It's Been A Year

We just passed the one-year mark since moving into our house and back to our home state. And oh boy, what a year it's been. Filled with celebrations, occasional downfalls, all four seasons and lots of change.

We've celebrated big events, hosted holidays and created traditions. We've had drop in guests, noise filled evenings and made lots of memories with those we care about. This house has turned into our home, such a different feeling than that from our San Diego house, that always had an air of "for now" to it. We take such pride in this house and it feels so much more permanent, so much better, just right, like home. This is where we're supposed to be, I just know it.

In the last year I've watched J settle into a work routine here and couldn't be more proud of him. He works so hard to provide for our family and it makes me beam just thinking about all his success. I have almost survived my first year of medical school and find myself thinking with fondness and sometimes dismay about all the places around the house I've cooped up studying late into the night.

I've cried tears of happiness and sadness in this house. Fought with my husband and fallen even more in love in this house. Cursed the heat because of our lack of AC and wrapped myself in blankets by the fire in this house. We celebrated one year of marriage and found out about our baby in this house.

When we first fell in love with this place I had ideas in my head about what this first year had in store. I never would have imagined it would turn out so good. Here's to year one and all that's in store for the next year!

And if you want to see what a difference actually watering your lawn makes, 

here's what it looked like last year compared to now.

Homeowners: The Office

The office has become one of the most used rooms in our house and just so happened to be one of the first places I tackled once we moved in. Since J is working from home and I'm in school, we both knew we needed to have specific places to work instead of just spreading out on the kitchen table or somewhere else in the house. 

After a paint transformation from pastel-pink with sparkle to a soothing sage green plus the addition of two new desks and some decor we already had, here's a peak into where we've been spending a lot of time lately. 

We decided to take the closet doors off and put my desk snuggled into the space. It worked out perfect because there's an overhead light inside all our closets and it helps the room not seem too crowded with two big desks.

This is the usual state of my desk... covered with Basis of Disease books or lab manuals, tons of notes and colored pens and of course, coffee! I reused the frame that held our table-settings at the wedding to hold some of my favorite pictures from that day. As much as I hate how much time I spend sitting here, at least I've got my own little set-up to make me smile.

We bought two bookcases from Target that now hold both "for fun" books as well as all my textbooks. Our diplomas are finally hung and I made a few prints of encouragement to lighten things up. I have to say my current favorite shelf is the one that holds all my new med school equipment, purple stethoscope and all!

The office window faces to the front of the house and lets us know who's coming and going throughout the day/evening. And there are always signs of Ollie in the form of dog hair, toys and sometimes even his silly self making the office that much better.

Now if only I wasn't spending hours upon hours up here ;-)

Homeowners: Downstairs Tour

Home: one's place of residence

We are in love with where we live. The house itself. The people here. The city. It's a work in progress and we love every minute.

Home: the social unit formed by a family living together
J & Ollie make this house a home. Our family is little and so, so happy. 

Home: a familiar or usual setting
The place we wake up each morning and share dinner together. The place the finally feels permanent after years of unsettled feelings.

Home: a place of origin
The place where we plan to grow over the next many years. The place where memories are made, love is endless and life together flourishes.

at Home: in harmony with the surroundings

Finally feeling like we have everything that we need and so much more. Finally feeling like this is where we're supposed to be.

at Home: relaxed and comfortable

My favorite place in the world.

Homeowners: Brand New Flooring

It seems as if this project has been going on since we moved in (which is somehow already 7+ weeks ago) but now that our "adventures in flooring" are finally complete I can share with you the final product. 

We are absolutely in looove with our new hardwood and the fact that we did it ourselves is a huge confidence boost in the DIY-department. When I say "ourselves" I really mean J and his dad since my "helping" consisted of picking out boards that I thought were pretty and handing them off to the men. 

Previously the entire downstairs minus the kitchen and front entrance was carpet, and crappy carpet at that. J and my personal preference is to have hardwood in high-traffic & eating areas while still having carpet in living spaces to make it more cozy.

After ripping out the old carpet & prepping the subfloor, the new hardwood was finished over the course of a weekend. In total we laid about 250 square feet and then had the new carpet professionally installed a few weeks later. 

