Dining Room

Our Dining Room is complete. We finally hung the chandelier that I bought and I love it! We also put the pictures up and put the photos in that I ordered.

I'm debating if I want to add white drapes to the windows but right now it's fine as is.

A wall all about us. I love our wedding photos, not just because they turned out really great and I look really fit but it was one of the happiest days ever that I wish I could relive all the time

My sister-in-law gave me the mirror, I half sanded it down and added some black spray paint. I was going to fully sand it down but I felt like it gave it that nice barn feel to it so I felt it as it. I think I need some different on the countertop but that's a work in progress

Looking into the Family Room

Kitchen Pantry

Our handyman started on our new cabinets last Friday and finished up on Saturday. It's nice how quick it took to get it done.

Here are some before and afters

Overall, I look the way it all turned out, the only issue is with the top two cabinets on the left, they are actually a different style then all of the other ones. Our handyman is suppose to get those fixed for us. Next on the docket, countertops and backsplash. We thought we had picked out the style we wanted but when we actually when to Home Depot and their countertop was the one we thought we wanted we realized that it wasn't what you thought. I guess that happens when you're looking at a little square of granite. We decided to go with a Black Granite and then the backsplash has a little bit more color to it. There is a special running at Home Depot where you can get 10% off starting today so we'll head out and order it on Saturday morning. It takes 3-4 weeks to get in the granite which would put us right at the beginning of April. I just want to make sure everything is put together by June 15th in time for Brian's 30th birthday party

Ready to Run

So over this cold weather, 18 degrees is just a little too chilly to try to run, I do have my limits. But I'm trying to do something cardio every day even if it's just a walk with Bear which is what happened today.

New Lululemon hat

I have managed to get in some running this past month even though I've ran in snow, icy, wind and rain so far. I wouldn't say these are my best runs cause if there is ice, I'll stop and walk and I run with Bear so when we see other dogs I have to walk cause he'll pull me over. Also, the cold weather makes my legs ache so I try to only get in 3-4 miles. I have made a small goal of 50 miles this month and so far I've got 31.12 and have less than a week left to get in 18; it's going to be close but I think I can get something in. 

My gear: I run with my Garmin Forerunner (which is discontinued now) so I can use my heart rate monitor AND the Nike Plus runner app on my phone cause it talks to me while I run. Both basically do the same thing track my runs but each has separate features that I like. When I run outside in the winter, I layer it up: sports bra, shirt, sweatshirt, my neon zippie, leggings, scarf, hat with a brim, 180 ear muffs and gloves. The first couple of minutes, it's pretty chilly but after a while my body warms up and I forget that it's 30 degrees out. My hands are sometimes the coldest things, even with gloves on they will become icicles. My sister-in-law just bought me the Lululemon Brisk Run Torque that I just tried today; it definitely kept my big head super warm and still made me look like a girl with my pony sticking out the back.

My runs: We live by two main roads and there aren't sidewalks around us...boooo! Luckily I can make the runs a little longer by crossing over one of the main roads and into the next neighborhood. The neighborhood is sort of like a grid and I can weave in and out of the roads to the back of the sub and then weave in and out again to head back to my side. If I do that completely, I can get in 3.5 to 4 miles depending on where I go. Sometimes I have to detour due to the dogs that people like to let go out without any leashes. Literally, we had a dog follow us, barking at my feet while I tried to get Bear to keep from lunging at it pulling me over; it really annoys me but is more dangerous for the dogs and cars.

My Log: Literally, I'm doing it old school and writing it in a notebook I have. Although both devices track my runs, I like to have a little more information for me especially when I do other things like yoga or weights. I keep the notebook in the kitchen where I have my Garmin and sleeve for my phone to make sure I enter in the information after I get done otherwise I forget about it.

I've been trying prioritizing my life better #1 Family & Friends #2 Health #3 Work; I've been one that makes Work #1 but have been really making an effort to not. Getting in at least 30 minutes a day is easy and I just need to do it.

First sewing project

My little niece turned 1 today, can't believe how fast a year has come and gone. I decided that I wanted to make sure a pillow especially since I got my sewing machine over a year ago and haven't touched it since.

I bought the main fabric from Pink Chalk Fabrics, the stuffing from Michael's (took 2 bags of the stuffing for this 22x22 pillow) and I had the felt from a project I wanted to start but never got around to it. I was proud of myself figuring out how to thread my sewing machine and get it working. Project took me about 2 days which wasn't too bad considering I haven't sewn a pillow since middle school, maybe high school.

