Curb Appeal

Three months have come and gone since the purchase of our home. For awhile we had simply let a yard service come and make the necessary cuts and trims to our yard. But we soon realized that our beautiful yard was turning into an untamed forest. So this morning, afternoon, and early evening, the husband and I tamed the wild beast that was our yard. Our first curb appeal makeover did not go on without a hitch. Our experience included five hours of hard labor, 2 power cords, lots of ant beds, a wasp on my shoe, the largest grasshopper in the world, one lost toe nail, our first summer sunburn, 2 bags of mulch... and more importantly lots of hard work with my husband. We sure do make a good team!
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Before  

 After  

Feels Like Home

Song in my head at the moment...

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me

It feels like I'm all the way back where I come from

It feels like home to me, it feels like home to me

It feels like I'm all the way back where I belong.

One of my favorite past times this summer has developed into a new shopping addiction for our house. Now I will be honest, this was an acquired activity. Previously when we would go out, I would find a few pieces here and there, but was never sure of our desired look or how it would be used. Now... I have loved adding cute pieces of decor to make our house a home. It sure feels like home to me!

Enjoy a few pictures of our Friday shopping trip.

 Mattie loves our new gray ruffled pillow from Target

 Toby and Mattie's new dog toy bin from Homegoods

 Cherry wood framed mirror, dog toy bin, and rearranged decor pieces 

 View of our living room from the kitchen 

Television stand from Ashley Furniture 

Fireplace decor

Saying Good-bye, Mi Cocina, and Karaoke Craziness!

This Friday, Ray and I had an opportunity to help say good-bye to some sweet friends from our ABF who will be moving to the Northeast for a new job opportunity. We wish Jenna and Trent many blessings on this new chapter in their lives.

Ray and I enjoyed a night of celebration, a delicious dinner at Mi Cocina at Waters Creek with friends, and ended our night with some Karaoke craziness at Hibachi Rocks. Enjoy some pictures of our celebration!

The Ladies at Hibachi Rocks

The Gents practicing, I Can Love You Like That.
They were a hit!

Dinner Dates

The Goodings at Mi Cocina

Faith

After much thought and prayer, I am excited to announce, that I will be professing my FAITH through BAPTISM on Sunday, July 1, 2012 at the Heights Baptist Church. I am excited about the opportunity and continue to thank Him for all the work that He continues to do in my life. I thank all of those that have lead me to this point in my life and am excited for the many adventures that lay ahead.

A Baptism post is soon to follow.

Puppy Love: Dog Sitting

 

This weekend we are puppy sitting for our friends, the Dukes. Miss Bella and Toby go way back. They were first introduced in college and while they have not seen each other in some time, as you can see, they were able to pick up exactly where they left off. Toby is in love. Adam dropped off Miss Bells early Friday morning. From the moment she arrived, Toby has loved every moment and played or as you can see in the picture... given tons of kisses.

He has had a blast! Now Mattie is a bit unsure but has enjoyed tagging along in many of the games (from her perch on the couch of course)
Saturday morning, Ray and I awoke pretty early and took the pups out for a walk.

I would have to say our walk while good to get the dogs out of the house for a brief mile excursion was probably a bit of a fail as both the husband and I were not used to three independent pups that walked in all directions. After our walk, we enjoyed a relaxing weekend at home! Here's to puppy love and dog sitting all three:)

Almost FIVE!

In a little over a month, the husband and I will travel to Alabama to help celebrate five very special years of this beautiful little lady. While I absolutely miss our family and our favorite niece, it is so great to receive pictures of her life and all that she's up to. It's amazing to watch her grow. Next year, Olivia will be starting school which melts this Kindergarten teacher's heart. Enjoy a few pictures of Miss Olivia. Aunt Alicia and Uncle Ray Ray love you so much Miss Olivia Grace. We look forward to seeing you and the family very soon!

 Olivia Grace Zellner

For Whom The Bell Told...

