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Ready for Rice Cereal

She is ready for rice cereal and is loving it!

Tessa's Bedroom

This morning I thought why not start planning what I am going to do for the girls rooms.  I pretty much have everything laid out for the dining room and living room...so tackling their rooms is next on my do to list.  So, I googled "little girl bedrooms" and told Tessa to come over and pick the room that she would like for her to have as her bedroom......all I can say is Luke better ask his boss for a raise because this is going to be one pricey room!!!!

$47,000 Ultimate Princess Bed

Subway Signs

I decided to take on a project for the new home.  I saw these subway signs that people are making online with Etsy.  Below is the one that is for sale and is priced at $41.00 and that includes no frame.  So I thought I would take a stab at it and instead of putting in a frame I will mount it on a thick piece of wood, decoupage it, and then sandpaper it to make it more vintage looking.  I am going to do this for Paris, London, and Rome and then hang them above our couch in the living room.  I priced it out to where it is only $23 to print it at Staples and the cost of the wood and paint is all I will need to finish this off...oh and some clips to hang them.  They are going to be 36 inches tall and 11.75 inches wide.

Now when you look at these remember they are going to be on wood and distressed...right now you are just looking at the typography...not the actual end product.

Sign for sale on Etsy.

 Here is the one I created for London

Here is the one I created for Paris

Rome Subway Sign--i think the font will be dark brown and the background a grayish brown versus the black and white in most of these.

Too Funny!!!!!

McDonalds

This morning I had to go down to the Westfield's town center to look into some permits.  I told Tessa if she was good I would take her to McDonald's, of which she proceeded to say, "OH BOY!"  So after spending some time getting lost, going to the wrong building, talking with some of the workers..we made our way to McDonalds.  I could tell she was hungary and starting to get tired just by the uncivil way she was acting in the car.  Once she saw the golden arches all grumpiness, hunger, and tiredness disappeared in a blink of the eye.

After ordering food and Tessa spending point five seconds eating..she took off for the playground.  So Gia and I sat while she burned off some energy.  The place was very quiet which was good because I really did not feel like dealing with all the moms, kids, and disgruntled employees.  After about 15 minutes and went up to see what she was doing...to my surprise my kid decided that running around in her diaper suited her best. So after major haggling I managed to finally get her jeans back on.  So then she decided to come back down and eat.  Another 10 seconds passed and she was off.  Ten minutes later she comes running out in just her diaper carrying her pants.  So, I proceeded to tell her if she took them off one more time we were out of here.  So off she goes and five minutes later pants are off and she is up inside the playground.  So I had get my big butt up in the contraption which has endless tubes and stairs and bubbles and navigate my way around to her.  I found her, clothed her, dragged her down, and out we went.  

Philadelphia Children's Museum

On Saturday we took a trip into Philly.  The drive was only about an hour and that was with snow coming down, roads not plowed, and driving in the BMW.  The Children's Museum was to say the least awesome.  It was waaaaaaaay better than the one in Cleveland.  They had so much for Tessa to do from playing with water, riding in cars, shopping, puppet show, Alice in Wonderland exhibit, jungle exhibit, carousal ride, and much much more.  Tessa also did her first painting, of which I will be hanging up in her room once we move.  I will post pics later once we move in...my cord is packed up unfortunately. For now I have a few pics that I took with my phone.

After the museum we did head out for a quick tour of Philly.  We saw a couple mansions from the earlier days, the museum district, the place where Liberty Bell is housed, and loads of other places that will be really neat to see once summer hits.  We then ventured off to this place I saw on the Food Network, Tony Luke's.  Its this cheese steak house in South Philly.  The place was just like what I expected it, a small outdoor grab and go style restaurant with true Philly workers (rude and bold).  The subs where great!!!  Luke managed to spill most of the juice all over home...but as Will Smith would say on Fresh Prince, "Now that's a Cheese steak!"

Tessa Excited about the snow and the museum

Memorial 

Philadelphia Children's Museum

Little Miss Liberty

Tony Luke's--funny name for a cheese steak place

What I am Learning About New Jersey

We have been here almost 3 weeks now and I am learning a lot in my short time.  Its amazing how different a state can be especially when it is only two states away.

• Here pop is called soda--I will not succumb to calling it that
• Even though something closes at a certain time, NJ people have the right to close early!
• People here are much ruder--please and thank you must never of been taught
• You don't pump your gas here...all gas stations are full service
• I think New Jersey invented the U-Turn
• As we all know housing is close to triple the price of Ohio, and taxes are doubled
• If you go the speed limit here you are going to get run over
• Your horn will be your best friend!

I am sure that I will have more to add onto this list...I mean I have only been here 3 weeks and I found all of this out!

Target Got Me Again

I went to Target just to buy some groceries..and I end up buying each of them stuff.  Those darn sales get me every time.

Status

Home inspection is complete.  There are a few things that need some fixing but I am not going to share what that is.  So now we just wait to see how soon the bank can close everything up.  Hopefully mid February at the earliest we are in.  Life is moving on for us, slowly but surely.  

I also would like to wish Kristin a very HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!  I am so sad that we are going to be missing out on the bowling night for her celebration.  Hope you guys have fun!!!!

