Remember When...

It's so crazy that such a vital phase of our life is nearly over. I mean, Colorado has given us so much! A Ph.D., two Master's Degree's, 3 jobs, three residences, our first home, countless friends, innumerable memories, and of course, our two beautiful children and their birth-families.

And now we are 21 days away from leaving it all behind us for a new adventure in New Mexico.

So, come and reminisce with Nick and I as we share some, perhaps, lesser known memories.

Remember when...

We moved to Colorado and didn't have a couch so we walked around AFW (aka The Mecca) and sat in these little beauties for a couple weeks until our couches were delivered (and we had a landline)?

We took that hike up the flatirons but only got halfway before your pants ripped in a very inconvenient place and then I had to hike down in front of you so other hikers wouldn't see...anything?

Someone spray painted this lovely message on the garages outside our window (and when this was our view)?

Our rice cooker lid shattered and it looked happy about it?

We played racquetball all the time and you gave me a black eye (and when I had acne so bad I looked like I had chicken pox)?

I took random, "useless" pictures of you...a lot?

We were totally captivated with the Colorado sky (and still are)?

 We went to those Valentine's Dances for grown ups?

We went to like 5 Rockies games in one summer while I was in grad school and we thought a dude with crazy earrings in was worth a picture (and now it's not even worth a second glance)?

We had two cars and they both broke down the same week we moved?

I somehow convinced you to use your finger to desecrate one of our nation's most honored landmarks and presidents?

I used to work with these kiddos everyday?

My making descent food was actually worthy of a picture because it happened so infrequently?

I was a woman of business and wore clothes like this?

 

Our patio looked like this?

You had to do those shifts at the observatory that were so fun and so cold?

We met Gertrude and Helga?

Our new fridge broke and we had to buy a new one only to find out the old one's problem was that the door didn't close all the way (gosh I loved that fridge)?

All our kid stuff fit into one tiny corner (and we owned and had space for a desk)?

Hope you all enjoyed that waltz down memory lane with us -- I know I did! Have I mentioned we are really going to miss Colorado??

I Kinda Love Colorado

Nick left for work at 5:50am this morning and plans on putting in at least a 12.5 hour day, if not more to avoid going in to work tomorrow.

When we agreed to do graduate school this is what we signed up for -- occasional crazy days, typical 11-hour days, and a lot of vacation flexibility so long as it doesn't coincide with a conference or big publication. It's not easy all the time, but even if one had told me how lonely some periods of my life would feel I would have still agreed to it.

In fact, we maybe agreeing to it already. I'm not going to go into specifics, but Nick has/will be applying to eight (possibly nine) jobs this winter. He's headed out of town for a "job interview" Sunday and will be back Tuesday (quick trip). He's applying for jobs across the country leaving our family's future completely unpredictable (which is a real change from its completely predictable past).

I have done a lot of reflecting recently because of all this "Momy-time" I've been having recently, and the thing that surprises me the most about our time in Colorado is how much "it feels like home to me." I don't really know what I was expecting when we moved here, but living in Utah for school never felt like home, and I was there for 3 years. I always felt like a visitor saying "I'll be home [in Oregon] for Christmas" and now find myself saying "I'm so glad we'll be home [in Colorado] for Christmas."

One of the first pictures we took on our very first "let's explore!" walks in Colorado.

Maybe it's because so much of me has happened in the past 5.5 years. Thinking about where I was as a person when we moved here and where I am now just blows my mind! My 21-year old self would not have believed what I am capable of doing now or what I was capable of becoming.

Dolled Up in August 2007

Dolled Up in September 2012

(Geez! I figured how to pose for pics, fix my hair, trim my eyebrows, cover up zits, and wear clothes! Holy Cow!)

I wonder if that's what home is...maybe home is a place where you become the person you were always meant to be. That takes stretching, and stretching takes time. Don't get me wrong, I was stretched plenty in college, but places don't feel like home so much to me as the people that helped me through those times of stretching. Mostly Nick, but also my roommates and friends who held my hand and dried my tears through the flour gooping up in them (long story...okay, not that long: flour fights). In Utah it was the people I ended up missing, and here it's going to be the people but also the places where created our first real home.

