Breaking and Entering

So, this weekend we attended the Camp Randall Hockey Classic with a group of our friends. We started tailgating around 1pm, and the game started at 5pm.

Somewhere in between that time period, my old roommate Emily and I decided to see if anyone was home at our old apartment on St. James Court (actually, we really needed to use the bathroom, and our apartment was just down the street from the park where we were tailgating). Totally logical, right?

We knocked on the door. No one answered. We opened the door and yelled up the stairs. Still no answer. We went upstairs, took some pictures, giggled a lot, and used the bathroom.

On our way out, we were caught red-handed by some dude in the kitchen. He did not appear to care at all that we just broke into his house. We chatted for awhile, and about 7 or 8 more guys started filing in. The place was a trash-hole, and I recall Emily scolding them and telling them to “clean this place up”. Ha.

Also, the guys asked us how long ago we lived there, and Emily said 5 years. I didn’t have the heart to tell her it’s actually been 7 years. Ouch.

Anyway, as evidence of our adventure, check out the before and after pictures. “Before” being when we lived there in 2002-2003. “After” being this past Saturday.


Ultimately, the Badgers won with a last minute goal, and it was a great day for Badger hockey.

Where Will YOU Be Tonight at 8:00pm CST?

I will be glued to my television.

Master Bedroom Renovation Revealed!

First, let’s take a look at the “before” pictures. From the day we moved in.

Have you ever seen that show “Hidden Potential”? Yeah, it was kind of like that.

Now, a “during” picture from a few days after we moved in.

And this is what it’s looked like for the past year and a half. The only thing I purchased at that time was a new duvet cover and curtains. We had our old, mismatched dressers on the other side of the room (sorry, no pictures). And we only have one small closet. Poor Matt has been using the guest room closet on the other side of the house.

But all that has changed.

We decided it was pretty impossible (and unrealistic) to fit all of our clothes into just one closet. So we brainstormed for a while, and I scoured the interwebz. I finally found the perfect solution from one of my favorite bloggers, www.younghouselove.com. Using their master bedroom as inspiration (big props to them because I pretty much stole their idea and their creativeness), we created a pretty cozy master bedroom with more closet space than we could ever need.

First, some building.


And some heavy lifting.

Notice how I am doing all the work here? 
Someone has to take the pictures.

Then, some careful wood-working and trips to the attic.

Does anyone see where this is going?  Anyone?

Okay, almost there…

First, this is why we needed to get into the attic.  We needed to create a little wall to get the real “built in” effect.

And by “we”, I mean Matt, because I did nothing of the sort.

And finally, taaaa daaaaaa!

We created some faux-built-in closets and now our 12′ x 13′ bedroom is a little cozy masterpiece.

Check out all that closet space!

And now for a less-exciting, but still better than before “after” picture - here is the other side of the room.

So, the big reveal is complete. I know I built up the anticipation for you a little too much and you are probably thinking, “That’s it?”  But, really, I don’t care. 

Actually, I do care.  What do you think, dear readers?  

Just for fun, let’s take one more look at the “before” and “after” shots. 

Better, no?

Randomness

Well, remember how I mentioned in my last post that Matt’s car kicked the bucket?

We weren’t expecting to need a new car so soon, but when our 15 year old car needed $1,200 worth of repairs, we knew it was time to draw the line.

Yesterday, we brought this baby home.

It’s a 2004 Buick Roundezvous, and it is kind of awesome.

Also awesome – when we went to the dealership to pick it up, we planned to donate our Honda to Rawhide.  But instead, the wholesaler was there and asked to drive it around.  He drove it around the parking lot, came in and offered us $400 cash. Sold! 

We also completed the most difficult part of the master bedroom remodel this weekend.  I expect to be able to reveal the final results in a couple of days (fingers crossed).

In the meantime, while Matt was busy messing around in the attic (hint, hint), I was busy trying to clean out our iron so I could iron some curtains.  Instead, this happened.

Don’t you judge me.

Life with Maximus

I know, I know. The blogosphere has probably given up on me by now. I don’t have a good excuse. I just haven’t had the time or motivation to write any blog posts.

And our bedroom still isn’t finished. So that’s kind of depressing.

And Matt’s car kicked the bucket. So that’s not fun.

But I have been trying to get some new pictures of Max to show everyone. And I have discovered that Max is not exactly the most photogenic dog in the world.

Case in point.

Is he missing an ear in this picture?

Max got his name from his foster mom. He knows it pretty well so we decided to keep it.

But we really should have named him after a muppet. Or a clown.

I mean, even the snuggie he got for Christmas couldn’t save this picture. Look at those devil eyes!

Even his biggest fan, my niece Molly, couldn’t help him out.

Luckily, I don’t really care about all that. I only care that we adopted this little dog and are giving him a better life (hopefully).

I mean, look at this picture. It was taken by animal control after he was picked up as a stray.

How depressing is that?

Luckily, Max is a part of our family now. And luckily he has Indy to help him out with the cuteness factor.

Master Sneak Peeks!

New curtains.  And what is that over there in the corner?

And who are these freaks?

Major Master Changes

Matt and I spent our holiday weekend finally furnishing our master bedroom!

It’s not as simple as just buying a dresser or bed though, so you will have to wait to see the final results.  We finished the big stuff this weekend, and I hope to have most of it wrapped up next weekend.

Let me just say that it is big.  Huge.  We even had to sleep in our guest room on Saturday night.  For a small 12′x13′ room with only one closet, we are making some pretty major changes.

And I think you all are going to love it!

Did anyone else do anything exciting over the holidays?  Can home renovations really be called “exciting”?

Happy Holidays!

From our family to yours.

And no, Max is not that gigantic.  He’s only 12 pounds!  He is just not very photogenic.

Don’t you judge him.

I am happy today, because of this.

Credit: AP

A Holiday Wrapping Tip

Don’t know what to do with all those Christmas Cards every year? Reuse them as present tags!

For example, here is a lovely card I received.

And here is how I destroyed it and turned it into a present tag.

I think the card sender would understand, right?

Christmas Movies

Do you want to guess how many Christmas movies I’ve already watched this year?

Well, it’s December 18th, 7 days until Christmas. And I’ve already watched 10 Christmas movies. And I still have at least 2 left on my viewing list. Movies I’ve watched (and loved) so far include:

“If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaking suspicion that love actually is all around.”

“Faith is believing when common sense tells you not to. Don’t you see? It’s not just Kris that’s on trial, it’s everything he stands for. It’s kindness and joy and love and all the other intangibles.”

“God bless us, everyone!”

“We’ll follow the old man wherever he wants to go!”

“Where do you think you’re going? Nobody’s leaving. Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. No, no. We’re all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here. We’re gonna press on, and we’re gonna have the hap, hap, happiest Christmas since Bing Crosby tap-danced with Danny fucking Kaye. And when Santa squeezes his fat white ass down that chimney tonight, he’s gonna find the jolliest bunch of assholes this side of the nuthouse.”

“For years Aunt Clara had labored under the delusion that not only was I perpetually 2 years old, but also, a girl.”

“You see George, you’ve really had a wonderful life. Don’t you see what a mistake it would be to just throw it away?”

“Santa!”

“Peter always asked me when I fell in love with Jack. I told him it was while you were sleeping.”

“It just needed a little love”

Do you have any favorites that I left off the list?