Weekend In Review: Beautiful Weather

I'm a little late in getting this up because I started my new job this week - woohoo... maybe more on that another time.

The weather this past weekend was so extremely beautiful it would have been a crime not to spend it outside!

On Friday I hung around the house, did some chores... very exciting stuff.  When Dan got home we got some food.  I rented two movies from Redbox - Wolf of Wall Street and American Hustle.  Some friends of Dan ended up coming over so I watched Wolf of Wall Street which was awesome - I really did enjoy it.

On Saturday morning Dan worked some overtime at work so I watched American Hustle.  After he got home I made a grocery list and did the shopping.  When I got back we sat outside.  Dan cooked some hot dogs and some friends came over - Caleb, Michelle and later Ben.  We drank some beers and played washers.  I was amazed at how well I did at washers, I even got it in the center!  It was getting dark by the time we played, so I sorta blame my skillz on not really being able to aim well and thus just throwing better in general.

The weather was the perfect bit of warm and our tree has sprouted all it's leaves so it's nice and shady on our deck.  Overall, it was a wonderful Saturday!!

On Sunday I met my mom (and brought breakfast) and we went to the Lindbergh High School Flea Market.  It was fun looking at all the things there, although some things seemed more expensive than we wanted to pay.  She ended up buying some socks (they were brand new don't worry) and I got a cute little wooden reindeer for Christmas decoration for just 50 cents.

After our Flea Market experience we went and got some drinks at Sonic and then went to Home Depot where my mom wanted to get some new plants for her yard.  There are just so many amazing looking plants and flowers that I could want them all (you know if I didn't kill any plants that I try to grow...)

My mom got a bunch of nice things and she was nice enough to buy me 3 small Hostas. 

Next we went to Ace Hardware where she saw some big Hostas she wanted.  She ended up getting me a big Hosta plant too.

I headed home, but Dan was gone.  So I decided to just go for it and plant all my new Hostas and get the bird bath (that I took back from my mom's house) situated.  I wanted to plant them under our big tree in the backyard.  I also added the bird bath and hanging plant that my mom got me for housewarming.  I also used the tools she got me to plant the Hostas.  It turned out SO GOOD in my humble opinion.

A couple of notes about the pictures... one, I need to get the weeds on the outside of the little fenced in area pulled up (there were a bunch in the inside, but  I cleaned those up when I planted)

Also, that lovely dirt area around the tree?  Well, right now we are kind of embracing it because we don't know what else to do.  That area is very shaded most of the day... but also, the dogs will chase each other around the tree like over and over, so even if we found something that would grow in the shade, I'm not sure it would grow with them running over it all the time... so right now it is what it is.

I finished off Sunday by making dinner (a failed recipe sadly, I made beans and cornbread, but I made the beans with bacon instead of ham which I think made a difference... they were overall bland.  I added jalapenos to them which may have been their only redeeming quality... oh well you can't win them all!)

Overall, relaxing weekend where I accomplished some chores and beautiful weather.  Pretty perfect in my book!

Weekend in Review: ZooQuest and Cardinals

I had a full weekend, but it was awesome... truly awesome!

Friday I got the pleasure of waiting at home for the delivery man to show up with my patio furniture.  It was one of those 4 hour windows (11-3) and since it required a signature I had to be there... I really wanted to get in the shower, but I knew as soon as I did they would show up... so I just waited and waited and finally at 2:30 he showed up.

But in the mean time of waiting I got some super big news job related news.  So that was awesome.

When Dan got home we put together the patio furniture.  Of course I started on a chair and he started on the table.  He finished the table and started on a chair and finished that chair before I even finished my first chair... figures.  I let him put together the rest while I organized the rest of the materials and threw things away and stuff like that.  Soon there after (because Dan is an assembly master) our patio furniture was put together!  I am so happy to have it.  My mom gave it to me for my birthday.  I found the set on Walmart.com.  It was the cheapest set I could find, especially for a 7-piece set and luckily I love it!  Patio furniture is too freaking expensive!

 

After that I got ready and we went out with my dad to Granite City Brewery (it's not actually in Granite City).  It was such a nice night of drinking some beers, eating some food and hanging out with my dad and Dan and Janet.

 

On Saturday I got up and got ready to meet my sister.  We decided a couple of weeks ago to participant in the ZooQuest at the St. Louis Zoo (lite version).  We really weren't sure what to expect, but thought we'd have a good time.  Here we are before we started:

 

At first when we got our packet we felt really overwhelmed.  The basic-ness of ZooQuest is it's part trivia part scavenger hunt.  We had four 'quests' and some trivia.  We started walking around with no clear idea what the heck we were doing.  The four quests were 1) word clouds and we had to find the animal that corresponded 2) A logic problem, 3) a crossword puzzle and 4) looking for visual pictures for missing letters.  Once we sat down and really just forced ourselves to start it went much better. 

