Weekend Getaway

Last weekend we went down to the city for an overnight getaway. I bought tickets to the Rangers game because neither of us had ever been to Madison Square Garden and I thought it would be a fun little trip. It was an awesome game and the Rangers ended up scoring a bunch of times in the 3rd period to win the game.


The next morning we grabbed crepes and warm drinks from the mini stores in Bryant Park and had breakfast right in the middle of the city. It was a crisp, but beautiful morning.


I tried Nutella for the first time! OMG I can't believe I have been missing out for so long. I immediately bought a jar when we returned home.

We stopped at Woodbury Commons on the way home and we both picked up a few new things for our wardrobes. Definitely a great weekend!

The Bar

We've been so busy this week that I haven't had a chance to share the good news with everyone. AJ passed the bar! I am so proud of him and also so relieved that we don't have to deal with a high stakes exam ever again.

We had a bunch of things going on this week, and they all turned into celebrations. Everything was so fun!

Champagne the day we found out...


Jeff Dunham with one of our friends on Thursday...


Dinner and a hockey game with a group of friends on Friday night...


A dinner/dance with my family last night...


Today we had lunch with my family, then came home and watched football all afternoon. It was SO necessary to just relax after being out almost every night this week!

A Big Blue Wall and New Bathroom!

We had another successful weekend with home improvement projects. This weekend we painted the accent wall in our living room/hallway and did a makeover in our master bath!

When we first bought our house, the living room accent wall was bright green. I wanted to change it because I didn't like the color. Because it was so bright, I also wanted to do something more neutral. When we went to the paint store, I picked out a beige-gray color, but when we put it on the wall, it actually looked more pinkish-purple than neutral at all. I pretty much hated it as soon as we painted it. I thought it might grow on me, but it never did. AJ also felt that our whole house was too beige, so we decided to do something bold and paint the wall blue.

Here are the two previous colors...

And the new blue color....

It is very blue, but I think it goes well with our furniture and decor. Now I need to add some wall art in the living room. Any ideas on what to do?

We also put in a new master bath vanity set. Our sink was way too small and we needed more storage. We plan to re-use the mirror and vanity in another bathroom, but that is a project for another day. Here is the before...


And here is after...


I love, love, love the new set and think it really makes the master bath more sophisticated. I am so proud of my husband for doing this all on his own! He is becoming so handy. I need to patch the holes left by the bolts that were holding the old mirror and touch up the paint in a few places, but our bathroom is pretty much done!

The kitchen is coming along...

The last two weekends have been productive on the house project front. We painted our kitchen one weekend and bought a new table and chairs this past weekend. We still need to paint the pantry white, do a few touch ups on the walls, and figure out our wall art situation, but it is finally starting to come together.

The colors are a tad off because I took these pictures at dusk, but you get the idea. What do you think? I am liking the white cabinets with the dark wood table and light wood floors. AJ wants to eventually upgrade the countertops and get a stainless dishwasher, but those just aren't in the budget right now. I think for now, it all works.

And yes, there are dirty dishes in the sink and our stove is filthy. But hey, that's life!

I'm fine. Really!

A few people have asked me how I am doing, so I figured I'd share with everyone.

Last month was hard. TTC + hormones + fear of failure + plus fear of success and then failure = me being crazy and dramatic

However, once I found out I wasn't pregnant (well maybe the next day), I felt like my old self again. The last couple days have been fun. We've been out with friends every night this week and AJ and I have reverted back to our normal selves. We are having fun, being silly and enjoying each other's company. That doesn't mean I don't want a baby anymore, or that I am not sad at times, but just that the whole mood in our house has changed.

I'm really wondering if the hormones are a big part of why I was feeling so nuts. I wanted to cry almost every day (and did most days....including in my boss's office) and just felt like crap in general. I am supposed to take them three times a day a few days after I ovulate, which means I am constantly thinking about getting pregnant/having a baby during that two week wait. I am wondering if I waited until the end of the two weeks to begin taking them, if it would help my sanity. I am supposed to take them to help me stay pregnant if I am pregnant, but would skipping the first two weeks really make that huge of a difference? (Perhaps even less than two weeks, since we all know I will probably start testing sooner than test day...and if I test positive I will obviously take them.) If I can't sustain a pregnancy during weeks 3 and 4, then I am guessing there is bigger issue than something that can be treated with progesterone. Thoughts?

