Wow, it’s our first Christmas on our own as a married couple. (well, us and Matt anyway) Jess and I took this past weekend to venture out with our old roomies (Jon and Mel) to cut our annual Christmas Tree. We drove out to this great little tree farm near Verona, WI. They offer a cut-your-own-tree style of Christmas Tree shopping where they provide a saw for cutting and a sled for pulling your tree back to the entrance. As we did last year, Jess and I had a great time hand picking our very own Christmas Tree. And there are a few pictures below to prove it.

We were also able to check-off our 237th untraditional item able to fit in Jess’s Mini Cooper. That car never disappoints!

Sadly, this year we will not be able to launch our tree off our 3rd story deck as we have done in years past. …Sorry Jon.

Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year to all our friends and family!

Boone and I got a nice treat this weekend- a getaway! Boone was in Chicago for a conference all week, and I decided to drive down and join him for the weekend. We stayed in a beautiful place near Wrigley field and had a great dinner at a tiny French restaurant known only to a few locals. Saturday, we bundled up and took the ‘L’ downtown to the Art Museum, which we browsed around in until lunch time. My favorite exhibit was a photography collection on adolescence, specifically girls. It was amazing to see how the photographers took such an awkward phase in life and turned it into art! After that, we walked to Millennium Park and Michigan Avenue, which was packed with holiday shoppers. We had lunch and decided that we should walk back to our place, so we could enjoy the city from foot. It took us a long time, but it was worth it to check out the city, and a few stops for food and coffee helped the time pass.

We left early on Sunday so we could get ready for next week and do some Christmas decorating around the condo and cut our yearly Christmas tree with Jon an Mel. I’m generally not a “city” fan, but it was really neat and I think we’ll have to make weekend trips down there more often.

 

 

 

As many of you know, this weekend was the first really big snow storm of the winter season. Boone and I ran a few errands in the AM, got some supplies, and then decided we needed a snow day project to keep us busy.

So, we painted the downstairs bathroom and put up a new mirror. For those of you who have been to our place, you know of this room as the black hole; a small half bath painted black. Now, it includes a new framed mirror and is a rich green color called “Italian Olive.” We had our house guest Matt earn his keep with a little painting- little meaning two coats of primer to cover the black and two coats of green. Painting is not necessarily my favorite activity, but we had some good wine and hot cocoa to keep us going. That, and the fact that we really couldn’t step out of our front door until the sidewalks were plowed.

We also picked out some new slate flooring and talked about getting a new light along with staining the current vanity. I think those projects will have to wait until the next snowy weekend. Here are a few pictures until then!

Before – Previous Owners:

During – Phase 1 Bathrooom Remodel:

After – Phase 1 Bathroom Remodel: