tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56317358889313888632024-02-19T01:27:36.116-06:00The Colvin FamilyThe adventure continues.Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.comBlogger70125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-37104090127488611732011-05-14T20:20:00.002-05:002011-05-14T20:28:21.234-05:00MassToday at mass, I was pointing out Jesus up on the Crucifix above the altar and Izzie said quite loudly - "My Jesus, I have poops!"<br /><br />I almost fell off the kneeler.Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-37050667508157700092010-11-07T14:08:00.003-06:002010-11-07T14:23:56.221-06:00BakingAs mentioned <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/10/making-cookies.html">previously</a>, I have started to really get into baking, specifically cookies. I have been bringing in anywhere from 2-4 batches of cookies into work per week for the last 3 and 1/2 months now. It has been getting pretty fun! When I am not able to make cookies for a couple of nights, I even start to go through cookie withdrawal :(<br /><br />My inspiration has been coming from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Big-Fat-Cookies-Elinor-Klivans/dp/0811842169">this book</a>. While not every recipe works exactly as billed (the s'mores cookies were a pain), almost every cookie I have made from here is awesome!<br /><br />Today, I made cookies called "top-heavy heavenly hash." I have to say, they look pretty impressive! The chocolate cookie on the bottom is crisp and crunchy with marshmallows and walnuts and chocolate chips piled on top. They were surprisingly light!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kD3Zc4oudl-FC4ZDKmRhilg3f_LzzlmRTCzUmrs6VS-w0E42sDbF6WTcfjcPLLrZkrpiLQpFWlbrPv-iiOlElMpp3Sf9S5lkqYAQ7L1o-T8b7MKGrWbCaH4q6_RCWOX-2Z8Upe8ja_3F/s1600/Cell+phone+058.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2kD3Zc4oudl-FC4ZDKmRhilg3f_LzzlmRTCzUmrs6VS-w0E42sDbF6WTcfjcPLLrZkrpiLQpFWlbrPv-iiOlElMpp3Sf9S5lkqYAQ7L1o-T8b7MKGrWbCaH4q6_RCWOX-2Z8Upe8ja_3F/s320/Cell+phone+058.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536904530719758834" border="0" /></a>I made these cookies a couple of weeks ago, entitled "lemon ginger cookie sandwiches." These may be the most impressive cookies I have made so far. Also very yummy.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Xrg17rQWnDz3lyEVM2vuV6Rn69FCLqqHda1MppdDsclZ7jtBDalyd3k3qM_8LU6JgtxJFcpUk-vDVTs8NJnjEtov2-Kz-BI24IL9T6usDnAkqOkmcKiQbbqk7uECZb7wJU8HgpaJHA9A/s1600/Cell+phone+064.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6Xrg17rQWnDz3lyEVM2vuV6Rn69FCLqqHda1MppdDsclZ7jtBDalyd3k3qM_8LU6JgtxJFcpUk-vDVTs8NJnjEtov2-Kz-BI24IL9T6usDnAkqOkmcKiQbbqk7uECZb7wJU8HgpaJHA9A/s320/Cell+phone+064.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536904539423425602" border="0" /></a>The other thing I have been baking pretty consistently are biscuits. These are <a href="http://www.bettycrocker.com/tips/glossary-page/techniques/a-c/b/biscuits-how-to-make">Betty Crocker's biscuits</a> with 1 cup of <a href="http://tillamookcheese.com/OurProducts/Cheese/">Tillamook cheddar cheese</a> added in. Oh man are these a great breakfast!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdh3LDq_s1ByObVtl5SNOrYbPfdoqG3guxUo_0ZNe4u38g77JyuW6hODxMIXAmrguqHCiSWnBWM-I3tiy-ZDVwO83N9oqihgjpskNSEBSfvyXHG7_T_waebQoBKItnKFCx-CSLlfkQ7o_/s1600/Cell+phone+065.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbdh3LDq_s1ByObVtl5SNOrYbPfdoqG3guxUo_0ZNe4u38g77JyuW6hODxMIXAmrguqHCiSWnBWM-I3tiy-ZDVwO83N9oqihgjpskNSEBSfvyXHG7_T_waebQoBKItnKFCx-CSLlfkQ7o_/s320/Cell+phone+065.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536904536601285842" border="0" /></a><br />The best part is that Izzie still likes to help me "mak-a coo-kies a-day!"Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-63273857408635917482010-11-06T20:21:00.004-05:002010-11-06T20:34:59.870-05:00Family Pics from the SummerOver the summer, we had some family photos taken by the same <a href="http://takefivemedia.com/">photographers </a>who did our wedding. They also did some family photos for us last summer, which we absolutely loved.<br /><br />Here are a few selections...<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMdiJkIGSQlmwsKNixADcrOOjTtWrF-AejscD-JNTKzdT5HQaZGVnjht1cMVtCKIW3kk3b374mOPycvlhHQXFrgrWDscKAI0GQdOw9sE-SP-_y7qC1MkoRheCBblJiU4F8TApolfjt8US/s1600/IMG_3204.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfMdiJkIGSQlmwsKNixADcrOOjTtWrF-AejscD-JNTKzdT5HQaZGVnjht1cMVtCKIW3kk3b374mOPycvlhHQXFrgrWDscKAI0GQdOw9sE-SP-_y7qC1MkoRheCBblJiU4F8TApolfjt8US/s320/IMG_3204.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536614356252412994" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8a8OABsoTIKtau2dDA39ItD28jIFcoVqRjT3fZWDmG_iUefEvTyG4EVkIyMks9Vbw_OmyLCHVmv4D7SKUkNMpzPuX6Zfs-EFnOPaWV5N6686bwLg_-HojH0-qCcyPXz0Ey2qxjMQ-tzx/s1600/IMG_3309.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgi8a8OABsoTIKtau2dDA39ItD28jIFcoVqRjT3fZWDmG_iUefEvTyG4EVkIyMks9Vbw_OmyLCHVmv4D7SKUkNMpzPuX6Zfs-EFnOPaWV5N6686bwLg_-HojH0-qCcyPXz0Ey2qxjMQ-tzx/s320/IMG_3309.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536614346948829154" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSY7TAFtLRtfU9a2iVDUp3lzgsKWbvfNinAkkrpMy3CBDXwad2gQNFJXu8kkkOB3UyVLEbSw6sSezYqVGybcu0J0oGp8bjsIFzyMtjPpz5mx1nPJNktgt_LPk0ENs4gpxns1Q1uBFdNBsb/s1600/IMG_3301.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSY7TAFtLRtfU9a2iVDUp3lzgsKWbvfNinAkkrpMy3CBDXwad2gQNFJXu8kkkOB3UyVLEbSw6sSezYqVGybcu0J0oGp8bjsIFzyMtjPpz5mx1nPJNktgt_LPk0ENs4gpxns1Q1uBFdNBsb/s320/IMG_3301.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536614359703650898" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdqHkHQ4udD-b1R1mIO7sbBX_-kf7OGBXv-as-c1LLQec-GT0OO8RbDHKvl9D8WvuzuRcOkAfX1ReKxv_H0iBubCNtyuXiqbBfVCFx2bjPBXcYGUvCFeGmWqLX4GrZn9jvIihmmf8PG3H/s1600/IMG_3258.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizdqHkHQ4udD-b1R1mIO7sbBX_-kf7OGBXv-as-c1LLQec-GT0OO8RbDHKvl9D8WvuzuRcOkAfX1ReKxv_H0iBubCNtyuXiqbBfVCFx2bjPBXcYGUvCFeGmWqLX4GrZn9jvIihmmf8PG3H/s320/IMG_3258.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536614344766327762" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMACNgsnPHJSBT8k5oSaHU9EsiM85TyL8pxsRO-xWqV5Cl4HBgCt4nmPSD_VNA7Nq5ogu1Ow1kfZeccYf9PqxjP3-v5zps-CF8vMeL4R2tGzoz0NFcQ-a-w_fQ3FB_LFWgzm2ARbELpkd/s1600/IMG_3307.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIMACNgsnPHJSBT8k5oSaHU9EsiM85TyL8pxsRO-xWqV5Cl4HBgCt4nmPSD_VNA7Nq5ogu1Ow1kfZeccYf9PqxjP3-v5zps-CF8vMeL4R2tGzoz0NFcQ-a-w_fQ3FB_LFWgzm2ARbELpkd/s320/IMG_3307.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536613561905710930" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoXrLOL30TGUYNjVbaiB105F7ORAPdJwqxjpUjXTg1PkXPzKrtM30Y96Zm7PmevNK7fHCOPnr57VEh6vZsefgDiZoMoNuDg2V2wO6TR1Qt27IjvfTces7vjGmNFPnJQRfuQ-mKi8Czp50/s1600/IMG_3318.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtoXrLOL30TGUYNjVbaiB105F7ORAPdJwqxjpUjXTg1PkXPzKrtM30Y96Zm7PmevNK7fHCOPnr57VEh6vZsefgDiZoMoNuDg2V2wO6TR1Qt27IjvfTces7vjGmNFPnJQRfuQ-mKi8Czp50/s320/IMG_3318.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536613553835790210" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zVxX_WGgM_j8CuNnTLqXcLEVEalglBjN6YNmXLyl6xdgO3FGgaL0sJ0UJYd7W2ddk-2DqznqDExx0PfTcGIoKcJoo8Qm4788E8l4jeXg14ssYOe6huC1occMDd9oFj5ydXCrBkagWYiZ/s1600/IMG_3354.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5zVxX_WGgM_j8CuNnTLqXcLEVEalglBjN6YNmXLyl6xdgO3FGgaL0sJ0UJYd7W2ddk-2DqznqDExx0PfTcGIoKcJoo8Qm4788E8l4jeXg14ssYOe6huC1occMDd9oFj5ydXCrBkagWYiZ/s320/IMG_3354.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536613543399145458" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcdDcmbxdf4zZh28kgU0iwGvyeyQltcNkipmCylTBKAVrx1yHyHu8aWY73-eJ_bZfoCOgyPEMj0OBalpDqKo6_GdbyaTdX92SwfVP6_nacDthJhgIFcndFcS_ZBpX1iG9bIeW0Hr2ohyphenhyphenE/s1600/IMG_3210.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfcdDcmbxdf4zZh28kgU0iwGvyeyQltcNkipmCylTBKAVrx1yHyHu8aWY73-eJ_bZfoCOgyPEMj0OBalpDqKo6_GdbyaTdX92SwfVP6_nacDthJhgIFcndFcS_ZBpX1iG9bIeW0Hr2ohyphenhyphenE/s320/IMG_3210.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536613536061984274" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDsKHuuFq4BO4t7_yzkEXIbNvHus7tyBy4zQVXjX-VhyphenhyphenkvvXOt2SYAEtin-PPL_NGWz1RjiY9Cl6v6g-1sjiTj3HIlDAf-MLoCoKMrgJvkMZPznZuL-FOFJNeBYP112eCztX0ygpSQxhC/s1600/IMG_3145.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPDsKHuuFq4BO4t7_yzkEXIbNvHus7tyBy4zQVXjX-VhyphenhyphenkvvXOt2SYAEtin-PPL_NGWz1RjiY9Cl6v6g-1sjiTj3HIlDAf-MLoCoKMrgJvkMZPznZuL-FOFJNeBYP112eCztX0ygpSQxhC/s320/IMG_3145.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5536613526795789458" border="0" /></a>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-9268905623594236312010-10-31T20:53:00.005-05:002010-10-31T21:09:11.846-05:00HalloweenLast year for Halloween we were in Oregon and Izzie was still too little to go out and Trick-or-Treat. This year, we were pretty sure that she would be interested.<br /><br />A few weeks ago we ordered her costume online - a Jessie costume from Toy Story! She has really enjoyed watching Toy Story ever since we went to see her first movie - Toy Story 3.<br /><br />We were a little worried she wouldn't want to wear the costume, but after a successful dry run yesterday, everything went pretty smoothly.<br /><br />We decided to go over to Matt's parent's house for Halloween as our street doesn't seem to have many kids nor decorate for Halloween. It ended up being a good choice because the street was completely empty when we got back home this evening.<br /><br />Izzie ended up having a great time and even kept wanting to go back out! She was pretty cute and even occasionally said "trick or treat." Mostly, she just said "oh, welcome!" when she was supposed to say "thank you." Oh well. She did throw in an occasional "bye bye" and a "see you later" now and then, which was pretty cute.<br /><br />On to the pictures!<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9crN8UPM7BzhY6LDdG47yPk6S_GQAeAt5Go1eEdrXYgRCws6o-ZsTrZLuBr2Ham1pFgL4DH5UIAaUez29Fn9-5Bgssz_ICgW7_aGPWSMBl2TLz9xkBmB1csqLkSzRZSY46Gs6s-6XdJe/s1600/Isidora+258.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv9crN8UPM7BzhY6LDdG47yPk6S_GQAeAt5Go1eEdrXYgRCws6o-ZsTrZLuBr2Ham1pFgL4DH5UIAaUez29Fn9-5Bgssz_ICgW7_aGPWSMBl2TLz9xkBmB1csqLkSzRZSY46Gs6s-6XdJe/s320/Isidora+258.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534395284432595618" border="0" /></a><br />Izzie waiting for her chance to go out while another neighborhood grandkid stops by.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bSlCRuU8EbjoCzCJL1bEzS3oPagC1hd2iYUcZRf_ZwHpHkCGA2m-DRmG4DaFAjGvgs2JtF9sysOKPmb1puAlggCjjWfjRFNbORiBVZV_1X5idSRnChN-bTvyg8P_-cwSMYquwglaihUZ/s1600/Isidora+266.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6bSlCRuU8EbjoCzCJL1bEzS3oPagC1hd2iYUcZRf_ZwHpHkCGA2m-DRmG4DaFAjGvgs2JtF9sysOKPmb1puAlggCjjWfjRFNbORiBVZV_1X5idSRnChN-bTvyg8P_-cwSMYquwglaihUZ/s320/Isidora+266.