tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6149623138805428342024-02-07T02:44:13.393-05:00Happiness UnexaminedA personal life blog. With some DIY, some wedding, some home, lots of cute animals.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger55125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-51040895390932245392014-10-12T17:32:00.002-04:002014-10-12T17:35:20.750-04:00Read a Book- YA SerialsOne of my goals for the year was to do more personal/pleasure reading. I have been doing an okay job at that, surprisingly! After I found out that borrowing library books from my local library on my kindle is the easiest thing in the world, I constantly have had 2-3 books on rotation. One is usually a book for book club, and two for pleasure. I have been mostly drawn to YA serials because they are quick, easy, fun reads, and who knows- maybe they will be making movies in the future (Hunger Games, Divergent, anyone?) and I will be ahead of the curve. Here are two that I have read recently and enjoyed. <br />
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<b><u>Gone</u></b> by Michael Grant</div>
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I just finished this one yesterday. There are a whole bunch of other books to this series, and I've only read the first one so far, so I can't say anything about the series as a whole. But this one was pretty good! When searching for the book cover, I read that they have signed on for a TV series for these books as well, so there's something to think about if you're wanting to read it. </div>
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This book is if <u>Lord of the Flies</u>, Stephen King's <u>Under the Dome</u>, and the X-Men all got together in a blender... it you strained out all the adult content, you'd be left with this book. It's a super fast read (I read it in a day). A bit predictable, but fun. The premise is: one day everyone over the age of 15 just vanishes. And there's a barrier around the town. And some of the kids have super powers. Like I said... Lord of the Flies/Under the Dome/X-Men. A few of my favorite things! And maybe if you can read that tiny print at the top of the book, you can see where I heard about these series- that's a blurb from Mr. Stephen King himself. He recommended this series on twitter and I was reserving it on my kindle within ten minutes. </div>
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<b><u>The Girl of Fire and Thorns</u></b> by Rae Carson</div>
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I am obsessed with this series. I knew at the end of the first book (this one!) that it was something different and special and fantastic. I'm going to be brief and bulleted while I list some of the (many) reasons why I think this is one of the best YA book series I have read*. </div>
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<li>Strong (in a different way!) female POC main character. In fact, almost everyone in this series is a POC. Elisa, the main character, is more book smart and strategic than physically strong (think Hermione here). She's also not a skinny, pretty, white girl (movie Katniss, Tris, I'm looking at ya'll)- she's overweight (fat is a descriptor used often, by Elisa and others), and while it plays some into the plot in the beginning (people are HUGE JERKS to her, and her self-esteem, etc) it is not something that she feels needs to change- and for the most part, it doesn't. And it doesn't need to. And it shouldn't need to! </li>
<li>The romance is not central to the story. It's there, but it isn't central. And Elisa don't depend on no mannnn to get her through her battles. She does grow and change throughout the series- it's wonderful to watch.</li>
<li>This is YA, but it falls somewhere on the George R.R. Martin spectrum of plot development- there are a bunch of characters, and you'll get attached, but nobody is safe and you need to know that! The reason I picked this book up in the first place was because someone somewhere said something along the lines of "Game of Thrones-y for YA," and it immediately went onto the "on hold" page of my kindle library. Whoever that person was, they weren't lying.</li>
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Anyway, there's my bulleted points. I can't get over how much I loved Elisa as a protagonist- and all the other characters too (seriously, they're all wonderfully crafted, even the jerks). I zipped through this book in like a day, and then waiting (extremely impatiently) for the others (being waitlisted on the kindle is SO HARD to deal with)- to the point where I said "screw this" and actually left my house, drove to the library, and CHECKED OUT THE ACTUAL BOOK. I never do this. But I had to finish it. Then, once I finished the series, I read allll the little short stories that are available as well. I think there was three or four. THAT is how into this series I was. Go read it. It's refreshing.</div>
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<i>*I put the little star here because cruising through the <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/10429092-the-girl-of-fire-and-thorns">goodreads</a> page, you can see that some people apparently hated this book. Whatever. </i></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-52528025247054725732014-10-06T07:46:00.000-04:002014-10-06T07:46:00.299-04:00The "I Peed on a Stick and Everyone Got Excited" StoryHere's the story of how I found out I was expecting an unholy terror of my very own. And how we told the various people in our lives. <br />
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On July 12, Scott and I jetlagged our way back to Maryland from a long and awesome trip to Portland and Vegas. We were in Portland for my friend's wedding, and to visit Scott's fam, and we stopped by Vegas with a couple friends for fun- because hey, why not? It's practically on the way. We hung out, we ate tons of food, I avoided the sun like the plague because I didn't have any sunscreen, blah blah blah you will have read all of this <a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2014/07/little-life-things-weeks-of-752014.html">over here at this post</a>. So my parents picked us up from the airport, we finally got home, dumped our bags down, and immediately crawled into bed for a nap. I woke up first, eventually, and thought "now would probably be the time to take one of those pregnancy tests in the bathroom." My period had been due a day earlier, and I had sort-of convinced myself that it was late due to travel, etc... but I took the little cheap test (the one that's like a litmus test or something from 7th grade science class). And that one came back with two lines. So then I pulled out the expensive test (the traditional one that costs like 14 dollars and gave me a minor aneurysm when I bought it [I'm cheap] and I vowed never to use it UNLESS I WAS SURE because I would probably cry if I used it and it came back negative and I got my period the next day), the early response kind, and that one popped it's line up within the first 30 seconds of using it. So then I was convinced. <br />
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<i>Because if there weren't pics, you'd never believe I was telling the truth!</i></div>
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So then I told Scott in the most "me" way imaginable. I climbed into bed, stared at his face, poked him until he woke up, and shoved the thing right into his eyes, basically. <i>Tres romantique</i>. <br />
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Then he took the first of a series of photos, the Me Standing in Front of a Wall series. <br />
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<i>This is my "starting" picture. But there is a baby there. </i></div>
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<i>The food baby from 4 days of all you can eat Vegas buffets. </i></div>
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Then we had to wait for like, an entire month or something to tell other people (family). It was HORRIBLE. Scott can't keep a secret to save his life, and was annoying the everloving crap out of me. Sorry babe. It's true. But this gave me time to plan Cute Ways to Tell. We ordered my parents some tshirts online (it's a long silly story but the cliffs is that my family likes to do special shirts for big events and it can be embarrassing but in the fun way that families are). Dad's looked like the Godfather logo but said <a href="https://www.etsy.com/transaction/213870199">The Grandfather</a> instead. Mom's we had custom made at some custom made T-shirt website, and said "Momsy, because I'm too young to be called Grandmother." We waited until we went to the OB and got our first ultrasound before we told anyone else. So we took the shirts over to my parents, and they were delighted, of course, and then we showed off the ultrasound. That same night, we FaceTime'd with Scott's family and told them the news and showed them the picture too. We had to wait a few days to tell my brother and sister-in-law, but I copied one of the ultrasound photos and wrote "Future model for Peony Blossoms" on there (in case you didn't know, my BFF/SIL has a couple of great knit shops on etsy, and the one for babies is <a href="https://www.etsy.com/shop/peonyblossoms">Peony Blossoms</a>). <br />
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And that was how we told the fam. You already saw how we told <a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2014/10/big-life-things.html">the rest of the world</a> (aka Facebook). Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-81193889375423390982014-10-01T16:21:00.000-04:002014-10-01T16:21:00.145-04:00BIG Life ThingsHey, Alissa, where exactly have you been? What's new? We miss you. And your "weekly" (<i>hahahahahahaha</i>) updates. Why are you standing in front of that wall?<br />
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Well friends, most of you probably know the news, but here it is anyway if you missed the super cute announcement.<br />
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<i>Yoooooooo!</i></div>
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So there's the news. Stay tuned for stories and pictures and all kinds of babypalooza nonsense.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-15692659181329894422014-07-19T10:04:00.000-04:002014-07-19T10:04:00.490-04:00Little Life Things (Week[s] of 7/5/2014 - 7/18/2014)Double Post! We were on vacation and it was super difficult to make posts, so I'm doubling up here. <br />
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<li>We were in Portland for a wedding that occurred July 5. It was a gorgeous, sweet, emotional wedding, and we were so glad to be able to have been in attendance. We looked really good, too.</li>
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<li style="text-align: left;">After the wedding, we headed off to Vegas! We went with two of our friends from Oregon, and met a few people there too. Vegas was great, of course. The highlight was seeing Evil Dead the Musical. It was hilarious and perfect. </li>
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<i>Grabbing Ash's boomstick</i></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">We went down to Fremont street, which I actually prefer to the strip. It's cheaper, less crowded, and covered so my delicate redheaded complexion won't burn after three seconds outside. </li>
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<i>While there, I discovered how absolutely terrifying the cowboy is </i></div>
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<i>when his lights aren't turned on. Yeesh! Nightmare fuel.</i></div>
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<li>Also, we ate food. We hit some buffets, we snacked, and we discovered the greatest little place on Fremont called Uncle Joe's (go there!). </li>
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<i>This pizza had 10 meats on it.</i></div>
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<li>Meanwhile, back in Maryland, a few things happened. A giant thunderstorm happened and apparently a wind shear (???) swept through our neighborhood and took down a tree in nearly every yard. We lost the majority of our ONE tree!</li>
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<i>Noooooo I had so many plans for this shady space!</i></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">Also, I got a NEWWW CAAAAAR! I am very sad to leave my echo. I've had that car since I was 16, it's the car I learned to drive on! It drove me all through Oregon too. But it was time for a change after 12+ years. After much research and finagling, my new car is a Ford Escape! My only requirements were: has air conditioning, is big enough for kids and sports equipment and stuff (I'm planning on keeping this one for another 10 years), has storage space, and mostly- HAS AIR CONDITIONING. Did I mention that I needed my new car to have AC? </li>
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<i>Awkward picture is super awkward</i></div>
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<b><u>Bonus Photos:</u></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHksffX8ZFBTfKyrqGJw3U1wsQ5gm2cOSPKgsOmGj5rWkEbcnTDkCfEeeLZclMIgIWNBX7YRPjbIrfhDZmNzi16n5ZgUsjUTOaOTHoYaTfV3-kDae7m3s78dWrUKRQFNWHD_ayWBvX73-/s1600/photo+4+%25287%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihHksffX8ZFBTfKyrqGJw3U1wsQ5gm2cOSPKgsOmGj5rWkEbcnTDkCfEeeLZclMIgIWNBX7YRPjbIrfhDZmNzi16n5ZgUsjUTOaOTHoYaTfV3-kDae7m3s78dWrUKRQFNWHD_ayWBvX73-/s1600/photo+4+%25287%2529.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Sunflowers at the Bellagio</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qaG77bx0b_wwLGhx9olySeelhyphenhyphenXil5yoYOnIDEjkToe6N0p6_64-0cVf-Ma1j_mYYED-FB18OaF101cVMpxlxan0Nhi_2AN5t2EYCo_T_BZaks327aLSer7DQLo7xrbbGM6l8NNEoJuU/s1600/photo+4+%25289%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3qaG77bx0b_wwLGhx9olySeelhyphenhyphenXil5yoYOnIDEjkToe6N0p6_64-0cVf-Ma1j_mYYED-FB18OaF101cVMpxlxan0Nhi_2AN5t2EYCo_T_BZaks327aLSer7DQLo7xrbbGM6l8NNEoJuU/s1600/photo+4+%25289%2529.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Dad sent this to me while we were gone. He took away the <a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2014/07/little-life-things-week-of-62814-742014.html">kiddie pool</a> </i></div>
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<i>and she tried to lay in her bowl instead. Typical. </i> </div>
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<i>When I took down my hair from the wedding...</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-57915085356749441672014-07-07T10:21:00.000-04:002014-07-07T10:21:00.065-04:00How to Be a Rainy Day Bride<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdv-mYMTm_o2bHmE9Ooq1GgYEPm2nCCwT94E9LkwMi3fqxv4CRULa3g0lRaQPe7O7VnMaYhAbQucmTpPBF2Aw61UX8kJ9tx9reRIOxHhBCuKAUmebt95nvSWStgjsGvUkb0liODv9kYBZi/s1600/Xavier-132.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdv-mYMTm_o2bHmE9Ooq1GgYEPm2nCCwT94E9LkwMi3fqxv4CRULa3g0lRaQPe7O7VnMaYhAbQucmTpPBF2Aw61UX8kJ9tx9reRIOxHhBCuKAUmebt95nvSWStgjsGvUkb0liODv9kYBZi/s1600/Xavier-132.jpg" height="400" width="266" /></a></div>
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1. Get married in the rain!<br />
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Just kidding. Most people probably don't grow up dreaming of rain on their wedding day. Yes, it is said to be a sign of good fortune/fertility or whatever- but as my dad says, "that saying was made up by someone whose daughter was getting married on a rainy day to keep her from flipping out." If you are planning an outdoor wedding, you HAVE to be prepared for rain. I know everyone says this, and you hear it and are like "yes yes, I KNOW." But inside (and I know this, because this was me), you are thinking "it won't rain on my wedding because it's my wedding and it can't." Let me tell you- it can. And it does. But it's not the end of the world!!! Take it from me- my husband and I got married during a 15 minute outdoor ceremony while it rained and rained on us. Was it still a perfect day? Absolutely. Would I change anything about it? Not at all. Here's a list of some things that helped me through my own rainy day wedding.<br />
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<b>1. Have a plan.</b><br />