I am also supposed to take baby aspirin once a day, which I will continue to do, since that is much less intrusive and is supposed to help with implantation.

I guess I should talk to my doctor about all of this.

Anyway, that is how I am feeling these days!

P.S. I appologize that all I blog about recently is getting pregnant and everything that surrounds it, but hey....that's my life right now. Oh and I hope you like TMI!

The Little Things

Hi Mrs. Mxxxx! You have beautiful blue eyes!

Said with great enthusiasm this afternoon, by a 1st grader with autism.

It seriously made my day.

One year ago

One year ago I had my first miscarriage. It feels like it was just yesterday, but then looking back on all that has happened in the last year....it feels like it happened so long ago. The more that I think about it, it definitely feels like forever ago.

I'm not really sure how I feel today. It's kind of a blah feeling. Like, this sucks. I lost my first baby a year ago and I still don't have one. I'm a little sad, angry, and jealous too....but mostly just blah. I haven't cried, but I feel like I could if I let myself wallow. I don't want to though. I want to stop being so damn negative.

So in honor of my baby, I will lift my head up and smile because that's what I need on this day. A little happiness.

You can't always bat 1000

That's what my husband said to me this morning. I wanted to smack him.

I got pregnant last August on our first try. I got pregnant on accident in April because we were careless. (We weren't supposed to be trying before the bar, and even though we knew I was ovulating, we just didn't care. I thought... What the hell? What's the worst that could happen? Ohhh naive self. You were so fun.)

I didn't think I would get pregnant either time. But I did. And neither pregnancy ended well. So, now I am a basket case.

This was the first month we started trying again and today was the official test day. Even though I knew this morning's test would probably be negative since every test I took over the last four days was negative (what? you don't do that too?), I was crushed when I saw it.

But, AJ is right...you can't always bat 1000.

Fall Fun

Happy Monday! Isn't Monday so much better when it is a holiday?

We had beautiful weather here in Upstate this weekend. Despite the unseasonably warm temperatures, it still looks like fall up here. I took some pretty pictures of the leaves because they are just starting to change. We also took a trip to the local pumpkin place and picked up pumpkins, mums, cider, and donuts. I decorated the house, including the mantle. It's a little heavy on the orange, but this way I can leave it up through November. I just need to switch out the witch with something Thanksgiving themed. Shouldn't be too hard for this decorating novice.





It was a really great weekend! I am feeling refreshed and ready for the week ahead. Hope you are feeling the same way!

A Bare Fireplace

It is officially cold here. Well maybe not that cold, but it feels freezing to me. And I know it's only going to get worse. You'd think that spending my first 20 years up north would have prepared me for this, but those 5 years down south really thinned my blood. Or something like that.

We have a beautiful fireplace in our living room and although I didn't want the cold to arrive, I couldn't wait to use it. When we tried to fire it up yesterday, of course it didn't work. If there is one thing I've learned in this home ownership adventure, it's that nothing is as it seems. The gas insert was installed in 1993 (yes, they saved EVERY manual and date stamped each one) and obviously it needed to be replaced a lonnnnng time ago. Probably something we should have figured out before signing those papers.

Oh well, you know I was able to find a deal!

Yesterday we headed out to Lowes (Home Depot was ruined in the flood) and picked out a new one for $175, marked down by a manager because the box was a tad dented. Score!

AJ hooked it up when we got home and it works great!







My only problem now is that my mantle is bare. I had to move the picture frames that were previously up there because they were blocking the vent.







Doesn't it look so sad now? I need some fall inspiration! Suggestions??

(Also, the left wall is off white and the right wall is a gray-eige color....silly iPhone)

Advice?

