Dutch Door Inspiration

I'd really like to have a dutch door off our kitchen, leading into the backyard.  We currently need a new back door because the one we inherited has a big crack down the bottom. 

Dreaming of turning it in to something more like this though.

via

via coastal living

Dutch doors just seem so inviting!

Extreme Couponing Craziness

Has anyone else seen this show?  This is by far one of the craziest shows I've seen in a long time.  I love to coupon, but this is quite out of control. 

I don't even think it is possible.  All of the stores near us have policies that would prevent the savings these people are getting. 

For instance, most manufacturer's coupons will only be doubled up to 50 cents, and only on the first two of the same items.  If you buy more than two of the same thing, the face value of the coupon is only given after the first two.

Also, who needs more deodorant than they will ever use in their entire life?  Or diapers for kids you don't even have.  If these people can really get all of this stuff for free, I hope they are donating the excess things. 

I'll stick to clipping my one insert of coupons a week, and be happy with my $20 savings, thank you very much!

Loving this

I came across this lovely store through another blog recently, called the vintage pearl.  There is so much on their website that I am loving. 

Especially these earrings.

photo courtesy via

I also really like these baby spoons...I think I have the perfect couple to gift this to later this year!!!

photo courtesy via

I just might have to remember this come my birthday. 

Happy Monday!

This morning we woke up to thunderstorms.  It would have been a perfect day to stay in bed. 

Brooklyn is terrified of thunderstorms.  So we snuggled her on the couch...she loves/hates when I do this to her...I couldn't resist!

This past weekend seemed like pure perfection.  Bill and I got all of our cleaning/chores out of the way Thursday and Friday night so we wouldn't feel guilty about not doing them over the weekend 

The weather was perfectly in tune with the beginning of April.  We ran a few errands Saturday morning, got both cars cleaned, and then my sister Deanna and I went to visit our cousin in the hospital.  It was so nice to see our cousin Brandi, and we are wishing her a speedy recovery, and praying for answers.

After the hospital, Bill and I made pizzas for lunch and then jumped on the Butler bandwagan.  You see, we live about a mile away from the Butler University campus, so there is a lot of bulldog pride going on around us (since they are going to the NCAA championship game).  So before Saturday night's game, we went over to Butler's campus and walked around a bit.  It is just beautiful.  We even bought some lovely t-shirts to sport during the game. And what great game it was!

Sunday was one of those days you never want to end.  I got to sleep in, eat yummy cereal, do a bit of laundry and then have lunch with my man.  Following that, we spent about an hour or so at the dog park with our favorite pooch.  With the weather so nice, it was hard not to be outside.  We finished the night off with BLTs for dinner and then ice cream with my family!  Pure bliss!

Tonight will be spent cheering the Butler Bulldogs on in the NCAA championship game.  Here's to hoping they can pull it off. 

Happy Monday!

Same Time, Last Year

Last year, on March 31, 2010, Bill and I were signing a bunch of documents for our first house.  That's right, it's been exactly a year since the house was officially ours.  How crazy is that?  Time flies so fast.

So in honor of our one year anniversary, here are the top ten reasons I love our house:

1.  Location, location, location.  We are walking distance to local bars, restaurants, and hang outs.

2.  The history of our house.  It was the first house built on the block, a small farm house.  The river rock on the front was hand carried by the original owner's three daughters from the local river.

3.  I call it a love house.  Bill proposed on the front porch last July, carrying on the tradition of love.  The original owner's three daughters were all married in the house in front of the fireplace.  He even widened the stairs for their dresses to flow down.

4.  The front porch.  Some nights I love nothing more than sitting on the front porch enjoying the evening.  We light candles, watch neighbors pass by, and even get to watch the occasional thunderstorm coming in.

5.  The half bathroom.  It's so nice to have a bathroom downstairs that guests can use.  Especially when ours is a mess upstairs (which is most of the time, who are we kidding).

6.  Our brand new driveway.  When we bought the house, it was gravel.  Now it is a lovely asphalt drive and my tires now longer spin when going up it.

7.  The fireplace.  There's nothing better than on a cold winter night, snuggling up on the couch and having a wood burning fire.

8.  The removal of a few of our trees. 

9.  The hardwood floors!  I love them!

10.  Just the fact that it is our real first place, and we get to call it home.  It is our little oasis, that belongs only to us...as long as we continue to pay for it!!!


And here are a few things that made our first year a bit rough.

1.  Large branches falling out of trees, hitting the gutters and narrowly missing our cars.

2.  Water from our bathtub overflowing into our dining room below.  This was a very bad day for me.  The sound of rushing water into your house is not a good sound.  We ended up having a hole in our dining room ceiling for about a month...

3.  A lovely root ball in our main sewer line that cost us quite a bit of money and required ripping up part of that lovely new driveway I mentioned earlier...ouch!

4.  The hardwood floors!  I know I put this on the above list, because I do love them.  But I also fear for them.  Brooklyn's paws and nails are not easy on them, and I am consistently worried about them getting scratched.  They are also so hard to keep clean!

The good definitely out ways the bad!  We definitely feel like we've been initiated into home ownership this past year, but we still wouldn't change any of our decisions.  We love this house!

Right now:

Current happenings going on around me right now:

*Listening to the Avett Brothers' "The New Love Song" on Pandora.

*Sitting in my cubicle at work...the joys of life!

*Stressing about a job interview I have later today...eek! 

*Day Dreaming of warmer weather so Bill and I can take bike rides that end with ice cream!

Happy Tuesday! 

Did I Ever Tell You...

We were once in the newspaper?  Well, we were.  It was last September.  About two months after we moved in, we were approached by the local housing association about having our house on the local historical tour.  We couldn't say no to that!

So we spent the first six months of living in the house just getting it full of furniture and atleast a few things hung on the walls.

About a month before the tour, our house was selected to be featured in the Indianapolis Star.  The article turned out fantastic!  It was the front page of the home and garden section (we were completely in shock!) and they even included our favorite pooch!

The article is no longer online, but the picture gallary is.  Click here to see.  I'm not allowed to post the pics myself as they are protected by copywrite.  Side note:  the first eleven photos are our house...it goes straight into the next gallery after that (although the next house looks amazing, I can't claim it as my own).

I'll try to scan the article and post tomorrow.

Happy Wednesday!