The Daily Carter

The One With MISC Happenings

2011-03-17T19:37:00.000-07:00

I like to use the word ‘MISC’ a lot. And ‘etc’. I’m sure my mom and Megan have noticed this recently.

As in, my emails to Meg are usually titled “MISC Wedding Items” and usually contain a list of ideas and suggestions that almost always end in ‘etc’.

Anyway, I’ve taken a lot of random/MISC (I do the ‘/’ a lot too) pictures lately, but haven’t had a specific story to go along with each one. So, I figured I use this MISC post to dump all those pictures and happenings.

First event was the super bowl. Our friend Nick decided to kill 3 birds with one stone and hosted a super bowl/birthday/house warming party. Not knowing if we should take one gift or three – we ended bring wine (with a manly-looking wine label) to serve as a b-day/housewarming gift and veggie pizza to contribute to the super bowl party. Notice the colors on the pizza represent a certain winning super bowl team….

The weekend before the super bowl party, Brad and his buddies were in Vegas for Vance’s bachelor party and somehow got into a discussion about who could beat who in a foot race. (Apparently there was nothing better to do in Vegas?) So, basically they decided to “duke it out” at the super bowl party which describes these photos below.

As mentioned before, I’ve been sending lots of wedding emails to Meg because she’ll be getting married this June!!! Chels and I got to go dress shopping with her, her mom and grandmother back in January.

My friend Annie had some exciting news of her own – she’ll be having her first baby this August! We got to have dinner with the mom-to-be when she visited San Diego, so we had the Island hostess take these photos.

A couple of week’s ago, Copper had minor surgery to remove a small bump from her ear. Although, she did pretty well during the procedure (and wasn’t too mad with us afterwards), we were nervous nellie’s the whole time. Here's her ear after surgery.

The beast isn't painted yet, but we're narrowing down the colors....

And I'll leave you with this quote that my grandma and grandpa included in their St. Patrick's Day card this year that we had to display on our chalkboard:

The One With Brad's Poles

2011-02-17T19:00:00.000-08:00

That doesn't sound right.

But I'm actually referring to Brad's job and his design work on power line poles. You would think, as an engineer, that he would spend most of his time computing calculations and making drawings, but really, he gets to do a lot of fun stuff while doing field work. Such as playing around on earthquake cracks and riding in helicopters with no doors.

What's especially cool for him is actually seeing his drawings come to life with the construction of his poles and the pouring of the concrete foundations. So, I wanted to share some photos of his projects (and him on the job) just to brag and show how proud I am of his hard work. :)

Self rusting pole - yeah, that's right - they design the pole so that it rusts

Field walks in the middle of nowhere

Grouting the micropiles

Placing concrete for pier foundation

Brad's co-worker emailed him this photo with the caption, "we found this lost and disoriented man". Can you spot Brad?

And I'll leave you with one last image - Brad trying to blow something up - scary, right?

The One With The Beast

2011-02-07T18:00:00.000-08:00

No, I'm not referring to Copper or that horror movie about a giant squid. (Anyone else see that TV movie? Its like Jaws - but with a ginormous squid. My dad thought it was an appropriate movie to show us kids and then tell us that such an animal exists. As he explained it, "you'd hope that the claws on the tentacles would kill you before you got to its mouth.")

Anyway, our current beast is not an animal, but instead, a new buffet table for our dining room. Technically its not new - just new to us - since its from the the swap meet. So, its in need of some personalization. But before I reveal the beast, I thought I'd share our shopping/thought process of deciding on a buffet.

Our current favorite design and look has been this table from Cost Plus World Market. We like the wine bottle rack and the rustic color. But we weren't ready to fork over $350 for it since its not a necessity- just something we want for looks and storage.

So, I've been scouring Craigslist for a cabinet that we could makeover for around $100 or less - preferably something $75 or lower. One came up with clean, simple lines like the Cost Plus World Market one (but without the wine rack) and for only $50! I emailed the listing and unfortunately was told that the item was no longer for sale.

Next day, same buffet, same seller is listed on Criagslist for $100! Totally annoyed, but willing to spend a little more (but not give in completely), I offer $80 and a pick-up that evening. Of course it's already sold ($100 was a good price), but I was not about to give in to that finicky seller.

So, we headed to the swap meet the next weekend and amazingly enough had our pick of TWO buffets! The first one looked kind of like the one below - a little retro and mid-century looking, but with nice clean lines. It was in decent condition and the right size. We almost bought it on the spot, but figured we should finish our lap of the swap meet.

Then we came across the beast.

Let's be honest, its got a totally over-the-top, antique, gaudy look with those handles and design, but for some reason it spoke to us. It's half a foot longer than the other one we saw at the swap meet, definitely heavy (better wood/construction) and absolutely crazier looking than the other one. But we figured we'd go for it and try to make it our own. (You know we're all about taking crazy things in and making them our own - a la Copper Kate)

Plus a $40 price tag means we could always sell it later without any major damage to our wallets. (Take that "$50 to $100 Craiglist buffet"!)

Next step is deciding what to do with it. We like the color of the buffet (kind of like the World Market buffet), but with that design, it seems too old and out of place in our dining room. So, we're thinking it needs a fun, fresh color to make it a little more modern. Here are some of the contenders with pictures to give you an image of what it could be:

{Apple Green}

via

{Mustard Yellow}

via

{Navy Blue}

via

Right now, the navy is my favorite, but the yellow could be cool too. I'm thinking of new handles and hinges, but Brad thinks we could repaint the current ones. Also, a darker color, like black or charcoal gray are always possibilities. What are some of the general thoughts/consensus? Is there a favorite color? Is it too big compared to the dining table? Or just too ugly?

This thing is seriously huge and heavy (my arms were sore for a week), so I only plan on moving it back and forth from the garage one more time - so it better be the right color.

The One With Christmas At The Carters & Bunko At The Bubels

2011-02-03T18:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year!!!

Oh - did that happen 34 days ago? Too bad, I'm still gonna post some Christmas and New Years photos anyway because we had a great time with our family and really, I never take photos. So here's a few from our last days in 2010.

Christmas morning was spent at Brad's mom's house which is where these silly photos came from.

To ring in the New Year, we spent the evening at my parent's house playing bunco (or as my mom likes to spell is - bunko) and catching up with friends.

Cheers to 2011 and hopefully to more frequent blog posts!

The One With 9 Christmas Trees

2010-12-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

Before we start taking down all our Christmas lights and other festive decorations, I figured I better take some photos of the inside, so that I can remember what I did this year. (Just in case I’m feeling lazy and don’t want to come up with new ideas next year).

A funny fact about our Christmas décor – we have 9 (faux and real) Christmas trees in and around our house. The first two you saw here on our front porch, but that leaves seven more inside the house. And amazingly enough, 5 of them are on the first floor. So, let’s take a tour of the house to learn how we managed to accommodate so many trees in one small space. (Here’s hoping you won’t think our house looks like a tree lot)

When you first walk into the house, you’re greeted by our cork board/holiday card display and the first tree of seven.

{the entertainment center}

The next trees you’ll see (which are also visible from the front door) are taking up space on our dining table.

Into the wine-bar room you’ll find an appropriately decorated tree with corks, grapes and other sentimental charms that Brad’s mom created for us this year.

Across from the wine tree is our real, main-attraction tree that's dressed up with ornaments that have been collected over the years. (Brad would be happy if I noted that this is a ‘Nordmann’ tree, which we visited 4 stores to find)

Five trees down, two more to find – so up the stairs we go.

Next, a tiny tree with faux berries adds some holiday spirit to the guest bathroom.

Last stop - the guest bedroom where we have a lighted, faux tree which can also be seen from the front of the house.

And this concludes the 2010 holiday tour of the Carter house. So, do we need to scale back our tree obsession? Or maybe set a new record next year? Happy New Year’s Eve Everyone!

The One With The Rejects

2010-12-28T12:11:00.000-08:00

With no "family" photos taken during the 2010 calendar year, we resorted to a last minute, self-timer photo of the three of us in front of our Christmas tree for this year's holiday card. So original - I know. We tried to mix things up with funny poses, but with an unhappy model (Copper) and no tripod, we were left with limited options. So our 2010 Christmas card looked like this - simple, nice and to the point.

{this is a scanned image of the card - actual card came out a little better}

But for the heck of it - I thought I'd share the reject shots from our impromptu photo shoot.

{unflattering angle + no hold on dog = end of this position}
{not Copper's best side}

{so over the family photos}

{not happy to be sitting on a bench}
{trying to escape}
{Copper's the only one that didn't think this was funny}

Hope everyone enjoyed their Christmas and best wishes for the new year!

The One With 72 Gifts

2010-12-15T11:00:00.000-08:00

As mentioned during our ‘Where Did November Go?’ post, Brad and I spent a lot of our time in November working on a "secret Santa" project. Usually I’m not one to start thinking about Christmas before Thanksgiving (and certainly not one to decorate before the "giving thanks" holiday is over), but Brad and I decided to make advent calendars as gifts for some of our family members this year, so we obviously had to finish these before the first of December. I originally thought it would be great to get a couple of gifts/people crossed off our list so early in the season, but after wrapping 72 gifts before Thanksgiving Day, I’m not too eager to pick up another piece of ribbon for awhile.

See our 3 advent calendars? They’re old soda bottle crates with 24 dividers. 3 x 24 = 72 = lots of wrapping.

To be honest, I’m really excited how they turned out. I love the old wooden crates and it was fun to come up with little gift ideas for each person for 24 days. I even got a little too carried away with my gift ideas that I didn’t take into consideration how small those bottle slots would be. So Brad came up with the brilliant idea of making cones to stick out of the crate and hold whichever oversized gifts I purchased. (Love that guy!)

Bonus: Found a Rochester, NY crate just for my mom!

Now I'm kind of wishing I made one for myself. ;)

The One With A 22ft* Ladder

2010-12-09T12:11:00.000-08:00

Last year's Christmas revolved around the big debate of what kind of lights to put on the house - clear or colored, big or small, icicles, double icicles and so on. We came to a decision and unfortunately couldn't execute because we lacked a giant ladder.

So, this year we splurged for a 22ft* ladder. The * means its technically an 18ft ladder, but claims that with an average height person, there would be a 22ft reach. We didn't discover this fact until we were in the check out line and this was after the Home Depot workers brought around a fork lift to retrieve the ladder from the top shelf in the first place. So, we took it home to give it try.

Now I'm not sure what was going through our neighbors' minds as they watch Brad climb this huge ladder ("poor fool, idiot"), but we did have 2 different neighbors come over and offer us their 24ft+ ladders. (Hmmm...wish we had known this before purchasing our ladder. Oh well, it'll still come in handy when we have a spider in an un-reachable position again.) Either way, Brad was the hero of the weekend for not only being brave enough to climb 20 feet in the air, but for actually releasing one hand from the ladder to reach up and place lights on the roof of our house. Needless to say, no pictures were taken of this activity since I was holding the base of the ladder/contemplating the logistics of how I would catch Brad if he fell.

