- Miss Illinois 2013 -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

Turn up the diva dial.....

.....the 2010 county fair queens are in town!

With two of our other county fair queen BFFs in the heated competition for Miss Illinois 2013 PLUS another county fair queen's sister retiring the crown, there's no.way.in.the.world that we would miss the pageant this year. Anne Marie and Christina: we are so proud of you for your courage and motivation and persistence and poise and the list goes on and on and on!  You are beautiful! Watching you walk out on stage for the first time totally gave me that gut-punching little knot in my belly; I'm pretty sure we were more nervous than you guys were! ;) 

Our house found its first overnight guests this weekend!  Brittany, Katy, and Meg came over in plenty of time for a session of intense hair teasing and make-up applying + multiple wardrobe changing. Yeah, it's how we roll!  #divas  [I literally dirtied three washcloths the next day scrubbing a half-inch of hairspray scum off our new bedroom dresser and nightstand! ;)]

Unexpected traffic and uncooperative weather stomped on our dinner date plans... McDonald's drive thru to the rescue! 

We finally made it to Marion! ...And thank goodness for a surplus of C-section towels in the backseat of my car... [I save these from work when they are no longer sterile and can't be reused...genius idea for house cleaning but apparently also for rain caps!]  The parking lot was a far walk from the auditorium; our dresses were soaked, but at least our hair was dry! 

Here are the contestants in their opening dance!!! Yay Anne Marie and Christina! Yay Megan, Miss Illinois 2012! 

Pageant-fevered friends forever! Once a queen, always a queen! <3

Other week highlights: 

-- Our house is making even more progress!  Most exciting accomplishment: both bathroom vanity mirrors/medicine cabinets were shipped and Brian put them up! Yay!

- Happy Father's Day! -

They say the greatest thing a father can do for his children is love their mother.  

From kindergarten through high school, I didn't quite think so.  Nothing disgusted me more than my parents' daily 5pm ritual: Dad coming home from work, meeting Mom in the kitchen with a kiss and a big bear hug and a [unnecessarily prolonged] butt squeeze all while winking over the top of her head for my viewing pleasure.  Nasty.  I secretly wished they would "get a room," and I think I would've suggested it out loud if it didn't mean that I would have to take over the dinner-making... PDA from your parents was so not cool.

Moving away to college instantly showed me how perfect and privileged that love was. Over and over again, I listened to my new friends tell stories of divorce and lust and abandonment in their home lives. Of course their parents still loved them, but brokenness was engrained in their lives. 

For once, I missed monogamy and purity and fidelity.

I missed the kisses and bear hugs and butt squeezes.  

I missed genuine, affectionate love. 

...And I wished every single person on the campus had parents who showed them an example of what holy, true spousal love could be like.

...Maybe that PDA wasn't so repulsive after all...

In Theology of the Body, Pope John Paul II says we rediscover the meaning of life through the lens of marriage and the "one flesh" union of spouses.  "This is the body: a witness...to Love." 

As a 20-something year-old new wife, I have a continually deepening appreciation for my husband as the new "head" of our household.  And in turn, I am starting to uncover what my dad went through as a new husband and head of his household [and eventually a new father!].  I am forever grateful to him for being a faithful father and for loving our mother.  I'm grateful for him standing firm and bringing us up in the Church, even though I almost left when I was eighteen. ;) And most importantly, I'm grateful for his marriage showing me the meaning of life...even if if meant showing it through kisses and bear hugs and butt squeezes. 

They also say that girls will always grow up to marry a man like their father.  THAT, I am discovering, is incredibly true.  And if I do say so myself, we've done a great job of implementing the kisses and bear hugs and butt squeezes in our new family! [It's just a full-circle witness of love, wouldn't you say?!]

So naturally, I have convinced myself that being married doesn't mean I cant' still be a daddy's girl... :) So Happy [belated] Father's Day to the man who taught me how to love and how to be loved!  I love you today and always! 

