Halloween 2012

What a fun Fall day we had!  We started with a field trip to Patterson Farms, an over 100 year old family owned and operated farm.  We all took a long hay ride and the kids got to feed farm animals, stuff a scarecrow, and choose a pumpkin from the patch.  By evening we were Trick or Treating, our first here in North Carolina, and it was really fun.  Our neighbor even piled hay on his trailer and pulled kids all through the neighborhood for a Halloween hay ride.  People are just fun here!  Lots of fun fall activities.  Check out photos of our day.

Gracie loves dinosaurs and decided she wanted to be a T Rex this year.  Thankfully we found a costume that mommy did not have to make, only embellish.  Whew!

Our first Halloween in our new home, taken from Rob's iPhone.  We hated cutting down our tree in the front yard this summer but I think it now makes a nice pedestal, no?  

Well, Halloween is over and I for one am looking forward to Thanksgiving. 

 Hope you all had a safe and fun eve.

Fall !!!!!!

This is our first fall in North Carolina as home owners.  We've been warned by neighbors for 6 months how bad fall is here when the leaves fall.  How bad could it be?  Look at how GORGEOUS this neighborhood is!  We think the beauty of the trees is worth the work, but ask me in another 4 weeks what we truly think.

Gracie timidly walking into a leaf pile.  She doesn't understand diving in.

She did understand throwing leaves up into the air though......

and loved it........

Repeating the process over and over again.  

This is our home in mid-Fall.  Check out my very first post back in spring and you'll see the difference in shade and lighting, and LEAVES!

Rob got a new gas-powered leaf blower for his birthday.  He loves it!  That's fortunate because it took over 4 hours to make the pile below.

Oh wait, this pile was only 1 hour into the blowing process.

 THIS is the pile of leaves after 4 hours of blowing AND they run along the entire length of our curb.  This is Gracie standing in the street and I'm photographing her from the lawn.  Truly waist deep.  We're told this is only the beginning and we haven't seen nothing yet.  Oh oh.

 These Californians can't believe the amount of leaves here. 

 Keep checking back for more Fall coverage. 

Random Shots

Today I decided to post random shots I've taken in the last couple weeks.  They are shots that I like for various reasons, tell me what you think.


This is Charlotte.  Charlotte doesn't like to smile for the camera but I actually love that about her.  I love the way the sun is illuminating her head overexposing her while the richness of fall is all around her.  

This is Max, a Beagle pup.  Isn't he precious?  I just love this shot because it's of a sweet puppy, I realize there is nothing extraordinary about it other than what a great designer God is to give us puppies!!!

We have the coolest animal ranch here in NC called Lazy 5.  You ride in open wagons driven by a team of horses and feed animals.  The giraffes are my favorite!  I mean, how many people in life can say they have fed a giraffe?  This particular afternoon the giraffes where sick of the bucket food so our guide pulled maple leaves off of a tree and told us to put a leaf in our mouth and the giraffe would very gently eat from it.  What?!!!  It was AMAZING!  This guy below was coming in for a BIG ol' kiss.

Hope you enjoyed these.  I enjoyed posting them!

Five

Ethan and Jonas turned five this week and shared a joint 5th birthday party.  I couldn't help but share these photos as these little guys are so precious.  It was a fun filled afternoon at Dan Nicholas park with train rides, zoo animals, and delicious food!  Gracie and I had a blast!  

ETHAN

JONAS

Kind of makes me want a boy.

New Wood Entry Floor

When we moved into our home there was a long list of things to update and a short list of things to update IMMEDIATELY!  Our side entry floor below just about topped the list.  It's the only vinyl flooring in the house that resembles El Paso Cantina restaurant circa 1972, a very odd and curious choice for a colonial home.  For our 2011 Christmas gift, my dad bought us oak floors from Lumber Liquidators for our kitchen (see kitchen floor post) and side entry that perfectly matched the original oak throughout the first level.  He even installed it, with a little help from hubby, and he did a beautiful job!

BEFORE:  UGH!

DURING:

AFTER:

 Aren't they gorgeous?!!!!  They are not this bright or golden in person, warm overhead lighting.  I just had to brag on my dad.  He worked tirelessly on them and it really paid off.  Plus, we discovered that our stairs leading to the second level are oak as well, but that is a HUGE project for another time.  

Now to change that unsightly screen door!

Check back for updates.

Historic Salisbury

I am always astounded by the beauty here in our little historic town of Salisbury, NC.  Gracie's kindergarten is in the downtown historic district and often times I will walk around the neighborhoods after dropping her off.  Forgive the quality of these photos, I only had my iphone with me today but I couldn't  resist capturing shots of beautiful historic homes in the midst of an autumn morning.  

This beauty is for sale.  It is in the Fulton Heights historic district and on a HUGE corner lot.  If I remember correctly it is listed for right under $400K!  Check it out on Wallace Realty. 

Here is another grand and gorgeous home in Fulton Heights.  This lovely couple moved here 5 years ago from Montrose, California, for a better life.  They LOVE it here and own a fun gift store a few blocks away on Main Street.  

'

Another home in Fulton Heights, not as old as it is craftsman style, but old to this Californian.

This little craftsman bungalow is for sale.  It has a huge, deep front porch, but hard to see in this photo.  This home is in a neighborhood across from Fulton Heights, in the Ellis historic district.  Homes here are a little smaller and closer together but remind me of Pasadena or Belmont Shores, CA.  This home is listed for under $200K!  That's $200K people!  How crazy is that compared to California real estate?

Also in Ellis district is this adorable corner lot home overshadowed by trees and mature landscaping.  The owners have done a tremendous job.  This is the side of the home.  See below for frontal view.

The front has a huge wrap around porch, so adorable and while it's a smaller home, it's not small to Southern California standards.  The landscaping is just gorgeous; great taste here.  We'll forgive them for the Patriots flag.

Here's a more modest home in the Ellis district but huge and with a wrap around porch.  This would retail for well under $200K.

I just love that Fulton Heights still has hitching posts for horses.  After all, Salisbury was established in 1753 and was a horse and buggy town.  Many of these homes built garages in the last century but most still have huge attached areas where buggies used to park.

Stunning!

Another hitching post.  How old could that be?

This home is grand!  It is made of granite and was built in the 1800s.  The wrap around porch is like something from the movies.  

I'm reading now about the history of Rowan County from 1753-1953.  This dude above played a HUGE role in establishing southern government.  He came from an affluent family, slave owners.  Not sure which house is his yet but when I find it, I'll post it.  

If I get enough interest, I will post historic homes on a weekly basis.  I just love the rich history back here AND the affordable real estate.  

My Little Model

Look at my little darling.  Yesterday at sunset I grabbed my camera and Gracie and I went out to the front yard where the sun sets.  She's always accommodating me when I want to practice my sharp-shooting-skills.  Such a little angel; I just had to share.  Have a great day!