So with our "double icicles" on the roof, it was time to add some more lights and color to the yard. The funny thing is - Brad and I have differing ideas of what makes a "good" holiday house. For Brad, its not only lots of lights (white and colored), but lots of lawn "ornaments" as well. You know - the lighted moving reindeer, candy canes lining the walkway, large blow up figurines everywhere and so on.

Me? Not a fan of lawn ornaments and figurines - at all. Although, I have to say, I'm definitely becoming more open to the idea of multi-colored lights and lighted reindeer, but I swear you'll never see an inflatable frosty on our property. I'll bribe our future kids with games, candies and puppies before I buy one of those.

In an effort to compromise, Brad got some mini light up snowmen for the outside ledge and we also bought a few more over-sized ornaments, 2 lighted trees and some poinsettia plants. We both agree the yard would look nice with more colored lights, but we're happy with the finished product for this year. So, here are the Carter's 2010 Holiday Lights...

The One With Lows and Highs

2010-12-06T13:36:00.000-08:00

I originally thought the low part of my day was not having time to eat breakfast at home this morning. Unfortunately, I learned the low part would be when I ate crap walking to a cafe to buy a bagel.

Thinking the high part of my day must be the fact that I didn't rip my pants or have a dress on, I was pleasantly surprised when an older man in my office building stopped by and gave me a Cold Stone milkshake. I'm still in shock over the timeliness of this random act kindness.

Although now I'm wondering if he was one of the many people who saw me on my butt this morning.

The One With 'Where Did November Go?'

2010-12-03T08:50:00.000-08:00

Seriously- where did the 11th month of this calendar year go? I actually had to check my appointment calendar at work to figure out what we did this last month. And now that I’m thinking about it, October came and went pretty quickly too.

October for the most part was spent at home with Brad studying every waking hour for his Professional Engineers License Test. Halloween was also a complete bust for us this year with Brad’s test falling on that holiday weekend and me having a work project of my own that kept me in the office the entire weekend. So we were the lame neighbors that left an unattended bowl of candy outside for all the teenage hoodlums to take advantage of.

November continued to be busy for the both of us work-wise, but we managed to have some fun as well. One weekend was spent traveling back and forth to San Clemente for dinners on both Saturday and Sunday night. One dinner with our friends Alex & Steve and a second with Chris & Cara, who will be heading to New Zealand this week. (We're extremely jealous of them, but were more than excited to share our tips and stories about the country down under with them)

As Thanksgiving approached, I was thankful for the fact that we were not hosting dinner this year and was more than happy to be in charge of a single appetizer dish instead. So, in keeping with last year's tradition of a Thanksgiving trial run, we did another trial and error approach with our appetizer this year. It was more of a taste test with 3 slightly varying artichoke dip recipes, but I still worried that Brad and I wouldn’t be interested in having any on Thanksgiving Day if I made too much – so I kept the tasting portions small. Although, there was a clear favorite, we happily ate all 3 dishes.

The entire Thanksgiving weekend was productive and fun- starting with brunch on Thursday with Brad’s mom and dinner at my parents that same night.

{Thanksgiving Dinner Table}

On Friday we finally saw Harry Potter with Megan & Joe. Saturday Brad and I bought a death trap extension ladder to put up Christmas lights (more to come on that) and Sunday Meg and I took a decorating class at Pottery Barn. Like I said, productive, but fun weekend.

Brad and I also kept busy this past month working on a secret (Santa) project- so pictures to come on that. (Yes, I actually took pictures of it.)

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday!

The One With Mystery In A Mug

2010-11-01T18:50:00.000-07:00

Almost every night after dinner both Brad and I get a craving for chocolate. For the most part, we try to be good and not have any candy in the house, but occassionally we give in and buy Skinny Cow ice creams. (Our current addiction is the Chocolate Truffle Bars)

The other week I came across a recipe for "Mug Cake" that had a few ingredients that you whip together in a coffee mug and then "bake" in the microwave for 3 minutes. There were so many blogs and websites reposting this recipe - and so many rave reviews - that I thought for sure this would be a great treat. And although this has the potential to become very dangerous for us (seriously, a serving of chocolate cake in just 3 minutes?), I still wanted to give it a try and surprise Brad with what I hoped would be a quick and tasty dessert.

Unfortunately I think 3 minutes in our microwave was way too long since the first cup-of-cake came out kind of rubbery. Okay, it wasn't "kind of" rubbery - it was basically rubber that Brad suggested we give to Copper as a chew toy.

So, for our second try, we only did 2 minutes in the microwave. Still rubbery- although not a total dog toy this time. And now I'm out of flour, so this experiment will have to continue another day after a trip to the grocery store and some more research.

Good thing I bought candy corn as back up for dessert that night. ;)

The One With Our Dining Room

2010-10-22T07:00:00.000-07:00

I’d like to think that we’ve put a lot of time and effort into transforming our dining room from what it was when we first moved in, but really, nothing that significant has been done. Aside from purchasing the necessary furniture- uh, table and chairs, anyone? – there hasn’t been much else that we absolutely needed to do.

Sure, we’d like to add details such as a chair rail or crown molding, but my concern with those two features is that they won’t “match” the design of the house. For example, the edges of the dining room are rounded and go straight into the next room- ie: living room or kitchen. So, how would you ‘end’ a chair rail?

Crown molding would be easier since there’s a beam separating the dining room ceiling from all the other ceilings, but you would still be able to see the molding from the living room and kitchen- so does that mean we have to put crown molding everywhere? And our living room has partially vaulted ceilings- so how the heck do you install crown molding on that? Do you see where I make Brad crazy with all these questions/concerns when he points out that a chair rail in the dining room might look nice?

Although, he’s just as guilty as I am when it comes to making each other crazy with deciding house additions/modifications. For example, the color of the walls in our house is nice, but not our first choice. However, if we paint one room, we’d have to paint them all since its kind of an open concept layout. And with Brad checking the internet everyday for our next home, I’m hesitant to spend the time or money on a house that we may be moving out of in a year or two. We’ve agreed to spend money on things that upgrade the house itself- new landscaping, working garage doors, etc – but there’s really no reason to spend money personalizing the house to our taste since it’s not our forever home.

So, back to simple modifications and the mini-transformation of our dining room.

Here’s the area when we first moved in. No dining table yet, but plenty of moving boxes and wedding gifts. (This was a month before our wedding- so the room stayed like this for about 3 months)

Then Brad found an awesome, never-been-used, still-in-the-box dining table and chair set on Craigslist.

The room was like this for about year until we finally put the black chalkboard up and then found the most perfect jute rug. (I actually wanted this rug for the living room, but had to admit I was wrong when it looked horrible, so luckily it fits great in the dining room)

Then a few weeks back, we had Brad’s poker party on the horizon, so we decided to get new curtains, which also meant new curtain rods. And about an hour before people arrived, we finished hanging the second curtain rod (the first is in the wine bar room) and did some spot painting where the old curtain rods used to be. (Nothing like leaving painting to the last minute) No worries though - all was finished (and dry) in time and now I feel like we’re even closer to a finished room. (Still need something for the blank wall on the right and maybe a buffet table somewhere in there- but for now, it'll do)

The One Where We Should Have Been Videotaping

2010-10-19T10:00:00.000-07:00

I just emailed this story to my mom and thought I might as well add it to the blog.

One night last week we discovered a spider on our ceiling and unfortunately, it was in a location that was extremely difficult to reach. To give you an idea- when you first walk in the front door the ceiling right above is vaulted to accommodate the 2nd story of the house. We have a loft and a staircase near the front door, but that little sucker was right when you walked into the house. And since the tallest ladder we own is a 3 foot step stool, there was no way we were going to be able to reach the spider by hand. (I'm sure Megan is having nightmare thoughts right now)

Not wanting to squish the little guy and leave a mark on the ceiling, I suggested throwing wet paper wads at it, but Brad was worried about leaving water spots. So, he suggests throwing a shoe or sandal at it, but I point out that I wouldn't be able to reach/clean if any shoe prints got on the ceiling (unless I use my wet paper wads method), so we nix that idea.

Then it hit me - we could throw a whole roll of paper towels at it! It's got the weight we need, but won't leave any marks! So, Brad does a couple wild over-hand throws first while I hold the dog back from attacking the falling roll of paper towels. After a few tries, I asked for a turn. Thinking I'll have better aim if I throw granny style, Brad warns me that it's a pretty far throw since we're doing this from the first floor directly underneath the spider. (Megan shivers and gags)

My first throw didn't even come close to the ceiling, let alone the spider (I could blame this on the height of the house, but really I think its from lack of exercise). Luckily, I managed enough strength to actually hit the ceiling the next couple of tosses, but it still took about 20 throws between Brad and I to finally knock the guy down.

We disposed of it, high fived each other and then I started cracking up and pointed out, "We totally should have been videotaping that because it would've been hilarious to put on our blog!"

Oh the excitement you'll find at the Carter House....

The One With The Smorgasbord Yard

2010-10-17T11:20:00.000-07:00

In April of this year we shared photos of our back yard redesign and the craziness that is our front yard. Then a few weeks ago my parents came down to visit and provide some much needed help with the cleaning and organizing of our front yard.

The whole weekend was spent pruning, digging, planting and dropping some major moolah at Armstrong Nursery and Home Depot. Yet after taking some recent photos and comparing them with the ones I took in April, it really doesn't look like we did that much.

So in an effort to prove that we actually did some work, I'll describe what was done in the 'After' photos in case you miss the subtle differences. Here goes nothing...

Although Brad pointed out that the 'Before' picture looks more green and colorful, it also looks a little more wild- which was what we were trying to tame. In the 'After' photo you can actually see the stone pathway that wraps it way through the front yard. I actually like this stone detail because it breaks up the large space, Brad, on the other hand, doesn't get why there's a pathway that no one will ever use. You can also see our 2 new gardenia trees in the background that nicely break up the beige stucco of the house.

In this 'After' photo you can see we removed the dead bush that was on the right side of the 'Before' photo and added some new chocolate ajuga plants to line the very front of the yard.

The biggest change to the yard is this small strip of dirt on the left-hand side leading up to the front door. It used to have some spiky flax plants that kept growing into our walkway, so we replaced those with primroses, lily flax, azaleas and a gardenia bush. The 'After' photo also gives you a better shot of the gardenia tree we used to replace the pink bougainvillea plant that I swear was only pink for this one photo.

