Back in Action

Aaaaaaand, we're back to working on the house. Actually, I should say that Brian is back working on the house. He is no longer bound by the knee brace...he was like a giddy kid in a candy shop the day he was able to start working on our house again. Here are a few of the projects that have been going on lately...


Here's Brian's dad, Brendon, helping out with the stucco on the outside of the sunroom. I can't even begin to tell you how helpful Brian's parents have been! Brendon has done everything from painting and plumbing to fixing our chimney...he is a man of all trades. And of course there is Pat, Brian's mom, who I could not have done without! I can't even count the number of times she has cleaned, picked up trash, and organized. They are amazing; I've been blessed with wonderful in-laws!


Brian and Josh working on the drywall on the inside of the little sunroom.


My dad and Brian putting up the crown moulding around the beams in the living room...it's looking amazing! I'm so thankful that my dad was able to help out this week. He is a trim master!




Oh yes, and that's me. Like I said, Brian is the one who has been working on the house. I basically didn't leave the couch all week. And the reason that I have this lovely picture is because Brian thinks it's funny to take pictures of me looking my best :-) Isn't that sweet?


Well that's all for now. Cheers to the house progress being back in action...one day at a time.

Master Bath Renovation: What Would You Do?

I have never designed a master bathroom before, and yet that is the next feat to conquer on our house "to do" list. Do you know how many kinds of tile there are in this world? Far too many for a person to handle!

As you can see below, the salmon/coral/creamsicle swirl color that is going on in there right now just isn't working for us. Not to mention the "rivers" of pebbles throughout floor (I'll take some more detailed photos so you can see what I'm talking about). We feel a bit bad ripping it all out since it was just put it and hasn't even been finished yet, but it's a little over the top for our taste. We are about to start tearing it all out and then we will have a blank slate.

I need the new colors to be fairly neutral. The bathroom is literally attached to the master bedroom...there is no door, just a large open archway, hence the need for the neutral color palette. We need the bathroom to be able to fit with whatever we decide to paint the bedroom.

What would you do if you had a blank slate to work with? I need ideas! It's hard because we kind of like a bit of everything...classy, modern, casual, contemporary, etc. Oh, and of course I would like a few feminine touches, but that mainly comes with accents and decorating.

Here is what it looks like now, YIKES!




The cabinets will stay, but do we paint them white? Or do we stain them a rich, brown color? There are two vanities, which will be nice so that we can each have our own sink and mirror (hard to see from the photos). What do we do to the countertops? Any suggestions on materials? And then there is the walk-in steam shower which you can't really see here...what do we do there?

If you had a chance to design your dream bathroom what would you do? I would love to hear!

House Feature

This built-in outdoor fireplace is one of my favorite features on our new house. I keep imagining it all landscaped, lights hanging, outdoor kitchen, fire blazing, music playing, wine in hand, and laughter filling the air. We can't wait to have you over to enjoy it with us!

Oktoberfest

We recently had a family get together...which included some Los Gatos Brewing Company Oktoberfest. I like beer, but I don't usually love it. Let's just say that this beer is one that was thoroughly enjoyed. Delish!

I Love Sushi

Not only do I love sushi, but I love the restaurant "I Love Sushi." I've gotta say, it's my pick for restaurant of the year. We found out about it earlier this year from some friends and have been hooked ever since. It's a big, casual place downtown Santa Cruz that tends to host big parties and has a karaoke bar set up in a back room with a stage and everything. See, what's not to love...how can you go wrong with sushi and karaoke?

Here is a photo of my newest obsession...the yam roll, short for the "wham bam thank you yam" roll. It consists of tempura yam, macadamia nuts, and cream cheese rolled up with rice and seaweed, covered in avocado and some sort of sweet sauce. Dip it in some soy sauce with wasabi and your mouth with thank you!


When visiting, be prepared to be inundated with free things...they give you appetizers when you arrive, after you order they bring you miso soup (so delicious) and edamame. Also, expect a visit from the crazy, fun-loving owner. He will most likely give you a few shots of sake or some beer on the house.

Next time you are in need of an inexpensive, casual dining experience hit up I Love Sushi. It won't disappoint!

Recovery Time

Brian's second knee surgery was last week on October 13th, our second wedding anniversary. What a way to spend a speicial day :-) I can't complain because #1) last year we traveled throughout Asia and spent our anniversary on an amazing beach in Thailand and #2) when B told me that he rescheduled the surgery for October 13th I told him, "perfect, that's a great date for it." It wasn't until hours later that I started thinking, "why does October 13th sound familiar? I think that might be an important date..." That's when it finally dawned on me, that yes, it is an important date, it's the day we got married.

