Temple

John and I went up to Oakland to do sealings for the first time together tonight. We ran into a couple from our new ward and had a wonderful evening. My phone is not a fan of night pictures, but it was really beautiful there, as always. The daffodils, tulips, and poppies were all in bloom.

New Home

Moving can be a difficult adjustment. John's place was my 4th move since May. But it was Bubba's first move ever. He's had to make new friends...

learn where the food is and how to convince John to open it...
and find the best tasting water.
Luckily his guard cat position hasn't changed. Stability is nice.

Dream Come True

I've had a vacuum infatuation since childhood, and today my ultimate dream was realized. Some background:

1) Our "grass" in the front was getting out of control. It was getting so Bubba was playing "jungle cat," and people were dropping off "prevent foreclosure" workshop pamphlets. Then our neighbors, Jim and Jane, offered us their lawn mower because they have a gardener. We exchanged it for a cherry pie and saved ourselves a bundle.

2) We babysat for some of my old charges from high school and had some extra, non-budgeted money. (This is their daughter napping on Bubba's chair.)

3) We had each stepped on little glass shards one too many times. Our vacuum just didn't provide the suction we required.

We went to Target (for cherry filling) with full pockets and bandaged feet and found a great sale on Dysons. So we brought her home.

It was immediate love.

Bubba Burrito

We found some curtains on clearance at Target, but only the super long ones. I just hemmed them and put them up in the garage/bonus room. John swaddled the cat with the remnants.

Master Bathroom

John had President's Day off, so we spent all day Saturday and Monday working in this little room. Then finished up most of it the following Saturday.

A few before shots.

I will not miss hitting my head on that cabinet.

Nor will I be sad about the loss of the butterfly wallpaper.

John took out the toilet, sink, light fixture, cabinet, door framing in the shower, and hand grips (the towel rack-looking things).

We found some pink behind the cabinets. No room is complete without a little pink.

Stripping the wallpaper was miraculously easy. Like butter. The floor tiles compensated.

The section by the shower had water damage, so John took it all out and put in new wood and dry wall.

He took a little break to play with Bubba.

My Aunt Wendy gave us this little bottle of heaven called rustoleum. I painted it over the medicine cabinet's interior and it's good as new.

Laying the new floor. We were learning all kinds of new skills.

This is John realizing we can walk in the bathroom barefooted now.

Reinstalling the toilet. Also quite a task.

New light fixture, which really brightens the room.

Job well done. The vanity/sink combo is rounded, so there's more room to walk through now. Also the walls and ceiling are painted Behr's "Almond Cream."

Valentine's Day

Bubba dressed and ready for his day of lovin'.

I gave John some boysenberry syrup and he quickly rushed to make aebelskiver.

I made cherry pie and kept some aside for these little mini pies. Note the excited face.

John gave me a panini press, which I am in love with.

The favorite recipe so far is the one I found in the instruction book it came in: chicken, pesto, spinach, tomato, provolone. Shown here with barbecued eggplant, zucchini, and the lovely lilies John gave me.

John-in-the-Box

We had this box from the bathroom vanity we bought, and John was hopping after Bubba in it.

Needless to say, he was not a fan and sought refuge under the bed in the office.
John tried to involve Bubba in the activity, but he slipped out a crack in the bottom. For a large cat, he fits through some pretty small spaces.

David's Birthday

Our friend David Wilkins from the single's ward invited us to his birthday party. His dad even did a magic show!

John and Brad playing a little foosball.

Food Model

One day I went to Safeway in search of inspiration for lunch. I found this sourdough bread bowl for $1.29, which was easily big enough to share. Then I got one of their recipe cards for potato soup (we added bacon to it, though :) and voila, lunch.

I told John he should market that excited face and be a food model. Who wouldn't want that food after seeing his big eyes? But this is what I got:

Our Bedroom

We finally painted the bedroom Thursday night. The color is called "slate" and it's from Restoration Hardware.

My sister, Amanda, helped me with the second coat. She borrowed John's "work jeans."
Here it is all finished.
We also bought a dresser and matching window bench from Ikea.
The closet doors were wood paneled and a pain to use, so the bottom ones are no longer and the top ones we painted.
Trying to show all the room's angles without presenting the disillusion that it's large.
We still need to paint the other door. We did the bathroom door and love it. The less wood paneling the better, I always say.
And the new white curtains open to a lovely front driveway.

Sock Hop

We went to the stake dance for Valentine's Day. We had a good time seeing people in our new ward, friends from the singles ward, and family (John and Claudia.)