My venue was a state park, so our ceremony and reception were both at the same location, and both outdoors. When you are booking your reception venue/tent, remember that this is (most likely) your backup location for rain! Our (unused) rain plan (I'll get to more of this later) was to do the ceremony under the tent with our guests seated at their tables. Because one of my favorite aspects of the park was the flower-covered arch at the ceremony site, we (I say we, but it was my bridesmaid and her mom) put together a lighted arch from Michael's and decorated it with ribbons, and purchased giant flower pots overflowing with flowers to put it in. Being as prepared as possible for rain will make the transition much easier if you do have to go with your backup. <br />
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<b>2. Practice your plan! </b><br />
At our rehearsal, we ran through our regular plan several times, and then we also ran through our rainy day plan. This included coming out of a different door on the house to make the walks shorter. This included changing up which way the boys came down the aisle so they could hold an umbrella over their escort.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFMgu4_yQ5fx1Wzh0C6rs1Xkj_dE00TxjSFHZGwZSXszzsssweiC9_Toz8PHBeD5W6G550ctA_iFp2bt-7IrsaDL5AIdZWffb2C3EIha5v5RnyO0DEMVYzHBC_5lJgJ2aAX48TIe2KDRX/s1600/Xavier-306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIFMgu4_yQ5fx1Wzh0C6rs1Xkj_dE00TxjSFHZGwZSXszzsssweiC9_Toz8PHBeD5W6G550ctA_iFp2bt-7IrsaDL5AIdZWffb2C3EIha5v5RnyO0DEMVYzHBC_5lJgJ2aAX48TIe2KDRX/s1600/Xavier-306.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>3. Get some umbrellas.</b><br />
My dad ordered a bunch of giant golf umbrellas online prior to the wedding. He ordered solid white ones, and some pink and white ones. You'll see one of the white ones featured in my wedding photos. You can find some really great deals online. Or, you can ask around from friends and family to see if they have any extra. If your budget allows, try to do this in advance, even before you have the weather report- you don't want to be scrambling the week of your wedding to find giant umbrellas that you don't mind having in your photos because the weather report is predicting rain. We had enough umbrellas for our bridal party and some additional for grandparents/guests. <br />
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<b>4. TRY NOT TO PANIC.</b><br />
Take a deep breath. You'll make it through this, I promise. Remember: it's a wedding. Maybe it's not the wedding of your Pinterest dreams, but it's YOUR wedding, it's finally here, and at the end of the kerfuffle- you'll be married to the person of your dreams. Just remember that. <br />
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<b>5. Be spontaneous and laugh a lot.</b><br />
Here's the part where I tell you my story. Sometimes, you do all these steps. You bought the umbrellas. You made the plan. You made the backup arch. You practiced the night before. And the day of the wedding, it's overcast but holding off. The wedding ceremony is at 2. Everyone is seated in their chairs in front of the rose garden. The music begins to play. The guests of honor begin to walk down the aisle. And then... AND THEN... the rain starts. Your guests pull out their umbrellas- and your dad grabs one for you (the bride), but some of the guests don't have umbrellas. Your bridesmaids and your groomsmen don't. You lament that there are TEN GIANT umbrellas in a box inside the manor house, but you're already being escorted down the aisle by your dad and OH WELL, looks like you're doing this thing in the rain!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ivzCtmyb8DptqP3PTMFqkYYhg__sZgkcX7P7j37EmhxR5s9Y03vkn1gVUKy2lXbjtPiYTDzdGv75UJpym-qMJlqv9geaHeCj8YG54PN7PpiaLozrCmvvhXhF6YAn_-1QBUPUcRrFd78i/s1600/Xavier-220.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ivzCtmyb8DptqP3PTMFqkYYhg__sZgkcX7P7j37EmhxR5s9Y03vkn1gVUKy2lXbjtPiYTDzdGv75UJpym-qMJlqv9geaHeCj8YG54PN7PpiaLozrCmvvhXhF6YAn_-1QBUPUcRrFd78i/s1600/Xavier-220.jpg" height="320" width="217" /></a></div>
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That's what happened to us on our wedding day. We stood there while it showered on us, and we stared into each other's eyes and smiled, and laughed, and rolled our eyes, and cracked up at every water reference made in the ceremony- which was quite a few because of the location. Was I upset that it was raining? No. I was worried about my guests, but it was a short ceremony and if they were really bothered, they stood under the giant tree. I even improvised something about the rain into my vows as I was reading them. The officiant cracked a joke about the rain as droplets fell from his hair onto his kindle. And then it was over, we were married, and everyone went under the tent. And the rain eventually stopped. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc3dQxtZlcwUZKpkhIJBm0g2qlaiwTd_QZYXD4ABEobZNJL-x9_wB5IGriJYT95K8Br-FuRFPMqRH2iCCIvyXWsbR_9QqbHGMZEKgvZqCILOXQtVGcus78Gr0ZzbfLjKLf41WjqkmJydD/s1600/Xavier-226.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlc3dQxtZlcwUZKpkhIJBm0g2qlaiwTd_QZYXD4ABEobZNJL-x9_wB5IGriJYT95K8Br-FuRFPMqRH2iCCIvyXWsbR_9QqbHGMZEKgvZqCILOXQtVGcus78Gr0ZzbfLjKLf41WjqkmJydD/s1600/Xavier-226.jpg" height="266" width="400" /></a></div>
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<i>If you make this big, you can see the raindrops!</i></div>
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But now we have a story. Something uniquely us. And very fitting. Of course we got married out in the rain- why wouldn't we? That's so very Alissa and Scott.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sIk0fEjtQs9EDl-dnZ24L-hmFt_6QKt-ulA1vjufg5XF9hAzlECyj0Jkd0tJHWYzZtxkIfZSppAzTMhN2LdUgXqJgYpkEJg4vjo45BUaw9r8Upl4ddpWXDcdMciGb0bR3P_lESrxiq7A/s1600/Xavier-237.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1sIk0fEjtQs9EDl-dnZ24L-hmFt_6QKt-ulA1vjufg5XF9hAzlECyj0Jkd0tJHWYzZtxkIfZSppAzTMhN2LdUgXqJgYpkEJg4vjo45BUaw9r8Upl4ddpWXDcdMciGb0bR3P_lESrxiq7A/s1600/Xavier-237.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtM6dcRKM8hfo2knUIU9HouVxa2s4rsVlTgOytNUlxQex50zeK1x0g5oF07n-wC7J97ha4yFYtI8aP8EeXcKKjdH2vaWSrl3UO07zc02sRYAKl-YNbX_Db8gDlItlDjn9texkrjKj727uR/s1600/Xavier-250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtM6dcRKM8hfo2knUIU9HouVxa2s4rsVlTgOytNUlxQex50zeK1x0g5oF07n-wC7J97ha4yFYtI8aP8EeXcKKjdH2vaWSrl3UO07zc02sRYAKl-YNbX_Db8gDlItlDjn9texkrjKj727uR/s1600/Xavier-250.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
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One final word of advice- take precautions with your shoes in case of mud. Scotch guard them. Buy the little shoe caps to keep from sinking. Trust me. </div>
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<i>Wedding photographs by <a href="http://www.melissabarrickphotography.com/">Melissa Barrick</a>.</i><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-85365283130238821162014-07-05T11:39:00.000-04:002014-07-05T11:39:37.634-04:00Little Life Things (Week of 6/28/14 - 7/4/2014)Vacation Edition!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uPeomfrUm83rlXSEFhyphenhyphenr4YPHOYyJOUzPpeEGcqOTV1INCLR5v3HERb61tIoor8L2eRq37DZ6mWUGQU4goXCGzWbaxAZxJp6qjl5_Db8Sx38aLTI_PLck1nrKYpM2Kn0PhP3iuEBvWTEc/s1600/photo+4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_uPeomfrUm83rlXSEFhyphenhyphenr4YPHOYyJOUzPpeEGcqOTV1INCLR5v3HERb61tIoor8L2eRq37DZ6mWUGQU4goXCGzWbaxAZxJp6qjl5_Db8Sx38aLTI_PLck1nrKYpM2Kn0PhP3iuEBvWTEc/s1600/photo+4.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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June 28 to July 4<br />
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<li>We're in Oregon! Scott grew up in Oregon, and his family lives here still. I lived in Oregon for about 3 and a half years while I completed my master's program. One of my good friends from grad school is getting married, so we get to visit our old home AND Scott's family, AND celebrate love love love! </li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7M5Q4FkvWKPaUd2CMI5vpyshJ0eMehgLBHN4NYT29xVsBriADhG489WDO7b2_KrMy_j8Mn7jGbHK0K5Kh22cXGdtMv8nTWv4rLPd7YCfwvOI6XrPhNKfZMrCsu-biUnWumC8DR0YvdX7Z/s1600/photo+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7M5Q4FkvWKPaUd2CMI5vpyshJ0eMehgLBHN4NYT29xVsBriADhG489WDO7b2_KrMy_j8Mn7jGbHK0K5Kh22cXGdtMv8nTWv4rLPd7YCfwvOI6XrPhNKfZMrCsu-biUnWumC8DR0YvdX7Z/s1600/photo+3.JPG" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">My parents are dog-sitting Abby and Jack. We took Abby to their house, where she is LIVING THE LIFE- as you can see, up there in her pool. That photo was waiting for me when we landed.</li>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSONlt64nMri7Fcz_sIO8Dvfm_pmVh58sGfGwCfSkewD5CB6F-WrZqaalyfzOC49PDf4EeDokuRv04XG99xp9sBtyzw8amtEZaSVdye52pRluRNp7lmADekm8l4bc4izsgpN_WJzDkrUU/s1600/photo+2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKSONlt64nMri7Fcz_sIO8Dvfm_pmVh58sGfGwCfSkewD5CB6F-WrZqaalyfzOC49PDf4EeDokuRv04XG99xp9sBtyzw8amtEZaSVdye52pRluRNp7lmADekm8l4bc4izsgpN_WJzDkrUU/s1600/photo+2.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<li style="text-align: left;">We went to one of <a href="http://www.mcmenamins.com/427-kennedy-school-home">our favorite bars</a> with a bunch of our friends, and that was so nice! </li>
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<li>We celebrated the Fourth of July with Scott's family- lots of fireworks and SO MUCH FOOD! My contributions to the fireworks display were all cutesy girly ones with names like: "Unicorn," and "Girl Power," and my favorite one, which was in a heart shaped case with a princess on the cover called "Mini Mi Amor." </li>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-34604935135719566062014-07-03T08:58:00.000-04:002014-07-05T11:24:20.190-04:00Hints and Tips for Writing Your Own Wedding Vows<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
I knew before Scott popped the questions that we would write our own vows. It's just a part of who we are. We have a lot of character, to put it nicely. And that character was not going to be summarized and expressed nice and succinctly using vows torn from the pages of some old manuscript, that thousands of others had recited before. Right after we booked our officiant, who would be writing (from scratch! Character!) the ceremony, we started thinking about vows. Well, I started thinking about vows. Scott just sort of waited until I had all my stuff together, and then he started thinking about them too. Here is a smattering of info that helped me, that I hope will also help you.</div>
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START EARLY.<br />
For your sanity, start early. Think about your vows, even if thinking about them causes your stomach to sort of wriggle in a knot and you start to sweat. That's good! Maybe that means these things won't happen on your wedding day! Seriously though, you don't want to be scrambling to write them the night before... or the morning of. You'll have other things to worry about. In our case, the officiant requested that we send him our vows at least one week prior to the wedding date. He would review them and get back to us if any changes were necessary (see the next point for more on this). It's good to give yourself a deadline like this. I would suggest a week prior to the event. That gives you plenty of time to practice, practice practice, and edit and re-edit if necessary.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xQSQDsJf5uo_Ka2CV8cbmzrLukyNzOKk8cQKPjXjlIfaXqs-LgeV8bbRg7gLe9TkOIqhXAByYRC2xzx2AraJxMHMERc7llBf41U-Nd39YZNA8yn-EvpOqLtjK_zTAFlFzP84b2mngr45/s1600/Xavier-251.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6xQSQDsJf5uo_Ka2CV8cbmzrLukyNzOKk8cQKPjXjlIfaXqs-LgeV8bbRg7gLe9TkOIqhXAByYRC2xzx2AraJxMHMERc7llBf41U-Nd39YZNA8yn-EvpOqLtjK_zTAFlFzP84b2mngr45/s1600/Xavier-251.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Come up with a format/Decide on a mood.</b><br />
One of the first things you need to think about is whether or not you and your partner will be seeing each other's vows prior to when you're reading them. You might choose to write your vows together (my brother and his wife did this), or share with one another what you have written. Either way is perfectly wonderful! Scott and I wrote our vows separately, and they were secret until we read them- we do love surprises. However, that's not to say that we didn't talk quite a bit, and at length, about how we were writing them. If you decide to write your vows separately, there are a few things to consider. Do you want the formats to match? How about the length of the vows? You might not want to be up there speaking for 5 minutes if your partner is going to speak for less than 1. Scott and I decided on a basic format that we would both follow. This sort of made our vows "match" and also gave us (Scott) a little bit of structure to follow. Our format was this: Two short intro type paragraphs, followed by vows. The vows began with "I promise." We wrote some silly (but sweet) vows at the beginning before diving into the serious, heartfelt sentimental ones. Our vows both ended with a short piece adapted from <a href="http://www.documentsanddesigns.com/verse/Celtic_marriage_wedding_vows.htm#t10">some celtic vows</a> that resonated deeply with both of us. <br />
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<b>Brainstorm until your brain falls out</b><br />
Think about all the reasons you love this person, and all the things that make them special to you. What promises do you want to make? What can you work on to keep your relationship healthy and growing? Write, write write. Write about the things you like to do together, your favorite memories. Jot down inside jokes, favorite experiences, future plans. Look back in old diaries, or Facebook. Have fun remembering the things that you've forgotten (it definitely happened to me). Use these thoughts, memories, tidbits to write your vows. Or....<br />
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<b>Look for inspiration (online)</b><br />
There's a reason why I put this AFTER brainstorming. The Internet is a wonderful resource. There are a million places to find vows. Samples of vows, how-to-write vows, traditional vows, vows from other cultures... It's a wonderful resource! However. It is extremely, EXTREMELY easy to get lost in all of this "inspiration" and find yourself copying down lines from other people's vows word for word. Which isn't necessarily a bad thing- but remember, your vows are about you and your partner. Not about MrsSmith2012 and her husband (Mr. Smith). And while Mrs. Smith might have written some excellent vows and you want to jot those down, just be careful that you don't lose your personal touch. After all, that's probably the reason why you chose to write your own vows in the first place- because you want them to be personal. I fell into this pit several times. I wrote down so many bits and pieces of vows I found online- and I took them apart and rewrote them and rearranged them until they felt like they were mine, because I was terrified that I would get up there and be reading someone else's vows. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1ya9or8-T7CF5SJYLI_qvW4JdksQjT3Ufk3vNA3ptzJvRO0x95S1XJS8SFtdPCRdeSUqnnEuSxA5d1I__W-HEtsWKlfcczkqkXqYiOHr8m40Ncsu9U1H9gw-FO1dQS0VzWCa9VHJjU3a/s1600/Xavier-259.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiG1ya9or8-T7CF5SJYLI_qvW4JdksQjT3Ufk3vNA3ptzJvRO0x95S1XJS8SFtdPCRdeSUqnnEuSxA5d1I__W-HEtsWKlfcczkqkXqYiOHr8m40Ncsu9U1H9gw-FO1dQS0VzWCa9VHJjU3a/s1600/Xavier-259.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b>Practice!</b><br />
This might sound silly. But practice reading your vows after you've finished them. Hopefully you finished them and still have a week (or more! You go, you overachieve, you!) before your event. Print them out and stand and read them. How does it feel? Do you feel like you're trying to speak too quickly to get through them? Slow yourself down. Need to make some changes? Do it, you gave yourself plenty of time. Are you comfortable with them? Great. Now read them to someone else. I read them to Abby first before I let any human ears hear them. Then I read them to my bridesmaids. You might feel that you can skip this practice part, but please don't. Maybe you have a funky typo that you missed- you don't want to be reading that on the wedding day! The more you practice, the more familiar your vows will be, and the easier it will be to read them on the day.<br />
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<b>When it comes time to say them, don't mumble!</b><br />
