Thinking about Spring Flowers

In case you missed it, there was a HUGE snow storm that hit the Midwest - it was not fun. Tons of snow, ice and wind. The whole time, I just kept telling myself that no matter what happens this summer I am not going to complain about the heat.

I'm pretty pumped that everyday that passes is one more that gets us closer to Spring - yay!!! One of the things I'm most excited about for this Spring is all the flower planting I have planned. I've been collecting pics of flowers I like....here are a few that I'm just loving right now...

L-O-V-E all these!! They are all just so delicate, pretty and PINK!! A bouquet of any of these would be just perfect for Valentine's day....don't you think? ;)

It's that time again....

....for HGTV's Dream Home giveaway!! Yay!!! In case you haven't entered yet - you still have a few days and can enter here - good luck!!

This year HGTV built their Dream Home near the beautiful Santa Fe, New Mexico - this gorgeous home has a really open single story floor plan......

....this is the home & car you can enter to win! And, of course....I have more pics!!

Front of the home. The house was designed to fit into the New Mexico landscape...and I think they did a pretty good job! ;)

Entry Way - very light and airy

1st glance into the home

Cozy Fireplace Nook....the only thing that's missing is a big cup of coffee and a great book

Daybed nook - perfect place for a nap!! ....I'm sure my little Molly would agree - ha!!

Dinning room - look at that a-mazing view!! Love those windows!!

How fabulous is that accent wall?!?! Love, LOVE it!!!

....I can totally picture myself make a mean pancake breakfast in there!!

I just LOVE this open floor plan!!

Ok...I'll admit, I'm not really feeling the green....it's just not the right shade for me

Master bath - simple yet luxurious....I see many bubble baths in that tubs future! ;)

Sunrise room - this room is just past the master bedroom and is the perfect place to watch the sunrise over the New Mexico desert....this room would SOOOO be the PERFECT place for some morning quiet time.....Yup, that view + coffee + Bible = perfect way to start your day!!

I like this space - like the idea of a media room BUT....where are you suppose to cuddle?!? I love cuddling up next to my (super hot) husband while watching tv/movies....don't you?!? Lol!! ;)

The house looks so pretty at night...I'd sure love to have a glass of wine on the back patio!!

View from the backyard - love the view of those mountains!!

Perfect outdoor entertaining area - if I win I'm inviting all of you over for a party! ;)

Good luck!!! And....if you win - you'll have invite me over for a glass of wine on your back patio!!! ;)

Speaking of houses.....after work, Kevin and I headed off to our house floor plans' model home (did that make sense??? - hope so! lol!!)

We have a few design dilemmas - particularly in the sitting room/dinning room area. When you walk into our house there is a large space that doesn't really have much definition....here's how the model home is set-up

I have a feeling we will probably do something similar...what do you think???

Here's the other (much more minor though) design challenge - the room is a good size but....it seems that you are pretty limited on furniture location. We will also probably end up doing something pretty similar to this furniture set-up.

Our biggest "concern" (if you can even call it a concern) is what kind of couch to get....and does anyone else find it odd that the couch is so far from the wall??? The more I look at it the more odd it becomes....hmmm.... Any thoughts/comments/feelings???

Ok....last picture - promise!! ;) With the permission of the guy in charge (of course!!) of these model homes {yes, that was for you Katie & Katie - wink, wink - lol!!} we were able to take our little Molly in with us! She was SUCH a good girl - she was at our feet the WHOLE time! She is getting soooo good at staying - even when she can't see us!! Pretty BIG milestone!!! Plus, our little Molly just LOVES stairs {which....fyi, she discovered at Katie's house} so she had a great time!!

Here she is, in the Master, sitting & staying - lol!! So adorable!! ;)

GREAT winter weekend!!

This week has just flown by! My first week of work was just a-mazing! I'm soooo glad to be out of school (momentarily) and working in a field that I just *love*!

Friday after work I met my friend Katie at Brix. I love, LOVE that place!! It's a great place to meet up with friends, drink some yummy wine and order a delicious cheese tray. I was able to take one super blurry picture of us - but, I'm gonna post it anyway! ;) I've been to Brix a few times now and aside from their wine ice cream, I don't have any pics so I feel I must post something. Lol!

Saturday, Kevin and I took Molly for a jog at Walnut Creek (it's smaller-ish lake). I was just soooo impressed at how well she did. For a little girl she has ALOT of stamina and endurance. I think she is going to make a great running companion this Spring and Summer - I'm pretty excited about it!! It was so fun to do a little "skating" on the lake.

