A Dream Come True

I have always wanted a Kitchenaid Stand Mixer. My wish has now finally come true. (Well it will when Mr. UPS delivers it next week.) I finally broke down and ordered one. Two times a year my sorority makes sugar cookies as a fundraiser.  The finished products are fabulous, but the dough is sooooo thick. My poor handheld mixer just can't handle the dough. When I made them for Halloween, my little mixer was smoking and had that smell of burning electrical parts. JC Penney had such a great deal that I just couldn't pass it up. They were offering free shipping on all orders over $75, which this obviously was. The shipping alone was $40 because these mixers are so darn heavy. The mixer was also on sale for $100 off, plus Kitchenaid is offering a $30 mail in rebate. What a great deal!

I now just have to patiently wait for my new Artisan Series Gloss Cinnamon Mixer to arrive. Hopefully it will be here in time to make the next round of cookies for Valentine's Day and I'm sure it will come in handy for our Super Bowl Party next weekend! Which reminds me...I still need to work on my menu! I'm still taking suggestions!

Bathroom Floor Update

The new bathroom floor is being installed on February 16th. That was the earliest it could be done. I was hoping for sooner, but the 16th will be here before long! I'm excited to see the end result!

Lucy's Favorite Napping Place

I had the best Christmas ever! I have always wanted a handmade quilt. This year at my parents house, the last gift I opened up was, you guessed it, a handmade quilt. Handmade by my mom! How great is she? Pretty great! I cried. Over a quilt. It is extra special because it was sewn on my grandma's sewing machine. My dad even helped pick out the fabrics. A lot of people had a hand in making this quilt so special. I LOVE IT!!! I use it every day...and so does Lucy. I always find her asleep on it. She is actually asleep on it right now as I type. Below is a photo of the gorgeous quilt and my pup napping on top of it! One day I hope to make a quilt just as beautiful. My mother-in-law got me a sewing machine for Christmas, something I have always wanted. There are all sorts of projects that I would like to create/make, so we'll see how domestic I can be!

The Finished Products

All of the projects from my three day weekend are now complete. I say "now" complete because I did not actually get them completed in my allotted three days. I couldn't find any curtains that I liked to match the bedding for the guest room. I finally found some this week and I finished the guest bedroom yesterday on my half Friday off from work. I think everything turned out pretty well. I still have a few paint touch-ups to do this weekend, but all in all, I think I did pretty darn well! Brian wasn't so sure about painting our vanity black, but when it was done, he commented on how nice it looked. Below are some photos of the finished products!


The bathroom vanity...at odd angles...since our bathroom is soooo small! Brian did say that now that the vanity is black, that the bathroom seems bigger. I guess black really is slimming! Below that are the mirror and the tile sample board. We are having the floor re-done in a few weeks. We have chosen the color in the top right hand side. It has more gold to it than shows up in the picture. I can't wait to see it done!

The kitchen...re-painted. It is close to what it was before but it needed touched up. Since we didn't know that colors the previous owners had used, we re-painted the whole thing. It looks much warmer. You can also see Brian's handyman work in the background. He re-tiled the backsplash while I was in San Diego this summer for work. I think it turned out fabulous. Thanks Brian!

The finished guest bedroom. The bedding was a gift from my parents for Christmas. I love it! The guest bedroom looks really romantic and classy now! Lucy even approves! When I went to take the picture, I found her laying on the bed, asleep. I think she knew she wasn't supposed to be on the bed because she jumped up really quick and stood there looking at me like "What mom? I wasn't doing anything wrong." Visitors are welcome any time! The new bedding isn't just for decoration, it needs to be slept in too!

3 Day Weekend!!!

I love working in the financial industry! When the stock market is closed, we close! Yes, that means I have Martin Luther King, Jr. Day off on Monday. I think I deserve to take that time to relax at home with Lucy while Brian works, but I have so many things on my to-do list that I want to get done.

I have been wanting to re-paint our kitchen for quite some time now. I even have a little hidden test spot behind the microwave that is driving me insane. So instead of relaxing, I will finally be getting that done.

I would also like to get new curtains hung in our guest room so that I can get our beautiful new bedding on the bed. I have a little OCD when it comes to things matching. Currently the curtains are green but the new bedding is gorgeous shades of red, gold and brown. I can't wait to get it on the bed, but the curtains will have to match first. What can I say? Call me crazy!!!

Another thing that I have been wanting to get done, is our bathroom vanity. I would like to replace it all together one of these days, but I really don't want to put the expense into it right now. I have been wanting one that is black! Ours is solid wood, and I really like the style. I am going to attempt to sand it down, prime and paint it black. It also needs some new hardware to bring it up to date! I think I am going to add this to my list for this weekend.

With all of that, plus the enormous amount of laundry, cleaning, cooking and playing with Lucy that I will also be doing this weekend, I'm pretty sure that this three day weekend it going to fly by!

Oh, and did I mention that I also need to plan the menu for our annual Super Bowl party? Yes, that will be here before I know it! Any suggestions?

Brian's plans for the weekend....any guesses? Watching football and basketball! What a rough life!

A Little Bit About Me

A re-post from Facebook...just a little glimpse into my life and some the quirky, fun, boring things that make me who I am!

1. I love love love to cook and bake. I believe that is the reason Brian married me.
2. Brian and I will celebrate three years of marriage on May 19th.
3. I wish we would have had a reception and dance at our wedding so that I could have danced with my daddy.
4. I miss my Grandpa Francis so much and I think about him everyday. I would give anything to have him back for just one more day.
5. There is one person that I wish I could have a relationship with again but I don't think it will ever be possible.
6. I LOVE the color pink!
7. I love rocking out on my IPOD while cleaning the house. This also involves dancing like an idiot and singing loudly. This habit annoys Brian.
8. I wish I could play the piano.
9. I love being outdoors.
10. I really miss hiking the Konza Prairie in Manhattan and wish that we had a place like that around here.
11. I love my family dearly and wish that I saw them more often.
12. My dad and I have this thing with monkeys. I even unwrapped a talking monkey at my bridal shower. Dad had slipped it in the gift from my parents.
13. My nickname as a child from my uncle Denny was Hoptoad and a customer at the grain elevator my dad used to run called me Puddin'. I think I've finally outgrown those nicknames.
14. I can't wait to have children, but Brian and I are waiting a little while longer.
15. My favorite dessert is my grandma's custard pie. YUM!
16. I love to bake and decorate sugar cookies. I am building quite the collection of cookie cutters.
17. My dog Lucy is the coolest and she always keeps us on our toes.
18. I would like to run a marathon someday, but I know that is probably unrealistic. I think I'll shoot for a half marathon.
19. I LOVE pickles...especially Claussen pickles.
20. I love to garden and plant flowers. A rototiller in on my wish list.
21. I miss living in Manhattan and would like to live there again someday.
22. My favorite show as a child was Alf. I still have my Alf doll from back in the day. It's actually in my closet.
23. I collect crosses and you will find them all over our house.
24. I like to take really long showers and bubble baths.
25. I have an obsession with candles and if I see a new scent I have to stop and smell it. This drives Brian crazy.

Hi! I am new to this whole blogging thing but I have always wanted to start one. There are several that I like to keep up on so I thought maybe it was time to start one of my own. We'll see how it goes! Wish me luck!