At the very least, your partner needs to be able to hear you! And yes, we all know that the wedding is about the couple, and particularly the vows are between the two of you, but your guests DID get all dressed up and travel near and far to witness the two of you commit yourselves to one another. We used a portable mic at our ceremony. The officiant was also wearing a mic for the ceremony, and we asked him to hold out a mic for us while we read our vows. Some couples might not feel comfortable doing this, but by golly we were proud of our vows and our love and we wanted everyone to know it. If you don't have access to this kind of set up, that's perfectly fine. Just speak up, and don't mumble. Don't yell in your partner's face either, but don't mumble! (This is another reason why practicing is important!)<br />
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<b>Also: Don't be afraid to improvise!</b><br />
Here's a tip from your Rainy Day Bride. It's okay to improvise during your vows! (It's also okay to laugh through the ceremony). If something has come up, if disaster has struck- it's okay to mention it in a lighthearted, fun way. We stood in a rain shower getting soaked for 20 minutes during our ceremony. In my vows, I wrote something about going on adventures big and small, with two examples. Instead of reading the examples I had prepared a week prior (something about road trips, I believe), I stated (in sort of a petulant child voice) "like getting married IN THE RAIN." Everyone giggled, as it was the first actual acknowledgement of the fact that yea, Alissa and Scott are up there getting rained on and we are all going to pretend like that's something that's not happening. So it's cool! You don't have to read exactly from the script. If you're suddenly struck with inspiration looking at your spouse-to-be-in-literal-minutes, preach it! <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGD9NjrHvAEiisst1dM7MrGTnIk73fZOU8pYXtoOh_VQhMoS1z_RfAnirPv95i1sNxiQZqc-1HJ41tU8RvMq0LA_ujyijD-em8O1TbsSdE8GP2il02qj4m73t5s77V5al_3PUkOrXBFkw/s1600/Xavier-256.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlGD9NjrHvAEiisst1dM7MrGTnIk73fZOU8pYXtoOh_VQhMoS1z_RfAnirPv95i1sNxiQZqc-1HJ41tU8RvMq0LA_ujyijD-em8O1TbsSdE8GP2il02qj4m73t5s77V5al_3PUkOrXBFkw/s1600/Xavier-256.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<b>Preserve them.</b><br />
I've seen lots of sweet ways to preserve your vows. Pinterest has tons of ideas. You can <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingstonframeworks/6329117576/">frame the actual vows that you used</a>. You can <a href="http://emmalinebride.com/gifts/wedding-vow-art/">create some wall art</a>. Or you can <a href="http://www.lilacsaloon.com/runningstitch/2011/04/vow-embroidery-for-eric-audrey.html">have them embroidered</a>! There are bunches of ideas out there, and why not immortalize those words that you both poured your hearts into?<br />
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<i>Wedding photographs by <a href="http://www.melissabarrickphotography.com/">Melissa Barrick</a>.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-58057086227044954182014-06-30T09:45:00.000-04:002014-06-30T09:45:00.320-04:00DIYish Wedding Garter Set<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgB-JC77GV_rE5ExuElboDRixZC7Wy44-L_wTVtxajSxfzbW3i2yymn4N8Qiai1I50tK2O__rt_7-a1TWX3w-ZJiK3VbNCRYpwBG-rZwqoJwy6wgaB3jNKd4HcG_J5lSAxk-wJjxSjsyT4/s1600/IMG_8362.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgB-JC77GV_rE5ExuElboDRixZC7Wy44-L_wTVtxajSxfzbW3i2yymn4N8Qiai1I50tK2O__rt_7-a1TWX3w-ZJiK3VbNCRYpwBG-rZwqoJwy6wgaB3jNKd4HcG_J5lSAxk-wJjxSjsyT4/s320/IMG_8362.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRx02OqichrNSk6S0deXZQI3c9-drXMFGsV4ZF5GAAIEZwB8kH9pYc1rd-qmcZuDLOow_AJvnTfek0xqsHXPGzrfZdk6cRnWRwzuiSw-XXtBfPzjtFSGZTBvsHbVsSf1RZTb09utyntHR/s1600/IMG_8378.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicRx02OqichrNSk6S0deXZQI3c9-drXMFGsV4ZF5GAAIEZwB8kH9pYc1rd-qmcZuDLOow_AJvnTfek0xqsHXPGzrfZdk6cRnWRwzuiSw-XXtBfPzjtFSGZTBvsHbVsSf1RZTb09utyntHR/s320/IMG_8378.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Up until the meeting the the DJ three weeks before the wedding, I had completely- COMPLETELY- forgotten about getting a garter. Back in the beginning stages of wedding stuff, it had crossed my mind that maybe I could order something cute and custom from etsy. But out of my brain went that thought, and by the time the DJ uttered the words "bouquet and garter toss" and my eyes got as big as saucers- there wasn't enough time. After a slight case of the "oh crap"s, I decided to go the cheap/easy/DIYish route.<br />
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These garters came as a two pack from Michael's. I didn't take a before photo, but I've got a stock photo for reference, and since you can't see the details I will describe it for you- they were plain white silk with tulle-ish bows and a small white silk flower with rhinestone center.<br />
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As you can see, kind of boring for my taste. I knew I wanted two garters, and I knew I wanted some purple involved. I cut off the bow and white flower, and attached some things that I already had laying around. On the larger garter, the one that I kept, I glued some leftover silk/lace flowers from the DIY card box I made. I also added some darker purple store bought flowers (also from Michael's) to tie in with the toss garter. I reattached the tulle bows (after re-tying them, those bows were not the cutest I've ever seen straight out of the package) and voila! They had a DIY touch, they matched other elements of the wedding and each other, and they took less than 15 minutes to complete. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjFZYSIbf0UFSDevAwY8OHZz2Re2ZDLo7dVDtCjiHfzA52WaBiHW7lHUuB028dEozdCncq9fbqCM2A93NY84w1m2sCdlVX2tQrCl7NtJwPblkS2QdMgIPqJY_qHdMPd2IXyejl23DAXSx/s1600/Xavier-61.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizjFZYSIbf0UFSDevAwY8OHZz2Re2ZDLo7dVDtCjiHfzA52WaBiHW7lHUuB028dEozdCncq9fbqCM2A93NY84w1m2sCdlVX2tQrCl7NtJwPblkS2QdMgIPqJY_qHdMPd2IXyejl23DAXSx/s1600/Xavier-61.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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I thought about adding some dangley charms or something, but I kind of had this "nobody is EVER going to notice this anyway" attitude about it, so I didn't bother. It's fine though- I love it, and I have plans to display it so that it won't go unnoticed and unappreciated forever. <br />
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<b>Materials List:</b><br />
Pack of garters from Michael's (with 50% off coupon)- somewhere around 8 dollars<br />
Homemade flowers: free with supplies on hand<br />
Rhinestone purple flowers: ~$1.50 at Michael's with coupon<br />
Hot Glue Gun<br />
Seam ripper/scissors<br />
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<b>Total Cost:</b> Less than $10 and less than 15 minutes of your life<br />
Which is pretty fitting for something nobody sees and is only the center of attention for 5 minutes<br />
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<i>Wedding photographs by <a href="http://www.melissabarrickphotography.com/">Melissa Barrick</a>.</i>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-57608491273981160072014-06-28T08:56:00.000-04:002014-06-28T08:56:00.595-04:00Little Life Things (Week of 6/21/14-6/27/14)It's only been since <strike>Aughumdy Eleventywhateverth</strike> August since I've done one of these... Guess what happened in August? Oh right. I became employed. So that is pretty much the best indicator of what my first year at my new job (career?) was like! But it's summer now, so I'm going to try to keep myself on track with these updates! Let's get to it then.<br />
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June 21 to June 27, 2014<br />
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<ul>
<li>Went to the library and got a library card for the first time since I was a little kid. It was AWESOME.</li>
<li>Got some new plant friends for the house. The succulents above came from an Amish market and are propagating and growing so fast I can't keep up. I gave some of the babies to my sister-in-law (can I just call her my sister?)</li>
<li>The other new plant friends have a home on the new ledge/shelf thing in the kitchen. It's actually three different kinds in one basket. Let's hope they live in harmony.</li>
<li>Painted! </li>
<li>Made a lot lot lot of jewelry. And marathoned Orange Is The New Black. These two events are extremely correlated. </li>
<li> The next door neighbors gave (!!!) us their old treadmill. For free. So we added that to our budding little baby home gym that's apparently sprouted up in the den downstairs. </li>
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<i>And then the electrician showed up and claimed we were "sabotaging" him!</i></div>
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<i>So many textures!</i></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-81035178865663002462014-06-25T20:29:00.000-04:002014-06-25T20:29:00.721-04:00How We Celebrated Our Anniversary- Part Three: Let There Be Light (and cabinets and counters and paint)<a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2014/06/how-we-celebrated-our-anniversary-part.html">Previously</a><br />
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When we last left off, we had knocked down half a wall, and then patched it back up. Here's some photos to jog your memory, if you didn't feel like clicking the link up above.<br />
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Okay, so. Down went the wall, goodbye went the gallery frames, and we tossed our pantry to the wind (just kidding. It's currently sitting in a corner in the dining room. Eventually it might make it down to the laundry room or garage, but don't hold your breath). We were left with a giant cardboard box filled with our chips and cereal, and a whole lot of patchy walls and open/empty electrical sockets. <br />
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With a wave of the magic wand, however, all of that has changed! The electrician bounced in and fixed some things (the wall socket things were way too low for the level of the counter), then the drywall guy came back and patched some things, and then the cabinets/counter dudes came and installed... well, the cabinets and counters. Scott and I were in the process of painting the space when the electrician showed up again to put on the plates and hang our lights, and then suddenly without any warning, we were done! Well, mostly. There's still some painting to do, and some plates to purchase, but good news- we have cabinets! And counters! And the whole space is so open and bright! NO MORE SPLIT LEVEL KITCHEN!<br />
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First of all, our fancy cabinets. They aren't just any cabinets, OH NO. As you can see, there are two big drawers, and regular cabinet with a shelf- and then a middle/corner cabinet that is ACTUALLY a lazy Susan, and a pull out drawer that holds two- count 'em, TWO- trash cans. Jack is a huge fan as well. Jack actually loves this whole situation, because now he can sit on the ledge and survey the front door, deck door, living room, dining room, kitchen, and hallway from one spot. </div>
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We also painted the kitchen! No more of that <a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2014/03/livingdining-room-and-den-paint-edition.html">beigey-bleh color</a> that was all over the house. It's a shade lighter than the living/dining room, and is the same color as the hallway and bedroom. </div>
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Our new lights. This was kind of a super spontaneous add-on. When the electrician first came to the house, he asked if we wanted any lighting up there, and I said, "ummm.... SURE!" He asked how many and my response was "umm..... two?" So now we have two lights. And I LOVE them. The colors are not as bright in the photo as they seem in person, but I think they perfectly pull all of the spaces together- there's the blacks and browns that match the counters, the yellowy color is like the sunflowers I have in the kitchen, and the blue pulls in the blues I have in the living space. </div>
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Lots more counter space! We were able to hide some appliances in one of the new cabinets, and brought some of the others out onto the new island for an all over more spacious area. </div>
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More pic spam:</div>
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Still on the To-Do list:</div>
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<ul>
<li>Paint the ceiling</li>
<li>Paint the ledge/shelf and baseboards</li>
<li>Replace the missing light switch plates</li>
<li>Fix the few missing/cut tiles</li>
</ul>
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Before/During/After Pics:</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-77569483229323596032014-06-19T09:36:00.007-04:002014-06-19T09:36:40.944-04:00My MOH SpeechMy brother got married a few weeks ago. I am very fortunate in that the woman he married is one of my very best friends. I also had the honor of standing next to them as the Matron of Honor! But of course that means I had to give a speech. It took me a few days to write something I liked, and I was editing it the morning of the wedding, and even after the ceremony and right before the reception. Turns out, the first part of my speech was included in the ceremony- whoops! So I had to improvise a little bit and skip part. But I'm including my speech here- for memory, and maybe for someone else's inspiration. <br />
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***</div>
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Hello
everyone. For those who don’t know me, I am Alissa, and Jeff is my
little brother. I’ve known him for his whole life. Josie, I’ve
known since college at Towson. It’s funny. People who live in The
County always talk about how small it is and everyone knows everyone.
So it’s funny ironic Jeff and Josie grew up two miles from each
other, went to the same high school for three years, and never met
until they went 100 miles away to Towson. Think of how many times
their paths must have crossed, and they never knew!**</div>
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The
first time I met Josie was in our friend Lacey's dorm room at Towson.
Josie was wearing her workout gear and I think had either just come
from or was heading to the gym. The first thought I had about her
was, “wow, who is this dedicated- and crazy- college freshman who
still has time and motivation to hit the gym?” After that, we
became friends, and Jeff and Josie met, and then Josie was a regular
in our lives.
</div>
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<br /></div>
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Josie
has been a great friend to me since that day I met her in her workout
gear. She is supportive and sweet, but she also always tells you
exactly how it is. She has there and supported me through the most
important events in my life so far- when I first met my husband, she
was there giving him high fives. When we got engaged, she knew about
it and helped plan it. And, side note, Josie is so surprising and
she always keeps you guessing- could you tell by looking at her that
this girl just looooooves the transformers movies? So much so that I
now associate transformers with my own relationship because she
convinced the group to go see transformers 2 on the day Scott
proposed to me. I don’t think I will ever forgive her for that.</div>
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Jeff is
my little brother, and we have always been very close- he really is
one of my best friends. And while I’m still not quite sure how he
managed to reel Josie in, I’m glad he did because you two couldn’t
be more perfect each other. The fact that two of the most important
and valuable people in my life are together in love fills me with
happiness. You’re perfect for each other, and I’m not just
saying that because I’m biased in both directions. Having Josie in
his life has, how should I say this, “calmed him down.” He
dresses nicer. He’s more clean-shaven. He's no longer nocturnal. And honestly, I think she
has made him a better brother. And he’s been great for her, too.
He’s a very loyal and supportive person, and always steps directly
onto the plate when duty calls. I know that Josie will never want
for anything, as long as Jeff is around.
</div>
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<div align="JUSTIFY" style="page-break-inside: avoid; widows: 8;">
My mom
and I were talking the other day and she offhandedly mentioned, “you
know, you always said you wanted a sister.” And I always have.
Sorry, Jeff. But putting you in drag doesn’t really count. Josie,
you’re everything I could ever want for my brother, and everything
I could ever want in a sister.
