Time Flies- Unless You're at the DMV

It's hard to believe we've been here 4 weeks now. The past week went mostly as planned. I got the dining room unpacked and set up on Tuesday. Took forever and so much breakable stuff. The curio cabinet, my village, and the china cabinet are all in there along with the table. I decided to set the table with my china and stemware. Why? I don't know. I've had the stuff since we got married in '97 and have used it once. Otherwise it sits in the china cabinet. Now, don't get me wrong- I love it! It's Paradise Tribute by Noritake and it has cheetahs and elephants and great jewel tone colors, but- it's china! Really, as those of you that know me are aware- china really should not be within 10 feet of me. Anyway, for now it's setting out, and its pretty.

The room also needed some chairs. The ones that match the table no longer really match the table since it was refinished. I ordered some trendy ones from Target that are upholstered in black and white chevron. They'll do to look nice and hold any visitors we have. (Where are our visitors?) So far I've received 4 and gotten 2 put together- not as easy as Ikea.

Village

curio

See? It's pretty! I need a centerpiece though.

And with the chairs

On Wednesday, I stayed around so the Safelite guy could come replace the windshield on Chuck's commuter. 3 weeks in and he took a rock on the interstate. That's gonna add up fast. I also got some of the gun accessories tidied up.  Thursday was spent doing some odds and ends and actually cleaning. We have an interior decorator coming on the 1st to help us decide what to do with our great room. Also think I've found our landscaping crew. 

Friday- get this- was a snow day. In Houston, Texas. I was promised warmer winters and we had a snow day. Wait, there's more! As I type this, I also have a news tab open to see if school is called off for tomorrow- because we're expecting more wintery weather. I just planted cactus! I have citrus trees in my back yard! Dang! At least it will be 70 again by the weekend.

Saturday and Sunday were nice. Saturday, we had all the cars inspected, had our water rechecked after the filter installation (it's awesome!) then had a guy come out to price a shower remodel. That's on the calendar in 6-8 weeks, and should be super cool when it's done. Yay! We checked off Lupe Tortilla on our restaurants we want to try list. It…is…amazing! The fajita meat is the best i've ever had. The tortillas are freshly hand made and the margaritas- WOW! Really, I'm not going to be able to drink a sour mix margarita ever again. The fresh lime juice ones they make around here are so superior. 

Today - our boxes got picked up! Yay! i have my whole garage back! It feels like such an accomplishment to have those gone. There are still a few left in the study to unpack, but they're small and will go out with recycling eventually. 

After I got my garage back I headed to downtown Tomball to the county tax collectors office because that's where you get your license plate and window sticker. 2 1/2 hours of waiting in line but my Jeep is officially a Texan. Gotta say though, I was really sad to take off my Calypso tag. After that was a quick stop at the H.E.B.- grocery shopping here could qualify as a sport. Then home to meet the girls. 

 

H.E.B. eggs have a Texas stamp!

Tomorrow may be a snow day and Chucks already planning on working from home. Not sure what I'll be getting into the rest of the week. I do need to get into my craft room and get it arranged- I may actually be able to make something soon! Saturday, the interior decorator comes and Sunday the last of our bedroom suit is delivered. It's all coming together! 

We'll have to have a family meeting to decide what deliciousness we want to try this weekend, and spend plenty of time outside before the next cold snap. On that note- time to check the weather and get the kids in bed- just in case it misses us.

3 Weeks Texan

We hit the 3 week mark last night! 

Unpacking is almost done- I called Friday to schedule box pickup. I will be so glad to have all those boxes out of the garage. I have finished the girls rooms except for hanging some things on the wall, the game room is mostly done- still need to purchase an ottoman and move a book case up. I have yet to start in my craft room, but there was only 1 box of stuff- the rest is totes of fabric. Downstairs, our bedroom is waiting for the bed (2/1)to be delivered, and a bench (tomorrow)for the end of the bed. I also need some decorator pieces- like a big canvas for behind the bed. The kitchen is done. Yay! The dining room is on tomorrows list although I still need chairs to go with the table. Chuck made a little progress in his study- the computer equipment is set up and the printer is working now.  The difficult room is the great room. We got a 5x5 Ikea Expedit for the wall opposite the windows, but we are still trying to figure out what to do with the rest of the room. We found an Angie's list deal for an interior designer, so hopefully well get some good input. 

W's room

M's room

Remember E.T.? M can now harbor an alien.

