Seriously?!?!?!

Last Saturday I was awakened by the sound of Marley vomiting under the bed. What a great way to start the morning. Luckily nothing came up and we proceeded about our morning. As I was getting ready to go shopping I notice two large piles of vomit by the front door. Apparently Marley's breakfast didn't stay down. I didn't feed him anymore that day but he continued to throw up yellow liquid. Around 6:00 Chad and I headed to the emergency vet ($$$$$) to make sure our baby was okay. The vet gave us two options; 1. Conservative approach of meds to settle the stomach and some fluids to make sure he wasn't dehydrated ($190.00) 2. Extreme route of X-rays and blood work ($500.00). We chose the conservative to start with and decided if he continued to throw up we would come back for x-rays etc... Thankfully Marley stopped throwing up and I was breathing alittle easier. However, over the next couple of days I noticed that Marley was sleeping alot, not eating as much food, and not playing with his toys when usually he eats everything in sight and drives me crazy with his toys. Well on Wednesday I quickly figured out what was holding the poor guy down.... A WASHCLOTH! Yep he swallowed AND digested a washcloth and by digested I mean he pooped out a washcloth. Okay well I had to help it along but sure enough out came a red washcloth. Just when I go thinking Marley is smarter than the average dog...

T-minus 3 days!

The inspection is completed, walk-through is completed. Now all we have to do is close on Tuesday. I CANNOT WAIT!

Master bath...we have our own mirrors and lights to install (keep your fingers crossed!)

Our beautiful kitchen. I will be whipping up some Thanksgiving feast in here!

Standing at the front door. Can't wait to start moving in all our furniture. Okay gotta get back to packing!

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Need a unique gift for someone this Christmas?? Of course you do. Well I have the answer for you. You can thank me later...I accept cash, gift cards, and neatly wrapped presents. Cambridge Satchel Co. is a UK based company that specializes in cute school girl looking satchels. They have three different sizes and several different colors. I ordered myself one and was very pleased. Look how cute the package is!

I was surprised with how fast it arrived. Those planes fly fast these days ;)

Mine is about the size of my laptop and purple.

I mean really how cute. You can carry it as a purse, laptop case, or for school. Buy one today!

Kitchen is Closed

We've sold the microwave and packed up half of our pots/pans/dishes. We are surviving on sandwiches, pizza, cereal, and eating out. Our goal is to clean out the fridge/cabinets and just eat what we have left (last night my dinner consisted of Raman Noodles and Graham crackers). But, I promise once we move and unpack all the boxes I will break in the new kitchen with some cooking marathons. Until then I leave you with random thoughts...

Here is a little wedding sneak peek. Are you getting excited?

Don't you just love fall? The leaves, the weather, Starbucks, football, etc...

Oh and Mom, I need this coat it can be found at ModCloth. Haha just kidding..maybe...I mean if you want to buy it for me...you don't want me to be cold do you?

Hurry Up Already!

Yipee! We finally got a closing date on the house...the 24th. Keep your fingers crossed that all goes well.

The hardwood and carpets are in!

Driveway poured. Now if someone can just lay the sod, plant some flowers, attach the shutters, install the blinds, and clean the windows...

Happy Halloween

Marley really came out of his shell (haha get it..shell) yesterday to enjoy all the Halloween Festivities. He was a big hit with the little kiddies except when one girl called him a frog.

He didn't mind the body of the turtle costume but...

he was not a fan of the head piece.

By the end of the night he was pretty exhausted but I told him it's a hard job being so darn cute!

House Update

My favorite spot in the house...the kitchen.

My one basin sink that I fought hard for.

Rain rain go away so they can pour our driveway today.

Shrimp and Grits

This was my first time making Shrimp and Grits but definitely not my last. Chad and I married a few recipes together and added a few things here and there to suit our taste. I'm not trying to brag but I must say the results were pretty amazing :) We both cleaned our plates.

Shrimp & Grits

- Start by cooking 4-6 strips of bacon in a pan until crisp. Set aside bacon and reserve 2 tablespoons of bacon grease/drippings.

- In the same pan that you cooked the bacon in, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and the reserve bacon drippings over medium heat.

- Dice 1 small onion and 1 red bell pepper and add to the hot pan. Cook until tender

- Add 1-2 pounds of large raw peeled and deveined shrimp to the pan. Salt and pepper the shrimp once in the pan.

- Add 1 tablespoon of minced garlic, 3 tablespoons of white wine, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice.

- Cook shrimp mixture 3-5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink and curl up. Please don't over cook because I think there is nothing worse than tough chewy shrimp.

- In the meantime start making your grits.

- 1 cup of instant grits (just follow the directions on the box)

- When the grits are almost finished, whisk in 4 tablespoons of butter, 1 cup of extra sharp Cheddar Cheese, 1/2 cup grated Parmesan Cheese, 1 teaspoon of cayenne pepper, and 1 1/2 tablespoons of paprika.

- Remove grits from heat until ready to serve.

- To serve, spoon grits into dish, top with shrimp mixture, crumbled bacon, and chopped scallions.

Lighting is Key

In my many hours of watching HGTV I have learned that lighting is a key element to any room and from the moment we decided to buy a townhouse I have been browsing every store in a 50 mile radius for the perfect lamps. One day Chad and I ventured out to Home Goods (the best store ever) to look at a pair of lamps I saw earlier in the week with my mother. I was really bummed when I realized they were sold but Chad and I spotted another pair that we BOTH liked. That's huge! We both liked the base and the shade just not together. We decided to buy the lamps anyway and change out the shades. After our little switch-a-roo we love the lamps and have found ourselves designing rooms around them.

This is an old base with the new Home Goods shade on it. It is the center of our bedroom design of browns, blues, and whites.

And here is the base from home goods that is the inspiration for the living room. I just love the mustard color! We found pillows and candle holders in the same color from Pottery Barn. Oh I'm so excited, aren't you? Okay maybe not as excited as me...

Anyways, I think Candice Olsen would be proud.

Because it's Thursday...

and I'm not quite ready to go to work yet I thought I would waste some time blogging. :)

Our chandelier in the dining room. Of course we are gonna lower it down some and maybe put some shades on it. The house is sooo close to being ready and it is just killing me. I have to keep telling myself "just a few more weeks."

Wow you say. What a great picture of raspberries. Well thats because...

I bought myself a new camera! I had been eyeing them at Best Buy and finally broke down. I love it. It is a Nikon CoolPix P90. I'm still trying to figure it all out though.

Marley's first picture with the new camera. Isn't he beautiful?