mini update

Here is a mini train of thought for you... in list format, my favorite way to write. :) I'm warning you, it's completely random.

1. Remember the house we were flipping? We rented it out on October 1 instead of flipping it. Why? AJ's mentor, at the real estate firm he works at, told him we would be able to sell it but maybe not at the profit we were hoping for because the neighborhood is primarily rentor dominated. Because it is a four bedroom house we had no problem getting people who were interested. The people we found for the rental are on the goverment sponsored Section 8 housing, which means gauranteed income for us (instead of worrying that tenants won't come through with the cash each month).

2. Just got the Ballard Designs catalog from my mom and I found my dream chair:


3. Drew has six teeth with a seventh about to pop through... he's been such a champ through the whole process and there has been only two nights that we even had an indication a tooth was coming.

4. We finally turned on our heat... three days shy of our November 1 goal. I bet you wish you weren't us... we rarely put it above 60 degrees because oil is rediculously expensive.

5. Drew is going to be a puppy for Halloween. We tried on his costume today and couldn't stop laughing he looked so cute. Really, it's just an excuse for me to take photos of him and use his complete cuteness to get AJ and me free candy. :)

6. Speaking of constantly laughing, anyone seen Bridesmaids? AJ and I were dying. There are definitely some dirty scenes that didn't need to be there but you know Sooki (sp?) from Gilmore Girls? She was by FAR the funniest part of the movie... every time she came on the screen we were cracking up.

7. AJ and I worked on the master bedroom for a bit this weekend. We primed half of the room, laid some sub floor to keep the heat from escaping from the kitchen through the ceiling and AJ did a lot of plastering. More photos coming this week.

8. We had Butternut Squash Lasagna for dinner tonight and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip cookies for dessert... does that sound like a fall meal or what?

9. Our church is still searching for a pastor... I'm on the search committee and it's been tough on us as one person we called decided another church would be a better fit. We are still looking for the person God has for us!

10. AJ is almost done coaching cross-country for the season. He coaches both high school and middle school. His middle school team placed first in an invitational with 15 teams this past week!

wednesday loves: drew loves

I've been thinking it would be fun to do a Wednesday Loves as a tribute to things my little guy loves (he turns 10 months on Friday!). Throughout the post I've posted photos Morgan Roy Photography took during our family photo session on Sunday. (Sidenote: Morgan is amazing and a one hour session is only $50; that is what we did! We would HIGHLY recommend her to anyone!)

1. Drew loves the dishwasher. I am always underestimating this child's strength and with it loaded he can pull out the entire bottom rack... mmm hmmm broken dishes, anyone?



2. He is completely in love with his Dad. You should see the smile on his face when AJ comes home from work. :)



3. He has been in this phase where he loves to stand on a chair like this and hang over the edge, bang on the window sill or reach out to his diaper wipe box and empty everything onto the floor.



4. He loves appliances. He'll happily eat the crumbs out of the bottom of the toaster (it's on the floor b/c we need to insert a cabinet for it) or will eat the coffee grinds straight out of the filter (same cabinet story... and you thought you had a coffee addiction). I stop his as soon as I seem him opening his mouth and inserting his hand filled with stuff. :) Unrelated, but don't you love how he's sticking his tounge out here?



5. He looooves sitting on AJ's shoulders. I mean, wouldn't you if that meant you had easy access to pull hair and noses to your hearts content?



6. He loves playing the bench press game with AJ. Basically it's a game where AJ bench presses all 23 pounds and 8 ounces of Drew... pretty self explanatory, right? :)



7. I had just finished talking to some people at church two Sundays ago, walked up to AJ and he told me he and Drew wanted to show me their new trick. Baby in the diaper bag was their new trick. We carried Drew out of church like he was our puppy... and the photo shoot was born. :)



8. We picked up this wagon at my parents' to use for the photo shoot and I'm pretty sure it's going to be Drew's newest love... he loves moving it in, he loves the sound it makes when he smacks it (which is frequent) and climbing all around in it.



9. Drew loves his baby piano at my parents'. Kim and I used it growing up and now that is the first thing Drew makes a beeline for when he crawls in the door.