Ikea Expedit. Some of the shelves will have cabinets soon, and more lighting.

Onyx pieces from Blue Ridge Gallery- Love you Joe and Melia!

This weekends weather was perfect! 70's and sunny. Chuck made it back from Ft. Worth Friday night. We had dinner at Los Cucos- brunch buffet is definitely the way to go there. We had Sunday brunch at Santa Fe flats- here is better off the regular menu- food and serve was excellent. We spent the long weekend around the house or running errands for stuff for the house.  Besides Ikea, we made a Home depot stop and got some succulents to put around the patio. It was also a way for the girls to use some of their rocks and gems from grab bags they've accumulated over the years.  Chuck wanted his own - he chose a giant golden barrel cactus and named it Sarlacc. 

M's balloon hat from Los Cucos

Sarlacc

My succulents and an aloe plant

M's Left, W's middle, extra right

We spent so much time on the back patio this weekend! We had coffee and the newspaper there in the mornings and beer and books in the afternoon. The dogs find a good sunny spot and stretch out. The kids play on the swing set or out with the neighbor kids. Love this weather!

Daddy kisses!

Sunning

Short week this week! Yay! I have the bench coming tomorrow and will be working in the dining room. Then, I'll tackle my craft room and the odds and ends that are still laying about as the week goes on. Saturday, Home Depot is coming to give us an estimate on remodeling the shower in our bathroom.  We're also getting our cars inspected so we can get our Texas plates.

It'll be a busy week but I should be able to get mostly done with the house, I'm looking forward to a bit of routine.

Things I'm Liking

Kids playing in he cul-de-sac- there were at least a dozen. It's awesome! Butter and I sat on the front porch and watched the shenanigans.

Girl Scout came to the door to sell me cookies.

Parking in a garage.

Not having to fill up the gas tank twice a week because everything I need is within 5 miles.

Sunday papers on the patio.

72 degrees and sunny in mid-January.

Boxes, Boxes, Boxes…Oh, Look! More Boxes!

Sunday the 5th was our last slow day day with no stuff. We took the kids back to the Galleria and let them go ice skating. That mall is insane! I did get to visit the Disney store- and got myself a little something at the Texas Gifts store. We had lunch at Ninfa's- it's Mexican and was delicious.

Me gift- who wouldn't want a cowboy armadillo wine holder?

Monday morning Chuck went to work and the kids and I went to W's school to start the registration process. The movers showed up at 10:30 and unloaded our stuff. Hooray beds! and clothes! and kitchenwares! Finally! It took them until 5:30 then the kids and I went to Guadelupe's for dinner- probably be awhile before we're back there.

"Mama found mah toys!"

Tuesday was the kids first day at their new school. Madison loved her school right away, mainly because the first thing she saw was the giant library. Willow warmed up to her teacher pretty quickly (in Willow time). Once they were settled I headed home to unpack.  I've been unpacking every day since then, but my goal is to be ready for box pickup on Friday. I'm sure I'll still have things to put away- but if the boxes are out then I'll be happier.

Wednesday, our water softener and reverse osmosis purifier were installed. It took them most of the day   and now our water is perfect. No more chlorine, no more fluoride- just water.

I made another trip to the H.E.B grocery store- this time during the week so it wasn't as crazy. I love that grocery store! Oh, and I love Blue Bell ice-cream- that's on tomorrow's grocery list. Yum! It's made here in Houston and you can take tours of their dairy and get samples. Yup, on the things to do in Houston list. I also picked up a couple of wines made in Texas- so far so good.

Llano- made in Lubbock, TX! 

This one had a long horn on it.

This past weekend, the kids wanted to go skating on Saturday and Chuck wanted to eat at Hubcap Grill. It was a beautiful day and we ate outside. It took FOREVER to get our food, but Chuck said it was the best burger he'd ever had. Mine was good- but not wait-45-minutes-good.

Sunday, we had brunch at Los Cucos- a Mexican place about 2 miles from the house. It was AWESOME! Then it was off to Room to Go for a audio/video console for the game room.

Today, I finished off some boxes in the great room, got more stuff put way in the kitchen and worked a little in Madison's room. It's starting to look good! The kids got to play outside when they got home from school- it was 72 and sunny! They played ball in the cup-de-sac with the neighbor kids and rode their bikes some. It'll be good for them to have some neighborhood experiences.

Coming up this week- Chuck is in Fort Worth until Friday,  and for me-grocery shopping, another Ikea visit, and finishing the unpacking. Friday is my goal. We'll see.

