I'm Still Alive!

I know it's been a ridiculously long time since I've updated, but we're alive and well, and still working on the house. 

The main reason I haven't updated is because we adopted 2 dogs!  I know I said we were going to wait until the upstairs is finished before getting dogs, but I saw them on petfinder.com and they were too adorable to pass up.  They grew up together, and would only be adopted together, which is perfect because we wanted 2 dogs!  Here they are:

Kiwi is a Chihuahua mix.

Jules is a Lab/Vizsla mix.

I love watching them play together.  So cute!

We've also taken a few trips since I've last updated.  In February Matt and I went to Tampa to visit his grandparents.

Matt and I at John's Pass in Florida.

Then in April I went on a trip with a few of my college friends to Napa Valley.  We were only there for a few days, but it was a blast! 

We went to wineries.

Calistoga Geyser.

Petrified forest

Vineyards

I had the best veggie burger of my life here.  I think I'd come back to California just for that.

I also had to go to a seminar for work in San Marcos, TX.   Matt came down to San Antonio the weekend after for a quick trip.

Me in San Antonio.

Matt at the Alamo.

The riverwalk was so nice, and we had gorgeous weather!

In addition to dogs and traveling, I've also been training to run my first race!  I'm running a 10k on May 5th, to raise money for the MS Society.  If you want to donate, you can do so here:  http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/Walk/PAEWalkEvents?px=10463753&pg=personal&fr_id=18482

We've also been slowly finishing the upstairs.  It's so hard to get focused when you have 2 adorable dogs pandering for attention.  Here are some recent updates of what we've been working on.

Living Room:

There are only a few minor changes in the living room (including the dog!).

We moved the 2 mercury glass votive candle holders to the bookcase. We also put a oyster shell tea light holder and another pretty candle there (both gifts from my grandparents).  We still have the paintings there.  One is a covered bridge, and the other is Old Main on the Penn State campus.  Both are watercolors done by my mom.

 

We also added a basket for all the dog toys we have now. The basket is from Ikea.

Dining Room:

There's nothing really new with the dining room, but we just ordered a buffet, so hopefully we'll have an updated photo soon!

Kitchen:

Not much has changed in the kitchen.

We added some puk lights under the cabinets.

I also bought these canisters at Ikea.

I made a Roman shade for the kitchen window.  I started with a blind and some fabric.  I hemmed the fabric around the edges.  Then I used hot glue to attach the fabric to the blinds.  I think it came out pretty good, but it was really annoying to make, so don't be surprised if I don't make another!

Master Bathroom:

I finally finished the floor!

We haven't installed the vanity or toilet yet, but if all goes well tomorrow we should have a finished bathroom by Monday.

More tile floor.

And the tile wall, with the wall light and medicine cabinet.

Master Bedroom:

We had decided ages ago that we were going to use Valspar "Courtyard Shadow" for the master bedroom.

I love how it came out.  It's a greyish blue, but it looks almost purple when the sun hits it in the evening.

I also replaced the ceiling light fixture in the bedroom.  Here is the old "boob light".  It was actually a longer process than I thought to change out the light.  You can kind of tell from this photo that the fixture is not flush with the ceiling.  That's because the junction box was not actually attached to anything except ceiling drywall.  I ended up having to buy a new junction box and install it so it was actually attached to a stud in the ceiling before installing the new fixture.

Here's the new drum fixture.  I like that it has an uplight component.  We got it at Ikea.

Thanks for stopping by!  Hopefully we'll have completed photos from the upstairs soon!