Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011!

Happy New Year!  2010 has been a year of so many great things and so many changes.  Thinking back to January's Snowmageddon (part 1 AND 2!) seems like a lifetime ago.  On April 17, time stood still for a weekend while Mike and I went on a camping trip to Shenandoah and came home engaged.  Once spring came around (and some of the snow had melted) our lives seemed to move into fast forward.  One of my best friends got married in May, Mike closed on the house in June, we started planning a move and a wedding throughout the rest of the summer, and once fall came around, I packed up and moved to Delaware.  There have been trying times.  There has been tears.  But, I can honestly say the good times outweighed the not so good.  2010 was a great year.  With all of the exciting things we have planned for 2011, I can not wait to see what is around the corner.

And here is the last sunset of 2010:

Christmas in the New House

We just celebrated our first Christmas in our new house.  We were a little slow on getting the decorations up.  In fact, I feverishly shopped for lighted garland for our fence last weekend, we put up the tree a few days later and then I finished holiday shopping on Christmas Eve day.  I would like to say that the reason we were so behind was because of the chaotic state the house is in, but the truth is, I'm just a last minute person.  There is something about the frenzy of last minute shopping that is so exciting.  I would have liked to have the decorations up sooner to enjoy them, but maybe we will just leave them up for a while after Christmas instead!


My dad and I have never spent a Christmas apart.  He either comes up from Florida, or I "force myself" to take a break from the cold and visit the Sunshine State.  This year was different.  The weather was uncooperative, his wife, Chris, was too sick to travel, and Mike and I didn't exactly have a house that could host a holiday.  Knowing that I was in good hands with Mike and his family, he stayed in Florida and promised to visit soon.

Mike and I did in fact have a wonderful Christmas holiday.  Despite not having a functional kitchen, we had a yummy pancake breakfast on Christmas Eve morning.  We visited Mike's grandparents and then went to midnight mass with friends Lauren and Dave.  We even had the pleasure of sitting in the second row of the church where I had to bite my lip when the priest compared the Christian birth of Jesus to the Philadelphia Eagles' last minute win over the New York Giants- a sermon that I understood, but still found a little strange, probably because I'm a Redskins fan.  The next morning, Mike and I cranked up the heat in the sunroom and sat out there in front of our Christmas tree enjoying our coffee and opening presents while it peacefully snowed outside.  Quietly celebrating our first Christmas in the privacy of our home really was special.  While sitting there, I couldn't help but imagine all of our Christmases to come.  Our future holidays may not be so peaceful and quiet, but they will undoubtably be just as special.

Maserati having a fun time with santa...and catnip.

Mike and his new car!  Well, remote controlled new car.

Leslie with her new vintage wine label tiles for the kitchen.

Our First Snow!

We got a little bit of snow last night.  And even though it was mostly gone by the morning, it was still the first accumulating snow we have seen from our new house.  Snow lightly covered the lawn and driveway and everything was shimmered in the moon.  I couldn't resist running outside to snap a quick picture.

Please note the green front porch lights- Mike's version of holiday decorations.  I thought he was celebrating St. Patrick's Day early!

A Litle More Demo Action

So, as if we haven't made enough of a mess, it was decided that more of the kitchen wall needed to be demolished.  And the reason that I termed it as "it was decided" was because I left the house in the morning being told that Mike and his dad would be putting drywall up to fix the gaps that we already had.  When I got home, I found this:

After getting over the inital shock (and a little disappointment over the setback) it was actually pretty funny.  Nothing with any of our projects has been easy, but we are dealing with it! 

And then I noticed this small present in front of the sliding glass door:

 

What? I didn't think we needed any more holes in the kitchen!  Luckily, this was a pretty quick and easy fix.  And watching Mike work on it from the floor below, was pretty entertaining to me (and apparently to Maserati too!)

Well needless to say, I thought the extra work was about as useful as a trap door on a canoe, but Mike keeps telling me, if we are going to do this right, we can't cut any corners. And you know what the worst part is?  I know he is right!

Happy 27th Birthday!

I remember just turning 25 the other day, where on Earth did that year, let alone 26, go!  While I am pretty much the youngest among almost of all my friends, 27 still seems old to me.  It is getting awfully close to 30, an age I feel means you are truly a grown up. I guess I need to figure out what I'm going to be when I grow up!

To kick off birthday weekend, Mike and I took a break from working on the house and made a trip down to Bethesda to celebrate the big birthday weekend with Lauren and Ryan.  Lauren went to great lengths to make sure I had a great birthday. She even had cupcakes, a bottle of wine and a present waiting for me as soon as I walked through the door (pictured above).  I really have the best best friend in the world- not only for what she did this past weekend, but because each year she makes sure I have a great birthday.  Even on the years I insist my birthday is no big deal and that I would be more than happy to postpone or even skip it, she ignores me and does something special anyway.  And for that, I am truly grateful.  She is so creative and thoughtful, and I'm so lucky to have her in my life. We had fun drinks and mussels at Mussel Bar in Bethesda and then had a great dinner topped off with more birthday cupcakes.  Then to celebrate my actual birthday, Mike and I went out to Hibachi with Lauren and Dave.  We had more fun drinks and, because of a dinner special, we even got to indulge on lobster tail.  I treated myself with a day off of work and when I returned to the office, I had more yummy treats waiting for me.  I am so lucky to have such great, thoughtful people in my life!