A little blog redecorating

Since our new house is well underway, I thought it was time to spruce up the old blog a bit. If you're viewing this in a feed reader, click on over to see the changes.

The header represents our old house, the roost, and our new dream house. A little of where we came from and where we're going.  I hope you like it!

<3
Hattie

Just popping in...

To let you know that I've joined Pinterest.

And yes, it's just as addictive as you've heard. I've been pinning inspiration for cooking, sewing, decorating, and projects.

I'd love it if you followed me - that way I can follow you back and repin all your awesome ideas!

My summer to-create list is now miles long, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

<3
Hattie

2 year blogaversery

It's sort of hard to believe I've been doing this blogging thing for two whole years! I have to admit that I love every minute of it, even if the winter deep freeze seems to have frozen my creativity a bit as well. Spring is just around the corner with lots of fun project for me to blog about, so I'm super excited to see what my 3rd year at the roost will bring.

Let's take a nostalgic look back at the past year:

-37,930 of you visited me - can I just say, "crazy!"
- 174 of you "follow" me
- most of you hail from California, Texas, Florida, Georgia, and Virginia
-my Alice Dress tutorial was by far the most popular with over 12,000 page views!

So, what does the future hold?

- more sewing posts - I have drawers full of Goodwill finds waiting for a refashion.
-more furniture rehabs - with our dream house seeming more like a reality, I'm excited to hunt down and fix up some new furniture on the cheap.
-house idea posts - when you get to pick everything from the door knobs to the shingles, it calls for lots of brainstorming and feedback from blogland friends.
- crafty goodness - because I HAVE to make things. period. the end.

With that said, I'd love for you to throw in your own 2 cents.

- Who are you?
- What are your favorite kinds of posts?
- Anything you want to see more or less of around here?
-What are your favorite blogs? (I need lots of inspiration for the dream house!)
-Anything ya wanta know?

Thanks for being such awesome readers and sticking with me through my blog rut. YOU are the reason I've been able to keep this up for two year and still want to keep going!

<3
Hattie

Strut your stuff party

Have you ever thrown a party and waited and waited but no one showed? Let’s hope my latest brainstorm doesn’t turn out that way!


Here’s what I’m thinking – I’ve been posting a lot of “how-to’s” lately, and many of you have left comments or emailed me about how you plan to make your own versions.

Well, I wanna see what you’ve got! It’s time for you to strut your stuff, and show off your own (most likely improved!) versions of my silly creations.

Maybe you’ve made a pillow cover,

or your own faux metal letter.

I know a lot of you planned to make the Alice dress!

and this super easy shirred top,

Or something else from one of my other tutorials.

If you’ve made it - I’d love to see it!

So, how about next Wednesday night, June 30th, we all meet back here at the roost for a little strut your stuff party? I’ll put up a linky if you want to blog about your project, or you can just email me photos of your finished masterpiece if blogging isn’t your thing!

What’d ya say? Are you in?

(I hope so!)

<3
Hattie

A lil' about me and a lil' about you!

Last week Sophia from the Jagged Ideal was sweet enough to pass this blogging award on to me!

 

The rules are:

1. Thank the blogger who gave the award to you.

Thanks Sophia! Be sure to check out her super cute blog – she has a great sweater refashion and a fun spray painted vase project that I love!

2. Share seven things about yourself

- I never thought I would love refashioning clothes as much as I do. I’m always looking at old clothes and dreaming up new looks – A shirt refashion is coming this week!

- Trader Joe’s fresh mild salsa is one of my favorite things on this planet

- I hate roller coasters. As in HATE them. As in I would give up state secrets (if I knew any) rather than be hurled down a hill a lightening speeds.

- I love the scrambler. As in LOVE it! The best rides are at dinky county fairs when they run them at speeds that are probably not legal.

- The farmer who rents our fields cut his hay this weekend. It’s making me sneeze like crazy, but I still love how beautiful all the round bales look scattered across the cut fields.

- I drool over pretty paper – notepads, stationary, scrapbook paper, I love it all.

- If I had to choose between chocolate and tea and I would choose tea.

3. Pass the award along

 I have so many new readers, and readers I’ve never met. I would LOVE to know seven things about each of you. Silly, serious, or random – comment away! I'd really like to know you better!

