Christmas Festivities!

I hope you had a very Merry Christmas! We started off Christmas Eve working a half day at work. When I got home Chris was already there so we exchanged our gifts. I was a very spoiled person this year! Thank you Santa!!!! Afterwards we went to Church service for the Christmas message and then we headed over to Chris's sisters house for Christmas Eve dinner. It was a very lovely night. The pictures below are from dinner. I did not take any pictures on Christmas unfortunately. It happened so fast and it went by so quickly but we celebrated at Chris's parents house. We had brunch and exchanged gifts and just hung around and chatted and munched on food. It now feels weird being back at work on a Thursday! 

Look at all these cutie pies =) I spy an Elle photobombing the picture!! 

Christmas 2013

 So we put up our Christmas Tree (Red and Gold this year) and its a fake, but I still love it. Jack and Charlie are really working out together. Jack is becoming more and more social and personable and loving every day. They adore each other. We had our first major snow storm and we got about 4-5 inches of soft snow. I also added to my chalk wall a "O Holy Night" Christmas tree. I think it turned out pretty good for being free hand.

8 days till Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Halloween Recap!

A little summary of how our Halloween was. We had about 70 kids show up. We also won a participation award from our neighborhood for carving pumpkins and setting them outside. We watched Harry Potter while drinking Spiced Apple Cider. and every time the doorbell rang I would dash to the door in my Witches Hat. Good times! I can't wait till next year.

New Addition to the Family + Exciting News

This is Jack, the newest addition to our family. He is a Shiba Inu Pup and is about 8 months old. So far he gets along pretty well with Charlie. He sit and lays down on command. No accidents yet. This just might work out! In this picture he looks rather large BUT he is actually really small. They get to be about 25lbs. Currently Jack is around 16lbs and very well mannered.

My next exciting news is ............................................I got accepted into Webster University. I will be a transfer student and will be working on my Bachelors in Legal Studies. I am so excited that it almost does not feel real. Webster is a Private University out here in St. Louis. It is a very well respected school and I am actually surprised I got in. I applied with the impression that my A.A. would not transfer and that I was not up to their standards scholarly wise. I am very blessed and thankful that I was accepted. I can't wait to go school supply shopping!!!!!!!

Spooky Chalk Art

I painted one of the walls in my nook with Chalk Paint and I am in LOVE with it!!!! Lots of Halloween drawings and sketches.

More House Updates

I never posted a picture of what our kitchen looks like now after painting all the cabinets. As you can tell the top cabinets are a much brighter white. The wall is a more soft white and the bottom cabinets are now black. Before the wall was light brown and the cabinets were all a off white/cream color.

I also do not think I ever posted a picture of our new dinning room light fixture. The one that was an absolute pain to install because it was so heavy.  Its from Pottery Barn. It was a floor model because they were discontinuing the style. We ended up getting it at a fraction of the price. We also put in a new and bigger medallion. The one before was a 10 inch and the one now is a 16 inch. The chairs we got from Restoration Hardware. They are the Madeline Cafe Chairs. They were a nightmare to get because the shipping was all wrong and we sent some back and some were broken and some got lost. Lets just say it took a month to finally get all the chairs.                                                                                              
                                                                                                                       

Pumpkin Patching!

October 6th felt like the official day into Fall. It was chilly and cloudy and perfect for .......going to the PUMPKIN PATCH!!!

We enjoyed Hot Apple Cider and Popcorn balls! So many pumpkins and fall festivities to look at. We walked away with 3 mini baby pumpkins! Also I finally drew my first Chalk art on my Chalk wall.

I can't wait for my Fall Fun!!

September Recap and Welcoming October!

Happy October!!!! 

Here is a recap of what we did in September!
Chris had a birthday this month!! Here is my attempt at a Beautiful Pinterest inspired Birthday Cake.....Pinterest fail! Nonetheless the cake was still really good and Chris mostly cared about the thought of of a semi-homemade cake.

Chris chose Katie's Pizzeria for his birthday dinner.
It was seriously the most perfect night ever as far as weather goes. The pizza of course was also to die for. Please have Katie's Pizza before you die. You will thank me in heaven!

We took Charlie through the Loop for the first time. I have been taking him on longer walks and on different
routes so he can come out of his bubble. He still has a bit of puppy anxiety. So the Loop really put him on edge with the amount of chaos going on. He was a trooper though.

I finally had my very first adult party at my house. I have not had any kind of function at the house since moving in. First because the house was never presentable enough, second I have never thrown a party or hosted anything before on my own. lastly, the house was never presentable enough. So something possessed me to host Chris's birthday party at our house on Sunday. If you really want something to motivate you to get things done, schedule a party at your house with a 3 day window to get your crap together. I accomplished more in 3 days than I would have in a month and only because I was motivated. I painted a chalk wall in the nook. I finished painting the kitchen cabinets.I scrubbed the house from top to bottom and even washed the windows. Unfortunately I did not take any birthday pictures, but I did take pictures of some of my new Pumpkin decorations. I even received a pretty centerpiece from Chris's sister.

