Supervised Visitation

This is how we allow play time at our house:

We warn them both that curiosity killed the cat...

(And, yes, that is my shirt that Jack is so tenderly gripping onto.)

Bookworm

Books. I just love books! Especially new books! And I love bookstores! Especially Barnes and Noble!

I went in to that specific store today to grab a new book because I just finished the one I was reading. (Side note: I hardly ever buy new books because they are so expensive, but I'm nearly out of good reads, and new books just smell so good!) Anyway, so, I went into Barnes and Noble and was flabbergasted at the breadth of literature that sparked my interest! Seriously, folks, I could've filled a library with the amount of books that caught my attention. Brian and I would've been poor and on the streets at the amount I would've spent, but at least we'd have a library over our heads! From magical to historic, from fiction to non, from beachy romantics to self help, I was enthralled at the selection! There were more books there that interested me in the short 5 minutes (5 minutes, mind you), that I could possibly read in a lifetime, and in a strange, odd way, it felt comforting.

Books, to me, are escapes. They allow you to dive into a completely different world. They allow you to relate, and work through, and reminisce, and sympathize, and fantasize, and imagine, and the emotions are just limitless, as are the plots! If you can think of it, you can write about it, and that is an amazing gift that we are all given. (Note: I'm not trying to escape life with my dear husband, bunny, and pupster, sometimes it just happens!) It just amazes me the different worlds that can be created through reading. Books are interesting, enlightening, captivating, and you can learn so much about so many different things!

I am officially a bookworm. I will continue to be an advocate of reading. I will continue to be a spokeswoman for Barnes and Noble. I will continue to explore the world around me with books (ah hem, be a bookworm). But this post is quite winded, and I will not continue ranting about how much I love books aside from this quick quote from William Hazlitt: "Books let us into our souls and lay open to us the secrets of our own." Now, if that is not charming and romantic, I don't know what is!

Amen, Billy H., amen!

Jack-o-lanterns

In lieu of the upcoming holiday, Jack's birthday (and Halloween), we decided to get into the holiday spirit and carve a few pumpkins of our own! Yesterday, we picked out three pumpkins and got busy with our designs. (I know you are wondering why we only picked three when, technically, there are four of us. Bun, you see, eats pumpkin seeds for treats. And when we decided to get to carving, we decided that three would be enough for the four of us, especially since Bun celebrates the holiday by munching on the seeds...That's a believable story, right?! To be quite honest, I completely forgot to get a pumpkin for Bun, and now I feel terrible.)

Nevertheless, we had three pumpkins and last night we got to carving! I cleaned the pumpkins out while Brian and I both did our own designs. Jack's pumpkin was so difficult to cut into so instead of losing a few fingers in the carving process we decided to get creative and paint his. That was the much wiser and easier decision for both of us. We created a 'Jack's worst nightmare' pumpkin where his dearly beloved treat is stuck in a spider web with the spider on its way to capture its prey (Jack's bone)... This seriously would be Jack's worst nightmare. Brian's pumpkin is a mixture of goofy and drunk, and mine is a rendition of Jack Skellington, aka, 'The Pumpkin King', from The Nightmare Before Christmas.

We had an awesome time carving, and what satisfaction to add the candles! Our pumpkins looked awesome on our porch, lit with candles, illuminating the holiday for all the passersby! Check out our photos below!

Just Your Typical Buckeye Saturday

The Ohio State Buckeyes destroyed the Purdue Boilermakers today with a 49-0 win. Even though we didn't attend the game, we were able to make it down to the tailgate to enjoy a few good laughs before the obliteration began. It was wonderful to honor the game day traditions that have triumphantly set the precedences to a great many victorious OSU games.

When we returned from the tailgate, Jack and I took a leisurely stroll while Brian supported his team. Upon our arrival back at home, we all enjoyed the game together and had a lazy rest of the afternoon!

I just love weekends!

PS: We think we sold our townhouse today!!

A Love Like Woah!

Darcy and Than. Let me tell you about these two.

The very first trip I made to Columbus, OH to visit Brian I had the opportunity to hang with a few of his friends. Than was one of them. We had a wonderful time. We went to dinner, we went out to downtown Cbus, we laughed, we joked, we drank, and by the end of the night I felt like I had known Than for much longer than I really had. (And it wasn't the alcohol talking.) He and Brian are extremely close friends (some would argue too close...), and by the state of Ohio, I think they are legally declared as married for as long as they both have lived together.

When I met Darcy, it was evident that these two people [Than & Darcy] were such a compliment to each other. She is a lovely, easy-going, funny, delightful person to be around. And on top of it all, she and Than together make a wonderful couple.