Unfortunately, I don't have a 'Before' shot to compare to this photo below. The reason why? That half dead looking bush was basically the size of us and threatening to take over our entire front porch. And since this particular bush is a major magnet for bees, we knew it needed to be scaled back in size. We also added some more primroses, lily flax and ajuga down in front.

That's all for our front yard. Not the most exciting adventure here at The Daily Carter, but we're a lot happier to drive up to a house/yard that we can tell is a little more clean and organized.

The One With A Kitchen Success

2010-10-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

It’s no secret that I’m a bit of a “Betty Crock” in the kitchen. But believe it or not, I finally had a success (actually two!) when I tried some new dinner recipes.

The first one was this zucchini and sundried tomato risotto recipe. I’ve mentioned before that I’m terrible at making rice- I actually use ‘Success Rice in a Bag’ for all our white rice dishes. So, I was definitely concerned that the risotto would not end up with the right consistency. Luckily, it did and Brad even ate the leftovers! Add a new recipe to my tiny cookbook- check!

Then last week I found this ricotta cheese gnocchi recipe. It’s not where you use pre-packaged gnocchi (which Brad isn’t really a fan of), but for this recipe, you actually make the dumplings yourself.

I should point out that I’m a HUGE lover of gnocchi. I could seriously eat these potato dumplings in various sauces all the time. I remember eating these almost every night the first week I discovered this dish back in my Florence study abroad days. Brad, on the other hand, doesn’t prefer the large and heavy dumplings, but occasionally he’s open to the idea of eating mini or baked gnocchi- especially if it's from a restaurant.

But for this recipe, the dumplings would be made out of ricotta cheese, rather than potato, so I thought Brad might be a little more open to this dish. (Plus I could make them any size I/he wanted).

First hurdle was actually making the dumplings. Here’s a photo of them before being tossed into boiling water.

Second hurdle was the gnocchi rising to the top of the boiling water - indicating that they’re cooked - which they did! Last hurdle was to not ruin the homemade tomato, basin and garlic sauce. And I’m happy to report that all turned out well and it’s another recipe I can add to the books!

The One With My Morning Drive

2010-09-30T14:39:00.000-07:00

I guess heat waves and blackouts are followed by incredible clouds? I couldn't help myself from snapping photos of the sky during my drive this morning. Seriously awesome.

{That pole on the far left of this photo- that's "Brad's Pole". He designed the foundation and the pole itself and if you're ever in the car with him when you drive past it- he'll point out, "That's my pole".}

{Seriously- this looks like a painting that people would pay good money for!}

The One With In-N-Out by Candlelight

2010-09-29T07:54:00.000-07:00

This might sound like a cheap, romantic dinner except that Brad had to ask what we were suppose to do during dinner without the TV on (like we’ve never enjoyed a single meal in our 9 years without the TV to entertain us). Did I mention that the candlelight wasn’t optional- it was necessary due to our blackout the other night?

After complaining about the end of a not-so-much summer, we were blasted with a heat wave on Monday that broke all utility usage records for San Diego. Therefore, at 5pm, our power went out.

At first I thought, ‘this will be okay’. No TV or internet means we’ll be able to get other things done, like Brad can study and I can clean and organize the house. Then I realized it would be getting dark soon and doing those things by candlelight won’t really work. So I figured I should get dinner going (on the gas stove top of course), but then remembered that it’s bad to open and close the fridge a lot during a power outage. Plus it’s about 80 degrees in the house- do I really need to make it hotter by cooking? Clearly, this is a sign to give me/Brad a break from my attempts at cooking.

So, just like in the old days - Brad went in search/hunt of food, while I created fire.

The One With Another Kobey Find

2010-09-25T14:16:00.000-07:00

Along with our coffee table and guest room dresser, we also found these random barstools at Kobey Swap Meet way back in October of last year.

For the most part, they've been taking up space in our garage and occasionally get used as a last resort when we need a little more seating around our counter-height table. Last week, however, Brad was in charge of hosting poker night for his co-workers, so we figured it was about time to sand down and paint those barstools to avoid any random splinters in the rear-end.

With this project, there were definitely some lessons learned- the first one being to buy a face mask when taking on any sanding projects. After sanding (with a power sander) for about 2 hours, Brad insisted that I wear something to cover my mouth and the best solution he came up with was a dish towel wrapped around my face and secured with a hair clip. Also, it should be mentioned that I'm wearing dark sunglasses while I sand (since we don't own any clear goggles/glasses) and that I must look like some crazy bandit sanding away in our garage with the doors wide open for all the neighbors to see.

Second lesson learned- always buy the small, tester samples of paint and/or stain before splurging on the full gallon of paint. Our first idea was to stain the barstools with a cream/white colored stain, which was immediately vetoed as soon as we applied a thin layer of stain to one of the barstools. Unfortunately, we had purchased an entire gallon of this colored stain and really have no other use for it. Maybe Home Depot with take it back- anyone know?

Next idea- gray paint. This time we bought a small sample size of Martha Stewart's 'Zinc' gray and loved it. Back to Home Depot for a full gallon of Zinc (which would actually be a great second pet's name to go along with our Copper) and after two full coats on four barstools the gallon of paint is still about three-fourth's full. I guess our next painting project will have to include some gray?

Oh well- we learned our lesson and now we have 4 'new' gray barstools.

The One With The End Of Summer

2010-09-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

Not sure we experienced summer this year with all the gloomy, overcast weather, but onto the next season either way. So with the start of fall, here’s one last look back at some summer photos that never earned their own post...

{Copper with new collar & birthday cupcake}

{Morgan's Bachelorette Party}

{Carlsbad Flower Fields}

{Playing with the hose/Trying to revive the grass}
{My birthday at the horse races}

{Better photo of Meg with Joe at the races}

{Vance's Birthday}

{Dinner with Stacy}

{Meg's Birthday}

Did we celebrate enough birthdays this summer? I'm even missing photos from my mom's birthday (June), Brad's mom's birthday (July) and Alex's birthday (August)!

The One In Rochester

2010-09-10T10:30:00.000-07:00

Or as my dad pronounces it: Raw-Chester. He also pronounces 'chili' as Chi-Lie. At least the street name he does, not necessarily the food. Confused yet? ;)

So, after talking about it all year, Brad and I finally made a visit to my paternal grandparents in Rochester, New York for the Labor Day Weekend. My dad and brother, Scott, even tagged along with us!

We left Thursday night - on a red eye flight from LAX - and spent Friday afternoon/evening catching up at my grandparents house, then headed out to dinner and ended the evening with all of us falling asleep on the couch as we tried to watch a movie.

Then on Saturday, the 4 of us took a road trip to Canada to see Niagara Falls and do some wine tasting at the local Canadian wineries. Their speciality is ice wine - which is more of a dessert wine that's made from frozen grapes. Very tasty!

Sunday, we visited Lake Ontario in Charlotte (pronounced Char-Lot, not Char-Let) where we attempted family photos as the wind blew our hair of our style. After the lake, we drove back and forth between an ice cream parlor and burger restaurant (because someone couldn't make up their mind....dad), but this merry-go-round trip let us scope out the beautiful lake front homes twice and also gave Brad a chance to decide for sure which one he was going to buy. (As a second home, of course...)

Spaghetti dinner was on the menu for that evening, followed by a somewhat early ending to the night since we had a 4:15am wake-up call for our 6:15am flight.

One of the funniest moments of the weekend - besides my Papa cheering (jokingly...I think) the fact that we were finally leaving - was the 51-year-old receptionist at our hotel calling our early morning cab. Right after busting out Sugarland's 'Stuck Like Glue' to prove she had a good early-morning-wake-up-call voice, she proceeded to joke over the phone with the cab company with lines like:

"Hey, this is Sugarland calling and I need a cab"

"What do I look like? Honey, I'm 51-years-old!"

"Well, what are you wearing?"

Thanks to Papa & Gramma Billie for a wonderful holiday weekend!

The One With Only 2 Pieces of Luggage

2010-09-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

When we went to Europe last year for our honeymoon, our biggest complaint was the amount of luggage we brought. (ie: 3 rolling suitcases, 1 duffel bag and 1 garment bag).

I’m happy to report that we learned our lesson and we successfully managed a 2 week vacation in Europe with only 2 rolling suitcases- and both were under the 50lb limit! We still had a backpack and purse that we carried during the day and on the flights, but everything went so much more smoothly with getting on and off the trains.

The trip was also exciting for us because we were traveling with our good friends, Jason and Michelle. (At least I think they’re still our good friends after this trip…) Below are the highlights and photos of each city we visited.

Madrid
For Brad and I, this was our first time visiting the country of Spain. And we loved it! I wasn’t sure I would get used to the idea of eating dinner at 10/11pm at night, but it was incredibly fun to go from one tapas bar to the next, trying various drinks and dishes all in one night. (I’m sure our jetlag and lost sense of time also assisted us in staying up until 2am to eat a bowl of paella!)
Our apartment was super close to Plaza del Sol- which had our favorite bar- Vinotecca. The steak, brie and caramelized onion appetizer was delicious- we ate this both nights we were in Madrid!

{Street Performer}
{Outside the Palace}

This market, Mercardo de San Miguel, was also very cool. You could walk up to any counter and order some meat, cheese, olives, wine- whatever- and then eat it right there at the counter or one of the few barstool tables.

Venice
I know most people think Venice is just too touristy (and it is- just look at all the advertisements covering the historic buildings), however, it’s an incredible cool city to see and experience- even if you only go for a day. We spent one night here and thought that was perfect. We were able to walk around the main piazza- San Marco, take a sunset gondola ride, shop for Murano glass souvenirs and enjoy a bottle of wine on the rooftop of our hotel. Points to Brad for picking an awesome hotel for our stay in Venice.

{Our Hotel}

{Paparazzi}

{hotel's rooftop patio}

{view from hotel room}

{night view - that orange thing is the moon!}

{gondola ride}

Florence
Always my favorite. So much to see, eat and drink! We saw all the usual tourist points- Duomo, San Lorenzo Markets, Piazza Repubblica, Ponte Vecchio, David, etc. Brad even snuck in a photo (or 2) of the David before getting yelled at.

The highlight of this city (at least for me) was a Chianti wine tasting tour. The first winery (Carravaggio) was small, but they gave us such a detailed, behind-the-scenes tour of the wine making business. The second winery was also small and intimate, so they served us an amazing lunch of cold pasta, chicken and dessert while sampling their various wines. The last winery had good wines (we bought 2), but not as friendly as the other wineries. Our tour guide, Rebecca, was the best and we ended up in a group of 8 American tourists- all from California! So, of course, we had a great time!

Our favorite restaurant of the trip was also in Florence- Trattoria Sostanza – more of a local place but with incredible food!

