Prayers have been answered

Rain is in the forecast (yesterday was a tease) and cold(er) weather is here! In fact I am in sweatpants because I love them and can actually make use of them. There was a teeny tiny shower on Fisher Dr. yesterday, just enough to make a pretty hibiscus bloom. I swear I'm going to become a better green thumb-er one day. Since we're on the subject of home improvements...

Say good-bye to the nasty carpet!

And hello beautiful new floors! :)

Pretty new pillows courtesy of Pottery Barn (hello, gift cards!)

I scooped up this coffee table as well as matching end tables from a former students parents who were just wanting to get rid of them. I still need to sand and re-stain the wood, but new knobs can do well in a pinch :)

Took the barstools too. Couple of coats of heirloom white spray paint and voila!

And my first attempt at a wreath. We also had our front door stained and I thought it looked naked and needed a little sumthin. I guess it'll stay until the holiday. I'm going to invest in a fabulous wreath! Love them :)

Hope everyone enjoys the cooler weather! I know we are! Makes the dog park much more enjoyable :)

These are a few of my favorite things

As I'm sitting here alone in the movie room, listening to my dogs howl while in their kennels (the cleaning people are here and it's the ONLY time they go in! Ooh so mistreated) I keep thinking to myself think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, say it with me, happy thoughts. And so it goes. I am so happy with my life and have so much to be blessed for, why not write it down? Ok type it down. What I'm mcloving right now...

~This WEATHER! I'm a complete news junkie, yet I have been refusing to watch the weather and/or news because I'm afraid this is only temporary. I'm not ready to face the heat again.
~That Starbucks has brought back the pumpkin spice latte! In fact I have a venti sitting next to me. Just makes me want to tell mother nature, "See, it IS time for fall"
~Married life. I love being home, cooking, cleaning, baking...and everything in between.
~Evening walks with the hubs and dogs. They love the dog park and you can't beat this weather! Yep I'm still talking about the weather.
~Trying my hand at these crafty projects. So far, I've sanded and painted furniture, changed out cute knobs on our living room endtables and dressers, redecorated the living room and master bedroom and my latest DIY project is a cute wreath that is almost done. I'll show the final product of these next post.
~Our new living room floors! Why didn't we do them earlier?
~Red lipstick. To be honest, I haven't braved this fashion yet, but I'm seeing it everywhere and lurve it! Might have to go out this weekend just to see how it looks ;) latest obsession with it is when Kourtney Kardash is wearing it. I'm fair and blonde, so I'm not too sure I can pull it off.
~Etsy.com and my new interest in Pinterest. I have no clue how to navigate Pinterest, but I can tell you, from the items I see, it's amazing so far.
~Moscato wine. Discovered this sweetness in California. As a matter of fact, my bestie Jen came over last night and between the two of us we drank probably 3 liters. That's how we roll.
~Seeing all of the holiday decorations at Hobby Lobby. Gets me in the spirit and mood for sure :) we'll be in upstate New York for Thanksgiving but I'm still decorating. I'm making sure we'll be here for Christmas though.
~DIY design blogs. I have most all of the ones that are on the web bookmarked on my Ipad. I could get lost on those things for hours on end.
~Reality television. Especially Real Housewives of Bev Hills and I am practically borderline obsessed with The Rachel Zoe Project (Ba-nanas) and Dance Moms. I die.
~I'm also really digging the new song by Maroon 5 "Move like Jagger"

Hope everyone has a fabulous weekend! My hubby comes home and i can't wait to see him!!

Wedding in the wine country

We went to San Francisco this past weekend and attended a wedding in Lodi, CA. It was sooo beautiful and wine country weddings are definitely the way to go! If, of course, you have the funds. Chris is a friend of Nick's from high school. He works for the Golden State Warriors. He and Kelly met while in California and are too cute. We wish them all the best in their new life together!
We didn't get to explore Napa like I was hoping to do, but we plan on going for our one year wedding anniversary :))
We enjoyed the wedding and the city of San Fran though.

Cute! It has a cow b/c we chose filet mignon :)

First dance as husband and wife



Bride and groom with a friend





Housewife-isms

I decided to take the year off to be a stay-at-home wife. Otherwise known as a housewife. No, we're definitely not loaded (nor in megadebt like some)we don't attend charity events, or host lavish parties at our modest home. But I think being a housewife is more than those things.HA! As the first day of school started yesterday, I texted all my former students parents and wished them a happy first day, lemme know who they got this year, etc. But I wasn't really sad not to be on the other end of the spectrum. I love being a teacher, but I also love watching The View and keeping up with current events of course. Speaking of, it's on my tube now. I love keeping the house clean and running all errands without fighting crowds and parking waaaay out in the back. In this heat, that matters! But, it can also get tedious. Especially when my dearest travels often for work. So I thought, either have a kid so the boredom is less frequent OR get a part time job so at least I can have something to do. And the conclusion is:
Work from home! Do those dream jobs really exist?? If anyone knows, please inform me. Until then, I'll be folding clothes while watching Barbara Walters and Whoopi, and drinking wine, possibly at 1:00, just because I can :)
Have a terrific Tuesday!!

How did I get so lucky?