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Jeff, I
am so proud of you. I never imagined that my crazy baby brother could
clean up so nicely. I love both of you so much. Separately, you are
two special and remarkable people, but together you are complete. I
wish you all the happiness in the world in your future together, and
lots of little nieces and nephews for me to spoil.</div>
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I’d
like to end my toast with a quote from one of the most highly
regarded and groundbreaking television series of our time- Buffy the
Vampire Slayer. “When I say, 'I love you,' it's not because I want
you or because I can't have you. It has nothing to do with me. I love
what you are, what you do, how you try. I've seen your kindness and
your strength. I've seen the best and the worst of you. And I
understand with perfect clarity exactly what you are. You're a hell
of a woman. You're the one.” Thanks everyone, and congratulations
J squared. </div>
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**This part was glazed over and improvised, as it was stated during the wedding ceremonyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-57469648438977617132014-06-16T09:50:00.000-04:002014-06-20T21:54:28.618-04:00Adulting: A Dining Room Table for ChristmasWe bought our kitchen table from Fred Meyer in Portland for like 150 dollars about four years ago. We brought it to Maryland from Oregon, and plopped it right in the dining room, where it looked like this:<br />
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This is the only photo I could find of the dining room with the old table, because I really did not like this table and never pointed the camera at it. Notice all the water spots and just general ickyness. It's a great table! It just... needed an upgrade. And there were only ever two chairs there- one was broken and is That Chair (the one that only exists to collect miscellaneous objects and clothes) in the office, and the other is being used in my craft room. So we needed upgrades all around. I wanted a grown-up table, preferably one that had a leaf and was nice and sturdy and... well, grown-up. I finally found one I liked, and my parents gifted it to me for Christmas. That's how you know you're finally an adult. When you're excited to get a table for Christmas. </div>
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So we had the table, but no chairs. And my turn to host book club was in the spring- so we ended up finally finding chairs and purchasing them for book club. And I have to say, I love this table now. It came from World Market, and it has not one, but TWO leaf inserts. It gets huge! And it gets tiny. It goes from a 4 person table to a 6 person table to a 10 person table. The chairs and bench came from Target, and they feel super sturdy, and are cushy, and they weigh next to nothing. </div>
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The above is what the table looks like with no leaf. Below is with both leaves in. We ended up liking the size with only one leaf, so that's how we have left it. A happy medium! </div>
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One leaf, and how it is for every day. We were set up for fondue with my brother and his at-the-time-fiancee. </div>
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Anyway, I love this table. It's sturdy and rustic without looking out of place. I also really love the bench. We keep it on the living room side of the table so that we can easily pull it into the social space if we need more seating. An excellent upgrade, I think! We did have to have the table replaced once, because it showed up with a giant chunk missing from the surface. This table had a chip on the edge, but I was able to fix it with some wood glaze stuff that I happened to have handy. It might be better to buy something like this in person from the store, rather than have it shipped- the closet World Market is a few hours away from our home, though, and once I saw the double leaves, I had to have this one. It all worked out in the end!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-91935472540087829302014-06-14T09:19:00.000-04:002014-06-19T09:33:45.312-04:00Vestibular Idiopathic Disease- More Like "24 Hour Panic Attack and Nonstop Tears"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is my girl Zoey. She came into my life as a tiny fluffy butterball when I was 13, about 15 years ago. She has always been rambunctious and energetic and a little bit wacky. She's gotten a lot older now, and has some hip issues and she moves more slowly, but she's always been the happiest dog I've ever encountered. She always has this doofy grin on her face. </div>
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<span style="text-align: left;"><i>See that grin? It's 24/7. I love this nugget, she's the best. </i></span></div>
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The other night, my dad texted me at 9:45 and asked "Are you awake?" That's never good news. He called, and said something along the lines of "we think Zoey had a stroke" and "can't walk." One of the nice things about living less than three miles away from my parents' house is that I was there in five minutes. <br />
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My dad found her in the house on a mat, and she had... er, peed, pooped, and vomited in the middle of the floor. She was stuck on the mat and couldn't move her back legs. Her head tilted at a weird angle. But she was grinning her stupid grin and didn't seem to be in any pain. We thought of a few billion things that could have happened... stroke, heart attack, a fall... we found a lump on her belly/ribs and that brought about ideas of cancer, snake bite, etc. She couldn't keep any food or water down. My dad carried her outside to use the bathroom, and she tried walking and couldn't. She just kept looking at us, then looking back at her legs, with this confused smile on her face. When she was able to get her hips up, she'd take half a step and then topple sideways. It was horrible and painful to watch. I went home that night thinking that if she made it through the evening, the vet would surely say we had to put her down the next day. That morning, I stopped by their house on the way to work. She was loaded up in the van, and I sat and petted her for fifteen minutes while talking with my mom. She had been able to walk some in the morning, but still couldn't keep food or water down. As we sat int he van with her, I noticed her eye was twitching and rolling around while she looked at us. I thought that it had to be something in her brain. Again, in my heart, I knew my mom would be calling me in a few hours to join her at the vet so Zoey could be put down. I knew it without a doubt.<br />
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Around 9, my mom texted me. "Diagnosed with vestibular idiopathic disease. Comes on fast. Takes a few days to recover. Can be reoccurring. Tilt of head may be permanent." I had to clarify. She said... recover? Zoey wasn't dying?</div>
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Turns out, this is a fairly common (I guess?????) disease in older dogs. From what I read online, it's basically like she's on a very unsteady boat with no sea legs, or super duper drunk. She's dizzy. Which explains why she wouldn't walk- she didn't have her balance. And when she did walk, she fell over and stumbled sideways- just like college! And the eye movements? Nystagmus. Which, according to my retired police office dad, is something cops look for in sobriety tests. And the part where she threw up all the time? Yea. The spins will do that to you. </div>
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So basically, it should take a few days before she will be able to walk again. She is taking, basically, Dramamine for the nausea and dizziness. </div>
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In summary, my dog started acting like a drink drank drunkard and scared us all into thinking she was going to die within hours, when really she has this pretty common and recoverable WITHOUT INTERVENTION AT ALL! disease. What a brat.</div>
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<i>Young Zoey with her doofus grin.</i></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-91496603305480933782014-06-11T08:11:00.000-04:002014-06-11T08:11:00.924-04:00How We Celebrated Our Anniversary- Part Two: Knock Em Down, Build Em UpWe capped off our first year as a married couple by blowing out some walls in our house. Like I mentioned previously, we really disliked the cramped, closed-off feeling of the living/dining/kitchen spaces. So we fixed it. Or rather, we hired some folks who know what they're doing to fix it. <br />
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Here are some before photos:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxe0GzT7hCPSltFATcHLBDJBBYGUeuc7ogo7OYIvyIwLXn6dWA_Hzl9B6vcxir13EtQxXdMpAREPmErOHgNVwyRUwG4yyUytZQZJCSHAxUswktnClKsxLAcDdAlbIPJOnZftIkyXGgeho/s1600/IMG_4456.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwxe0GzT7hCPSltFATcHLBDJBBYGUeuc7ogo7OYIvyIwLXn6dWA_Hzl9B6vcxir13EtQxXdMpAREPmErOHgNVwyRUwG4yyUytZQZJCSHAxUswktnClKsxLAcDdAlbIPJOnZftIkyXGgeho/s1600/IMG_4456.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Bye bye, gallery wall. I loved you so.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKlIx7hk-Ol3jJjJLKMV5dPdPsJlBzAI8F1uVOWZj6F4BqBbE7avzU2ZJL6VK3jcnx627iV94ZaHbnf9Xx0IH5U-RS9l0gMr3-zTywXYP2kLg7knyWbkY_TTaoW2nL67D8CR9sd_-nJT1/s1600/IMG_0437.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNKlIx7hk-Ol3jJjJLKMV5dPdPsJlBzAI8F1uVOWZj6F4BqBbE7avzU2ZJL6VK3jcnx627iV94ZaHbnf9Xx0IH5U-RS9l0gMr3-zTywXYP2kLg7knyWbkY_TTaoW2nL67D8CR9sd_-nJT1/s1600/IMG_0437.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrIO3q9xoIgMSRBI6cLPpNxGWQt1aiwD6IAF9X1MZpYvSGooXTFnlbEwBVVfLgxXJIuVYfJeoH7V-hTv-NvtzVEvFwv-7TIikUd2M9dVWnLTdekTIif8gWPV23k-stHfzmfGD7QG_pDqN/s1600/IMG_4453.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrIO3q9xoIgMSRBI6cLPpNxGWQt1aiwD6IAF9X1MZpYvSGooXTFnlbEwBVVfLgxXJIuVYfJeoH7V-hTv-NvtzVEvFwv-7TIikUd2M9dVWnLTdekTIif8gWPV23k-stHfzmfGD7QG_pDqN/s1600/IMG_4453.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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And here are some progress shots:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VwuY-d-_0aHZLGVCsuZWSGujEGdQkdSNZiOVnIYKNVw9PevHVziuWL8gScnanSXLttiv0s9RE7BMUNCrMrqvJ2zY3jep1KyOqbCj3m2bJskDdiebzLv9uh-Q3DTXpBmoJPGbA5NbVYHQ/s1600/IMG_8274.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6VwuY-d-_0aHZLGVCsuZWSGujEGdQkdSNZiOVnIYKNVw9PevHVziuWL8gScnanSXLttiv0s9RE7BMUNCrMrqvJ2zY3jep1KyOqbCj3m2bJskDdiebzLv9uh-Q3DTXpBmoJPGbA5NbVYHQ/s1600/IMG_8274.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUlfsSqVIRVer5m9HnEGNSiv09WEu0L9xsm6Myo0OO6dUHnTDbNn4NgtsXxd9lLrR_m0zoUUamgJj3srD0iEtFeIKuS0PkpABt-jt9LAVFhODjP5n-RHhJJUzrmicj4_9lx_5kqkbOtuE/s1600/IMG_8280.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUlfsSqVIRVer5m9HnEGNSiv09WEu0L9xsm6Myo0OO6dUHnTDbNn4NgtsXxd9lLrR_m0zoUUamgJj3srD0iEtFeIKuS0PkpABt-jt9LAVFhODjP5n-RHhJJUzrmicj4_9lx_5kqkbOtuE/s1600/IMG_8280.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Our contractor is brilliant and kind of crazy. One day the wall was there. Then I got home from work, and there was no wall. We didn't realize he was doing the wall removal part that day- but he did! Because he doesn't play around. </div>
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So that's right after the wall came down, and as you can see- wires abound. Then the electrician and the drywall guy came and worked their magic, and now we have: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHHdoUq2Y70_6k3j7w5Zz1I7lbyWC9m9TPg99BDMprjv8WAiLEhELUSTCk-iay4gSDvEL6YZ_ddJ-UUvrDvjb11H6PBpUfBHDC3k-YA1eiX-t1XB9M-Cy5yeWYQw86-LwMh7OsbeG6ad-/s1600/IMG_8308.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidHHdoUq2Y70_6k3j7w5Zz1I7lbyWC9m9TPg99BDMprjv8WAiLEhELUSTCk-iay4gSDvEL6YZ_ddJ-UUvrDvjb11H6PBpUfBHDC3k-YA1eiX-t1XB9M-Cy5yeWYQw86-LwMh7OsbeG6ad-/s1600/IMG_8308.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYg-tEdgjJ3UVpxhmZ6jinRkxTfYW7Aci9tH71ynyJnzwTchhgTiSVzCHi9v9NT4Ac2tQ6aJ0i9Ed3JDLFeg1Q3ydarOBs20x_GiUilwhproBzj4mknwrVtnVFRIqQHuykngwT_YCVLXu6/s1600/IMG_8310.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYg-tEdgjJ3UVpxhmZ6jinRkxTfYW7Aci9tH71ynyJnzwTchhgTiSVzCHi9v9NT4Ac2tQ6aJ0i9Ed3JDLFeg1Q3ydarOBs20x_GiUilwhproBzj4mknwrVtnVFRIqQHuykngwT_YCVLXu6/s1600/IMG_8310.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVXfw0wup9UclNvbv837EBi9H239WfIVtIWF34AJnk-WIKhyphenhypheneTliNmfFrh7Yx5ks8FM347QFkLwH4K8hknbVeJS9hSag7jWvMq5BgjAFb8Bn2zYVJ0sjuFn3KfOEkACCL9gQoIfkGhJJE/s1600/IMG_8312.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOVXfw0wup9UclNvbv837EBi9H239WfIVtIWF34AJnk-WIKhyphenhypheneTliNmfFrh7Yx5ks8FM347QFkLwH4K8hknbVeJS9hSag7jWvMq5BgjAFb8Bn2zYVJ0sjuFn3KfOEkACCL9gQoIfkGhJJE/s1600/IMG_8312.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Still to go: cabinets, countertops, lighting, and paint. Here are come comparison shots of the progress.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwGsLVB1Aa0vkJ0hGVLZpkP86VrAzMogq0NBGKmSStzdncmSiAslRFQG-71NGN5aKLf-SnWpdIwy42d5jVtFSQMqQmRmwKruhFPpdZwsp8U8n-QFZswjlJTUjGBIiowKcP_8CJ1cYGUZW/s1600/front+comp.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzwGsLVB1Aa0vkJ0hGVLZpkP86VrAzMogq0NBGKmSStzdncmSiAslRFQG-71NGN5aKLf-SnWpdIwy42d5jVtFSQMqQmRmwKruhFPpdZwsp8U8n-QFZswjlJTUjGBIiowKcP_8CJ1cYGUZW/s1600/front+comp.jpg" height="211" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57GvudrSqfFdPeBScmbC7qq3BvRLXZMco5zB9xqKrV5t7QnGkmAjBuhN4APtoZ35Tw6JybcXwHk-TJgeuxnmNDEWhZu0nxjKLl98ap7sw614dv3aw8I5yWcK6lMaexsHAewJHFKdj3QVl/s1600/corner+comp1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj57GvudrSqfFdPeBScmbC7qq3BvRLXZMco5zB9xqKrV5t7QnGkmAjBuhN4APtoZ35Tw6JybcXwHk-TJgeuxnmNDEWhZu0nxjKLl98ap7sw614dv3aw8I5yWcK6lMaexsHAewJHFKdj3QVl/s1600/corner+comp1.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6-M6bd_F63AlZ1UjsQPKtkNrIdR4mrjftR49SREnG-Gi-CEJ745d0LgGeHp7bLZDUQWWG-ls4FNFoP2b0Lqd6Cjocyq4dZa4M0AwfE8RE15lM0QtwcAFB_1XzPevQQP3sehcMAPKFvz4/s1600/inside+comp1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb6-M6bd_F63AlZ1UjsQPKtkNrIdR4mrjftR49SREnG-Gi-CEJ745d0LgGeHp7bLZDUQWWG-ls4FNFoP2b0Lqd6Cjocyq4dZa4M0AwfE8RE15lM0QtwcAFB_1XzPevQQP3sehcMAPKFvz4/s1600/inside+comp1.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
