Home From Ohio

Well, I had 8 wonderful days in Ohio, enjoying Caitlin and Holli and the cool weather there.  And we had a surprise too.  Robby, who was in Kansas on a hunting trip, shot his deer on day one and instead of going home to be alone for the week, joined us in Ohio!

This trip was just what I needed.  The weather was cool, I slept in a bit, spent lazy mornings sipping coffee with Holli by my side and just generally relaxed.  That's not to say we didn't go anywhere or do anything but we certainly didn't have anything scheduled to do all week...and I think that's important for people to take advantage of every now and then.

So...what DID we do??  Here's a little recap of my trip in photos...

 We visited this store called, "Ollie's".  It has EVERYTHING from food to home goods to toys...and, as you can see, BOOKS!  OH...and it's all at discounted prices!

                 And yes...there were quite a few books bought for Christmas presents here.

 And when Holli got a bit bored, we slipped over to the food section and got her a bag of cheese puffs to make the shopping more enjoyable.

  

   And the next day, after picking Poppi up from the airport, we headed over to the Cleveland Zoo.

                                                           Where we rode the carousel...

                                       Enjoyed being outside in the crisp autumn temperatures...

   And took a walk through the rain forest, the only area of the zoo open during the winter months.

 And then one day we headed over to Home Depot to get supplies to help Caitlin on her "Pinterest Playroom Project".

   As you can see, Caitlin is showing her dad what all she has in mind for this "little" project of hers.

 Since their basement is huge and finished out with a bathroom AND winter is coming soon (which means no more playing outside because of the snow), Caitlin decided to make one corner a playroom for Holli.  She made and cut out those big, gold polka dots you see on one wall.  She and her dad are putting up a bookshelf that Kevin built and she painted.  This is going to be the reading area.  Also to come will be a canopy with pillows to lounge on.

                     Here is the sign that will go in the area where Holli's kitchen will be placed.

       These tissue flowers will hang above the cooking area, along with a precious little chandelier.

 That little pink table will be the "Tea Party Table" for the kitchen area.  Just before I left, we found 2 small stools that Caitlin is painting pale gray to go with it.  The flower decorated "H" will hang somewhere in the play area as well.

 I purchased this little vintage styled kitchen as part of Holli's Christmas present since I found it with free shipping online.  They would not be able to take it home after Christmas without paying to have it shipped to Ohio so I told them to go ahead and put it up and let her begin enjoying it.

 Poppi made this little table and bench.  They were both being painted a pale gray when I left, with the exception of the table top, which was being painted with black chalkboard paint so that Holli can "create" on this little table!

 Poppi painted that back corner for the kitchen to sit in.  He also put down some wood style vinyl flooring before he left.  I will definitely be posting the "finished" photos of this cute little "Pinterest Inspired Playroom!"

        One day we went to the big mall, where I taught Holli the fine art of shopping at Saks!

 And then Saturday morning we all headed out to a couple of fresh markets.  The first one was in the country, closer to where Caitlin lives.

 The other one was in Crocker Park, one of my favorite little shopping areas in Avon Lake.  They have this market every Saturday morning and I have been wanting to visit it for quite some time.

 Sunday, we went to church with Caitlin and, as usual, the service was wonderful.  The entire parking lot is covered with these gorgeous trees and I just had to snap a photo as we were leaving.

                                           We had so much fun with this sweet baby girl...

                                              And sure hated to say good-bye yesterday.

And now that I am home, it is "back to reality".  I'm heading out to the gym for my work-out (hope it doesn't kill me after 8 days!) this morning and then on to the hair salon (gotta wash that gray right outta my hair) and finally to the neighboring town to pick up my 3 dogs from the vet (where they have been boarding and probably think I have deserted them).  So glad I got to kick back for a while because I'm about to hit the ground running!