a "blue" surprise

I had to stop by the old house last week to water plants, make sure that we didn't have any mail, and I noticed a small box on our porch. I checked the return address and it was from Hubby's company, so I figured that it was more crap for him to file away.

I brought the box back home and didn't really think about it for a couple of days. Hubby was at a conference in New Orleans last week, so I finally thought to mention it to him toward the end of the week. "Oh, it may be your bracelet" he said. "What?!" Now I can't get this package off my mind and couldn't open it soon enough.

For part of a sales competition, Hubby was able to choose a prize for all of his hard work. There were sunglasses, pens, cameras, tools, and a few items that came wrapped in a specific shade of blue.

Now, before you get in my business about why Hubby is giving me his present, since it was his sales competition... let's just say that I do believe I have married one of the kindest men that I have ever known. With that being said, I would just like to think that he enjoys making me happy. Thank you, Hubby. Did I mention, he was at a conference the week after we moved? And he got to see this band?

And now...

Is it just me?

Or does anyone out there have a thing for doorknobs? I have a friend who nearly caused a divorce over changing out every single knob in her home with $50 doorknobs. Ours don't match, but we have several that I think are original to the house. They just add charm.


So, some of the oldies look like this..

And our front door, like this...

We have a lot of these cool old keys that actually still work...

It's not really inside the house

I love the many hydrangea bushes that have been planted at the new house. The landscaping that was done looks extremely natural, but so much work has been put into it. I can't wait until spring to enjoy the azaleas, camellia and gardenias that are also planted. One of our goals is to keep it up since at the old house, our backyard pretty much consisted of a race-track where Zeus & Zoe would run, oh and eat the hosta plants.

Even this late in the season, we still have a few good blooms on the hydrangea, so I decided to bring some inside to enjoy.

Why I (heart) the new house

I thought I would try to share a few photos of the new house this week. Of course, I'll be sure to try not to get any half-empty boxes in the shots or the rooms where nothing has been unpacked!

Some of the details in this home really stood out to us, like the built in cutting boards in the kitchen. Not only one, but four cutting boards are located throughout.

So, this morning, when preparing to slice strawberries for my cereal, it was a breeze.

I just realized that this photo doesn't really do it justice, but the cutting boards are actually built in like a drawer, so all you do is slide it out to use.

Runnin' and Whinin'

I started training tonight for another half-marathon and I can honestly say, I sucked. I have been doing a run-walk training schedule called the Galloway method. Typically, I run for 10 minutes, then walk 2, run 8 and alternate between running & walking the rest of the way. It helps your knees, provides much needed mini-breaks and when you aren't an extremely fast runner (like myself), you don't really lose much time.

Tonight, it went like this:
Ran 10 minutes
Wheezed for about 3 minutes and decided to run again.
Ran for 1 minute
Walked for about 9 minutes.
Ran for 2 minutes and wheezed some more.
Walked for another 6 minutes.
Finally ran for another 3 and walked the rest.

Sucky. Tonight, I only had to do 35 minutes and I ended up going 44, due to where I had parked my car at the park, but still. It's sad that I finished Boot Camp not that long ago and I feel this out of shape.

What I've learned in the past 4 days...

Closing wasn't as bad as I expected... other than handing over a large sum of money and lots of signing, it was fine. I'm sure I should have been reading every line with extreme concentration, but that's why we have a good lawyer.

Professional packers and movers are the way to go. I think we've reached the age that we can no longer buy beer and pizza and expect a few friends to move us. The actual move was pretty stress free.

Until we realized that our queen box spring was not going to make it up our new flight of stairs. They are rather steep. So, Hubby & I have set up camp in a downstairs bedroom for now & lucky for us, we found out that queen box springs are available in a split option.

Zeus does not like the stairs either. After coming back from a few days of "doggie daycare", we were walking them around the house - letting them sniff and get accustomed to it - and we decided to take them upstairs. Zoe, the dog that has no fear quickly bounded up the stairs so she could continue her sniffing. Zeus, not so much. He would get about 2 steps up and freeze and revert to the landing. The steps do have a runner, so I thought he would have enough traction, but apparently not enough for his liking.

And, I never realized how much CRAP we have accumulated. Word of caution - when two independent thirty-somethings marry, they come with lots o' crap. I've been unpacking and quickly separating items into a keep, throw, or yard sale pile.

