Happy Spring!!!

Hey all! I just want to say we are still here. We have just been very very busy. I won't yack too much and share photos instead.

 

 

 

 

Happy spring all!

Our/My Week In Photos

Hello all! Happy happy Monday! I have had the most interesting [last] week. I wouldn't say it was busy, it's just been a very productive, fun week. Seems like this has been the most productive winter I have had since I moved to this side of the world... It's been unusually warm and pretty here. So all the yard work that I usually wait to do in the spring have all been done last week! This is exciting for me because this only means, more time to plan and do new things in the backyard. There are spring perennials that have come up in the front and it is worrying me a bit, it's just too soon for them to be sprouting... but on the one hand, there really is nothing I can do to stop them! I did yard work in the middle of February on a warm windy 58-degree day and no one could've stopped me from doing that either. 

Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, I was all over the backyard picking up and trimming. Finally got to do the roses. Trimmed them and gave them some attention. I think I did good except that I totally scraped myself in the process.

 

Then Wednesday evening John comes home from work sick with the flu. :'( I felt so bad for him. He was achey all over and looked awful! He didn't even eat much of what I fixed that night... So the next evening [Thursday], I made him some homemade chicken noodle soup and my Mom's Creme Caramel cake. 

 

Friday, I started on our friend, Chris' Grandma's birthday. Chris is a very very good friend of ours. :) He is the youngest amongst all of us... and he is our little brutha from another mutha. He had spoken to me about his Grandma's 92nd birthday months ago and asked if I'd make a cake for her. And I said, "Sure! That's easy." But if you know me and my friends, we always start with easy then end up in complicated prettiness. It's like when we plan low-key dinners, it always ends up to be either a huge buffet or a full out sit down 3-course dinners. I don't think we can ever pull off SIMPLE. lol

I have made a ton of different stuff since Chris and I had talked and since, the list of things to make for his Grandma's birthday has grown too... from just a birthday cake, he ends up asking me to make cupcakes, and the raspberry cake pops I made for Superbowl Sunday.  :) But I did pull it off. I even managed to develop a new recipe... Fresh Orange Cupcakes! Here's proof!

I will share the recipe for the Orange Cupcakes soon in the other blog when I get all of the stuff written down and ready for sharing. :) I am thinking of making it again to make sure my proportions were right. The cakes were a hit at the party!!! But I would like to add more freshness, more of that orange in there. 

Here are some snapshots I took at the party: 

This is Chris, his 92-year old Grandma [the birthday girl] and his Dad.

There's Chris again with his fiancee, Julie. The minute she was introduced to us, we knew she would fit right into this crazy bunch. :) They got engaged over Christmas 2011 and they are getting married in April next year and I am making their wedding cake! We are all so excited for the two of them because we love them both and there is nothing more joyous than seeing two people in love and making things work. We don't get to see Julie much because of her schedule as an RN. But she joins us when she could. 

So that was my week. And today is Monday, and other than a baby shower on Sunday, I don't see anything else major that's gonna happen this week. :) I am crossing my fingers!

Life is Good Here

The past few years has been rather hectic... but it has been the best few years of our lives. And it just keeps getting better! :)

I don't know how many times I've done it, but I have been griping about moving ever since the day we found out we were. How stressful it is, how my arms hurt from moving stuff or painting walls, or how much money I have spent on gas going back and forth [again] moving, or how we will spend some money to finish the other house to get it ready to sell etc., etc... But what we [John and I both] always felt but never say as much as we ought to is how THANKFUL we are for all that we have been blessed with... the fact that we have to spend a little bit of money to finish what we started in the other house to sell it is nothing compared to having ZERO house payment when it's all said and done... how I have been blessed with the most wonderful parents-in-law who have looked after me and have taken care of me like I was their own flesh and blood [sometimes, it's crazy but I feel like they love me more than John! LOL].

