Success!

Our first large family gathering in our new house (and as a married couple!) was a success!  We had 20 people for Easter dinner on Sunday.  Everyone fit, everyone ate, and every was happy... especially the kids who got to hunt the house for candy-filled eggs!

And then we ate!

My beautiful ham!  It was delicious, too.  Yay for leftovers! =)

Happy Easter!

I got up today at 7 AM.  Twenty years ago I would have been up this early to search the house for Easter eggs and a basket full of chocolate-y goodness--today I am up this early to make sure that the ham gets into the oven with another time to heat up and that the potatoes make it into the crock pot.  Oh how exciting life has gotten! lol

Jacob and I are hosting Easter dinner this year for our families.  We are excited to 1) be able to show off our new house and how great it's been coming along, and 2) have a house with enough space that we can host large family gatherings like this (we are expecting about 22 people total today). 

I LOVE to host dinner parties.  I am, by no means a cook, but I make myself do it in order to participate in the social aspect of the whole thing.  So, yesterday was spent preparing apple pie, cupcakes, deviled eggs and the glaze for the ham.  Today I'm cooking ham and red potatoes, and prepping veggies and fruit.  I just hope everything turns out OK!

So Much Space!

Our house is almost twice the size of any other space that I've ever lived in.  Which is almost twice the amount of space that I've had to clean and pay attention to, which, in the short-term, has caused some problems.

TMI alert... just FYI.

My cat is bulimic.  He will eat, eat, eat.  And then walk/run/turn around somewhere and throw up wet, undigested cat food.  It's kind of gross.  Especially when you don't know that he did it in the middle of the night on the floor of our bedroom, and get a between-the-toes surprise first thing in the morning.  It's never really been a problem before, rather just an annoyance.  We always kept carpet spot cleaner on hand and would just do a little scoop and spray when we found something.  We were actually pretty happy about the non-carpeted floors in our new place for this reason.  However, what we didn't take into account was that he would do it in places that it would take days (if not longer) for us to stumble across now that we have so much extra room.

This weekend I realized just how big of a problem this was going to be.

Our laundry/utility room is the one space in the house that hadn't really been organized yet.  I knew that we needed to label totes, and we just hadn't gotten around to it yet.  Stuff was still in stacks along the wall.  But, as it was seasonal stuff, I didn't think it was that big of a deal.  Until this weekend, when I went in to grab something and found a pile of wet-regurgitated-cat-food-stuff  behind one of the totes... covered in ants.

I HATE ants.  They are so hard to get rid of.  I have childhood memories of them crawling on me in my house while lying on the living room floor watching TV... I just hate them.  So I was more than a little upset when I found them feasting on what my cat couldn't keep down.  I yelled for Jacob.  We cleaned, sprayed and let the room air out for a bit.  And then I told him that we NEEDED to organize that room to, hopefully, avoid future problems and make me feel better about the space.  So, we did.

Here is our laundry/utility room looking all spic and span and fantastic. =)

It never really occurred to me before that a dryer couldn't be pushed flush against the baseboard like the washer can (due to the dryer hose)... so our machines are a little off... which bothers me (the little bit of OCD in me is kicking in).  I think I need to pull the washer away from the wall so that they match better... lol

All of this stuff used to fit our little 4'X6' (if that) storage closet on the deck of the balcony at our last apartment... it's a lot happier (as are we) with all this extra space to spread out!

We did buy this bike rack pretty shortly after we moved in.  We honestly don't think it saves us much room... but it sure looks kinda cool. =)

Long Time No Type...

It's been awhile since I posted.  Just wanted to let you all know that I'm still alive.  I took a nice, long four-day weekend last week for no reason what-so-ever except to simple have a vacation where I didn't have to DO anything.  I was planning to blog during that time, but, well, I didn't. =)

It was fantastic to have some time to relax.  Whenever I take a "vacation" from work, it's because I'm actually GOING on vacation.  Which, often times, actually includes more stress than a regular day at the office.  I've been feeling a bit tense the last few weeks (BIG presentation that I had to help put together, then a couple of scary incidents at/around work (not used to finding out after the fact that someone had a gun within 20 feet of me...)).  I decided that, since Jacob and I aren't planning any long summer trips, and I had some vacation time built up, that I would just take a couple days to myself. 

