Max is 1

Max turns one year old tomorrow so I thought I would post a few photos of the time that he's been with us. Having him in our lives has been a blessing and I'm so happy Chris picked him.

Max's favorite spot

Max has claimed his favorite perch in our new house, on the back of the couch where he can look out the bay window. He enjoys sitting there and barking as people and dogs walk by. He barked himself right off the back on Sunday night and was trapped behind the couch!

Paint for the Dining Room?

I can't stand the bright blue in our dining room so it is first on the list to paint. Right now I'm leaning toward a mocha/chocolate color combo. The room is divided with chair rail with white baseboards/crown molding/chair rail. The darker color below the chair rail and the lighter on top. The dining room opens up the the living room (tan color) so I want something that will contrast but still work with it. Any suggestions/comments?


The blue in the background is the current wall color (and it is that bright!)



I'm contemplating a pale blue/gray for the bathroom (it's currently white) but one project at a time...

Yard Work Weekend

This weekend my Mom, Dad and brother Andrew came down for a weekend full of yard work. Our beautifully landscaped yard takes A LOT of maintenance, luckily we had beautiful weather for it. They brought mulch from home and took a whole trailer load of yard debris and moving boxes back for me (saving us $$$ by not paying the city to haul it all away). Some of the highlights were purchasing a lawnmower, raking up tons of bamboo leaves, trying to figure out the wiring to the ponds and lights in the yard, putting up a small-dog-proof fence for Max and mulching. I tried to take a few photos, enjoy!


Back yard after pruning and mulching


Front yard after LOTS of pruning, mulching and waterfall work


New chicken wire attached to the bottom of the fence so Max can't escape


After photo of raked up bamboo (it killed all the grass)


Before raking bamboo (4 large garbage bags)

I think I owe them cookies and a few cherry pies after all this free labor! Thanks everyone, it looks so much better!

Saying Goodbye (for now)

Hiding the Chewie

One of Max's favorite games is to hide is rawhide sticks (which we call chewies). Here are a few photos of some of the hiding spots he has found. He has also put them in our suitcases, behind chair legs, next to the bed and under pillows on the couch. As soon as Chris or I notices them/moves them/touches them he has to find a new hiding spot.

Moving into the new house!

Over the past week Chris and I have loaded up all of our worldly possessions and moved them to our new home in Ohio. It has been a whirlwind few days! We are very grateful to all of our wonderful friends and family who helped us. Everything is in the new house and most of the boxes are unpacked. It did rain and thunderstorm while we were unloading the moving truck on Friday and we couldn't fit our box spring up the stairs but other than that, no problems! Tim and my Dad deconstructed the box spring, took it to our room and reconstructed it so we don't have to buy another one. Stay tuned for more photos of the changes to the house over the next year!












Obviously, we still have some work to do to make it a home but I think we got a pretty good start for only being there for a weekend!