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The Ghost of Christmas Past
Christmas is in two days, but the magic isn’t there. I’ve done all the things. I hung up the twinkling lights, watched the movies, and decorated the tree. I made the treats, sang the songs, and bought the presents. But something is missing this year. A huge piece of me… gone. As I was walking through Kohls the other day to pick up an order in the back, I passed the little girl section. The clothes were strewn about and tossed aside as people looked for the perfect outfit. When I stopped and looked at them, I felt my heart hurt so much that I stumbled and had to suck…
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Italy Day 1 – Cats, Rowboats, and Carbonara
(If you missed it, here is the arrival) We were finally in Italy! The country we had dreamt of visiting for so long. We had arranged to drop off our luggage at our VRBO in advance of check-in, so we made a last minute decision to walk from the train station to our rental. With our luggage. But we were not prepared for walking the streets of a country where everyone drove like it was the Indy 500. And you could either get mowed down by a motorcycle, a vespa, or a tiny hatchback. Anything was possible. So what we thought was a 20 minute walk, was in fact much…
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Italy – The Beginning
The beginning. Emmett and I had always planned something big for our 10th anniversary. It started off as a trip to Santorini (we both love Greek food) but changed to Italy once I saw a Hallmark movie that had been set in Verona. I fell in love with the idea of Italy, and as we started researching the country, realized that there was so much to see. During the planning stages, our trip seemed to be so far away. I looked up VRBO’s and grew more excited at the thought of strolling ancient cobblestone streets and learning another culture, while celebrating a decade of marriage. But the adventure was still…
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Another Birthday
Another November has come and gone, and with it, another birthday. Another number added to my age. Another year of life slipped away. Time disappears faster as the years pass and there is nothing I can do to stop it. I will never be young again. It doesn’t matter what clothes I wear, or how I style my hair. Or even how I feel. That’s something I wasn’t prepared for. I don’t FEEL middle aged. I have the same hopes and dreams that I had when I was twenty-three. I still look up and marvel at the sky. I watch the sunset, listen to music, and feel like I can…
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Hello There!
It’s been a long time since I updated this website. Far too long. So to recap…the house still isn’t done. Are they ever truly done? But we moved in October 30th, 2020. It was chaotic and to make it even more so, kitchen counters installed the day we were moving in. We didn’t have closets, and everything was in boxes for a very long time. The last couple of weeks before moving in were certifiably hectic. We worked nonstop on both our old house and our new one. Our house sold very quickly and we had no choice but to get out by a set date. So much was done…
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Drywall Is Up!
The house is getting closer to move-in day. We’re at the stage of choosing colors and fixtures and I’m afraid of getting it wrong. Yes, I’ve researched and pinned everything I like on on Pinterest, but when it comes down to it, I still don’t know what to choose. I’m famous for changing my mind at the last minute (just ask Emmett!) Drywall was installed, finished, and primed in about three weeks. The change was astounding. I can hardly remember what the house used to look like before drywall. Almost every day I stopped by the house after work to look at the progress. Emmett asked them to finish the…
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I Tried to Be Ready
When you were a baby, everyone told me to enjoy these moments. That one day the sleepless nights would be over. One day, you wouldn’t need me for bath time anymore. You wouldn’t need me to read you one more book. Or fix your meals. Or comb you hair. One day, you wouldn’t need me at all. I tried to be ready. I took those early memories and slid them deep into my heart so that I would never forget. Your first bath, those tiny fingers curled into fists. The smell of newly washed baby hair. Your chubby cheeks and your sweet smile. I would watch you sleep in your…
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Ready for Drywall!
I can’t believe we’re finally here. We closed on the construction loan over a year ago. Back then, Emmett had no idea how long this house would take to build, but he estimated around a year. That jumped around several times throughout the course of the construction, but now we’re getting down to the end. We can see the light at the end of the tunnel. Once drywall is done, nothing will look the same again. We won’t be looking at the studs, the wires, the plumbing lines, the HVAC system. The insulation. Instead, we’ll see the house looking like a home. One step closer to moving in. One step…
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A Portable Garden
A small garden that's easy to move.
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A Long Overdue Update
Working on the inside of the house!
