Bedroom progress

Hmmmmmm. . . So I just realized how that sounds, but it seemed catchy and pretty self explanatory. We got the bedroom painted this weekend! With the help of our lovely friend/neighbor, we got it done in just a couple hours on Saturday. So after some slight debate and sound reasoning, we decided to go with a color we currently had an abundance on. Those of you who were not aware, my loving husband and I completely over-estimated the amount of paint needed to paint our living area and kitchen, and as a result ended up with a gallon and 1/2 of the Cinnamon stick (the color we chose to paint our bedroom) and 3 and 1/2 gallons of the gold. Needless to say we are still searching for areas in which the gold can be used.

So here are some pics of before and after the paint job:

Before:

After:

And yes- I am still seeking a home for my lovely collection of shoes:

I'm looking for the right shoe tree for our space.

Now, keep in mind that the arrangement of our room is still very temporary. We previously had our bed in the corner and dressers on opposite sides of the room, but as we had all of our furniture pushed in the middle of the room as we pained, we kind of enjoyed the bed under the window. It sort of put a damper on the whole headboard idea, but the fabric hung in the window is what we are/were going to use for the headboard. . . Only time will tell what we end up doing. Our hope is that eventually we can find a big armoire or dresser that the two of us can use together, and we can ditch Luke's old falling apart dresser. I've got my eye on one from Ikea right now!

So that's the update with the bedroom. We may one day paint the ceiling the gold color, but who knows!

Curtains galore

Okay so. . .
I am happy to say our kitchen and hallway curtains are complete and hung! Our neighbors now officially have no excuse to peer through our windows. Luke and I were hunting far and wide for a fabric or curtain that would tie the kitchen and the entry way in together. Gold and maroon is a popular color scheme but we wanted to bring in a little bit of another color too. I initially found this curtain panel at Tar-ghetto as I like to call it, but it was a little bit more than I was wanting to spend. We then snagged it up in Owatonna for $18 (Luke's home town) the weekend we were at his parent's for Christmas. We consulted our lovely friend/neighbor who ensured us she could make this one panel into a double panel curtain for our kitchen and a single panel curtain for our hallway window.

Here's our lovely kitchen sans curtains

Definitely lacking, I'd say.

So here is a picture of the curtains and rod hung:

And here's a closer look at what the fabric looks like with the gold wall

I think it looks just beautiful together. And the curtains are dark so they kind of take away the light that shines in so we do have some tie backs being made for when we want the curtains open so the sun can shine in. Those are in progress as well! Painting begins tomorrow, along with my first attempt at a DIY head board for our bed.

I will update you all with the progress.

Happy Friday loves!

Loving this back to the future project

Okay so I had to post the link to this website. This photographer, Irina Werning, has chosen to have people re-inact their childhood photos. Absolutely amazing!

http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/

Slowly but Surely

Okay so I'm sure any other homeowner is well aware that there is always something to do around the house. That something is somewhat of a broad term. It can mean cleaning, it can mean planting, gardening (obviously which isn't an option now) or it can mean making "improvements." When we moved into our house, we were lucky enough to start from scratch. Our house was a flip, and of all the flips we saw in our home search, this house was by far the best. They completely ripped down the original house and built a new one, so we have new floors, new roof, new appliances, new everything. But along with that new, came pretty generic. For example, all of our walls were white and all of our closets lacked any sort of shelving. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this because we are able to personalize our home and make it ours, but I am sometimes a little too motivated for my own good and am constantly wanting to 'do things.' I think one of my greatest concerns when we moved in was not having shelving in our bedroom, and not having a lot of closet space. As I said before, we were able to personalize, and our tiny, empty closet turned into this:

(Please forgive me for the slight disorganization)

We now have ample closet space for all of our clothes, and the two bedrooms in the basement serve as a sort of overflow.

