Tidbits

With the month of April, our schedules have returned to a more normal pace, and we have enjoyed staying local for the last couple weekends.  We have been doing some work around the house (inside & out), and slowly but surely we are making this house look more and more complete. You'd think we would have it all settled after living here for almost 10 months now, buuuut that's just not the case. I tend to be a perfectionist (shocking, I know), so if I can't find the perfect thing for a certain spot, I just wait.  That means we are just waiting on several different little spots, and really I should just find something that works and go with it...but I just can't pull the trigger. Still holding out for the perfect little touches! 

Speaking of the house, the biggest project on the docket right now is actually our kitchen.  However, that project is far too big of an undertaking for us to do alone, so we have been chatting with a contractor about ways to update that space and make it more functional.  We are still trying to work out some details, but hopefully we can make it all happen.  More on that to come!

Ok, that was too many words with no pictures.  Let's see what else has been going on!

Our sweet friends David & Rachel came to visit for one super fun night!  David had to come to town to take the final part of his boards for dental school, so we got to celebrate with them after he finished!  It was SO great to have them here even though it was a super quick visit. We miss them dearly!

Austin & I attended a work fundraiser event this past weekend.  It was a Speakeasy Gala, so the event had a 20s style theme...which meant costumes!  We didn't go all out with fringe flapper dresses and zoot suits, but we had fun with a few accessories! 

The event turned out to be a lot of fun with great food, jazzy music, casino games, and live and silent auctions.  And best of all, we raised a lot of money to support our school and the families we serve there.

Last but not least I got to spend the day at the zoo!  We have a great zoo here in town, and today we had a school field trip for our kiddos and their families.  We were nervous about rain, but it turned out to be the perrrrrfect day for the zoo.  It is always funny seeing the kids outside of the school... they usually seem so confused.  I feel certain they think we all live at the school and do not exist outside of those walls.  Once they figured out that we were not going to take them away from their parents, they loved having us there for the outing.  The kids all loved the animals and the free space to run, and it's always nice to get a chance to visit with the parents of cuties who fill my days.  Great day on the job!  Besides, who doesn't love a good panda sighting?!

What's up next you might ask? April Break! Yup, I have the week off next week, and I cannot wait! 

Spring Break 2012, Parts 2 & 3

Stop #2: Little Rock

As always, it is so fun to visit with friends back in the homeland.  It was a quick trip, but we got to stop in and visit with several friends, and it was so good to catch up with each of them.

However, the main event during our stay was Match Day for my big brother! Patrick is a senior medical student, and March 16th was the big day.  It was so weird being back in this place, watching him on this day, and remembering all the things we were going through and feeling for ourselves just one year ago.  Somehow it seems like a lifetime ago.  But I am beyond thrilled to report that Patrick will be training as a general surgery resident at Baylor Hospital in Dallas!!! His top choice!! He and his fiance Grace are ecstatic! It was such a fun day filled with so much joy for both of our families!  I honestly don't remember the last time I cried tears of pure joy, but they were flowing freely that day.  It was wonderful! Patty, I love you so much and am so so proud of you!

Anxiously awaiting the news...

  

The big announcement!

LOVE this picture featured in the local paper! So much joy!

Happy family!

Proud little sister!!

Celebratory lunch with both families!

 Stop #3: NWA
After the match day celebration, we headed up to visit the Bells in NWA. We hadn't been since Christmas, so we were quite excited to spend some time with everyone up there.  And although the trip was quick, it was a great visit.  One of the main weekend events was family painting day on Saturday.  Lauren and Alex are having a baby girl this summer, so we all teamed up to help paint sweet Rooney Corrine's nursery pink! It was a fun thing for us all to do together, and then we had family dinner out at Table Mesa.  Great day!  Unfortunately I didn't take many pictures during our trip, but I do have one little shot worth showing...

Sweet baby Jane is getting so big!  She is such a cutie.  Brooks is growing like a weed, too, and he is so handsome, fun, and full of energy.  He is currently vacillating between growing up to be a "heart doctor or a ninja"... truly a tough decision.  We recently discovered that he really only wants to be a doctor because he is certain that all doctors drive ambulances as their personal vehicles.  (I will not be the one to burst his bubble on that one.) So Brooks occasionally has questions for Austin about his profession. The latest was "do doctors eat cheetos or burritos?" I mean, this is serious stuff when it comes to choosing your life's work.  Clearly, this kid is wise beyond his four years, and I love him to pieces.

