Feeling Merry

I just returned from a week away in Denver, celebrating Christmas with my family. I feel very blessed that we were able to have the time together and also see many extended family members and friends while we were having our white Coloardo Christmas. It felt extra special this year to all be together.

Since today is the last day of 2011, I thought I'd make a list (my favorite) of my top moments this year. And next week (yes, I promise to be back next week, but probably not so early) I'll talk about the start of my happiness project.

*My new job: A year in, and I am loving the decision to change jobs to something that I not only love, but something that challenges me.
*Our kitchen: We're about halfway done now, but I still love the change that is in the room now. I still can't find the exact right place for everything, but it just feels better.
*Outdoor work: The garage is wonderful, and our new patio will be so nice this spring and summer. I know Nathan has big plans for the yard this year, too, and it's going to be the nicest yard in Lincoln, I'm sure.
*Vacationing: Our trip to the Bahamas was a much-needed break from the cold. And I love that many of our trips were ones that let us see family and friends this year!
*Celebrating: So many of our friends and family celebrated big events this year: babies, weddings, engagements, moving back to Lincoln, and it is fun to be a part of their joy.
*Shelby: Little Shelby and I have gotten to know each other much better now that we spend so much time together. It's really good entertainment being home and learning all of her little quirks. I think I'd be bored out of my mind being home without her, though I have to admit I get a lot more done when she's not afraid of the vacuum, the hairdryer, the steamer, etc.

Wishing you a happy New Year!

Kitchen Progress

I had planned on doing a book review for you all today, but my friend Kelley requested kitchen photos instead. So we will save the book review for another day and instead let my first post in a while be mostly pictures!

These are the new cabinets about the stove, and our awesome corner cabinet. Originally, if you remember, we planned on doing open shelving over there, but it wasn't as easy to build as we thought. In the end, I was very glad we ended up with it because it holds all of our small appliances easily, and I don't really like everyone seeing the chaos that is generally our cabinets.

This is the other side of the kitchen. Even just with the upper cabinets done, we have more storage, so I moved my cookbooks into the kitchen so they are more accessibly.

Here is the fun rug I found at crate and barrel while shopping with my mom. You can also see some work that we still have to do--baseboard over on the far wall, the tall cabinet will be emptied and taken out of the kitchen so we can put the door in, and the bottom cabinets still need to be painted or replaced so the dishwasher can be installed.

Jim is currently working on the cabinet for the other side of the room, next to the fridge, so I'll show you that when it's all done.