weekend wrap up

this weekend was extraordinarily nice. when Tim got home on Friday morning we headed to Valhalla for breakfast. we spent the rest of our Friday lounging around the house. i did some laundry while Tim and E napped. then i watched Hot Tub Time Machine... by myself, while Tim and E still napped. while watching the movie, our house was SO hot! our AC runs all day and the house never cools beyond 83 degrees. YUCK! we had someone come out to service it earlier that week and he told us that the unit was brand new and it probably didn't cool down in our house because of the great big windows we have everywhere that don't have any window coverings. not even blinds. duh...                               

the window on the top faces the east and the window on the bottom faces the south.

they let in A LOT of light. which is great and i love how open and beautiful it is. until it's 104 outside and i'm sweating inside my house while the AC is on.

Friday evening, we met up at a local restaurant with some close friends for a gender party. we were excited to get out of the house and the heat. but, our group was seated in front of the windows that face the west and we were once again sweating like pigs. so gross. after the party, we went to visit our niece, Karissa, and love on her. she is recovering great and acting like herself again. we went home and slept terrible all night. at 2am, i began looking online at sun shades and anything we could do to protect our house. Saturday morning came and we went straight to Lowe's (after breakfast at Valhalla). we bought 2 exterior sun shades for the windows that face the west (our bedrooms!) and thermal-lined energy-efficient curtains for the 2 windows in the living room. i spent the rest of Saturday ironing 8 panels of curtains. yes 8, those windows are huge, while Tim hung the outdoor sun shades and curtain rods. it didn't make too much of a difference that evening. but Sunday, oh Sunday. i set the AC at 79 before we left for the day. we went to church and then to Ayden's, our nephew, birthday party. we got home about 3 and our house was 79 and the AC was off! it felt great in our house and it felt even better to hear the AC kick off every now and then and give our electric bill a break.

   

(please excuse our disgustingly large TV-which is going to by mounted above the fireplace-that my husband refuses to get rid of because he has a secret love affair with xbox live. and football)

i know, they are so plain and boring. i would have loved some like these. or maybe these. or i even thought about making some out of this fabric. but, these are too expensive/don't have thermal lining/would take me too long to make. so, for now, it's practical and boring.



the cat is also enjoying the cooler wall. see her there?

the part i loved most about this weekend was how much time Tim and i spent working on our home together. we spent our weekend doing things i've waited and dreamed of doing ever since i was a little girl. i love our life.