Office Makeover

Our office was in desperate need for a makeover! Here are some {embarrassing} photos of what it looked like BEFORE. Stay tuned for a variety of projects, and then, of course the {looks pretty good if I do say so myself} AFTER photos!

Ugly and messy

Yikes, what was I thinking with that accent wall!?

I admit, I painted that {hideous} green accent wall. It was in my "I have a house! I want to paint! I don't know what I'm doing!" phase.

Stay tuned about the office, and better yet, I little project I'm debuting tonight at my Staff Holiday Party...I can't wait! :)

Getting Through This Together

It has been a rough month. For many reasons, of which I won't go into details. But, the lyrics to this song, by He Is We (one of my new favorite artists) have been an encouragement. I am so thankful for Tom and this song is a wonderful description of how I feel about being thankful to have him in my life! I could listen to it over and over again and never get tired of it. Then again, I am one of "those" people who can listen to a favorite song over and over again. It drives Tom crazy!

Listen here:

Enjoy!

Wishing for the Beach

Back in early July, Tom and I had the pleasure of going to Orange Beach, Alabama with my family. We had so much fun, and really enjoyed relaxing, eating amazing food, and being with dear family. I love the beach. I love falling asleep while reading under an umbrella, swimming in the waves, and walking the beach each evening. We had an extra treat of being there over 4th of July. Watching fireworks over the ocean while laying in the white sand was a definite highlight! Here are a few pictures of our trip:

Wish we were there now!! One week flew by and wasn't long enough!

House Work

We've been so busy with the back to school routine and working around the house. Here are some big projects we can finally check off our list!

I painted all the trim white, and the banisters white, too. I love the new look! Also, we finally painted all the downstairs walls and the foyer. It makes such a big difference!

Windowsill BEFORE

Windowsill AFTER

Wood banister BEFORE

White banister AFTER

White walls BEFORE

Beige walls AFTER 

Tom has been working hard, too! He ripped out dry rot, replaced the wood on both our bay windows, and put in a new back door!

Dry rot all ripped out!

A big mess

Working hard

I wish that was everything on our to-do list! At least we checked off a few items!

Summer Depression

Summer is almost over. And by almost, I mean, officially after this week. In the 4 weeks that I actually had a summer, I have worked at school/on school stuff and/or tutored for at least 12 of those days. So, really, "summer" has been over for some time.

I'm trying to live it up this week by:
-finishing painting all the trim in the house
-read Pride and Prejudice (I'm about 1/4 of the way through)
-do all the laundry
-go to the pool to get somewhat of a summer tan
-clean the house top to bottom
-finish setting up my classroom
-watch the Olympics (highlight of my week for sure!)
-organize the basement
-play with Mag-ster

Wish me luck! :)

Where I've Been, What I've Been Doin'

Life has been BUSY. Since my last post, I:

*Completed my Masters Summer Practicum (which included finishing a ridiculous amount of work, but with the exception of a final presentation, it is DONE!)

*Celebrated my wonderful co-worker, Danielle's Wedding (gorgeous. perfect. loved every second.)

*Talked to my sweet Cottage Friends who celebrated Jen's wedding in Michigan (I could not go, devastatingly, due to the event below. Pictures show it was the cutest wedding ever. And Jen looked beautiful!)

*Went on a fabulous Family Vacation to Orange Beach, Alabama (Drove 14 hours both ways! Pictures and update to come!)

*Attempted to update my house for under $100 (which I mostly followed, more to follow, of course.)

And now, here I am! So much to do! So little time! Today was really my first free day of summer and it was amazing. I have to kick it in high gear tomorrow, to fit in all my projects, and hopefully a bit of fun!

A Puppy Birthday

Happy Birthday to our sweet puppy dog Maggie! She's three! We are so glad we decided we were ready to get a puppy dog three years ago!

What a pretty party princess! She hates us.

Opening her present.

A dog cake...and no, that's NOT chocolate!

Maggie devoured this in about 5 bites.

The Life.

Some serious chewing!

Happy Birthday Mags! Here's to many more puppy birthdays!