Thursday, December 3, 2009

Halloween?

Yeah guys, I know. It's December and I'm posting about Halloween? I can't help it. My husband's willingness to wear a bling-out leather vest must be documented. Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween party at the Magic Kingdom is an annual event for us, and we add to the number in our group each year we go. Here's a look back at the last couple years:
2007 we wore togas and deemed ourselves greek god and goddess. Jason even got his face painted – willingly! The purple grapes on our cheeks really add to the bedsheets togas, don't they?

Halloween 2008
2008 was the year of Barney and Betty, along with our good friends' April and Doug as Fred and Wilma. April sewed all of our costumes by hand! Doug's hairstyle is courtesy of a mullet wig, trimmed to perfection.


And 2009? The Village People.





Yep, that's a leather vest with some iron-on bling - a pirate with heart eyes.





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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Twilight: New Moon

Tonight's the night.

Yes, I'm one of the crazies headed to the midnight showing of New Moon in Celebration. I'll probably be surrounded by screaming 16-year girls, but I'm willing to take that chance.

The question now – Team Edward or Team Jacob?

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Monday, October 12, 2009

When fall weather is NOT fall weather

Here in Florida, we use our air conditioners almost year round. There may be a few days here and there (or like last February, a week!) where the temperature hovers near freezing and the heater awakens from it's slumber to warm our little house; however, this October has been unusually warm.



I'm a sucker for fall weather. I love the crispness in the air, the bonfire smell at night and the rare chance (as a Floridian) that I get to wear my cute sweaters and scarves. Last week while my dad was in town, we had a perfect day. The humidity was gone and by evening, we even needed a light jacket. I thought that day meant that fall had finally wrong. I was in for a rude awakening.

I woke up Saturday morning to an 82 degree house. Thermostat was set to 77, but the temperature inside kept climbing. Since Jason was at work, I decided to see what I could do with my handyman skills. I took the front of the unit apart and tried to turn it back on. No such luck. Since we'd just had it serviced (for the second time) a few weeks earlier, I called the same guys back to come out and see what they could do. A few hours later, they stopped by and within five minutes had told me that the motor was broken beyond repair and would need to be special ordered, which couldn't be done until Monday.

After a lot of researching and discussing what would be best for our house long-term, Jason and I decided that the best option would be to replace our 12-year old air conditioner all together. I don't know much about the technical side of this, but we had a 10 SEER unit and the minimum you can buy these days is a 13 SEER unit. The max you can get (and priciest) is a 19 SEER. We're getting a Carrier 15 SEER unit, which also has a $1500 tax credit.

Two nights of sleeping in a hot and humid house was plenty. The new unit is getting installed as I type this and I am counting down the minutes until we can turn it on. I'll leave you with this photo of our thermostat (yes, that's the temperature INSIDE the house).




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Sunday, September 20, 2009

Tile Project

After five long weeks of laying tile, we're finally finished! It was definitely a tedious process and I can honestly say, "I hope we never have to do that again!" While our home improvement projects tend to be a lot of work, I have so much fun learning how to become a handyman with my husband.

We went to Lowe's and bought four different types of tile. We brought them home to set against the black kitchen cabinets and choose which one we liked best.

After deciding on Ibiza Bone, we decided to do a pattern using 18 x 18, 12 x 12 and 6 x 6 tiles.

Jason pulled up all the Pergo floor and started to lay the tile. If you've never laid tile before, let me tell you...it's definitely a slow process.

It helps to have few extra hands. Doug and Jason's dad helped get the pattern started.

Day one, and a third of the tile is down. Next up, grout.

Close up of the pattern

Since I wasn't too skilled on the wet saw, I volunteered to grout.

Grouting is a process too. You have to wipe one layer, wait for it to dry, wipe again, wait for it to dry, and continue this until the floor no longer has any residue on it.

Jason did a tremendous job (the dogs LOVE the tile floor).

