Steps

First step: Move
Second step: House (duplex)
Third step: Home

Since today is the final day, my dad is doing the final walk through of the apartment with me. (I got a little upset on Monday when they were so rude to me, so I think his presence will help!) Last night, we expected to be at the apartment doing last minute touch-ups and re-painting until 10pm like we did Mon/Tues night, but when we arrived, my mom had already steam cleaned all the carpets and finished the painting. All we did was clean a couple window tracks and wash the windows! My mom is THE BEST! It's so nice to have family that is willing to help when you really need it. I am so beyond happy that it's over, I could jump for joy. Kevin and I even went to Claim Jumper last night to celebrate with a beer and a raspberry martini (theirs are the best!).

Since we got home around 8pm, we spent time cleaning up and organizing the new place. Kevin got all the shelves mounted. We spent time filling them with pictures, knick knacks and books to make it feel more homey. They look so good! It's just one small piece in the grand scheme of the whole place, but it's starting to look more like a home. Tonight, my sis-in-law is coming over to help me hang pictures and organize. It will be nice to have another woman's design eye. I can't wait until our couch comes in and my house is completely set-up so I can post pictures. We are just so happy with our new place, we can't stand it!

19.5 hours!!

we only have 19.5 hours until we have to turn in our keys to our old place. although we love our new place one million times better, it is a little bittersweet to leave the first apartment we shared as a married couple. i have pictures from the first day we got the keys and we were so excited! it's where we shared our first christmas and where we cooked our first easter dinner. it's where we survived our first difficult but loving year of marriage including kevin being laid off, job changes and figuring out our finances. ::wow - is it dorky that i'm tearing up as i write this!?! haha:: now, we've moved on to bigger and better things. hopefully that's a sign that things will only get better from here. when you have the love of your life and your best friend by your side, how can things not be great?

hopefully we won't be there too long tonight so that we can actually feel like we're spending time at our new place. there's just SO MUCH to do!

just so we're clear...

it is my official "I'm-turning-25-again birthday!" just around the corner. not sure how i feel about that. even though this day has rolled around once every year for the past 25, i still seem shocked because they are coming faster and faster. but, i do think from now until ::gulp!:: THIRTY, things will only get better.

*ps. if you think this post is bad, you should have seen me last year when i turned 25. thank goodness i have a chance to do it again this year ;)

What a joke!

We are already having problems with our apartment complex and the management company for the apartment we are trying to move out of. The "manager" was so beyond rude to me (and I work in customer service as a public employee) that I requested to speak with her supervisor. Boy, was that a mistake! Not only did he demand that, in the residential business, the customer is not always right, he automatically took his employee's side without hearing me out, interrupted me multiple times, and had the audacity to claim that I created the mold/mildew on the windows/ceiling of the bathroom and master bedroom by purposefully removing the fan unit from the wall and snipping the wires. Really? Yes, because I purposefully want to live in a mold-infested dump. On top of making fun of my father's career and claiming that he needed to "teach me lesson from this experience," he accused me of being "sue-happy" by saying that I was going to repaint my walls of my apartment and send my insurance claims to him for some fake injury. Whatever!? I would never even think of that! As if that wasn't enough, he actually made me cry! I called my husband and my father in tears. Apparently, he and my father mixed words and all is okay. Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it. I guarantee we won't be getting any of our deposits back and will probably be charged on top of that. What a joke. Living there is the worst mistake of my life. I am heading straight there to take photos of the mold/mildew problems and then to clean. Unfortunately, I don't see it getting any better. All I know is that I am taking pictures of the apartment before I had over my keys to keep documentation of the status in case they damage it and try to bill us.

WARNING: Cheesy, mushy stuff ahead...

Dear husband, you are the best! Love, your wifey :)

Some people think that it's too dependent if you always want to be with your spouse. I think it means you found the right person. I'm not saying that Kevin and I are connected at the hip and can't function without each other, but we just simply love to be with each other. Being together, spending time with one another, is what makes us most happy. I love that about my marriage. He is the love of my life.

Dear _________

Dear Black Rock Coffee, thank you for the deliciousness you continue to serve me (almost) every morning. i know i will be single-handedly keeping you in business now that you provide the double drive-thru option on my way to work.