 

We had a lot of fun, it was a ton of walking, but it was such a beautiful day, so that was nice.  Of course since it was so nice out everyone and their mom was at the zoo... with a stroller.  Even though we didn't place, I would totally do it again, it was a really fun day with my sister.

 

After we finished we headed back home, grabbed mom and got some food.  It was fun connecting with her.  We would have loved for her to attend too, but she had to work... boo

 

After food I finally headed back home and I was TIRED!  When I got to my house Dan had invited some friends and my cousins over.  They were hanging out on our back deck (new patio furniture for the win).  I was planning on showering as soon as I got home, but hung out with them.  It was fun because Dan moved the TV outside.  Gotta love having a hook up out there. 

 

The weather was soo beautiful so it was great just hanging out.  We played a couple of rounds of Cards Against Humanity then watched some TV.

Liked the reflection in my glasses

TV! Outside!

On Sunday my sister came over and we headed down to the Cardinals vs. Cubs game with Liz and Ken.  The seats were pretty high up, but it was a great view.  It started raining and they delayed the game for a bit, but luckily Lindsey was smart enough to bring ponchos for both of us!  After the rain passed we were able to watch all the game and we did well!! Lots of hits so that was exciting.

 

I came home and was tired, but did some laundry and we ordered Chinese for dinner.  Overall it was such an amazing weekend.

On a final note, I planted bulbs this past fall and they survived the winter and bloomed this weekend - so pretty!!

Weekend in Review: Is it finally spring??

One thing I've read a lot of places is people just being all up in arms about the 'crazy' winter we had this year.  And yes, it has been quite the winter(!) but I feel like this is more normal of a winter compared to what we've had in years past.  I think people especially round these parts tend to have weather amnesia year-to-year.  I especially hear that in the summer where people say it's never been this hot, this summer is the hottest ever, and that humidity - terrible.  Um, it's normally that hot round here and that humid... actually for the most part summers have been fairly mild as of recently, which is very nice.  While we got a TON of snow this winter, which hasn't happened recently, and the temperatures were lower than recent years, I'm not sure it's that crazy of a winter?  I'm not sure... either way, I'm happy for the warmer weather, but I didn't absolutely hate the winter we had... and I don't think I've uttered the phrase 'will this winter get over with already' or anything similar to that.

Wow... that was quite the rambly paragraph... but I am looking forward to hanging out on my awesome deck come warmer weather.  And I do hope that spring in the weather sense lasts awhile... better than going straight to hot and humid like we do some years.

Anyway... off the random soapbox and back to the weekend.

On Friday I had a relaxing day... the last few Fridays I've had plans... but this one I didn't and I was so happy.  I got some breakfast and watched recorded TV from the week and lounged around.  I also did laundry.  When Dan got home we hung out and then went over to Fairview Heights because he just had to have some of this limited edition beer... and that's where he knew it was in stock.  We headed over to the Randall's.  He got his beer (along with another bottle of something he wanted to try) and I got a (big) bottle of cherry cider.

Then we went to dinner at Show-Mes.  I let Dan pick and since the one close to us closed it's where he really wanted to go.  According to him they have better wings than Hooters.  We each had a Blue Moon and enjoyed the ambiance (that's a joke).  When we got back home we watched Anchorman 2 (ok well I did Dan went to bed at like 8:30... in his defense he had to work the next morning at 6am)

On Saturday Dan was at work in the morning.  I made myself breakfast and lounged around.  I really wanted to get a couple of things done during the weekend because we are having a party in a couple of weeks and I've got plans for both Saturday and Sunday next weekend and I'll be out of town the following weekend so needed to get some of the major things done this weekend. 

I decided to clean out the storage closet (which is also where the cat's stuff is.  That closet had just kind of ended up as a catch all for boxes of stuff we didn't know what to do with - which is what I storage closet should be... however we had just thrown things in there without any real order or identification of what was in the boxes.  Worse, I hadn't been able to move the Christmas items back into that closet - so they were just sitting out in the open of the main downstairs part.

So I began to pull out all the boxes and see what the heck was in all of them... that part wasn't the most fun - especially when I encountered a spider that was frighteningly close to my hand... but since I hadn't let the close get too out of control, it wasn't that bad either.

The boxes all pulled out - not even all of them as they stretch to the left too - including all that Christmas stuff I referenced earlier... And Stitch in the foreground... if I'm down there she HAS to be on my lap...

Some of them were mine and others were Dan's.  While Dan refused to get rid of anything... I was able to get rid of some random stuff.  And at the very least was able to condense Dan's boxes down and label them better.