We also have a closet on the other side of our kitchen that has, since we moved in, been serving as random storage. Luke had expressed some interest in converting the closet into a sort of pantry so we snagged up a wire shelving unit from Home Depot and turned this:

Into this:

Much more pleasing on the eyes, and I think once we get some things moved around, it'll be perfect! Mission 'PAINT OUR BEDROOM' begins this weekend (no excuses) and I couldn't be more excited. Before and after pics to come.

Lots o limes

Anyone know what I can do with my overabundance (3 lb bag) of limes? Any food, drink recipes or any old beauty remedies?

Shower and Shenanigans

This weekend was an absolute blast. Saturday, I (along with a couple other friends) hosted a Pampered Chef bridal shower at our house. In all honesty, I was a complete ball of anxiousness. I never thought I would be that obnoxious host, but I cant deny what I have become. We had over 18 women, and an array of delicious food.

After some re-organization, we were able to create a buffet style spread for our guests, and I can say I love our home's open floor plan most when we are entertaining!

Here's the hostesses with the lovely bride to be

Some of our wonderful guests friends :)

The shower was great. I think everyone had enough to eat. We had games, prizes, some get-to-know-you's and last but not least some wine and laughing. We decided that it was entirely too easy for us all to be together, so we decided to move the party up the street with some beers and yet more laughter. 2 am came entirely all too quick and next thing I know, its Sunday and I'm forced to deal with the typical party aftermath. So that's my weekend filled with a shower and shenanigan's with friends.

Very thankful for a company holiday today because I've got a crock pot full of homemade soup, and a couple craft projects to be completed at home.

Here's my first one:

We actually got one of these empty frames as a wedding gift, and we were lucky enough to have some friends purchase another (as a wedding gift) full of our wedding photos. I really wanted this wedding picture of our parents hung because I think everyone looks absolutely stunning. I then put our babies pictures around as a sort of compilation of what we've grown into. Cheesy- I know!

I am officially . . . . . a Costco member!

(Imagine my name and beautiful face on the back. . . and by beautiful I mean horrendous. I didn't know they would take my picture!)

Tonight my friend Katie and I met up for a wonderful Costco endeavor. We were gathering up supplies for the bridal shower we are throwing for our lovely friend, Mary. As we were discussing how we were going to maneuver both of our lacks of membership to Costco, I finally took one for the team and decided to join. I'd actually been trying to convince Luke for months what a great deal it is, and tonight was a perfect opportunity to show him. He for some reason thought that buying in bulk wasn't going to be ideal for only 2 people. I however, begged to differ.Their produce is outstanding, and their meat selection is another great deal saver- 6 hearts of romaine lettuce for a whopping $3.69, and almost 7 lbs of ground turkey for $15.00. I honestly feel like I could live in that place! It can be deceiving, however, because not everything is that much more cost effective. Its a matter of doing research and knowing where the deals are.

Over $100.00 later, Katie and I headed to get our nails done. This was her b-day present to me, and could not have happened at a better time. I, for some reason, have a difficult time justifying wearing a beautiful ring when my hands look like a 10 year old boys.

Quite an improvement, I might say :)
Thanks Katie!

Welp that is my nice little Friday. I'm so excited for the shower tomorrow and I can't wait to share if with everyone! Happy weekend everyone.

Spring Fever

Today was another absolutely beautiful day. THe work day was non-traditional and our meeting in Minneapolis and a doctor's appointment allowed me to spend a fair amount of time driving with my windows cracked and my sunglasses on (2 of my favorite activities). I never thought I was affected by Seasonal Affective Disorder, but I have really been feeling down this winter. Its like now that the sun is shining and the temperature is above freezing all I want to do is be outside soaking up the sun. I am counting down the days until the snow is fully melted and I can start my very own garden! What will I grow? When do I plant? Where do I plant? I should probably figure all of these things out before I kill my non-planted plants. Also, we're going to need to invest in a lawn mower, a sprinkler, and some patio furniture. Can you tell that we bought our house in the dead of winter?