Moving Announcements

It just wouldn't feel right if I didn't get excited about finding cute moving announcements to send to friends and family to let them know about our new address. I wanted something simple, cute, and let's face it, inexpensive. At this point, if I were to plop down several hundred for the adorable Kate Spade moving announcements, Hubby would kill me. Love, love, love these. But for $439 for 50 cards, it was just a tad too steep for our 3-days before closing budget.

So, for around $40, I found these online today.

So, it's not Kate, and it's not Crane, but honestly, don't these just get thrown in the trash after a couple of days? Sad, but true.

Countdown..

I will be out of commission for the next several days. We are counting down to closing and our move. And, in the meantime, we are:

• having our current house inspected (just so we're aware of anything that may need to be fixed)
• dealing with turning on utilities (Hubby is still bitter that we had to get a new phone number and I will note for the record that cable was 1st on the list)
• still packing a few boxes of items that I don't trust the movers to take
• picking up a washer, dryer, microwave, and I'm sure several boxes from my former landlord's house that he was nice enough to let me store for almost 2 years.
• dealing with last minute things with the mortgage, insurance, ordering a house survey, etc.
• being super busy with both of our jobs

It is so exciting even with all of the little details - we saw our new house yesterday for the re-inspection & everything turned out great. Can't wait to get there - it just feels like we have so much to do before that can happen! I'll try to post next week with exciting packing & moving pictures!

It's a small world

I spent the day attending this seminar with three of my co-workers. While I appreciate the fact that they had volunteers directing us into the parking lot with their "two-fingered or full-handed" pointing gestures, mouse head-shaped balloons to make sure that we knew we were in the right place, and Disney music that played to cue us when it was time to take our seats, I'm still a little perplexed by the fact that the average family (all 3.3 of them) save for 2-3 YEARS to take a trip to Disney. Isn't that incredible? I bet that same family could travel to a wondrous place like Yellowstone National Park, or take in all the history, art, and culture they could want in D.C. for a lot longer and still come away with life-long memories and scrapbooks full of photos that they will enjoy for many years.

Why I (heart) my job

Yesterday afternoon, my editor and I went to meet the guy who started this movement in NC. We met at Carolina Brewery to enjoy a cold beverage and find out more about his plans, a little beer history, and discussion of beer and food pairing. It was so interesting and who wouldn't enjoy having this kind of meeting on a Friday afternoon? From there we hopped over to the welcome reception of this meeting. We really just went for a little networking, and what a fabulous opportunity. These people were all remarkable, knew their food, and have a passion for it. Lots of food writers and chefs were in attendance. We left with lots of great ideas and some great contacts.

Looking for Nashville-area voters

A good friend of mine from college is running for city council - District 11. Now, I won't air any skeletons or dirty laundry on him and I do wish I could give him my vote. Darren was such an inspiration to me on so many levels and he would hate me for saying that about him. He's humble, funny, smart, charming, has a great music selection, and was my best formal date ever. He was a great mentor to me as I tried to figure out what I wanted to be when I grew up. Studying with Darren always revolved around Seinfeld episodes on Thursday nights and making sure that we had enough time to play our favorite CD's and participate in some crazy game that included trying to one-up the other person by picking a more obscure, even better tune.

Good luck, Darren and I hope the voters rally for you on the 11th! Now, when you run for President, don't forget about me and I'll serve on your campaign!

Happy Anniversary

If Hubby reads this title, he may be confused. It is actually just a few days past my one-year blogging anniversary. Wow. I just looked back at my first post and it's amazing how some things have changed, but some are pretty much the same.

For the changed part:

• I now have a job that I really love. Then, I was at a job that I wanted to love, but didn't.
• I was training for my 1st half marathon. I've now done that one, plus another, and am currently contemplating another one for December.
• While we are still living the bachelor pad, we are about 3 weeks away from buying and living in a home that we found together that gives us plenty of room to hopefully have and raise a family, entertain, and enjoy our "own" space without feeling like we are right on top of each other.

For the hasn't changed that much part:

• Our 2 black labs are still a huge part of our life. One is currently snoring at my feet while I type this.
• I'm still heavily involved in the Junior League, currently serving my 2nd year on our Executive Board.
• I still hope that I can continue to keep blogging and use this as a journal of sorts in the future.

