Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!

We sure did.

We visited 7 homes between the 24th & 25th - and it was nuts, but it was so amazing. We are very lucky to have so much family close by to share the holiday's with.

We got a big screen TV for our bedroom, I got a pair of the most perfect Tom's Wedge Heels, and everything else a girl could ask for.

xoxox

Mi Casa

I've been bitten by a bug. I call this bug
the "i want to re-decorate, re-furnish, re-paint everything" bug.

i LOOOVE my house. for those of you who haven't been, its a cute 3 story, 2100 sq. foot townhome. we have an end unit, so we only share one wall with our neighbors, so it really doesn't even feel like a townhome. It has 3 bedrooms, and 2.5 bathrooms with an unfinished basement. We have our own fenced in backyard and a 2 car garage that i'm so thankful for.

let me tell you what i DONT love, and what i'm itching to change. any opinions/words of advice are MUCH appreciated.

- my cabinets. they are a kind of orange tint wood, and i HATE them. our dining table and chairs are black/dark brown, and i want them to match the cabinets. i've thought about painting them, as this intimidates me less than staining, but my dad told me "NOOOOO. that's so 50's" (direct quote). so maybe i'll get some professional help with this one.
My parents have a friend in their ward who is a carpenter, so maybe he'll cut me a deal and i can get mine done soon. we'll see.

- kitchen floor. its the same orange-y tone as my cabinets. i want something different, but i'm not sure what. i tened to lean more to dark tones, but i dont want my kitchen to be too dark since it is pretty small. maybe a light backsplash & walls would make it lighter?

- my basement. Kenyon lives down there (in the warmer times of the year. otherwise he's in our spare room upstairs) and our laundry is down there. otherwise its an unorganized "storage" space. it drives me crazy. not even all of the framing is up, there's only one outlet down there, and there's no heat. I dont really care if it's FINISHED, but i at least want to put dry wall up, and have heat/electiricty down there. I think it'd be fun to have a big tv and a bunch of lovesac's down there, and maybe a pool table or something.

- white walls. there have only been 1 other owner of our house before us, and they painted the living room area a nice tan color with a red accent wall & did an excellent job. We've painted our bedroom a cool dark olive green color, but everything else is white and i HATE it. that's the fun of buying your own place - is painting the walls!
here are the spaces i'm DYING to paint: my kitchen (color suggestions? i dont want yellow or red), bathrooms, spare bedrooms, stairwell (its very tall, so i might need to hire a professional).
i just need to start doing it.

i have 2 weeks off of work for Christmas, so I just want to do as much as i can. It's nice having Kenyon live with us. he's pretty handy and i know he'll help me. i just know this is going to cost a lot. It's totally worth it for me though.
I need to post pictures of my house soon so you know what we're dealing with , but suggestions are TOTALLY welcome!
xoxox

December Truths

There's been a few new things happening in the Woodward household in the past month or so:

1 - Christmas tree is up, all the presents are purchased, wrapped & under the tree. I love this time of year. The smells, the lights, the parties. so much fun. I'm so thankful. Plus it's fun that Kenyon's home (for good) to celebrate with us. I love my family.

2 - Derek & I have decided not to start trying for a baby for a few more years. We're currently planning a Europe trip within the next 1-2 years (we have to save up). THEN we'll start trying. I just really want to go to Italy before we have a baby keeping us home, and it'd be nice if i could guarentee that i can be a stay at home mama by the time we have a baby. I THINK we could make that happen, but i want to be sure. I admire moms soooo much that go to work (plus school usually) and be a mom, but if we're able to have me stay home, its worth the wait for us.

3 - I've lost 32 pounds! I've been using pure essential oils from a company called DoTerra, and they honestly work. I had given up hope on ever losing my weight i've accumulated over the past 5 years, (eating out, eating one meal a day, never excersizing) but it's honestly working! I use the "slim & sassy" oils every day (its a blend of grapefruit, peppermint & oregeno oils) and the "GX Assist cleanse" about once a month to help with cravings.
My ULTIMATE goal is to be where I was in high school when i was dancing regularly, and I'm 1/3 of the way there. I have a lot I'd still like to lose, but it's amazing knowing I'm getting there.