Bathroom Refresh

One of our first projects on our house to was to fix up the basement. We (Alex) recently finished remodeling the basement bathroom. With a little help from our friend Nevin, we (Alex) put in a new tile floor to replace the linoleum. We painted the walls taupe. Tore out the built in sink and replaced with a pedestal sink. I absolutely love it.

BEFORE

AFTER

I'll post pictures of the basement overhaul. Perhaps this weekend after I can clean it up a bit. We are now going to work on the main bathroom next. It will definitely require some serious planning.

Homemade Ice Cream

While we were home over the holidays I was finally able to see my redesign of the UDF Homemade Ice Cream. It was one of the last projects I worked on at Coho Creative before moving to Minneapolis.

It is very rare to have a design concept chosen and developed and produced. I felt very privileged to be able to work on this project not only because of the shelf presence but also because UDF has played an integral part in the history of Cincinnati.

I have to admit, it looked pretty awesome on shelf. My only wish is that I could have been around when it hit the stores.

Back to Reality

We had a great time in Ohio, despite the fact that I got pretty sick towards the end of the visit. It was so nice to be home for more than a few days. It was weird to not have anything to do other than hang out with my family. We spent Christmas Eve with my family and spent Christmas Day with Alex's family. Since we were home for over a week we were able to visit with my Uncle Chuck and Aunt Mary and my cousins Bill and Charlie. We were also able to visit with my cousin John and his wife Kathy as well as my cousin Ann (my MOH) and got to finally meet her boyfriend.

It was definitely hard to come back to Minnesota. Maybe spending so much time at home made it harder. I really liked being home. Of course, it didn't hurt that my mom took care of me while I was sick. Alex does a decent job. However, there is nothing like having your mom nursing you back to health.

Once we got back to Minnesota we were faced with very cold temperatures. I know – it is always cold. On top of that, we got locked out of our house. Long story short, we locked an extra lock that we didn't have a key too and our one door handle would not budge. Probably due to the cold. As we waited for the locksmith to arrive, I sat in Alex's car finishing my movie from the airplane on my iTouch. At least I had something to keep me occupied and a warm place to sit.

We got a nice lesson from the locksmith about locks. Perhaps we'll follow his recommendations. Either way it was an expensive lesson to learn. Not really how I wanted to start off the new year . . .

I'll Be Home for Christmas . . . hopefully . . .

We barely made it out of Minnesota for Christmas. The Midwest was hit with a terrible snowstorm that brought with it sleet, freezing rain, and snow. It is amazing what kind of weather we get here when it hits 30 degrees. Once it is below freezing we get nothing because it is too cold to snow. Go figure!

There was a lot of drama trying to get out in addition to the weather. Our flight was listed on time and cancelled on two different websites. After talking with Delta and Northwest people we decided to head to the airport. Once we got to the airport we were faced with longer lines than expected. Then our flight was listed as on time and cancelled on separate monitors. After running to the gate in hopes to catch a later flight to Ohio, we found out the flight was on time. Of course, the fact that we waited about 1.5 to get de-iced didn't help with the "on time" status.

As we were taking off (wheels off the ground) I noticed a man across the aisle one row up from us playing on his phone. I get very annoyed when people do not follow rules. I hit Alex to express my frustration. Alex shook his head at me in annoyance because I get annoyed easily. But then I noticed the guy nervously shaking his leg while playing with his phone. I was starting to get a bit suspicious. I hit Alex again. This time when he looked over, the guy pushed something on his wrist that lit up 5 lights in a row. We both looked at each like "holy crap." Fortunately, nothing happened but after the Underwear Bomber, I will certainly inform the stewardess of suspicious behavior no matter what.

After all of that drama, we finally landed in Dayton. I was so excited to see my parents and brother. I was also ready to go to bed and crash. I was worn out from all of the drama.

Christmas in Minneapolis

The last couple of weeks in December were very busy. We tried to fit in last minute shopping, getting the house ready for us to be gone (I like to come home to a clean house), and celebrating our Christmas together.

I was determined to do more decorating this year with the tree. I got a little crazy with buying ornaments and tree trimmings, but I think it was worth it. I was really happy with how it turned out.

Owning a home has brought out the domestic side of me. All I really wanted for Christmas was a sewing machine. I work with some of the most creative people I have ever worked with and they are always making things on their sewing machines. I am constantly inspired by them, and love what they can do. I felt like I could do it too, I just needed a sewing machine. So my fabulous fiance bought me a sewing machine.

There are a lot of projects that I have in mind. Primarily wedding projects. I can make a lot of things cheaper than renting or purchasing.

This year we decided to check out the Holiday Lights in the Park in St. Paul. For some reason, I always have grand visions of these things, thinking it is going to be much better than it really ends up being. We still had fun driving through the park and checking out all of the light displays.

We made crab legs and Red Lobster biscuits for a tasty Christmas dinner. I always like crab legs because Alex cracks them open for me. It is a very easy meal for me to eat. I have to admit, it just isn't the same celebrating Christmas a week early. Plus it would be fun to actually celebrate with a white Christmas in Minnesota. Maybe next year . . .