So back to the beautiful day. . . . I had an urge to be outside, and as my doctor told me that increased physical activity could definitely fight my winter blues, I decided to go for my first outdoor run of the season. Not only did I have time to clear my mind and explore my neighborhood, but I got that much needed Vitamin D! The sun and the weather has given me a baaad case of Spring fever and I'm ready for baseball to start! I have a feeling that my blog will transform to a baseball blog once my husband and my life is overwhelmed with the Minnesota Twins! Counting down the days :)

Happy Valentines day

Check out the new kicks I got the hubby for Valentines day

May be a little non-traditional, but the man loves his shoes :)

We walked

This morning was amazing. I woke up without an alarm to my motivated husband up and already putting his work out attire on. We promised eachother that we'd get up before work, because we always find it difficult to get a good work out in with all the millions of other things we could be doing. Not only did I get a good work out in, have time to make my coffee, shower, get ready, but also be productive around the house. Luke and I have become so accustomed to waking up with few minutes to spare before running out the door, we've forgotten what it felt like to get ready and be productive before our workday even begun.

After our work day, as I put on my sunglasses, and was driving home I had an immediate itch to go on a walk. Now, keep in mind we have no children, and we currently have no pets, so WE WALKED. We held hands and scoped out our new neighborhood, looked at all of our neighbors (who we hope to get to know a little better once the cold weather is gone for a while), and enjoyed the sun. Today was an amazing day. Tomorrow, painting the bedroom begins! Stay tuned for pics :)

New bookshelf

Luke and I had a nice little Saturday planned out :). We started by sleeping in, having a delicious breakfast and then decided that it was time to go out and get the bookshelf we'd been eyeballing at Target. We just looked briefly this week while we were at Target, and had seen that they were on sale. We snagged it up for just $99.00. We then got to re-arrange our living room and I'm absolutely loving the transformation it made.

Here's the corner before the bookshelf

Here's with the new book shelf

And here's a closer look to what we all put on it


While antiquing, we found some really beautiful classic hardcover books that we added on there, and decided to use some of the vases and decorations we got as wedding gifts on there too. I just love it. And I'm loving that Target has a complete set for this brand so somewhere along the road we can pick up the coffee table and end tables.

Writers block

Tonight I had the opportunity to practice with the band Ryan up at the church and it was my first practice with another human with my new bass. The thought of bearing the cold was very discouraging but I went. I went because although it may not always seem like the most appealing thing to do, I always come home happy and feeling satisfied. So-- we played a couple songs and attempted to write a couple others. I have been working on this bluesy, low, and sultry song for a little while and it just seemed like the pieces weren't fitting together. So, we decided to move on. Ryan messed around with a little guitar part that sounded incredibly inspiring, but for some reason the words just weren't coming. It wasn't a very productive night for us, but we moved on to me on the piano and him on the key board and ended the night playing around with some old songs we learned when we were kids. I love how we can transform writers block to something fun! All in all, it was a productive wonderful night- and we know the words and the music will come. . . we just have to be patient :)

Opposites attract

I would like to acknowledge how different my husband and I are. Not only do we have completely different attitudes, outlooks and opinions on most things, but we also have different priorities, passions, and motivations. We find at times that we disagree, and challenge one another, and bring out a balance in one another: this is what makes us work. Now, I dated before him, and in my dating experiences I found myself completely underwhelmed with people 'just like me.' It's almost like my overly-anxious, loud and obnoxious self, accompanied with another similar personality creates a battle and a clashing of personalities. When I met my husband I was immediately drawn to him. He was soft-spoken, a little shy, and so easy going that I just admired him. Being around him grounded me and it was exactly what I needed. In all my life I have never been so comfortable with another human being (almost obnoxiously so) and I am so happy to see the way we have made our complete opposites so compatible.

I received this gift from a friend of mine. A simple salt and pepper shaker, and I just absolutely love it! It reminds me of how different the two of us are: salt, pepper, white, brown, but how perfectly we fit together and how complete we are together. I know it is far fetched and a little corny, but I love these salt & pepper shakers!