Later that evening, Kevin and I headed off for a little shopping. While we were shopping we discovered an adorable little Chocolate/Coffee/Gelato place -- perfect place to have an impromptu date!! Coffee and Chocolate - such a great match! If you are ever in the Papillion area, and looking for chocolate I highly recommend Stam's Chocolate!

Look at all this chocolate!!

...I mean seriously?!? Can I please have 1 of each??? Ha!!

After our little date, we headed home for a fun blockbuster night. I don't know if it was super busy week catching up to me or what but, I was just feeling a little under the weather. Blockbuster date nights are pretty great once in a while though - don't you think??? ;)

Sunday, we went back to Walnut Creek for a brisk walk - It was really nice to be able to take a nice long walk. After our walk, we decided to take a quick drive by our house -- we were sooooo sooooo pleasantly surprised when we drove up and saw this:

Yay! Yay! Yay!!!! Sooooo exciting!!!

Allow me to take you on a little tour..... ;)

Our future family room

Our dining room....yeah, kinda hard to see it, huh?!? Lol!!

Laundry Room....I have lots of fun ideas for this room, I'm thinking yellow

Looking into our future office - hoping to get a lot of work done in there!

1/2 bath - with pedestal sink, woo hoo!!! It's the little things in life - ha!!

....Our VERY FIRST family picture at our new home!!!

Definitely my favorite picture EVER! ....or at least so far! Lol!

And now....we are enjoying a super delicious bottle of wine I picked up at Brix on Friday night. It's called Chocovine and I think the best description is to say that it tastes like a Mudslide - yup, it's super yummy! I think I could drink a glass every day - ha!! :)

Fabulous 3 Day Weekend Recap!

Wow was last week a busy one!! By Friday, I was super ready for the weekend!! Right now I work on Saturdays so I was really excited that this weekend Kevin and I would have 2 whole days together!!

First of all, Saturday was just a really great day....especially since it might just be the last Saturday I work in a loooonnnnggg time! More on that later though.....

Saturday after work, I met up with Kevin at Kona. We *love* Kona! PS - they have great happy hour specials. ;0

After dinner, Kevin and I headed over to Brix. It's a wine superstore/wine bar. It's a really neat concept and I can't wait to go again!! ....it would be sooo *perfect* for a girl's night!

ps - they have a HUGE beer selection too.....yes, Kevin wanted me to mention that. ;)

Sunday we took a little drive out to our new house....sadly since the weather has been pretty rough, there weren't really any new things....they still say we are on schedule for end of March/beginning of April. Which, I know that time is just going to fly by.....or at least I'm really, really hoping it does! Ha! :)

The site of our future home - I still get super excited every time I see pics or drive by.....yeah, I'm pretty cheesey like that - lol!!

After seeing our house, we took a small drive out to a "facility" where I may soon be working. (Trying to be positive but not jinx things -lol!)

Afterwards we took our little Molly to her favorite bakery! Lol! Who knew I'd be so excited about a dog bakery?!? I guess that's what having a dog does to you though! Ha!!

While we were there we ordered Molly's birthday cake....this is what her cake will look like -

pretty cute huh?!? ....Do you think she's wear a birthday hat?!? I'm hoping the answer is YES! Lol!!

Monday I headed to Parables - it's a great Christian Bookstore. It's H U G E and they have an amazing selection - honestly, I could stay for hours!!

After Parables, Kevin and I headed out to Bass Pro Shops to just look around and while we were there we, of course, HAD to check out their boat selection. We want a boat soooo bad! We won't be getting one any time soon but, I know we'll have one someday. ;)

Hope you had a great weekend too!!

It's that time of year again...

....for the HGTV Dream Home Giveaway!!!

This year the house is in Sonoma, California! And...ladies & gentlemen, I just don't think it gets much better than this one!! I can totally see Kevin and I with our lab puppy (our future lab puppy, that is) taking walks in the neighborhood, visiting the nearby vineyards, sipping wine on that AMAZING patio...cooking and baking yummy food in the perfectly designed gourmetkitchen and then heading upstairs to the luxurious master suite to have sweet dreams about my next Sonoma adventure!
Oh yeah, I can totally see myself living in this house. Ok, enough day dreaming (for now, anyways) - time to be productive!

If you can see yourself living in this gorgeous house too, you should enter to win here. Good Luck! And, if you win you will have to invite me over for a glass of wine! ;)