The wood we picked is Brazillian Koa in 5" width and the carpet is Martha Stewart from Home Depot in the color "Ganache". One interesting thing about this hardwood is that over the course of the next 6ish months, it will darken into it's final color from exposure to the air and sun which means we have to keep moving our kitchen table around so that it darkens evenly. (hello puppy nose!)

The wood has such amazing character and I love all the grain variations between boards. This little dark board was one of my favorites so I made sure it was placed in a visible place. We ran the new wood in the same direction as the existing Hickory in the kitchen and I love the contrast between the blonde and red woods. 

This was definitely the biggest and most expensive/time-consuming/nerve-racking home improvement project we've ever tackled and we are thrilled with the results. We love how our entire downstairs is coming along and are so happy we put in the effort with the flooring. Even Ollie's a fan!

Another checkmark in the homeownership department for us!

Homeowners: The Disaster of a Move

I never thought the day would come when this would be the sight out our front window. This was the first time J and I have used a moving company for a move and we learned so much from the experience. We learned about reading contracts, about taking someone's word and about the importance of customer service towards satisfaction. We learned new things about each other, what really makes a home and how generous those around us really are. The companies we used were downright horrible and we were honestly worried about our things even making it to us in the first place so when this truck backed down the cup-de-sac we both did a version of a happy dance.

And after 3 very long weeks we finally have all of our stuff from San Diego. 

A bed, a glorious non-airmatress bed. A pantry full of food. A new kitchen table to enjoy meals together. Lots and lots of things for the walls. All our kitchen supplies. Fresh clothes and shoes. Yesterday was an awesome (and tiring) day and as I sit on the patio this morning, drinking my coffee and enjoying the shade of our umbrella, I'm feeling a thousand times more excited for our new life in CO.

And this my friends, is the aftermath of our unpacking efforts from yesterday. I'm pretty proud of us and all we were able to do in just one night. There are about half a dozen boxes still unopened or partly full inside the house but we made so much progress already that waking up this morning felt glorious!

Homeowners: Bits of Color

Having an awesome backyard space is something that's a huge priority for J and I. Between enjoying dinners on the patio together, having a space for our O-dog to play, and hosting lots of get togethers with friends and yard games we can't wait to get our yard in tip-top shape. 

When we moved in the yard was in rough shape, not quite as bad as our first yard, but it still needed a lot of work. The former owners knew they were selling so they spent little time with anything yard related, even watering unfortunately. I spent a whole day pulling weeds and wild-grass (something that we'll always have to deal with since we back to a green belt) and we're still working to get the grass back to life. Lots of water and some new seed should definitely help in that area. 

But we have been making lots of progress in the yard already and I can't wait to share! We've spent a ton of time getting our planter boxes filled with gorgeous perennials and have made some progress with shrubs around the edges of the yard as well. We wandered around the nursery for quite some time picking out items that we love, things that will fill out in years to come and I can't wait to see them grow!

J named our smokebush Smokey Robinson, such a silly husband I have.

Here's a list of what's in our yard so far!

Double Play Gold Spirea :: Gaillardia // Celosia // White Sage // Coneflower :: Aurora Deep Purple Delphinium // Purple Picotee Dianthus :: Royal Purple Smokebush :: Blue Mist Bluebird :: Rabbitbrush

Now if only we could get our patio furniture and fire pit from the movers. It seems as though the moving truck took a detour to Alaska before delivering our stuff so it could be a while still. Oy vey!

Homeowners: An Adult Guest Bath

Updating the guest bathroom upstairs was pretty high on the to-do list once we moved in and since we still don't have our stuff from the moving company (also read, the horrible nightmare where we just hope we get our stuff someday) I decided to tackle this project to keep me (and my mind) busy. 

Incase you didn't believe me that this bathroom was in serious need of an update let's take a look at the before.  

Yep. It was seriously that color. I understand that the previous owners had 3 young kids but really? We found the paint can in the basement and it's literally "Alien Green". Why any company would actually choose to make such a color is beyond me but regardless, it needed to go!