 Lastly, some random notes… Cooking with gas- getting the hang of it, tiny shower- hate it!, close shopping- enjoying it, natural light in bathroom- AWESOME!, attic storage- hooray!

Nighty night!

Settling In / Setting Up

Lots going on at the new Herrin Manor.

The dogs enjoying their yard

Thursday was chock full of workers - our security system was installed and our new locks were installed. Yay! Chuck went in to the office for half a day, but came home to oversee some of the installations. Willow and I took a quick break to go to Petco to get Butter a new bowl that she can't slide across the tile,  and Target for a few groceries, home and organizational stuff.

On Friday, Madison and I went to IKEA! Talk about organization! We got a lamp, a picture, shelves, a bathroom cart, a cheese grater, a fruit bowl, a bath rug, a treat jar, a squeegee, a recycling bin, ice trays and a trash  can. Awesome! Then we dropped into Willow Brook Mall for Madison's make-up, then a stop buy H.E.B. for beer. What a humongous grocery store! It's crazy big- theres a sushi counter a tortiallria  (sp?)  and coffee roasting kiosk. We didn't cover the whole store, but it definitely merits a longer visit. We made it home in time to meet with a water purifier salesman since our water is almost pool ready in it's chlorine level, and we scheduled installation for next week.

Shiner=Texas Beer!

Ikea Expedit for our closet

Ikea cart and rug in powder room

We've continued to eat out as our stuff still hasn't arrived (Monday at the latest). We made it to Pappa's BBQ, and tried a Tex Mex place near the house called Guadalupe's Kitchen, plus had our first Papa John's delivery in 14 years. Tonight we've ordered Chinese delivery after having lunch at the movie theatre- the Silverado 19- complete with pizza, burgers, sushi, a full bar and of course the standard movie fare. It's less than 5 miles from the house!

Pappa's BBQ

Kids enjoying theirs

Chuck had tamales and a Po Boy

My BBQ stuffed potato

Theatre inside- ice-cream and Starbuck's, too.

Theatre outside

The dogs got their personalized collars. All three of them have no neighborhood sense and think they can bolt out the front door and run the woods as they did in NC. So, I ordered them all embroidered collars with our phone number in them. There are no jingles so I don;t have to worry about taking them on and off, and there's piece of mind.

Pretty Butter

Coming up next week - movers arrive, school starts, Rooms To Go delivers,  and water purifier installed.

We're Here!

Happy New Year! Let me tell you, Texans like gunpowder in any form and last night was the most impressive display of non commercial fireworks I have ever seen. Every direction we looked someone was launching mortars and bottle rockets. When I took the dogs out for the night the air was heavy with the smell of smoke and explosive powders. Woot!

For our celebration, we took the kids to a special event at the Rainforest Cafe in the Houston Galleria. Holy Cow - what a mall!! Of note- a Disney Store (not an outlet!), Apple store , Rainforest Cafe, Cheesecake Factory, and an indoor-year-round iceskating rink!

Cha Cha frog plate

Willow in awe of the volcano

Yay! Volcano!

Our trip down was so much better than I anticipated. We got on I-40 at 7:00 am after packing up the last bits and seeing my parents and Joy and Grace. We drove straight through- the dogs, kids, and my jeep pulling the trailer all did great. We arrived at 1:30am central time. Huge thanks to Doug for traveling with us, loading the trailer just right , and driving the Jeep the majority of the way.

Butter rode 18 1/2 hours of the 19 1/2 hour trip on my lap or Doug's lap.

The kids love the house; the dogs are adjusting well. We've been going out and getting supplies daily- some planned, some not so much.We got some towels, and blankets, my new vacuum (Dyson Animal), a cordless drill, trashcans, a toaster, and other daily things. We also go our new bedroom suite - it'll be delivered next week. Then we decided to get a Keurig coffee maker for the bathroom since we packed our big one and NEED coffee first thing.

At least we brought the Fuf- the dogs are happy.

Coffee!!

Our bedroom suite

Doug and Willow in her turret- built in bookcase with a trap door!

 One purchase I'm quite excited about is the new elevated dog bowls. They're actually planters from Lowes! They're taller, and cheaper than anything I could find listed as dog feeders. Yay! In the picture it's upside down until I can add something to make the bowl sit right inside- but you get the idea.

Luke's new bowl

 And I leave you with some of the pictures from our farewell dinner...

Don't worry, we'll be back - and you can come visit anytime!