We had been so busy the weeks leading up to this surgery that we were both actualy looking forward to it. I know, weird, but it gave us an excuse to slow down a little bit. I had been getting pretty tired of eating Subway, Little Caesars (yes, I said Little Caesars, I know, gross) Vallarta, and lots of pasta...when you need dinner for multiple people fast and cheap these seemed to be our only options.

Since we are on the topic of junk food...let me just say that once you get in the habit of eating bad food it's hard to stop. I usually crave "good for you" food, but lately all I have been wanting is the "bad for you" stuff and sweets. I need to get back to a healthy diet and a workout plan!

Back to Brian's recovery time. He will have to be on crutches for the next 3 weeks and then will slowly be able to put weight on his leg. I'll be excited to have him walking again...I miss my bike riding partner!

I can't tell you how amazing he has been throughout this whole process! He hasn't complained at all and has been uber productive. By the time he will be able to surf again it will probably be February, which means he will not have surfed once in 7 to 8 months. That is huge for someone who surfs everyday! I am so proud of him and the way he has handled this little "set-back." I can't wait for him to get back in the water again...it makes me happy to see him do something he loves so much. Also, I will be able to feel guilt-free again when I go to the gym...I hardly get to the gym anymore these days, but when I do go I feel horrible because I know he is just sitting at home with his leg propped up on pillows.

Cheers to next year...may it be a year filled with lots of walking, no crutches, and being somewhere other then a surgery room on our anniversary!

Cell Phone Trauma

On Sunday we had some cell phone trauma. Not just one cell phone, but both cell phones. We thought we were doomed. You know when you make a big purchase and then right after everything around you starts falling apart? I told Brian, "Be prepared, once we buy this house everything is going to start having problems...something will happen with the cars, we'll have some major, unexpected payment on something, etc." Well, it was true. All of this started happening this week. I'm to the point where I think it is amusing...God has quite the sense of humor!

Back to the cell phones. I had to run to Orchard Supply for probably the 6th time that day and decided that I would take the Acura. Little did I know that Brian had left the black cell phone on the hood of the black Acura. I was walking through Orchard trying to find Henry's concrete floor primer when I finally found someone to ask. Lo and behold, they don't carry it...time to head to Home Depot for the 4th time that day. This is when I called Brian to tell him that Orchard had let us down again and I would be making the "trek" up 41st Ave. to grace Home Depot with my presence.

But no, Brian didn't answer. It was a woman and I was greeted with, "This is the second cell phone that I have found today! I'm just trying to be a good citizen. These Blackberry's are expensive phones, you should be thankful that I'm the one who found it. I'm trustworthy you know. I try to be an honest person. It says Brian Baer on the front. We were just bike riding down Portola when I saw something shiny and I said to Kyle, 'Hold on Kyle!' Kyle is my son. So then I found this phone and when I turned it over there was no back on it and the battery was gone. Then I told Kyle, 'We need to look for the rest of this phone.' Then we found the battery and then I saw something shining in the middle of the street, and it was the back!" You're lucky because it could have been run over and I'm an honest person and I want to get the phone back to you...." Wow, the woman could talk! Yes, I was thankful that she found it and yes, I was thankful thankful that she was an honest person. I was thankful for the non-stop talking lady in the tight, mid-drift showing, sequence enhanced Playboy Bunny shirt for finding the Blackberry and hunting down the rest of it's pieces. Oh, and of course I am thankful to Kyle for participating in the whole process.

Later on that night I was cleaning rollers and paint brushes...a large paint filled water puddle was forming in the trench where I was cleaning them. Next thing I know something in the puddle was glowing at me. What is that? Of course, it was my cell phone which i had forgotten was in my sweatshirt pocket. When I pulled it out it was covered in mud and of course some paint streaks. Those of you who know me well know that I have horrible luck with cell phones...they always get water damaged. I ruined many a cell phone during my waitressing days by keeping my phone in my apron pocket. Bad idea. When you work at a bar you should know that drinks get spilled often. Anyway, I figured that I would tack on another number to the running total of cell phones that I had drowned.

Much to my amazement it kept working. I stuck it in a bag of rice to absorb the moisture and 24 hours later it was as good as new (good trick for any of you who have never heard of that...we know of many success stories). So thankful that we didn't have to buy two new cell phones!

