This weekend Adam and I went to the mecca for homeowners that is IKEA. Our primary reason for going there was the above kitchen table and chairs (it will have a 4th chair, but if you’ve ever constructed IKEA furniture, you know it takes awhile and we (and by we I mean mostly Adam) was doing good to get this much put together tonight).

I have dreamed about this table with its disappearing leaf and curvy pedestal with four legs and crisscross chairs with interchangeable cushions for a long time. I think I was subconsciously dreaming of it even before I worked at Country Home, but a year as product editor for “a more modern country” definitely ingrained the charm of a fresh white kitchen in my psyche. In every house we looked at I imagined where the kitchen table would go. I imagine it as the place where we will eat countless meals and make last minute peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Where I will spread out craft projects and white paper for finger painting. The list could go on and on.

I can’t wait to break this table in and as cheesy as it may sound, start making memories around it.

Find these and many more from Paper Source (one of my favorite places for crafty inspiration). If you’re ever in a city with one of their stores I highly recommend stopping by!

It was chilly for the beach, even by Iowa standards, but when you’re within 60 miles of the Gulf it’s hard to resist. Caladesi Island (voted best beach in America in 2008) was our beach of choice. It was fairly deserted, but that meant more sand for us and more sand dollars! If you’re ever in Tampa or Orlando, we highly recommend taking the ferry over to this gem of a beach. You won’t regret it!
Love this boardwalk view. The sand is so close I can almost feel it between my toes.

A shell tree on the beach

The original beach bum

I insisted on crossing the street to pick some oranges! Adam wouldn't let me keep any.

Watching the sun set from above the clouds is an amazing site

We had a wonderful visit with cousins, aunts, uncles and grandma. It doesn’t take long for me to get used to ordering sweet tea, speaking a little slower and slipping ya’ll into conversation. We’ll be back for sure!

All spring, summer and fall we looked at houses off and on, but were careful not to get too attached to anything before we sold the condo. There were many times we felt we would never sell the condo, but we kept praying and trusting that God would provide a buyer and a new house when the time was right. By November we decided we would take a break from looking until after the holidays. Then on Dec 16 everything changed. We had a buyer, now it was time to find a house!

We looked at 3 houses on a Thursday night (one being the brick above). Sunday we spent the afternoon looking at 4 more houses, ending at the one above. When we walked back into the little brick in Beaverdale it just felt right. We made an offer that night, and it was accepted the next day! We didn’t even have to counter! Then we scheduled the inspection the next day and are now 3 weeks away from closing!

The house is in Beaverdale, a cute neighborhood on the Northwest side of Des Moines, full of charming brick houses built in the ’30s and ’40s. Our house was built in 1939. We love all the character: wood floors, arched doorways, glass doorknobs and wood-burning fireplaces (there’s one in the basement too!). I can’t wait to get in touch with my inner product editor self and start shopping for rugs, furniture and paint (the kitchen is first on the list). Any suggestions?

For now we are enjoying our last few weeks of not having to shovel (though Adam is looking forward to being able to park his car in the 2 1/2 stall garage). I’m heading to St. Louis this weekend for work. then the following weekend we’re heading south to visit family in Florida, then there’s one weekend to pack and we’ll be new homeowners for the second time.

Don’t these just make you happy? My teaspoon had a run in with the garbage disposal and the garbage disposal won. So when I saw these pretty little measuring spoons at Williams-Sonoma I couldn’t resit. I love the bright colors (and hopefully they will be harder to lose in the garbage disposal). Adam wanted to get an industrial stainless steel pair, but I insisted on these.

Iowa is gearing up for the first big snow storm of the season. It’s already been named “Blizzard ‘09″ and the first flake hasn’t even fallen yet! I don’t buy into all the hype, but I do love watching the snow fall from the comfort of my couch with the Christmas lights on! We didn’t put a tree up last year (we thought we were going to move, still hasn’t happened) so it was extra fun to get everything out this year. We keep saying we’ll get a better tree when we move and maybe that will actually happen next year. We’ll see. I think this one looks pretty good considering it was a $15 Wal-Mart special 6 years ago.

Doesn’t this recipe for peppermint cream bites look amazing? I think I need to make it. Peppermint chocolate is my favorite!