Thankful Friday

I realize Thanksgiving was yesterday, however, I was with family, not anywhere near a computer, so today I'll recap all the things I'm thankful for, afterall, we shouldn't JUST be thankful on Thanksgiving, but everyday.

#1 - My family, including my husband, parents, siblings, in-laws, grandparents, aunts and uncles, cousins, nephews.  Wish we all lived closer, but we all manage to do a pretty great job of staying in touch despite the distance between us.

#2 - Friends that are like family.  I have such great friends, some that I have carried with me throughout high school and college years, into adulthood and now we are sharing the joys of watching families grow and change together.  Other friends came along later, but it seems like they've been around for ages :)

#3 - Technology.  Although it is sometimes sad to look around a group of relatives or friends in the same room and realize that everyone is on their phone, it is those phones that keep us in touch on the days we can't be together.  If it weren't for Skype and ipads, I wouldn't have the pleasure of seeing frequent photos and video of my nephews as they grow up.

#4 - My job.  I am SO thankful that Eric and I both have steady incomes and don't have to wonder how we will make ends meet.  Sure, there are times we have to be careful, but we have the luxury of cable tv, internet, and other non-necessities that many people go without these days. 

#5 - Our home.  No, it isn't big, no, it isn't fancy, but it is ours! (well sort of, technically speaking it belongs to the bank for 28 more years, but its KIND of ours haha).  We are able to be in a place that we call our own, with plenty of space for what our life requires, a cozy place to call home and to be together at the end of everyday.

#6 - Our health.  For those of you that know me, I am not a particularly healthy person all the time, but I am well enough to get out of bed everyday and live a normal life!  My husband apparently has the body and immune system of steel, and is healthy as a horse (are horses even healthy? why do we say that?).

The list could go on and on, but that is the gist.  Basically, I hope everyone has non-material things/people in their life to be thankful for, because THOSE are what really matter.  I spend too much time worrying if my shoes are the right color, where we should go out to dinner on a Friday night, and who will win a football game.  It's good to take a step back and look at the big picture, and be aware of what this life is REALLY about.

Hope you all enjoyed the holiday with someone you love!

The space of nothing

Part of what won us over when looking at this house was all of the beautiful built-in wooden furniture.
My absolute favorite is our china cabinet.  The previous owner did an AMAZING job on this.  Glass shelves, lighting, beautiful finish.

This pic was taken just after we moved in, so we were still filling it up.

See the space in the middle?  Where those bowls are?  It quickly became a space of nothing.  There isn't a light under there, so it was always a little dark, which made it easy to just throw things and not give them another thought.  Kinda like this...

We needed to remedy this situation, so we started with the idea of making it a drink station.  First thing was taking this lovely wooden tray, one of my very first DIY projects...incase you can't tell (maybe I'm being arrogant but I think I've come a long way), and giving it new life with....you guessed it...SPRAY PAINT!

Sweet wine bottle holder from our good friend Scot.

Finished product! Doesn't that tray look SOOO much better?!?!

Kitchen update

We are busy little bees here (as always) working on projects, but I think there are quite a few that I haven't updated you on, so lets get started.

Have you seen the kitchen???  Remember how there was SO. MUCH. WOOD.???? Not so much anymore!

What we saw when we took the end off.

We felt a little like Dexter with the walls draped in plastic, but Olive seemed to like it and it kept the paint off the counters.

Caught someone in the fridge...

WHOA!  Checkout that red!  And that wooden rooster.

Fall camping

A few weeks ago, we went camping with about 12 of our friends from the State College area.

Yes, we are crazy, and we camp (in tents) in mid-October.  Does that make us insane?!?! YES!

We have a great time around the fire, playing games, just having a generally great time.
This year was particularly cold overnight, so luckily I packed my Forever Lazy to sleep in at night.  If you aren't familiar, look it up.  When you see it, you will understand why my friend Sarah lovingly referred to me as a Teletubby all weekend! hahaha

Typically, Eric and I take an air mattress, but this year we had a theory.  The theory was that the air inside said mattress gets COLD so then we are sleeping on 3 inches of cold air.  So we skipped it. This year, we took ground pads and about 3 comforters for padding, then sleeping bags and blankets for warmth.  It was great!  We were WAY warmer than in years passed.

I ventured a few miles away to Trough Creek State Park with a few of the girls on Saturday for a bit to take a little hike.  It was BEAUTIFUL!
Check it out.  This cool guy below is the Balancing Rock.  It is huuuuuge and is literally balancing on the edge of a cliff.