Harry Potter Weekend

This weekend we got lots done! Yesterday marked the anniversary of three things:

1. One month since we moved to Georgia! It feels like it's gone fast and slow in different ways. It's not at all like I thought it would be, and I'm proud that I haven't been as homesick as I thought. It helps that Skype, Facetime, and texting exist.

2. Three weeks since the tree fell! Less positive than the first one, but it does mean that we get to get a whole new roof, paint, and have lots of other things repaired.

3. One week since we got Charlotte! She's snuggling with me as I write this and we couldn't be happier that she fits so well with our little family. 

On Friday, we went with Mari, Holly, and their friend Myron to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. Overall we really liked the movie, but it was bittersweet to know that there's nothing left to watch or read in the series.

Albus Dumbledore said it best:“Words are, in my not so humble opinion, our most inexhaustible source of magic, capable of both inflicting injury and remedying it.” Ever since I was a baby, reading has always been something that my mom really emphasized. We started reading the Harry Potter series together when I was 9, and we both loved it from the beginning. I continued reading on my own as I got older, but I still remember the day we first discovered the series and she read it to me before bed at my grandparent's house on Lake LBJ.

It was clear from the beginning that there was something absolutely magical about J.K. Rowling's writing. She created an alternate (and awesome) world for kids and adults alike. People who don't typically like books love HP, and I think it was an amazing segue into the excitement of reading for those who might typically consider it boring. I truly believe that it changed my life as a reader, and the only thing that keeps me from being too sad about it being over is the fact that I will get to relive the magic through my own kids one day. I hope they love it as much as we do! Watching the final movie was very emotional--it literally gave me goosebumps a few times. I definitely saw the ending of the books (reinforced by the final movie) as the symbolic ending of my childhood, as I know lots of people in my generation did. I personally hope that J.K. Rowling will write more, but I think the Harry Potter series should be left just as it is.

On a lighter note, here are some pictures from our first Atlanta movie-going experience. I have to say, I was extremely impressed by the coke machines! They were so fancy...each drink came in like 10 different flavors. We shared a Sprite, and we had so many options ranging from peach, to apple, to cream. Of course, we just got regular Sprite. That's what happens when you give me too many choices:]

IT ALL ENDS. Giving my boo Harry one final kiss.

Proof that I fixed my hair.

On the way home, we were talking so in depth about the movie that we forgot to exit and ended up driving roughly 45 minutes out of the way, all the way up past Marietta. It was ok though; it gave us more time to discuss things (as if we don't have enough of that, ha).

Saturday we decided to clean out the Sun Room, which involved getting rid of more old furniture, organizing tools, and separating boxes so that we can put them in the right rooms once the house is fixed. I was going to show you what the Sun Room looked like before, but I realized that it looked emptier (and therefore better) until we moved in. Haha. So, instead I'll show you what it looks like now. We've still got work to do, but it will be much easier to move things back into the right rooms now that we're organized.

Here is the view from right outside the laundry room door.

This is from the other end. Jack is such a diva, he just couldn't help getting in this picture.

Then, the most exciting news of all: the dumpster finally got here! That in itself isn't super exciting, but it signals the beginning of the construction on the house. The contractor just left and the roof will be started tomorrow. Then demo will begin inside. We're really excited! Turns out we get to paint the laundry room too, and our landlady is so awesome, she's letting us choose everything:]

Charlotte watches in approval.

Next on the list of exciting things, the guys from DeKalb County FINALLY came to pick up the dead tree that's been sitting there for 3 weeks.

It was bigger than this at the beginning, but you get the idea.

The animals watched from their perch.

Ahhh. It looks so much better!

You know I can't leave you without a cute video. Here's Charlotte playing with her new mouse toy. Norma, the woman who rescued her, gave her a huge package of cloth mice as a going away gift!

-T, K, J, & C

Cupcakes!

Happy Friday everyone!