The really fun part was I went through some of my childhood boxes... so it was fun to have a short walk down memory lane.
 

The Beanie Baby collection - weren't these supposed to make me money someday?

The kinda funny thing is the dogs (mostly Bella) use Beanie Babies as toys.  We had a few accidents with them getting holes (at Dan's apartment) but mostly they hold up well and Bella likes carrying them around.  Although I don't think I'll let her have my random stash... a lot of these were given to me by my Uncle Steve, so they have a special place in my heart.

I have the regular and teenie beanie baby - that's gotta be worth something right?

I also found where I kept all my baby teeth (in this creepy cat dish no less)... I ended up finding quite a few more at the bottom of the bin where they had fallen out of creepy cat dish.

Wasn't the tooth fairy suppose to keep these?

Either way I got all the boxes condensed, organized and put back into the storage closet in a way that made sense.  Now here's where I show you the after picture!  But I totally forgot to take one, so you'll just have to believe me.  It felt really good to get that done! 

While I was finishing that up - Dan came back home and had brought BBQ supplies with him.  Caleb also came over and we spent a lot of time outside.  It was so nice to sit in the sun and just relax.  It was one of those days where sitting in the sun feels good but the shade is too cold... we won't have very many of those left, but it was nice to enjoy while we could.

Dan made chicken and shrimp kabobs.  He marinated the meat in a jerk seasoning first and then added them to sticks with pineapple.  It was SO DELICIOUS!  The grilled pineapple was so yummy.  I'm really lucky to have a boyfriend who can grill well!

Dan and Caleb also made some veggies in a pan on the grill (with olive oil and seasoning), jalapeno dogs (I bought some earlier in the week and since the grill was going might as well throw them on there) and the boys also made some steaks.

After we ate we went over to Lou and Amanda's house to hang out with them for awhile.  I'm really liking how often we see them - it's really nice living so close.  They had a fire going so we sat around the fire and chatted for a bit.  The best part of this time of year is the lack of bugs - I know they will be out soon and I'll not like outside as much, so enjoying it while I can.

We hung out there for a few hours and then went over to Dave's place.  He had recently bought a fire pit, so we hung out outside there for a couple of hours too.  I liked hanging out with some of them, but there were some girls there that were pretty annoying... but what can you do?  Once Dave ran out of wood to burn we headed back to our house and called it a night.

On Sunday we considered going to the Queeny Park Art Fair, but then decided not to.  I did what I had already planned on doing on Sunday - which was raking the leaves.  Before I started I thought it wouldn't be that big of a job... and I was wrong, there were WAY more leaves in the yard than I realized... and more dog poop because someone hadn't been cleaning up after them...

Either way, I got all the leaves raked up into piles and Dan headed to the hardware store to get yard waste bags and some over random stuff... It felt good to get all the leaves into piles and hopefully Daniel will pick them all up sometime the week.

The rest of the day was fairly leisurely... I made chili...

Overall I had a good weekend and thought it was productive which is good.  How was yours?

Weekend in Review: Divergent and Anniversary

I had quite a full weekend! 

My mom recently bought some Groupon deals for a trolley tour around St. Louis, so my mom, me, Lindsey and Grandma took the tour.  The tour starts out at Lumiere Casino downtown and takes you to a lot of different sites around St. Louis.  While I knew a lot of things on the tour, he still managed to teach me a few things.  While it's not the greatest tour for those that know and love the Lou, it would be great for out-of-towners.  We enjoyed getting driven around the city and talking to each other.  The trolley driver was a crazy driver though... cutting people off several times, turning through a red light... that sort of thing, but he was nice and informative.

(I would insert pictures of the ride here, but someone hasn't posted them to FB which probably means they really aren't worth posting anyway)

After our trolley ride we got Grandma loaded up in the wheelchair and headed over to Old Spaghetti Factory in Laclede's Landing.  Now you know that Laclede's Landing isn't really meant for wheelchairs, but mom is pretty impressive and navigated with relative ease.  We had a lovely lunch at Spaghetti Factory and headed back home.

That night I met up with Susan and Lindsey to see Divergent!!  We saw it at the same theater we saw Catching Fire late last year.  We weren't in a theater with the reclining seats (boo), but it was still really nice.  The only weird thing that happened - we were sitting in our seats and sadly I bought them too late to all sit together - instead we had 2 seats on one side of the aisle and one on the other.  This dad and daughter came up and started looking at their tickets and our seats a bunch and then went back down the steps.  Soon a theater person came up and asked to see our tickets - and we showed them.  They seemed pretty confused but ended up leaving with the dad and daughter.  I guess they somehow double booked our seats (they have reserved seats there).  I'm not sure if they gave them their money back or something, but they ended up getting seated on the main level - so it all worked out, but kind of strange!

