Linen Closet: Before and After

I have a lot of clothes. So many, that our decently large closet wasn't quite big enough to house them all, so Kevin and I put the "leftovers" in our very deep linen closet.

By the way, this is after clearing out one shelf already that was full of clothes. It was worse than this looks:

Two bummers with this. One, it looks so disorganized! Two, you can't easily get to the clothes in the back.

Solution? Four square cloth baskets on each shelf. That way everything is categorized, and you just have to move the basket in front to get to the basket in the back.

Ah, I love organization.

Pay no attention to the fact that the bottom two shelves are completely devoted to me, or to the fact that all my summer clothes are still at my parent's house. We'll have another organizational disaster when the weather starts warming up!

P.s. Today is Kevin's first day of work at Robinson Helicopter! Prayers for a smooth day! :)

Island in the Sun

While it's been nice having a kitchen at least three times the size of our last one, there was this huge gap of space that needed to be filled.

I really wanted a kitchen island, but they are way more expensive than you would think! We saw a nice one at Walmart for about $130, and the next day, the same one on Craigslist for $40!

Goodbye Awkward Gap!

Perfect location for my herb garden!

Love that it has an extra leaf for more counter space.

Now all we need is a couch. Come on, Craigslist, don't fail us now!

The Great Armoire Search

Well, thank you for your patience! We're finally back!

Kevin and I made the move to Redondo Beach, shoved everything haphazardly into our apartment and left to play "Driving Ping-Pong" between Lake Forest and Riverside for Christmas. It was a wonderful holiday spent with family. Oh, and plenty of this for Kevin from airsoft:

Because we sold most of our furniture before moving, I have become a Craigslist feign lately. For now, I'll show you the item of furniture I am most proud of.

I was looking for an armoire to house our TV (I love being able to shut the doors so the TV isn't in sight all the time). While browsing, I ran across this beauty:

I really wanted it, but the owner listed it as 25" on the inside, and we need at least 32" to fit our TV. I was pretty bummed. So I kept looking, and we even met some people to look at their armoires, but once I had seen this, nothing looked as wonderful.

I kept going back to this picture and saying to Kev, "That is NOT 25 inches! It would totally fit our TV!" But I didn't know how to send an email to the owner saying, "Um, excuse me, you measured wrong." That seemed so rude.

I mustered up the courage and emailed the guy, asking if he thought there was any way my TV would fit, but he replied saying that it wouldn't. Defeated.

But then! About 10 minutes later, he messaged me saying that he re-measured and it would fit!

I KNEW I was right, and now it's ours for only $95!

Love the rustic details!

The door knobs are just our style!

Another thing I love: We can bang it up, and it only adds to the charm!

Just as I thought, there's our TV. Totally fitting.

Hope you had a great holiday, and thanks for being patient with us!

Retro Restoration

We're staying with Tiff's parents for a couple days. Today I found an old paintball gun in the garage. I love old stuff. It was all seized up and crusted over with paint. After tearing it down and cleaning it up, I think it came out pretty well.

Movin' On!

This is the week! Kevin and are moving from Atascadero, Ca (just outside of San Luis Obispo) to Redondo Beach, Ca. This move is so bittersweet. Kevin and I met while attending Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, have started to grow roots in our amazing church, and have made some really cherished friendships up here. On top of that, we absolutely love the area. We live on a large plot of land owned by our landlord filled with geese, chickens, roosters, dogs, spiders (eek!) and a small vineyard. Both of our neighbors have horses, and the view couldn't be more peaceful.

A few nights ago, Kevin and I prayed and moistened our pillows with tears, but we feel ready and excited to make the move. It's a blessing, and we're trusting the Lord with all of our fears, and our broken hearts about leaving our dear friends. 

On the sweet side of the bittersweet transition, we'll be moving closer to family (mine in Irvine and his in Riverside) and Kevin has a great job waiting for him in Torrance. I'm sure after we settle in, these good things will outweigh the things we miss.

Here's what we are moving away from:

The view from our little country studio.

Our front yard...Don't let the sun fool you. It's been 20 degrees most mornings when I leave for work.

Jack Frost has come to visit a lot!

Garage sale shelf with some country decor and reused wedding decorations. Decor layout executed by Kevin.

Remember these table numbers from our wedding? Now they display our wedding date.

Kevin helped me scuff up this table that looked way too polished for us country bumpkins! Ironically, I then polished our "unpolished" table.

I've painted this mirror three times since I bought it, and this time I painted it white and sponged a filigree stencil on.

I love our fluffy white duvet, and I love that I can bleach it!

One of our favorite gifts from our wedding. I wish I could label my side of the covers.