Friends & Fun

I just need to say thank you to all my amazing friends! Tonight was a great night. I had some friends over from college and got to make some lasagna :)

(Picture taken thanks to my wonderful husband)


After dinner was made, we ate, drank some wine, and of course laughed hysterically like we usually always do. I found my self just sitting back and feeling so appreciative that I can still maintain these friendships, despite how all of our lives have transformed since college. I find it so fun to get together and update eachother with what's new. Some are engaged, others have grown in their careers, my husband and I (scary that I can say husband so non-chalantly) have purchased our home. I found us noticing how we are not crazy college kids anymore, having a hard time believing that we used to live like that, and recognizing how our lives our now focused on being adults. I feel so lucky to have friends and friendships that I know are going to last forever and I hope you all know who you are.

Photo wall

I will be the first person to admit I have some strange obsession with symmetry. I like things to be centered and balanced because for some reason it makes me feel centered and balanced. I have, however seen younghouselove.com's introduction to photo walls and I was immediately inspired to create one in our house. I have seen so many people put these up, but of course my fear of asymmetry arises. . . Well I broke down and with the help of my loving and handy husband, hung one up in our hall way. Let me know what everyone things! Please try to imagine that each frame has an actual picture in it.

Here is one angle

Annnnd another

I added the 'I Do' photo frame (which you can kind of see in the top picture) with a pic of us in it because I really thought it completed the whole wall. Now we have to decide if we are going to keep it strictly pictures of us and our families or friends too. I am pretty pleased with our first attempt and am looking forward to tackling another one!

Birthday love

As we grow older we tend to assume that birthdays become less exciting and eventful. I had expected just that this year because well- 25 is not really the most monumental year in our lives. I think I start getting a discount on car insurance (which I greatly appreciate) but I didn't expect to be surprised or showered with gifts or praises or acknowledgements. My husband really thought long and hard about my gift and I just absolutely love my bass. My friends broke into my house to surprise me and I just don't really know how many times I can say thanks to show my appreciation. I guess I was pleasantly surprised by how many people texted, called, and Facebook messaged me. I really ended my day feeling loved and recognized. I know that new developments like Facebook and Myspace have really placed remembering birthdays in technologies arms, and honestly I rely on that greatly as well(too damn many birthdays and not enough storage left in my brain), but it really made me feel good :) I just want to say thank you to all of my friends and family for all of their thoughts on my birthday because I really feel loved!

Coming home

Well. . . The hubby and I successfully survived greatly enjoyed our first road trip together! People said we were crazy for leaving at 2 am on Friday morning but we were fortunate enough to see the sun rise in Madison which was absolutely beautiful.

We arrived at our first stop, The Schedd Aquarium, just a little after 9:30 and stayed there for just under 2 hours. We then cabbed it over to the Museum of Science and Industry, which we were at until about 3:00. It was a fun filled day filled with Science and History nerding out, but needless to say we were tired from all the action/lack of sleep.

Here is a picture of Luke at Schedd aquarium with the giant fish.

Me with the buoy that was washed up on shore during a tsunami.

We were fortunate enough to stay with Tom, Gina and their amazing family, and we felt right at home! Saturday went even faster than Friday but it consisted of shopping on the Miracle Mile, Having drinks on the 96th floor of the Hancock building, seeing the Comedy Sportz improv show, hitting up a hookah bar, and finishing it up with the most delicious Chicago dog to ever touch my lips. Special thanks to Gina and Tom for showing us the town and being so absolutely amazing!

All in all, I'd say it was an amazing weekend vacay and I was fortunate enough to arrive home to a pleasant surprise from my friends:

(Keep in mind 50 cent was blaring. . . "Go shawty, it's ya birthday") I couldn't be happier!