So here's to one year at Love, Life, and Labs. Hooray!

My updates have been a bit sporadic and this week, frankly has been a bit "off". My parents left on Sunday, so it's been nice for it just to be Hubby, myself, and the big black dogs. The dogs seem to have settled down, even though we are still in a bit of pack/clean/move/declutter mode. We have to make time to call realtors and list this house, but it just seems like the week has gotten away from us. I think I'm just anxious to list this house, knowing that in about 3 weeks, we are going to be the owners of a new house. While I'd like to think that one day, we may possibly have the luxury to own two homes, I didn't want them to be 10 minutes away from each other!

I was on one of our local morning news stations this morning to talk about the magazine. My editor and I went, while it's always nerve wracking, it's also kind of fun. They loved the latest issue, so it made it really easy. I felt like all we said was "thank you". I'm fairly used to being interviewed, but I had never been interviewed at the TV station set, so seeing the teleprompter, talking to the anchor (and noticing that he has a helluva lot of make up on), is just kind of surreal. We left, immediately called the office and husband's to make sure that we didn't sound or look like idiots, hit Starbucks for a much needed caffeine boost and headed back to work.

Hubby and I also thought that I might be expecting this week. From my calculations, I was about 3 days late, which is pretty late in my book. I bought my first EPT 3-pack ever, tested twice (both negative), and then had a visitor later that day. It's OK. I will admit, we were disappointed, but would have been shocked if we really were. But, as some of my friends have said, it only takes one time.

Not sure what Labor Day holds for us. I have a short day at work tomorrow and we may head to the lake, but we feel like we need to work on the house. Possibly a compromise, and we'll go up for a day.

Plug it in, plug it in...

This is also a must have for the new home office. In black, I think. We can finally have the mobile phones, iPods, Garmin, and digital camera all in one place without cords plugged in everywhere. This make me so happy! From Pottery Barn, of course.

Cake & such

After nearly two weeks of close quarters, we said goodbye to my parents this morning. They have done so much work that we could never begin to repay them. I should preface this by saying that my parents are 75 and 65, and are probably the hardest workers I have ever known. I wish I had their know-how and talent. They were at our current house, painting, cleaning, packing, sanding, giving Zeus and Zoe way more attention than they needed, and getting our house ready to go on the market. I hope we didn't guilt them, but now Hubby's dad is visiting on Tuesday to help us with a little landscaping and yard work. Hubby's dad owns several rental properties, so he's also a great guy to have around.

Since we were up early today, we made a 2nd pot of coffee and attacked our storage building in the back yard, emptied it, cleaned it, and reorganized it. Our plan is to call in three realtors this week and hopefully have it listed by the end of the week.

So, Hubby and I needed a little reward today, so we set off to our favorite bakery for a little yummy goodness. Red velvet cake for hubby and raspberry lady for me (vanilla cake with raspberry jam and cream cheese frosting). Yum. I couldn't even finish my piece, so I'm now debating if the rest can count as my dinner.

My "new" 1939 kitchen

In the new house, the kitchen has a cute, built-in plate rack. To go along with the year the house was built, I'm trying to find coordinating dishes. I'm considering Fiesta Ware, since it has been around since the 30's. I was also introduced to this wonderful site today by a co-worker. I am now so in love with the pantone plates. Apparently, these were used by salespeople in the 40's to show the pantone colors. I'm thinking that these could be really cute in the new kitchen. Our regular dishes are Emma by Pottery Barn in white, so I would want to use something that could possibly coordinate.



Of course, this part of the kitchen is actually new, but I still think it could work. I would love any retro ideas that may fit in.

Also, we have this cute little phone cubby. Hmmm, to use as a resting place for flowers in a vase, or this? Decisions, decisions...
I promise to post more photos soon, but probably not until we move in. I feel strange about showing photos while it's not yet our home.

Almost two years ago...

Since we are getting ready to move (in a month!), we have been packing, de-cluttering, and taking boxes to our storage unit. In doing so, I ran across the CD of photos from our wedding. Since I started my blog after I was married, I decided to take a walk down memory lane. This is also my downside when packing, because I want to stop and read or look at everything. This post should probably come with a warning to skip if you aren't interested.. it's probably like seeing your Aunt Sally's vacation photos! Photos taken by Kellie Kano Photography.