I thought the movie was pretty great.  I'd even say I liked it better than the Hunger Games.  I highly recommend seeing it AND reading the books!

On Saturday after Dan got up with did our now weekly trip to Home Depot.  Then we got some food and headed home.  I laid around for part of the day and then worked on a project I'll share in a minute.

On Saturday night Dan and I went out for our anniversary.  We've been together two years believe it or not!  We went to Sanctuaria in The Grove.  It was so very yummy!!  They are known for their cocktails (although their winter cocktails weren't that appealing to me).  I had White Sangria and a Margarita - both of them where great.  Dan had a scotch drink, a tequila drink (one of their winter ones that was actually good), and a beer.  For food we had

• Jalapeno Cornbread: delicious moist cornbread studded with jalapenos; served with honey butter and topped with pickled jalapenos - SO DELICIOUS!
• Chicken Skewers:  drizzled in cuba libre glaze; served with aji coconut dipping sauce - Very good, although we were surprised they didn't come out with actual skewers...
• Frita Sliders:  Traditional Cuban pork and chorizo sliders topped with monterey jack cheese and crispy yukon potatoes; served on a cuban sweet roll and garnished with chimichurri - These were excellent!  Dan was leery at first when I suggested them b/c of the chorizo, but this was the waitress' first suggestion to us, so happy we got them because it was my favorite
• Chips:  Assorted chips dusted with lime salt; served with bleu cheese dipping sauce - the chips were good, but I'm not a bleu cheese fan (Dan is)
• Beggars Purse:  Crispy phyllo dough filled with seasoned pork and monterey jack cheese; served with local tomato puree scented with chipotle. - I picked this and it was pretty good but by this time I was getting real full!

Finally for dessert we got their Havana Bread on a recommendation from a friend (Made in-house.  Spiced Caribbean cake baked in a vanilla custard topped with Meyer's dark rum raisin sauce).  It was like a bread pudding, however I'm usually not a bread pudding fan - this was excellent!  It is cooked in a mini cast iron dish (the cornbread is too) which gives the edges crisp... I was so full but kept eating.  Overall it was a delicious anniversary dinner and a fun way to celebrate.

Sunday we went and got some food at Steak n Shake (we ate out too much this weekend!) and then did grocery shopping together.  It went fast which isn't always the case when we both go.

The rest of Sunday we did our own things.  My project (which I worked on most of Saturday) included slowly but surely organizing our extra room in the basement.  I decided to buy something to organize my craft supplies.  After debating how I wanted to organized them (shelf, although bookcase) I decided I liked the idea of drawers best.  I ended up getting this set from Target.  It came pretty fast and I was able to put it together myself without any issues. 

I was weirdly excited about getting to organize my stuff.  Slowly put surely I got everything loaded into this little guy and it was just big enough.  Then I was able to go through a big box of stuff my mom brought over for me (free floss!).  Some things just did not fit into the drawers which is currently just sitting on top (an embroidery hoop, batting, my wreath project, that fell apart and a paper cutter.  I also had some books and a scrapbook paper book that I have sitting on on the board game shelf.

Looking much better!  Although if I get anymore craft stuff I'll need a second one

And since I was standing in the room I did a panoramic picture.  I know this is very useful to you, but at least now there's nothing sitting in the middle of the room...  Still a long ways to go as you can see...

I also took the time to organize my decorative items that haven't made it onto the walls yet.  All in time...

Stitch makes an appearance

It really felt good to get some things knocked out in this room.  While I was cleaning up this room Daniel was cleaning up the laundry room - so that's like two for the price of one or something.  Still need more shelves, but I'm not really sure what I want to do yet, so stay tuned... I think the next thing I'm going to tackle is the 'cat closet' where the cats stuff is but is also a storage closet... then maybe moving some of the stuff from this room to that room... we shall see.

That was my weekend - probably could have broken that into a couple of different posts - I forgot how many big things happened!

O Christmas Tree

After two years of sitting in a cold, sad storage unit - my Christmas decorations are out and lovingly displayed around my house.

I actually did the decorating the weekend after Thanksgiving, but I'm finally getting around to posting about it.

I'm an artificial tree lover... I'm not sure why... just am... here's my new artificial tree I got from KMart for about $35... it's nothing fancy, but I didn't want anything fancy.  Also, when I was putting it together it really reminded me of the tree my grandparents had that I would help put together each year (with the color coordinated slots)

Did make me super itchy fluffing it though

 

Okay... here's were my side note is going to come.  This is what a tree should look like.  My tree is filled with ornaments that mean something to me, and over my life I plan on adding many more.  I don't think Christmas trees should be color coordinated or how some people call them 'my pretty tree'.  A tree should be filled with memories and fun things... not all gold balls or whatever... it's just my two cents, but it's one of those things I feel strongly about...