To find the best man/hubby ever?!
On Sunday, Nick said he wanted to clean out the garage. All of my classroom stuff was piled high in there so I wasn't sure if he meant put that away, or organize his medical supplies. Either way, I decided I would go shopping. Since we've lived in this house, I have been anxious to get everything decorated, but we've been so busy the past year it hasn't been high on the list. Well now it is! We just got our new upholstered headboard from Pier 1 (love!) and I picked up a new patio set while I was there. Summer clearancenright now :) I wanted to go get some more things for the house while also voicing at the same time, I'd love to rearrange too, blah blah, because that makes a big difference too. So off I go...
When i got back, Nick had completely cleaned the garage, putting away ALL my teaching stuff in the attic, so I could park in the garage, rearranged the couch and coffee table, rearranged our bedroom like I said I wanted, mowed, weed-eated, put together patio set and packed up everything on the hutch that I said I wanted to use as a bookshelf. Oh and forgot to mention, made reservations at our fave restaurant so neither of us had to cook. I truly think he fell right out of the sky.
So we enjoyed our night together, we like to do date nights anyway before he goes out of town for work. He left for Oklahoma yesterday morning and usually stays the night after a long med school day and takes friends out for dinner/drinks. However, he came home at 9 last night and surprised me! He said he'd rather be here :)
Now I ask, again, how did I get so lucky? What did I do to deserve him? He is amazing and more of a man than most men. But then again, i am pretty partial ;)

Charm of Skaneateles

Nick and I had an impromptu trip to his hometown of Skaneateles, NY. It is in upstate NY by the Finger Lakes (Close to Auburn and Syracuse). Unfortunantely, his grandmother passed away last Saturday so we had to go and attend her funeral. Although I only met her one time, let me tell you she was an AMAZING woman! She really was the glue that held the family together and it was evident. She had 9 children! Nick's dad was the 7th child. All of the aunts and uncles are an absolute riot and are always down to have a good time. They are the epitome of an Irish family! I can see that every single one of them got their sense of humor from her.


Coming from a small family, things like this can be overwhelming being married into, however everyone is so warm and friendly and fun I'd like to say they welcome me with open arms. I saw that firsthand at Grandma Charlottes wake and funeral. I have never seen so many people in one room. There was a line out the door and around the corner waiting to pay their respects and good-byes to such a wonderful woman. Many waited 2 hrs! She was a nurse, a volunteer for the prison and church, an artist and just an overall great person. Her late husband was the mayor of Auburn, NY so you can imagine what the church looked like with the entire city there! It was a beautiful service and tribute.


While there, Nick was anxious to show me 'his city'. Skaneateles (pronounced Skinny-atlas) is such an adorable and charming town. It is surrounded by the most gorgeous BLUE lake. You can see the bottom unlike many Texas lakes. (*Cough)Lake Conroe, ewww.  His Uncle Dan owns the Bluewater Grill which is a staple for all the locals there. It is a restaurant/bar on the lake, right in the heart of downtown. We had such a great time (considering the circumstances) exploring the boutiques and shops and taking in the fabulous weather! 72 during the day and 63 at night. Honestly, I didn't want to leave. I somehow convinced Nick that we should purchase a little cottage or bungalow and escape there for the summers. Hopefully in 5-7 years, that will become a reality. Until then, we will bask in our misery of the 100+ Texas heat wave :/
Please keep the family in your prayers as they go through this difficult time with the loss of a wonderful, mother, sister and grandmother.


Here are a few pics of our trip:


My favorite house on their street



Catholic church



Their library!





Uncle Dan's house





Bluewater Grill



RIORDAN RUN-DOWN

We're MARRIED!!!!
07/23/2011 was the absolute best day of my life! In fact, that whole week, and the week after too. I am married to the most amazing, kind hearted, genuine man on this Earth. We're still on cloud nine and it's like we just met all over again. My mom gave a sweet speech and I hope we will live by this.

"My greatest wish for the two of you is that through the years your love for each other will so deepen and grow, that years from now you will look back on this day, your wedding day, as the day you loved each other the least."

Of course it made me bawl. I love that last part. I love Nick now more than the very day I met him and my love for him only grows more and more each day.

We got married in Florida with our awesome friends and family by our side. The weather thankfully cooperated and it was just a fun, fun time all around. Looks like we missed a helluva party after the reception, but we of course wanted some alone time ;)
We're so fortunate for everyone who came, and took time out of their busy schedules to help us celebrate our special day. We hope everyone had as much fun as we did.

Having fun on the beach

We had a Texas themed rehearsal dinner (of course I had to bring some southern flair to Florida) at the cottages where everyone stayed. Nick's parents hired a band so everyone danced, sang, ate and drank the night away.



My love and I



Tawni, Niki and Jessica @ rehearsal dinner



Nicholi and my MOH @ rehearsal dinner



My fabulous bridesmaids!!













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Our adorable flower girl, Audrey. We love her!



Mr. and Mrs. Riordan :)

Dancing the night away

LOVE love love this picture!! And them

Yay :D



A few groomsmen with the handsome groom



So at every family wedding, Nick's uncle starts the YMCA. Hu-larry-us!! Liz just jumped up there too :)

It's fun to stay at tha...



Marry me...today and everyday



Sunday we drove to Miami so that we could fly out on Monday to St. Kitts for our honeymoon. It was an absolute blast! Stay tuned for that post next :)

Love, Mrs. Riordan :)