- It's "Summer's-time" -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

Summertime = pageant time!  June is always an an exciting month for this ex-fair queen with the official start of summer AND the start of county fair season! High heels, hairspray, and great friends; who could ask for anything more? 

After giving up the crown in 2011, sweet Missy has let me "stay on the stage" as the pageant's emcee. I love hanging out and cracking jokes with the co-emcee George; we are pretty lucky to have the best front row seat in the house!  This year's pageant was wonderful. Perfect weather and gorgeous contestants and a tight competition!

Congratulations to Queen Sunny on an awesome year representing Montgomery County.  You were such a beautiful, poised, and genuine ambassador for our county. But now........welcome to the "has beens" club! ;)   

Congratulations also to the new Miss Montgomery County Fair Queen, Summer Robbins!!!  It's officially "Summer's-time!" We are so excited for you to join the Montgomery County sisterhood! :) 

[I borrowed the pictures above from The Journal News and Studio 131 Photography, two dedicated and beloved patrons of our fair!]

Other week highlights: 

-- My grandma broke her hip a few weeks ago, and this week I finally got a chance to visit her! She is out of the hospital, in a gorgeous rehab building, and doing well in great spirits! Yeah grandma! 

- The Decorating Begins... -

Brian has made our house functional and livable and practical...

...so now it's my time to take over make it beautiful! 

The decorating begins! YAY! 

The master bedroom and bathroom took the first hits; once they are completely finished I plan to move to the living room and kitchen! :)

Goodbye house, hello home! 

- Ready to Clean! -

After two months of store scouring, I finally found the #1 rated bagless vacuum listed in the Consumer Reports magazine.

And it was on SALE.

And I am SO EXCITED.

[Seriously, these are the things I get excited about these days.]

Bring it on, you dirty dirty rugs... I am the new mommy of your #1 worst enemy! ;) 

- Flood -

It has been raining...

...and raining...

...and raining...

...and raining...

...and raining some more.

We have gotten A LOT of rain this summer!

Today, it stormed so long and hard that the subdivision road flooded...

...and the backyard flooded...

...and the basement flooded! :(

I moved most of our boxes and junk out of the way while Brian was en route, and he pushed the water out [with a big smile on his face, obvi] when he got home.

We were planning to [eventually] finish this basement with carpet, but now.....................?! 

Yikes! 

- Briana and Dan -

Congratulations to the newest newlyweds, Briana and Dan!  They tied the knot last weekend at SLU's College Church, and I have to say it was a liiiiiitle more relaxing than the last wedding we attended there seven months ago! Wink wink... ;) ;) 

We loved spending tonight with great friends and celebrating the love of B and D! Wahoo for saying, "I DO!!!"

- Twist -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

Once a queen, always a queen...

When our awesome once-in-a-lifetime dream of a summer as fair queens ended, everyone went their own ways with college and jobs.  It's crazy how life so quickly pulled all of us apart, but it's even crazier how life slowly brought us back together.  I had no idea that moving back to Illinois would make me a close neighbor of these beauties! So happy to have these two so close! We caught up over fro-yo at Twist this week.  

I think this summer together is going to be just as wonderful as our summer in high heels and crowns...whatcha think?! 

Montgomery. Marion. Madison. 

Love them both. 

Lots.

Friends [and queen sisters] forever. :)

Here's to many many more ice cream dates this summer!

Other week highlights: 

-- Happy Father's Day to our daddies! 

-- Happy wedding day to Dan and Briana! 

-- Happy family reunion weekend to the Dragoviches! 

- Lots and Lots of Shopping -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

Our new house full of freshly painted [and ridiculously empty] walls has been screaming for some major attention!  

It screams so loudly I can hardly sleep all day anymore. ;) 

After working a 12-hour night shift, I usually [used to] sleep from 8:30am-4:30pm; but lately, this has not been the case. ...Nothing like being at work and thinking your innocent little wife is sleeping the day away, eh?  Little did Brian know I had been out shopping for hours and doing some major damage to the credit cards!  I guess maybe that's why he was so surprised to come home from work and meet me with a car full of shopping bags??? 

