Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Nate turned 29!

it was nate's birthday 9 days ago ... thanks to the counter over there yonder i didn't have to hurt my brain and think about how many days ago it was.

we are super lame and moved over his birthday weekend ... but we are planning an August party to make up for it.

oh ... and i made him a three tiered cake that leaned pretty far to the left. so far that it eventually fell over. i am that awesome. we kind of decided that nothing would top our wedding cakes made by my oh so very talented sister-in-law that we should just give up on cake making and stick with the things we are good at ... cookies (for me) and ice cream (for him).

i hope to get my act together by his NEXT birthday (the big 3-0) and celebrate it right ... i just hope he knows how much i really do love and appreciate him.

love you babe ... happy belated.

one of our sexy wedding pictures ...
isn't he sooo dreamy ...
i love this one of him ...
he totally pulls sexy off ...
i on the other hand, am not doing so well.

Monday, July 12, 2010

a change ... will do you good

the n&b soelbergs are in the midst of a change ... a change that has been long awaited for me and hastily agreed to by my dear sweet husband. WE MOVED. not countries or states ... ACROSS TOWN ... technically, we moved cities ... back to eugene (YAY!)

the thing that really sealed the deal for nate was fourth of july sunday. we did not sing ANY patriotic songs at church. no "my country tis of thee," "america the beautiful," or ... gasp ... dare i say it ... no "star spangled banner." he leaned over and whispered those words i had been longing to hear ... "your right, its time to move."

but let me tell you the back story so that you might be as excited as i am ... because you should be excited. and let us remember what our current apartment looks like

here goes.

we lived in springfield, on mill street, in a small (and as of late ... very very hot) one bedroom apartment. its not a great part of town. let's just say that when we tell people where we are moving to and where we are moving from they immediately brighten up and say things like: "oh, you are moving to a much better area" and "have you had your car broken into?" ... so yeah its not the best.

why have we lived here for the past 9 months? IT IS SUPER CHEAP and we had almost NO MONEY. we have fond memories of 10 months back when we got married ... let us remember that nate was still in grad school and i had just graduated and planned a wedding. i was desperately looking for work and we were basically living off of the generosity of family and friends (aka wedding money). our post-wedding plans were to get nate graduated by december while scoping out english teaching jobs in south korea. in the mean time, i would look for work in any form.

as we all know ... we make plans and the Lord laughs and gives us other options. we really were going to go to south korea ... cross my heart we were! i became gainfully employed in nov and just as soon as we updated our passports in december in prep for going abroad ... nate was offered a job teaching at the UO. ... we couldn't say no (not because the pay is so great but because the opportunity was great ... we are talking resume building here people ... teaching at a university looks nice on the resume.) we of course are grateful for the Lords intervention and recognize that He knows much better than we do ... so we go with it.

so the point is this - we were to be living in our current apartment for 2 or 3 months ONLY. this is why i agreed to the conditions and location ... and lets be honest ... i didn't have much of a bargaining chip being unemployed.

so our plans changed but we weren't sure how long the teaching would go on ... so we stayed in the mill street apt ... until two weeks ago!

we moved into a two bedroom townhouse with a patio and TONS OF CLOSET SPACE. i have never seen such deep closets in all of my life (that are not walk-in closets). and i have 3 of them! it seriously is a dream.

i have been decorating the place in my head for weeks now but its taking me longer to get our stuff organized and in its spot than i thought it would ... come to think of it - this is my first time having an entire 2 bedroom apt to organize and decorate myself (with input from nate of course ... hehehe)

we have already purchased a super cool kitchen rack that has made our kitchen sooooo super great. before - lots of counter space but not a lot of cupboard space (a bar like area with no storage underneath) but with our new rack we can display all our pretty dishes and mixing bowls, as well as our not as pretty microwave, pots, pans, rice cooker, wok, blender, etc. we even hung a plant to make it feel all domestic like.

but as soon as i wrangle everything into its spot ... the decorating really begins! this means i have LOTS of DIY projects planned. i.am.super.excited. it also means that we have an extra bedroom and bed for visitors! we hope this will encourage weekend trips!

here are a few things that will be made over:
  • a new "buffet/hutch" ... post on this soon as it is becoming quite a frustrating project - a cool "caribbean blue" ... soooo excited
  • tv stand - i am trying a cool new stencil/painting process - dark grey
  • painting dresser drawer fronts (the base was painted months ago) - two tone paint here
  • painting my night stand to match nate's - dark grey
  • painting a new dresser for the guest room - light grey
  • hang curtains as a back drop in the living room
  • HANG PICTURES, etc.
domestic bliss is well on its way. the best part is that my husband is a skeptic at times but once he sees it come together he really likes it ... but of course i knew this about him already, which is why i insist on such things as moving to a nicer apartment/area, or buying a new bed, or painting the furniture.

(sigh) life is good (pictures to come)