Category Archives: Holidays

2013 Resolutions

I know I am a little late on this post, but I wasn’t ready for New Year’s Resolutions until after all of the holidays (including Walker’s birthday!). So my official start to 2013’s resolutions is this week! ;)

Last year, I had several resolutions for the apartment so let’s see how we did!

1. ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE! – Ok, so I do this every year but it is so important! When Walker moved in we found a place to put everything and have ignored it since. But in the next few weeks we will be getting a detached garage space (YIPPEE FINALLY!) and can stash some of our stuff in the extra storage. Sounds like a good excuse to do some weeding out of the excess and give us some breathing room. – ACCOMPLISHED!

2. CREATE A NEW DUAL WORKSPACE – Currently both of our computers are sitting on a desk I originally bought for myself that I Frankenstein-ed to accommodate both of us. However, there is no room to move or work… just barely enough room to click. So we have started some beginning plans on creating a new dual workspace that will actually meet our needs. – ACCOMPLISHED!

3. UPGRADE THE TUNES – We have been talking about getting a record player for the living room because we both LOVE listening to music. Walker even has a mini record collection started so we have some great stuff to listen to when we actually take the plunge. We anticipate a little extra space once we get the garage space and new desk so we hope to make it work sooner rather than later. – ACCOMPLISHED!

4. KITCHEN LOVE – The living room and bedroom have been slowly transformed to merge our styles since Walker moved in. However, with the exception of an additional calendar and some art, the kitchen looks exactly the same. I think he and I need to put our heads together and see what we want to do with this room. – DIDN’T QUITE GET THERE!

5. BATHROOM SOS – Other than towels, curtains, and a bathmat, I have yet to do anything with the bathroom. This is the year to start! – ACCOMPLISHED!

In 2012 we managed to clean all the closets and organize the garage space, get his & hers writing desks to replace our old workspace, got a record player and  record storage for our growing record collection, and completely re-did the bathroom! The one resolution we didn’t quite get to was a kitchen revamp. However, we have at least put together a plan so I guess we are at least on our way! So this brings us to this year’s resolutions…. here we go!

 

2013 New Year’s Apartment Resolutions

1.  KITCHEN LOVE – Since we didn’t quite get to this in 2012, I would love to get our kitchen project underway early this year!

2. ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE, ORGANIZE! – We need to do this every year! We got a bunch of Christmas gifts (books, DVDs, etc.) and have no where to put them so we need to do some spring cleaning to make room.

3.  STORAGE SOLUTIONS – Now that Walker and I have lived together for over a year, we have slowly filled up all of our current storage. Aside from putting everything in the garage, we need to come up with some new ways to add storage (especially for books, DVDs, CDs, and school supplies!).

4.  NEW COFFEE TABLE AND RUG – Our current coffee table is hanging on by a thread! We absolutely need to save up and replace it.  We would also love to get a new, upgraded rug for underneath… class up our living room a little! :)

5. SCHOOL WORKSPACE – I love our writing desks but I am going to be doing a lot of drafting and projects that take up much more space/storage for school. We need to figure out a way to make a little more space for doing schoolwork, which is going to be really tough!

We are keeping it simple this year! Our apartment is feeling a bit small lately (after all of the Christmas goodies) so we are focusing mainly on cleaning things out and finding more storage. I think we can do it! :)

On a personal level, I am trying to give myself a small list of manageable resolutions for the new year. I mentioned a few things last year that didn’t really pan out too well so here’s to a fresh start!

2013 New Year’s Personal Resolutions

1. BE MORE ACTIVE – I am not going to sit here and tell you I am going to hit the gym every day or even at all. My resolution is simply to incorporate some “active” activities into my lifestyle. I want to walk the dog more often.  I want to ride my bike to work some days. I want to go on the occasional hike. I want to even try and fit in a workout here and there. You get my drift! I just need to be more active and therefore happier & healthier! P.S. I have joined My Fitness Pal… my username is OurCozyCubbyhole if you want to be friends!

2. STAY HYDRATED! – I need to drink more water, no questions about it. In addition, Walker and I have decided to start buying gallons of bottled water instead of drinking tap water after hearing/reading some pretty horrific things about our water supply (I’m talking some serious Erin Brockovich crap!). I know it is a little less sustainable but drinking the tap water just doesn’t seem like an option.