Last week was a tough one. Our marriage was really tested and there were moments that I just wanted to throw in the towel. Not really, but I'm sure you know what I mean. Sometimes I think my life would be so much easier if we just gave up on trying to have a baby. It is so stressful and I hate that it has become something that we fight over. There are times when it kind of rules our life. We have to chart my temps, I have to take multiple medications, and we have to time everything based on my cycle. Ugh. The lack of spontaneity is definitely a mood killer. Any advice from others on how to deal?

Here's hoping we have a better week!

The Backyard Project

Before finishing our kitchen, we decided that our sagging and nasty deck should be replaced too. I don't have a picture of the old deck because it was covered in snow when we bought the house. I didn't take a before picture either, but believe me when I say it was bad.

Anyway, when the guy started ripping it out he found out that our hot tub room, which is an addition, was built on the deck and was the only thing supporting the room. Awesome. Our simple deck project quickly turned into a much bigger project. He had to build supports, jack up the room, and put the supports in place. During the process the drywall cracked and the door out to the deck broke. The door was gross too, so replacing that wasn't a huge deal. I was planning to paint it, but replacing it worked too. We are planning to repair the drywall when we install new, bigger windows in the hot tub room, but we're still saving our pennies for that project.

Back to the deck/backyard project... It's almost complete now. Just in time for winter ;)





Today AJ ripped out a randomly placed bush and a dead tree.





Now we need to fill in dirt (which is surprisingly expensive) and have the deck guy come back and install some stairs. After that we want to lay a patio and plant grass, but we'll probably have to wait until spring to do that. It's almost snow season!

The Home Improvement Snowball Effect

It all started when our kitchen faucet snapped in half. We stopped at Lowes to pick out a new one, and the next thing you know we have changed pretty much the entire kitchen.

This is what our kitchen used to look like (realtor photo):

Since then we have replaced the faucet, painted the cabinets white (using Rust-Oleum Kitchen Transformations), bought new hardware, installed under the counter lights, and replaced the light fixture over the sink. After painting the cabinets we realized the ivory wall color doesn't look so hot, so now we need to paint the kitchen walls too.
Here are some pictures of the work in progress:

The cabinets are back on, but we still have to paint the walls, touch up the ceiling where the previous light fixture was hanging (yuck, do you see that?!), and paint the pantry white. Did I mention we started this project at the end of July? Oh yes. Luckily, we finished all that stuff in early August, but the rest that needs to be done has been on our to-do list for two months.

Any paint color suggestions?

Where have I been?

Let's just get right to the elephant in the room. No, I'm not pregnant. I didn't take a long blogging break for any particular reason. After we moved up to NY, I started my new job (did I mention I got hired full time after 3 weeks of working per diem), we got settled into the new house, and life just got really busy. We had a lot of fun times with friends and family, we tackled a few home improvement projects, and AJ took the bar. He played golf for a few weeks and then decided to start working at the firm a couple weeks ahead of his original post Labor Day start date. Both of us working (my job is a 12 month position so I work over the summer) plus trying to maintain a house is a lot more work than we anticipated. Not in a bad way, but in a "it keeps us busy" kind of way.

Nothing particularly noteworthy happened this summer, but it was a lot of fun. It definitely will be remembered. I had a "last hurrah mentality" and drank/ate my way through the summer. I'm not going to lie, it was pretty awesome. We've fallen into a great group of friends here and have re-connected with some high school and college friends that are still in the area. This is such a relief because I was really worried that we would be lonely and that we wouldn't have any friends.

Now that summer is over and school is back in session, I plan to cut back on drinking, reform my eating habits, and exercise regularly so that we can start trying to have a baby again. We got all our infertility/recurrent miscarriage test results back in July and nothing was abnormal, so I just need to work on my mental health (I am very easily stressed and my not-so-new job is pretty stressful) and really pray that the third time's the charm.

That's pretty much it for now. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

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Hi

Hi,

I miss blogging. I'm going to try and make a comeback (for the 3735 time).

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As you can see, I have to blog from my iPhone, because my MacBook has kicked the can. We'll see how it goes.....

