New homeowner toys

When you move into a house for the first time (your own house) you start spending money left and right. There are a TON of things you don't have that you never really thought about. From the outdoor hose to the plastic bag holder to the picture hangers, it all adds up. And then there are some bigger, more expensive items you have to buy:


Lawnmower


Leaf blower

The things you have to buy when you are an adult.

Back from the holiday break...

Sorry for my absence the last couple of weeks but I was having a relaxing/stressful holidays back in OKC.

I will post more on the holidays later but just wanted to let everyone know we are back home in Dallas and posts coming soon.

Hope everyone had a great holiday and Happy New Year!

I can't even look

My friend Kathleen (of JeremyandKathleen) just did a post on her guest bedroom, which is looking lovely. However, it reminded me of the terrible state our guest bedroom is currently in. I can't even look at it.

See for yourself:

In the midst of all the moving and unpacking and integration of Chase stuff with my stuff this room became the catch all. "Just throw it in the guest room." And it is driving me insane.

Chase has been charged with going through all the crap in there and cleaning it out. Especially since we have guests coming in a couple weeks who need to sleep in there.

Gah, I hope this gets taken care of today. I just can't take it anymore.

New Homeowner Curse

It's true, there really is a curse on new homeowners. We have experienced this over the past couple weeks and it has been quite frustrating.



1. Water line to the fridge not tapped properly, leaking and not getting to the fridge

2. No water to the dishwasher

3. Bi-fold door to laundry room broken, won't stay on track

4. Washer leaking during draining

Luckily my handy fiance was able to tackle several of these items. Hopefully these problems are as big as our curse will get.

I know there are some people out there that have some horrific new homeowner stories. Please share, and make me feel better.

In the Closet: Part 2

As promised, the "after" post on the closet makeover project.

Over the weekend my dad came back down to Dallas with the newly built closet structure and we got to work.

A quick shot of the before as a reminder of what we were working with:


The first thing we had to tackle was setting up the center shelving that would also serve as the anchor for the side shelves and clothes rods.


We also had to pry off the old boards that were holding up the one long rod we had before. This also caused some holes in the sheetrock which we ended up having to patch and spackle over.


Once the center shelves and side shelves were up we set out to paint the entire unit and the part of the side wall we repaired. The closet took about 3 coats, 4 in a few places.


Then it was time to measure and cut the metal closet rod down to size for our three separate rods.


And finally, bring in the clothes.


What a huge difference. While it is still a bit of a struggle to fit both Chase and my clothes in there, it is much better than the single bowing rod we had before. And it is SO pretty and organized.

Quick House Project

Now that Chase has moved in we are beginning our list of house projects.  I posted about the beginning of the closet makeover and will have a final post on that tomorrow.  But in between letting the coats of paint dry in the closet we swapped out a light fixture in the dining room.

Before:


This light fixture was too heavy and dark for me.  And, we aren't positioning the dining room table under it, so it really was not serving a good purpose.

So I went to my neighborhood Lowe's and got a great deal on a track light for that area. Chase set to switching her out. We shut off the electricity in the room and went to work.



After:



Much better. And we can position the lights to the exact areas they are needed.

A Little Bit of Holiday Cheer

The move to the new house in Dallas was perfect timing because I immediately got to decorate for Christmas, one of my absolute favorite things to do.

Chase, my mom and myself set the iPod to my Christmas collection playlist and set out to fill the house with holiday goodness.

Here are a few pics to showcase the process...


Chase unloading some decorations


Putting ornaments on our first Christmas tree together


Stockings were hung by the Chimney (book case) with care


Look at the camera Paisley


Our Tree


Trying out our holiday aprons

Oh how I absolutely LOVE Christmas! Happy Holidays everyone!

In the Closet

The first real project we are tackling in our new house is the master bedroom closet. In the listing for the house when we bought it, it said "walk-in closet." While technically, this is true...there is a little bit of space to step inside it, its not a traditional walk-in. And right now, it consists of one very weak and buckling closet rod. Needless to say a lot of unclaimed space that we can't let go to waste.

