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Friday, February 25, 2011

Snowy Friday

It's snowing! It started last night and is still going strong. Morgan and I were supposed to drive to Denver today, but we decided not to risk it. Neither of our cars have four-wheel-drive. We are having a relaxing day at home instead.





Georgia fell through the ice this morning. We have a little creek in our backyard. It looked like it was frozen solid, but I guess it wasn't. She fell right through the ice. I think it scared her because she jumped out of there so fast! She wasn't hurt, but we could tell she was so cold. She planted herself right in front of the fireplace and has been sleeping there ever since :) Silly little goose.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Chair - Before

Our friends gave us this awesome vintage box chair that they had in their apartment. They just bought some new furniture, and the chair doesn't really fit any more. But I have big plans for this box chair. We are going to sand it, stain it, and make new cushions for it. I have never refinished a piece of furniture before, so this will be a good learning experience.




This week has been so busy! I am really looking forward to kicking back this weekend. On the agenda:

Tonight: Movie night with the girls

Friday: Headed to Denver to see our friends Jake and Mary Ellen; then catching the Nathaniel Rateliff concert at Everyday Joe's

Saturday: Lunch at Choice City with a friend who's driving in from Boulder; Princess Bride movie night with friends

Sunday: Church, high school youth group, small group... Sunday's are crazy! I think our work week actually starts on Sunday instead of Monday. Good thing we love our jobs :)

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Happy Birthday to You

Today is my sweet mama-in-law's birthday.



Dear Juli,

You raised two boys into wonderful men. You pour yourself out for your students, your family, everyone around you. I have learned so many things from you. I am blessed beyond reason to be part of your family. I hope your birthday was filled with good things. I love you. oxoxo

{Photo by Jacques Lowe via Mary Ruffle.}

Monday, February 21, 2011

Home Sweet Home

It feels so great to be home after a long weekend away. We took our middle schoolers on a retreat to Winter Park, Colorado. Amazing! We had such a great time. We went snow tubing. We played a lot of Mafia. And we got lots of great time to love on our kids. They are so incredible. I feel blessed beyond words to have them in our lives.

The bad news is, I caught a cold up in the mountains. Lack of sleep is probably to blame. Or tubing all day in the snow. Either way, I am happy to be resting at home now!



For more photos of the weekend, see our other blog!

Friday, February 18, 2011

Spring

The weather has been so warm here lately. It's making me antsy for spring time. I want to plant things. But our meteorologist friend says it's going to snow again soon.



I am so happy it's Friday. I have a long to-do list. Mostly involving domestic things like laundry and cleaning and grocery shopping. And then packing for Winter Park this weekend. I just looked at the weather. Snow showers with temperatures in the 20's and 30's. I guess they call it Winter Park for a reason.

Spring will have to wait.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

A Walk in the Park



Morgan did our taxes Tuesday night. We are already trying to figure out what to do with our (tiny) refund. It will probably go towards new tires for my car.

I feel like this week has flown by! We are headed off to Winter Park this weekend with the kiddos. Apparently, there are going be all sorts of fun things like snow tubing and snow shoeing and cross-country skiing. I predict we will not get very much sleep during the three days we'll be there. But it will be a blast.

Morgan just took the pups for a walk in the park, and I was watching them frolic. I snapped a couple of pictures. When Morgan saw them, he said, "My beard is looking strong." :)

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Granola

Most of you will not be surprised by the fact that I made a big batch of granola this morning. I have now perfected my all-time favorite recipe (originally taken from the Southern Living cookbook). This stuff is so stinkin' easy to make. Not to mention delicious.



3 cups old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
1/2 cup sliced almonds (optional)
1/4 cup wheat germ

Mix dry ingredients, then combine:

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon honey
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 1/2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together and spread on greased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. And presto. Add raisins or other dried fruit, if desired. Then enjoy with milk or yogurt.

P.S. I always double this recipe to make Morgan and I a larger batch that will last us through the week... We eat of a lot of granola in our house. :)

Monday, February 14, 2011

Love

Happy Valentine's Day! Morgan surprised me with Valentine's doughnuts this morning. :)

After work, we are going on a date. Where are we going, you ask. I don't know. The mister is full of surprises.

When we get home later on tonight, I am going to fire up the fondue pot and melt some chocolate. Strawberries, marshmallows, angel food cake. And chocolate. I am going to eat so much chocolate. My blood-chocolate levels will be ridiculous. I should not drive, let's just put it that way.



To my valentine,

"I found the one my heart loves..." Songs 3:4
You are the one my heart loves, who always makes me laugh and always lets me have control of the remote and pushes me on shopping carts through grocery store parking lots and leaves me post-it love notes at work and lets me touch you with my cold hands and feet at night. Happy Valentines Day. I love you.

Friday, February 11, 2011

Valentines




It just occurred to me (today) that Valentine's Day is on Monday. Last year, we took a road trip to Asheville. We went to a wine tasting at Biltmore and had dinner in one of Asheville's funky pubs. It was a blast!

This year, I am trying to figure out how to convince Morgan to take me to see this movie.

Have a happy weekend :)

Monday, February 7, 2011

Felix

Hi team. I am exhausted. We had a sort of running-around kind of day. I had work, and Morgan had tutoring, and then we both had homework club. Morgan went out with the guys to Lucky Joe's, and I watched the Bachelor (shameful) and ate leftovers. (In case you are curious, I like Emily best out of all the bachelorettes... I don't think Brad deserves her though. She is pure class.)

It's blizzarding outside. Yes, blizzarding is a word. I talked it over with Webster. It means "the act of producing arctic temperatures and snow and ice that is almost impossible to scrape off your windshield in the morning".

We spotted a fox this weekend. He was right under our window. He was a handsome fox. We named him Felix. Felix the fox.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Our New Apartment

We are finally settled into our new apartment. As in, there are no more boxes lying around, waiting to be unpacked. We are still not completely finished, but we are finished enough to have a Super Bowl Party tonight.

Here are some photos, so you can feel like you have come over for a visit. :)







Homemade soap, bought at a farmer's market. Lemon poppyseed. It looks and smells good enough to eat.



This is the biggest bathroom I have ever had! I can't get over the tub. It's pure luxury for me to have a bath tub.



We turned our old baker's rack into a bookshelf, since our teeny apartment doesn't have a lot of storage. I love the owl :)





Once again, no storage space. I keep my baking ingredients in glass canisters out on the kitchen counter. Morgan makes fun of my canister obsession.



Our kitchen table - we found it at Agora in Athens. A guy made one custom for us out of old barn wood. It was such a steal. I am not crazy about our kitchen chairs. But we can't afford to replace them yet, and they do the job for now.



The chalk board was Morgan's when he was a little kid. We found it when we were cleaning out his old bedroom.



We have a bar counter that I am still trying to figure out what to do with. Eventually, we'll get stools and utilize it better. For now, it just sits pretty.



Another luxury - we have a fireplace! It makes those cold, winter nights almost bearable.



Georgie loves to look out our big window and watch people and dogs in the park below. It lets so much light in! Much better than a basement!



We found our side table in the dumpster the day we moved into our apartment. Someone didn't like it, but we sure do. The little pottery cup was made by a friend of Morgan's. The lamp is from Wal-mart.



A wide shot of the living room. The embroidered pillow was purchased at a flea market. The ship painting was done by my grandfather. I love it with all my heart.



So that's our cozy, little place. I will post more pictures as we continue to spruce it up. Or you can just come visit and see it for yourselves. :)