Home Sweet Home

Yay for the Bungalow! We have officially lived here a year (as of yesterday, Jan 29). We've come a long way from that first dinner on that first night. Mike had the bbq sandwich and I had the hotdog with cheese and ketchup from Sheetz. We giddily stood in the kitchen and ate our inaugural meal and wondered what we had gotten ourselves into. It's so much fun to read through the blog posts from the past year and see how far we've come. I try not to dwell too much on how much more we want to do around here.

We love a good holiday here on Short Street. Valentine's Day won't slip past the bungalow without a few accoutremonts. Last year's Valentine's Day was the first holiday we spent in our home and we didn't even put so much as one heart up (much to my dismay). We did spend a romantic day together painting; which was actually romantic and fun.

Moving on to Valentine's Day 2010. Check out the sweet wreath picked up at TJ Maxx for a mere $12. I tied a white ribbon around it so it could hang on our front door.


See that pillow? It was $4.99 at IKEA the day after Christmas. Sister-in-Law Devon and I both had to have one.

These coordinating tins also came from IKEA at $7.99 for all three.

Little pops of red and pink give the Bungalow a slight romantic vibe. Hopefully there will be some red velvet cupcakes in the kitchen in the near future and some tulips of any color (hint hint) hanging out on the dining table in the fiesta pitcher. I did have some lovely pink tulips there that were given to me for my birthday by my lovely husband. They have worn out their welcome and might need replaced for the holiday :)

Wall Art

We still haven't tackled what to put over our buffet in the living room, but there are a few additions to the walls in there.

Through some online research we were able to get a digital file of the catalog page depicting The Plymouth. We're 99% sure this is our house, so we had the neat idea to display the page in our home. Here it is, right beside the front door.

The other piece of art is on this wall on the other side of the window (to the left when lookng at the photo above). It was a find at the Mountaineer Week Craft Fair at the WVU Mountainlair in November. I was first drawn to it for its colors and the general tranquility of the piece. But after I met the artist I knew I had to buy a print. Her name is Annie Morris Simco. She is probably my age. But that wasn't the cool part. My grandma on my dad's side was named Annie Morris. And the name of the piece is "Almost Heaven." It belonged in our living room.

Still taking ideas for above the buffet. We still like the look of a vintage world map.

Resolutions to keep

Happy new year!

Mike and I sat down last night and made a list of everything we want to do to the Bungalow. We each took a piece of paper to separate rooms and individually brainstormed. It is possible the only thing we accomplished with our individual lists was freak each other out. The good news is my list was incredibly long and every item on Mike's list was on mine. Except for painting the exterior of the house. That hadn't crossed my mind. Come to think of it, I really hope Mike didn't mean painting the Bungalow a different color. I love our yellow!

We are currently in the midst of a basement overhaul that could last for years. On top of that we are still working out decor all through the house. That seems like it will be an ongoing thing. Amidst all the crazy ideas and wants (not necessarily needs), we do have a few things that should be included in our New Year's resolutions.

1. Finish the basement overhaul (man cave, storage, laundry area, work bench area, hallway, shelving, etc. etc. etc.)

2. Paint the paneling in the stairwell.

3. Build a deck! I like this idea for starters, don't you?

We don't want to get too crazy with our deck and build something that dwarfs our house. And we do want to incorporate the lay of our land and have a patio and nice landscaping. And we do want to make sure we stay within some sort of budget. Oh, and we have to figure out the city building codes and permits. This whole task seems quite daunting and I think it is safe to say we both will want/need our daddies. But nothing to do right now but brainstorm. There is too much snow flying around out there to allow for much else.

I won't go into the other numerous items on our to-do list. But installing new ceilings in the entire downstairs is on it!

Merry Christmas!

The picture above was taken at about 4 a.m. on Saurday morning (Dec 19). We had about 2 inches of snow at that point. Miss Lilo had to go out so I took the opportunity and grabbed the camera.

This snow bunny picture was taken on Saturday afternoon. There was about 8 inches of snow overall at the house and Lilo loved every bit of it. She even got compliments on her snowman sweater from passersby. Well ... the ones she wasn't barking at.

