Insta-Friday

It was a nice week here for us. Autumn is looming and we're grateful for the reprieve from the heat. There's a special boy a-growin' and that's always wonderful. Basement demo is almost completely done and we received a quote for the floors yesterday. We never thought we'd be so excited about flooring. Our basement will be fully refinished by the end of the year... but hopefully sooner. Doubtful, though, because the months of September and October have us traveling almost nonstop. We're not complaining. I've said it a lot lately, but clearly #firstworldproblems.

Last Friday I met 3 of my girlfriends and 3 of their kiddos at the local Arboretum (aka: coolest place in Illinois besides Chicago itself). I brought some sandwiches for our picnic. En route.

Smallest members of our crew. The B-man and his buddy (a much longer NICU babe born at 33 weeks), Aaron. They're 2 months apart and will likely be the best of friends... we're hoping! Because his parents are pretty cool peeps.

Picnic, minus the babies & Liz (photog) & half of Kirstin's head. And my face, apparently.

State of my husband's garage space last Friday. Post anything free on Craigslist or Freecycle at 10:30 p.m. and get 8 responses in 10 minutes. This was for a complete basement bar setup. The Wilsons just aren't bar-in-the-basement kind of people.

Also gone quickly: old recessed can lighting from the basement. We may replace some of these, but with a more eco-friendly option .

Benjamin channeling his inner chef. Watching the best of the best, Julia Child.

The bird-squaker himself.

I nearly fainted. Except, it's the oval and I realized I much prefer a round oven myself. I love me some Crate & Barrel Outlet.

On his half birthday, I broke out the cart cover. Because obviously no celebration is complete without a trip to Target.