wowza

Whoopsie. Took a few weeks off from blogging it appears. Ah well, it has been a wild few. We were just trying to not lose our marbles, so I guess blogging had to go on the back burner. 

What's happened, you ask? Nothing big but it seemed like a bunch. A big family wedding, the wine bar opening (with a crazy couple of weeks before that trying to get everything ready). Hmm, that might be it. But it was A LOT, I swear. Now we've been open for a week, and it hasn't been too bad. Not incredibly busy, but definitely steady, which is good for a small-town place. It'll just take awhile for word to spread about our specials and whatnot, but I think it will. Everyone that has come in has had a lot of good things to say. It's just kind of fun to see all of our ideas about food and drinks and decor come to fruition. I feel like it's the most creative I've ever gotten to be on a professional project, and it was busy but also a pretty good time. And the whole family is pretty proud, and we didn't even murderball each other in the process, so, BONUS.

I was glad that things calmed down a bit for Ainsley's sake. Poor kid spent many a day playing iPad in the rubble of the wine bar construction (or at Lowe's, shopping for canned light fittings or something similarly exciting). It's been nice to actually be home and have dinner a few nights in the last week.

So I should probably go do some dishes or clean something since nobody is in here at the moment. There also appears to be a tornado brewing directly over the building so I suppose being on this computer isn't the best plan. Peace out!

sprinkle toes

What is it about a kid and a sprinkler? I swear, you can take them to the biggest
waterpark in the world, and they'll still love a plain old fashion sprinkler on a summer day.

kitty tale

Oh Murray. I've always had a love hate relationship with our cat, and I'm pretty sure he's had a hate hate relationship with me. I think it was because Mike is the one who brought him on the two-hour car trip home, so they got to bond. And I am the interrupter of that bond. Also, because he's kinda evil, and I kinda know it. (I mean, aren't all cats, a little bit?) Of course I am being overly harsh, and obviously he's our family cat and I will take care of him. And once in awhile, in the night (especially if Mike is gone), he gets confused and thinks I'm Mike and snuggles with me.

Anyway, you know who has a love love LOVE relationship with Murray? Ainsley. I mean, she is over the moon. I don't know what it is about toddlers and cats. It's some magic crazy shizz. And Murray has not traditionally been the most tolerant kitty in the world, but I am pretty amazed at how patient he is with her. Like, clearly, when Ainsley is pulling his tail or giving him a full bear hug, he could go totally ape***t on her. But he just meows and walks one foot away to let her do it again. So, my nemesis, I will give you credit where credit is due. And maybe a little extra tuna, for good behavior.

to do

Things have somehow not slowed down yet since we got back from our 4th of July trip - eeekkk! Yesterday my mom and I spent all day shopping for our super-secret-special project, which I guess isn't that secret anymore since everyone in town knows. We are opening Spearfish Creek Wine Bar in hopefully two but probably three weeks. We are doing lots of renovations to the actual building, and I'd like to do them up proper with a nice before-and-after post. In the meantime, here were some of our purchases yesterday. Our "theme" has ranged from "cabiney cool living room barn-ish" to "hippie garage junkyard fantastical" and finally landed somewhere in the vicinity of "mining-camp industrial rustical" (coined by the guy at the lighting store yesterday). Clearly we have no business decorating anything, but I think it will come together nicely. We used lots of reclaimed wood and corrugated tin, and we just aimed for "natural" surfaces, wood, leather, rock, etc. We have to choose paint colors shortly, but I think we're going to keep it pretty neutral and then feature a lot of bright art on our art wall, as well as accessories. Thus, the furniture is a tad safe but it is comfortable and part of our vision. The lighting, on the other hand, is radical. See for yourself ...

lanterns for the front picture windows

this will go over the front door - very barn-ey

over-the-bar hanging lights - these are my favs

some marble tables

leather barstools

a few other plain 'ol wood tables

loveseat for the fireplace area

and our leather club chairs

We do have a few statement pieces that are still at an antique store in town, I'll have to post those later. I am quite excited to see how everything comes together. It should be a pretty cozy place to hang out.