10 Things Tourists Should See in NYC

I have been scouring the internet looking for new things to find in NYC.  I have seen all of the normal tourist attractions, but Time Magazine released an article showing 10 places tourists should see.  So here they are:

• Time Warner Center:  glitzy retail emporium  
• West Village:  quaint neighborhood with Brownstones, bakeries, gastropubs, and more
• Film Forum:  film lover's town
• Grimaldi's Pizzeria:  coal fired pizzeria under the Brooklyn Bridge
• Empire State Building:  "Sleepless in Seattle" anyone?
• Little Branch:  cocktail lounge
• Contemporary Art Center
• Bergdorf Goodman:  upscale boutique style department store
• Bowery Ballroom:  music lover's stop
• Grand Central Terminal

Article:  Times Magazines 10 Things to Do in NYC

Bumming Around

I had Gianna laying on the ground and then Tessa came up with her favorite blanket, spidey blanket (thanks Mom!!!) and laid down next to her and put the blanket on her as well.  So cute!!!

Living Room

Here is the mood board for what I plan to do in the living room.  This could change of course since I am constantly finding different things I want to do, but for now this is what I have going on.

Breakdown of cost:
Pillows:  $186
Sofa Table:  $189
Trunk:  $229
 Lamp Shades:  $300
Chanel Throw:  $59
White Candle Holder (3):  $30
Curtains (pair):  $25
Table Lamp:  $10
Tree Picture:  $50
Purple Vase:  $15
Mercury Bottle Teal Lights:  $49
Floor Lamp:  $30
Flower Bowl:  $20
Wire End Table:  $121
Purple Light (2):  $34
Wall Scounces (2):  $30
White Square Frames (4):  $40


Grand Total:  $1417


I am going to try and find some of the furniture for a little less in price..but for now this is the path I want to go.

What a Day!

As it would be, we were welcomed to New Jersey with a flat tire on each of our cars.  So  the day began with us taking both cars in for a plug in the Jeep and a new tire on the BMW.  The BMW also was in need of an oil change as well as new fan belts, so we left that then headed to IKEA.  With us downsizing so much one would think we would not need anything.  But the fact of the matter is we need more storage systems, a sleeper sofa, a smaller couch for the basement, and other minor things to make living in this home easier.  IKEA is so great for small space living.  The organization methods are innovative, design friendly, and reasonably priced.  I have gone through the catalogue and website and have already picked out a ton of different things to put in our home.

As far as the rest of the day, pretty boring.  I did have some FaceTime with Tony, Kristin, and Ella while we were at McDonald's and then later we had some FaceTime with my mom.  I am so glad she bought an IPod Touch.  This way she will not miss anytime with her granddaughters!  Thank goodness for technology.

Gearing Up For the Home

Luke and I sat down last night and figured all that we have to do for this home.  Good thing is, besides painting some color into the home and adding some vertical shelving there is not much we have to do.  We did make a list of everything we had to sell or store since the home is roughly 1622 square feet...which is 1778 less than the home in Avon (and that is not including all the storage space we had in the basement).  So here is the list of things we are going to sell:

Piano

Guest Bedroom Set (bed, dresser, and mirror)

Poker Table and Chairs

Dining Room Table and Chairs

Bar

Wood Brown Chair (one that was in the sun room)

Random Furniture that was in the basement

Coffee Table

End Table

Random other things--accessories

So, as you can see a lot of things have to go.  It will be nice to get rid of a lot of the crap we have accumulated over time.  I think this is a shock for Luke...but there are so many positives to living in this home and area.  My next post will be about the town of Westfield.  For now, I thought I would share with you some of the stuff I am thinking about getting to make organizing this space for us to maximize our square footage.

Most of the stuff is coming from IKEA..mainly because they seem to cater to small space living.  I guess it being a Swedish company they understand the challenges one can have with making this work in a small space.  Good news for us is that IKEA is right around the corner for us.

In the playroom we plan on putting a nice sofa bed, so that when and if people come to visit we have some place for them to sleep.  Here is what I thought would look nice.

I put together a mood board of everything I would like to do with the room.  The only thing I do not have on here is a paint color...that I will decide on later if I do anything at all paint wise.

Visit to New York City

Our first full day in Jersey led us to  NYC.  Tony had driven up with us to help with moving a car and the dogs, so we decided to take him to the city to get a peek as to what he can expect next time he comes up to visit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Home Sweet Home

Here are some pictures of the home we bought in a quaint town called Westfield.  I will post some great facts and information on this lovely town in a later post.  For now, enjoy the pictures of the home.

Front of the Home

Kitchen

Dining Room

Bay Window in Living Room

I just love the garbage can holder

Side yard and entry into mud room

Half Bath and mud room

Let It Begin

Life sometimes throws unexpected things your way.  You have two choices...embrace those throws and gear up for the next or let the throw hit you square in the head and complain you didn't see it coming.  For me, I choose to embrace the throw.  So the throw landed us in New Jersey.  We arrived here on January second and have avidly been searching for a home...something we thought would be a simple task.  I mean the housing market is crap so finding a home should be relatively easy right?  WRONG!!!!  In the desirable areas in NJ homes are not available...so your choices are very limited.  After much searching on the internet, the iPad, my iPhone, and drive byes we have finally found our home.  Stay tuned for the pictures of the home..its quite amazing.