House Update: 08.31.09.

Well I'm not feeling particularly well today, and even less blog inspired, so here are some photos of the house progress we took on Friday night! They are pouring our foundation today!

Leave it to me to get excited about nails!

Footings!

Us with our loverly footings!

Our home!

The first of many house related consultations.

Well, it has begun. My asking you all for your help with the house. We are starting to pick things out for the house and I need your help deciding on cabinetry. I had wanted white cabinets going into our first meeting with the builder, but our Realtor and the builder didn't think this was the best idea. Their concerns were resale value, the easy dent ability/scuff ability of the paint and the extra time it would take the crew to paint the cabinets (thus pushing our deadline back). While I conceded at the time, I am having a serious problem letting go of the idea.

While I completely understand where they are coming from, I WANT MY WHITE CABINETS. It's not like the other options are BAD by any means, they're just not white.

They would be so beautiful!!!!

I just think white will make the space so much more open and bright. I also like white cabinets in the bathrooms so much more than natural wood. What do you think? I need help!!!

A little Seattle. A little sewing.

What a crazy week. So sorry it's taken me until Thursday to get the photos from the trip up, but what can you do! There's been serious work to be done and you can't exactly forgo these things in favor of blogging!

So, where were we? Ah, yes. We went to Seattle for Mel's wedding, which was as you saw, INCREDIBLE. So, Sunday morning we decided to ride the ferry over and head down to the Pike Place market to eat! and take in some scenery. I DO NOT LIKE THE FERRY. But I sure look happy in the photo, so you'd never know.

The original Starbucks.

On the Kingston Ferry.

Veggies.

Mums.

Sign.

At the market!

So artsy.

The rest of the week has been pretty much the same. Work, go home and collapse. We signed all the house papers Monday, so we should hopefully commence both building and picking things out! YAY! Oh, but I did finish the Sookie Stackhouse series, OR SO I THOUGHT, until I found out there is a mysterious eighth book that for some reason was not included in the box set. This irks me to no end. Anyone else? UGH.

Probably the most exciting thing I did this week was head on over to this lovely lady's house (which is adorable by the way) and learn how to sew!!! I made an apron! And I didn't sew a straight seam THE ENTIRE TIME. But she was very kind and patient. Oh and Meaghan, I'm bringing my camera next time I come over to photograph your home because it is so darn cute.

I am very tall compared to tiny, cute Meaghan.

I've missed you all. What have you been up to? More Seattle photos here.

The most aesthetically pleasing wedding I've ever been too.

Once upon a time there was a wee redheaded pre-teen who felt very awkward, ugly and out of place in the world. She had a hard time fitting in at school, had an even harder time finding clothes to fit her freakishly long, skinny legs (there were no long sizes in those days) and couldn't wait to grow up.

One day an older, taller, more confident person came into her life. She encouraged the wee little thing, spent her free time including her in her life and telling her that the awkwards would not last forever. She let her follow her around and copy everything she said, wore, did. She taught the girl never to settle for less than she wanted, to not give boys the time of day if they weren't worth it and to realize that true beauty is on the inside.

This weekend that wee little thing (now not so wee) got to watch that older, taller, beautiful person marry the love of her life.

Me and Mel, the preppy-chic bride!

Melody, who now lives across the country, was such an important person to me in SUCH an important time. She was my big sister. She spent so much time and energy being there for me in those pivotal early teen years and I TRULY would not be the person I am today without her.

I was so glad we were able to be there on her special day! And aside from all the mush, her wedding was freaking FANTASTIC!!!! Seriously, everything was perfect! Just look at the photos!

The church was PERFECT. Built in 1850

Welcome sign at the reception.

The bride & groom arrive in style.

The reception.

Us!.

Guest tables.

Pollen balls.:)

They had a display with all the wedding photos of their families. Such a good idea!

Adirondack chairs made by Mel's Dad.

Croquet for the guests.

The candy bar.

Letterpress "guest book" note cards which matched the invitations.

Place markers.

And they lived happily ever after!

I'll post the photos from the rest of the Seattle trip tomorrow! More wedding photos here.

Hope this doesn't jinx it!