 

One flour fight of many in college. So fun!

I kinda love Colorado, a lot more than I thought I would after 5.5 years. I'm going to really try to enjoy the snow this year.

5, 10, and 15 Year Plan

I saw this post on a new blog I'm getting wrapped up in and I had a lot of fun talking with Nick about our 5, 10, and 15 years plans that I decided to do a post on them. This is so fun to be as specific as you can because life is pretty predictable so I think our future will be pretty close to what I'll describe here soon (sarcasm is tricky to relate through writing, so FYI I was joking...haha). I'll try to stay brief, but frankly our life is so awesome I'm not sure if I can! And without further ado...

Five years from now...
I am going to be 30, Nick will be 34, Alexa will be 6 (that blows my mind), Grace will be 3.5, Isaac will be just a brand new baby, and Pip the fish will be such a joy to all, but especially to Isaac and Grace! We're going to be busy with Alexa in Kindergarten, playing soccer, doing gymnastics, and her and Gracie will be taking swimming lessons. Of course all of this will be taking place as Nick is finishing up his post-doc from Cornell University, which means we'll stay plenty busy exploring as much of the East Coast as we can take in! We'll be renting a lovely home in New York with a surprisingly big yard and I'll enjoy nothing more than doing all I can to make the cozy (a.k.a. small) home a piece of heaven.

Ten years from now...
I am going to be 35, Nick will be 39, Alexa will be 11, Grace will be 8.5, Isaac will be 5, Owen will be 2, and I'll be pregnant with little Natalie! Pip the fish, Toby the basset hound dog, and Horton the lizzard/frog/bunny/turtle/snake/hamster/etc. will keep all the kids wildly entertained! We're going to live in our dream home up in Pullman, WA where Nick will be a professor at Washington State. He will absolutely love his work and his family and his church calling on the stake council. I will stay plenty busy taking care of everyone and working with the young women in our ward. Alexa is going to be getting into hair, makeup, boys (which will give her dad minor heart attacks daily), yet she'll maintain her free-spirit and interest in soccer. She, along with Grace, will not necessarily enjoy piano lessons, but will go to them if they want to continue in their other interests. Grace is going to be just like her daddy and love school and think science and math are the bees-knees! Isaac will be almost starting kindergarten and be the dirtiest little boy with the cutest curly hair you've ever seen! Owen will idolize his brother and the three of us will be so busy making forts and looking at bugs and jumping in puddles we'll hardly have time for things like dishes and ironing (I can only hope). And of course, Natalie, our little birth-miracle, she'll be doted upon like nobody's business by myself, her proud daddy, and her older sisters. Life will be so sweet!


Fifteen years from now...
I am going to be 40, Nick will be 44, Alexa will be 16, Grace will be 13.5, Isaac will be 10, Owen will be 7, Natalie will be 5, and our surprise boy Gabriel will be just a couple months old (Nick doesn't like that name now, but I think I can talk him into it in 15 years)! Nick and I will will be planning on a lovely trip to Brazil for our 21st year anniversary that coming summer with his money from his Nobel Prize explaining solar magnetic polarity reversal (look it up)! We're going to love the rain and everything about our house in Pullman (which will still be getting improvements made by Nick's tinkering). One thing we won't love, well, Nick and I won't love, is that Alexa will be driving and dating and doing a lot of both. She will work hard in school and will love hanging out with her friends in our kick-trash-party basement, as will Grace! I can't tell you how much Gracie will remind me of Nick, and I'll just love it so much! Isaac will be into everything a 10-year old should be into, but especially scouting and baseball. Owen, like his brother, will love baseball but will also love his first-grade class and teacher and starting piano lessons. Natalie and I will be preparing for kindergarten by going to the library weekly (like we've done with all our kids for years) and also playing with Gabe like he's a little doll. Gabe is going to be a pretty mellow dude, and just enjoy life as it comes, but still love to get into everything and play with his mommy, daddy, and siblings. Of course Toby (the most patient dog in the world...he never dies, so no worries there), Tiny Tim (Pip died a couple years ago, so we will have had this new fish since then), and Horton are all enjoying their lives as part of our family as well.