Dear Landlord, when you decide on which sink to install always, i repeat always, opt for the disposal. you are ruining my cuticles.

Dear Sophia, please halt your growth for a year or two. you are growing up too fast. you can speak short sentences now! although i am extremely proud, i just want to stay little for a little while longer. to me, you're 2.5 going on 13.

Dear Peyton, you are the happiest baby i have ever seen. please send some of those smiles and sunshine to my baby one day.

Dear husband, you make my life so much better. even when you forget (every morning) to close the shower curtain and water gets all over my floor. it's cool. i don't mind cleaning up after you, as along as i get to have you for the rest of my life. xoxo.

Dear Monster, i hope you are happy now that you have "your bed" back. your papa and i didn't mean to incovenience you. thanks for keeping me warm last night. i promise to always love you and baby you, even when we have a human baby one day. more walks to come. i promise.

Dear cubicle, if i have to be here in your presence more than i am at home then so be it. thank you, at least, for facing the window so i can daydream about outside things.

Dear birthday, i would appreciate less hoopla this year. please come a little slower in the following years, as getting old is depressing. please realize this will be my "i'm-turning-25-again" birthday. no offense.

one foot out the door and into another.

tonight will be our 3rd night sleeping in the new place. granted, we are sleeping on a mattress on the floor in the middle of the living room, but at least we're here. so far, we love it. couldn't be happier with our new shorter commutes to work (about 2 mins for kevin and a whopping 5 minutes for me). kevin has one light to go through and i have 1 stop sign and a light. it really doesn't get much better than that! it's so close, we can both go home for lunch to eat and visit the little monst.

our neighbors are gone a lot, but even when they are home, it's very peaceful at our new place. GASP! there is no more listening to our neighbors walk around in the apartments above ours or the noisy teenagers blasting their music in the wee hours of the night/morning while they make-out in their cars. we haven't explored much of the neighborhood yet, as our hours are full of moving and organizing (and squeezing in sleep every once in a while), but we have noticed a huge police presence in our area. there is a fire station within walking distance, and police patrolling the streets. i have taken into account where all the speed traps are as well. hopefully, i have all my bases covered. it's nice to know that we can feel safe in this new area.

just like with any move, there are a few give and takes. some we knew of going in and some we have realized the more time we spend here. the biggest give for me was exchanging a bath tub with a perfectly-angled, slanted side to lean against for a *newly remodeled tub* with 4 vertical sides. it doesn't make reading in the bath very comfortable (which is usually a nightly ritual for me). however, my favorite "take" (with the exception of the short commute and saving on gas) is that we have more space. technically, the square footage is probably very comparable, but the setup of the living room, kitchen and dining area is a major improvement and seems much easier to move around in. another give is that we don't have a disposal. kevin doesn't mind very much because he is used to not having one all throughout college. however, i have never lived without one so i can only forecast my fate as sticking my fingers in the ickyness to remove any food i accidently scoop into the sink. it's already happened once. and i gagged. we were wary of the kitchen storage, as we have a lot of kitchen appliances, dishes, pyrex, cookware, etc. we purged as much of it as possible (just the old stuff that we didn't use) but still needed a place for everything that was a left. thankfully, it all magically fits. the pieces that never really had a home in the apartment, now have a permanent space to live until they are being used. thankfully, my mother, aunt and future sister-in-law helped me organize the kitchen area. i felt very overwhelmed with that room for some reason. now, it's all put away. everything has it's place and we can rely on this organization. in a small home, organization is key (especially when you're married to me - ms. OCD). overall, we are very happy with our decision and our only regret would be not looking for a place like this sooner :)

Crunch time.

We have a big weekend ahead of us. Next weekend, I have some extra special activities to do with some lovely ladies so I won't be able to help Kevin with the move as I (and he) would like. So, this weekend, it is crunch time. Kevin thankfully has Saturday and Sunday off to spend moving, building, organizing and cleaning with me. In exchange for some babysitting, my brother is also going to help us move the big, heavy furniture that my loving husband thinks I should be able to carry. (Yeah right!) I really would like to get our bed moved into our new place asap so we can start staying there. Now that our soon-to-be new home is so close to both of our works, it seems like a really far drive out to our old apartment. In fact, once we move in fully (end of September), we will both be able to just go home for lunch during the day. How wonderful is that!? The Monst will love it, too.

