I've been doing a lot of thinking and dreaming lately.  I've been exploring some blogs that are full of creative ideas and inspiration - some craft projects, beautiful photographs, color boards and ideas.  And I've been thinking about our condo and the balance that comes with turning a house (or in our case, a condo) into a home.  And I have a plan....well, not exactly a "step-by-step, here is what we are going to do plan" that Fr. Ron might expect from me, but at least a thought process that I think is heading me in the right direction.

I was telling someone recently that I feel like we have completed Phase 1 in our condo, where we have unpacked everything we use and have most things set up to carry on our daily lives.  But there are definitely a few more things to be done as we settle into our place.  We still have some boxes of random things that need to be gone through and sorted to know if we even want them anymore (along with some things still at my parents' house that I need to attend to), we need to get all of our paperwork in order, which is quite an organizational task, and we need to start the decorating process.

I'd like to repaint a few rooms and I am hoping that we can get to those this summer, particularly when we can open the windows to get the paint smell out.  Once that is done we'll be able to add some of the extras to the rooms - some new bedding, a nice shower curtain, drapes, etc.  I most certainly know that this all comes with time and I am in no major rush, but I also don't want to just put it off either.  I am excited at the idea of making this home and in adding some touches that show it is our place.

Once we get through some of those boxes and paperwork I mentioned above, I am really hoping to organize our second bedroom to make the most of this space.  We are using the big closet as storage, but the room will be an office for us and a place for me to do some art and other projects.  I am so excited at the idea of working on some creative things again.  I don't know that there will be any major masterpieces necessarily, but in reading all these blogs of people being creative and such, it has gotten me inspired to see what I can do too.

Between 2 weddings, a job I took with my dad, and a dinner for my parents' anniversary, "my plan" might have to wait until June.  But I am OK with that though, because in the meantime, I am just glad we have a place to call home together.

I failed to folllow-up to my blog over a week ago about our first family party at our condo.  Everything went really well!  Jack cleaned the condo on Saturday while I cooked the day away.  Then on Sunday, we went to church and got straight to work once we were home.  My parents offered to come early to help with the final preparations and it was a good thing they did!  My mom helped get some of the food plated and ready for everyone.  My dad and Jack did a number of miscellaneous things - basically anything I asked them to do.  And they saved the day with my cupcake frosting!  I was using the standing mixer my grandma gave me and was thrilled to put it to use, but while I was trying to whip the frosting, the speed kept getting slower and it wasn't fluffing it up.  So, my dad and Jack made the switch for me and used the hand mixer while I kept prepping and cooking and all went well after that. 

We had more than enough food and drinks for everyone.  And thankfully, we had enough seats too, especially since people brought a few for us to borrow.  The families got to talk with one another and the kids played together, which was the whole point of this get together, so it was a great success.  Everyone said they like the food, so I was thrilled for that too!

The final menu was- Appetizers: Guacamole & Chips, Bruschetta with toasted french bread and a big veggie tray, Dinner: homemade Italian beef, marinated chicken wings and drumsticks, green bean and tomato salad and pasta salad, Dessert: Brownies, Cupcakes (made from my grandma's cake recipe-YUM!) and a fruit tray with fruit dip.

Here's a bunch of photos from the preparations and the party.

Me with my new apron, our crockpot and the standing mixer my grandma gave me. :)  (Jack didn't want us to register for a mixer since he didn't think it would get used enough, so I was very lucky when my grandma offered to give me hers.)

Making "Grandma" cupcakes - YUM!

Our Italian Beef - Thanks for the recipe, Aunt Lor!

Bentley was so well behaved all day. He got a BIG treat after everyone went home for the night.

Much like my mom, I had a list of everything that was supposed to get put out for our party, so that I woudn't forget anything. Jack was helping me checking things off while my dad and I got our fruit tray ready.

Me and Annalee

Rhys and Andrew playing on the kitchen island

Jack and I with the dinner all ready for everyone. Let's EAT!