Homeowners

Along with the many words we daily use to describe ourselves, Brian and I can now add the word "homeowner" to that repertoire. This photo shows exactly how we reacted the moment we found out that the house was ours :-) Well, not exactly. I was at work and Brian called me, but we would have looked like this had we been together at that moment.


I have to admit, I was terrified to take the plunge. And yes, I had a small emotional breakdown..."I'm too young to own a house, we are never going to be able to travel again, is it the right time, etc." We had been talking about buying a house since before we got married, and we've been looking for at least the past year, so I don't know why it was so hard for me once we finally decided to pull the trigger.

Now that I am past the initial "freakout" and the home is ours for the keeping I am excited to make it our own. There were so many pieces of the puzzle that had to fit together for this house to become ours...it was crazy watching God orchestrate the whole thing. We have felt beyond blessed throughout this whole process and the house is way beyond anything we could have imagined.

I do find it somewhat humorous that the house came into our lives when it did. We are both working full time, I am going to school, and Brian is having another knee surgery in 12 days, perfect. We (and by "we" I mainly mean Brian, not me) have been trying to bust out as much work as possible before his surgery. Picking out flooring and paint colors on a deadline is extremely hard, but I think no matter what it would have been hard, so this just forces me to make a decision that otherwise would have taken months.

Also, last month some time I had decided that I needed to start spending more time with family, hanging out with my friends that are not in Santa Cruz more often, being a better Auntie, that I needed to learn how to take better pictures, needed to learn how to edit photos, needed to pick up sewing again, needed to pick up a new book, needed to try out new recipes and make better meals, and that I needed to work out more consistently...and there are many more things on my to do list that I was planning on doing, oh well. Some of these things I can still do, but most will have to be put on hold...life is entering a different season.

Though we are way too busy for our own good, I think this is all part of the lesson I am learning on contentment and enjoying where God has me, instead of always looking for what is coming.

Reforming My Fetish

I have a fetish…with traveling. I LOVE traveling. What’s not to love when you are exploring a new place, immersed in a different culture, and experiencing new sights, food, and scents? This may sound weird, but I feel the most at home when I travel; the most myself. I feel tranquil, which doesn’t seem to happen when I am physically home. I guess the feeling of tranquility correlates to me being content. I am the most content when I travel. I never seem to be fully content when I am home because I am longing for our next adventure and wanting the feeling of no responsibility, no timelines, and the anything goes mentality that comes with a trip.

I recently realized (last week) that my not being content at home is a problem…I need to reform my fetish. Time to start working on that one! Please don’t read this wrong, I love my life. I have an absolutely amazing husband, an adorable house, am surrounded by family and friends, we have our health, and we live by the ocean. But even with all of that my focus is on where can we go next? When can we do it? What is the longest possible time we can be gone? Basically I have realized that my focus needs to shift. When I am home I need to focus on what is going on here, and if we are fortunate enough to be on a trip then at that time I can enjoy all of the perks that come with it. I just need to start living in the moment, slow down, and focus on what is presently in front of me.

One year ago yesterday we left for our Southeast Asia trip. I can’t believe that was a year ago…quite possibly the fastest year of my life, scary. That trip was amazing, and Brian and I even got to spend our 1 year anniversary in Thailand. We are so lucky to have been able to do that! We were planning on heading down to Central/South American around Christmas for a few weeks, but with Brian’s knee surgeries and my decision to go back to school we are going to have to postpone…which actually works out well because it will force me to work on myself and will give me the opportunity to implement my new strategy on how to approach life. God has a plan and His plan is perfect.

Lake Trip '09

Yep, it's that time of year again. Lake trip time. This year was a record breaker...at one point there were 34 people on the trip. As always, it was beautiful with perfect weather, nice water, lots of friends, boating, tanning, fishing, card playing, and many other activities.

For Brian is was a little different this year. His day consisted of swimming (more like floating since he couldn't kick), fishing, and lots of dock sitting...not his typical lake trip. He was able to get some good quality time in with Pipe (Pat's dog) though since fishing is Pipe's favorite activity. Don't they look cute?

Ryan gets the prize for best fisherman. Not only did he catch the biggest lake trip fish ever, but he also caught a bluegill by using a Bud Light can, not bad. Oh, and Jordan caught his first fish, ever. This was definitely a record breaking trip!

