Garage Project

One of our ambitious weekend plans included some Spring Cleaning in the garage.  Since we moved in (mostly since Chase moved in) the empty side of the garage became a storage space for all things we had no home for.  Plus all of Chase's man things (car parts, tools, yard equipment, toys etc.).  So needless to say, it was a hot mess!  Me being a super organizer and all around neat freak was super excited about the project, Chase on the other was not.  BUT, I pulled his arm a little and he came around.

Step One: remove everything and I mean everything from the garage. We spent the first 30 minutes hauling every item in the garage out into the driveway and organizing the items into related piles.



Step Two: clean the empty garage.  Shop vac is recommended.  We vacuumed up all dirt, dead bugs, spider webs and other miscellaneous mess including hitting up the shelves throughout the garage.



Step Three: demo.  Some of the shelves in the garage were not set far enough apart to be able to place items in them so...a hammer and some muscle and we knocked a few out to make room.

Step Four: organize and chuck.  We went through everything we had moved to the drive way to determine keeping or throwing away and then organizing with other like items so we can store efficiently and find things when we need them.  We ended up with a huge trash pile, a small donate pile and a smaller pile of well organized keep things.



Step Five: reload.  After everything was organized and cleaned it was time to reload the garage.  We started with the shelves and then we tested things out in different spots to find the best location dependent upon how often we used it and if it fit.

Step Six: celebratory beer.  Step back, take a sip and revel in the newly organized garage!!






Whew!  That makes me tired again just writing this post.  What I thought would be 2 hours turned into a 5 hour project but it was worth it.  Now we just have to keep it that way.

Weekend Plans

Finally.  It feels like this week was SO long!  And we also finally have a weekend to ourselves at home.  No visitors, no trips.  What to do?

Weekend list:

1. Movie Night- relaxing Friday, cooking at home and watching a movie.  With wine of course.
2. Pedicure- I am in desperate need.  Just gross.
3. Spring cleaning- our garage is a mess.  Chase still has boxes he has not opened from the move.  And since neither of us has had a garage in awhile its become a catch all for things we don't know what to do with.
4. Date Night-heading out on the town to eat somewhere fabulous and have a few drinks.
5. Picnic at the Park- One of the perks of where we live is beautiful White Rock Lake less than a mile away.  We are going to go for a bike ride around the lake and then sit down for a nice picnic.
6. Borders- got a 40% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket!
7. Grilling out- Sunday we are making Greek Burgers!  Yum!

Sounds like the perfect weekend.  What are you plans?  Do share.

Exploring the MetroPlex

For those of you who live in the MetroPlex, and for some of you who don't but are familiar you understand that the MetroPlex is not just Dallas but the HUGE area of Dallas to Ft. Worth to Denton and everything in between. So, in short, we have a lot of exploring to do and some we have already done.

I am going to start a series of posts called Exploring the Metroplex where I will detail some of the cool and not so cool places we check out while are Dallas adventure continues. So, sit back, relax and enjoy the show.


Exploring the MetroPlex: Ft. Worth Stockyards

For some reason, in my mind, Ft. Worth was this little dinky town with a couple of buildings that was West of Dallas. I didn't think there was anything exciting there, just a lot of nothingness. Well, that is not the case. Ft. Worth actually has a thriving arts district, a great downtown with shopping and restaurants and a hip night scene.

My first trip to Ft. Worth was not a long one but a quick shot out for a meeting. BUT the meeting was held at the World's Largest Honky Tonk! Billy Bobs!



The place is massive and they serve up some pretty good bbq. Plus its right smack in the middle of the Stockyards. Lots of cool shops and places to eat. The only downside, a little bit of a smell.



In short...Ft. Worth is a pretty cool place. We will be planning a Saturday visit soon to do more exploring.

Something Old

A couple weeks ago when my Mom was in town for a visit she brought along a great gift for Chase and I.  Its the book she received from John a. brown department store when she registered for her and my dads wedding.  The book is titled Happy Living for New Homemakers copyright 1977.



The best part about this little gem is the amount of items listed under Barware in the registry check list.  I really miss the days of at home parties with friends gathered around the elaborate home bar.  A home bar with 18 different style glasses for all of the different drinks.



While some of the passages in this book are pretty outdated a lot of the information is still very useful.  The book includes some great floorplan guides, furniture dimension guides, silver guides etc.



The best chapter in the entire books is Time for a Party.  It lists out all the types of alcohol, mixers, garnishes etc. you should have in your home bar.   It even throws in the recipes for the classic cocktails of the day (Martini, Whiskey Sour, Manhattan, Bloody Mary and Screwdriver). Or really good iced tea.



What a fantastic something old for my Mom to pass on to me.  I will cherish this book and hopefully pass it on to my daughter one day.

Wedding Dress

Until a couple weeks ago I thought I would be wearing my mom's wedding dress down the aisle, or at least a modified version of it.  Then, she took it out of the box and we realized it was a little more 80's than she remembered.  Beautiful for then, but not for now.  So...the wedding dress hunt begins.

Because I didn't think I would be looking for one I really don't have a solid idea of what I want in mind.  I know what I would like the groom and his groomsmen to wear, I know what I would like my bridesmaids to wear but no idea what kind of wedding dress I want.  Oh!  Except I want it to have pockets!  So here are a few ideas I really like.  Next week I am going back home and the actual shopping will begin.

 









I honestly have no idea what I really want.

Blog Update!

Some of you regular readers may have a noticed a change in the blog layout a few weeks back.  That was my first step in redesigning the blog.  I recently realized I hated the way my blog looked.  So, time for a change.  Its a work in progress and will be for a little while longer but hopefully the end result will be a nice upgrade.

I also changed the title and URL of my blog.  You can now visit my blog directly from www.penniesaremoneytoo.com.  Why the new blog title?  Well, as you know, come November I will officially no longer be any form of single so I decided to go ahead and change it up.  You might also ask what does "Pennies are money too" mean.  The title is a phrase I tend to use off and on and one I rediscovered during a conversation a few days back.  Its funny and true and speaks to the fact that you can't take anything for granted, even pennies.

So that's the story.  The tone and topics of conversation will remain the same so please stay tuned.

Crate and Barrel Ultimate Wedding Contest

So apparently Chase and I are becoming professional contest entrants.  Bare with us, I "think" this will be the last one.  Hey...you only get married once right.

Since we registered with Crate and Barrel we get to enter their Ultimate Wedding Contest with a chance to win the grand prize of $100,000 or one of the other 18 runner up prizes of different levels.

So...I begged before and I will beg again.  Please take the time to go check out our entry and vote for us.  Its one vote per email address so you only have to vote once.

Many many thanks!

Vote Now!

Oregon, oh Oregon

This past week I headed out to Oregon on a business trip.  A client located in Corvallis, Oregon was the purpose of the trip.

I absolutely fell in love, love with Oregon.  It was well worth my fear of flying to see this beautiful place.



We were in the small town of Corvallis for a couple days, then we headed through Eugene (home of Oregon University Ducks, ugh...Boomer Sooner!), and from Eugene we traveled through the mountains along the curviest of roads to make our way to the coast.  Georgeous scenery, one of the most amazing car rides I have ever been on.  Once we hit the coast, we took the coastal highway North and then headed into Portland.



Along the way we made a few stops to gaze out at the Pacific and watch the massive waves crash into the coast line, stops to eat some delicious fresh seafood, and one special stop to see some Sea Lions up close.




Everything in Oregon is so alive and green, a welcome change of pace compared to the dead and brown of Texas and Oklahoma.

I can't wait to head back to Oregon and spend some more time falling in love.