This weekend my Dad came to visit. One of our projects was going to be purchasing a pre-made closet package to transform the master closet into an actual useful storage space. As it turns out, those packaged closets are a piece of crap. I should have known.

Lucky me, my Dad can be handy with the tools when he wants to be. He graciously volunteered himself to design and build (he is an architect) a custom closet for us. Yippee!!

This is the closet as it is now:




This is the sketch my dad put together for what the closet will become:



The plan is to have one center set of shelving with shelves and rods on either side. This will maximize the height of the closet and allow us different shelving and rod hanging levels. This will also help Chase and I merge our closet!

I am pretty excited about getting this brand new custom designed closet. The plan is for my dad to build it this week at his house in OKC and come back next weekend to Dallas to install. A post on the finished project to come.

Black Friday

Black Friday is one of my favorite days of the year.  My mom and I have been plotting and shopping on this day for many years.  For those of you who are not familiar, check out the Wikipedia definition for Black Friday.

Basically, its the biggest shopping day of the year with the best deals you will find all year.  This year I was after an LCD HDTV regularly priced at $429 on sale for $249.  Yahoo called it the Black Friday deal of 2009.  It was happening at Target.

In order to score this TV (my mom also wanted one) we had to set our alarm clocks for 3am and be at our neighborhood Target by 3:30 or so to get in line.  The doors opened at 5am so we had to make sure and get there plenty early.



Bonus: we also got free Marcel Wanders designed tote bags. They are super cute. Our reward for being their so GD early!

For the big ticket items Target handed out maps to show where in the store those would be located. (insider tip: the sought after items are never in the department they would normally belong.) The TV's were going to be in the women's department. Lucky me, I frequent that very department quite often. I was ready.



The doors flew open and we all shuffled in (careful not to actually "run" because we had been warned we would get kicked out for that). I quickly made my way out of the main isle and to the back of the women's clothes and snuck in behind the TV's and grabbed two! We got em! Once we secured ours, we watched the rest of the loot, probably around 50, disappear within a matter of seconds. It was intense. But victory!

Can't wait to do it again next year.

sidenote: my mom and I were also featured in the Daily Oklahoman as part of a Black Friday story. Check it out here.

Note: let me apologize for the lack of posts as of late.  I moved and just now got my internet hooked up.  It has been rough without it.

Dyson Animal Ball...Finally

For years I have been coveting a Dyson vacuum cleaner. And then after I got my dog Paisley and realized how allergic Chase is to her I started really drooling over the Dyson Animal. THEN they came out with the Dyson Animal Ball. Turns on a dime.



Lucky for me, my friends at work picked up on my obsession. So when the office threw me a wedding shower they all went in together and got me a Bed, Bath and Beyond gift card so I could finally purchase my Dyson Animal Ball. Plus, I used a 20% coupon and got $110.00 off the vacuum cleaner.

Last night I tore open the beautiful box (isn't it just beautiful)and put the sucker together.



It was just so pretty! And it works so well and is so easy to use that even my Dad wanted to vacuum. (take note, this is a miracle!)



So, I am now officially a very very proud owner of a Dyson vacuum cleaner. It might seem a bit strange to get so worked up over a vacuum cleaner, but try one out. It will change your life.

The end of an era

When you move to a new city you have to do things you might not necessarily want to do. Like leave your current job and all the wonderful friendships you have made.

I have not talked a whole lot about my job on here but I will brag about it a little now. I work for an advertising agency in Oklahoma City called Third Degree. Its a full service advertising and communications agency choc full of uber talented people.

I started at Third Degree as a measly little intern the summer before my senior year of college. I impressed some important people so they asked me to work part time during my last year of college. Lucky me, they seemed to take to me so when I graduated I stepped into a full time role in Account Service.

The experiences I have had and the people I have been lucky enough to spend my weekdays (and some weekends) with has been absolutely amazing. I got to work somewhere I believed in and looked forward to going every day. Not very many people get to say that. And it happened to me at 22.

I am proud of what I accomplished at Third Degree and I am even more proud of the team that gives it everything they've got every single day. Third Degree will forever be a part of me.

Thanks for the memories...