{Ponte Vecchio}

{Duomo}
{Wishing Boar}

{wine tasting}

{BEST cold pasta ever!}

{toasting with grappa- not so tasty}

Positano
It’s always fun to visit small seaside towns in Italy, however, Cinque Terra is still our favorite for that type of location. Positano was beautiful and a nice change of pace for us, yet getting there was no easy feat. It started with a 2 hour train ride (half of it spent sitting on the ground) to Naples, then a rude taxi driver who wouldn’t take us to the docks, followed by a ferry to the Island of Capri. We had an hour and a half layover til our next ferry, so we dragged our luggage to the nearest restaurant for lunch. Then we were back on a boat on our way to Positano. Once there, we then had to climb a million stairs (okay, more like 50 steps) straight up to our hotel. Keep in mind, it’s hot (90 degrees), humid and we’re each carrying 50lb+ in luggage. Michelle’s luggage handle snapped, which actually cut her hand; we had no idea how far up the hotel was and our clothes were soaked with sweat. So far- not so happy with Positano. But eventually we made it to the hotel- with beautiful mountain/ocean views- and spent the next two days lying out at the beach. (FYI- Not a lot of exciting photos due to lying in the sun all day)

{first half of the train ride}

{it's all about presentation...}

Rome
Our final destination was the ancient city of Rome. Our apartment was located near Campo de Fiori- which is a very young and less touristy spot to hang out at night. Brad and I had one of our favorite pastas at the restaurant, Magnolia located in this piazza. We also were very close to Piazza Novona, so we spent a lot of time passing through this area and checking out all the street performers and artists.

More tourist stuff followed- walked through the Colosseum and Roman Forum, took a tour of the Vatican Museum and St. Peter’s Basilica and visited the Trevi Fountain, Pantheon, Spanish Steps and Castle St. Angelo.

Overall, there was a ton of walking, picture taking, gelato and wine consuming done in Rome! A great way to end our trip! Thanks to the Browns for putting up with us for 10 days straight!

{Trevi Fountain}

{total tourists}

{we're an archway - duh}

{Roman Forum}

{St. Peter's Basilica}

{doesn't this statue look like Bill Clinton?!}

{matching}

{also matching}

The One With The Pursuit of Happiness

2010-08-18T20:00:00.000-07:00

{Yes, this post is about a month and a half behind}

We used to spend all of our 4th of July weekends happily on the beaches of Newport and Huntington, yet ever since we got Copper, we’ve been confined to our own home/city for the holiday weekend. (No one wants to babysit a dog over 4th of July weekend, plus we were saving up our dog sitting time for our Europe trip)

We informed our friends of our 4th of July situation and invited any and all to stay at our place for the weekend should they have no interest in spending their days lying on the beach in the sun. Well, you can imagine our shock when our weekend turned out to include 14 people (counting us) and 4 dogs (including Copper)!

Obviously, the entire weekend ended up being a blast. On Saturday morning, 6 of us set out to shop for the day. (The girls went to the outlet mall, while the guys scoped out Fry’s & Best Buy)

Saturday night we headed to the Del Mar Fair for games, fair food and the Jeff Dunham Show. (Thanks again to Jason for getting us tickets and backstage meet-and-greets!)

{Our Prize}

{Which do you think is the grossiest?!}

Sunday was spent at our house - eating, drinking, karaoking, more eating, Fifa soccer, apples-to-apples, even more eating and so on. We finished off the night watching fireworks at the top of our hill.

{A rare site}

Although it’s usually a ton of work to get the house ready for people and festivities, we are truly lucky to have such wonderful friends who contributed drinks and food to the weekend, as well as, being super helpful with cooking and cleaning. Thanks everyone for a great Independence Day Weekend! We can’t wait to do it again next year at someone else’s house. ;)

PS - This chalkboard in our dining room displayed text from the Declaration of Independence; however, our guests (Brad included) had some wild guesses as to where the quote came from- ie: The Constitution, Preamble and Pursuit of Happyness (the movie).

PPS - Meg & I also managed to sneak in a showing of Eclipse on the Monday after the 4th of July!

{Normally I would edit the red eyes, but it seemed appropriate to leave them for Eclipse}

The One With Shark Week

2010-08-04T13:03:00.001-07:00

Want to guess who’s excited about Discovery Channel’s Shark Week?

That would be the guy driving in front of me this morning. He had a shark sticker on his back window and his license plate read: ‘D SHARKMAN’ (minus a few letters, of course).

And if that’s not enough, he also had a shark toe-hitch cover and his vanity plate read “I’d rather being swimming with sharks”. Yep, safe to say, he likes sharks.

PS- I know I’m way behind on posts and I promise I’ll get stories and photos up soon of our July activities, but first we have to get through the madness that’s taken over our house- fleas. (More to come on that subject, too)

The One With Sadie Hawkins

2010-06-29T16:45:00.000-07:00

As I was buttoning up my shirt yesterday morning, Brad turned to me and asked, "Is this a little too crazy?" (Referring to the idea of pairing a navy blue shirt with his gray, stripped slacks)

"Uhhh...not unless you consider THIS crazy looking..." (Me referring to MY blue shirt/gray pants outfit that I already had on)Of course Brad just grins, throws the navy shirt on and says "it'll be like Sadie Hawkins!"

My response with eye rolling: "Just make sure we don't meet up for lunch today."

The One With Betty Crock

2010-06-25T12:27:00.000-07:00

You might be thinking that I forgot the ‘er’ in the title of this post, but unfortunately, that’s not the case. When I was young, there were a couple of “mishaps” in the Bubel kitchen, which is when my mom and I started teasingly referring to one another as Betty Crock, since we definitely didn’t fit in the Betty Crocker category. Although I have to say, I don’t think my mom can be called Betty Crock anymore after the delicious pies she made for Thanksgiving. I, on the other hand, still fit in the ‘Crock’ category.

So, a couple of weeks ago, I found a recipe on a blog about an easy-peasy, super yummy, cooked strawberry pie. There wasn’t a lot of ingredients or a lot of steps, so I thought for sure I could pull it off. I’m not sure why I thought this, especially when I don’t even own a pie dish or rolling pin.

The end result?

A disaster-zone kitchen…

…followed by a disastrous pie.

I should point out that the pie in the picture does have a missing slice, but that was quickly filled in with runny, strawberry goo.

Maybe, I should try something easier next time – like Pillsbury break-n-bake cookies. ;)

The One That Was Only A Year Ago

2010-06-13T09:36:00.000-07:00

I was just recently going through old photos and found a couple of pictures from the first day we brought Copper home. It's been exactly one year since we rescued her and it's amazing to see how much has changed in that one year. This photo is my favorite because it shows what used to exist only a year ago:

- 8 lb Copper
- Plants with purple flowers
- Green grass

As of today, none of those things can be found in our backyard.

The One With Kabobs and Pear Ale

2010-06-07T21:12:00.000-07:00

Memorial Day Weekend came and went, and left us wishing for 3 day weekends more often. We had a great time staying close to home and having friends come by to visit. We had Jason, Michelle and their two dogs (Barkley and Bella), along with Phil and his girlfriend, Jessica, hang out with us for most of the weekend.

Saturday afternoon was spent at dog beach. (Beach photos from Michelle)

Saturday evening we headed to Stone Brewery hoping to join in on a free tour. Unfortunately, all tours were booked for the day, so we settled for drinking beers and pear ale outside in their beautiful gardens.

That night we BBQ’d corn on the cob and chicken and steak kabobs, while Phil made (and tried to re-teach me how to make) his Spanish rice. (One day I’ll make this on my own, but for now, I stick with my rice-in-a-bag)

Everyone left us on Sunday afternoon, but not until after we played a couple hours of trivia on Sporcle.com. (Seriously, this website is addicting- Brad and I played another couple of hours after everyone left!)

The rest of the weekend was spent sleeping in, watching Netflix and doing some errands. All in all, it was a great, relaxing weekend. Hope everyone else enjoyed the Memorial Holiday!

The One Where I Was Tricked

2010-05-28T11:04:00.000-07:00

For our first anniversary, Brad and I decided to keep things more ‘low-key’ since we’re planning a big vacation this summer. So instead we made dinner reservations at the same restaurant that our wedding reception was held at and made a pact to not buy any gifts for each other.

Last Friday, I come home to find this waiting in the entry way…

I immediately start reminding Brad that we made a deal of no gifts and warn him that the Tiffany’s box better be one of my old ones with a nice letter inside. (Side note- my family reuses random boxes all the time when wrapping gifts. For Brad’s birthday, my parents gave him an Aldo shoe box with worn shoes inside and a gift card hidden underneath it all.)

So, when I opened the box, I was relieved to see no jewelry inside, but a little confused by what I did find. It was a digital camera memory card that just so happened to go with the new Nikon DSLR camera that Brad had waiting in the kitchen!

I should mention here, that in the last couple of weeks, I’ve been doing some research on DSLR cameras because we thought it would be a good idea to get one before our trip this summer. However, every time I brought a camera to Brad’s attention, he’d say that it was too technical looking, too pricey, too simple, etc and that I needed to keep doing my research. So at this point I was beginning to think that he was over the idea of a DSLR.

Little did I know, he had already purchased one and was just making me feel stupid. (Thanks Brad)

I can’t be too upset, though - I love the new camera and can’t wait to mess around with all the settings. So expect to see lots of (probably random) pictures like these from this past weekend:

Overall, I think it's pretty safe to say that I got lucky in the husband department. As for Brad, I feel guilty that all he got was a greeting card that wasn’t even from the ‘anniversary’ section. When he asked what section I found it in, I teased that it was from the ‘sympathy’ section. (I actually found it in the ‘love’ section, but a sympathy card might have been more appropriate- “Sorry- all you get is this piece of construction paper for our wedding anniversary. Love- your crappy wife”)

The One With The LOST Series Finale

2010-05-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

Did anyone else wake up this morning and have their first thought be: ‘I can’t believe the LOST series finale last night’?

Spoiler Alert: If you haven’t seen the 2 ½ hour LOST series finale then (1) shame on you and (2) stop reading this and go watch it now!

I have to admit that at first, I wasn’t sure if I liked the finale. I almost felt like it was anti-climatic since most people were guessing from the beginning that the Oceanic 815 passengers were actually dead the whole time and that the island was some sort of purgatory/limbo area of death.

Yet at the same time, I also thought it was cool how they brought everyone together for the final scene and that the last screen shot we see is when Jack closes his eyes. (Whereas the entire series began with a shot of Jack opening his eyes)

So now, after reading the blogs today (and having other people scrutinize the lines/scenes from the final episode) I think I understand what the writers were getting at and now I actually REALLY like the ending of LOST.