time capsule

I was helping my mother-in-law move a plethora of photos from her phone to a CD tonight, and it was pretty amazing. Mostly because she's the only person I know who can keep the same cell phone for almost three years without losing or breaking it, but also because she's kept all the photos we've sent of her three granddaughters (Ainsley and her two cousins, Hannah and Ava). Now, Ainsley is 2 1/2, Hannah is almost 2, and Ava is 3 1/2. So some of these photos are pretty special. I'm glad I have copies now:

holidaaaaay celebraaaaate

We got back late last night from a very nice July 4th holiday at my in-laws' house near Colorado Springs. Mike had to go to Denver for work all weekend, so we cobbled together a mini-vacation that involved traveling eight hours in one vehicle with my sister-in-law, mother-in-law, three toddlers, a puppy and our five tons of accompanying stuff. Then Mike came to their house when he was done working and we enjoyed a nice BBQ in honor of my brother-in-law's birthday and the July 4th holiday. It was hella dry in CO, so there were no fireworks, but there were steaks, margaritas, the kiddie pool and good company. All us ladies ventured to the mall in Pueblo the day before, and grandma bought the three girls red white and blue outfits for the holiday, but of course we couldn't round them all up and get them to sit still for a picture. I did catch Ainsley and Hannah unawares in the sandbox. The day after the fourth (otherwise known as the fifth, I suppose) we loaded up two cars and drove up into the mountains to a real, live castle that some dude is building all by himself.


It was cool, I suppose, but pretty much a construction zone, so it was a bit harrowing with three little kids. You could actually climb all around the building and up to the tippy-top on all this wrought-iron scaffolding. It was pretty, kind of like spiderwebs, but it didn't look super sturdy. I can't imagine how this guys allows admission into this thing but doesn't appear to follow any building codes. Maybe since it's private property or something?? I don't know, but I was content staying inside the main floors and walking around the grounds.

Then yesterday it was the never-ending drive home (possibly never-ending because we stopped at the outlet malls in Loveland, CO for two hours - oopsies!). And now we are home and a little beat

farm cats

We took an impromptu trip to North Dakota yesterday, which isn't as weird as it sounds out here in the sticks. Mike's mom and sister and her two kids Hannah and Ava (Ainsley's cousins) were going to be there for a night staying with Mike's awesome Aunt Lynette at her farm just over the border, and it's just a two hour drive from here, so we decided to go be part of the fun.

Lynette and her husband live in the house and on the farm that Mike's grandparents lived in for years, so it's cool to take Ainsley back to her roots a little bit. While we were dating we went up a few times for weddings and other things, when Mike's Grandma Norma was living, and she was and remains one of the coolest ladies I've even met. We would go to the Borderline Bar with Mike's sister and her husband just a few blocks from her house in the tiny town, and then when we'd stumble home late Norma would be up to make us roast beef sandwiches. Then in the morning it was a never-ending feed of eggs and bacon from dawn onward, for whichever kids and grandkids and friends would stop over for food. I really, really wish Ainsley could have gone there with us, but Norma died of cancer on the St. Patrick's day before our wedding. She would have loved seeing Ainsley and her two cousins together.

But, Mike's Aunt Lynette is a pretty good lady herself, and it was a nice night and morning (complete with never-ending eggs and bacon and then a huge turkey farm lunch ... we ate turkey, it's not a turkey farm ... it's a cow farm ... or whatever they are called ... oh, never mind).

Best of all for the girls, there were ... (wait for it) ... KITTENS! Four adorable three-week-old kitties living in the garage, as farm cats do. It was pretty funny, as KITTENS were one of my favorite things on my grandparents' farm when we were growing up. And our cat Murray actually came from this same farm, in fact, his sister is the mom to this current batch. This is our beautiful specimen of cat:

The KITTEN Ainsley loved up on all morning was Murray's spitting image, down to his feral nature and general distaste for people. But no matter, Ainsley was in love, as evidenced by these pictures:

And for a split second my icy heart was melted and I forgot that this little KITTEN would grow up into a CAT that would surely hate me as much as his kin we already have at home, and I thought "maybe, just maybe, two cats would be a good time" and then my husband noticed my train of thought and shut me down. But it was fun while it lasted.