Raining Cats & Dogs

Today it rained cats and dogs in the beautiful Pacific Northwest ...

Sienna and I started out this morning on a little adventure to buy two baskets for our bookshelf. One basket for our seasonal books and the other basket for our library books. We were then going to go to the library for the first time. But, the rain just got in our way!

It was really raining very hard. Sienna was very cute! She kept asking me if it was snowing. There has been a lot of talk about snow lately and we may be expecting some very soon. Then, she was asking if it was Winter now. We've also been talking a lot about the seasons and she knows it's Fall.

Since the weather was so horrible, we decided to make a little change of plans and pick up some rainy day essentials at the store.

On the way ...

By the time we returned to the little townhouse from the store, Sienna was fast asleep. I think that her cozy little bear jacket (that's what we call it) and the pouring rain lulled her to sleep.

The little sleeping beauty.

While Sienna rested for two whole hours Mama cleaned the kitchen and set up our rainy day essentials. Can you guess what we made?

Our rainy day essentials.

Once Sienna woke up, we made My Big, Fat Chocolate Chip Cookies from the Food Network.

Mama's recipe box.

Sienna and Chai Guy helped to make our delicious cookies. Sienna folded in the chocolate chips for Mama and stirred the dough. She's getting to be so big!

Helping Mama make the cookie dough.

Chai Guy helps clean the floor when something falls down.

While we waited for the cookies to bake, we ate yummy macaroni and cheese and walked to the mailbox two times. Walking to the mailbox is still one of Sienna's favorite things to do!

Soon the cookies were baked, but Mama only let Sienna eat one cookie. We saved the rest for a very special treat.

After dinner tonight, Sienna had her first cup of hot cocoa with marshmallows and Mama and Sienna shared a big, fat chocolate chip cookie.

Sienna set up the napkins for us.

I think she's excited for our rainy day treat!

Her first drink of hot cocoa.

And a chocolate mustache, of course!

I think she may just hope for it to rain cats & dogs every day!

Now, it's off to finish watching Harry Potter with our little family. Mama and Daddy are gearing up for a special Harry Potter date ...

The Little Townhouse: A Cozy Kitchen & Dining Space

Welcome to our "little" townhouse kitchen and dining area.

Yes, the word little is in quotations, because it is a pretty small space. I think it is a very standard looking apartment. But, after coming from the little house, which had a rather large kitchen and dining area for the square footage this space does feel a tad bit tiny for my taste. Unfortunately due to the smallness, we won't be moving our refinished farmhouse harvest table into this apartment. We will be keeping our little dinette set until our next big moving adventure.

My favorite spot in the kitchen is the window over the sink. I love seeing nature from my window and hope to someday own a little house with many, many windows.

Our kitchen window.

A few months ago, Grandma Diane and Grandpa Paul bought us two very nice baskets for holding potatoes and onions from the garden. This one is actually the onion basket, but we are temporarily using it for potatoes since our kitchen is small. The potato basket is even bigger. When we have our own garden again, these will definitely be handy for storing our harvest.

Our potato basket.

The kitchen in the little townhouse.

A new kitchen rug and Chai Guy.

We have quite an extensive magnet collection. I don't think we even have all of our magnets on the refrigerator. This is one of Sienna's favorite things to do in the kitchen. She organizes the magnets, dresses her snowman, and gets a bag to pretend shopping for magnets.

Our magnet collection - Part #1.

Our magnet collection - Part #2.

Finally, we have our teeny tiny dining room. Our table and baker's rack fit just perfectly. Mama is still working on making a curtain for the stack washer/dryer, which is tucked inside a little closet to the right.

The dining room in the little townhouse.

And that completes the tour of the downstairs with the exception of a half bathroom. Our living room may be changing a bit after this weekend when we pick up another bookcase and linen cabinet that Mama found on craigslist for a very good price. Maybe it will help us get the upstairs (particularly Sienna's bedroom) organized. The current state of her bedroom is a hodgepodge of boxes.

So, the tour of the upstairs will begin sometime next week. I may pop in with a blog or two in the meantime though.

See you in a few days ...

Saturday Finds

Today was a day full of Saturday finds.