The color in the "After" picture is the most accurate to the true color in the room. Bathrooms and their lack of natural light are always tricky to photograph. And the best part of this project? It was basically free. The can of paint we used was completely full in our basement which equals free. The shower curtain, rod and liner were extras from my mom's house after she moved, free again! The towel rods and such were already there and the white frame was a Goodwill purchase for around $4. Add in a few bucks for painters tape and I am thrilled with our guest bath!

On to another project in the new home!

Homeowners: We've Moved

It has been quite the stressful, busy, hectic, and yet amazing last week or so as we finished preparing for our big move, made the drive to CO and are finally in our new home. We have yet to get all our belongings delivered by the moving company and are anticipating their arrival on pins and needles but we are thankful to be in the new home even if it is a little off still. 

Here's a glimpse into the adventure so far....

 the sweet pup finally starting to adjust after being pretty out or sorts // generous spare items from family to make things a bit more workable around here

porch lights that signal we're home to the neighbors // delicious homemade & warm treats from next door

 the dying front tree that we're fighting for // the back tree that doesn't quite know where to grow leaves from

 air mattress beds and bits of home in the form of dog toys // a master bathroom with super high countertops that I love

cozy house pants that bring a bit of life inside // a front porch on a cul-de-sac to display more gorgeous blooms

lavender waiting to go in the ground // empty planters waiting for a garden

this view from our upstairs, I seriously can't get enough

Now let's just hope that our stuff arrives sooner rather than later so we can have more clothes, furniture and a full kitchen again. Until then we're making due with what we have, relying on the generosity of our friends and family and loving our new life back in our home state. 

Homeowners: Moving to Colorado

This past weekend J and I flew to Colorado to do a frantic, mad-dash of a house hunting operation.

Less than 48 hours after this house was listed on the market, we had a signed offer from the sellers and were under contract on our new home. This house was approximately the 6th one we'd seen that day and as soon as we walked in we were crunching numbers trying to figure out what our best offer could be for this beauty. We ended up putting in the offer that afternoon, continuing the search just in case they didn't accept and by the time we were done for the day it was all finished. J and I celebrated with a delicious dinner complete with margaritas and dreamt of our new life back in our home state. 

We've been trying and wishing to move back to CO for years now. To be closer to our families, to have our amazing friends just a phone call away, to be able to enjoy the seasons, the birthdays, the holidays in the state we've always called home. And now it's not only come true but where we'll actually be is a reality now.

I'm already dreaming of the meals we'll cook together in our fabulous new kitchen, all the nights I'll curl up next to the fire place in our master bedroom (!!!), the BBQs we'll host on our patio, the games of fetch Ollie can play in our huge yard and the memories we'll make for years to come in what is quite literally, our dream home.

It was a fantastic weekend and we feel so blessed for this new house we'll soon call home. Now the countdown to Colorado has really started!

Currently [v4]

>>> Loving Starbucks dates with my husband and sweet pup. We live awesomely dangerously close to one that we've been talking the O-dog on walks there on the weekends as a great way to get out of the house.

 >>> Counting down the hypothetical days I have left at work before moving home. There's a lot still up in the air as to exactly when the move will be but I'm so, so excited.

>>> Scratched, bruised and incredibly sore from our trench digging adventure nightmare from the past few days. Sometimes being able to save a bit of money requires lots of hard work. Let's just say, I'm not cut out for manual labor but am very impressed with the work we were able to do ourselves.

>>> Looking forward to a weekend filled with visiting friends, a bit of relaxing, a few adult beverages and some more progress on the house selling front. We've been so wrapped up with inspections/home repairs lately that it'll be a perfect break despite how great it feels to cross something off our endless to-do list.

>>> Seriously day-dreaming about this gorgeous, enormous, to-die-for house. It happens to be in the area we're looking in for our new home but unfortunately happens to be $2.5M! Anyone wanna invest in a house for us? But on a more serious note, I'm getting really excited for our rapid-fire house-hunting weekend in a few weeks. I can't wait to make things seem more real and start envisioning our new home.

See Ya Later, San Diego

For the last 6 years I've called San Diego my home. I've lived here, gone to school here, made many friends here, grew my relationship with J here and basically became an adult here. The experiences I've gained while living 1000+ miles from my family and the place where I grew up are some that have made me into the person I am today and I will forever be grateful for them.