I did some reading... I started the first season of True Blood (can't decide what I think about that show...)... I caught up on some TV shows... I did some shopping that I've been wanting to do but haven't had the time/energy to do on the weekends or after work.  I think I roamed around Big Lots for a couple hours.  I don't know that I've ever actually shopped in that store before.  I will definitely be going back!  I went to visit Jacob on his lunch break at work and we were out for frozen yogurt.  I planted my starter seeds for my veggie garden.

It was a good, good break.

And then I went back to work on Monday.

And Tuesday I was sick.

Still working on getting over this cold, I just hope it's done before the weekend, 'cause I'm hosting Easter dinner for about 2 dozen people and would really like to be able to make it through the meal without a cough attack.

(Though, the coughing did prove helpful today when I was only the phone with a client who I didn't really want to talk to... ;) )

So.... Yeah....

I know I said that I was forced to choose living room furniture over a new dining room set based on our lack of tax returns and budget... but... well... yeah... I found a good deal on Craigslist and couldn't resist. =)

This set looks very similar to one that I had my eye on at Target.... but much better quality!  It does need a little work (some sanding and staining are in order), but it was well worth it.  I'm so happy that I found this and that no one else jumped on it in the WEEK that it took me to find a pick up and drive out to the 'burbs!  (Really don't know how it lasted that long!)

Jacob and I have some night stands for the bedroom on order (should be here tomorrow), but other than that (and the new TV, etc. that Jacob wants to get), our house is now fully furnished... and I can't wait to host a dinner party! =)  I do want to get some art work to hang on the walls in our "great room" (living room/dining room area), but am not sure yet what I want... I haven't had "the vision" yet... any thoughts?

Oh Oregon...

Oregon weather is ridiculous.  We like to joke that we only have two seasons over here: rain and construction.  It, quite literally, rains for about 8 months out of the year.  By April we HOPE to have more sunny days than wet ones, but this year is not cooperating.  Yesterday parts of the state had snow.  Yes, SNOW.  And I'm not talking only in the mountains!  Last weekend we had clouds, with peeks of sunshine, then rain, then sun, then hail, then a down pour, then sun, then more clouds and wind.  I think Oregon weather is somewhat bipolar... and it does not help with the moods or health of those of us who live here.  I don't know any stats, but I would be willing to bet that depression is probably more prominent in this state than some, due simply to the weather.  And I know that Oregonians suffer from a lack of vitamin D (via my doc) which can cause problems with the immune system and certain diseases such as breast cancer (this comes from my vitamin D supplements that I take every day!). 

After saying all this, I would like to note that days like today (sunny and beautiful) make me VERY happy, which leads to me feeling more productive in my day to day life (and, the fact that it's Friday just adds to the whole fantastic mix).  So far today I have been to work, gone shopping (got some awesome new clothes on clearance at Freddy's), done/finished 3 loads of laundry, baked cookies, and am now cooking dinner.  I am seeing tons of stuff that needs to be done/cleaned around the house, and it ISN'T making me want to crawl into a whole to avoid it... I think that's the best thing of all! =)

I'm just hoping the weather forecast for the next two days ends up being wrong (more rain... of course) as I have lots of great stuff planned with family and friends, not to mention softball practice (Jacob and I put a city league team together).  I am sooo ready for the summer!

My new shades! =)  Sun, stick around!  I'm ready!

Our "Grown Up" Room

When Jacob and I bought our house, I was a little intimidated.  I have never lived a "nice" place before, and, thus, didn't have "nice" things to put in it.  Most of our stuff is odds and ends that came together when Jacob and I did.  None of it is really "matchy" (except for my family room couch set that my parents split with me as a college graduation gift... but that was about 6 years ago now) and there is definitely no "theme" or anything like that to what we own.  Plus, because our house has so much more space than any of the other places we've lived before, we didn't have enough furniture to furnish it!

I know that I wanted the "great room" to be divided into a "formal" living room area and a dining room, but I only had a kitchen table to fill the space when we moved in.  I was determined to get nice, new, grown up furniture (at a good deal of course). 

After a few months of shopping around, ordering, and piecing things together, I would now like to present our living room. =)

Ignore the big boxes... that's currently "kitty play area". =)

My original goal was to use our tax return money to furnish the room, however, since we did not get a refund (boo!) I had to make some decisions... i.e. what furniture was important enough to me to go into a little debt for.. I chose living room over dining room, but the cost wasn't that bad (I'm a big of a bargain shopper), and I still have my eyes out for a nice dining room set on Craigslist (which I love!).

I am very happy with the way this room turned out.  Maybe I am capable of decorating like an adult. =)