Well, I really hope this doesn't jinx it, since we are supposed to be signing the papers today or Monday to make it "official," but...WE'RE BUILDING A HOUSE. If all goes according to plan, we will soon be breaking ground on this lovely piece of land and moving in around the first few weeks of December!

And yes that is an ORCHARD in the backyard. SO beautiful. And here's our cute little street:

I don't think I could possibly be any more excited. This is such an amazing opportunity for us 1) financially and 2) CREATIVELY! I can't wait to pick things out, decorate and put my design skills to the test!

So, in honor of this unofficial announcement, I thought I would share some of my decorating ideas with you, since I can't seem to stop thinking about them. I can't shake the concept of having clean, white furniture, cabinets and trim. I love the feeling of open, airy rooms with white accents. We'll see...

Love the corner cabinet!

Seriously hoping to have this fantastic desk for crafting someday.

Love the wall color and the organization system!

Adore the color of the walls and white hutch.

Granted all of these things will take time to save and work for, but it's just so exciting thinking of having a real home! Got any ideas for me? Tips? Experiences?

HAPPY FRIDAY. Love you all. Mean it.

Cause for Celebration.

Well, I finally got all the lake photos edited. The majority can be seen here. However, I'll give you a little taste of all the fun that was had, despite the chilly weather.

I got to ski!

My Mom and Chase.

My Dad, lookin' ripped.

Taylor, all cheese.

Chase the wake board man. He likes getting his photo taken, can you tell?

Annual breakfast at Elkin's.

The cabin.

Kind of loving this photo of my Dad.

Cole, the flag boy.

Closest thing to self-portrait from the week.

We read, played games, ATE, took a day to go shopping in the cutest little town EVER, skied and had a GRAND old time. Thanks Mom and Dad for your hospitality!

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In other news, it is one of my best friends' birthday today! Happy birthday Mando. I love you dearly! Thanks for being my friend and I wish I could see you more! Also, thanks for taking care of Taylor at work.:) You are the best! Have a PERFECT day.

What have y'all been up to?

In my own little corner.

I apologize ahead of time, but I haven't had a chance to edit my photos from vacation, so you will just have to wait (with bated breath I am sure) for those to come. While you wait however, here are some more photos of little things I have been doing to spruce up our apartment.

I have had a whole lot of inspiration lately and have been feeling the need to outlet it! So, here are some of my latest projects.

Bathroom shelf.

I found this shelf at Goodwill ($9.99), the Boots products at Target, the Angel was given to me by my friends when Taylor proposed (he had finally heard the angels singing), the canister and Paris painting were also from Goodwill ($2.99, $4.99), the nest is from Michael's and will soon have soap eggs residing in it, the candle is from Target and the painted letters are from Michael's as well. I used Robin Egg's blue spray paint on them, and then used a crackle texturizer to add an antique look.

Hanging frames.

We got these lovely little frames for our wedding, and I hadn't filled them with anything. I figured if I was going to stick with the French "toilet" theme I went with on the shelf, I should put a little French phrase in the frames.

Oval mirror.

This was another Goodwill find ($4.99) and it was originally a vanilla color. To match it to our bathroom I added the Robin's Egg blue crackle texture and some black crackle spray paint. After it dried I took a piece of sandpaper to it and scuffed it up to my satisfaction. I kind of love it.:)

What have you lovelies been up to?

Fall Fashion.

The cool weather the last couple days here in Oregon has got me thinking about, you guessed it, my fall wardrobe. Looking back, some of my best purchases were made "school shopping" with my Mom in the month of August. She even used to take me to Seattle to school shop, since our store selection in Spokane was less than plentiful. What a Mom!

Anyway, here are some of the pieces I'm dreaming about adding to my closet for the fall season.

J.Crew Icon Trench.

This lovely green striped shirt from Brooklyn Industries.

This coordinating jacket, also from Brooklyn Industries.

This adorable plaid dress from ModCloth, which would go perfectly with black leggings, or the below boots.Boots, Steve Madden.

Bow skirt from ModCloth.

Gorgeous China-print dress from ModCloth.

Awesome red wedges from ModCloth.

What are you investing in for fall? Can you believe it's that time already!?

Also, I think this might be my last post for a while. We are headed on vacation next week where there is no Internet, cell phones or anything technology related, the lake! Look forward to a fatty lake post and some awesome photos! Love you all!