Monday Lunch Break!!

An excerpt from the list of things I love:

* Jesus
* Sushi
* Lunch breaks
* Sunshine
* Friends
* 70° weather in the 1st week of March
* A stellar deal off Craigslist
* Rob & Sydni

It's clearly not the entire list, but it felt appropriate today to highlight those specific things. 

First, and I cannot emphasize to all maybe-two of you readers out there just how liberating it was today to TAKE A FULL, 1-HOUR LUNCH BREAK. You call it dramatic... I call it... rare. 

I'd forgotten over the past 9 or 10 months just how fantastic it is to step away from the desk and everything that comes with it, and just.... exist in a space free of work, errands and anything else that qualifies as an obligation. 

[insert über happy emoji face here]

For starters, I donned a dress to work for the first time in months today. It just... felt right - the air felt promising this morning when I let the dogs out, so I went for it. My favorite boots went with it, and out the door I went to start the week. 

This was not a typical Monday, at all. From the time I woke up to now, it's been nothing but fun. Seriously! I'm going to blame this on Kristin, the new girl at work - she's just now starting her 2nd week, but even so, I'm already feeling layers of stress and pressure peeling off. The girl is seriously a God-send, I'll say that much. Now that she's here, the daily workload will be more evenly-distributed, and with that comes lunch breaks!

Monday lunch break = SUSHI! Extra ginger, pwede ba! [<that's 'please' in Tagalog]

People, listen. If you're going to pursue my heart, you have to start with my stomach. In fact, you really only need my stomach, if the timing is right. I wanted nothing more today than a seaweed roll, and once I got it, the rest of the day was a cakewalk. 

And then the work day ended, and it was on to the next thing: Retrieving an armoire I'd hunted down on Craigslist. The guy who posted it months ago has been experiencing relay issues with emails, and I just happened to swoop in at the right time, as he was near giving up on hearing back again from any of the previous inquiries. Cori, would you pay an 8th of the full price for an armoire in near perfect condition? 

hello, lovely! 

Yes. Yes I would. And I did. And I'm PUMPED. #newhousefurnituuuuuuure

We came, we retrieved, and somehow we [Rob & I, but mostly Rob] finagled that sucker up and over the banister and landing to the 2nd floor of the new house. He probably needs a chiropractor after it all, but hey, it's there, it's ready and as soon as the walls are painted, it'll be a functional fixture in the digs of yours truly.

And with that, folks.. we're good here. The week is young, but God's been good to us for a Monday. We're feeling inspired to get this place under wraps!

Have a beautiful week, blogbots!

xo | cmd

Bit by Bit

We're still staying in the "old house," as it's now being called in light of the moving process. We've got stuff in boxes and are slowly moving piece by piece until the big truck comes and the bulk of what we have goes. We woke up earlier than expected this morning, which made for some calm quality time amidst the boxes piling up in each room.

sweet moments :)

After church, we made a trip to the "new house" to shuffle some things around and assemble some items from yesterday's auction. In addition to laying out a couple of area rugs, organizing portions of the kitchen cabinets and surveying a couple of the rooms for paint colors, I took to constructing the two Parson's chairs we snagged at the auction. To my disappointment, both chairs were missing front legs, which made these the first items we've received so far from the auction that were missing core pieces. No biggie though; they won't be hard to replace, and the chairs are otherwise new out of the box! #silverlining

in the box... 

what they'll look like with four legs.. haha

I mean hey, there are worse things in the world than missing chair legs. Heck, there are worse things in the process of this move so far, so if missing chair legs are one of the bigger headaches I have, then that is a-okay with me. 

Most of our afternoon was spent shuffling things into their tentatively permanent places at the new place and filling the garage closer and closer to full capacity with things that won't have a home for at least the next month, I'm sure. The joys of moving! 

This will be a slow but certainly sure process. It's coming together bit by bit and I'm doing what I can to control those moments of over-zealous thought strands that convince me I can and will paint the entire downstairs level in the matter of 8 hours. It's not that I truly believe it's impossible, but I've also vowed to let myself actually enjoy the process, too ;). 

Stay tuned.... 

xo | cmd

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