This is so fun to think about, but as I was writing I thought of about a billion variations to this game plan that I would be just as excited about (a couple include adopting internationally and doing a foster-to-adopt program out of birth-order). Whatever happens, I am so happy to have Nick, Alexa, Ray, Melissa, and the rest of our family along for the ride from here on out. Isn't my life going to continue to be incredible??  

 
Our wonderful family of three!

Aly TV: Let Me Eat Cake

Aly is getting very good at feeding herself these days, so for Nick's birthday we decided to let her loose on a piece of very moist chocolate cake.  Aly actually got most of the cake in her mouth (and was on a sugar high for about an hour afterwards), but it took her almost 15 minutes of hard work.  Here is her eating at 5 times normal speed along with a little musical accompaniment.


Isn't cake great?

101 Things in 1001 Days

Wanna know what I've been doing instead of blogging? I've been working on this list of 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days, which I'm starting today. I'm pretty pumped! One goal I am starting on immediately is #23: Read 50 books in a year. I'll post and update the list of books I plan to read (you may notice there's a lot of reading goals in my list). If you want to make your own list, go to this website and learn all about the Day Zero Project. I'm pretty pumped by the whole thing!  

Countdown to March 18, 2014 here I come!

Linked or red goals are completed. Goals that have a strike-through have been re-evaluated and hypothetically removed from my list altogether.

