March sunroom goal: Completed

My whole family and my coworkers have been really sick this whole winter and I'm surprised I haven't gotten anything. I thought it was helpful since I have my own office and don't pass tons of germs?... Well, this week was my turn and then I passed it to Darrin yesterday:(  I took Monday off since my head was pounding. I tried to rest, but that didn't last, since it was lawn day around our neighborhood. That didn't help my head at all! So, I got busy on more house projects.

My goal this month was to get the sunroom done and it is 90% done! It's pretty close to my board I did a few weeks ago. Just need a few more items to fill it, but I feel this room will be always changing. I'm just happy it's not empty anymore;)

Craigslist buy

NOOO!!! Caught her in the act!

This painting was a surprise gift for Christmas from my Dad and his wife.
It was painted by their friend who is a local artist in Clear Lake, CA.
It's very special to us because it's a scene at the winery where we got married.

Left over shelf that I did in the kitchen, so I bought three Anthropologie door knobs.
Screwed them in and instant coat hanger!

Also, this past week we had a lot of FIRSTS: 

1. First bbq at our house. We need to buy a real homeowners bbq soon! 
2. Darrin mowed the lawn for the first time and I planted new flowers.
3. Maddie got her first haircut at the groomers
4. Maddie was boarded for the first time. Don't think she slept one bit!
5. Our nephew turned ONE. 
6. Our other nephew turned FIVE this week.
7. Both nephews got their first Virginia Tech hat!
8. Finally found a good hair salon! I don't have to fly back to CA to get it done;) Close to home and reasonable!
9. And this weekend will be my first NASCAR RACE!!! CAN'T WAIT for the GOOD people watching!! I promise I'll post pics.

First cookout on our deck.

Savannah wanted to join.

First snip snip and got a cool bandanna too!

What's all this excitement about?!

Room of the month: Sunroom

My goal this month is to get the sunroom done! It's been empty since we moved and we just can't close the door like the other two empty rooms we still have. In California, sunrooms aren't that common like they are in the South. Just like basements (which I'm actually bummed we don't have one in our new home), but we couldn't get everything on our wish list!...Anyways, our sunroom is between our kitchen and garage. Sort of like a closed in breezeway. I love it because it's not all windows like a traditional sunroom. It will be perfect when we have little ones for a playroom too, but for now, it will be our cool hangout room! I wanted this room to be hip since it's also right off our deck. So, it will be like a party room when we have bbq's (cookouts;)!... I have a lot of ideas, but due to budget, I've been bargain shopping! I already found some furniture at thrift stores/garage sales and just waiting for our couch to ship! I SCORED on this purchase! More about that down below... This design is nothing like our normal rooms in the house, but I'm stepping out of my comfort zone from plain solid colors to modern, aztec! Eek!


What do you think? I can't wait to put it together this month!

I've purchased most of the idea board. Here's where and how much I spent on this room:


1. Modern sun mirror-- BigLots = $16
2. Vintage shabby door with hooks--Best garage sale find yet! =$15
3. Oval white lamp--Thrift store =$5
4. Industrial cart--Urban Outfitters =$99 (Out of Stock now)
5. Aztec 5x7 area rug--TJ Maxx=$139
6. Modern stone sleep sofa--Target =$155!!!! Originally $229+$60 shipping/tax, but then it went on sale to $199, then to $160 this week. I signed up for the Target RedCard to get free shipping and got another %5 off. Plus, I already found a $5 coupon code online. I was thrilled!... Yes, it might not be the a coziest couch and have the highest review ratings, but I didn't want to spend a lot on something that will get torn up by kids one day! Also, it's a sleeper for more guests! I'm so happy about the bargain hunt I found! 


We'll see how everything will look once it's all put together. I might have another idea? ha!

Time for some house projects-West Elm knock-off

I've done a few projects for our new house, but I haven't posted anything yet. I will post more soon, but wanted to share my latest project. My inspiration was from West Elm. I wasn't familiar with this design store until I started in this blog world. I was in love when I saw the website.  I looked up where they were located and found out they were in Charlotte, NC!  So, three weeks ago, Darrin and I drove three hours to Charlotte for a special trip to see the store.  I wanted everything when I went in, but bought some dish towels and place mats in the sale section. I can't wait to visit again!


This West Elm shelf was $79 for one! I spent $7 on wood, $6 for stain/cloth and $35 for brackets/screws. Total=$48 for 2! This project was a quick diy project, and Darrin got to use his new power drill! 

West Elm

Maddie always checking the action

~Megan

Top Five Wedding Gift/Top Mess by Maddie

Darrin wanted me to blog about this, so here I go...
I had a crummy morning at work on Tuesday and I came home at lunch to let out the pup. I came in the door and was hit with the biggest mess that Maddie's made so far:( I wasn't even mad. I was just blown away and I was kind of expecting it since my day wasn't going too well. 