Back in NY

A lot has happened since I last stopped by this little blog of mine. I returned to Maryland for a couple weeks, we went to the Kenny and ZBB concert, we celebrated my birthday last weekend, we had a consultation with the fertility doctor, I was offered job #2, we had blood work done for our fertility workup, I signed papers with the district for the per diem job, I decided to gamble and did not accept job #2, I left my job in MD, I finally moved back to NY, and I started working per diem. Despite all that craziness, life is starting to settle down. I am so happy to be back in New York, living in our new home, and working in a great district. I feel so much more relaxed already!

Job #1

Well, I didn't get the first job. The assistant superintendent called me this morning to let me know. She said I interviewed really well and that the team was impressed, but that the applicant pool was very strong and they decided to go with a different candidate. I still feel like poo, but her kind words did make me feel a bit better. I'm sure she said that to everyone, but I do feel like the interviews went well, so there really must have been someone a little better than me. Oh well.

Although I didn't get the full time position, she did ask me to do per diem work starting next week. This is actually a pretty sweet deal, because most of the positions in other districts in the area do not start until after Labor Day, so I can work as a substitute psych*ologist all summer and can continue to look for a full time position for the fall. Also, since it is a sub position, I can decline work if I want, which means we can officially plan a post-bar trip for August. We were hoping we would be able to spend a week or two in Pinehurst, and it looks like that will happen after all. When one door closes another one opens, right? I'm just trying to take it all in stride and be happy that I will soon be home with my husband and puppy!

Moving Weekend (And Before and After) Recap

Sometimes life is so crazy there is no time for blogging. It is sad, because the crazy times are usually the ones when I have the most to write about. Somehow that always falls by the wayside.

A brief recap is all I can muster right now, so here is what I have been up to for the last couple weeks....

I flew to NY on the 17th and had an interview on the 18th. I flew back after the interview, finished out the work week, and spent our last weekend in DC hanging with friends. On Friday night we had margaritas with Miss Mindless, the speech therapist at my school, and their husbands. On Saturday we had dinner in Annapolis with our close group of friends. On Sunday we visited a few wineries in Virginia.

Last week was spent packing up our house and getting our life in DC wrapped up. My mom drove down that Monday and was a huge help in getting our house packed. She and I then drove up to NY on Thursday night because I had an interview at 8:15 on Friday morning. That interview was a call back for the district I interviewed with the previous week. It actually ended up being two interviews; one with an administrative committee and one with the superintendent. I then drove about an hour away to another interview for a position in a different district. To say I was tired when I returned home is an understatement. AJ drove up to NY in our car that afternoon and arrived in NY at dinner time. Our moving truck arrived a few hours later. We spent the weekend unpacking and organizing our house. It's not completely done, but we've made a good dent in the boxes and the house is starting to look like our home. Oh, and did I mention that AJ started studying for the bar last week? Needless to say, life has been CRAZY.

Today I drove down to Maryland and am staying with our friends for the remainder of the school year. I'm so lucky that I have great friends that will let me crash for three weeks. I would not survive if I had to stay in a hotel or sublet an apartment for a month. I obviously wish I was back at home with my husband and dog, but being with friends is better than being alone right now.

AJ is coming down on Friday and we are going to the Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown Band concert on Saturday. Next weekend is my birthday and then the weekend after that I will be home for good and hopefully will be able to take a moment and just relax!

Stickers

When I test a student, especially a young one, I always reward them with stickers. This afternoon I tested a kindergartener and gave him one of my huge badge stickers that says "I did my best!" because he worked really hard for over an hour. That is like eternity for a 6 year old. When I brought him back to his classroom and he walked through the door, there was a collective "wooooooah" from his classmates when they saw his sticker. He then told me he was never taking the sticker off. It was so fricken cute.







Wouldn't it be awesome if stickers still made us feel that special? Ahhh, to be a kid again.

Quick Update

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

The interview went really well today. I felt like I answered all the questions well and that I was able to tie my answers into my experience. I definitely gave real life examples/answers instead of book answers. The chair of the committee told me that they are planning to do call back interviews next week. She also asked about my availability next week and mentioned that they wanted to be accommodating since I'm still living in DC. I think that's a good sign! She said there are two or three other candidates they'd like to call back though, so I'm still nervous.