We are never short of fun when we are all together. Than and Darcy are both so likeable, and accepting, and so easy to get along with, and when they decided to get married (well, when Than proposed), we were ecstatic!

This weekend, Brian and I headed down to the Sunshine State to celebrate the nuptials of these two extraordinary people, and it really was an honor to be there to celebrate such a special day with them! They hosted a happy hour at a bar called Undertow in St. Pete Beach on Friday, their wedding was on the beach in Pass-A-Grille on Saturday, and they held their reception on the rooftop of The Hurricane that Saturday night. It was wonderful.

The temperature was perfect, as was the sunset (both nights), the company we were all surrounded by, the atmosphere, even the little Inn that we all stayed at. It really was a tremendous celebration, and so lovely to be able to get to know some of Brian's amazing friends even better than I do now.

To Than and Darcy: We wish you nothing but the best, and may you always be as happy together as you are today. Congratulations!

To see photos of the ceremony, click here.

To see all the other photos, click on the image below.

Extra! Extra! Read All About It!

"Brand spankin' new listing available for your immediate occupancy on the remax website!! A lovely two bedroom, one and a half bath is awaiting your company! Updates galore, large kitchen, close to OSU, Columbus, downtown! Easily accessible from everywhere! Truly a delightful home!"

We placed our existing townhome on the market today. It is listed for sale, and we are both a tinsy bit sad that we will soon be saying goodbye to this lovely townhouse. (At least, we think it'll be relatively soon...) After much consideration with renting versus selling, reviewing the pros and cons of both, and pretty much racking our brain about the subject, we've decided that this is the best option for us, even though it may be a bit hard to let go.

Alexander Graham Bell once said, 'when one door closes, another opens', and instead of longingly looking back on our closed door, we are hopeful about the open one, and more than excited to traverse into our new turf, our new neighborhood, our new stomping grounds.

(Forgive me if I'm being slightly dramatic. Our door hasn't closed, yet, and if we can't sell the place we may end up renting it anyway. Besides, you've got to have some sort of drama with a post title like that, right?!)

PS: Radon has dared to rear it's ugly head. It has no idea who it's messing with...

One Red Slate

We had a roofing company by the name of One Red Slate inspect our new home's roof yesterday. We learned that the roof and slate are both in excellent condition, and aside from annual maintenance and the cleaning of the gutters, we are in great shape. Apparently, our roof should last us another 100 years, at least. Ahh, one less thing to worry about!

Another thing we learned about our new house is that the type of slate that we have on our roof is from the upstate New York / Vermont area of our country. We now know that we have stone from the Lake Erie area (MI), slate from the NY / VT area, and residents from OH and MD that will be living there! What's incredible about this thought is how diverse our house is and how diverse Brian and I both are. It is evident in Internationally Known (one of our blog posts) how many incredible family and friends we have all over the country (and the world!), and traveling and experiencing new things means so much to both of us. We really have found our perfect house! It fits us to a 'T'. Our characters, our personalities, and our love are all encompassed in this wonderful home, and that makes it even more exciting to get this show on the road! This new house continues to surprise us and impress us, and while we still haven't officially received the keys, we are ready to move in, get cozy, and enjoy our new home!

(And, yes, for those of you that are wondering, we do have one red slate on our roof!)

Radon

Radon is a radioactive naturally occurring gas that results from the decay of uranium. Uranium is a silvery-white metallic element that is naturally occurring in soil, rock, and water all over our Earth. Uranium is typically found in low concentrations, but because radon is a toxic substance of uranium it can and does cause some serious complications with human health. More specifically, complications with lung cancer.

Upper Arlington has been identified as an area that has higher concentrations of this noxious radioactive gas, especially in older homes. Therefore, we are having a radon test done, as we speak, actually. You see, the radon test requires this big machine that is placed in the basement of a home. It measures the radon concentration in the air over a period of 3 to 4 days. And then we get the results.

Because radon is naturally occurring, odorless, and colorless, there is a strong possibility that it is in the air around us now. There are, however, concentration levels that have been determined by the Environmental Protection Agency that are safe for us. And then there are those levels that are not safe. Fortunately, whatever the results, there are ways to eradicate the radon problem from your home. We are hopeful that our results will be within the safe zone, but we are prepared to take all necessary precautions if they are not.

Bring it on, Radon. We are ready to nip you in the bud, if you dare...

