Brad & Sarah sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love, then comes marriage...

Friday, April 5, 2013

Bringing our DR into this century!

Robert & Kathy (friends of Brad's parents) were so sweet to give us a $25 gift card to Lowe's as a housewarming gift. We decided to try to use only that to update our dining room walls. Yesterday I removed the base boards, old chair rail & PANELING! It was giving off that sweet 70's vibe! I patched the sheetrock, sanded it smooth & applied several coats of primer.

We are hopeful that our gift card & 10% off coupon will cover the 20 ft. of chair rail moulding needed. We salvaged 4 1/2" base boards from the living room demo last month. We will have plenty for the dining room.

The paint above the chair rail is white with a hint of blue. The chair rail & base boards will be a creamy white. Our curtains are a light khaki and rug is black & cream striped.

Staying budget minded, I pulled a few cans of paint from the garage & need help picking a paint color to go below the chair rail! The colors from left to right are: 1. Mindful Grey, 2. Ramie, 3. Accessible Beige. I also included a pic of the rug, curtain fabric & our not so cute tile floor! I'll post before & after pics when finished! Which color would you pick?



Friday, March 1, 2013

Diving in to home ownership!

In three short weeks we've gone from house hunters to home owners! There's no one else I'd rather be in debt with than my sweet husband. Home ownership looks good on him!! We are so excited to be moving to Grapevine, TX. The buying process was relatively smooth and went very quickly for us. We put in an offer and closed two weeks later quick. A huge thanks to our parents for all their help! The inventory of homes is extremely low in Grapevine right now, so we had three homes to choose from in our price range. I think this was a good thing for us because it made choosing a lot easier. The worst part was staying in a hotel for a month. We were starting to go stir crazy in there!
Back to our new home....we love it!! It's a spacious 1,830 sq. ft., 3 bedroom 2 bathroom split floor plan built in 1976 with a lovely backyard for the pups. It 's in a beautiful established neighborhood and we have thirty mature oak trees on our lot alone!

Top 5 things that sold us on the house:
1. Wood burning fireplace
2. Lots of storage
3. Split floor plan
4. Large wooded lot/backyard
5. Vaulted ceilings in living room

Top 5 things that we could have done without:
1. Tiny ceiling fan in the master bathroom
2. Baby pink and light blue tile in master bathroom
3. Popcorn Ceilings
4. Outdated kitchen
5. Green exterior paint on front porch

Although there are several things we could have done without, we see them as opportunities to put our personal touch on the house to make it our own! We've decided to live in the house as is for a little while until we determine what doesn't work for us and what our needs are. With that said, we already know the white living room carpet doesn't work for us (or the dogs) so that's project number one! I've posted a few pics of the things mentioned above and one of us signing our lives away! We'll keep posting and add more pictures as our renovation goes along!













Friday, September 21, 2012

As Summer turns to Fall, bring your wardrobe with you!



Check out Global Grind for the top 5 trends for transitioning your wardrobe from Summer to Fall!

Summer to Fall

Here is my interpretation of their rules:
DO get a trendy jacket (or blazer or cardigan) in an earthy nuetral tone that you can throw over a summer dress and go.
DO learn to love scarves.
If you want to wear sandals...wear full length pants.
DON'T wear sandals with shorts or a skirt.
DON'T wear flip flops when it's cold outside.
DO invest in a new pair of leather ankle booties.
DON'T expose all your limbs, choose either you arms or legs.

Happy Fall Y'all!!

Honeymoooooon!

I am looking forward to our honeymoon so much!  After searching the internet for hours upon hours we discovered and decided on Cocobay Resort in Antigua!





10 reasons why we chose Cocobay:
  1. It's all-inclusive (food, drinks, kayaking, snorkeling)
  2. The accommodations are private bungalows
  3. Private plunge pool & ocean view (upgrade)
  4. The US Dept. of State says it's safe for us to go :)
  5. The primary language in Antigua is English
  6. No children allowed (we like kids, just might enjoy honeymoon w/out them)
  7. Amazing reviews about the staff
  8. Free shuttle from airport to resort
  9. 10% if you're on your honeymoon + welcome basket
  10. They have recently renovated facilities

One of the only down sides I can see so far about this small resort is they only have one restaurant, but I'm okay with that!  I have also read about how bad the mosquitos are if you don't have bug spray.  I feel that's Antigua in general, not specific to this resort.  Here's a shot of the mosquito nets over the beds:


 
 
Here is the view from the back porch/plunge pool...TO DIE FOR!