I have many other things I want to write about, but I am so exhausted and am going to hop into bed as soon as I eat dinner. Interviewing AND traveling tires this girl out!


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Let's take a ride on my emotional roller coaster, shall we?

We closed on our house on Friday, May 6th. Getting the keys and stepping foot in our house was very exciting. We spent the weekend completing projects and made a lot of progress on the house. I cannot WAIT to move in for good.


I attended Mother's Day brunch last Sunday, and I am really glad that I did. It was difficult at the time, but the few pangs I felt were totally worth it. I was able to spend time with my grandmother, which ended up being very important, because she passed away unexpectedly on Wednesday at the age of 77. After brunch she (and the rest of my family) came over to our new house and we gave her the grand tour. She was so happy for us and called all seven of her sisters afterward. They all told me about her calls at her wake on Friday. Her death was very shocking and I miss her so much already. She was the most wonderful, caring lady and a joy to everyone that knew her. We did not take any pictures at Mother's Day brunch and I am so upset about that. I can't remember the last time our picture was taken. Here she is with my grandfather, father, and brother on my wedding day and one of AJ and me with all of my grandparents:


After attending my grandmother's funeral on Saturday, AJ and I drove back to DC so that we could attend his law school graduation on Sunday. It was very difficult to leave NY and switch emotional gears, but we did, and we enjoyed the day as best we could. I am so proud of my husband and all that he has accomplished in the last three years.

While we were in NY, I received phone calls for two interviews in two different school districts in NY. I am flying back to NY tomorrow night for my first interview on Wednesday morning. I am really hoping to land this job. It is in the town next to where we will be living and in the same town as AJ's law firm. The other interview is next Friday, also known as moving day in this household. We haven't quite figured out how we are going to fanangle that, but somehow we will make it work. Best case scenario...I land the first job and don't even need to interview in the other district. Fingers and toes crossed!

So that is my life in a nutshell. You understand why I haven't posted in a while now, right?

Thoughts About Mother's Day

Yesterday my mom asked me if we'd like to go to brunch at the country club on Sunday since we'll still be in town. I said yes, not realizing that it is the Mother's Day brunch. (I've been a tad aloof lately. Perhaps it's my brain's way of protecting me...) Later this evening, once I figured out that it was the Mother's Day brunch, I started freaking out. I get a lump in my throat just thinking about it right now. I've been to this brunch many times and I know what it entails. At the end of the meal, the servers bring flowers to all of the mothers at the table. It's a nice gesture...until you desperately want the flowers and you know you aren't getting any. Needless to say, I'm afraid I'm going to start crying and/or need to excuse myself.

As I sat thinking about the brunch all night, I tried analyzing what I'm so upset about. Yes, I'm grieving my losses, but I'm also upset that I'm not yet a mother when I know that I was supposed to be one sometime this week.

This brings up an interesting point that I saw mentioned on the Miscarriage Memories facebook page. Do you consider yourself a mother if you have miscarried? The majority of people that responded to the post said yes, it doesn't matter that your baby (or babies) died before birth, you're a mother if you have miscarried. My immediate thought is no, I'm not a mother. However, when I spoke of my first miscarriage (I haven't had much of a chance to speak of my second miscarriage or both) I often used the phrase "my baby". Don't you have to be a mother to have a baby? My babies aren't here in my arms, but they did at one time exist.

I'm not about to tell our server at the club that I am a mother, but maybe Mother's Day wouldn't be so hard for me if I thought of myself as a mother.

It's Almost Closing Day

There is nothing like a good cry. Or the blog/twitter world. Your comments, tweets, emails, and texts have lifted me up like you wouldn't believe. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I don't know why this is happening to us, but I have to believe there is a plan for our family and someday it will all make sense.

Let's talk about something more exciting, shall we? We are tentatively scheduled to close on Friday afternoon. We are just waiting for the bank to choose a location for the closing. Ahh! I can't believe it is finally here. I am excited and nervous and still a little apprehensive (even though I know deep down that we will fill those rooms someday). I just want to sign the papers and have the keys in my hand!