I called to get an ETA for the couch that we ordered, but all they can tell me is approximately 3 weeks. If I figure 3 weeks from order date, that means it will be ready for pick up the week of the 27. Perfect timing! Thankfully we can use my dad's work van to pick it up ourselves so we don't have to pay for shipping. Perks of a family business.

Tonight, I will be spending time going through all my clothes. We have both of our new dressers built at the new place, so we can start transporting and organizing clothes that we want to keep. Kevin and I are being very methodical about organizing this new home. We want everything to have it's place, so there's no more searching for things in random boxes and storage spaces. I think the purging of the old has been the most refreshing part of this move - we needed a fresh start. Every night I love the new house more and more. We've been able to use the electricity since the 15th, so we take advantage of staying after dark to build furniture and organize. The Monst isn't quite sure about our new home, but she will grow to love it, I'm sure. Once she realizes that backyard is her domain, we'll never get her back in the house :)

A thought.

Last night I was driving home from my new house and Kevin's car passed me by. All I saw was his profile, his wave and the Little Monst's sweet face watching me from the window. As I was turning to run an errand and saw him pass me, I thought "that's my whole world in that car." If anything happened to them (especially him), my life would never be the same. I know it sounds cheesy, but he and Monster really are my entire happiness. My other half. My best friend. Coming home from work each night to see each other is both of our favorite part of the day. I am so thankful God made Kevin especially for me and that He led us to each other. And with that thought I know, I am truly blessed.

Ikea! Target! City Liquidators! Oh My!

After two trips to Ikea, two trips to Target, two trips to City Liquidators and two trips to the new place on Sunday, we were exhausted! *Note: all the separate trips are necessary because we can only fit so much in Kevin's Rav4. Great car, but kinda small for furniture :) We were also the new owners of a bunch of our furniture including...dun, dun, dun....a COUCH! Not to mention, all that running around was necessary so that we have time to get things done on weeknights after work.

I have already mentally prepared myself for our third trip to Ikea one night this week (in the work van) to pick up the shelving units that would not fit into the Rav4 unless we busted out a window or two! Since Kevin is partial to having a windshield, we will just take my dad's work van.

It feels weird that we have been spending so much money lately, but I guess that's what we save it for. Kevin and I were hesitant to hand over our debit cards (yep, NO credit cards used here!) because we get rather attached to the money we work so hard to save :) We had been saving a lot to try to purchase a house, but since that has been post-poned, we do have a little extra to spend without feeling guilty. Plus, as Kevin pointed out, it's not like we're racking up all this debt on credit cards by buying furniture we can't afford. We are buying things outright, with our own money (and a little help from the in-laws: THANK YOU!!) and can feel proud to know that we earned it ourselves. We're well on our way to the non-college-furniture home we've been craving!!

*Fun Fact: Did you know if you use your debit card at Ikea, you get 1% of your total purchase as a coupon to use on your next purchase? Just for using your debit card, which I would have used anyway. 1% isn't much, but it's something!!

love this.

will you be my neighbor?

while trying to move a few packed boxes into the new place last night, we met our neighbors. they have lived there for 7 years or so. from what i can tell, we're all going to get along just fine! the parents, maria and francisco, are so nice and their children are adorable. i believe i got their names down already - the youngest is miriam, the middle is wendy and the oldest is evelyn. maria, the mother, doesn't speak any english so we had to translate through their oldest daughter evelyn. maria just kept telling me "mucho gusto! mucho gusto!" and that made me happy. the two littlest girls were just staring up at us with big, dark brown eyes and smiling faces. too cute! after meeting, and realizing it was only kevin and i moving in, they showed signs of relief. the girls are adorable and i look forward to getting to know the entire family better.

today is kevin's day off so he is at the new place now moving some of our stuff in. he dropped off some coffee for me at work (how sweet!) and it was all i could do to not hop in the car and go with him. counting down the hours until i can help! there is nothing better than setting up our new home together :)

i dream in color!