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534395296998052226" border="0" /></a><br />Izzie's turn! She insisted upon carrying that Ty pumpkin around.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuG2uv7JPM-x3OsZgjfsVJsv7taucr3wmTtBpInGE1brg3N0eJCgLnVs-g7Ea21SJrNsMX_kaPmYgKP3SKSqQE3W7fJEowvHQKeGdiIbkxmsKsApdkHG-cBhIc3LaFdX74PMV9jGAKb2J2/s1600/Isidora+270.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuG2uv7JPM-x3OsZgjfsVJsv7taucr3wmTtBpInGE1brg3N0eJCgLnVs-g7Ea21SJrNsMX_kaPmYgKP3SKSqQE3W7fJEowvHQKeGdiIbkxmsKsApdkHG-cBhIc3LaFdX74PMV9jGAKb2J2/s320/Isidora+270.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534395310771973170" border="0" /></a><br />Getting some candy!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHW-xFJsCED4QuPhUhedUr7oqkLgmW1ExXh8LgG-WbY0_j2J8rfg0LLDj1K5HX5xCzug35v04zNtjwaFp4oKHEZwjFWuxTxOgvrSv90gJ6SKSMGMUOcHkGM2sGihO2nh_QDEcCVnFvkjKh/s1600/Isidora+284.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHW-xFJsCED4QuPhUhedUr7oqkLgmW1ExXh8LgG-WbY0_j2J8rfg0LLDj1K5HX5xCzug35v04zNtjwaFp4oKHEZwjFWuxTxOgvrSv90gJ6SKSMGMUOcHkGM2sGihO2nh_QDEcCVnFvkjKh/s320/Isidora+284.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534395321758304962" border="0" /></a><br />Check out what I got everyone!<br /></div><br />It was pretty successful overall!<br /><br />Matt is afraid she will want to go Trick-or-Treating tomorrow.Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-88794970798815003182010-10-04T19:45:00.005-05:002010-10-04T20:00:47.107-05:00Making cookiesFor the last couple of months, I have been baking cookies and bringing about 75-85% of the batches to work to share with the other doctors and the nurses. One of the best parts about it is that Izzie really really likes helping bake the cookies. She will stand up on our step stool right next to me and help me dump the cups/teaspoons of ingredients into their appropriate containers. She also likes to help stir up the dry ingredients after I have thoroughly mixed them (I guess I wasn't thorough enough). Sometimes I catch her licking her finger and sticking it in the flour (oh well). Her favorite part is, of course, when she gets the beater after the mixer has finished mixing the dough.<br /><br />After I have cut the cookie dough or spooned it onto sheets, she sits on the ground with me and watches the cookies in the oven - for a little while. Then we play in the kitchen and wait for the cookies to be finished cooking.<br /><br />It has been a lot of fun to bake with Izzie! At our <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/05/before-and-after-kitchen.html">old place</a>, we really didn't have room to bake, and I very rarely got the mixer our to make anything. Here, our <a href="http://www.kitchenaid.com/flash.cmd?/#/product/K45SSWH/">kitchenaid</a> sits in the corner on the counter and I just slide it out to make something. :)<br /><br />The people at work have really liked my baking prowess as well - usually I try to bake something a couple of times per week and everyone seems to think that the cookies are pretty tasty. I certainly like them.<br /><br />Anyway, I have really enjoyed my newly-found baking hobby, and Isidora really likes to bake with me :)Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-41184733168379309082010-09-27T13:15:00.008-05:002010-09-27T14:16:21.890-05:00Episode VI: Return of the Dadi<div style="text-align: left;">Yes, I did just go there with the title.</div><div><br /></div><div>Anyway, as I have not posted on our blog in quite some time, and as my wonderful wife has subtly and not-so-subtly hinted as such, I am finally getting back into posting.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div>Bree has covered some of the pertinent info, but here is some more!:</div><div>Bree's birthday was the 24th. I will follow gentlemanly form and not reveal the age of my spouse in this space, but I like to think she had a nice birthday celebration. The main event this year happened the weekend before the actual day, as we were able to take advantage of a fabled Golden Weekend (weekends where call schedule for residents lines up perfectly and they get the entire weekend free) and take off to a bed and breakfast, leaving Izzie with my parents. It was called <a href="http://www.amberhouse.com/">Amber House</a>, and was very nice and relaxing. It was located in the town of <a href="http://www.rocheport.com/">Rocheport, MO</a>, just outside of Columbia, home to the University of Missouri (or Mizzou as it is known). Unbeknownst to us when we originally were planning the weekend, there was something of a wine festival going on that weekend, which we lightly participated in. Not only that, but the sleepy town of only 200 or so had two very good restaurants. The more fancy of the two was the Blufftop Bistro, owned and run by <a href="http://www.missouriwine.com/">Le Bourgeois</a> winery. The second, more urban and laid back, was called <a href="http://abigails-restaurant.com/">Abigail's</a>, and boasts a new menu every day. All in all it was a very nice getaway, and Bree really liked her present. Oh, and I also picked up some nice earrings which I happen to think she likes very much.</div><div>As of now, the house is pretty much set and stuff works. The last major item, just purchased and installed, was the garage door opener. The wife is very very pleased with this, as we no longer have to manually open and close it. It's like we've joined the 20th century or something.</div><div>The stay at home saga continues for Izzie and me, and lo, some transition has definitely occurred since last I blog'd thereof. Izzie now has fully changed over to napping in the afternoon, usually around 1 o'clock. This means Daddy's routine must change, too. For example, instead of exercising on Wii Fit (yours truly has lost something like 8 or 9 pounds and is way more pro</div><div>ud of himself in the mirror, but seems to have plateaued at around 140, not that anybody is complaining) while Izzie naps, I usually try to fit in what I can while she is awake, with our without Wii.</div><div>The usual daily routine starts somewhere after 5 but before 6, at which point I get up to groggily make coffee and breakfast for Bree. At this point Bree has already done her own workout routine downstairs at an absurdly early time and is usually in the shower or perhaps already out. Doctors are workaholics.</div><div>Izzie tends to wake up right after Bree leaves for the hospital, so then the two of us have breakfast. Lately I have been trying to get us out of the house more, and with Izzie napping in the afternoon, the time before lunch is when this happens. We sometimes have to just do errands like go to the grocery store, but we are able to do fun stuff as well. Whether we go out or hang at home, Izzie and I usually eat lunch around 12:30 and then she gets tired around 1 or so. She still naps for around 2 hours, after which we find something to do until it is either time to get started on dinner, or Mama gets home.</div><div><br /></div><div>Today's excursion was a simple one. We took the new umbrella stroller (I keep leaving the big stroller at my parents' house) and walked around the neighborhood to the nearby MacDonald Park. Picture time!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPUJ8zH7I-zwkgNus5XqyeJ0y2qMhY9A01kiBFRdE1Ie-kjGWOLJhqkaE3wd8mOUjBkkepdoJ9aMyo-8Eohha0qpeiaBzapPDyVxI2-kCOjRLVige5cD4D6oOeXFSDM4z2HIgGQdaI6z0/s320/lonewolfcub.jpg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 300px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521667611620259970" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Artist's rendition of Izzie and I walking across the soccer/baseball field to get to the playground. Just imagine the stroller folded up and held under my arm instead of an enormous samurai weapon, and it's pretty dead on. It was kind of hard to take a picture of us walking across the field but I'll bet it was cute, so this will have to do.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVDZKWYpS2SWkHoNA_-JYyvzCrjNv376Vi4a0EkGorQjpVG75iBJlNb-TGBFAPVIXzXun0V09jeuLeLYeMthOtwCIlEI3Xh2LPs_pdBLqogv7_iftobB27paGz6ReCGfyBdtD7OL1wsAk/s320/UmbrellaStroller.jpeg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521666651397992370" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Trying out the new stroller. And sticking out tongue. Precious.</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnnsHa4JKHgNjzv5tPm3NBz9PQwpxyquAmYjUMRDoNd4zPbNCMCs1y8IkV9Wf4I18kApO6qryfVLCfjRtbCLjYwVTy4iNtV6nh-xjjbVGyeAxFKPJKUtLc031oIYtP6yQ2sgxC_cx3HlY/s320/Swinging.jpeg" style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 241px;" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5521667075578682498" /></div><div style="text-align: center;">Swinging. Weeee!</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">After swinging for a while I asked Izzie if she wanted to play in the jungle gym area or go back in the stroller. Surprisingly, she preferred stroller. So we made our way back home and had lunch. It became clear that Izzie was getting more and more tired, so a little after 1 she finished lunch and took a nap. And here I am blogging about it.</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">As the above pictures were from my phone (except for the one from the Lone Wolf and Cub samurai movies) I'll end today's post with more recent and cute Izzie pictures from said phone. Engage!</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifwq7QxahCS4c3E6TmPqAVkS-2GRUDnvhyphenhyphen4SOLTfdJTS3bnGKO_atpZkGM2gNbbuGBd95qwo3936HcSgmeb9NBwxUCHzvGnjZRlTa1JY-ps-vZHggWi_YBYcy9E3zepNBjv-7APztGthg/s320/DaddyApron.jpeg" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">"I've decided I need to wear Daddy's apron."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG2ysVrFztkajKErtLAdpTWnyI8qSSClaXKDFC5LtRvcem2RlXzR4X5PhOxuEAmMFLGz6WA46Q7y3ceYbWL2JVBnOUKvb-IZn02xh_sfjUllOHTWUfEQS6q1g_ltQOvLWv_TnXSGU-OeU/s320/WoodyBuzzBath.jpeg" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">"What? Am I being cute or something? Woody and Buzz need to get clean too, you know."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSD_LpYNxjfXdMge1bm7Gnk5iDhOiSs56wcH_MTrrK6GJPnwckEvO-Mys74j_bcBPN7yKCVrg5nQIBAy0I4TRCYDQ6Cy5EVyH9KpDpchcQE-7v-YwTRVbfzr4EqW65G6B4P5i62vck2MU/s320/ToyCar.jpeg" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">"Daddy says this car runs extremely well when you consider that he used to play with it with uncle Ben when he was little. I would prefer something with a few more horses and maybe some bigger rims, but for a first car it's not too shabby."