The Family Who Auctions Together....

Two Words: ONLINE. AUCTIONS.

Pretty sure I just gave you all my best kept secret, although it's really not a secret world at all, and I believe everyone should have access to and knowledge about how freakin' awesome it is. There's a drawn out, sometimes cut-throat process that takes place for the duration of the weekdays, which culminates in a weekend trip to the warehouse to retrieve all the things that were won throughout the week.

One of those said retrieval trips was today:

she was so helpful! 

A mere two hours later, we transferred a loaded-down cart into the back of the truck and continued on to the next shopping stop. It was a quick run in and out, but in the span of that half hour, Sydni managed to wiggle out the second of her two front teeth. Folks, we now have the GAP! 

Whewwwww.. it's been a fun day, and I'll be thrilled when all of these miscellaneous auction [& otherwise acquired] items get tied together into the puzzle for the new digs. 

Work in progress! 

xo | cmd

Details, Details......

It's all in the details:

before

lined.. 

wooo! 

It's starting to look like a kitchen! 

Cabinet and storage space are my favorite things in a kitchen. There's a plethora of things that I'll undoubtedly need at some point, but won't use every day. Clutter is the enemy in my book, and if I can keep as much space between my world and that of a hoarder, I'm a happy camper. 

Ya'll may just wanna wait a few weeks if you're already bored with my diatribes about moving.. just a pre-emptive notice.. haha.

NewHouseYay!

xo | cmd

Spidey on a Snow Day

Meanwhile, in Cincinnati:

mmm... blustery.

Needless to say, it wasn't a walk on the beach here in the Nati today. It was this, mostly all day, and although none of it really stuck, it sure made for a drab commute and us not minding being tucked away at our desks for the day.

But there's always light on the other side of a cloud; mine today was the same little superspunk that always manages to make whatever day I'm having ... better:

spidersydni! 

^ She kills me, every time. Haha. It was superhero day at school today, and since she'd come from her dad's house, naturally she came home dressed as Spiderman. She makes it look good, if I have to say so myself :)

Spidersydni was a huge help as we offloaded and unpacked a couple more boxes at the new digs. The snow had stuck a bit more out this way than in town; as we were pulling away from the house, I couldn't help but stop and breathe it in. We have worked hard for this, and it's still hard to believe it's where we'll continue building our lives.

homestead

My cousin Jeremy and his wife built their home, and throughout the process reminded us all that it's not about the house itself, but about what's built inside it, really. Looking back at life in my parents' home as an adult, I fully understood that. Now that I'm preparing to dig into it myself, with my own family, I am more than ready to embrace it.

Speaking of my family, this moment at Harbor Freight - an unlikely place - made me stop and acknowledge once more just how captivated I really am with these two, if I'm honest. The man in my life has stepped up in ways that are wholly voluntarily, not always easy and sacrificial not just for me, but for Sydni. I will jokingly (with some truth) say that she has him wrapped around her finger, but in a serious light, I am convinced that he would go to any length that I would in her best interest. If there was ever such a man, I've found one. Every lady deserves a man like this, to lead and develop her family, and I'm more in love with mine every day.

so sweet.

It's a chilly one out there, folks. This blanket is feeling warmer and warmer as the minutes go by, which tells me it might be time to call it a night.

Cheers to each of you, blogbots.. and good night!

xo | cmd

All Things Frugal Amazon

And soooo it begins continues: - new house shopping!

Many thanks and ongoing appreciation to our FedEx guy, who I might as well send a Christmas card to now, given how much he's in our office delivering whatever it was I've ordered online. This guy would know more about my personal affinities than most people do, if he had access to my packing slips: hammocks, bedding, camping supplies, board games. I'm a kid stuck in an adult body, with access to the internet and a bank account. I'm not sure if all that's a good thing or not, but let's roll with it! 

yiiieeeee! 

Post work:

welcome, world, to the closet.. so far. 