Although, there are lots of un-answered questions (What the heck was ‘The Source’ of the Island all about? And what about those numbers?), I really liked the idea that only the flash-sideways was some sort of purgatory where the Oceanic passengers could meet up before “moving on” together.

I found the following passage on another blog that I think describes the meaning of the flash-sideways perfectly:

People seem to experience the purgatory universe as a natural process of dying, as a place where they can recollect the choices they made in their lives and ultimately find peace with their death. Each Lostie is oblivious of the true nature of the Flashsideways universe, trudging through their mundane lives (perhaps endlessly?) until they are faced with a moment of realization that it is better to “let go”. For each Lostie, the circumstance for their relevation is different, but generally involves a moment of deep connection with another person they met on the island. For Kate, it was delivering Aaron and realizing it is time to stop running. For Locke, it was being cured of his dependence (both physically and emotionally) on his wheelchair — which he had been using as a crutch (pun intended) to hide from reality. For Jin and Sun, it was being reminded of the daughter they brought into the world. And for Jack, it was finding peace with his father’s death. In all cases, the Losties seemed to find peace and accept death by resolving an emptiness they had suffered in life, often through the people they met on the island. They learn that a fulfilled life isn’t necessarily about the big things we accomplish (or leave unresolved), but about the people we meet and affect (and who, in turn, affect us) along the way.

At this time, I’d also like to point out that although Brad and I watched 4 ½ hours of LOST on the night of our first wedding anniversary, we did take time out of the day and early evening to celebrate this milestone in our life. AND – I actually have pictures to prove it – which you’ll see why in a later post! ;)

But for now, we say farewell to the TV series LOST - you will be missed - especially now since I'm finally beginning to understand what the heck is going on!

The One Where We Got Married

2010-05-23T10:00:00.000-07:00

{One Year Ago}

I still can't get over the fact that it was one year ago today that Brad and I were married. Some days it seems like it was just yesterday we were deciding what ties the groomsmen would wear. Other days, it feels like it all happened an eternity ago. (Although, I may be confusing our wedding day with the amount of time Brad and I have been together - which is getting close to 9 years now) ;)

And then there's those few days (okay, a lot of days) that I wish I could do it all over again!

Regardless of how long it's been, Brad and I will always cherish the many special details and memories of that day, however, at the same time, we look forward to the new events and experiences we'll share with each passing anniversary.

On that note, I'll finish this post with a poem that was suggested by my Grandma Billie and was included in our ceremony programs:

Union ~ by Robert Fulghum

You have known each other from the first glance of acquaintance to this point of commitment. At some point, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes, to this moment of yes, indeed, you have been making commitments in an informal way.

All of those conversations that were held in a car, or over a meal, or during long walks – all those conversations that began with, “When we’re married”, and continued with “I will” and “you will” and “we will” – all those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. All these common things, and more, are the real processes of a wedding.

The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to one another, “You know all those things that we’ve promised, and hoped, and dreamed – well, I meant it all, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, dancing partner, even teacher, for you have learned much from one another these past few years. Shortly you shall say a few words that will take you across a threshold of life, and things between you will never quite be the same.

For after today you shall say to the world –
This is my husband. This is my wife.

The One Where We Celebrate Two Six, Six Two & Mom

2010-05-19T08:20:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind posting this- but better late than never... right?

This month is already off to a crazy start. On May 4, we celebrated Brad’s 26th birthday. Two days later, my dad turned 62. Saturday, May 8th was spent celebrating both birthdays, followed by Sunday – Mother’s Day – a day to recognize and thank our moms for all that they do.

Although it was a busy week and weekend, we got to enjoy many delicious celebratory dinners and lunches and had a great time hanging out with family and friends. Thanks to all those who came out to celebrate Brad and my dad’s birthday. And special thanks to both our moms for everything they do for us. We are truly blessed to have such amazing mothers.

And of course, as you can imagine, I didn’t take ANY pictures of the festivities – so I'll display the one photo that Shogun Restaurant took and emailed to me. ;)

The One Where Brad Turns 26...or is it 24?

2010-05-11T15:38:00.000-07:00

I just wanted to add a quick, belated birthday post about Brad. His birthday was last week and I’m still not sure how old he is. Although, he was 25 last year, he doesn’t want to get any closer to 30 in age, so he’s decided to count backwards. So I guess that makes him 24 this year?

Either way- Happy Birthday to this guy!!!

The One With The Clueless Gardeners

2010-04-22T10:49:00.000-07:00

It’s usually not a good sign when you walk outside and have to ask if that’s a weed or plant growing in your yard. Not just because you’re that un-knowledgeable about plants- but mostly because the weed you are pointing at is the size of a small shrub.

Regardless of our lack of gardening experience, we decided not only to do the usually pruning and weeding, but also to add new plants and flowers to the yard. This area was our biggest issue:

Besides the boring, spiky flax plants above, the real problem was the lavender plants below that Copper continued to trample and rip out because they attracted bees. So really, those need to be taken out and moved somewhere else (like the front yard- away from Copper) and replaced with something sturdy/Copper resistant.

After consulting my mom and the lady at Armstrongs- this is what we’ve come up with:

{Attempting to grow a wall of bougainvillea}

{Replanted tiny kumquat tree & pruned pomegranate tree to actually look like a tree, rather than a bush}

At the moment, our front yard is basically a smorgasbord of flowers, shrubs and trees – but we hope to clean that up more sometime in the future.

{Replanted lavender down in front}

{Installed new solar walkway lights as well}

That's it for our gardening adventures at the moment. But if anyone wants a ton of crappy dirt filled with clay and rocks- feel free to respond to our craigslist add - http://sandiego.craigslist.org/nsd/zip/1697285101.html.

The One With The Stupid Rain

2010-04-12T10:32:00.000-07:00

We spent the entire weekend pruning, weeding, digging, planting, sweeping and watering (still don’t have a working sprinkler system) both the front yard and backyard. We also spent a good chunk of cash at Home Depot and Armstrongs to buy new plants for the yard. After all that- here are the results of our hard work:

{9am Saturday – before starting any yard work}

{5pm Sunday - after pruning, weeding and planting one new plant}
{7am Monday – heavy rain knocks down tree/our spirits}

Obviously there’s more to our yard then this one tree and planter, but it’s still so annoying to wake up to find one of our good trees lying on our lawn. Brad thinks we might be able to save it and replant it since the roots are still attached – which is funny, because he was so pessimistic about replanting the tiny lavender plant that’s now literally under the tree because he didn’t think it would grow successfully. (In a way, he’s right, since I imagine it would be difficult to grow when being crushed by a tree!)

Stay tuned for more gardening with the Carters.

The One With The Blue Room

2010-04-09T09:31:00.000-07:00

If you love the color blue, then this room is definitely for you:

Unfortunately for us, we weren’t fans of the baby blue walls AND ceiling. However, I’m also not sure we’re fans of painting. It always sounds fun at first, but after multiple trips to Home Depot, spilling paint on our walkway and having to do 4 coats of primer and paint on the ceiling alone - painting gets to be not so fun.

{Not so fun part}

In the end, ‘painting’ won over ‘decorating a blue room’ and this is our final product:

{I swear the color is ‘dolphin gray’ and not a lighter baby blue}

{Dresser from Kobey’s – thanks Michelle for helping me carry this!}

More décor needs to be added- paintings, photos, side table, etc – but it works for now. This week marks our one year anniversary in this house and we’ll be celebrating this weekend by doing some major yard work. Bring on the house projects!

{Destroyed plants- complements of Copper}

The One With The 7.2 Earthquake

2010-04-06T14:39:00.000-07:00

Luckily, San Diego wasn’t too affected/damaged by the earthquake that took place on Easter Sunday, however, Brad did have to report to work early the next day (he left the house at 4am) to assess damage to company property.

Here are some photos that Brad and his co-workers took (this is located WAY south-east of San Diego)

We hope everyone enjoyed their Easter weekends and weren’t too shaken up by the earthquake.

The One With The April Fool's Joke

2010-04-01T09:00:00.000-07:00

Guess who has an April 1st birthday?

And boy were we fooled when we adopted this seemingly sweet and shy puppy. I can actually remember a frustrated Brad stating: “That shelter place tricked us! We thought this dog was going to be shy and timid – now look at her!”

Although we complain about Copper's annoyance of the rain and chewing everything in site, she can be sweet at times and is actually a very intelligent dog. We honestly can teach her any trick in the book – it’s just that she refuses to sit and obey in public settings. I guess that’s something we’ll continue to work on this next year of her life. For now, we’ll just relish in the fact that we taught her this trick when she was 6 months old.

The One With March Madness

2010-03-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

No, I’m not talking about college basketball – I’m talking about the madness that’s taken over our lives this month.

First weekend of March was spent celebrating my friend Stacy’s son’s 1st birthday.

The next weekend we were in Mammoth with the Sumo Snowman. I also hung out with friends at the country line dancing club, Incahoots, the night before heading to Mammoth.

We’ve also been doing some home re-decorating (more to come on this)…

This last weekend was Kristin’s wedding. Photos below – no need/time for elaboration. ;)

{The Officiant - Relieved that it's over!}

This week Brad is in Vegas for work... jealous? I am. He’s attending a seminar for the week- with his accommodations and food being paid for by work. Hard life.

Although, I did get to spend happy hour with friends yesterday.

We’ll finish off the month by heading to Glendora for a fantasy baseball draft at my parent’s house. Definitely wishing for a slow April.

The One With The Sumo Snowman

2010-03-15T15:44:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we returned home from a 3-day getaway to Mammoth Mountain and the only pictures I took the whole weekend was of the sumo snowman that Phil and Brad built.

Despite the lack of photos/proof – we really had a great time with our friends in the snow. You’ll just have to imagine a weekend with lots of snowboarding, hot cocoa and sore muscles. ;)

{one photo from the drive home}

The One With Wedding Parties Galore!

2010-03-09T12:14:00.000-08:00

My good friends, Kristin and Luz, are both getting married on the same day this year, so unfortunately we can only attend one. But that doesn’t mean I can’t attend ALL the pre-parties!

Last month was Kristin’s bridal shower which was hosted by family friends – Brennan, Kim, Marissa, Tori and my mom – and they truly did an amazing job! See pictures below for party details and more.

{Theme – Round the Clock}

{Bride with sister & mom}
{Candy Bar}

Last month I also got to attend Luz’s bachelorette dinner at Roy’s Restaurant in downtown San Diego. Great food and even better company!

{Italy Friends - Me, Luz & Kali}

Congrats Kristin and Luz! Enjoy your last 2 weeks of wedding planning!

The One Where Brad Fears Measuring Tape

2010-03-03T14:49:00.000-08:00

Said to me, by Brad yesterday:

“Oh no, you’ve got the measuring tape out.”

"So?”

“That means you want to buy something.”

