Celebrating

Today is the first anniversary of Ken and I owning a home.  I can still remember getting the keys to our house and sleeping in it, even though we didn't have a bed, just because it was a huge accomplishment for us.

We still have a lot to do on our house to decorate but we love it! Here are some of the big purchases we have made the past year to make our house a home....

•  We bought a new couch!  Ken wanted something comfy and I wanted something cute.  We compromised and ended up with a huge charcoal grey couch with hounds tooth print.

 

 

• When we were first married we bought a dining room table but I couldn't find chairs I liked....or that I could afford.  Last April, we got these chairs and added a bench that can be pulled up if needed.  I love our little dining room and we have enjoyed many family dinners here!

 

•  For Christmas my parents got us a new bed.  I am beyond thrilled with the one we chose and I think it looks great up against the grey wall.  Now we just need new nightstands, a dresser, a mattress, and the list goes on.......  But we are happy and it is slowly but surely coming together!

Cheers to another great celebration!

Halloween

 

I know that I am posting about Halloween and it is only a few days before Christmas...better late than never I guess.

 

Halloween is my favorite holiday of the year.  I love the colors, the costumes and the candy!  This year I was so excited to pass out candy in our first home.  We made the house very spooky and turned our courtyard into a haunted graveyard.  We had the most real and scary sounds playing from our speakers outside...Ken found a random pandora station but it really made the night. I made homemade white chicken chili for dinner and my parents and grandparents came over to help us pass out candy and everyone was in costume!

 

 

We made my mom dress as a scary old granny and hand out the candy.  I made her costume and she looked awesome.  She sat in our entryway way and we had a strobe light and fog machine around her.

 

 

Ken dressed up as a mad scientist.  I thought it was a pretty cool costume and I think he enjoyed it too! I was a bat.  My grandma and I made the costume and it was my first real sewing project.  I got a black leotard from American Apparel and some fabric for the wings.  I cut them out using a pattern I drew. You can't see it in the pictures but the wing fabric had a really cool texture to it with some faux leather like scales! I think I did pretty good for my first costume. Our dogs, Piper and Holly, even joined the fun and had matching Halloween bandannas.

 

 

 

 

 We had a lot of fun...even if we only had a handful of kids! Thanks everyone for being apart of our very first Halloween in our new house!

Aren't you tired of posts about moving?

When Ken and I first moved to Las Vegas, we still had our house in Arizona we were renting. Instead of packing everything up and putting it in storage we decided to leave all of our furniture in our AZ house and move it when we bought our house in Vegas. Last weekend we drove to Arizona with my parents and Ken’s mom and brother met us there. We rented a moving van and packed and cleaned the house. On a side note, I was traveling the weeks leading up to our move so our house was completely unpacked!

On Saturday night, after we had packed the whole house, the six of us went to dinner at Sand Bar.  Later on that night we meet up with some friends to have one last hurrah in Arizona! It was good seeing our friends but I wish we had gotten at least one picture of us all.

Dad, Mom, Me, Ken, Karl (Ken's younger brother) & Joyce (MIL)

Here is a fun fact-Ken and my Dad were wearing the same sweater.  They were both trying to cover the logos in the pictures so no one would be able to tell. Cat's outta the bag boys!

We returned to Las Vegas late Sunday night and Ken, my dad and I unpacked the moving van.  We have been trying to tackle one room at a time when it comes to unpacking boxes. The house is a disaster! We have boxes everywhere, towels in the dining room, bedding in the living room, not enough furniture to fill up our 5 bedroom house…you get the point.  Since we have to live with this mess until we are finished putting everything away I figured I would share it with you. My last post I had before pictures….and below are during pictures. We still have so much work to do.

This is our guest room in the casita. It is the only room that is somewhat complete. Who wants to be our first guest?

On a random note, we cleaned our new house the night before we moved in. How cute are my Grandparents. They came over to help and they both were in our shower cleaning-my Grandma Shirley was spraying the cleaning solution and my Grandpa Al was scrubbing. I hope one day that Ken and I will have the love that my Grandparents still have today. I just love to hear stories of their early days being married and how far they have come! I truly love these two wonderful people.

A new chapter...

Last night, Ken and I got the keys to our FIRST HOME. I can't even begin to describe how I feel right now.  I am so excited to be in our home, proud that all of our saving really added up, nervous of the road ahead, grateful for all those who helped us get here, blessed that God has rewarded us, anxious to fill it with memories and love... 

I just have to thank both of our parents for instilling in us the tools needed to make it to this point in life.  Ken's parents have been a great resource for us when it comes to finances.  I know we are both so thankful for the love, support and advice they have given us along the way and know it really has made an impact on how we want to be. 

My parents have also be instrumental to Ken and I, not just in this process, but also in life.  I can't thank them enough for their generosity, love, support and encouragement.  They are always willing to drop whatever they are doing to be there and help.  They have always been my rock and a great example of how after 30 plus years of marriage (wow) there can still be love and respect.  I appreciate them more than they will ever know.

Ok...back to me! So, last night we got the keys to our house. We invited my parents and their best friends-Kevin and Londa over. Kevin is the handiest man I know and he installed a doggy door for us. Londa and Kevin are like second parents to me and I am thankful that Kevin allowed me to pay him in beer and pizza for his service! At this point all of our furniture is still in Arizona so Ken and I ended up sleeping on couches that were in my parent's garage (my dad has been holding them for us for almost two years...he was happy to have his garage space back)! I didn't get any pictures of the fun we had last night and of the handy work the boys did but I do have a few pictures that were taken when the house was put up for sale. I will make sure to post pictures once we have settled and decorated. I can't wait!

This is the front of the house. We have a cute little gate that leads to our courtyard. Don't mind the HUGE tree that needs trimming!

This is the front door and the entry way. I just love the circular entry with the columns. Ken said, the first time we saw this house, that he could imagine these columns at Christmas and how I would have them just perfect. He was right...I'm already thinking of how awesome they will be to decorate.

One of the reasons I fell in love with house was the kitchen/family room.  It is beyond big and open. I can't wait until we can have family dinners and holidays where everyone will gather in the kitchen. I wish the other half of the kitchen could be seen in this picture for the full effect. Oh yeah-see that big rectangular hole-we are without a fridge until next week-take out it is!

This is a view of our backyard.  One of the cool things about our house is that the front courtyard connects to the back (there isn't a gate separating the two). Holly can spend her days running laps around our house.  In one of the side yards we have fruit trees and I eventually be be having a garden to grow some vegetables and herbs. Yum! We also don't have neighbors on one side because we are next to a green belt. So excited for that but we have already found balls from the kids playing in the green belt (Holly will be in heaven with the balls)!

So that's our house in a nutshell. Again, I promise to post pictures as soon we get settled in.

We've moved!

Ken and I just moved to Las Vegas from Arizona and we have been living with my parents for three weeks now. While we are so appreciative of their generosity it is hard to move back home. We are newly weds (almost 2 years...we still count right?) and have a big dog and it is just plain hard not having our own space. The good news is that we are almost home owners. We found our dream home in February and should be moving in next week. I feel like our dreams are coming true and the pieces are finally coming together.

This is our new little neighborhood and our house is that
 one straight through the gate on the right!

By the way, if you have never bought a house before the process can be daunting.  Good thing my mom is our realtor and my boss is our loan officer. We are in the best hands possible. Not to mention that I believe we are suppose to be here, that this is a part of God's plan for our lives. No matter how stressful this has been we are so thankful to have each other to lean on. I couldn't imagine doing this without my best friend.  By the way, a little plug for my family, my mom is an awesome realtor and she would be happy to help you find your dream home too!