27

i didn't mind turning 27 today, i felt so loved that i didn't care how old i was getting. my friends katelyn, michelle and heather took me out last night; we walked the mall, went to bucer's pub/cafe, a favorite of mine, here in town for some italian sodas and hot cocoa. to top the night off they surprised me with more friends who met up at eastside cinemas for a movie. thank you so much.

karl brought home the tulips this morning and made my day. love you karl.

michelle gave me this pitcher that for now hold my flowers but will be added to my whiteware collection to be put on disply. thank you michelle, i love it so much. plus i get 3 free vinyl decals for my new house.

katelyn gave me lots of goodies with this metal "&" from restoration hardware for my birthday to add to my number/letter collection. i love it! it will be perfect in my new house. thank you kate.

karl took me to "the breakfast club" this morning and gave me $25 toward something at pottery barn and $25 toward music at itunes. i can't wait to shop. thanks babe.

we're moving

karl and i have bought a house here in moscow and plan to move in the 30th of this month. i can't wait to get out of this little condo where i can paint and renovate. we've waited to announce it because there are a lot of hurdles to get through the first 5 weeks or so. but at this point we're past anything going wrong so we can safely say it's ours!

we will be getting the first home buyers credit of $8000 and most of it's going to new furniture and updates throughout the house. the pictures below are from a few different places online that i've collected since our offer was accepted. these are where i drew inspiration for some of my plans and hope to recreate a little something like it in our new, to us, home.

the entry way will have one of these shoe cabinets from ikea to provide clutter control and give a little shoe storage.

our kitchen will eventually get new counter tops and cabinet doors similar to these above. the current cabinetry in the kitchen is from the 90's. not terrible but in need of an update.

the house has 3 bedrooms; one being sort of small, leaving not a lot of room for an office. i don't want it out in the open so i'll be looking for something similar to this beautiful desk to hide our computer.

i hope to recreate our master bedroom to look something like this. a little romantic yet still neutral so i can easily change the look with bold color and accessories.

the house is 1200 sq ft so i still have to be creative with storage and space. karl and i both want a library but it will have to be in the living room. there's a small nook in the main room where we can do something like this. it's cozy and inviting with a little light and comfy couch i hope to be reading a lot more than i do now.

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knit kiwi bird

i just knit my favorite project yet. a kiwi bird for my little buddy, masaru, who turned 5 on tuesday. after finishing the baby bootees i went in search of a new project, the best places being ravelry and etsy. i came across this free pattern on etsy and fell in love.

from start to finish was probably 9 hours and i loved every minute. more than likely i will not duplicate it for anyone else because it was a perfect bird for a kiwi kid. masaru's mother, melissa, is a good friend of mine. she's an awesome sunday school teacher and has two of my favorite qualities; strong testimony and a super cool, new zealand accent. she and her family are moving in a few months and i'm happy to have left her kiddo with one of my favorite knitting projects. i'll miss you guys.