I love these white pieces of decor, and that my flowers hadn't died by the time this picture was taken.

I bought this armoire from a friend in college for $10 and painted it white. No joke, when we sold it for the move, the lady we sold it to told us it will be used a chinchilla house.

We're going to miss our little country home, but are so excited to furnish and decorate a new place! Pictures of our new place coming soon!

The Cast of our Wedding

As promised, here are some of my favorite pictures of my favorite people from our big day! As I was looking through our photos, I realized that Kevin took one funny picture with each of his groomsmen, while all of my pictures with my bridesmaids were sweet and normal. Lame! Kevin's suggestion to make my photos funny like his? "Draw mustaches on your bridesmaids." Not happening. 

Enjoy our favorite people!

Our families, combined. We are so blessed that the Popes and the Nickles get along so well!

My oldest Sister and Matron of Honor, Bethany. She got married this last summer, too! (I know, my poor father!)

My older sister and Maid of Honor, Emily. The wittiest and smartest person I know. Proof: She's at Notre Dame Law School.

My Cousin Brittany, lovingly known as Britters McShizzle. What a loving and funny woman!

My sister-in-law (but let's be real, she's just like a real sister) who has such a sweet heart, and is expecting A BABY! Read all about it

My beautiful friend Allie, such a fun, loving, gorgeous woman!

My dear friend Cat. We went to Jr. High, High School, and College together. Days after our wedding she went on a year (or longer!!) trip to South America. Prayers for a safe (and timely!) return.

Kevin. Oh, Kevin, my sweet, sweet husband. Sometimes I wish little girl Tiffany could get a glimpse of the man I married and the life I have now. She would be wide-eyed, giddy, and overwhelmed. He is way more than I expected my husband would be...and I'm a big dreamer! :) Love him so much.

"This is Matty B. My brother from another mother" -Kevin

"This is Jake. He's my brother from the same mother" - Kevin

"This is Andrew MacVey. We enjoy all sorts of redneck activities" - Kevin

"This is Andrew Kishino. Initially, we met in person, but now we mostly meet online playing COD" - Kevin

"This is Joe Ram. Half man, half Ram. We've been roommates for the past 4 years. " - Kevin

"This is Austin Harris, A-Town. My brochacho surfing friend" - Kevin

The sweetest (and cutest) little flower girls. My cousin's twin girls (age 4 on Christmas!).

Our wise and faithful Pastor, Bryan Stupar from Calvary SLO.  Our Church

My grandpa saying the prayer.

My father walking his baby daughter down the aisle.

Kevin's dad doing "The Bacon". I married into a very interesting family.

My mommies! My mom is on the left in pink and Kevin's mom is on the right in brown. Don't they just look like they're related? Gosh, I hope not...

Hopefully you feel like you know our loved ones a little bit! These stars have major roles in our lives, so you'll be hearing about them more!

Please be patient with our blogging frequency this week (I doubt we'll ever be as consistent as Natalie in her blog). We are moving on Sunday, so we'll be in transition for a little while. Next week I'll show you where we moved from!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Hitched

My hubby Kevin and I have thrown around the idea of a blog so much that one day we took the time to actually make a blog. For about the last two to three months, however, this blog has remained post-less.

I'd love to say that Kevin and I have just been swamped with activities, work, errands, events, and general life busyness. Not true. But I think we both do underestimate what a big transition we are still adjusting to: Marriage. So I decided that our first blog entry would be devoted to our wedding! 

We got married on September 4th 2011 at Windfall Farms. Visit their website at http://www.windfallfarms.net/.

All photos were taken by Peter Dawson of Sweet Zion Productions.

For now, I'll share some of my favorite detail shots:

White slippers for the ceremony and white cowgirl boots for the reception.

The flower arrangement by Fleur Flowers In Paso Robles.

Still so in love with my two tier, elbow length veil lined with Swarovsky Crystals. 

Our "Seeding Chart" hung on a Manzanita Tree.

Something borrowed- Crystal earrings from a college friend.

Since I was a little girl, I've dreamed of a wedding dress with a light blue sash.

Cocktail hour decoration.

DIY Bride and Groom placement fences.

My ballgown.

Homemade cards saying "You know you're in love when..." and "My best marriage advice" served as our Guestbook. Kevin painted the barn that they were placed in.

DIY card sign and bird cage for cards.

So many mason jars!

Menu. Yum!

The table placement. Notice the DIY fence table numbers and dual placement card/favor peat pods with daisy seeds.

Bought that cross on Etsy for the ceremony. It was a small detail with a big meaning.

Up next...my favorite pictures of my favorite people that day.