The weather on Saturday is supposed to be beautiful, so we are planning to start tackling our to-do list right away. Here are the things on our to-do list for the weekend:

Paint the green wall in the living room
Paint the pink bedroom
Paint the wood trim and window frame in the living room
Power wash the siding
Spray paint the shutters
Paint the front door

We still have not decided on paint colors for the living room wall or pink bedroom, but we have some ideas so I will share them later today or tomorrow. I would love some input!

As for the door, does anyone have suggestions on tackling this project? Types of paint, best process, etc.? I am not sure what kind of door it is (wood or metal), so I probably need to figure that out before I decide what paint to use.

Sinking in

It's starting to sink in. I was definitely in shock the past two days. Now I'm really starting to breakdown. I got into bed tonight and just cried and cried. Why is this happening to me? I'm young, I'm healthy, and I'm a good person. The whole situation just is cruel and unfair.

Also, I'm freaking out about the house. Should we really be buying a three bedroom house if we might not be able to fill it? All I can think of are the two bedrooms that are supposed to be for our children.

I hate that I am being so dramatic, but I can't help how I feel right now.

It happened again.

I miscarried this morning.

I didn't even know I was pregnant this time. We weren't trying, but we weren't being careful either. I took a HPT two weeks ago since I thought there was a chance I might be pregnant, but it was negative, and I got what I thought was my period a couple days later. Then my parents came to visit, we got distracted by everything with the new house, and I got emotionally wrapped up in my first miscarriage. I never gave being pregnant a second thought.

This morning, when I realized that what I was experiencing seemed suspiciously like a miscarriage, I took another pregnancy test and it was positive. I then proceeded to have a mental breakdown because I was shocked, confused, and overcome with grief. Once I calmed down, we called my doctor and told her what was happening. We all knew it wasn't looking good, so she told us to go to the ER to have everything checked out. They confirmed my suspicions. I was six weeks pregnant and was miscarrying.

It all happened so fast. I woke up super early to watch the Royal Wedding and had a pretty normal morning until I went to get in the shower. The next thing I know, I am sitting in the same perinatal office where I found out I was going to miscarry the first time. I hate that place. I am never going back there ever.

Everything is very different this time around. I didn't have a chance to get attached to the idea of being pregnant, having a baby, etc. I am sad and upset, but I am mostly overcome with anxiety because there is a greater possibility that there is something "wrong" with one or both of us. Hopefully we can now get some testing done and figure out what to do next.

In the mean time, this sucks.

Feeling Better

Thank you all for your kind words yesterday. I am feeling much better today and am hopeful that I'll experience a good balance of grief and acceptance these next two weeks. I don't want to wallow in sorrow, but I also don't want to completely disregard my feelings. I'm just praying I don't have any more meltdowns!

On a happier note, our land survey was completed today so we should be able to officially schedule our closing! I got really excited last night and started packing a bin with all the stuff we will need to stay in the house next weekend. A set of sheets, towels, and cleaning supplies are ready to go! We aren't moving out of out current place until the end of May, so we bought an air mattress to sleep on for the few days we are in NY. We also hope that our sectional will be ready and that it can be delivered while we are up there. If not, we'll survive, but it would be great if we had something to sit on!

In other exciting news, my NY certification finally went through! There still aren't any jobs in any of the school districts surrounding our new town (with the exception of a .4 position), but hopefully something will pop up by August. At least I can now be seriously considered without any caveats! I did apply to the .4 position though. If I was offered the position I would take it, but I'd obviously prefer a full time job.

Ahh, life. Why must everything always be completed? I'm just trying to remind myself that everything happens for a reason and it will all work out in the end. Wise (and cheesy) words to live by.

Talk about a 180

All the happiness I felt yesterday has gone flying out the window. It is only noon and I already want to go home, crawl into bed, and cry. Nothing particularly awful has happened, but a bunch of little things have...

