Happy Thanksgiving Weekend

I know it is Friday, but Happy Thanksgiving to all of our friends and family (okay, how about Happy Thanksgiving Weekend). We went to my parent's house for a wonderful Thanksgiving and I am now writing you from Oakhurst, Ca. Andrew's parents live up here and we are looking forward to a snowy forecast. We may not see snow, but we will know it is just up the road. Enjoy your weekend.

Painting Finished For Now

Hooray. We finally finished painting our front rooms! Here is our scorecard:

Kicthen=finished
Family Room=Finished
Living/Dining Room=Finished
Andrew's Office=Finished
Laundry=Finished

What's left:
Master Bedroom
Guest Bedroom
Guest Bathroom
Hallways eventually

Here are some before and after pictures.

BEFORE

AFTER

The inbetweens:

By the way, we are adding chair railing between the two colors. The color isn't that dark either when you see it in person. Curtains will help a bunch too.

Shannon's New Best Friend

Move over LuLu because Shannon just got a new sewing machine! Yipppppeeee. I came across some money pet sitting and I thought I should treat myself to a new sewing machine. This way, I can really get cooking with my quilting!

Here she is:

It is a Janome (Japanese designed, made in the U.S.) that I bought in Antioch. I had never heard of Janome, but the shop owner swears by them. She had some previous trouble with the Pfaff sewing machines and fell in love with Janome when she had to find a new line. I love my new sewing machine and it is super fun to use!

If you don't hear from me, I am in my new sewing room. Yup, guest room begone...make room for Shannon's sewing room. Okay, so I will convert it when guests come. I still want friends!

Check it out online: http://www.janome.com/products.php
You will need to CLICK ON MACHINES and click on DC3018 D�cor Computer Machine

New Side Tables

I picked up a few side tables for our bedroom last night. I got them at a great price too (both for $30). They are a bit nicked up here and there, but they are perfect for now!!!

Also, my fish made the move safely. I wouldn't bore you with stories about my fish, but these fish have lived forever. I got them back in college at Davis! They have survived Davis, Sacramento, Livermore, and now Discovery Bay water. Keep up the good work fishies! P.S. They now have a zen theme too...why not cut down the clutter in the fish tank too.

House and Dog Updates

Here are some updates. Sorry we haven't been posting regularly, we have been very busy! I repainted half of the kitchen because the orange was a bit too much. There is color therapy and then there is COLOR therapy!!! We will be adding white, wood chair railing where the colors meet.

Andrew and I bought a new painting tool at a flea market for $5.00. It's awesome! You fill the handle with paint (I finally bought eco friendly white paint) and press the lever and out squishes paint onto the wall. It is a bit heavy, but beats dipping a roller into the paint tray over and over. I highly suggest it.

Here are some LuLu and Teenie updates:

LuLu is fitting in perfectly with our family. She is very smart and sneaky! She uses her paws to open my backpack (yes zipped closed) to finish off boxes of raisins I accidentely left in there for baby Aden. I bought a new Bissell carpet cleaning machine for our carpet because the doggies have definitely claimed that section of the house as theirs!!! They are getting really good at using the doggie door, but I think they smell the dog who lived here before us? LuLu is very loving and has gained top dog status over Teenie. Sorry Teenie, but I didn't think those short legs would hold out for long.

A weekend of work!

This past weekend my parents came up to Shannon and I's new house to help paint and make the place our own. And after all that work, we're going to be really sore tomorrow!

Saturday morning we started off with a trip to Home Depot, Kelly Moore Paint, Target, and of course Starbucks. We didn't stay long though, we had to get home and get to work. My Dad and I started on fixing the front door lock while Shannon and my Mom started painting the office.

Soon after my Dad and I replaced the faucet in the kitchen sink as well, then got into painting. Altogether we were working/painting/shopping for 14 hours on Saturday and another 2 of touch-up on Sunday morning. We finished the office (light brownish beige color), the kitchen (Orange!), and the family room (light grey with a greenish tint).

I put some pictures of the finished product below, and to see a gallery of all of us working click the link below.

The painting weekend gallery.

I want to thank my parents for the huge help this weekend. We have livable finished space in our house now, and it makes it that much more of a home. Thanks!

Halloween Weekend

Andrew and I had an eventful weekend. We don't have many pictures of ourselves, but some of what we did (okay mostly what I did).

First, I went to a baby shower for my friend Ifeoma's sister-in-law. I used to work with Ifeoma at Eden Housing. I was so happy to see her again, for she always makes me smile!

The Mommy-To-Be

Ifeoma's Daughter Ogena (I call her Organic Ogena)

Then we dressed the doggies up for Halloween. We were tired and exhausted so we recycled Teenie's costume from last year. Sorry if you all expected pictures of Teenie as a polynesian dancer. Next year!

And wonderful pics of Aden. I helped his family make his Garbage Man costume. Boy does that child love garbage trucks! His hat is from Livermore's Waste Management and says, "Service Machine."

More stories coming!

I promise new stories are coming soon. I have tried to post a story for the last two evenings, but something always happens with the computer. The server went down for maintanence right as I was uploading my last picture. I will try again tonight!