the normally-odd couple

Gettin' Dirty With It

2011-05-03T15:19:00.001-04:00

We gave our flowerbeds a full 365 days (plus more, since that year started at the end of November, there really wasn't much we could do outside other than shovel anyhow) to show us their stuff before deciding to work on getting rid of shrubs, trees and plants that weren't really our taste. It was a good idea to do this, so we could see what bloomed when, what color the blooms were, and what we just couldn't stand. The previous homeowner really liked her plants, and because she was older, probably grew to not be able to care for them like they needed. Many of the plants have been reproducing like crazy (iris, day lilies, daffodils) and others are just overgrown and need to be reeled in BIG TIME! I am all for the "natural" approach to gardening, you know - like English cottage style, if it is done well, but right now, I just want to clean things up and transplant some of what we already have back into the garden and go from there. Start from scratch, so to speak. And actually be able to see what is planted and mulch around them...

Our first nice spring day was last Saturday, and the re-landscaping mayhem began! There was a bed in the back that needed to be regraded away from the house (so that water flowed away from the foundation instead of toward it) - so this was the first project we tackled. We took all the plants out of the bed and dug up grass so that we could till, add soil and peat moss, and make it level before mulching. We decided that we would do this, and then replant.

Part of this planning involved a trip to our local garden center, Achin' Back (love the clever name!) for the first time. I like local nurseries, and have always wanted to stop by this one. AB is family-owned small business, and their staff have been so helpful so far in our past two visits. If you're in the Chester County area, check them out!

One of the services they offer, in addition to great advice for problem areas, is landscape design. For free. We met Matt, our new friend at AB (hopefully he doesn't get tired of us and our silly questions), on our first visit and he explained that if we took pictures of our house and brought them in, he could help us to design our vision, help us select plants that would work in certain locations around our house, etc. After getting the basic idea for what we have and where we'd like to be at the end of our project (with a new patio outback and moving the front walk and front flower bed, widening and reshaping beds, etc.), Matt walked us around and showed us different plants and trees and figured out what looked best and fit with our tastes.

Here's the preliminary sketch Matt made:

And my updated color version that includes other trees, etc. that we already have and are planning to keep and use:

And so you can get an idea of what some of the plants are (and to help us remember what we ended up choosing - for now at least), I have included some pictures of the new plants/trees we're planning to plant!

What are your thoughts on our picks so far? What's your preference between the Weeping Redbud and the Snow Fountain Cherry?

Be back soon with our "in-progress" pictures.

Have you read what I've read? (to the tune of Do You Hear What I Hear)

2010-12-09T11:13:00.002-05:00

Have you seen the application going around on Facebook, asking you to identify whether or not you have read more than 6 of the 100 books listed below by BBC? I don't really do Facebook apps, but was interested in looking at the list to see which books I have read, to see if I read more than the average person. The books I have read in my lifetime are marked in bold below.

image from penguinbooks.com

1. The Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkien
2. Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen
3. His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman
4. The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Douglas Adams
5. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, JK Rowling
6. To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee
7. Winnie the Pooh, AA Milne
8. Nineteen Eighty-Four, George Orwell
9. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, CS Lewis
10. Jane Eyre, Charlotte Brontë
11. Catch-22, Joseph Heller
12. Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë
13. Birdsong, Sebastian Faulks
14. Rebecca, Daphne du Maurier
15. The Catcher in the Rye, JD Salinger
16. The Wind in the Willows, Kenneth Grahame
17. Great Expectations, Charles Dickens
18. Little Women, Louisa May Alcott
19. Captain Corelli's Mandolin, Louis de Bernieres
20. War and Peace, Leo Tolstoy
21. Gone with the Wind, Margaret Mitchell
22. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone, JK Rowling
23. Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets, JK Rowling
24. Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban, JK Rowling
25. The Hobbit, JRR Tolkien
26. Tess Of The D'Urbervilles, Thomas Hardy
27. Middlemarch, George Eliot
28. A Prayer For Owen Meany, John Irving
29. The Grapes Of Wrath, John Steinbeck
30. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland, Lewis Carroll
31. The Story Of Tracy Beaker, Jacqueline Wilson
32. One Hundred Years Of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez
33. The Pillars Of The Earth, Ken Follett
34. David Copperfield, Charles Dickens
35. Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, Roald Dahl
36. Treasure Island, Robert Louis Stevenson
37. A Town Like Alice, Nevil Shute
38. Persuasion, Jane Austen
39. Dune, Frank Herbert
40. Emma, Jane Austen
41. Anne Of Green Gables, LM Montgomery
42. Watership Down, Richard Adams
43. The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald
44. The Count Of Monte Cristo, Alexandre Dumas
45. Brideshead Revisited, Evelyn Waugh
46. Animal Farm, George Orwell
47. A Christmas Carol, Charles Dickens
48. Far From The Madding Crowd, Thomas Hardy
49. Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian
50. The Shell Seekers, Rosamunde Pilcher
51. The Secret Garden, Frances Hodgson Burnett
52. Of Mice And Men, John Steinbeck
53. The Stand, Stephen King
54. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
55. A Suitable Boy, Vikram Seth
56. The BFG, Roald Dahl
57. Swallows And Amazons, Arthur Ransome
58. Black Beauty, Anna Sewell
59. Artemis Fowl, Eoin Colfer
60. Crime And Punishment, Fyodor Dostoyevsky
61. Noughts And Crosses, Malorie Blackman
62. Memoirs Of A Geisha, Arthur Golden
63. A Tale Of Two Cities, Charles Dickens
64. The Thorn Birds, Colleen McCollough
65. Mort, Terry Pratchett
66. The Magic Faraway Tree, Enid Blyton
67. The Magus, John Fowles
68. Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman
69. Guards! Guards!, Terry Pratchett
70. Lord Of The Flies, William Golding
71. Perfume, Patrick Süskind
72. The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists, Robert Tressell
73. Night Watch, Terry Pratchett
74. Matilda, Roald Dahl
75. Bridget Jones's Diary, Helen Fielding
76. The Secret History, Donna Tartt
77. The Woman In White, Wilkie Collins
78. Ulysses, James Joyce
79. Bleak House, Charles Dickens
80. Double Act, Jacqueline Wilson
81. The Twits, Roald Dahl
82. I Capture The Castle, Dodie Smith
83. Holes, Louis Sachar
84. Gormenghast, Mervyn Peake
85. The God Of Small Things, Arundhati Roy
86. Vicky Angel, Jacqueline Wilson
87. Brave New World, Aldous Huxley
88. Cold Comfort Farm, Stella Gibbons
89. Magician, Raymond E Feist
90. On The Road, Jack Kerouac
91. The Godfather, Mario Puzo
92. The Clan Of The Cave Bear, Jean M Auel
93. The Colour Of Magic, Terry Pratchett
94. The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho
95. Katherine, Anya Seton
96. Kane And Abel, Jeffrey Archer
97. Love In The Time Of Cholera, Gabriel García Márquez
98. Girls In Love, Jacqueline Wilson
99. The Princess Diaries, Meg Cabot
100. Midnight's Children, Salman Rushdie

21 out of 100. Not too shabby I suppose, although I am sure there are many of you who have read way more than that. There are some that I did not bold because I have read parts of these books but not the whole thing. Others I have seen in the film form, but that does not count, because we all know that the book is always better than the movie. And I actually own others of these books that I have not yet read. A few years ago, my goal in the New Year (some would call this a resolution) was to read 50 books. With this list and the unread books on my bookshelf as inspiration (a la Jules' unread library), I am thinking that I just might have to come up with some sort of reading program for myself for 2011.

Are there any books on this 100 best-loved novels list that you've read and would recommend to me? Or have read and would advise me to not waste my time on?

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2010-12-06T10:16:00.000-05:00

I think Christmas really is the most wonderful time of year. As I write this post, I am listening to Christmas music, my house smells like a fresh balsam tree (thanks to Bath & Body Works and their wallflower, you'd never know we have an artificial tree), and the lights on the tree and mantle are a-sparkling.

Most of my present-purchasing is finished. I've started sending Christmas cards to loved ones. And in the midst of the chaos that comes along with the kitchen renovation, our home is mostly decorated - this year inside and out (with a 36" lit wreath on the bay window and some lights on our bushes out front).

Of course, I still have a few final touches on the decorating, and one or two gifts to buy and most of them to wrap. But I feel like the planning and energy to get ahead this year has really paid off. I always enjoy Christmas. I love Christmas. But some years, I feel like I get so caught up in the commercialism and busyness that I forget to treasure and ponder the (as cheesy as it might sound) real reason we celebrate this holiday. This year, I find myself cherishing the celebration of Advent and praising God that he made Himself flesh and dwelt among us, the light of the world coming into the darkness (John 1) so that He could live a perfect life and one day go to the cross to pay the penalty for our sin, so that we may have fellowship with Him and eternal life. The mystery of Christmas.

Christmas this year has been a time of real reflection for me personally, through the Advent readings of Scripture and Christmas music/lyrics. I hope that it will be for you as well.

"Wordless" Wednesday - Christmas Edition

2010-12-01T22:07:00.001-05:00

sneak peek

2010-11-18T13:14:00.001-05:00

The kitchen has waved farewell to its demolition phase and reconstruction is underway. Here's a sneak peek. Enjoy!

Help!

2010-11-04T15:42:00.001-04:00

Before I begin, sorry for the poor quality of this photo... iPhone. :)

OK. So I need your opinion. Based on all of the "potential move" of kitchen appliances I shared with you in my previous post, a few nights ago ~~we were inspired~~ I was inspired (so Rob was pretty much forced to help) to start demo-ing our kitchen. I like to call it test-demo. We took the countertop off of the small cabinet next to the stove in the photo above. Easy as pie. It was only held on with L-brackets and screws. I also peeled off the plastic toe-kick on the bottom of that cabinet, because that will eventually go before we repaint the cabinets. See the teal? That's what color the cabinets ORIGINALLY were before the cream color they are currently. Then we tried moving the stove over to the corner because the upper cabinet is higher and more equally proportioned to the dimensions of modern day stoves/ovens. We plan to purchase a new one. You can see why. (PS - don't look to closely at the dirt that was where the stove used to me or your gag reflex might kick in if you are anything like me). You can also see what the wall looks like underneath the laminate backsplash. Dark brown glue goop that is impossible to remove.

Oh, did I mention we're having house guests next weekend?

I guess we'll be eating out. I hope they don't mind.

So... we can't decide about the stove. Corner or back in the original location? HELP!

A Fresh Start

2010-11-02T10:56:00.001-04:00

This weekend, we were able to find the time to FINALLY start a bunch of projects that we have been meaning to start for months. I am so glad that they are underway, and can't wait to share the progress with you as they go. First up is our kitchen. It looks like we've either just moved in, or are getting ready to move out. The displaced kitchen items have found homes in the living room (where we're currently testing out a conjoined dining room/living room to see how we feel about it), basement, and even office/guest room. I'm an "a place for everything and everything in its place" kind of gal, and so we'll see how long it takes before the chaos gets to me. But so far it's been 2.5 days, and I am holding up okay. Check back on me in a week.

Above are a few shots of the displacement, and below, the dining room/living room conjoinment... What do you think?

Anyway, we knew that in order to get actually started on the project and not just thinking about starting, we would have to empty out the room so that we could again see what we were working with. We'd have to do this to start, and although we're still trying to figure a few things out first, we feel like we've started and clearly can't go on living like this forever.

Our plans for the kitchen "renovations" have changed about 17 times, and we are still undecided about just how we want to work the layout. We have solid wood cabinets, which we've talked about replacing, but the truth is that right now, we think we'd regret tearing them all out (both sentimentally and budget-wise). Our plans are to sand them down, patch up the holes, and paint them a coat of crisp, clean white. We're deciding whether or not to move the stove from the middle to the corner of one wall, to remedy the "original stove was larger than current 30" stove and vent" problem with the cabinet above, as you can see in the following shots.

We've also got to figure out how to remove the laminate backsplash that is currently the same as the laminate countertops without damaging the countertops in case we don't redo the counters and sink right away. We know we want to tile the backsplash with subway tile close together and gray grout... it's just a matter of doing things in the right order, which currently we're thinking is: 1) remove old backsplash; 2) paint cabinets; 3) tile.

Our second big project is working on the outside. We have beds the whole way around our rancher, and a few large trees, so lately we've been tree pruning like crazy and this weekend, we cut down all of the flowers in the back beds in preparation for some major work this spring with the rototiller. We have some regrading to do (still working on our inspection checklist) and plan on installing new walkways to the front and back leading to a new stone or brick patio outside of our screened-in porch. We also have a decent amount of leaves, and filled up 9 compost bags full of leaves and the clippings from our back beds.

Last weekend, Rob (with the help of our uncle who was visiting from Boston for the weekend) built this ramp into the shed so that we can easily store our tractor and lawnmower in there. It looks great and is SO functional!

With the leftover board from the ramp project last weekend, this weekend we installed a swing from the huge oak tree in our front yard. It adds a little charm, and is fun too!

So, that was our weekend. Have you started any projects lately?

seasons series | fall | giving thanks

2010-11-01T10:57:00.001-04:00

Happy November! I love that the holidays are right around the corner... my favorite time of year because of the occasions to celebrate with family and friends. There is a time of slowing down and focusing on those things that are really important in life. Not that we can't do this at other times of the year, of course. But Thanksgiving, in particular, is a time when I am reminded of all that I am blessed with in life, and that even in the midst of difficult times, God is good.

And as cliche as it might sound, I am really going to try to make a list, one day at a time, of things that I am thankful for this month. I am not much of a journaler... more of a list-maker, so that's what I will do. And just before Thanksgiving, I will share them with you. I think this exercise will put things back in perspective for me. It's so easy to lose perspective, isn't it?

