Harry Potter Extravaganza

This weekend is the big Harry Potter bachelorette party! I am super excited and I can't wait to celebrate Kindie.  I will post some pictures as soon as I can.

Our "NEW" Dining Set!

When Josh lived when some other boys, they ruined the finish on his dining table.  We didn't want to make the leap to purchase a new set, so we decided to register for a table cloth for our wedding.  Unfortunately, they do not make table cloths in the size we need for our table, so it always looked a bit silly.  

While getting ready for the move, we had a discussion about furniture and what we needed for our new place.  Josh brought up the idea of painting out dining table with chalk paint.  I thought this sounded like a great idea.  The idea sat there for a few months, until we realized on our way home on Saturday that Josh's birthday party was less than a week away!  It was finally time to paint the table.

We had a TON of errands to run on Sunday to get ready for the party, but we stopped by Home Depot to pick up some chalk board spray paint and sand paper.  A little scrub and a little spray later, we had a brand new table.  We were so excited to start this project, that I forgot to take a before picture.  I had to settle for a food picture that shows the light oak color of the table before.

The table went so quickly that I got sudden inspiration to recover our chairs on Sunday as well.  This is another thing I had been wanting to do for a while, but just never got around to.  We weren't sure which fabric to go with, but decided to go a little wild because the fabric store was having a mega-sale so it was super cheap.  SO EASY!  All you have to do is unscrew the seat, staple the fabric in place (with an upholstery stapler, carefully so it doesn't get bunchy), trim the excess, and screw the seat back on.

This entire project took a total of about 1 hour (if you don't count the time shopping for supplies).  It was so fast and so easy, totally worth it to feel like we have a brand new table and chair set!

Avery's First 4th of July

For the 4th of July this year, we were able to go up to my grandparent's lake home.  It was a really good time, especially since we spent the 4th last year at home, moving Josh's stuff into our apartment.

On the way there

 Avery is a very good car rider.  She doesn't seem to mind the ride at all.  She does get very cuddly, but I don't mind that :)  For this longer trip, we put her bed on the floor of the car by my feet, and she seemed to settle in a bit more in her bed.

Avery cuddling in for the ride

Josh loves going to the lake to get some fishing time in.  It is usually the first thing he does, sometimes before the car is even unloaded.  He got to take a few trips to the river on the boat with Chase, so that made his trip even better.

Josh and his favorite lake activity

 While Josh was on his first fishing trip, I decided to take Avery out on the dock.  It is one of my favorite places in the world to sit and relax, so I was hoping to take her with me.  I turned onto my stomach to play with her and she went around behind me.  Before I could turn around, I heard a splash and Avery was in the water.  She instantly started swimming, but in my panic, I grabbed her out right away.  I think she fell in, because she had been leaning way out over the edge to look at the water, but it is hard to say.

Avery after her first swim

Daddy was jealous that he didn't get to see her swim, so he took her in again when he got home.  It wasn't sunny yet, so she got really cold from the wind when she got out and needed some snuggles.

Avery cuddling with Daddy after her second swim

 Avery had a fun-filled 4th of July, filled with lots of loving.  We had to come home on Saturday to help her get used to being less busy and to get some stuff done for our fun-packed next few weeks!

Avery loves the lake

On Sunday, we did a few projects.  I will post again with the results.

Goal Update

I can't believe it is already JULY! That means we are over half way through the year.  I wanted to take a look back at some goals I set in January and check in on the progress.

• Find our first "home" where we will stay for more than a year
• I think we have found this.  It's hard to say if we will stay here for more than a year, but after a month living here, I think we might!

Our new place and new flowers!

• Manage to move in the least stressful way possible
• I think we did a pretty good job of this, we packed in advance, moved everything outside before we had the truck, and loaded stuff into the truck when it got there.  We even had time to stop at Ikea to pick up some of the things we needed there.
• Get a puppy
• Check, she is currently being SUPER naughty this morning!

• Start saving to buy a house
• We have not officially started this, but we do have some money saved up.  We are planning to stop by the bank to officially open our savings accounts.
• Start saving for a "big" trip
• Same as the house.  I was able to pay off my last tuition bill about 2 months before I left my job at UST, so I got to keep all of my last paychecks for a trip to Hawaii next year!
• Go to Florida, Duluth, and Chicago
• We DID book our flights to Florida, we will be going in October.  We wanted to go on a "puppymoon" before we got Avery and considered going to Duluth.  In the end, we decided to go to my grandparent's lake home instead.  However, I gave Josh "6 months of dates" for our anniversary.  One of the dates is a Leaf Viewing trip, so maybe it will have to be to Duluth.  It sounds like I might be going to Illinois for a one day conference in August, so maybe we can make this into a Chicago trip.

Anniversary dinner

• Go to "the lake" at least 5 times this summer
• So far, we have only been one time.  Later today, that number will jump to 2.  Hopefully we can squeeze a few more times in, but I'm not sure we will get to 5.
• Graduate and get a job!
• Done!  I graduated on May 25th and got a job as the Associate Director of Classroom Management and Event Scheduling at Hamline.  I started on June 3rd, so I have officially been there a month already!
• Run a 10k in the end of April
• Not even close.  Things just got out of hand.  I am hoping to pick running back up soon.  I just downloaded a couch to 5k app for my phone.  It's hard to have a young pup and run because she can't come with and she can't stay home along very long.  I am looking forward to the day when her shots are done.
• Continue to grow my hair out
• I have continued on this one, and my hair is getting super long! I am very tempted to get it cut now.  I have an appointment on July 10th and am having trouble deciding what to do.  If you made it all the way to the end of this, I would really appreciate some feedback: just a little trim, a bigger (2 inch-ish) trim, or a full on cut (I'm thinking about 4-5inches).  Here is kind of what I'm thinking.  I am also obsessing over the Jennifer Lopez color.

One Year

Sunday was our one year anniversary.  It seems like we have been through a lot in the last year, and I can't imagine anyone better to go through it with.  For our wedding, my supervisor gave us a gift card to the Capital Grille.  Since we were able to go there just a few days after the wedding, we decided to keep the gift card for our first anniversary.

Before we left home

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This place is definitely an every once in a while restaurant, but if you can make it there one time in your life, it is totally worth it!  The food is delicious and the service is fantastic.  

At the Capital Grille

If you go there for a special occasion, they will decorate your table and bring you free champagne and dessert! Yum-o!

The confetti

Delish flour-less chocolate cake!