The finished product!

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Another reason why...

...I love my husband.


When I get frustrated because the vacuum cleaner won't work, he has the patience to take it apart and lovingly explain that vacuuming up soda tops and large leaves will clog the hose.



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Sunday, September 6, 2009

Random Musings of August

I have every intention of keeping this blog current, so due to falling behind on that goal, here's a long recap post of what we've been up to this August!

Jason and I attended a tasting at Kouzzina by Cat Cora. I was invited with a few people from work, and able to have a first hand look at the menus, which I designed! I scanned actual fabric that's used in the restaurant and created a subtle pattern for the overall look. {note: the outfit was not planned to match the colors, just a happy accident!}

Jason, Kayla and I played in a co-ed soccer tournament at Disney's Wide World of Sports. Our team name was Das Boot and let me just say, it's been a LOOOOONG time since I had on a pair of soccer shoes. I think it's safe to say that we were more than a little sore after that weekend. Our team made it to the semi-finals though, and we took 3rd place!




Lisa and I met with a wedding planner in downtown Winter Park. Our newest couple Rose and Chris (a med student going through rotations and a recent law grad that just took the bar-busy couple!) are getting married next March. We're super excited to be working on their entire wedding collateral, including save-the-dates, invitation package, place cards and programs! On that same trip, Lisa introduced me to the White Wolf Cafe, a cute eatery near Antique Row in downtown Orlando. On our way back home, we stopped by our good friend Lee's flower shop, Lee Forrest Design, and he gave us a box of orchids that were left over from a wedding. I made a few quick centerpieces that gave our house a little extra color that week!






On a side note, I love when I find our dogs napping in random places around the house.





Lisa and I tagged along with our friend, Monica Holtsclaw , to the Sanford Farmer's Market. Monica has her own bookbinding company and is all sorts of talented! Check out her website and Etsy shop!


Lisa and I will also be training for the Walt Disney World Half-Marathon on January 10, 2009. We're both half-marathon rookies, so this is a big goal for us. Wish us luck!

Remember that leak we had a month ago? Well, one thing led to another and we decided to tile the kitchen, small living room, hallway and laundry room. I'm so lucky to have such a handy-man husband! All of our projects (with the exception of the new carpeting) have been DIY. Here's a teaser photo. Stay tuned for a full recap!


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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Vegas Vacation

Last month, I flew to Las Vegas to meet up with some of my old college friends. We're scattered about the country now, from Seattle, Minneapolis, Chicago and Orlando and haven't all been together since my wedding (almost two years ago!). It was great to spend a weekend catching up on everyone's lives. It couldn't come at a better time either – Erin's moving to Australia, Colleen's starting vet school, and Annie's applying to graduate schools. Needless to say, getting together as a group isn't a frequent part of our lives, so we took full advantage of the few days we had together.


Welcome to Las Vegas!

First night out exploring. Annie and Meghan arrived the next day.

Seattle buddies, Erin and Annie.

Wolfgang Puck's restaurant, Spago, inside Caesar's Palace.

Interior of Spago.

Relaxing in the pool at Harrah's.

Riding the spiral escalators in Caesar's Palace.

It wouldn't be a night out in Vegas without fabulous dresses!

Annie and me.

Standing in front of Caesar's after a fabulous dinner at Spago.

Exploring the sights and sounds of Vegas (can you tell we're tourists??).

We were given passes to the Caesar's Palace pool, so we took full advantage!

Erin and Colleen at the pool, searching for an open pool chair.

Money shot–standing in front of the Bellagio.

Enjoying the Bellagio's fountain show to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On".

Classic photo, with all that is Vegas behind us.

Group shot in front of the glitter wall.

Our last group photo before we graduated college! (May 2005)

Eight years ago, I was blessed to meet this amazing group of girls. Our lives may have taken us to different parts of the country (and the world!), but we're still the same old U-dub crew and I can't wait for our next reunion!

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