Snow Day

I love these pictures. I think I finally managed to get photos so sweet even TJ likes them. I’ll post more later, these were some of the candidates I was editing last night to frame around the house.

TJ with pups at the pond, this is my favorite.





My Riley’s bear like claws.



Best friends.

I love pictures of trees in the winter, TJ took this one for me, if you look carefully you can see three dogs.

TJ looking very Justin Timberlake-esque. Poor Hopper is being blocked by Riley, she’s such a camera hog.

I'm finally figuring out how to use this blog, I need to get my photos uploaded to another server - I have a LOT of them.

Eclipse

I finished reading this about a month ago but haven't had time to post it - things have been crazy busy at work - I wonder if I'll ever dig myself out of the calculations.

Still going strong with Team Edward, but poor Bella, Jacob is such a good friend. *guilt trip*

I hope to post pictures of the closet soon, as with any project I've worked on I start out energized and towards the end lose momentum. The bedroom and bathroom are a virtual sea of shoes and clothes and I'm ready to get the house back in order - to any girl the closet is key to a zen like attitude.

Birthday Flowers

From the sweetest redhead I know. :)

The things you see at Café Java…..

Maegan’s New Home

I am pulling all kind of pictures off my phone during lunch break and you can tell how bad I am at keeping up with this sort of thing…..

….because Maegan’s house is already built.

They need to be posted anyway because it’s still fun to go back and see the progress that happened so slowly on a daily basis we forgot what we started with. I believe this was our second trip out to their lot, the first time Maegan drove us out there it seemed like there wasn’t a sign yet. The next time we went out there was a foundation and the next – a house! Building or buying a house can be so stressful but in the end you get to see pictures of yourself standing next to a ‘sold’ sign and it gives you a sense of validation. Funny thing about Maegan, when she walked us through the model home and told us the color she selected was Sherwin Williams ‘latte’ I almost shrieked because that’s what I picked for my house too! TJ hates it but we both feel okay with that. =)

In any case it’s endearing because as I mentioned in the IKEA post, we pick out virtually almost the same things whether or not we’re around each other. It’s fun once in awhile to be silly and excited over small details like a duvet or paint colors.

I ramble on and on, but I present the beginning of Maegan’s new house. More to follow!

Fun at IKEA

Well we really have to hand it to TJ.

Maegan and I shrieked and poured over EVERY detail in the Houston Ikea looking for things for her house. I think he exaggerated a little when he said that I would point something out, then Maegan would drag me into another room and point the next thing out, and then we’d drag TJ into the last room to point out the same thing we’d pointed out several rooms back. I suppose going through that store can be like moving two steps forward and one step back but we had a lot of things to look at. Like critical things.

What can really be said for it? I am a hopelessly interested in all things household related – redecorating, flooring, refurbishing furniture, etc. I can go to stores like that a million times and never get tired of imagining the possibilities – certainly it doesn’t help to go with someone equally interested and excited about everything they have. By the time we left the store Maegan and I had pledged to get the same bed, make the same bookshelf headboard, hang the same chandeliers, curtain panels, mirrors....you get the idea.
But come on, it’s going to be so super cute! And now when we stay at Maegan’s it will be just like home. Perks!

Oops, I almost posted this blog without explaining the picture but maybe there isn’t a logical explanation. When you go to Ikea and you’re pumped up, you naturally grab everyone in your caravan and take a picture in the model shower. It could have been worse, we had enough dignity not to pile onto the toilet at the same time.

I’m also including a picture of the bookcase Maegan bought in black brown for her dining room – it matches the furniture she has in there already! We were so excited, after getting Arby’s we ran home and made TJ put it together while we got onto http://www.ikea.com/. My sister has the same bookcase in pine – it’s so versatile and with clean, intricate lines - I love that store. =)

Schnitzel

Oh yes, it’s that time of year: the annual Shanahan Schnitzel extravaganza. I think mom made about 1,000 pork schnitzels (and a few chicken for the misfit) and spent hours preparing all of them. Her process has changed slightly, I don’t think she actually tenderized them time opting to buy thinner slices of meat, but she actually has a tenderizer now! This is an upgrade to when I was in elementary school in Germany. I remember the days of no central heat, one channel on television, a challenging academic curriculum, tagging along downtown with Ste-UH-nee, and mom tendering our schnitzels with a beer bottle.

It boggles the mind but I guess if anyone can pull that off without glass shards in your food it’s mom.

Fun to watch TJ eat his first schnitzel, I’ve never been as big of a fan as Steph but mom's are actually very good and I love anything that reminds me of Germany – but he loved it. TJ was pouring brown gravy and squeezing lemons over them like a pro.