Paint colors

I need to pick our living room paint color today so that we can paint and then re-finish the floors but I just can't decide.

I want to buy this rug and put it in the middle.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

What COLOR on the walls?????

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Hard Wood Floors

So Josh (my brother-in-law), Jessica (brother-in-laws girlfriend) and I decided to pull the carpet out of the living room and dining room last night. It was so easy coming up that I thought to myself that maybe all that I would have to do was vacuum and then give it a good mop and they would look fabulous. Think again...

All I have to say is that the people that lived here before us were CRAZY and GROSS!!! They glued and stapled the carpet pad to the floor and also decided to paint before putting the carpet down and did not bother to put a tarp down!

Here is the "before" with carpet...please forgive the lack of decor, I have yet to decide on how we will decorate this space and we are also getting a new TV for the wall so this one is just here as a transition.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Now here is the "after" without the carpet...not much better but still an improvement.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

And here are the hurdles...
1. cleaning up all the glue from the floor (goo-be-gone here we come)
2. pulling up all the staples
3. pulling up all the carpet tack strips
4. sanding the floors
5. staining the floors
6. sealing the floors
Easy job, right???

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Here is an example of how they painted without drop cloths.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Sneak peak

Here is a sneak peak of our new home. I have so many ideas and colors that I want to play with but for now I have to finish unpacking my last few boxes and get ready for the bridal event I am co-hosting on Sunday afternoon. But here it is...

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

The cute front where I want to paint the shutters, trim and the porch railing black and take down the tacky letters that spell out the address. Plus plant some really cute and colorful flowers in the flower beds.

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Here is the oh so cute but very tiny dining room with a cute built in cabinet. My sister put the whole thing together for me when she helped me unpack all of the wedding gifts. She made it look so cute :). I am thinking a soft cool blue on the walls with a really cool blue and cream print on the chairs seats (I will be stripping these chairs and painting them cream to match the table and head chairs). Oh and of course my wedding chandelier hanging above the table instead of this ugly one!

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Then there is the kitchen which needs to have the cabinets painted a nice cream/ivory and a new butcher block counter with a subway tile back splash and new tile flooring.

It has been really fun starting to make this our home and Jeremiah is very excited to have all these fun "house" tasks. We went to Bed, Bath and Beyond on Monday night and you would have thought that he walked into a dream land! He was so excited about EVERYTHING there. He wanted to buy a salad spinner, table clothes, garlic presses, trivets, anything that caught his eye and stuck him as "NEAT". It was fun to watch and very surprising because I didn't think that he would EVER want to go to a home store let alone have fun in it. I had planned on going by myself to pick up a few things and he told me over the phone, "No, wait till I get home and we'll go together." So I did and we went and had fun using our wedding gift cards. Then yesterday he said "you want to go to Bed, Bath and Beyond again to browse?" Browse!!! Since when does Jeremiah just want to go someplace and BROWSE?!?!?! I love that he is so cute and unpredictable sometimes :).

So long story short...my stories are never short :)...we are settling in and having fun "Playing House." Well I guess we're not playing anymore and this is real life. Hmmm, married, bought a home with my husband, talking about having kids soon...I guess I am a "Grown Up."

And apparently "Mr. I love Bed Bath and Beyond" is a "Grown Up" too? :)

Bridal event-Support Exquisite Blooms

If you are a Bride-to-Be or you know a Bride-to-Be then please share this with them and please come. You are all invited!!!

From Exquisite Blooms

Leave a comment if you can make it so we can get a head count. Hope to see you there :):):)

I hate Packing

How is it that while trying to be an organized minimalist, one can acquire so much stuff?!?!?!

We are going through closets, cabinets, bins...and finding stuff that we bought and then used once or never. To top it off, now we can't seem to find a need for it. GOODWILL!!! That's what my sister and I keep yelling...GOODWILL!!! It's amazing the stuff that accumulates in 3 years. FUN Summer serving trays (never used)Goodwill! Chillzane from the Pampered Chef (never used) Goodwill! Iced tea jar (used once)Goodwill! Stuff really piles up if you don't stay on top of your "Spring Cleaning." I am making a vow right now, you all are my witnesses...I WILL "Spring Clean" in our new house every Spring so that I will NOT have random stuff collecting that I will find 5 years from now and think "hmmm, why did I buy this?"

Keep your fingers crossed, we are supposed to get the keys tomorrow and start moving our stuff in the afternoon. I already ordered the truck so we better get the keys.

Other things to look forward to...

"We're going to Disneyland"

That is my sister and I are going to Disneyland for our birthday on Friday. Why you ask? Cause its free on your birthday and what better way to get in free than with your twin sister :). I plan on making her wear a matching shirt but I have yet to find them. She hates dressing the same but I love it :). Well, I am tired and need to go to bed so I can finish packing in the morning.

Moving...

Started packing last night. Yep that's right, we are moving! My sister and I are selling our cute little 2/1 bungalow with black and white checker kitchen floors in the cute neighborhood of El Cerrito and Jeremiah and I are moving to 3/2 bungalow in a cute old neighborhood of Chula Vista. It's definitely going to need a little work and love on my part but I am excited to decorate and tackle some DIY projects. As of now we are scheduled to close escrow on Tuesday and start moving on Wednesday.

It will be sad to not live with my sister anymore but exciting starting a new home with my husband, one that I can make completely my own. I already have so many ideas and I will share them as they come. Idea one...rip the carpet out to reveal the pretty hard wood floors (plus the idea of living on someone elses carpet really grosses me out, eww). Idea two...strip the kitchen cabinets and paint them a rich cream, then tear out the counter to get a butcher block counter and tile the back splash with a cream subway tile. That will be a big project! But I know I can do it :)

Here is an example of the look of all 3 together but this is SOOOO not what my future kitchen looks like. It is a regular galley kitchen and small but it will definitely benefit from a little makeover. Someday I will have this large kitchen but for now I will start small :).

From Sally's Blog-A Warm Conversation

Hope everyone is having a good weekend!!! I am off to make some flowers for a 75th birthday tonight :)

My Husbands Birthday!!!

(circa 2004-ish)

Today is Jeremiah's Birthday!!!! So today I dedicate this post to my wonderfully loving and funny husband :). Where to start, for those of you that don't know my lovely husband here are a few stats...

Name: John Jeremiah
DOB: September 4th, 1980
Age today: 29 (1 year till he hits the big 3-0)
Family ranking: youngest of 6 (he had 4 brothers and 1 sister) he's the baby to the core!
Passions: starting businesses, eating good food and of course Church
His age when I met him: 17!

So over the past 11.5 years what have I learned about the guy that I thought was so cute in his white beanie at track practice? Actually rather than talk about what I have learned about him, I'm going to talk about what I have learned from him. Jeremiah has taught me true love, forgiveness, honesty, communication and most importantly the Bible. It was through Jeremiah's teaching and patience that I have come to have the relationship with God that I have today and for that I am very grateful.

Things that I love about him: his sense of humor, his playful attitude, his complete support of all my business ventures, his love of wedding flowers :), his need to TALK everything through even when I just want to be mad and storm out, his love of his family, his ENORMOUS family, his passion for food, his dark curly hair, his pasty white skin, his constant humming and singing of church songs, his new found obsession with flossing, his love of his 13 nieces and nephews, the idea of him being a father, his soft kisses and his love and respect for God and His word (these are just a few)

So, now you know a little more about the Birthday Boy :)
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MIAH!!!!!!!!!!