A Hunting We Will Go

What kitties hunting a bug look like...

Thanks Aunt Nese & Uncle Team!

Thank you Aunt Nese and Uncle Team for letting us stay with you! We had lots of fun, but it's good to be home.

We're pretty tired out from traveling, but looking forward to doing it again.






Muah!!! Love, Nico, Tayshaun and Sasha

A Successful Trip

We're back! We had a wonderful time! Sunshine + Beach + Ocean = Successful Trip to me!

I thought the Bahamas was a terrific place to visit. The weather is perfect, there is plenty to do for the adventurous or low-key type, and I saw many families with small children there as well. We stayed at the Sheraton Grand Bahama Island Resort. It wasn't a five star facility, but definitely met our needs of a nice, clean place to stay (hey, we're there for the beach, not to hang out in our rooms all day!). All of the rooms come equipped with mini fridges, so we went to the market to pick up breakfast items, snacks and some sandwiches for lunch. We found a couple of nice places for dinner, and just overall enjoyed ourselves and relaxed. It was a perfect one-year anniversary get-away. We took a five-day/four-night trip, which was the perfect amount of time to come back refreshed and recharged.

Here are some shots of us on the beach. I know there are a lot of them, but with water that color, it's hard to choose just one photo!

We had a couple of beers in the hotel room before dinner one evening. Presidente to represent the Dominican Republic, where we went on our honeymoon, and Bahamian beer called Sands. We had dinner on the harbour.

The sunset from our room...

The sunrise on our last morning there...

On the flight home, we got to witness a sunset from the clouds which was pretty cool. Notice the wing of the plane in the picture.

And now we're back home.

I Heart eBay

I heart eBay mostly because I heart a good deal. It's been a successful week for me (after about a year on hiatus). My latest purchases are listed below, and then I promise, NO MORE for a really long time.

I was checking this dress out from Nordstrom's last fall for a wedding I had, only in black. I found it on eBay for a much nicer price. After I found out that the Husband's cousin is doing a quick civil ceremony this month and then a nice reception later on, I thought this dress was a little more morning ceremony appropriate than the Davids Bridal dress is.

My eBay scores from earlier this week were a clutch and pashmina. Both were needed for the upcoming weddings I have, and I think they'll work with the navy blue Nicole Miller dress as well. They were practically giving this stuff away, I couldn't resist.

And to complete the ensemble, the Chinese Laundry shoes I purchased last fall. I just knew I'd end up getting plenty of use out of these babies!

I Need Some Updates

Ever since the Husband and I moved into our house, we've said that the pink paint in the spare bedroom has got to go. We ended up dealing with some health issues that required surgeries, and planning our wedding, which took precedence over home improvements for the time being. Plus it wasn't like anyone really saw the room aside from when friends needed a place to crash and my Mother-In-Law when she came into town. We just kind of blew it off. I have been thinking up and collecting ideas, colors, fabrics, etc. for when the time came to just do it.


Well, now that I'm posting pictures on the Internet that allows the world to see that abrasive, Barbie pink, it's time to get a plan into action. Hopefully this summer, the kitchen updates are first, I can slap some new paint on the walls, get some new bedding and curtains.


Here are the colors I'm thinking about for the walls. Something in this family. I'll have to pick up some samples and see which one looks best.



I fell in love with this fabric months ago. I found it on the Joann Fabric website. I thought I'd purchase some fabric and add about a six to eight inch wide chunk of fabric to the bottom of plain white curtains as trim for a little color contrast. This fabric has just a hint of blue to it, so I thought it would blend with whatever wall color I chose very nicely. I went back to the website this week, and as luck would have it, the fabric is gone. I haven't given up hope yet. I'm going to drop by the actual store in a week or two and see if I can still order it. Or if anyone knows where I can find this, leave me a comment. I believe (my memory is bad) this is Better Homes and Gardens brand fabric. Keep your fingers crossed that I can track this down!

And this is my inspirational photo for what I hope to do with the room. Blue-gray paint and white trim. It'll be sharp and soothing!

I also stumbled across this color pallete that I fell in love with. I'm thinking this might go very well in my dining area (since it's not technically a room). I need to brainstorm on how to pull this off. We have a very open floor plan, so the dining area flows right into both the living room and family room.

Get On The Mic

I asked the Husband to create some sort of contraption for my plant lights. He came up with a great idea. He found a flourescent light fixture that wasn't in use in the basement (yay), and hung it from two microphone stands. Now that's innovation.

We've got the lights on a timer to turn on and off autmatically. You should see the cats just sit outside the door to the spare bedroom so anxious to get in and see what's going on in there. I'll have to try to capture a shot of them.

And for your listening pleasure. Give it a good minute to get into it.

Adult Novelties

This story is totally inspired by one of my favorite bloggers, Anne Nahm. After reading her story this morning, I remembered when I ventured into an Adult Novelty Store with my friends.

We were on our way back from a weekend trip in Cadillac at Laura's parents' cottage.

Going from memory, the shack was just outside of town. It looks like an Adult Novelty Store that would be up north. Kinda barn-esque, just sorta there in the middle of nowhere. So we pull in, park the car and go inside. They've got it all there. Movies, costumes, toys galore, props, sprays, candles, oils. I guess everything an adult could be looking for. There is one clerk behind the counter, who pretty much just lets us be. We all sorta pan out and start looking at stuff. That's when it happens.

Annukka, my beloved friend, who talks incredibly loud (which she's aware of, so it's OK if I say it too), finds a bottle opener. It's a University of Michigan bottle opener that I believe plays the fight song after it opens a bottle. She yells over to me, "Hey Kerri, do you think your DAD would like this?". Me, not seeing what she had right away just said "I'd prefer it if you didn't ask me anything about my dad while we're in here".

I think the guy behind the counter about wet himself with laughter after hearing that. He, of course, didn't know what it was that Annukka was asking me about at first. For all he knew, Annukka was holding nipple clamps that hooked up to a mini battery for shock purposes wondering if my dad would like them. The guy also didn't know that Annukka is my sister-in-law looking for a present for her father-in-law for Christmas that year.

***

I don't think either of us ever told my dad where that bottle opener came from. We just exchanged smirks and glances after dad opened the present and said "Ohhh, thank you!". Heh, heh, if he only knew...