^ Riveting stuff, I know. Any and all 2 of you who bother to come here and read this, I just know you've been waiting eagerly to see what my closet looks like. DON'T LIE, YOU WERE. No? Okay.. fine, haha. Maybe you're interested then in the stock photo I found of the bedding I've also ordered for the guest bedroom?

check.

And yes, that is the same bedding that was on the bed Kalyn and I shared at Brittany's bachelorette house in Nashville. I told you I'd get it, didn't I?!

Guys, sidenote: This blog really is intended for my own reference at any given later date. Please don't confuse my lack of online substance for anything other than its originally-intended purpose.. haha.

Anyway, if that's not an exhilirating Wednesday, well, I just don't know what is.
Happy Amazoning, to the rest of you who are doing what I'm doing. And happy mid-week.
Ciao!

xo | cmd 

Leap Year : Welcome Aboard, Kristin!!

I couldn't help it. Dwight Schrute is one of his kind, and much like a leap year, not found often. Happy leap year day, blogbots!

Although it has absolutely nothing to do with being a leap year, it doesn't hurt to recognize our newest addition to the team at work: Kristin! We're just a day into it, but I'm fairly certain this is the golden ticket for us, and I'm super. flippin'. excited to work with this girl. WELCOME to the team, Kristin!

welcome kristin! 

This was a good Monday. Monday, thank you for being nice this week :)
See ya Tuesday!

xo | cmd

DOLLA STOOOORE [Ft. Liza Koshy]

Ya'll, I'm overwhelmed, kindasortalotta.

Here we are moving, and all I can think about is all the stuff we need/want/will probably acquire for the new house, and not one speck of interest in packing anything in our current house. It's daunting, really. I've moved my fair share of times, but every single stinkin' time I get distracted by all those little items that eventually get thrown in a box at the last minute because by that point I'm just with packing and I don't care how it moves as long as it moves. *inhale; I know that was a horribly-extended sentence... *exhale.

Let me pause for a second here, to ask a very random, poll-esque question:

How many of you know or have watched the videos by Liza Koshy?
No? Well, that's the wrong answer. Yes, is what you should've said. If you haven't, here she is, outlining my life at the moment, as it relates to the Dollar Store.

^Oh, and because somewhere out there is someone who's going to say something or other about me claiming this as intellectual material, something sermthern sermtherrrrn.... let's just not. I didn't make these videos nor do I own them, or Liza, or anything in between. Mmmkay? 

Just enjoy, for a moment:

"A DOLLA?!"

^ That was me, this afternoon as I traipsed through the dollar store today.

Note the sign: EVERYTHING'S $1. These little glass jars are barn wedding material... just sayin'.... 

Believe it or not, I came here looking for pool noodles. You thank Pinterest for this one, and for all of the pictures that look like THIS: 

these aren't mine, but look how tall and organized! 

Organizational hacks are phenomenal. Stay tuned for the day I pull this off; I'll be back with photographic evidence and hopefully without any slice marks from cutting up pool noodles :). 

But I digress. The dollar store didn't have pool noodles [sad face], but they had just about everything else under the sun, and just like Liza says, enough squeaky-wheeled carts and Chinese plastic to go around.... BUT, it's all $1 so who cares?!

Rob will be the first to tell you that I need to slow my roll and get the stuff we already have... packed. I will admit this is a generally overwhelming process, this whole moving thing. If there's an appropriate time to reiterate one of the points Pastor Jeff made this morning, it's now: 

slow down, cori.. there's a bigger picture. 

Phew. 

The new week starts tomorrow, and all that inevitably will come with it. Moving is underway, folks! 

xo | cmd

IKEA Wish List... Because... Yeah....

One of the things I constantly swear I'm never doing again is going to Ikea on a weekend.
So what'd we do today?

..... yeahhh....

This is going to get way out of control if I don't do some planning. Even then, I have this feeling that we'll still manage to walk out with some extra stuff when the time comes to actually swipe the card.

We went in today with a strict, mutual understanding that today was for idea-gathering only.

