We Went to the Beach!

So, I haven't learned to sew yet (see my last post) but I did go to the beach!

Worker Bee. Baby Bee, Sewing Bee, and I all went to Morro Bay for a few days!

We stayed in a friend's little cottage about 1 1/2 blocks from the beach.  Did I remember to take any pictures of this sweet little place?  Nooooo!  I even told everyone I've got to take a picture, but...... I forgot.  Well.....that's what vacations are for, right?

Well, let's see we read, played in the ocean, hung out, and went out for many nice dinners.  

This is Morro Rock - the Gibraltar of the Pacific.

One morning on the beach we saw several sailboats.

The sandpipers were fascinating to watch.

Hmmmm.......what kind of sea creatures are those?

Oh!  That's Worker Bee and Baby Bee playing in the waves.  I think their scientific names are Apis Negotium and Apis  Infans.

I even took a little video of Morro Bay.  

On our way home we buzzed into the cutest and best smelling little cookie bakery.

Have you ever heard of the Brown Butter Cookie Company?

One of my friends goes to the beach often and always stops here and brings back such delectable cookies.  It's just the right combination of sweet and salty.

You can even order these little treats online.

Thank you for coming along with us on our little jaunt to the sea.

Now I can't wait to go back again!

And thank you for buzzing by!  I'm back just in time to work on more projects!  Oh buzzzzzz!

The Sewing Bee's Cottage

My mom, the Sewing Bee, has been remodeling my grandparents house for the past few months - with the help of a wonderful contractor.  The new house is much smaller  (my dad passed away about three years ago) and just the perfect size for her.  My mom and dad owned it as a rental house so it was in need of a lot of TLC.  

Well, it was finally finished (at least the interior) this week.  (of course, it was the week we all started back to school - not the best of timing, but that's okay) I knew you would love to see it.  It is so cozy and cottagey and sweet and so like my mom.  

She completely gutted the kitchen...

New beadboard cabinets...

New stove and microwave.  The whole microwave area used to be a tiny coat closet with the door facing the hall, but mom had her contractor knock that closet out to give her more storage in the kitchen.

She used beautiful green glass subway tile for the backsplash.  I did lots of shopping with her and she fell in love with that when we saw it.  My pictures do not do it justice.  

The counters are silestone.  I personally just LOVE the contrast of the white cabinets, the black counters, and the sparkly green backsplash.

The kitchen has about 2 more linear feet thanks to extending the cabinets from what they were.  Her flooring is a laminate and she knows there is a risk there, but it's just her, so she thinks she'll be able to take good care of it.

She also gutted the bathroom...

I need to get more pictures because there were still a few details that weren't done when I took these shots.

And she wallpapered her bedroom.

It's a buttery soft yellow with gorgeous flowers in shades of jade, soft blue, and a rosy coral color.  She plans to get a white iron bed for the room.  Do you see the new closet doors?  Aren't they cottage perfect?  She replaced all the doors in the entire house - interior and exterior. 

So, we already have several projects lined up for her new little cottage.  

We have furniture to paint, curtains to make, slipcovers to sew, and vignettes to arrange.  

I'm so glad I have some where new to play!  

As we get her moved in, I'll show you some more of the details that make this little cottage just perfect for her.  

Now we just need to come up with a name for her new home.  

Jade Cottage, maybe?  

Do you have any ideas?

Thank you so much for buzzing by!  Oh, and I'm making yummy iced mochas to celebrate my mom's move.  C'mon over and join us!

And the before's were so bad, I put them at the end!  

Oh so drab and dreary...

Yellow tile counters were sunny about 50 years ago - not so much now.

This was just disgusting.  

Doors were pretty boring.

Of course, I'm sharing this metamorphosis over at Susan's.  This is one of the best I've ever been a part of!

Just a Quick Visit from the Grind Stone.....

Yep! My nose is definitely to the grind stone.

All are well here at Sweet Bee Cottage, but May is a crazy month.  Crazy I tell you.  Crazy!

Over the past week or so I have:

1.  Taken Baby Bee to the doctor and she is splint free!  Her broken wing has healed quite nicely.  So now she can start swim practice for the summer rec league.  Her big end of the year dance recital is coming up in about three weeks and her piano recital is in about two weeks.  Honestly, how do parents with lots of kids get everybody to where they need to be?  This is Baby Bee's current Tuesday schedule:  5-6 PM dance class, 6:15-6:45 piano lessons, 7-8 swim practice.  I don't know if we'll be able to keep the pace up.  

last year's recital

2.  Held Open House at my school.  One of my favorite third grade standards is learning about our patriotic symbols, so we write reports on the Liberty Bell, the Statue of Liberty, the U.S. Flag, the Star Spangled Banner, the Pledge of Allegiance, and the Bald Eagle.  We then make small groups to create a special project for each of these symbols.  

a couple of my students working on their Bald Eagle

3.  Went to an estate sale and picked up a few things to sell on my etsy shop.  Do you know how long it takes for me to get a listing up on etsy?  It usually takes about 15 minutes for me to enter all the computer information and before that about 10-15 minutes to take photos and record measurements and weight.  Good thing I think it's fun.  I think etsy might be my new obsession.  Shhhhh......don't tell Worker Bee.

not listed yet, but will be soon

4.  And finally, I have been giving Sewing Bee lots of advice on her new house.  Most of it has been asked for, but some advice I have just volunteered of my own volition.  Apparently I have a very opinionated side.  Who knew?  (Well Worker Bee knew and Baby Bee knew and Wood Bee and Sewing Bee and Singing Bee and More Creative Bee and I could go on and on I'm afraid.)

kitchen before - classic 1955

kitchen during

bathroom before - ewwwww gross

bathroom during - even more gross

Mom is gutting the bathroom and kitchen of her new little house and it is going to be so CUTE and cottagey when it is finished.  I have some before pictures and some just getting started pictures.  Can't wait to show you after pictures, but that's a few weeks off.

So thank you all for checking in on me and the Sweet Bees.  I can't wait for summer vacation and the chance to fluff things up around here.  

We'll sit back then and visit and sip on Blackberry Lemonade.