Papa Johns

So today, Chris got us a free large pizza at Papa John's, just for taking his Camaro there. Pretty cute story about why if you follow this link:

http://www.papasroadtrip.com/

Chris pointed out that maybe it's not such a good idea for the owner to be publicizing that he has almost $300,000 to throw around to get his car back. It's sort of like saying, "Look at how much money I made from all you people who buy my pizzas!" lol

I say as long as I get a free and delicious pizza, I'm happy. And it was delicious!

Formal dining room? Bah!

After only using the dining table 2 or 3 times since we moved into the house, I decided that our formal dining room was now not only ugly, but useless as well. lol In an attempt to improve to look and function of the room, I rearranged the furniture.

The dining room table is now a cute little bistro table tucked up against the stairs.
The rest of the room is open in the middle. Oreo loves running in there and rolling around on the rug. He's not used to having to much room to play. And, this way, I get to have our cool apothecary media unit out on display (pictured below).

The avocado tree's progress

It's been about three weeks since I started growing my little avocado tree. From the top, it doesn't really like much progress has been made.
From the underside, though, you can see that the seed is starting to split open and the taproot is beginning to sprout. I really wonder how these things grow in the wild, when they're not propped up over a cup of water. lol

Oreo's new nemesis

Yesterday, we noticed a fluffy orange cat prowling around our yard. Oreo was pretty interested in meeting him, so we let him go out. The weirdest thing happened: both cats walked over to each other, sniffed the other one's face, and then laid down on the ground facing each other. After about 5 minutes, the orange cat started making small meowing noises, and then without warning, pounced on Oreo.

Chris jumped in between them to scare off the orange cat, and Oreo was pretty upset about the whole situation. So he went to hide under my car, and the orange cat decided to test his boundaries by sitting in front of the car. So once again they stared at each other for about five minutes. Eventually, we got bored and chased the other cat off so we could get Oreo back in the house. So still no friends for Oreo, but at least he got a little excitement.

Plants and room decor

As it turns out, the hosta I planted a few weeks ago under the pine tree is blossoming. It has three or four new stems of flowers on it. Unfortunately, something is biting at the leaves, and it looks like the bees are trying to burrow under it to make a new home. Going to have to nip this one in (or under) the bud. haha


On the other side of the swing, I planted another hosta and a different plant (can't remember what it's called) but I think it's too soon to tell if they like the location or not. I've got one more to plant, but I'm letting it get used to the shadiness first before I decide whether or not to plant it.
The big doggie next door came out to greet and bark at me.
Inside the house, I'm slowly putting things together. Today I hung the big mirror in our room. Still need to paint the door though ...

I finally found a spot for the candelabra Mom got us. It's a little hard to see in this picture, though. Need to get some candles to put on it now. :-) I also really can't wait to make some window treatments for the room with some pretty, bold printed fabric.
Oreo likes the bedroom, finished or not.

Moffett's Beach

Last weekend we went camping with Dave and Lisa. Mike and Erin even made it out for a couple nights. The weather was a bit cool, but we still all had a really good time. Chris took Mike and Erin out on the sailboat one day. After a quick refresher course from Dave, Chris was sailing like a master.




I hung out on the beach with the ducks. This one had a particular interest in Chris's sandal. After trying to bite it for a while, he finally decided to just stare at me for about 15 minutes, taking a half step closer to me every time I looked away. lol

Rearranging furniture

Quick post before we go pack our clothes for the camping trip this weekend. We're headed to Moffet's tomorrow through Monday. Should be lots of fun going out on the boat and sitting by the campfire with Chris's family. :-)

Just wanted to give an update of my progress on unpacking/getting settled. The gorgeous sconces my mom gave us last Christmas have found a home in the living room. I like how they go along with the sort of Tuscan feel in there.



Not sure, Mom will like this or not, but I finally found a purpose for the white cabinet she brought us: shoe rack. lol It holds our day-to-day shoe nicely and keeps the kitchen clutter-free. I also added an ottoman out here so we have a place where we can take our shoes on and off.
The guest room is being rearranged, but it's all just temporary and experimental until I get in there and rip down wallpaper and paint. I turned my futon's chair cushion into a little headboard just for a little whimsy.
The rest of the chair and the tv are hanging out at the back of the guest bedroom now. It's hard to imagine this room looking nice and being a comfortable retreat for our guests with all the wallpaper and the curtains shutting out all the light though ... Oh well, I'll get to everything eventually. :-)Time to pack for camping!

Oh Oreo!

Chris picked up Oreo for a minute, and then set him down in this position. Oreo like it so much he stayed there for about 10 minutes. haha Looks like he's riding a bicycle upside down.

Wall of Art and Adventures

I finally finished removing the wallpaper and then painting the staircase wall. I still have a little trim to do in glossy white, but that's just a little tiny project. And, more importantly, I finally put up my wall of art and adventures. Lots of pictures from Chris and my trips around the world, and some of mine and my grandpa's artwork. I don't think it's done yet. There's still a lot of space at the landing, and in various spots throughout.

I put up some frames that I think might be too small for the wall, but I ran out of larger pictures. What I think would look really good on this wall is one or two of my mom's awesome fern and leaf pictures. (Was that too subtle? Hint hint, Mom.) For the most part the pictures are interchangable, though. So if Chris and I receive any nice pictures as a gift *cough, fern picture* we could swap it in to a really good spot on the wall. :-) Anywho, that's the wall. Another task complete ... almost. lol

Avocado seed

I recently decided to grow my own avocado tree. I saved a pit from a store-bought avocado and read up on how to get one to grow. While it won't produce it's own avocados (you need at least two trees in order for them to pollinate each other), it should still be cool just to grow my own tree from a seed.

So phase one is to soak the bottom in water for 3-4 weeks, changing the water every other day to prevent mold and bacteria from sprouting. After that, it should be ready to be planted in a pot and hang out in the house through the winter. We'll see how this goes. :-)