There was also water paddle ball, skurfing (sp?) and an awesome rock slide...what more could you ask for?

Brian with his new favorite toy...his fishy flotation device. I had my doubts, but it worked out perfectly. It was a good accompaniment to the dolphin that Luke brought.


And the crew. As always a big thanks to Donna and Michael for hanging out with all of us "kids." We love having you guys around. And to Luke and AnnHelen, you guys did a great job shopping for 3 meals a day for 34 people, nice work!

Fun Find

If you love photography and fun weddings you MUST check out The Nichols blog. This link will take you to a recent wedding they shot of Amy & Greg. What a fun wedding! So colorful and creative and full of life. They are a gorgeous couple too....have fun drooling over all of their fun ideas and sassy photos!

Sew, sew, sew

I've been itching to sew again. Not that I was ever much of a sewer; technically all that I have sewn have been 2 pillow cases and a few aprons (with the help of my mom), and lets not forget all those buttons and sequins to embellish my many dance recital costumes back in the day. I am still very much so a beginner.

For my birthday last month, my friend Lauren bought me "Weekend Sewing" by Heather Ross. It is filled with fun and easy sewing projects that can be completed in a weekend...or longer if you are me. It even comes with all of the pattens, how fun is that?

I've been trying to decide which item I should make first. Which one is simple enough for me to conquer? Lauren said that I should just start at the beginning and make everything in the book...great idea! It worked out perfectly because the first pattern in the book is for the "everything bag," which I really wanted to make. It's just a simple, big tote, and the fabric for it only cost me $6.00, how can you go wrong? We'll see what happens when I embark on my first, totally solo sewing project. Maybe I'll start on it this weekend by cutting out the fabric...I don't have a sewing machine at the moment, so I can't get much further then that.

And since we're on the sewing topic, have you heard of Anna Marie Horner? She is amazing! You should check out her blog and her website. She uses such fun, vibrant colors and looking at her website just makes you happy.

Photo from Anna Marie Horner website

See, aren't you happy?
Ok, so I was happy, but I have two different fonts and blogger will not let me correct it! Technology.....

Cuteness

Can it get any cuter???

I am LOVING this dress! I hadn't been to the Anthropologie website in months, so I decided to torture myself and see what amazing new dresses they had. I haven't even gotten past the first page yet because I was so excited about this dress that I had to post it. I'm sure there are many more tasty items, but this one caught my fancy. Maybe it's because I've been daydreaming about France lately, especially since we had a French exchange student stay with us last weekend and we watched a French movie. Can't you just imagine yourself in this dress at a Parisian cafe sipping esspresso and eating a croissant? I'm day dreaming about it right now...except in my daydream I can actually speak French...now that would be fabulous. Off to go look at the rest of the website...

Life in General

It's an absolutely amazing day outside...summer is finally here! It always takes a bit longer to get to us folks here in Santa Cruz. It's now time for more bikerides, summer dresses, bbq's and iced tea :-) Oh the joys of summer! I would love it if it were perpetually summer...the heat, sun, and the ocean make life just that much better.

I'm always trying to get Brian to move to Hawaii for a while. Wouldn't that be amazing? Wouldn't you love to wake up everyday to perfect weather and that fabulous tropical scent in the air? I don't think it's ever going to happen, but I can keep trying.

Life in general has been busy in a different sort of way. Brian recently hurt his knee and couldn't walk for two weeks. At that point we finally decided he should go see a real doctor (we went to urgent care the day it happened, but that didn't help much). After an MRI and meeting with different surgeons he had surgery two weeks ago. His meniscus had torn and flipped and was a big mess.

With a lot of elevating, icing, and physical therapy he is slowly starting to recover. He still will not be able to put any weight on his leg for another two or three weeks, so he'll have to continue with the crutches. The major bummer is that once his left knee heals enough for him to walk on it well he needs to have surgery on his right knee! This means no surfing, tennis, or anything super active until at least December. Brian is the most active person I know, so that is a looooooooooong time of no activity.

I have to give him props though...he has been doing well with all of his down time. We've been watching Arrested Development and I have him working on some photo books that i've been wanting to make :-) All in all, he's hoping these next 6 months go by fast....

In other news, I'm going back to school in the fall. I'll still be working full time for the Title IX Office at UCSC, but I will be taking two classes (i'm on the waiting list as of now, but I should be able to get into them). And what fun classes they are too...Chemistry and Psychology! Since Brian will be around the house alot more he'll be able to help me with Chemistry (science has never been my best friend), which will be SO helpful. It will be a busy, busy semester, but we'll pull through...i'm excited about this next step!