What are you thankful for? Will you join me in this little challenge this month? Make it a family activity. If you have children, teach them to be thankful at a young age. Display the list somewhere in your house so everyone is reminded throughout the month of the things they mentioned.

Out of the Dark Ages

2010-10-26T15:59:00.001-04:00

Well, we've finally gotten around to doing this... a ~~sorta big~~ announcement...

We're now accessible at www.normallyoddcouple.com (we love blogspot, don't get us wrong, but wanted to shorten our address). So, tell everyone you know! Kidding. Update your bookmarks, and any links you may have on your page to ours. If you're still trying to visit us at our old address, don't worry. You should automatically be redirected.

Nothing else has changed YET... but stay tuned for a new house tour page... coming soon!

Office Bling

2010-10-12T14:54:00.000-04:00

For the past few years, I've been trying to bring a little of home into the office. Not only does it create a comfortable environment in which to work, but it makes the office more welcoming in general. It's all in the little things - curtains, plants, candles, etc. My latest purchase ($1.49 at Ross) will not only be helpful in providing a little more organization but a little sophistication as well. I introduce you to....

... my new paper clip container - which I found on clearance in the "bathroom accessories" section. No longer will the clips be mingled in with the staple remover and white out. They'll have a new little home all to themselves.

Now the paper clip holder is making my pencil cup look a little sad...

seasons series | apple butter

2010-10-07T16:17:00.002-04:00

I am introducing a new "category" to the blog in which I can share seasonal decorating ideas, recipes, photographs, craft projects and the like. A few posts each season will be dedicated to this category, and I hope you find it enjoyable and maybe even helpful. I live in Pennsylvania, and am blessed to be able to watch the seasons change in very distinct ways - colors of the trees, weather/changes in temperature, and other patterns in nature. It's hard to say I have a favorite season, because I really do enjoy special things about each one.

One of my favorite things about fall is the abundance of flavors that hint at the need for warmth as the temperature gradually grows cooler and the air is marked by crispness. Apple and pumpkin added to just about anything you can think of. My mother-in-law stopped by a local orchard recently, and bought an abundance of apples for baking - Gold Delicious and Cortland. She gave me about 40 of them, and with a few, I made this apple cake shared by Bethany over at b*spoke, which was so yummy! Instead of mixing the nuts in, though, I sprinkled about a 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts over half the cake after I spread it into the baking dish, and then sprinkled the whole thing lightly with some cinnamon. You can't go wrong with a little cinnamon!

So this past weekend, Rob and I visited my cousin in Virginia Beach, and I brought some apples with me, in case we decided to make a treat. She shared that she had been wanting to try this apple butter for the crock pot recipe for a while now, so we got everything together that we needed... made a double recipe... and let me tell you, it is GOOD. Here's the recipe we followed, with a few changes that we made along the way.

INGREDIENTS
Approx. 3 lb. apples, 2 c. sugar (we cut this down from 3 cups), 2 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. nutmeg, 1/2 tsp. allspice, 1/2 tsp. cloves, dash of salt, 3/4 c. water

DIRECTIONS
Fill crock pot 3/4 full of peeled, cored sliced apples. Add remaining ingredients and stir until evenly mixed. Cover and cook on low overnight, for 8-10 hours (took more like 12 for the doubled batch). If butter has too much liquid, remove lid and cook on high until desired consistency results, checking and stirring every 20 minutes. The finished consistency will not be as smooth as its store-bought counterpart

I am excited to make this again, (for Thanksgiving dinner maybe?) and would welcome your feedback if you decide to give it a go!

Chocolate...

2010-09-30T15:32:00.001-04:00

...need I say more?

Sometimes, it is the only thing that will get me through the day.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday's Project

2010-09-28T11:20:00.000-04:00

It's been WAY too long since my last post. Things have been busy, and we've been enjoying the last of summer and settling back into our "school year" routine. We've been working on a lot lately, but unfortunately my follow-through hasn't been good enough to get things up here... my apologies.

This weekend, we tackled the headboard project for our bed. Just before we got married, we purchased a new queen-size bed so that we'd have something to rest our heads on. Two twins pushed together just wouldn't cut it. :) If you've been reading for a while, you know that Rob's grandmother passed away just days after the wedding, and we spent much of the following year helping sort through things to get her house ready to sell. Then once it sold, we helped move everything out, and inherited some of the furniture, including the bedroom set (large dresser and chest of drawers with two matching nightstands and a king-size bed with a brass headboard). The bed was almost brand new, and actually fits in our bedroom with plenty of room to spare, so we moved our queen into the guest room and have been sleeping on a headboardless king bed for the past few months.

With the help of a 40% off your total order at JoAnn's, a little inspiration, and a few hours of work, we crafted a lovely (if I do say so myself) tufted headboard. We purchased plywood cut to our desired dimensions (75" x 30") by the kind folks at Lowe's, drilled 10 holes into the wood for the buttons, then spray glued the 2" foam, covered it with batting and then the linen fabric, made the buttons, attached them to the headboard, attached 4 hooks onto the back of the board across the top to ensure a secure "hang", and then mounted it onto the wall.

Here's a little photo collage of the process (iPhone pics), plus a few shots of the finished look:

So far, we've slept in our bed without worries of the headboard crashing down on us in the middle of the night, so I'd call it a success!

What do you think? What have you been DIYing lately?

2010 Project Update

2010-09-02T10:39:00.000-04:00

With the recent heat wave, and very hot summer, January 2010 seems like decades ago! But as we settle back into our "school year routine", we're taking a look at the projects we'd like to complete this fall, before the snow returns...

Here were our goals for the year:

1. Finish replacing outlets, light switches and cable boxes. Rob has gotten a lesson on replacing all these things from a good friend of ours who has a background in all things electric, so he got busy starting this project - but every time we think a room is finished, we find another old outlet. We got off to a good start on this, but unfortunately still have some naked outlets... The good news is that all of the VISIBLE ones have been replaced.
2. ~~Refinish dresser for master bedroom.~~ The dresser we currently have is from Rob's childhood, and his mom painted it teal many years ago to compliment the jungle theme in his bedroom. A fresh coat of black paint and some new hardware will make this look like it was meant to go with the bed we purchased a few months ago.
3. ~~Remove wallpaper and paint.~~ We're still working out all of the different design elements for the kitchen, as we eventually plan to put in new flooring and countertops, so stay tuned!
4. Sand and paint kitchen cabinets, followed by installing the new hardware we recently purchased at Lowe's over Christmas break on our huge shopping trip. We are still in the planning phases for our kitchen renovation, but have purchased items like a sink and countertops... not we actually just need to get started.
5. ~~Update the look of our front door with paint~~ (red or black? still trying to decide) and new locks and handles... and maybe a new storm door to create a better seal and save us some major mulah on the heating/cooling bill. We chose red, and are very happy with the result. We installed a new deadbolt, but realized after we removed the old hardware for the actual knob that they don't make that size anymore, so we've been front-door-doorknob-less since, oh, April. :)
6. ~~Linen wall board(s) project~~, like this one from PB, to help get our organization booties in gear.
7. Refinish daybed - paint and purchase some new, more fitted bedding and tons of throw pillows.
8. Organize basement. This will include sorting stuff that we've been receiving from our parents' storage, deciding what will go toward a yard sale that we hope to have sometime this spring, and figuring out an aesthetically pleasing way to store what we do want to keep - most likely with the help of an Ikea storage system (like this GORM system) that suits our needs. We have partially accomplished this goal. In May, we had a yard sale but our basement could still use a little help...
9. Build workbench to maximize storage in garage, and provide an area for organizing our ever-growing collection of tools and project parts, like this great new cordless drill we got for Christmas. This is on our to-do list for the fall, along with building our compost bin.
10. Landscape, landscape, landscape. This is Rob's main goal for the year. I think he could probably care less about some of the other projects on our list. There is one section of our yard that needs to be graded away from our foundation on more of a slope, and we're hoping that will solve the one area of our basement that leaks the least bit. But we want to get this taken care of so that we can plan how to refinish the basement in future years. There are also some trees that need to be cut down, branches trimmed, beds redefined, and the list goes on. So we will be looking forward to spring in a major way this year! Another partially completed goal... we were able to get rid of some trees and do some basic landscaping, but have a long way to go!

As new homeowners (this fall we will celebrate our first year in our home!) we definitely had a lot we wanted to accomplish and were a bit overly-optimistic about all that we thought we could accomplish. We've definitely been learning that all projects take WAY more time (and sometimes more money, resulting in more time) to complete than they look at the outset.

Stay tuned as we continue to chip away at our list for the year...

Photography: Walls Family, July 2010

2010-08-23T20:17:00.004-04:00

Rob and I went to college with Jen & Tyler, and I was thrilled (and surprised, of course!) when Jen asked me to shoot a few photos of their happy family when they were visiting family and friends here in Pennsylvania this summer. It was so good to see them to catch up for a little, and it helped that their little guy, Ethan, loved the camera...

For my first family "photo shoot", and the 95+ degree weather on one of the most humid days in July, I was pretty pleased with the results (although I still have a ton to learn photo-wise)... and I hope Jen, Tyler and little Ethan are too!

How we Spent our Summer Vacation

2010-08-12T12:50:00.004-04:00

We spent a little over a week and a half splitting our time on lakes and in mountains in the Poconos, Pennsylvania and Portland/Oxford, Maine. I think I am one of those people who loves both the mountains and the beach, but this summer's mountain/lake vacations were SO relaxing and peaceful. There sure is something to be said for the beauty and stillness of nature, and it really does the soul good.

Most of our days consisted of sleeping until awoken by the sunshine (we didn't have one day of rain!), sipping 2-3 cups of coffee in the morning, and then changing out of our pajamas and into our swimsuits for a day of soaking in the sun, reading, and swimming/pontooning. We snacked for lunch, and when the sun had set, drank wine and played games while slowly preparing dinner and eating late. Followed by an evening campfire, filled with more games (our family likes to play Trivial Pursuit around the fire), sometimes with marshmallows and s'mores.

My parents joined Rob and I, and Rob's mom, in the Poconos at Rob's family's cabin on Lake Watawga for a long weekend. Other than the activities mentioned above, we got in our exercise by stacking 2 cords of firewood in preparation for the winter (one cord = about 300 logs), went kayaking, peddle boating, and canoeing... and had a delicious meal out at Smuggler's Cove. Oh, and we went to the annual Mt. Pocono carnival on our last night there after our friends Meg and Matt joined us... Meg won a game of BINGO and a fish, which promptly died overnight. Nice knowing you, Olivia (the name of the fish).

On our first day in Portland, ME, after being picked up from the airport by Rob's aunt and uncle, we headed to see some lighthouses, have a picnic lunch, and hike around for a bit to explore. We did some window shopping in Portland, had dinner (delicious fish & chips & onion rings and blueberry wheat beer at The Porthole), and headed to Jenny and Joe's cabin on Thompson Lake in Oxford, ME.

Here are some shots of our travels:

bark? guess again...

huge stone rocks that looked like wood... amazing

Portland Head Lighthouse, the oldest in the U.S., commissioned by George Washington

Jenny, Joe, and Robin (Rob's mom)

goofy sisters

nothing like the view at the summit...

cousin Lauren and her boyfriend, Ross

cousin Paul, rockin' out!

an attempt at a family photo

It was a vacation I won't soon forget!
How did you spend your lazy days of summer?

Love,
Katie

Be... our.... Guest!

2010-08-11T11:12:00.001-04:00

Finally. We can finally have friends and family over and give them a comfortable place to rest their head in one cohesive space. It feels like it's been years in the making (even though we moved in to our home a little less than a year ago).

While I can't seem to dig up a before shot right now, when we moved in, the walls and all the trim in the room were pink. For the past nine months, we utilized the space pretty much as a dumping grounds for furniture that didn't fit in any other room, random decor, out-of-season clothes, etc.

Now the most modern room in our house, the furniture is not a random mish-mash, and the curtains and simplicity of the decor provide a really calming space... perfect for our guests!

The four poster bed frame was actually one that we had in our master bedroom, but we've recently inherited a king-size bed, and the black frame worked perfectly in our black and white scheme for the room. The windows face the street out front, and the curtains and sheers really bring not only a soft, luxurious feel to the room, but also bring very practical much-needed privacy. We also moved in the black dresser (the one that used to be teal) and kept the dresser, which was my first furniture painting project before heading off to life in my college apartment, originally given to me by my grandparents for my nursery/bedroom as a baby. It's still going strong! I love the Style&co shams, which somehow perfectly are the same hue as the wall color, which I found in a clearance bin at Macy's a few months back.

What do you think? Any artwork suggestions (I have one little project up my sleeve that I am hoping to complete and share soon)? Want to come for a visit?

Love,

... and we're back!

2010-08-11T09:59:00.003-04:00

Life got busy for a little while, and we decided to take an unconscious break from blogging to deal. Camp ended, I co-hosted a baby shower for one of my dearest friends (more details to come on that later), and we went on vacation (more on that eventually, too). And I just couldn't keep up with blogging... but am happy to say that I am rejuvenated, very tan!, and ready to attack the blog. :)

Stay tuned for tales of our adventures, the guest bedroom makeover reveal, and more!

Love,

Summer Book Review: Start Your Family

2010-06-26T10:15:00.001-04:00

While this book wasn't on my official summer reading list that I shared back in May, as Rob and I were packing up for camp, I grabbed a few more books in case I finished everything else on my list (or to be honest, got bored with the ones I was reading and wanted to start yet another book). Among them was a book that I bought last summer on Amazon, which was a "recommended read" called Start Your Family: Inspiration for Having Babies.

The book, written by Steve and Candace Watters (you can visit their website/blog here), challenges couples to be intentional about starting a family early in their marriage while in the peak of fertility, even though doing so goes against the message of culture which says that couples should be "settled into a home in suburbia, out of debt and in good position financially, etc." before even thinking about having children - let alone encourages them to bring children into this world at all instead of pursuing their professional and consumeristic dreams.