And, you may be so sick of me saying this by now but I HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL HUSBAND ON THE EARTH! He isn't perfect, but he is wonderful! I love his smile, his laugh and his very many quirks... and most of all I love his very sincere, generous, loyal, kind, very understanding heart. His skillful hands make all of my crazy ideas come to life. 

 

 

I get so teary when I look back to seven years ago. Who would've thought we'd be where we're at now. We have come so far... People our age are yet about to purchase their first home, but here we are getting moved in to our fourth house! LOL Some people are struggling between chasing after what they want to do with their lives, but John and I are exactly where we wanna be, doing exactly things that we love. :)

Six years ago, at my Uncle Al's and Auntie Lap's home in San Francisco, John was waiting for me to arrive. And I vividly remember them telling John how they are scared of him moving me into a small town because they just thought my city-loving butt won't ever warm up to small town living. Well, it took quite a bit of getting used to, but I have come to love it... except that we make it a point to go to St Louis at least twice a month [okay! maybe more than twice a month!] Sometimes, it just feels good to be stuck in traffic, or get lost in the city, or walk around. You know that thing they say, "You can take the girl from the city but you can't take the city out of the girl" is true.

I may not be living in the city like I'm used to, but life is good and it is beautiful nonetheless. I may not say it more often but GOD aren't I grateful for all this... If I had to do it all over again, I'd gladly do it again and I wouldn't change a thing! Otherwise [these animals] Senior Voodoo, Foozie, Meester Peapers and Iddy won't be where they are now either. I love all our pets! They are a joy to have around.

If I chose to live somewhere else, I wouldn't have gotten to meet the best friends in the world! Crazy enough to eat the stuff that I make in my kitchen... not knowing what's in the food they are eating. lol 

I love my life! I don't think anyone else has it as good as I do. :) And for that, I am so thankful to the One who is The Source of all this... Not just for the stuff, but for the people I love. They make living in this small town feel like HOME.

Dear God, 

Thanks for this beautiful life and forgive me if I don't love it enough [sometimes].

UPDATED Subway {Randolph} Art

Hello all! I don't know about you, but I love pretty much everything I see on Pinterest. It has inspired me to do all kinds of things from paper crafting, sewing, home decorating, baking, etc etc... I could go on and on all day. I even enjoy reading all the funny quotes/sayings people post on there. :)

Do not quote me on this, but I believe subway art has been made more popular by Pinterest. I have seen loads and loads of them on the website. And, I love subway art... except that there is only a few on there that would actually apply to what I want in my home. But I have learned in the past few days that I don't really have to pay a ton of money for subway art or scour the earth for the one I want because I CAN MAKE ONE MYSELF.

... Well, I actually made three FOUR! Yes, four!

 

This first one isn't just a series of numbers. They are important dates for me and John. :) This is also Pinterest-inspired. I wanted to die-cut all the numbers, I've tried, but this font style is too dainty. It actually cut nicely on my machine but it's the adhering and the keeping it all straight and even that posed a huge challenge. So a poster print will have to do... for now, at least. 

 

I made this one [above] last night as John and I were watching TV in the living room. I told him, I want to make something/art that only makes sense to us. Something original. Something that I could post on Flickr or Pinterest that no one can copy but something that someone can draw inspiration from... How about I make something that [pretty much] has all the streets, towns, cities, and countries we've lived in. Obviously, we didn't put all of them in especially our college addresses. John and I moved so much in college! So we just picked out the most significant streets. 

Guess what, John and I both went to MSU. Different MSUs though... But we always thought it was cool that we were both from MSU. ;-) I told him when we first met that it must've been true what my parents always told me, "MSUans for MSUans". My parents are both {MSU} alumni, big frat people. My Dad was a history prof there for a while too before he decided he belonged to the city, being up on top of the hills in a college campus wasn't doing it for him. I was born in the campus. And here we are, John and I  both MSU people. Not frat people, but true blooded MSUans. :)

 

The one above, I actually found on Pinterest except I couldn't find a place that sold it. :( I was a little bummed, so I made it myself. I used a different font style on this. I cannot remember the name. But if you want it, shoot me up an email and I will gladly look for it and tell you. I am a font junkie. I go in font downloading spurts. I download at least 50 font styles at a time when these spurts strike.

