Anniversary Update

The surprise anniversary night was AMAZING! Mike really pulled out all the stops and things couldn't have gone better.

As I previously mentioned my parents were in town during the day, so while my mom and I were sitting around eating lunch I got a call from Mike and at the end of the call he said, "By the way make sure Tiny has everything she needs to spend the night, and you have things to spend the night out too. Ok bye gotta go." Thats it he hung up!

I will admit I wasn't quite ready to leave Tiny over night yet, I hadn't had time to mentally prepare! Every morning when I wake up even if it is before her I get out of bed and check on her, so the idea that I couldn't was a little nerving. Of course everything went perfectly for her I just missed her a ton.

So anyway, fast forward to Mike and I in the car driving downtown. At first I thought ok maybe we are Canada, but still didn't really know. It wasn't long before I got the clue that we were going to one of the casinos downtown! Now most people who know me know that I LOVE casinos. The people, the lights, the noises, I love it all. Needless to say I was very excited! We pulled up the MGM Grand and I knew we were in for a fun night.

We got out and walked up to the front desk where as soon as Mike gave them our names they said Happy Anniversary to us. I will take this moment to say that the customer service at MGM was phenomenal. Everyone there was amazing and it was like we had a sign on our forheads because absolutely everyone greeted us with, "Happy Anniversary Mr. and Mrs. Taylor."

We checked into our room and Mike informed me we had 8pm reservations at Bourbon Steak. We eventually went down for dinner and at the time I had no idea I was about to have the absolute best meal of my life. We were taken back to our table which was in this great little private sectioned off room. We sat down and ordered a bottle of wine which I was very impressed with Mikey's wine choice (although he did admit he did a little wine research ahead of time - still impressive he would do that!) Where most restuarants might bring you a basket of bread at Bourbon Steak they bring out this platter of gourmet flavored fries each with their own designated dipping sauce. Next we ordered the Kobe Beef Lettuce Wraps. They came out with three different sauces, Thai Peanut, Pesto, and Chili and if you can believe such a thing exists, they were about 100 times better than PF Changs! Next we each ordered a soup, I had the bean soup which was again the best I have ever had (I know I sound like a broken record but its true!) For my entree I had the Filet Mignon which was cooked perfectly. As a side I ordered the Truffled Mac and Cheese. O.M.G. People let me tell you it was one of the most delicious things I have ever had. I don't know what goes on in that little dish but it was magical. At this point I could have gone about a week without eating and I was getting a little loopy from the half a bottle of wine I drank but the dessert menu looked way too good to pass up. My eyes immediately caught the word "Beignets" and my mind was basically made up. They were served with creme brulee which I had never had and the pairing was perfect. (Although I will admit not quite as good as Cafe du Monde)

This meal was an event. Everything was so perfectly choreographed, and planned. The speed and portions were timed perfectly. Not something we will be doing again anytime soon, but so worth the wait for when I get to go back someday :)

We eventually made our way around the casino and I actually walked away a big winner on the penny slots so that was exciting for me! After that meal and my small fortune :) it was time to call it a night.

A perfect, wonderful night.

Anniversary Edition

Lots going on today and I wanted to post this morning because I have no clue if I will be able to later today. Besides today being me and Mike's 3rd anniversary, my parents are in town for the day and hopefully my Dad will be able to come over this afternoon and help me put a hole in my wall!

I don't mean this the wrong way but I can't believe its ONLY been 3 years! I feel like it has been much longer with all that we have done and accomplished together over the last three years. The most impressive of these joint ventures would of course be Tiny. How we made such an unbearably beautiful little girl is beyond me. Her huge eyes, tiny nose, and giant smile are a constant reminder of what great things Mike and I can do together :)

Yesterday with the purchase of my new craft item I was back in my craft/sewing room reorganizing. I had this medium sized rubbermaid box that was full of random things I figured I should go through. This box had probably not been opened since I packed it full of stuff when we moved into our house. It was quite the coincidence that last night of all nights I found a large envelope full of tickets and odds and ends that never made it into my scrapbook. In the envelope I found my ticket from the very first Detroit Tigers game that Mike took me to!

Now I don't think its so odd to save things like this, and I am surprised I hadn't put this particular ticket in a better spot, although I am thinking of framing it next to the ticket from the game we got engaged at and Tiny's first Tigers game ticket.

