BigBlueHouse270

Retaining wall and sweet corn...

2009-07-19T18:48:00.006-05:00

The lazy blogger is back! We finally have something blogworthy to post!

The weather this week-end was very.....fall like. We like July days and don't like being robbed of them. It was a good week-end to build a mini-retaining wall in front of the house. This will help prevent our bushes/dirt from rolling down the hill. We should be getting close to getting some grass as well!

Before:

After:

The sun finally came out!! :)

Saturday we went to the Farmer's Market....

Missouri peaches.......who knew they grew peaches in Missouri??? Tasty peaches even!

And one of the most beautiful things about living in Iowa........sweet corn at the end of July! mmmm mmmmmmmm.

Nate tried his hands at ribs.....we both decided they weren't bad but we'd prefer someone else to cook them for us! :P

Ike enjoyed a nice bone in the sunshine. He was a big fan of helping clean the corn and eating the greenery.

After a busy Sunday of playing with his new toy cat, rolling in the yard, cooking, a walk, and a bath............Ike is ready to call it a week-end!

Hair do...

2009-07-13T17:00:00.004-05:00

Ike got a new hair do. She gave him old man Andy Rooney eye brows....we cut those yesterday. He told me he was good but I think he's lying....

Moonlight Chase

2009-07-12T09:22:00.006-05:00

Last night we volunteered at the Moonlight Chase...Nate's mom is the race director. There was a 1/4 mile, 1 mile, and 4 mile race. The 4 mile race started at 9:00 PM and the race is lit by luminaries. 1899 people raced last night!! We preferred watching! Luckily the weather was B-E-A-U-tiful!!!

We're the couple that dresses alike....

This family likes to volunteer.....or is it volun-told?? :)

Our nephew is cute cheeseball!! (Check out those manpris!)

Racers waiting to start.... (we need to figure out how to take pictures in the dark...)

Looks like too much work.....

Rain, Rain, Go Away

2009-07-10T20:38:00.003-05:00

It has been one rainy summer!!! It rained ALL morning...boo!

Today we were going to volunteer at the John Deere Classic Golf Tournament (aka wear funky green shirts and watch some professional golfers)...but play was suspended. Michelle had to work all day. How sad! :P

The only one smiling.........

Ike........because Nate was home with him all afternoon! :)

123456789 Day

2009-07-08T20:31:00.005-05:00

Some people have too much time on their hands!...

Today marked a cool spot in sequential history. At exactly 12:34:56 today, the time and date was 12:34:56 7/08/09. This only happens once every 100 years.

What were you doing? Something noteworthy?

I was eating leftover tatertot casserole in the breakroom at work. Top that.

Sewing adventures...

2009-07-07T19:47:00.006-05:00

I like to teach myself new things. I'm very notorious for starting projects and never finishing them...mainly because I get bored once I realize I can do something. I just like the challenge of seeing if I can do it or not.

Newest task: sewing

My mom let me borrow her old school sewing machine. I didn't really want to purchase a sewing machine and then hate sewing. (Nate thought borrowing was a FABULOUS idea.)

I decided to work on a receiving blanket for a friend of ours who just had a little girl. I found this idea at http://mayamade.blogspot.com/2008/11/simple-gifts.html Thanks for the great advice!

Here's the finished product....not so shabby for my first adventure.

Last night I tried to make a pillow cover. My mom lead me astray and told me cut an inch and a half off of the fabric. I did and then I was an inch and a half off. You can't win them all....

I think there may be more sewing adventures to come!

Fireworks!

2009-07-06T20:54:00.003-05:00

Last night we were suprised with fireworks in our very own, dinky little suburbia town. We watched them from the deck....slightly obstructed by some trees...but still a fun way to end the 3 day week-end.

(Nate told me to use the fireworks setting on the camera. I think he doesn't know what he's talking about. He still thinks it's because we were too far away...whatever! :P )

Ike was bored during fireworks....surprisingly he didn't get scared...he was just trying to figure out what the pretty lights were....and then he got REALLY sleepy....

Good end to a great 4th!

4th of July

2009-07-05T10:44:00.004-05:00

Hope everyone had a great 4th! It was a VERY rainy and gloomy one here. Luckily it didn't ruin our only outside plans...GRILLING..........turkey wrapped in bacon (super healthy) and beer butt chicken. Mmmmm, mmmmm.

I didn't have my camera out much so I don't have many pictures to post. We mainly just had a relaxing week-end...and relaxing week-ends don't tend to lead to very exciting pictures. :P

Friday the girls went fabric/scrapbook shopping. (Michelle learned to sew on Friday...a post to follow on her creation!). The boys went golfing. Then fireworks over the Mississippi. The boys took too long golfing/eatings so we got a bad parking spot...which again..didn't lead to very exciting pictures. Darn boys!

