A Productive Spring Break!

Today is Will's last day off but I still have two more days of Spring Break. It was a productive break full of home things and wedding planning.  On Wednesday we went up to Maryland and did a cake tasting at a local farm bakery.  We were a little apprehensive since our first cake tasting at another bakery in Virginia was an interesting experience and we had to listen to the baker talk about how great he was for about an hour.  However, this time our cake tasting experience was much more enjoyable.  The owner is a humble guy and he had cupcakes waiting for us taste when we got there.  We ending up choosing a pumpkin cake with traditional buttercream icing.  All we had to do was find the ribbon and cake topper that we want on the cake and he will do the rest. So today we bought our ribbon and topper.  I am so glad we were able to check another item off our list.

While we were in Maryland we went to meet our officiant.  Our officiant was the same officiant that married Will's parents so it will be a special ceremony for his family as well as mine.  Warren is our officiant's name and he has been married for 60 years! While we visited with him he had us write a list of our top 10 traits that we like about each other and a list of 5 things that we "liked less" about one another.  However, Will and I could only think of 2 things we "liked less" and they were of no big surprise to one another because we have talked about it before.  Warren asked us if we have ever had any doubts about getting married or have thought it was bad timing.  Not once have either of us had second thoughts.  We explained to him that we feel our relationship has really progressed each day.  With planning for the wedding and buying a house we have learned a lot about one another and have only seen these experiences as building blocks to our future.  :)

Now we are working on finding invitations and that is the next thing on our wedding "to do" list.  Tomorrow we will only be 6 months away from the wedding! We can't wait!!! :

A Day of DIY Projects

Today is the 2nd day of spring break and already Will and I have completed many of our home DIY home projects that we put on our "To Do" list.  We started out the day painting a "As Is" chair from Ikea that was only $9.99.  It was perfect for a little corner desk that Will had refinished a few months ago.  

Before

After

Then we started working on a monogram project with inspiration from a monogram flag that my Mom had given us as a present.  We started out by buying a 4ft x 2ft board from Home Depot and then we cut it down to a 3ft. x 2ft piece.  After that we painted it a off white color that we had gotten for $2 on the mistake/returned paint rack at Home Depot.  After we painted it tan we taped the trim to frame out the monogram design.

Once it was taped we used a technique I had read on a blog to make crisp, clean lines.  We took the same paint that we had been using and repainted the area that we were about to paint black.  This extra coat helped fill in any spaces that might not have been covered perfectly by the tape.  After that was dry we painted the black trim and peeled off the tape to reveal the clean lines because of that extra coat of tan.

After the trim was done I found a google image of the flag and Will enlarged the image in Paint.  He then printed the large image on several pieces of paper.  I had to cut and tape the image back together so that it would be large enough for the area inside of the trim. 

Next, Will scratched the back of the design with a pencil.  Once the back was covered with pencil I laid it on the board and traced the black design.  When tracing it on the board it left an outline on the wood.  From that outline I painted the image and ta-da it was done!

For our last project of the day we finished up a quick project to frame our first house key.  I typed up the title, left space for the key, and then under the key I typed up our new home address (sorry you don't see that part in the picture).  I had painted the key red a few days ago.  We glued it onto the paper with super glue and in just a few minutes we created quick and cheap knick-knack to help fill our empty walls.

It was a busy day of doing little projects to make out new house feel homie once we get to move in.  Tomorrow it is back to wedding planning.  Will and I are going to try a cake up in Frederick, MD and then meet an officiant.  Later this week my Mom and I are going to pick out invitations.  This spring break is defiantly a week of getting things done! :)

Our First House!

As of Friday William and I are now homeowners.  After searching for a few months we found this house just 6 miles from my work! It is right by Frying Pan Park and has a 2 car garage! William is excited because many of the other townhouses we had been looking at only had 1 car garages and he would have been parking outside.  But now he doesn't have to! :) It also has beautiful walking trails right behind the house and a nice view of a small pond ie. water retaining area.  We can't believe we found an end unit it such a great lot that doesn't back up to other townhouse. The location couldn't have been better.  The house has good bones but we have some big plans for it.  Before we move in we are going to re-sand the existing hardwood floors, add hardwood on the two sets of staircases, add crown molding, repaint every wall, and add recessed lighting throughout the house.  We can't wait for out mini renovations.  However, we aren't moving in until July because the previous owners are renting back from us until they move into their new place.  This worked out perfect for Will and I because we can continue to save while they make our first few mortgage payments :)  

More updates to come as we work on home projects :)