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.



new life

our house had 4 rose bushes that looked pretty pitiful. i wasn't sure of my capability to try and save them. i've never even planted anything. i've always loved the idea of having a garden and looked forward to it once we had a house of our own. we now have the house, and i now have my opportunity. i did some research and trimmed and watered these rose bushes like crazy and they are coming back to life. i am so proud of myself and my new found green thumb.

slowly, but surely

well, it's been almost 1 month since we got the keys to our home. before i even had a chance to take a before picture (besides on my phone), the kitchen was a construction site. Tim has been watching DIY channel non stop since we started looking at homes to buy. the refrigerator we bought when we first got married didn't fit in the allotted (1956) space. needless to say, he was anxious to demolish something. but our fridge is in, with a tasteful vintage wallpaper peeking through in the background. i love it. we are making it our own.

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we still have quite a bit of our things in storage. we had some electrical to update before anything could be done. it rained one weekend. we are trying to embrace the fact that we will be here for a long time and there's no rush. it's ours. we can do whatever we want, whenever we want. as long as it's ready for a first birthday party that will be here far too quickly...

moving!

we are getting the keys to our house today! we are going to be VERY busy this weekend. on top of moving, my brother in law and his wife are visiting, my neice is turning one and we are celebrating her life on Sunday, and on Monday we are traveling to Fresno to BBQ with some friends. lots of fun and exciting things happening! i have lots i want to share, including: a tutorial on how to make the felt flowers E has been wearing, 8 month photos, and before pictures of our house. as soon as our computer is set up, i will be busy posting! have a great Memorial weekend.

our new house

the hubby and i were renting a darling little home. it had a beautiful fireplace, lots of space and was in a great location. we lived there for 4 months when a few leaks made there debut. with these leaks came a few problems. our master bedroom had mold in the closet (tested, and not harmful-but still gross), and a leak on the ceiling had split open and was just ugly. our landlord had no problem fixing everything but, with a 3 month old, we didn't want to live in the house during construction.

our first home

my parents heard of the news and our need to find another place to rent. they offered for us to move in with them and save some money so we could buy a house. we tossed the idea back and forth and finally decided to move in with them. we were sad to say good-bye to our home. it was our first home and, for only being there 4 months, held lots of sweet memories to our family. we moved in with my parents (who were empty-nesters) and had 2 bedrooms, a bathroom and a small living space all to ourselves. my parents were exctied. so excited it was a little creepy at times.

we wanted to buy an older home in the central part Visalia. we wanted a place with character, yet room to make it our own. after 3 months of saving and looking at houses, we have found our home! 

we have lots of great plans and dreams for this home. i'm excited to share our journey with you as we make these dreams a reality.