Today we began a new training regime for the puppies. Living in a house that is connected on all three sides with other animal owners has become a bit of a struggle. Do not get me wrong. I love our house and our neighborhood. There is NOTHING that would change my mind; however, dealing with four dogs that inhabit the house directly behind us is challenging and loud to say the least. I cannot fully complain as we have a beagle that sounds off to many types of noises; however, having all four dogs outside that bark the moment I open the back door has not been the best situation. Toby then runs to the fence and sounds like a siren. It is pretty hard to get him to stop. So while this may sound a bit weird, we are planning on trainning him with a bell. Today I've randomly rung the bell, whether it was when they went outside to potty or when we were in the house. After I ring the bell, I make sure the dogs come inside or come to me and sit. I do not say a word. It has worked exremely well; however, the neighbor's dogs have been inside this afternoon. I guess the true test will be when they are outside and the bell is rung to see what course of action our dogs will take. So we shall see how this all works out.

For any dog owners... does this sound crazy? Have any of you had this issue? How did you solve it? Any thoughts/comments? More will be updated as it comes:) Wish us luck:)

Be My Pal!

 
This Summer, I have spent my mornings and afternoons at Summer School as a PAL Kinder Teacher. For a total of 16 days, I will continue to educate 13 students from various schools around the district. Each day has definitely been filled with adventures as well as its challenges. I have loved the staff, the other Kinder teacher, and all that has been set in place to assist these kiddos. It is a great schedule that is set up Monday through Thursday and ends at 12:30. I have loved the opportunity to work this Summer. God has definitely taught me patience, understanding, and given me an ability to laugh at myself. I look forward to many days ahead with my Summer kidos as well as my many free afternoons. Happy Summer friends! What are you doing this summer?

ROCK.STAR!

What can I say about this little man?!? I think his daddy said it best and replied to Ray's iphone picture, "Two words. Rock.Star!" I could not agree more! I have loved watching this little boy grow up before my eyes! I love hearing his little voice say "Raylicia, Raylicia" and all of his cute Bryson-isms. On Monday, Ray had the opportunity to spend some boy time with our Fant friends, while the ladies including Kristin, Stephanie, and I enjoyed some delicious food at Casa Ritas. (sorry missing picture... falling down on my job:( It was a great ladies night of catch up! I love time spent with these ladies.

The boys enjoyed dinner and Rock'n out to a few games. Toby LOVED having Bryson around as his fingers and mouth (sorry K) became free game. Anyway I just loved this sweet picture so I had to share. Here's to many more nights of Rock'n out with friends!

I'm Special Because...

I am so in love with this photo frame that I saw at a sweet friend's shower. It was a pinterest piece that was made for her... and I cannot wait to have a craft afternoon so I may make one for our new home. What I love is the special personalized message that you can write on the face of the frame. It is just too cute!!!

I am so excited that this Summer will lead to lots of fun crafts for our new home. What fun crafts are on your agenda for this Summer?

Get Ready to Have a Blast!

This afernoon, I had the honor of helping host a shower for Carissa, a sweet friend from our church, and baby Landry. Our Out of this World themed shower was based on her sweet nursery colors and space theme. Baby Landy's estimated landing date is this July 2012. We are so excited to celebrate the parents to be as well as a new baby boy to add to our bunch. From decorations, to "meteorbites" (milk and cookies), and to an Out of this World celebrity baby name game, we sure did have a Blast! Enjoy pictures of our baby shower!

The soon-to-be mamas of our ABF

 Congrats again and wishing you all the excitement to come with baby Landy!

Afternoon Arboretum Adventure!

Last Saturday, the husband suprised me with a Spring afternoon outing to the Arboretum. The weather was absolutely gorgeous and hot! We ventured around the park and enjoyed the beautiful exhibit of blown glass. It was a great afternoon adventure at the Arboretum and a perfect time to smell the roses... literally. Enjoy a plentiful picture post of our afternoon together!

This past month has truly been a whirlwind. It was nice to have a relaxing outing for our Memorial Day Saturday. After our trip to the park and a quick Sonic drink, the husband and I decided that our batteries were recharged and we were ready to go shopping for some house pieces. We found a few new options including a new dining room table and television stand. We are simply excited to fill our new home and for all the fun house projects that we will complete this summer. Here's to many fun filled days and Summer adventures with Ray:)