Cora is One!

It's hard to believe that Cora is a year old already! My parents were in town on her birthday, and we had planned to have a couple of close friends over for cake, but poor Eric came down with some nasty bug; our low-key celebration ended up being even lower-key than originally planned.

We dressed Cora up like a cupcake (my mom tells me I wore this pink dress on my first birthday) and then jammed her full of cupcakes (which she loooooved). It was a fun day - a fun day for our fun, joyful little girl.

Hole-in-the-wall

We did it, we chopped another doorway in the wall between the kitchen and dining room.

The doorway is pretty nice.... it makes the kitchen much brighter and is a nice shortcut...  though it's not a vast improvement like some of the other changes we've made. I'm hoping it will inspire Eric to let us redo the rest of the kitchen post-haste!

Kitchen Phase 1 part b is complete! Now parts c-z and then Phases 3-10.... *sigh*

Aaaaand.... We're Back!

Eric got me a computer for my birthday waaay back in May (yes, I am aware, I do have a wonderful husband), but I've been putting off writing a return post because, well, writing about everything we've done since Mac I died is pretty daunting. It's been a while!

So.... short and sweet..... what you've been missing from our very exciting, all-important lives:

1) Cora is still freaking adorable and is becoming more fun and sweet by the day.

2) June sucked. Eric was working nights. I was exhausted, and if Cora wasn't awake/needing attention, I was probably on the couch eating or watching TV. Or both. Being a single parent is exhausting. So, needless to say, we did nothing that entire month but try to keep our heads above water.*

*No photo because JUNE. SUCKED. and should be wiped from memory. 

3) Spent the fourth of July in Denver/Castle Rock/Grand Lake; had a wonderful relaxing couple of weeks at the in-laws' cabin.

4) Two weeks later, did the Candisc ride in North Dakota. A week of camping/biking/traveling with an infant and the in-laws.

5) Then, spent a week in Kalispell with my family. Got to see my brothers (!!!!) and meet Ryan's wife and baby daughter for the first time (!!!!!!!!!!!!). Included trips to GNP and a GLORIOUS day at the lake.

6) Just got back yesterday from Eric's uncle's (ridiculously fun) wedding in Colorado.

Note: it's absurd and annoying how many times I leave the house without realizing that Cora and I "match" (see above). I think it happens because I won't really put her in clothes that I don't like and wouldn't wear myself.... Also, I often dress according to how I feel and since I also dress her.... *sigh* Super nerdy and embarrassing. 

7) I am incredibly glad to be home - the last two months have been so fun and full of travel and family, but I think we all need a good long rest and our house seriously needs cleaning; the dust really piles up when no one is there to disturb it.

Stay tuned; more design-y, baby-y, crafty posts to come!

Skiing

We took Cora on her first ski trip on Saturday; we rented some cross country skis and headed up to Red Lodge for the day. We didn't go too far, I'm still really out of shape from being pregnant, but it was a beautiful day and we had an awesome time.

Weekend Puttering

Eric's parents sent us his AWESOME Brio train set from when he was little so we played trains this weekend :) It was so much fun! The nursery is coming together nicely - probably because we're not really doing much to it (have I mentioned we're cheap?). I just have a few pictures to hang and we're going to call it good! Bring on the baby!!

Weekend with the 'Rents

My parents came to visit this weekend and I only took two pictures the entire time: one of Eric torturing the cat, and one of the rodeo.

Oops.

Possibly because we were pretty busy...

Friday we spent a lot of time shopping; we didn't buy much, but we had fun looking and my mom did get us the first baby clothes we've received. She gifted us the most darling little hat (forgot to take a picture) and the sweetest little footie -

Oh my goodness it's so soft and I love it so much!

After going to the rodeo Friday night, we puttered around the house on Saturday; we ended up painting the nursery (nothing too exciting, we just used leftover paint to "freshen" the walls), watched a little football, and even made an upholstered headboard (pictures to come). Eric and I both had colds (yech!) and weren't feeling the best so I wish we had more energy to show the 'rents a better time, but the weekend was pretty great in spite of that. Dad even made us his famous ricotta and lemon zest pancakes! Yum!

Ya'll come back now, ya hear?

Weekend in Bozeman

Just for something out-of-the-ordinary, we went to Bozeman on Friday and Saturday. Eric celebrated his buddy's birthday Friday night while I went to dinner with a friend from college; we went to Blackbird Kitchen - super delish and fun!

Then we spent Saturday with the bros-in-law; we went to breakfast, wandered around downtown Bozeman, and even made it to Hyalite for a short hike. It was pretty fun, I guess.

I Forgot

I totally forgot to share the projects we (Eric) got done this weekend. Just like last week when I forgot I had an ad due at work, or the other day when I forgot to call the printer to check on our postcards, or like today when I forgot I had to make a client poster. I think I need to quit my job. And soon... 

So, this weekend, Eric moved the heater vent by our new back door, covered our old back door with drywall, pulled out the garden (killed by the snow we had last week), cleaned the basement, mowed, and was all around an awesome husband.

I'm not actually sure what I did. I may have cleaned or handed Eric tools or something? I can't remember...

A Low-Key Weekend

It rained here all weekend so we found ourselves puttering around the house, finishing the odd project, watching football, and cleaning.

Saturday morning we assembled the rocking moose we purchased at Ikea over Labor day. It used to be red, but of course I couldn't just leave it be. I'm not sure how well the white paint will hold up, but I am so glad I painted it. I absolutely loooove it, now!