Wish list trip it was! And for the record, today's entry, much like but very much moreso than 90% of the others I scribe on here, are purposed mainly for my own convenient recall later on.

We have a designated guest bedroom that we'll need decorated.

i'll take it. thanks.

^ I'll just go ahead take one of those, if you wanna bag it on up, Ikea... you and your forever-endless pre-fabbed rooms that flow exactly the way we all want them to.... it's like ya'll do this for a living or something. Sheesh. 

There's an entry way space that's just big enough for this guy:

bench time! 

^ At least the disheveled pillows, barrage of price tags and fake foliage detract from whatever full potential this display could've had [just kidding, they don't really affect my vision of it.. dangit!]; this is literally the perfect size for the entry. 

ERMAGERSH! [NotEvenIfITried,] MY KITCHEN WILL LOOK LIKE GORDON RAMSEY'S: 

most definitely need one....hundred or so. 

^ "Because she'll literally be able to organize everything, from her kitchen utensils, hairbrushes, power tools, tennis rackets and all of her lofty and unrealistic aspirations to de-clutter north america entirely!" - The Ikea Home Team's methodology behind these $3 demons.

Nostalgia Alert! I worked at Journey's for a long time and THEY had these!:

.................. ? 

 ^ Ok, but seriously. I'm reviewing my photo roll for the first time since I took these pictures earlier today and I'm laughing at this. Cori, you would never seriously use this thing. Stop it. 

More practically, setting up the office:

matching is important

 ^ I've committed to at least matching the furniture that goes together in each room; it's not been a huge priority up to this point, but I get to play house for real now, and we need something practical, simple but still somewhat aesthetically-fit. Oh, and something that won't cost us an organ to purchase. Seems like a good idea.. right? Maybe? The jury's still out. 

We'll need lamps & carpets, right?:  

and apparently, when i'm in ikea, I forget completely how to frame an object
entirely in the camera screen. macro, much? 

^ Probably... so why not get the lamp that charges your cell phone and the carpet that will envelope you up to your ankles when you walk on it? Go big or don't go at all, I guess. 

This!: 

cinnaaaaaa..... *drool

^ Le sigh. I didn't buy one of these while we were there today, but it.... was.... close....
And I do not need this, just like I really don't need the rest of this stuff... but hey, this is the WISH LIST, right?! 

WALL. PAINTINGS.: 

♫ iiiiiiiii can show you the wooooooorld... ♪♫

^ Pshhhhyeah right.. I'm all for making that on my own; my social circle and family would smack me if I ever bought that already made like that. That's vinyl canvas [or something like it, flush, not actual individual boards, fyi]. Sorry, Ikea. No offense intended. I'm sure that's looking dapper in someone else's house, but I may just have to hack that. Thanks☺. 

Lastly, for the day's review, 

Outdoor idea!:

hrmmm... 

 ^ Kinda. Now that I'm reviewing my photo roll , I'm not sure I really like it as much as I thought I did when I was standing rightontopofittakingthispicture [again, Cori, would it have killed you to back. up?!]. We may keep shopping on this one. 

One thing I did learn today: Ikea's so much more enjoyable when you know you're not going to spend anything, wait in line or battle the sidewalk loading zone with one of those two-handled carts that you dragged in zig-zag lines for an hour through the self-service warehouse and check out lines while balancing the 257 miscellaneous items individually piled atop the big boxed items you bought... because Ikea does not provide bags, but you forget that every. single. time. 

We left empty-handed, aside from this photo roll of miscellaneous ideas for that not-so-far-off trip to actually buy the stuff. We compensated by stopping at Target for some staple items and bought those along with a couple of these: 

the bones, not the dogs, fyi.

^ Stella was appreciative, I think. ♥

Is it weird that Ikea was not a garish experience today? Probably.
Is it dangerous that Ikea was not a garish experience today? YES. 

.... Now I'm convinced to go back soon, because "It really wasn't that bad!" 

Oy. We'll see ;) 

Home establishment in progress! 

Ciao!

xo | cmd