1. Listen to every song in my iTunes library and all my CDs (in progress)

2. Watch all the non-R-Rated movies on AFI's Top 100 Movies list

3. Build something out of wood by myself
4. Go to a Concert

5. Complete a 365 day photo challenge (in progress)

6. Get a passport

7. Spend a rainy day watching films in my PJ's
8. Host a themed dinner party

9. Start a book club near my home

10. Don't use my car for a week

11. Run a 5k

12. Adopt another baby

13. Read 33 of the Top 100 Novels of all time (one a month)

14. Host a Grilled Cheese Gala

15. Give up fast food for a month

16. Give money to a random street musician

17. Go without the Internet for seven consecutive days

18. Go stargazing

19. Wake-up by 6:30am everyday for a month

20. Redecorate my room

21. Bake a cake from scratch

22. Catch a fish and eat it

23. Read 50 books in a yea

24. Attend a music festival

25. Try a new form of exercise (rowing, swimming)

26. Don't watch TV/Hulu/Netflix for a month

27. Travel further east than South Dakota

28. Read 100 books I've never read before (in progress)

29. Buy a bracelet

30. Create a 4 generation family history tree

31. Buy flowers for myself for no reason

32. Bake a loaf of bread

33. Eat something I've never eaten before

34. Buy an article of clothing more than $50

35. Get one blog up to a hundred followers

36. Leave uplifting/anonymous notes around town for strangers

37. Surprise someone with flowers

38. Wake up in the middle of the night and watch a movie and eat junk food and drink hot chocolate

39. Don't repeat a hair style for 30 days

40. Teach Alexa sign language

41. Photograph a landscape from the same location, capturing all four seasons and frame them together

42. Turn a good deed daily for a stranger for a week

43. Host a board game night

44. Get away with Nick for a weekend

45. Climb a tree

46. No candy for a month

47. Learn to slalom ski

48. No computer for a week

49. Grow a plant

50. Get patio furniture and use it with friends

51. Attend a theatrical event

52. Write a handwritten letter to someone

53. Go a whole week without saying anything negative

54. Make a chore chart to keep up on housework

55. Be able to identify 10 constellations

56. Read a Jane Austen novel

57. Read a book of poetry

58. Crochet/knit something

59. Walk or run for a cause

60. Go puddle jumping

61. Buy a pet fish

62. Go to a water park

63. Go to the library, close my eyes and pick a random book that I have to read

64. Buy a new lens for my camera

65. Donate blood

66. Successfully make fudge

67. Buy a point-n-shoot camera

68. Have an indoor and outdoor picnic

69. Hike in Rocky Mountain National Park

70. Get into a food fight

71. Surprise Nick at school with homemade lunch

72. Give a friend in need a care package

73. Score over 100 at bowling

74. Get par or better on one hole while golfing

75. Feed some ducks

76. Watch a drive-in movie

77. Get a family portrait taken

78. Play a community sport

79. Go to a midnight movie showing

80. Spend a day exploring my city

81. Identify 101 things which make me happy, or smile, and photograph them (Summer 2013)

82. Memorize a poem

83. Throw a surprise party for someone

84. Go on a bike ride

85. Develop a skin care routine that works (Proactiv, who knew?)

86. Exercise six days a week for a month

87. Buy a sewing machine and learn how to use it

88. Spend a whole day reading and read a book start to finish

89. Get a little black dress

90. Do a photoshoot for a friend

91. Have breakfast in bed

92. Make a family recipe book (in progress)

93. Start a new Christmas tradition

94. Make a new dinner everyday for a week

95. Learn how to hem pants

96. Donate hair to Charity

97. Organize the garage and hall closet

98. Leave inspirational notes in all the library books I check out (completely forgot about that)

99. Make a list of all family and friends Birthdays and Anniversaries
100. Build a blanket or pillow fort

101. Buy a great reading chair

Create a Beautiful Future

"The best way to predict the future is to create it."

Peter Drucker

Perhaps more than anything since being at home with Alexa, my desire to create has been, how shall I say...lit with a blow torch. Seriously it's just about all I want to do: create somthing that did not exist before. Everyday a new inspiration, a new idea, a new project, a new plan, a new tomorrow. It's very exciting and very motivational! Here's a print I created for Aly's room last week. So cute and so easy!

  

We all die. The goal isn't to live forever, the goal is to create something that will.
Chuck Palahniuk

I want to create a home that my family likes to come home to. I want to create a little girl who loves her family, loves God, and takes naps! I want to create new meals that Nick and I love to eat. I want to create written compositions that inspire myself to create bigger and better things. I want to create lovely pieces of art to display in my home. I want to create a slimmer and healthier body for myself. I want to create knowledge. I want to create a wardrobe I enjoy and feel like I look nice in. I want to create a lovely patio so my family and I can enjoy it in the summer with friends. I want to create an environment that encourages exploration, learning, and fun. I want to create friendships and service opportunities. I want to create a joyful life.

 "How wrong it is for a woman to expect the man to build the world she wants, rather than to create it herself." 

Anaïs Nin

 

Creative ambition is wonderful, until you realize you can't do it all. Then it's depressing. Aren't all these good things to do? So what's the solution? Well, I believe that it's transitioning my efforts from what I want to create to what God wants me to create. My priorities align, and I realize that I may not be able to do it all, but I can do what's important. If I allow God to direct my decisions on what's most important, then I know I'll feel great about what I created at day's end.

"Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will."

George Bernard Shaw 

My creation efforts last week lead me to learning how to re-finish furniture, and the first friend I asked (who is one of the most creative people I know, and this is her Etsy shop) how I would do that directed me to this video as inspiration. I am now directing you to it because, as I learned, creation does not necessarily need new furniture or new skills. It needs you! So begin where you are and create a beautiful future!

"To hell with circumstances; I create opportunities."

Bruce Lee 

"There is nothing like a dream to create the future."

Victor Hugo

Because We Chose It

I would like to officially announce my entrance into the honorable ranks of stay-at-home moms! This is a big announcement which I am so thrilled to share with you!

When we have shared this exciting news with others (who can respond) some have said "It is so great that you can do that." I politely agree with them, because it really is great that we're in a financial position to do this. However, I do want to make the following point clear:

we are not wealthy, and we are able to do this because we chose it. My being at home is so important to our family, and it is apparent to us that people make priorities for things that are important to them. This is important, and we've made it a priority, and so we also make sacrifices.

But the sacrifices of prestige and a bit more money pale in comparison to my dream job in my dream location with my dream co-workers. This is a job I have been vying for ever since we decided we wanted to have children...and probably before then. There is nothing else I would rather be doing and no one else I would rather be doing it with. I mean really, look at these faces:

Although, I wouldn't argue if I was offered a raise.

