Home Tour #1

           HOME TOUR #1 Entry Way, Living/Dining Room, Downstairs hallway and bathroom.

I'm so happy to announce that we are moved in to our new house! We have lived in MANY houses along the way, but I can honestly say this house is quickly becoming one of my favorites. I love it because it is not only a beautiful home, but it is not too big, nor too small...it is the perfect size for all of our needs. We love the neighborhood and are quickly finding that our new city is just as wonderful as the one we just left. In fact, in many ways we like it even more. I'm excited to share some pictures of the inside of the new house and will share through a few  blog posts I am calling "home tours." Today's tour is of the entry, living/dining room and the downstairs hall/bathroom. I will share all of the house in several tours throughout this next week.

                                  Won't you come in?

Here is what you see when you come in the front door.  The carpet is a beautiful light sage green and the tile is white with a sage green marble/pattern in it. Although the flooring would not have been my first choice, it's in good condition and works well with our things.

                      Standing in the entry you step down two steps into the living room/dining room.

                         Standing in the dining room, looking back on the living room/entry way.

Kev's "an oldie but a goodie" leather recliner works well in the living room. A great spot for reading.

                              .....more living room.

                               .....more entry way

                         .....one view of the dining room

                             .....dining room hutch

                         ...one last shot of the dining room.

                                       Standing on stairway landing looking down on living room.

                                 ...and across over at plant shelf.

                           Standing in the entry way looking up at plant shelf.

                       Standing in the hallway looking up at entry way and stairs.

                          .......looking up the stairs.

                           .....standing at the stair landing looking down on entry way.

                         This is a shelf at the stair landing. This angel and cross belonged to my Mom.

Standing in the entry looking down on the hall way and my office/craft room. There are two steps down to the hall way.

Looking down the hall to your left from the entry. The bathroom is to your right, the garage straight ahead and the laundry room to your left.

 I have this darling sign hanging on the bathroom door. I found this in Old Town Temecula at my favorite store there,"The Farmer's Wife"

I found everything for this bathroom at Walmart! The greens and aquas all work great with the tile.

I even found this butterfly plaque at Walmart!

to the right of my office/craft room is the infamous "family photo wall".....or at least part of it;  I plan to hang more pics in the upstairs hall way.

STAY TUNED FOR THE NEXT HOME TOUR featuring the Laundry Room, my office/craft room, family room and kitchen.

Our new house!!!

It's official! We just got the final stamp of approval from our new land lords and we will be signing a lease on this beautiful home Friday! We move in the next day...this Saturday the 30th. Here's to (another) new beginning for our family!

Fourth of July Weekend

Kevin's 50th birthday was only one of the highlights of our wonderful getaway to the Central Coast of California last week. Since my Dad and Polly have purchased a 2nd home (a garden home) in San Luis Obispo, it allowed us to have our own place to stay for the extended weekend. My brother David and his family stayed in Morro Bay with Dad and Polly. The garden home was so wonderful and it felt like we were in our very own vacation cottage. Dad and Polly have done a great job of decorating it and we just loved it. I wish I would have taken pictures of the house, but didn't think of it. (next time)

Here is Kyle and Kate getting ready to take a bike ride in San Luis Obispo. They had a great time riding together!

Kyle has his helmet on and is ready to go!!

Polly's bike was perfect for Kate! In fact after picking her up at the airport on Friday morning, my Dad and her rode the bikes to Avila Beach and back!

Kate and Kyle....my pride and joy!!

 This picture was taken towards the end of Kevin's party. Kyle is almost as tall as his Dad and Grandpa!

David, Cristy and I took the boys to the Morro Bay State Beach on the 4th of July to enjoy the ocean.
Kyle ended up wading in all the way up to his waist! He was certainly uncomfortable afterwards when we walked through the shops on the Embarcadero!

Kyle spends time with his cousin Jack.

My brother David and my nephew Jack. (Jack is so much fun and such a cutie!)

Fourth of July ended up being very low key after Kevin's big celebration the day before. Dad BBQ'ed hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch, we went to the beach and the Embarcadero, and then relaxed and some of even napped that afternoon! Unfortunately Kate had to fly home that afternoon as she had an 8 am class the next day. Kevin and Dave enjoyed some red wine while looking out at the ocean. That evening we ordered in pizza and then Kevin and Dave took the boys down to the marina to watch the fireworks and Dad, Polly, Cristy and I all watched the firework display in New York on TV! For us, it was better then dealing with the cold night and hoards of people down at the marina.

Kevin's 50th Birthday Party!

Kevin celebrated his 50th Birthday on July 6th. We celebrated his special day however over the 4th of July weekend at my Dad and Step Mom's house in Morro Bay. The party turned out so well and family and friends from the Central Coast came out to celebrate Kevin. Additionally Kate took a few days off from work and school to fly in and be there for the weekend.

The party was a casual BBQ and my brother David grilled up some delicious BBQ chicken!

Enjoying lunch! Left to right is our dear friend Bonnie G., Kate, Kevin, my cousin Susan and my Step Brother Zac.

More party quests include from left to right, Ed G. (Bonnie's husband), Aunt Marth, Uncle Ed, Gretchen (Shawn's girlfriend), my cousin Shawn and my Aunt Pat.

Enjoying lunch on the patio is left to right, my cousin Gary M., my Sister n Law Cristy, my Step Mom Polly, my Dad Harry and my brother, David.

Kevin chose a carrot cake for his cake. Here he is just moments before lighting the candles an singing Happy Birthday to him!

Kyle lights the candles....

...and everyone sings Happy Birthday to Kevin!

Kevin blows out the candles which are wax letters/candles that say "OH NO THE BIG 50"

                                                                                                                                                                                                Kevin gets ready to open his gifts.

Kevin holds a special gift from my brother and his wife Cristy who have an online vintage/antiques store. They found Kevin a beautiful antique book on Architecture and a vintage drafting set!

Bonnie and Ed give Kevin a bottle of speciality ale along with two beer glasses.

Susan and Gary give Kevin a hat that says "vintage Dude" Love it!
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                

An Elvis card from Aunt Pat. The first time Aunt Pat met Kevin back in 1989 she took one look at him and said "You have Elvis's eyes!!!" This has been a family funny ever since!

Kevin gets another hat and stacks it on top of his other hat! It was so wonderful to see Kevin having such a good time celebrating his birthday. A special thank you goes out to my Dad and Polly for opening up their beautiful Morro Bay home for the event and to our family and friends who came out for the party. Kev, may you have at least 50 more fabulous years!!