My Favorite Room.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is having a Mom Cave contest. I love the idea of a 'mom cave.' Men always seem to be the ones that get to have a man cave so it is nice that Home Goods is sponsoring a giveaway for the best mom cave.

This is the first house that we have ever lived in that had room enough for me to have my own special space. Gary has had an office in two of the last houses that we have lived in and it was nice to have an extra bedroom to use however we needed to.

This is a space that I read in, blog in, and scrapbook in. I love it. So let's take a tour.

This is the view from outside of the room.

I ordered the desk online at Target. Some other blog friends had the same desk and assured me that it was a great buy and it has been. I love the open storage and how big it is.

My printer station.

The bookshelves are from JCPenney's. I had one that was in Caden's room and so I used it and ordered another one.

A print from Red Letter Days and a sonogram of my son. It was a gift from my mom.

The bookshelves hold my books and some of my pretties. I made the print at the top of the shelf.

The desk holds a lot of things. Some of my favorites:)

A cute cup to hold pens and a reed diffuser, both from Home Goods.

My computer station holds all my crafting supplies.

A print of our home in Florida.

Since I don't have drawers, I use baskets and plates to house my papers and as you can see, my paint swatches.

Initial plates with the initials of our family.

More storage and finally a look from my desk.

The only thing that my 'mom cave' is missing is a sitting area. I would love to buy a chair and and have a spot to read in. I have a seat at the desk but one a little more stylish and comfortable would be great.

Thanks for taking the tour of my mom cave with me. Go see all the rooms that are linked up at Susan's. There will probably be some really great rooms.

Melanie

Moving Update.

Thursday, October 28, 2010

I know you girls are tired of hearing about the move but I need to vent.

Hope you don't mind.

The day started off really well. The cleaner was there cleaning the house and I swept out the garage so that it would be clean for all of our boxes and extra furniture.

Here is the first, yes you read that right, the first moving semi.

They got the one semi down the culdesac without backing it in.

This was the beginning of the boxes. Not to bad so far.

They took the oven out that came with the house but they hadn't found the new one on the truck yet. This is just a peak at the tiled backsplash.

This is what the kitchen looked like after two, yes two boxes:(

Then it started raining. RAINING! I have lived down here for two months and we have had about 2 days, 3 at the most, of rain. It might rain an hour and then go back to sunshine. But we woke to rain this morning. I thought "what else can go wrong with this move?"

Then came the brand new refrigerator that we bought when we moved to Kentucky last year.

I will start off by saying that we were noticing that none of the furniture was wrapped in the quilts. It was all wrapped in thin paper. Not even packing paper. I asked the movers why and they said that since it had to go to storage, the original mover wanted his quilts back so they wrap it in paper. That would explain the two scratches on the dining room table, the scratch on my dresser, and my buffet table with a big gash on the foot. (the furniture didn't make it as easily this time around.)

So back to the refrigerator.

They got the refrigerator to the front door and they couldn't get it in. The handles stick out on the front and even taking the door down wasn't going to get it in.

When I went to the door to see what they were going to do, I saw this.

You can't see them all but there were 7 dents in the side. One side.

A couple of dents on the other side and a big long scuff mark.

Then a dent on the door. When they got it inside (after Gary figured out how to take the bottom freezer off) It had a big scratch on the FRONT door and another two dents on the door. THAT is when I had a meltdown. A full blown meltdown. Every move brings at least one and it was time. I just couldn't believe what my refrigerator looked like.

Now I have to file a claim. Wonder how long that will take? They are going to either buy me another refrigerator or fix the one that I have. All the men said that they would vouch for me that it was damaged.

Then, no one could find the bed hardware. Not for ONE.SINGLE.BED! The movers are suppose to set up the beds, put any tables together etc. NONE of that was done.

There was no finding the box for the hardware because this is our garage.

We could not get one more thing in it. We have stuff on the back porch, garbage cans in the yard, and bicycles too.

It is a mess. The craters didn't show up to uncrate the TVs, hook up the washer and dryer, or the refrigerator. So until I unpack some boxes, we won't be moving in because we can't put the beds up.

Oh, and the painter is painting around all the furniture that is in the middle of the rooms. He also dropped black paint on the hardwood floor. A LOT! I know that he was upset because he knew that I had been crying and he probably thought that I would have another meltdown but I didn't. He is wonderful and cleaned it right up.

The only upside to this day is that the painter started painting the black dining room. I can't wait to see it finished tomorrow.

So I really need all your prayers. I am crying at the drop of the hat and I don't know how I am going to unpack when the bedrooms are not quite set up. I am going to keep Caden home from school tomorrow so that he can move boxes for me and I am going to do the kitchen, closets, and clothing. I have to make some headway so that we can find the bed hardware.

Wish me luck.

I will see you all on Monday.

Happy weekend,

Melanie

PS. To all that commented on Caden or the move, I appreciate them all and I will do my best to email you all back.

He did it.

He finally got his driving permit!

I took him yesterday, to take his written test, when I picked him up from school. He only missed three:)

It took him three times to sign his name before the lady would accept it. When did they quit teaching cursive writing in school? ugh!

So now the fun begins.....teaching him how to drive.

Thank God for daddy's:)

I asked him did he want to drive home and he said "no way." "I just wanted the license to say that I have a license and I can drive if I want to."

He drove home from the mailbox to the parking space at the apartment:)

Yes.He.Did.

Melanie

Almost Here.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

The moving day is almost here. It has been a stressful 3 months. More stressful than any other move that we have had. It all started with the house and finding one that was headed (or in) foreclosure. I say that because we were told that it was headed there but at closing the attorney said that it was in foreclosure.