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUtG2wYPeF1mbd3cUN71QnWByr58qFl32pS6AXSPI14iAX4drUi62LMvC-cZmRdUbozy2YyYPj9ZHNEysVw781_51LMRrBQijrx7ZP9xnI8Vm1nBD4zgUfleF81ilTCzvWsffqtJO5Je8/s320/BlockTower.jpeg" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">"Usually I knock daddy's block towers down before they get anywhere near this tall. This time I let him get to 19 blocks, and let his hubris be his own undoing as he tried for 20. Heh, heh, heh..."</span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIeTSTNZ-uqxY6h1v_r9zg_UVYC_ZNwoymK889ObAGlrGDQJ5Nkj1lfA1AtT0Aq8CArPajVmuSSV1DEJfNbsfLEHJJJ0t3c3RdPRkKig64hJqsNOaCiGkK6uVGOSbVq4tgRswoqpvta8M/s320/NapWithMommy.jpeg" /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;"><br /></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" ><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 12px; line-height: 17px;">Post-call nap time. Awwwwwww.</span></span></div>Matthew Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04278804243768868956noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-20394374544413551272010-09-25T20:22:00.003-05:002010-09-25T20:25:32.878-05:00Story of the DayToday when Isidora was lying on the changing table after her bath, she grabbed her hands together and said "Peased to meet you!" This was shortly followed by slapping her hands together and saying "High five!" and then "poun it!" (pound it, or a fist bump).<br /><br />It was pretty cute.Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-44574757295387176472010-09-25T20:15:00.002-05:002010-09-25T20:22:53.371-05:00UpdateSo as I am sure everyone can tell, I have been pretty busy. Taking call every fourth night sure does take a toll on blogging! I have been having a great time at work and I really do love being there, even though it is pretty exhausting.<br /><br />Here is a brief update on Isidora - she can now count from 1 to 12 (!) and she says "I love you too kisses!" when I tell her, "I love you." She is more active and playful than ever (of course). She most definitely has her own opinions about what she wants and when she wants it. Her favorite things right now are trains, Toy Story ("Woody Jessie Buzz!") and Goodnight Moon ("nigh-night moo-nah").<br /><br />She and Daddy are having a pretty good time at home, though she can sure be a handful at times. And, she is finally transitioning to afternoon naps! It's about time!<br /><br />Anyway, hopefully I can convince Matt (and myself) to keep up some more frequent updates.Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-36969674454284775452010-07-17T21:04:00.003-05:002010-07-17T21:08:21.001-05:00Counting updateIsidora has continued learning her counting since I last posted on the subject and now frequently counts, "<span style="font-size:130%;">two, free, foh, figh, sih, nigh, ten!</span>"<br /><br />Only three more numbers to go!<br /><br />Also, she has started saying "<span style="font-size:130%;">a, b, c</span>"<br /><br /><br />On a side note, Isidora went pee-pee in her potty! Yay!Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-40988822157547179102010-07-16T09:09:00.003-05:002010-07-16T09:16:23.333-05:00Bee-ballIsidora has followed in her father's footsteps in being really excited about baseball. Now, whether or not this is genuine remains to be seen, but for now she really enjoys saying things about baseball.<br /><br />Whenever we see baseball on television, Isidora points and says "<span style="font-size:130%;">bee-ball</span>!" And then runs around saying, "<span style="font-size:130%;">Go, Aow-ber!</span>" (Go, Albert, as in Pujols). Occasionally she even gets upset when it goes to commercial and says, "<span style="font-size:130%;">Moh bee-ball?</span>"<br /><br />This morning, we were watching highlights of the game against the LA Dodgers from last night and I said, "Hit it to Manny!" (Manny Ramirez). To which Isidora said, "<span style="font-size:130%;">Hih ih to Man-nee!</span>" <br /><br />What a good girl.Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-60051015379556079422010-07-14T21:49:00.003-05:002010-07-14T21:56:28.944-05:00CountingRecently Isidora has started to say numbers. She most reliably says "wah" (one) and "two" when associated with one or two cookies, respectively. In the last couple of days, though, she has started to say more than just "wah" and "two", she has counted all the way up to six!<br /><br />Mostly what she does is say the next number in the line. I will say "one" and then Isidora will say "two, free" (two, three), sometimes she will then say "foh, figh, sih" (four, five, six). Matt even caught her counting straight to five a couple of days ago.<br /><br />Getting so big!Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-42212072638384509492010-07-01T10:03:00.004-05:002010-07-01T10:09:17.253-05:00July 1stGenerally, as a new intern I should be in the hospital on July 1st, busily seeing patients, writing notes, and trying to figure out what I am doing. Instead, I am on my development rotation. This means I go to various clinics and other sites around Saint Louis and have a lot of "reading" time. So, instead of waking up at 5 or earlier like most of my other classmates, I got to sleep in for the first time in weeks, have a nice relaxed breakfast with my family and sit and watch Isidora play for a few hours. After this I will get ready for the day and get to work at noon for noon conference then go over to my clinic assignment for the afternoon. What a day.<br /><br />Matt gets to mow the lawn.<br /><br />Here is a picture of Isidora from the House Staff Picnic a few days ago.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimCxxPPg-aIlujZ3ztdp32crWRi-CLZdwrtvUUqSj1q84iUYfJhFseivwQ5LxQ8oXT6_uI1hwhTKTP4No-qNDz2DPyaeqDjmPnEXdmG92w8aZrrpkeC4WvpEIfkREgoH45u_SnYMbLO59/s1600/Isidora+007.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiimCxxPPg-aIlujZ3ztdp32crWRi-CLZdwrtvUUqSj1q84iUYfJhFseivwQ5LxQ8oXT6_uI1hwhTKTP4No-qNDz2DPyaeqDjmPnEXdmG92w8aZrrpkeC4WvpEIfkREgoH45u_SnYMbLO59/s320/Isidora+007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5488954908192348386" border="0" /></a>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-73351355477411614302010-06-25T21:23:00.004-05:002010-06-25T21:50:10.747-05:00Chicken CoopThis morning while I was getting ready for work, Isidora brought me her Duplo <a href="http://duplo.lego.com/en-us/products/default.aspx#5644">chicken coop</a> and said, "<span style="font-size:130%;">Oh! Is foh bock-bock!</span>" (Bock-bock is one of her words for chicken).<br /><br />To this, I replied, "Oh, is that your chicken coop?"<br /><br />Isidora then said, "<span style="font-size:130%;">Chi-ka coo.</span>"<br /><br />Watch what you say, folks.Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-72756057961637337902010-06-20T19:53:00.005-05:002010-06-20T20:18:13.463-05:00Father's Day WeekendThis weekend we celebrated our last weekend before I go back to work. Yesterday we went to the Cardinals game with Matt's parents. It was a 6 pm start time so Isidora did pretty well through the first 2/3 of the game (and then we went home). She started saying "bee-baoh" (baseball) a couple days ago, so she was even a little interested in the game, for a while at least. Juanita also taught her to say "go, go Aw-bur" for Albert Pujols. It was pretty cute. Here is a fun video of Izzie playing up in the <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/04/take-me-out-to-ball-game.html">Redbird club</a> again. We did get to sit in our seats for 5 whole innings!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dySyjPBhuZn1ebj2B_uocdOGybHGwyChCaFfG43ZwlPdwuPZLo6BCH75KfsGHjRvzvh2Lzu53MZpYN1Wyk4bw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Today we spent most of the day over at Grant and Juanita's house watching the World Cup games and relaxing before tomorrow. Matt got some fun Father's Day presents too!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOx5aIh019L5OxA1UQI6QaqMhjUDkHFOV4-Wv3tIcOl0TUDDk8-tQYkfSaWnJ7dfqEfQhtk1nb42drCh3oScFuj-_IO0_RdFP3J6N6lFO6yb-x0CMQmvAcXZc4Vet0Um32PtHDlQU1D_C/s1600/Isidora+055.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNOx5aIh019L5OxA1UQI6QaqMhjUDkHFOV4-Wv3tIcOl0TUDDk8-tQYkfSaWnJ7dfqEfQhtk1nb42drCh3oScFuj-_IO0_RdFP3J6N6lFO6yb-x0CMQmvAcXZc4Vet0Um32PtHDlQU1D_C/s320/Isidora+055.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485027923463952466" border="0" /></a>Sitting with Papa, reading a book.<br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRSLOANy9GGBkLkSzjto0aZMB2fyvXw_9NoPWs-lp0Crdgsf0iNabWJoAPvh33ZtwXVSLBrX5uP0N-gsYeRhE0fc9kcqqoZAFXVd0tdPS1hIxY6_fe8uyagfKcINZepnlYydZ3LPb31zr/s1600/Isidora+059.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixRSLOANy9GGBkLkSzjto0aZMB2fyvXw_9NoPWs-lp0Crdgsf0iNabWJoAPvh33ZtwXVSLBrX5uP0N-gsYeRhE0fc9kcqqoZAFXVd0tdPS1hIxY6_fe8uyagfKcINZepnlYydZ3LPb31zr/s320/Isidora+059.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485027911424260098" border="0" /></a>Matt's Father's Day present - a bunch of <a href="http://www.craftsman.com/">Craftsman</a> tools and a tool bag.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_jE2-2638iBFe77g8vhpuVnZ89Qt_uNkTCe3cizBwV073ThenkhOOLSt63lv5nTrvA4wi59Lq6j1CN59EmyQ0imwGVCQnLtF5sWAslPr1gjUo41wVBr8xwc6QRPRD_630KdVm6zYUuh-/s1600/Isidora+068.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_jE2-2638iBFe77g8vhpuVnZ89Qt_uNkTCe3cizBwV073ThenkhOOLSt63lv5nTrvA4wi59Lq6j1CN59EmyQ0imwGVCQnLtF5sWAslPr1gjUo41wVBr8xwc6QRPRD_630KdVm6zYUuh-/s320/Isidora+068.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5485027954310735122" border="0" /></a>Isidora dancing :)<br /></div></div></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-74730538001537724762010-06-15T19:50:00.002-05:002010-06-15T20:09:23.865-05:002nd CousinsAs I mentioned, we recently spent a week up in the Northwest visiting family. While we were visiting my Grandmother, my cousin was able to visit with her daughter, Kaylee, who is just under a year older than Isidora. Kaylee gets very excited to see Isidora, but unfortunately, we don't get to be up there that often (and it is only going to get worse!) I am really glad they got to spend some time together.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxF6-O8BKLvZX1Y1Raed0K8r41hZEHyXzkCMnNzQ1WbCoT0biwif7DvGCwKo3OcEWyMkw25WU7rNPFCv_dh_g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br />They had a great time playing and running around the dining room. It was a lot of fun to watch them play together.<br /></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-41143050713645139542010-06-15T19:39:00.003-05:002010-06-15T19:50:05.519-05:00StudyingOrientation for residency starts on Monday and in preparation I have been reading a couple of training manuals - <a href="http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3012001">PALS</a> and <a href="http://www.aap.org/nrp/about/about_coursedescrp.html">NRP</a>. Matt was kind enough this afternoon to watch Isidora while I got some good reading in, that is until Isidora climbed up the stairs and poked her little hands out the cat door and started saying, "<span style="font-size:130%;">heh-oo?