The Watters' encourage couples to think about they have to give and gain in the task of raising children, and share so many of the positives and blessings from God that are given to parents through children that couples do not hear from society, or frankly, even from the Church. They invite couples to step out in faith when starting their family, trusting God to provide (along with the work and preparation we must do ourselves, of course) and bless, as He did throughout the course of history in struggles and worries that couples have had, as revealed in Scripture.

My favorite chapter in the book was Chapter 3: Crucible in the "Why Start a Family?" section of the book. Their main points for the chapter are that children reveal who we (the parents) really are, that they help us work the selfishness out of our lives, and that they condition us to serve others. Here are some things that really stuck with me:

"Our culture teaches us image management - to look our best and make good impressions. Our children teach us... 'Who do you think you're kidding?'... Parenting provides an 'incarnational' version of our faith - projecting our beliefs into flesh and blood. We see now how God gives us a family as a mirror to see ourselves, to push us to recognize who we really are and what we're capable of, both for good and for evil... Parenting gives us a God-supplied glimpse at how He sees us. When you start a family, you're signing up for a responsibility that requires all of you... The demands of another person start with the pregnancy, are painfully obvious during the delivery, and continue in waves throughout the season of raising children."

This book really challenged me to look at my own goals and priorities in life, and to think about continuing the conversation with Rob about when we want to start our own family, in light of some of the challenges of the book. If you are getting married soon, have recently gotten married, or even if you already have children, I would encourage you to read this book. Even though I do not necessarily agree with everything the authors write, it will be a good starting place for conversations about why, how, and when to start our family.

Love,

Wedding Invitations

2010-06-25T10:02:00.000-04:00

I thought I would share with you a project that I recently finished up for friends of ours who are getting hitched in mid-August. I was humbled when they asked me to create the invitations to the celebration of their special day! I designed and put together the invitations and all of the other materials like table number cards, menus, and the ceremony program for my own wedding (I'll have to post pictures of those sometime), and really had a lot of fun doing it. Here's what I finally came up with for Andy & Jessica, after lots of ideas and edits to get it looking just right:

Hopefully this won't bring any crashers out to the wedding ;) As I was working on them, I fell in love with the simplicity and classicness of the small black border and elegant black knot, which I guess you could interpret as J & A "tying the knot". What do you think?

Love,

Sold!

2010-06-24T11:08:00.000-04:00

I am proud to share the news that I am offically an Etsy SELLER. That's right, one of my prints actually sold! Visit through my lens: katiecarusophotography here. You can also get there by clicking on the "Our Shop" tab above.

Thanks for celebrating with me! I am by no means an Etsy expert, but it does feel good when a stranger thinks your craft is good enough to buy and frame and hang on their wall. Any of you out there have Etsy shops? I'd love to visit and take a look at what you've got, and I am sure other readers would too.

Now, back to work on getting that first print mailed out...

Love,

Summer Means Camp

2010-06-16T15:08:00.000-04:00

Forgive me for my lack of posting this week so far. It's that time of year again, to pack up (done) and move to camp (also done). Camp will be home for the next five weeks! We're excited to be back for another summer, and even though I have to work at my real job during the day, it's a great way to serve the Lord and keep Rob from getting into trouble with too much time on his hands in the summer months.

So in the next month, look for camp themed posts, [even more] pictures of nature, and a little slower blogging pace from me (since internet access will be a bit limited) - and maybe even some postings through my newly-downloaded BlogPress for iPhone app!

Love,

Inside my... [JCrew Summer] Purse!

2010-06-11T12:39:00.000-04:00

Today I diverge from my "normal" photos to share about the contents of my ~~basket~~ purse. I've become a little OCD lately about having my purse organized. Maybe it's because my summer purse only closes with the tie of a ribbon, and not a zipper, so stuff is more prone to fall when my purse takes a tumble and I don't want to risk losing anything. Or maybe it's because I've gotten sick of glares and dirty looks from people behind me in the check-out line when I can't find my credit card among the cluster of old receipts.

So, here's a peak inside my purse, and a break down of how I've managed to organize it all... (please excuse the quality of my photos today - pics taken from iPhone... maybe they'd be better if I had the iPhone 4.. hint, hint to the hubster).

First, two summer purse additions that I can't live without, and neither should you. A coffee cozy (top left - given to me by a friend who found them in two-packs at the dollar store) and a small tube of sunscreen (bottom right - mine happens to be Aveeno Continuous Protection SPF30). I am a pretty big fan of Aveeno products. Check here for some free samples - they usually rotate, and are good for trying out a product before committing to purchase.

I try to always keep a book in my purse. You never know when you'll have a few minutes of down time. In the summer, it's usually a lighter read for me, as you can tell. And small paperbacks work best.

And finally, I'll work from front to back explaining what's in each of my little pouches. The orange zippered case is actually this airline travel case, but I use it to corral all of my coupons so that when I'm in a store, the coupons are right there with me (side note... do you say q-pons or coo-pons?). The brown and floral "evening" purse is where I keep all my credit, debit, and store cards and my iPhone. It's small enough to fit nicely inside my larger purse, but is easy to grab and carry inside a store when I don't feel like lugging the basket. My keys even fit inside then too! The Vera Bradley wristlet wallet neatly holds my receipts and gift cards. When my receipts start getting too crazy, I sort through them and move important ones for larger purchases (not Dunkin Donuts receipts for example... those meet the trashcan) in a box in our home office. And lastly, a cute little blue linen zippered case holds my extra tube of mascara, a foldup hairbrush, and a Tide stick.

Whew! So... my purse pretty much holds my life. And it is probably more than you wanted to know. Thanks for reading my random Friday post. Have a great weekend!

Love,

Friday Follow

2010-06-11T12:15:00.000-04:00

Check out Friday Follow to get to know some other bloggers. It's a great way to get your blog out there and find other blogs to read.

Love,

More Kitchen Prep

2010-06-09T11:32:00.000-04:00

It seems like all we ever do is measure the kitchen. Well, tonight after work, Rob and I are planning to meet at IKEA to actually make some decisions and actually maybe do some ordering for our kitchen. Countertops, sink + faucet, and flooring are on the list. Plus who knows what else...

Here's a little pre-trip planning, completed in the wee hours of this morning. Too early for me to be out of bed. I hope I measured accurately!

You can see a little bit of bleed-through to my "list" complete with prices and measurements on the reverse side. Like the planning phase, but think I will LOVE the finished phase. Although I know it will never truly be "finished". And that's what I love about nesting!

Can you see how this fits into our floor plan?

Stay tuned for some before and "during" pictures - to see what's happened so far behind the elusive plastic curtain I posted a few months ago.

Love,

Blogiversary!

2010-06-04T11:27:00.000-04:00

It's so hard to believe that today is the ONE YEAR anniversary/birthday of this blog!

A HUGE THANK YOU to our readers. Thank you, thank you, thank you. You're what keep us posting - so keep reading, and recommend us to others if you find us worthy enough. All five of you... okay, maybe six! :)

I am not always known for sticking to something, so this really is quite a feat! So much has happened in our lives this year, and it's been fun to "chronologize" everything on here, providing commentary on many of our firsts. Through writing and maintaining this blog, I have learned so much and grown personally, and maybe that's really the point of a blog.

We can't wait to see what the next year has in store... stay tuned!

Love,

Peonies in Bloom

2010-06-03T10:48:00.000-04:00

On Sunday evening, when the lighting in the kitchen was right, I spent a little while having a mini photo shoot and practicing my (still very limited) photog skills. Aren't these peonies to die for???

Check out more over on the photography page!

Love,

The Architect in Me

2010-06-02T16:16:00.000-04:00

To give you a better idea about the layout of our rancher, here's a little floor plan that I created:


CLICK ON PHOTO TO VIEW LARGER

One of Rob's summer projects will be build a stone patio off the porch (behind the kitchen and porch) so this floorplan will come in handy then. It really helps being able to see where things are, even if not to scale. Next I could have fun adding our "furniture" and using it to virtually explore new arrangements to see if we can maximize our space in any way. Of course there is still a lot of detail missing, but it gives you a good idea. All of the thicker lines represent windows, and the small diagonal lines doors. Lots and lots of doors, some of which we have taken off so we can navigate our space a little better and not have doors banging into each other.

The trapezoid sticking out of the front is our bay window, which faces the street. Next to that is a very small front porch and the front door to our home, which leads into the living room. I also noticed after I finished creating it that I forgot to include windows along the back wall of the home office/guest room. The walk-up attic (about a foot too short to stand up in) and the unfinished basement are the same size as the house, minus the garage/porch/chimney, so we have a TON of storage space right now, and will eventually have space to refinish if we decide not to move... which is a nice option.

Have any suggestions for us?

Love,

Favorites Lately

2010-06-01T13:08:00.000-04:00

Thing we've done/seen/eaten/enjoyed lately that have been on my mind:

playing cards late into the night on the screened-in back porch, lit by candles
corn on the cob
Robin Hood with Russell Crowe
a clean house, with clean (and more importantly put away) laundry
Junior Mints
quality time with friends & family
sandals and flip-flops
PSU Coffee Break ice cream from The Creamery (thanks Mike!)
spring blooms and thunderstorms
sleeping with the fan on "oscillate"
planning for the kitchen mini-renovation

So, that's me and my random, wandering mind. I feel like summer is here to stay! :)

Yard Sale Postlogue

2010-05-25T12:52:00.000-04:00

We successfully (we think!) pulled off our first yard sale. Indulge me for a few minutes with the details...

Wednesday Night - we hung up signs around the neighborhood in key locations (see this post) and began to price our items, using a color-coding system because three different families were selling their items at our yard sale.

Thursday After Work - We priced, and priced and priced some more... organizing our items into "like" piles. You know, kids stuff, clothes, home decor, kitchen stuff, furniture. Rob's mom brought over a van load of stuff to sell, too, so we had fun chit-chatting while pricing & organizing.

Friday Morning - Yes, people actually come to yard sales on Fridays. Rob and I woke up at 6 AM (unheard of for us, even on a normal work day!) to make sure everything was completely set up, so that we weren't still organizing when treasure-hunters were coming to browse. By 7, we had a place for everything on the driveway and in our garage and were ready to go. Here are a few photos:

Friday Afternoon - By about 2:30, the traffic had tapered off. We were pretty surprised that throughout the day there was steady traffic. One person would come, look around, maybe buy something (if we were lucky!) and leave.. then another would come. Our grand total for Day One was $66. Not a bad start.

Saturday Morning - Remember that movie Groundhog's Day? Saturday morning felt like a scary, strange repeat of Friday morning, except that we slept in (HA!) until 6:30 AM. We decided that we could squeeze in an extra half hour of sleep since we knew where everything was going to go on the driveway and all we had to do was quickly move things out of the garage. More people came first thing on Saturday morning than Friday morning, and we had quite a good turnout. And the weather both days was gorgeous, which made it all the more worthwhile.

Saturday Afternoon - Around lunchtime, Rob fired up the grill and we ~~sold~~ attempted to sell hot dogs, Nathan's hot dogs actually, but no one really bought them, although a few bought some water bottles and cans of soda that we had on ice. Also, our new washer and dryer got conveniently delivered, and for no extra charge, the delivery guys offered to bring the old ones up out of the basement, so we decided to sell those, too - and we actually did!

Around 2:30 PM, dark clouds were rolling in, so we decided it was time to wrap it up. And we got everything back into the garage just as the first drops were starting to fall from the sky! Everything that we didn't sell went to Goodwill, with some of the larger items placed out by the curb for a good old Craig's List Curb Alert! We still have a few trips to make to Goodwill, but are mostly finished.

The grand total we brought in (all three families) was just $333 and some change. And we made about $200 of that, which will get put back in the "house projects fund." Plus, there's a little less clutter in the basement. What a great feeling! And another big PLUS for us was being able to meet some of our neighbors - some who came and bought stuff, others who just browsed and chatted. It was great being able to meet people who live around us and get to know them a little better, and we're sure we'll see lots of them out and about this summer.

Have any great yard sale finds lately?

Let's Get Ready to YARD SALE!

2010-05-20T20:00:00.000-04:00

Another one of the favorite American spring/summer pastimes, especially early on a Saturday morning is yard sale-ing. I, myself, don't really plan my Saturday mornings around that - my sleep is too valuable. But occasionally, I'll stop if I am driving by and see something interesting.

But helping to organize a yard sale is one of my many talents (well, maybe talents is a little too strong of a word... but you get the point). Rob's mom is bringing a bunch of her stuff to our house, and our friend Becky is bringing stuff, too - so we can advertise as multi-family, which might help a little. We're selling all kinds of things... books, clothing, toys and games, kitchen housewares from college, Christmas decorations, some collectibles, and even some furniture. Right now, we have everything on tables in our garage, and will put the finishing touches on pricing the rest of stuff tonite after work so that all we have to do VERY early in the morning is pull the tables out.

Some good ole fashioned marketing - neon signs stapled to a telephone pole!

At 10 PM last night, we went on a covert mission to hang up the signs at strategic locations near our house - one near WaWa! There wasn't much traffic then, which allowed us to take our time. We also advertised on Craig's list for the past few days, and are hoping we might get some traffic that way too.

So if you have nothing to do, stop by - we'd love to see you. And you might find some good deals, too! Who knows?

Look for another post about Yard Sale Day #1 tomorrow sometime, complete with more pictures, and an update of how things are going!

Mmmm...

2010-05-20T11:43:00.000-04:00

Check out a new recipe posted under the "cuisine" tab!
http://normallyoddcouple.blogspot.com/p/cuisine.html

Summer Reading

2010-05-18T14:14:00.000-04:00

When I was a child, I always cried on the last day of school. I was one of those dorky kids that LOVED school, and so I think I picked up reading in the summer as a way of bridging the gap between June and August and formal education. Now, summer reading is a habit. Maybe it's the longer days or the ability for more time do pick up a book for the beach or vacation. Summer is just a time when I get to read more, and love it still!

