Weekend Shenanigans

It was another beautiful weekend in Santa Barbara.  Elliott and I threw in the towel early on Friday, and took the afternoon off to drive to Santa Clarita to visit my sister Janine.  I'm embarassed to say how long it has been since I've been down to visit her, so let's just say it was a bit before my little guy came into the world.

We had a lovely afternoon hanging out with Janine.  I enjoyed the girly bonding time (we both got haircuts with her awesome stylist who specializes in fine hair), but Elliott definitely enjoyed playing with her kitty Hannah the most.  He pets her like he does Reese - with an open hand and light smack.

We went out to dinner at a Japanese restaurant with Janine and her husband Tim.  While I enjoyed the Ahi Poke, Elliott decided to take up the chopstick drums.  Steve has been needing some accompaniment in his guitar music.  Doesn't he look like a pro?  It is amazing to see how much he loves music already, he brightens up every time we put something on, and often crawls toward the speaker in excitement.

Elliott was sweet and snuggly with Aunt Janine on the way back to the car before throwing him in his PJs and hitting the road back to SB.  I kept trying to get a picture of the two of them smiling since they were so cute, but Elliott only had eyes for Uncle Tim (off camera, stage right).  Check out Janine's cute new hairstyle:)

Elliott's favorite toys of the weekend were our dustpan and broom - which beat out last weekend's favorite - the stacking cups.  I'd love to say it's because I'm teaching him the wonders of keeping a clean house, but in all reality, he's probably just tired of crawling on dirty floors.

Sadly, he hasn't quite figured out how to use the watering can though...

We're back at the home projects after a few weeks off.  On the weekend agenda - paint the dining room.  I am so excited to be moving on to the decorating portion of our renovations (or as Steve says - the "icing").  We picked a moody teal blue color since the rest of the house will be in varying shades of gray, and I'm all about teal these days.  As I am learning with painting projects, 80% of the time is spent prepping, about 10% is cleaning up, and only 10% is actually spent painting.  Here's Elliott Sunday morning getting ready to help with the exciting 10% of the project.

And the finished product...  Such an improvement over the drab, white walls that had crayon and pencil marks from the previous kids who lived here.  It's a bit dark now, but once we get crown molding, thick baseboard, curtains, and decorations up it will be a nice accent to our living space.

Overall a fun and productive weekend!!  What were you guys up to?