Midwestern Nice-ness

With all the crap that's constantly on TV or in the news, sometimes it's nice to be reminded of nice people doing nice things.

I've always lived in the Midwest. Born in Maryland, actually, but grew up in Wisconsin and Indiana. For the most part, people around here have always been kind. It wasn't until I moved to Valparaiso that I realized chivalry is alive and well. Not so much the "let me order for you" kinda stuff - this is 2013 and I can order dinner for myself, thank you very much - but the opening doors, or letting a lady go before a man kinda stuff is happening everyday around here. I hope God blesses my husband and I with a boy someday so that we can raise him to be one of those guys - the world needs more of them.

In other news, my Midwestern parents are doing something so great next weekend and I think it's fantastic. One Sunday at church, they heard the story of a Haitian woman living under a very leaky roof. She has multiple children living with her and cannot afford to fix the roof. My parents wanted to step in and try to help. They have organized a garage sale and will be selling their things and anyone else's things in hopes to fix not only 1 roof, but 3 as they want to help multiple families. Isn't that just cool!? I love it.

That's all I've got tonight. If I ever want to become a Real Estate Agent (which I'm currently working towards if you read my previous post), I've got to finish this online class and start studying for the state exam. So if you're looking for me these next 3 weeks, I'll most likely be studying. I apologize in advance for being boring or cutting phone calls short.

BIG Announcement!!!

Today, I have an announcement to share! Since March, I've been taking online classes for my Real Estate license. Yes! I'm going to become Valpo's friendly neighborhood Real Estate Agent! I cannot WAIT to get started as helping people buy or sell a home will be so rewarding!

Starting late August, I will be a nights/weekend Agent as I still have my full-time job at the wonderful Leo Burnett.

So there you have it!! I will soon be creating a Facebook page which will include posts with listings and updates with random homeowner tips and tricks- stuff relevant to everyone, no matter where you are in this world. I'll need all the "likes" I can get so stay tuned for that! 

Courtesy of 312 elements photography, here is my new headshot which will be on business cards, promotional handouts and online listings: 

Thanks for reading my news!! Please, spread the word! I will need all the PR I can get :) 

Kitchen Projects

My husband, Brian and I became homeowners in May of 2012. You could say that 2012 was kind of our year - filled with celebrating our upcoming nuptials, buying the first home we saw and starting our lives together as husband and wife in October. 2013, however, belongs to my longest friend, Meghan. She got engaged, got the internship she's been wanting for 2 years and is house shopping. This is her year already!

Homeownership is the best. Well, most of the time. One of our first memories in this home involves me bugging Brian to put up a canvas piece in our powder room (and quick!) because our families were coming to help move and I so badly wanted one space (even if it was the smallest) to be finished. I'm a little crazy when it comes to projects, but more on that another time. Poor Brian was drilling into the wall until water started seeping out - he had hit a pipe!!!! Thankfully, his dad did some major surgery on the pipe that day and now, it's a heck of a when-we-first-became-homeowners story to tell.

One of our favorite things about homeownership is the ability to make changes - both big and small. Today, I'm going to share one of our newest projects. 

A few months back on a very cold winter Saturday, Brian and I decided to install a backsplash in our kitchen. While we were at it, we changed the hardware on the cabinets - from disgusting brassy handles to sleek black ones. The backsplash project was actually pretty fun. I'm all about projects that can be completed in 1 day. All about it. We got everything from our neighborhood Home Depot and went to town. There are definitely some imperfections, but hey, it's an improvement that is nice on the eyes! 

Then, two weeks ago I started collecting stuff to put on top of the cabinets. I was inspired on Pinterest (typical) and read somewhere how it's a forgotten space in many houses. I don't want to forget spaces in my home so I started looking around at what we had. Bought a few pieces at Marshalls & TJ Maxx and voila! I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. 

Check out the before: 

Please don't judge me for not cropping out the crap on the island. It adds to the ugliness of the Before picture, okay!?

And after:

A little closer up: 

Notice the backsplash? How about the sleek black cabinet hardware? It was quite a game to get the top of the cabinets to look right and get a balance of just enough but not too much stuff. Overall, I'm happy with it. You'll notice I also removed all but one of the magnets and crap we had on our fridge. It was time, folks. I can't even believe I've lived with all that clutter smack in my face for so long - it had to go. I did leave one magnet that speaks volumes to me. This one: 

Isn't that just lovely? I don't mind seeing that every single day - plus it blends in with the fridge which is an added bonus. 

Have you decorated the tops of your cabinets? Are you going to? Do you have this same peace magnet? Leave your thoughts below. 

Thanks for reading!! 

Inaugural Entry

Today, I decided to start a blog. Why, you ask? I'm not entirely sure. I'm not a photographer with incredible pictures to share and I'm not a writer with inspiring words to write, but I figured it would be neat to have an online presence where I could write about DIY projects, home improvement ideas, yummy recipes and share thoughts on random happenings.

The title of this blog comes from a silly phrase my husband and I made up one day - it stemmed from a conversation where we decided that sometimes, people or things are better than the best person/thing you could think of or dream up. How lucky we are to feel that way about each other and this life we are living.

Thanks for reading my little intro, and I hope you'll come back to view future posts! :)