Staying in Chicago

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Time for a change

Because we spend so much time in the basement, we figured we should make some major changes to make it more comfortable and to our liking. We have such a great space down there and we were only using half of it. So as posted earlier, Scott is putting in another bedroom and we will be laying new carpet in the next few weeks. As you can see in the first picture, we have a BLACK wall and NOTHING on the other walls. Major work needs to be done.

I'm learning about what it means to create spaces in our home that make us feel things (soothed, comforted, happy, energized, relaxed, creative, etc). I used to be so concerned about buying things for our home that matched or flowed with the rest of the house. I'm learning that if I see something that moves me or makes me feel a strong emotion, that I should buy it, even if I'm not sure where it'll go or whether or not it'll match the rest of the house! So I basically have a blank slate with the basement. There is so much we can do down there and I'm excited to see how it turns out. I'll keep you posted!

Keeping us warm

Here is our woodburning stove that we love using in the winter. It used to be propped up on a brick slab with a big wooden box-like thing behind it to hold wood. Scott tore all of that out and laid this beautiful slate down underneath and behind it. Once we finish the basement this will look amazing down there.

Remodeling!

Scott has been busy doing some remodeling in our basement! I wanted to post a few pictures of the different projects he's been working on. I'm continually amazed at his abilities to build and re-model. He's handy to have around! :) These pictures are of Scott putting up a wall to close in the bedroom area. He is also putting in a closet. It's going to be a great spare bedroom. Scott also remodeled our woodburning stove area and put up slate. It looks amazing.

This pictures shows the 2x4s Scott put up to start with. He's standing in what will be the door way.

I can't wait to get rid of that ugly wolf poster that's been there forever! Sorry Scott :)

Saturday, January 31, 2009

Jeremiah

Sarah, Jeremiah and little Abraham came to visit this weekend and J had a blast with the dogs and Uncle Scott!

Wile Coyote!

These are Precious and Sydney's new play dates :) We've had a few coyote sightings in our backyard. Yikes!!

Monday, January 12, 2009

One Year of Marriage

Scott and I celebrated our one-year anniversary by going out to eat at our favorite restaurant in Chicago, La Hacienda. We figured we should keep with the Mexican theme of our wedding, and going to La Hacienda gave us a great excuse to visit the city.

This is the machine they make the tortillas in. They come out warm and fresh!

Preparing to feast on fajitas....yum!

Desert....Sopapillas!

Friday, January 9, 2009

Movies

American Idol starts in 4 days!! I can't wait!

Scott and I rented Ghost Town with Greg Kinnear, Ricky Gervais and Tea Leoni. It was a funny, quirky romantic comedy (ie. chick flick!). It was one of the better movies I've seen in a long time.

We saw The Curious Case of Benjamin Button over Christmas and it was TERRIBLE! I'm sure it's going to get all sorts awards this season, but it didn't cause me to feel any emotion except for boredom and annoyance. It could have been SUCH a great movie. It had so much potential, but at over 2.5 hours, I was more focused on how sore my butt was than how Button was aging backwards. I wanted the movie to touch and move me like The Notebook (it kind of has that feel), but it didn't even come close. It was boring and the plot moved along slower than a snail. If you really want to see it, wait until it comes out on video!!