<3
Hattie

Surprise!

It’s going to be a fun week here at the roost! Why? Because, a tank top dress tutorial, Alice in Wonderland party ideas, and a giveaway are all headed your way. That’s right I’m having another giveaway! When the great people at CSN Stores approached me about hosting a giveaway, I jumped at the chance. So, will it be bar furniture, cookware, modern home décor, or something else? Check back tomorrow to find out!


What were you up to this weekend?

<3
Hattie

Preview of coming attractions

I went on a project binge this weekend. Suddenly, I had all these ideas for things I wanted to make and accomplish, and I wanted to do them all right then and there.

For one thing, I took down almost all the art in our bedroom and created some new stuff.

You’ll being seeing some of this later this week.

Some of it you won’t see again until I create a gallery wall in our stairwell.

I spent a loooooooong time looking for just the right images and highly recommend both The Graphics Fairy and Vintage Printable.

I also spent a loooong time covering the shades of both lights in our bedroom. You’ll be seeing those tomorrow.

Then, I spent some time with paint. A lot of time, actually.

Just to top things off, I managed to get ideas for two dress refashions I want to make next weekend and a few more ideas for our bedroom, which is quickly becoming a total makeover project.

So that was my weekend: paint, spray adhesive, hot glue, paper, fabric, three kinds of scissors, pins, an iron, and only one tiny burn my finger.

How did you spend your weekend?

<3
Hattie

Newest addition to the roost

Meet Tobi, our new laptop.

When I got home from work Friday afternoon, I had no idea Brad and I would have a new laptop by Monday night. Our two-year-old hp worked just fine Friday morning, but when I attempted to boot it up after work, I was greeted with a quick flash of the power button and a whole lot of nothing. It simply would not turn on. We tried a million different things, but nothing worked. Sunday afternoon, we decided to take it to Geek Squad to see if it could be fixed. The short answer is, “no.” You know you’re in trouble when the Geek Squad guy looks your laptop over and mutters, “Oh. That’s not good.” It seems our motherboard was fried. I have no idea what caused this, but apparently, it just happens sometimes. So, we had to make a fairly quick decision on what kind of replacement laptop to buy. After a recommendation from my sister (via her computer teacher), a quick look at Consumer Reports, some bad experiences with dell and hp (and no desire to repeat them!), and the lack of funding for a mac, we decided to go with Toshiba.

 So far, so good! I’m just excited to be back in blogland – it was a bummer to be without a laptop. Yes, even for three day. What can I say? I’m addicted devoted.

Any Toshiba fans out there? This is the first we’ve ever owned.

<3
Hattie

Thanks for the love!

My lovely twin soul, Tracy, was nice enough to pass this blogging award on to me.

Here are the rules:

1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the award & place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
4. Share 5 interesting things about yourself.
5.Nominate 7 bloggers and let them know on their blog.

Thanks Tracy! It was so sweet of you to think of me. I love reading your creative and inspiring blog because it makes me feel like I’m a part of your everyday life, even though I don’t get to see you that often.

Oh, and also, I’m totally copying you and relating all of my interesting facts to home décor!

Here we go!

1. I hate shoes. To be more accurate, I love looking at shoes, but I hate wearing them. As a kid, I went around barefoot most of the time. The goal was always to have thick enough calluses to run over the gravel driveway by the end of summer. I still kick my shoes off the second I enter the house. I think that’s why I love earthy, natural floor coverings.

I love to feel wood and sisal and jute under my feet. It’s like being transported back to all those long, barefoot summers. No carpet for this girl!

2. I could happily lounge on a blanket and stare at this sky for hours.

I’m a total country girl. I think I’ve unconsciously tried to recreate the vibe of endless sky and rolling fields inside the roost.

So many of my little vignettes have been shades of blue, green, and cream!

3. As much as I love the spare, modern cottage look, it’s just not for me. I am collector. I tend to accumulate like items without even knowing it. It was cows and colored bottles as a teenager and now it's retro kitchen items and paint by number art.

Is it any wonder I also have a secret yearning to start a vintage door knob collection?

4. I think I have a twinge of seasonal affectedness disorder. I always get a little case of the winter blues. One sure tonic is a bright bouquet of early spring flowers.

