My Dream Spaces

HGTV's "Rate My Space", blogs and leafing through home magazines are a weaknesses of mine. I love seeing how others decorate their homes.

Kitchens are the heart & soul of a home, so no matter how big or small, it should fit your personality and your families needs.

This kitchen is a favorite of mine.

I love the sink, island and that amazing stove.

The light fixtures are amazing too.

This next kitchen is a favorite, because of the great floors.

I love would love to have floors like that in my kitchen. Oh and check out that back-splash...awesome!

One word...WOW!

Some people might think mixing two different cabinet colors is a "no no", but I love it!

I love the stove top and back-splash in this kitchen.

All these photos are from the 2009 Parade of Homes.

New Blog

I have created a new blog for Alex, so if you would like to follow me here is the link.

It has been a while...

I kind of let my blog die towards the end of my pregnancy and now that Alex is here, I hope to update it more.

Alexander David was born on February 2nd, 2009 and my life couldn't be filled with more love. He brings me so much joy and happiness to me. If you want to read all about my life as a mother so far, then check out my babysite.



I plan to blog about Alex, life, love, food and everything else between. When Alex gets old enough for baby food, I plan on blogging about that too.

I don't know how often I will post on here, but I hope to do it at least once a week or so.

A bit late, but....

Thanksgiving has come and gone, but I still want to list the things I am thankful for.

1. First of all, I am thankful for God. I don't go to church like I used too, but I still believe in Him and thank Him for all He has done.
2. My husband!!! I am so blessed to have Patrick in my life. He is the greatest man to ever come into my life and I thank God for him every single day.
3. My family! My family is so special to me. I don't get to see them often, but I want them to know they all mean the world to me.
4. I am so thankful for Xavier, Alexia, Kamille, Cameron, Melanie, Trevor, Triston and Audrey. They are my nieces and nephews and my life is so much greater since they all came into my life.
5. I am thankful for my three sweet little dogs. They brighten my day and they love me unconditionally.
6. My house! My house is not too big and not too small, it is just right for my little family. I am so grateful to have it.
7. I am thankful for our vehicles.
8. My job! Without my job, I would not have my house or cars.
9. I am thankful for my health. With the exception of some extra weight (not counting baby weight), I am a pretty healthy lady.
10. USA!!! I am so proud to live in a great country and am thankful for the freedom's I have.
11. I am thankful for all the soldiers fighting for our freedom.
12. Last, but not least...I am sooooo thankful for my son Alexander David! He isn't here yet, but I thank God every day for allowing me to finely get pregnant and giving Patrick and me a little boy!

Baby Stuff

My husband's best and his wife have been so generous towards us, since finding out we were pregnant. They have two small children and are pretty much finished in the baby making department, so they have decided to pass along most of their baby items that they no longer need. All I can say is WOW!!! I can't believe all the stuff they have given us. Here is a list of the items that they have graciously given us:

High Chair
Pack n Play
Tons of bottles (About 12 Dr. Brown brand bottles)
Mobile for the crib
Two bottle drying racks
Mirror for the back seat, so I can see Alex in the rear view mirror
Bouncy Seat
Swing
Doorway Jumper (aka Johnny Jumper)
Activity Mat
Bumbo Chair (with tray)
Boppy Pillow

I am so thankful for their generosity, because I know this stuff cost money and they didn't ask for any money in return, they just gave it all to us. Pretty much all of the "big ticket" items are now marked off my registry list. I am so excited and thankful for all that we have been given.

Thanksgiving Day Menu

This year, Patrick and I are having Thanksgiving at our house and we are having a very small gathering of family, so it shouldn’t get to crazy at our house. Patrick’s parents and brother are coming up from Missouri and this will be his parents first time at our house, so we are pretty excited to have them up.

The menu we are fixing is a little crazy, because Patrick’s parents are pretty picky eaters, so we have to make double batches of some side dishes, to accommodate their likes. lol For instance, when it comes to making mashed potatoes, we have to make two batches, one with garlic (for Patrick, his mom, brother and myself) and one without garlic (for his dad). Also, I want to make a few dishes that are typically, traditional side dishes for a Thanksgiving meal, but not am not going to make them, because I don’t want to have to make two of everything, so I am going to compromise…just a tad. Lol

Here is what we have so far…

Prime Rib - We aren't doing a turkey this year, because we want to be different.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Plain Mashed Potatoes
Green Beans with Shallots and Pancetta
Stuffing - I haven't ever made homemade stuffing before, so we are going to stick to Stove Top.
Deviled Eggs - I have always had deviled eggs for Thanksgiving, so I am definitely making them.
Corn - Plain old frozen corn
Whiskey-Glazed Carrots - These look so yummy, so I am going to try them.
Dinner Rolls
Salad - Just because we want to try and add more veggies to the meal.
Veggie Tray - (carrots, broccoli, tomatoes, cauliflower, cucumbers, etc.) I like snacking on stuff like this while cooking.
Cranberry Sauce (from the can) - LOL!!! I don't like cranberry sauce, but Patrick's parents do. I would love to make fresh cranberry sauce, but they like the can version.
Homemade Veggie Dip - I still need to find a recipe I want to use.

Dessert
Chocolate Sheet Cake - Patrick's mom is making this. He isn't a huge chocolate eater, but this is his all time favorite cake.
Cheesecake - We aren't pumpkin pie fans, so some sort of cheesecake will do for us.

It looks like that is about it. I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving and if you are traveling, please stay safe!

Saving Money

I’m sad to say that Patrick and I decided last night to get rid of our DVR and home phone. I am actually pretty sad about this, since I love watching TV, but life goes on. From now on, we are going to watch the majority of our shows online. Just by doing this, we are going to save over $150.00 a month, so we are crazy for not doing this. The money that we are going to be saving is going straight into our savings account.

Speaking of savings accounts, we opened up an ING savings account recently and the majority of my paycheck goes into savings and we don’t touch it. We are trying to live on Patrick’s income alone, so by socking away my check (with the exception of $200.00 a pay period), we will have a ton of money saved up by the end of the year. We also opened up another savings account at a local facility and Patrick is going to put $100.00 or so each check in there just for unexpected trips home to our families, house repairs, etc.

Patrick and I don’t really have a lot of “debt”, so that is why we are able to save so much each month. We have our house, both vehicles, Patrick’s motorcycle, Patrick has one credit card that is from his prior marriage (but the card is closed and it should be paid off next year), we have one credit card to Nebraska Furniture Mart and my student loan. So, we (in my book) are doing pretty well.

Hopefully by the end of next year, we will be free of both credit cards and most of my student loan.