The only thing is the K, I should of sewn it on before I put the pillow together but instead I just glued it on and now it's starting to fall off. I'll have to take the pillow back and do some work to it, might have to get my mom to give me a hand-- I mean she did make one of her dresses for a dance back in the day.

Adding to the Man Cave

We finished hanging a few more details to the Man Cave, mainly it was Michigan stuff to finish off the big wall which burned my fingers when I touched it.

Bought frame stands to put his sports magazines he wanted to save and put them in the cubby holes. This black cabinet is probably the best investment, it can be used for so many different purposes

The wall is finished! When the time comes, I think we'll add a row of the cubbies  from Ikea underneath the wall

Recent purchases from the husband at an auction at the Red Wings game

Collage I made him from all of his sporting tickets and a shadow box frame I got at Home Goods 

It was really cool looking back at the tickets and seeing how so many of them had meaning. The Red Wings vs Penguins game we went to on my birthday 2 years ago, the Boston Red Sox game from when we went to Boston for our first anniversary, the University of Pitt game when we got to go onto the field and our first MSU vs Michigan game after I graduated college. So many great memories, it makes we want to create one of these for a variety of event tickets we get.

EEKKK I'm excited

I finally found a chandelier for over our Dining Room table. This is the only room that I can really do funky lighting since all of the other rooms on the main floor are the ceiling cans.

I found a gem on Overstock.com. I wanted to find something that was simple but elegant and not over $200. I had been looking at a few different styles but always went back to the traditional chandelier look. We don't have high ceilings so going for something like this would of been too intense

via overstock

I also like the look of the metal look being sleek and would pull out the deeper wood colors.

via home depot

I've never actually ordered anything on Overstock so the 3 reviews make me think I made the right choice. Plus it was 15% off and free shipping, you can't beat free shipping. Should be here by next week! Now we just have to make sure we get it up before summer

via overstock

As we get towards the end of the month, it only means that our kitchen is going to get redone here soon! We ordered the cabinets right before the first of the month and it takes about 3 to 4 weeks to come in so hopefully we can get started here in March. On a side note, we have our same handyman helping us with getting new countertops. I sent him some pictures of what we like the last two are actually of my step-sisters house that my dad flipped this past year-- basically we like black or tan and black. Once we pick out our granite, we'll want to add a backsplash, we definitely like this mosaic look or subway tiles and a new sink and faucet.

The last step to the kitchen is adding hardware to the cabinets for a while we've been thinking we wanted silver pulls but now the more I look at things, I'm thinking we would be better off with more bronzed or silver knobs and not pulls. Plus the knobs are probably easier to install.

all 3 pulled from overstock.com

These are actually silver and come in packs of 25 which is exactly the # we need

bronzed look

Basement Updates

Brian and I spent most of last weekend finishing up our basement. It's hard to sometimes find the balance between what I think looks good and what he does. Most of the time, he will side with me but sometimes it can cause a little bit of tension. Brian likes to rush into things and do them right then and now while I like to think about it a little more and change my mind 5 times before I settle on it.

We have this nice wall in the basement that the previous owners had shelves scattered about it making the hallway feel small. When we gave the basement a fresh coat of paint, we had the painters take down the shelves and never put them back up. My dad had given my brother the Amstel Light mirror and my brother gave it to Brian. In the past I would have put the mirror in the middle and scattered items around it, but this time I wanted to give it that whole "photo wall" feel.

Brian realized that he didn't have any Michigan items (hmm I wonder why) so he went on Amazon and got a few things. This week he also purchased two large Red Wings frames that we're going to hang above the couch. At that point, his room will be finished. I would like to find a "manly pillow" cause right now they are just our old ones from our apartment days.

We also put together my workout room. Up until Saturday it was a storage/work out room. We finally went through everything, clearing out what we didn't want and storing what we did. We have a small closet in this room that I put a shelving unit in to help be work organized.

We bought a TV mount at Ikea the last time we were there. Although I hate that the cords are visible, I keep telling myself that it's in the basement and my home won't be on MTV cribs.

One of the only good things the previous owners left was this mirror. It was in the furnace room, caked in dust and slightly chipped in the corners, but it works for it's purpose.

My sister-in-law and brother-in-law gave us this unit from when we moved into our very first apartment. If I get bored with life and want things to do, I might sand it down and paint it. Currently it houses my work out books, DVDs, weights and bands

Here is a close up of the Ikea mount; $15 for this which is pretty cheap for mounts.

