2.26.2013

New House Details: The Upstairs and Backyard

As I mentioned before the house has 3 bedrooms which are all upstairs. Our townhouse had 3 bedrooms but they were teeny tiny and the biggest one could barely fit a double bed.
These rooms are a great size and will easily accommodate our growing family.  

 This room is going to be the nursery... it's already been painted and has some items in it- that I can't wait to share with you all!

The front bedroom has 2 of those nice deep windows and it's huge! We're going to use this one as the guest room

The master bedroom is huge and easily fits our king sized bed and all our furniture...


The bathroom... it's pretty blah but it's totally functional until we can renovate

Walk in closet.... it's not much bigger than the walk in we had before but we're still working on organizing it so hopefully it will be better.  It could be that I just have too many clothes.

My vanity!  I am so excited for this feature of the house. I will finally have somewhere to do my hair and make up and organize it all- which I'm most excited about

Here is our deck and side yard. It's a huge deck which will be great this summer.

Here is looking straight back from the back door.  We have a great size yard which will be perfect for Layla  to run around in.

The painter has been in our house for the past week so I can't wait to show you all the progress once he's finished. 
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2.25.2013

I'm baaaack

I didn't mean to take the whole week off but it just kind of ended up that way.  We are just about officially moved into the new house!  I am not even close to completely unpacked or organized but it feels nice to be living in the new place.   I will have more pics of the house later this week.

Did you all watch the Oscars?  I thought Seth McFarlene was good! Obviously he was going to push the envelope- he's the creator of Family Guy and Ted- so that's a no brainer but I thought he did it well. 

So who was your best dressed?

  Mine was Jessica Chastain.  She tends to flop a lot but I think she really pulled it out with this one. I loved the simple hair and red lips. 

Did you all see who somehow got an invite to walk the red carpet?
Ugh- how did she even get an invite?  What is that trash she's wearing?  Just plain gross.

Look what I found while moving...
I totally popped it in the DVD player before we got our cable set up and watched all 3 discs while unpacking.  I just have to say that Jessica is an idiot.  He was so good to her.  I also forgot how obnoxious she was.

I made my first trip to Babies R Us.  It was incredibly overwhelming but also educational- who knew a little human needed so much stuff!   I took full advantage of the parking options. I figured why not?


Have any moms read this book?  
I saw it at Barnes and Noble and feel like I should pick it up but I wanted to see if anyone had read it or had any advice.  

While showing property to some clients over the weekend I ran into some Girl Scouts and just couldn't help myself.
I got 2 of each and I'm just about finished the first box of thin mints.  I don't know what they put in them but they're so damn addicting. 

We went to an in home wine tasting party over the weekend at a good friends house.   Don't worry I wasn't drinking at all but I did do some of the swirling and sniffing- it was fun to learn about different wines.  It definitely would have been more fun if I was actually tasting them of course.
Here's our crew: 

I just discovered our new Wegman's carries my Jelly Belly sours in their candy aisle.  This totally made my day.

I worked all weekend long so I treated myself to a movie last night when I got home.  Does anyone else love Zac Efron as much as I do?
The movie is a typical cheesy Nicholas Sparks but Zac looks so good in it. 


Now I'm off to more unpacking and catching up on my reader.  Hope you all are well!

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2.18.2013

Moving: Excuse the Interruption

Today is moving day!

I am very sad to be leaving our first home we bought together and shared for the past 4.5 years.  I'm am so much more emotional than I expected myself to be and have probably cried 5 times in the past 24 hours.  (We're not even selling so I'm not sure why I'm so upset- I'm blaming my hormones)
We've had many great memories here but I'm ready to move on to the next chapter. 
Good bye townhouse! 

I may be away for a few days while I unpack and wait for Verizon to hook up my internet. 
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2.15.2013

Our New House: The Details

Our New House 

Back in the fall, even before we knew we were having a baby, we sort of started looking for a new house.  It was nothing serious, we were just checking out good options as they became available.   If you live in the DC/Baltimore area right now is a great time to buy because interest rates are low and prices are still relatively low/holding steady.   That's one of the hardest parts about living where we do, housing is not cheap.   When I watch HGTV or see other bloggers houses I want to cry at how cheap housing is and wonder why I don't live in those areas. 

I stumbled upon this house the weekend after New Years.  The price and location were right and I knew we had to have it.  We went back and looked at it about 3 times and put it offer in that following Tuesday.   After about a week of negotiations it was ours!

The house was built in 1987 as I said before and while the kitchen has been sort of updated (like 8 years ago) the baths and everything else is original.  Despite being older it is in really, really good condition.  The original owners had lived there for the past 24 years and despite raising 2 boys there and renting it out last year it looks great.   

Another thing that drew us to this house is that it's in a great neighborhood.  The neighborhood has a community pool, tennis courts, walking paths, and an elementary school.  I grew up in a really fun close knit neighborhood so I knew I wanted that for us when the time came.  

