results is an understatement.  This project has been the best thing that ever happened to football season at our house, by far, and the dogs probably love it more than we do (as you can see from the pics above).  I think I even have Eric convinced to serve Thanksgiving dinner out here!

A Chilly Chili Weekend Recap

Another weekend bites the dust and I am sitting here wishing it was still going on. In my mind I am still here:

1. Hot chocolate to warm me up on Friday when I got home from the game.
2. One of our newest additions to the back porch.  Yeah I was shocked when I came home to find these bad boys in the carport.
3. Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Pudding Cookies....fall in my mouth
4. Pootie's Ninja Turtle Birthday Cake!
5. Me with the birthday girl!
6. The best tacos ever.
7. I had to break out the chili recipe on Saturday....
8......and this is all that was left Saturday night (which Eric ate before he went to bed).
9. My latest pinterest-inspired Cricut Creation.

Winter fall decided to show Alabama what football season is like up north on Friday night, and threw near freezing temperatures at us.  I went to the game prepared with lots of layers, a blanket, and a thermos of hot chocolate (That stayed cold the entire game....that cup above is the last of my hot chocolate that I didn't even have to heat up 4 hours after I made it!).  Unfortunately the boys played terribly.  The other team literally ran all over us.  The score ended up 35-21, but they completely out-physicaled us. I hate that it was senior night, but there is still a chance we'll have another home game if we can win our first-round play-off game.

Saturday morning was super chilly, so I opted to stay inside and put something warm on the stove.  I went with my Dad's chili recipe.  It it my favorite chili in the whole wide world, and it was perfect for a cold day.  Since I was not sure how many to cook for (as usual) I doubled the recipe to include 2 lbs of deer hamburger and 8 cans of diced tomatoes, which almost completely filled my stew pot.  Apparently everyone else liked my chili, too, because we had ONE small bowl-full along with ONE hot dog left at the end of the night.  Eric polished it off before we went to bed, so there was not a drop left for the football coaches the next day.  Sorry guys.  I also whipped up some Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake Pudding Cookies for dessert...no worries the recipe will be shared later this week.  It seriously tasted like fall exploded in your mouth.....sooo good!  Before the football games kicked off Saturday afternoon we headed to our neighbor's Ninja Turtle Birthday Party.  I still can't believe she's 4.  I remember when we met them and she was a teeny tiny baby who was barely crawling.  Now she's the funniest, craziest kid I know.

Saturday afternoon was spent football game surfing.  It was still cold, but we opted to entertain in our outdoor space and could because of the addition of our new heaters.  They look like the ones you see at restaurants on patios this time of year.  They work like a charm!  We were a little concerned that they would be too tall and the heat would warp the ceiling, but we flipped the fans so they were blowing up, and the ceiling stayed cool all  night.

Sunday we slept in because we stayed up waaaaaay too late on Saturday, and it was glorious!  This little girl even opted for late church we slept in so late. While Eric was breaking down this week's game film I got my craft on and worked on a new fall decoration. I found a cute "gobble til you wobble" sign on pinterest and decided I needed one.  I just happened to have a piece of wood that was perfect for it laying around, and a few hours later had the cutest little sign! Sunday evening we did more laying around, but got to indulge in homemade tacos for dinner.  They are Eric's family's version of tacos and OMGness are they delicious.  I could eat 1,000 of them.  They're fried, have melted cheese slices stuffed in them, and you eat them with homemade salsa...nuff said  I have only had them 3 or 4 times in my entire life, but let's just say they've made quite an impression.

I have another full week ahead with dance, basketball (3 weeks til our first game!!!), work, and oh yeah there's that whole Halloween thing happening this week!  I am hoping that we are able to CARVE out a little time to continue our annual pumpkin carving contest this year (pun intended). I will leave you with pictures of the puppies because they just make me happy to look at.  =)

TGIF

Oooooh Friday.  Am I glad to see you.  To say that this week was taxing on me would be an understatement.  It was a little exhausting, physically and mentally; definitely one of those weeks to look back on and be glad that I just made it through.  Between busy schedules, hyper kids, teenager drama--I don't remember high school being as crazy as it is now 10 years ago when I was there, and being frustrated with people who don't do what they're supposed to do I am completely exhausted. I know things will settle down soon and the drama queens will soon not even phase me, so it's all good.  That's enough Debbie Downer-ness from me.  It's Friday for crying out loud!  It's time to be happ-ay!  I have nothing but football games, puppy dog walks, QT with the hubby (which is becoming increasingly rare these days with our sports seasons overlapping right now), hot chocolate, chili, and warm blankets to look forward to for the next 2 days.

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Tonight is Senior Night at THS and it is going to be SOOOOOOOO cold!  So cold that we have a FREEZE warning in effect tonight...I am talking 34 degrees for a low....in October...in Alabama.  This is NOT normal here.  I already have plans to stop by for a coffee on the way to the game, plus I plan on bringing the thermos full of hot chocolate.  I am betting that by the 2nd half I could sell it for $10 per cup.  The concession stand will have it but I am sure they will have trouble keeping up with demand.

Tomorrow will be a little warmer, but not much.  We may need to bring in some heaters because we finally finished the porch!!! You better believe Mr. Cagle has plans to utilize it this weekend, too...hence the chili and warm blankets I mentioned above. =)

Our own little oasis.

There's more where that came from....before and after pics are coming next week!  

Happy Weekend!

Happy Allegiant Day!

If you are looking for me today or any time the rest of this week, look for this...

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...because that's where I 'll be.  Sitting in a corner with my book (well my Ipad reading on my Kindle App) reading the book I have been waiting on for the past 3 months.  I got hooked on this little series called the Divergent Trilogy by Veronica Roth this summer and the last installment in the trilogy was released today!  I have already accepted the fact that sleep will not exist in my world this week.  I will try not to get too out of control, but I can't make any promises.    If you're looking for a good book trilogy, do yourself a favor and start reading this one.  If you enjoyed Hunger Games (one month til Catching Fire comes out on the bigscreen!) then you'll enjoy this series. It is being made into movies starting next year, too!