Thankful!!!

We spent this past weekend celebrating Thanksgiving with AK's family, and I must say we are thankful for them and for my family. We are thankful for our parents/families for obvious reasons (raising us, supporting us, feeding us...you know basic things), but even more so that our parents have created an environment we want to come back to. Not everyone is close to their families and I'm glad that we are. This was my first holiday away from my own family, except for when I was required to work, and it was a bit rough for me, but they Kays took me in and made me one of the group. That's a great feeling. We had a very relaxing weekend that involved eating way too much homemade food, watching lots of football and taking just the right amount of naps. I'm pretty sure I hardly took off my sweatpants.....so hats off to the Kays, because that is how you should spend Thanksgiving. On the flip side, I heard my peeps in Iowa had some fun of their own.....and that they had a great Thanksgiving as well....hard to believe, without me, but the holiday had to go on I guess!! ;)). Despite the naps, food, and football, AK and I were a bit productive regarding the wedding plans and I have included a snip it that will be featured on our wedding website which we will launch soon, but for now enjoy this little masterpiece!!! I took very few pics of the weekend, so this will have to do....

Oops, we did it again!

No, I'm not a serious Britney Spears fan, but crazily enough we have "done it again!" Done what, you ask? Well we have successfully moved across country, unpacked all our belongings and made our home look/feel like a cozy place to live. I think we could seriously start our own moving company after experiencing two cross country moves in one year, but we are so glad to know Denver is a spot we will be for a while.....and is a city we will always call "home" no matter what!!

One thing we learned when moving the first time was that you need a little help to manage a big move, so I give lots of credit to the fabulous moving company who drove our things out here and stored them until we were ready for them to be delivered. I also give lots of credit to AK for being a master planner and super duper organized, meaning the move was so strategically thought out and planned that all I had to do was refer to the moving spread sheet if I got confused or off track!! :) #loveyoubabe! And then last but certainly not least we have to give a huge thank you and shout out to our interior designers/decorators who flew all the way from the farm fields of Iowa to give our place some much needed TLC. Mom and Jacki (a.k.a Fancy), your contributions to our humble abode are so appreciated!! We are so lucky to have awesome people like you in our lives to help support us when we need it most.

Now more about the weekend with the decorators......

Mom and Fancy arrived Friday afternoon and we hit the ground running! In the beginning we were going for a low key weekend that would require very little maintenance and lots of DIY home projects. I would say after surviving the weekend, we met somewhere in the middle!! :).

Friday: After landing in DEN on time, I quickly shuttled the decorators/designers to our place and we started with inspiration....ideas, pottery barn pictures,  past experiences, etc. Once we had a vision, we realized we had some shopping to do, so we wasted no time....per usual. Friday evening we hit up Cherry Creek and all cashed in at Lululemon and browsed the amazing home stores Cherry Creek has to offer. Way out of my price range, but inspiration, nonetheless!! Friday night we met our friends Steph/Nick for some wine at Vinue (more about that in sec) and we were lucky enough to have them join us for dinner at the Cherry Creek Grille....yummo!! But back to Vinue....this may be my new little spot. It's such a cute place that offers tons of different wines and champagnes. The concept is you prepay and put money on a card and then walk around the wine bar and decide which wine/champagne you want and how much. Once you decide you insert your wine card into the slot and then make your selection....basically you control if you want to taste a wine, have half a glass or go for the full pour. I'm summarizing it as a Vegas style wine bar.....you pay the slot and get what you want!! Perfection!!! The night did end in great fashion and Steph and Nick were an absolute treat to dine with as they were both so funny. Even though Nick had to make a mad dash for a cell phone recovery (eh hem, Fancy), I would say they enjoyed themselves as well and Steph, Nick and myself learned a thing or two about Butt Quarters (if you don't know, don't ask)!! Craziness, but either way, I'm pretty sure they secured themselves a place at the Jasper Farm for the weekend of the wedding!!! :)

Saturday: We all started off a bit slow on Saturday. The decorators had a little jet lag and I was just plain old tired. But we still accomplished a lot. After a walk and a delicious bagel we ready to take on the home goods isle of Target, Home Depot, Crate and Barrel, etc. We made major tracks and found so many wonderful treasures that added a great deal to our little place (see pics below). As if shopping for the home wasn't enough, we also were gearing up to host a little cocktail party/dinner. Bridget, Jen and Meg were all able to join us along with Jules and Suze....all the usual suspects!! We drank wine, ate great food and chatted until the wee hours of the morning!! Fun times!!

Sunday: I personally felt like I blinked and Sunday was over. It went so fast....we began the day at Snooze and had a wonderful brunch. I mean we waited for an hour to get in, and it did not disappoint! If you're ever in Denver, it's a "must eat" for sure!! After that we trekked around picking up our final pieces and finishing touches to make the house "perfect!" (curtains, curtain rods, pillows, etc.) Basically we picked up all the "little" things that add up to a lot!! As momma said once: "no DIY home project is ever fast or cheap!!" She is a wise one I tell ya!!! But suffice it to say, after multiple trips (what felt like 100) to Target and a few mishaps with the curtain rod, our little place is put together and couldn't look better. AK hung the final pieces, so we are now able to call this project a wrap....well until a few weeks when we will rearrange for Christmas deccos!!!!! :)))

Thanks again to the decorators...mom and fancy!! I had so much fun with you and our place looks, feels and smells like home.....always my goal and exactly the kind of house I grew up in!!!!

Yes we did it again, but this time, we're here to stay....(for a while at least!!) :)
please take a quick peek of the very unprofessional pictures of our place below. For a birds eye view, come and visit. We have plenty of room for guests!!!!

our bedroom....a little tight or cozy we like to say, but a great little space nonetheless!

our little sitting area when you walk in the front door!!!

kitchen/breakfast nook

dining room/living room. the bottom left of the pic shows a little peek of our burlap curtains which cover a wall of windows. LOVE!!

decorating/interior design is not easy....needless to say the jeep was full!!!