The Week in Pictures

A few visuals to sum up the week around our house:

Here is one Shadow puppy, freshly shorn.  We think he looks like a wee black lamb after he gets fluffed and buffed.  But no matter how adorable we think he looks, in every picture we take of him, he looks morose and depressed.  Cheer up, Shadow!  It can't be that bad to be a dog!

My littlest gal was student of the week last week and she requested we make snickerdoodles for her class treat.  We started hauling out all the ingredients (snickerdoodle-making is no small undertaking, I quickly remembered!), and my little K zipped to the closet to grab an apron for me.  I rarely wear an apron, but every time I do, I remember how much I love wearing one - they're so convenient!  Anyway, K grabbed this one, which is my favorite.  It was made by my mom for my grandma -- in her favorite color: mauve.  Every time I wear it, I think of her wearing it, bustling around her (mauve) kitchen in her skirt and nylons, heels kicked off by the door.  Fond memories of a beloved woman.

I recently bought this little gem for about $1, and it is the best.  Seriously, I don't know how I ran a grown up kitchen without one for all these years.  My whole adult life, I've been dragging out a colander or using a lid to strain the pasta, or if I was feeling lazy like tempting fate, I would precariously hold the pasta with a fork while draining the liquid.  But this little plastic game changer is the goods.  I simply hold it over the pot and all is good!  No huge colander to hand wash, no risky fork method. . .just pasta sans liquid.  Does everyone already have one of these and I was just out of the loop?  Or am I a trend setter?  I truly have no idea.

I bought this shower curtain the other day for our hideous upstairs bathroom.  This bathroom is in dire need of an overhaul, but we haven't had the money or time to do all that needs to be done, so there it sits, in its late-90s decor, frustrating me every time I pass by.  I had finally had it with the old shower curtain and wanted to buy an inexpensive one to tide us over until we actually redo the room. I found this one at Walmart and it fit the bill.  The tree was pleasant and would work for the time being.  The other day I was putting towels away (these über awesome ones from IKEA) in the bathroom and one of my boys wandered in and appeared to suddenly attack the shower curtain.  "What are you doing?", I quickly asked.  Without missing a beat, he replied, "I'm a tree hugger!"