</span>" (hello). She was very excited to see her mama again but she was also excited to ask for a "<span style="font-size:130%;">kee-koo pees?</span>" (cookie please). After Daddy got her a cookie, she decided to climb up on my chair with me to do some reading.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQ3MIxHSWo2kDn7s7rE5r_E-Uhji-HFggcPLEIh7aUwKKoAnduRXnQfk0iRs7vbbIpG5grKCTZBiPhrByxSjQvxVGGFTd5KJq-G3MfPWvSYSuw6CJ3lJtEidb7hyWFd38VPOKCPaOP6v6/s1600/Isidora+095.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQQ3MIxHSWo2kDn7s7rE5r_E-Uhji-HFggcPLEIh7aUwKKoAnduRXnQfk0iRs7vbbIpG5grKCTZBiPhrByxSjQvxVGGFTd5KJq-G3MfPWvSYSuw6CJ3lJtEidb7hyWFd38VPOKCPaOP6v6/s320/Isidora+095.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483165560103468914" border="0" /></a>Sitting nicely while Mommy reads some PALS out loud.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbPLxgtUU5Gnk_xYJRqVvJAtJnWX7NAgl1gdvEIECGZIy39qcPXqnzu5dxMPn67YVGcc2ODmvIqqMNMkqasbQFMTDob4-sWR17knWuuA-8VFpUd3857Bt8jo90Lc9Q9hjHWU1eFs8sTrs/s1600/Isidora+097.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsbPLxgtUU5Gnk_xYJRqVvJAtJnWX7NAgl1gdvEIECGZIy39qcPXqnzu5dxMPn67YVGcc2ODmvIqqMNMkqasbQFMTDob4-sWR17knWuuA-8VFpUd3857Bt8jo90Lc9Q9hjHWU1eFs8sTrs/s320/Isidora+097.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483165572276871794" border="0" /></a>This is boring, Mommy, where are the pictures?<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2gEl3Gp3dRTybyQ-QAWLsdAI05YjoVkRnTbtq7rgF7WbI2TfS_xXGLLqKhXEs0BLXvhc3QQYVSScbCGLuPiydX-b1oTLzMXg9QxgMbs72tb-ux7bmP0LxSQw5AuOhsz75eZMTMzQYdJZ/s1600/Isidora+098.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW2gEl3Gp3dRTybyQ-QAWLsdAI05YjoVkRnTbtq7rgF7WbI2TfS_xXGLLqKhXEs0BLXvhc3QQYVSScbCGLuPiydX-b1oTLzMXg9QxgMbs72tb-ux7bmP0LxSQw5AuOhsz75eZMTMzQYdJZ/s320/Isidora+098.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483165580467998274" border="0" /></a>I will miss all the time I get to spend with my little Goo-Goo Bean!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In case you were wondering, the <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/05/before-and-after-living-room.html">swivel chairs</a> were great for reading!<br /></div></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-25977765387456190812010-06-11T09:45:00.003-05:002010-06-11T09:49:25.726-05:00World CupSorry for the long absence, we have been in the Northwest visiting family for the last week. We had a great time and got to see a lot of people while we were there. I promise there are pictures coming soon!<br /><br />Today is the first day of the World Cup! Yay! So far I am not impressed by either Mexico or South Africa, but we will see what the second half holds.<br /><br />I did want to share a link that my dad shared with me - it is a World Cup <a href="http://www.marca.com/deporte/futbol/mundial/sudafrica-2010/calendario-english.html">calendar</a>, and I think it is pretty neat. Enjoy :)Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-78421643276856126512010-05-29T14:49:00.005-05:002010-05-29T15:34:47.842-05:00Before and after: Isidora's roomThe before and after here is pretty remarkable, I think. Mostly because now Isidora has a room! Prior to moving into our house, Isidora's room was located in an enclosed hallway that had a nook just large enough for a mini crib. Nothing else of hers was actually kept in that room - her dresser/changing table was in the living room, as was the rocking chair, her clothes were in a closet in the living room, and her toys were everywhere.<br /><br />When we moved, not only did Isidora get a room, but we were able to bring over some extra furniture from Matt's parents house that Juanita had bought before Isidora was born. This meant that instead of having a mini crib, we were able to upgrade to a full-sized crib!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Xoa-0Xv5xafbI6FwL449vmPQGVlBn9aIH-4Zj2dFRfTYiRZgnqVZO1YhZbGQglFXkoC86zc6IX7AX9SgiPJ52V4ILS-DnHZ-Dc0RNetCt4PbYQkPEB2tSf4CdE4O0UQdDjLNty4Ps_Uo/s1600/Isidora+024.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Xoa-0Xv5xafbI6FwL449vmPQGVlBn9aIH-4Zj2dFRfTYiRZgnqVZO1YhZbGQglFXkoC86zc6IX7AX9SgiPJ52V4ILS-DnHZ-Dc0RNetCt4PbYQkPEB2tSf4CdE4O0UQdDjLNty4Ps_Uo/s320/Isidora+024.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476784891119249170" border="0" /></a>Here is Isidora's crib in our apartment. I really liked the wall stickers in her "room" and I loved that it was quiet and dark in there.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh16G-F5hcUPwDH3cySWwxEabclKark3CNpHfIarRLHt6fCq62XEKRzW0P8wMVbCP5jMLF4rg1usIUi3E2TR-BC0E531Wx3-VzF2z2C9viJSK4AyeiZwHEN7KayL_gQpfVVZ1empx0TJLa5/s1600/Isidora+027.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh16G-F5hcUPwDH3cySWwxEabclKark3CNpHfIarRLHt6fCq62XEKRzW0P8wMVbCP5jMLF4rg1usIUi3E2TR-BC0E531Wx3-VzF2z2C9viJSK4AyeiZwHEN7KayL_gQpfVVZ1empx0TJLa5/s320/Isidora+027.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476784907866899010" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of her room from the living room. As you can see, there is not much space in there.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukIP-ovAqS-KRhHaJ1I5N4Oa74VD8IIEoPHdADnUmQJI1Ng_keBDgvKOfUFnmk6xn2Kf_eN6vRCCi5Fd3CI47jR_kH8R6hQiSS0gc67u9kgoRKD-fAfbRDx0mOxVFdQ2emiT9LxOMiXB-/s1600/Isidora+026.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgukIP-ovAqS-KRhHaJ1I5N4Oa74VD8IIEoPHdADnUmQJI1Ng_keBDgvKOfUFnmk6xn2Kf_eN6vRCCi5Fd3CI47jR_kH8R6hQiSS0gc67u9kgoRKD-fAfbRDx0mOxVFdQ2emiT9LxOMiXB-/s320/Isidora+026.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476784899121918674" border="0" /></a>Isidora did like her room, but she really didn't spend much time in there. She did love the mirror, though.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIALkCwCWFAuPhGGZVNcWUX-dJM8Ibp7ixk2xt2sBduzdldzXerQXyZhS3GqT9yxM3l7B-Lrzxgr9v7sj9MrL7erzHyX-bp3CyRy1O5f7TShcVJpleTVKJ85sJ_oGm0KcTr4WfEB5DEi4/s1600/Isidora+015.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipIALkCwCWFAuPhGGZVNcWUX-dJM8Ibp7ixk2xt2sBduzdldzXerQXyZhS3GqT9yxM3l7B-Lrzxgr9v7sj9MrL7erzHyX-bp3CyRy1O5f7TShcVJpleTVKJ85sJ_oGm0KcTr4WfEB5DEi4/s320/Isidora+015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476784921382867362" border="0" /></a>This is a repeat shot of the messy living room. You can see Isidora's changing area in the corner.<br /><br /></div>Isidora's room was painted in a light blue, and rather than trying to pick out a new color for the room, we decided that the color would work well enough, and it would help the room not be overly girly. We decided to decorate her room in pink and green, but we also added a little red. Here is Isidora's new room:<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lAbQJ18Rvp7kvqAxmvotRA9nlnacrTz6CR6Ta0259Ulni857cdVsKkqmEplmAc1zOtwMgnQ9klBS8rUH1toBqSrroVY8FZZhWtMaUwEIRUAXnA1eSQKKh5YPJGem96XYVlqYYcUJSzqt/s1600/Oleatha+House+004.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3lAbQJ18Rvp7kvqAxmvotRA9nlnacrTz6CR6Ta0259Ulni857cdVsKkqmEplmAc1zOtwMgnQ9klBS8rUH1toBqSrroVY8FZZhWtMaUwEIRUAXnA1eSQKKh5YPJGem96XYVlqYYcUJSzqt/s320/Oleatha+House+004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476782279532229298" border="0" /></a>We still have the same dresser/changing table, as well as the same wall stickers and diaper stacker. The crib is new and was at Grant and Juanita's house. The hamper is also new, and was a find from <a href="http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3762924&CAWELAID=450068950">Babies 'R Us</a>.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzn3oB1nFoMg_TZ3yE76HNQkdKWrmthnV702ZjhrNyJqmKEV-QcYUjlzUE5NLrwMo4-fugWNU73kyRyj40EBnbNWKnYwggjvncAyu8jo9AL4puz-aCg7GxPXH9vIioJNb54AffO6FDNn1/s1600/Oleatha+House+007.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQzn3oB1nFoMg_TZ3yE76HNQkdKWrmthnV702ZjhrNyJqmKEV-QcYUjlzUE5NLrwMo4-fugWNU73kyRyj40EBnbNWKnYwggjvncAyu8jo9AL4puz-aCg7GxPXH9vIioJNb54AffO6FDNn1/s320/Oleatha+House+007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476782896205229570" border="0" /></a>This is Isidora's rocking chair, you can see a couple of the pictures that used to be above her changing table that are now framed in white.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpL80Z9US3m9RAz6USdaGIC4YuA7hL_-waGXX1WvIYYIIGMmpcy7i9nHGi70ScBSYjxZN6iyBJe2BEQo5D8_Jpqqa-qBn7NdzTv5Sc0FMEa104pkyDl5y4zCpi4RNJBE6spux4bdzftdt/s1600/Oleatha+House+005.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHpL80Z9US3m9RAz6USdaGIC4YuA7hL_-waGXX1WvIYYIIGMmpcy7i9nHGi70ScBSYjxZN6iyBJe2BEQo5D8_Jpqqa-qBn7NdzTv5Sc0FMEa104pkyDl5y4zCpi4RNJBE6spux4bdzftdt/s320/Oleatha+House+005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476782872784023346" border="0" /></a>This is Isidora's new rug and story time area. Every night before bed, we read a story to Isidora, which used to take place on our bed. The big red pillows were something that my mom made for me when I went to college and we thought they would be a great story time area, especially after we found the run with the red accents. We wanted a small rug for Isidora's room that had pink and green in it to help tie the room together. We found this rug also at Babies 'R Us, and we were happy that it allowed us to add a little red to the room (one of my favorite colors). The lamp was a mix and match lamp from Target to add to the little pop of red in the room.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYDPPV_UKSFneA5Og6GPCWLmv_sObg_74q59tPjkzpBWOXTQJsfcMsS5mAvK7IB4QoNd2C6-orwOnXwODfeXrWiAWGzhBLU5Lfg2T_JVfoiBInCs0wybO7O3pmFr_mnPRpcUhVnySrFRV/s1600/Oleatha+House+006.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCYDPPV_UKSFneA5Og6GPCWLmv_sObg_74q59tPjkzpBWOXTQJsfcMsS5mAvK7IB4QoNd2C6-orwOnXwODfeXrWiAWGzhBLU5Lfg2T_JVfoiBInCs0wybO7O3pmFr_mnPRpcUhVnySrFRV/s320/Oleatha+House+006.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476782888020552178" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of the inside wall of her room. This set of drawers and hutch were also in Grant and Juanita's house. I really like the new hooks on the wall (<a href="http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/Command/home/us_en/products/decorative_hooks/">Command hooks</a>) that my mom picked up for Izzie. The green bucket was a baby shower gift that I thought made a really cute trash can in here.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmf2IhPWpQc24NFCrGFDDkI0rkDEFsGRjdZ2PwyboQ1EniS-x6Pijio3JBItF2QC_EplFSvkddDO_uwcrlRS_7kati-wUFGpkB9hIxqATUuMJ1Aa2Sftuol1AMEAvoy920QPKLPkgJQCI2/s1600/Oleatha+House+009.