Isn't she pretty?  I had extra silver garland which is why the rest went into the camel.  Camels are sorta Christmas-y anyway

Another special note:  Almost three years ago we divided up my grandma's ornaments.  This was the first time they made it on the tree since they were in storage the last two Christmases.  Also, the garland is from my grandparents tree which I love as well.  It just makes me so happy to have so many memories in one place.

The other side... someday I want to make a pretty tree skirt.  Also since it's lit up you can't really see, but that's a Santa lamp

Every time I walk past the tree is makes me smile... I just stop and stare and think - it is perfect

Here's a close up.  I love the purple bird with the long neck and the spiderman and all the glitter

A different side - my ice skater from my Grandparent's tree and a beer can that Dan added

Somewhere along the line I got the peppermint candy lights - they are perfect.  I thought originally I wouldn't have enough to look good, but they are perfect

All lit up in the dark

aka our zoo

We've been living in the house for two months now and I haven't properly introduced most of our inhabitants.

We did a lot of adjusting to make sure that all of the animals have a place in our house.  We even had to add a door to ensure that the cats stay downstairs and the dogs cannot get to them.  So at times our place feels a little maze-like, but whatever it works!

My two cats are living in the basement.  I've talked a lot about them on this blog before.  We have Pretty...

Ignore my out-of-date glasses

And Stitch.

I love the new editing features on the iPhone, made Stitch look really pretty

You probably know a lot about them already - they are two very sweet, friendly cats.

Next up the Dogs, First there is Bella.  She's a bit of an attention whore and she loves to lick.  Whenever someone comes over or us coming home she immediately has to go get a toy.  She's a good listener... sometimes.

See the Beanie Babies in the background?  Those are now dog toys

Then we have Daddy, he's a sweetheart and loves to cuddle.  He's much more mellow than Bella, but lately when I get home from work he'll jump up and down.  I've watched him with their newly acquired yard and he just frolics around... it's adorable.  He also is the one that likes to catch small animals (squirrels, dogs, cats, etc) so we really have to watch him when it comes to that.  He's also the pretty boy

He crossed his legs how adorable

Daddy and Bella have a pretty interesting relationship.  She bosses him around, demands attention from anyone giving him attention and will bark or bother him when he is comfortable somewhere.  I've seriously watched them during the day where he is napping and Bella will bark at something outside and he'll come running even though there's really nothing outside in the first place.  They are good together.  Before I met Dan he didn't have either of them fixed so they actually had puppies together (not his plan).  They are both fixed now.

Oh also, let me brag on them (and Dan)... when you start to eat these dogs go and sit in their kennels or on their bed and don't bother you.  You don't even need to tell them to go lay down... they just do it!  It's really pretty impressive!
 

Bella sitting on Daddy, while he was in his kennel... no where else you could lay Bella?

Both wanting to me on my lap at the same time

We also have Ms. Loud-Mouth and the b!tch... or her actual name - Quina.  She doesn't like me very much.  The only times she really lets me pick her up is if she flies into a room looking for Dan and he isn't there... I guess perching on my finger is easier for her than walking back haha.  She is pretty entertaining to watch and the noises she makes - well, they are pretty entertaining too.  She liked to talk and jibber-jabber to herself a lot.  I wish I could post a video - but I'm not sure how to.  She likes to make noise when the TV is on especially (and when you mute suddenly she's quiet too)  So far she doesn't really say anything, although she can laugh, which is pretty adorable.
 

A rare time on my shoulder

Bribed her with the hair thingy

That's all the animals living in our house... when someone new comes over the dogs have been doing the big scary barks (although they are totally good with people).  Then the bird starts squawking... it's quite the commotion.  I bet people think we never have a quiet house, but we do, they just get excited about seeing new people :)

Welcome to our zoo!

Happy Humps

I totally missed my review of last weekend... so stay tuned for that as well as one for this past weekend.  Normally in cases like this I just combine them, but two weekends ago was pretty full of interesting things and even though I did a day in pictures I'd really like to share about the weekend in it's entirety... hopefully I remember the details.

Anywho... this past weekend was pretty full as well, but before I get to that I really wanted to share some purchases I made.  My mom and I went to the Antique Mall (among other places) and both of us made some good purchases.  I thought I'd share with you the things that I got.

First, I've been casually looking for a Q-Tip holder for that bathroom.  I thought it would be neat to find a small container at an antique mall or the like for the bathroom to hold Q-Tips.  I've seen this done very cutesy on blogs and such.  I wasn't exactly sure what I wanted, but looking for cute, small containers was fun.  We saw a couple of contenders but this ended up winning!