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Much better! Can't wait for it to be completely complete, so we can stop storing our chips and cereal in that huge brown cardboard box.</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-78178525295583822852014-06-07T08:42:00.000-04:002014-06-07T08:42:00.325-04:00That's a Pretty Big DeckYea I went there with the Finding Nemo reference AND the innuendo. What of it? <br />
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One of our favorite things about our house is the ginormous deck. One of my least favorite things were all of the splinters I got in my feet every time I went outside. Because I refuse to wear shoes in the spring and the summer. It's a rule. And I especially refuse to wear shoes on my own deck. Well I certainly learned my lesson during this next project- I ended up with a two inch splinter in the middle of my foot that I broke in half.... it ended up coming out on its own. Kind of. Eventually. The good news is I didn't die, and all my limbs are still attached. AND, we finished our deck project. <br />
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We knew we wanted to hop on board the gray-deck-white-rails train. We also knew we would definitely NOT be replacing boards or anything like that, so we went with the best option we had- <a href="http://www.rustoleum.com/en/product-catalog/consumer-brands/restore/deck-and-concrete-restore-10x">Rustoleum Restore deck paint stuff</a>. This stuff is baller status, and that's an official HGTV term. A few things about this: it's expensive. Not as expensive as replacing your whole deck. But it's pricey. And you need a lot of it- you probably need more than you think you need. We had to go back to the store and double our order. Also, it is extremely- EXTREMELY- messy. We learned from my dad's mistakes and papered the entire deck rails/house (photos to follow). It got all over Scott's shoes. Just a warning. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPsYlLogQsplFbsS9urr04ke63zYSn8PyRfdSfZmU1ItrYvMZsbToqOj3QNYSWoZpkFQk2-IR8LyeAHUHtud_nYBgpPXHsSo7DtnfCYryoD-9XcN3yYz-lmTiqiPQRxm_0f9V9WTw9ubP/s1600/IMG_4871.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbPsYlLogQsplFbsS9urr04ke63zYSn8PyRfdSfZmU1ItrYvMZsbToqOj3QNYSWoZpkFQk2-IR8LyeAHUHtud_nYBgpPXHsSo7DtnfCYryoD-9XcN3yYz-lmTiqiPQRxm_0f9V9WTw9ubP/s1600/IMG_4871.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzsN5PqB6gIAhvERiS5mZyMKwoaCfHoreZB-vxLSkIkr-nE6nme9CxfPe-d0P31Qhdbmc7FL3b7CzKKm46W004O5ZORhq0Cc4iHGQTXhneAMVii5WWnSiStJhVNyaJJExjox8E7dVrVrjo/s1600/IMG_4873.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzsN5PqB6gIAhvERiS5mZyMKwoaCfHoreZB-vxLSkIkr-nE6nme9CxfPe-d0P31Qhdbmc7FL3b7CzKKm46W004O5ZORhq0Cc4iHGQTXhneAMVii5WWnSiStJhVNyaJJExjox8E7dVrVrjo/s1600/IMG_4873.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rLfgI7Ql88ts6wp0IrbpU4HSb5SN17jZyplHe4yrWRzEFpQnOQHuanKuK1rLl0SUHTAIn6uIwOQp2GDpyXtZFIhy1S1b_cQhHL1WajaqkKiJjrxnmb-HT4Q1UgT5yoANGp5q2qqcnTFm/s1600/IMG_8182.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0rLfgI7Ql88ts6wp0IrbpU4HSb5SN17jZyplHe4yrWRzEFpQnOQHuanKuK1rLl0SUHTAIn6uIwOQp2GDpyXtZFIhy1S1b_cQhHL1WajaqkKiJjrxnmb-HT4Q1UgT5yoANGp5q2qqcnTFm/s1600/IMG_8182.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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First thing we did was sand and paint the rails. Above, you can see how pretty I thought the new sanded/old weathered wood were together. And also a "before" shot of the state of the deck. Many a splinter was had here, on the rails and the floor. No bueno. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5TZ1ngun1uqOPiRmkwcbYNSsPsRkQhlmb-Hhbkp3nt6npEL0AQJcwVSu-zZJZ4v-3SrmFLwcfG437Wy8_yQG2XX1IPpVPl7JCsSTQFCWFC87H10Y7y4ewDXEqAS3fkqd2I0YzqBvAS8a/s1600/IMG_8188.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk5TZ1ngun1uqOPiRmkwcbYNSsPsRkQhlmb-Hhbkp3nt6npEL0AQJcwVSu-zZJZ4v-3SrmFLwcfG437Wy8_yQG2XX1IPpVPl7JCsSTQFCWFC87H10Y7y4ewDXEqAS3fkqd2I0YzqBvAS8a/s1600/IMG_8188.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xnJ3uIp_uEvykP5br1lgmFYlw6C1HMAqOoKQ2udjaP_ndL1LQkELrLRTmbY5l-3eV5bVDKot76sA9NOxbqeIxv-l_ziTK4c8mJTX5uf-zFo0eSHJNjMD7j7kdv2dYN_coF3BAhaUm5DO/s1600/IMG_8193.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6xnJ3uIp_uEvykP5br1lgmFYlw6C1HMAqOoKQ2udjaP_ndL1LQkELrLRTmbY5l-3eV5bVDKot76sA9NOxbqeIxv-l_ziTK4c8mJTX5uf-zFo0eSHJNjMD7j7kdv2dYN_coF3BAhaUm5DO/s1600/IMG_8193.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Paint paint paint. This took a thousand years. I think it probably took 8 hours or more between 4 people to do two coats of the white. It was seriously a pain in the butt and I got sunburned on only half of my body doing it, so it was also stingy and embarrassing when I went back to work. BUT- look how good it looks, even with just the rails done. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglgGD5JIPgOATt-NmhWwfl1Nl7SmEWPnC6mXo96MsvBF-YuvGd4Cy_GWmev0rLTSnLAe5NzukwB_UZvGkT0bSHnUZPrHCLU9irVi8yqMGX9WQBlBJDC-ZhhRoXP_I5igbVgyEaqLcmGpqb/s1600/IMG_8196.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglgGD5JIPgOATt-NmhWwfl1Nl7SmEWPnC6mXo96MsvBF-YuvGd4Cy_GWmev0rLTSnLAe5NzukwB_UZvGkT0bSHnUZPrHCLU9irVi8yqMGX9WQBlBJDC-ZhhRoXP_I5igbVgyEaqLcmGpqb/s1600/IMG_8196.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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This was the following weekend, since painting the rails took so much longer than expected. Here you can see my lovely- and also time consuming- papering job. And then we got to paint. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFF6lw5pNQzjbONzjO4cuItnbOwBHvWls5bD6GbdT78jZwavy0sWkWwott2BfO8yKRuql8qK3FXCocmEJlCkceqPOggPyk0h0sFOtgRxI2SSc8WwSZ8OSMJqJraCYc5KiNaZSVsNjncYp3/s1600/IMG_8195.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFF6lw5pNQzjbONzjO4cuItnbOwBHvWls5bD6GbdT78jZwavy0sWkWwott2BfO8yKRuql8qK3FXCocmEJlCkceqPOggPyk0h0sFOtgRxI2SSc8WwSZ8OSMJqJraCYc5KiNaZSVsNjncYp3/s1600/IMG_8195.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Every other step so you can still climb up and down as needed and don't paint baby in a corner.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErO-W6krUYpTH-YU65HSvgjDYLbIhRawVBSM-JYLwRdTWycClXwQdjTtbD2Op9SMO8IvQgAf8cJZkbE4bxb9E45LX2zo3P_X4FvbrV4ay3uJkhSRMAz0c0uoLTcHCVUy7cuZ7hmlqekwH/s1600/IMG_8204.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhErO-W6krUYpTH-YU65HSvgjDYLbIhRawVBSM-JYLwRdTWycClXwQdjTtbD2Op9SMO8IvQgAf8cJZkbE4bxb9E45LX2zo3P_X4FvbrV4ay3uJkhSRMAz0c0uoLTcHCVUy7cuZ7hmlqekwH/s1600/IMG_8204.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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The color we chose is called "<b>slate</b>." It's sort of a medium gray with maybe a little bit of blue? I'm really bad with colors. Just check out the photos and maybe you'll get the idea. You need two coats- two THICK coats- and it takes a very long time to dry, as well. But, when it's done....</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjzbj33b-cd63bYBncYHI4ONwhyphenhyphenqpQX7IAB97mN_Rg6XFqar9woOiS4miTFyostIU9M-fpfoD4GXQkRFzHHITN4jFXedwGEEagqfB0DunYcXTplHbHXSmCR_fYebTgULG5rwGUJpY7jT1/s1600/IMG_8201.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHjzbj33b-cd63bYBncYHI4ONwhyphenhyphenqpQX7IAB97mN_Rg6XFqar9woOiS4miTFyostIU9M-fpfoD4GXQkRFzHHITN4jFXedwGEEagqfB0DunYcXTplHbHXSmCR_fYebTgULG5rwGUJpY7jT1/s1600/IMG_8201.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Drying....</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIy5utdn-SiLXzWg088J0FMSXNlWMh-f4H-OGXlA5ODEqyCWoJm30Qinixp_JKmzqzYLv_j6kWW8jZ2_HCIOPDPUl9B8sEzj5ZkRVvCnp8CIQp6O91cuAzMqlQY7XOtHFj2UHu4UGZ81k/s1600/IMG_4994.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwIy5utdn-SiLXzWg088J0FMSXNlWMh-f4H-OGXlA5ODEqyCWoJm30Qinixp_JKmzqzYLv_j6kWW8jZ2_HCIOPDPUl9B8sEzj5ZkRVvCnp8CIQp6O91cuAzMqlQY7XOtHFj2UHu4UGZ81k/s1600/IMG_4994.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Dry!</i></div>
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SOOOOOOOO good. This restore stuff is made for old wood decking. It is super thick, so it fills up splinters and cracks and holes and whatever else, so the wood won't come off in your toes anymore. It also has grit in it, so it's not slippery in the rain. We chose this middle/light gray, because I was afraid a darker color would be too hot in the sun- but I don't know if that is something that really happens or not. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBO4DN8RqaMg_cYugPaub96FFADOcMvhkTZbEAa_GU2SyjNY0brr0af_OrV0UIS9kz4QPtDlIVRhw4D-DW8abuyehBx2PaenOpuJ36uR7zFGBXNEQQ74ex0nW-Rq8bqJl5hQWUSNFdnEMY/s1600/IMG_8254.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBO4DN8RqaMg_cYugPaub96FFADOcMvhkTZbEAa_GU2SyjNY0brr0af_OrV0UIS9kz4QPtDlIVRhw4D-DW8abuyehBx2PaenOpuJ36uR7zFGBXNEQQ74ex0nW-Rq8bqJl5hQWUSNFdnEMY/s1600/IMG_8254.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHUThpCxDxbn3hyphenhyphenkchgf7WQjW7V4WL-IuYeR8asqS8tjXaD6sa56lFqD0l43-QZdpbnS9bbuhAK5ZFPVh8dNTBwPxp5tVWxo5pTTc_B_BkOOO3ePF8HC1X6kGTgobgmGqOINLFVfKO3zO/s1600/IMG_8252.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieHUThpCxDxbn3hyphenhyphenkchgf7WQjW7V4WL-IuYeR8asqS8tjXaD6sa56lFqD0l43-QZdpbnS9bbuhAK5ZFPVh8dNTBwPxp5tVWxo5pTTc_B_BkOOO3ePF8HC1X6kGTgobgmGqOINLFVfKO3zO/s1600/IMG_8252.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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We need to do some touch-ups; Abby ran through some white paint and got footprints in some places, and there's one spot where I think we were too impatient and put furniture on it before it was ready and now there's a circle of wood showing through. But other than that, I think it looks a billion times better, AND, I can be as barefoot as I want without any worries. Mission accomplished. Bring on summer!</div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-91417818474144542492014-06-02T08:24:00.000-04:002014-06-02T08:24:00.139-04:00Mailbox Garden InterludeI'm interrupting the whole "home renovations" thing in order to bring you a quick and fun little project that I've been wanting to do for about a year- my mailbox garden! This is an incomplete project, as I'm planning on revamping the mailbox itself this summer. We did this one Saturday over spring break, and it was super fun and simple. <br />
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Before:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6Vf2FUb7CXV3a-6oEu3RBc7mtmdycR_1Y25Ssh_tUAmR-_85jUsHLXXxNSJ69JHPdXZYE4cENjMdgxHP2WFOWvrOUsB2V8TsfQ5LL_tPjDngJkJF4Zv0J1yD4cfb8kX2ZsBOaRZOXWqA/s1600/IMG_4693.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjO6Vf2FUb7CXV3a-6oEu3RBc7mtmdycR_1Y25Ssh_tUAmR-_85jUsHLXXxNSJ69JHPdXZYE4cENjMdgxHP2WFOWvrOUsB2V8TsfQ5LL_tPjDngJkJF4Zv0J1yD4cfb8kX2ZsBOaRZOXWqA/s1600/IMG_4693.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnAs6msJ9GKIj99g80BMlJSAQ2HPNq-eKrDg4AJr0nf0ZIuwOV5YqtTBT7DuWeVfJRYLAN9sfgv3bCSlBnIHRtnM2eC9rCg3sP39aDezHIr7zMci3E9L_HsZ6i4dLjwQ9DIqSTw6rkyrv/s1600/IMG_4694.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvnAs6msJ9GKIj99g80BMlJSAQ2HPNq-eKrDg4AJr0nf0ZIuwOV5YqtTBT7DuWeVfJRYLAN9sfgv3bCSlBnIHRtnM2eC9rCg3sP39aDezHIr7zMci3E9L_HsZ6i4dLjwQ9DIqSTw6rkyrv/s1600/IMG_4694.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3BtnDmbmCprvZKo4leexMAhs51CHvmVoJF9UAjSUysy6EmO0r2E9HuwJLDW0Du-kvKd35r5fy_WrS8PUEZdXaq8FrpQFRiyS8mWFsjOCxna1lL4haia4VZ9nP4QbLlLlJZAPD5RkV7ol/s1600/IMG_4695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgH3BtnDmbmCprvZKo4leexMAhs51CHvmVoJF9UAjSUysy6EmO0r2E9HuwJLDW0Du-kvKd35r5fy_WrS8PUEZdXaq8FrpQFRiyS8mWFsjOCxna1lL4haia4VZ9nP4QbLlLlJZAPD5RkV7ol/s1600/IMG_4695.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Look at that sad, lonely little guy. Doesn't that sight just break your heart? Less than 100 bucks later, we had: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifM59nVrVGUm7CIKwFHc8QnaLTLZBXAuPHLwlQYWnou8ByV_TzVfh3MUmQrD3I_Jp_5lnYiSchgXT_GRos5-WY_aDFu23a_R3NOvOmPqNilLwRiCdZPHrbEUadn2V-B1Rwp6kd3qIMd5dc/s1600/IMG_4698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifM59nVrVGUm7CIKwFHc8QnaLTLZBXAuPHLwlQYWnou8ByV_TzVfh3MUmQrD3I_Jp_5lnYiSchgXT_GRos5-WY_aDFu23a_R3NOvOmPqNilLwRiCdZPHrbEUadn2V-B1Rwp6kd3qIMd5dc/s1600/IMG_4698.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6AWEKzRxwHPitlGvP6l-uRSI4Nqq7n28nmZ2iPS9U4u1VYhkuoPAOSm5ukICEIUOL48XiOJC2tBbw0RrEwwj0sedLzrfDQbNeWn2j5Q9TrQiKL9or59a99WzjjPu3Q-s0fcl6EJ1Rj8c0/s1600/IMG_4699.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6AWEKzRxwHPitlGvP6l-uRSI4Nqq7n28nmZ2iPS9U4u1VYhkuoPAOSm5ukICEIUOL48XiOJC2tBbw0RrEwwj0sedLzrfDQbNeWn2j5Q9TrQiKL9or59a99WzjjPu3Q-s0fcl6EJ1Rj8c0/s1600/IMG_4699.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgIM75KRlY0HsBFHwbQZf5aZ2JtdWKCuCGBO2wZpqeFqIsMg7nNkwYZTK9J7U5RRC6koBUmWr38AuUFYHhBoyfEFD8sXCfrBbHNpO1Qt2bdfZCgdlcwvzCx5yBOD5EAUy5mIfpskwuhkC/s1600/IMG_4702.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEgIM75KRlY0HsBFHwbQZf5aZ2JtdWKCuCGBO2wZpqeFqIsMg7nNkwYZTK9J7U5RRC6koBUmWr38AuUFYHhBoyfEFD8sXCfrBbHNpO1Qt2bdfZCgdlcwvzCx5yBOD5EAUy5mIfpskwuhkC/s1600/IMG_4702.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Cute, right?? Those lilies ended up popping wide open a few weeks later to look like this: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgog8A2oqURPLxiQWQukxoC-_ii6lD7OAIcSnbAWYWZSQNBuhr1qOyoSkzsooGuHvpDkkXx0Du3ek6mpqN8F6ZkPVC_VOBcaL0krc0QX2kdsHSKg12BEgkZ3IDhG1whGNwo5Oz_8GhRGxXe/s1600/IMG_4983.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgog8A2oqURPLxiQWQukxoC-_ii6lD7OAIcSnbAWYWZSQNBuhr1qOyoSkzsooGuHvpDkkXx0Du3ek6mpqN8F6ZkPVC_VOBcaL0krc0QX2kdsHSKg12BEgkZ3IDhG1whGNwo5Oz_8GhRGxXe/s1600/IMG_4983.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Wowser!</i></div>