We hung a new canvas I bought at Home Goods the other day. Although my walls aren't as gray as I would of liked them, it makes it easy to have color in the room. Magenta, lime green, yellow and blues make up our living room.

Keeping busy

It's been a month since we've moved into our casa and we've gotten a lot accomplished but still so much more to do. I love Pinterest in fact I think I have a serious problem with pinning.

My latest pin transformation for a total of $25

I bought the rubber door may at Lowes for $21, the can of spray paint and a sander. I spray painted the mat twice since after my first run through it had soaked in and looked more gray than white. I did go through the whole can of spray paint though. I gave the mat a little sanding in random places to look weathered and then we hung it on the wall.

First art project complete!

Shedding light

I love that it stays lighter so much later every day. Just means we're getting closer and closer to warmer weather. But it also means time is flying by too quickly.

Birthday and Kitchen

Yesterday we celebrated my step moms birthday. My dad, Britt, Donna and myself met at Brio in Troy enjoying a couple glasses of wine and delicious food.

I order their Sweet Potato & Chicken Risotto, it was amazing. I think Ive been having extreme success with picking meals lately probably cause I'm venturing out from my usual Chicken dishes.

It's also probably why I can't lose a single pound cause its heavier meals. It's so easy to put on the weight but its a pain in the ass to take it off, oh the joys of being a girl. Side note: I decided to jump up to Level 2 of the 30 day shred. Tuesday: Level 1 Wednesday: Walked Bear and did half of Level 1 Thursday: Walked Bear and Today: Level 2

Today we had our new coffee table delivered so Brian and I will spend tonight putting it together after dinner at The Lodge with the family. I ordered it from Wayfair after I saw a commercial on the TV about them. We wanted to have something with a shelf and some drawers on it for storage.

I also had Dan the Handyman come quote out was changes to my kitchen. I keep going back and forth on painting my cabinets White from the Oak color they currently are. I love the clean fresh look of the white cabinets but I'm afraid that after a certain amount of time it will scratch and chip and look like crap. Dan says I should leave them as is, Brian thinks so too and so does my dad. 3 people that I don't want saying "I told you so" once they get changed and I hate it. So I'll leave it as is....for now

Dan is going to create a pantry on the left side of the frig since currently we don't have one and its kind of driving me nuts. Well end up losing a countertop but I think it's one that I can live without.

He's also going to extend the 2 cabinets at the top of the frig to encase the frig so it actually won't look like it sticks out as much. I'm thinking that maybe I would have him create this nifty wine holder.

To add a little creature to the cabinets (since I'm not painting them) he's going to add some crown molding. I think I like the first one or last one the best

Hopefully he'll start in a couple of weeks then in the meantime we can work on our countertops and back splash.

3 things

Happy Tuesday

1. Just finished the second Hunger Games on the trip, I had probably read 70 pages before the trip but couldn't put it down until I finished it. I need to read the third one ASAP to finish off the trilogy, probably head to Barnes and Noble this weekend among all the other plans I have set for Saturday and Sunday

2. Started Jillian Michaels 30 day Shred today. No matter what I'm going to get a good work out from Jillian on any of her videos. Even tho it's just 20 minutes, she had my heart going the entire time so I'll be interested to see how I feel tomorrow. I hope to do this daily for 30 days with taking Sundays off if possible... Taking care of me

3. I made dinner last dinner Easy Chicken Enchilada Casserole for Pinterest. Super easy and pretty good too. It felt like there was refried beans in it but I think it was the corn tortillas. I modified it slightly taking away one layer of the cheese, adding hot sauce and black beans to the chicken mixture. I don't think you need all of the corn tortillas either maybe it would make it less refried bean like.

A little FLO Rida

We are on a much needed vacation to Florida. It's been over a year since we've taken a trip due to the move, jobs and house last year. So starting this year off with a trip is a great way to start 2013. Brian's cousins have a 3bedroom condo in Anna Maria Island.

Highlights from the trip
-lunch on the beach
-renting a four person bike to ride around the island
-Sign of the Mermaid for dinner with the best salad and pasta
-renting bikes for all of us to travel around
-drinking a ton of wine
-breakfast on the pier
-80 degree weather nice temperature for a little sun on our skin
-3 mile run on the beach

Today we plan on doing a little shopping, sushi, laying out and a nice dinner. Sad today is our last full day but its been nice to get away

Lunch on the beach

Touring around the island

Our condo for the 4 days

Dinner at Sign of Mermaid = best dinner of the trip

Lunch on the Pier