So cute

It's technically a toothpick holder, but I love the bright blue and the details on the glass.  I keep moving it from the back of the toilet to the sink... I'm not sure where I'll end up liking it better, but loving it in the bathroom!

My second find we saw pretty quickly... and I fell in love pretty darn fast.  I mean it's a camel plant holder - how freaking adorable is he??

What day is it?

I kept walking past it and really wanted to get him... but being $45 it was just not in the cards.  We went back one last time for me to say goodbye... and the owner of the stand just happened to be standing there.  He caught my admiring the camel and told me he was just about to put him on sale... um what?  I asked how much and he said $24... sold!!  I told him I'd gladly take him for that price.  I was so happy it just worked out that perfectly.  My mom admitted she was going to come back for him for a Christmas gift... much like my jaguar.  But now he's already living at my house.

He is a planter... so I guess he could go outside, but I'm not sure I want that... right now he's sitting in the mostly empty dining room in the corner... He will find his perfect spot eventually.

I know I have a different kind of style... and I like that.  But seriously even if you wouldn't put him in your house, doesn't he make you smile?

My New (old) Things

This past weekend we did some second hand store shopping.  Mostly I am on the look out for some chairs.  A few weeks ago I was browsing a blog and she did this awesome dining room update (look here) with different chairs she found over town for cheap and repainted them with bright fun colors.

I saw the pic and fell in love immediately.  That picture screamed to me - this is what you should do in your dining room.  So the mission was set.  A couple of weekends ago I scored two chairs at Value Village.  I haven't taken pictures of them yet... but I need to.  I want to end up with at least six chairs so I was one third of the way there (if you don't count the table which I also don't have...)

This past weekend we were on the lookout for some more chairs.  I'm looking for solid (not flimsy), wooden chairs without a cushion (so if anyone sees one for cheap let me know or buy it and I'll pay you back!).  I have been able to find some chairs but they are usually in poor shape structurally or being sold as a set (which I would like to get different ones - 'Friends' it if you will).  I'm excited for the hunt!

We went to a couple of shops and our last stop of the day we found one chair that I think will work for the dining room.  It has arms where my other two don't, but I figure this can be an end seat.  They are usually bigger than the other chairs.  So I'm down to needing just three more chairs!

Aint she a beaut!?

While that picture above show lots of different colored chairs, right now I'm thinking about painting all the chairs different shades of blue.  Or possibly all of them navy... I'm just not sure what I'll end up doing but I don't think it will be all loud colors.  I'm really excited to get to this project, but I'll also need to find a dining room table.  And I think ideally it would seat 8 if need be... so might actually need 5 more chairs instead of just three.

But that's not all I got this weekend.  While we were in our first store stop (we went to a festival thing earlier in the day which I'll tell you more about in my typical weekend recap) I found something else I've been keeping a casual eye out for... sconces!!  I had an idea that they could look good hanging on either side over the archway cutouts.  Most of the sconces I had been seeing at second hand shops were cheap feeling (and looking).  Nothing had really caught my eye yet.  Then we were standing in this shop and my aunt (or sister I can't remember) pointed them out to me... and they were awesome looking and for only $10 I fell in love pretty darn quickly.

Sorry the pic is the wrong way

This beauties will be painted some color and hang on the dining room side of the archways.  I think it will depend on what color the chairs end up being... right now I've thought that black might look good or a charcoal.  But I've also pictures them a fun color like red or teal.  We'll see but I'm really super excited about them. 

All these colors I'm day dreaming about and right now there's a khaki neutral on three of the walls and a red accent wall (on the wall with the doorway and the arch cutouts).  I'm thinking that in this day dream of a world that wall would probably need to change colors.  I guess will all come together.  I want to get some more chairs and a table and stuff before I jump to painting anything... but I'm way excited about the sconces.

After that store we went to another store my aunt found.  I think each of us ended up getting something from that place.  My sister got an awesome peace sign painting.  We also got some Christmas presents too for people.

I ended up getting this $12 chair.  No, it doesn't fit into my dining room project, but it's a solid, comfortable chair that was cheap... so why not.
 

The colors are kinda fun too

It's a bit on the taller side (I know with the angle you might have a hard time telling).  Until we get a table or something in there I'll have it in the kitchen to sit in if needed.  I like have that option now.

Finally, my aunt got me a little something for my house which was very nice of her.  She got me this vase, which I love because it curves to the side.
 

It's like a floating window in darkness haha

See that green vase in the center - that's what she got me.  I'm not sure if it will forever live in this window, but for now I'm happy with it there.

So that's my random finds over the weekend.  I love second hand shopping - especially with my family that makes it so much more fun!!

