Rug Shopping

While shopping at Target the other night, I couldn't help but notice all of the lovely patterned rugs on display. I have to stroll through the Target decor aisles every time I'm there, petting all of the pretty pillows and rugs, and admiring all of the stylish new furniture each season. I know I'm not the only one, right?

I'm currently obsessed with all the styles of rugs out this fall and have been thinking of getting a new one for the living room lately. It's not exactly the easiest decision though, when you're faced with this many wonderful options.

The rug we have now has served us well and looked pretty stylish for the last couple of years. But these days it's not looking so hot. With a dog who likes to scratch up against it and lick her fur all of the time, on the rug no less, it needs cleaned quite a lot... Not to mention, it's wool and it's not holding up so well. So a new one is looking better and better. Maybe not right away, but sooner or later.

I haven't decided on one I like yet and think I might wait a little longer. But some of the more neutral patterns have been catching my eye. I like that the material looks a little easier to clean than wool, and most are still low pile. The dark gray ones might hide dog hair pretty well, too.

The really patterned ones are pretty awesome, but I'm just worried they might be harder to match. So I'm thinking another neutral one might be the way we'll go when we do get a new one.

When we first moved in and got the living room decorated, I had the plainest rug you could possibly have. A cream-colored rug. No pattern or style at all. I think the one in the picture below is actually the second cream-colored rug we had. I figured it went with everything, and would look nice and bright. No dark, dingy rug or loud pattern. Well, it got dirty easily and was a little on the boring side! 

Spring 2013 rolled around and I was ready for a change. I bought this new rug from Rugs USA. I loved it when I first got it. It brought so much more style and interest to the living room. It was a neutral color still (dark gray), and it was a nice material (wool), so I figured it would last a long time.

Now though, I'm realizing wool probably isn't the greatest material, since it doesn't hold up really well, and isn't super soft, either. It's also been over two years now, and it's gotten faded and hard to keep clean with Saleen around.

So, I have some ideas in mind, and we're also looking at getting a sectional sofa. We actually started looking a year ago, but then took a break to work on wedding stuff and now will probably start looking again. When we do decide to get a new rug though, I think one of these from Tar-jay will look awesome in the living room. We'll see which one I do end up with when the time comes!

The Walkway Work Continues

It's been a long time since I've blogged about our DIY walkway out front. We've only been working on it all year. No big deal. Actually, the last update I blogged about was in May, before summer and all the craziness of planning the wedding set in.

But Trent has been working on it still, little by little. It's a long path to create, wrapping around half of the whole house. And we've run out of supplies countless times. (Only so many bricks and bags of paver base and rock can be hauled in the back of a GMC Canyon) Plus, daylight hours are few and far between this time of year when you work full time.

There's always the weekends though, and we've been lucky enough to have some really nice ones this fall. In fact, it's the middle of November, and it's sunny and in the sixties right now! You couldn't ask for better late fall weather like we have today.

It's Saturday and I've been in the house watching episodes of The Wonder Years on Netflix. But I've been sneaking outside every now and then to check out Trent's progress on the walkway and cleaning up the yard.

Here's where we are now...trying to finish before the snow comes!

We just need to pick up more paver base, pavers, and rock. It's getting close to winter, so I'm hoping we can get it all finished. Then at least we'll have something to walk on when it gets messy out there.

The yard is full of leaves at the moment, so Trent's out raking right now.

It seems like forever ago when we started at the very beginning, laying out the path where it would be. It was early spring - March in fact! 8 months later, and we're still not finished. I guess it was a bigger project than we expected!

We have gotten a lot of compliments from neighbors on how good it's looking. Just wish we had more time to work on it.

Here's a panoramic view. I'm not sure how many feet it actually is, but I'd say it's a pretty long way. We might have the best DIY walkway in the neighborhood after it's done. Ha.

Of course, Trent has had a little help...

In the form of a four-legged furry pup.

Here's hoping by next summer, we'll have a nice, grassy yard again, won't have to walk through the mud to get into the house, and the landscaping will look a lot better than it does now...And best of all, be finished. Fingers crossed!

I'm also hoping I'll be able to post a breakdown of all of the supplies we've used and the costs when it's all said and done. It just might take a little while to add up (and find!) all of those receipts! Wish me luck! :)

The Storage Issue

Who else struggles with the lack of storage in your home? For me it never fails; no matter how much space I think I have, there never seems to be enough storage. I clear out some space and a couple of months later, it's the same thing again! Where does it all go?

If only our "organized" spaces always looked this neat!

Maybe it's our tiny, turn of the century home, or maybe it's just the fact that we can't seem to utilize all of the wasted space in it. I'm determined to come up with a long term solution either way. Maybe not right away, but gradually. The main goal is just to be able to make good use of all of the space that we do have.