That wraps up our nine days on the road for Spring Break 2012.  It was tough getting back to the grind, but we are rolling along again.  Speaking of rolling along, today was bike day at our school. It was so fun watching all of the kiddos rocking and rolling on their trikes and bikes! Love those sweet babies!

Spring Break 2012, Part 1

One the perks of working for a school is Spring Break as an adult, and it could not have come at a more perfect time.  And the best part?? Austin was working in the ER and was able to arrange his shifts to have 9 days off in a row with me! I thought this kind of occurrence during intern year was unheard of. So needless to say, we took full advantage of each day we had away from work and headed out of town for a trio of trips.

Stop #1: BALTIMORE! We had been looking SO forward to this trip since booking our flights back in early December.  Rob & Allison, some of our nearest and dearest friends, moved up to Balty back when we headed to Tennessee.  We had seen them for a couple brief visits since moving, but it was so great to get to spend concentrated time with them in their new, northern world.  They have the sweetest toddler girl and the most precious baby boy, and we had the best time hanging out with all of them.  Truly, we could not have wished to spend our vacation doing anything else. We miss these friends so very much, and we soaked up every.single.second. Here are a few (or maybe a several) shots from the trip!

Love this boy and all of his hair.

Sweet, sweet girl.

I think that's a little smile from baby boy!

Baking cookies!

Introducing Ev to cream cheese icing...

I think she likes it!

Sharing book #764 over dinner. This gal is a bookworm!

Love this girl.

 

Hooray for great friends!

To Rob & Allison: This trip was the very best.  Thanks for hosting us for our extended stay.  We must do this again as soon as humanly possible.  Please and thank you.

March Madness

First of all, I can't believe March is already here. Woah Nelly.

Secondly, March is going to be busy month for the Bells. Luckily, it's mostly FUN stuff, and that, my friends, is my favorite kind of busy.

March Madness kicked off with a visit from the pops! My dad had a dental conference in town, so he came to stay with us for a few days. We LOVED having him here. We spent the majority of our time watching Chopped (our newest addiction) and eating like kings.  Yes, my waistline and I are keenly aware of the major food trend happening here.  Somehow, the boys managed to find time between meals for a round of golf. It was cold and windy, but where there is a will, there is a way.  But enough about that, back to the food talk.  We ventured downtown for both of our weekend dining hotspots, and we were not disappointed.  Friday night we had dinner at Spindini, a local Italian place.  It was delish, and we had a great time!  Here's a shot of our side of the table...

But let's move along to the dinner of all dinners.  Flight.  This place is extra-special.  You can order dinner just like you would order dinner anywhere else...OR...you can order flights of food.  Yes, that's right.  Multiple salads, soups, entrees, desserts... SMORGASBORD at your very own table.  If you order a flight, you receive smaller portions of each entree you choose, so the total amount of food equals one typical entree. They have pre-selected thematic flights (e.g., Seafood Flight- lobster, scallops, shrimp), or you can create your own flight, which is what we all did.  Now, I typically don't like photographs of food, but I feel like photos explain this place a bit better...

Salad Flight

Austin's Flight of Entrees

Dessert Flight (mid-annihilation)

Good to the last button-popping bite.  And tons of fun, too! 

Thanks for the visit, Dad!! Come back soon!

Entrez s'il-vous-plaît

We finally decorated our entryway! It has been an empty area of nothingness for 8 months now, but I was determined to wait until I found something I just loved. Turns out it was worth the wait, and I'm quite pleased with what we pulled together on a sweet little budget.

It was a bit of a task because we wanted a table in that space, but we were only working with 12 inches of depth.  Turned out to be a bit of a challenge to find a table that thin...but my favorite antique mall/flea market pulled through again! This is what we started with....right size, right price, wrong color.  So wrong.

But with a little sanding, painting, and cool new hardware, this puppy was as good as new!