Today we used Scoutmob for the second time. It was an offer I couldn't pass up--50% off at Gigi's Cupcakes. They aren't local, but they are good! There are even two franchises in Texas (one in Midland and one in Austin) if you want some for yourself. I'm all about cupcakes, so we knew we had to check this deal out. We got 4 different flavors, and so far we've split one and plan to drag the rest out. What would typically cost us $12 only cost $6 thanks to Scoutmob! These badboys have a TON of icing. Here they are:

 Pretty cute box. We thought it was funny that the shop was called Gigi's, since that was Charlotte's former name.

 They use the fancy cupcake holder to make sure the cupcakes don't fall over in transit. They're really top heavy, so it's probably worth the extra money to avoid angry customers.

 This little beauty is called Mellow Cream. It was the one we chose to eat first. It's a chocolate cupcake with a marshmallow filling and chocolate ganache on top.

 Here's a side view of the delicious filling. It wasn't overly marshmallow-y, and the cake was rich and dense. Overall a good cupcake.

 Here's a shot of that RIDICULOUS icing. I think this flavor was called Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, but I can't find it on the website. Oh well.

 This is Wedding Cake. Traditionally made with almond extract, it was always one of my favorites while working at the bakery. Hopefully this one is as good!

I also can't find the name of this last cupcake. It looks like a white cake with a chocolate buttercream. This one fell over while I was photographing it because of the heavy icing.

Here they are all together. I do love a good looking cupcake.

Here's an adorable video also about cupcakes:

In other news, tonight we're going to see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows pt. 2!! It is the end of an era and we feel happy/sad about it for sure. Thomas' Aunt Mari got us tickets for free through her job, and we're super appreciative/excited to get see it on opening day! Sadly we have nothing to dress up in, but it'll be fun all the same. I'll let you know what we thought of it on Monday.

Also on Monday, a contractor is finally going to be calling to let us know when work will officially start. They're going to be fixing the roof first (thank goodness) so "it should be starting early next week." I'll believe it when I see it, but we've got our fingers crossed! 

Here's a couple of pictures of the babies to tide you over til Monday.

 Basking in the light.

Charlotte and Jack sleep the same way in the same place.

This is from our old house, but check out the same-ness!

Snuggle committee meeting.

Hope you all have a great weekend!

-T, K, J, & C

Productivity at its best.

I'm clearly running out of things to talk about when I start bragging about how productive I was today. You all know I never really run out of things to talk about, so I'm going to give you a summary of my day right quick just because I can.

Today Thomas went into Eclipse, the studio he'll be interning with in the fall, so I've had the house to myself all day. Being jobless is fun for a while, but I'm the sort of person who needs to feel productive and I get bored with sitting around really quickly. I decided to take it upon myself to clean the house today, and I feel much better now that I've actually done something.

First, I got up early and made us Lemon Rolls for breakfast. As a side note, we LOVE Orange Rolls, and when we went to Kroger last week they had "special edition" Lemon Rolls for a dollar cheaper. We like lemon, and we like cheap things, so we went for them instead of our usual orange. Let me just say, we were not disappointed. If you see Lemon Rolls next time you're at the store, I urge you to buy them. Sorry I went off on that tangent, but it was important. 

Next, a local charity came and picked up some big furniture that was left in the house from the previous tenants that we decided not to use. It's been cluttering up the sun room for over a month (that's how long it's taken for them to get over here--I guess they're busy) and it felt sooo good to finally see it gone. I also got a receipt so we can write it off on our JOINT taxes. Good times.

Then I did three loads of laundry. That's a lot. I even remembered to hang up our shirts while they were still wet, which we sometimes forget to do (*cough* Thomas *cough*) and they end up shrinking:[

I started feeling really productive and ended up dusting and vacuuming the entire house. I know, sheer insanity. For whatever reason I really do feel like cleaning a lot more here. I think it's because I'm not going to school full time, working part time, and planning a wedding. Haha. There's something more alluring about cleaning now that I have nothing else going on. I even cleaned the laundry room, which is the (un-air conditioned) way we come into the house. We're not used to living in an area with pine trees that drop needles. They get in your shoes and end up all over your floor, so we've found that the only way to keep the house clean is to make sure the laundry room floor is clear.