Conquering Fear

I am terrified of heights. Bigtime. I climb to the third step of a standard ladder and feel like I am going to puke. I can't watch the beginning of Mission Impossible without dry heaving. It is bad. So what better way to conquer that fear than to embrace it head on.

Rock climbing.



My good friends Kathleen and Jeremy have become serious rock climbers and have been inviting Chase and I to join for quite some time...so we finally succumbed to their requests.

We made a Friday night of it and it was awesome. I surprised myself and actually got pretty damn high (for me). My friends were very supportive and I am not ready to hit the walls again!

Liz was a natural.

Home Office

Starting December 1st I will be working at a new job, a job which a large part will be working from home. No better reason to tackle the home office at the new house right off the bat.

The office has to be functional, very functional, but I also wanted to make sure it had a good well designed feel to it.

The one major must was having two work-spaces, one for Chase and one for me. We are accomplishing that with two separate desks. The other major must was a clean lines, modern and organized look.

So, here is the mood board for the office. (click on image to see full board)

The table is from Ikea, we snatched two of these. They are actually dining room tables which I liked because they are not clunky. No drawers, no pull out keyboard slots, just a nice large surface to work on. The storage unit, actually a bedroom dresser, we also got from Ikea. The glass elements compliment each other nicely.

The chairs Chase and I found at a store in Tulsa called joz. Its a fantastic "antique" store focusing on mid-century modern furnishings.

The lamp was a $8 clearance find from Target. And the rest of the items are yet to be purchased. I really want to focus on organizational functionality.

Can't wait to see it all come together.

thirtysomething

One of the questions that people always ask is "why do you do what you do?" I have been asked this question several times. My little story is kind of interesting so I figured I would share.

First of all, I work in advertising. Second, no I do not direct commercials. Third, no it does not make you rich.

I have known what I wanted to do "when I grow up" since I was around 5 years old. And strangely enough it came from television.

There was a show that came out in 1987 called thirtysomething. It was a pretty revolutionary show for its time. It stretched the limits on acceptable subject matter for network television and brought some very interesting scenario's to light. It was also about working in advertising. Two of the main characters run their own shop in Philadelphia.

My parents, mostly mom, were obsessed with the show. And when you are five years old you don't get much say over what you watch, so I was in front of the TV watching thirtysomething.

So what caught a five year olds attention to determine their future career path? One of the main characters had a small basketball goal in his office. He and his partner would sit around brainstorming ideas. When they determined one was no good they would crumple it up and throw it through the basketball goal. Awesome! You can play basketball at work. See at the time, I had the identical goal in my room so an instant connection to advertising was made.

Over the years, as I explored the industry more and matched it up with my talents I realized I would not be the creative director coming up with the big ideas but I did realize there was a place for me in advertising.

Funny how things work out. Plus, thirtysomething was a damn good show. Check out the first season on DVD.

Couch hunt

As our move to the new house in Dallas draws closer my furniture hunt gets more and more serious. The most important piece we need is the couch for the living room. Last weekend I went shopping at some furniture stores and was very disappointed when I couldn't find anything close to what I want.

Yesterday I hopped online and found my way to Macys.com where I was pleasantly surprised with their funiture collection. Then I saw it...my perfect couch. Mid-century style, great color selection and the elusive three cushions!

Isn't she beautiful?

Chase refuses to buy a couch without sitting on it (which I can understand) so this weekend we will be taking a trip to Macy's to find out if the couch is really for us.

My second favorite holiday

is Halloween.

This year there was a variety of different costumes and events. The first was Mad Men day at my office. I work for an advertising agency so in true form we all dressed up as characters who would work in the 60's advertising agency Sterling Cooper on AMC's Mad Men.



Second on the list was a trip to Stillwater. I didn't dress up BUT Chase pulled out his 8 year old "Gentlemen Bug" costume. Then our friend Chris won a costume contest as Billy Mayes.





Finally, I wrapped up this years Halloween festivities with a house party on Saturday night. My costume was a doctor straight out of surgery. I hit a main artery, there was a lot of blood. I also had to assist Mia Wallace.



Until next year...