Next order of business was something for the wall above the table.  The husband has a 'thing' about mirrors in the entryway...something about scaring himself every time he walks in the door...I don't know.  So the mission was to find some art.  Not my strong suit.  But after months of looking, I stumbled up on this beauty on etsy.

Botanical print on vintage dictionary page.  I swooned.  And then ordered a set of 6.

In keeping with the worn look of the old pages, we went with weathered barnwood frames (50% off at Hobby Lobby).  I was so excited and just couldn't get them up fast enough!

Our house definitely feels a little more complete with these bad boys up.  Here is a look at the whole project... 

So pleased.  I feel like it really fits with our house but also has a unique quality to it.  Three cheers for one less empty wall and for a more welcoming entryway-- Hip Hip Hooray!

Well Hello There...

I am embarrassed to see that my most recent post was about Christmas. Yikes. Worst blogger alive.

But no news is good news, I suppose.  We've just been here plugging along. Doing our thaaang. 

And then some VISITORS arrived! Some dear friends from college made the trek all the way here for a weekend of togetherness.  Let's take a moment to talk about how these precious folks came over the river and through the woods just to hang out for a couple o' days.  Two of these lovies worked all day, hopped on an aeroplane, then rented a car & did some more driving.  Serious love, y'all.  And then my other dearheart couldn't stay all weekend, so she woke up Friday, worked a half day, drove here, hung out for the evening, and woke up the next morning and drove right back home. Talk about making the effort. Blessed to have friends like these.

I wish I could go rambling on about all the super cool things we did this weekend, and how I was just the hostess with the mostest....but I'll shoot straight-- I was kind of a dud in that department.  There wasn't much going on in town, and it was a rainy, icky weekend.  But we did three of my favorite things-- eat, talk, laugh.  We stayed up late chatting into the wee hours every night, and I loved every second.  The only real decision we made was to eat our way through this city, and that is exactly what we did. We planned everything around our meals, and our tummies thanked us for every delicious morsel. We only took one photo all weekend, so here it is.  Weekend commemorated. 

Thank you gals for coming all the way here to talk to me and eat with me. I loved it, and I love y'all.

A few other notable things have happened since my last post (in no particular order)....

• BIL and SIL found out they are expecting a baby GIRL! Could not be more thrilled!
• Dear, dear friends living up in Balty had a baby BOY! So cute, so much hair, so much love! (T minus 32 days!)
• Austy-boy worked around 327 hours in the month of January.  That's a conservative estimate.
• Had some ups and downs in the working world.  Trying to keep my big girl pants cinched tight.
• Spent quality time with both of our families over the holidays.  Loved every minute.
• Had a few contractors come look at our kitchen-- hoping to spiff it up a bit in the near future!
• Finally got around to painting our trim (some of it...). We bought the paint 6 months ago.
• Had a few date nights with different couples around here.  Hoping these mark the beginnings of some great new friendships!
• FINALLY filled our entryway with some decor... Post on that coming soon! 

I'm Dreaming of a Burlap Christmas

Decorating for Christmas while listening to Christmas music is one of my favorite things in the world.  I look forward to it all year.  I traditionally decorate with apple reds and greens to make the house look all merry and bright.  This year I thought I would mix it up a bit, and I am quite pleased with how it turned out.  It's not quite as bright, but I think it's still pretty darn merry.

Because our house has a lot more neutral colors--creams, taupes, blues, etc-- I wanted our Christmas decorations to work well with what we already had going on.  I really felt like the red & green would throw that off a bit, so I went with a more natural look for our decor.  Now, buying all new Christmas decorations can get pricey, so I decided to make a lot of them myself.  And with the help of Pinterest (I am seeing a recurring theme here...), I pulled it off on the cheap.  And I had some fun with it, too.  Onward to the goods...

Ruffled tree skirt that required NO sewing. Booya.

This year's tree with lots of homespun decorations.

Some of our ornaments...

His and hers burlap stockings

Advent calendar created by my dear friend Kelsey Hency for  her new business Salt.
Check out her advent blog at atasteofsalt.com

Brown paper packages tied up with string...

....these are a few of my favorite things.

In the words of one of my sweet little muchkins at school, "Miss Emmy, Crimmas comin'!" And I can hardly wait!