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Monday, October 28, 2013

Movin on Up

You guys! We have found a new place to move! It feels so good to know where we're going, after months of searching and ambiguity - knowing that we needed to move very soon (our landlord was selling the house and the new owners were moving in) but not knowing where to. Apartment-hunting is the pits, but it's finally done!

We are going to rent out the first floor of a gorgeous home that was built in 1880, located in the historic Heritage Hill neighborhood, just blocks from downtown Grand Rapids.

SO LONG teeny tiny apartment with the hideous blue office carpeting! It's been real. I loved your charm and character, but I'm over it. I'm ready for more space, a backyard, and luxuries like a garage, dishwasher, and garbage disposal. This is big, people. The fact that we have so much space to fill and virtually no furniture means that I can finally try my hand at redoing some furniture, something I've been wanting to attempt for a while but literally had no room for.

Let's just say I am pumped to be scouring Craigslist for something other than apartments - and I've found a couple potential pieces already! I've always loved mid-century modern furniture, so my first quest is to find a MC dresser to rehab. There's going to be a lot of trial and error with this whole decorating thing, but first things first...finding the right piece. This is my inspiration, from Reeves, blogger at The Weathered Door.


Half the battle for me is seeing the potential of a piece while it's still in its 'before' stages. I've found that looking at a good variety of before/after pictures (like these from The Weathered Door) prior to thrifting helps give me some inspiration and get that creative juju going.

See what a little love can do:

image sources: The Weathered Door

Wish me luck!

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Baby Steps

Life is about changing and growing, and you can't do that without being honest - especially with yourself.

Sunday, October 20, 2013

No Such Thing as the Perfect Time

Okay, so starting a blog has proven to be more difficult than I anticipated. I wanted to tell you all about the adventures I go on and the things my boyfriend and I create in the kitchen - complete with beautiful pictures, obviously. My blog was going to be full of everything that bloggers dream about. I wanted to capture the memories that make every day special, and my captions would be perfectly descriptive with just the right amount of wit and charm.

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You see, I wanted it to be flawless. Anything less than that just wasn't acceptable to post. Thus, the updates have been few and far between. That's the thing, though: my life is far from perfect. Do I go on fun trips? Absolutely! Do we cook delicious food? You bet! But there are also days that I don't change out of pajamas, and I definitely have mess-ups in the kitchen more than I would like. My relationship is amazing and I'm so thankful to have him in my life. But we do miscommunicate, and sometimes we fight. We're human.

But a picture-perfect blog does not a picture-perfect life make. So this is an apology, and a promise - I'm sorry for letting my foolish pride get in the way of things, and I promise to keep it real from here on out. #nofilter

Tuesday, October 8, 2013

MTB: Crystal Mountain

Pat and I took a trip this weekend to Crystal Mountain in Northwest Michigan. Normally it's snowsports destination, but during the off-season they host a lot of other activities, like paintball, a climbing wall, the alpine slide, disc golf, and my personal favorite: mountain biking!

We didn't pick the best weekend. It was storming and drizzly almost the entire time, which meant that the chairlifts for downhill biking weren't running. Talk about a bummer! But determined not to be totally defeated, we decided if we couldn't go down the mountain, we'd go around it. Those trails were a lot of fun and I only crashed once (a personal record for a new trail). 

Just as we made our way back from around the mountain, the clouds lightened and rain stopped...we might have a chance after all! As luck turned out, we were able to take advantage of a 4-hour window of rainlessness. The next thing I knew I was handing my bike over the chairlift attendant and hopping on a seat on my way up the mountain.


After the initial realization that I might be a leetle afraid of heights these days, I was quickly overtaken by the view that was spreading out beneath me. The colors, OH THE COLORS. Michigan weather is relentless, but views like this enough to make you deal with it. 





























And once we reached the top we got to zoom down and do it all over again, and again! It was my first time downhill mountain biking, but it definitely won't be my last! I can't wait to try it again when it's a little less slick and maybe with some knee pads..turns out it's not exactly the best sport for a klutz.