Big News!

What if I told you in this picture that we are a family of three...well its true. We are adding on to the family and although in my monthly goals for September I wanted a four-leg furry friend to add to our family, God had a bigger plan. On September 5th our lives changed...we found out we are PREGNANT!! We are beyond blessed and excited.

You may have noticed its been a little quiet around here and that's because I have been super tired. I thankfully haven't had any morning sickness but exhaustion and hunger has gotten the best of me this past month.

We had our first ultrasound yesterday. It was surreal to see our baby up on the screen moving around. I am 9 weeks and am due May 12, 2014!

Where Have I Been?

So you may wonder where I have been but don't fret, I'm not leaving you guys. I have decided to take a break for the rest of the month. I have some crazy projects. From painting my house to new business projects I'm trying to get them done so I can give you guys better content. I cant wait to show you guys what I am up too:)

Insta Weekend

Yesterday my husband's company throw a picnic at Kings Island for their employees and family. It was very nice and made for a fun day. I am not a roller coaster fan so I sat out on all of them but it was great to see hubby have such good time. On the way back we stopped at an outlet mall. It was amazing and I plan on going back soon...when money grows on trees. Ha! Although our feet were dead by the time we got home it made for a fantastic day!

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Guest Posting

Just stopping in to say I'm guest posting today over on Simply Clarke. Its about finding the perfect home. Marquis and her husband are starting the home buying process and I couldn't be more excited for them. So take some time and check it out.

Also I now have a Facebook page:) So come on over and like it!

Happy Friday:)

Camping Weekend

Happy Monday!! This past weekend my husband and I went to our annual camping trip with my aunts, uncles and cousins. Its always a blast every year. We have somehow made it a tradition to wear superhero shirts the first day. The little cousins love it. Here are a few I took while there. More are on my instagram so check them out:) 

Sneak Peek

Want to sneak peeks of our new house? Well today is your lucky day! There will be a full house tour this Friday. You may have already seen a sneak peek if your follow my sister. She posted last week about how entertaining the mural in my dinning room was. We talked about painting over it but have decided for now to leave it up. Here are a few shots we got before all of the stuff was moved in.

We cant wait to show you the whole house as well as updates we want to do to it. Hope you all had a great weekend. Happy Monday!

Moving Day

Moving day was crazy but in an organized way. Most our family came to help, which we greatly appreciated. While packing I labeled the boxes "bedroom 1", "bedroom 2" etc. Instead of "master bedroom" or " Alex's craft room". I then labeled the room doors with the corresponding number. It made it easy for our family to get the boxes where they needed to go.

Once we got our first load (we have more stuff than we thought) in the truck and cars we met my mom and sister at the house. They were getting lunch ready and finishing some last minute cleaning. Our lunch was our traditional moving day lunch we have done for every other move...sloppy joes! My mom are the bomb! As sides we had pasta salad, pretzel salad and chips. For dessert there was cookies and homes made brownies.

Shortly after lunch Jesse and I ran out to the appliance store to get a washer and dryer with my dads help. We came back and installed them both and headed off to a relaxing dinner at CiCi's.

I'm so thankful for all the help we got from our family. House tour coming soon! 

We Are Buying A House!!

Today's the day! It's house buying day! We officially buy our first home:) We are beyond excited! I'm keeping this post short because I'm buried in boxes and must.keep.packing. I plan to share all about moving day and the new house next week so check back!

Trying to pretend to know what we are doing. Let just say we spent more time than we needed in home depot last night

Father's Day

For Father's Day this past Sunday Jesse and I were able to spend time with both sides of our family. We went to a late lunch for his side and a dinner for mine. For my side it was at my moms and pretty casual. For Jesse's though it was at his brother and sister-in-laws house. Everything was so nice, tablescape and all. We grilled out and had delicious desserts:) I even made the cards!

Hope you all had a wonderful Father's Day!

To The Best Dad's In Town

Happy Father's Day to all the awesome dads out there. I am so blessed to have a Dad and a Dad-in-law. They are full of wisdom, love and generous hearts. I could not thank them enough for all there love and support for Jesse and I. So give your dad a great big hug today and everyday:)

Before Moving Checklist

Moving can be hectic and unorganized if you don't plan properly. A few weeks ago I talked about packing tips while moving. Today I have come up with a before moving checklist.

To Call

• Utilities. Its a good idea to call them about a week before to make sure you aren't out any necessities like power. 
• Cable and Internet. Same as utilities I would suggest calling approximately a week before.
• The City. Or area you will be moving to. For us we will want to know more about the city and important information as a new resident.

To Rent

• Moving truck. If you don't have vehicles big enough to move all your belongings like most, it is likely you will need to rent some sort of moving truck.
• Supplies. You can rent anything from cardboard boxes to dollies. 

To Gather

• Movers. Make sure you have confirmed with friends and family who is available to help you move. You wont want to be short handed on moving day.
• Food and Drinks. Its always nice to provide some sort of food and drink for you helpers. We are moving early morning and plan to be done around lunch. I have organized my mother and mother-in-law to help with food. I will provide drinks and a side dish for the lunch.

Here are just a few tips. Happy moving!

Coming Soon

Look what I have been up to lately! I have a super duper exciting announcement coming your way soon! Until now here are some sneak peek pictures to hold you over.

ps: after proof reading this lovely post it sounds like I am prego but that is a negative...sorry to get your hopes up.

