Weekend round-up

This weekend consisted of cleaning, several secret little projects (which are coming along really well, and I can't wait to share them when they're finished!), and two very important, very wonderful words...

IKEA SALE!!!

We made a killing at the Ikea summer sale. We found some items that I've been looking for for ages but couldn't find. The most expensive thing we bought was $17. It was unbelievable.

So, to share some of the Ikea sale joy with you, I am showing you two of our most wonderful purchases (sorry, the cabinet organizer did not make the cut...I know you're bummed). The first is something that I've been searching for forever. We've needed a nightstand for our guest bedroom since we moved into the house. Until this weekend, the lamp in that room was sitting on a box (granted, it was a pretty, decorated box) on the floor. But when I saw this table at the Ikea sale for $15, I knew exactly where it belonged. So we took this:And used a can of spray paint to turned it into this:


Isn't it just lovely? I'm so tickled I found it.

We also bought two rugs at the Ikea sale to help protect the carpet in the dog room from the constant barrage of muddy shoes and paws. Although they were the most expensive items at $17, we still thought they were a darn good deal (they're super comfy on your toes, too!).

Here is Riley checking out the new rugs (she wasn't sure what to think of them at first):
Riley deciding she is queen of the rugs:

And Riley just looking cute as always:

So that is the round-up of our weekend. I know, not very exciting, but I promise that there are exciting posts to come. Until then, I hope everyone else had a happy weekend and I'll see you after the holidays (or before if you're lucky ;)).

Feeling a little blue

Well, as I mentioned in the previous post, we've been very busy at the O'Currents house with changes, updates and other projects. Although we have several projects currently in concept form, we have one that we just finished (yeah!!!). It involves the main bathroom.

The bathroom is very nice but it was a little...bleak. Between the wall color and the previously purchased accessories, it was brown, tan, nude, sandy, and every other color of brown you could think of. If there was a word to describe it, it would be blah. So we decided to brighten it up a bit with some paint.

Here is Riley helping us clean out the bathroom pre-painting (sorry, can't have a post without a Riley picture):



Here is what the bathroom looked like when we toured the house pre-purchase:



Here is what it looked like pre-painting (a la brown, brown and more brown):



And here is what it looks like now:



So you can understand why we're all feeling a little blue around here. ;)

How big? So big...

Warning: this post is dedicated entirely to the puppy. If you're sick of all the puppy talk, you might want to skip it.

Riley had her first puppy class on Tuesday night. It was kind of a surprise, since originally we had been told that puppy class started next week. But nope, it was this week so off we trekked with a bag full of hot dogs and a hyper little dog.

Riley had a great time at class. In her class there are: 3 golden retrievers, a lab, a shepherd mix, a chihuahua, a cavalier king charles spaniel, an american bulldog and a big black fluffy dog (darn it, what is that breed?). Many of the puppies are younger than Riley (one is only 12 weeks old) but a few are around the same age. Riley was very good. She still does everything she can to be the center of attention in the room (including trying to pounce on the puppies next to her and getting the whole room riled up) but she knows when she has to get serious about her training.

On another note, it has come to my attention that I keep saying how much the puppy has grown but have provided no evidence to support such claims. For the record, she weighed in at 20 pounds today at the vet (last vet appointment for shots-yeah!). When we got her, she was only 10 lbs. But for further proof, here are some before and afters of the puppy, from when we first got her to now.

Riley at 11 weeks:Riley at 4 months:

11 weeks:4 months:
12/13 weeks:4 months:
Can you see how much bigger she's gotten? And she's so pretty, isn't she? Here is an attempt at a stack (I just walked her into it):


She's only getting cuter every day, too.

Riley

Housework weekend

With the puppy and all the other activities we've had going on, its been quite a while since the house has gotten a good going-over. So this weekend was dedicated to cleaning and yard work. I know, not fun.

Saturday:

Saturday entailed a complete wipe-down of the entire house. Everything was put away, vaccuumed, wiped down and over-all spiffed up. Even the dishes are put away. :O The house looks so pretty now (and less like an abandoned shack with leaves and dirt all over the floor).

After all the cleaning was over, Duff and I headed to Reading to enjoy free tickets to the Reading Phillies (the minor league team for the Philadelphia Phillies). The game was great fun (my favorite part was the tooth fairy that came out after the 4th inning to brush off the bases), except for the ending...Its a tie game going into the bottom half of the 9th, the bases have just been loaded, 2 outs, we sit forward in our seats in anticipation for the next batter, and the skies open up. Literally, it came out of nowhere. There weren't even any sprinkles or signs of rain before that. It was like turning on a a shower spicket. So we sat in our seats until the next batter hit a grounder to the 2nd baseman for an easy out. Then the game was put on rain delay and we went home. :( Despite the rain, we had a good time eating funnel cake and hot dogs and arguing about the game.

Sunday:

Sunday was dedicated to the yard. The grass was cut, the bushes were trimmed and the flower beds were weeded. The new weed-whacker was marvelous.


We also continued our efforts to clear out the overgrown back section of the yard. Here is what a clippers, hand saw and brand new weed-whacker can do for you...

Before:
After:
Before:
After:

Why do the after pictures never look as drastic as in real life? Anyway, after a lot of hard work and hauling away of thorny bushes, we can actually start to see some potential in our wooded back area. I'm gunning for a fire pit, but we'll see how Duff feels. He wants to put up a utility shed. I think fire and smores sounds like way more fun...

In other news:

We have also been discreetly hard at work on fixing up the house. We currently have three estimates outstanding for different projects on the house that are beyond our DIY powers. Depending on costs, we may do all three or just one of the projects.

Other projects, however, are currently in the works. To give you a hint of what we're up to, one project involves this:

And another involves this:

Oh, my baby Bernina, with all your buttons that I don't know how to use. I have read your user's manual cover to cover and hopefully next weekend will put you to good use. :)

Last weekend in Pittsburgh

So, I have been very lax in my blogging and have not kept up to date on the goings-on around here. Not this past weekend, but the weekend before, we were in Pittsburgh for a wedding/golf outing. Let me explain...

My law school roommate, after three years of long distance dating and one year of living near each other to make sure it would still work, finally got married. Her now husband is also a Grover (for those of you who don't know, a Grover is the nickname we give other alums from our undergrad college) and a lawyer! They couldn't be better matched if they'd been picked out of a catalogue. I also found out at the wedding that Mindy finally landed a job in Chicago (not an easy feat in today's legal field). So we can be doubly proud of her. Here are some pictures from the wedding.

The happy couple:

The law school gang:

While I was busy attending wedding festivities, Duff was having a busy day of his own. He had been invited to participate in a golf outing hosted by his college roommate's father. And anyone who knows Duff knows that he doesn't turn down a chance to play golf. So, Duff went off to get sunburned and frustrated on the course. Their team did well at 1 under par but lost to the winning team by 9 strokes.

Back in Philadelphia, Riley was spending the weekend with Grandma O. Grandma O did a good job of keeping the puppy in one piece, but she plied her with so many treats that Riley didn't eat a full meal for the next two days!!! Riley is now back to normal eating habits but we're going to have to work on Grandma's treat-denial skills. :)

Swimming lessons

This past weekend we took Riley to the local state park to teach her to swim. The park was gorgeous.

Riley wasn't quite sure what to think of the water at first, but she warmed to it after a while. Unfortunately, because she's such a speedy little thing, the pictures did not turn out very well. But here is one of her swimming in the creek:


And other of her checking out the river rocks, which she found quite fascinating.

We think she'll become a big swimmer in the long run. After all, she already has the Ariel pose down to an art.(can you tell how big she's gotten? she's like doubled in size!)