FormSpring Question and Answer

You've always been such a happy person and you and Nick are absolutely perfect together.  You both genuinely seem happy.  Besides the whole infertility thing, have you guys EVER had a problem??

Nope. Our life together is perfect.

Okay, not really, but I think we handle the problems that do arise very well. Everything is a "we problem," not a "me problem." This is a lesson I am still learning, and something I had a really difficult time with after we were married. Infertility was my fault and I needed to deal with it. Student loans were my fault and I needed to pay them off. Marriage is very difficult when you view the relationship as two people who love each other living under the same roof. Problems HAVE to be addressed by the unit.

Nicholas is endlessly patient with me as I still, on occasion, have episodes where I feel guilty about my weaknesses. He reminds me that "If [we] are not one, then [we] are not [God's]" (D&C 38:27). We are many things, but if nothing else, we are His children. That vision of who we are has been and will continue to be invaluable when it comes to our marriage and family.

And if we "genuinely seem happy" it's because we are! We have such a good life, we know it, and we look forward to the life God has in store for us!

Ask me anything

More Crazy Wildfire Stuff

A wild fire is serious business but it also produces some great images.  Here are a few of my favorites from the last couple days.

Amazing Time-Lapse Movie from Monday Night

Stunning Picture from Monday Night

For those so inclined, here's a Google Map of the Fire

View #boulderfire in a larger map

A Hot End To Summer

If you live in Colorado I'm sure you've heard of the Fourmile Canyon Fire, which is currently burning like mad less than a mile west of Boulder and about 12 miles west of where we live.  And it is a whopper...

That was the view from near where we live (although it's not our picture) on Monday evening.  The city lights in the foreground are the city of Boulder.  As of Tuesday night the fire was still burning wild and had destroyed close to 100 homes and structures.  The fire was started Monday morning and due to dry conditions and 30 mile per hour winds on Monday things quickly went out of control.  By Monday afternoon a line of smoke was blowing over our little town, which NASA got a great shot of from space.

We live just east of Boulder right under that smoke plume.  We're not in any danger but a lot of people have lost their homes and it's still not over.

The First Day of Jobhood

Today was my first day in the new job I just got, and I'll tell you what: it is AWESOME! The people seem fabulous, and I get my own

*cubicle

*desk

*phone

*phone extension

*laptop

*name placard

*business cards

*email address

*white board

(I'm really geeking out over this list, I can't even explain it)

and I get to pretty much, with the exception of a bunch of meetings I need to attend, make my own schedule. It doesn't pay a whole lot, but I more than doubled our annual income (not saying a lot there) and got us dental insurance!

Okay, those are the perks of the job, but let me tell you what I actually do (and try to avoid gaging on this one): I'm a data analyst. You heard me right, I analyze data! Remember the statistics course I stopped after one semester in high school partly because my teacher (Mr. Atkinson) was a complete num skull and partly because I hated every minute of actual statistics? Yeah, that's basically what I do, or will do starting tomorrow, and I absolutely love it! Partly I think it's the organization and the people I am doing the work for. They really believe that I am going to do a good job, so even when I look at all the things they're asking me to do and think "there's no way" I feel capable when they look at me and think "she's incredible." I will try to never underestimate the power that thinking the most of others can have on their lives.


The organization I am working for is called Parent Pathways, which helps teen parents raise healthy families. It funds an alternative high school for teen mothers. Now I know what you're thinking: "Shouldn't Rachel be encouraging these moms to place their child for adoption rather than keep their babies because, well, she's trying to adopt?" You're probably right, but I know that not every teen mom was meant for adoption. My oldest sister Cindy wasn't, and she was able to create a beautiful family with the father of her children. These moms who are trying their best, given their situations, to improve their children's lives should get the help they need to do so. Overall, I feel like while this solution to teen pregnancy isn't perfect, it is beneficial in reality.


Let me just say I never would have guessed, not in a million years, that I would be getting business cards with the job title Data Analyst on them! But I do feel like God has known all along, and this is where He wants me to be. I am truly grateful for this job, and the fact I don't have to write anymore cover letters for a while.


