Happy birthday to me

My fabulous new light fixture should arrive next week.


And as Brent so kindly pointed out to me, I now need to change my "in a nutshell" to say late 20s.

Meet my kitchen

I'd like to introduce you to my kitchen.


There's a reason I don't post pictures of my kitchen often. It's not that my kitchen is ugly, but it's just kind of there. The biggest problem is that the more modern and up-to-date the rest of the house looks, the more noticeable my blah kitchen becomes.

I'd like to tell you that I've decided to gut the whole thing, but that's definitely not my financial reality. So I've decided to take baby steps in achieving a kitchen I deem worthy – and I'm starting with the cabinets, trim and hardware.

So here's what I did over the weekend:

I'm still debating on hardware, but I am so happy with the white. That yellowy cabinet color had to go. Even Brent noticed the difference.

I bought my first penguin ornament!

...well, first one in 2010.

While watching the depressing KU football game tonight, I decided to search Etsy and found this adorable stained-glass penguin ornament. It was definitely a must, and I think it will look great on my penguin tree.


I earned a head shake from Brent.

My month hiatus

It's been a month since I've worked on any projects for my house. Yep, a month. After Brent's party, I decided I needed to relax. While it seemed weird the first week, I definitely got the hang of lounging around after that.

So what did I do? Watch more TV than I usually do in a year.

- Dexter (seasons 2 and 3)
- Arrested Development (season 2)
- The Tudors (season 3)
- How I Met Your Mother (seasons 1, 2 and 3)

Yep, I was rather impressed with myself as well. And as fate would have it, the day I decide to get back in the swing of things – I'm sick. Lovely.

I'm hoping that this weekend will be the start of more project awesomeness. I already have 2 in mind. :)

A fur-free product rave

I'll be honest, when I was looking for a fur-removal product, I picked the Scotch Fur Fighter, because they have a Westie on all their packaging. Yep, it was a simple as that.

With 2 very furry Westies and a love for black – things don't always look so great in my house. And while the Furminator is awesome, Brent and I don't use it as much as we should – so well, fur happens. Fur especially seems to happen all over my black-and-white zebra rug, which wasn't looking very black at all.

And did it ever win, check out the after from just my zebra rug:


Yeah, it amazed me and grossed me out all at the same time. It also made me realize how terrible my vacuum cleaner is. That will definitely be on the holiday wish list.

Amazing outdoor pillow deal

Restoration Hardware has all their outdoor pillows on sale (normally $32) for $10.99 each.

Such an awesome bargain, and there's still a good selection left.

July and August's books

Considering I only had one book total for the month of July ("Helter Skelter"), I decided to group my July reading with Augusts.

Books read in July and August: 5
Books listened to in July and August: 5

Books:
50. "Helter Skelter: The True Story of the Manson Murders" by Vincent Bugliosi
51. "Uncharted TerriTORI" by Tori Spelling
52. "Linger" by Maggie Stiefvater (Wolves at Mercy Falls #2)
53. "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins (Hunger Games #3)
54. "7th Heaven" by James Patterson (Women's Murder Club #7)

Audiobooks:
26. "The Fiery Cross" by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander #5)
27. "Savour the Moment" by Nora Roberts (Bride Quarter #3)
28. "Black Hills" by Nora Roberts
29. "Blood Brothers" by Nora Roberts (Sign of Seven #1)
30. "The Hollow" by Nora Roberts (Sign of Seven #2)

I feel weird that I don't have more accomplished, but both the first book and audiobook that I tackled were massive. I also feel weird having listened to so much Nora Roberts this month, but I wanted something easy to listen to at work – and well, Nora Roberts has definitely fit that bill.

Favorite book of July and August: "Mockingjay" by Suzanne CollinsI know I probably sound like a broken record – but seriously, READ THE HUNGER GAMES SERIES! It is amazing, and you will not be disappointed. "Mockingjay" is the final book in the trilogy, so you won't have to deal with any annoying cliffhangers, etc.