Weekend Wrap Up

Even though we are all full strength in a new week, I am looking back at our weekend today. These weekend wrap ups are sometimes just the mundanes of our lives, which is part of why I do this blog so that I can have an "online diary" of our everyday life.

I have no pictures from Friday, but Brook spent the night with one of her best friends to celebrate her friends birthday.  Avery and I attended a dinner party with couples from our grace group, which was very fun and the food was delicious.  We had shrimp and grits...yum!

Saturday, I attended a baby shower for my friend Rachel, then did preparations for Isabella's party.

I'll post pictures tomorrow from her party.

Sunday, we had a friend come over and he ran the gas line for us in our house.  It was quite an ordeal, but I am thankful I finally have a working stove after 4 weeks in the house.  The rest of the kitchen still needs a lot of work and is very unfinished, so it will still be another month or so before I am cooking in a kitchen that doesn't have remodeling projects staring me in the eye.

While they were working on the house, the girls and I joined my parents for lunch and went to an afternoon presentation of the play "The Little Mermaid". It was a nice way for us to stay out of the house for the afternoon!

Hope you all have a good day!

Friday Favorites

It's time for Friday Favorites and I'm combining a lot of things this week!

Our new car has a trial period with Sirius XM Radio.  I am a fan of 80's music and have heard my two favorites from the 80's this week.  Little things like this are a favorite.

This week, we received the last of our bags from Bogota! Definitely a favorite!

Speaking of Bogota, getting this picture was a favorite too.  That is Edwin in the background with a few others we love too.  There are 3 in this picture I don't know, but the others, I really like and it made me happy to see them all together having fun!

While we are on a Colombian theme, the girls and I tried out another Colombian restaurant in Memphis this week.  Yes, there are 2 in Memphis!  There is also a Venezuelan restaurant I want to try at some point.  

We used our Spanish skills when ordering :)

I had the empanadas with beef and potatoes.  

These two girls are some of my favorites.  This picture was taken 3 1/12 years ago, but it is still a favorite and a favorite time this weekend will be celebrating a baby shower with them.  (Both are expecting, but only one is having a shower this weekend).

All the random home things! 

Finally, we got our new thermostat working.

This weekend we hope to get a gas line.  Don't you love the loose wires hanging there in the photo??

We got new coutnertops on those cabinets, so that is a favorite.

Azaleas blooming in February?  So pretty!

It seems silly, but trash day is a favorite here!  Our driveway is getting back to normal, and maybe in the next 2 weeks, our recycling and trash will be somewhat normal, instead of the massive amounts we've had the past 4 weeks.  Usually 1 day after trash day, our cans are full again.

And this is bizarre to me, but almost every time I look on Facebook, this ad comes up for realtor.com telling me our house is a new listing on the market in Memphis.  Good news realtor.com, I got my dream home!

We have a fun weekend planned and hope you have a fun, relaxing weekend!

Valentine's Day

It's a week late, but here are a few photos from our Valentine's Day....

Our front door

I love to decorate with candy, especially surrounding a candle.  Avery asked if we could decorate for Easter with veggies instead of candy :)

Flowers on the dining room table were imported from Colombia (as most flowers here are), along with candy and a few other table decorations before we had our Valentines Dinner at home.  After dinner (provided by my slow cooker), we watched Jim Gaffigan's most recent comedy special, Cinco.  It was quite funny and I enjoyed having a good laugh.

Happy Thursday!

What's Up Wednesday ~ February Edition

It's the last Wednesday of the month again, so that means another installment of What's Up Wednesday! 

What we're eating this week..........

Monday - Memphis BBQ with our guest in town

Tuesday - Avery had plans, so the girls and I ate at home

Wednesday - church

Thursday - order pizza

Friday - We all have different plans :)

What I'm reminiscing about..........

When there wasn't always so many projects on the list

What I'm loving...............

Even with the projects, I am loving our new home.

What we've been up to.............

Is this question even necessary this month? Ha!  I spent the month unpacking and Avery began kitchen remodeling and the girls have been trying to organize their rooms. I received 4 more bags Monday night, so I will spend the rest of the week organizing those things.

What I'm dreading...........

Paying bills again 

What I'm working on...............

Planning & registering for school classes this fall for the girls

What I'm excited about.............

Having a kitchen again by the end of the month! Stay tuned.....

What I'm watching/reading...............

Honestly, haven't spent much time doing either this month.  However, Isabella and I did watch our favorite Hallmark show on Amazon last night.....Season 4 of When Calls the Heart! 

What I'm listening to...................

Birds chirping in the morning, hammers and drills on the weekend

What i'm wearing..................

Our weather is changing a lot lately, but I am trying to wear my boots as much as possible until the warm weather comes and stays.  I will so miss wearing my same wardrobe and shoes year round!

I've blogged about these shoes several times before.  I really "love my Uggs!". I'll wear them until it is consistently 80 degrees :)

What I'm doing this weekend................

Couples dinner with our small group, hosting a birthday party, going to a play....

What I'm looking forward to next month...................

Spring Break (so no school planning or activities that week), Church Women's retreat, more projects done at home

What else is new............

I am embracing my new surroundings and look forward to decorating for holidays here as we look ahead to spring!

Isabella's 16th birthday....with a little bit of Super Bowl

Her birthday party is this weekend, but here is a recap of her actual birthday, a week and a half ago!

Where does the time go?  I guess we always say this as parents, whether they have turned 1 or 50!

Typical tradition is streamers on the door and breakfast in bed.

She received doughnuts :)

My bible reading was about the firstborn.

Opening cards and presents

Isabella spent the morning at church, went to lunch with friends, then went to an aeriel yoga class with friends.  She spent the evening at home with family.

Birthday dessert of choice

Blowing out a candle we had on hand

Isabella's 16th birthday was also Super Bowl Sunday.  We unpacked our tv from the box, set it on the floor, and I bought snacks.  That was our party! 

Weekend Wrap Up

Happy Monday and Happy President's Day!

It was another busy weekend with projects around the house.

My Friday started with a fun Skype call with one of my best friends in Bogota and a friend here came to see me and the new house.  She helped me hang pictures, which was another way to make us feel at home, plus it helped get some of the stuff off of our floor!

Brook attended an all night Jr. High lock-in at the church and she was so excited about it.  She slept until early afternoon Saturday!  Meanwhile, Isabella went to Nashville on a Sr. High retreat Saturday-Sunday.  

I spent some of Saturday and Sunday trying to organize kitchen things as Avery installed 2 new cabinets.

Breakfast area

Plate rack

New dining chairs I bought at Target last week

Avery cut out a part of the wall to open it up a little more between our kitchen and den.

All safe here!!  #needanelectrician

Now that I have the new cabinets, I finally unpacked my last Christmas gift....Pioneer Woman cookware! I am excited to use it next month when I cook again.

I picked up Brook's friend and her sister and the 4 of us went to see a local a high school play Saturday night, 42nd Street.  This is my favorite play because I love the storyline (chorus girl becomes a star in the play), the music, and the tap dancing.  I saw this in New York City when I was 12 and it has been a favorite ever since. I even have a 42nd Street ornament.

Taking my youngest to see 42nd Street for the 1st time.

Maylen spent the night with us, so we went to church then her family came over for lunch.  She stayed for the afternoon and she and Brook had fun doing projects.

Found something to paint blue...just like my mom does!

I think the highlight of the day was making slime.  I took them to Target and they bought the supplies themselves to do this.  They loved it.

Enjoy the start to a new week!