And yes, I totally called my voicemail about 5 times today just to hear my name, and the first time I did I hung up really fast because I thought I had actually called a real person who answered their phone. Very professional, I know.

Did you hear the news?

As of April 16th we are officially homeowners!! Now I know what you're thinking "isn't this post like WAY overdue?" And I'm thinking, "yes, but it's so important to build tension." (just like one Sue Sylvester says, but I do not want to admit how much I LOVE that show!)

Totally worked, right?

Here are a couple photos documenting the last couple weeks:

This is Nicholas signing all the paperwork. He has a wicked-awesome credit score and I have thousands of dollars of student loans. It works though because he signs and I bug him by taking stpid pictures like this:



After signing all that paperwork we were famished and wanted to get right to work on the new crib, so we made a pit stop at Panera...seriously one of our favorite places! The bread is incredible!



We then B-lined it over to the house and, get this, Nicholas totally carried me over the threshold! I usually have to prompt things like that, but this was totally unexpected! Okay, back to stuff you care about...Nicholas got started right away on the disgusting grout in the kitchen and I got started figuring out paint colors.

FYI, red is like THE HARDEST COLOR to pick out! I think we ended up getting 5 samples until I found the one I liked. I will get teased about that mercilessly until the end of time.

We ate our inaugural meal the next day, and you guessed it a $5 Little Ceasar's Pepperoni Pizza. This was the first of many since we live right across the street from the vendor. We both need a little break from the Greek magistrate of Italian cuisine, just for a bit. We'll be back.

That's enough for this post. This is how we started, I have more pictures and more posts up my sleeve, but like I said, it's important to build tension! Oh man, I should be a carny or someone that builds tension for a living!

Thursday Thirteen #9: Mis-Predictions

If you were to jump on The DeLorean and go back 4 years to when we were first hitched and asked us to predict where we’d be today, I think we may have said that we would have:

1. More kids
2. Fewer houses
3. Less pink in Rachel’s closet
4. More blue in Nicholas’ closet
5. Fewer shoes in Rachel’s closet
6. Fewer Sketchers in Nicholas’ closet
7. More pets
8. Fewer cookbooks
9. Less schooling for Rachel
10. More car repairs
11. Fewer bus rides
12. Less expensive haircuts for Rachel (never guessed I would upgrade from Great Clips)
13. More expensive haircuts for Nicholas (never guessed I would be cutting his hair)

We both agree that I have changed quite a bit over the last 4 years and Nick has been pretty constant (with some welcomed wardrobe adjustments by yours truly). Our ying and yang is one reason why we work so well together! It was fun to talk about these things last night over dinner at this delicious little Chinese restaurant with the best Won Ton Soup and BBQ chicken ever! Which reminds me, I totally get to cross that off my live list. I'm excited to see what unpredictable things the next 4 years brings us!

And it begins.

So today we made our first new home purchases. Nicholas headed straight for the power tools and I headed for the paint. Since I know you are all more curious about the paint I chose than the tool (a Dremmel Multi-Max, just in case you were wondering) below are the samples I got. The colors are not exactly right, they're brighter. I am still debating on the reds, which is why there are two, but all the other colors are the same. The second red is a little more purple, but I just don't know how they're all going to look on the wall, which is why we got samples of all of them. Please leave a comment with your opinion! I'm not married to any of the colors, this is just the basic idea.

Feel free to go to Behr.com and play around. It's one of my new favorite activities! The cream will be on every wall throughout the house that doesn't have one of the colors on it (hallways and non-accent walls). The red is for the front room and possibly the kitchen, the blue is for our bedroom, and the orange is for the second bedroom/future baby's room. The baseboards, trim, and casing will all be white. I love how the colors remind me of walking outside in the fall. Who doesn't love the fall??

Oh, this is the rug I found at Target that I want. I think it fits the colors pretty much perfectly! And I already have a couple throw pillows to match! I sure hope I still like these colors once I put them on the wall...

Thursday Thirteen #4: Questions I have about interior design

You want to know some fantastic news? Of course you do. We got the townhouse!! Our first choice for our original asking price, which was about 20% under the banks list price! Here are some FAQs about the property:

Sq Ft: 910 with an additional attached garage!

