Oh the places you'll go

In less than one week, I will be here:

{Boise Airport}

So I can make it to here:

{Minneapolis St. Paul Airport}

So that approximatley 20 hours later I can be here:

{Saarbrucken, Germany}

And see this incredible friend:

{Verena, my roomie from freshman year of college}

So we can get on a train and go here:

{Paris}

And most importantly to be reunited with this cutie, just in time for our one year anniversary:

{Mr. Cook, who else?}

So we can go here:

{Castellina in Chianti, Italy}

then here, you know just because:

{Rome}

So we can go here:

{No silly, not back home to our humble abode, to Madrid}

So that we can have one last night together in Frankfurt before Mr. Cook returns to tour, and I spend a few last days in Germany before coming home.

Our house, is a very very very fine house

With two pups in the yard- yes two!  Among other changes at the Cook residence, we've acquired another little miss.  Well I suppose we didn't acquire her, it was more like I saw her being given away in a litter of six other blue heeler/border collie mixes at a gas station and I couldn't resist.  We've been talking about another dog for quite a while, but my timing left Mr. Cook feeling a bit left out...no fear, I let him name her and I send pictures so I'm not the worst wife in the world.  And here she is, Jasmine, who I like to call Jazz, Jazzy Dog, or Jazzy Fay for short, because we all need a little variety right?

{believe me, I know}

And her and Clover dog get along pretty famously for the most part.  This was a big motivation for getting a second dog in the first place- Clover needed the company.  Or at least that's how we justified it to ourselves :)

{two, er, dogs in a pod}

Did you see that thing on the left?  No, not what the dogs were looking at- the table?!  I've finished re-finishing it!  And I'm pretty pleased with it.  Of course I did not document the steps, which I think is okay, b/c I'm not sure your Mr. would love the process I went through to get my new digs.  Pretty sure mine wouldn't be very happy if he new the deets, but it's okay, b/c like you, he only gets to see the end result.

 

{before, um Southwest?}

{after lots of sanding, ebony staining, black spraypainting the chairs and table legs, fabric stapling, and lots of pupper sniffering}

Did you see that other thing- in the before picture, on the left?  That crazy wood paneled fridge?   Even crazier, we bought it that way, it didn't come with the house :)  Although it's prior finish eerily matched the cabinets and the old look of the dining table.  A bit too matchy, matchy, scary country for me.  So what's a girl to do (besides replace the fridge valve- by herself?!)?  Fix it of course.

 

{see what I mean, scary match}

 

{oh, there you are, happy fridge complete with newly functioning water and ice in door}

And there you have it a little sneak into some of the projects I've been busying myself with.  Happy Tuesday, I'm off to lunch!

Around Here

It has been a whirlwind around the *new* Cook residence.  After living with Mr. Cook's best friend for the better half of a year, and moving back in with my parents while waiting to hear about our "short" sale, we finally have our first home!  There have already been many countless trials, but also some triumphs :)

Trial #1:  The prior owners took the water softener.  While it was upsetting, I wasn't too worried b/c it was listed in our disclosure and on the MLS...however, when they took the water softener, they didn't bother to re-connect the pipes.  Say hello to trying to move two households into one, with no running water = no toilet. 

Triumph, er solution, #1:  An improvised toilet, e.g. a bucket of water used to fill up the water tank of the toilet.  Classy, no...Necessary, yes.

Trial #2:  Blinds in my craft area were not adequately supported.  This delightful discovery was made at 5 in the morning, whilst in bathrobe.  Wanting to do some blog reading in my bathrobe I attempted to lower and close the blinds.  And I did, in a way, lower them.  They came crashing down with a thud.  Bonus = no broken blinds :)

{my seemingly innocent, nemesis}

Triumph #2:  Blinds tackled and wrangled while still in bathrobe, much to Clover's dismay.  Happy to say no more threat of indecent exposure to neighbors. 

Trial #3:  Welcome to the jungle, we've got fun and games!  Evidently the prior owners weren't very motivated to maintain their dirt lot of a backyard, look my very own meadow!

Triumph #3:  After nearly 7 hours in some of the only hot weather we've had this year, my dad and I weed whacked, raked and bagged 21 bags full of meadow.  At present there is industrial weed enemy all over the "yard" so no pictures of this accomplishment.  Now to determine when we will put a back yard in.  I'm thinking this is one project reserved for Mr. Cook, he'll be home by spring so plenty of time to install a sprinkler system and get some sod layed!

Stay tuned for more trials and triumphs (including my re-wiring of a $30 craigslist dryer, the replacement of the fridge valve in my other craigslist find so we can utilize the exciting feature of in door ice and water, and my update on a dining room hand-me-down) !

Studio Calico: Documentary Collection

After barely surviving two weeks without internet, I hit my blogs hard when it was up and running again...and I may have stayed up late one evening doing so.  But I am so glad I did.  Or I wouldn't have seen this beauty:

Don't get too excited, the hop is over.  But it was a really cool way to see all of the awesome ideas that Studio Calico's Design Team came up with using the new (so new it's not even available for purchase yet) Documentary Collection ...which I am freakishly obsessed with.  I like to think that I have fairly decent blog world karma- I read religiously, leave comments and er, do my best to keep my own blog updated (like I said fairly decent)- but I rarely expect to see my name pop up on a list of give-away winners...

And then I did!

And I may have freaked out a little bit.  Clover was very confused by the scene of my doing a jig in my comfies around the house.  It was a very happy surprise to find out that I was chosen as Davinie's winner (especially after a not so fun, very early morning trip to the dentist, which followed a pit stop at my favorite bagel shop only to discover no wallet- awesome- 2 cavities on an empty stomach = none good). 

Here's a glimpse of some of the goodies soon to be arriving at my *new* doorstep!

{fabRips}

{mmm...stickers!}

{Camera Shy}

{Holiday}

{Window Seat}

{Itinerary}

Can't wait to get my fun mail with my Partly Sunny kit- I am seriously loving being a Studio Calico subsriber, and it's saving us tons of unnecessary 'trips' to Archivers, Joann's and Michael's for supplies that sit.  Thank you Studio Calico's brainchild- April, for putting together cohesive kits that I can't wait to see every month!  Lots to document this summer with my new collection, and some sharing to do with this girl (whose karma should be a whole lot better than mine):

{Mother's Day '10}