Thankful for: Our Home

We have a home.
We have running water.
and warm water at that.
We have a heater
and an air conditioner.
We have flooring with no stains (yet!).
We have a refrigerator
and a dish washer
and an oven.
We have a washing machine
and a dryer
and no neighbors above us.
We have a safe neighborhood.
and a garage.

But most importantly,
we have a home filled with love and with memories.
A place for relationship
and for shelter.
A place to gather.

We are rich.

and for that I'm beyond thankful.

Heavenly Father,
Thank you for entrusting us with this home.
May we use it to glorify You:
to care for Your people, to entertain strangers,
and to remember that all good gifts come from You.
Please bless our home
and those who enter it.

Upstairs [to take a bath]

I just realized I never really posted pictures of our upstairs.

Here we go.


First up...
The Spare Room
(that we haven't really done anything with..)Next...
The Office/Craft Room
(But of course there are no pictures of his side) =)and...
The Master Bedroom
Happy Monday.

Alas

That silent night was last night.

Me loves the weekends

Remember that relaxing catch-up weekend I talked about?
I'd say that was a pretty fair prediction.

Aside from working until 7p on Friday,
the weekend consisted of things like:
Purchasing a new couch
A couple Starbucks stops
Catching up on DVR'd shows
Watching a few movies
Starting on Christmas cards
Stops at Home Depot, Lowe's and Ikea
Columbus Day gifts from Mom and Lys
A little bit of leisure reading in the sunshine
Dinner at my Parents' house
Football Games and MLB Playoffs
Christmas shopping
and a Sunset Double-Date Night on the Harbor

The sunset was beautiful.

Official Homeowners!

It's official!

We've got keys.
Let the home projects begin!

Life of a Nomad

For some reason, I was laughing today
as I thought of the different places I've lived
over the past couple years.

Let's tour, shall we?

Freshman Year.
Point Loma. Klassen Hall.
Sophomore Year.
Point Loma. Finch Hall.
Junior Year.
Downtown San Diego. The Grande South.
Senior Year.
Point Loma. Liberty Station.
Marriage - Year 1
Rancho Penasquitos. Our First Apartment.
Hmm.. that wasn't as fun as I thought it might be.

But I did realize why I was laughing.

I used to live in a hot pink room.
What the?

Sounds Like Home

Let's face it,
Monday mornings are
well, Monday mornings.

But you know what makes em better?

When you get in the car,
turn on the radio
and it sounds like home.

Happy Monday, folks!

Busy, Busy Bee

For some reason, this week,
well.. this month of July has felt insanely busy.

And with our trip coming up,
my To Do list just keeps
growing and growing and growing.

But really, who can complain?

DSC is back on the air waves starting Monday
We got to celebrate my sister's birthday twice,
once with Prado&Pajama Game
and again with Cheesecake Factory and an ice cream cake.
I saw a lovely sunset over the La Jolla Shores Tuesday night.
OTB has Watermelon Margaritas this summer.
We got to have dinner with Scott&Des this week
I enjoyed Inception on IMAX last night,
with my two favorite men.
Our homebuying project is nearing success.
We've got a pretty fun weekend coming up.
and...

We'll be playing in Maui oh-so-soon!!

Creative Hospitality

I love going home.

Mostly because I just love being with my family.

But also because I'm ridiculously nostalgic.

And because it brings such a sense of excitement and inspiration.

After giving my hello hugs, it's almost ritual to wander around the house and look for what new treasures my mom has tucked away. Sometimes it's something big, like a new piece of furniture or a new mattress, but most of the time it's that extra little something that really ties the room together. That extra special something that makes you want to soak it in all day long and never leave the house. You know, those things that would almost (but not quite fully) still make it feel like home even if all the people who truly make it home were absent for a moment. The smell of a new fresh balsam candle, a collection of old, thrifted silverware arranged in a beautiful glass jar, a new pennant mom has made, hanging across the window valence in her craft room.

My mother has many gifts, but one is unarguably what I like to call Creative Hospitality. Both qualities are rather nice to have on their own: creativity and hospitality, but when you couple them together, that marriage results in an overwhelming warmth of the heart. It's life-giving. And inspirational. You can't not be affected.

I love that I share that same passion with my mom. That passion to create a beautiful place, filled with love to enjoy with others. But I have awfully big shoes to fill. And I encourage myself to remember that whenever I'm wide-eyed at what my mom has done.I'm a newlywed. A new college grad. An 22-year old who hasn't mastered this all quiet yet. But boy is it so fun to learn, to experiment, and to play. I love that place of tension, where dear friends appreciate your hard work while role models encourage it to grow and develop even more. I love being challenged. And I think that's something I will always be, challenged by my mom's creative hospitality.

Disclaimer: I'm very well aware that a home is not just a collection of things, but at the same time I think something must be said for the physically beautiful home my mom has made for our family. It's in that environment and in spite of that environment that I've experienced the true meaning of home.

Meet Jessi: the ultimate list maker

Things I want to do within the next 5 years:
- Do a Cancer Walk.
- Double pierce my ears
- Make: honeymoon photo album, a 2010 calendar, pretty place cards for our table
- Learn to sew
- Learn Italian
- Read: Same Kind of Different as Me & Through Painted Deserts
- Travel to Seattle, the East Coast and Hawaii (and Europe, at least in my dreams)
- Camp in Yosemite
- Take a dance class
- Join a couple's Bible study
- Have a baby

My "I don't need it, but I want it" List:
- Nikon Digital Camera
- MacBook Pro
- Beach Cruiser
- BluRay Player
- Benefit's new perfume - Laugh with me Lee Lee
- Vintage Pyrex
- Fiesta dinnerware
- Scrabooking supplies
- Gift cards to Michaels, Joanns, Anthropologie and Nordstrom

home.sweet.home

A little glimpse at our living space:

The Living Room

The Kitchen

The Dining Room

Our Bedroom

Our Bedroom - part 2

Our Bathroom
Guest Bedroom
Guest Bathroom