I normally hate shopping, but I DO become dangerous if you set me loose in Hobby Lobby or Old Time Pottery... Oopsie!!!

Cheers for some decorated walls and tabletops! :)

Other week highlights: 

-- Lots of working. Then lots of coming home to the house and working and cleaning more...

- [Re-opening] Wedding Gifts -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

At first, I thought the best part about getting married was having this awesome, sweet, super sexy guy and being able to call him my best friend and partner for life for-ev-er. 

...But then I thought again and realized the best part about getting married was rediscovering the wedding gifts six months later.

Bah, just kidding. 

But for real.

It's super sweet.

When we got married last November and Brian moved into my one-bedroom apartment, we had no space for 95% of our new dishes and awesome kitchen stuff. [The apartment really had no space for his clothes and shoes and unnecessary "man things" either, but after a month of living together I finally sacrificed an entire closet. #marriage #sharing]

The day after our countertops were installed, we made a beeline to my parents' basement to pick up the wedding gifts.  Honestly, I had forgotten half of them were even there... Re-opening all the boxes and unpacking all the dishes was like Christmas in July and wedding #2 in May!!!

THIS IS SO GREAT!

Merry Christmas...

No...Happy Wedding Day...

I mean...HAPPY HOUSEWARMING to us!!! :) 

Other week highlights: 

-- Happy Memorial Day!  We celebrated the holiday at Lake Lou on my Uncle Matt's new boat! 

-- Brian golfed in the Litchfield 3-man while my mom and Colleen and I saw Anything Goes at The Fox.  Colleen cooked an awesome lunch at her apartment before the show. It was so fun getting to catch up with her! I totally miss being her roommate! :) 

- Countertops [Installed] -

There really aren't words great enough to express how much we LOVE E&B Granite!  From the very first day we stepped inside their shop on Manchester, the "main man" Sean was extremely efficient and accommodating.  When the exact color/pattern I wanted for our bathroom vanity wasn't in stock, Sean kept his eyes open and let Brian know when something came in he thought I might like.  He was so patient during my [multiple] visits and was always eager to push huge blocks of granite back and forth like it was his job or something. ;) After three visits, we dubbed ourselves friends. 

And THEN installation day came, and E&B moved up 500 notches in my book.  Besides getting a new kitchen full of beautiful granite, we made three new super crazy friends!! [And Sean didn't come for installation, so we named him the "pretty face at the desk." Sorry you weren't there to defend yourself, dude.]

Randy assured us the countertops were strong! 

They had to pass a bench-pressing test to get this job. I asked.

LOVE.

They liked me so much that they volunteered to wipe down the counters and sweep the floors... Nothin' like a guy who cleans up after himself! 

And what kind of buff guys take instructions from a bossy girl for three hours and then pose for a picture like this?  These buff guys. They are so great! :)

They even left a small gift of their friendship at departure..... Bahahah.  Thanks a LOT Jason, Randy, and Daryl...

From beginning to end, we absolutely loved your customer service and great personalities and overall helpfulness.  Brian and I will never forget you [...pretty-face-at-the-desk-Sean included!]! :) 

Thanks E&B for all of your awesome hard work and also for the free entertainment on installation day! We will absolutely recommend you to all friends and family!

We are loving our new countertops!!!

- Countertops -

Sum-It-Up Sunday

WE. HAVE. COUNTERTOPS!!!!!!

I am so freaking excited.

Seriously, I could do like thirty cartwheels in a row.

Our house is a million times more liveable [and a million times more beautiful, in my humble opinion...!]! :) We've been surviving for a week plus with paper plates and cups and silverware; now we can finally re-open our awesome wedding gifts and get the kitchen stocked with brand new dishes! 

More pics to come...including lots of installation day!

Other week highlights: 

-- The new master bedroom furniture was delivered! 

-- Brian and I shopped in Farview; we baaaasically cleaned out Menards and then went across the street and bought a guest bedroom mattress at Rothman Furniture. Nothing beats all these Memorial Day sales!!