Here's what I have on my list for this summer, so far...

This book is currently being shipped to me from my friend Amazon.com. I ordered it because I heard the author being interviewed by the host of the radio show I listen to on my morning drive. Sounds like an excellent read, and I'm sure Rob will be reading it too...

I started the Omnivore's Dilemma a few years ago when it first came out, but never got past the first few chapters.

And now for the lighter reads...

I am over halfway through this book, which I have LOVED so far, especially after seeing the movie Julie & Julia and cooking my own Boeuf Boourguignon. It makes me want to move to France and transport myself back in time.

Every girl needs a mindless, quick page turner, right? This 500+ pager bargain mass-market paperback is sure to do the trick. It will be something I can keep in my purse and pull out during a lunch break or car ride.

What's on your reading list? Any suggestions I should add to mine?

Random Musings

2010-05-17T11:19:00.000-04:00

This is going to be a no-picture post, although you can see some lovely pictures of our flowers in bloom here. Since it's the first spring in our new home, we've enjoyed being surprised by the colors and types of flowers planted by previous homeowners. Right now the poppies are in bloom, and I hope to post pictures of those soon - they're fabulous!

This weekend, we spent a bit of time powerwashing some of our backyard and soon-to-be patio furniture. It's amazing what a little bit of pressurized water can do! While Rob was working on that, I transplanted and potted some plants and herbs (mint and basil). We are hoping to get some more vegetables planted in a bed out back for this year, with hopes of building a raised garden a little bit later, but not in enough time for planting for this summer. We also pruned our Japanese Maple to make it a little less lopsided and expose more of the pretty trunk... and be able to more easily mow under it without killing ourselves!

We've also been busy moving in some new furniture donated by our family with the selling of Rob's grandmother's house... and just as busy getting ready for our first yard sale, to happen this coming Friday and Saturday. I am hoping to start pricing items tonight that we've been collecting in a corner of the basement as we moved and unpacked. Hm... to go with the "all items on this table $1" method or individually labeling or color-coding with a sign labeling... not sure. Suggestions?

Furniture Rehab

2010-05-05T20:35:00.000-04:00

We've been spending our project time lately not only outside, but inside, too - and we've recently completed transforming 2 scratched, worn, chipped, blah, mismatched items of furniture - a dresser and a bookshelf, more accurately - into some pieces that work in our decor scheme and are completely functional for our home. Check out the boring befores and amazing afters (and one during...)! And as always, click on a collage to view a larger version.

The dresser:

The bookshelf:

What do you think? Here's the breakdown:

+ Both items were cheap or free and were bursting with potential! The dresser was Rob's (and his brother's) growing up & we purchased the bookcase at Goodwill for just $20!

+ In anticipation of these projects, and others, we invested in a small orbital hand sander which saved us tons of time and will be a great tool to have for future projects.

+ We used the paint we purchased for all the trim in our home to paint the bookshelf (2 coats), purchased a pint of Ralph Lauren paint that was on clearance ($7.94!) at Home Depot in Midnight Black, and used leftover oil-based interior Kilz primer from our kitchen project.

+ We worked on both projects at once, which saved half the work in the prep and clean-up department since we didn't have to prep and clean up for each project like we would have done if we did them at two different times. And to be honest, the rest of our house pretty much turns into a disaster zone when we are doing a project because our attention is focused solely on the project - so that saved 1 extra instance of home insanity as well!

What projects have you taken on lately? Any projects in the works since it's yard sale season, and you found something up-cyclable?

Kitchen a la Julia

2010-04-30T11:18:00.000-04:00

One famous person I wish I could have spent the day with is Julia Child. After seeing Julia & Julia (many times), purchasing and using her cookbook, and reading her autobiography about her time in France, I just wish I could spend a day in the kitchen with her.

On our recent anniversary getaway, we spent one afternoon in the Nation's capital checking out some of our favorite free museums at The Smithsonian. The Museum of American History has just been renovated recently, so we decided to check it out, knowing the Julia Child exhibit was also there. It was so fun! Even Rob enjoyed it. What a great exhibit - check it out if you're ever in D.C. Here are some pictures!

I love how carefully planned out her kitchen was, and how Julia made the most out of her limited space. Such a homey kitchen!

1st Anniversary Getaway

2010-04-23T11:42:00.000-04:00

Time sure flies when you are having fun! It's crazy to think that a year ago, we were returning from our honeymoon in St. Augustine, FL and settling into our first week of life as newlyweds. Now, a year later, we have moved out of our apartment into the home we purchased in November 2009 - and are happily working away on projects and building our life together!

For nostalgia's sake...

So this past weekend, we celebrated our first anniversary in Alexandria, VA - a city that we know and love - for its historical feel and main street with shopping/antiques and good restaurants. We found a great deal on a four-star hotel on Priceline.com (shout-out to William Shatner!), that was in walking distance of King Street.

One of the highlights of our quick getaway was getting gussied up and going out for a really nice dinner - something we don't do very often, but were able to swing thanks to a generous gift from my grandparents.

VERMILION, owned and operated by Dave Hammond and Executive Chef Anthony Chittum, was an excellent blend of innovation, fresh and seasonal foods that come from local farmers, and deliciousness. We sat at a cozy table for two right in front of the middle window on the second floor of the restaurant - dimly lit with brick exposed walls, and had a great view overlooking King Street at night. Rob and I shared Steak Tartare and a Pork Belly Salad for starters, Rob ordered for his entree the grilled berkshire pork loin cajun boudin croquette, spiced rapini & green garlic pomme purée and I ordered the pineland farms beef striploin with “smothered” brussels sprouts, fingerling potato confit & black truffle. The hint of truffle perfectly complemented one of the most tender pieces of beef I have ever eaten. For dessert, we had a really hard time choosing between the ricotta pound cake with mascarpone and citrus three ways and the chocolate bar (layered dark chocolate cake) with almond brittle, fleur de sel & evoo ice cream. Yeah, vanilla ice cream drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and sea salt. We chose the ricotta pound cake, and were pleasantly surprised when our waiter also brought out the chocolate bar - on the house for our anniversary! If you're ever in Alexandria, make reservations for Vermilion. SO GOOD!

On Sunday we went to the Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. because we're just cool like that. But that's for another post on another day...

Photography

2010-04-23T11:07:00.000-04:00

Now that the weather has warmed up a bit, I have been experimenting with our new Christmas-present camera outside, capturing nature shots.

http://normallyoddcouple.blogspot.com/p/photography.html
Check out this new area of the blog (by clicking the link above or simply clicking on the "photography" tab under our header) where we'll post some of our experimentations!

The Short List

2010-04-13T22:34:00.000-04:00

We've been doing a lot lately, and have many things to post! Here's the short list, with more details to come.

1. Front door got painted - a major transformation!
2. Kitchen rehab step one - mission accomplished!
3. The flower beds had a million years of leaves cleaned out. In the front at least.
4. We mowed our grass for the first time on Monday evening!
5. We bought a 70's style bookcase with great detailing that needs a little TLC and will be a fab up-cycle.
6. WE CAUGHT UP ON THE LAUNDRY (towels and sheets included)!

Inspirational Images: {Mostly} White Kitchens

2010-04-06T22:18:00.000-04:00

A post full of images, and why we love them (a new weekly or bi-weekly series we're starting here at The NOC). These images have helped us conceptualize the look we are going for in our own kitchen.

We are all about the crispness of white, and so have decided that nothing looks better than white, bright cabinets. But we love how the wood in this kitchen makes it look a bit more traditional and a bit less modern. The contrast of the wood and the white is something we're hoping to achieve as well.

Back in my college days, one of the families I babysat for had a white porcelain farmhouse sink. It was the first time I ever saw one, and I loved washing dishes there because of the depth of the sink and the ease of doing things with large, normally-awkward dishes (i.e. scrubbing the pots and pans!).

We love the stainless steel appliances and subway tile in this kitchen, and the contrast of the wood floors with the white kitchen and backsplash and black shaker-style furniture.

Check out the window treatment above the kitchen sink. We have a large window above our sink, and have been debating ever since we moved in about whether or not to add a window treatment or to leave the window nice and open. This roman, bamboo shade is something we will definitely have to consider.

We love how the designers in this kitchen painted the insides of the cabinet to bring some more interest and an accent color into the space! An easy way to make yourself smile as you're unloading the dishwasher, and a project that wouldn't take too much time or cost much at all. We also like the look of the dark hardware - another nice contrasting accent.

And while we wouldn't consider our design style French-country, we love the blue hue that was included in this kitchen space!

Thanks for the inspiration, House Beautiful!

Project Fever

2010-04-05T20:51:00.000-04:00

Over the super cold and snowy winter months, we took a hiatus from project-ing. Large project-ing, that is. But now that the weather has turned warmer and we can open the windows to air things out, our renovations are back in full swing... and things that we have been wanted to start doing for months can finally get started!

And our house is a mess. But it will be worth it eventually. Probably a long eventually, but eventually nonetheless.

Today, the archway between our living room and kitchen looks something like this...

Can't wait to see what's happening behind the curtain (seems a little bit Wizard-of-Ozish)...?

Check back soon to see what we've been up to. And why we find dust smudges on our clothes when we get to work.

the Magic of Macy's

2010-03-30T21:54:00.000-04:00

About a year ago, I was checking the Macy's website almost every day, to peek at what had been purchased off of our wedding registry. We were so glad that we registered at Macy's, because not only did they have a wide selection of options in their home store (at least our King of Prussia Macy's did), plus the Analon cookware that we were hoping to receive (thanks Mom & Dad!), but their cash back rewards incentives were great, not to mention their amazing sales. We got a gift card a few months after our wedding for nearly $100 - 5% cash back from all gifts purchased by our guests, and 10% back for purchases we made for the wedding such as the groomsman gifts.

And usually, I lose everything, and am surprised that after moving twice, I still had the gift card!

I just happened to check the Macy's website today to see if they were having any sales, and today was the preview sale day for one of their One Day sales tomorrow. So after work, I made a quick stop. And, man, I sure was glad I did.

I scored a Martha Stewart white ceramic pitcher, a set of pillow shams for the guest room that is soon to be decorated, and a cast iron griddle/panini press... ALL FOR $40 (marked down from original prices of over $150)! The salesperson was nice enough to give me an extra 10% discount, since I shared that I had registered there - she just printed out my registry from last year and added these items so I could get a better deal.

So, if you haven't lately, and you need a gift or something new for your home... don't forget to check out Macy's.

Note: Macy's did not pay me whatsoever to mention them in this post.

March Update

2010-03-29T21:49:00.000-04:00

March is almost over, and I have been a lousy blogger this month. I think the beginning of Spring has gotten me re-energized to start new projects, and we have definitely been spending more time working on things outside, and later into the night since it stays lighter outside for so much longer. All of this has meant less time to blog.

Or maybe that's just my excuse.

Kitchen Update: All the wallpaper is finally down, and Rob has spent countless hours scraping glue remnants and sanding in preparation to paint. We have also spent lots of time planning how to use our tax rebate money to change as many things as possible, and have found some great deals so far, like under-cabinet mounted lighting for $5.99 at Ollie's (usually cost $14.99 each at Lowe's). We have also decided on butcher-block countertop from IKEA, and a dishwasher with the utensil holder on the door... Rob's choice... making room for more dishes in the bottom drawer so we don't have to run the dishwasher as often. I am trying to find a white farmhouse-style sink that I like and that fits the dimensions that we need. The plan is to get a lot of this done while we won't be living at home for a month - that's right! back to camp for us this summer - which will be nice, since I won't be needing to cook then, and might actually be able to enjoy the renovation more.

Bathroom update: The pink toilet has been running constantly. It used to stop running if you jiggled the handle, but that stopped doing the trick about two weeks ago. We knew we would need to replace the toilet eventually, but we were hoping to wait until next year at this time to work on projects in the master bathroom. On the upside, we're getting more money back for our tax return than we anticipated, and we also have a friend who is going to help us with another bathroom project prior to replacing the toilet - installing a tile floor!

In other update news, we've been able to do small projects, like get the front door prepped for painting it red later this week, hanging some more artwork (especially in our master bedroom), and hanging a coat rack/assembling a shoe bench so that we have some semblance of a mini mud room near our front door. Rob has also replaced a few more outlets, and installed the new wireless doorbell. Oh, and we're also brand new premium members of AAA, because we drive cars that are getting up there in age and you never know when you'll need a friendly tow.

I officially feel like a grown-up now - I have purchased my first toilet, and have joined AAA without my parents paying the membership for me.

Blogger Improvements

2010-03-29T18:04:00.000-04:00

Thanks to some "home improvement" of it's own, Blogger has become even better to use for managing this blog, and has allowed us to be more creative and organized! And if you're a fellow Blogger blogger, be sure to check Blogger in Draft for all the newest, latest and greatest blog-techy stuff.

We hope you enjoy the new look and some of the new features on our blog. Take time to explore and make sure to check back as we add more content!

Bye, Bye Wheat!

2010-03-10T15:49:00.000-05:00

The time has finally come. Something yesterday in me triggered the reality that I could not bear to look at the wheat wallpaper that has so lovingly adorned our home's kitchen walls for years...er...decades...any longer. It just had to come down. Surely what was behind it couldn't be any worse!?

There it is. The lovely wheat pattern up close. Can you see the texture?

So last night on my way home from work - after doing a little research about the removal process and what supplies I would need - I picked up some wallpaper removing supplies (after a brief stop at IKEA, of course). My parents recently moved, and found a half used bottle of DIF Wallpaper Stripper Gel Solution, so I just had to purchase a scorer (a small round tool that creates perforations in your wallpaper without damaging the walls so that the solution can get through to the glue), an empty spray bottle so that I wouldn't have to roll on the solution, and a paper scraper (fun to say!). Oh, and an industrial-size sponge for wiping down the walls as a final step in the process.

