A few more things we’re doing…

1)  First, we finally met Clara Bernhart!!  It was such a fun time visiting with ALL of the Bernharts (minus Annie) when Jay, Brad, and Charlotte spent some time in Phoenix with Margene and Gordon.  But let’s face it – the baby steals the show!

 

2)  Soaking up some sun!  OK, we’ve been having some rain too but the sunshine has been glorious.  [I actually let Elayna wear JEANS in these pictures.  Aren’t they cute!?]

  

3)  Taking some power naps.  Oh wait – that might just be Shelby.

4)  Crossing some house projects off the list!  First, Elayna’s long awaited new bed…

Old bed that looked like a homeless shelter.  Poor kid.

 

New bed!  We built a platform from bookshelves on their sides, then laid plywood and a mattress on top.  It’s very sturdy, has storage underneath, and super cute.  Elayna’s slept great too!  The ‘dresser’ (shelving unit on the left) is the same style.  I’m hunting decorative boxes to put underneath and we’ve lost the curtains somewhere in the move.  But we’re getting there…

5)  Next:  handles!  This has been a labor of love for Aaron to add all the door handles to our cabinets.  Still not completely done but coming along nicely.

 

6)  Lastly, saying farewell to the old house.  Ok, I’m being dramatic – it’s still ours and we’ll still visit.  However, our renters moved in on Sunday so its not really ‘ours’ anymore.  While I’m ecstatic about the new house and love the million little house projects we have brewing, it still was hard to say good-bye to our first home.  I hope it has a peaceful and safe 2-years.

Battery-Operated Glow Lights

I’ve been searching for something to fill the large niche above our TV in the great room.  Candles are an obvious choice but the niche is very high and no amount of growth hormone will give me access to them regularly.  However, I solved the problem with a little help from Costco and now have a beautiful light feature in this room.

  

The glass containers filled with rocks are fairly standard home-décor features.  I picked all of this up at Michael’s for about $40 (the rocks were the most expensive part).  We had previously used these battery operated lights (Costco – $25) for under-cabinet lighting and knew they worked great.  The one downside if the batteries won’t last long if left on for long periods, but there is a 30-minute timer feature along with 2 light settings.

  

My original inception was to bury the lights inside of the glass votives, then cover with rocks.  However, the lights didn’t FIT – so we ended up just setting the votives on top.  This is a better solution as it allows us to change the batteries without taking the entire container apart.  They are fairly stable although you could glue the two together and still access the battery panel at the bottom. 

This was a fun, quick project that gives us a nice gentle light.  I’m pleased with the final results!

Happy Valentine’s Day

The bad news:  Shelby ate my valentine from Elayna

The good news:  We had a great day anyway!  We tried something new and went to a ‘star walk’.  Amateur astronomers had set up their *very* expensive telescopes in North Scottsdale and were there to educate, show-off, and demonstrate.  We saw Polaris, Jupiter and her moons, our moon up close, and a beautiful nebulae.  It was a clear night and we enjoyed ourselves!  Well, Aaron and I enjoyed it – Elayna kept saying, ‘I can’t see!’.  I’m not sure how impressed she was.

The other good news:  here was our view for the back patio Sunday morning.  Valentine’s Day weekend is big ballooning – so I don’t expect this again – but very fun for a special occasion!

Moving, moving, moving….

We are finally back on the grid – or at least trying to be…

It has been a crazy, insane week for us.  We are mostly moved into our new house, although we still have a lot of unopened boxes and closet doors that shouldn’t be opened.  But on top of that, we’ve also accomplished:

1)  Painting the great room of the new house.  The house is very white so we hired a painter to give us some color.  I am a big fan of the blue we chose.

2)  Phoenix Open.  Aaron and I both spent a day each at the golf tournament.  The weather was perfect.

3)  Superbowl.  With a new house, we had to host a Super Bowl party!!  Thanks to Sarah Schug for bringing over pizza and all the snacks!  And it was great to see some Montana friends:  Schugs, Ben Kerns, Scott Brownson, and Lance Kouba.  Great day.

4)  Bought furniture.  Although we haven’t had to buy much, we did need a new bed for Elayna, a new desk for Aaron, and a new washer and dryer.  Between coordinating deliveries and running to Ikea, we’ve spent a lot of energy on this.

5)  New carpet in the old house!  There’s still a lot of work to do to get the house ready for renters but at least the carpet has been replaced.

6)  Finding renters.  Speaking of the old house, we have found renters!  And they’ve agreed to a 2-year lease!  We are thrilled and relieved.

So yes… we’ve been off the grid but are happy to start feeling more normal and settling into more of a rhythm.  We LOVE the new house and will be spending a lot of time exploring our new community and decorating the space.