Home Office

In September I was able to move into a work at home position for my company. I had been wanting that for so long. Since we had an extra spare room I decided to get to work on it immediately.

I knew I wanted a cool color scheme...greys with black accents.

First we had the task of tackling this pink and purple room. 

Next came the color. I was so happy with this grey. I actually really enjoy painting. Papa Bear and I painted our bedroom and I was more than ready to help paint my office. 

Almost finished. I didn't want just a white ceiling, so we continued the grey all the way up. 

And I absolutely love how it turned out. I want to change the lighting, but I do love the ceiling fan. This room is small and it gets hot really easily. Many morning I open the window and have the ceiling fan going. 

I also decided to redo Mom's desk/dresser that was always in her bedroom. It was so old and just collecting "things" in the living room. I wanted to put it to use. I want to sit at it and imagine her sitting there as well. She did a lot of drawing on this desk. I turned it into my make up desk. It's on the opposite side of the room from my work desk. 

I chose a color from the same palette as my wall color. The wall color was the third color on the swatch and the desk was the second to the darkest.

I knew I wanted blues incorporated in the room in very minor touches and I wanted glass knobs. A quick trip to World Market and I found exactly what I was looking for. 

I have my make up in the first two drawers on each side. The top holds my mirror, perfumes, a clock, all my make up brushes and a birdcage-candle holder. 

I absolutely love it.

I love that I have my own little corner that is really just mine. 

And here's my work set up on the other side. In the office I had an L-shaped desk and I knew for the layout of my books I needed an L-shaped at home. 

We looked online, in stores...I wasn't able to find anything that would work. I needed something that was deep enough and I just wasn't finding it.

Until we were referred to Desks Galore. I found exactly what I was looking for.

And they discounted it..And they delivered...

It was a double bonus for me!! 

And I'm never alone in my office. My boys stay with me constantly. 

Who really needs to use a mouse? I'm so sorry I was inconveniencing him. 

And that's me most of my day... 

Micah is usually the one who joins me. He waits for me to wake up and then follows me in the office and makes himself comfortable on my voice mail log. This is a daily fight with him when I try to write down my messages. He's biting and attacking the pen here. 

And sometimes I have all three... 

I saw this cute quote on Pinterest. It is soooo very true!

I need this on a t-shirt! 

I have become obsessed with Illy's Espresso.

I use it in my French Press. 

It is some of the best coffee I have ever tasted. 

I've even made affogato for the girls with it! 

And I tried to make my own Con Panna. 

I think I'll just let Starbucks handle that from now on! 

July 2016: BTS in Dallas, Gelato and the Gym

So my Lena told me in April one of her favorite Kpop bands, BTS, was making four US stops and Dallas was one of them. 

We bought tickets the day they went on sale...thankfully we didn't wait because they sold out so fast. The hardest part was the wait...three longs months of waiting....

But my mother in law lives in Dallas and we've been wanting to visit her and see her new place, so it worked out perfectly!

I miss her so much! 

And she misses us too!! 

I loved how peaceful and serene her courtyard was. 

Then came the night of the concert.

It was insane.

There was such a mix of people... 

and the girls there....

they were CRAZY!! 

We were on the balcony level and those girls were shaking the concrete balcony.

I saw lots of parents there with their children, some enjoying the concert, some waiting in the lounge area outside. 

Even though I only knew a few songs, hands down it was the best concert I've ever been to.

These seven boys put on a show like nothing I've ever seen. 

They danced non-stop!! 

And they didn't lip sync! 

That night we relaxed in the hammocks in my mother in laws courtyard.

The next morning we enjoyed coffee on her balcony. 

Our time went by too fast. I didn't have Monday off, so we had to head back home.

I've also been trying to get to the gym as much as possible. It just feels so good to burn some energy and then relax in the sauna.  

CC has me hooked on the Doppio Con Panna lately.

I'm ashamed to say I drink two of these a day.

However, supposedly they only have 50 calories.

(I'm praying that's true!) 

One day while looking on Instagram I found this place in San Antonio that has what is supposed to be the best and most authentic Italian Gelato, A La Mode Gelato.

I found the address, loaded up my girls and we went. 

The gelato was really delicious!! The serving sizes are HUGE and it's at a really awesome price point.

The only down side was there wasn't much room to sit. It was so very hot outside...at least 100 degrees, if not over...and it would have been nice to sit down, talk and enjoy our gelato.

It's in a really cute, artsy section of town... The Blue Arts Complex.

There is such a variety of niche shops and restaurants. 

The Blue Star Contemporary Museum that I've been wanting to go to is there too!

I'm glad I finally found it!

Behind the Arts Complex is the San Antonio River and a walking trail. We sat as long as we could outside, eating our gelato and talking. It was so relaxing to hear the babbling river behind us.

It was just too darn hot!!

I am definitely looking forward to going back with the weather cools off. The area has so much to offer and I can't wait to explore it all!

Mid-July 2015 Post

I have found my sickness...it's right there. I have Obsessive Coffee Disorder and I am not ashamed of it. 

I have tried to switch over to hot tea, even though I fear it may stain my teeth more than coffee does, however, it just doesn't do it for me. I know hot tea is healthier, fewer calories and some delicious blends are non-caffeinated, but my day just does not  feel complete without coffee.

Lena and I even slipped away to Local Coffee one afternoon this week.

Their vanilla spice cupcakes are out of this world. 

Last week Papa Bear and I went to a Russian meeting. It was so awesome. 

And the fact that I was able to follow along was pretty neat too!! 

After the Russian meeting we went to visit my brothers and sisters in Hallettsville. My brother made out of this world pulled pork. We all sat outside and ate, talked and laughed. It was so wonderful having the whole family together. I just wished Mom was there to see it!

The next day we went to visit my sister Stacy. She brought out Mom's old record player and her old records. The 45 vinyl that was on the turntable was Nina's 99 Red Balloons in English. 

We hooked it up, sat around the player and listened.

It felt like Mom was there with us. 

I interviewed for a different position this week too. It was actually fun to shop for an outfit. Since my gastric sleeve surgery shopping has become so much more fun...and expensive. 

Since we are losing weight so often,we need to buy new, smaller clothes almost every month. 

CC and I took Coco and Luigi to the park. Coco loved it. 

My old man wore out. Three times we had to stop to allow him to cool down. It made me so sad to see his age effecting him. We used to not be able to keep up with him! 

And Ms. Coco definitely did NOT like being around other dogs. Each time we passed another dog CC would pretty much have to put her weight on Coco to keep her down. 

I gave Lena her first driving lesson as well. Lena was a devilish child with an evil smirk. I always imagined her first driving lesson to be horrifying. I could see her look at me with those beautiful blue eyes and give me that scary, mean little smirk and then just floor it....

Well, as I strapped myself in the passenger seat, I hear the engine rev something terrible and the RPM's go wayyyy up. Then she said, "I can't make it go. Oh wait, I was still in park." I had coached her about lightly stepping on the gas. So yes, my fear was somewhat real...thank goodness she was in park.

Overall she did great! I'm so proud of her! 

And finally when Papa Bear and I were grilling out last night Coco decided to take it upon herself to lay in her water tub. This girl...she is too much! 

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So I've been trying to read coffee facts that will make me feel a little better about the amount of coffee that I drink. One cup of coffee actually accounts for 11% of the recommended daily amount of Riboflavin we need, as well as 3% of Potassium and 2% of Magnesium.