Either way, we closed last Friday. We didn't close on time but we closed. The painter has been over there since last week caulking, touching up the trim, and painting. The biggest headache has been the builder. He builds a good house but he procrastinates. THAT has been the biggest stress. He is suppose to be finished today and sending a person over to clean the house.

I really hope that he does because the moving semi will be showing up bright and early tomorrow morning. Come Friday, I will be knee deep in boxes and happy to be with my 'stuff!' It is a running joke with everyone because I love my stuff, meaning our furniture. I guess I have learned to not love a house but to love us being together as a family and our things.

Getting your heart broken over a house will do that to you. That and moving a lot;-)

So, I will be away for a few days getting the furniture moved in and will be unpacking boxes. I hope to take a few photos and post them on Friday morning. I have so much to show you girls and will have plenty to blog about.

I am leaving you with a picture of Lake Tahoe that I took while we were on vacation. It is not photoshopped. The water is truly that color.

Enjoy. (believe me, there are many more to come of that! :)

Melanie

Let's Do Lunch.

Monday, October 25, 2010

I wanted to tell y'all about the wonderful lunch that Gary and I had while we were at the Farmers Market in San Francisco. (you can read about the market here.) There was a lot of vendors there cooking on the spot so we decided to try one.

Now I will start off by saying that I am married to a meat and potatoes kinda guy. He doesn't eat any veggies, condiments or salad. It can sometimes be a challenge but he has expanded his taste buds in the 20 years that we have been together. He sometimes will call me and read something off the menu and ask me if he will like it.

Yes, he does. THAT is how long we have been together:)

So here are some pictures of our yummy lunch.

You know you can't go wrong when there is a line like this.

Look at that pork on the rotisserie.

This is the menu. I don't know if you know what Porchetta is but it is a pig that is gutted and then layered with meat & fat and rolled up. I couldn't believe that Gary tried it but he did and he loved it.

I got mine with everything on it. Doesn't it look delish?

Gary got his plain.

Look at all that meat and it had that fatty pork skin on it. It had crunch and was juicy.

We had rosemary potatoes and a coke with our sandwich. It was probably the best thing I ate while we were in San Franciso. We have been to San Francisco 3 times but we have never had great food and it is a foodie town. Our stomaches were never on the west coast time and so we had to eat whatever we could find. This was one time that our meal was wonderful.

I would highly recommend trying the porchetta sandwich if you find yourself at the Farmers Market.

Now I am off to find something to eat:)

Melanie

The Simple Woman's Handbook

Sunday, October 24, 2010

I saw this over at Kim's and decided that I would join in. I love random posts and thoughts from my blog friends and thought you might too.

FOR TODAY:
Outside my window...the sun is shining without a cloud in the sky.

I am thinking...that I have a lot of boxes to unpack next weekend.

I am thankful for...my husband. He is a hard worker, diligent, and loving.

From the kitchen...I wish I saw something cooking on the stove but I don't:<(

I am wearing...my PJ's and it is noon. So happy about that.

I am creating...a list of things that need to be accomplished this week.

I am going...to watch football with Caden today.

I am reading...Fly Away Home but not as much as I would like to be.

I am hoping...that the move into the new house goes smoothly next week.

I am hearing...the washing machine and the TV.

Around the house...there are all these furnishing that aren't ours. We are in a furnished apartment until we move.

One of my favorite things...is when Gary walks through the door at night.

A few plans for the rest of the week...is getting the builder to finish up the house, clean up the garage dirt and dust (so we can put our moving boxes in it), and wait for the semi truck to pull up at our new home.

If you want to read The Simple Woman's Handbook, head over and see all the link ups.

Happy Sunday,

Melanie


Three Houses.

Thursday, October 21, 2010

That is what we have lived in in less than a year! Can you believe it? I sure can't.

Can you say LONG YEAR?!?

We went from Florida.....

to Cincinnati.....

to South Carolina.

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We are suppose to close tomorrow at 10 a.m. and then we will move in next weekend. The house is being painted and the builder is finishing up some last minute things.

I hope that we will now be able to breathe some. I want our family to be settled. I want Gary to be able to come home to a home cooked meal, his TV, and his recliner. I want Caden to have his own room again and his normal schedule. I want to walk on the treadmill every day, read, and play in my scrapping stuff.

I want us to feel at home again.

And I think we will be, very soon.

Hope you all have a great weekend.

Melanie

Blog Friends.

Sunday, October 17, 2010

Since I discovered blogs about 4 years ago (I know, where have I been), I have met many wonderful people. Then I started blogging and some of those people started visiting me.

I have become very good friends with quite a few bloggers.

This past Saturday, I met Lisa from Pickles and Cheese. We have been email buddies for about a year now and since I moved to South Carolina, we decided to meet. She picked a place that was the halfway point for both of us and we met up in Pinehurst North Carolina. On a side note, I LOVE North Carolina. I always ask Gary if there is a job with the railroad there but he always says no. I would love to live there.

Anyhoo, we met up and went to the Village in Pine Hurst and enjoyed the arts and crafts festival that was going on there.

We had great weather and I really enjoyed meeting her. It was like we had always been friends. There was no ackward silence and the conversation just flowed. It wasn't forced and it didn't feel unnatural. I found out that she is as easy to get along with as I am. We both didn't care what we ate for lunch, which by the way, was delicious NC bbq. We just puttered along and looked at all kinds of crafts.

These are made out of dishes and ashtrays. I was snapping pictures from my waist so that I wouldn't upset the owner.

We then went to The Carolina Hotel. The hotel was beautiful and the grounds were so quiet and calming. You know that this southern hotel had rockers on the front porch to sit and relax.

I didn't buy a thing and Lisa bought a couple of small things but I was just really there to meet her and visit.

It was a great day. We plan to do it again soon.

And that is the main reason I blog. The friendships. They mean the world to me.

Happy Monday,

Melanie