He Makes Me Laugh

My husband that is. He amazes me with his endless creativity and imagination. Sometimes I wish my brain worked a little more like his.

Brian has always made me cards, whether it's for my birthday, valentines day, etc. he will make me a card. He gave me a store bought card once, and even though it was really sweet, I was a little sad that it wasn't home made (I hope that doesn't make me sound like a brat).

My birthday was on the 16th, and when I came home from work there were beautiful flowers on the table and a card that wasn't in an envelope. It looked just like a "real" card...it said Happy Birthday on it multiple times and there was a picture of an elderly couple on the front. "How sweet, you bought me a card!" Brian responded with a, "no, I think you should look closer..." Here is a picture of the elderly couple for your viewing pleasure:

The Newest Addition to the Fam

Isn't he sweet? He loves people and he loves to smile...I love that about him.

Baby Shower Love

A few of us girls threw a baby shower for one of my oldest friends this weekend. And by oldest I don't mean age, I mean that I have known her my entire life! It's a pretty cool thing, and hopefully one day our kids will be able to say they too have known eachother for their entire lives.

Lauren is having a boy, and she is due on May 2nd, but maybe the little guy will grace us with his presence sooner. Here are a few details from the day as documented by Shanni, one of my fabulous photographer friends. You can check out her blog here for some of her other work. Details, details, details...

So excited to meet the little Furtado!

The Weekend

We had a mellow day for Brian's birthday on Saturday...slept in, made breakfast, finished the latest "Lost" episode, etc. Then we ended up heading down south a bit to Marina with our fabulous friends and good neighbors, the McLelans. The boys needed to fit in a birthday surf session and there were no waves in town, so we decided to make an afternoon of it. It was beautiful! It's amazing how much clearer and brighter the water is down there. AnnHelen and I enjoyed ourselves on the beach chatting away and taking photos while the boys surfed their hearts out.



On our way back from Marina we stopped at Chris and Anna's house so that we could be there when they got home from the airport with their new little man. It was so special to be a part of his homecoming. This new little guy is now offically home, no more moving from place to place and he now has a family to be a part of. He stole my heart right when they took him out of the car.

He is so precious! He's 5 months old and he looks like a little peanut, I love it. You can see how tiny he is sitting next to his 6 week old cousin in the second picture. It's so neat to think that these two little ones with such different beginnings will grow up together and probably be best buddies.




The whole adoption process is amazing. I am so happy for Chris and Anna, and so thankful for their example of amazing patience and reliance on God through this whole process. They were and are such an inspiration to so many people.

Happy Birthday Mr. B!

Today is my Love's birthday :-) One more year and he will be the big 30, crazy how time flies! I am so thankful for him. I am thankful for so many things about him, but one of the most is his persistence. With out that, I probably wouldn't be where I am today. When he wants something, he goes after it with his whole heart and he never stops trying. I love his love for people. He has a heart that genuinely loves and cares for everyone and is truly interested in what people have to say. I love his heart for adventure, and that he wants to make every day a new, exciting chapter in our life story.

Here he is as a little 2 year old. The pictures of him as a little tyke always make me laugh a bit because he looks so mischievous, like he's up to something...he still gets that same look in his eyes. Happy Birthday B, I love you with all my heart!

There is one more reason that today is a special day...my brother Chris and his wife Anna are coming back from Ethiopia with their new baby boy! They have been in the adoption process for almost 2 years now, and all of their patience has paid off. I can't wait to meet this sweet little boy later today!

Christopher Tarik Beniam Reno

My newfound hobby

So I mentioned that I was finally going to learn how to sew after all of these years, and guess what? I have! I knew that I would need a goal if I was ever going to get anywhere, so I decided to make aprons for some of the ladies in my family for Christmas. It was super fun, and I think they turned out pretty cute. But, I couldn't have done it without the help of my mom...thanks mom for being a great sewing teacher!

I only have pictures of the half aprons that I made. I'm a bit sad that I never got photos of the full aprons...they were cute, kinda retro/50's style. Anyway, here is my first sewing project...

These are matching aprons for my sister Amy and her daughter Aaliyah

And this one was for my sister-in-law Jeni

I'm working on another sewing project right now. It's something simple, but cute. It's super fun creating things and seeing a finished product, I love it! Let's hope that I keep at it :-)