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Not too shabby for a half-day project! Also, when digging up the grass and putting in the stones, check out what we found: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWufAT9Q-7x6GQnWMWuKeez5uZ0iWFeW7GFMVitfsbZ43o3i0MCCMnWY-LVYdnPRJ5yn5AqmOhe9zxPDjf6WlhmlSA7glNXCGHICJoWswVoDyPOA3grAOQNbwBTjPJUx_6HrMyE9OyS4fM/s1600/IMG_4697.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWufAT9Q-7x6GQnWMWuKeez5uZ0iWFeW7GFMVitfsbZ43o3i0MCCMnWY-LVYdnPRJ5yn5AqmOhe9zxPDjf6WlhmlSA7glNXCGHICJoWswVoDyPOA3grAOQNbwBTjPJUx_6HrMyE9OyS4fM/s1600/IMG_4697.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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<i>Nice</i></div>
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Obligatory Before/After comparison shot: </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9pktOJ1qBiqumFEoMEg4c2ny_GcTPyI1JAp439jrrNO2uUQWZlklRh4fzwv9Ona1vLT-HxKjvoNPowz1-kaVeApZQV6D-gGjs15ohXmpS_hyphenhyphenRskdvd-akUOd0kxWXySVGXFoF5GO1m53/s1600/IMG_4707.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjb9pktOJ1qBiqumFEoMEg4c2ny_GcTPyI1JAp439jrrNO2uUQWZlklRh4fzwv9Ona1vLT-HxKjvoNPowz1-kaVeApZQV6D-gGjs15ohXmpS_hyphenhyphenRskdvd-akUOd0kxWXySVGXFoF5GO1m53/s1600/IMG_4707.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-82912249784847146752014-05-31T07:33:00.000-04:002014-05-31T07:33:00.290-04:00How We Celebrated Our Anniversary- Part One: Let There Be LightBy putting in a new window and blowing out some walls, of course!<div>
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Hi everyone, it's been a while ("FINALLY," exclaims my dad). We have a lottttt to catch up on. For one thing, Scott and I celebrated our first anniversary a few weekends ago. It's been a full year of mawwiage, new jobs, house purchasing, and renovating. That last part has been fairly recent, and is the focus of this entry. </div>
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When we landed in our home, we had pretty much only two gripes with it: 1) the entry way blows (there pretty much isn't one in a split-level), and 2) too closed in and dark. In the span of two weeks, we've managed to work on both of those issues.</div>
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First, our window! My pride and joy. One of the first things I said when I saw the front of the house, was "what's with that space over the door, there should be a window there."</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipidBGJIt7grTvLz10fPoQbc5_aOm_G8fLeWpngR7S45BZxv5MoujjZJtEDYZp0PwhcgXxePEUTr_atoWyDbHM7jgBtpcBQuLFV2A1CjQrVPfqd-_e_lN8vRYLUelWvi9mkhdxqyen8IoD/s1600/side+by+side+out.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipidBGJIt7grTvLz10fPoQbc5_aOm_G8fLeWpngR7S45BZxv5MoujjZJtEDYZp0PwhcgXxePEUTr_atoWyDbHM7jgBtpcBQuLFV2A1CjQrVPfqd-_e_lN8vRYLUelWvi9mkhdxqyen8IoD/s1600/side+by+side+out.jpg" height="205" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhe_0Lza-0cDftm2yhZJuxv8NZPkEYYmwhGjAmuY1NAHNlxF3G0EY3hUFqQaAlIzOviRHNoT5lOsPmxpndHMQyM1Kc1CJhFOm5P-juxXB2Z1lN1CgK9AHDQ1knArGB-IobLhGhnB5kXs6/s1600/side+by+side+in.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKhe_0Lza-0cDftm2yhZJuxv8NZPkEYYmwhGjAmuY1NAHNlxF3G0EY3hUFqQaAlIzOviRHNoT5lOsPmxpndHMQyM1Kc1CJhFOm5P-juxXB2Z1lN1CgK9AHDQ1knArGB-IobLhGhnB5kXs6/s1600/side+by+side+in.jpg" height="210" width="320" /></a></div>
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You can't even know how much brighter the house is just from this window! Hint: it's SO MUCH BRIGHTER. Abby has always loved laying at the top of the stairs just in case someone decides to come over, but now she never leaves, because there's a giant swatch of sunshine that she can lay in. Here's some more photos because I'm obsessed. </div>
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<i>LOOK how bright!</i></div>
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As you can see, we still need to paint before it is DONE done. But I just looove how the foyer looks now. The rug and the plant and mirror made it nice, but the sunshine from the window makes is wonderful. And this was a super quick project (then again, we definitely did NOT DIY this. It was super fast for the pros). I left for work in the morning, and by mid-afternoon, it was done. Ten-Thousand percent would recommend. </div>
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Stay tuned for How We Celebrated Our Anniversary- Part Two. That's the one where we blow out a couple walls and live out of a box. Are you excited? Cuz I am. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-54522386388367962482014-03-13T08:35:00.000-04:002014-03-13T08:35:00.337-04:00Plant Life!I really love having houseplants. My grandmother always had a whole bunch of houseplants by the sliding door in her house, including the little cactus puff that I once tried to grab like a baseball- I ended up paying the price and learning my lesson on that one. Not trying to sound too granola, but bringing some nature into my home really boosts my spirits. Living nature! In my home! It's green, it's fresh, they clean and purify the air, and hey- they're pretty! <br />
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I'm a researcher by nature. So I researched beneficial plants, and cross referenced them with the <a href="http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/animal-poison-control/toxic-and-non-toxic-plants">ASPCA list of toxic and non-toxic plants</a>. Because Jack really likes to nibble on greenery, and Abby... well, I don't think she'd hesitate to eat pretty much anything. So while I might not know the names of all these plants, I do know that they are for the most part* non-toxic to the babies! All you have to do is google the name of the plant and ASPCA- for example, "aspca english ivy" and it will pop right up to their site and let you know. I have it pulled up on my phone every time I shop for new plants- and I have definitely gone through 15 different plants over half an hour to find the perfect one- for both appearance/care/needs AND non-toxicity. <br />
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So, here's a quick tour of the greenery in our home thus far!<br />
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When you first enter our home, you're greeted by our <b>ponytail palm</b>. This one is also our newest plant! We just picked it up this weekend, as I have been wanting a bigger plant for what tiny little entry space we have. With a split-foyer, we don't have much of a landing- and I've been really working on making it feel more welcoming. This plant, which is the perfect size to fit in the corner where the door can't knock it, perfectly fit the bill. I bought the planter from Target and just dropped the store's container right in. I'll re-pot it eventually, but the weather's about to take a nasty turn and it's too darn cold and rainy for that right now. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NVhZUdY0BIBaDq1aVB7_uCnKrzYvUScCBx6zO8HTVXD4LqDu8oxYQV9zCyFF3oyJ0HC98Ch4QnZLhyBlEJze9KTphPOwvcCtjR_mnUO-UaNuTKQZp4qCKS3k6rhOiJGTi_I9xDJg9HdI/s1600/IMG_2695.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7NVhZUdY0BIBaDq1aVB7_uCnKrzYvUScCBx6zO8HTVXD4LqDu8oxYQV9zCyFF3oyJ0HC98Ch4QnZLhyBlEJze9KTphPOwvcCtjR_mnUO-UaNuTKQZp4qCKS3k6rhOiJGTi_I9xDJg9HdI/s1600/IMG_2695.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Next, we move to the living room. This space was featured a recently in my "<a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2014/03/my-favorite-spaces-tunes-and-tomes.html">Favorite Spaces</a>" post. Back then, this was an empty pot of dirt, because the African Violets that had been residing there totally croaked over the winter. This pot is recycled from our wedding- the raku centerpieces were made by my dad, and the white ones were used on the head table, so I'm happy to be able to re-purpose something so lovely and with such meaning. This plant is <b>Fittonia "Superba"</b>- dudes, I don't know. I bought it from Lowe's and searched it on the website and it said it was good. It's low/indirect light and claims to be easy to grow so I'm down.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGN7AKKKjVvngRFCdrpYEeqtq8M1SMfnviK-vzRu5WQkSm8iwV-k5cHQM4PSGhCcvjkCSo2TE9TmymrJzt_5KTZ7pS-7v2Tu5SfDSJJnaJS3laGFNNyadvMpTHOlCCfErXahHm8dnVn94B/s1600/IMG_2701.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGN7AKKKjVvngRFCdrpYEeqtq8M1SMfnviK-vzRu5WQkSm8iwV-k5cHQM4PSGhCcvjkCSo2TE9TmymrJzt_5KTZ7pS-7v2Tu5SfDSJJnaJS3laGFNNyadvMpTHOlCCfErXahHm8dnVn94B/s1600/IMG_2701.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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My hanging plants! I was so proud of these. The little copper planters came from Urban Outfitters and were a Christmas gift. These plants are <b>Peperomia "Isabella"</b>- again, another Lowe's find. I wanted something interesting and drapey, and these were perfect. It was one plant that I split after originally wanting to get two different plants and not being able to find two pet-friendly ones. These are medium light, so they are right in front of the window. They've been there for a few months now and seem to be doing great!</div>
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This <b>hyacinth</b> bulb* was an impulse purchase last year. We got it from the grocery store of all places- it was super cheap and seemed like a cool idea. It grew, it flowered, it smelled and looked great, it fell over from it's own weight, and then it died. Me, being the lazy person that I am, broke off the dead dried up pieces and left it on the bar all winter. Now- guess what- it being a bulb and all, it's growing back! How cool is that? The amount of roots in the bottom has probably quadrupled since the winter.</div>
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<b>Succulents</b>!* I gave succulents to my bridesmaids when I asked them to join my bridal party, and kept the remainders for myself- so two of these babies have been going for over a year and a half. The Jade Plant (far left) is the newest addition. Sorry but I have no clue what the other two are. These are sitting on the window sill in my kitchen, right above the sink. The pots were a small project a few weekends ago- before, I had them in a skinny glass dish thing and I decided I wanted something cleaner and crisper. A few coats of white paint later and voila. Exactly the look I was going for. </div>
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But wait, there's more.. kind of.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxotSwkoaR0kcTuC_cBUxkiYvUOA7Y-o_zP5-s7BHmOPKzB014FG0cxKht0Ve43QbXn0v3ZSNVPehZwVSmd_tK4DtFqHhQG3aL_GQAdf8qPYw0JsqAD1sCeDe2VV6ys0CO9haJ43ZcKGp/s1600/IMG_2749.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjxotSwkoaR0kcTuC_cBUxkiYvUOA7Y-o_zP5-s7BHmOPKzB014FG0cxKht0Ve43QbXn0v3ZSNVPehZwVSmd_tK4DtFqHhQG3aL_GQAdf8qPYw0JsqAD1sCeDe2VV6ys0CO9haJ43ZcKGp/s1600/IMG_2749.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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What's this? What on earth could that be?</div>
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It is, in fact, the saddest and most scraggliest<b> spider plant </b>that ever did live. This is the second newest plant, and the most pathetic. On a snow day last week (yes, we had snow days last week), I went over to my parents' house and stole some of their spider plant pieces. I put the pieces in this giant pot (I have high hopes) and put that inside a basket. I'm really hoping it will start to grow and thrive and thicken up and fill out that pot and the basket, and eventually drape down over the china cabinet. But right now, it hardly even pokes over the sides of the basket at all. I put it in front of the windows during the day so it can soak up as much sunshine as possible. Spider plants are supposed to be great house plants- they're low maintenance and filter a bunch of crap out of the air. Apparently they also grow little white flowers, so that's cute. </div>
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That's all we've got for now! I still have a running "wish list" of plants on my phone. Someday my house will probably look like the secret garden. That's the end goal, anyway. </div>
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*The hyacinth is NOT non-toxic- which means it IS toxic to animals. It was the very first plant thing that we purchased, and I didn't know about the ASPCA site at the time. I keep it up and away from Abby and on a surface that Jack has never jumped on. Succulents are toxic on a case-by-case basis- some are and some aren't. Again, I've got these placed where Abby can't reach and Jack is way more interested in dangly type plants and has not expressed an interest in them.<br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-62048195468784425862014-03-07T10:30:00.000-05:002014-03-07T10:30:02.682-05:00My Favorite Spaces- Tunes and TomesOne of my favorite spaces in the house is one part of the living room area. The lefthand side of the couch, with its velvet throw pillows and fluffy throw blanket is my reading space. There's natural light, hanging baskets, and a record player. <div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLIDGaOWBbOtHZTr1fngbHgqWxEMA_myELdRbvrCAAnqzhDHo9-3sr9B-GEQUhTF495LyTmxQMBplgdPd-hWiK-zje4aMiU0gDubEk63gO5r9iAieOXgo0zcNV3BD_Jwvvk6sb9GfUPYD/s1600/IMG_2564.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijLIDGaOWBbOtHZTr1fngbHgqWxEMA_myELdRbvrCAAnqzhDHo9-3sr9B-GEQUhTF495LyTmxQMBplgdPd-hWiK-zje4aMiU0gDubEk63gO5r9iAieOXgo0zcNV3BD_Jwvvk6sb9GfUPYD/s1600/IMG_2564.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i>Pot of diiiiiiirt!</i></div>