Boy Do I Have News For You!

...We bought a house! We are officially in contract! After several weeks of looking and a week of inspections we are hopefully (fingers crossed) done with that part of the process for a long while! Now we are looking forward to signing our life away and having cramped hands at closing. 

We are beyond excited yet slightly stressed at the same time. There are a lot of thing we don't know about owning your own home yet so it will be an adventure for sure! 

House Hunting Blues

This past weekend my husband and I went through every house in our price range in our desired are we want. Talk about exhausting  We fell in love with 1 particular house and ask the Realtor if we could come back on Sunday to take a second look at it. With in an hour of being home from house hunting we got a phone call...and disappointing phone call. The house we had fallen in love with went into contract. Were we upset? Yes. Were we disappointed  Yes. What we did know is God knows what he is doing and the house he has planed for us will come. We only seriously started looking this past week. Here are a few tips on how not to get the house hunting blues.

Don't fall in love with a house on the internet. What we have learned is houses look much different in person. You are up close and can see all the flaws the pictures didn't reveal. It has been very disappointing at times but just move on in a positive attitude. That's all you really can do. 

No house is perfect even if you built a custom home you will probably compromise with something. So go in knowing most things can be changed and altered to your style. Cosmetic changes are obviously the easiest and budget friendly compared to a structural change. Remember the paint color can always be changed!

Be positive when looking at house. Don't get hung up on one thing wrong with the house...unless it serious and a costly fix. Just remember the perfect house that God intended you to have is out there and in the right timing he will reveal that. 

Jesse and I are constantly praying for that house. We pray often to that this house will not only be to provide shelter for our family but to be a welcoming place for friends and family. A place where we can share Gods word. 

Happy House Hunting!

House Hunting: Pre Approval

If you are like most people buying a home, cash is not the easiest thing to do this day in age. Although it would be nice and if you have the means to do that...go for it! But Jesse and I do not. We are newlywed below average income people. So we had to go the mortgage route and the mortgage route starts at getting a pre approval.

A pre approval does not guarantee we will be able to get a house but it shows the real estate agent that we are serious and gives us a general idea of what we can afford based on our income and credit. The pre approval processes doesn't typically take long. Just make sure you submit all the paperwork you need and the lender will get back to you with in a few days.

When getting pre approved there are several factors they look at. income and credit are probably the big ones. Thankfully Jesse and I were raised similar when it comes to credit and have been on the same page since day one or our marriage. That is a credit it card is yes in fact used to purchase things for the month but the balance it not to be carried over. Meaning we don't put anything on it we know we cant pay off right away. This is huge because we don't make "bank" income wise but having good credit is helpful. But don't think only having a credit an hardly no income will get the house of your dreams.

Before we went to a lender to get pre approved I went to a few mortgage calculators online. The best one I have found so far is bankrate.com. Just make sure you do your research. Not only will the mortgage calculators not be 100% accurate but also every situation is different. So even if you think you wont be approve, give it a try!

Buying our First Home

source

These past few days have been really exciting yet nerve-racking for us and let me tell you why. We are starting our house search. YAY!! As for most newlyweds and first time home buyer it will be the biggest purchases of our live so far. Exciting? Yes!  Nervous? Yes! Although we will be broker than broke the first few months after purchasing a home it will be great to finally settle into a place, decorate the walls and buy furniture to fit OUR space and style. 

Jesse and I have been married for 9 months now but have really never lived on our own just the 2 of us. We are currently renting a 1 bed 1 bath garage apartment from his parents. It is absolutely gorgeous and perfect for the first few months of marriage but it is still attached to the rest of the house. So we are ready for our own separate space. 

Because  the home buying processes is not the quickest and because I'm not known to be a super patient person I have decided to blog the process.  This will help hopefully (crossing fingers) pass time quickly and also be a document of a huge thing in our life. I plan to share steps and tips from start to finish on what the whole house buying deal is all about. I am no way an expert at houses or the whole mortgage process but I love looking at house for sale online and  going through model homes (fun fact: growing up as a fun activity my family would walk through model homes on the weekends...lame). Its so fascinating all the different layouts and styles houses can offer! 

So here's to house hunting and the whole process that comes with it!

Simple Stromboli

This recipe is very simple an husband approved! It is always nice when your husband says "this taste awesome babe!"

To start the dry ingredients are:

1 package of fast rising yeast

2 ½ cups of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

Mix yeast, 1 cup of flower and salt together

The liquid ingredients are:

1 cup of water 

1 table spoon of olive oil

In separate bowl mix water and oil together. Then microwave for 1 minuet 30 seconds.

Combine ingredients and stir. Slowly add the rest of the flour.

Once most of the flour is mixed in kneed. After it has reached a dough like consistency, let sit for 30 minuets. 

With flour on a clean surface  make a rectangle with the dough. I do this just by pressing it out with my fingers. Add flour to your fingers if the dough is sticking.

The toppings I chose are spinach, tomato sauce, cheese, and pepperoni. You can really add anything you like such as onion or tomato slices.

When you have your desired toppings, cut a 1 inch slices of dough on either side of your toppings.

Fold the two ends of the dough first then start on one side bringing the dough sections together. Top with some melted butter before putting in the oven. 

Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until done. The one I made was a personal size approximately 7 inches by 3 inches. If yours is bigger you may need longer cook time.