the theme of our new place: color!

window coverings!
patterned fabrics!
prints and textures!
fabulous throw pillows!
cool knick-knacks for the shelving!
order and organization!
a fresh start!
out with the old, in with the new!

we are ready to be surrounded by more light (thank goodness!) and bright colors! we are revamping our bathroom look, considering the new bathroom is all white. and i mean, very white. in this case, white isn't bad because it's all new and clean.

we get the keys at 6.15 - only 3 hours to go until the decorating begins. i am very excited about this move. kevin gets to spend tomorrow (his day off) moving stuff while i'm stuck at work. even though moving is a lot of hard work, i'd rather be there helping him than shoved in my cubicle all day. i'll just be daydreaming, i'm sure.

infatuated with furniture!

since in the last post, i said we had fallen in love with some inexpensive but seemingly fabulous furniture finds at ikea, i thought i would share those with you all.love this white desk. it would look perfect with my mac on it! :) there are some pretty fun white shelving units that make it look like a whole set, which i love. *299 at ikea
chairs, chairs. i love chairs! white and simple to match the desk? *59 at ikea
or maybe i like this style better? *59 at ikea
or perhaps i want something fun like this print? *79 at ikea
we love the style of these more traditional his & hers dressers *279 at ikea
but this seems more practical to the budget - we'd just add our own funky knobs to customize! *149 at ikea
we are on the prowl for a console table like this one - something for when you walk through the door to house purses, keys, mail, etc. *149 at ikea
and these fun baskets are made to fit perfectly to keep everything organized and nicely put away *7.99 at ikea
lastly, this red armoire makes my heart skip a beat. saw a similar one at crate and barrel but it was like 10 times the price. this gives us the same look for less. definitely considering this fabulous find! *249 at ikea

now, all this furniture doesn't mean we're planning to buy it. it's dreaming. we're just thinking about all the possibilities. we're still looking for the perfect pieces, including the idea of refurbishing! however, it does go to show that you can get the looks you like for more reasonable prices. after all, i LOVE a good bargain :)

tomorrow's the day!

i am counting down the minutes (it seems like) until 6.15pm tomorrow because, promptly at 6.15pm...we get the keys to our new place! :)

we've been collaboratively plotting and scheming how we are going to organize and decorate our new pad. took a stroll through Home Goods (LOVE THAT STORE) and IKEA yesterday, dreaming about the set-up and layout of our new home. mainly, we just can't wait for it to be ours. we fell in love with a funky red armoire, fabulously roomy his & hers dressers, and some practical shelving. my heart swooned over my very own desk (GASP!?! an actual real desk!)...and we planned how to get those things. they say it's all about timing...and it all seems to be falling into place for us at the moment :)

yesterday, i was going through some old boxes and ran across the photos of kevin and i when we first moved into our very own place (the apartments we live in now). we looked so happy, so unaware of what was to come in our first year being out of college, in the real world and married! needless to say, it's not what we expected, but thank goodness we have each other. now, we can't wait to say good riddance to our first place and move onto something bigger and better. a fresh start. it's funny how things can change in just one year.

2010 Dahlia Festival

Today, we went to the 2010 Swan Island Dahlia Festival in Canby, Oregon. It is completely free to get in and enjoy the beautiful views. This is where we ordered all of our wedding flowers so it was fun to go back and seek out which ones we used! :)We spent a beautiful, Oregon fall day at the festival walking the many acres of dahlias and walking through the indoor flower arrangement displays. It was a lot more crowded than I anticipated, but there was room enough for people and dogs of all ages!
I just couldn't leave without taking a few of the beautiful flower bunches home with me. We also ordered a few tubers to be shipped to us in mid-April for planting in the backyard of our new place! Kevin and I both chose our favorite varieties to plant.
Although I don't know the first thing about arranging flowers, I tried and I'm pleased with how they turned out.
There is nothing like having fresh flowers in your home! They make me sooo happy.
Overall, it was a great day with great views and a great person :) I'm sure we'll be back next year.

A big purchase.

