adoption

With a new old "nold" house, and a big ol' fenced in yard and lots of lovin to go around, it only makes sense to look into adoption! Adoption of a pup that is!

I knew for a while that once I got moved into my house I wanted to look into getting a dog of my own. Originally I wanted a brand new puppy. And then I saw the Sarah McLachlan-depressing-ADOPT ME-commercials on tv every hour and knew that I had to save those poor helpless dogs. So off to adoptapet.com I went!

My criteria:
-A small(er) dog, big dogs are great but just not for me. I don't like having a giant lump o' coal laying on my lap or jumping up on me.

-A non-shedding or minimal shedding dog. I am allergic to cats, and sometimes I wonder if that trickles into some dog dander too?

-Non-yippy. I think chihuahuas are adorable, and yorkies sometimes but they are just too loudmouthed for me!

Ideally, I wanted a poodle or a bischon (or some mix of both). That's what my spencerpup is and I love his temperament and think he's just the greatest (doesn't every dog owner think that of their own though, ha?!)

I stumbled upon a curlyhaired apricot fella named Oro (which I've since learned means "gold" in spanish)


I've been emailing back & forth with the shelter he is at and am going to meet this guy on Saturday. He sounds great on paper, so I hope we meld well!

Monkeyin around

This little wild child is rapidly rounding the corner to her first birthday! (sniffle... I can't believe how quick she's growing up!)

Her momma and poppa have decided to go with a monkey theme and I'm the lucky auntie who gets to design her invitations.

I may be impartial, but I think they turned out adorable. And Livy agrees with me.
She's VERY excited about it. Very. In case you can't tell.

*I wanna thank all most of you for your kind thoughts and words of wisdom last night... you ladies are all so sweet! It's nice to know that almost everyone goes through this same period of adjustment and soul-searching!

Opening up

I've been avoiding this post, or this blog in general actually. It's been a rough week.

Moving out of my childhood home and into a place of my own brought a lot of anxiety and confusion. I was scared and overwhelmed.

I didn't feel comfortable. I felt sad and lost and mostly lonely. Chris was there, just like we had planned. But it just didn't help. I was upset and aggravated by anything that he did.

I was flooded with all these emotions and continually found myself in tears. I didn't know if I was even ready to live on my own, let alone live with a boyfriend.

Chris left for work last Monday morning with our predetermined plan to go stay at his dads on the other side of town to give me some time to calm down and hopefully get a little settled and a little more comfortable in the house. My house.

As the days passed I was beginning to feel a little better about being on my own, and a little more hesitant about my relationship about Chris. I hadn't been happy lately. I didn't know if it was just stress from dang near renovating an entire house in just under 3 months and spending nearly everyday together. All I knew was that I hadn't gotten butterflies lately. I didn't get excited to see him. I felt like I had a grudge against him.

He continued to stay at his dad's all last week, and then went down to Louisville to see his mom and sister this past weekend. I'm not sure if it helped clear my mind or just helped me avoid the situation in general. Out of sight, out of mind.

My decision really shouldn't have been that difficult to make. Either we a) break-up and give it some time
b) we stay together & he moves out or
c) we stay together and he stays in the house
But I just felt so confused all week. My mind changed every 10minutes. I just wanted to feel happy. I didn't want to feel lost and out of my element anymore.

Sunday came. Chris was supposed to come over so we could talk. I called him that morning and said that if I was that confused, we should probably just break up. After 2 years together I should know what I want, right?

Then I panicked thinking about everything we shared and all the memories we had made. When he showed up I just broke down into a big blubbering mess.

I just wanted to feel like I knew what I wanted. Chris ended up calling my mom to come over to calm me down. All three of us had a long talk and she made a point that we both sort of missed.

That we simply hadn't been having fun together. It'd been 3 months of work work work and I don't even think we went on a single date in that time span. Sure we grabbed bdubs at 8pm covered in paint and sawdust.

So we decided to try to work things out. Chris is moving out for now, we need to make sure our relationship is stable before we go and throw "living together" into the mix.

We're going to try harder to go on dates and laugh and enjoy each other. I don't know how it'll all turn out, but for now I'm giving it my best shot and keeping my chin up.

Honestly, I feel silly and hokey that I got so upset about moving out and about living with someone. But thats just me I guess.

It might not make sense to anyone else, but it makes sense to us. And that's really all that matters.

Details

I've been moved into my house since last weekend, and am finally beginning to feel some sort of organized chaos as I get used to everything.

While I'm in the process of making a house my home I've found it's the little details that make me feel most 'at home'.

Like the 3 glass vases next to my fireplace that I got on super clearance from Joann Fabrics



Or the antique kids chair that my mom made a cushion for using leftover drapery fabric, just for my niece!



There's a stack of games on the bookshelf for when friends come by



And magnetic letters on my fridge that everyone loves to play with



I have a bright & cheery china cabinet full of Fiesta dishes and other serving pieces I've collected along the way



And a beat up card catalog in my entry way perfect for hiding mittens and other goodies by the front door



An old metal cabinet found it's way into my kitchen and became the perfect perch for my beloved mixer and baking accessories



My mom brought over a box of vintage bottles that she found in their garage, they now adorn the windowsill above my kitchen sink



And the shelves built onto the side of the upper cabinets that flank that window have become the ideal resting spot for spice jars



It may not be perfect yet, but it's getting there!

Sneak Peek: living room curtains

I've finally got curtains up in my living room, so when people drive by the can't blatantly gawk at my widely exposed living room.

I won't lie. I'm sorta really big time in love with the fabric I chose! It's called Mary Jane Confetti, and is in the home decor section at Joanns, but (as I've learned) isn't on their website or anywhere online for that matter.

During my search for it however, I discovered that Brooke over at Thirfty Decor Chick used it to recover her incredibly cute wing back chair if you want to check it out in another project!