Finally, I paid bills online/set up online bill pay. Real grown up stuff I tell you.  I also cleaned out my purse and organized random stuff, and I even took out the trash and cleaned out the kitty box. I think being productive is kind of addictive. Maybe soon I'll get a job so I can get paid for my productive-ness!

I can't leave you hanging without a picture (I know this post was boring to read, but I needed to see all my awesomeness listed out. Because I'm OCD like that). Here's what Jack and Charlotte did while I cleaned. Today Charlotte braved her fears of the vacuum as she sat and watched me suck up all her hair off the rug instead of running to hide. She's adjusting so well! It's like she's been here forever:]

-T, K, J, & C

My punishment for complaining that yesterday was hot...

This morning we woke up and Thomas noticed that the air vents around the house weren't blowing cool air. It was more like room temperature, and there wasn't much air coming out at all. The house felt hot last night, but I just figured it was from us cooking dinner and whatnot. This morning it was pretty apparent that there was something wrong; the house was at about 82 and getting hotter (as opposed to the normal 74-76 that we keep it on--I know mom and dad, SHOCKING). We called our landlady, who told us the AC unit was still under warranty. Within 3 hours we had a guy out looking at it and the fix was an easy one. Ants had gotten into the contactor which basically just means the outside unit couldn't complete the circuit, and therefore couldn't work.

I guess I had overly high expectations for how quickly the house would cool off after the AC was fixed. It's now after 6:00 and the house is still hovering around 80. There is cool air coming out of the vents, so we know it's working. It's just a slow process (just like getting the house fixed, getting jobs...and everything it seems) and we've been here allll day because going places means spending money. The animals and I have felt lethargic all day, and my food intake has consisted of a bagel for breakfast and 4 otterpops. Nothing sounds good to me when it's hot like this. Maybe it should be hot more often? Ha. In other news, we chose our paint colors! 

For the guest bedroom, we decided on a sandy brown to go with our bright quilt and (eventually/hopefully) white furniture/desk. It's called Sahara Sands by Valspar. The trim will be bright white. We also have white floor length flow-y curtains to cover the closet and the doorway leading to the back bedroom. We think the color will be just dark enough to give the room some interest, and we'll be hanging colorful things on the walls to make sure it's not boring!

For the back bedroom (aka Thomas' music room) we're planning to use a sagey green color. The room doesn't get much natural light, so we're planning on replacing the light fixture and adding a lamp or two. We wanted to use a light, bright color to open up the space. We chose Valspar's Sage Bud, since it's in the same family as the colors we've used in the bedroom and bathroom. The trim will also be bright white in this room.

Otherwise, no big decisions or fun things went down today. The waiting game is getting old and we're getting bored (and hot). We're hoping that something happens soon job/house wise, and until then...I'll find random little things to blog about! 

 I couldn't resist.

-T, K, J, & C

First of all, today was really really really hot.

It feels really heavy outside and it's almost like the air is going to burst with rain. Sadly there has still been no work (or even talk of work) done on the house. Apparently that's just how insurance companies work. I'm sure it doesn't seem like it's been that long since the tree incident to State Farm...but we're the ones living here with everything from our back two rooms in our front room. The roof leaks in the back room closet and the laundry room every time it rains, and we found out today that State Farm doesn't cover damage done to the house after the adjuster files his report (which happened over a week ago). That means that every time it rains, we're at risk for un-covered water damage. It's definitely getting a little frustrating and we're hoping that works starts by the end of this week if not before. 

Today we went grocery shopping and stopped back by the farmer's market. We got a couple of pictures of some really interesting fruit we've never seen before. 

This is Jack Fruit. Each one is about a foot and a half long. It's pretty funny looking.

 We took this picture because Ranbutan is also called chom chom. Ha.

This van was in the farmer's market parking lot. You can't see the whole thing, but you can see the important part. We thought it was pretty picture worthy. 

This peach isn't from the farmer's market, but it is the biggest and most delicious peach I've ever eaten. I'm glad I remembered to take a picture before eating it!

