Missing our nieces

Beautiful baby Eva turned one this past weekend — wow! Pictures to remind us they're growing up too fast (isn't Maddie gorgeous?) and that our next visit is still too far away.

Eva Primrose

Madeleine Aurora

Back to Cabo

I probably wouldn't say this in the middle of production leading up to a big deadline, but work can be a real gift. The past several days were a perfect example. A consulting group that I struck up a partnership with last year (they write wonderful articles, we give them great exposure), holds an annual seminar in gorgeous locales. This year, they chose Cabo San Lucas and invited Heath and myself to join them as a big thanks for our work together last year. That meant four fun-filled, sun-filled days at an all inclusive resort without us having to spend a dime — CRAZY.

Of course, we accepted. We generally don't turn down free vacations, but this was especially special because 1) our 5-year anniversary is coming up in July; and 2) we honeymooned in Cabo.

It wasn't de-ja-vu, but it was sweet the second time around. Here, for your viewing pleasure...a few photos.

THE RESORT
(the scenery)




(the wildlife)

(the entertainment...in this case, Brazil night)



(greeted with champagne!)


OUR LOVELY ROOM



(they treated us like honeymooners and even decorated our room)



POOLSIDE


WALKS ON THE BEACH





5 YEARS LATER...







...and we'd do it all over again...

What's up with the house?

It's a question I hear a lot these days and every time someone asks, it reminds me that I'm way behind on updating the blog. The truth is, it's all come together rather quickly and the Saturday of Easter weekend we had the last of our stuff out of Downers Grove and the kitchen was complete.

Projects we're still working on include finishing our bedroom in the attic (hopefully happening this weekend!) and doing the mudding/sanding/painting in the back bedroom. Heath's office is still woefully disorganized and in need of hanging items on the wall. Pictures of all this will be forthcoming.

In the meantime, here's the finished product in the living room/dining room, bathroom and kitchen.

LIVING ROOM / DINING ROOM

We realized that we don't have any great "before" pictures of the living room or dining room, mostly because they were just big empty spaces with bad rugs and a space heater. You'll just have to trust us that this is a major improvement. The recliner you'll see in the pictures below is one of the gems left behind by the former owners.



The dining room also boasts a couple relics left in this old house, including an antique, World War II era record player from Germany and a beautiful hutch that had been cast aside in the basement. Sorry for the glare in the photos!




BATHROOM

Who could forget this craziness?



Now, we have this:

KITCHEN

The main issue with our original kitchen was the pathetic lack of both cabinets and countertops. Witness:



And as you can see here, that is certainly no longer a problem...



So that's the update! We've had people over for lunch or dinner every weekend since we moved in, so we're definitely getting back into our hospitality swing. It's amazing how much you can miss silly things like pots and pans and couches. :-)