Saturday was movies and naps and Wii playing!

All in all.........4th of July 2009 was better than 2008.........siding our house and being too tired for fireworks.....I prefer the lack of pictures....and lack of manual labor....

House Tour- 2nd floor

2009-07-01T21:13:00.006-05:00

Ike would like to give you a tour of our 2nd floor.... (It's also kind of like a Where's Waldo game...can you spot Ike in the pictures?? He's VERY helpful!)

View of walkway looking into master bedroom...

North bedroom....

North sink area of Jack and Jill bathroom (the other side looks EXACTLY the same)....

Shower/toilet area of Jack and Jill bath....

South bedroom.... (thinking about turning this into a craft room...hmmmm)...

Laundry room....

Master bedroom....it needs more...something above the bed...any suggestions??

Pocket doors that open into master bath....

Claw foot tub we had refinished...

We have some trim and finish work left in here....

Ike is hilarious...

Master bedroom closet...we're thinking about watching the fireworks from this window...minor flaw in the house plan!...

Price Pfister Ashfield faucet.....conserves water...looks pretty...you can't go wrong...

Ike hopes you have enjoyed your tour....

House Tour- First Floor

2009-06-30T09:08:00.000-05:00

Enjoy a tour of our first floor!

View from the front door...

Livingroom....

Office....We need to do some finish work...and decorating (obviously!). The fireplace in the livingroom is two-sided...the opposite side being in the office.

Breakfast area...

Kitchen...We need to finish the crown molding and we're debating on the backsplash.....mosaic tile or beadboard?? Any suggestions??

Dining room....think it needs anything?? :P

Foyer....

View of circular staircase...

Mudroom. We want to add a bench, coathooks, normal mudroom accessories. Currently it houses Ike's litter box....yes, Ike is litter trained...it's a beautiful thing!

Hallway to mudroom (We are in the process of ordering curved trim for the circular area...now what to put there???)

Powder room...only a sink and toilet...Nate needs to hang a mirror...hint, hint! :)

The tour will continue this week. Thanks for visiting...let us know you were here!

Our Child

2009-06-29T20:58:00.001-05:00

Ike will be making many appearances in our blog. He's the funniest dog. What we love best about our Ike is that he is ALWAYS happy...every second is the best second of his life. He makes us step back and realize what is important.

We got Ike in April 2007. He was a naughty puppy...as all puppies are.

But also one of the cutiest....

Ike has been our best bud for the past 2 years....our child. We love him to pieces. Lately we are beginning to realize that our child is going to need some schooling.....dog school. The price is reduced if you and your dog fail the first session. School starts in August. Wish us luck!

Why the need for obedience school?

Ike has made some costly/bad luck mistakes in the past month. First....a root canal for Michelle. She bent down to pet him and he jumped straight in her face. Her front tooth was dislodged. She had to call the dentist....on a Sunday...of Memorial Day week-end. She went for her check-up a week later and got the bad news....her tooth was dying and she'd need an emergency root canal. Bummer Ike.

1 week later.....while getting ready for a week-end evening out.....Ike was left alone in the closet (our mistake!)....he was found chewing Nate's shorts.......and his Samsung Delve phone in his shorts. Bummer Ike (and Nate). (Luckily for Ike, US Cellular has discounted phones for situations like this. We also now have insurance on our phones.)

These mistakes...along with some walking issues have brought about the need for dog school. His cute face tries to persuade us otherwise...

Introductions

2009-06-28T19:30:00.001-05:00

We're going to do it. We read blogs on a daily basis and we've been meaning to start our own. Today is the day.

Our 3 reasons to blog:

1. Stay in touch with family and friends.

2. Make new friends.

3. Motivate us to finish some projects around the house. :P

Who are we?

Two 27 year olds and a wire fox terrier from eastern Iowa (Quad Cities)

Michelle is a pharmacist by day. She works in a medical clinic that serves those in need (lack of insurance, language barrier, etc). She loves her job but it can be quite stressful. So to relax...she likes to take nightly walks Nate and Ike, do home improvement projects, decorate, read books, golf, watch movies, drink lemonade on the deck....you get the picture.

Nate is an accountant. He doesn't get stressed about much. He enjoys most of the activities above (minus decorating. :P). He also likes yard work and bad Discovery channel tv.

Ike is our wire fox terrier....our source of joy, root canals, chewed up phones, stolen blankets, and smiles.

Our house (see above). We began building it last summer (2008) with the help of our parents, family, and friends. The title of our blog stems from people always asking us if we are "that young couple that lives in the big blue house." We did a lot of the work ourselves and it has paid off. We still have MANY projects left to do. The thing about being your own contractor is that you do things as you have time....and with both of us working 40+ hours a week...the time is limited.

We hope you enjoy our blog and upcoming posts!