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Putting on a record and curling up with a blanket and a Diet Mountain Dew (not gonna lie) is one of the most relaxing and cozy things for a weekend morning. And I love love love having live plants in the house (separate post on that in the future). </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-83612517698914862012014-03-05T08:42:00.000-05:002014-03-08T13:05:55.789-05:00DIY Bar with Concrete Countertop (Part Three): Completed Project<i>Part one is <a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2013/11/diy-bar-with-concrete-countertop-part.html">here</a>, and part two is <a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2013/11/diy-bar-with-concrete-countertop-part_29.html">here</a>.</i><br />
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The bar is complete! I don't have progress photos (again, ugh!) but I will explain the different parts that all came together to create this project. Here is a photo of the bar when I last posted, right after the counter top had been completed:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaHjhAawUkjdokILcCJaPE8iA5A3FkmcoL9k7XojKx1uktRH7H6iJN58lD85FkSXIBsWpi-XKfg8jhWR3c55NfCwCgTTz5XFvLXrv6oYBMLMBuhwu8NMNhiDSimGnVtEimYlZee_hPsBX/s1600/IMG_2116.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpaHjhAawUkjdokILcCJaPE8iA5A3FkmcoL9k7XojKx1uktRH7H6iJN58lD85FkSXIBsWpi-XKfg8jhWR3c55NfCwCgTTz5XFvLXrv6oYBMLMBuhwu8NMNhiDSimGnVtEimYlZee_hPsBX/s1600/IMG_2116.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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And here is the top piece, completed:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzcKexpnG9pf2uKVj6nOhJ2QrHrsFXSclRX5ktRX6Yzwa5Z_ArSZGoNrVJ2wZ7oHZ5-00OzB_TMxcd3Csl8TFN5jzIIlIsiVTujrosV5qkvf9oS8V7BfN-Pahm-GS6K1Hb8DekORLbG0s/s1600/IMG_2659.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvzcKexpnG9pf2uKVj6nOhJ2QrHrsFXSclRX5ktRX6Yzwa5Z_ArSZGoNrVJ2wZ7oHZ5-00OzB_TMxcd3Csl8TFN5jzIIlIsiVTujrosV5qkvf9oS8V7BfN-Pahm-GS6K1Hb8DekORLbG0s/s1600/IMG_2659.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Let's break this down. The wooden top piece is some piece of something that my parents found at an antique store. I think maybe it was the top part of a buffet? No clue. It also was not that color- it was more of a yellow-oaky type. And there was no shelf. Basically it was a wooden thing with a mirrored back. We removed the mirror and painted it to match the bottom cabinets. We had a glass shelf custom made, and bought wrought iron shelf rest thingies (this is all very technical). We added some lights and drilled a hole for the cords. My dad somehow attached the wrought iron wine racks to the top so they won't fall off but I don't exactly know what he did. Which is pretty much the same for the entire project. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPn6Oo_i4WW57fdKv9AzfsdqKbjuLJ4xpGVC0CfLDeygZvgtwM6zA17WDJM8liOHzsD4JvYlOOHvnCevzUYwHOKFltqRniprXX-k-TWvUo__Xq_n-Xpsfkb7UZs79jagiYWUMYdt7uza4x/s1600/IMG_2657.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPn6Oo_i4WW57fdKv9AzfsdqKbjuLJ4xpGVC0CfLDeygZvgtwM6zA17WDJM8liOHzsD4JvYlOOHvnCevzUYwHOKFltqRniprXX-k-TWvUo__Xq_n-Xpsfkb7UZs79jagiYWUMYdt7uza4x/s1600/IMG_2657.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqzvbTkE-wST9w30gdC6ukOnQvRnJ42O5cjORX5V0RTXx5yZ-kPOU658eGWBrAULGlM82dl9YG5vHv4LRpEnn9EqWXBJdHYl-PHOkIc6ZkFNrZRzgMqrPbpctCIX8cmYloYKnJaCd9fkzA/s1600/IMG_2654.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqzvbTkE-wST9w30gdC6ukOnQvRnJ42O5cjORX5V0RTXx5yZ-kPOU658eGWBrAULGlM82dl9YG5vHv4LRpEnn9EqWXBJdHYl-PHOkIc6ZkFNrZRzgMqrPbpctCIX8cmYloYKnJaCd9fkzA/s1600/IMG_2654.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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Boom. Completed bar, featuring liquor that has been left at our house over the past year or so. Hooray! </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-83418354551608317402014-03-03T08:09:00.000-05:002014-03-12T20:15:42.446-04:00Living/Dining Room and the Den: Paint EditionWhen we moved into the house, the walls were the same color in every room. The ceiling was also the same color in every room- the same color as the walls. It was like Doom. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcd8BdFu0iYMuK8udKdweGkPBdD9AvA32N0rvdAHSfTsc2MWiYp9GuamlRUiay6Lo_zL6_P6ZsmK-Jhx53p3_HsKA_rVUGItkNY7w4z_lewZDmW4wFI6mwXpsfWa4acEAjJuhVzTpVdS6/s1600/doom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHcd8BdFu0iYMuK8udKdweGkPBdD9AvA32N0rvdAHSfTsc2MWiYp9GuamlRUiay6Lo_zL6_P6ZsmK-Jhx53p3_HsKA_rVUGItkNY7w4z_lewZDmW4wFI6mwXpsfWa4acEAjJuhVzTpVdS6/s1600/doom.jpg" height="235" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Whyyyy is the ceiling covered in stone bricking also how is that even staying up?</i></div>
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Thankfully, the ceilings were painted white before we officially moved in. And the walls were fine- very neutral, very blah- but fine. Once we officially purchased the house, we decided we could probably start looking at paint. </div>
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I didn't take any photos of progress or anything. And I really don't even want to dig through and find old photos from "before." BUT, we have only painted two rooms so far, and since everything was the same color, there's plenty of ways to show comparisons. We will start with the upstairs! </div>
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We started with the dining/living room space. We went with a lightish grey color that I am in love with- I especially adore it with the white trimmings. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dCf9yWUc_bkYcdpG1U6haUnZdGcZPm828slNXKU39ORSVyCxXNdbO_qAjO2UREePvdaZZg5nQqTuGX6txxUHAa8m95WXpWLV37tOACDXHrAVece_scD-MnE_dkn8VM_XSvGrPS-Y1bib/s1600/IMG_2571.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7dCf9yWUc_bkYcdpG1U6haUnZdGcZPm828slNXKU39ORSVyCxXNdbO_qAjO2UREePvdaZZg5nQqTuGX6txxUHAa8m95WXpWLV37tOACDXHrAVece_scD-MnE_dkn8VM_XSvGrPS-Y1bib/s1600/IMG_2571.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i>Man, doesn't that just look so crisp??</i></div>
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Since we haven't yet done the whole upstairs (still working on figuring out where to start/stop if we do different colors yada yada yada), the corner of the dining room is a perfect comparison shot for the old/new colors.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EYCIHZwWZwaw2Ut8KpHLWxEyD6RKOuatTKa4WUvgsvGf1j1uuEX8p8kzbt42yfT3dZLD_9AvBHFyuzC38IeNtW77ysJIqhuH7ubxBhEL7YLaIajnFfcDCDt307QWyvK2F_nZRySh1RRw/s1600/IMG_2578.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9EYCIHZwWZwaw2Ut8KpHLWxEyD6RKOuatTKa4WUvgsvGf1j1uuEX8p8kzbt42yfT3dZLD_9AvBHFyuzC38IeNtW77ysJIqhuH7ubxBhEL7YLaIajnFfcDCDt307QWyvK2F_nZRySh1RRw/s1600/IMG_2578.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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I love it. It looks different at different times of the day, but it always looks great. The color is <b><i>Valspar Metropolis</i></b>. Here are a few more photos from around the room, in different lighting and times of day.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPe8_RXb4BGeMlQyPgifiT8QlnR9GY_j1AzPu1dcCUbPCsI1H2y7PvXHvXyHmvxicq6hV2gTKSselWNl73zpeHqfpmHv79nlSOsoBqySJYZXpgMwCZcfZ3L0GuTg1oB3k3Mb2d7PBkIc38/s1600/IMG_2570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPe8_RXb4BGeMlQyPgifiT8QlnR9GY_j1AzPu1dcCUbPCsI1H2y7PvXHvXyHmvxicq6hV2gTKSselWNl73zpeHqfpmHv79nlSOsoBqySJYZXpgMwCZcfZ3L0GuTg1oB3k3Mb2d7PBkIc38/s1600/IMG_2570.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7Jva3K2-Zq5GoWVxJaikjWR1nRdfNG7AG3MRm45GBTJ0SJZv34iSI-nQKGqgYaJQRVFQmCLLPUjiL25XjLXYZ1sy1fj-Xj_XtNtrc92mIQMHNnZDesx6zviqarir8wOAEK1an4BJb-Nl/s1600/IMG_2628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjN7Jva3K2-Zq5GoWVxJaikjWR1nRdfNG7AG3MRm45GBTJ0SJZv34iSI-nQKGqgYaJQRVFQmCLLPUjiL25XjLXYZ1sy1fj-Xj_XtNtrc92mIQMHNnZDesx6zviqarir8wOAEK1an4BJb-Nl/s1600/IMG_2628.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Pot of dirt makes a return cameo</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiso6eWGgTQOC8BHd2siaVXAAHu_6NnYiiWyvVGIIlazg_4mtmWBH_1thA2aWQ_7G_Wg1nUyIMdcr_LeIr0KYdDgmNg2QnaVY718Sa3HY93i2mmJX21ZwxnJ48fM40Vz0E_FhrZClTAdVb-/s1600/IMG_2637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiso6eWGgTQOC8BHd2siaVXAAHu_6NnYiiWyvVGIIlazg_4mtmWBH_1thA2aWQ_7G_Wg1nUyIMdcr_LeIr0KYdDgmNg2QnaVY718Sa3HY93i2mmJX21ZwxnJ48fM40Vz0E_FhrZClTAdVb-/s1600/IMG_2637.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Alright, so that's the upstairs. Let's move on to the downstairs/den! My goal for the den was an earthy feel- browns, greens, off-whites, wood and brick and stone, and metallics and reds for a pop. We are getting there, slowly. When it was time to choose a color, we wanted a green. I have to admit- this was not my first choice when we swatched, but Scott was really into it, so we went with it. It grew on my as soon as it dried. I especially love it up against the brick. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsvsnGIo-GvJ5zkrHrB3zE8yZ-bdFwEQhy4Ncl3j0YyvpRlearoYpKPjO5avj0U3o8Yw2GwuAytQxZBNJYzOs4q8gRFP_IwANr3J5PFkTChEFrKtSAmqsetq6Gu0NNZWzwUO9kWBB0rPn/s1600/IMG_2602.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWsvsnGIo-GvJ5zkrHrB3zE8yZ-bdFwEQhy4Ncl3j0YyvpRlearoYpKPjO5avj0U3o8Yw2GwuAytQxZBNJYzOs4q8gRFP_IwANr3J5PFkTChEFrKtSAmqsetq6Gu0NNZWzwUO9kWBB0rPn/s1600/IMG_2602.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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OOOooOOOoo, Aaaaaahhhh. I know. Here's more:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0WYKc1bORc_Wn-JHFlRqMs9mjc8eC-9GkeuFyJZXTRB6bhrF6XJ1Tp0MpZPzj0Uc_Xo7MrtFQkmSO404XRGMiYACAkBAUXXlgPlUXZJ3k_U75A1IAdY_yQ_u0eE-KWpNBf1M0TuL8O7tE/s1600/IMG_2598.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0WYKc1bORc_Wn-JHFlRqMs9mjc8eC-9GkeuFyJZXTRB6bhrF6XJ1Tp0MpZPzj0Uc_Xo7MrtFQkmSO404XRGMiYACAkBAUXXlgPlUXZJ3k_U75A1IAdY_yQ_u0eE-KWpNBf1M0TuL8O7tE/s1600/IMG_2598.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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See with the brick? Loving it. That hangy-downy-beam-thing is the color that the walls were before we painted them, so below is the comparison photo!</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQrwB51IHckd8g2rtfnzWyTmlAdUW80cAw6FYwu_cg2r4TMUvCB5c5ugmpi0KsioX5b9G8ZmbYTEQoEXMUKZ0vDyLnOTK3bbXaTjDhmlsKz1WVcdQGsg0rQGUDdZbtJaCaxsXDA_M8Qkm/s1600/IMG_2748.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieQrwB51IHckd8g2rtfnzWyTmlAdUW80cAw6FYwu_cg2r4TMUvCB5c5ugmpi0KsioX5b9G8ZmbYTEQoEXMUKZ0vDyLnOTK3bbXaTjDhmlsKz1WVcdQGsg0rQGUDdZbtJaCaxsXDA_M8Qkm/s1600/IMG_2748.JPG" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i>This is with the weird lighting downstairs- </i></div>
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<i>yellowish lamp light and pure white LEDs</i>.</div>
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This color is <b><i>Valspar Native Henna</i></b>. I was a bit worried that it would be too dark downstairs in an already dark room, but it is actually great and really fits the mood I was going for. </div>
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Anyway, those are the two rooms we've completed so far. We have the paint for the office but we haven</div>
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t gotten around to that yet. It's really amazing what some paint can do as far as making a house feel that much more YOURS. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-65030474133020170842014-02-28T07:30:00.000-05:002014-03-04T07:23:55.463-05:00NOMS: White Chicken Chili and Bean SoupLike I've mentioned before, we are having some Weather (capital W) here in Maryland. Which means it has been time to break out the stew and soup recipes. I raided my <a href="http://www.pinterest.com/lissaboo/">Pinterest</a> and found <a href="http://lilluna.com/white-chicken-chili-soup-recipe/">this recipe</a>, which sounded and looked great so I figured- why not. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrYl4MI5rtSHT2q0VsKXbuHPWlO8QVvu7KBZrDWlW044AA0Vij3qVJ6rgOucWwY5pzaKOojKm0J3JWGDsDpr_7bOYc2V8Q8ABklOZ7ZV0xGDl3AOSWn6isBj_xfdjoOXcKjFyyqK_5g-g/s1600/IMG_2560.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFrYl4MI5rtSHT2q0VsKXbuHPWlO8QVvu7KBZrDWlW044AA0Vij3qVJ6rgOucWwY5pzaKOojKm0J3JWGDsDpr_7bOYc2V8Q8ABklOZ7ZV0xGDl3AOSWn6isBj_xfdjoOXcKjFyyqK_5g-g/s1600/IMG_2560.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Mine doesn't look like hers. But, it is delicious. DELICIOUS. Now, we all know I have a weird and crippling THING about textures in my food. So I had to blend the chilies. I threw them in the blender and had at it until they were as pureed as possible- which still ended up not being enough for me- but that's okay. Because next time, it will be glorious. Also next time, we are going to get some tortilla strips and toss them in. This soup tastes like the inside of a burrito.</div>
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Other changes I made: I used about half as many beans, which made mine more soupy than the original. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyM8NG2Z0Z8lo6rQrd_EhY7VqZtEkC6K88_cUCTc3YrLvGFimHWwsxRM7Zic6bLDXqt5CmiUqS6vGvCGHNyr7Ui8J-_PEMCX_sFqV2Vy115OVxW-oIuCg00zGNXgAS-P70nB-pAOzppcWn/s1600/IMG_2561.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyM8NG2Z0Z8lo6rQrd_EhY7VqZtEkC6K88_cUCTc3YrLvGFimHWwsxRM7Zic6bLDXqt5CmiUqS6vGvCGHNyr7Ui8J-_PEMCX_sFqV2Vy115OVxW-oIuCg00zGNXgAS-P70nB-pAOzppcWn/s1600/IMG_2561.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Also, check out my fantastic new table and placemats. Isn't that color to die for?</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-78183988355979027622014-02-24T08:42:00.000-05:002014-02-24T08:42:00.084-05:00Displaying Wedding PhotosI might have gone a little bit wedding-photo wacky after I got them back from our photographer. But I mean, really- can you blame me? I don't know about other couples, but aside from our engagement photos, we have never had great, quality photos of just the two of us. Believe me, I've looked. I'm getting tot he point where I'm actively trying to find something- anything- that isn't a wedding photo to fill the empty frames I still have around the house.<br />