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmf2IhPWpQc24NFCrGFDDkI0rkDEFsGRjdZ2PwyboQ1EniS-x6Pijio3JBItF2QC_EplFSvkddDO_uwcrlRS_7kati-wUFGpkB9hIxqATUuMJ1Aa2Sftuol1AMEAvoy920QPKLPkgJQCI2/s320/Oleatha+House+009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476783983213460306" border="0" /></a>Another new purchase for Isidora's room were the curtains. One thing we were worried about was the change in amount of light in Isidora's room. She was used to her room being almost completely dark and now she was going to have a front-facing window in her room. So, we picked up these green <a href="http://www.eclipsecurtains.com/index.cfm">curtains</a> at Target. We also put up some pull backs (Elena, David and Katee did) so that we could easily open and close the curtains as well some blinds (Dad did) to darken the room even more.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFt02yxtCFCejR1nv6g3PBDXspJzJbxU3xgn23A-g8MPAOGWnaeaXQNdWYrJB-ebO4xbwiSkPypa0Ls8wl74cOJD_k5iRJi8h877XrdxXkV13eFrkiEC6DcFzdPVrKJFYssJOEeFca_R4U/s1600/Oleatha+House+008.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFt02yxtCFCejR1nv6g3PBDXspJzJbxU3xgn23A-g8MPAOGWnaeaXQNdWYrJB-ebO4xbwiSkPypa0Ls8wl74cOJD_k5iRJi8h877XrdxXkV13eFrkiEC6DcFzdPVrKJFYssJOEeFca_R4U/s320/Oleatha+House+008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476783967599580882" border="0" /></a>This is the inside of Izzie's door which is not solid, but rather a bunch of window panes, so we bought this simple curtain (which my mom hemmed for us).<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9fhzmsyVeFD0yc6SAOO0Bw7OEtcI2iqJB3a__r99-0lZWrhVUKPk8pJmh4Ej6ZKPBk-wpj_8uZW2aePgVm_OP47SSA-E1tRDkgWE_KJZHJsAF5lrKzH5NklvGtgUaeNjuGzi6pc73OwO/s1600/Oleatha+House+003.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiV9fhzmsyVeFD0yc6SAOO0Bw7OEtcI2iqJB3a__r99-0lZWrhVUKPk8pJmh4Ej6ZKPBk-wpj_8uZW2aePgVm_OP47SSA-E1tRDkgWE_KJZHJsAF5lrKzH5NklvGtgUaeNjuGzi6pc73OwO/s320/Oleatha+House+003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476782266618684002" border="0" /></a>I really like that Isidora has a closet now! I had a hard time finding space for her old clothes in her apartment, so they were just stacked in various corners. Fortunately, the bins we bought to put them in fit perfectly:<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifx18Kdc66NNv_Kel2ocfGOb1HTYrUFlLpjuOyBbluHaVJYe8YYDh3AUKqP7w1xLTlrowS-Qpptba3rmyBSlu4sdkxckrff6a07byqcfT3n5d5DzVPcahm_T_IX90kbRu7QbARRQ7s9XLG/s1600/Oleatha+House+002.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifx18Kdc66NNv_Kel2ocfGOb1HTYrUFlLpjuOyBbluHaVJYe8YYDh3AUKqP7w1xLTlrowS-Qpptba3rmyBSlu4sdkxckrff6a07byqcfT3n5d5DzVPcahm_T_IX90kbRu7QbARRQ7s9XLG/s320/Oleatha+House+002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5476782254460571858" border="0" /></a>Her clothes are stacked on the side and all of her dresses finally have a real home. We were also able to find her shoes a nice home - before, they were usually under an end table or somewhere in our room.<br /></div><br />Another thing I really like about Isidora's room is all of the wall stickers that my mom meticulously put up on the walls for us (after I meticulously pulled them all off of the wall). The accents are all over the room and I really enjoy them!<br /><br />So far Isidora really seems to like her room and I am really happy that she actually has a room. She has adjusted to her new space and loves going in there.<br /><br />Only the yard is left!Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-14686963963287943272010-05-27T09:58:00.006-05:002010-05-27T10:30:15.713-05:00Before and after: our bedroomAs I have mentioned <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/05/before-and-after-office.html">before</a>, our bedroom in our apartment was more of a multi-purpose room than a bedroom. It also doubled as our office with both of our desks and two book shelves, as well as a play area for Isidora (but then again, what wasn't a play area for Isidora in our apartment?). The only reason we could fit this much into our room was because it was a huge room.<br /><br />One of the things Matt and I have focused on in the new house is having <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/05/before-and-after-living-room.html">adult spaces</a> and <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/05/before-and-after-isidoras-play-area.html">kid spaces</a>, and this was one of the places that I think we made a huge improvement.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GirNgyJ_5sJhIYr28jveKd_ZRFRth-QFf4LQ5bxoIVwERXEDvIcnwW2REpHcQLJ3kvspQMqGkZO2HZ5CK2jCStVtcZjM7D7j0_03I8ztUiX5MLRI_nd0g9EF-Vy03nBGO4a3gCvaBPDh/s1600/Isidora+011.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5GirNgyJ_5sJhIYr28jveKd_ZRFRth-QFf4LQ5bxoIVwERXEDvIcnwW2REpHcQLJ3kvspQMqGkZO2HZ5CK2jCStVtcZjM7D7j0_03I8ztUiX5MLRI_nd0g9EF-Vy03nBGO4a3gCvaBPDh/s320/Isidora+011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475967304105717810" border="0" /></a>Here is a before picture - you can see Matt's desk, the door to the bathroom, Isidora's play area, and our television. There is just sooo much stuff in this room!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzUrdZ0hWHtyGR3E6Emt1VGDiO1Fmxp5OYdb1tjvek7MSDPEKkrtdl6t5Pl2B5IJZt-mpkCd0r9SgPrcCYk6MELoglmBd-xV4OIgYWsKGFuhTyd7E3ecZC8fU02uzEZUiH6nBipcXNjfL/s1600/Isidora+010.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEzUrdZ0hWHtyGR3E6Emt1VGDiO1Fmxp5OYdb1tjvek7MSDPEKkrtdl6t5Pl2B5IJZt-mpkCd0r9SgPrcCYk6MELoglmBd-xV4OIgYWsKGFuhTyd7E3ecZC8fU02uzEZUiH6nBipcXNjfL/s320/Isidora+010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475967299389822610" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of the bed and part of my desk. Again, stuff everywhere.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In our new house, while our new bedroom is fairly large, I am pretty sure it is a little smaller than the one in our apartment. However, there is no office or play area or anything like that. It is just a bedroom!<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9eNRW2DauUxg21tPaGihGQjknauxiCwuiu26bx9UIgZ50hhS9SuEBKrYdkDVPGXADjZMROVmOOAh6s0Al1YYri1-__cOl_TRjpPj7IsHyINphvqo-tLQPA9p8283ffiy5atxGbcHlcNxU/s1600/Oleatha+House+017.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9eNRW2DauUxg21tPaGihGQjknauxiCwuiu26bx9UIgZ50hhS9SuEBKrYdkDVPGXADjZMROVmOOAh6s0Al1YYri1-__cOl_TRjpPj7IsHyINphvqo-tLQPA9p8283ffiy5atxGbcHlcNxU/s320/Oleatha+House+017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475966703775366146" border="0" /></a>Here is our bedroom as seen from the door. We have two sets of windows in our room, this set looks out into our back yard. The pictures above our bed were in our entryway in our apartment, and with the addition of some inexpensive frames, now adorn our bedroom.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiddAYbifP1sqxkdiWCgHtC0ozoMmC83VfKbFF5AuMVby_N8dNO4zjkTi8wldvfNiC_dke4qcCfKUPiKlpYeRl1MPss3wmuszfqB2Clsuf0_0saGxHF47bRN7GEMRnK2ntOmDq3StmbARd5/s1600/Oleatha+House+012.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiddAYbifP1sqxkdiWCgHtC0ozoMmC83VfKbFF5AuMVby_N8dNO4zjkTi8wldvfNiC_dke4qcCfKUPiKlpYeRl1MPss3wmuszfqB2Clsuf0_0saGxHF47bRN7GEMRnK2ntOmDq3StmbARd5/s320/Oleatha+House+012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475966236647139762" border="0" /></a>This is looking at the wall that faces the bed, where we have my dresser. We also put my wooden chest in here that used to be in the living room (you couldn't see it because of Isidora's stuff) and we purchased a new hamper and trash can for the room (our old hamper was in our closet and was the one I had from college, not very attractive).<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqUqu5_XUt2H7aZ90kiqqJ7XZOKkNtJmotGwiNSNN1-23Vdpaur4_ubohzAVTWqpKhI7ZOXyP1ZKaVi-SnJ-5B_7gZMReFvHCFG-vHPjXbws431-b3y4auShU8_8WNfKmE-BgQZdf8kqy/s1600/Oleatha+House+019.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVqUqu5_XUt2H7aZ90kiqqJ7XZOKkNtJmotGwiNSNN1-23Vdpaur4_ubohzAVTWqpKhI7ZOXyP1ZKaVi-SnJ-5B_7gZMReFvHCFG-vHPjXbws431-b3y4auShU8_8WNfKmE-BgQZdf8kqy/s320/Oleatha+House+019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475966251738544690" border="0" /></a>This was taken from the other side of the room, looking at Matt's dresser which belonged to his parents. It was sitting out in their garage and was used as Ben's work bench. It will be nice to have such a beautiful piece of furniture in our room!<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8k0DVuqZbyvoLaQS1fk-1uI1-yELne-_3HKUwqKy8W8hYBdeWLGgaIkLwZIwF7-Drl-wDG2ya-ZrpirjeqoBt8rffCGH7YqF6tXkCoV4SsSw6QCf2DqtVeSfR6bXPzAnzYZBrISGc-iZ/s1600/Oleatha+House+015.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij8k0DVuqZbyvoLaQS1fk-1uI1-yELne-_3HKUwqKy8W8hYBdeWLGgaIkLwZIwF7-Drl-wDG2ya-ZrpirjeqoBt8rffCGH7YqF6tXkCoV4SsSw6QCf2DqtVeSfR6bXPzAnzYZBrISGc-iZ/s320/Oleatha+House+015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475966247111632610" border="0" /></a>Here is the final corner of our bedroom, with the door to our closet and another view of my dresser. Both sets of curtains and rods were in our old apartment (one set in the bedroom, one in the living room).<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhsa-e_1ts1UZhRZSc8ep7E8foa-KJis6j_wlN0xQ0373mAxq9bq6U0EHsJNu2A1aqq4ymx3gwgQ3UWaRdL2giXtw3s6YYgi0tr3aBdyc_vB13c6BH10-Oh46DtC9-14LTGkc0uYoYTx5/s1600/008.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIhsa-e_1ts1UZhRZSc8ep7E8foa-KJis6j_wlN0xQ0373mAxq9bq6U0EHsJNu2A1aqq4ymx3gwgQ3UWaRdL2giXtw3s6YYgi0tr3aBdyc_vB13c6BH10-Oh46DtC9-14LTGkc0uYoYTx5/s320/008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475966711441944226" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of our closet before we filled it up with clothes. It is kind of an odd arrangement, but it has worked well so far - we put the clothes we use more often in the front, and things like dresses, suits and off-season stuff in the back. Most importantly, it is much bigger than our old closet, and our clothes are no longer spilling over into the coat/linen closet.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Not much more to go - only Isidora's room and the yard remain :)<br /></div></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-89401627523048592712010-05-26T19:08:00.005-05:002010-05-26T19:27:46.650-05:00Before and after: (master) bathroomOur old bathroom in our apartment had its charm. What it didn't have was storage, which I really started to dislike after a while. The bathroom also had two doors - one to our bedroom and one into the hallway where Izzie's crib was that led to the living room.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyKnlKG5nWtTrO1jHscEerVex-8-lT0GYrSvUoGITlywymeSYCwUzLZzKM5hfpk9LHbWwJ9p7oajMKvKz6KAROi0AtykH71K1nH_YYEN-PpQ8gEP8Jn957M_bRex2uUWi6N2LClkFtEBb/s1600/Isidora+012.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgyKnlKG5nWtTrO1jHscEerVex-8-lT0GYrSvUoGITlywymeSYCwUzLZzKM5hfpk9LHbWwJ9p7oajMKvKz6KAROi0AtykH71K1nH_YYEN-PpQ8gEP8Jn957M_bRex2uUWi6N2LClkFtEBb/s320/Isidora+012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475735833975230210" border="0" /></a>Here you can see our old bathroom. I really liked the bathroom set we had as well as our towels and everything. I just didn't like the lack of storage.