well, hello!

So, I accidentally took a blogging break. For two months. And a few weeks.

Honestly, I don't know where the time went! We were busy. The house is coming along BEAUTIFULLY and there will be lots of updates on that in the near future.

We went to Paris & Switzerland! You can read about it here, here, here & here. We made a pit stop in North Carolina for New Years and lazed about for three days. It was amazing.

We're buying lots of stuff and finishing lots of stuff and building more stuff. The entire house is covered in saw dust and power tools.

I'm not so much cooking. On top of the being busy part, we tried NutriSystem for a month. The breakfast was decent, the lunch was ick and the dinner was tasty! I didn't lose any weight because I cheated a lot and I didn't go to the gym. Chris did it for a second month, but now that I'm eating yummier food, I think he's going to cheat more often.

Business is AMAZING. I couldn't be happier with my little company. Although working from home is harder than I expected. It's lonley! And sometimes it gets to be 6 pm and I am still wearing my PJ's and glasses with crazy hair. That's happening less frequently as I get accustomed to this new lifestyle.

Anywho, I plan to be back. With pictures! At least once in the next two months. And a few weeks.

Getting the Living Together

The Formal Living room is really the last room that I should be thinking about. We don't NEED it. But, it's the first room you see when you walk in and architecturally, it's so beautiful. I can't not tend to it!

I've been working on the coffee table situation. Wasn't quite sure what I wanted. Then, landed on a large ottoman. Thought it would be PERFECT. So I searched for weeks. And then a large one in excellent condition popped up on Craig's List. We drove all the way to Covina with a tarp and pulley straps.

And "large" was no.freakin.joke. It's 5'x5'. That's as tall as I am. We strapped it to the top of the car and it hung off each side. It's probably the most enormous ottoman known to man.

It's totally not going to fit for what I want, but it was super cheap and we'll find a use for it. Somewhere.

We've spent the last two nights on it, hanging out in front of the fireplace with a glass of wine and good friends. Last night we even roasted some marshmallows and made some S'mores! We've also fallen asleep on it for the last two nights because we're exhausted old people.

The next addition. The chair. Remember that chair I bought EONS ago? I found someone to reupholster it, then took a bit of time to find the fabric. I found it and called her. She was out of town. Then she was sick. Then we finally found a time to drop it off! Then she was sick again. Then she had to work. Then she broke her ankle. Then she had to go to Vegas. 10 weeks later, after a bit of angry emailing, I got my chair back. Just the way I'd left it. 10 weeks earlier.

So I found a new place! It's done and I love it!

Except that I have to keep it covered with red sheets because my cats have decided it's their new favorite scratching post! And the thin fabric rips.

What to do!?

Boots!

I've been fighting skinny jeans and boots for years. Loved it, but realized that it wasn't for me. I could never find boots that fit around my abnormally large calves. It never looked right. In fact, it looked downright bad.

Until Diabolina posted about these beauties. She also informed me that they were at Nordstrom for $119. I measured my calves and thought that they might even fit! They did and I bought them!

Then I realized I would have to buy the skinny jeans. Another fight I've been raging with my short stocky legs. But I would have to. It would be the perfect pair for touristy runnings through Paris.


I'm not entirely sure that I love the look on myself, but it's super comfy and I'm glad I surrendered. :-)

WHEEEEEEEEEEEE!

It was going to happen eventually. I was shooting for March. I was going to book a certain number of weddings, and then I was going to be a one-career girl.

But it came to a point where I had to make a choice. I was either going to book an event in Paris, or continue going to work... day in. day out.

I DECIDED!

We leave for Paris on December 17 :-)


And guess what? I booked my previously decided upon number on Monday!


(I'm giddy!)

I miss you dearest blog...

I'm not going to start this post about my bad blogging habits, but leave you with a tidbit... it will get better soon. In a few days. Promise :-)

I hope that everyone had a FANTASTIC Thanksgiving. We spent the holiday with good friends and deep fried turkey. I'm still full.

Today, we had a few things to grab. Ventured out on Black Friday. I was saddened to see how empty the parking lots were. A true sign of an economic downturn. Nothing serious for us to buy though. More hangars from Steve & Barry's. They are going out of business and selling unused, still packed in boxes, beautiful wood hangers... for $21.98 for 100. We bought 600. We have a lot of clothes.

We bought so many hangers because Chris started my closet! It's ringing in at 150 square feet of beautiful delicious space. We bought WHITE hardwood floors for it today. The cabinets will be black. I'm trying to convince him to break a hole into the newly nailed drywall for a chandelier, but I don't think he's having it. Dad-In-Law was out for a week and they got so many things done! The chandelier in the living room is a fully functioning piece of amazingness. In other news, my house and husband are covered in dust. Constantly.


On a routine trip to the Empire Center today, we may have accidentally purchased a washer & dryer. See, my husband is a slight dumpster diver. When we moved from the condo, we rented a U-Haul. There was a stacked washer & dryer in the trash room. Chris FORCED me to move the broken/trashy/ickygross washer/dryer unit from the trash into our U-Haul and into our garage. I prayed the entire time that no one would see me hauling trash. Well, Dad-In-Law made it work! So we've been using it for a bit knowing that we would move it to the guest house when the renter moved in (he moves in on Dec 1...wheeee!) So, we thought we'd run through Best Buy, knowing that we should buy something. Soon. Turns out the most beautiful pieces were right there waiting for us. At 50% off.




















Hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving and a fruitful Black Friday :-)

Words to Live By

This popped up at the top of my gmail page this afternoon.

"The trouble with the rat race is that even if you win, you're still a rat." - Lily Tomlin

How does Google know who I am?!

Words to Live By

"Somebody once said, Everything you want in the world is just right outside your comfort zone. Everythingyoucouldpossiblywant!"

-Jennifer Aniston, Vogue, December 2008