Our new place comes with hook-ups, but not a washer/dryer to use. Knowing that we were going to buy a set of our own I (of-course) made a list of all the places I wanted to check out. It included Sears, Sears Outlet, Home Depot, Lowe's and Riegelmann's (the last one was a suggestion). We made it to each one of them, overwhelmed by the task of finding the perfect set that was within our budget. Never having purchased a washer/dryer set before, I wasn't quite sure that it was as involved as it was. So many questions!!

Top loader or front loader? Agitator or no agitator? Lint trap on the top of the dryer or on the inside? How many settings do you want (or really need!)? What color set do we want? What size loads do we want to be able to wash at one time? High efficiency? Pedestals for the front loaders or not? Dimensions are tricky - which units will fit in our space and which won't? How important is the loudness of the machines? Which offer tax credits and/or rebates and which don't? How much extra are the hoses, delivery, set-up, etc?

Needless to say, it was a bit overwhelming. One by one, Sears beat out all the rest of the stores (even the Sears Outlet). We were pretty sure we'd purchase from Sears, but we decided to check out an independent, family-owned business that was suggested by multiple people. Thank goodness we did! Riegelmann's was a great little shop with excellent one-on-one customer service. They do all their own servicing of the machines, complete with delivery and full set-up/haul-away. We appreciated that they showed us demonstrations of different washers so we could take into account the noise-factor as well. We didn't realize until the end of our transaction that we were actually working with Mr. Riegelmann himself! He was great to answer all our questions and show us machines within our budget. He offered pro's and con's of the machines and, most importantly, gave us space to breathe and think. After talking amongst ourselves, we decided this is where we wanted to put our business and made the purchase. Our new beautiful, white, front-loading, high efficiency set will be delivered on the morning of the 18th. In addition to a receipt, they sent us away with a pie slicer/server, potholder and an envelope opener. Love the gimmicky stuff. What I really want is the cute little magnet. I'll have to ask when they deliver it :)

In the end, we left Riegelmann's with a nicer set than we would have gotten at Sears but paid close to the same price. We both feel great about our decision and are happy to have this task completed. In the future, we will definitely think of Riegelmann's for any additional appliance needs.

Vegas, in snapshots.

Finally uploaded the very few photos I snapped in Vegas this past weekend. Figured, since I took them, I should share so enjoy!Kev and I sipping on our gigantic drinks at samba before the show!
Killing time at the REVOLUTION bar!
Waiting for the volcano show at the Mirage...
We were in the front so we could feel the heat from the fire!
It was a very cool show, with a lot of heat :)
Finally time for Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil :)
Yeah, over the top drinks for an over the top show. LOVED IT!

The perks of a new place.

The search is over. We found a new place to rent. It's a duplex with almost everything on our "requirements" list. It has a fenced back yard - no grass, but a cement patio and wood chips. Sounds dumpy, but it's not that bad. Plus, the yard is a great size for The Little Monst. It has washer and dryer hookups. Two cons: they are in the kitchen closet and we don't have a washer and dryer. Soooo...we'll have to work on that one when we can afford it. It has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath and was recently remodeled with a completely new bathroom, new tile floors and new cabinetry in the kitchen. A major perk: the landlord (who is really nice!) pays Water/Sewer/Garbage! One downfall, our room will be really small. Since we have a king size bed, that's probably just about all that will fit in the room. But, like my friend said, I guess that's really all you need when you're newlyweds ;) Haha. Other perks: A wood-burning fireplace! Ceiling lights in the bedrooms! And, the most rewarding...this move is making us get ORGANIZED :)

Buying a house has been put on the back burner temporarily. I'm sure we'll revisit the idea in about a year or so. The beautiful perk of our new place is that it allows us to continue to save money to buy a house while paying rent. It offers the feel of a house also, without having to listen to our neighbors stomp on the ceiling above us at all hours. We are going into this new adventure hoping that it will be the last move we make before we can buy a house. Of course, that could be altered if we have some major problems with it later down the road. But, we're thinking positively. We are just jumping in head-first and hoping for the best.

We began packing last night.
Our apartment looks bare already.
We can't wait to say good riddance to our current place!