Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas from our family to yours!

Christmas Cheer on Christmas Eve!

Happy Christmas Eve everyone!

I'm definitely feeling the spirit of Christmas and can't wait to go to church this evening and then spend time with my family at my grandmother's house!

Yesterday and today I've been babysitting my nieces.  I'm not sure if I've ever written about them on the blog...but I love these kids SO much!  They are 14, 12, and 7 and are so much fun.  Since Daniel and I have been together 10 (going on 11) years, I've gotten to be around them almost all of their lives. I love thinking of new and fun activities to do with them...and they even have their own room in our new house (they had one in our old house as well).

I was going to take them ice skating yesterday, but the rain kept us from going.  Instead, we created a giant pallet on the floor and snuggled up for a Christmas movie marathon (I've been recording movies I thought they'd like all season).

3 kids + 3 dogs + 1 aunt = best snuggles ever

I think she was really into this movie!

At lunch time we decided to make Chicken and Dumplings (I will post the recipe soon).  It's a great meal to cook and let kids get involved--what kid doesn't like to knead and roll out dough?

We eventually decided to brave the rain and go visit our house.  The girls approved of their new room color and are very excited about their first sleepover at the new house!  When we got home, everyone warmed up with double chocolate hot cocoa!

Before I head to my grandmother's house, the girls and I are going to make Christmas Ornaments!  Nothing puts me in a Christmas mood like the joy and excitement of kids!

Merry Christmas!

More Painting

We started out our weekend with Lucy and Lola's annual vet visit.  They were very good for the vet while having their shots and blood work done.  They are in great health and are doing really well, but the appointment tuckered them out!  They spent the whole night snuggling and sleeping while Luna got everyone's full attention for playtime!

Lola snoozing away.

Lucy being pitiful.

Luna loving life!

Saturday was overcast and we had a slight drizzle.  To some this might mean the weather is "bad," but I love looking at the pond this way.  It is so gorgeous--and I feel so lucky that this will soon be my back yard!

Is everyone as tired of reading about me painting my house as I am painting it?

We got lots done this weekend, but I'm ready for a new task!  There's nothing that will make you question your sanity like painting your own house!

We rallied family and friends to help us finish as much as we could this weekend.  The higher parts of our living room and stairwell walls are a pain!

We also started painting the dining room ceiling and I'm in love with how it turned out!  I can just envision all of the furniture in the room and am dying to move in!

Hope everyone had a great weekend!  I'm gearing up for some holiday cheer this week!



Linking with Biana & Meghan for weekending.

Five on Friday

It's the last Friday before Christmas and my last day of work for 2014.  I am looking forward to some nice family time with Daniel (he is also done with work) and our families.  I'm going to be babysitting my nieces a few days this week and can't wait to throw together a few Christmas crafts and fun snacks for them!

I'm linking up again with Christina and Karli for Five on Friday!

One

My mom and grandmother got together and decorated our mailbox out at the new house.  I may or may not have teared up at the sight.  It is so sweet to have some Christmas Cheer at the place we will soon call home.  

Two

I am seriously addicted to the new Netflix Original Series Marco Polo.  It has everything--historical context, drama, romance, action.  The best part is that Muffin loves it too!

Daniel was on a business trip earlier this week and I am so into this show that I snuggled up with my puppies and watched ahead without him!  Shhhhh...don't tell.

These puppies are such great snuggle buddies!

Three

I'm officially finished with buying and wrapping Christmas gifts!

Now I just have to add bows before Christmas!

Four

They started installing interior doors and trim at our house this week!

Master Bedroom door.

Look at all of the trim!

Door to the Study/My Art Studio

I am extremely excited with how everything is coming together and love the look of the doors we picked!  Next steps are to get the doors and trim painted a nice shade of ivory.

Five

Exterior painting is officially complete!

In my original plans for the exterior, I was going to paint the house two shades of green.  With the addition of the copper to our roof, I decided to simplify and stick to Svelte Sage by Sherwin Williams.  I think it will give a much cleaner look once the exterior rock is installed.

We will be painting again this weekend, but I hope to fit in some time for watching Christmas movies and holiday cheer.  I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Stocking Stuffers for Men

Daniel is one of the easiest and the hardest people to shop for at Christmas time.  I say that because I always know what he likes (and wants) making it easy to find his "main" gift.  However, filling a stocking with things that are sure to make him smile can be a challenge.  If your husbands are as difficult as mine to shop stocking stuffers for, here are a few last minute ideas.

