Sugar and Spice ....

 .... and everything nice!

We found this cute sign at the Antique Mall last week. Perfect for our new guestroom, which will be done in shades of soft pinks and greens. A very girly and frilly room all around. I can't wait!!

Spring inside the house!

Spring is slow to bloom outside.

But it's alive and well inside the house!

Pretty, fragrant tulips given to me on Friday.

Still blooming pretty on Tuesday.

Facing the warm sun streaming in the window.

Anxiously, we wait for the buds of spring

to bloom outside. Little signs have started

and soon our world will be green again!

The Mouse is in the House!

Thirty years ago we visited Disneyland

as part of our Honeymoon to Cali and Mexico. 

We had so much fun, we ditched hot and dusty

Mexico and came back to fun Disneyland!

But we didn't buy Mouse ears the last time.

This time, we were on a mission and are so happy

with the two sets of ears we brought home. 

A reminder of our Wedding and Honeymoon, 

and now a reminder that we've survived 30 years!!

Lucky guy!!

My dh is a lucky guy today. 

He's attending a Teacher's Convention this week ....

.... in the beautiful mountain town of Jasper. 

But I'm not bitter!

Nope, not me ....

Disney!

Our trip to Disney was amazing.

All our planning paid off big time!

Mother Nature did have some fun

and spread some snow the morning

we were leaving. Happy to leave!

Our little guy B had no idea where

he was going. That was the best,

waiting for his final reaction once he knew!

Big B and little B, heading to the plane.

Finding his seat.

First plane ride and he decided

that the best parts were the turbulence!!

Big surprise when our bus to take us from L.A.

to Anaheim pulled up with McQueen on the side.

We played, we tanned, we ate, we slept

and we rode all the rides. We met all the

characters and splashed in the pool. It was

sunny, hot but not too hot, perfect in so many

ways. Everyone started planning the next

trip in 2016 before we were even off the plane.

Fun!!

Ready to go!

The house is organized, the bills are paid, work is done for the next 10 days and our bags are packed. We need to choose our seats, print off our boarding passes, send our granddaughter's Easter package, buy a few groceries for our youngest dd who is staying home and reformat my camera cards. Tomorrow, I have one counselling session with a family and other than taking our grandson to preschool in the afternoon, it should be a quiet day. We leave the house at 7 on Saturday to get to the airport, go thru security and be ready to board for 10:30 a.m. Arriving in L.A. by 1:30, it's a coach ride to our new home for 7 days. Sun and fun, all the way!! 

I'll post if I can but pictures will likely have to wait until I get home. 

See you on the other side!

Rain!!

After months of snow and weeks of mud and slush then dry pavement and dusty landscapes, tonight, the rain began to fall. Washing away the dirt and the dust, we are so grateful for this much needed moisture. It's so comforting to listen to the rain hit the roof and the windows. The first step to making our bleak and brown world become green again!!

Hard work rewarded!

We often reward ourselves for

working hard all weekend.

This weekend's reward?

A yummy homemade stew,

a frosty lime cooler and the season 

premiere of Game of Thrones!!

Worth every sweaty moment. 

What do you do to reward yourself?

Packing and more packing!

We've started our packing journey early but for a few good reasons. With just 6 months before the big move out to the country, we need to decide what we are taking, what we are selling and what we are donating. So far, we've packed up 24 boxes of things we'll take (our treasures), thrown out 12 blue bags of recycling items that are no longer functional or paper that we don't need, and boxed up 4 boxes of items to donate and 4 bags of clothes. My Christmas dishes are tucked away in tissue and snug in heavy duty boxes. Our excess bedding is no longer crowding up our tiny linen closet but packed and waiting for the new house. All the dollhouse fixtures and furnishings are boxed up and books are slowly leaving our bookcases to their designated cardboard homes. Next on our list is the basement storage room where we'll go thru old toys and kids clothes that are no longer needed. My husband is going thru his office this weekend and will be getting rid of his old photography equipment and film accessories that are now outdated and he no longer uses. 

Amazing how comfortable we've gotten here over the last 22 years. Doesn't matter how often we purge and reorganize, we still have tons of "stuff" that really isn't needed. I remember when we were flipping houses how freeing it was to move every 2 years and along the way, purge the stuff we didn't need any longer. I like this process and we'll have to make sure in the new house, with all the new extra space, that we don't start to fill it up!

The second level of packing we're doing is for our upcoming Disney trip. We leave in just 8 short days, so the packing has begun! Today, I'm going thru my list of what needs to be packed to see if there is anything I need to pick up. A bit of shopping is on the agenda for the weekend or later today, if dh gets home early as he's planning. Passports are ready to go and my camera is charged up. Almost ready to go!

Any packing tips to share for a big move?

And, it's done!!

All the planning, drawing, erasing, rewriting, negotiating, dreaming, worrying and intense number crunching has ended. The house plan is complete, with no more changes anticipated. The deal has been finalized, with a successful $75,000 drop in the original price, without taking out any features. We've signed, initialed and cross-referenced. And to celebrate this major accomplishment in our long journey, our builder invited the youngest member of our house to sign off on the final drawings. 

B was happy to oblige.

And even added in a few extra "notes"!

Out came the chai tea ....

.... with homemade lemon loaf to celebrate.

Now, the fun part begins. Our building adventure is finally a reality. The next 6 to 8 months are going to be very stressful and incredibly exciting, all at the same time. But we're ready and on our way!