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In our new house, we no longer have a connected bathroom, but it is only about 4 feet away. Also, since we have a bathroom in the basement, it can act as a master bathroom fairly easily. This bathroom was also recently renovated and ceramic tile flooring and a custom tile surround in the shower.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhkpME2gnniG561Zyvq4CJ4TsJKh2GKRjCENi5qpmYqIR0lKKtuoDxR5h5vfOCuID5we_MQwQJzG9YqLF5s5FzPqkupHVK8qdQWz1h1DluC7FpLU-QRzsBgmd4gAp4HOdfdX9M3d-4s_Q/s1600/Isidora+070.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmhkpME2gnniG561Zyvq4CJ4TsJKh2GKRjCENi5qpmYqIR0lKKtuoDxR5h5vfOCuID5we_MQwQJzG9YqLF5s5FzPqkupHVK8qdQWz1h1DluC7FpLU-QRzsBgmd4gAp4HOdfdX9M3d-4s_Q/s320/Isidora+070.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475738170485014034" border="0" /></a></div>Here is a shot of the bathroom we took when we were first looking at the house. You can kind of get a glimpse at the tile in the shower.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5eHfisvNNrl3-JG8J7vQfFTH0CIwA4z7aicgqlQUHpVD_aUv7FpGM6kGbAFbFPJ2fysUFmbQ9FqOUHiD-xMETyto8U5SfMYKugfsBUf2YNekoB-bWNUgMn9dg7BEjAle_crQkcSnPbgpS/s1600/066.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5eHfisvNNrl3-JG8J7vQfFTH0CIwA4z7aicgqlQUHpVD_aUv7FpGM6kGbAFbFPJ2fysUFmbQ9FqOUHiD-xMETyto8U5SfMYKugfsBUf2YNekoB-bWNUgMn9dg7BEjAle_crQkcSnPbgpS/s320/066.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475735561814748802" border="0" /></a>Because the walls in the new bathroom were mauve, and we decided we liked the color, we went ahead and purchased a new bath set and new towels. Plus, check out all the storage!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXxXnrf6aa_7y0OJyJp97gHXDLZ8GhmlG24rYO7JZSjD7gPtRqRMnBXUipm3eNpmiXxAdAgYjgk7f3v15A5EaWgPlnr0-vGMZZgdzO3csj59PK9qd8uNPMdd8WVw0VpXCtmnIuu9MtsUf/s1600/064.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbXxXnrf6aa_7y0OJyJp97gHXDLZ8GhmlG24rYO7JZSjD7gPtRqRMnBXUipm3eNpmiXxAdAgYjgk7f3v15A5EaWgPlnr0-vGMZZgdzO3csj59PK9qd8uNPMdd8WVw0VpXCtmnIuu9MtsUf/s320/064.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5475735555316689650" border="0" /></a>Here is a closer look at the bath set. We bought brown and sea foam towels and we really like them so far. I am really happy with how everything has turned out in here!<br /></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-78438410893157974422010-05-24T19:09:00.005-05:002010-05-24T20:04:20.712-05:00Before and after: the kitchenI think our kitchen is the one of the biggest improvements we have made in moving to our new house. In our apartment, our kitchen didn't even comfortably fit two people. Not only did it not have a dishwasher, it didn't have a garbage disposal. While that wasn't too big of a deal when it was just Matt and I, it became pretty annoying once Isidora was around. We had so little counter space there that Matt and I pretty much stopped cooking - it was simply too difficult. Instead, we ate soup, sandwiches, or pasta if we were lucky.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqdsbKJgnH6K8tIGY8cR-4n-IuyBQKiK75nT9InHGUDJp4w4msIqEUhtQozZsEmUAvb_NXIJUbDuF4Grll8uqJFKB2PSBr_SZAxTBxqS2jDWgGrrHnF-i9w8jbRm1Hd0P2eUNaBB-0SKf/s1600/Isidora+017.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwqdsbKJgnH6K8tIGY8cR-4n-IuyBQKiK75nT9InHGUDJp4w4msIqEUhtQozZsEmUAvb_NXIJUbDuF4Grll8uqJFKB2PSBr_SZAxTBxqS2jDWgGrrHnF-i9w8jbRm1Hd0P2eUNaBB-0SKf/s320/Isidora+017.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474995656154983330" border="0" /></a>Here is our old kitchen - I am standing at the entrance, so you can kind of get an idea of how small it is. Everything in our kitchen is small - you can see that the refrigerator is a smaller than normal one (I am taller than it). The counter in the middle of the picture is the only counter space we have.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkNT235J4nxB4DQsoc3nX1IfdYhUROC-jWNYxoQe_KmoOphk6QxhSPmKmvObl5Ps2FEpbmT77epPdHJqkNXkc7giVV6iwQ2T04Zq0npHCbBQ22ylr1VhrSlHxpDX0O6tdcyvGh0ABUrGxO/s1600/Isidora+018.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkNT235J4nxB4DQsoc3nX1IfdYhUROC-jWNYxoQe_KmoOphk6QxhSPmKmvObl5Ps2FEpbmT77epPdHJqkNXkc7giVV6iwQ2T04Zq0npHCbBQ22ylr1VhrSlHxpDX0O6tdcyvGh0ABUrGxO/s320/Isidora+018.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474995664826269890" border="0" /></a>This was our stove/oven. Again, it is an efficiency stove so it is smaller than normal - but it is a gas stove and oven which was nice.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLTA_o8P3giV0vF5apTqM1XFmZd1sNp9kDTTJTL-E3Le_ICW1WIPAKbpDkAyG83lTEUtT27PYjV1Zn7zbcEHoYuIGnWdPfBk1wJuV3mBgD-RUYF0yA3yXCN2IheHiUezMs8o1n1VQgJme/s1600/Isidora+019.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQLTA_o8P3giV0vF5apTqM1XFmZd1sNp9kDTTJTL-E3Le_ICW1WIPAKbpDkAyG83lTEUtT27PYjV1Zn7zbcEHoYuIGnWdPfBk1wJuV3mBgD-RUYF0yA3yXCN2IheHiUezMs8o1n1VQgJme/s320/Isidora+019.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474995672305665186" border="0" /></a>Here is the sink and drying rack - again, nothing fancy.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">While our new kitchen isn't huge, it is a big improvement. It was recently renovated with a ceramic tile floor and custom cabinets.<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4d6sl24K57lsIYPUH_rlLCgDX_EfH7H6Uv-FzbjXEpSiqk9eOnsHdS78S9vPG16YVMe12b1mkIygyG2l80_qcgjvMJSroqTd4kFiJDsEV0wbDlGY_Aia4Kk83uo9hoIVWOVZAeB4-d4yB/s1600/Oleatha+House+004.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4d6sl24K57lsIYPUH_rlLCgDX_EfH7H6Uv-FzbjXEpSiqk9eOnsHdS78S9vPG16YVMe12b1mkIygyG2l80_qcgjvMJSroqTd4kFiJDsEV0wbDlGY_Aia4Kk83uo9hoIVWOVZAeB4-d4yB/s320/Oleatha+House+004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474994803081885554" border="0" /></a>This is a shot of the kitchen from the entry from the dining room. As you can see, we have already made a big improvement in the counter space department.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiafPDXDIk3g3hz7B8VlPkgalhj_h67Zi5m4YsriH515lAFADBK1hl7LVxxzgtLXiBWgNDOf7YKuc65Jw-0MngHZLpclpbHf1FLs6qXK7izBNqm_vzUVKXX-8jOJ1YQvUzn3KRo2vidMUG/s1600/Oleatha+House+001.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiafPDXDIk3g3hz7B8VlPkgalhj_h67Zi5m4YsriH515lAFADBK1hl7LVxxzgtLXiBWgNDOf7YKuc65Jw-0MngHZLpclpbHf1FLs6qXK7izBNqm_vzUVKXX-8jOJ1YQvUzn3KRo2vidMUG/s320/Oleatha+House+001.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474994358016690146" border="0" /></a>This was taken from the entrance to the mud room (Isidora's play room). I really like the black appliances, the stainless steel sink and the grey counter tops.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TbOBMp8p7s92Bk7MTmcyTeQSpcuZPNi8-zEyL2P1if2qJXlJ0dj0KmdxZIuwuvq5nbTa1hItkfvwBnVSFxFKCOCODWCB8gRJJ4hpmCklG4GM3yAJe5F7E8xqCyfkH-r3sN-7FQc3Va59/s1600/Oleatha+House+003.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8TbOBMp8p7s92Bk7MTmcyTeQSpcuZPNi8-zEyL2P1if2qJXlJ0dj0KmdxZIuwuvq5nbTa1hItkfvwBnVSFxFKCOCODWCB8gRJJ4hpmCklG4GM3yAJe5F7E8xqCyfkH-r3sN-7FQc3Va59/s320/Oleatha+House+003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474994376267626066" border="0" /></a>This is the new kitchen table we purchased from Weekends Only. It has worked really well so far and I love the white with wood look - I think it goes so well with the look of the kitchen. The plate on the wall was a wedding present from some family friends of Matt's, and I really like the way it fit in this room.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2CUl7hFoklOn5aiRId3zpyTyUalDdFce6POcngvqjB8eitS4o5wdM0ETWVuBdwNLASLLgcVI0ctm0ofFPxrm8JVH40VYn4ySXpF5fMLSyiIPtBZPy_RWhwv_UhbseXYTCH048mlYpiLV/s1600/Oleatha+House+002.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr2CUl7hFoklOn5aiRId3zpyTyUalDdFce6POcngvqjB8eitS4o5wdM0ETWVuBdwNLASLLgcVI0ctm0ofFPxrm8JVH40VYn4ySXpF5fMLSyiIPtBZPy_RWhwv_UhbseXYTCH048mlYpiLV/s320/Oleatha+House+002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474994365534866338" border="0" /></a>One thing that Matt and I had discussed before we moved to the new place was how many and where we wanted televisions. We decided that we only wanted two televisions in the house - one in the family room and one in the kitchen. We also decided that the only way we were going to fit a television in the kitchen was to get a flat screen and mount it on the wall - so here is the result. The butcher block was in our old kitchen at the apartment and I like that we can display our <a href="http://www.lecreuset.co.uk/en/global-landing-page/">Le Creuset</a> cookware on the shelf underneath it.<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpJD1enY6CY3gyOmV71KPdMoV5ZOnfQytoRaih6ee3LzN4CmbF_RTuNJmPqAdaDFFr9PbKjr0Q5IqyWqTJ3Vjk_U8Mr8NknAv3-6o99nPdIH8JNoaCTNSXgbVj6eHXa6ZlOf2LGcFHWrk/s1600/Oleatha+House+005.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYpJD1enY6CY3gyOmV71KPdMoV5ZOnfQytoRaih6ee3LzN4CmbF_RTuNJmPqAdaDFFr9PbKjr0Q5IqyWqTJ3Vjk_U8Mr8NknAv3-6o99nPdIH8JNoaCTNSXgbVj6eHXa6ZlOf2LGcFHWrk/s320/Oleatha+House+005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474994814832504466" border="0" /></a>Here is a bonus shot looking straight through the kitchen from the dining room with the door to the basement on the left.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">The best things about our new kitchen:<br /> - When we wake up in the morning (aka when Isidora wakes us up in the morning) to make breakfast, I can sit and watch the news while I drink my coffee.<br /> - We sit at a table to eat again.<br /> - We can both be preparing food in the kitchen at the same time.<br /> - We have full-sized appliances (Matt keeps losing things in the fridge).<br /> - DISHWASHER.<br /> - We both feel inspired to cook again - that may be the best part.<br /><br />Only 4 more before and after posts to go! - our bedroom, Izzie's room, our bathroom and the yard.<br /></div></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-10357054172707266022010-05-22T08:25:00.006-05:002010-05-22T08:57:33.741-05:00Before and after: guest areaWhen we lived in our apartment, whenever anyone wanted to come visit us, especially after Isidora was born, they couldn't stay with us, simply because we didn't have enough space. We didn't even have a large enough couch for anyone to sleep on as the one we had was only a love seat. Instead, when my family came to visit us, they stayed at Matt's parents' house and we would visit them over there. I never really liked this arrangement because I always felt we were missing out on a lot of time that we could have been spending with our visitors (Isidora's bed time is 7 pm and we had to be home by that time).