The day of our wedding... enjoying a glass (or two) of Dom Perignon, a surprise from sweet hubby while having my hair done. I promise, my hair wasn't this big when I walked down the aisle.

The flowers for my bridesmaid and my own bouquet - mine included white hydrangea, berries, and jasmine. My bridesmaids had pink roses and berries, wrapped in black material to match their dresses.

Our wedding programs. Love these - ecru, with a satin bow on the side and our monogram. The square shaped matched our wedding invitations and wedding cake.

My gown... pre getting dressed and getting it dirty before I went down the aisle!

During the ceremony, I remember being so nervous, but so excited for the future.A little posing with our wedding party, after the ceremony.

Leaving the church... I was so excited, I blocked Hubby's face with my bouquet!
After our ceremony, enjoying a little alone time before going to the reception.

Our wedding cake - four layers of yummy goodness: red velvet, peanut butter and chocolate, raspberry lady (white cake with raspberries) and a layer of chocolate and raspberries. It had our monogrammed and we had my Great Aunt Lucy and Uncle Horace's cake topper displayed that was used at their wedding in the 1920's.

Our first dance... we have no formal training, but had a blast. We danced to "It had to be you".

A great group shot.. I love this picture. It was a perfect ending to a perfect day.

A busy week...

It really has been a crazy week... On Sunday/Monday, I had a little breakdown about one of my volunteer positions and if I'm truly in the "right chair", so to speak. I had a talk with our president who assured me that I am and all Hubby could say is "sucker" now that I've decided it's OK.

Also for my volunteer position, I had the chance to work here to drive a golf cart for this golfer. (sigh). He's my latest addition to my "list" ... too bad he's probably 10 years younger than me. Such a cutie and he's doing quite well in the tournament.

My parents have been here since Tuesday.. they have been a huge help, but the house is feeling a wee cramped. Hubby has been absent a little more than usual and I think I understand why. Not to sound ungrateful, but it is a little hard to manage.

The new house is going well - the sellers have verbally agreed to our inspection list, but we are still waiting for that in writing. Closing is in one month. We are hoping to have our house listed in the next two weeks.

A little togetherness

I spent the weekend with 20 of my fellow board members with this great organization. Again, I am always blown away at how many remarkable women we have that volunteer, have full-time jobs, children, and many other time commitments as well. We stayed overnight for our retreat in a camp-like atmosphere. Now, these are primarily women who are always dressed in their pearls, wearing great outfits with coordinating sandals and clutches. It was great to see that we (myself included) were able to "rough it" in our accommodations that included 4 bunk beds to a room, a 5-minute shower rule, and not freak out when we were outside of our comfort zones (whether it was almost getting attacked by huge bugs, doing the ropes course, or staying a weekend with 20 other women). Luckily, there was wine!

And, speaking of comfort zones, my parents are traveling here tomorrow for an "extended" vacation. We aren't sure of the end date of the trip & Hubby and I became a little concerned when my mom is asking about the Baker sale, that takes place in MID September! My parents are great - they are mostly retired (my dad still works a part-time job for fun), so they are coming to help us get our current house ready to put on the market. Hubby did paint our dining room this weekend to a great neutral shade (parchment) that I highly recommend.. it took him 4 hours to prime and cover the previous red that it was painted. He was a trooper - it looks great, but still needs a few touch-ups. Luckily, mom is detail-oriented and will be a great toucher-upper.

Leaky pipes

The inspection was this morning, which is kind of crazy because you are just hanging out in someone else's house. It just feels kind of surreal. Waiting around, checking out the cabinets, measuring to see if furniture will fit where we want, watching TV, eating popcorn.. no, just kidding about the popcorn part! It was great to be there again and take another look... again, we are both still sold on the house and I can't wait to be living there and enjoying it.

At any rate, the inspection came back relatively clean, especially for a home of this age. There is one rather major issue - the downstairs bath has leaked and there is damage to the sub-flooring under the house. I'm thinking a new bathroom floor, perhaps? We are in the process of writing up what we would like to have fixed and submitting that to the sellers, so it's a little nerve wracking. I hope all goes well.

In other news, it is incredibly hot and humid here in NC, as it is almost everywhere else across the US. My car thermostat was always 100-106 all day. Last night at 8PM, it was 100 degrees. All I want to do is eat smoothies for lunch and ice cream for dinner!