Seriously, those blooms are as good as medicine. So, I hope you’re not tired of my gratuitous flower posts, because they probably won’t end until all traces of snow have been banished.

5. It’s no secret I love books – it’s part of the Librarian code or something. I don’t just love reading them, however. I love how they look and smell and feel.

They are my favorite decorating accessory. I think books add so much texture, personality, and hominess to any corner of a house.

In lue of passing this award along to a specific group of blogs, I’d like to pass it on to all of you, in the hopes that you’ll let me in on an interesting fact about you. So do tell, how does your personality show up in your decorating preferences? I’m super curious!

<3
Hattie

Beach Dreaming

Hello, snow day number 6! I know you are used to me complaining about snow, but this morning I’m going to take the more hopeful approach of dreaming about warm sand, sparkling water, and gorgeous coastal décor. To dream your own beachy dreams, head over to A Beach Cottage, where Sarah is giving away subscriptions to Coastal Living magazine to three lucky readers.


Good luck!

<3
Hattie

Ohhh, and for fun (and to keep me warm!) let me know your favorite beach town. I might just need to plan a trip!

Drumroll please!

And the winner is…..

A lovely lady who selected this pillow….

And wrote the eighth comment on the giveaway post….

Congrats Megan!

Please email me with your mailing address!

And, I just have to say one more time how thankful I am for each of you. It amazes me that people take the time to read my little blog! I get so excited every time I have a new comment or email from a sweet reader. Y’all constantly make my day!

<3
Hattie

One Year Giveaway

It’s officially my one year blogiversary! If you haven’t introduced yourself, please do! I’m loving getting to know all of you a bit more.

To celebrate this momentous (well, to me) occasion, I’m having another giveaway! One of you will win your choice of pillow cover (fits 11x11 to 12x12 pillow)

EDIT:: I'm so glad BJ reminded me that I forgot to post an end date! I will let random.org choose the winner on Thursday (1/28) at 7:00 PM.  So check back tomorrow night to see if you're the lucky winner!

You can choose ruffles

A lovely bike diagram

Or a fun vintage bike advertisement. Your pillow cover may be slightly different than these, as I'll be making it from scratch, but it will be very similar.

To win, comment below with your favorite choice. If you follow me or subscribe through a feed reader, you can earn another entry by commenting again and letting me know. You can earn a third entry by blogging about this giveaway and leaving a comment with the link to your blog post. Make sure you leave one comment per method so all your chances will be counted! I’m sorry, but I can only send to US address.

Thanks so much for reading this blog, leaving such kind and encouraging comments, and sharing your own great ideas with the blog world! I think this has been the most creative year of my life, and I’m so excited to begin the next!

<3
Hattie

Getting to know you...

Hello, lovely readers! Today’s post is all about you. Let’s start with what I know about you. 13,447 of you have visited me this year. I can’t even tell you how that number blows my mind! 80 of you read Little Red Roost through Google Reader and 56 of you follow me. You have visited me from all over the world, including places like Croatia and Bulgaria. To be honest, I don’t think I could locate Croatia or Bulgaria on a map, although I have trouble reading the “you are here” maps in malls, so that’s not really saying much. Most of my visits come from the USA with Texas (Howdy!), Virginia (Hey Y’all!), and Georgia (Hi, Aunt Kathy!) ranking top 3.


So that’s all I know about y’all numerically speaking. What I really want to know are all those juicy personal details. So, I’m calling all you lurkers (yes, you!) to tell me a little bit about what makes you tick.

I wanna know:

-Who are you?
-How many candles were on your last cake?
-Where do you call home?
-What do you do?
-Do you blog? Plug away!
-What’s your most favorite thing in the whole world?
-What should I know about you?
-What do you like best about this blog?
-What do you want to see more of on this blog?
-And anything else you’d like to say. . .

I am really ridiculously excited to meet you!

<3
Hattie

blogging flashback - favorite posts

Monday will be the one year blogiversary of Little Red Roost! When I read through my archived posts, I have two reactions:

1. I cringe in painful embarrassment at how awful my early pictures were – nobody told me to turn the flash off!

2. I can’t really believe how many projects I actually accomplished in one year. Let me tell you, trying to think of things to blog about is a great motivator for getting stuff done! So thank you for getting my butt off the couch!

