Emerging from a black hole

I have escaped the dreaded "black hole of moving" long enough to post one picture...one picture that I will surely keep for the rest of my life of Jared and I. This picture was taken the same day we closed on the house, our first time in OUR house, together. :)
Love it....anyways, my life has been relagated to trips to Lowe's, Target, and Wal-Mart for the past 2 weeks. Believe it or not, I have not been to Bed Bath and Beyond once! I am so anxious to get this house setup and not only looking like, but feeling like a home, our home. This obviously cannot be done in such a short time, but I can't seem to stop trying! I remember thinking that I would blog about the new house, pictures, before and after shots....holy crap, who has time for that!? :) Eventually, I'll get there. I promise.

In wedding update news, I officially found my dress this past weekend! Wish I could post a picture on here, but no doubt the fiance would see it. :) The dress was found on my first day of dress shopping, at the first boutique we visited (the first out of 4 that we would visit that same day). We started at 9am, and ended back at that same boutique at about 3:30pm to try it on for the final time just to be sure. Needless to say I was drained, but I cried happy and exhilarated tears when the decision was made, so that truly means it's the one! I will never experience another day like that day was, trying on those amazing gowns, modeling and twirling for the most important ladies in my life...I am so blessed!

Life is so unbelievably busy and exciting for me right now. I cannot describe it in words. Every time I feel overwhelmed, I remind myself of how exciting it is that I am going through all of these important moments and to try and slow down and enjoy it a bit more before it all passes me by. What a trip. :)

Rupert is Boycotting

I swear, this dog is just plain ol' mad at Jared and me for moving him out of the apartment. Today, he decided to dig a lovely hole in our backyard...right smack dab in the middle of the yard I might add.
And here Jared and I thought he would be happy as a clam with a nice, lush backyard to run and play without any leash or chain. I guess he just doesn't know what to do with his new freedom. Sigh....Here's hoping he settles in sooner, rather than later, as he is adding more projects to our "to-do" list than we can keep up with!

Exhausted, but moved in!

It doesn't matter how much you prepare. Moving is just exhausting. Yet somehow, in the week leading up to the move, I seem to only remember the excitement part from previous moves, and not the physical toll part. It's like my own brain tricks me every time: "Yes! This will be sooooo exciting, you will hardly notice the work and effort needed to complete all necessary tasks!" I suppose the restless night of sleep pre-move didn't help matters much, but it was too be expected with all the, you guessed it, excitement. :)

Nevertheless, Jared and I are officially moved in! With the help of numerous family and friends, we not only are moved in, but the entire master bedroom and bathroom are repainted! The kitchen is entirely organized, from dishes, to the pantry, and the bed was actually setup and able to be slept on for the first night. Aaaaaaamazing! Don't get me wrong, the place is a disaster area. My clothes still reside in black trash bags, and we have boxes of rando-crap strewn about the entire house. It will be a work in progress from this point on, but at least it is starting to feel more like home. :) ahhhh...that's a nice feeling.

The pup handled the move better than expected---until it was time for bed. All the new sounds that come with a new house, new neighborhood, etc must have been too much for him. (although I'll give him a free pass for the kids setting off fireworks from the house behind us. For a dog, that one is totally, justified). I recall waking up once before 1am to some growling and shifting around, and twice before 2am to his intimidating sounding barking from his kennel down in the kitchen. The third time Jared and I were disturbed from our slumber was too much, so we decided to bring him up to our room in hopes he would feel more comfortable and less likely to freak at every car door closing. WRONG. 4am--BARK, BARK-BARK...BARK out our master bedroom window. Seriously! I think I have gotten about 8 hrs of sleep in the past 2 days combined. Hence this afternoon's lovely migraine making all efforts on settling in to the new home come to halt.

Thank goodness I took tomorrow off of work! I'm going to need it! Pictures will of course soon follow (as soon as I find my USB cord in whatever various box it is currently residing) ;)

Labor Day Packing

I am in the middle of the "moving transition" time. You know, that time when you are packing all your crap into multiple gigantor boxes in preparation for moving, yet you can't quite pack EVERYTHING because you still need some of it for the week leading up to the move? Yeah, THAT transition time. Not only have I packed everything I possibly can, but I have no where to store the boxes that are already packed. So, my apartment now is practically un-maneuverable. Each time I come home it's a careful path that needs to be taken to make it through the living room to the bedroom, or from the living room to the kitchen. I took a couple snapshots of my disaster area I call an apartment:

The inordinate amount of Dell computer boxes are a family heirloom of sorts. My sis and I have used them for the past 3-4 moves between the two of us. A big thanks goes out to Garmin for "providing" these boxes back when my sister used to work for them. :)

This weekend consisted of packing for the majority of the time, sprinkled with my sis's 30th b-day party, a wedding, and a viewing of Avatar 3D to give ourselves a much needed break! Here's Jared and I sporting the sweet 3D glasses they provide for the second release of the movie:
Who made this decision to buy a home while trying to plan a wedding? Surely it wasn't me??? :) Coupled with an unusually terrible couple weeks of work, my body is doing very strange things in reaction to the stress. I'll save you from the laundry list, but one of which is a gimpy shoulder after a terrible night of sleep that I can't lift laterally without shooting pains down to my fingers. That can't be good....I think I need to take some time to slow down and get back to normal before things get any worse. (Deep breath). Moving day is almost here, then I can get at least one thing off my plate! Despite the stress, the excitement continues to build to FINALLY be into the house! The much needed extra space, the backyard for Rupert, and last but certainly not least, a place to call our own. Closing on Friday, moving day on Saturday--it will be here before I know it. Now, to get through the next 3 days...:)

P.S. The West Elm duvet cover set has been purchased and should be delivered tomorrow. :) Thanks everyone for their input! I cannot wait to see it.

Goodbye to a childhood memory

I know what you are thinking....I'm a total treehugger. Well, yesterday, I said my final goodbyes to my tree. Yes you heard me correct, MY tree. Picture kindergarten-age Abbey, three and half feet tall with my blonde hair so light that it is nearly white, bringing home a tree sapling planted in the bottom half of a child-sized milk carton, begging "Please can we plant it? Pretty please?" My parents, being the good parents they are, allowed me to plant the tiny little sapling in the front yard of our house (Of course with little expectation that it would survive numerous mows, winters, etc). That picture, is me, next to my tree as of yesterday. That tiny sapling was a strong one, as it has now grown so large, that it is taller than our house and impeding upon the house space. After countless trims the tree continues grow into the house, thereby leaving no choice but to say goodbye. Hence sad puppy face in above image. The entire tree could not fit in the image, but here's a better look at it.

It's already received a serious trim job in the prep work before the entire tree comes down. It is important to mention the tree just in the background to the left of my tree, is my sister's tree. She also was lucky to have her childhood tree survive in our front yard. It stayed a much more modest and manageable size. If anyone out there is looking for a good quality tree that provides great shade and minimal upkeep, look for a Little Leaf Linden like my sister's. Not that I don't love my Honey Locust tree, but her's really was the winner. :)

Anyway, this is my dedication to my tree...my spindly, no-shade providing, annoying tiny little leaf dropping, Kindergarten success. :) You will be missed.