Andrew and Rebecca

We had so many people with March birthdays in both of our families that we put a candle in all of their cupcakes and we all sang Happy Birthday to them.  Happy Birthday Andrew, Rhys, Ania, Mom and Dad!

How's that brownie, Carys? :)

Here's a shot of everyone just relaxing and enjoying dessert.

Most nights this week we've been working to get ready for our family party this Sunday.  I would so much rather do a little bit each night than be completely overwhelmed and have to whip things into shape in a day or two.  Last night, I compiled all the recipes and make my grocery list while Jack volunteered to clean both of our showers.  Normally, I clean the bathrooms as my mom used to tell me that I could make a bathroom sparkle, and Jack handles some chores that I can't stand (like dusting), but who am I to turn down an offer for him to clean the showers?!  He did a great job and really saved me some time and work.  In the words of my mom, "I am pleased but not suprised" that he could do it. ;)

I was a little nervous about the noise we might cause our neighbors, since we have discovered that the insullation between the units is not great.  On top of that, our neighbors downstairs have their condo for sale and we didn't want to cause them any problems in case they have any showings.  Jack emailed them last night to let them know, so hopefully they'll be understanding about it and it won't bother them too much. 

Next up in the preparations are the grocery shopping, condo cleaning and some cooking tomorrow.  Today is our 6 month anniversary, and although we talked about going to dinner, I think we might spend it at CostCo and Dominick's.  Nothing says romance like picking out meat and produce!

In and amongst our preparations, we are going out tomorrow night to celebrate our friend Jen's birthday.  We are heading for a show at Improv Olympics and then out for drinks.  Happy Birthday Jen!

And Happy 6 month Anniversary, Jack!  I feel so lucky to be your wife.

We have had just general life stuff going on lately.  Last week seemed kind of long since it was our first week back at work after our Hawaiian honeymoon.  We made it through though and were glad when the weekend arrived.  It was a pretty busy weekend overall - I went out with some girlfriends Friday night, Saturday we worked around the condo for a while and then I had a wedding shower in the evening.  Since the shower was out in the suburbs, I stopped to see my mom for a bit on the way home, which was really nice.  I love our life in the city, but I miss my family sometimes.  On Sunday, we went to church, went to the Merchandise Mart for a furniture sample sale (we didn't buy any furniture, but I bought 2 pieces of jewelry) and then we did a TON of work around our condo for the rest of the day.

Not that there isn't always stuff to do at home, but we are particularly in high gear with house work these days because we are having both of our immediate families over this Sunday for our first "party" at our condo.  We wanted to have a get together like this before the wedding since our immediate families didn't know each other much, but since that didn't work out, we figured no better time like the present.  We keep a pretty clean house, but when you are having guests, suddenly you see your place with different eyes, so we have been working hard to get ready.  We are very excited though to have everyone over!  It should be nice and cozy too since we'll have a total of 14 adults and 5 kids in our place all at once, plus Bentley who we'll need to keep separated from the bunch part of the time because my nephew is scared of dogs and despite his friendly intentions, Bentley can be a little too much excitement for some. :) 

All of our family generously offered to bring something so the burden wasn't on us, but I really wanted to host everyone so we are providing all the food.  I have come to like cooking and would like the chance to provide a meal for those close to us.  I better start praying now that it all turns out OK!  I am not going to list off what I have planned because a) it is not TOTALLY finalized and b) some of those coming read this blog and although I am not making a 5-course fine dining meal, I still want it to be a bit of a surprise.

That's all for now.  Love to all!

One thing I've been looking forward to is being able to grill out on our balcony.  The only thing missing was the grill!  It turned out that Kristen and Jay had an extra one that they so kindly delivered right to our condo!  I finally got to take it for a spin last week and grilled up some pork chops.  Mary made a fantastic marinade for it as well as a really great red wine vinaigrette salad.  I ended up over-cooking the chops a bit as they were a little dry, but they still had some great flavor.  I'm hoping I'll only get better!