But this time is coming to a close. We have been hoping to move back to Colorado for many years to be closer to our amazing friends and wonderful family. And well, that dream has finally come true. And while I am ecstatic that we can now move home there is still a part of me that will be sad to leave the "home" I've had for so long.

We aren't sure exactly when this move will happen because a lot of it is dependent on things we can't control (ie new job, housing market, etc etc) but we know that it will be sometime before the end of June. So we've created our "See Ya Later, San Diego" List of things we need to do before the move. Things that we either can't do in CO (hello Ocean!), things that are exclusive to San Diego (greasy, authentic Mexican food) or things that mean a lot to us because of the memories we have from living here. Yes, most of them involve food. Oops. And I'm sure there will be additions to the list as the time goes on.

I'm going to try and document these things as we cross them off our list. But don't worry, I wont bore you with tons of pictures of my In-n-Out cheeseburgers because I'm sure those will be many. Also, if you live in/near San Diego and think we're missing something, tell me and we'll add it on!

Immensely Blessed

I am beyond blessed for the people in my life and for the events that have happened recently. 

+ At the end of 2012 I married my best friend on one of the most amazing days of my entire life.

+ We rung in the new year in Breckenridge as husband and wife snuggling on the couch in the cozy condo as fireworks boomed outside. Even though I was sick as a dog (thanks to being out in the freezing cold taking wedding pictures) we had a great relaxing weekend to cap off the wedding festivities.

+ We spent the last few days getting all the chaos from post-wedding under control and spent time with some great friends. Its so encouraging to have friends who are in the same stage of life as we are (recently married and/or recently parents) to be able to talk with and get advice from.

+ Saturday was supposed to be our 18 hour drive back to San Diego but a huge change of plans happened late Friday night. Around 8 pm I got an email with an invitation to interview at one of the schools I applied to here in Colorado. Some last minute phone calls to work, some sacrifice from my amazing husband and I'm still in Colorado until my interview this coming Tuesday!

+ Not only did J volunteer to drive home by himself with Ollie tyesterday so that I could stay here and get the earliest interview date possible but when I was trying to tell him how thankful I was for what he was allowing me to do, all he had to say was how proud of me he was. He is such an amazing man, sacrificing an 18 hour car ride alone and pushing me towards my dreams.

+ And to top it all off, I'm here with my mom spending time with her while still getting text messages from my new in-laws about joining them for dinner or pumpkin pancakes in the morning. J is gone and I still feel right at home with them and I couldn't have asked for a better new family.

My heart is so full of love and joy and hope for life that I sometimes find myself wondering how I got so lucky. I cannot wait to see what life has in store for me individually, for J and I in our marriage and for our family in the coming year. Here's to 2012 with everything amazing it brought and to 2013 for what's to come!

Thankful v2

I am thankful for...

[+] A home that is ours. One that keeps us safe and warm. A roof over our heads. A place to create memories and relax with my little family. 

[+] A job that constantly challenges me with a company I take a lot of pride in. I have some pretty great coworkers, enjoy what I do most of the time and feel like I'm really contributing. 

[+] Our big, snuggly, perfectly sweet Ollie. Our lives are forever changed because of him and I couldn't imagine life without him. He's become pretty dang spoiled lately but I wouldn't have it any other way. 

[+] J and my health. I've seen too much sickness both serious and not-so-serious in my time preparing for medical school and I cannot imagine the struggle that some people go through with continuous, significant health problems.

[+] Family. In all meanings of the word. My immediate family sometimes has our issues but I would do a lot for them and hope they would for me too. I'm also beyond lucky to be gaining such an amazing family as my in-laws and not only J's immediate family but his cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, the whole bunch.

[+] Two amazing states that I can call home. California weather is pretty dang awesome throughout the year and being able to head to the cold in Colorado is definitely icing on the cake.

[+] My fiance. These last few months have been very stressful for both of us in different ways and to know that we are there to support each other 100% brings me so much joy. Plus he sure does bring a smile to my face. I would do anything for this man and I cannot wait to be his wife.

[+] That our wedding is in 36 short days. The time of our engagement has flown by and while it seems that my to-do list is constantly growing, I know that if nothing else goes right on that day walking away as J's wife and having him as my husband will be a success.