Closing Day

I am now officially a homeowner. Yesterday I traveled down to Dallas with my parents to sign my life away on Chase and I's new home. It was liberating and nauseating at the same time.

I even had to sign my full name (spell out my middle name) which caused nervous cramps in my hand. Weird.



But, after it was all said and done I walked away with a new home, a fancy lunch at the upstairs Park Cities Club and some sweet initial Styrofoam cups (V and M)!

Wedding Planning Materials

I know, I know...my wedding is over a year away BUT, according to some planning books I should already have a venue booked, a caterer booked, and an officiant/church booked. Which one of those have I done?? None!

So, as in my nature, I am starting to freak out a little bit. To calm my stresses I went to Barnes and Noble to check out some wedding planning books. After I found about 5 I liked I went to Amazon.com and read some reviews and then ordered 3 of them. You can never have to many tools in your belt!!

Hopefully these will help me get organized and get on track to crossing those things off my list.

1. Deluxe Bride's Year Ahead: The Ultimate Month-by-month Wedding Planner
2. Instant Wedding Planner: Get from 'Will You?' to 'I Do!' in Record Time
3. Simple Stunning Wedding Organizer: Planning Your Perfect Celebration

Wedding Magazines

Ever since we got engaged, and decided on a date (November 6, 2010) I have been consumed with wedding planning thoughts. Never mind that we are closing on a house in two weeks.

So, to get my wedding fix I have started buying wedding magazines. Lots of them. And, true to my organizational nature, I have also started a wedding planning binder. Bring on the planning. T-Minus 1 year and 17 days.

Birthday Celebration

This past weekend was filled with birthday celebrations. One with my group of friends for some Sushi and Lunchboxes and one with the family. Lots of good times. I will leave you with a couple photos that do all the talking.









Photos taken with a good ol' fashion disposable camera. 39 memories.

A Birthday Treat

Today is my birthday. I am 25 years old. My favorite type of pie is Pumpkin. My mom left me a birthday treat this morning to take to lunch.

A little taste of home

My Mom found this black and white photograph and had it framed for me. Chase and I will be moving to Dallas soon and this beautiful piece of art will have a prominent place in our new home. As much as we might complain about Oklahoma, its our home and we love it.

"Landmark" Artist Unknown - Building in Bricktown, Oklahoma City

The Proposal Story

As some of you might know, last Friday the love of my life asked me to marry him. After nearly six years of dating my dream finally came true. I said, "Of course! Yes!" Enjoy the story.

Chase told me on Wed of that week to keep my Friday evening open because he was coming home to take me out. He also wouldn't tell me what we were doing. But not unusual for him so I thought nothing of it.

Friday evening he picked me up, looking super sexy I might add. Still, no suspicious thoughts on my part. Here is a pic we snapped prior to leaving.



We hit the road to the secret destination. Honest to god, I still had NO clue. We ended up at the Friday Paseo Gallery Walk. It's a really neat this free for all gallery walk with fun exhibits and snacks. After walking through a few galleries we made our way to one I really like because of the very unusual contemporary style of art they showcase. As my eyes were making their way across the room I saw this...



It is a collage (which Chase has owed me since year one) of our last six years together. There is even a photo from our first date! It also has lyrics from our song, The Luckiest by Ben Folds. Once my eyes met the painting I was in shock. BUT, still no idea what was about to happen. As I asked a million questions (why is this here? Did you get permission? How? Wha?) Chase tried to calm me down. Once I settled down a little bit he told me he had to ask me a question. Then, he dropped to his knee.



I was SO surprised! He told me he loved me, that the last six years have been the best six years of his life and then he asked, "Will you marry me?" I said, "Of course, yes!" and he slipped the beautiful ring on my shaking hand. (I will also note that the gallery was full and all eyes were on me).



Then we got applause from the surrounding strangers. It was the most creative, romantic, thought-out, well planned, intimate and perfect proposal. I was blown away.

We finished off the evening with a romantic dinner at Red Prime Steak and then headed to the hotel where we met and kicked off our relationship six years ago.

THE most magical evening of my life. How sweet is my future husband?

And if you are wondering where the proposal pics came from...he planted a photographer.