Home and Garden: Cork Floors

Hello All!

With getting ready to move apartments and I obviously do not get to fix up the new apartment like I might a house someday, it has put me in day dream mode. When I'm at the gym I like to watch the HGTV channel, home makeovers and such. I always seem to learn something. My lesson from a couple weeks ago was about cork floors. 

Now, for some reason I had never heard of cork flooring before then, probably because until this year I haven't really thought about the idea of creating/remaking a home, but now that I'm married and we're constantly talking about houses it's got me thinking about these different things. According to Dan McLeister's Article From Carpeting to Cork on HGTV's website,

Cork. Cork flooring has become very popular with environmentalists and designers alike. Cork can be harvested every nine years from the same tree—a much faster rate of renewal than waiting for a seedling to grow large enough to replace another. It's tough, too, according to BuildingGreen's Alex. "I have been in a home where a cork floor was installed in 1950 and was still in good condition. The cork floor is comfortable for walking and cushions sound."

When I was watching HGTV they were saying that cork is great for when you have animals and children because it does not beat up easily. I think it'd also be great in a space that has a lot of traffic, like the kitchen. When looking through HGTV's and Google Images pictures, I've seen them using cork in all sorts of rooms because you can purchase it in a variety of textures/looks. I definitely like the look of the cork mimicking wood that you can also purchase in a variety of colors/shades. 

homemadewebsite.com

Another thing that I like about the cork floor is that it is supposed to soften sound. I think that would be great in a kitchen when you're banging pans around, telling your dog or cat to get away from the trash can, "Kids please get out of the kitchen!", and your husbands large steal toed boots thunking through. :)

So, to wrap things up, I think it would be ideal to use cork in our home someday throughout the house (where ever that may be someday).

Now, I cannot end this blog without a big SHOUT OUT for the Indiana State University Sycamore Men's Basketball team playing today! Trees vs. Shockers! Go State Go!

I'll brag just a little bit, here is a photo from my senior year (my 4th trip to St. Louis with the band) when the men won the tournament. It was always an honor to play with an amazing group of musicians and sport lovers! Annnd if I say so myself, we were a pretty good look'n group! :)

Sycamore Basketball Band at Men's Tournament in St. Louis 2011
Picture from: Courtney Leonhardt

A Fun Weekend Back in Gwood

This weekend my husband and I traveled back down to Greenwood, IN where we both grew up to visit our friends and family. Cory enjoyed hanging out with his friend and brother reloading bullets and I got some girly time in with my friend Lindsey shopping at the mall. 

 A very exciting opportunity for my middle sister Cassie to study abroad for her major has finally happened! She left for Dortmund, Germany yesterday (Saturday) and made it safely. I really enjoyed my trip to Germany that I had posted about in my previous blog. I think she'll really love it! 

Cassandra and I the weekend before she left.

While Cassandra was up in the air, my Mother-in-law, Grandma-in-law and myself went to Rocklane Christian Church (where they are members) for a women's Coffee and Canvas night. It was a blast! As a music teacher I generally make fun of my lack of artistic ability when it comes to drawing, painting, etc... BUT, doing this was so relaxing and fun. The instructor gave us step by step instructions about what to do when. My friend Lindsey and I are planning to be a part of a Wine and Canvas during the summer and we're really looking forward to it!

My finished painting

Myself, Mother-in-law (Karen) and Grandma Mary Lou.

New Camera!

Hello Everyone!

Fun things have been going on. For once we finally had a full week of school with no delays or closings. That has been really rough this school year. 

Alas, from the title of this blog post today you are probably wondering about the new camera! Well here it is:

It is a Canon EOS Rebel T3 with the lens (with stabilizer) pictured. I'm hoping to get an even more fun lens here in the near future that has a lot more zoom capabilities, as well as, a stabilizer.

Here are some pictures from the first couple days of playing around with the camera and its functions. 

Here are a couple pictures of our family dog Copper. 

Now let's move on to some outdoor photos from when my husband when out last weekend when the temperatures were teasingly warmer.

Can you see the bullet casing flying?!

I think I'm going to love this camera!