Friends
A Naked Rocker
July 23, 2013
Don’t think I’m trying to fool you with the title of this post. By the end of it, you will see a naked rocker. Guaranteed. You’re welcome in advance. If you don’t remember where we stand in this porch rocker undertaking, refresh your memory here. To refresh your memory without reading the first rocking chair post, I’ll fill you in. Basically, I was sick of the worn-looking front porch rockers and since they were left to us for free by the people who lived here before us, I decided to sink a little money into them in the form of a professional crafts(wo)man that would weave new cane onto the old frame.
Brightening my days
April 7, 2012
I came home on Thursday to find these beauts waiting for me on the front porch. I mentioned in the beginning of this post how our friends surprised me with an overnight stay last weekend, and this was the unnecessary “Thanks!” they sent. The tulips and irises arrived in an adorable, rustic-looking metal vase which looks so cool against our brick column in the kitchen. They are perfect. Thank you for your thank you, JMul!
Colorado Trip, Part 1
May 7, 2012
Disclaimer: what you are about to read is a bit wordy. It highlights the first leg of our vacation in Colorado, so please feel free to scroll just the pictures if you fall into any of the following categories: -You are a slow reader -You’re reading this in the bathroom at work and only have a couple of minutes to devote to my award-winning prose -I bore you Matt attended a conference that took place in Denver in March, and I was excited to tag along with him and spend some quality time with my sisters (who both live there).
Colorado Trip, Part 2
May 16, 2012
When we last left off in Colorado, Part 1, I was exhausted from hiking with psycho dog, full from all of the delicious beer and food, (mostly beer) impressed with my furniture lugging skills, and very excited for our impending trip into the mountains. Matt and I are not tremendous skiers…well…let’s be honest here. By “not tremendous” I mean I’m intermediate and Matt had been skiing once before. Once(!!!) This past winter.
Everything Is Bigger In Texas! (Part One)
October 14, 2012
I wanted to take a break from our guest room overhaul to write a post about our fun time away this month! Even though the fall projects are lining themselves up, Matt and I took a semi-spontaneous trip to Texas! Does planning it a few weeks before the fly date qualify it for semi-spontaneous status? I’m a bit of a planner, so it qualifies in my book. Lately, we’ve had more than our fair share of police activity in our quiet, quaint lake town.
Five Boro Bike Tour
May 9, 2012
Despite our better judgement, Matt and I enrolled in Bike New York again this year. Yes, we are 3 years older than we were the last time we biked 50 miles around the NYC burroughs. No, we didn’t train. Thanks for pointing those things out. We even bested ourselves, and signed up with Matt’s sister and brother who are both in OH SO MUCH better shape than us. We dropped Griffin off at Matt’s mother’s and made the train with a few minutes to spare.
Green Mountain Getaway
July 23, 2012
This past weekend was positively beautiful here in New England. The humidity and high heat of the last couple of weeks dropped and I was able to get out of Connecticut and head up into the Green Mountains of Vermont. My sisters and I had been organizing a big girls weekend for a while and the weather forecast had everyone itching to get up there! We had the fortunate opportunity to stay at a breathtaking property that belongs to family friends of ours.
Green Mountain Wedding
June 19, 2013
You might not believe this, but this past weekend, Matt and I did nothing around the house. I swear. No house projects, no laundry, no cleaning. You name it. We didn’t do it. Crazy, right? We had an excuse for being a bit lackadaisical. We were away in Vermont for much of the weekend and then had a chance to celebrate Father’s Day with my dad late in the day on Sunday.
Greetings From Strong Island
March 3, 2013
Matt and I headed out to Long Island this weekend for an impromptu visit. We had the weekend open to do house things (sorry, house!) but chose to take a mini-trip instead. It had been quite some time since we were last on “The Island,” as many New Yorkers call it. (Source) We were happy for the chance to head out to the place that so many influential people have called home - Lindsay Lohan, the Gotti family, and Flavor Flav, to name a few.
Griffin vs. (Deflated) Volleyball
September 8, 2012
We had some of Matt’s family over last night to celebrate (my sister-in-law) Erin’s last night home. She’s moving out to Denver to live and we had some very minor set-up to attend to before 30+ people strolled in for a bonfire. It was very low key with the exception of our psycho dog. Every time we set up for parties, Griffin goes bat sh*t crazy. He runs around – whimpering, tearing circles around the picnic table – trying to draw our attention away from the task at hand and onto him by any means necessary.
I Haven't Forgotten...
September 8, 2013
…about you. My loyal readers. I know it’s been over two weeks since my last post, but I’ve been a busy little bee around here, and I can’t wait to share all of the random updates. In time. Don’t worry, you’re not the only ones being neglected. The lawn is probably close to 10” tall right now. I wish I was kidding. In lieu of a house post, (since I don’t have anything to share right this second) I’ll just do a picture post of things that have been keeping us busy the last few weeks.
Painting the Rocker!
July 26, 2013
Brace yourself for a 10 on the excitement spectrum. The first porch rocker has a painted frame and is ready for Suzan to do her thing! I’m so pumped. Last time we talked, you knew I decided to refinish the frame of the chair in some capacity, but I had yet to decide on a material or a color. After my meeting with Suzan, I was pretty much convinced that Annie Sloan’s Chalk Paint was the medium with which to work.
Run For The Families
March 25, 2013
It’s been over three months since the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy in Newtown, CT. Back in January, I signed up for a 5K to honor the families affected that day. Good friends of ours are close with the Engel family, who lost their daughter Olivia Rose in the shooting. Our friends were running in memory of that little girl and all of the people affected, and I was proud and honored to join the “Running for Olivia Rose” team and join the larger support effort.
Shakespeare's Garden
July 1, 2013
In between gardening and putting finishing touches on the kitchen tile, I found some time this weekend to take a drive to a local nursery I’d yet to visit. Shakespeare’s Garden is nestled in a very quaint area of Brookfield, CT, just a few miles from home. While out at a firework gathering Saturday night, my friend Stacey (the same Stacey who organized the wine tour) mentioned she was heading to a cute nursery in Brookfield, CT.
Showering Me With Love
February 18, 2014
My mom and sisters (yes, they both flew in!) threw me a baby shower this weekend, and I am still taking it all in. In fact, I think I’ll be taking it in for quite some time. I’m completely overwhelmed with gratitude. I can’t believe the outpouring of support and love that surrounded me (and Matt and baby, too!) I tried to relish each moment at the time, but as it is with most events like this, sometimes the reflection period follows the event itself.
Weekend Recap: Bonfires, Brews and Ball(s)
September 9, 2012
I hope everyone had an awesome weekend! We had some crazy weather come through on Saturday but today seems to be the start of a string of nice days. I’ll take 75 and sunny all year long, please. Order up! We kicked off the weekend using our little homemade fire pit which is comprised of alternating bricks stacked in a square shape. It boasts the awesome price tag of $0 - the previous owners left a pallet of bricks for which we had no use.
You are what you drink... and other weekend updates
June 10, 2012
There were a few loose projects lined up for this weekend. I wanted to paint a couple of interior doors, do a brake job on my car, and tend to some yard maintenance. Before we tackled any of the above, we took a ride to the Thomas Hooker Brewing Company in Bloomfield, CT (a suburb of Hartford) on what was mostly a dreary, wet Saturday here in CT. It really put the kibosh on any productivity that might have happened on Saturday because we had way too much fun.