House Projects: New Master bath faucets, Bedroom Furniture, Painting the bedroom: Part II, everything including the Kitchen Sink!

We asked for Home Depot gift cards again for Christmas this year, and we put them (and more) towards some house projects during the few days we had at home after our trip to PA. We bought new faucets for our master bathroom, and Cory installed them in no time.

We also got a new white cast iron kitchen sink. I wanted something more functional, and it turns out this looks way better too. Cory installed this as well; I'm glad I have such a handy husband! I never thought I could like something so much that is used for washing dishes, but I love our new sink!

We also finally got new bedroom furniture, and miracle of miracles, Cory and I actually agreed on it! We had gotten a set off of a friend a few years ago, and we liked it, but we wanted two matching nightstands and another dresser, and we wanted to pick something out together. The old furniture made our guest bedroom much nicer!

And then there's the painting. Remember this: Painting the Bedroom? Yeah that was last year. Turns out we weren't in love with the color; it was too dark. So we repainted during the week before our furniture arrived, which made it pretty easy. Luckily it only needed one coat and we love the new color with our new furniture! Here's a close-up, but you can see the new paint in the bedroom pictures above.

Next up: finishing the master bathroom makeover. You can see the ugly stripped walls in the picture above. I started the wallpaper removal about a year ago, so maybe this year we'll get it done!

Christmas and New Years

Christmas

We decided to drive to PA this year and it worked out really well! We saved money, we got to bring Cosmo, and it was nice to have our own car in PA. We happened to leave just in time to follow a blizzard up the east coast. We had planned to stop in Williamsburg the second day to see my sister's new home and have lunch and then head up the rest of the way. But because of the blizzard we decided to stay the rest of the day and overnight at Heather and Aaron's. It ended up being really nice because I got to spend some time with just my sis' which we don't get to do very often anymore.

We spent the first part of PA with Cory's family. It was so good to see everyone! Our nieces and nephews are getting so big! Cosmo had a lot of fun in the snow and with the kids. Sadly, I didn't get to see Cory's buddays because no one else was home yet , but Cory did get to catch up with Lauren and Tim on the day we split up to each get some extra time with our own families.

We spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with my family which was great. We even got to see some of my aunts and uncles and cousins! And my dad had a lot of fun with his grand-dogs :)

We did a lot of eating and drinking and relaxing, and it was hard to leave everyone.

On the way back, we met up with Josh and Lisa and caravanned half of the way home, which made the trip a lot more fun! Once we got back we did some more relaxing, and started some home improvement projects (details and pictures coming soon!).

New Year's Eve

Jaime and Charlie hosted a party this year, and it was a great evening spent with great friends! There was more eating, and a lot more drinking, and of course ringing in the new year with champagne! We love our Houston family; we always have so much fun together!

New Year's Day

We slept late. As in, had to force ourselves to get up so we didn't miss the beginning of the Capital One Bowl! Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, we didn't get to watch the game with our LSU friends the Mauldins. It was a stressful game, but Penn State pulled it out in the end!

I made the traditional Lancaster county New Year's meal for dinner: pork and sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, and cope's corn. YUM!

Then we had to go back to work, and back to eating healthy and working out :(

December, pre-holidays

So I'm a little behind on posting here, so here's a catch up post for what the Sholls were up to before the holidays.

Meeting Pioneer Woman

In early December, the day before I sprained my ankle (see previous post), some of my girlfriends and I ventured downtown to meet the one and only Pioneer Woman! She just came out with her awesome cookbook and was doing a book tour. I was very excited when I learned she'd be in Houston. The signing took place in this neat organic market called Georgia's Market. It ended up being a day long event with some Starbucks and some shopping mixed in, but it was nice to spend the day together! Pioneer Woman was awesome; just like she seems on her blog. Friendly, down to earth, funny, and cute as heck! Here's our picture with her:

Holiday Goodies

I made a bunch of yummy treats for all our friends again this year. I made some stuff I'd never made, and it was fun learning new techniques! I made Peppermint Meringue Kisses, Candied Orange Peels, Peppermint Bark, and my yearly traditions, Peanut Brittle and Party Mix. I hope everyone enjoyed!

Swine Flu

I might have had it. The week before we went home to PA I was home sick from work all week. I tested negative for the flu, but my doctor told me the test was only 60% accurate. Who knows what I had, but I felt like crap! Luckily I felt better just in time for our drive to PA. Yes we drove.

Christmas adventures coming up next...