Tuesday, December 15

house update

12/15/09
Ok, this is about a month late, but we bought a house! it's a 1959 ranch home.

which means:
1. california, mid-century modern open floorplan, a lot of natural light, windows, etc.
2. we have some work to do!

luckily it's in great shape, and we'll just change what we need to as we go. the kitchen is original (check out that oven! and pink tile!) so far the only changes have been a new dishwasher and a new range hood, oliver did a great job installing both of those.. both of these pictures are from before we bought it. we have plans for a major overhaul in the coming year or two after we save up, for now it all works and the small upgrades made a big difference




The major project was the front room, originally lime green with an awful popcorn ceiling and no light fixtures. we had all ceilings scraped before we moved in and oliver installed new recessed can lights! plus we painted the front room (and entry and hallway) from bright green to soft gray.. and we removed the mirror wall and some ugly corner shelving.





The only other little thing we did was paint the awful wood paneling in the family room. it was dark and dated. oliver combined all the old paint cans in the garage from the previous owners (hot pink, teal, white) and made a pretty cream. this is a temporary solution until we take down the paneling and put drywall up. since we don't have a lot of furniture, it's not a huge priority. lately we've just set up a projector to watch huge movies on the blank wall.. which has been pretty great



anyway! that's all so far. we've worked on the master bedroom a bit, but we'll take pictures when we get furniture sorted out.

Saturday, October 10

Lime


This is a beautiful lime from a tree in the backyard of the house we are trying to buy. I placed it on my scanner and it turned out looking really cool.

Saturday, August 22


Well, I officially graduated from school and had a great time with my family that came to visit. I've started to study for my certification exam and that's the next big hurdle before I'm officially through. Oliver's work had Blizzcon and we had a good time hanging out there and listening to game developers and fans. We're off to a relaxing vacation in the mountains.. We'll take more pictures now that we've got a charger for the camera. Here's a final picture of Oliver signing posters for Diablo fans.


Wednesday, August 5

in case you didn't notice -- it's august! which means 2 things: i'm graduating from school (forever, officially) and oliver had a birthday. i had the graduation ceremony in may (yeah, that's the last post), but i've still been going to class and having clinical hours at the hospital. i only have 4 clinical days left and class is over!

so.. now i just need to survive those 4 days, pass my licensing exam and find a job -- i had an interview today! so.. we'll see how it all works out. i'm figuring i'll be commuting to whatever facility hires me, so we replaced the civic with something real comfy.

oliver had a birthday! he got off work and we went to a music store.. spent a good long time looking at guitar amps, he got a fender deluxe as pictured.. now he rocks out and does art. again. which is pretty cool.. then we went to a restaurant and he got a birthday dessert! but.. actually.. it was like my birthday dessert because oliver is a strict dieter right now and he's losing weight! from his heaviest in the last four years to now -- he's lost over 20 pounds! yeah, he sure is cute (and always was, but now gets to show off)

anyway, that's the news. oh yeah, and i've been playing a lot of world of war craft thanks to oliver and his lifetime free membership. i am now a level 60 night elf druid. i'm not ashamed. thanks to blizzard for paying the bills!

Sunday, May 24

Emily's Graduation

Emily graduated from Cal State Fullerton's Anesthesia Masters program on Saturday May 23rd. We are so excited and proud of her. We have two and a half months left, then school is officially over! After graduation we had lunch near Laguna beach and spent time with her Mom & Dad.

Saturday, April 25

La Creperie



We just went to the best place to eat...Its called La Creperie. Its a French restaurant in the coolest little town - Belmont Shore. It's actually just outside of long beach, in a ritzy shopping area right by a beach. Old brick building charm, mixed in with crowds and culture. There are always a lot of people on bikes and motorcycles there. Emily loves the big chandelier in the restaurant, and it has huge gilded mirrors that have to be 10' high on the walls. Fancy joint! They have savory dinner crepes and sweet desert ones too. We love it.

Friday, March 6

Mother's Day Giveaway

My sister is having a free giveaway on her blog for Mother's Day -- you just have to leave a comment to be entered in the drawing for the gift.

It's really cute! Check it out at yourmomentsdefined.blogspot.com

Sunday, February 15

Valentines Getaway to Palm Springs Riviera

Emily had a nice surprise valentines day; I booked a room at the Riviera Hotel in Palm springs. According to the weather, it was the only place in California that wasn't raining on Valentines Day weekend. It was a beautiful modern hotel and Em loved it! Historically it was the 'hotspot' of Palm Springs frequented by members of the "Rat Pack." It just underwent a major renovation and re-opened this fall. The huge tub was amazing - and Emily enjoyed getting a massage. When I went to meet her after the massage, we saw Alyssa Milano leaving the spa. (weird! only in california..)

It was also 'Modernism Week' - Palm Springs is one of the homes of 'atomic ranch' style modern architecture. We went to the modernism home decor show and saw tons of cool furniture, books and accessories. We also toured a few new construction homes built to resemble this fun style! It was a great weekend.



(if you click on the slideshow you can see it bigger)

Sunday, January 11

Summer in January




After church today we realized what a beautiful day it was. We decided to drive down and put our feet in the ocean. Today's high temperature was 77°F! It felt amazing, we even broke a sweat sitting on the beach w/ our pants rolled up. People were laying out and surfing, and it's January!! (sorry Utah family and friends)

Sunday, January 4

Blizzcon


Marc (my bro in law) came down for Blizzcon. I will have to update this post later with some more awesome pics, but my favorite for now, was us trying out some cool photo applications on the mac. :)