10. Lastly... 10 quick things Drew loves:
Spatulas.
Puppies.
His own spit up.
Climbing everything.
Biting me.
The jogging stroller (good for naps).
Coasters (don't ask me why).
Remote controls and cell phones.
Anything edible (or even not so edible).
Plants and dirt (remember the "not so edible" that I just mentioned?).

for you, mern

My sister-in-law, Meredith (Mern) is in Mass General right now... she's been there this past week as they have been trying to figure out what is wrong with her heart... the doctors have drained 17 pounds of fluid out of her belly because the heart isn't working well enough to tell the body to drain it normally. She is my size... so all that fluid in her stomach made her look like she was 7 or so months pregnant.  On Friday she was put on the heart transplant waiting list. She's 27 years old and nothing like the typical transplant recipient.

I cannot believe how strong she is... she is going with the flow and trying to have the best spirit possible about this whole situation. I visited her on Thursday and she had an awful procedure done that morning... after asking her all about it I asked her about something I knew would cheer her up: her ideas for her wedding someday. After she told me all about what she would like it to look like I went home and looked on Pinterest for some ideas to put her vision to life... her you go, Mern. :)

What about pies since you can't figure out what to do for a cake? You could make up a special recipe and call it the Wedding Pie (or something a lot more original). :)



What about something like this for your bouquet?



And for the girls' bouquets... but I also think this outfit would be great for the groom.



Or you could tweak colors in this slightly so it goes better with the colors for your bouquet:



Okay, Mern, and since we are on the topic of flowers... and you couldn't get the watering cans you talked about for the centerpieces, what about something cute like this?



But I do love your idea for a watering can... so cute.



And what about a gorgeous dress like this since you mentioned the fabulous idea of lace...



I can see Chuck in an outfit like this groom... without the hat.



We should probably talk about that fabulous barn you want it in....







Okay... and of course I'm brainstorming some fabulous photo opportunities too...









For the details...





For cards:



Birch stands for varying height flowers or decorations:



I'm sure, Mern, there are a million other details we could think of but it was just fun to put some photos to things you and I were talking about! Love you!

master bedroom office

This week we have been really trying to work on making the master bedroom ready for winter. AJ has been feverishly finishing the drywall and cleaning out the little area we have designated as an office. Picture the bedroom... it is the shape of an L. The top of the L is the part we designated as the office, the middle is our bed space, the bottom is the fireplace reading area and the jut out part of the L is the office / small closet.

Here are the most up to date photos:

Here is the fireplace area. The office part is to the right of the bookshelf.

Here is our bed area, we will be removing the window and putting one on each side of the bed sort of right above where you would put a bedside table. AJ is also going to be installing a mini window in the wall almost at the ceiling to let in a little extra light.

You are looking into the master bath right now. We say that very loosely since there is not one thing in it. We are going to install some of our old windows (when we replace the ones in the master) above the door because the best light comes in through the back of the house and we want that to filter into our bedroom.

And lastly, the area right off where the fireplace is... the icky master closet that we are converting into a smaller closet and built in desk space. I put a chair there so you could see where we intend for it to go when facing a built in desk.

Picture new drywall, a window on the left wall, a closet on the right wall and a built in sort of like one of these (I've linked each photo to their source)...

And my total and absolute favorite... I am in looove.

Which is your favorite? Are you redoing any office spaces?

wednesday loves: kitchen edition

I had the BEST morning today... woke up at 6:30am with AJ and then read in bed and looked up photos to inspire the master bedroom redo... ahhh an hour cuddled under the blankets with a baby that was still sleeping... Once I heard the little guy making his noises I brought him back into our cuddly bed and he just explored everywhere by banging on the headboard and the window, by incessantly touching the lead weight in the window (it's open because of the construction to that wall), and of course, every time a truck drove by our window to get to the pre-fab they are building a few houses down he stopped everything and stared until the truck went out of sight.  Hoping you also have a great start to your morning!

Onto Wednesday Loves: Kitchen Edition...



My favorite drink from Starbucks is their caramel apple spice... it is amazing, but expensive. A former Starbucks barista blogs about the recipe for the drink here. It doesn't seem too hard!



I love this idea... stacking two bundt cakes on top of each other to create a pumpkin cake!
Okay, now onto photos of kitchens and not just deliciousness you make in the kitchen...