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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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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Air Conditioner: Major Fail

About a two months ago, we had our air conditioner serviced–it got a good ol' deep clean. A few weeks later, we started to notice that the wood in our dining room was rippling. We thought it was the sun, streaming in from the large window. The wood progressively worsened over the next week or so, until one night, I stepped down and water seeped through the wood.

Shoot.

MAJOR problem.

Jason and I discovered that our air conditioner condensation had not been flowing to the spout outside, but leaking into the house and seeping underneath the hardwood floors.

Discovering the source of the leak...the A/C vent.

Jason on the phone with his dad, trying to figure out the best way to stop the leak. We ended up turning off the air conditioner that night, since he had to cut the pipe. Our house was 85 degrees and humid. The dogs were panting and we tossed and turned all night long. The condensation filled up the 5-gallon bucket in three hours when we finally turned the air on the next day.

Some of the floor boards were starting to grow mold.

We moved all the wet boards into the office, laid them upside-down on towels, and turned the ceiling fan on high. Our house smelled like wet wood for a week!

You can see here how far the water had seeped under the floor. That 5-gallon bucket that filled up in three hours? Imagine that pouring out, for hours, days, even weeks!

This is after we picked up the floating floor (foam stuff that sits under the wood). The concrete was even soaked. We immediately thought that our serviceman had done something wrong when he had fixed our air conditioner unit. That is, until Jason poured bleach down the condensation tube and went outside to see if it went through...

Apparently a little black snake had crawled into our condensation pipe and died, thus causing ALL condensation to back-up into our house.

After all was said and done, the damage appeared much worse that it was. Jason had extra wood planks and floating floor in the attic, so the only cost to us were few pieces of quarter-round and a little PVC piping to replace the one he cut.

But when life hands you lemons...you know what you do. We decided to start a new home improvement project. Stay tuned!

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Fourth of July Celebration

We had a fun-filled, relaxing weekend. Friday was spent cleaning the house and running a few errands, getting ready for Saturday's cook-out. 

On Saturday, we slept in until nine, and then it was time to prep for the afternoon's festivities. Family and friends started showing up around 3:00, and the food started to flow. 

The ladies gathered in the kitchen to prep the appetizers:

Lisa works diligently on the tortilla roll-ups, made by my mother-in-law, Kathy.

Jason's wonderful grill creations: pork tenderloin, barbecued chicken, peach-glazed chicken and ribs.

Kayla and Tim's dog, Tug, enjoys his tennis ball and diving into the pool.

Our final spread of goodies!

Amber stopped by to visit-husband Zach was out of town for a wedding. Check out her cute fireworks shirt she made!

After eating a hearty meal, we headed out back for a game of horseshoes.

Yes, it was hot and humid. And yes, that is a paper towel I'm using for a sweat rag. Dad would be proud!

After horseshoes, we enjoyed a bowl of homemade ice-cream (my first!) while playing Banana-grams.

Sisters!

My adorable husband

Fireworks time!

Time for the grand finale!

After our backyard fireworks show, we headed inside to watch the New York fireworks on the big screen, complete with surround sound. It was a wonderful day and a great weekend! Happy Fourth of July everyone!

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