3. PICK UP MY GUITAR MORE OFTEN – Just for fun when I have the time!

4. TRY NOT TO OVERLOAD MY PLATE – I have a lot on my plate with school, work, the blog, Etsy, etc. So I want to make sure I am keeping enough free time and quality time for Walker & me in my new schedule. I am going to try and keep the miscellaneous projects down to a minimum!

5. BE FINANCIALLY SMART – Since I am only working three days a week and am paying for school at the same time, my monthly income will be taking a huge cut this year.  I want to make sure I am being financially smart so I can still try and save a few pennies here and there!

There you have it: my apartment and personal goals for the year! Let’s hope it goes well! Happy New Year everyone!

Happy Birthday Walker & Christmas 2012 Recap Part 2

I have to start off this post with the biggest, happiest birthday wishes to the love of my life… today is Walker’s 30th birthday!! We are starting the celebrations tonight with a yummy sushi dinner and then partying it up with some friends tomorrow night. As a little birthday gift, I give Walker (and the rest of you) this adorable nugget:HappyBirthdayBo“Happy Birthday Dad! You are my favorite parent because you didn’t make me wear this dumb hat.” -Bo

I love that little pup! Such a good sport….

Now, as promised, I am excited to share a few of the awesome home-related Christmas gifts we received this year! Let’s begin with the incredible, amazing, wonderful birthday boy himself (I love bragging about him… and since it’s his birthday I have an excuse to go all out). Walker is so thoughtful that for Christmas he had an artist on Etsy hand-paint a beautiful sign with the name of the camp that I attended every summer! Okay, “attended” does not do it justice… I lived, breathed, and worshiped this camp! My best friend and I would go for 1-2 weeks every summer (for 8 consecutive summers I think!) and we had the most amazing time.  As we pulled out of the camp’s driveway to go home, we would start the countdown for the next summer. It sounds strange but that camp is a huge part of the person I have become and Walker is well aware of the impact it had on me (probably because I talk about it all the time like a creeper). So I thought it was so amazing of him to have this sign made for me, both because it is an awesome piece of wall art and also because of the huge amount of sentimental value it has.HiddenLakeSign1 HiddenLakeSign2 HiddenLakeSign3 HiddenLakeSign4

How amazing is that!? I love the texture… I keep petting the sign haha! We hung it in the kitchen between the table and the door. If you remember, we used to have a picture of a sunrise on Walker’s family farm hanging there.KitchenBeforeBut not to worry, that photo simply got relocated to the gallery wall in the living room along with a gorgeous picture and frame that my best friend gave me. My amazing aunt also sent us a super cute typography wood sign that fit perfectly with our collection of love-y dove-y photo-booth pictures.GalleryWall GalleryWall2We love that the gallery wall is starting to fill in a little more! The other thing we got this weekend as an anniversary gift from Walker’s parents was this awesome embroidered Nebraska kitchen towel!  Isn’t it the cutest thing ever?!NebraskaTowel NebraskaTowel2

It looks perfect in our kitchen but it is way too cute to use for drying dishes! Guess that means I don’t have to do dishes at all. Best. Gift. Ever. ;)

We got a lot of other really incredible gifts from generous family members and friends, including a lot of things for school! I can’t believe it but I start next week!! WOOOOO!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend… drink an extra one for Walker tonight! ;)

Christmas 2012 Recap Part 1

Hello and happy new year! I hope you all had a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season! We just returned home from our Christmas vacation and thought I would post a few photos from our trip.