The four-step simple removal process goes like this:
1. Start in an inconspicuous location (I did behind a door) by scoring a small section of the wall. The more you score, the more the solution will soak through the paper and loosen the glue, and the less you will have to scrape.
2. Then, simply spray the scored area and let it soak into the wallpaper for 2-10 minutes. I waited about five on the first try.
3. Then, using the scraper, start at an edge and begin to slowly loosed the paper until you have a section of paper where you can get your scraper under - then scrape away!
4. Finally, wipe the walls with warm water to remove any remaining residue or solution.

Easy, right?

Well, let's just say I am glad I used my fingers first before opening the scraper which I will be able to return. As soon as I got to step three and peeled a section, I realized that the whole thing was just peeling right off!

The glue probably weakened over the last century. ;) Soon, my kitchen was looking more like this:

Whole sections, from floor to ceiling, ripped right off the wall! I've never gotten such huge results with so little effort in my life. Another plus is that I can save some money by returning the paper scraper!

Anyone want me to send them a piece? I am sensing some gag-gifts coming on...

(Note to self: wheat wallpaper + hideous vinyl flooring = EW!)

And this is what Rob came home to...

We're almost ready to paint again! Stay tuned for more kitchen reno...

Oh - and here's another shout-out to my iPhone, which came in handy when I realized my camera's battery was dead and I was having way too much fun to wait for it to charge before I continued!

Connectivity Problems

2010-03-02T11:28:00.000-05:00

Our internet has been down for the last week or so, and sadly, that has meant no blogging (I am actually doing this post at work over my lunch break!). We may need a new modem, so as soon as Comcast sends us a new one, hopefully we'll be back up and running.

The second half of February was busy, and went by in a blur... due mostly to the snow. It's been the snowiest winter in history on record in our north-west of Philadelphia area, which has meant for 5 snow days during the week in the second half of February, lots of shoveling, and learning about snow drifts due to our home's location next to a farm/cornfield. We're talking 9-10' drifts. Insane to see in person, and a picture doesn't do justice!

February was also my birthday month. I love celebrating my birthday, mostly because it's something fun to get excited about in all the dreariness of winter. This year, Rob took me out to dinner (also, my birthday was on a 6-day weekend due to snow days!), and then we went to New York and spent a long weekend in the city - saw a show (The Fantasticks) and went to some great restaurants, bakeries, and cafes... such as SEA, a really great Thai restaurant in Brooklyn's up-and-coming Williamsburg neighborhood.

My parents also moved from the house I grew up in to a townhouse/condo in late February, so we were very busy helping them pack and move (and getting some free stuff from them for our new place, like lawnmowers, rakes, and camping gear).

We are glad March is finally here, and are looking forward to the warmer weather and blooming buds (alliteration anyone?). And to working on some of our "warmer weather needed" projects and getting our hands dirty with some gardening and landscaping (stay tuned for our compost bin build project!). What are your plans for this spring?

Virtual Home Tour

2010-02-18T20:14:00.000-05:00

After collecting and organizing pictures from what I like to refer to as our "old house", we decided to create a page where our readers could go to get a more cohesive picture of our home. So... ta da! You can now take a virtual tour.

We hope you have fun perusing this part of our blog, and that you check back often to see our progress and be able to compare befores and afters!

And the Award Goes To...

2010-02-17T15:21:00.000-05:00

I just love watching The Oscars (and I am secretly counting down the days to Steve Martin & Alec Baldwin hosting this year)... and last week, I was so happy to see that a fellow blogger, Brittany @ Little Miss Scatterbrained, nominated us for a Beautiful Blogger award.

Thanks for spreading the award love to us, Brittany! We love you back!

Our Winter Wonderland

2010-02-06T21:05:00.000-05:00

Pictures from a very snowy day. Too bad it was a Saturday...

Snow Day Planning

2010-02-04T17:59:00.000-05:00

It kind of sounds like an oxymoron to plan ahead for a snow day. And I don't mean the run out to the store and buy eggs, break and milk kind of planning. But I figure if we're going to be stuck inside Friday night and all day Saturday, I might as well put it to good use. Here's what I've got planned... working on some of my year's to do list and working on some other projects I've been "collecting":

Finish second linen wall board project (made first one a few weeks ago, but still have supplies sitting around for the second).
Get to the bottom of the laundry pile. This is on my list EVERY week it seems, but somehow, it's a bottomless shopping cart pit.
FILE! And not the taxes (thanks to 2 accountants in the family, I won't have to use the TurboTax this year). We have so many bills and tons of paperwork that hasn't made it out of the bill box into our filing cabinet yet.
Felt craft art project using some materials I found recently in the $1 section at Michael's. Pictures to follow this project, of course.
Get Rob to finish re-installing all of the outlets so we can cross that off of our list. Not many to go!

Other than these projects, we will probably build a fire and watch some movies. And maybe I will try a new PW recipe from my cookbook. Any snow weekend plans for you?

Chocolate Wrapper Art

2010-02-03T21:36:00.000-05:00

For under $6 and less than 10 minutes, I was able to create some artwork more than appropriate for the kitchen. And I got to eat some antioxidizing chocolate before I started. Well, actually, I ate it a week ago, and the chocolate was a gift, which was even better.

(click on the image to see the collage in BIG view)

And the finished project, nicely displayed on my kitchen counter for all to see (and I have to say how glad I am that it takes attention away from the peach countertops that I've mentioned in the past)...

Gotta love the vintage modern art, inspired by something so simple. Sometimes decorating and accessorizing is just about working with what you already have (or in my case - HAD - after I polished off my yummy treat... not in one sitting of course!).

My Love Affair with the Red Sticker

2010-02-01T23:22:00.000-05:00

I'm sad to say that it's true. There's not much that gets my heart pumping (in the world of shopping, that is) like seeing a red sticker at... yes, I'm sure you love it too... TARGET. And the red stickers must love me back these days, because I sure have found some great deals recently.

Take these babies for instance.

My first pair of adult rain boots! And for $6.47 I just couldn't pass them up. Rain, snow, mud in the garden this spring. I know I will get my money's worth.

Then, there were the abundance of frames with little red stickers. It was difficult to decide, but taking some advice of a fellow blogger, I decided to go with her strategy of trying to identify one room to concentrate on when purchasing. And ever since we got the curtains hung in our master bedroom (pictures still to come, of course, although you can get a little sneak peak below!) I haven't been able to help but notice how bare the walls are, even in their nice hue of green. Do you like the green? I don't think I've posted anything with pictures of our bedroom in yet!

And yes, I am normal, shown by the fact that I don't make my bed everyday. Sorry, Mom. I know you're probably embarrassed.

A great size poster frame, originally $19.99 purchased for just $4.98!

Finally, these great little frames will look fabulous and add some geometrical interest, at $2.48 a piece, either one on each of our night tables, or on our dresser.

Dear Target, sometimes you really do show me your loyalty back. And although I love you, I still love my husband more. Really. Especially with drill in hand! :)

A New Use for Used... Socks?

2010-01-29T00:03:00.000-05:00

Last night we finally dismantled our Christmas tree. Yes, on January 27. Even after Rob suggested leaving it up until next year and I actually considered it. So we found all of our "empties" in the basement, brought in our after-Christmas steals (mostly from Target), and re-organized our Christmas decorating stash while un-decorating the tree.

That's when I realized I had thrown away some of the plastic containers that some of our ornaments came packaged in originally. I couldn't just throw the ornaments in among all of the other decorations.

And then it hit me! like a 2x4 - although, really... I don't know what that feels like. I remembered that Rob recently emptied out his drawer-full-o-socks so that we could downsize our drawer space (in preparation for living with less dressers) and purchase only the same brand and type of socks, thus mostly eliminating the case of the solo sock that's partner can never be found.

I can read your mind. I know that you're thinking "GROSS! Who in their right mind posts a picture of nasty old socks?!?" Remember... this is the Normally-Odd Couple. :)

Old socks make great ornament holders. You just cut a sock in half (well, if your husband wears a size 13 shoe, that is).

Then insert an ornament like so (I leave the hangers on for ease the next year)...

And VOILA! A soft, protective barrier is placed between one ornament and another. Then, I just carefully placed ornaments of like style in freezer ziploc bags.

Instant, safe, and recycled storage for years to come! Used socks are more useful than one would think. Does anyone still have their Christmas decorations up? (Come on, Katie... who are you kidding!?)

Oh - and here's a little shout-out for the help from my sister-in-law Lindsey... thanks a million!

Home Tour Teaser

2010-01-26T15:39:00.000-05:00

It's been about 2 months since we purchased and moved into our home, and lately I have been thinking about how many projects still need to be done (like I thought we'd get them done in 2 months or something?!) but how far we have come already.

And I thought some of you might like to join in on the fun of taking a little house tour with some befores (what the house looked like when we got our home inspected) and afters (what it looks like now!). I want to be able to have everything in the same post, so I just wanted to whet your appetite for what is to come in the next few days with a little before-n-after of our den.

Hard to tell it's the same room, right?

Vanity Tray

2010-01-22T18:01:00.000-05:00

The last time I visited one of my favorite craft stores, JoAnn Fabrics, I kind of got a little carried away with some of the home decor fabrics... so bought small amounts of a few different selections (it was a difficult choice!) to do a few small projects with. One project was to add a little interest to a side table. Another was to turn a Kohl's clearance picture frame into a vanity tray for my dresser that I could use for tossing my jewelry on at the end of the day. $6 picture frame + a $1 snippet of fabric = well, take a look for yourself...

This could easily be used as wall are, too, but for now it will keep its place as my new vanity tray!

A Little Bit Goes a Long Way...

2010-01-15T11:57:00.000-05:00

Well, this past week, we have been working on small projects around the house. It is amazing how such little improvements make such a major change in a room! Take, for example, the outlets and light switches. Every switch and outlet in the house was this ugly brownish-black, and the outlets were only two-pronged, so we needed to install new outlets that were grounded (making them safe and up to code!) but also consistent in color throughout the house. We opted for white.

We opted for white. Such a difference!

Another small project I accomplished was adding a little pizazz to this white nightstand, which used to be the TV stand in my first apartment.

For this project, I started by finding some fabric (home decor fabric, to be more specific - so it's a little heavier than, say, quilting fabric) that would work as a nice accent color in this room (our guest bedroom - still in the making). I bought a piece of posterboard at the fabric store, and cut it to the size of the glass. Then, I ironed my fabric, and used some Fabri-Tac fabric glue - which is fabritastic! - to carefully and tightly wrap it around the back (pretty much like a package) and glue it in place. This glue is mess-free and creates a quick bond. I would recommend it in place of a hot glue gun anytime you need a thin but strong bond, don't want to sew, and are working with fabrics. I started in the middle of each side, working my way to the corners and finishing the corners last with a nice, tight fold & glue. Once it was dry, I simply placed it between the nightstand and the glass. Easy as pie!

A close-up of the patterned "designer" fabric I purchased for only $9.99 per yard at my local JoAnn's.

And last, but certainly not least, I wanted to share the story of the date fund jar - an easy DIY project using a jar from IKEA, some magazine clippings, and the wonderfulness of mod podge - pictured below. I made this as a Christmas present for Rob back in December 2004, and we've been using it as a cash/coin collection jar ever since. Do we always use the money for a date? No... but at least we can see our pocket change add up in the end. Over Christmas break, we took the jar to our local TD Bank (formerly Commerce Bank), which has the Penny Arcade - a fee-free coin counting machine. We saved up $166.58! And we're going to make it a yearly competition now that we're married to empty it just after Christmas each year to see how much we've saved, and if we've outdone the year before. You can see our jar already has some $$$ for 2010!

Does anyone else out there save up their change? What do you use it on?

Cleaning Mode

2010-01-07T10:01:00.000-05:00

With spare time a little more flexible and life a little more back to "normal" now that the holiday celebrations are over, I am in full clean-freak mode. There's just something about things not feeling in place that seems wrong with the world to me. It's probably a little OCDish, but when my closet is in order, my mind is in order.

Last Night's De-clutter: Our hallway closet. Known to us since we moved in as the dumping grounds for project supplies, shoes, purses, and anything we didn't know where else to put... it was a mess!

And the re-organized after - well, it's not all that exciting, but at least you can see the floor. But this easy closet makeover sure changed the look and feel. I am eventually planning to paint it - including the shelves, and maybe an accent color on the back wall to add a little interest to an otherwise pretty boring space. And take down the metal hanging bars, as we don't really plan to use this for a coat closet because it's so deep and narrow.

Sneak Peek of the Upcoming Dresser Project!

A few close-up mug shots of the furniture screaming for some DIY TLC. New drawer liners, anyone? I think so. But the lines and detailing are great, and I can't wait to show you the finished product!

Inspired Cooking

2010-01-05T22:09:00.000-05:00

Another one of my Christmas presents, thanks to my dear husband, was the movie Julie & Julia, which we saw on a date to the movies this past summer. I'm sure you've all seen it. And I watched it last week with my friend Meg, and was instantly inspired to do some cooking. We were having some friends of ours over for dinner on Sunday afternoon, after all, and what would be better than trying a new recipe out on guests?

Thankfully, after I saw the movie the first time, I was inspired to buy the cookbook for myself, so I just happened to have the recipe.

And I don't mean to brag... but my beef went from beef to something savory and delicious, thanks to Julia Child. I can see why Julie felt so empowered by her... to conquer the creation of the classic French dish, boeuf bourguignon. I was saying it out loud in the kitchen the whole time I was cooking... try it yourself - in your best J-Child impersonation.