The house is 3 bedrooms, 2 full bath, 1 half bath.  It has a nice large family room with vaulted ceilings and sky lights and a finished basement which is what really drew us in.   It also has a nice big backyard for Layla to run around in. 

Now on to the fun part... pictures!  Excuse my crappy iphone pics. 

Right when you walk in to the right is a coat closet and our living room

To left when you walk in the door is our stairway upstairs 

In the main hallway leading back to the kitchen and family room is our powder room. 

Do you see those awful lights?  Yes the toliet is beige and so is the counter top

This is our family room.  We have 2 huge sky lights which bring in so much light and I love this.  The carpet in here is brand new which is nice except that I see Layla destroying it within hours of us living here.
The brick is kind of ugly- I'm pretty sure I'm going to paint it white.  What do you think, should I paint it? 

Right next to the family room is a little eating area which I forgot to photograph and then our kitchen. 
As I said it before it was updated probably 8ish years ago.  It has granite, stainless steel and the cabinets are in good condition.  The granite isn't the nicest and is full of seams and the stainless steel is first generation so it's not exactly shiny and pretty anymore but it all works so I can't really complain.

Here is another angle of the kitchen. 
I would love to take down those cabinets over the long part of the counter to really open it up into the family room. 

The pantry- you have no idea how excited I am about this.
In our townhouse we had no where to store food or anything really so I am over the moon for this pantry. 

The dining room gets a ton of natural light and already has crown molding and chair rail which I love.   The chandelier is solid brass so I think I'm going to hang on to it for now. 

The living room is absolutely gigantic!   I'm not sure yet what I'm going to do with this room but the first order of business is that it's going to be painted. 
It currently has an awful beige and white textured paint to it so I can't wait to see what it will look like once that is gone! 

The finished basement- the main living area is just a straight shot.  I cut a bit of it all so you can't see all of it but I envision this as a tv room for my husband and one day play room for kids. 
Do you see those awful fluorescent lights?  Ugh.  They will be going soon

 Here is a little office/bedroom in the basement.  Right now we will be using it as an office for me and Kyle.  Again the ugly lights. 

Phew sorry that was long!
 
I will be back next week with pictures and details about the upstairs. 

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2.14.2013

Valentine's Day and Pregnancy Hormones

Pregnancy has turned me into a huge sap.  I am not a sap. I'm not a cry for no reason type of girl.  I am cynical and sarcastic and I usually find most things, like Hallmark commercials and Valentine's day completely cheesy. 

Yet being pregnant I have turned into a huge baby. 

- I see a sweet commercial on tv I cry. 
- Walking the dog and thinking about leaving our current house, I burst into tears
- On our way to settlement on our new house I start crying because I was so happy and excited and nervous
- My dog does something cute, I start crying
- My husband comes home from work early and offers to cook dinner, I start crying
- I think about how my life is going to change and I'm going to be a mom and then I cry and cry

I swear all I do these days is cry, everything thing makes me feel all warm and gooey inside and next thing I know the tears are rolling down my face. 
So in honor of my new sappiness I just had to share my feelings. 

My husband is an amazing man.
I can be very hard to deal with, just ask anyone in my family.  It may not come across this way in my blog but I am tough.  I am a total type A control freak.  I can be very bitchy.  I have a short fuse.  I tend to speak my mind.  I don't like to lose fights.  I always have to have the last word.  I put a lot of pressure on myself and the people around me.   I'm not always the easiest to live yet my husband puts up with me day after day.   He works so hard for our little family and I cannot thank him enough for all he does.  Thanks to all his hard work we have been so fortunate to do so many amazing things in our life and I cannot even put into words how I really feel about him.  


After 9.5 years together it still feels like yesterday when we were 21 year olds having beers in a bar in College Park and getting to know each other. 
I know that he is going to make an amazing dad and I couldn't be happier to share in this next phase of life with him!  





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2.13.2013

Lent, 21 Weeks, and a New House

How have you all been? I had a wonderful birthday weekend- thank you for all your sweet birthday wishes!   It wasn't the same without a margarita or wine but don't worry I made up for it with plenty of cupcakes.   I have about 1,000 things going on in life right now, it's all good stuff and nothing worth complaining over at all but my postings may be sparse as I try to get it all complete. 
Bear with me on this long update.  

Do you celebrate lent?  As a good Catholic girl I try to honor Lent every year.  Last year I gave up dairy, it was actually easier than I imagined it would be and I lost a couple of pounds.   I follewed a lactose free diet which you can see the details of here.  This year I can't even imagine giving up dairy and it probably wouldn't be good for baby boy so I decided to give up sweets. 
It's going to suck.  I have a huge sweet tooth and I have definitely been treating myself a lot lately, but it will be good for me and I know that I really shouldn't be loading up baby boy with tons of sugar.  So wish me luck!

