feeling 15 again!

Don't know why it captured my eye today in the salon. "No Room for the Blues" by OPI. Am I crazy?! Well, it's the summer!!! I kinda like it.... wonder what my conservative hubs will say????? :)

yogurt deliciousness

This is a quick post because I still have things to do before our guests arrive on Wednesday! This is probably my favorite thing to eat for breakfast. I love simple fat free vanilla yogurt with any kind of fruit on top. This week blueberries and raspberries were on sale, so I stocked up. Throw this in the blender with some ice, skim milk and a little bit of honey for sweetness and you've made a delicious healthy smoothie. I love them either way. enjoy! ♥

hot in cleveland is hot, hot, hot!

I ♥ Betty White. I really do! But I've loved her before all of her current popularity. Growing up, I'd watch her on Maude, and Mama's Family (one of my favorites!),The Mary Tyler Moore Show and of course The Golden Girls. I've always been an old soul when it comes to TV. I remember staying up late as a little girl in the summers when I'd visit my Tita to watch All in the Family, which came on at 11pm (I'd only get away doing it when I'd visit my gradmother, of course!). That's how much I loved the old shows. And don't even get my started watching Betty on the old game shows because I still LOVE those, too! Match Game, Pyramid and Password...she was the QUEEN of the game shows. And she even married the Pyramid host Allen Ludden!

Anyways, that is why I'm stoked about her being on TV again! I haven't watched it yet because the moving has gotten in the way, but I will catch up. The show is called "Hot in Cleveland" and it is TV Land's first scripted original sitcom. FINALLY a sitcom shot before a live studio audience is BACK on TV! That's enough to make it a GREAT show! Have you watched it? How much do you love it? If you haven't, please give it a shot. It's on TV Land Wednesdays at 10pm.

Go Betty! ♥

summer drink: Strawberry Lemonade

Now that summer is here there is time to do all sorts of fun stuff like try out recipes. Here is one summer drink I will definitely attempt this summer.... Strawberry Lemonade! Looks delicious!

Martha Stewart's Strawberry Lemonade

Ingredients Serves 2

• 1 pint strawberries
• 8 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons superfine sugar
• 8 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• Seltzer water
• Directions
• 1. Puree strawberries and 2 teaspoons sugar in a blender. Set out two glasses, and spoon 3 tablespoons of the resulting strawberry puree, 4 tablespoons sugar, and 4 tablespoons lemon juice into each glass. Stir the lemonade, and add ice. Top off the glasses with seltzer water. Add more sugar if desired.

blinds.

(look how anxious he was to get started..he didn't get out of his work clothes! ha!)

This is probably a very boring post, but I just had to brag on my hubby! He is NOT handy at all, and at times he tries...but he's mostly paranoid about messing up. So, we usually have to pay or bribe friends to help us with the handy stuff.

But not this time! For some reason he is determined to get all the blinds up in our new house. He did a trial run yesterday on the bathroom upstairs. I have to admit, I was begging him not to try (not that I don't think he can do it...I just didn't want to hear it if he messes up! Ha!) And to his surprise he did a fine job! ♥

Man, blinds are super expensive! Luckily we get a major discount because hubby works for a blind company. So, don't hesitate to contact us for a good deal...plus they are the #1 blind company. ;)


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disney's world of color

Watch to learn more about Disney's World of Color. ♥ This show would probably make me cry! Actually, I did just watching a glimpse into it in the second video. What can I say? Disney owns my heart. This will finally make California Adventure a park worth going to. Amazing stuff! ♥

preparing for house guests checklist

This Martha Stewart checklist for how to prepare for house guests always comes in very handy! One of my favorite tips is to add a few special touches to the room, like water bottles and fresh flowers for the guests. I also make sure to let the guests know where to find more TP and other necessities. And lastly, I try to make sure to have some sort itinerary in mind to entertain them. Click here to get a copy for yourself. Do you make sure to go out of your way for your house guests? Are there any other tips you recommend?

one room down...3 more to go!

Feeling accomplished! I worked on the master bedroom yesterday and master closet/bathroom today. I washed all linens and ironed them. And I washed all of our clothes that was in drawers and folded and put them away. I had to do that because the clothes got a bad odor in them from the moving semi-truck. It was so tedious! But my new washer and dryer made it simple. Then came our master closet! Whoa! It was a disaster zone bc the movers put everything in there. I was a little nervous it would take me a long time. But I worked like a Trojan! Loving the results so far... ;)











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Feels like home...

A freshly tended and made bed is all you really need to make a house feel like a home!


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Making progress!

Well we are finally settling in! Feels like a long time coming...oh who am I kidding? It has been! I feel like I don't think about or shut up about anything else! But I shouldn't complain. Everything is coming together nicely!

Look at how much unpacking we did on the first day!


I was lucky to have my neighbor Julie come and help! She's so sweet! Her husband Dan works with Ronnie and we've known eachother since our time in NC. She and her husband moved to GA just like us. And they bought the house just 2 doors down! And it's great because she is Puerto Rican, so we have a lot in common. Anyways, we are so happy to be neighbors with them!

After a long first day of unpacking, we celebrated by going to an authentic German restaurant by the house. It was so good, and I think Ronnie and I didn't realize how tired we were and the beer really got to us! Ha!



We are really happy!!! Ha!


On the second day of unpacking, we put in shelves in the laundry/pantry area.



What do you think about this organization? So far so good right? I love this stuff!

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patriotic inspiration

Some of my favorite patriotic inspirations from Martha Stewart! We are hosting our friends The Pico's this 4th of July in GA!

papi.