1. Wallet Multi Tool  This multi tool is great because it's slim enough to fit in a wallet and has tons of fun gadgets!
2. Lip Balm  Muffin's lips are always dry in the winter.  This brand is supposed to be great for men and freshens breath.
3. Cuff Link Jump Drive  I've always thought these were super cool.  It's definitely a 007 way to bring a presentation to a meeting!
4. Scalp Massager These things are amazing.  Daniel loves to have his head scratched!
5. Corksickle Beer Chiller For those times that your beers just aren't cold--this gets them frosty in a jiffy without watering down your beer.
6. Christmas Tree Cakes It just isn't Christmas for my sweet muffin without a Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake!
7. Mini Bottles I always like to grab a few mini bottles of Daniel's favorite bourbon to put in his stocking.
8. Cards Against Humanity Expansion Pack  We love Cards Against Humanity, but every now and then you need to spice it up!  The expansion pack is perfect for this and fits nicely in a stocking!

As you can tell, I love Amazon Prime for all of my last minute stocking stuffers!  Happy shopping!

Our Weekend

Another Monday is here!  I'm sad to see the weekend go (we got so much done at the house), but am also excited to start the last week of work before the holidays!

As I mentioned last week, we spent Friday night working in a winter wonderland for my job.

 We had a great time at the party...I mean who wouldn't?  We got gussied up and worked the check-in table before we were released from our duties to party with all of the guests.  It was a great night to have fun and relax before starting another long weekend of painting!

Saturday Daniel and I were the only ones out at our house painting, so the progress was a little bit slower--we only got 2 rooms complete (though they were big rooms).  We decided to bring the puppies along to keep us company.

Our little furbabies made great helpers and the job felt like it went quickly!  The secret to my success is listening to audiobooks while I paint.  It keeps my mind busy during the monotonous task.

Sunday found us painting again, but this time with the help of Daniel's parents (a big shout out and THANK YOU).   Once we ran out of paint (be impressed, we went through 8 gallons), we called it quits at the house.  Since we we will be installing interior doors and trim this week, Daniel and I rounded the troops at my parents' house and set out in search of reclaimed beadboard for the half bathroom (thank you to my family!!!).  We headed to the barn and hit the reclaimed wood jackpot!

This is ALL beadboard!

My grandmother is one smart lady and decided to keep the beadboard from a house that was being torn down in our small town.  She just couldn't bear to see the beautiful wood thrown away, and I'm so thankful she kept it all this time!

My Mom and Muffin sorting the boards.

My sister Georgia and her sweet boyfriend Spencer hard at work!

My dad grabbing more boards

Georgia carrying boards 10 times her size! 

We got tons of material and left even more!  I have visions of projects going through my head :)

Even though I'm exhausted and feel like I need another weekend, I am so thankful we got so much done and appreciate our families helping us work on our home!

Linking with Biana & Meghan for weekending.

Five on Friday

I can't believe it's already Friday!  I'm gearing up for another weekend of painting at our house.  Tonight, I am working a holiday party for my job.  It should be fun...I mean who doesn't love to wear a pretty party dress?

To start the weekend of right, I'm linking up with Christina for Five on Friday!

One

Luna officially has her own Christmas stocking!

I know I'm crazy, but my baby dogs get their own stockings for Santa Paws to fill with goodies!  Now that I have her stocking here, it's time to hunt the perfect treats and toys to fill it with!

Two

One great thing about living in a 500 square foot apartment is that decorations are visible no matter where you are.  I love being able to enjoy the Christmas tree in the entire apartment.  I especially love enjoying it with a glass of wine!

Three

Speaking of the Christmas tree, Each year I like to buy several of the same ornament to add to our collection.  This year I have my eye on this gorgeous ornament from Pottery Barn.

I'm keeping a watch on it to see if it the sale price goes down.  Pottery Barn tends to have pretty good deals on ornaments closer to the holidays!

Four

School's out for summer 2014!  I officially wrapped up my last class for the semester!  I am looking forward to spending this extra free time reading books on my personal list!  I know I'm lame, but the Percy Jackson series is one of my favorites (it's the history buff in me).  I plan to finish the last (and latest) book, The Blood of Olympus, before classes start back in January (don't worry, I have plenty of "grown up" books on my list too).

Five

They poured concrete!

I know, I know, this is a weird thing to be excited about.  To me, it signifies progress and that the end of the building process is in sight.  To Muffin, it signifies the one thing he wanted from our house!  When we were first drawing up plans, Daniel told our designer that all he wanted was a concrete patio to entertain on (he's silly, we know).  Well sweet Muffin--it's here!

Hope everyone has an amazing weekend!