<br /><br />When looking for our new house, we really wanted to have either a third bedroom or space for a guest to sleep and a second bathroom (I would have settled for one really nice bathroom). With a finished basement in our new house, we were able to use part of the basement to put a queen bed and the downstairs bathroom as a guest bathroom/Isidora's bathroom.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-OZ2lqMTDAcZi_mfBBB5WTIIi4_h9ne47KWb_1GW4QRfr1NyH9qOGrH4-wdtbnktNpf2y6nvKYc28h1I_ZQxAGXBYmnvrw-6h3B7KtvoGAA0XwqJshGDBKDr_CU8XABvrT4PimMdcBGH/s1600/Isidora+012.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2-OZ2lqMTDAcZi_mfBBB5WTIIi4_h9ne47KWb_1GW4QRfr1NyH9qOGrH4-wdtbnktNpf2y6nvKYc28h1I_ZQxAGXBYmnvrw-6h3B7KtvoGAA0XwqJshGDBKDr_CU8XABvrT4PimMdcBGH/s320/Isidora+012.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474088595969187010" border="0" /></a>Here is our bathroom in our old apartment. One thing I really didn't like about it was that the sink didn't have any storage underneath, which meant that there was always stuff everywhere in the bathroom and stuff that had to be stored outside of the bathroom (potentially problematic).<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVl9QM95jBZFYOU1Pl1nRlP6VlL3jC3I7euTPp7AmExLl9Jv3NcSkJM6VcHK1YJsq-tsDV_WEkrnLoe4kkE6WtK3KsxVHHsqzAPtw1hyHJzm_SHeW1kShyphenhyphen2CPmeS-GQDAxbMHDeTvCcck/s1600/Oleatha+House+002.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVl9QM95jBZFYOU1Pl1nRlP6VlL3jC3I7euTPp7AmExLl9Jv3NcSkJM6VcHK1YJsq-tsDV_WEkrnLoe4kkE6WtK3KsxVHHsqzAPtw1hyHJzm_SHeW1kShyphenhyphen2CPmeS-GQDAxbMHDeTvCcck/s320/Oleatha+House+002.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474088272449716002" border="0" /></a>Here is our new guest area. The bed frame was Matt's sister's and was sitting in his parents' garage for who knows how long. We bought the night stand and queen mattress and box at Weekends Only and bought the new sheet set at Macy's. The table at the foot of the bed was our coffee table from the apartment and will be used for guest's suitcases when they come to visit.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XWvTuqDvKh37_R-P2e_503cOYvgLUrIKDX-1HCB9pF34sgNfy_RnJH5QMEGypaunnQCJ8zFlTJB0RKQaMVo4tYYrugpcs_ovfTLNJZHfR5CXmR13VXWGGpwlJX6SbtmuhrmKNvaaklZT/s1600/Oleatha+House+003.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3XWvTuqDvKh37_R-P2e_503cOYvgLUrIKDX-1HCB9pF34sgNfy_RnJH5QMEGypaunnQCJ8zFlTJB0RKQaMVo4tYYrugpcs_ovfTLNJZHfR5CXmR13VXWGGpwlJX6SbtmuhrmKNvaaklZT/s320/Oleatha+House+003.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474088278647796274" border="0" /></a>Here is a close-up of the bed with Matt's Star Wars shrine in the other window nook.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyjUAf4GUw3M4GTkMWJ9kxiGREb2LGXT9xj2J2xad6NXJtjqq3xFB1rq2BiIrWN8iqyquuec14StvISHzVmhCrIzDYEzuX7wxXY0Gaxiz8ATYVrolWKzd1ac_3yCB81qtGLjbCzFd2ei1/s1600/Oleatha+House+005.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXyjUAf4GUw3M4GTkMWJ9kxiGREb2LGXT9xj2J2xad6NXJtjqq3xFB1rq2BiIrWN8iqyquuec14StvISHzVmhCrIzDYEzuX7wxXY0Gaxiz8ATYVrolWKzd1ac_3yCB81qtGLjbCzFd2ei1/s320/Oleatha+House+005.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474088286072046850" border="0" /></a>Here is a picture of the armoire that goes with the bed frame. We have used it to store sheets, blankets, quilts, table linens and odds and ends like batteries, candles and light bulbs. You can see that our office area and the guest area are on opposite walls (that is the coffee table at the food of the bed in the bottom left corner).<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6w1uvZUlRUFq9xRUlZ3ea9ErpKY7jQbANZF4cYlr4nTU8XtoVfJWsS_2Y8FbpM8w9_7zbYGE7G-bi9wNtUsiFjjMAcrN_OHipZdk_UnrfeCnWVPP00rTQKmAGuhyNm8_dwfMjj9X1mhYk/s1600/083.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6w1uvZUlRUFq9xRUlZ3ea9ErpKY7jQbANZF4cYlr4nTU8XtoVfJWsS_2Y8FbpM8w9_7zbYGE7G-bi9wNtUsiFjjMAcrN_OHipZdk_UnrfeCnWVPP00rTQKmAGuhyNm8_dwfMjj9X1mhYk/s320/083.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474087177439059154" border="0" /></a>This is the new guest bathroom. We decided that our current bathroom set didn't go well in the bathroom upstairs, but would look really nice downstairs. That also meant that we could continue to use the set of towels we got as wedding presents could continue to be used as guest towels (I think they are pretty nice towels).<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPBGFptBYKceagArjJsZieQaP7Qv7PGn9wMqpkQHDLe6kQVSMXF58EfP15MoCWocM40ZNE_dyVUmNvW10MAQJOxPU0_OAxxI4VJIJhbKEWE74dwPA1BzwhXfQ3C7DbfN8gvrAqFO8BBQG/s1600/082.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSPBGFptBYKceagArjJsZieQaP7Qv7PGn9wMqpkQHDLe6kQVSMXF58EfP15MoCWocM40ZNE_dyVUmNvW10MAQJOxPU0_OAxxI4VJIJhbKEWE74dwPA1BzwhXfQ3C7DbfN8gvrAqFO8BBQG/s320/082.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5474087168813972434" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of the other side of the bathroom. This is also Isidora's bathroom, which is nice because then we don't have to keep all of her toys, soaps, and towels in our bathroom. Another thing we have done is finally let Isidora take baths in the full bath tub rather than use her little tub. She seems to be enjoying it so far. Also, this bathroom is actually larger than our bathroom upstairs and has a closet behind the door (right behind where I am standing in this photo), which has been great for storing our extra towels, cleaning supplies, etc. Plus, when Becky stayed with us for a week and a half, she said everything worked really well!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Furthermore, we now have two couches that are big enough for people to sleep on, not to mention a recliner should we need to have a whole herd of people stay at our house :)<br /></div></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-32433125051040349692010-05-21T10:01:00.005-05:002010-05-21T10:18:35.382-05:00Before and after: officeAn office is another thing we didn't really have in our apartment. Our bedroom was another obligatory multi-purpose room where we also had our office and a play area for Isidora. Fortunately, our bedroom was fairly large in our old apartment, and we did have room for two book shelves and two desks in addition to our bed and dresser.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq8u0-QptaHLVpNDVye-1BOQpq2Mi7-nz4Bys2Au60eZynbSLBVAK2c5wryji6srAHCiAk8Q5aFMCcBTNqRv2FT98MeARaQwoyL4NDnBxEANDKJ3BXZTD0KRdh38drRLUD6LaDcBZvfrVW/s1600/Isidora+011.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq8u0-QptaHLVpNDVye-1BOQpq2Mi7-nz4Bys2Au60eZynbSLBVAK2c5wryji6srAHCiAk8Q5aFMCcBTNqRv2FT98MeARaQwoyL4NDnBxEANDKJ3BXZTD0KRdh38drRLUD6LaDcBZvfrVW/s320/Isidora+011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473739801720573698" border="0" /></a>This is a shot of Matt's desk in the corner of our bedroom. Again this was right before we moved so nothing is picked up. You can see one of the doors to our bathroom in the middle of the picture.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OfpzdUS2_0WA95MvGAKI6CgqWS-Ew7a_1UKdi8uSM7BqgRZQDqmPzobU0W587t_LQHUVO5RTDffpBHGUJrgNAMXkoxmGUWVCuSRqn7oneeKzKlegOSmCmVGzO4bBAufyr6Ojokkcg7it/s1600/Isidora+021.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0OfpzdUS2_0WA95MvGAKI6CgqWS-Ew7a_1UKdi8uSM7BqgRZQDqmPzobU0W587t_LQHUVO5RTDffpBHGUJrgNAMXkoxmGUWVCuSRqn7oneeKzKlegOSmCmVGzO4bBAufyr6Ojokkcg7it/s320/Isidora+021.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473739812274961794" border="0" /></a>Here is a picture of my desk, which almost always looked this messy.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">In our new house, we didn't want our bedroom to continue to be more than a bedroom, and our finished basement offered the opportunity to move all other activities out. So here is our new office:<br /></div><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h7cJwtzW_1TfDUWdOZHVani9gllq9WvvCQJjWkJzE4TSaxjnetj5bdgn1XLZqOIu6QJsPv6hlCICV2uWCrqqf3UFD-i9RUrxFNLIf6nE9Ajs3nfCIRCPOESzZtN-i4znkLrgTnqPxK3-/s1600/Oleatha+House+011.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7h7cJwtzW_1TfDUWdOZHVani9gllq9WvvCQJjWkJzE4TSaxjnetj5bdgn1XLZqOIu6QJsPv6hlCICV2uWCrqqf3UFD-i9RUrxFNLIf6nE9Ajs3nfCIRCPOESzZtN-i4znkLrgTnqPxK3-/s320/Oleatha+House+011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473739336529255074" border="0" /></a>This was taken from the edge of the family room (you can see the sectional accent pillow in the bottom left corner). Izzie's play area is to the right, Matt is sitting at his desk (obviously) and my desk is on the right (which was my desk in college which I purchased at Ikea).<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobG8Lv7_z9CS_FTPXjrbFYHkM3oKamKqspkZFfgfWpMAsh9i4MciEfATVyaN9n2fW0JS5FFjzBr8qBXDmcvuU8CU4uvLZkSlraX3nKqFsmjFBDZjwJ6UYslr4ECSmgtji_O5Sip5vryyc/s1600/Oleatha+House+004.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhobG8Lv7_z9CS_FTPXjrbFYHkM3oKamKqspkZFfgfWpMAsh9i4MciEfATVyaN9n2fW0JS5FFjzBr8qBXDmcvuU8CU4uvLZkSlraX3nKqFsmjFBDZjwJ6UYslr4ECSmgtji_O5Sip5vryyc/s320/Oleatha+House+004.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473739319597662642" border="0" /></a>Here is a close-up of Matt's new desk (again from Weekends Only, of course), with the Death Star in the background. The two book shelves were previously in our bedroom and prior to that were in Matt's room at his parents' house.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">We both like having our desks away from our bedroom and actually having a space to have an office. It allows us to not just sit at our computers all day because the things we want to do (eat, watch some tv, play with Izzie) are in other locations of the house. I feel like I have spent far less time on my computer since we have moved in, and not just because I have been busy unpacking.<br /><br />Still left on the before and after list: our bedroom, Izzie's bedroom, the bathrooms, the guest area, the kitchen, and our yard.<br /></div></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-5892464973888263202010-05-20T19:23:00.005-05:002010-05-21T10:18:50.284-05:00Before and after: family roomWe didn't really have a family room in our apartment, we only had a <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/05/before-and-after-living-room.html">living room</a> that was more of a multi-purpose room. In our new house, we have a finished basement where we have put a family room (as well as an office, Izzie's play area, and a guest area to be discussed later).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVD_S9GdCyi_99vSl3otwsxkC9EbnR146akxug3M18FTq2HTJdm6_oStQsdw4uu3ibmD_Tk_eVDehj7-ZU8APZnEBAa9P8ANo7dOhnfQ7X4egWU4PIhmU-EY1CdziZRpY71vzefUGpOWU/s1600/Oleatha+House+009.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjVD_S9GdCyi_99vSl3otwsxkC9EbnR146akxug3M18FTq2HTJdm6_oStQsdw4uu3ibmD_Tk_eVDehj7-ZU8APZnEBAa9P8ANo7dOhnfQ7X4egWU4PIhmU-EY1CdziZRpY71vzefUGpOWU/s320/Oleatha+House+009.