The first find of the day was a new brand of cat food for the kitties. For the past year or so, we've been buying Natural Life cat food. But, now that the Skagit Valley Food Co-op is not so convenient, we were on the hunt to find another (reasonably priced) natural cat food. Daddy found Taste of the Wild Rocky Mountain feline formula at Arlington Health Foods. It's made from roasted venison and smoked salmon. We'll see if they approve...

Find #1 - Taste of the Wild kitty food.

I *think* Chai Tea approves!

Our little family then ventured out to Silvana's Viking Hall for an indoor swap meet. We each found a treasure there! Sienna also came home with a new friend. His name is Nuts and he's a mini beanie baby squirrel. A nice gentleman at the hall let her pick a toy from a basket full of beanie babies.

Sienna showing off her little friend, Nuts.

Showing off her very cute outfit.

Onto our finds ...

Sienna is going through a ballerina phase right now and loves all things Angelina Ballerina. I think we'll be signing her up for ballet in a year or so ...

For Sienna ::

Find #2 - Angelina Ballerina's Dancing Game. ($2.00)

For David ::

Find #3 - A Men At Work tape for his work truck. ($1.00)

For Mama ::

Find #4 - A Matryoshka (nesting) style Santa ornament. ($0.25)

Afterward, we decided to continue our little adventure to a few other cute shops and thrift stores in downtown Arlington.

At one of the thrift stores we found Mama this snowman garland. It is so cute! We have quite a few snowman decorations for Christmas, so I think it will fit in just perfectly ...

For thesunflowercozy ::

Find #5 - Snowman garland. ($1.00)

So cute!

Overall, it was a pretty good day of (cheap) Saturday finds! Now, we can't wait to decorate the little townhouse for Christmas. It's just around the corner ...

The Little Townhouse: Our Cozy Living Space

One of my favorite rooms in a home is the "great room," which would ideally include the kitchen, dining room, and living room open to each other. I especially adore homes with a hearth as a heart of the home. One day, we will own our own little dream home.

But, for now ... unfortunately, the little townhouse has no hearth or heart of the home, but it does have a bunch of boxed off rooms that make it a little difficult to take photos due to the lack of natural lighting.

I did, however, try my best to capture the coziness of the little townhouse in our living space. So ... welcome to the little townhouse! Sienna and I will take you on a photo tour.

In the front door ::
Our entry way wall.

Next to the front door ::
The space where Mama hangs her keys and Chai Guy likes to sit in Sienna's rocking chair.

Living space window ::
Sienna's "houseplay" area.
In the baskets are seasonal books and her building blocks.

Living space ::
Across from Sienna's "houseplay" area ... the sitting area.

Nana and Mama will be making a slipcover this winter for the camel back sofa. We will do a little *sofa project* blog once we get started! Can you believe this sofa was actually made in the U.S.A.?

Oh, and we are looking for an antique style lampshade for that pole lamp.

Down the hallway ::
Sienna showing off our "cupboard under the stairs."
Is Harry Potter inside??

Our hall closet. Mama loves baskets!

Our calendar on the way into the kitchen.
Looks like we are ready for winter in the little townhouse ...

And finally, one of Sienna and Mama enjoying the playground last week. If this photo had been taken this week, Sienna would be wearing her winter coat! The winter weather has officially arrived in the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

Swinging.

Next time, we'll tour the kitchen and dining room. See you soon!

The Little Townhouse: Cozy Spots

A little over a year ago, when I first started our blog, I blogged a series about cozy spots in the little house.

I started with Sienna's play area and moved on through each room in our home. I think it really inspired me to get settled into the little house and get put things away a little more quickly.

So, I thought we'd carry on with the tradition in the little townhouse.

Of course, the two coziest spots have already been claimed by our furry friends ...

Chai Guy staking his claim on our little cabinet.

In a deep sleep ...

Merlin fast asleep on our farm blanket on the back of the couch.

And a close up of "the old guy."
(That's what Sienna calls him.)

Hopefully, in the next few days you'll get a peak at a little more of our new home. We are working hard on hanging pictures, putting things away and making this space "ours" for awhile.

See you in a few days ...