What gave me a little chuckle was that on the back of the ticket I felt compelled to write, "w/ Mike Taylor" as if I would one day look at the ticket and think, "hmm, who did I go to this game with?" or, "What was that guys name?"

Here I am 7.5 years later still going to Tigers games with him. If you would have asked me in 2003 what would have been more believable, Mike and I getting engaged or the tigers having a playoff run in 2006 I would have probably put my money on the engagement :)

Mike has some surprise plans for this evening so I can't wait to find out what he has in store for me. I will be sure to report back tomorrow with all the details... scratch that, some of the details ;)

Best Purchase Ever!

Intro: This is completely craft nerd related. If you don't know what a Cricut is you might as well just leave because this post will make zero sense to you. :)

On this cold rainy Michigan day, for a moment this morning the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun shined down on me as I walked (read that "ran panting") into Michaels to purchase something that I knew would change my life forever.

I'm sure you are asking yourself what could you buy at a craft store that could be so life altering. I'll tell you...

a Cricut Cake!

Now this marvel of a machine does everything. I'm not really into cake making but the Cricut cake works on paper as well it just requires a blade switch. Now for two years I have been the very proud owner of a Cricut Personal. It only goes up to 6 inches and at the time I bought it on sale at 50% off for $99 and that that was the deal of a life time. I use it all the time for pretty much everything but have always regretted not just spending the $200 that day and buying the full size Cricut.

Thank you to my wonderful friend Mrs. C3 :) for directing me to an online message board where some girls were talking about the amazing deal they found for getting the Cricut Cake. Apparently some stores were going to discontinue selling this particular model and they had them majorly clearanced down to $49.99!!!! I couldn't believe it! This is the same machine they are selling at Joanns on sale for $249 right now!

Well I ran my butt over to Michaels and if you can believe it they had ONE left. My heart racing I hurridly ran to the register to purchase my machine and it rang up for 199.99! I said this is surely mistake and the woman told me that they were not discontinuing the product so it was only on sale. I knew Mikey would be none to pleased with me purchasing something for $200 that I really didn't have to have so I sadly left.

I proceeded to sit in my care for about 10 min. debating what I should do. I then decided I was going to go back in and buy the Cricut for $200 and then take my chances and head over to my local Michaels and see if they would do a price adjustment for me. In my head I was thinking that even if they tell me I have to wait for it to be put back on the self I had nothing better to do and for the cost savings of $150 that was definitely worth it if I had to wander around the store all day!

Sure enough when I got to the different location and told them my tale of woe, that I couldn't keep it if it wasn't adjusted down, the manager took pity on me and gave me the PRICE ADJUSTMENT! I couldn't believe it. I was ecstatic. I was shaking with excitement! I got my machine home and stared at the receipt for a few min. (remember I am a SAHM I have very little excitement in my life :) I couldn't believe it. I spent the next 2 hours calling every Michaels in the Metro Detroit area trying to find another machine at any price for my SIL but there were none out there. The sale apparently started yesterday so I honestly believe I got the last one out there.

(this is proof of purchase :) - I tried to rotate the picture and it didn't work but you get the point!

I can't wait to get busy crafting. I have some vinyl letter projects in mind and can't wait to cut some AMAZING sugar cookies for Santa!

Mini-Update

Where to start! Off course right in the middle of my big living room renovation Tiny's teeth decided to come in with a vengeance! Today was the first pain free day so life was back to normal just in time for Mikey to be home. I am pretty sure he thinks I'm crazy the way I was going on about how difficult Tiny has been lately because today she was a perfect angel.

Painting is at a standstill for the moment, I painted the foyer but have stayed away from the two walls that go up really high because of the cathedral ceilings. Hopefully those will be done in the next week by someone other then myself or Mikey.

This week I have plans to make some window treatments so I will keep everyone posted on how those come out (i know you will be waiting anxiously for that!)

Not much else to report but I will leave you with a painting tip ...

always put the top back on the can of paint when not in use :)

One wall done...

too many to count left to go! I absolutely love the new color, Pebble Grey. I was half hoping I wouldn't, or that Mikey wouldn't so that I wouldn't want to paint the rest of the room... but we both love it. I feel like the whole feel of the room has changed and it doesn't help that I spent the evening moving furniture around. Everything is more open and the color is light and fresh.