Bedrooms: 2

Bath: 1 (quite small)

Style: townhouse apartment, so it's 1 floor and someone is living above us

Lot size: we don't own any of the land, but we have a small patio area in the back which opens up to a small common yard. I think we'll be making some new friends!

Click on the link above for some pictures.

Now, it's a foreclosure, so it's not in the best shape. It's liveable, so we can work on stuff while we live there, but as it turns out, I am clueless on how to decorate/coordinate everything. So here it is, all my ignorance is going to be out on the table and I am looking to my blogging buddies to help me out! Leave a comment with your suggestions! A million thanks! I'll post pictures of what we decide to do and how things progress.

1. How do you make your home flow from one room to the next?
2. Can/should every room be a different paint color?
3. When choosing an accent wall color, does that need to match any other accent pieces in the room, or can it be completely different?
4. Our couches are brown, our wall decor is dark wood (cherry-ish), and bookshelves/entertainment center is oak. Is this okay and if so, how do I add some interest to all that brown?
5. How do you coordinate all the colors in a room (walls, furniture, curtains, blind, wall decor) so it doesn’t look sporadic or schizophrenic?
6. With area rugs on a wood floor, do you have to worry about matching the rug to the shade of wood, or is all wood neutral?
7. What are fun ways to decorate a home beyond family pictures that add some color that aren’t super modern (neither of us are trendy enough for that)?
8. What are interesting ways to decorate with family pictures (gotta represent!)?
9. What are some tricks to not over crowd a small bathroom, kitchen, or laundry room?
10. Do all appliances match all wood cabinetry or do they need to coordinated as well?
11. How do you effectively light up rooms with not a whole lot of sunlight and zippo overhead lighting (lighting options, color, decor, etc.)?
12. With our second bedroom, it is basically going to be a study, future baby room, library, or whatever else we need it for. Do you have any suggestions on how to make it look like a room and not a weird conglomeration of random stuff?
13. Are there great sites/blogs/stores you use for your decorating/designing inspiration?

Again, any help you could provide would be AMAZING! If you were here with me we'd go out to lunch and I would pick your brain for everything you have stored up in there, but for now, this the Internet is our cafe and our thoughts will be our feast. Send pictures of what you do in your home or links to things you love. Have some fun!

Real People Status

A long while back (maybe two years ago) I told Nick that we weren't technically "real people" yet because we did not meet either of the two qualifications: (1) home ownership or (2) children. I am happy to report that today Nick and I made a momentous step in achieving the first goal. We made an offer on a small 2 bedroom townhome about a mile away from our current place. Some of you have been asking for pictures, so here you go (WARNING: she's not much to look at now, but think potential and no teasing the not very careful photography):

This is what you see when you first walk in. No there are no doors on any of the closets, something to do.

This next one is of the front room/dining area. This is my favorite! Look at those floors! We'll be painting the walls a little less cotton candy and a little more...Awesome!

If you make a left in the picture you walk right past our gourmet kitchen. There is another side with more cabinets and a dishwasher, but I thought this was a better pic. Needs some love, and a fridge.

Continuing down the hall you will find on your left lovely bedroom #1. No, that's not shadow on the floor, that's grossness, so new carpeting will need to happen as well.

Linen closet between the two bedrooms. A place specifically for my towels and sheets just makes me happy!

Here's bedroom #2. Did I mention there are also no baseboards? Apparently the last tenants wanted to keep them.

Across the hall from the bedrooms are these two little beauties

Needs a shower head                       Needs some shelving

Keep walking down the hallway and you'll come to our spacious laundry room and then A GARAGE! Both need some wonderful things to fill them up, like our washer/dryer and car! Woo Hoo!

And, one of my favorite parts, if you just exit the sliding glass door in the front room you walk out into this Eden!

Okay, like the rest of it, it needs work, but just think: Summertime. BBQ. Friends. Boo. Ya-ha.

And just beyond the fence is a little common area, which can be accessed through the un-pictured gate in our picket fence! LOVE!

The fence on the left would be ours.

So, what do you think? How much do you love my (hopefully) little heaven on earth? If it works out, we'll let you know!