Sweet little things :)

So today was the all-important, much needed and every-so-fun lingerie shower :0 Oh snap! I will admit that I was nervous going in because I am not someone who likes to share all my business with everyone and that is definitely an "all up in your business" situation. But still, I only plan on getting married once in my life and so I want it to be special.

The shower was so much fun! I had many great friends and family come to support the two of us and have a little fun by picking me out some very "sweet little things." Everyone was so generous in what they gave, It makes one feel very special. I also need to say a special thank-you to my sisters, Jennifer and Hollie, who put the whole thing together :) Without them, there would be no lingerie shower and a very small bridal party :) I love my sisters.

I would also like to thank my out of town friends, Lauren, Emily, and Alyssa, for making a special drive just to come to the shower :) You gals are awesome!

Cas

pumpkin!

It was very much my delight that I stumbled on to the pureed pumpkin at wal-mart today. It took a dreaded wal-mart run and turned it into an experience to look forward too when I got home. See, one year my mom made this delicious pumpkin dip and I fell in love! Its so light and tasty, and pumpkin is good for you, right? A couple years ago, I recalled this experience with the pumpkin dip and I decided to experimented and made my own. It turned out so great I've made it every year since. Its soo simple and super yummy. This is how I made it.

you need:

1 can pureed pumpkin

1/4 pkg cream cheese ( i use the kind that is 1/3 less fat)

1/4 cup sugar

1 TBsp cinnamon

Basically I guessed on the measurements because thats around what I put in, but I always taste it as I go :) Anyways, make sure before you start that the cream cheese is very soft, otherwise you'll end up with chunks :/

Directions:

Blend ingredients together and enjoy! It goes amazingly well with ginger snaps or apples. Let me know what you like it with!

Casey

Home Improvements :)

I knew I would be taking on several home improvement projects when I moved into the house I am currently renting. It wasn't exactly in the greatest shape aesthetically speaking. Previously the walls looked a lot like this:

I'm sure somebody thought that was very stylish and modern, maybe when the house was built. But at least they got one thing right, look at the gorgeous wood floors though :) Anyways, now the walls look more like this :

Ahhh...so much better :) Even a cute owl lantern to give a little life/character to a neutral wall.

Oh and don't forget the other improvements that have been made, a new couch and new fabric on the dining room chairs.

If you look closely, you can tell that I haven't finished painting, but you have to cut me some slack. I'm painting the house all by myself, only on my days off and I'm not going to spend every day off painting, especially when it takes all day to paint just the walls. Then another 1-2 days for the baseboards, chair railing and crown molding.

Soo cute! I love the new fabric.

Things are coming together very well and I can't wait until everything is painted and I get some wall decor up and really make this a home for Duane and I to start our new life together.

Cas

Our stray..

This is our stray kitty...her favorite place to take an afternoon nap is under the carport. I couldn't get a closer picture without either switching lenses, or scaring away the cat. She's a mommy, sadly we sent her babies to the humane society to be adopted. Unfortunately, they won't take Mommy Kitty because she a wild woman :)

soon to come...pictures of the new couch :D

Yard work

Today I got a lot done :) and it always feels really good when you have a great, productive day. This morning my wonderful neighbor drove me to Lowe's so that I could buy some lattice board to fix up the back deck so cats can't get under it. Then when I got back to the house, Duane was packing up the dishes and food so we could "fog" aka bomb the house for fleas. So we set off the three bombs and ran for our lives to the fresh air of the outdoors. Duane set off the cutting the lattice and I began trimming the hedges. We worked outside the whole time that the bombs were doing their business. No more little sprigs popping out of the front bushes and no more crazy vines climbing up the front wall. I should have taken before pictures, but I didn't really want everyone to see what it looked like before :)This is the cute little house that I live in! I trimmed the hedges myself and I am about to invest in a lawn mower..I'm so domesticated. hehe. Duane still has a little work to do with the lattice, but we won't hold that against him. I'm just glad he was willing. I also worked on the fence line (it use to be COVERED in ivy) and now there is just one small spot (were a wasp decided to take up residence). I cut some low lying branches and pulled weeds, it felt great!

Fleeeeaasss

So this is basically going to be like a venting blog about fleas...If you know a good trick to get rid of them, please pass it on.

My yard is infested.

Yes, Sophie is an inside dog, but she has to go outside to use the bathroom. So every time I take her outside, she ends up with more fleas. I got to where I was bathing her everyday and using the flea treatments and spraying the furniture daily. Still, Sophie would scratch herself until she bled. It was horrible. Finally, I had to send Sophie to Mom's house so her skin could recover and she could heal and get a little relief.

Still. I have fleas in the yard. Its the stupid stray cats. I have never hated the strays until now, and I wish they were gone. They get up under the deck and lay around in my yard and bring fleas. Supposedly fleas cant live in direct sunlight so they must be coming from beneath the bushes and the deck.

I plan to bomb the house and the neighbor is going to spray under the deck and then we will reinforce the boards so the cats can't get back in. I spread some granular treatment in the yard. HOPEFULLY this will work. I've already spent so much money and stress on this. I just want the fleas gone so Sophie can come home!

Afters..

So I feel like I will actually have stuff to blog about in the next couple of months. There are so many projects to be done with furniture and the house that I can't wait to share. Among the future projects includes recovering the dining room chairs, hanging drapes/curtains throughout the house, painting the walls, painting my deck furniture... and so on. But, I haven't done any of those things yet so I will just tell you about moving in. It was super easy to move because I had lots-o-help from friends and family. Alyssa, her Dad, Aaron, and Duane helped me move stuff from the apartment, and then Mom drove here with my stuff from Augusta. It really only took about a day to get settled. Thanks everyone!!

Cookin' Time. Too bad you can't see in the picture, but on the opposite wall is the apron my sis gave me for christmas :)

Living room/Dining Room, Complete with a twin bed serving as a couch..just until Wednesday, then my new couch is coming! Thanks Mom!

Reading Corner and Closet

Master Bedroom..Complete with comforter from high school :)