Searching for deals

I am a bargain hunter. I would say since I have become a homeowner, my hunting skills have greatly improved. I keep telling myself I want to be a coupon lady (not to the extreme, obviously), but I really like the satisfaction of looking down at my receipt and seeing: YOU SAVED $X. My most current bargain hunting skills are thanks to the websites: Livingsocial.com, and Groupon.com. Luke and I try to have date nights every week or two, and both of these websites send great deals to your e-mail if you sign up. It's completely free, and we have snagged a bunch of fun 'date ideas' through them: restaurant gift cards, concert tickets, comedy shows, winery tours, and for Valentines day we bought a gift certificate for a 1 hour couples massage with complementary wine for $72! Its over a $150 value. I'm sure I'll feel a whole of a heck lot better than snarfing down the typical Valentines day meal. There are absolutely no obligations and its also convenient to download the iPhone or Droid aps too.

Road Trip

So, Luke and I have been feeling a little anti-social sick of the winter, so we very sporadically decided to take a road trip out to visit one of my favorite friends from high school in Chicago. I feel like I've never really been that affected by the winter weather, but this blistering cold, and the lack of sun has really got me feeling sorry for myself. Heading to Chi town over my birthday weekend really just seems like the little jump start of spontaneity that I need to make this winter weather seem more tolerable. In the almost 6 years that Luke and I have been in cahoots, we have never gone on a road trip together. As a matter of fact, our honeymoon was the first trip we ever took with just the two of us. Being young and in love (and currently without kids or pets) really drives us to want to stay spontaneous, fun, and social (which we are working on improving). I see my parents, who vacation and just randomly go to Vegas (because they can), and I really hope that we can stay like that. I'm really looking forward to this road trip! Highlights of the weekend will include: Shedd aquarium, the Museum of Science and Industry (a science nerds dream), Comedy Sportz, and of course hugging my friend an obscene amount of times. I'll keep taking pictures and keep everyone updated. . . . And wish us luck :)

Making our house a home

So I really wanted to put up some pictures of our 'home improvements' so here is the first thing we worked on:

Entry way before

Entry way after


Finding this color was crucial to the tone of the entire house so it took us a while to find a color that complimented all the wood work of the house but also didn't shrink the area.

Early b-day love

So apparently I have the most thoughtful husband in the world (or he's just tired of my nagging), but tonight after we road-tripped it up to Anoka for my cousin's talent show, he gave me the option to receive an early b-day present. We drove and drove, I put a blindfold on, and it was soon revealed that our destination was Guitar Center. He had apparently placed an order for this Ibanez Mikro guitar (mini-sized specifically for me) to be picked up for my birthday present! I am so overwhelmingly excited about it- it plays so nicely. The frets are closer together than a standard guitar and the strings are just slightly further apart, making it perfect for smaller individuals with carni-sized hands. My lovely band mate, White Mike, will now finally receive the bass he lended me back, from the 6 month long stint it had in the Harvey household. Hurray for my new bass, and my lovely husband showing me some early birthday love!

Being a wife

I have recently discovered through much soul searching that one of my proudest roles in the world is a being a wife. I know I am many things: A musician, a student, a daughter, a hard worker, but as I have grown older and experienced more, I realize that being a wife is something I LOVE (I assume one day that role will transition to a mother). I never really conformed to traditional roles in the home, but I LOVE to cook, and I LOVE to decorate, and I LOVE the way my husband appreciates the things I do. I didn't think things would change much after we got married, after all we WERE living together, but it really has, and although I'm still a little shocked that I'm not as young as I think I am, I love the direction my life is going. I'm going to look back at my 20's and feel like I accomplished the things I wanted to.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try again

So I'm sure you're all aware, but my once fiance became my loving husband on October 9th of 2010. Since then, the two of us have found the home of our dreams and immediately began the newlywed fun! After what had seemed like a long, grueling process (along with wedding planning) we searched far and wide in the St. Paul area and just couldn't seem to find what we were looking for. Once we stopped searching so hard, our home just almost fell into our arms. As a new home-owner, I find myself searching far and wide on other people's blogs in attempts to get ideas, opinions, different perspectives and inspiration. This is why I decided to try blogging again. I gave it ago a while ago, but this time I'm serious!