A spur of the moment decision was to change the blinds. Right before I left the house today I thought, "Why don't you measure the windows." So I did, and then at the store I had them cut some really nice blinds to fit and they turned out great if I do say so myself! I only purchased blinds for one side because I figured if it didn't work then I would have only wasted money on the one side because of the custom cut I wouldn't have been able to return them. So now for the third day in a row I will be traveling to HD. Also in window news I purchased some fabric to possibly make some new window treatments... but the more I look at it without any the more I kind of like it.

Still no luck with the fireplace doors. I purchased some paint and I tried to take them off but there are some screws on the inside that are very stubborn so we will see what happens.

I don't know how I am going to decorate the mantle yet. I have been looking for an excuse to display my three Kate Spade vases so I think I am going to work them into the plan somehow.

Still lots of work ahead but at least its a start!

No turning back...

The fireplace is painted and I absolutely love it. I don't know why I didn't do it sooner but it is perfect. There is one downside... it makes me hate the red wall even more. It is kinda funny because i never "hated" the red wall. I kind of grew out of it but it didn't bother me, and then I saw the picture of the house down the street and all of a sudden I hated it! I got a few samples today that are very promising. My plan is to paint over the red and if I don't like it just suck it up and paint it the same as the other walls... or go with it and change everything. So far I am hoping for the latter.

It took all day just to paint the dang thing. Tiny was very agreeable this afternoon so that was helpful. I just dumped some toys out and turned on some DVR'ed episodes of the Wiggles and she was happy as a clam. Downside is I now have a song called "Lettuce Sing" stuck in my head.

I keep to a plan and do quite a bit of work when painting over wood. I majorly wiped down the wood with a wet sponge. After it dried I sprayed it liberally with TSP and then wiped it down again. Did some rough sanding just to give the primer something to grab on to, and then applied two coats of primer. I did two coats of the actual paint and I will probably need to do another one tomorrow just to get a really solid cover. The worst of it was these little nubs that were a total pain to paint inside of. Thankfully I bought a few sponge brushes and that definitely helped get the job done.

On the list for tomorrow is to prime and paint the wall and I am going to spray paint the fireplace door metal black. If it ends up not looking nice I will probably just buy a cheap new set of doors but I'm pretty confident it is going to work just fine.

Without further adieu, my updated fireplace. (This was next to impossible to photograph. The flash and the wet paint was glossy but hopefully this is good enough!)

to paint, or not to paint

I love our house. I really do. I have my moments but since I convinced Mikey to let me fix up the basement (or since I just walked into the store and ordered new carpet and bought a new TV on my own ;) the house feels double the size... which could be because I did double the size of livable space!

I want a new kitchen but feel like we aren't going to be in this house long enough to warrant that kind of investment so I painted the cabinets myself. Mike offered to buy me new countertops but at the last min. I got scared that I would regret spending the money on new counters for old cabinets so I changed my mind. There are plenty of little projects around the house and once I actually complete those I am sure my dad will find something new I should fix/change.

For now I have totally gotten the painting bug. I really, really want to paint the living room. When we purchased the house we had about 4 days before we were going to actually move in, and we were getting new carpet. The house desperately needed some paint so we went ahead and rushed in those 4 days to paint as much as we could while we didn't need to worry about making a mess. Also the carpet we purchased was this beautiful cream, almost white color. I loved it. So the olive/tan and the red accent wall worked. I was able to get away with the darker walls because I had this light carpet and very neutral hand-me-down furniture from my parents.

Then we got new furniture. Then we got two dogs. One year with those dogs and the carpet had to go. So we put in laminate which I LOVE, but its dark. So now here we are 3 years later, with dark floors and furniture that gives the room a whole different look. Now, I hate the paint.

(Sorry that was A LOT of backstory)

About a week ago I was telling Mike how much I would love to paint the walls a washed out grey/taupe color. Something very light. Also, that I think we should paint the fireplace white which is currently a natural wood that I hate.

Fast forward to earlier this week and the house down the street from us which is the exact same model as ours has a for sale sign in the yard. I went in and looked up the listing and there it was, my living room looking EXACTLY how I want it too.

So here is our before... Our entertainment center has these two bookcases which make it look like we have just way too much clutter! (although I think I am going to flip the tv and couches too.)

And I will keep you posted on the after... which will hopefully be sooner rather than later. I have a baby shower tomorrow but I think in the morning I am going to prep and prime the fireplace!