Weekend in Review - All Moved In

Friday morning I treated myself to some Steak n Shake breakfast.  I've really been trying to cut down on eating out (I was getting fast food breakfast about 2-4 times a week...) so I've been doing real good about not eating out in the morning I went and got the best fast food breakfast.  And it was delicious.

I spent the first part of Friday just relaxing... and it was so nice.  That afternoon I went over to my mom's house to finish cleaning up over there.  I had some stuff that didn't fit in the first trip and some clothes still in my closest.  I also had WAY more under my bed than I thought.  I wanted to get everything swept up and looking better.  Luckily it didn't take too long and I thought I had left way more than I thought.

I took my stuff back over to my house and unpacked everything.  Then I waited around until Dan came home.  I made him run some errands with me.  First we went to Target.  He needed a new pair of shorts since his last pair had ripped.  We also got a hose and nozzle on clearance.  Woohoo totally needed that for the house! 

Our next stop was Home Depot.  We needed to get a door knob for the new door that Dan put up to help keep the cats in the basement.  We also picked up some other random odd and ends including a seal for the bottom of the door and a magnet to help keep one of our cabinet shut (it creeps back open if you don't make sure to get it shut all the way.  The previous owners had Velcro there, but the magnet should work better).

Our final stop was Petco to get new supplies for the cats.  It was like buying all the stuff you have to buy when you first get a pet... so that was somewhat expensive.  I had to get two litter boxes, litter, litter catching mat, food and a litter genie.  This is something I saw a TV commercial for awhile back and researched online.  It got a lot of good reviews.  It's basically something that you keep near the litter boxes for easy waste disposal.  The system keeps all those nasty smells locked inside.  Makes it easier to clean to boxes each day.  I've been using it a couple of days now and I'm pretty happy with it.

After we got home with all the purchases we got ready and went over to my cousin Dave's house.  Andy, Dave, and Caleb were already there.  Caleb made some amazing cheeseburgers (with bacon and Gouda) and we had some hot dogs.  It was a pretty relaxing night.

Saturday morning I got up and started to set up the cats items downstairs.  I originally thought I would put them in the bathroom.  But it just didn't feel right.  I then moved them over to the laundry room... which also didn't feel right.  So they ended up in the storage closet.  I'm happy with this set up, although I need to organize that room and make it more plush for the kitties.

After setting all that up I headed over to meet my dad for breakfast at Bread Company.  Then we headed out to pick up my grandpa.  It was a nice drive out chatting with my dad.  My grandpa gave me a coffee table and a painting.  I'm happy with them and I know that he liked helping me out a bit.

We drove back and got that all unloaded at my place and then I spent some time unpacking some bins and taking a nap... Then we met up with the whole family.  My grandpa wanted to take everyone out to dinner at Cusenelli's.  We had a group of about 15 people.  So it was pretty crazy (and somewhat slow) but nice to spend time with the family.

After dinner we went over to Andy's house to have some drinks and chill out.  It was just what I needed.  I've been in a somewhat cranky mood and just relaxing with a drink really helped mellow me. 

Sunday morning I went and got the cats.  Moving the cats was the final thing I had to do to get all my 'stuff' there.  It felt great.  The cats seem to be adjusting pretty well.  They were pretty scared at first being in such a new setting with noises they didn't understand.  But they seem to be getting braver all the time.  Although Stitch keeps hiding under the couch... so I need to figure out how to get her to stop doing that (it's more like she is inside the couch and it's a reclining couch, so it's just a dangerous place for her to be).

I went grocery shopping and that was it for my Sunday.  Overall it was a nice weekend.  I'm bad and didn't get any pictures - hopefully next week (I sound like a broken record).

Weekend in Review: Finally a Long Feeling Weekend

Did everyone have a nice Labor Day weekend?  I can't believe it's finally September.  This year has been flying by but August has felt very long.  It's probably because there were essentially 5 weekends in August... and I did something major every weekend.

I know I missed blogging specifically about last weekend... but let me tell you - we moved... haha... not really much to say about it.

On Thursday night we both just relaxed and I made some dinner.  I can't remember if I mentioned this or not but I have a hard time figuring out what to make for dinner.  I just can never think outside of the few items I always make... and I don't know how to meal plan (using the same item in multiple meals to cut down on waste and things to buy).  They were running a LivingSocial deal or something for a 12 month membership to emeals.  This site will give you seven meals recipes and a grocery list.  While we haven't eaten seven meals in a row at home (and can't imagine when we will!) and all seven meals didn't really look good (who wants ham salad sandwiches) I'm really liking having an easy time figuring out what to make and having a variety of stuff to make.  I'm still not through the first grouping of meals, but I'm excited to get home and make tonight's meal - which is totally weird b/c I don't really like to cook.  I hope it continues.  It's just a new way of thinking for me.