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But anyway. The point of this post is not "I have too many wedding photos," but "here are some ideas for how to display them- because believe me, I've tried it all." Let's break it down:<br />
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I have two framed tabletop setups. One on the console table, and one in my favorite nook. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQdwbvM99DajQVwYM9aEfuSXJ6QPefwLiq0ErfU1RyMoEpBljimOED9zUKXUM0JCQxZaKeQUOOgRPz1utS6RUWYIXsBx_9j2zQFFi7M0MUxNb2i885kgDuy0X_9JVf3aTyZfoGuqIjPOn/s1600/IMG_2627.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxQdwbvM99DajQVwYM9aEfuSXJ6QPefwLiq0ErfU1RyMoEpBljimOED9zUKXUM0JCQxZaKeQUOOgRPz1utS6RUWYIXsBx_9j2zQFFi7M0MUxNb2i885kgDuy0X_9JVf3aTyZfoGuqIjPOn/s1600/IMG_2627.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZG6b_99QJ3VuauwOYqkGgj9-UJsb-dXqUYV0nl0IYtrl8MW9AXwVYWod8OJb2OBe78tHd40O_9iVOE6wRa5hp4Aft6TBEmxY1xmdeX8hJY29e3qYQSpxQZf-hewfyKnkQU-gh-C2dmK5/s1600/IMG_2628.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ZG6b_99QJ3VuauwOYqkGgj9-UJsb-dXqUYV0nl0IYtrl8MW9AXwVYWod8OJb2OBe78tHd40O_9iVOE6wRa5hp4Aft6TBEmxY1xmdeX8hJY29e3qYQSpxQZf-hewfyKnkQU-gh-C2dmK5/s1600/IMG_2628.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Yes, that is a pot of dirt.</i></div>
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Sticking with the frame theme, I also have one wedding portrait in the china cabinet along with our cake topper. This setup will possibly relocate into my curio cabinet- once I locate and purchase said curio cabinet. For now, I think it looks rather nice in the fancy frame with the fancy dishes- and it makes a sweet parallel to the topper.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCY0IxQy4DXfq__RFFo3NGvnPuZnn7gwFPCNVCxkjfWc0DI70s7dIUHSsuSyxsOOCYLyKF2Ebpd1diWJlwTOfMLJnr0sF-l_eRaHGcTL16uByxoX_Nz2lTlYzMfqUeBk2SQ3pqyzf2SvjB/s1600/IMG_2631.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCY0IxQy4DXfq__RFFo3NGvnPuZnn7gwFPCNVCxkjfWc0DI70s7dIUHSsuSyxsOOCYLyKF2Ebpd1diWJlwTOfMLJnr0sF-l_eRaHGcTL16uByxoX_Nz2lTlYzMfqUeBk2SQ3pqyzf2SvjB/s1600/IMG_2631.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnpGOi_1VGJt__V34Hic5DW2rixDJBLsuRFTnruirmshd8uxLQq6DyPLUuvn7NiYiZdd0RnmSaU-ZNhD3JaXP42H_vHHa8zStyW65WchYbhEIJY9JXc2bMFb7xZaInpfRB2Ac-Ty-56wh/s1600/IMG_2632.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidnpGOi_1VGJt__V34Hic5DW2rixDJBLsuRFTnruirmshd8uxLQq6DyPLUuvn7NiYiZdd0RnmSaU-ZNhD3JaXP42H_vHHa8zStyW65WchYbhEIJY9JXc2bMFb7xZaInpfRB2Ac-Ty-56wh/s1600/IMG_2632.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KtCKuqHF8dARV-2RHWT6gTBOtUt6Ps5BuNTfIQd4nVSqX-hfvE4O0COqzkMYZMegFyq7fr1mfsTKGFJQZkzTFvnM9MJkiGpVPw9EwWJ2jgo6coJf4VFG4uHF_tYAIf94iXI39VHI0gMI/s1600/IMG_2634-2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9KtCKuqHF8dARV-2RHWT6gTBOtUt6Ps5BuNTfIQd4nVSqX-hfvE4O0COqzkMYZMegFyq7fr1mfsTKGFJQZkzTFvnM9MJkiGpVPw9EwWJ2jgo6coJf4VFG4uHF_tYAIf94iXI39VHI0gMI/s1600/IMG_2634-2.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<i>Pretty adorable, right?</i></div>
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Buttt of course, frames aren't just for standing. Oh no. They are also for hanging on walls. So. Here I have a trio of "first dance" portraits. The middle one has our wedding song lyrics printed as a backdrop.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0NLwG9Fl8k4mZVweNMyw5SouGwslus2LjGcdVbnVuonyBaPZX8gdfIUYaoUwovGRBCWdwD53FrGJC35TmYISk1zUVTe1gVsKFL8R1BtNgQ53-NHHxLIkPJPNv2xwx-zoM-XN1USxbKzi/s1600/IMG_2637.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh0NLwG9Fl8k4mZVweNMyw5SouGwslus2LjGcdVbnVuonyBaPZX8gdfIUYaoUwovGRBCWdwD53FrGJC35TmYISk1zUVTe1gVsKFL8R1BtNgQ53-NHHxLIkPJPNv2xwx-zoM-XN1USxbKzi/s1600/IMG_2637.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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And then OF COURSE, there's gallery walls. This one is "mixed media" and has been growing and changing since we moved into the house. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBu7jK8oQelulnMSbtsOsdDygey2fjfkvXk2DBImQPPzhN4apVtGmYrubeoE7OMqSEmwLS1UsapS14IJ8lD04RlhqsoN71yDvwRyA2yAUFE99T7PleUpiaJcZ65l0_Zx9-n6cEkkEfDMjY/s1600/IMG_2570.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBu7jK8oQelulnMSbtsOsdDygey2fjfkvXk2DBImQPPzhN4apVtGmYrubeoE7OMqSEmwLS1UsapS14IJ8lD04RlhqsoN71yDvwRyA2yAUFE99T7PleUpiaJcZ65l0_Zx9-n6cEkkEfDMjY/s1600/IMG_2570.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>There's five wedding photos in here.</i></div>
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And then, last but not least- I made a gallery wall that is only wedding photos. Because I didn't think there were enough displayed around our home to begin with, I needed an entire wall.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzYzK2KTakvEKHjvsUVPAM62_PGkZWUSDWtBWRY1WQAvYZZ8uYCOpy-6N4bQThPGFFmjI7tzcRtg39uf1Vxl6WrXUk_c6DQ23tz6R_AYTlZC-mp84UCVtpff42MWtqbN0Nsd6ZDNnZ80v/s1600/IMG_2587.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFzYzK2KTakvEKHjvsUVPAM62_PGkZWUSDWtBWRY1WQAvYZZ8uYCOpy-6N4bQThPGFFmjI7tzcRtg39uf1Vxl6WrXUk_c6DQ23tz6R_AYTlZC-mp84UCVtpff42MWtqbN0Nsd6ZDNnZ80v/s1600/IMG_2587.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-ZarifBNZhlYQBxVyfmypaYITq5BPVqwH2vHVQ0VbYCFz4R3q3T_yIN7dIuT6mBq7GruYbKkRhgMgRVNr_dWOUgsuaVW_eDFBqmoBerBy6pAmip0qQ6Rb7SQ90d96J10B5WnzBVnY6Ir/s1600/IMG_2593.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-ZarifBNZhlYQBxVyfmypaYITq5BPVqwH2vHVQ0VbYCFz4R3q3T_yIN7dIuT6mBq7GruYbKkRhgMgRVNr_dWOUgsuaVW_eDFBqmoBerBy6pAmip0qQ6Rb7SQ90d96J10B5WnzBVnY6Ir/s1600/IMG_2593.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVsd-gDuJWnbdCsCS_z2fhcKXArwmDeFZSfn7y164wZm6KIe2Z2_cFyTdpB-NBNXJSOd7Zp0qiRewqFrZeuvnzC4jwhJEhfaA6zlJrOK3Ie7BgLAAiC1tZq9eoj_F1eaEnUusCJqnLTzl/s1600/photo+(35).JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrVsd-gDuJWnbdCsCS_z2fhcKXArwmDeFZSfn7y164wZm6KIe2Z2_cFyTdpB-NBNXJSOd7Zp0qiRewqFrZeuvnzC4jwhJEhfaA6zlJrOK3Ie7BgLAAiC1tZq9eoj_F1eaEnUusCJqnLTzl/s1600/photo+(35).JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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But wait, there's more! What's another great way to display wedding photos without actually displaying them? Coffee table books! Or, um... albums. We had a photobooth at our wedding, and the attendants put a copy of each strip into an album for us, which doubled as our guestbook. Additionally, I created a wedding photo album with our pro photos. Together, they sit on the coffee table in the living room (or on a shelf on the end table if I don't want them out). <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RGluXpo7F74LVS14jR-LZaLsnIxArxZhp_YyVqJLnAqD2oJd0vVXaFoRiD73PEvlc5Xk39_f-fCnbUGYAb1FVcs5zmDoThgK5XEice6gm06snNaEzwby8IM5nrPe47X7ivV3gkWVbpCz/s1600/IMG_2646.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-RGluXpo7F74LVS14jR-LZaLsnIxArxZhp_YyVqJLnAqD2oJd0vVXaFoRiD73PEvlc5Xk39_f-fCnbUGYAb1FVcs5zmDoThgK5XEice6gm06snNaEzwby8IM5nrPe47X7ivV3gkWVbpCz/s1600/IMG_2646.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TB4gzj9Vtl-VlH2qIFCWUWcZtJipbqCZRs3HWTHVgYOFYWlErMuJhNm_iagw6gnUuUOsDVRWmKmmMr4pRppZz-oq9M3Ynsg1NiIZgitPFpP17zQI2iYKWDdoUUp0klVbP8qtumFX6KsY/s1600/IMG_2647.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0TB4gzj9Vtl-VlH2qIFCWUWcZtJipbqCZRs3HWTHVgYOFYWlErMuJhNm_iagw6gnUuUOsDVRWmKmmMr4pRppZz-oq9M3Ynsg1NiIZgitPFpP17zQI2iYKWDdoUUp0klVbP8qtumFX6KsY/s1600/IMG_2647.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjfWdB5ajS9HT3744CC-vMhgAljd_I9rMlssZ8cRj6mFNWPLutCOjLEXor4gCGI5nLWhX0GBcvWryzAbg0NmpeiN6EchYxQUtMm1vFPtNaTrcqdFpEfgEUUf-kVKLqtLiH2COrfquft-n/s1600/IMG_2650.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgjfWdB5ajS9HT3744CC-vMhgAljd_I9rMlssZ8cRj6mFNWPLutCOjLEXor4gCGI5nLWhX0GBcvWryzAbg0NmpeiN6EchYxQUtMm1vFPtNaTrcqdFpEfgEUUf-kVKLqtLiH2COrfquft-n/s1600/IMG_2650.jpg" height="133" width="200" /></a></div>
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"But wait, Alissa," you're probably thinking right now, "what did you do with your copies from the photobooth?" Great question. <a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2013/06/home-tidbits-displaying-photo-strips.html">Remember this</a>? Yea you guessed it:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_hYV5nqEuf8Ue5CTyBuVPKkc-3DQzmgoj74YFCPZ349vmgwzCDZ0PUR66kaUC8sPXqRpMnl8Y3pBWyB9huYYUobULORKZPaOGN7yvizBhGVH_GjcyiCcmsha9IvYTpDjO3JOhiy5lZ19/s1600/IMG_2641.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ_hYV5nqEuf8Ue5CTyBuVPKkc-3DQzmgoj74YFCPZ349vmgwzCDZ0PUR66kaUC8sPXqRpMnl8Y3pBWyB9huYYUobULORKZPaOGN7yvizBhGVH_GjcyiCcmsha9IvYTpDjO3JOhiy5lZ19/s1600/IMG_2641.jpg" height="320" width="213" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VnaMPW1qoVSLDEzm0K-OTVzIdcrzxg_O7ZcFShKVOgHPUib6vPdk2JC8ND-qn7dFdsgrtr-wirrJ7LJhyphenhyphenxHgZ9s8MfH0oxUoK1RQD6TNsQizwChpghVlwNVCYw9fLYeAy_eiToMXHsqH/s1600/IMG_2644.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7VnaMPW1qoVSLDEzm0K-OTVzIdcrzxg_O7ZcFShKVOgHPUib6vPdk2JC8ND-qn7dFdsgrtr-wirrJ7LJhyphenhyphenxHgZ9s8MfH0oxUoK1RQD6TNsQizwChpghVlwNVCYw9fLYeAy_eiToMXHsqH/s1600/IMG_2644.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
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Boom. And there you have it. I am extremely vain, and there's proof of it all over my house. </div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-40213735682253253732014-02-17T08:00:00.000-05:002014-02-17T08:00:02.104-05:00Evolution of a Table<a href="http://happinessunexamined.blogspot.com/2013/07/diy-hallway-console-table.html">This hand-made table</a> has become a staple of our home. I knew I wanted a little table to add some "welcome to our home" feelings, but I really didn't know how FUN it would end up being! Now that we've had a few holidays and seasons with it, I thought I would put together a little photo tour of how it has grown and changed since we've had it. <br />
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Here's what we had right after it was built. We hung our canvas portrait- a wedding gift from a photographer friend- and then eventually added the silhouettes we had done in Disney World on our honeymoon. I found these perfect little baskets to collect keys and other small things. The yellow vase is hand made and was one of our wedding centerpieces. The owl and blue/gold vase were clearance buys from Michael's. And on the bottom of the shelf are my two autographed Neil Gaiman novels- prized possessions! </div>
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This is what the table looked like for Halloween- my favorite holiday (10 months of the year). Ooo-eee-ooo! Eventually I will do a master post on my Halloween decorations and you can get some close-ups of what's on there.</div>
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Fall! Handmade pressed-leaf decorations that I couldn't resist showing off, handmade leaf roses, and lots of reds, orange, and yellows. This was one of my favorites, even though it is so simple.</div>
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Unfortunately, I either didn't take or just can't find any photos of the Christmas decorations I did. It was a technicolor dream, though. We went with a "merry and bright" theme upstairs, so it really was a bright splash of color as soon as you entered the house.</div>
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And here it is, currently. The regular, everyday look that we have going. Still displaying some of my leaf projects, a few wedding photos, and the most important thing of all- a candy dish. Filled with candy. Nothing says "Welcome to our home" like a fistful of free candy as soon as you enter.</div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-614962313880542834.post-21170090203493011492014-02-13T09:26:00.000-05:002014-02-13T09:26:00.483-05:00Snow Photos- Snowtos?We have had an absurd amount of snow since the beginning of 2014. In fact, while I'm writing this, I'm currently on my- I think- seventh snow day from school. The whole state of Maryland is under a state of emergency. I have to say, I'm starting to get completely sick of it. But you know who isn't?<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CvSVouYH4FxawkRm6WgmsydSK1xd66y5SFo8CuQfsAatXjCKLKnLeK5N_F_4nuEUqNZizAPiDa6T6_bRJEpl1wbCNzU9-U_UD_1tltpavtFJQE83TEUY3fE8WuAaUXwHKIzbA9DtmDaB/s1600/IMG_2292.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6CvSVouYH4FxawkRm6WgmsydSK1xd66y5SFo8CuQfsAatXjCKLKnLeK5N_F_4nuEUqNZizAPiDa6T6_bRJEpl1wbCNzU9-U_UD_1tltpavtFJQE83TEUY3fE8WuAaUXwHKIzbA9DtmDaB/s1600/IMG_2292.jpg" height="208" width="320" /></a></div>
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This girl.</div>
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Abby is obsessed with snow. She loves it. She loves shoving her entire face in the snow, she loves trying to find her snow covered toys, she loves trying to eat icicles, she loves trying to catch snowballs. And I love watching her have a blast. So here's a few photos I've taken this winter with the snow and my delightful snow-mutt.</div>
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Something was creeping on our front porch- something with tiny feet</div>
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This icicle came off our gutter- we broke it off so it wouldn't fall and hurt someone!</div>
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And Babs got to enjoy it!</div>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0