I forgot my keys to my office, then I couldn't even use my office because another person was in there testing kids, then I got a rejection email for a job I really wanted, then I found out I have a meeting this afternoon that I was not notified about, and then I dropped an m&m on my white jeans. Why is it so hard holding in tears at work? Ugh.

I have been feeling especially sensitive the last couple days. I think it is because my due date is next week and I can't help but be emotional about everything again. I was hoping that the pending closing and excitement of buying a house would overshadow my due date, but in reality it is just giving me another thing to stress about. I know it is normal to experience grief again, but I still don't like it. Grumble, grumble.

Happy Monday!

Happy Monday, friends! There is nothing like a day off to make a Monday more enjoyable.

Spring break ended up being pretty busy, so I am very happy that I have an extra day off today. I had to work Monday through Thursday to get a few non-instructional days in, so it really has been more of a spring break long weekend than a true spring break. Better than nothing though! My mom came down last Monday to help us start packing and then my dad flew down on Friday, so we have had a full house for what seems like forever. I love my parents, but it is tough hosting people for an extended period of time. I can't wait until we live in the same town so that we can see them more frequently for shorter periods of time.

This weekend we celebrated AJ finishing law school. He had his last final on Friday afternoon! I can't believe law school is over...it hasn't really sunken in yet. These three years were stressful for both of us, but we survived. I am so proud of him for not only doing well in school, but also for finding a great home/school/work balance. I never really felt like a law school widow and I am so grateful for that! Now the countdown to the bar begins. Ahhhhhh!

DIY Kitchen Cabinet Makeover?

Besides painting, the other big project we want to take on in our new house is the kitchen. The cabinets are nice quality, but the two toned wood just doesn't work for me. The gold hardware also has to go, but that is an easy fix.


We were thinking about stripping, sanding, and painting or re-staining the cabinets, but then I stumbled across Rust-Oleum Cabinet Transformations, which requires no stripping, sanding, or priming. Has anyone used this product? It sounds like a great way to go about changing your cabinets without spending a ton of money on replacing them. It also seems easier than figuring out how to do the whole painting/staining process on our own.

We want to make the cabinets darker. These are the two colors we like:


We are planning to glaze everything, so the colors really aren't that different in terms of darkness. However, Espresso seems to have more red undertones than Kona.

The Rust-Oleum website has a virtual tool that allows you to change the cabinet colors and countertop colors (they also have a DIY kit for that), so I tried the two cabinet colors with the countertop color that is closest to our countertops.


We are obviously more inclined to choose Kona because that is our dog's name. That is a good way to choose your cabinet color, right??

Our first new piece for the house!

This past weekend we were back in NY. I had an interview at a non-profit on Friday, so we stayed for the weekend and tried to get some things done before the big move. The weekend was jam packed with activities....most notably furniture shopping!

We spent quite a bit of time roaming around the furniture store contemplating formal versus casual furniture. In the end we decided to go with something casual and comfortable because it fits the house style and our personalities. We chose this sectional (but decided against the ginormous ottoman):


In this darker brown color:


You can't really tell how dark the fabric is in this picture, but it really is a lot darker than the fabric on the sectional. Because we ordered a different color and are having the chaise and love seat parts reversed, it will take a few weeks to get it delivered, which actually works out perfectly with our closing and moving date. Yay! Now we need to choose a coffee table and end tables, as well as paint colors and an accent chair. I also plan to jazz up the sectional with patterned pillows and a blanket or two. Color suggestions?

Paint

Well we are finally in the part of the process where I feel pretty confident that this whole house buying thing is actually happening. The inspection is done, the repairs have been made, and now we are counting down to the closing! Ahhh! Now that all that stuff has been taken care of, I can start focusing on the more important things (at least in my book).....decorating and painting!

There are two rooms in the house that need paint. The living room has a lime green accent wall and one of the bedrooms is baby pink. I love pink and green, but I do not like them as paint colors.We want to keep the accent wall in the living room, but we will probably play it safe and do a color from the beige family. The question is, should we pick furniture or paint first? We are planning on getting a new living room set, but likely won't buy it until after we move. Ideally I would like to paint before we move in. Is that the wrong way to go though?