Spinach and Tomato Fritatta

On Friday the cable guy came over so we now have TV and Internet.  So happy!  Later that night we went up to Weekends Only and I picked out couches.  I really debated what I wanted to do in the living room furniture wise. 

Should I go with a sectional?

Or love seat couch combo?

When it came down to it I realized I couldn't really make a really wrong choice.  The living room is pretty big - so I just went with my gut.  I'm happy with what I picked out, and it's nice to start to see that room come together.

After we did the couch shopping we went by Kenricks and picked up some hot dogs (jalapeno cheddar) and chicken brats (blue cheese).  I think we'll be shopping there more often for our meat products.  They have soooo many different kinds of brats I want to try!  We grilled that night and our friend Caleb came over.

On Saturday I went to breakfast with my dad, Janet and Keith.  Did I mention Keith, my brother, was in town?  It was so good to see him.  We went to Benton Park Cafe.   That place is so good (and popular on Saturday mornings).

I took Keith over to my mom's and I did some errands while Dan picked up the couches.  Then we relaxed a bit before we when to my cousin Dave's housewarming party.  They had a lot of good food.  Dan made his sausage dip and Dave made salad on a stick.  Caleb made burgers and dogs which were really good too.  There was so much good food I had to stop myself from just snacking all night long.

On Sunday I headed over to my mom's house to start packing up my bedroom.  When she got home from work we got pizza - Imos.  I haven't had Imos in forever since Dan isn't a fan of Provel.  It was sooooo good!  Then we headed over to my house to show my grandpa it.  Then we went to Ted Drewes.  I got a pineapple concrete and it was delicious!

We headed back to the house and played board games for awhile.  We love board games and I loved spending that time with my little family.

Sunday night I went back home and hung out with Dan and Caleb again.  They are like BFFs I swear!  We live close together now so it makes it much easier to hang out.

Monday I lounged around the house and did the dishes.  Then we picked up my brother and headed over to my dad's house to celebrate my grandpa's 91st birthday.  That night we hung around the house did some chore type of stuff and finished off the weekend by watching the Roast of James Franco.

All-in-all a great weekend!

Home Tour: Before

Finally we get to some pictures of the actual house!  Have I been dragging it out a bit?  I just wanted to know the house was all mine before I posted these.  I remembered to take these right before Dan showed up with the U-Haul on Saturday.  Now the spaces are cluttered with boxes :)

 

Also, these are off my iPhone.  So if the picture quality sucks... well that's why.  Also might be why some of the colors don't turn out correctly.

 

View from the front door when walking in.  This will be the living room.  I love the block windows throughout the house!

Front door.  I could do without the decal (wall decals aren't really my thing) but how amazing is that circle block window??  Also, straight forward from the door (on the left side of this picture) is a coat closet.

Here's a view of the living room to the dining room.  I love love love the arched door and the little arch cutouts.

View of the picture window in the living room (see what I told you about the light and camera crappiness?)

View of the window in the dining room area (living room to the right)

A different view of the dining room and living room archway

Don't you love the door bell chimes?  This is the dining room looking to the hallway and the kitchen is on the right.  You can see Daddy and Bella wondering around the house for the first time!

This is the guest bedroom.  It's looking quite orange.  I'll have to see how it looks once we get some furniture in there.

A view of the door and closet for the guest room.  I'm pretty sure Bella is pooping in this picture.  Both the dogs took a "recreational" as my dad puts it when they first got here.  I think they were excited/anxious/unsure what was going on.

Upstairs full bathroom.  I love the sink, how they sprayed the tile to get a new look, the block glass in the shower and the ledge in the shower.  We also found a linen closet in here that I did not know existed until my mom found it when we were mopping on Friday.  Also that mirror opens which I didn't know either until Dan figured it out.

Master bedroom.

View of the closet

Headed into the kitchen from the dining room

Kitchen

Can't see the cabinets too good, but they are quite retro...  The fridge is nice and new though.  And there once was a cabinet above the fridge which they covered up with a wine rack...

Another view of the kitchen

View of the basement

Storage the laundry area is behind and to the left of this picture

Utility area

Downstairs half bath

Another view of the basement... and some Daddy poo... sorry

Extra basement room

Another storage closet - didn't get the awesome clothes hanger in it though

Garage

Deck (I bought the chairs and small table at Kmart on sale)

Other side of deck and the yard.  We figured out that's a maple tree... and Dan is planning on harvesting maple syrup this winter

Where it's wired for a TV and has a fan.  Nice covered area - and look the UHaul arrived!

There's the quick breakdown of the house.  I'll be back with more information.  I'm thinking a quick post of my favorite parts of the house and the updates I'm day dreaming about.