The roughly five hours that went into making this dish (2 hours prep + 3 in the oven) were SO worth it! And everyone who ate it agreed. The recipe is too long to retype, and you wouldn't get the same feel as if it were coming straight from Julia herself. But I would highly suggest getting your hands on a copy and trying it for yourself - especially during these frigid days of winter... it really warms the soul!

2010 Project Plan

2010-01-04T09:32:00.000-05:00

We have many goals for ourselves in this new year, and 2010 will be our first full year in our new house. We are excited to look forward to all the projects we plan to accomplish this year. Here are our top ten!

1. Finish replacing outlets, light switches and cable boxes. Rob has gotten a lesson on replacing all these things from a good friend of ours who has a background in all things electric, so he got busy starting this project - but every time we think a room is finished, we find another old outlet.
2. Refinish dresser for master bedroom. The dresser we currently have is from Rob's childhood, and his mom painted it teal many years ago to compliment the jungle theme in his bedroom. A fresh coat of black paint and some new hardware will make this look like it was meant to go with the bed we purchased a few months ago.
3. Remove wallpaper and paint. We're still working out all of the different design elements for the kitchen, as we eventually plan to put in new flooring and countertops, so stay tuned!
4. Sand and paint kitchen cabinets, followed by installing the new hardware we recently purchased at Lowe's over Christmas break on our huge shopping trip.
5. Update the look of our front door with paint (red or black? still trying to decide) and new locks and handles... and maybe a new storm door to create a better seal and save us some major mulah on the heating/cooling bill.
6. Linen wall board(s) project, like this one from PB, to help get our organization booties in gear.
7. Refinish daybed - paint and purchase some new, more fitted bedding and tons of throw pillows.
8. Organize basement. This will include sorting stuff that we've been receiving from our parents' storage, deciding what will go toward a yard sale that we hope to have sometime this spring, and figuring out an aesthetically pleasing way to store what we do want to keep - most likely with the help of an Ikea storage system (like this GORM system) that suits our needs.
9. Build workbench to maximize storage in garage, and provide an area for organizing our ever-growing collection of tools and project parts, like this great new cordless drill we got for Christmas.
10. Landscape, landscape, landscape. This is Rob's main goal for the year. I think he could probably care less about some of the other projects on our list. There is one section of our yard that needs to be graded away from our foundation on more of a slope, and we're hoping that will solve the one area of our basement that leaks the least bit. But we want to get this taken care of so that we can plan how to refinish the basement in future years. There are also some trees that need to be cut down, branches trimmed, beds redefined, and the list goes on. So we will be looking forward to spring in a major way this year!

We hope that you'll stay tuned for what we hope will be a productive year here at The NOC, filled with many before and afters, great home-reno project lessons learned, and creativity expressed as we continue to make our house a home!

Curtain Sewing Project

2010-01-03T13:08:00.000-05:00

The best thing about this sewing project is that there was no sewing involved! When we recently installed the window treatment in our home-office (we haven't decided whether to call it the office or the den yet), there was some work that needed to be done on these WILMA shears from Ikea. I didn't like the tabs, pictured below, so I simply snipped them off - being very careful not to cut into the actual top hem of the curtain.

In this picture, I had already cut off the first tab (to the very left), and you can see where there is still one of the tabs remaining. Here's what it looks like totally cut:

Then, all I did was attach one of the clip rings to the center of where the tab was previously attached, which made it a cinch to evenly space all of the clip rings, and make it easy to slide the shears back and forth on the curtain rod.

Finally, all I had to do was hang the curtains, decide on a length for the bottom, and use Ikea's handy no-sew hem strip to iron the hem into the curtains. After that, I just ironed the curtains, for a clean, not-fresh-out-of-the-package look and hung them up! Such an easy fix to make the curtains into what I needed them to be!

Up with the New!

2010-01-02T13:34:00.000-05:00

A week off from work for Christmas break for both of us has resulted in some free time, which we have been able to put to good use getting some projects accomplished that we have been meaning to get around to for a few weeks now. One of our projects was installing the hardware and hanging curtains in the den. Here's a before & after shot, which I hope to get more of now that we got a Nikon D90 Digital SLR camera from Santa!

Here's the before...

...and after.

Pretty amazing what a little bit of ironed and hemmed (in the case of the shears - which we got from Ikea) curtains will do for a bare, lonely wall. We decided to hang 'em high for a more luxurious effect. What do you think?

Christmas of Firsts

2009-12-26T11:56:00.000-05:00

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF OUR READERS!

We had a busy Christmas, being in our first house - not to mention our first Christmas as a married couple. So trying to get things done around the house (such as unpack!) and still doing all the things that go into celebrating the season - decorating, baking, parties with family and friends, shopping, wrapping, preparing for guests and a New Year's Eve party, and still maintaining some sense of sanity - wasn't a very easy task.

But we had a wonderful, memory-filled Christmas and wouldn't have traded it for anything. Here are some shots of Christmas in our first house, as we remembered the birth of a Savior who brought hope to the world.

Ranch Meets East

2009-12-15T12:33:00.000-05:00

After a very busy weekend of organizing and cleaning and unpacking and getting together for a Christmas dinner celebration with our college friends, one of my dear friends and I, who have recently bonded even closer over our adoration for the PW cookbook spent a VERY rainy Pennsylvania Sunday afternoon at the Chester County Book & Music Company. We. Met. Ree. Drummond.

I just couldn't wait until later in the post to show you the picture.

She was just as sweet and down-to-earth as you could imagine. And she had a fanTAStic singing voice! The Pioneer Woman in the flesh. We couldn't contain our excitement.

Check out Ree's cookbook - The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl

We got to Chester County Book & Music Company at 1:30 PM, and Ree was scheduled to address the audience (okay, PW Philadelphia Fan Club) at 2:30 PM. As number 142, we somehow still got seats for the Q&A session. In the third to last row, but hey, that was okay with us. We met a cute baby and her mom sitting in front of us, and a very nice woman who's husband had come early to save her a seat until she could get there. My friend and I had a chance to get caught up on all things new in our life as we anxiously waited. And at 2:30, all eyes were glued to Ree, who hilariously addressed the crowd and took many questions from the audience. Halfway through the Q&A time, my friend and I realized that we were the last book-signing on the tour. Bittersweet for Ree, I'm sure. *Note: I just visited her site and realized that more signings have been added. So if you live in Oklahoma, go to meet her. It's definitely worth your time and money.

After the Q&A session was over, Ree began to sign. And sign, and sign and sign. You could tell that Chester County Book & Music had hosted a book signing or two before. They had a system that worked so well. They called a range of numbers to join the line so that there wasn't a thousand-mile-long line wrapping around their HUGE store. So my friend and I were able to enjoy a vanilla latte and mocha while leafing through some magazines and doing some more catching up. It was great! I had visions of being the last people in a very long line, and we barely had to stand in line at all.

At around 5:00, they called numbers 141-160, and we jumped in line, waited for about 10 minutes, and then the moment of judgment came. We introduced ourselves, Ree signed our books (which we decided how she should personalize with sticky notes ahead of time) and I gave her a torn piece of paper with a link to our blog, for her to check out in all of her down time. HA! We got our picture taken with her, and that was the end of our adventure.

Thanks for coming to Pennsylvania, PW! We'd love to see you again for your Black Heels to Tractor Wheels signing... and this time, you will know what you have gotten yourself into.

And a special thanks to our photographer, who was also our chauffeur and was a good sport indulging us for oh, about 5 hours. Ree even said he was a good sport.

Also, thanks to my friend for bringing an iPhone that was charged, so we had something to use to take our picture. iPhones are great, but I really need a better camera. I really hope Santa read my Christmas list!

Guilty of Neglect

2009-12-04T11:13:00.000-05:00

My blogging has recently been placed on the back burner - so sorry to all my readers and fans! (I still like to kid myself that I actually have readers and fans).

After our harrowing settlement day gone awry, due to a federal reserve bank tech wrongly coding the wire transfer of funds from our mortgage firm to the attorney who was processing the settlement, and after a wasted work weekend because we couldn't get into the house until Monday instead of the Friday before, we finally got the keys and put the fiasco behind us.

We spent our first night in our new house on our comfy airbed on Monday, November 23rd.

On Monday, we jumped right in on our list of to-dos by taking down vents and unscrewing outlet covers, patching holes in the wall and cracks in the ceiling, caulking around the window trim to ensure a tight seal and less cold air getting in, and painting the ceiling. By the wee hours of Tuesday morning, while Rob and I were fast asleep because we had to work the next day, my mother-in-law, outfitted in her tshirt du-rag and sunglasses to protect her hair and eyes from paint splatter, had finished the last ceiling in the living room. Tuesday after work, my mom and sister and sister-in-law all came over to help tackle the painting, and by Wednesday night, we had a lot of the walls painted, with only touchups and trim remaining. And carpets to tear out. Rob and I spent Thanksgiving morning working on trim in the guest bedroom, before going to his parents to celebrate. On Friday morning, knowing we had all the loose ends to finish up, we headed out to Macy's for some Black Friday shopping (because we had a gift card that expired at the end of November) and then went to Ikea, where we got some great deals on nightstands and a shoe bench for our master bedroom (and other things like some curtain rods, shears, and accessories). By the afternoon, we were back to working on the house, me painting trim and Rob taking up the tack strip for the carpeting. We were pleasantly surprised by how nice most of the hardwood floor looked, and are glad that we can hold off on the refinishing project for a little while and get a bunch of estimates to get the best price. Dave and Lisa stopped by after their Black Friday shopping excursion, and jumped right in pulling up staples and nails and nasty foam padding that was under the carpet. By 8 PM, we had all the carpets out, most of the foam stuff up, and had painted all of the trim in all three bedrooms - with only touchups and trim in the living room and hallway to complete. Rob's siblings all came over after family bowling (which we had to skip out on, sadly) and we got EVERYTHING finished in time for the move on Saturday morning.

We're still unpacking boxes, and Rob is taking care of our little mouse (probably mice) problem in the basement - more on that in a later post. But we are so thrilled to be living in our new home, and can't wait for you all to see it in person! Or online... once we get around to taking pictures and posting them... maybe later this weekend!

Say a Little Prayer

2009-11-19T22:28:00.000-05:00

If you're reading this, then please, please, PLEASE say a little prayer for us tomorrow (friday). It's closing time... sorry. Too many songs going through my head.

We're very excited to have the bank make out our check, take a final walk-through and head to the settlement table. Ok - and a little nervous, too.

Next time you hear from us, we will be jingling the keys to our new house (fingers crossed - knocked on wood). And that means some new pictures with some paint on the walls!

See you on the flip side!

Awkward Yard Sale

2009-11-16T10:27:00.000-05:00

Yesterday after church, Rob and I decided we would drive by our house, since it wasn't too far out of the way and we had our friend Barry visiting and wanted to show him at least the outside of our VERY soon-to-be new place. It was a gorgeous day, after all. As we approached the house, we saw a huge rental dumpster outside, and a yard sale in the driveway. Rob decided we should stop... AWKWARD is the only way I can describe how I felt.

So for a few minutes, we nonchalantly browsed around as typical yard salers would. And then we noticed that the upright freezer was for sale... too good of an offer that we couldn't pass up on. So Rob approached the sellers (daughters of the woman who owned the house and passed away) and told them we'd like to purchase the freezer and a few other things. They said, "Do you have a truck?", to which Rob shared that we were the buyers, to which their response was "Well, why didn't you say something?!" (in a nice way). My shy self was looking at an assembly of baskets far from where Rob was striking the deal, but the awkwardness in the air soon cleared and we all introduced ourselves to each other. So for $50 (in addition to all the money we're already shelling out to them to buy their house) we got an upright freezer and 1940s upright refrigerator (think Mad Men) that we will keep in the garage and use to stock up on bulk deals and frozen soup and beverages for parties, a four-drawer filing cabinet, a large sturdy basket, garden hose, lawn seed spreader, metal trash can, set of fireplace tools, and ember glass table lamp (which I think will look great with a new shade!). And the REALLY great thing was that we were able to just keep it all there.

As Rob was toting some of our bargains out to the shed, two of the women were asking me where we lived now, etc. and I shared that we had just gotten married in April and this would be our first house. One of them said, "Well, I think Mother would be very pleased", and another said "We hope that you will have a very happy life here." I know they are still grieving the loss of their mom, and I'm sure it was nice for them to be able to feel more assured that a nice young couple who will take care of the place are the ones moving in. So what started as a pretty awkward situation turned into something very positive, and not only for us.

Top 10 List

2009-11-13T14:35:00.000-05:00

In an attempt to help myself remember all the things I am "wanting" at certain points in time during our house renovations/redecoration, I hope to post one of these collages every once and a while, with links below the collage to remind myself what store has what, and (more importantly) how much it all might end up costing us... what room we plan to use it in, etc. Maybe it will help give you an idea, too! A blog, after all, is for the reader, right? :)

(click on the image to view a larger version)

1. A GORM storage unit from IKEA similar to this one will hopefully provide some useful organization space in our HUGE unfinished basement. Maybe next to the laundry center we hope to create?
2. There's currently a pretty outdated glass prism chandelier above the space where our kitchen table will go, so we'd like to install this brushed steel pendant light from Lowe's.
3. 2 or 3 pendant lights from Lowe's for above our sink, to coordinate with the larger pendant light and fit in with the stainless steel appliances we're also hoping to get some day.
4. Also on our shopping list for our next IKEA trip is this NORBO drop-leaf table in beech, which will get mounted to the basement wall and be a great place to fold laundry or use for other projects in which a table would be helpful!
5. We recently purchased this great 3-piece rug set at Bed Bath & Beyond for just $80 (after our 20% of coupon) and actually had a GC, so it was virtually free! The set - sorry, couldn't find a link - consisted of an 8x10 area rug, a runner for the hallway, and a 2x3 entryway rug. We're planning to use this set in the living room, hallway and at the front door for a consistent look in the living area.
6. A few months ago, we purchased a black canopy bed at The Dump for just $195, but are still using our mish-mash of dressers and nightstands from college apartment life. The clean lines of this HEMNES nightstand from IKEA will look great next to our new bed!
7. To accompany our nightstand, and a dresser we currently have that is teal (which we plan to paint black eventually - stay tuned for a before & after project!) is this modestly-priced HEMNES chest of drawers.
8. We're looking for a set of chairs to use in the living room to complement our mink-colored soft leather reclining sofa. We don't have our heart set on these armless tan velvet accent chairs from Target, but it's a start.
9. I love this simple waffle-weave white shower curtain from Target. White goes well with a pink bath tub, right?
10. Last but not least, there's a little nook in our kitchen where I'd like to put this hutch of sorts - SMADAL bookcase from IKEA with doors. I plan to store all my cookbooks in here, as well as use it as more storage for the kitchen. Can't wait for our Christmas Break trip to IKEA-ville!

