Ready for Fall

I never thought I'd say it, but I am ready for a change of season.  Although work calls, it allows me to be uber-creative which is always fun.  Even Pip and Sprout are ready for school.  Sprout is entering kindergarten this year and joyfully announced to me to day, "I gonna learn EVERYTHING!"  It's so exciting to see their enthusiasm for school, which up to this point has been a very positive experience.  I'll keep my fingers crossed as Pip enters first grade.

It has been a difficult summer for outdoor activities.  The heat was just not an inconvenience; it was dangerous.  We spent brief amounts of time outside, but nothing like last summer. With September will come cooler weather, so hopefully we can make up for lost time!

Me, Reflecting on Fall

One thing I would like to accomplish is painting our living/everything room (we have one room in our house for "living" other than the kitchen).  We have dark woods, which I love, but combined with our  walls painted in Beeswax, it makes for a gloomy, shadowy room when the sun rises late and sets well before we are ready to turn in - any suggestions?

I successfully made Mary Beth's recipe for Everyday Granola - it is totally yummy mixed in with Greek yogurt.  I am looking forward to doing a lot more baking and cooking this year now that I have completed all of my classes (yippee!) and will have more time to spare.  What recipes are you looking forward to making, now that it won't be painful to have a 400 degree oven on in the house? : )

Cape Cod Challenge

For almost ten years now we have lived in a modest Cape Cod style home from the 1950s.  We were fortunate that the house was "move in ready" and aside from a coat of paint or two, we could begin living in our home right away.  Now, ten years later, the house is beginning to show wear and tear.  Even though our budget is next to nothing, the time has come to start both preventative maintenance and some minor renovations to keep our house looking up to snuff.

Do any of you live in a 1950s style Cape Cod house?  If you do, you know the challenges.  The front door opens right onto the living room.  Our tiny kitchenette features a small table for four as there is no dining room. 

I'm trying to find some inspiration for designing small spaces from places like Apartment Therapy and  Loving Living Small.  I'll be posting pictures soon and perhaps you could weigh in on a new color scheme for our living/dining/watching-tv-room.

Do you have any ideas for small spaces or small places?