He knows me so well. :)

The One With Vince Cori

2010-02-19T09:10:00.000-08:00

Vince Cori is Brad’s grandfather who sadly passed away this last weekend. He’s always been a big influence on Brad’s life and he will be missed greatly. His family wrote the following tribute to Vince that we thought would be nice to share with everyone.

Vincent James Cori

Nov. 4, 1928-Feb. 13, 2010

At the age of 81, Vince entered peacefully into eternal rest Saturday, Feb. 13th. He follows his parents Mary and James brothers Benard and Clement. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. Vince enlisted in the Navy for a four year tour of duty. Upon leaving the Navy he enrolled at the University of Miami and graduated with a degree in Structural Engineering. He helped design bridges and other structures on the east coast. Working in California, he designed structures for the military and space agency before retiring in 1991.Vince loved the game of tennis and was an avid player. He enjoyed skiing, sailing, wood carving and poker with his many friends. He loved his cats and had a special place in his heart for all animals large and small.He leaves behind his beloved wife Rosalind, who he met in Pasadena, Ca. They married in Arcadia, Ca. in 1978, moved to Maryland then to Carlsbad, Ca. They loved the beauty of the Northwest and moved to Coeur d'Alene in 2002.Vince leaves behind his children Christine, Janet and Bill, grandchildren Bradley, Scott, Billy, Arianna, Aaron, Mark and Tim Jr. and great grandchildren Claire, Charlee, Timmy, Roni, Dani, Mark, Ryan and Josh.Vince was a loving, caring and a straight forward man. He made an impact on everyone who knew him. He was a great husband, father, grandfather and friend. He will be loved and remembered in our hearts forever. We miss you.

The One With The Missing Built-In

2010-02-18T11:05:00.000-08:00

It’s funny to see what people will leave behind and take when they move out of a home. Even though we moved into our house last April, I still crack up over the items that were left and taken by the previous homeowners. Sure, it’s normal to take your fridge, washer and dryer – but ceiling fans and closet organizers? Seriously - the closets in the guest bedrooms have no shelves or hanging rods inside. What’s even funnier is that the same people who took faceplates off the electrical outlets decided it was okay to leave behind the chandelier, a pot rack (which is awesome) and framed photos of their children in the garage. Go figure.

Out of all the items taken/left, the only one that really bothered us was the hole that was left behind when they removed the built-in media cabinet from the living room.

{Now you see it}

{Now you don’t}

So for the last 9 months, we’ve had this space filled with 2 old side tables that held the cable box, DVD player, Xbox system and Wii system. Obviously- it was a really classy set-up that I never took a picture of. ;)

Although, we did live like this for several months before the TV was on the wall - another classy arrangement.

Finally, after months of looking online and scoping Kobey’s for a cabinet that would fit this space and hide all our crap, we actually found the perfect thing at Ikea. (Usually we would think Ikea is for college students, but you gotta love the fact that we could custom design this cabinet to fit our wants/needs!) So, after 2 trips to Ikea and numerous picture-only instructions, our media cabinet is now complete and we're definitely taking it with us the next time we move!

One house project done .... about 20 more to go!

The One Where Copper Chewed Everything

2010-01-22T15:22:00.000-08:00

Before Brad and I got Copper many people warned us not to get a dog. But what was most surprising was that a lot of those people HAD dogs- and they were usually good dogs. So, we figured there would be good times and bad with any dog, but the good would outweigh the bad… right?

Wrong. At least for this week- the bad has been exceeding the good. For one, the dog hates the rain and won’t stop barking and whining at it. Secondly, she’s chewing us out of house and home. I’ve honestly never heard of a dog that chews things up like Copper. (Besides maybe Marley)

Exhibit A: This great, seemingly indestructible toy - the Kong Wubba is now long gone- along with its red-colored replacement.

Exhibit B: Our green garden hose never stood a chance.
Other items that have seen Copper’s chewing wrath:

- BBQ covers (yes, that’s plural. She’s gone through 2 or 3 of them already)
- Part of our staircase
- Corner of our couch cushion
- Several plush toys have had their insides scattered all over our yard
- 2 garden hoses (ours and my parent’s over Christmas break)
- 2 leashes

Really, this list could go on and on, but the latest household item to be destroyed happened this week while Copper spent the day in her fort. We came home to find this:

Not only did she chew and remove our cardboard barrier, but then she continued to chew the wires that power our sprinkler system. (This dog seems to have something against watering systems) She also worked her way through the door insulation padding for extra fun.

I’m not sure if she’s doing this out of boredom or irritation (because it’s raining) - either way, I’m hoping it’s a puppy trait she’ll grow out of soon because Brad might lose it the next time he has to buy a BBQ cover.

Moral of this story: we’re giving you fair warning right now. If you’re thinking about getting a dog, baby-sit Copper for a weekend and then decide.

The One With Football & Poker

2010-01-21T12:05:00.000-08:00

Last weekend was the big weekend for football playoffs. Brett Favre (and the Vikings) was playing the Cowboys and the Chargers (amazingly enough) were still in the running for Superbowl as well. (Unfortunately, that run ended as quickly as it came, so we won’t talk about it anymore)

What really made the weekend fun (besides watching Favre sing “Pants on the Ground”) was having friends over on Saturday to watch football, play poker and eat dinner. Phil brought the chicken asada and Nicole made the brownie sundaes. (Thanks guys for hanging out with us!)
Sunday morning was then spent watching the Vikings game with this guy…
Lastly, this one’s for Brad…

The One With Too Much Oil

2010-01-12T12:49:00.000-08:00

I’ve been putting off my car’s oil change for awhile now just because I didn’t want to spend the time or money doing it. I finally gave in and took the car to Jiffy Lube yesterday on my way home from work. I was the last customer of the night (I got there right before closing), so I was in and out in about 10-15 minutes.

I was also pleasantly surprised to find out that since it was my 3rd time there on the “star customer program”, I got half off my oil change – so it was only $20! I even called Brad right after leaving the shop to brag about my $20 oil change.

Unfortunately, I had to call Brad back 10 minutes later to admit that the car was now running funny. I couldn’t go back to the shop since it was closed for the night, so I had to drive the rest of the way home cursing my $20 oil change.

We dropped the car off this morning at the dealership and was asked about 3 times if I’ve been there before. (No- because my car ran perfectly before it’s $20 oil change!) I just received a call back from the dealership and not only did Jiffy Lube put TWICE the amount of recommended oil, but now I owe another $60 to correct the issue. I should have known that a $20 oil change was too good to be true.

Another lesson learned – Brad and I don’t make good work carpool buddies. For some reason he can’t stand it when I grab the side door and push on my imaginary brake pedal when I’m in the passenger seat. (I have my mom to thank for that move.) ;)

Update: Jiffy Lube is reimbursing me for my oil change AND the dealership service charges. Can’t be too upset with them now – out of my many oil changes (I go about every 2 months) – this is the first time there has ever been a problem.

The One Where We Finish Off 2009

2010-01-11T16:27:00.000-08:00

Although we had a great time celebrating Christmas and New Years with family and friends, we don’t have many pictures to prove it. So, here’s a quick breakdown of our busy holiday schedule and why we’re so limited on pictures:

- Thursday, December 24th – Brunch at our house and shopping with Brad’s family (This is the only time we took pictures)

{Brad with his Mom and Brother, Scott}

{Copper was the most excited out of anyone to see presents under the tree}

{One of her many Christmas presents}

- Friday, December 25th – Christmas morning at my family’s with an afternoon movie showing of Sherlock Holmes
- Saturday, December 26th – Holiday gathering with my extended family of aunts and uncles
- Sunday, December 27th – Holiday gathering with Brad’s extended family of aunts and uncles
- Monday, December 28th – Morning vet appointment (apparently Copper had too much holiday fun), then lunch with Stacy and Jordan
- Tuesday, December 29th – Free Day
- Wednesday, December 30th – We both worked today, then Brad went to a bowl game with co-workers afterwards
- Thursday, December 31st – Dinner at Shogun and midnight countdown with Alex & Steve at our place
- Friday, January 1st – We started off the New Year by doing… nothing! We seriously never left the house or changed out of our pajamas that day!

The rest of the weekend was spent getting a head start on one of our New Years Resolutions – which is getting the house organized and put together. You can expect to see lots of before and after photos of this on-going project throughout the year.

Hope everyone else enjoyed their 2009 holidays and are looking forward to all that’s to come in 2010!

The One With Mermaid's Gold

2010-01-11T15:58:00.000-08:00

Yikes - I’m so behind on my blog posting – this event actually happened a month ago, but I figured I’d post this anyway!

On Friday, December 11th, Brad and I made the drive to Sin City to spend the weekend with our friends Jason and Michelle. It’s been about a year since we were last in Vegas and usually (at least for me) once a year is plenty. I can really only handle so much of the noisy clubs, all night dancing, smoky casinos and other activities that keep me up past my bedtime and in extremely high heels.

Yet, after this past trip, I might be willing to visit Las Vegas a little more often. Here are some highlights and new favorite Vegas activities:

Taking Friday off of work to make the drive to Nevada not only saved us money, but it gave us a full 3 day weekend AND plenty of time to put Lady Gaga’s new CD on repeat!

We found our favorite penny slots (Mermaid’s Gold and Gold Fish) at our hotel. Michelle was the big winner on this game. Not only did she get the bonus about every 3 turns, but she was also up almost $50 at one point!

The first night we ate dinner at Serendipity – just like the movie and restaurant in NYC!

On Saturday, Michelle and I did some damage at the Premium Outlet Mall, while the guys played poker and tried to win back the money us girls spent shopping!

Saturday evening we ate dinner at the Mexican restaurant in the Venetian (we eat here everytime we're in Vegas, yet no one remebers the name!) and then went to the Jeff Dunham show - hilarious!

Final highlight- “mini” breakfast on Sunday. Michelle got mini french toast and mine was mini waffles with 3 dipping sauces- toffee, berry and nutella. Seriously, amazing.

The One With Double Icicles

2009-12-17T16:13:00.000-08:00

The weekend after Thanksgiving, Brad and I decided to get a head start on our Christmas decorating. Since this is our first Christmas in our home, we were especially excited to finally be able to put up our own lights on the house. Our plan started with us driving around the neighborhood at night and scoping out the competition/generating lighting ideas. We finally decided to go with the fake icicle lights on our house, which then prompted my question- “Should we do single icicles or double icicles?” Since our house is 2 stories, we would have 2 roof ledges to hang lights from- so would having icicle lights on the first and second story be too much? Brad thought so, but then we saw a house like this and decided that double icicles would look really good. (Obviously the house in the picture looks great for other reasons besides the double icicles.)