In the mean time, I have another pile of things I'm taking to Goodwill. And I've reorganized all of my gift wrap and gift bags for the holidays, as is the yearly routine. 

One good thing - I came home to a clean kitchen yesterday thanks to Trent! We ate at the kitchen table the last two nights for the first time in a while. He's vowing to try to keep it clean, if I help him... We'll see how that goes! He also got me some flowers and wine tonight, just because. I think I'll keep him. :)

The Time I Was Featured on HGTV.com

You guys. One of my organizing ideas is on HGTV.com right now! I can barely hold in my excitement. Here's what happened. This summer, amid planning a wedding and a bazillion emails in my inbox, I got a message from a writer for HGTV.com that she wanted to feature my portable holiday gift wrap station for a Holiday Organization article she was working on. At first I kind of questioned whether it was even legitimate (I mean, it's not every day that you get featured on the website of one of your favorite TV stations), but I signed the release and sent her a hi-res image of my gift wrapping cart, and now it's live on the HGTV website!

Here's my lovely little gift wrapping station that was featured, and that I still use to this day:

The idea seemed so simple to me at the time and I had a need for it, but I never imagined someone else would see it and think it's a great idea, too. I guess that's one of the cool things about blogging. You never know who else is going to see your projects and ideas and want to share them as well.

Here's the link to the photo and the little blurb about my gift wrapping cart on the HGTV website. I love it! The full article / gallery is: 12 Clever Christmas Decor Storage Ideas. You should definitely check the full gallery out. There are tons of good ideas in there, and with the holidays coming up, some of them could definitely be useful.

Ok, please excuse me now while I pinch myself again... :)

Trip to Haley and Dan's (And Some Decor Shopping)

Remember last fall when we visited my sister Haley and her husband Dan in the Chicago burbs? Well we went up there again this past weekend. This time my parents also went up for the day on Saturday. Trent and I stayed there and drove back Sunday afternoon.

They still live in their quaint apartment in Batavia, and they have recently gotten a new puppy - a French bulldog named Frannie. We met Frannie for the first time this weekend.

She was quite the rambunctious little pup. So little and full of energy. She is teething and was biting everything! She tried to chew on our boots, our sweaters, the blankets on the couch, anything and everything she could get her mouth on.

She was harmless though, and was always excited to see us. She greeted us with lots of energy right from the start. Toward the end of the night though, she would get tired and was calmer and more cuddly.

Haley and Dan are working on potty training her, and have been giving her lots of attention. I know she'll be a spoiled pup!

We had a great time all weekend, but were quite tired by the end of it! We drove up on Saturday (which was also Halloween) and met my parents at the apartment. We then all headed to a restaurant called Harner's for lunch. I got breakfast food - strawberry pancakes, which were amazing, but so filling! 

Then the girls (and Trent) went to the mall and did a little shopping. Haley, Mom, and me all got Ugly Christmas Sweaters to wear for our Christmas get together. I can't wait to see everyone together in them at Christmas. It should be pure awesomeness!

We went back to the apartment after shopping, then watched some horror movies and ordered pizza for dinner. It was a good time all around.

After Mom and Dad left that night, we played a (hilarious) board game with Haley and Dan, and hung out until we were so worn out it was time for bed.

We left the next morning and probably won't get to see them again until Christmas. It's always nice getting together though, and spending some time in the Chicago area.

On the way back home, Trent and I stopped at some of my favorite home decor stores, just like last year, since we don't have them around where we live. Therefore it's completely necessary to stop whenever we're in the area! 

We stopped at HomeGoods, World Market, and IKEA, and yes, I found things at all places. Just little things this time, though. Here are some of my favorite finds this time around:

• New Chevron rug for the bathroom (World Market)
• Winter gloves (World Market)
• New faux plant and planter - we have two of these already, but they're great space fillers (IKEA)
• Nerd Bird clips for chips and snack bags - SO cute, I had to! (World Market)
• Owl mug (World Market)
• Gold picture frame (HomeGoods)
• Hand towel (World Market)

Along with these items, I also got a few Christmas gifts, and a cute holiday bag from HomeGoods to put gifts in for Christmas get togethers. 

Here's a close-up of my owl mug (Like I don't have enough owl things already!)

I'm starting to develop an obsession with cute coffee mugs since getting our Keurig. And look, inside there's another tiny little owl! Isn't is adorbs?

So that was our weekend! Shopping and visiting with family. We didn't dress up this year for Halloween, or go to any Halloween parties, but we did make it to a haunted house a week or two ago, and watched a few scary movies here and there.

Hope everyone else's Halloween weekends were fun!

