meet Mendon

Look who warmed her way into our hearts and home:

Mendon is an 8 month old Mastiff mix who came from G.R.A.S.P.

Col saw her picture online a couple weeks ago and thought she was the perfect dog for us.

She came for a home visit on Saturday, and we both agreed.

She's 80 pounds of sweet lovin', and we are so happy to have her!

{we named her after the park where we got engaged :)}

 (lovin' the toy our sweet niece picked out just for her!)

engagement : 3 years later

We recently re-visited our engagment spot and took some new pics:

this spot...

...three years ago today <3

Valentine's Day 2013

Valentine's Day has never been a huge holiday for Col and I, but every year we plan to spend the evening together and I usually try to at least make a special dinner and/or dessert.  This year, I surprised Col by saying that we could get garbage plates for dinner, and I also planned to make him a new dessert recipe, a chocolate peanut butter layer cake.

I'm happy to say that the cake turned out perfectly!  My mom would be so proud :)

 

winter weekend

We were hit with winter storm Nemo this past weekend (real scary name, right?).  Unfortunately that meant that it took me an hour to get home from work on Friday, quadruple the normal time, but that was fine because I was safe.  However, when I was finally in reach of home, I got stuck turning onto our street.  So there I sat, in the middle of the street unable to do anything but call Col and think through a plan.  I was supposed to be back downtown to volunteer for an event for the foundation that my employer has in an hour, and seeing as it had taken me that much travel time to get home, I wasn't sure how I was going to make it work. 

I ran home, grabbed a shovel, and thanks to the part of my mom that I have in me (go self-sufficient woman!), I shoveled my car out so that I could park in the driveway, run inside to literally throw on a dress, forgo any hope of fixing my hair or putting on makeup, and head back out to the streets.  I made it to the hotel only about a half an hour late, where Col had beat me and was walking out as I was coming in.  I trudged in, wearing a black dress and my super heavy duty winter boots, not caring about anything other than the fact that I was there (at least I remembered heels to change into).  Despite the weather, the event was a success, and I was glad to have Col there volunteering with me.

When we got home at 11pm, we attacked the driveway, excited to shovel out for the first time at our house.  It took us about 2 hours, and since we were wide awake and enjoying the peaceful, quiet beauty of 1:30am where everything was covered in white glistening snow, we took a walk around the neighborhood.  Afterward, we attempted to pull an all-nighter but only made it to 4am watching Oceans 11 in bed.

Saturday we had such a great day because we never once set foot outside the house.  The plumber came in the morning and fixed all of our plumbing issues which was great, and we unpacked the rest of the boxes/put everything away.  We even got to decorate some.  The house is looking more homey, and we were talking about how it's felt like home since the very beginning.

Despite getting stuck and the rude plow guy I encountered, it was such a fun time enjoying our new homeowner status, even the shoveling.  I am so thankful for our spontaneous-ness in staying up late and enjoying the peaceful walk together around our new neighborhood (we even saw a deer!).  I think we're pretty keen on this homeownership thing :)

What about you?  Did you turn the storm into an opportunity to do something fun/out of the ordinary?

i'm lovin' [house edition]...

...waking up in our crisp blue bedroom
...having my own sink in the bathroom
...carpooling to work with Col!  Why it's so fun, I do not know, but I love it [and ok, we've only been able to do it once so far...but still!]
...unpacking/organizing/setting up [although there is plenty more to be done]
...[don't laugh] having our first little house issue to be fixed [we know that this being a good thing will wear off real quick]

on moving

our families are awesome.

our friends are awesome.

we are officially moved into our house, furniture and all.

our apartment is completely clean and sparkling, ready for its new tenants.

we have our security deposit in hand.

my mom has been a beast at painting/cleaning/unpacking/putting away.

the helpers are all fed thanks to my in-laws.

the bed is set up and made so we can sleep tonight.

we have a new home.

we can't thank you all enough for all the hard work

and for the willingness to help even when we had plenty of hands.

"I can no other answer make but thanks,
And thanks, and ever thanks."

William Shakespeare

Teenie's baby shower

I was honored to help host my dear roomie's baby shower today.  I can't wait to meet baby boy E soon!

Theme: She's about to POP!

Food: flavored popcorn, rice crispy treats, fruit and veggie pops (skewers), cake pops

in honor of our first apartment

Folks, we're finally moving into our house!  It's still bittersweet leaving this apartment, because it's been such an amazing place to start our lives together.  Sitting here, amid packed boxes as it gets emptier and emptier, I wanted to pay homage to our two years here.

first place we learned to live together as mr. and mrs. (remember this?)

many mini experiences of home ownership (our first summer here the basement flooded three times, two of which our landlord was out of town for)

first and second Christmases together
location of many New Year's Eve/birthday/just because parties
celebrated our first wedding anniversary
Col's graduation from grad school and picnic

I will miss...

          ...being able to go upstairs in my slippers to play games with our upstairs neighbors

          ...sitting on our porch on warm summer days and visiting with dogs as they walk by with their owners

          ...all the random/fun/friendly encounters with our surrounding neighbors, most of whom have lived here most of their adult lives

          ...the old charm of this 100-year-old house (original hardwoods, clawfoot tub, crown molding, glass cupboards)

          ...walking to every single city festival (Lilac Festival, Park Ave Fest, Corn Hill Arts Festival)

          ...not having to try to find parking for the Lilac Festival

          ...walking 2 minutes to grab pizza slices on the corner

          ...the Southwedge in general with its quirky festivals and up-and-coming main strip along South Ave.

          ...our walking route past beautiful, large houses and through Highland Park
          ...having a 7 minute commute to work

I'm excited to leave behind...

          ...on-street and alternate parking hassles

          ...our ancient furnace that decides to go out whenever it's windy or cold outside

And even more excited to gain...

          ...a yard

          ...a deck

          ...the freedom that comes with owning your own place (which encompasses a whole lot that I could go on and on about!)

Here's to you dear old house apartment!  Thank you for your shelter, comfort, and new beginnings.  We definitely got extremely lucky having you as our first apartment!