Then we drove home and saw this…

That’s right- we don’t even have 2 ledges! So all our debating back and forth was for nothing. And now our next issue was going to be a ladder, since the highest one we own is 4 foot tall step stool.

Finally, after shopping around Home Depot for ladders and lights we came to the conclusion that we weren’t going to be able to buy ALL the lights and Christmas necessities we needed to achieve the above pictured house (at least, not if we wanted to buy Christmas presents this year!)

So, for our first Christmas, these are our lights:

Next Christmas we’ll get the ladder and do the double icicles. (Notice the tiny 2nd ledge over the front door - we can totally still do double icicles!)

Also, here’s our first real Christmas tree’s before and after photos. You’ll see that the bottom portion of the tree has no ornaments- we have Copper to thank for that.

The One With The Reason For The Season

2009-12-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

I read this amazing news story yesterday and felt that it was a great reminder of what the holiday season is all about. Read below and be inspired!

Mystery Couple Start “Magical” Chain Reaction

It played like a scene from a holiday movie -- a mystery couple, who didn’t leave their names or numbers, walked into a restaurant, finished their meal and then set-off a chain reaction of generosity that lasted for hours.

That’s just what employees at the Aramingo Diner in Port Richmond said a man and a woman did during their breakfast shift last Saturday morning.

“It was magical. I had tears in my eyes because it never happened before. I’ve been here for 10 years and I’ve never seen anything like that,” said Lynn Willard, a waitress.

Willard and other waitresses told NBC Philadelphia that the couple started the chain reaction by paying double: for their own meal and for the tab of another table of diners at the restaurant. There's no evidence that one group of diners knew the others.

“I could not believe it … and it continued and continued, it was very nice,” said Willard. “They asked us not to say anything until they left, but we said ‘Merry Christmas, that person picked up your tab.’”

For the next five hours, dozens of patrons got into that same holiday spirit and paid the favor forward.
The diner’s manager said not one person was concerned about price of the check -- which averaged between $12-$30.

“It was a surprise to all of us, the girls were even taken aback,” said Linda. “Those who took the check also tipped the waitress. So nobody had to do anything other than pass it on and that’s what they did. They just passed it forward.”

It’s a true holiday story that proves how a small gesture of kindness can create some magic.

Click here to view video clip of story…

The One Where Alex Got Married

2009-12-15T11:13:00.000-08:00

I’m a little behind on posting these pictures, but they’re just so pretty- I wanted to share!

Our good friend Alex and her now husband, Steve, were married on November 20th in Silverado, California at the amazing Rancho Las Lomas preserve.

Photos of friends, the happy couple and beautiful event below- Congrats Alex & Steve!

The One With The Fort

2009-12-07T12:13:00.000-08:00

Remember when you were a kid and on rainy days you would stay inside and make forts? Well, at the age of 25, Brad and I are still making forts on rainy days- this time it’s for our dog.

I’ve always said we’re pretty spoiled in San Diego, but now I actually see why- this is only our second day of rain since adopting Copper in June. And being an Arizona born/San Diego raised dog- she’s not quite used to the rain yet. Her first time experiencing rain was over Thanksgiving weekend, where she stayed inside and barked all day long. Not a good day for any of us in the house.

Today is her second day of rain and first time having to deal with it alone outside. Since we don’t have a covered patio and leaving her inside is not an option (the house would be in ruins), we decided to block off part of our garage so that Copper would have some coverage during the day. Unfortunately, I don’t think Copper gets the excitement of having a fort, like we did as kids. Luckily, we are blessed with good weather in San Diego, so hopefully there won’t be too many days filled with fort making- for our benefit and Copper’s.

The One With 6 Days Of Turkey

2009-12-01T11:41:00.000-08:00

For this year’s Thanksgiving, Brad and I decided to take on the task of hosting dinner at our place. I’m not much of a cook (Brad has only said “you can definitely make this again” to only one or two of my dinner dishes), so needless to say, this Thanksgiving dinner was going to be interesting. By the way- this is what I get for responding with “For when we host Thanksgiving or something” whenever Brad asked why we were registering for a certain piece of china or serving dish.

In anticipation of Thanksgiving Day, Brad and I decided to do a trail run turkey on the Monday before, so we roasted a 4 lb bird and made gravy from it. Unfortunately, this idea did not make us any more prepared/comfortable for the big day since our little turkey came out undercooked and the gravy was way too sweet tasting. After cutting up one side of the turkey, we threw it back in the oven for another hour or so, hoping that would cook the other side enough to eat for the next night.

Now after having turkey for Monday and Tuesday’s dinner AND eating turkey sandwiches (deli turkey- at least) for Wednesday’s lunch, we weren’t really looking forward to cooking a 19 lb turkey the next day and eating it.

However, we got lucky and our big Thanksgiving Day turkey came out great and the gravy even turned out decent! And no- we did not buy canned gravy, we made it from scratch. Our one little mistake was that we only pulled out one bag of “goodies” from the carcass and didn’t realize there was a 2nd bag until we started carving into the cooked turkey. Whoops! I did mention that I’m not much of a cook and this was our first time cooking a turkey- right? (The trail run doesn’t count since there was no bag of “goodies” inside.)

The rest of our weekend was spent being lazy. I never left the house or changed out of my PJs all day Friday and Saturday (Brad golfed on Saturday), which meant we ate turkey, mashed potatoes, green beans, rolls (oh- that was our 2nd mistake- we forgot to bake and serve the rolls at Thanksgiving dinner!) and pie all weekend long. Thankfully, Brad’s aunt, uncle and cousins came to visit Sunday afternoon, so not only did I finally shower and dress, but we also went out and ate something other than turkey- Mexican food!

Hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving Holiday!

The One With The Nordstrom Sign

2009-11-23T10:56:00.000-08:00

I always knew I liked Nordstrom...

The One With Hot Lips

2009-11-13T14:04:00.000-08:00

Last weekend, a group of us girls got together for lunch and some wine tasting in Temecula. Some highlights from our limo riding/wine tasting day:

- Sauvignon Blanc at Hart Winery
- Pot luck lunch outside Stuart Winery
- Hot Lips wine cider at Falkner Winery (So good- we’ll be serving this at Thanksgiving!)

Side Note: I’m a firm believer that holidays should “wait their turn” when it comes to being advertised and displayed. For example, Christmas decorations should not be put up until the day after Thanksgiving- at the earliest. Any sooner and you’re just skipping/ignoring the Thanksgiving Holiday all together. However, just this once, I was able to overlook that holiday violation when I saw this amazing table set up at Callaway Winery! (Note to self: must remember that Megan wants this exact set up when she gets married- upside down Christmas tree and all!)

The One With The Three Amigos

2009-11-11T10:43:00.000-08:00

Halloween was spent in Valencia at Jason and Michelle’s house- and it was truly a scary night! There were dogs dressed as people and people dressed as Dog.

Normally, I’m very against dressing up dogs, but the Browns had bought their dogs a superman and snow white costume- so we had to put Copper in an outfit for just one night (or at least one photo!) So here we are- the three amigos!

Copper hated her sombrero so we tied it to her harness instead. Overall, she was a pretty good sport about the costume and let us take more than one photo of her.

Then there were only 2 amigos…

The Boys- Dog, the bounty hunter; Robin with feminine glasses; Amigo; and Nerd

The girls- Dog’s wife, Beth; Amigo; Ballerina; and Nerd

The One With The European Honeymoon

2009-10-23T10:55:00.000-07:00

When catching up with people this past summer a lot of the time we were asked how our honeymoon was. Our response: "Great!" It was a 2 week vacation with stops in 6 different cities- so we couldn’t go into too much detail and we usually just left it at ‘Great’. Well, with a blog, I can now tell/type as much as I like and you can read whatever you want. So here goes the story of our honeymoon….

A quick background: We flew into Paris and stayed 2 nights. Then we took the train to Nice for a couple of days and then headed to Monaco/Monte Carlo for one night. After that, we left France and took another train to Monterosso, Italy- which is one of the 5 coastal cities of Cinque Terre. After a few nights stay, we were off to our final destination, Florence, where we stayed for our last couple of nights. While staying in Florence, we did sneak in one last city with a day trip to Rome.

As you can imagine, we have tons of stories and pictures to share, however, we thought it would be best to highlight our favorite things and stories and share a view words of wisdom when traveling in Europe.

Favorite Dessert: Crème Brulee Waffle at restaurant Bouillon Racine in Paris. Seriously. Amazing. We’re usually huge fans of chocolate anything- but this dessert was incredible.

Favorite Wine Bar: Enoteca da Eliseo, in Piazza Matteotti in Monterroso, Italy. We loved coming here in the evenings before dinner (and sometimes before lunch!) to have a glass of their house red wine which was served with peanuts, capers and THE best olives.

Favorite Pasta: Pear and Gorgonzola Cheese Ravioli in Monterosso. Sounds bizarre, but it was so good that we went back the next day to have the ravioli for lunch as well! I can’t remember the name of the small restaurant, but it was down the alley in the picture below.

Favorite Hotel View: La Spiaggia Hotel in Monterosso. No explanation needed- just view photos below:

Favorite Memory Overall: Hiking the 5 cities of Cinque Terre. The cities are all located on the Italian coast overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. The trails have incredible views, each city is unique and fun to explore, AND with the hike being 5 hours long, it was a great way to work off all the wine and food we had consumed so far!

Best Spot To Leave Your "Mark": On the Ponte Vecchio in Florence. The Ponte Vecchio is the oldest bridge in Florence that’s lined with jewelry shops and in the middle of the bridge is a statue with a gate around it. The legend is that you and a loved one should attach a lock to the gate and throw the keys away in the river- forever “locking” your love to the bridge. Well, it’s actually illegal now to place locks on the bridge, so we had to be sneaky about “locking” our love- see pictures below:Most Random “Character”: Security guy at Frankfurt Airport. Our 2nd flight home was on an US Airways plane leaving from Frankfurt and heading to Philadelphia. When we reached our flight’s gate we were greeted by a security guy who looked kind of like Al Pachino, but totally acted like the dad from ‘Meet the Fockers’. These were only SOME his questions for us:

- Hello, my name is Pierre Something, have you been inspected for customs? No? Allow me….

- Where are you coming from? (Answer- Florence)
- What was the temperature in Florence- colder/warmer than here? (Brad says warmer, Lindsey says colder at the same time- oops, strike one)
- Where did you pack your bags this morning? (In our hotel)
- Who packed your bags this morning? (We both did)
- Did I tell you my name? (Yes)
- Has anyone approached you and asked you to carry something aboard? (No)
- No one gave you a cell phone or other electronic device to carry? (No)
- Do all the items that you are carrying belong to you? (Yes)
- You sure? (Yes)

At this point we began to wonder if we looked like terrorists to him, but once we were finished and through security, we saw the same guy grilling an elderly couple. I think it’s safe to say he takes his job seriously.