Two words that summed up the explosion--ELMER's GLUE! Yep, M had a blast with the glue bottle she found in a drawer.  The target was our new COUCH! She poured a big puddle at the end where she usually sits. Then had a party with it and spewed out strands allll over. She also got a tube of brown paint, buttons, matches, a battery, two pens, and a cookbook. Somehow Darrin's childhood bible survived with a few teeth marks. I mean it was unbelievable and I only took one photo:(


THANKS to a gift card for our wedding, we purchased the Bissell 9200P Deep Cleaner, ProHeat 2X, Pet cleaner at Macy's. This SAVED us! Darrin scrubbed the heck out of the couch and the glue came out thankfully! This cleaner has been so useful for our Miss Mess Maker and we knew it would come in handy. Every time Darrin and I use it, we always say how this was one of the best gifts we got from our wedding. I mean we had a lot of good ones, but this has been a savior for us! 

Our poor couch

Bissell ad

All clean!

Soaking wet, but what a difference!

Hello 2012!

Today, is my first day living in Virginia with snow! It's gorgeous, but omg it's cold! I've been waiting for this day to happen since I moved and I don't think I'm prepared yet? I'm still a CA girl that has open toed shoes for work. I will be buying some warm boots tonight! 

Darrin and I flew back to CA over our break and it was great to see my family and friends again. It went too quick though! When we got back, we got to work...Uncle Gary and Aunt Trish came over and helped Darrin drain out our hot tub, but the thing still isn't working. So, that meant no bubbly in the bubbly for New Years:( We finally decided on a paint color for our living room/kitchen and painted until our arms couldn't move. After two coats and sore backs, our living room is done! Here's the new color and pics.

It's been one week!

We've done a lot in one week and finally feeling a bit settled. Darrin and I are still kind of in shock that the house is actually "ours" and we aren't renting it. We can park our car in the garage now and can see just a few more boxes to unload. I have so many plans for this house, but after Christmas the first big project is painting! I've done a few swatches so far, but not in love yet. Since, Darrin says he doesn't paint... his project is getting the hot tub ready for New Years!

Frames just waiting to be hung.

Maddie already knows the potty door!

Officially homeowners!

After a long five month process, we signed our life away last night! We got to unlock that red door to our first home and it felt soooo good! It was a very stressful week. We never expected the hassle and drama in the last stages of getting a loan. We have some people that will probably never work with each other again, but they made it happen for us and we are so grateful. Christmas came a week early for us and we are very proud that we did it!

Bubbly and pizza to celebrate!

Darrin's two items he had to put up on our first night

Thanksgiving and Pre-Moving Day

I definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year:
A wonderful husband who is so good to me, a new full-time job, the purchase of our first home, the support of my family and friends, great in-laws, good health, and the tremendous love of our dog, Maddie. 
This holiday was filled with eating, moving, eating and more moving... Oh, and I learned how to drive a stick! Thanks to my bro-in-law Richie! I felt like I was fifteen again, driving (and stalling) in the high school parking lot!

Traditional southern Thanksgiving.
TEN sides, two meats and I got seconds!

Our closing isn't finalized yet, so we moved out of our townhouse and moved into Darrin's Mom's. It is very nice of Leesa to let us take OVER her house. We did get to move our big furniture into the new garage, which was awesome of the sellers. We will be exhausted from moving from two places in two weeks, but it will be exciting at the same time!

First Post-Six Month Anniversary

I never thought about doing a blog, since I've never considered myself a writer. Since buying a house and thinking about ideas for our new space, I've been reading a lot of diy (do-it-yourself) blogs run by talented women.  I have been inspired and thought this would be a great way to share and journal my new life in Virginia. 

So here I go... 

I'm starting my first post on our six month wedding Anniversary! 

This past six months went so fast! I can't believe that we have done so much since our wedding, but it's been amazing, unexpected, but very memorable... In July, we brought home a seven-week old precious Springer Spaniel named Maddie Duke, from Hazard County, KY. She's our wedding present to each other and she is ALL dog! We now know what to expect when we have our own baby, ha! Then in August, we put an offer on an adorable farmhouse and all of a sudden we are experiencing being first-time home buyers. We really weren't looking to buy. This was the second house we went through and we didn't have to convince each other that this was our house. We just knew. Can't wait to get the keys in December!

We had a nice, relaxing weekend celebrating with our girl Maddie. We took her on a long walk along Claytor Lake. Something I love about the New River Valley is the abundance of hiking trails that are here. Darrin is always taking me to the most beautiful trails and I'm always in awe. The leaves have been absolutely stunning, but it's gotten really cold lately and it feels like January to me if I were in CA. I'm used to wearing my flip flops in the winter! I need to get myself prepared to live in these cold temps and snow!

On Saturday night, we were looking forward to trying the new and only "authentic" Thai food that just opened in Blacksburg. We went in and looked at each other and turned right around. The bright lights and packed lines felt as if we were in McDonalds. The owners were from Fremont, CA and I was anxious to try it. Boo! So, we went to a really nice wine bar that we have been wanting to try for sometime (622 North). I think it's one of my favorite places here now. Maybe it's because it reminded me of Santa Cruz? I was raving after every bite of my pilaf!  

Now, what will the next six months bring to our new marriage? How about relaxing from the first six months and enjoying putting together our first home;) 

-Megan