The Holidays this year have never seemed so busy.  Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we were in  South Carolina, Kentucky, and Georgia (not to mention all of the states we drove through in between).  And while it was a great holiday season, I'm reminded of a picture that hung in my house as a child reading, "Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."  Boy is that ever true.  We loved celebrating with family and friends but it sure feels good to be home again.

I didn't do much good documentation of our quick travels but I did manage to get someone to snap a picture of Dan and I at the Kentucky wedding...

And I couldn't resist capturing the snow we drove through in West Virginia on our way home...

  

The real news to share (and pictures to reveal) is the completion of our kitchen countertops!!  They were successfully installed on January 2nd and we can't get enough of the new look.  As much as it changes the space, it's as if they were here all along.  Everything just looks so right:)

Quickly refresh your memory of what we have been living with for the last few months-

Getting the sink in was definitely progress but wobbly countertops + dangling faucets then no countertops got old pretty fast.  

Then came January 2nd and it was all worth it!  Dan was home for the installation and because I had to work + I lucked out with the best husband ever, he captured some pictures of the process for me to share with you.

What an exciting day it was to come home from work and see the finished product!  Check it out-  

We also purchased these unique wrought iron corbels as opposed to traditional wood ones- function + style!  A perfect compliment to the other industrial pieces in this space.  

And I'm sure you noticed the wall opposite the bar and sink that is patiently waiting for it's finishing touch-  the backsplash.  We in fact picked it out today and plan to put Dan's skills to the test once more with a DIY backsplash project next weekend.  If you think everything looks fabulous now, wait until you see what we have in store...

This white subway tile will add the much anticipated finishing touch to our dream kitchen makeover!

  

Dan has proved his handy-ness this weekend as we prepare for the new counter top installation.  Because we are replacing our existing drop-in sink with a farmhouse style sink, there was a lot of prep work to be done.

Here you see our (messy) old sink that is ready to go-

Plumber Dan unhooked the faucet, drain, and disposal-

Then it was easy to lift right out-

I couldn't believe how easily the counter came off after we cut the caulking from the wall-

(Thanks to our friend Dave for coming to help do some demo because my job is clearly to document the action.)

 Now half of the old counter is outta here!

A little handy work to prepare the cabinets for the new 100lb sink-

Thankfully, we only washed dishes in the powder room one night.  We are stylishily back up and running (even though we need our counters in to aesthetically support the new faucet)!

Love it already!!

Christmas Time is Here!

Our sink is in-  and it's BIG!

We picked out the perfect tree...

and she is glowing brightly!

Stockings are hung and the mantle is trimmed-

The front stoop got a holiday makeover-

And Abbey got a new friend- Elfie!

Another whirlwind weekend has come and gone-  This time we had a wedding in Greenville, SC.

Luckily, on our way to Greenville, we drove right through Charlotte and were able to pick up a coveted item at Crate & Barrel...our Antique Brass Fireplace Screen!  We searched high and low for this piece and found the last one in stock in the Southeast at a mall in Charlotte.  Obviously we have good (and popular) taste + I did see this same screen noted in Country Living last month:)

What a difference it makes, covering up the eye-sore that was our gas logs.  And how cozy it is when it's burning and keeping us toasty...

We've also decided to pull the trigger and move forward with our major kitchen makeover.  We knew when we bought this house the one big thing we wanted to do was to update the kitchen counters (see ya later old stained laminate), sink, and faucet.  I can't believe we're actually doing it but we got a deal we couldn't pass up on granite + installation so Christmas is coming early in this Towler household!  

Here's a sneak peak at the granite we think we are going with-

Uba Tuba

And the faucet we purchased last weekend-

Lastly, the white farmhouse sink is coming in this week so stay tuned!

Tons of new projects and ideas are ready in Cool School so don't forget to check it out-

  

Last week when my co-worker offered up FREE Bon Jovi tickets, I just couldn't turn them down.  She'd secured 8 tickets through the United Way (the benefits of working for a non-profit:) and Dan and I wound up as 2 of the lucky recipients.

So Wednesday night we made our way to the PNC Arena (also home to the Carolina Hurricanes and the NC State basketball team), found our lower level seats, and caught a pretty great show!

In other news our fall weather is in full effect lately.  The only thing making our out-of-control leaves acceptable is using them for our entertainment...

I spy Mickey...

It also makes for some scrumptious recipes-  like this Sweet Potato and Bacon soup.  

I was inspired by the latest cover of Cooking Light that had a similar recipe showcased.  I couldn't find the exact one online so I just googled it, loosely followed the directions found on this site, and ta-da.  Delish!!

And as we prepare for Thanksgiving, I put some of my Martha Stewart free printables to use with this Thankful banner- hung at the mantle to remind us all season of how much we have to be thankful for.

My school projects and activities continue- To see what we've got going on, check out the new tab at the top labeled Cool School.  It'll be updated as we complete new and exciting creations!

I've just wrapped up my first month at Tammy Lynn.  October was a blur, but it was also full of exciting learning opportunities as I created activities and lessons for my students who are all diagnosed with multiple disabilities (including functional blindness).  The focus is on alerting as many senses as you can while engaging the students in meaningful learning experiences.  After the Frankenstein faces (that the students helped create by using voice output devices to dictate the facial features) we continued our Fall/Halloween theme.  Here's a sample of just a few fun projects...

1. Candy Corn Puzzles-  adhered with velcro in three pieces, students can count/sequence to 3 with a communication device, work on fine motor skills to grasp each piece, and tacitly explore the corresponding foam numbers.

2. Monster Puzzles- each monster picture is cut in half to allow you to velcro together (fine motor skills!) either matching colors or funny mismatching monsters while counting and feeling the pipe cleaner numbers I sculpted.

3. Candy Corn Counting- laminate templates then trace the numbers in puffy paint so students can feel them.  Before we counted the candy corns, I emptied half a bag into a tin tray that we shook to hear, played with between our fingers, and smelled (students that can eat small candy can also taste).  Then they used their communication devices to count the number while we helped them pick each candy up and place it in the correct jar.

4. 5 Little Pumpkins- Check out the song and video that go with this super cute project.  After singing the song, students count the pumpkins with their communication device to glue on their popsicle stick gate (a great tactile idea).  Then, I had them recount while we added the glitter glue numbers that are another tactile addition once dry.

Looking to November and Thanksgiving I have tons of inspired plans to keep us discovering even more.  I'll give you a sneak peak at one activity I found that we will be completing in the coming weeks...

Make sure you enlarge the picture and read the details of this kid-friendly Thanksgiving story representation.  Fabulous (and generates conversations at home)!

Outside of the classroom, the inspiration continues at home with the addition of another barn wood project-

And new curtain rods + curtains in the dining room-

A special thanks to Ferguson for again supplying the materials we needed to accomplish this terrific industrial look.

October also had us at the State Fair for a concert-  pretty nice seats for the Eli Young Band.

It was a successful first Halloween in the neighborhood, too.  We even got compliments on our artsy pumpkin.  Thanks Martha:)

And finally, the fire pit has been the perfect way to spend time on these cool fall nights!