our first weekend

So we've been in our house a week now, and this weekend we made our first real meals together. I mean, we've made some frozen burgers during the week, eaten cereal, that sort of thing, but they weren't real. Anyway, Chris made us breakfast yesterday morning -- totally delicious.

mmm!

We then trekked out to Rochester Hills to go to a specific Pier 1 store so I could buy a really awesome rug for under the dining table. When I changed my address at the postal service web site, they sent me coupons for all kinds of stuff, including Pier 1 -- $15 off a purchase of $75 or more. Pretty easy for the numbers to add up in that store, too, you know? We got some really great stuff and our house has some cool new decor.

it's called the scroll border jute rug, and it was originally $120, and on sale for $39. amazing!

So the rest of the day consisted of cupcakes -- my mom had come to visit on Friday and brought me all the ingredients I needed to make a recipe I saw on the Rachael Ray show, including cake mix and frosting, so hell yes I used that right away -- and my lady Sooz came over to check out the house.

mom! :-)

so many cupcakes...

we killed a bottle of wine between the three of us -- and two pizzas and some bread -- and had a lovely night.

Tonight, I used my newly gifted ingredients and made buccatini with tomatoes, red peppers, green peppers, bacon and garlic. Delicious. I baked a half of a French roll and whipped up some dipping sauce, too. Very tasty. The recipe should still be on her website (I think it has archives) and it's actually pretty easy.

so pretty, and so yummy.

the clean up! we're such a great team.

It's been a really great weekend. Relaxing, happy, comfortable and...well, fuzzy, thanks to the cats climbing all over us while we try to do anything around the house. This week...maybe finally painting the hallway (it's almost the last thing we have to paint around here) and just enjoying the place. I need to start working outside, but for that to happen I'm gonna need some more attractive weather. This 45 degree crap has to end soon. Right?

Ferndale deals

Hey Ferndalians! My boyfriend and I are trying to compile a list of local places that offer deals and specials on certain days. We've got the whole half-off all food at the WAB on Mondays (totally amazing) and the Post's $6 burgers and fries on Tuesdays...what else should we be aware of?

breathing, finally.

WELL.

It's been a while, hasn't it? Chris and I are officially moved in, and I blame that fact for why I haven't been able to get on here. Painting, cleaning, organizing, rearranging, building...it's so much, but we love it.

We brought our furniture here on Sunday via U-Haul (totally worth the $95) and brought the cats the next day. So far, Penny Lane (my cat) and Harley Quinn (Chris' cat) haven't gotten along at all, but we're pretty hopeful.

Harley Quinn, looking adorable.

Penny Lane...brooding.

There's so much to say, and so much advice to give, and I promise to be more regular about these updates, but right now I have a rare moment of peace before bed, where I can watch TV with Chris and enjoy my buzz from the two beers I've had and just...chill. So I'll be back this weekend, for sure. In the meantime, here are some photos I took today of our current setup.

our super cute dining area!

local art!

my favorite piece of local art.

the TV/living area.

lovely shelf/display.

the door into the dining area.

blue bird display, over the stove.

my makeup corner, upstairs.

our upstairs TV area.

our adorable bed. :-)

red

So, we’ve decided to bring some color into our lives. And our house. And our floors, and cabinets and ceilings. I mean, it’s not like we’re professionals, here. But it looks great so far: we’re going with the Behr Ultra, the kind with the paint and primer in one can. It makes for easy application and only one coat, in most spots.

Yesterday we started on the dining room feature wall and the kitchen. This is called “Antique Red,” and we picked it on a whim from Home Depot. Not bad for a random choice, you know?

oooh...antiquey!

This was no big deal. We need to touch it up and we’re done, pretty much. The kitchen, though…

What a pain. That bead board (is that what it’s called? The shiny, thin wainscoting-like stuff on the walls? It’s magnetic, which I didn’t previously know.) doesn’t take the paint terribly well until the second or third coat, and we discovered the counters and cabinets aren’t flush with the walls, so we have to decide whether or not to paint all the way down (or up) behind them. It’s sort of weird, and the layout makes for some sore muscles from all the reaching, but it’s going to look awesome when we’re done.

voila!

It's done! The upstairs painting, that is. I mean, I think it's done. We'll see tomorrow, when all the light is coming through the windows and it's dried for a day and a half. We still have an entire gallon of "Haven" leftover, so I guess if there are any touch-ups needing to be done, we can do those too.

TIP: You can return paint! If it's unopened, the store will take it back. That'd be like getting our next gallon for free...sort of.

So fresh! Now: onto the living and dining area. I'm buying the feature wall color tomorrow -- "Baked Clay" -- and that will go on the far wall in the dining space, and also the kitchen. The rest of the living/dining room will be a sandy color, and we'll carry that shade into the hallway. Chris' office is going to be blue -- he liked "Cosmos" -- and we'll worry about the guest room later. Btw, these are all Sherwin Williams color names I'm using.

aww.

color

We're painting! We started yesterday, in the bedroom, and have gotten pretty far (I think). The color is fresh and clean, and I think it will look so great and breezy when we're done, and have added furniture and decorations. The ledge on the stairs will be white, as will the door to the closet, so they'll have a little pop.

before: bland, boring brown. ew.

now: fresh, clean green! it's called "Haven." is there a bedroom color more perfectly named?