Inspector Gadget

We just had our home inspected today by a lovely and knowledgeable inspector. It was amazing. It, literally, was like going on a site seeing tour in your own home. We learned so much! I caught myself more than once wide-eyed with jaw agape at the elaborate, meticulous details that were thought of and built in 1936 (the year our dear home was constructed), and knowing that the roof above the garage is built four times stronger than houses are built today is just an incredible thought. We also found out that the stone that adorns the front, sides, and rear of the house is from Lake Erie, and that a mason sat in the front yard with a pile of rock and had to hand chisel each and every stone whilst construction of the house was being done. Simply astounding.

Brian and I trailed our inspector like helpless puppy dogs around every corner, every nook, and every cranny of the house, even into the attics, and we were just dumbfounded at the thought and lifestyle of the 1930's. It was an illuminating tour of the past, and having the opportunity to carry out the character of a house that was built 74 years ago just makes us smile with pride. We look forward to the many memories that we will make there, and we look forward to being homeowners.

We are so, so excited, once again! We are well on our way to embarking on yet another milestone in life, and it feels unbelievable!

Go, go, Gadget!

An Unforgettable Day!

Brian and I were fortunate enough to be able to hire the most incredible videographer we've ever seen: Indy Productions. Working with Dustin was simply marvelous. And the final outcome of our video is just fantastic! The attention to detail, the professionalism and the ease of which it was to work with Dustin really made our day. It was a joy to have him around, and we couldn't be happier with our video! What's even more incredible is the fact that we were both able to relive our special day from a completely different perspective. We had front row seats to our own wedding, and we had a blast!

Thank you, Dustin, Devon, and all the support we received from Indy Productions. We cannot thank you enough for capturing the special moments of our unforgettable day!

Our wedding video!

Home Sweet Home

I kid you not, folks, it's official! Exactly two months after we got married, we found out that we are the proud homeowners of a brilliant, charming house on W. Lane Avenue! It's wonderful. It's got a lovely back yard, wonderful nooks and crannies, and it's full of so much character. We have some minor work to do, but we couldn't be happier (possibly a slight bit scared...), and as soon as everything passes inspection we will be moving right along! (Pun intended.)

Happy two month anniversary, Honey Cakes! Welcome Home!

(Image courtesy of real living.)

Wild Yough

In an effort to come up with the perfect Groom's Gift for our wedding, I thought what better than to whisk Brian away to a cozy cabin in the woods with our dearest four legged friend for our first official 'family' vacation?! How could you better celebrate your love than by sharing it together?! Genius!

And this weekend, that is exactly what we did! I booked a lovely house about a mile off the roadway, surrounded by hundreds of acres of state parks and the Youghiogheny River, in Oakland, Maryland. The house was enchanting. There were so many windows that really connected you with nature. There was a fire pit, and a hot tub, and a huge field that we could play endless hours of ball in. There were hiking trails and paths that led us deep into the forest, there were deer feeders for our wildlife viewing pleasure (I think Jack's barking scared all wildlife away for about a 15 mile radius from wherever we were), there were so many stars, there was a wonderful kitchen, and absolutely wonderful company!

On Friday when we arrived, I got dinner started while Brian (and Jack) set up the fire pit for our campfire. (We brought all the fixin's for s'mores, which we haven't had in forever, and they were absolutely delicious!) After dinner, we relaxed with a glass of wine by the fire, played a bit of ball, made some s'mores, enjoyed the hot tub, and watched the stars come out. It really was a nice cool, Fall night, and having access to the hot tub and the fire pit was a necessity if you were outdoors given the temperature in the air.

On Saturday, we got an early start and warmed ourselves up with some scrumptious, hearty oatmeal, and took a brisk morning walk through the woods to the river. Jack was in heaven! He absolutely loved being able to roam, smell everything, and be free. (He also barked away two deer who ran for their lives. These were the only deer we really 'saw' together. And we didn't really even see them they ran so fast!) We were in heaven, too. We had a go with some of our photography skills, enjoyed the feeling of having nothing to do and no cell phone reception, and relished the changing of the seasons. It was quite cool that morning, but turned out to be a beautiful day.

When we got back to the house, we packed our lunches and headed to Swallow Falls for a quick hike, and a scenic lunch by the river. Despite the water being quite cold, Jack was still interested in going for a swim. We weren't too keen on the idea, so we jerry-rigged his leash to a small boulder with just enough slack so that he could run, but not swim. We had such a nice, relaxing day!

That evening, instead of grilling out, as planned, we headed into town to have dinner at Black Bear. (Mainly because we received a text message that our wedding video was up, and we just couldn't wait to watch it!) And, once again, topped the night off with a couple s'mores, a camp fire, and good company!

It was a beautiful weekend, and we feel this is definitely a spot we will have to travel to again!

And to my Groom that prompted this wondrous weekend getaway: I love you! Happy nearly two months anniversary!