Brad & I are pretty active, so laying on the beach all day everyday is out of the question.  So far we have decided on these excursions:

1. Creole Cruises Antigua  It's the priciest of our excursions at $130 per person, but it's rated #1 of Antiguan excursions.  They pick you up via boat from the resort, take you on a cruise for the day, grill you a lobster lunch on an island and take you snorkeling.  Book online to save 10%.

2. Antigua Rain Forest Tours  There is an all day (5 hour) Zip Line & Beach Combo Tour, but we have decided to go with the Full Course Tour.  It includes 11 zip lines and a challenge course, and lasts approximately 2 1/2 hours.  That costs $99 per person, but you can also get 10% off if you book online.  If it rains, they will change your reservation date free of charge.

3. Shirley Heights I've read tons of great reviews about this place.  This is a restaurant/bar that has had a BBQ/party from 4 pm-10 pm every Sunday for 31 years.  From what I can tell it looks out over "Nelson's Dockyard", which is a national park in Antigua.  There may be a small cover charge to get in, but our main expense will be food and drinks.

Yesterday Brady mentioned he would like to get a couple's massage while we're there, so I'll be setting that up next.  Initially Brady wanted to go on a fishing expedition, but with my fear of disappearing at sea and the cost (minimum $600) of chartering a boat, we have decided to try these other things.  I'd much rather spend the $600 on 3 or 4 excursions!

Only one more month and we'll be enjoying Cocobay!

Would you rather relax on the beach, pack your day with adventure or do both over the week?
Where did you go on your honeymoon?

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Black Bean & Corn Sooie Salsa

Being the picky eater that I am, I don't care for any vegetables, including salsa!  BUT, being the future wife of a man who eats everything, I LOVE to try new recipes for him all the time. 

I first made this salsa for a graduation party back in 2009 and recently dug it out for our Razorback Tailgating (ya know, the one where we lost to Monroe?!!?).  This was a BIG hit at the tailgate.  We even had people from other tents coming to taste it.  I guess we can thank the salsa for our new friends Donald, Stacey & their baby Ryann!

Let me give some credit here: The original recipe was given to me by my aunt, Barbara Ballard, who received it from her friend Mary Klompus.

It's REALLY simple to make and won't go bad if it sits out a little while at a tailgate. The original recipe called for 1 can mexican flavored stewed tomatoes, 1 green pepper (chopped) and 1 small red onion (diced), but I tweaked it to 1 can mexican rotel to make it even simpler. Sometimes it's easier to have a recipe that doesn't require fresh ingredients, so it can be thrown together on short notice without having to go to the store. Also, without the fresh ingredients it keeps a little longer.
 
1 can black beans, drained (& rinsed if you don't want your salsa to look dark)
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
I can mexican rotel
6-8 shakes red wine vinegar
1 small bottle red or blush wine vinegarette dressing
 
 
Tip:  Add a little at a time of the dressing until salsa reaches consistency you prefer, the whole bottle may make it too runny.  I just use half a bottle!
 

 
 
 
 
The blush wine vinegarette was tricky for
me to find because it has a strawberry
on it.  Here's a picture of the kind I use. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Make sure to get the "Mexican Lime & Cilantro" Rotel.  Go ahead and get two, since you'll have enough dressing for two recipes.  Do the same for black beans and corn.  I drain a little juice off this, but I don't know that it makes a difference!
 
 
 
 
 
Do you have a favorite recipe I can test on Brad?

Mystery Weekend!

This weekend is my last big hoorah with my girls in Dallas...AKA my Bachelorette Party!
I have no idea what's on the schedule, but I'm so excited to catch up with everyone! I was told to pack a swimsuit, outfit for night and outfit for brunch. I'll post later to show you what I picked!
Since I'm planning the wedding on a semi-tight budget I am doing a lot of things myself! I am taking some stuff along to Dallas for the girls to help me make pennant banners!
So far I have tan/brown burlap, cream muslin & twine. I still need to get paint to write the letters on some banners and lace to trim out some burlap pennants.
Here are a few example pics of what I'm thinking:



The pink burlap is to DIE for! Anyone know where to find that? It would be precious on the dessert table!

I will post pics & tutorial of all the different banners we do!

Have you made a banner like this before? Do you have any tips for me?

$ Sarah's Steals & Deals $

While on the hunt for a new wool coat, I found another great bargain from 6pm.com. This is the Ivanka Trump Urban Herringbone Coat. It was originally $187 and is on sale for $57 with free shipping.

What a deal!!

I prefer the camel color. Here's the link:


What new pieces will you be adding to your fall wardrobe?