I don't have any photos this week, so you'll just have to settle for an update:

How far along? 21 weeks
Baby Size: Spaghetti squash  - any idea what that is??
 Total weight gain/loss: 12lbs as of last appt so we're sticking with that
 Maternity clothes? Pants yes, dresses pretty much, shirts I can still pull off my pre-baby ones
Stretch marks? No and hoping it stays that way
Sleep:   Hasn't been too bad this week
Best moment this week:  Bought my first big baby item!
 Miss Anything?  Champagne or a Margarita would have been so nice on my birthday, oh and some raw sushi 
 Movement: Yes- this is one active baby boy- I feel him all the time now  
Food cravings:  Still milk and anything hot and spicy

Symptoms:  Shortness of breath, my doctor said it's totally normal and just a sign that I need to slow down a bit- which is hard for someone like me to do  
  Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not this week
 Have you started to show yet: Yes
Gender prediction: Boy!!
 Labor Signs:  No
Belly Button in or out?  In
Wedding rings on or off?  On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy! 
Looking forward to:  Moving into our new house!
 
Last but not least in the LONG update.... 
 
 We bought a new house!! 

We settled on the house last Friday, so my husband keeps referring to it as my biggest birthday present ever.    It's obviously not new new, but it's new to us. It was built in 1987 and has about double the space of our townhouse.  It needs a lot of cosmetic updates but it has great bones and it's in a great neighborhood and very desirable school district.  
I can't wait to share more pictures with you and update you on all the changes we make.  It's being painted right now as we speak!
 
 
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2.08.2013

31


Today I turn 31. I thought my 30s would be hard but so far they are turning out to be just as good, if not better than my 20s 

Hope you all have a fabulous Friday 
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2.07.2013

J.Crew Spring Love

First off let me just saying that buying clothes while pregnant is depressing.   The fact that I can't really shop at my beloved J.Crew is even more depressing.  (I refuse to buy things in a larger size when it won't fit later)

So I'm hoping that all you non-preggos will pick up some of these gorgeous items on my wishlist so I can live vicariously through you.












Any new J.Crew spring items you must have? 
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2.06.2013

20 Weeks- Halfway there!


How far along? 20 weeks- halfway mark!
Baby Size: Banana  (I'm going by the What to Expect App)
Total weight gain/loss: 12lbs- not enjoying seeing the scale move up but I know it's for a good reason and my doctors are not concerned as everyone gains differently
Maternity clothes? Definitely pants and I'm going to need to invest in maternity dresses- because I'm tall the bump is making all my dresses super short and more like tunics on me right now
Stretch marks? No and hoping it stays that way
Sleep:   I've been sleeping with a pillow between my legs which has made sleep so much more enjoyable
Best moment this week:  Feeling baby boy move non stop!
 Miss Anything?  Some beer during superbowl would have been fun
 Movement: Yes- this is one active baby boy- I feel him all the time now  
Food cravings:  Milk and anything hot and spicy

Symptoms:  Actually feeling pretty good this week, just a little hip/back pain while sleeping but no major complaints 
  Anything making you queasy or sick:  Not this week, thankfully
 Have you started to show yet: Yes- I feel like I have really popped over this past week and strangers are starting to notice I'm pregnant
Gender prediction: Boy!!
 Labor Signs:  No
Belly Button in or out?  In
Wedding rings on or off?  On
Happy or Moody most of the time:  Happy!
Looking forward to:  My birthday on Friday! Nothing exciting planned just some mexican food and good friends
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2.04.2013

Weekend Recap

First off let's talk about the best thing that happened all weekend: Destiny's Child Reunion!!!!


I have been a die hard Destiny's Child fan for many years and as much as I love some Beyonce by herself it just isn't the same without Kelly and Michelle. When I heard that Beyonce was performing I crossed my fingers and toes all week for a Destiny's Child reunion- I literally started screaming when I saw Kelly Rowland pop up on stage. So this is going down as the best half time show in my book. Can we also talk about how hot they all looked? Wow.

On Friday we took advantage of Baltimore's Restaurant Week and had dinner at Vino Rosina.  Sometimes restaurant week menus are a bust but I can say this was not the case at all.  I had the most delicious meal followed by some yummy coffee cake for dessert:

I worked most of Saturday so that sucked but I did spend some time playing with paint chips for a new project we have in the works that I'm super excited about:

We were supposed to head to a super bowl party on Sunday but we ended up just staying at home because Kyle was working all day.  That did not stop me from making my buffalo chicken dip and rice krispie treats.   Layla also enjoyed some puppy bowl and cuddling with us.
 Buffalo chicken dip ingredients

 Concentrating on the Puppy Bowl

Cuddling wth her baby brother

Oh and since I'm from Maryland I can't forget the most important win we have had all year:


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