Weekend Warriors...

In my first few years out of college I was the essential weekend warrior. I worked ridiculously hard all week, 60+ hours or more, went to grad school Monday -Thursday nights, and let loose like a crazy person from Thursday night (after class) until Saturday night, when I would usually pass out from sheer exhaustion (and sometimes over intoxication). Although these warrior days are only two years ago, for Mr. R. and I the definition of weekend warrior has changed drastically.

This weekend I have a mile long "to-do" list of house projects, meetings, and a dinner with friends. I love my weekends, but now they are starting to feel even more jammed pack than my work week.

Here is the to do list... let's hope I can make a dent in it before Sunday night at 11:00pm

Clean out and scrub refrigerator -success!

mop kitchen floor -success!

clean out cabinets and pantry -success!

mop wood floors with orange glow (I love the shine & smell afterward) -postponed

dust Casa Republican -success!

Shampoo carpets - failed :(

Buy new bedding for master bedroom - postponed

Clean closet and switch out all winter clothes - success!

Mounds of LAUNDRY!!! -semi success

Clean out gutters - success!

Find dress for next weekend's festivities - success!

Clean bathrooms (scrub toilets, shower, and vanities) -failed :(

mop bathroom floors - failed :(

trim bushes - success!

drinks and dinner with Roy & Jen - success!

movie date with Mr. R - postponed

Clean out cars: vacuum and shampoo car interior - postponed

wash & scrub shower curtains -postponed

buy new pillows for bedroom -postponed

cook for Sunday dinner party (dinner part was postponed and we ate Coney dogs instead!)

grocery shop - success!

Blogger crush!

For the record Mr R. is the love of my life and I am very happily married. That being said, I have a new girl blogger crush and her name is Katie Bower. I LOVE LOVE LOVE her blog, home ideas, cheapness, and ability to see the value in pops of white! I need her to come to Saint Augustine and be my new best friend.

This Young House Inspiration

I have logged too many hours combing through every detail of John & Sherry Pesternik's renovation on this young house. I first discovered them through DIY magazine and now I cannot get enough of their blog. I actually check it every morning after my devotional. (A girl's got priorites).

When Mr. R and I first started renovating our house I kept magazine clippings, print outs, and paint chips in a scrapbook that I would carry around like a bible. I didn't make a single decision before consulting the "house bible". In an effort to save paper and time, I have yet again stolen (borrowed) another idea from this young house. I created a mood board to describe and detail our goals from the dining room to den makeover.

We currently have an informal dining room that we use rarely. Truth be told Mr. R and I eat most of our meals in the living room at the coffee table. It just seems like too much effort to carry all the food into the dining room and bring all the dishes back. We have a very large great room in Casa de Republican and I would like to move the table into the greatroom and make the dining room into a den/TV room.

This would allow for our living room to be the formal space I have always imagined and still give us a totally relaxing TV room perfect for movie nights and afternoon naps.

Here's the plan:

Move out the dining room table, chairs and hutch. (The small buffet will stay behind). It provides great storage which we could totally use in the den.

Move in the two chaise and a new IKEA couch. All furniture will be beige. The room is currently very bright and mimics some of the colors we saw during our honeymoon in Greece & Turkey. The plan is to keep the space light and bright, but keep the furniture and accents neutral.

The space has hardwood floors which we plan to cover partly with a soft and squishy wool area rug. (I love the pottery barn Quinn rug, but hear very scary things about the shedding). I also want to move in two white bookcases to hold magazines, scrapbooks, novels, boardgames, and DVDs. I am also hoping to store the Wii supplies in these bookcases as well.

Of course we'll move the TV into the den, but instead of using the matching coffee table I would like to get a leather ottoman/coffee table. The Potterybarn one is costly, but should be an investment.

Since the walls are yellow, I think the yellow hemnes IKEA bedside table will be a great addition (next to the couch). We already have the wicker rocking chair (pictured on the moodboard) and I think it would look perfect infront of the bookcases.

We'll replace the current ceiling fan with a light fixture or ceiling fan with light attached. (I vote for the ceiling fan it get's hot here in FLA).

And lastly, a few accent pillows will add some extra color and carry over to the colors we already have in the greatroom. Let me know what you think... The plan will go into action as soon as school is out and the floors are in!

Thank you!

To our veterans both past and current, thank you for giving up your lives, your loves, and your comforts to fight for my freedom. I am in awe of your sacrifice, bravery, and courage.