Charlotte has become a lot more explorative over the last day. She enjoys sitting in the window and looking out at our neighbor's house. She also likes sleeping on the couch snuggling with Jack, as you'll see below. Cats and dogs are so different, and it's fun to see her jump into window sills and curl up on the kitchen chair. Jack loves to watch her, and so far they get along really well. She likes to roll onto her back to lure him over, and once he gets up to her she slaps him in the face. Here of some pictures of her over the last day.

Charlotte already likes HGTV. She's looking forward to watching Flipping Out tonight!

 Basking under the warmth of the lamp.

I love this picture. So cute!

Charlotte is mildly afraid of thunder...but instead of hiding she snuggled up in my lap.

 Here they are snuggling. They love each other already!

Here's a cute video of their interactions. She pushes Jack around by rubbing herself up against him. Of course, he just lets it happen.

Hope you enjoyed the cuteness as much as we have!

-T, K, J, & C

Family of Four (no it's not a baby)

Hey hey!

We hope you all had a great weekend! We definitely did. Big news in Atlanta--we finally got a cat! Like Jack, we adopted her from a local shelter called Friends of Animals. She was up for adoption at Petsmart two weekends ago, and when Thomas saw her he immediately fell in love. She was up for adoption under the name Gigi, which we have since changed. He says she reminded him of his first love/childhood cat, Catherine. Anyone who knew Catherine knows that she was poised, compassionate, and of course beautiful. This cat struck us as having similar qualities, but we weren't sure if we should get a new pet just yet.

Anyone who knows me is aware that I've been absolutely dying to get a cat for...well, basically forever. Since I was a little girl I've loved cats (in fact, my first word was "gato," which means cat) and I've missed having one for a long time. We've been planning on it since before the move, but we decided last week that we wanted to start the cat adoption process. We happened in to Petsmart yesterday, not planning to leave with a cat but open to the possibility, and noticed that Gigi (who we're now calling Charlotte) was still up for adoption. Funnily enough, she was sleeping in her litter box. When Thomas went in to talk to her, she came right out and excitedly rubbed her face up against the cage to get her pets. He took Jack around the store while I went in. Any of my "I'm not so sure if this is the right cat" thoughts went out the window as soon as she licked my finger and begged me to pet her. We called the number on the cage, waited a few hours, and finally got her! What was supposed to be a 3 day process only took us a few hours because they said we seemed like cat people:D

 Here she is!

I mostly love this picture because her tongue is peeking out.

Hanging out on the kitchen chair.

Her favorite spot so far--ironically, also Jack's longtime fave.

She likes looking at her reflection in the window.

According to the lady at the adoption center, Charlotte was originally owned by a Puerto Rican family who had 3 large dogs. They decided after they found she and her brother that they didn't want any more pets. The woman that we dealt with at the shelter was the one who took them in. She said she knew right away that Charlotte had a sweet personality because she purred like crazy when being held. She's about 7 months old and is a brown tabby. She has really pretty green eyes and looks pretty small for her age. She is insanely snuggly and seems to not mind being held.

My babies. This warms my heart. 

Her little bell collar (pink with buttons--finally I get to dress a girl!) lets us know where she is. 

The feisty look.

We know you're supposed to wait a day or more before introducing pets to one another...but we couldn't wait! Jack has already gotten smacked in the face a few times, but so far they're getting a long really well. She has actually chased him around the house a little, which is really fun to watch. He gets surprisingly scared of her. Haha. Here's what it looked like when they met for the first time:

J: Hellooooo??!!
C: Uhh hi.

J: Can I get closer?
C: I'll allow it.

 J: OHMYGAWD WE GOT A CAT!!

J: OHHHMYYYGAWDDDD!!

J: Mmm, smells like a lady.

J: (speechless and can't even control himself)
C: Get that thing outta my face.

 Jack's happy face. He finally got a sister!

 Finally, Jack fell asleep on my left...

and Charlotte on my right.

Last night she slept eventually, even though she meowed quite a bit at first. This morning she and Jack have been playing, and I even caught her rubbing up against him like she would one of us. He was really confused by this, and obviously still can't contain his excitement. Prepare to see lots more about Charlotte and her antics (with no shortage of Jack I'm sure) in the upcoming posts! Now we're a family of four and we couldn't be happier about it!

-T, K, J, & C