My favorite subject...

...for my new toy.

This guy!

Why are you waking me?

I will ignore you until you go away.

He loves it. 

He just hides it well.

Why I love my husband

Reason #3,521

He got me this for Christmas!

A Canon Rebel T1i

Swoon. He got me a whole kit package deal that came with an extra lens and all sorts of jank that I have no idea how to use yet. You may remember that I have wanted one of these for for-ev-er.

But, now that Baby Gage is on the way, he finally agreed it was about time to invest in something nice. I need to practice with it, of course, but I am so excited to learn all the ins and outs of my new toy.

...now if only I could get home from work in time to use some natural light, maybe my skills would grow a little quicker...

Thanks Babe!

p.s. continuing the tradition of being the awesome wife that I am, Austin got an Xbox Kinect and a super fancy electric razor for Christmas. Something fun and something practical...like he will have time to shave when this baby arrives. Ha!

Project: Patio

A long, long time ago...I can still remember...

(Points if you now have American Pie running through your head...alright, alright! Here is the link, don't hurt yourself searching for it)

...when I posted about these photos about destroying our coal bin and old sidewalk in order to put in a patio.

Well, that patio is in!

Austin started by digging all the ground up and laying down  some  a hell ton of stone to make it level...

Oh yes, once we got rid of the coal bin - guess what we found? No siding underneath! Yay! So, we had to special order siding that looks like our historical siding, but isn't actually made from the same materials {coughcoughasbestoscough, seriously see here for more about it}and repair the window sill to our laundry room... none of which has been painted in any of these photos. The hubs has since gotten it together and painted...

ANYWAY, back to the patio.

This was the original pattern - very square and neat...then we remembered that our house is almost 100 years old and isn't so square itself...so plans changed.

Oh hey Bings - did you want to get in the way help?

That's a good boy, kick up all that gravel that Austin spent smoothing out into a level surface...he will be pleased. (Note that I took a photo instead of stopping him)

Once we realized that our house was not square, we (read: Austin and his man friends who were helping) went back and off set every row a bit, which I love so much more.

Once the pattern was set for real, it was time to put down some sand stuff...apparently it acts like cement and seals everything and keeps the pavers from shifting too much, or something.

A few days later, once all the edging stones were in place, our "little" patio that I had requested turned out to be this 200 sq foot beauty.

The stones are wet from spraying down that sand stuff one last time...the little pavers seem to hold water longer, so it doesn't really look like a checkerboard. They are all the same color and finish. Also, those are free chairs the previous owners left behind - score!

See those edging stones being finished along the, erm, edge? Now of course it is all finished and the house is painted, the only thing left is to replace that back door and hang a light fixture (that we already bought) to the right of the door. (I wish we could move that power box - maybe someday I can convince Austin to do it)

It already looks so much more finished than this photo - I will get one up once the door and light are installed - but still, from a gravel filled backyard complete with coal bin to this? All on our own?

We are feeling like home improvement rock stars.

Project Mantle: Budget Breakdown

Um, I wrote this post forever ago...but then we went to Italy and got pregnant. Yay for finally getting it up.

Well, since there was such an overwhelming response to our little mantle project, {seriously, thanks you guys! I love the affirmation}I thought I would do a handy dandy budget breakdown, much like I did for my refinished cabinet a while back.

It is seriously surprising the impact you can make for a teensy bit of money and some elbow grease...and in our case, a good amount of blood, sweat and tears that always comes with home improvement.


Wood...............................$25 (we bought a bunch extra, just in case)
Saw (borrowed)................$0
Caulk/Glue .......................$6
Paint for brick/
inside of fireplace/
woodwork....................... $36
Total cost........................ $67

To go from this:

to this:

More projects coming soon.

Yay for being back to blogging!

It runs in the family...

No, not babies...though that does too (apparently we are a fertile people)

but writing! Especially in blog format.

My leetle seester has started a blog! You can find her over on the blog roll, and at this link.

Currently there is an awesome post up featuring Baby G! So, get over there soon <3

Baby Gage

As most of you probably heard by now, Austin and I are expecting our first non-furry child this Summer! Baby G will be arriving somewhere around June 30th.

Look at that little hand waving! Hello world!

We are really excited, but I have another secret...I have been blogging about it this whole time.

Gasp! Shock! Awe!

Which is also why I have been neglecting this blog. The truth is, I was so tired in my first trimester that I came home everyday and...laid on the couch and didn't move. And, then I went to bed. Sad times. I really made sure to utilize the hidden secret blog, because I knew that I needed to capture those moments...but I couldn't tell anyone! Maddening.