I made this in honor of John's love for music. Music isn't only his livelihood, it is also his first love. I have seen him during marching season... His eyes glow when he is teaching his drum line. It's crazy how his demeanor and the expression on his face changes when he is teaching music/percussion.

I love these KEEP CALM... stuff! :) I made this one too. I am thinking about printing it in a large poster size to hang in my kitchen. I am planning on painting my kitchen yellow. This should go well with everything. :)

Can't wait to hang these pretties on my wall. I will be sharing pics. Promise.

What's Coming Up!

Hey friends! I hope everyone's Monday is awesome! Mine, not so much... I have been doing a lot of planning and thinking in the past week and it has been a battle trying to shut my brain off. Seems like every where I look, I find something that I want to do. All weekend John has been working on the finishing the flooring in the other house, while I have been in the new house measuring, looking at fabric swatches, a possible "PLAN B" color palette, etc. etc.

Every house we've lived in [which is now up to four!], no matter how generic, no matter how full of character, John and I always make it a point to put our personal stamp on it. I have posted a ton of photos of the other house and my craft room here, here and everywhere else on the internet. I love stripes and my husband loves tray ceilings and hardwood floors. We have established in more than two or three posts [the fact] that I have been blessed with a very handy husband... He makes things possible around here. :)

In the new house, we figured, we don't need tray ceilings because we love our ceilings the way they are so we are just going to invest on some really pretty [we don't care if it wipes us out] crown molding all over the house. One thing we would love to do though is either this [beadboard]:

Or, this [board and batten]:

 

I think we are leaning towards the board and batten at the moment and we are going to do it in our kitchen right after we get the painter to come and paint the whole room for us. John and I have agreed the kitchen is beyond our painting abilities so we are going to hire a pro to do it. 

In the same way I also love pinch pleat drapes and I love toile fabrics. 

{Pinterest}

I'm not the best in sewing but I know I can make drapes and I know I can sew straight lines and could absolutely follow a sewing pattern to the T. So yes, that's what's going up on all of my windows. :) If we haven't said or showed it enough already, we are relentless at finding ways to get stuff done. If our wallet couldn't stomach the price tag of the particular thing we want, we find a way to learn how to make it ourselves. Most of the time, we always find that the stuff we make aren't too far off from what the store sells in the first place... only we didn't have to break the bank to get it. *winks*

Here's one more thing that we will do down the road...

Lumber Liquidators

We frequent Lumber Liquidators for this particular hand scraped hardwood floor. Isn't that floor on the photo gorgeous? We love the finish and the hand scraped texture! We have seen, touched and walked on it at their showroom. It is on the high end of our price range, but we are definitely investing on great, high quality wood floor. The floors in the new house are in pretty great shape so we have time  to save up for what we really want.

I guess one thing we learned in the how many home remodels we've done is to NEVER BE IMPULSIVE. SHOP IT/THEM! There has not been a major purchase made in any of our homes that we didn't debate on, or shopped for months and have changed our minds on a few times. And if it is a big ticket item, we never order them online unless we have seen it in person and have touched it and checked it out to prevent disappointments or frustrations later on. Patience [even how aggravated I get] is always a virtue. We promise.

See you all soon!!!

My New Baby

Hello friends! Hope everyone had a great Christmas with your loved ones. John and I had a great one with our family here and on the other side of the world thru Skype.

As you all well know, we have moved... we have been gifted a house. So what I thought was going to be another thorn on my side became my new baby [project]. It was hard starting all over again [thus 'thorn on my side'], but I believe this is going to be fun. I think I just needed to get out of the bungalow mind set and get this new ranch home all put together. :) You all have seen my kitchen, here's my living/family room:

 

Since this photo was taken, we have taken down the border and painted the walls a light grey-ish blue.  It is from Sherwin Williams, called Rock Candy. It took us forever to decide whether we wanted to get new furniture or keep the ones that we already have. However, Christmas came and all the sales and doorbuster deals came up on my computer screen and then I decided, we are going to get a sofa and I am DIY-ing the wall art... and make it my new baby! It is my new bundle of joy.
 