Snowboarders decided to take a stab at the unplowed Virginia Street on Saturday afternoon. Lilo did NOT like this and told them about it, as you see in the pic above.

We even were visited by Santa's helpers on Sunday afternoon (Dec. 20). Mom and dad decided to trek up the Interstate and bring us some toys. Dad came in a Santa hat and a red bag ... of course. And even Lilo got to open up her first Christmas present.

These lovely icicles formed on our front porch. Melissa, Chris, Scott, Mike and I had some fun taking pictures of them on Sunday night (Dec 20) while a pack of kids were sledding on the hill across the street. We wanted to join in, but decided we would rather stay warm. Plus, Mike was having too much fun trying to throw things at icicles to know them down. Which explains the next photo.

I was very angry with this development. We will be shoppping for a replacement bulb in the post-holiday rush. At least the rest of the lights stayed lit!!

I will leave you with this warm and inviting shot of our icicles, wreath and Christmas tree. We are very happy to have enjoyed this holiday season in our first home with friends and family coming to and fro. We are looking forward to many more seasons to enjoy. Maybe we will join the kids across the street next year.

Our little bungalow is a happy one with happy inhabitants. Not sure we could be more thankful.

Not quite a Charlie Brown tree

Remember the ceramic tree discussion from before? I finally have a picture of the little tree painted at the Wow! Factory. It was disappointingly easy to do. It provides festive cheer to my coworkers who visit my cube.

Yuletide Necessaries

The bungalow's decorations are all encompassing. This means even our bathrooms get a little festive. You will remember we have beach themes for the two necessaries. The downstairs room is decorated with Corolla in mind (where we were engaged in the Outer Banks) and the upstairs bathroom plays host to Antigua flair (our honeymoon!).



Because the downstairs bathroom is already blue and white, it was the perfect spot for snowmen decor recycled from mom. The only thing we purchased was the sign above the bathroom door and another hanging in the room.

Is it weird or funny to have a sign above the toilet that reads, "Comfort and Joy" ? I purchased this sign earlier this month in Hershey Park.

This sign hangs above the bathroom door. It was purchased at the Ben Franklin in Fayetteville!

The Antigua bathroom is the smallest room in the house. But it isn't too small for a little green Christmas tree and some Christmas light garland from Pier One!

Oh Tannenbaum!

Let's begin with a little Ernest P. Worrell.

It's no secret how much I love this time of year. Poor Mike deals with me by leaving for the majority of the month. He thinks using the ol "duty calls" excuse works. But I secretly think he cannot deal with my Christmas obsessions.

So this is our first Christmas in the ol' Bungalow. It's a little overwhelming to try to figure out a new decorating scheme for a new place. And I have to say I am still missing some of our decorations simply because I either do not know where they are after the move or I do not know where to put them. For now, let's examine the Christmas trees of the house. All FOUR of them.

The kitchen tree

This little cutie is only about a foot or two tall and sits on the countertop. It is adorned with gingerbread men and little candy apples. It's cute enough to eat!

The guest room tree

After the addition of pink and decor to the guest room, a pink Victorian tree was needed for the holidays. This four foot white tree was donated by MoJo, complete with pink ornaments and Victorian figures. I remember having this tree in my bedroom growing up for a few years. It included ballerina ornaments, but those are still in Maysel.

The WVU tree

For many years (i'm talking since Christmas '98), I/we have had a WVU-themed tree. Usually this is the "main" tree (the real one), but I switched up things a bit this year. The WVU tree is upstairs in the master-converted-into-tv room.

Mom and dad started giving me these WVU ornaments every year. This year's addition features Santa in his sleigh. Cute!

The "Southern Living" tree -- as my friend, Sam, calls it

I love big, real trees. Poor Mike is allergic to real trees. He swears as long as he doesn't touch them he is fine. But I question this theory and spend most of the holiday season watching him for any signs of runny nose and sneezing. I do feel guilty, but look at this beauty!

This tree features old fabric ornaments from my mom as well as the old Martha Stewart straw ornaments she gave to me. There are strings of multi colored wooden beads I remember from my childhood. Mike's first ornament is also hung here and my first doll is perched on a branch (baby's first is still in Maysel, I think).