Minication

Due to the house buying and all, I curtailed my traveling for the summer and just went on a short jaunt to visit Jana and Scott in Pennsylvania and to visit my sis in Idaho (followed by a week and a half 'staycation'- so excited to get some stuff DONE around here :) )

I finally got to see Jana and Scott's new home (er..kinda new, they've been there for a year and a half now). This is the view from their front porch...they are surrounded by Amish farms. I love Lancaster!


I thought I had lost my sunglasses, so we went shopping and bought aviators. Aren't we stylin'?(turns out I had just left my other ones at her brother-in-laws).

It was a great time of catching up, coffee drinking, Bible studying, BBQing, visiting with her family, watching movies. I love this couple and I am SO excited to meet Baby Smith...due December 24th :) :)!!!!

Next, it was onto Boise to see my sis and her family. My brother decided to also fly up, so it was a partial family reunion :)

Seriously, how cute are these boys?


Carter meeting Uncle Bobby for the first time


Monica being a mommy and comforting a pouting John Michael


Carter and daddy playing


John Michael


Carter

The Big Kitchen Reveal

Okay, it's not completely finished. I will be adding hardware to the doors, getting outlets/covers that match with the tile better, and at some point (a MUCH future point) I will be getting new floor tile...but for now here it is (no, the faucet isn't completely installed. I am waiting, as I type, for the plumber to reconnect the sink, and then I will install it myself to save 200 smackaroos...)

Before- love me some pink Formica

After
I didn't know they were going to add the granite windowsill- I really like it!

Before

After- porcelain and glass tile backsplash

Before

After- they added about 6 inches, which I hadn't asked for, but I like- hmm, short barstools mayhaps?

Before

After- they also extended the top part of this "bar"

:)



:) I love this glass tile!

Geek Shirt #1

I have a geek shirt #2 coming in the mail...but I can't post it until after Father's Day...'cause I got my dad the same one :)

Geek Shirt #1

World Cupness

Ah, the wonderful time of World Cup...at least 3 soccer games a day...LOVE IT.

Here's proof that I have tickets to the World Cup (Ghana vs Germany...and after seeing Germany play Australia today, I'm a bit more sad I can't be there)...'course, we aren't going...airline tickets were just TOO expensive (seriously, like $2600-$2900), so we (my bro, Jana, and Scott) decided back in January that we'd wait until Brazil in 2014...

For the US vs England game on Saturday, some of my co-workers decided to head to a park in downtown Houston called Discovery Green to watch the game on a big screen that was being set up in the park. Barry, Adrienne, and I carpooled together and ended up with some great front-row-on-the-grass seats. It was pretty muggy and hot out, but the crowd was great! Good times!

Barry, me, and Adrienne


Go USA!!!


da big screen...


wicked hot, 90 deg, 60% humidity

Memorial Day Weekend

I had such a busy and enjoyable weekend:

Friday- painting

Saturday- met Lisa at 630am for a 20 mile bike ride, then Pam came to my place and we met up with Lisa and Erin to drive to Morehead Blueberry Farm for some blueberry picking! I picked a little over 5lbs...it was steamy hot and I think I sweated about 5lbs away during the process ;-). After a fender bender on the way home (everyone is fine, Lisa's Expedition was only slightly damaged...compared to the accordioned-front end of the guy who slammed into us...but he's okay too...), I tackled some bushes in my front yard that were starting to resemble Krynoid bushes (name that reference fellow Whovians...). 1.5 hours and 7 trash bags and 1 trash can full later, the bushes look slightly better. Of course, I can't trim in a straight line, so there's a decided slant to the bushes right now...I'll rectify that later... I then packed for a fun-filled camping adventure the next day in Brazos Bend...

Sunday/Monday- Some friends of mine organized a overnight camping trip to Brazos Bend State Park. I had not been camping in years (uh...like 10 or 12...) and never been to Brazos Bend (it's about 1.5 hours away from where I live). So I went to their church on Sunday so that we could all caravan out afterwards (great church, awesome message). We had about 15 people, 6 tents, hot dogs, alligators, s'mores, singing around the camp fire, applied so much bug spray I am convinced we all are going to mutate from the Deet and grow arms out of our legs or foreheads, braved the lone NASTY port-a-potty, ate REALLY well (seriously- bacon, eggs, pancakes, fresh fruit and awesome coffee for breakfast), laughed a LOT, and just had a really fun time. And...I didn't get eaten by an alligator, always a plus...

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's an...


ALLIGATOR!!!!!


Erin, Abby, and me on top of the observation tower...observing the swamp and pondering the difference between a swamp and marsh...


Roasting hot dogs and making camp pies. Yum!!!

House doings

I've been doing a LOT of painting...and shopping...still no furniture...but I am making headway and having a lot of fun along the way...

The first room to be painted- the living room- in Behr's "Happy Camper". I am a HUGE fan of the paint and primer in one. These walls will soon have crown molding as well (no, I'm not doing it myself, I decided contracting it out was wiser for now...)


Love fresh flowers!



I tackled the dining room and entry way on Friday. Color-matched Behr from Valspar's "Cafe Latte".


Yes, I meant to only paint 3/4 of the wall :). I am going to run a chair rail along the orange/white border and then paint below the rail white (it's currently a cream color). Then I am going to add some wall frames. In the center of the wall frames will be some funky fabric that ties in the orange and green...


I have never bought dishes before. I had a few melamine bowls I used in the apartment and a set of glasses my aunt gave me for Christmas back in college. I picked up these glasses at World Market and the bowls from Anthropolgie...apparently, I don't like things that match- I'm on the hunt for some funky salad plates...


My new down alternative comforter (thanks Grandma G!) and wicked awesome duvet cover from West Elm that I fell in love with about 5 months ago. I love the quilts my Grandma W. has made me over the years, but I am ready for a change...

Today was a Sears run to get a screwdriver set, orbital sander (::gulp:: I bought a DeWalt...I am such a traitor but the DeWalt reviews were much better than the Craftsman equivalent), and a level- the required implements for two projects- installing the chair rail and refinishing my craigslist vintage couch. Coming soon to a blog near you.... :)

Graduation announcements

Nope, I'm not graduating :P...my good friend Pam is...from medical school. She's awesome. Here's what I came up with- she and Claire helped with the assembling...