On this Memorial Day Mr. R and I will be attending a BBQ at my grandparents. On this day I am very thankful to: be living in a free nation, have the right to vote, go to church, and to speak my mind. I am also very thankful to not have to cook tonight!

Getting back to the norm, here is my weekly menu post. We are trying to eat out of the pantry this week and only by fresh fruits and veggies. I have had to get a little more creative with the staples this week to use what we have, but its all for a good cause! All money saved goes to the vacation fund.

Monday: BBQ at the Grands. (Free!)

Tuesday: Beer marinated crockpot pork served in soft tortillas with blackbeans & spanish rice. (I got pork tenderloins on sale at Costco. And while they were a great deal, they have been sucking up primo space in my freezer!)

Wednesday: Dinner out to celebrate Lindsay's 25th!

Thursday: Ravioli with meatballs (& leftover sausage), green salad with Italian dressing

Friday: BBQ with friends. Blue cheese bacon sliders, cheddar stuffed hotdogs, baked beans, and potato salad. To drink: Rachael Ray's burbon mint iced tea.

Saturday: BBQ leftovers

Sunday: Homemade Pesto Pizza, ceasar salad, (my new favorite from Total Wine) Vihno Verde, & strawberry shortcake

Home Depot Sunday

It's hard to believe that I have been a homeowner for 9 months now! When we were living in DC and paying our rent in blood & body parts we couldn't imagine ever owning a home. We had hopes for a two bedroom condo or a balcony, but never a home of our own. When we closed last August we were in a state of shock. Some days when I pull in the driveway I still have to pinch myself to believe we did it! Mr. R and I actually put down roots and started a real grown-up life.

The only downside to this amazing, home-owning, adult living life is all those little projects that come along with the monthly mortgage payment.

Mr. R and I made a to-do list a few weeks ago (listing various needs and wants) for our 40 year old concrete and brick baby. We decided to use some of the precious savings and our tax return to tackle installing new floors, creating a puppy park for Simon and Sophie, and fixing our front walk (which currently consists of overgrown weeds mixed with gravel).

I braved Home Depot today (with many other couples dressed in Sunday best. I guess we all decided not to go home and change.) in hopes to pick out a dark wood floor with "some character" and a picket fence (that is made of plastic, not wood that has to be painted).

We found a fence that is perfect. It will keep our two badly behaved pups in check and still look very quaint Americana (I have no idea what look I am trying to covey by that description) and DuPont triple layer laminate flooring! The floors are a little more expensive than we had hoped, but they will blend better with the original wood we have in the dining room and hall and should provide more character than the wood we had originally settled on.

Now it's time to write the big check and set up the appointments. I can't wait to start crossing out a few numbers on the old list!

Congratulations Peter & Molly!

Although I may not look like it, I am a hopeless romantic who swoons to love songs, cries at weddings, and loves a happy ending. Last night, Mr. R and I had the pleasure of attending the wedding of two of our college students Molly & Peter.

They are two of the most precious and genuine people we have ever met. They love Christ with all their heart and you can see that his love is not only present in their individual lives, but in their love for each other.

I think my favorite part of any wedding is hearing the vows the bride and groom pledge to each other. In a world plagued by divorce, adultery, self-love, and anger it is refreshing to be inspired by young love promising to be faithful in sickness, health, poverty, and riches until Jesus calls them home. The vows inspire me to reflect on my own marriage and remember that I promised not only love Mr. R when he is lovely and kind, but also in times of anger when neither of us is beautiful.

The reception, the decorations, the girls were all gorgeous...and Mr. R and I got to tear it up on the dance floor! (Oh and the wedding cake was amazing!)

It was a bad week for cars

If you read my post from Monday you already know our little Cabrio has been out of commission due intense rain, low lying exit ramps, and a giant puddle on county road 207. It stalled out in the middle of the road, got a tow home to our driveway which was also underwater, and has been starting up just fine since Tuesday. Still, I wasn't all that comfortable driving it to and from work in the land of puddles.

This wasn't a problem (since Mr. R works from home) and the Scion has been uneventfully ferrying me to and from work for the past three days until.... WE HAD A TIRE BLOWOUT ON THE WAY TO WALMART!

I know what you are thinking, serves you right for shopping at the evils of corporate America. And maybe so, but you can't beat their prices. $82.00 later we have a new tire, perfect tire alignment, and finally two cars back in working condition.

Let's hope this three day weekend is as automobile uneventful as possible.