Not Me Monday

I do NOT let my kids play at Target so I can look at a few things in peace.

I heart Publix

I used to assume that Wal-mart was the cheapest place to shop for groceries. I guess if you just walk in with NO coupons in hand maybe it is, I don't know. Never did I think that Publix, a place that was very clean (including bathrooms - we seem to use every store's restroom), friendly staff, and then they even take your groceries to your car & load them for you, that can't be a budget wise place to shop. Guess what, I was wrong! Living in Chelsea we had a Publix right down the street and I went there often. While in transition to East Lake we lived in Gardendale. Discovered two things about Gardendale. 1. No Publix 2. No Compass Bank. :(

I am very excited to say that now I have a Publix AND a Compass right down the street.
The kids and I ventured out Monday to go get some groceries for the house. Seriously think my heart skipped a beat as I turned the corner to see this.



That's because at Publix shopping really is a pleasure, even with three kids in tow. Silly I know and yes Carter, my 7 yr old, made fun of me for taking a picture of Publix.

Seriously though if you shop the B1G1 (Buy 1 Get 1) deals - which you don't have to purchase both of to get the discount and you have coupons (Publix takes coupons to competitors stores) you can get some great deals. Especially if you have a coupon for a B1G1! I don't just go in there with no plan, I have my sales paper and make my list from that. Yes I am one of those people who love to go through and cut out the coupons from the paper and I even get some online. Also have a great website that gives you deals & links to coupons and tells you exactly what you need to know for the weeks deals at Publix as well as other places. www.southernsavers.com
My goal is to save as much as I spend at Publix. I have come really close, but not yet. I'm sure I'll take a picture of the receipt and post it when I do!

Kitchen

I'm not a chef by any means. I don't really enjoy cooking, but I do LOVE to bake. Don't argue with me, Yes there is a difference. My patience level does not do well on stove top, I either don't want to wait so I under cook or I get distracted (imagine that) and it burns. When you bake, you put everything together, place it in the oven with a timer and go on your way till you hear the "ding". Perfect for this wife & mom. I have never had a large kitchen in any of the homes we have lived in before, until now.

*Side note I am actually calling this my "grown-up house". Built in 1957 it just feels like it was built so much better than our previous cookie cutter home.

I give to you my before kitchen



One of the things Ben and I talked about before beginning kitchen renovations was a little thing called stability. We have changed our lives drastically in order to live in the East Lake community and in order to serve long term and not get burned out there were a few things in the house I requested. Big thing being the kitchen. We plan on having a few, several, lots of people in our home. Friends, family, Small Groups, other Brook Hills families that also live in East Lake....the list goes on, but not necessarily people from the community (we are taking things slow and relationships come first, not everyone we meet will be asked to come into our home for dinner). I do however plan on making meals for those we do meet in our community who are in need of food, but plan to take that to their homes. At first anyway. So with all that in mind, I give you my new kitchen.

Little things to still be finished. We are planning on doing a glass tile back splash to the ceiling & we still need to put up the hood for the stove (after the back splash).



As well as add the counter top for the island, until then yes that is a wardrobe box.





Now if I could just get all those kitchen boxes unpacked and into the cabinets.

Slow Process

Getting into our East Lake home has been a slower process than we thought. 5 Months AFTER our house in Chelsea sold we are now in our new home! We still have boxes to unpack and still trying to figure out just where things are going to go. I'm not one to unpack to just get the boxes out of the house, once the box is open I want the stuff inside to be placed where it's going to be permanently. I don't need more work down the road.
Here are a few pictures for your curiosity.

Classroom



We lost a two car garage worth of storage, it's going to be a tight fit. Still lots more boxes to unpack for this room.



Living & Dinning area



Izzy's PINK room



I have also had a lot of questions about the street we live on and our neighbors. Main question being "do you feel safe"? Absolutely! We still haven't met all the neighbors around us, but we have talked to several. Know what else surprises people, we aren't the only white people on the street!

Here is a couple of views from our front door.

Love of Games

I knew that I loved to play board games, but didn't realize just how many games we had. Then I started unpacking them and had to find somewhere to put them all.

Some had to go in the kids closets.





Some had to go in the bottom of the hall closet. I can't reach them if they are up top and yes I'm too lazy to get the step ladder every time the kids & I want to play a game. Something we do often.



Thing is, I know I'm still missing some and I still haven't found my box that's full of just playing cards! I'm a sucker for a new card game. So if anyone is up for a game let me know!!

Old/New Toys

The kids have loved opening up the boxes that we packed up about 5 months ago now. They are finding toys they had forgotten about. It's like they got all new stuff. Of course the big boxes became toys too...space ships, buses, airplanes.....great entertainment!





I think the dress up box was missed the most.

Caught Ya!

We had already had snack for the morning. I put it back in the pantry and then the boys and I returned to the school room. After about 10 minutes I realized we didn't have anyone disturbing us....rare....and very quite

I went to investigate and found this



picking out ALL the M&M's



She didn't see the big deal. She told me she just needed some more chocolate. Just like a girl!!