February...FINALLY!

So as I mentioned, we've really been hunkered down here in NJ. Lots of work, dinner, tv...the daily grind.  January has seemed so long to me...maybe it's been the up and down weather, "do I wear my down sleeping bag like jacket or a light khaki trench coat?" or maybe just so much happened in January that I couldn't wait things to settle down and for the month to be over.  One January event that's cringe-worthy is that we had to fire our dog walker!  I couldn't believe it.  I found out (b/c i was working from home) that he only took Cole out for 10 mins and charged us for 30...which is more than our NYC dog walker charged us for a 30 min walk.  All he was doing was letting him pee...probably just once!  It's like finding out your babysitter just watches tv while your kids do whatever...frustrating.

I'm working on some on going projects currently...shopping for pillows for our new couch, trying to keep our dog off the new couch, finding different sized but same color baskets for a storage shelf, and getting our wedding pictures made into an album.  None are going great and all are a lot of trouble...haha.  Thought I'd write a little bit since these random projects are a nice reprieve from my job which has become very busy again. 

Shopping for new pillows for our couch...looking for brighter, blues and greens with diamond or damask pattern...I am always in fear of being too neutral.  I'll probably going to go with 3 different patterns pillow types of different sizes to mix it up.

our couch...



inspiration...

Trying to keep Cole off the new couch...he's a genius dog, I swear.  He knows exactly how to get around any barricade and quitely sleep on the couch...then he slinks off and lays on his bed in the morning so that it doesn't look like he was never there...too bad his hair is some serious evidence!  We have been using baby gates, computers, chairs (yes kitchen table chairs), work bags, the ottoman as a blocking device, anything!  Yet he still finds a tiny space to squeeze his large body into.  So guess what...I bought a alarm system!  Nick didn't agree, but I convinced him that it has gone on too long and I'm tired of setting up the fort every night.  I bought "Tattle Tale" motion alarms.  We stuck them in between the cushions and when he gets up on them they let out a loud squealing beeeeeeeeep.  Apparently last night it worked, because Nick heard him jump up, the alarm went off, then he jumped down.  This morning there was minimal hair evidence...so far so good!  Keep your fingers crossed that this conditions him that the couch is an evil, beeping thing.

Cole...sneaky dog in the 6 inches of snow we got 2 weeks ago.

The storage shelf baskets are a big undertaking...I have looked at a lot of stores (online) and even though they might have 3, 4, or 5 baskets that all look the same and come in different sizes, they aren't the right sizes for my cubby holes. I'm starting to think that I may have to get custom baskets made??  Any advice or ideas?!

the goal...

the piece we have to work with...

The wedding album is a story I'll spare you from...I'm just having a hard time narrowing down 1300 pictures to 150 for an album...

Little bit of a pick-me-up...we headed into the city last weekend to shop around, eat at some favorite spots, and meet up with our old neighbors for dinner.  Very fun and the weather was great for walking around thecity.  I'll leave you with a picture of the pizza we ate....I swear there's nothing better than NY pizza.