Preparing to Paint

2009-11-13T11:48:00.000-05:00

With one week until closing, we're gearing up to get our paint on next weekend, as soon as they hand the keys to our new place over to us! Our front porch is currently home to 16 gallons (6 for the ceiling, 10 for the rest of the house) of paint and a bag full of painting supplies. Next weekend, we plan to tackle the master and guest bedrooms, our home office, and the living room/hallway. Here's a sneak peak at our paint colors...

Ode to the Phils

2009-11-06T09:26:00.001-05:00

Now that the baseball season is officially over, we are glad we have the soon-to-be new house to keep us occupied until spring training begins. The Phillies were the second best team in baseball this year, and that's nothing to mope over. We're proud of them for making it into the World Series for the second year in a row. Good fans support their team through wins AND losses, and so we'll continue our love affair with the Phillies despite their heartbreaking loss. I'm sure they feel worse than their fans.

We both got to enjoy a National League Championship Series game shutout win, and Rob and his brother went to Game 3 of the World Series on Halloween. So we had a pretty lucky postseason getting to see our team live.

Maybe sometime in the future we'll be able to afford season tickets so we don't have to base our attendance on luck, but who knows when that will be... too many home improvement projects loom ahead, I'm afraid.

A picture from the past, in honor of our fightin Phils...

Tape, Newspapers and {Empty} Boxes

2009-11-04T20:53:00.000-05:00

Two and a half weeks until closing on our house, and I have less than 3 boxes packed. And so far, I've only packed books. I've searched the web for "moving tips", thinking that would put me into the mood to begin the process that I am all-too-familiar with. I have been collecting boxes from work for weeks now, and we've been saving the Sunday paper (sans coupons) and got tape and some Sharpies with a $10 Target GC that we got when we got the newspaper subscription. So I've got the goods. The problem is the lack of desire to actually PUT things IN the empty boxes. I don't know what it is about starting to pack that makes me so unmotivated. I am usually ready for a big change like this, and although I can enthusiastically say that I am MORE than ready to move, I just feel overwhelmed (?) about packing.

Maybe when the Phils win the World Series, Rob will want to help.

Most likely, the day before the truck gets here, we will be tossing things in boxes randomly.

This past Saturday, we purchased 16 gallons of paint that will get us started on getting the house ready to move into before we actually move on Thanksgiving weekend. 6 gallons of s ceiling paint, 2 gallons of Dusty Gold, 2 gallons of Harvest Brown (a tan tone), 2 gallons of Tate Olive, and 2 gallons of Bradford Brown (think brown and eggplant, mixed). We tried to choose natural colors so that we could bring the view from the outside in, since we have such great natural light and wonderful views of fields out of most of our windows.

In preparation for pulling out the old, nasty carpets, we have been purchasing, collecting, and searching for area rugs... a sometimes arduous task.

Before Tour

2009-10-19T13:36:00.000-04:00

I have recently been inspired, and I admit a bit addicted, to YoungHouseLove - a blog written by a couple who has been renovating and redecorating their rancher in Virginia. They have a very clean style, and some really great ideas/motivation for tackling tough projects. Inspired to try some of these great DIY projects? Yes. But perhaps I am even more inspired by them to document the transformation of our very own stone rancher over the course of the next, well... who knows how long it will all take. Sherry over at YHL does this blogging thing as her full-time job, so although I know I won't be able to post detailed directions to all of our makeover projects, you'll at least be able to check out the before and after shots (and make suggestions, if you like!) as we make our first place our very own. So here's the BEFORE tour. Enjoy! And remember it's okay if you cringe, because let's be honest... this house needs a whole lot of updating and TLC.

The exterior of the house, from the front corner. The bushes need a little work, the windows need painted, but there is a lot of natural light that will be great. And I have a bit of a hankering for a red door...

This is the enclosed stone patio overlooking our great backyard. One of our long-term projects at this point will be to make this a glass enclosed room and then create an outdoor stone patio around it.

If Rob ever looses his day job, he might be able to get his inspector's license. From this picture, you can see our nice, flat driveway and spacious 2 car garage. The large evergreen tree on the right of the picture will be getting cut down, as you can see the hindrance it is to the door into the porch.

A view of the backyard from the edge of the driveway. The shed is ours, and we have a great view of preserved farmland.

Rob on the roof, which has another 5-10 year lifespan.

This is the door/hallway between the porch and the kitchen. Right now this area has three doors within 2 square feet of space. Between the brown door and white door, there is a door to the right which leads to the walk-up attic. The brown door will probably be getting taken down... the previous owners were a bit door-crazy!

Great windows over the kitchen sink! I am so glad I won't have to look at the wall anymore while cleaning up. Though you can't really tell by the picture, the Formica countertops are a deep peachy, coral-ly color...

which you can see a bit better in this picture. In this room, we'd like to paint the cabinets white, redo the floor, get new appliances, install a new counter top... and the list goes on.

Oh, right. And take down the wallpaper with the bunches of wheat. Luckily this is the only wallpaper in the entire house!

A very dark shot of the master bedroom. Not sure how we will do the window treatments in this room...

We plan to paint the drab brown fireplace white for a clean, finished look. And like I mentioned in an earlier post, there are hardwoods under all this lovely carpet, ripping it up after we paint, of course.

The view of the living room when you walk in the front door, with the hallway to the 3 bedrooms and bathroom to the back right corner and a really nice bay window to the left.

The entrance door from the front of the house into the living room is just to the right of the couch. A wall of faux built-in bookshelves, possibly?

Saving the best for last... the bathrooms. I don't really know what else to say. Above is the half-bath in the master suite. If you sit on the toilet, your knees go under the sink. It's pretty much non-functional, so we're thinking of making it into a closet. The full bathroom has a pink toilet, sink and tub. Let's just say we're not really the pink type. So this bathroom, along with updating the kitchen and eventually finishing the basement (not pictured yet) are on our list of MAJOR projects. Until then, hopefully we'll come up with some solutions that will make it at least livable for a while.

So that's our new house! After November 20th, check back for updates to track our progress.

Inspection. Check.

2009-10-14T16:04:00.000-04:00

20 days later (my blogging has taken a back seat to my other part-time job: house hunting), we're well on the way to purchasing our first home!

We found this cute little stone rancher on a great half-acre lot. The estate of an elderly woman who recently passed away will soon become our new abode, and although it needs a TON of TLC, we're glad that it's pretty much a blank slate and we have lots of room to work with (and have I mentioned hardwoods under the 1960's carpet?).

Yesterday was the home inspection, and our mild anxiety about what could potentially be wrong with the house were eased into feelings of being able to fix up the few minor things that need to be done, such as replacing all of the outdated 2-prong electrical outlets, caulking some step-cracks in the basement, repainting the window trim, etc. But no major problems! We're tying up a few loose ends to get our mortgage finalized, and then we will be ready for closing, which is set for November 20th... just in time for moving in over Thanksgiving weekend when we both (and our families and friends!) have time off for the holiday. Stay tuned for our next post... the BEFORE TOUR.

*NOTE: I began writing this post last week, and finally got around to publish it. The inspection was last Tuesday.

The House Hunt Continues...

2009-09-25T11:05:00.000-04:00

Well, Rob and I have been spending almost every free moment lately working on the house search. Only a week and a half into the process, we've met with our realtors 4 times, have seen 16 houses, and lost our top house on the list to another bidder who clearly makes faster decisions than we do. When we're not meeting with our realtors to tour houses that we have found online, we are constantly browsing Zillow, Trulia, and Realtor.com for new listings. We've looked at single-family homes, some with large yards, some with small yards. And we've looked at a few townhouses. I think Rob is more of a fan of the townhouses than I am, mostly because there are less "projects", but I happen to think working on such projects would be good for expanding our skill set, and maybe relationship too (the only time we argue, usually, is when we're working on home improvement projects together). I can usually see past the terrible carpet and wallpaper choices in most homes, but one place we looked at last Saturday was like stepping into a strange world of a cross between the land of the Smurfs and That 70s Show in the bedrooms, with faux exposed wooden beams made out of Styrofoam (gross!) in the living room/kitchen. Sorry, Buchert Road, we just couldn't see the potential. Rob even said, "It's like these people aren't even TRYING to sell their house."

So, here are a few photos I snapped of one of the bedrooms, thanks to my trusty iPhone, even though this is a house I would really like to forget. Sorry, the lighting's poor...
The room had 2 different kinds of wallpaper, and this one was velvety to the touch... eek!
Here's to hoping the homes we see this weekend are a little better than this one...

ROTW - Crab Puffs

2009-09-23T12:18:00.001-04:00

Last Friday evening, I had 13 gal-pals over for a Pampered Chef party. Somehow, we all fit into the living room of our smallish apartment. It was a bit warm, but I think everyone had a great time! I made a few appetizers/desserts for my guests (I think of myself as having the gift of hospitality, after all), and my mother-in-law swooned over the crab puffs. A recipe passed down through a few generations of our family from the Methodist cookbook published by the church my mom attended growing up in Yorkana, PA, there couldn't be a simpler, tastier treat!

Unfortunately, they were all consumed before I had a chance to take a picture... and in case you didn't get it ROTW will from here on stand for "recipe of the week"...

CRAB PUFFS

1 pack of english muffins
1 jar (8 oz. I think) of Old English Cheese*
1 stick of unsalted butter, softened
1 can of crab meat (6-8 oz.)
a few pinches of garlic powder and sea salt

* Can be found in the refrigerated section of most grocery stores.

Best if made in advance! Halve english muffins and lay out face-up on non-greased cookie sheet (or baking stone if you've recently been to a PC party!). Cream together butter and cheese. Stir in crab meat and seasonings. Spread evenly on english muffins, cover cookie sheet with foil, and place in freezer. Once frozen, this can be easily stored in ziploc plastic bags or something similar in your freezer. When you're ready to heat and serve, turn on your oven's broiler, and broil frozen (not thawed - they get soggy if you thaw first) crab puffs until golden brown on top. Remove, rest, and cut into quarters for a triangular, tasty treat for your next party. Great snack for football watching parties!

Let the House Hunting Begin!

2009-09-11T15:35:00.000-04:00

Well, we got our mortgage pre-approval letter last night, so now we can officially begin the house hunt. It took Rob and I 3 hours at The Dump to agree on a couch that we liked, so we'll see about the house. We're just both indecisive I guess. But I am sure the journey will be fun, and we'll keep you posted!

Gluttony Night

2009-09-09T21:54:00.000-04:00

One evening a few weeks ago, our friend Lisa had free tickets to the a Reading Phillies game (a AA-level farm team for the Philadelphia Phillies we love so much). So we went with Lisa and another friend Chip for a warm summer night of baseball. On the way to the game, we got a flat tire, which Rob and Chip changed in record time, while I documented the occasion on film.

Other than the tire, the night was perfect, especially since it was Gluttony Night. What a great name, huh? For $10, you got a wristband that provided you unlimited access to all-you-could-eat hot dogs, cheeseburgers, french fries, pizza, soda, ice cream, and funnel cakes. What a great deal! Usually at a game, Rob and I would spend that much for a sandwich and a drink. So we took part in the festivities (after all, the tickets were free!).

Some of our leftovers...
Rob (pretending) to lose his gluttony goodness...

In the Kitchen

2009-09-08T16:01:00.000-04:00

Inspired by seeing Julie & Julia this summer (I would HIGHLY recommend it if you haven't seen it yet), I am going to try to cook one new recipe every week. Yesterday, I was inspired by some leftover pieces of filet mignon from a cookout in the Poconos and a recipe I had recently seen on one of my favorite websites, The Pioneer Woman - Grilled Ribeye with Bleu Cheese-Onion Sauce. With only needing to reheat the filets, and cooking the sauce which took 10 minutes and four ingredients, it was a wonderful meal for the end of a holiday weekend.

Here's the recipe for this VERY delicious sauce:

4 tbsp. butter
1 large yellow onion
1 c. heavy cream*
1 c. bleu cheese (crumbled)

*Our grocery store was out of heavy cream, so I used whole milk instead. It still turned out lovely, and just a little bit healthier.

Melt the butter in a heavy pan over high heat. Cut the onion in half from top to bottom, then slice (but not too thin). When the butter is melted, toss in onions, and stir occasionally until onions are a nice brownish-black color. Turn heat down to medium-high, pour in milk to heat and let thicken for about 3-4 minutes. Then toss in crumbled bleu, and stir until melted (this will not take long at all). In about 10 minutes, you have a yummy sauce, a great addition to a great steak that packs in TONS of flavor. I put my sauce as the bed, with the steak placed on top - no side dishes needed. Enjoy!