 Also this weekend.... my dear darling husband bought me a dresser! It was another Craigslist find and I was about to walk away (I'm so cheap) when Eric told the lady, "we'll take it" and promptly loaded it into our car. He is too nice to me! I must say, it is so great to have a dresser. So great! Especially one that looks this good!!!!!

Labor Day Weekend

We had a great time in Denver over the long weekend. We packed the car Thursday afternoon, got into town late that night, spent about four hours in Denver the following morning (barely enough time for coffee and a whirlwind trip through Ikea), and then zipped off to Grand Lake. The next few days included lots of walks, canoeing, an unsuccessful early morning fishing trip, a drive into Rocky Mountain National Park for a short hike, another drive into the Park for some star-gazing, and lots of great food. It was a gloriously relaxing trip!

Over the Weekend

We went camping in East Rosebud Friday night. East Rosebud is probably one of my favorite places to camp. It's beautiful!

We had planned on hiking but instead slept in, went for a walk, and lounged by the creek. Eric even went swimming! Brrrrr!

Sunday we went to church and I did laundry while Eric started trimming our new windows. The bathroom one is totally done (I just have to paint it tonight) and it looks amazing. He did such a great job!

Back Stairs

Our back stairs are (mostly) complete!

Whoop! Whoop! Eric let me cut and measure all the boards while he attached them. Having stairs is quite convenient..... I don't know how we lived so long without them!

Fourth of July Weekend

We had a great time with my parents over the fourth. We went camping and hiking and Eric even got to fish. Gosh, I love the Flathead.

We took a quick dip in Flathead Lake on the way to my parents' house

At the Polebridge Mercantile 

Fourth of July parade in Polebridge

Bowman Lake

The top of our hike to Numa Peak Lookout

Confession

We did absolutely nothing this weekend. I mean, we hung out with some friends and went to a birthday party Friday and Saturday nights, but the days.... nothing. It was snowing here and really cold so after I made Eric walk me around Target Saturday morning (for exercise) we went back to bed and slept pretty much the rest of the day. Must have needed it.

Second Confession:
I keep seeing pictures of cute little couples in front of cute little houses (bungalows, craftsmen bungalows, little brick cottages or tiny gothic-inspired stuccos) and I compare them to our house with scaling siding and awful windows and giant roofline and feel like a failure. While our house will be nice when we're finished with it (if we're ever finished with it), it will never be cute.

When these nagging doubts creep in and threaten to destroy my ambition to fix the place, I remind myself of the following:
Our house has huge bedrooms
Our house has a lot of closet and storage space, especially for how old it is
Our house has a gigantic basement
Our house has a den
Our house has coved ceilings (!)
Our house has gorgeous wood floors
And, last but not least,
Our house has the potential to be pretty awesome (on the inside, at least)

Basically, our house has everything I would want except for the darling exterior; and the fact is, we couldn't afford both. Hopefully our next house will be the best of both worlds.

A Very Productive Weekend

We removed the last remnant of green shag from the hallway this weekend, and boy, did it feel good! I love ripping up carpet. Seeing the gorgeous floor underneath is a huge treat!

After the carpet was gone, I continued pulling up staples while Eric headed outside to tackle the last of the tree stumps. I should have taken before and after pictures of our side yard because the transformation is amazing. All the stumps, gravel, weeds, and overgrown bushes are gone. One bag of top soil to level a couple of places, and that thing is ready for grass seed. I'm super excited. Perhaps it was stupid to get rid of all that stuff when we had a perfectly fine path, but all the overgrowth was driving me mad. Nice, smooth, lush lawn makes me happy. Thank you, dear husband, for your patience in that back-breaking, blister-creating endeavor. You are seriously the best.

Sunday, Eric went fishing with some co-workers and I finished up the painting and cleaning and waxing in the hallway. It was so great to wake up to this:

Remember what the shag used to look like?

Other weekend highlights: hockey-watching, fridge cleaning, bread & muffin-making, movie watching, and garage sale-ing...in which....Eric found me a bike!

Ignore the fact that I look like a goon, just look at that beaut! Eric has been searching forever for an old bike frame that he can clean up and make fancy (not technical bike jargon) for me, and he scored this old Schwinn for $35. Perhaps he will complain less when I drag him around to garage sales, now :)

I am already looking forward to next weekend!

Easter Weekend

I'll say it again, three day weekends are where it's at.

The weather here is finally starting to feel like spring, so we spent most of our weekend outside. Eric moved the gas line (in preparation for our new back door), and I did a few little projects around the house.

The first was inspired by these planters from West Elm Market. I really like black pots (which are super hard to find) and I've been wanting some herb planters so this was the perfect opportunity. I bought three terra cotta planters from Home Depot, and an hour later, voila!

 The only thing is, chalkboard paint is like...three times as expensive as regular paint so I used cheap, black matte paint for the first few coats, and then re-coated the rims of the pots with chalkboard paint.

And then, on Easter Sunday, we had a few friends/co-workers over.

It was really relaxing. I'm looking forward to more spring weekends ahead!

Over the Weekend: An Unexpected Guest

We had a houseguest over the weekend.

A little furry friend that showed up in our backyard and wouldn't leave. In fact, after we put him in his own yard, he squirmed under the fence and came back.

And came back.

And came back.

The third time, I was waxing the floors and had all the doors open to air out the house; the little guy came in and made himself right at home.

It was pretty fun to have a dog for a day.

Over the Weekend: Skiing!!

Saturday was my second time skiing this year; my legs were super tired by noon, but the weather was so glorious, my wobbliness was easy to ignore. Lovely. So warm and sunny; it was the only time I've ever been completely warm while out on the slopes :)

Spending the day with Eric was pretty great, too.