Today, I thought it would be fun (at least for me!) to take a look back at a few of my favorite posts.

1. Favorite post so far: On Being a Homemaker
This has nothing to do with making/sewing/painting/DIYing anything – but it’s very true to me. I think I need to re-read this every month just to keep my priorities straight!

2. Favorite project: Bench Pressed Resolved
I love that my Dad and Brad redid the bathroom. I love that we painted all our thrifted and hand-me-down kitchen furniture a lovely heirloom white. But this little bench just warms my silly DIY heart. It was so out of my “I will paint every last stick of furniture white until you pry this paint brush from my tiny fingers” comfort zone. It’s kind of whimsical and dare I say, trendy, with the fun mod podged numbers.

2. Favorite posts that no one read – ok, like 15 people read. Junk Philosophy 1, 2, and 3.
According to my Google Analytic stats, these posts are waaaaay down on the list of most viewed posts. I had so much fun putting my decorating mojo into words, and it was worth it to me to spend some time defining my personal style. Still, I think these posts, especially #3 are pretty darn funny (or psychotic, depending on how you look at it) so maybe they’ll get rediscovered.

Tomorrow I’ll post a little run down of my most popular posts, at least according to your comments and my analytics stats. Have a favorite? Do tell!

And thanks to all of you who read my crazy rambling and put up with my less than superior photography skills- it pretty much blows my mind that I have actual readers!

<3
Hattie

New Loves

I found two (new to me) lovely blogs that I just had to share with you! I mostly read home décor blogs for fun and library blogs for work, but these two ladies blog mostly about sewing. Now, if you don’t sew, never fear, spend a few minutes on either of these blogs and you will be dying to learn how.

Disney blogs at Ruffles and Stuff. She makes amazing jewelry from vintage items. She also refashions clothes for her daughter and herself. When I found her blog over Christmas break, I was so inspired by all of her ideas that I spent an evening reading every single one of her posts!

My dream is to sew as well and as creatively as Alexis at My Mama Made it. She refashions and sews from scratch. Her dresses and t-shirts are amazing! I don’t know if I’ll ever be brave enough to tackle half of her projects, but the eye candy is certainly inspiring!
So, if you sew or want to sew or just like gazing at beautiful clothes, you will love these blogs as much as I do! Enjoy!

<3
Hattie

New Year, New Goals

Happy New Year’s Eve! Today I am resolved to take down the Christmas decorations (even though traditions dictates this should not be done until New Year’s Day – what can I say? I’m such a rebel!) and reflect on some goals I’d like to accomplish in 2010. I’m not big on making resolutions, because keeping them hasn’t exactly worked out for me in the past, but I do like to stop every now and then and set some goals. So, in no particular order, here are a few of the things I’d like to accomplish in the coming year:

1. Re-organize the bookshelves. My very first blog post ever focused on reorganizing the shelves by grouping books by size. During the summer I added to this by making newspaper baskets to hold all our DVDs. But when I look at the shelves, they still bug me. They look more busy and cluttered than I’d like. So, one of the first things I’d like to do in the new year is tackle these shelves once again!

2. De-clutter the counter top and the office/craft room. I really have no idea how to accomplish the counter top clean up. I’ve already removed little used gadgets like the coffee grinder and can opener. Still, it feels like the counter top looks more like an appliance and jar police line up than a pleasant workspace. Any suggestions would be great! Just don’t ask me to store anything else in a cabinet, because it’s already more congested behind those doors than 95 on the day before Thanksgiving!

3. Save like insane people for our future house. I’d really like our dream house to be perched behind us in this picture. Unfortunately, while the low interest rates make it a great time to buy a house, they also make it a rough time to save money to build a house. Our “high interest” savings account has plummeted so much that pretty soon they will be making us pay them to hold our money. We really need wisdom in this area as we try to make the best financial decisions and have patience.

4. Have more people over. I really enjoy playing hostess. I like cooking, and setting the table, and fun game nights with friends, but we only had a couple of people over for dinner all of last year. To be perfectly honest, this is mostly because Brad and I have really struggled to find friends our age in our area. After college, most of our close friends scattered all over the state, and only a handful of people we know actually live within 30 minutes of our home. We would really like to meet other couples who think it is fun to discuss cabinet hardware and paint swatches, and enjoy competitive games of Apples to Apples, and would rather have dinner at someone’s home than go out on the town.

