we're moving....

finally!

so. after living out of suitcases like wild bohemian newlyweds (i have no idea what that means, but it sounds adventuresome  no?), barry and i are so excited to FINALLY move into our home this week (fingers crossed, fingers crossed)! when our plans to move to jakarta, indonesia in 2012 changed abruptly and unexpectantly, we were forced to switch our flight plan (another pilot reference, you'd think i was married to a pilot...oh wait). several months, a settlement visa, and 1 labrador shipped later, barry enrolled in an MBA program, and we were ready to settle down in england. only, since our house had been rented out, we've had to wait to move until the current tenants moved out. 

so now here we are.  after renting my entire adult life, i'm finally a homeowner - through no hard work of my own, but thanks to my husband (he bought the home before we met). i might not have had a part in finding the house, but i am really looking forward to making it our home and filling it with memories!

here comes the part where i show the before pictures of our house. except i'm all kinds of nervous. what if you don't like it? i started to get freaked out about what what others will think of our little nest. then i remembered - i'm not supposed to care what other people think. but i still do. so be kind. here's a sneak peak. and remember folks, it's in england where space is at a premium (a little defensive much?)!!!!!

before

 we have BIG plans for our little hacienda, starting with the outside....

good-bye smurf blue door!

see ya later dark hallway paint, and ugly lamp shade!

good riddance yucky carpet! 

 i'm so excited for the paint color planned!

 i've already spent a lot of tlc in our kitchen this week, scrubbing the tile backlash (they're white so its hard to see from the light wall color), and cleaning the cabinets, as well as the fridge. we're keeping the tile on the wall and the slate on the floor, freshening up the paint and adding a chalkboard paint wall (not seen).

view of roxy and roscoe's own backyard! they've already visited, and roxy has, in roxy tradition, rolled around in the muddy yard!  

the master bedroom. it was the first room painted and is now a lovely shade of light blue (i've forgotten its pretentious given name). note the closet or as they're called here, 'wardrobe'. where is barry going to put his clothes??? i mean really. WHERE?

i couldn't wait to take down the medicine cabinet. and don't even get me started on the carpeting. bah-bye. (not shown is the downstairs powder room - because really, why bother?)

 this is our multi- purpose room, otherwise known as the study/guest room/ future nursery/ the room the ironing board will stay set-up because i'll get too lazy.


 // stay tuned for the after pictures next week (hopefully or whenever the decorators are finished!)//

X

puppy luv!

and our newest family member - roscoe!

while barry and i were still stateside, my mum-in-law rescued a jack russell terrier while she was visiting kilarney, ireland. as it turns out and unbeknownst to my mum-in-law, she was preggers with a liter of 4. the little bundles of joy arrived in september and greeted me upon my return from the states. although we hadn't planned on having another pet, we both agreed to give one of the puppies a home. after spending time with all 4, i found myself gravitating towards one of the two boys. but before i could allow myself to become attached, we had to first introduce the pup to our lab roxy. i'll be honest, both barry and i were nervous. i could not love an animal more, but roxy can be unpredictable, and by unpredictable i mean, aggressive (as an admitted crazy canine mama, this is very hard to admit). with baited breath roxy and roscoe met, and although they didn't necessarily hit it off, no one got hurt. 

nowadays in true sibling fashion, roscoe is ALL about his big sister, and for the most part, roxy enjoys having a little sibling to play with. in addition to his given name of roscoe, barry calls him 'scamp', and i refer to him as my 'little man'. while he can be darling, cuddly and well behaved, he can also be rambunctious, tenacious and poorly behaved. the only thing i can compare it to is toddlers. you can't leave ANYTHING in their reach you don't mind going in their mouth. boundless energy. iffy control over their bodily functions. having said that, we love roscoe to pieces and he is the perfect addition to our growing family.

Now,
get prepared for some serious cuteness.....

X

 note the disheveled look i am sporting

our little guy

he has already gotten so big! we really wish he would stop. growing already.

it has been adjustment walking two dogs, instead of just one. it is really nice when barry joins us, and he takes one of them. oh and the snow....they LOVE it. 

he looks so innocent. don't let those eyes fool ya. notice the lead at the bottom? roscoe has since chewed through it. razor. sharp. teeth.