Words of Wisdom: Pack Light. Seriously. Even if you’re going to a high fashion place like Paris or the French Riviera- pack as little as you possible can. We had 3 rolling suitcases (1 large, 1 medium and 1 small carry-on), a duffle bag filled with shoes (I’m not kidding), a garment bag, plus Brad had a backpack and I had my purse. So basically, we were traveling with 7 (SEVEN!) pieces of luggage. Now imagine having to walk to a train station (on uneven and sometimes unpaved roads) and load, store and unload all those pieces of luggage onto/off of a train. It’s exhausting and your husband will not be happy when he has to carry all the heavy bags. And even if you take a taxi, they charge you for every piece of luggage you have. My suggestion- take a backpack or good traveling purse and one large, rolling luggage. You’ll have to be creative when packing and planning outfits, but you’ll have a better trip when you travel with fewer bags.

That was our honeymoon- in a nutshell. We took about a million pictures (okay, more like a thousand), but instead of posting them all, I've created a slide show below of some of our favorites. Enjoy!

The One With The Honeymoon Pictures

2009-10-23T10:54:00.000-07:00

The One Where We Play Catch Up

2009-10-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

October has surprisingly turned into a busy month for us, so I’m just going to try and list all our most recent activities in this one post. Here goes….

We celebrated Chelsea’s birthday in the beginning of the month by going to a Brad Paisley concert in San Diego. And yes, we made her wear that birthday hat all night long!

The 2nd Friday of every month is dedicated to Supper Club. This idea was suggested by our friend Chelsea and its where a group of us gets together once a month for a potluck dinner. For October, Brad and I were responsible for hosting the dinner at our house and providing the main dish. Unfortunately I didn’t get any pictures of the group or food, but I did get a picture of our dining table being set for its first dinner party.

Also in October, was Alex’s bridal shower which was hosted by her sisters at her childhood home. Alex looked adorable of course and the table setting was just as cute! November 20 is her big day and we can’t wait!

Another big event this month- a new car! In an attempt to be responsible adults, we traded the very fun and fast (yet gas guzzling) GT Mustang for a sporty, easy-on-our-wallets Mini Cooper S. We’re hoping this turns out to be a wise decision, but at the moment, Brad is still mourning the loss of his girlfriend- I mean- mustang.

Those are all the pictures I have to share, but there are a couple of other “honorable mentions”:

- We celebrated Scott’s (Brad’s brother) birthday on October 10th by visiting Kobey’s Swap Meet and having lunch in Little Italy at Mona Lisa. They have delicious and cheap lasagna! (Mona Lisa that is- not Kobey’s!)

- We also attended a party at Chelsea and Jeremy’s new house on October 18th where we celebrated both their birthdays and new home with family and friends.

That’s it for the start of October. Up next is Copper’s graduation from intermediate obedience school (tonight!) and Halloween! Stay tuned…

The One With The Awkward Run-In

2009-10-09T12:52:00.000-07:00

As I headed to my car yesterday in the grocery store parking lot, I walked passed a man who was loading his groceries into his car and he turned, smiled and said hello to me. I said hello back and kept walking. It took me about 3 steps for me to suddenly realize that the man looked familiar. I turned around and sure enough the man was the manager of Chevys restaurant in Del Mar who hired me about 5 years ago! We said hello, had a quick chat and then parted ways. As I drove home, I thought about how funny it was to run into him and then I remembered a time when it was NOT so funny when I ran into another Chevy’s manager a couple of years ago.

I think it was about 2 years ago when Brad and I decided to try Ruth’s Chris for dinner one weekend. We had never been there before since we’re usually not steak people, but it was restaurant week in San Diego and we had a gift certificate- so we gave it a try.

As soon as we sat down at our table, a man walked by and said, “Hiya folks, I’ll be with you in just a minute!” My jaw dropped as I instantly recognized the southern accent of my last manager at Chevys. And yes, he was going to be our server for the night!

Now I know some people would LOVE the idea of having their former (or current) bosses serve them, but I actually liked this manager when I was at Chevys, so I was beyond mortified. My old boss, being the very loud and outgoing guy he is, just laughed and rolled with. However, it was still incredibly awkward for both Brad and I to be waited on by him all night.

In the end, the dinner went as best as it could- the food was actually really great and we drank THE best glass of Riesling wine. However, to this date, we still have not gone back to Ruth’s Chris. It could be because it’s not a cheap restaurant, but I’m guessing it’s because we don’t want to figure out how much to tip my old boss again.

The One With The 3-Legged Dog

2009-09-28T14:05:00.000-07:00

Does this dog look familiar? She should...

.... its Copper’s sister!

While looking over the Helen Woodward website (where Copper was adopted), I found a “success story” about a 3-legged dog who I thought looked a lot like Copper. I was about half-way through the story when I came across a sentence that mentioned the dog’s siblings being Emma and Emmit. Wait a minute- our dog WAS Emma! After talking to the adoption center, they confirmed that the 3-legged dog, Savannah, did have the same birth date as Copper. And just like Copper, she’s super cute! Click here to read Savannah’s story and see a video of her and her progress.

She isn’t available for adoption yet, but if you have an interest in adopting her, keep checking the website to see when she does become available. We’d love for a friend or someone in San Diego to adopt her so we can visit!

Also, click here to see a photo of Copper and Savannah’s brother!

The One With The Mexican Table

2009-09-18T13:37:00.000-07:00

Brad and I have been hooked on going to our local swap meet, Kobey’s, ever since we started looking for silver vases/containers for our wedding. Since our wedding has come and gone, we now visit the swap meet to find stuff for our house. (And occasionally we pick up more silver pieces that catch our eyes!)

One of our latest finds was a coffee table- that can only be described as “Mexican”- with metal fixtures and grommets. We thought it had some potential, so we brought it home and purchased a sander to help with the project. Here are the before and after pictures:

I’m still not sure it’s the perfect look/color for our living room, but I think it’s an improvement from what we had before. Plus, with only spending $30 + paint, you can’t go too wrong! :) (PS- the mirror and blue chest in the pictures below are also Kobey finds!)

Living Room Before

After

The One With Too Much Sea Water

2009-09-15T16:41:00.000-07:00

Copper’s first experience at the beach happened at the end of August, when we took her to ‘Dog Beach’ in Del Mar. As soon as she hit the sand, she couldn’t wait to check out all the other dogs, people and new smells- but when her toes touched the ocean water, she instantly froze and backed up as quickly as possible! This coming from a dog who loves running face-first into the hose water! At the end of the day, she still would not go in the water (see picture below), but she did enjoy running around on the sand.

So, we took Copper back to the beach the next weekend to give it another try. She was excited when we first arrived, but still would not go in the water. At one point, while we were walking along the beach, a wave came up pretty high and trapped us against some thigh-high rocks. Copper tried to scramble for safety on the rocks, but couldn’t get up there fast enough before the tide retreated and she realized she was fine. The next wave came and she dug her claws into the sand and took it head-on (looking totally freaked), but as soon as the wave went back into the ocean, she again realized she was fine and that was all it took to get her into the water! She spent the next half hour running towards the waves and trying to bite and bark at the foam.

Later on in the day, when we tried to take her to a different part of the beach she refused to go back into the water and kept sitting/laying on the beach. Brad and I just looked at each other thinking ‘what the heck?’, but as soon as we looked back at her, she was in the middle of throwing up half the ocean and her breakfast onto the beach. Oh. That’s why she didn’t want to go back in. We of course did the responsible thing and buried her throw-up in the sand, with a large chunk of seaweed placed on top, then promptly left the beach.

This past weekend, we made our 3rd trip to the beach and I’m happy to report that not only did Copper go back into the water, but she also did not throw any up! Way to go Copper!

The One Where Copper Graduates

2009-09-10T14:01:00.000-07:00

Our little trouble-maker graduated her 8-week puppy course with a B+ grade on her final exam! And she even posed for a quick picture with her graduation cap!

The One With The Fire

2009-09-10T13:57:00.002-07:00

On Thursday, August 27, a brush fire started in the hills next to our home around 9:15pm. (See image above) Somehow, the two of us were oblivious to the 3 fire trucks and multiple police cars parked just outside our house until around 10:30pm when Copper started furiously barking at the front and back door. When Brad went to let her outside in the backyard, he instantly smelled the smoke and ran to the front door where we could see the numerous emergency vehicles packing up and leaving from our front porch. When we walked closer to the hills we were greeted by neighbors who explained that the fire was quickly and completely extinguished thanks to good weather conditions.

With the major fires burning in Los Angeles County, we can’t help but worry that San Diego will have another fire storm disaster like last year. Hopefully, this incident will be the only fire we have to worry about threatening our home, but just to be safe, Brad pointed out that we should lay out an emergency plan, which would include items that we pack in case we ever needed to evacuate our house.

We’re still working on that list, but out of curiosity, what items would you pack that you couldn’t live without?

The One All About Copper

2009-09-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

We’ve wanted a puppy for a couple of years now, but neither of us has lived in an apartment/house that would allow pets. When we finally purchased and moved into our first home, we only had about 6 weeks until our wedding and would then be leaving on a 2 week honeymoon right after. So it made sense to wait to get a dog until we got home from our honeymoon and got settled in.

Well, our first weekend back, we adopted Copper Kate Carter!

We told ourselves we were just going for “a look” on that Saturday, June 13th, but then we found Copper (who was known as Emma) at the Helen Woodward Animal Center. She came from a shelter in Arizona and they guessed her birth date to be around April 1, 2009- making her about 10 weeks old when we adopted her. The shelter believes she is a boxer/blood-hound mix that will weigh around 40-45 pounds when full grown.

When we first went to meet her, she was VERY shy and would only come up to us after her “roommate” greeted us. If you’ve ever met Copper- this is SO unlike her now! She loves playing with her friends at puppy school and going on walks so that she can meet/jump on any new people & dogs she can get to!

We’re having lots fun raising her and have learned a lot about “parenting”- such as, we are not having kids for a very long time! So be prepared to see more posts all about Copper!

The One Where It All Started

2009-09-09T09:59:00.000-07:00

My good friend, Annie, has been suggesting that I start a blog for awhile now. Apparently, she thinks Brad and I live an exciting life that has lots of stories and adventures to tell.

Either way, I’ve decided to give in since a blog seems much easier to maintain than keeping up with emails, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and all those other crazy internet sites that you young people use these days!

So here it is- our blog site- The Daily Carter!

Disclaimer: Contrary to the name, this blog will most likely NOT be updated daily, but I’ll make a genuine effort to post pictures and stories of all our latest events. Thanks for reading and feel free to email us anytime- we’d love to hear what you’re up to!