-- When the shopping came to a close, we had dinner at Texas Roadhouse. I voted to go there for the best dinner rolls ever; Brian voted to go there so he could throw peanut shells on the floor. Whatever works. It's all about the simple things in life, isn't it? :) 

- Handyman -

My handy hubby...

Love him and his cute butt! :) 

- Bedroom Furniture -

Yesterday I made two new friends AND got a bedroom full of new furniture; yesterday was a great day for sure! 

I spent months and months and months doing lots and lots and LOTS of online and store browsing for a bedroom set; I had a very specific mental picture of what I wanted our bedroom to look like. Just when I was about to settle for something that was "close enough," I heard about Kettle River Furniture. Five seconds after walking in, I spotted the perfect set and couldn't leave without it!  Many many thanks to Cheryl for being such a wonderful sales associate and to the two moving men for setting up our room!  All I had to do was stand in the corner and point my finger... How awesome! ;) 

I love the way it's coming together! ...Now for some wall decor...

 Goodbye house, hello home! 

- Lights and Shower Heads -

*Ahem*... We have lights and shower heads in both bathrooms! Progress! :)

- Visitors! -

Our first gift-bearing visitors!

[Minus my mom with the flower pot...]

Thanks, guys!  Come visit again soon! :) 

- Blackouts -

Hanging the blackout curtains was HIGH on the priority list...

...and they're up! 

This makes for one happy happy night-shifter! :) 
[Well, I mean, as happy as you can be after working a 12-hour night shift.]

- Moving Day! -

5:47am:  We're wide awake staring at each other across the bed.  [Seriously, I'm a whole new woman without my beloved blackout curtains.  No more sleeping in 'til 8 or 9; we rise with the sun!  KSDK's officials sunrise time = 5:44am. Awesomeee. There is no worse feeling than being bug-eyed before 6am. Whose idea was it to pack those a few days ago......???]

5:55 am:  We realize we aren't going to fall back asleep after ten minutes of desperate trying.  Brian hops up and says, "Let's get out of here!"

So we did.

We grabbed some breakfast from the gas station, loaded up the last few things left in the apartment, and did one final broom sweep through the place. [There was double the dirt and dust bunnies this morning? I don't understand how this place gets so dirty...?!]  Brian checked all the drawers, cabinets, and closets for forgotten items while I took out the last load of trash.  

Finally, it was time to say goodbye.  And in saying goodbye, we did fist pumps and jumping jacks and cartwheels in the living room. So stoked to get out of this tiny place! 

I'm really actually kind of sad there isn't a picture of us lugging the queen mattress three blocks down Oakland Avenue towards the trailer... We looked freakin' awesome. And the sunrise would've been killer in the background! 

After tossing the keys through the apartment company's mail slot and stopping at McDonald's for some coffee, we crossed the river into Illinois and made it to the house. 

It's moving day???! Oh, I'm having so much fun I almost forgot! ;) 

"Babe, this couch is way to heavy for me!!"

10:00am: Our families showed up at the house [the time we planned on before realizing the sunrise was an issue...] and helped us move the remaining furniture from the trailer. 

Mom brought lunch...

...and I kept everyone busy with random jobs! [Last minute wall-fixing, closet primping, and towel folding to name a few!]

We have a functional guest bedroom!

Mucho thanks to our families for helping today!  We're living in survival mode without countertops and dishes and vanities and lots of other things, but we are so so happy to be here! :)

- Doors, Trim, and Handles -

It's fine when your husband comes out of the bathroom...

...but not right when your dad "comes out of the closet!"

Hehe, just kidding. [That was not even a good joke.] 

These two worked on hanging doors for several hours last night. [One blinked and one is blurry; they can't even stay still enough for a 1-second photo op.] 

And not only do we have doors, but now also [some] TRIM!

And [most] HANDLES!!!!!

#thatmomentwhenyourhouseactuallystartstolooklikeahome

So excited! 

Goodbye house, hello home!