We left for Nebraska before dawn on Christmas Eve and landed around midday. We spent Christmas Eve celebrating with Walker’s immediate family and some of his extended family. It was so wonderful!  We exchanged gifts and had a delicious dinner (artichoke stew and chili to warm us up… it was 9 degrees!). On Christmas morning, Walker’s extended family came over and we had an incredible breakfast (including homemade cinnamon rolls and a delicious smoked salmon hash!). We spent the day watching movies and enjoying each others’ company. We finished off the day with a turkey, gravy, and mashed potato feast.  We were totally spoiled. :)

The day after Christmas we went to the movies (Django Unchained for those who are curious) and then had a family get-together to celebrate Walker’s 30th birthday a little early.  Of course, he received scotch as a gift so the night turned into a lively party with his cousins! ;)

We spent the 27th relaxing with his immediate family before I had to depart for the airport that afternoon. I finally arrived in New York by 1am (and had to wait for an hour for my bags of course). Little did I know I would be walking into a house full of sickies! My parents, brother, and entire extended family all caught/spread bronchitis on Christmas. Yuck! :(

On the 28th, my family celebrated a belated Christmas and they were MORE than generous as always. I spent the afternoon drinking coffee, scratching lotto tickets, and exchanging gifts with my best friend.  When I got home, I fed my family soup and/or toast for dinner because they were all so sick! :(

On the 29th, I was eager for some fresh air that was not contaminated with sick germs, so I tagged along with my best friend and her husband to West Mountain to go snowboarding! It was so much fun and it felt great to enjoy the winter weather. In fact, we got about 4 inches of snow while we were on the slopes and had a bit of a slippery drive home.

By the 30th, my family was starting to feel a bit better so we spent the day watching movies, playing games, and relaxing. It was so nice! :)

On New Year’s Eve, I left the house at 4am to get to the airport and flew back to LA. I arrived around midday, only 45 minutes or so from Walker in the same terminal.  We gathered our bags and headed home.  After a long nap, we decided we were too tired to go out for New Years Eve and instead opted to have a date night in (since we hadn’t seen each other in days!).  We cooked an amazing meal of ahi tuna filets and garlic mashed potatoes, drank lots of wine, played Yahtzee (I got three Yahtzees on our last game… crazy right!?), and listened to great music! It was the perfect night! We began 2013 with a champagne toast and a solid night’s sleep in our own bed!

January 1st was the (2nd) anniversary of our first date so we always have a fun time celebrating New Years Day! We got up and watched Nebraska play in the bowl game while we drank coffee and got ready for the day.  As tradition dictates, we then went to lunch at the restaurant where we had our first date! After lunch we walked around downtown Burbank and went into a few shops. Also in keeping with tradition, we found a photo booth to take a few anniversary pictures (we forgot a camera last year so this was our solution)! When we got home, we exchanged gifts and watched one of the movies we got for Christmas.

Then yesterday I had to get up and go back to real life… BOO! Oh, well. At least our vacation was amazing and relaxing! I will be back tomorrow to share some of the awesome home-related gifts we received for the holidays!

Now onto the good stuff… a few pictures from the trip. Enjoy and happy 2013!

One of the handmade ornaments on Walker's family's Christmas tree! :)

One of the handmade ornaments on Walker’s family’s Christmas tree! :)

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

The stockings were hung by the chimney with care.

Three sleepy boys!

Three sleepy boys!

Puppy love!

Puppy love!

Baxter is ready for a nap after he and Bo played all morning!

Baxter is ready for a nap after he and Bo played all morning!

...and Bo's already passed out!

…and Bo’s already passed out!

What a beautiful Christmas in a beautiful home! xoxo

What a beautiful Christmas in a beautiful home! xoxo

This was our attempt at getting a Christmas picture right before bed. It's not great but at least we actually got one this year!

This was our attempt at getting a Christmas picture right before bed. It’s not great but at least we actually got one this year!

new York had a bunch of snow the day after we went snowboarding so I took the pups out to play!

New York had a bunch of snow the day after we went snowboarding so I took the pups out to play!

Bo LOVES the snow!

Bo LOVES the snow!

...Koda not so much. This is as far as she got before running inside! :)

…Koda not so much. This is as far as she got before running inside! :)

Bo on a mission!

Bo on a mission!

"Hey, Mom! Look at meeee!"

“Hey, Mom! Look at meeee!”

Snuggle pups! So cute!

Snuggle pups! So cute!

Walker got me some pink anniversary roses!

Walker got me some pink anniversary roses!

So pretty!

So pretty!

An iPhone picture of us at the restaurant where we had our first date!

An iPhone picture of us at the restaurant where we had our first date!

One of many cheesy photo-booth anniversary photos! :)

One of many cheesy photo-booth anniversary photos! :)