As for the pink bedroom....we are hoping to use this as a nursery some day and I would prefer to not paint twice. I am not sure what color we will use, but I also want it to be neutral. Boring?

What are your favorite design/decorating blogs? I need to add them to my reader!

Our First Home

More details to come!

House Hunting

I'm still sick. I am so sick of being sick that I don't even want to talk about it. So instead, let's talk about some exciting news!

While we were in Grand Cayman we had to turn off email and internet on our phones so that we didn't incur a million dollars in roaming fees (or whatever they are called these days). When we landed back in the states, we turned everything back on. One of the emails AJ recieved was from our landlord asking us if we could move out at the end of May. Our initial reaction was to freak out, but we talked about our options and adjusted our time line. I think it is all going to work out.

The most exciting part? We are heading back to NY this weekend to look at houses! We have been browsing online, sending my parents to open houses, and have my mom and our real estate agent looking at houses today so that we only have to look at the best on Saturday. So far there are two that we are really interested in seeing. Hopefully we will find something we love!

Any house hunting or house buying tips?

Gaga & Tom and Lorenzo

Thanks for all your well wishes. I am still feeling under the weather, so when I returned home from work today, I immediately crawled back into bed. Here is my current view:

All three of us in bed, in our double back-up sheets, Bert & Ernie blankets, playing on our laptops, hoping and praying for this sickness to leave our home. Yes, I have infected my husband. I feel so bad.

Almost as bad as I feel for blaring Lady Gaga songs on You Tube all evening. I stumbled upon the LadyGagaVEVO YouTube site (because it has the Born This Way video) and the next thing I know it is two hours later and I have watched ALL of her videos. I never really considered myself a Gaga fan, but I think I am now. She is such a freak show and I can't look away. LOVE. In case you havent seen her new video, here it is:



Another website I stumbled across since coming down with the flu/cold from hell.... Tom and Lorenzo. Someone in my twitter feed retweeted them yesterday, so I started following their tweets before the Oscars, and then I clicked through to their website, and yada, yada, yada, I'm now obsessed. They had great pictures and gave amazing and hilarious commentary last night. On their blog, they post pictures and commentary for all the awards shows and other various events. I lost another couple of hours looking through their archives. Check them out. Actually, I'll get you started with some stuff from last night:

2011 Oscars Red Carpet Part 1
Vanity Fair Oscar Party Part 1

Hope you enjoy these two sites as much as I did!

Cough Cough, Sneeze Sneeze

Our lovely vacation ended on a low note....we sat next to a sick person on the plane from Miami to DC. This flight also happened to be delayed on the tarmac because of bad weather so we got an extra hour of exposure to his germs. Ugh! I've been flat in bed since Thursday night thanks to our seatmate. I feel a bit better today and my fever broke yesterday, but I sound like I've been chain smoking for 58 years and am still so stuffed up that it is making me dizzy. I am hoping I continue to feel better!

AJ is off playing hockey so I have the remote all to myself. I am switching back and forth between red carpet coverage and a Snapped marathon. My current medicine is a snuggly puppy, a mango peach salsa Yankee candle that is tricking me into thinking it is almost summer, and some tea with honey. I have been taking DayQuil regularly until today...this morning I decided I needed to give my body a break. I am such a freak about taking medicine. AJ basically has to force it down my throat. Any homeopathic remedies out there??

That is all my foggy brain can muster tonight. Hope you all had a great weekend!

Heaven

We had a great time on vacation. A long weekend getaway was just what we needed. I feel rested and relaxed and am ready to power through the last couple weeks of winter.

Grand Cayman is BEAUTIFUL and it felt very safe, so I would definitely recommend it to anyone planning a Caribbean vacation. Our hotel was nice (the Westin), but if you can spurge, definitely try and stay at the Ritz!

The water at Seven Mile Beach is so calm and clear, it was like swimming in a pool.


Here is my favorite picture from the trip:


We took this at 6 something in the morning while the sun was rising. I love that we just rolled out of bed. It feels real, as opposed to when I am all made up and straightened!