5. Learn to sew and complete a big project. I think my ultimate goal is to become a confidant seamstress and make a slipcover for our plaid sofa. I’ve had the slipcover tutorial from Pink and Polka Dot bookmarked for a year! Now that I have a machine, I hope to actually tackle this sucker.

6. Make fancy cupcakes. My mom gave me a Wilton kit for making filled cupcakes with swirly icing, so I’m hoping to make the ultimate cupcake.

Ok, that’s enough for now! I’m sure I’ll think of many more things to add to my list as the year goes on. How about you? Any big resolutions or goals for 2010? Do tell!

<3
Hattie

Girl Talk

Can I have an honest little chat with you? Today I received a hurtful comment on my fashion post. Although I don’t agree with most of what the comment stated, I do agree that my last fashion post was not my best. Note: This post has been removed as I really don’t have positive feelings about it anymore. I wasn’t crazy about the outfit when I posted it, but I didn’t post on Friday last week, and I didn’t want to go two weeks without a fashion post. When I started Fresh Fashion Friday, it was a challenge to myself. I wanted to see how creative I could get with the clothing already in my closet. It was a challenge about having fresh eyes, saving money, and bringing a little excitement to getting dressed in the morning. Lately, the challenge has felt more like a chore. For almost a month the weather has alternated between rainy, muddy, and freezing – Not exactly inspiring or conducive to good picture taking. Add to this the fact that it is almost dark by the time I get home from work every day, and you can see why fashion has not been the first thing on my mind.
Based on all of this, I’ve decided that Fresh Fashion Friday is not necessarily going to be a recurring feature on this blog. If I happen to wear an outfit I really like on a day that is wonderful for taking pictures, then I will try to post about it, but I’m not going to rack my brain for a cute outfit when I really just want to wear sweats, and I’m not going to take pictures when the weather and the light are stacked against them turning out well – I’m just not that good at Photoshop!

If I do post about fashion again, I just want to let you know that I’m not claiming to have any professional style knowledge. I wear clothes I like that make me feel comfortable. During the school year I’m likely to post mainly work outfits, which means that the school dress code, not the Paris runway, dictates things such as the length of my skirts. I certainly never meant to suggest that I know anymore about fashion than any other plain Jane. My fashion posts were merely meant as another way for me to express my creativity (as lacking as it can be!) and hopefully encourage you to take a more creative look at your closet as well, before running to the mall.

I’m sorry I had to write this post, but I didn’t want to remove a comment and my post from Friday without any explanation. Since starting Little Red Roost nearly a year ago, I’ve found the blog world to be incredibly encouraging, inspiring, and therapeutic. I have loved every second of the experience until today. One comment is certainly not going to keep me from blogging in the future, but it has made me a little wary. I started this blog for fun, as a way to encourage myself to write and create regularly. I sincerely hope that it never stops being fun! Thanks so much to all of you who read my ramblings and encourage me. I still find it amazing that people would take the time to see what I’m up to and I really do love reading you comments!

Whew! Now that I got that off my chest, I hope you all have a lovely weekend!

<3
Hattie

Fall Rewind

Back in August I set some goals for fall. Since the Christmas season starts this Friday, let's look back and see how I did!
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My List:


1.enjoy apples

I didn’t get to go apple picking, but I certainly have eaten plenty of apples this fall. I also made some delicious caramel apple cider and a simple apple center piece.

2. try new recipes

Fall definitely makes me want to cook! I made some yummy pumpkin bars, roast potatoes, and baked tilapia.

3. go camping

So the whole camping thing was a fail. I blame this on crazy schedules and many, many rainy weekends in a row. We did manage to meet up with college friends in Williamsburg and visit Maymont.

4. go to the Homegoods grand opening

Brad and I and half of Richmond showed up for the grand opening. We had fun exploring the new store and even came home with a few deals. I can’t wait to see the day after Christmas sales at this store!