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473513510879244098" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of our family room from the stairs. The door leads into our laundry room and the hallway leads back to the second bathroom.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKfJmtVg_vBnNjHOeVwNP9cg9Gb7Ppkj1FVDalfXSx4AiQVOkdE20C2OEYumuyNhAwaJ_BEhR7IrD40tlTcroqpGs4phMpu0JC_0F5BtRW_y3HDoa9jf1a9Q4h5V10Cfj2SyhyeLVcMiA/s1600/Oleatha+House+010.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWKfJmtVg_vBnNjHOeVwNP9cg9Gb7Ppkj1FVDalfXSx4AiQVOkdE20C2OEYumuyNhAwaJ_BEhR7IrD40tlTcroqpGs4phMpu0JC_0F5BtRW_y3HDoa9jf1a9Q4h5V10Cfj2SyhyeLVcMiA/s320/Oleatha+House+010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473513523373272626" border="0" /></a>This is the new sectional we bought from Weekends Only (I am starting to feel like a broken record). The striped pillows are the accent pillows that came with the sectional, while the dotted pillows are the ones that came with the sofa in the living room. Matt and I already love this sofa and it is so comfortable.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU7DwBqESwvYI6l2aNE4ZeuDa4lcpkLxkEPN5SPMKTqB9pcJNasartF-Ov4JDZu88PBFUG7KQmjnx01jN2ZvgIRBSFlMPvVE5BfDdzEvdm4W7oRtk1hOELg0e_f1rhnK1vNeoqKvo7wq_/s1600/Oleatha+House+008.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHU7DwBqESwvYI6l2aNE4ZeuDa4lcpkLxkEPN5SPMKTqB9pcJNasartF-Ov4JDZu88PBFUG7KQmjnx01jN2ZvgIRBSFlMPvVE5BfDdzEvdm4W7oRtk1hOELg0e_f1rhnK1vNeoqKvo7wq_/s320/Oleatha+House+008.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473513500883364050" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of the room from the entrance to the office area. In the window nook you can see Matt's shrine to the Cardinals. The recliner is another new purchase that we already love that amazingly enough goes perfectly with both sets of accent pillows.<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRVg6tJXQ27ufFh149H5TWnb-oKHt_oG4QoI6tmDwSuVfxUQC4V4yxSrPsxzpiGfZlyv6nKPiWuZaURaRs-eEZSuN8GhrZIcsLNvmImox7aH3yfwv4-Ns864aIzHALiyPMFEshSJNjh2I/s1600/Oleatha+House+007.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDRVg6tJXQ27ufFh149H5TWnb-oKHt_oG4QoI6tmDwSuVfxUQC4V4yxSrPsxzpiGfZlyv6nKPiWuZaURaRs-eEZSuN8GhrZIcsLNvmImox7aH3yfwv4-Ns864aIzHALiyPMFEshSJNjh2I/s320/Oleatha+House+007.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473513486591645202" border="0" /></a>This is a shot showing the passage to the office, with Izzie's play area in the unseen corner on the right.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">That's all for now! More to come soon...<br /></div></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5631735888931388863.post-43087230826296417692010-05-19T19:35:00.006-05:002010-05-21T10:19:11.737-05:00Before and after: living roomIn preparing for purchasing a new home, Matt and I had done a lot of thinking about what furniture we wanted to take with us and what we wanted to get rid of. We both agreed that our current sofa and chairs needed to go. They, like our <a href="http://stlcolvins.blogspot.com/2010/05/before-and-after-dining-room.html">dining room table</a>, were a garage sale purchase, and while they were useful during medical school, Matt and I were ready for some real furniture.<br /><br />Part of the problem with our old living room was that it was used for many purposes - living room, dining room, and Izzie's play area and storage area, as well as the location of her rocking chair and dresser/changing table. In our new house, one thing that I have really focused on is having Isidora areas and adult areas - I think the living room is one of the prime examples of this.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3HZv2Pkk4g0XOXmwM0jcaeU1sRtjngZMbdoGZ_8OX1ycVvgKQ_GHMMfD5J7o4P0U8E-6rbImivyWLHtKNC_qQ7EyI_s5gamYngm3N9AULfcCqb45M3PmAf9q_BmcDdjEpSdi5vjjy7Aj/s1600/Isidora+014.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU3HZv2Pkk4g0XOXmwM0jcaeU1sRtjngZMbdoGZ_8OX1ycVvgKQ_GHMMfD5J7o4P0U8E-6rbImivyWLHtKNC_qQ7EyI_s5gamYngm3N9AULfcCqb45M3PmAf9q_BmcDdjEpSdi5vjjy7Aj/s320/Isidora+014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473146379130841314" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of our living room in our apartment. Of course there is stuff everywhere because I wasn't interested in cleaning it up just to take pictures. You can see all of Isidora's stuff in the corner. We rarely sat on the couch - mostly we just sat on the floor in front of the couch to eat dinner at the coffee table. The plant on the book shelf was given to me by my parents when I first moved in to the Hawthorne - and it is still alive!!<br /><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUnILk1omKbaMPPnCye1cw_lvbey_7DzDnRjVh_pOam1KBdhtK4L2f7Jmx9a470XKzQyhprMbYpdi-RBS_H1ySlf_TCtGbqEsg9cUxR2Pm1HNlit2spjbkIzANKlqiL9BdKHMYX7bQ9NH/s1600/Isidora+015.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEUnILk1omKbaMPPnCye1cw_lvbey_7DzDnRjVh_pOam1KBdhtK4L2f7Jmx9a470XKzQyhprMbYpdi-RBS_H1ySlf_TCtGbqEsg9cUxR2Pm1HNlit2spjbkIzANKlqiL9BdKHMYX7bQ9NH/s320/Isidora+015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473146387197862098" border="0" /></a>Here is a shot of the sofa and one of the two chairs. You can see Isidora's dresser/ changing table in the corner. Also, Isidora's high chair is here because this was our eating area as well (the carpet definitely showed it).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">On to the new house! We were able to give our old floral couch and green chairs to a good friend of ours who was looking for some furniture and we headed over to <a href="http://www.weekendsonly.com/">Weekends Only</a> to pick out some new furniture. Matt and I have been setting aside money for essentially all of medical school and we had decided that whatever we got in our tax return, we would put toward things we would need for the house (furniture, appliances, etc.) Weekends Only was a great find for us because it is a furniture outlet store - they buy furniture from other furniture stores in the area that are not selling, and then Weekends Only lowers their overhead by being open only 3 days per week and not including things like warranties or delivery. That way, they are able to offer furniture for approximately half the price.<br /><br />So, for the living room, we were originally looking at a sofa and loveseat pair, but then we came upon this sofa:<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_8Xw7K_-7t5JUxTD382NHjcWICWumFQxXyAzXoqrdb5YdytczTpLESPSjv1N9wIjVwTt27I94bZm1D24dk2fmyxuLVg9wesk7qfiYOV3GqPN9tw5mGp1o1z_gUlEKgJ_nYZajHXfZIdH/s1600/Oleatha+House+010.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE_8Xw7K_-7t5JUxTD382NHjcWICWumFQxXyAzXoqrdb5YdytczTpLESPSjv1N9wIjVwTt27I94bZm1D24dk2fmyxuLVg9wesk7qfiYOV3GqPN9tw5mGp1o1z_gUlEKgJ_nYZajHXfZIdH/s320/Oleatha+House+010.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473145878885691922" border="0" /></a>This is a <a href="http://www.broyhillfurniture.com/">Broyhill</a> sofa that was the only one of its kind bought by Weekends Only. Apparently, this sofa is pretty fancy stuff - and we were able to get it for a steal! However, that meant that there was not going to be a matching sofa - so, we wondered around until I spotted this chair:<br /></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RSb8iuoH3wxPiW1_T3n7kuhb261qKkTP4G_pW0r0h1ZF-eEKa4JEc6oMgmkrKtTIg40rNoMM2r8JbiKMdeolivhInGbJicU13ypTzPVCwZTB40eEMKDHw5vh8mnVYE95J-v8PBBBqnOl/s1600/Oleatha+House+011.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7RSb8iuoH3wxPiW1_T3n7kuhb261qKkTP4G_pW0r0h1ZF-eEKa4JEc6oMgmkrKtTIg40rNoMM2r8JbiKMdeolivhInGbJicU13ypTzPVCwZTB40eEMKDHw5vh8mnVYE95J-v8PBBBqnOl/s320/Oleatha+House+011.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473145885152078434" border="0" /></a>These are swivel chairs made by <a href="http://www.ashleyfurniture.com/">Ashley Furniture</a> and once I sat on it, there was no turning back - I really loved to sit and rock back and forth, it was so relaxing. And again, we got the chairs for a great deal. I was also able to call the Ashley Furniture Store and order two accent pillows with fabric matching the chairs in order to bring the room together, and the pillows go really well with the couch, even though they aren't made by the same company.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Another thing I loved about our house was our stained glass windows (seen above). As we were wondering around the store, Matt spotted this lamp:<br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviQ32JrRAi2FJ24WDGMbcAM7dIGSnRI261Gtw95MTPwt1dTqf7PORopLkVynGiEGinGLxPCSjPLciedBWwSvYjWTPzyVrgZqeHOPLtqol1V-d_yg-J49Vp7aToWJEgJTpc2XeYMkKrhIt/s1600/Oleatha+House+015.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjviQ32JrRAi2FJ24WDGMbcAM7dIGSnRI261Gtw95MTPwt1dTqf7PORopLkVynGiEGinGLxPCSjPLciedBWwSvYjWTPzyVrgZqeHOPLtqol1V-d_yg-J49Vp7aToWJEgJTpc2XeYMkKrhIt/s320/Oleatha+House+015.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473145908897004722" border="0" /></a>It is a Tiffany style lamp that went so nicely with the style of the house, we picked up two of them for our living room. These were actually more than 75% off original retail price, and I love they way they look in our living room.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3TOFwuJxbghjN_Cy4IpObqHytrf_ztfWGWRiWzcP8aQuT5_7Gs9yZGOlxXwvyWFn6dZr8_CMTXMJlfT5buUIcsPLwHDbrvx8g3VB3M9syKc4l4OR2NRyQZG9rzUBZI4azvyII6Mqx7K-/s1600/Oleatha+House+014.JPG"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3TOFwuJxbghjN_Cy4IpObqHytrf_ztfWGWRiWzcP8aQuT5_7Gs9yZGOlxXwvyWFn6dZr8_CMTXMJlfT5buUIcsPLwHDbrvx8g3VB3M9syKc4l4OR2NRyQZG9rzUBZI4azvyII6Mqx7K-/s320/Oleatha+House+014.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5473145900621482434" border="0" /></a>So here is the finished product - other things we picked up at Weekends Only were the coffee table and end tables, the book shelf, and the rug you can see in the first two pictures of the new living room. You can see the plant my parents bought for us has made it all the way to the new house (with a significant hair cut).<br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">I have to say, I really love our living room. The sofa is so comfortable, and as Matt says, you can tell it is very well made simply by looking at the little details in the sofa. Of course, Isidora and I both love the swivel chairs - we have pulled them out from the wall and other furniture so they are not in danger of hitting anything. What I may like most about our living room is that there is not a toy in sight - it is an adult space (even though right behind the door in the third picture is Isidora's room), and it is a great place to sit and chat or read a book or just relax.<br /></div></div>Bryanne Colvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13062369251968257644noreply@blogger.com0