I'm a wimp

Last night our real estate agent and her husband took us golfing at their country club. To say I was a wee bit nervous was an understatement. Before last night, I have golfed a total of 18 holes in my entire life (minus the driving range), and that wasn't exactly the best performance. We raced out to get a pair of golfing shoes (which are kind of dorky cute, if there's such a thing), and a collared shirt. Although I made some really bad shots and missed the ball off the tee more than once, I think I did okay. My drives were decent; I just need to work on my short game. The hardest part was the walking. I'm thinking I'm in shape, but man, lugging that bag uphill for 500 yards on one hole was tough! Plus, I did the most walking by far because I had to chase my ball all over the fairway. Getting out of bed today was more challenging than usual...my forearms are tight, my abs are tweaked and my hands are sprouting callouses. But as much as I struggled, I kind of want to keep going. I think if I practiced, I could be decent. Plus, what better way to be outside in the summer than standing on a pristine course? I suppose I could put at home with the ol' cup...so I'll always be looking for some ladies to practice with. Let me know if you're interested.

Color wheel debate

About 5 minutes after we moved in, I started thinking about what colors I want to paint each room, how I want to decorate, etc....Actually, if I would have had enough time and motivation, it would have been so much easier to paint before we moved in, but I've learned that I have to chew on my decorating interests, look through magazines, and check out each store about 5 times before I make a decision. I went to this link on HGTV to get some ideas about color and combining styles. I've also gone to Behr, which has some really great ideas about shades, intensity, and mood. I've actually gotten a lot of help from BHG, which isn't just your grandma's kind of magazine! This is what I'm thinking: a pale yellow for the kitchen to make it bright and sunny. Both Jane & her parents had yellow kitchens in Ireland, and it kind of inspired me. A darker yellow for the dining room and living room, which is an open space.

Probably a periwinkle, grayish blue for our bedroom, as this will appease the male eye and I can still make it kind of hotel-cozy.


I'm thinking either a green room with black accents (I'm really stuck on this bright green), or some kind of rusty orange with neutral and brown accents--very hippy, but I like it.

Because the bathrooms don't have windows, I might cave in and use more blue, kind of like this.


I think it will make the space look much bigger. Any other suggestions?

Family, friends & baseball

This weekend we headed south for multiple forms of weekend entertainment. Friday we stayed with the Despins, & Liz & Bryan, the newest members of the city, came over for dinner. We went to the local baseball game to see some of Corey's best play. It was Plunger night (who thinks of these promotions?) so Nathan had a great time plunging everyone's legs. Saturday we got to see the Pershing's new homestead and headed to Karla's for their housewarming. I think ladderball is the most popular outdoor home sport. Saturday night we stayed with Nick & Anne, & headed to the Twins game and then had a great dinner at Joe's Garage. My & Anne's purses were so big collectively that at the game, they got their own seat.

Visitors

Janell, Jeff & Ryker made it to town last week, and I was finally able to see her on Sunday. She and Beth stopped by and we reminisced about our silly college days and laughed a lot about random things--surprise, surprise. Monday we met for dinner at Old Chicago, with Corey, Suzy, Brett, Courtney and Kirsten. For having two babies there, things were actually quite mellow.

Texas union

Congrats to my oldest friend & neighbor, Ben, and his new bride Kristin! They were married June 28th in Austin, which ironically is where they met although they are both from the Gopher state. The ceremony looked absolutely lovely, from the natural arbor, to the yellow and orange accents.

Shrubbery

Blushing Bride Hydrangea

Miss Kim Dwarf Korean Lilac Tree

Baptisa

Red Wiegela

My co-workers gave us a beautiful shrub as a housewarming gift. I wasn't intending on spending money on landscaping, but then I heard that perennials were 50% off at some local nurseries, so...with lots of advice and strategy from friends and family, I purchased what's shown below. Poor Corey; he willingly agreed to assist but neither of us knew what we were getting into. He managed to saw down to the root base of the first cedar bush, and after a broken shovel and a broken rope (that was tied to the truck), he managed to wrangle it out. Good thing we started early because this endeavor took about 3 hours. Then came the deer/rabbit repellent. I had to saturate the plants for the first time and I nearly vomited up my breakfast. (I cannot even describe how bad it smells; 50x worse than most horrid smell you can imagine). The shrubs looks great, so it was worth the effort! I can't wait to see what they'll look like in a few years. Kelly, I thought of you so I decided to put these in my post!

Happy BBQ

Saturday night we had some friends over to commorate summer and an expanded deck/BBQ space at the new house. The usual includes: lots of yummy, grilled food; Catch Phrase and the new group favorite, Apples to Apples (men love this one);croquet, bocce, et al. I had to take a picture of the driveway--it's so economical for get togethers! To everyone's summer: may it be full of sunny days, BBQs, and anything else that reminds you of what we cherish so greatly in the frozen tundra.