To kick off the beginning of October we went to a Sigur Ros concert last night. If you do not know who they are I suggest you Spotify them NOW!!! The venue was so fitting for them too since it was at the beautiful Fox Theater. I swear it was like heaven. Here are a few pictures from last night.

Best concert of 2013 so far!

Finally a new light fixture

Our foyer entrance light fixture was an eye sore the moment I saw it before we bought the house. Its dated and GOLD and old. I never understood why the previous owners did not replace it because it did not go with their decor at all. The second worst thing about the fixture besides the aesthetics of it, was that it put out poor light. It was not bright and pretty at all.

Look how ugly this thing looks. Its was so dingy and bad in every way, shape and form. We replaced it with this beauty. I apologize that the images are sideways. They are uploading sideways. This new fixture is from Pottery Barn and we got it at a steal at more than 50% off because it was a floor model and because it was missing a few crystals. I do not mind the missing crystals. I can't tell unless I stare at it long enough to notice there are missing crystals.

It is so much brighter and really makes the foyer feel more welcoming. The picture above is taken during the day time and the picture below is at night. 

Current Favorites

1. Yoga. 

I took up yoga a few months ago and immediately fell in love with it. I have been taking Vinyasa style yoga which is  fast paced and all the movements flow and are synchronized to your breath. I always feel really good after every class and I can tell a difference in my posture and the way I function when I take a class compared to when I do not take a class. I would love to take it more frequently during the week but something always comes up and I only manage to find time on the weekend. I will try to go at least 2-3 a week in the next few months.










My preferred yoga mat thanks to the awesome Chris.  PrAna Yoga Mat




2. Tea

I have always been a fan of tea. We grew up having it for breakfast every morning. I kind of fell off the tea train and started drinking more coffee. Although I love coffee and all its glory for perking me up in the morning, I love tea more. I started having a cup of tea in the morning and a cup at night. I try to have one at work in lieu of coffee but I have not managed to stick with it. 2 cups a day is better than none!


3. Maybelline The Rocket Mascara

I have a love and hate relationship with this mascara. I have read great reviews and not so great reviews about the end results of this mascara. I have been using it for a month now and I still do not know how I feel about it overall. I have found it to be clumpy after  multiple coats. The formula is a bit drying and I find it to tug on my lashes because it dries so quickly. On the bright side it does give a substantial amount of volume and it does have good separation among the lashes. Would I say its my favorite? No. Would I repurchase this again in the future? Most likely not.

Banana Bread

When life gives you  bananas, make banana bread.



1 cup Sugar.

1 stick of unsalted butter.

2 eggs.

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

1/2 cup of sour cream.

1 cup of mashed bananas (2 large or 3 small bananas)

1 1/2 cups of flour.

1 tsp of salt.

1 tsp of baking soda.

1/2 cups of chopped walnuts.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate.


2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan.


3. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Kitchen Painting

So we painted the Kitchen.....I hate our kitchen but it looks a bit better now. I think I can manage cooking in it. Chris painted the top cabinets white. (Simply White - Benjamin Moore)  and it made a huge difference. I painted the walls an off white. (White Dove - Benjamin Moore) and that helped to. We were stuck on the bottom cabinets though. Paint them white? That would be a little too white and maybe to clinical for a kitchen since we do not have beautiful cabinets. If we had gorgeous wood cabinets I would be all for an all white kitchen but not in this scenario.  Looking at a few pictures and inspirations online, we saw some kitchens with black bottom cabinets.......Drastic? yes. We took a leap of faith and used the same black paint that we used on the front door and tested it out. Welp its black or ....black. At this point I just wanted to be done with painting.

 

I had the Friday after July 4th off and went to town painting the bottom cabinets. 4 COATS PEOPLE 4 COATS and I still have little tiny patches that need a few more coats but whatever. Black paint is the worst and I officially retire painting.

 

The outcome



 

I think it looks better than before and I think there is more continuity now with the floors. Not a big fan but its a bit better than before. We are going to add silver hardware to every cabinet to match the stainless steel.

Once upon a time

April 2010- A guy from the Midwest met a girl out in California.



he loved her and she loved him.

1 1/2 years into dating he decided to move back to the Midwest. She followed him there.





It was the longest drive of her life.........it took 2 days!



They lived in a cute little apartment and had to use the laundry mat!!! This California girl was not in Kansas anymore!





She was homesick so he bought her a puppy!





Meet Charles! He is a Lab and Weimaraner mix. She loved him and so did he.

They went to Florida. It was her first time.





She loved him and he loved her.

They bought a house.



Charles loved his backyard!



They had dinner out on the Patio



He got down on one knee and told her he loved her and wanted to marry her.



Charles Approved! He gave his blessing.





She loved him and he loved her.



3 years later - Happily Engaged 06-15-13