We still have quite a ways to go but it is getting there. :) This room has so much wall space, it's not funny. John is working on containing the cords where the TV and the home theater system are. I will be sharing photos of the different other sides of the room when we get done with them.

We snagged the couch from Weekends Only the day after Christmas for a very very good, I can't pass it up kind of price. I don't normally get up early in the morning for ANYTHING, but I did for this one. That is how badly I wanted this family room put together. I spent $25 on the wall art. Did it all by myself with stuff I already have [except for the stretched and mounted canvas].

There is still lots to do... John and I have been busy bodies. During the day, he goes to our other house [the bungalow] to finish what we started there while I stay here [in the current house] and do what needs done here and make food... If there is one thing that never changes is John's appetite! LOL

Got so much to show you soon. We can't wait!

A Foodie's Kitchen {Doesn't Look Like This!}

Hey all! I hope all of you are keeping warm and not having sneezing fits like I've been the past couple of nights... Or have not hurt your backs like John has. It's just crazy. Yesterday at church, Quinton and a couple other guys were telling John to go to the chiropractor so he can get his back pain figured out. Not that this is something new, John has always had back problems from drumming... Those drums weigh a ton! Then a few hours later, I get a text from my friend Sara telling me that her hubby, Quinton our pastor and very very good friend, hurt his back too so we had to cancel the youth meeting. LOL Those two hurting is no laughing matter, but we have all been realizing how old we are... our conversations are starting to revolve around doctors, chiropractors and medication, and that is is a laughing a matter. We are starting to talk like old people! LOL

Well, today, I have to say, I did a thorough sweeping and dusting of the whole house and I am very proud of myself. I am not tired yet, and my hips aren't hurting. And I got done in an hour! The last time I did this, it took me almost 2 hours. So that's a good thing. I have to admit though that this wall vacuum system we have has helped a lot. I have been so used to pushing and pulling a heavy upright sweeper for years, it feels sooo good not to be doing that anymore. :)

When I got done sweeping and dusting all rooms, I was looking at my house with so much pride while patting myself on the shoulder. ;) I'd like to show you all my kitchen... [while it's still intact]. It is getting ready to get discombobulated because I am getting ready to make supper and a couple Christmas goodies. Notice the stuff on the island?

 

I am not about to chug two bottles of Guiness Extra Stout beer. I am getting ready to make something tasty out of them today if I have the time. The other stuff on there are two huge bags of Ghirardelli chocolate and 2 small bags of the same and a sack of almonds for making macarons. 

This kitchen never stays sparkly and shiny like this. And I have left the post-its on the cabinet doors because John still couldn't find stuff. And I do not like listening to cabinet doors slamming every time he is in the kitchen looking for something.

 

The dessert keeper is empty. There used to be cupcakes in there but they are all gone.

 

I could only wish my kitchen could stay spotless like this... but I am one of those foodies who can't sit still when there is nothing baking in the oven or something bubbling over on the stove.There is always flour on my cabinet pulls and there is tapioca spilled all over the lazy susan! I couldn't help it. But I am savoring this very moment of spotlessness because I know it won't last long. lol

 

My pink room is still a work in progress. We are going to wait until after the holidays to pick out furnishings for that room. I couldn't wait to start crafting in there and entertaining girl friends in that room. I have such big plans for it.

You don't have to tell me, the appliances need to be updated. But they still work... Until these babies quit, we are not replacing them. They work perfectly... except I know that I need a bigger, roomier fridge. And the one I want has a price tag of NOT CHEAP. So, we may save up for it for a few months before getting one. We are not big fans of financing stuff if we could help it. We like peace of mind and happiness. :)

Now that I have shown it off, I get to douse my kitchen with milk and flour. :) 

See you all later. I do have supper to make!!!