5. Create new fall décor

This one went pretty well! I made:
- two different sets of bird art in twig frames because I am ADD creative.
- some fun fish bowl vignettes which also featured birds because I am obsessive in tune to décor trends.
- a campy/retro Halloween banner
- a fun pine cone wreath (stay tuned for a winter update to this wreath later in the week!)
- and my favorite fall project by far turned out to be the faux mercury glass pumpkins

6. celebrate sweater weather by wearing sweaters

Let’s see ... how many of my Fresh Fashion Friday posts have involved sweaters?
One
Two
Three
Four

7. read new YA books
I’ve only read through a few of our new books, so I have some catching up to do over winter break. It seems I’ve been reading more blog than books lately. However, I did read through an entire book on Friday! If you like thrillers, family dramas, and smart teens, check out If the Witness Lied by Caroline B. Cooney.

8. See Where the Wild Things Are
Brad and I went to see this opening weekend. I love it! I posted my full review here.
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Well, fall turned out to be wonderful here at the roost! Here's hoping for a Christmas season full of just as much fun, creativity, and love! What are your favorite moments from this fall? If you blogged about any of them, please share the link with me :-) I love to see what y'all are up to!

<3
Hattie

New Blog Crush

Don't you just love it when you find a new blog that knocks your socks off? Bonus points if the blog features a house you'd like to move into ASAP. A few weeks ago I found A Beach cottage via Kimba's DIY Day.




If you love the cottage look, or the beach house look, or the layers of textured white look, you will love this blog. If you love all three of these things, you may spend several hours looking through every single post. Just promise you'll come back and visit me too! 'K ?

<3
Hattie

p.s. please share your own blog crushes, I love to find new fun sites to visit!

What I did on my summer vacation.

Way back in May, I made a list of goals for my summer vacation. Although my students still have two more weeks before school starts, Librarians head back to work today. So, it's time for me to take a look see back at the list and see how I did!
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1. Do something about the bathroom - (Grade: A+ ) Our tiny little bathroom is looking so much better with a new sink skirt, freshly painted light fixtures, white bead board wainscoting, and a mirror re-do. I'll post pictures this week of the new look!




2. Put my feet in the ocean - (Fail) We did make it to Chesapeake for a lovely weekend with our friends Tracy and Tim, but the weather was not ocean worthy. However, my favorite part of the beach is just walking along the shore, so this one could still happen in the fall.





3. Paint stuff - ( Grade: A) Let's see, I now have a green bench, a black tray, two blue trays, a white cabinet, a white trunk, and brushed nickle light fixtures. Not too shabby! I didn't get around to the two bookshelves, but that might be a project for spring break.





4. Do very Richmond-y things, especially free and cheap Richmond-y things - Summer calls for picnics at Maymont (Fail), window shopping in Cary Town (A), movies at the Byrd (A+ we saw 3), and at least one outdoor concert (Fail). I also want to try some new things like the ghost walk, check out the addition at the VA Museum, and finally use my free teacher membership at the Science Museum (Fail on all three) Extra credit: We had shakes at Galaxy Diner and went to the Watermelon Festival.



5. Blog more regularly (A+) and start a book (Fail) - I think I did so well on the blogging that I'm not too sad about the lack of any progress whatsoever on a book.



6. Generally make good use of the time and money - this includes not sleeping half the day (A-), actually accomplishing something each day (A), volunteering (Vacation Bible School here we come) (A), saving money (A+ we are now debt free!), getting more in shape/less pear-like/able to use more than the ten pound resistance band/actually use the resistance bands/not leave resistance bands in sloppy pile behind the bedroom door, and not spending money on exercise equipment that will end up in a sloppy pile behind the bedroom door (Fail) - Not too bad overall. Brad and I ate out and went to the mall way less than last summer. In fact, I don't think I bought a single clothing item, except for a few things at Goodwill and a sweater (bought with a gift card) from h&m. I feel like I got a ton of projects done around the house, read more than half of the book review books I took home, tried some new recipes, and spent time with family and friends. I didn't pick up any exercise equipment for most of the summer, but my pants still fit and I ate plenty of fresh fruit and veggies, so I'm OK with that.
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Overall, I feel like I was blessed with one of the best summers I've had in a long time!


<3
Hattie



P.S. Thanks for your support about our ant problem. A little raid and some traps seems to have sent them packing! We had a very nice cook in (we got around 3 inches of rain on Saturday!) with some college friends.