Beds, Beds and more BEDS!!! Part 2

Okay now I know that I have left you all in suspense long enough. Except for my next door neighbor Angela, she was the first non-family member to see these. The Fillman twin beds and the Hailey full platform beds(which can be found HERE and HERE are finished!!! Yay!! If you missed out here's Part 1. These beds were a cinch to build( I just watched The Hubs do all the work:) ). They took no time at all and painting went quickly. Now for the girl's beds I used Valspar's Paramount White in their Ultra Paint + Primer Plus Zero VOC line. For Seamus' bed I used Behr's Soulful Music in their Premium Plus Zero VOC line. Both of these lines are self priming and safe to use around children as there are virtually no harmful fumes. 

Behr Premium Plus Plus Zero VOC in Soulful Music

  Valspar Ultra Paint + Primer Plus Zero VOC in Paramount White

Maddalaena's bed. The canopies you see pictured are from Ikea. You can find similar here. But I paid $10 each.

Didn't realize how crooked this picture was...oh well :)

The slats for support but my children think they're spring boards.

My eldest son' bed. Don't mind the Journey's Kidz Catalogue under the bed.(Psst..He's a shoe fanatic!!)

We love Ikea so much that even the mattress' for ALL of our beds(except the baby's) are from there.

Don't mind my sloppy painting. I was never good at coloring inside the lines ;)

And there you have it. All three beds finished! From start to finish it took three days to do all three beds. It was an enjoyable process.

Thanksgiving Recap

Our Thanksgiving was a quiet one this year. It was just us, no family or friends to celebrate it with. And you know what? I kind of like it like that. Sometimes lol. It's good to have friends and family around to celebrate together but it's good to have that quality family time. 

This year was bittersweet for me. My grandmother passed away earlier this August to bone marrow cancer. And having Thanksgiving at her house was pretty much a mandatory thing. I believe the only times that weren't spent at her house for this holiday were when we were stationed in Washington state or when my grandparents would come to our house for Thanksgiving. I am truly thankful and blessed to have had her to myself, really, all these years. I grew up 10 minutes from her and my grandfather and I got to see her pretty much every week of my life. So it was nice just having this holiday be just the 6 of us.

One a more upbeat note...

This Turkey day had the traditional: Turkey(of course!), cranberry sauce(the jellied kind), stuffing, sweet potatoes(in our house that's a must), gravy and baked macaroni and cheese. But there were some new items brought to the table. A new kind of stuffing. This stuffing was completely homemade( a first for me) with Ezekiel bread, cranberries, butter and sage. And I must say it's a permanent part of this holiday menu. Rolls that were packaged and not made from Pillsbury( never doing that again. ALWAYS go Pillsbury). Pineapple Cheddar Cheese Casserole. Now I know it sounds gross, but it is so delicious!!! It's cheesy, sweet and a little crunchy. This recipe is super easy to find. And all you need is chopped pineapple, Ritz crackers, butter and sugar. It's super simple and scrumptious!!! Now of course for my montage of pictures. Well it really isn't a montage. No one was dressed or should I say properly prepared for picture taking. And some pictures I was fiddling with my camera settings. I'm learning how to take decent pictures in very poor lighting.

Okay. so here's the bird...naked, rubbed down and seasoned. I believed I was set. My mom purchased me this ab-so-dorable bakery set from Temp-tations. I love them. They're cute and charming and they come with little glass "cutting" boards and iron carrying caddies. So I have this new set and I'm thinking to myself "I've got this in the bag, er, baking dish". Obviously, based on the picture you can see that I didn't. That sucker was too big for my beautiful bakeware. It generously overflowed the sides, like my feet generously didn't fit into my heels when I was pregnant with a not-so-small baby turkey(Blake). So being the good wife, I sent the hubs off to the store on Turkey day to brave the crowds and buy me one of those aluminum roasting pans. Then it worked, of course.

Blake was out for a one two count before the bird even went into the oven. Isn't he so peaceful when he's sleeping?? 

The Allen Tribe(except for me). All cuddled and enjoying football, well, the same can't be said for Maddalaena. She just was not having it. See I told you that everyone wasn't up to picture taking. 

Part of the tablscape. Don't mind the bad table decorating. I'm trying something new. It's called caring about what your house looks like during a holiday dinner. I'm trying to establish routine and tradition in our home. Seeing as there won't be anymore gatherings at grandma's house, I know am choosing to become that. So HomeGoods has become my favorite store, next to TJMaxx, for home decorating. Simply because I can't afford PotteryBarn which is in fact my most favorite store. Ballard Designs is a close, almost tied second.

Oh, and I like Pier 1 too. 

Burlap is all the rage this year in home decorating. Ballard Designs has these burlap curtains. PotteryBarn has these super cute jute storage bags. Restoration Hardware has a burlap upholstered chair. Just to name a few.

Top partial of my tablescape.

