Warming the House

Summer kick-off party!

Justin and I want to thank everyone who helped us celebrate our new house last night. We are enjoying creating memories here and are glad you could be apart of that. For everyone that wanted to be here and couldn't your kind words means the world to us. 

P.S. Thank you, Cara for sending the beautiful flowers. They added great color to our party :) 

Keep you posted,

<3 L

No Thank You

DIY

 A few months ago Justin and I went through the design center and had to pick out every single detail for our home. This was both exciting and overwhelming . I plan for EVERYTHING, but I was not prepared to make decisions like: How many outlets do you want for the kitchen? Where do you want them? Do you want them horizontal or vertical? I had no idea! Most of the other questions they asked, however, we were prepared for. Do you want to upgrade the floors? "No thank you". Do you want to add a kitchen backsplash? "No thank you"(you get the point). This was our go-to answer for a few different reasons. 1. I'm super picky (surprise, I know!). We had already gone to the design center and looked at their choices for wood floors and backsplash, no thank you. 2. Justin is SUPER talented. If you want something done right, do it yourself. Right? 3. We try to be as smart with our money as possible. Why would we settle on a choice we don't love and pay too much money for it when we could do it ourselves. So we said, "No thank you" a lot that day. This meant on closing day when we got our keys we walked into our first home and tore it apart. The entire house was covered in brand new carpet and tile and we tore up every single piece (Don't worry, we donated all of it). We made our brand new home look like a construction site again! Our builder thought we were crazy, which we might be, but I could not be happier with how our DIY projects have come out so far.

Take a look...

Goodbye tile, hello wood floors. 

My personal project.

I'm obsessed with our kitchen.

What do you think?

Keep you posted,

<3 L

Making a House a Home

 Justin and I have officially become homeowners! We are having so much fun taking our house and making it feel like us. We have the best family and friends. We appreciate your help SO much. The champagne is currently being chilled, so stay tuned for the house warming party. You are all invited ;)

Don't let them fool you, they have been working very hard!

I'm looking forward to wrapping up my painting projects and starting my favorite part... decorating!!

Keep you posted,

<3 L

A Weekend for Celebrating

Olivia's Engagement Party

 This weekend my family celebrated with Olivia and Madison at their engagement party! The night was filled with candle light, lots of desserts, and love <3

Congrats to the happy couple :)

 I supposed updates on the house are always a reason to celebrate as well. We now have full walls and the inside painted. I stopped by this weekend and was amazed to find the kitchen coming together, tile starting to be laid, and the outside of the house being primed for paint color!

The lighting in this room is my favorite.

I love a white kitchen.

Can't wait to see the outside painted.

A few weeks ago I decided to write on the foundation of our master bedroom. I am so glad that I did when I had the chance <3

Keep you posted,

<3 L

Pardon Our Dust

Superbowl Sunday

Just a quick update on the house before game time. Go Broncos!!

Charlie checking out the front porch!

Future living room

I hope this kitchen is ready by next Christmas!

We have windows! 

Charlie's favorite part of the house - the backyard :)

Keep you posted,

<3 L 

Laying the Foundation

Hard Hat Required

2013 has come and gone and it brought me so many blessings. I was scrolling through my pictures of places Justin and I traveled last year and it made me feel two things -
1. grateful (for those experiences)
2. where should we go next and when can we leave?!

Besides traveling, 2013 just seemed to be filled with one happy occasion after another. First Justin and I bought our first house! Then we became Uncle Thunder and Aunt Latoya to our beautiful nephew B. As if that was not enough good news, Olivia and Madi announced their engagement!! Family, friends, good news.... I LOVE the holidays <3

I cannot think of a better symbol for starting 2014 off with good vibes than laying the foundation on our house. I was so excited when I saw they poured the concrete and construction has soared from that point on. Everything with the house is happening so much faster than I had expected and it has been really fun seeing it go from dirt to the makings of our first house. Below are some pictures of the progress so far....

Wishing you all great things in 2014!

Keep you posted,

<3 L

Happy Birthday, Amy!

A birthday celebration in Maggie Valley, North Carolina

 We just got back from a fun and relaxing weekend in North Carolina with Mike and Amy. We planned this trip as a birthday celebration for Amy but the timing could not have worked out better considering their recent news. Since learning about Mike's acceptance to a school that will require him to be in Colorado for the next two years we were grateful for the time spent with them before they leave. The weekend was filled with fall activities to match the gorgeous fall weather. Although I would have been perfectly happy eating smores by the fireplace the entire weekend, my mother-in-law gave us great recommendations, including Barber's Orchard where we got the most delicious apple cider and apples. I even got to try apple cider doughnuts for the first time. Yum! Shopping on main street was hands down Charlie's favorite part of the trip because she got to pick out some treats from the dog bakery. Another first for me was our trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. I was hoping to see more fall color in the trees than was present but still beautiful nonetheless. I was so excited to get to watch some elk grazing in the fields for awhile. I searched my hardest for a black bear but was unsuccessful. We ended our trip to the park with a fabulous sunset ; ) Most of all I am grateful for a great time with some of our best friends.

Mike and Amy we will miss you terribly but are very excited for you to go on this adventure. Happy birthday, Amy!

Keep you posted,

<3 L