Pictures from Abroad

2009-09-02T17:27:00.000-04:00

From top: rock formations at the Giant's Causeway, a yummy mocha, sheep in Carlingford, gorgeous tile floor of Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin, Dunluce Castle in Northern Ireland, the London Eye, LE & Parliament at night, Parliament & Big Ben, guarding of the crown jewels

August Update

2009-09-01T15:11:00.001-04:00

It's been over a month since my last post (probably to the dissatisfaction of my THOUSANDS of followers), so I thought maybe I should update finally. August was a busy month.

We left at the end of July for our big shi-bang honeymoon to England, Ireland and Northern Ireland. I'll be sure to post some of our favorite pictures soon. Our first stop was London, and after a delayed flight and almost not being able to get to the airport due to storms and subsequent flooding in Newark, NJ, we made it across the pond and were surprised that we actually slept on the flight. We spent a whole day trying to fit in as much sightseeing as possible because we bought "The London Pass", which gave us access to over 55 historical sights, but we only bought a one-day pass, and got our money's worth! St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London, Westminster Abbey, Cabinet War Rooms/Churchill Museum, and cruise on the River Thames were all included. While in London we also rode the London Eye, which provides a great view of the city, and also watched a couple in the pod next to us get engaged... Rob found that very entertaining. In Ireland, we met up with our friend Kathryn and spent a few days in Dublin, followed by a few days along the Northern Coast of N. Ireland at the Erskine holiday home. The North Coast was beautiful, especially the Giant's Causeway. We toured Belfast on a rainy day, but still had a good time and stayed dry on the tour bus, then did some shopping in Belfast. The last few days, we headed back to the Republic of Ireland to Galway and surrounding towns. We had a great visit with Kathryn, and really enjoyed our first visit to the Emerald Isle.

Once we returned in early August, work was very busy for me getting ready to welcome all of the incoming students at Eastern. All the paperwork came together from Rob's summer class for his official Special Ed certification, and he was offered a permanent position at CAT-Pickering where he worked last year teaching Social Studies and Special Education. Classes started for Rob yesterday, and he has a lot of the same students he had last year, so he is looking forward to his second year of teaching with hopes that like many people say, the first year is the most difficult.

We spent one weekend a few weeks ago in the Poconos at the cabin, and had gorgeous weather, and were able to swim across the lake without freezing. We're going back this weekend for the long weekend, and hope the weather will be just as nice! I've also seen a few good films in the theaters, and would recommend The Time Traveler's Wife and Julie & Julia. I read the TTW, and even though the book was better (like most books made into movies), the movie was well-made and stuck close to the book. And now that I have seen J&J, I have been cooking more and trying recipes out of my Martha Stewart Cooking School cookbook. I have mastered roasted chicken with white wine reduction sauce... and it's delicious!

fun with Wordle

2009-07-25T13:37:00.001-04:00

I discovered a new website - Wordle - that randomizes words graphically. Try making your own! You can enter words that you want to appear, or enter your blog link and Wordle will automatically pull commonly-used words from your blog. Something fun to do if you're bored (or bored in class)!

click here to view larger image

Transitioning

2009-07-21T09:32:00.000-04:00

5 weeks at Sankanac went by so quickly! The weather was wonderful - not too hot, and sunny every day. We will have lots of memories from our time there this summer, and while it will be good to transition back to our more "normal" lifestyle, we will miss our friends and will be looking forwar A few photos of our last few days... the sign, Benji playing ping pong, and Lisa getting her 1/2 mile swimming patch at her very own awards ceremony!

We packed up Saturday morning and were home unpacking the same afternoon, with probably 9 loads of laundry piled around our apartment. On Saturday evening, we met my parents for dinner in Adamstown at Stoudt's Brewery with our friend Kathryn who is here for 2 weeks working at camp, telling her that this was America trying to be German. We had a good time, and some great and pretty authentic German cuisine.

On Sunday afternoon, we visited the Winklers in Easton, and after a cookout at their house, went to see our first Iron Pigs game in Bethlehem. The Iron Pigs are one of the AAA farm teams for the Phillies, and admission was pretty inexpensive - Rob and I both got in for $12. Because of camp, Rob has been missing watching baseball, so we had a great afternoon!

This week, we are busy getting our life at home re-organized, and getting things ready for our big trip!

Camp and Carlisle

2009-07-15T10:53:00.000-04:00

It's been a great couple of weeks at camp. Last week, there were 171 boys who came for Army/Navy Week - a Sankanac tradition where the climax is a day-long event of competitions where the camp is split between two teams - Army v. Navy. This year, Army won, but only by 3 points. It was an exciting day at camp! and I was happy that I could take a day off from work to witness the events, and even judge a few competitions. Among my favorite were diving, canoeing, and of course... pie eating.

Rob and Chip getting ready to announce the teams.

Chief Rob overseeing Indian Games.

Last Friday night, I took a break from camp and drove to Carlisle, PA to visit Rach Carmichael and other friends from college and to see Rach & Aaron's new home (which is amazing!) and their cute puppy Ally. Friday was a good time of catching up with Meg and Rach. We went out to dinner at a cute Greek place called the Back Door Cafe, where we all got yummy gyros - and then of course, went shopping and rented a movie. Saturday morning, we all drank coffee on the front porch and chatted, and then Ash and Debbie joined us for breakfast. It was a really good, refreshing time of catching up on each other's lives.

The Back Door Cafe (named this because you enter in the back, not the front!)

Rach & Ally (a bit blurry because Ally was moving & I took this on my iPhone)!

We are almost halfway through our fifth and final week of serving at camp, which is bittersweet. We're ready to readjust to life back at home with a normal schedule and are looking forward to our trip to the UK in a week and a half, but will miss camp and everything that goes with it... living the simple life, being in the outdoors, spending time with some very dear friends.

The Summer of Rainbows

2009-07-06T10:21:00.000-04:00

I have never before seen so many rainbows within the course of a few days' span. I have seen four rainbows so far this summer - two of them FULL double rainbows, and I don't quite know how to describe them other than just simply beautiful...

Unfortunately, I am usually driving when I see them, but luckily a friend was with me the last time I saw one and was able to capture the moment on my iPhone.

Just when the clouds are clearing, and the sun is coming back out, a streak of colors appear across the sky. Maybe rainbows say something other than God's promise never to flood the Earth again. Maybe they say something deeper about life and our journey... a reminder to take the time to appreciate beauty in challenging, difficult times and in joyful times.

Picnics, Jobs, and Visitors

2009-07-01T13:50:00.000-04:00

This past weekend, my parents, Krystal and the Sandersons visited us at Sankanac. We spent the afternoon swimming and fishing and canoeing, had a cookout/picnic, went on the HUGE waterslide at camp, and built a fire and roasted marshmallows. It was a really nice day of catching up and relaxing.

Week One of camp finished well, although the staff (including Rob and I) were tired from multiple games of Mission Impossible. And we are well into this week, thankful for less campers and more time to breathe. Next week is Army/Navy week, the most popular week of camp, and there will be twice the number of campers as we have this week.

Rob had an interview today for the full-time position of the Social Studies teaching job that he long-term subbed for last year. We are hoping that he gets the job offer once he completes a few more observation hours needed to receive his special education certificate from the Commonwealth. The plan is for him to get that all finished before our Ireland trip so that he will have the certification by the time we get back. New in my job area... I have completed training hours necessary to become a PA Notary, and my application is pending with the state. This will give me a chance to use my skills at Eastern (we have a lot of students who need stuff notarized to go on missions trips, study abroad, etc.), but is something I can also do on the side if I wish to.

Soon, Kathryn will be returning to the States to work at camp for 2 weeks before we go over there to visit her on her turf. A mutual friend (can you guess who, Kathryn?) mentioned that she is probably going to get flagged by customs soon for such frequent visits... we hope not! and are glad she has been able to travel here so often.

Week One: Mission Impossible

2009-06-22T09:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday was the first day of Boys' Camp, and it was an exciting day! Thankfully, the weather cooperated after a week of rain and clouds. The sun came out just as the campers began to arrive. This week, there is a Dwight look-alike who is always commenting about being hungry, and a lot of really cute 8-10 year old boys who just say silly things. Mission Impossible is the theme of the week based on a night-time game that the campers are always excited to play. During normal weeks, they only play once, but during MI week, they play multiple times, and last night was the first round. Rob and I play the role of "guards" along with other staff members, while each cabin tries to stealthily retrieve their flag from a designated location while attempting to avoid being caught by the guards. So last night, Rob and I drove around with flashlights and spray bottles, and pretended to water the "flowers" (or campers who were trying to blend in with the grass). After the game, I heard one camper say "I wasn't near my cabin and someone just kept spraying and spraying me!" It's fun to see them so excited. Needless to say, because of MI, we will probably be more tired this week because of staying up later to guard, and by the end of the week, campers will probably be tired too.

More stories from camp to come, hopefully including great one-liners from campers and counselors!

Memories

2009-06-17T15:24:00.000-04:00

I thought I would diverge from my usual posts (albeit I have only posted 6 times since I began this blogging experiment a few weeks ago) to pay tribute to a co-worker who recently left her job here at Eastern. Here are the TOP 10 things I will never forget that this person taught/reminded me and products that have revolutionized my life (in no particular order).

1. Fonts make a world of difference
2. Shampoo is bad! Use BS instead (baking soda, that is)
3. CrunchyClean is a good source for laundry detergent, and the DivaCup is good for something else...
4. Try new restaurants - chains are boring
5. It's okay to make fun of people who are klutzes (she happens to be one of them)
6. Some things in life are more important than discussion boards
7. It is easy to have a love affair with Trader Joe's
8. You can really drink coffee without flavored creamer
9. Bare Escentuals... need I say more?
10. Why drive an SUV when you can have a cool, small car (such as a Mini or a Cabrio)?

The third floor of Walton misses you!

A Good Laugh...

2009-06-16T13:01:00.000-04:00

If the cloudy weather's got you down, check out the link below for a good laugh. Will this year's camp videos be as good as last year's? Here's to hoping...

http://www.campsankanac.org/monday.html

Featuring none other than my husband, the aspiring actor... and some other camp friends.

Lindsey's Graduation

2009-06-16T08:50:00.000-04:00

This past Friday night, we celebrated Lindsey's graduation from Phoenixville High School with her. Although storms were threatening, by the time the ceremony began, the clouds had passed and the sun was setting. Lindsey was very busy during high school, and was recognized during the ceremony for a few of her scholarships & awards. We're proud of her! In the fall, she will be off to Messiah College where she will start a degree in Art Education.

Lindsey receiving her diploma.

A stray bunch of balloons.

The hat toss.

The proud graduate...

with her brothers.

Paper Folding and More

2009-06-11T16:47:00.000-04:00

I just found this great new site that features how to make all things paper. Check it out!

http://foldingtrees.com/

Moving!

2009-06-09T11:23:00.000-04:00

Rob and I are getting ready to move... not to a new house, yet! although house-hunting is on our horizon for the end of the summer, after camp and our trip to the UK. We're busy packing up this week and getting ready to move to Camp Sankanac for five weeks, where Rob will be a village director for the youngest group of boys. We visited last night to evaluate our living quarters, and the maintenance staff is in the middle of a remodel. It looks great, and they've installed a ceiling fan, which will be wonderful. Hopefully the place is looking better by Sunday!

We are really looking forward to our friend Dave working as a counselor this summer. Dave recently completed his service in the Peace Corps and was stationed in Azerbaijan. It will be great to catch up on life with him, as a lot has happened in all of our lives over the past two years.

This is Apache Cabin, where we will be staying:

Apache once housed slaves who were escaping to freedom as a stop on the Underground Railroad.

Our Minimoon

2009-06-05T11:32:00.000-04:00

Rob and I went on a "minimoon" to St. Augustine, Florida just after the wedding. We stayed at the lovely Casa Monica hotel, which we would recommend to anyone who is visits St. Augustine. The decor was inspired by Old World Spain, and as such, we felt like royalty! We arrived on mid-day on Sunday, had lunch outdoors at Harry's, where we had the best hamburger, chicken sandwich and fries of our lives! Maybe because we had been up since 4:30 AM to catch our flight and hadn't eaten anything all day? After lunch, we crashed for the afternoon... tired from the weekend of wedding festivities. We ventured out away from town toward the beach, and found a small place to eat dinner overlooking the ocean. Because we had napped, we had energy to enjoy the pool and hot tub at our hotel after dinner, and were the only ones there, which was really nice!

On Monday, the sky was threatening rain... and Rob gave in to one of my favorite pasttimes... shopping! We meandered through some antique shops and other cute boutiques downtown in Historic St. Augustine, and ran into an ice cream parlor to wait out the rain once it began to pour, had some ice cream, and experimented with the camera. By evening, the weather had cleared up, and we ate dinner at a nice restaurant, The Reef, overlooking the ocean once again... and then took a walk on the beach.

Tuesday was our beach day, and thanks to our hotel's partnership with a beach club, we were spoiled with a secluded spot on the beach with free chairs and umbrellas, and a really nice pool!

On our last day, we decided to visit all of the historic sites we had passed throughout the week, such as the Castillo de San Marcos and the Fountain of Youth. There are lots of pictures of these in the slideshow, and we warn everyone NOT to drink the FoY water...

Life as Newlyweds

2009-06-04T14:55:00.000-04:00

Rob and I are finally settling back into "normal" life after a season of wedding preparations, and although I am already a bit nostalgic about the planning process, it has been good to get back into a better schedule, actually spending time with family & friends, etc. We seem busier than ever. Rob is finishing his first year teaching social studies of all sorts at CAT-Pickering in Phoenixville, and I am in my third year of working in Student Development at Eastern. We are both taking classes towards our Master's degrees, which keeps us pretty occupied during the week.

Here are a few of our favorite shots from the wedding:

We had such a fun day enjoying the company of our family and friends... and members of the bridal party, who did some pretty memorable things at the wedding...

Feel free to look at more of our wedding photos.

Stay tuned for tales of our minimoon adventure to St. Augustine, Florida... and much more!