And the bird!!! Buttered, seasoned and roasted to perfection. As a matter of fact, when we transported this turkey to the platter(we had to drain the stoke to make gravy) one of the wings fell off it was so done. It was like "I'm ready eat me. EAT ME!!". You know how that goes. When you cook something so well, that the food just begs you to eat it. I won't applaud myself too much. Because my store bought rolls turned into one of those hard biscuit things you dunk in coffee. Anyone? Email me if you know the word because I am completely drawing a blank.

The delicious stuffing in the background along with the Pineapple Cheddar Cheese Casserole.

Green Bean Casserole(The Hubs favorite), baked macaroni and cheese, burnt to a crisp rolls, sweet potatoes and cranberry sauce.

The Hubs carving the Turkey. In my family the men carve the birds. I'm not sure why. It's either a head-of-the-house thing or because-they're-good-at-it-and-it-floats-their-ego sorta thing.

Blake, enjoying his portion of the Turkey day meal. The whole time he was eating, he was smiling. It was so cute! But I couldn't be sure if it was because he liked it or that he was gaseous. He's been having some raunchy butt burping sessions recently.

I love these crackle glass creations by Yankee Candle. I always drool over their accessories collection every year dog earing and circling the things I want. I leave little hints for The Hubs(which he apparently NEVER gets) at least every other day. 

Another upclose shot of my "tablescape". 

Not sure if he's happy or passing gas. I just can't tell :)

How was you're Thanksgiving? Did you spend it with family? Preparing for Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Or did you watch football and pass out with you fly unzipped and a hand in your pants? I'd love to hear about it.

Something Worth Waiting For

Has anyone out there ever been pushed to their patience limits? Like for example, waiting for something for a really long time? I've waited for things in the past that once received were well worth the wait. The hubbs and I have been waiting for 5 years to make 1st Petty Officer. In the Navy, that's one step below chief. It means higher pay, a higher tax bracket, more responsibility and more recognition. And people listen to you more, generally because you know more about what you're talking about. Making 1st signifies that you're worth something. You have knowledge and experience and leadership qualities. All of these things my husband has and has had for a little bit of time. That's why we jumped for joy and screamed when we found out a few hours ago that he had in fact, after 5 years, made 1st Class Petty Officer. I am so proud of him. And so thankful after all these years of waiting to read those results. It has made us faithful in the Lord and it has made us patient. Congrats baby you deserve it!!!

Mid Autumn Hiatus

Whew!!! It has been a MINUTE since I've been on here to update you with anything hasn't it? Well, let me fill you on in on the events that have been happening in the Allen house.

First we moved!!! Yes!! We are no longer in Groton,. We are now in lovely Kittery, ME. I like the area but not the house so much. I'll get into that in a minute. The move wasn't bad. We lived in our house without furniture except for our mattresses for four days. The kids went absolutely crazy. The funny part is, we thought we packed enough for hem to keep busy. They had books and games and toys and art. They even had access to the new iPad. But they weren't having it. We were very blessed to have good friends feed us and in one case allow us to bathe our children at their home. I even got a recipe out of it that puts Olive Garden's Soupa Toscana to shame!!

Second, we were over charged for the damage in our home to the carpets. I HATE renting with carpets. But hey, now we don't have to worry about that:). We weren't charged for a few other things though so, it could have been worse.

Third, the drive was fairly easy. We drive by Gillette Stadium home of the Patriots!!! That's right baby RAISE THE ROOF. Please bear with as I take it back to the early 90's. we saw some awesome views and some really cool architecture. Sorry not many pictures, we were in quite the hurry to meet our move in appt.

Ugh, the houses. Now let me say this we're blessed to have a roof over our heads. It was only two weeks before we moved that we received news that they didn't have a house for us . That being said...
These houses are old. They creak something fierce, the walls are bowing, there is separation between the walls and ceilings, the rooms are tiny and come with no lights, our master bedroom floor was damaged prior to move in, there is paint on things that shouldn't have paint, there is no counter space in the kitchen, there is damage to the walls, we can't mount anything heavy because there's asbestos. So with all that being said lol, we're making the best of it. We do like the layout of this house. That's about it.

Now, I'm currently picking the DIY projects I hope to accomplish over the next two years. Adding a new tv console, faux fireplace mantel and gel-fueled fireplace in the living room. A new bed frame w/ a headboard(upholstered of course), night stands, dresser, faux mantel and another gel-fuel fire place in the master room. A dresser(large) bunk beds in the boys room. Turning the baby 's room into a nursery. And adding bunk beds to the girls room. Also putting a china cabinet with hutch into the dining room with refinished benches. It's a lot, I know. But it's so much more cost effective building than buying. Or refinishing than building(in rare circumstances). We also intend on painting or applying self adhesive textured wall paper.

I just wanted to thank you all for your prayers!!! And please continue praying for us as we search for a church for us to get plugged into. And finishing up getting our house situated.

Do any of you have holiday decorating plans? Anything DIY style?? I'd live to hear from you.