Happy Father's Day papi!!!! My dad is the BEST in the world. So the best, he had to have 5 of us. But I'm still daddy's little and ONLY girl. ;)

It's because of him I find so much strength and courage to do everything in my life. Truly. It's because of him I have so much love and good in my heart and know how to give it in return.

I love you Pa. Thank you for being YOU!

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All packed up...moving on up!

Well, the time we've been anxiously waiting for finally arrived. The movers took 1 day to pack us up and another day to load everything. They worked really fast and carefully. Only had a small ding made to our master bedroom furniture, but I think we claimed it and they are getting it fixed. They are arriving to Georgia with our things on Monday, hopefully on Sunday.

It was very overwhelming watching them pack all of our things. I mean, don't get me wrong, we didn't have to do a thing! Something about it was just emotionally overwhelming. I am leaving behind so much I grew to love. It's still very hard to think about. I guess it will heal once we are settled in to our new home and new state. We left and I couldn't even bare taking one last picture together in front of the house. I have plenty of happy memories documented in enough pictures....so I didn't need a need to. We drove to Georgia as soon as the movers left. I must admit, I shed some tears on the way down. Then I think God was giving me signs that everything will be OK. First, I saw this truck on the road to Georgia...


Then, while reading the latest Martha Stewart Living, I came across a "peach" spread, filled with info on peaches and recipes! Ha!


So, on our first day here I took a drive to the new house and it was nice to see the grass green! (it was still brown from winter the last time I was there.) the trees behind the house are really pretty. It sure needs some pretty flowers though...have to get on that. But first we must unpack and clean it first....a lot of work still ahead! But we're ready!


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Patio Furniture!

I can't believe the time is almost here! This is the last week of the school year and I will be saying good-bye to my 5th graders and the school. It will be very sad, but I have to enjoy the time I have left and my friends there. It's a fantastic school and I will truly miss my team. They welcomed me with open arms and have taught me so much! I don't even know if I could ever repay them. But I know I've made life long friends in them.

Moving day is in 1 week and 1 day! I am NOT looking forward to the moving part, even though we have movers packing and unloading EVERYTHING for us. (We are VERY lucky!) What I am looking forward to is making our house into a home....decorating!

One thing I am most looking forward to is my new patio furniture! It's a house-warming gift from my mom and I am so excited to use it this summer. I found it at Home Depot and it's by Martha Stewart (no shocker there!) and it's from the "Palamos" Collection. But I thought I'd share it with you... I think it is sooooo pretty!

I will be using it for the first time this 4th of July when we will have house guests our friends "The Pico's" come visit us! YAY!

dear first nest . . .

dear first nest,

We were so lucky to find you, but didn't realize it until the previous owners accepted our offer. It happened quite fast actually. It almost was too good to be true. We were just starting out and we weren't even planning on becoming home owners so soon. But God wanted it that way and we made sure to take good care of you. We knew it wouldn't be easy, though, because you were miles away from what we always knew... but soon realized you were something truly special.

The first night we were with you it seemed like Christmas eve! I was filled with butterflies anxious to unwrap you and make you mine. We hit it off right away, although you were scary for a few nights after we moved in. What can I say? I'm a city girl and it was hard to deal with so many trees that surrounded you and foreign animals to me. (deers, bats, owls etc.) But pretty soon, I realized you were a good place to be and knew you would protect me from the really loud noises that grasshoppers were making at night (I was not used to such a symphony by nature.) Soon, I became a Carolina girl (or Carolina Cubanita like my dad likes to call me) ... and I loved it!

Ronnie was excited to mow your lawn at first. But soon realized that spending 3 hours every Saturday to maintain you was REALLY hard work. (We didn't realize how much work 1 acre of land you really were!) And get this? I even got into the action...soon I planted my first flowers, but quickly just decided I was better at telling Ronnie where to plant pretty new flowers and other plants! (I enjoyed decorating you inside more.)

Because of you, we were able have our first christmas and we decorated you inside and out so well. It deserved a "Southern Living" treatment, always. We worked hard to make you "sparkle" every Christmas.

We were able to experience all the beautiful seasons NC has to offer. My favorite was the Fall. I waited patiently for your trees to decorate you, so you could radiate in orange, yellows and reds.

Winter was my least favorite. But you knew how to keep me warm inside with your fireplace and cozy family room. And when the snow fell, we enjoyed just looking outside as it fell and your lawn became a HUGE white blanket. Each time it snowed we'd hurry outside in the morning and held a photo shoot in your honor. You looked the best during those mornings because you became even more still and there's something so peaceful after a good snow fall.

When Spring came, the azaleas outside would bloom in white and we knew Winter was soon the past. We would plan how to make you alive again with pretty new colors. During the summer, we'd love to drink wine on your front porch in our rocking chairs after a long hot day. Summer evenings in NC are magical.... there's something about the smell of boxwood and the sight of lightning bugs that would make us take walks and enjoy it!

I enjoyed making my first meals in your kitchen and when I got homesick I would try out those cuban recipes my grandmother gave me.

When family and friends would come you were most happy. You were a great place to throw bar-b-q's with your great back deck and hosting was a breeze with your quaintness of space.

I know our new home will bring many more firsts, but nothing can take away our memories with you. Our new home is a lot bigger, yes, but I will never forget the warmth of your spaces. You helped me become a good wife and have taught me a lot. I never knew how much NC would become a "home" and I owe it all to you. You always made us so happy and we are sad we couldn't spend more time with you. You'll always be #1 to us forever and always in our hearts.