Painted Pumpkins

Who has carved or painted their pumpkins already for Halloween this year? Most years we carve them, but a couple of years ago, we drilled designs in them for a little change. Here's a look back at our pumpkins throughout the years to jog your memory. This year, I decided to just paint a couple. Trent hasn't done anything with his. Party pooper. :p

Here are my lovely little painted pumpkins:

A realistic looking tree and of course an owl, just because who doesn't like orange colored leaves on trees, or cartoon owls?

I had to be cheesy and take a picture with my pumpkins. And I'm all by my lonesome. Maybe Trent will get into the Halloween spirit and carve one tomorrow night. We'll see!

And here are a couple of close-ups of each. I can't seem to move them back outside and out of the house. I think they'll be staying in the living room for a while. :)

Can't believe it's Halloween on Saturday! Trent and I watched the entire Scream movie franchise in 2 nights to commemorate the holiday. All 4 Scream movies. Good times!

We're headed up to Chicagoland to visit Haley and Dan this weekend. It will be nice for a break from the usual day-in, day-out! 

Happy Halloween, folks! :)

Fall Colors Galore

Fall is in the air in our small town! There is every possible color of tree on our street right now.

We took a walk with Sandy and Brennan tonight with all of the dogs, and I admired the pretty colors of the leaves changing on the trees the whole way. This month has been one of the nicest fall months, weather-wise I can remember.

It's been in the mid-sixties to lower-seventies this week. All you need is a fall jacket, and a bonfire.

Tomorrow after work, we are tailgating at the hockey game. It's the home opener for the Mallards. We're hoping the weather stays nice, though there is a chance of rain. Trent's really excited about the tailgate party, though, so our fingers are crossed! Hope you're enjoying the fall weather where you're at!

P.S. - Cubs lost last night, and are done for the season! They had one of the best seasons they've had in a long time though, so I have a feeling they will be even better next year. There is still hope, as always. :)

Back to the Future Day: 80's Nostalgia

Happy Back to the Future Day everyone! It seems that's all everyone is talking about. Today is officially the day that Marty McFly travels into the future in Back to the Future 2. So let's get 80's up in here.

Image from here

It's time to go Back to the Eighties. Here's a few things that may jog your memory. I didn't exactly grow up in the eighties, but I was born in them. And you might say they're totally awesome. How many of these iconic things do you recognize?

Thanks to an 80's search on Pinterest for all of the images. Also, I have to throw this in there. Did you know that while Marty's in the future, he discovers that the Cubs have won the World Series? Yes, folks, this is a historic year! Will the Cubs win it? It's not looking good so far..(They lost their third game in a row to the Mets last night) But that doesn't mean they still can't. We will still be watching the game tonight, and the rest of the series if they go on. Let's go Cubs!

A Busy Weekend of Special Events

Anyone else watching the Cubs / Mets game tonight? It's got us on the edge of our seats over here. Come on Cubs, let's do this!

This weekend was very busy, and full of memorable events. Friday night was the rehearsal dinner for the wedding of our friends, Justin and Elizabeth. We went to their house for the rehearsal, then to Barrel House, where we ate and visited for a while. Then Saturday was the Big day! Trent was a groomsman in the wedding. He looked pretty sharp. Check out the neon green tux accents...Definitely unique!

Trent has known Justin, the groom, for about 10 years or so. It's always fun when the whole group of us gets together, and the wedding was no exception. It was a long day, though! We had to be up there at noon for the guys to get ready. The wedding was at 2:00, we took a bus ride to Van Der Veer Park for some wedding party pictures in between, and then enjoyed the reception that evening.

Lots of fun and hijinks ensued that night!

Leo and baby Liam definitely stole the show in this one. :)

By the end of the night, we were pretty tired and got home around midnight. The next morning though, I got back up bright and early and got ready for another event, a baby shower for a family friend, Amanda. I grew up with her husband Matt, whose mom is best friends with mine. 

She is due December 14 with their first child. Doesn't she look adorable, too?! (These photos are all courtesy of Diane!)

They aren't finding out the gender beforehand, so all of the gifts were gender-neutral. The shower was jungle-themed, and all of the snacks fit in well with the theme. The names were all so cute and creative.

Cheetos were "Tiger Tails," and the apple licorice was "Monkey Vines."

Then there were animal cupcakes, animal crackers, "Snake Bites" for sandwiches, and the punch was "Orangutan Juice." 

It was fun visiting with their family, and we played a couple of cute games, too. After the shower, we headed back to my parents house, then I picked out a couple of pumpkins at the pumpkin patch and headed home. What a weekend!

Meanwhile, back to the game...The Cubs are making us sweat, and I'm a little scared, guys. Not going to lie. This better end well!