But, now my energy is up again (cross your fingers that it sticks around...) and I have TONS of things to post to both blogs.

So, if you would like to check out the baby blog, dedicated to all the realities and memories and experiences of my pregnancy...come visit over at Accelerated Baby

Saturday

As I walked into the guest room to grab something off the printer...I found my boys.

Happy Saturday everyone!

p.s. We are flying Delta for the holidays, and they have free Wi-fi on all holiday time flights. Woo! Expect some blogging catch up!

Argh

I really have been trying to get these Italy posts up so I can move on to other topics...but Blogger is not cooperating.

All the posts are written, they just need pictures plugged in. As soon as my photo uploader starts working again, the posts will be up for good friends!

Thoughts on Halloween

I am going to finish Italy posts, really I am, but sometimes I lack motivation since it really just makes me want to go back to blog about the trip. And the next post, which was a BIG day for the family, deserves motivation.

In the meantime, thoughts on Halloween.

Mainly, these thoughts center on trick or treating and how it has changed from the days of yore. Austin and I were pumped, after our super fun grown up party on Saturday, to hand out candy to the kids of our neighborhood on Sunday.

We sat on the front porch in all it's Halloween decor glory...

...and waited for the kids.

Well, kids came, but so did their parents, and here are the three observations we made that I don't know how I feel about.

1. People who have clearly driven to our neighborhood to trick-or-treat, and do not live there.

This was discovered through sifting through clues such as overhearing parents discussing the "next neighborhood to hit" and asking us directions back to major streets in our neighborhood so they could find where they parked their cars. Now, Austin and I differ on this. I love Halloween and trick-or-treating, as does he. His opinion is that these people drive to our neighborhood because they know we have better candy. My opinion is that they come to our neighborhood because it may be safer to trick-or-treat then where they live, or maybe they live in an apartment and want to give their kids the opportunity to actually walk around. This observation actually makes me feel really great about where we have chosen to live, because I love both the safety and the quaintness. 

2. Grown ups trick or treating for babies, or for themselves with their kids.

Now, this makes me annoyed. I understand if you have a cute newborn or even 10 month old that you want to take a cute picture of in a costume for Halloween. I even understand if you want to show said kid off to some people you know. But, wheeling around a sleeping baby who is clearly too little for candy and trick or treating for them with people who you don't know? That is ridiculous. That is trick-or-treating for parents. Now, did I still give candy to those people? Yes, because I am a softy and like babies. Unlike my friend Megan, I was not prepared with alternative treats for babies and youngsters. Next year, I will be. 

Additionally, if you are taking your kids trick or treating, kudos for you. That does not mean you deserve a treat too. I mean, who eats that much candy?! I legitimately had parents, who were not even dressed up, approaching our bucket with their kids, bag in hand. One woman was on her cell phone the whole time, and just held her bag open in front of me. I gave her a piece of candy, mainly to save her children the embarrassment of me saying something. But, really? That is ridiculous.

3. When did kids get so greedy?

I feel like an old person saying this, but seriously, times have changed. Never would my parents have let me stick my hand in a bucket of candy and scoop up an armful. And even the kids who ask, which I agree is better (but is still annoying) how many pieces? Even after we would say, you can have two if you want them, some of the kids, whose parents were right there with them, would take handfuls of candy and shove it in their bag. Now, the little ones who really don't know better/don't have the dexterity to grab a singular piece of candy I am not worried about...but the 10 year olds? Come on. 

Besides the candy situation there was something else that sort of stopped me in my tracks. We have an elderly neighbor across the street. When the trick or treating started, she called out to Austin and I to come over to her porch. Austin went over and the woman handed him a bag of quarters for us to hand out to kids for her. What a sweetheart, right? Well, some of the kids I gave those quarters to lit up like it was the best day ever. Others? They gave me a look like "Lady, what am I gonna do with a measly quarter?" I was floored. Now, I know that inflation has done its thing since I was a kid, but in my book, anybody giving you free money was a good day. Still is, as a matter of fact. 

Halloween and trick-or-treating from a grown up perspective is a whole new ball game. All in all we still had tons of really well behaved kids, and parents. People loved our address pumpkins, so I think we will have a trend in our neighborhood of that next year. We got to meet and chat with many of our neighbors and their friends and it really was a great night. I hope you guys all had great Halloweens too!

A Present!

I got a present in the mail the other day.

Open it with me won't you?

So cute! I can't wait to use it. Plus, I won it at The Look 4 Less.

Free EmersonMade.?

I am a happy girl.