Hausfrau Update

First off--HAPPY EASTER!!!
















It's been awhile since I have blogged. Work and life have severely restricted my time and ability to write and read some of my favorite blogs. It hasn't all been bad though. I think everyone needs an occasional break. Since we are having a very laid-back Easter with just the four of us, I have time to write!

The last few weeks have been full of working on the house and doing yard work. One of the projects was to "create a laundry room." I was quite spoiled in Cincinnati with the craziest laundry room in the world. It was about 20 feet in length and 7 or 8 feet wide with a bathroom. The house we bought here literally had a closet for a laundry room. There was no place to fold clothes and our washer and dryer were too large to be in the closet with the doors closed so we removed the doors. Here is what it looked like when we moved in:



To the left of where our dog is standing in the picture is a door that leads to a formal living room. The formal living room has been used ONCE since we have lived here and it already has another entrance, so I suggested that we wall up the back entrance and that would create room for counters and overhead cabinets. After some healthy debate (I won), this is the end results of our work:














The counter is where the doorway used to be. I am thrilled that I now have a place to fold clothes as opposed to previously weighing the options of finding a surface in the house with the least amount of dog hair. It's the little things, people!

Now we are anxiously awaiting to work outside. We have so much to do, but we tend to be impatient. It's going to be a long summer.

It hasn't been all work though. Last Sunday was my birthday and I was lucky enough to have one of my oldest friends fly in from Kentucky to spend it with me. We spent Friday getting pedicures and exploring Bethlehem. We went to Philadelphia on Saturday and met up with my friend Lisa for a day of shopping and exploring. We went to my usual favorites like Daffy's and discovered some cool new places like Smak Parlour which has all handmade clothes. We ate dinner at a fantastic restaurant named Fork. However, we made our most important discovery, which was Brown Betty Dessert Parlour which has THE BEST CUPCAKES IN ALL THE LAND!!!! I tried Lori's Pineapple Poundcake Cupcake and made a pig of myself with my chocolate cupcake. The cakes and cookies on display were absolutely incredible. I hope this place is around for a long time. Sunday morning Lori and I walked over to Jones, which is a fantastic place to have brunch. Their monkey bread is out of this world. So are the mimosas!

When I came home on Sunday afternoon, Herr surprised me with some great gifts. First of all, he gave me this dvd. He also got me the Jenny Lewis and the Watson Twins cd which is great because I haven't been able to get their music out of my head since I heard it a few weeks ago for the first time. Jenny Lewis has the kind of voice that I always thought I had when I sing in the shower. Trust me, I don't.

The next few weeks are going to busy and extremely fun. My best friend June is coming to visit this Friday. By herself. It is going to be fun, but very strange to not have a house full of five children under the age of five. The following weekend my friends Jen and Joe are coming from Maine, at which point we will have a house full alcoholic beverages and seven kids. The week after that we are going to stay in some cabins at Cook Forest in Clarion County, PA. This has always been an annual weekend with our friends, but we stopped going after Ella's first birthday. We are so excited to come back and join our friends. Before you know it, it will be summer!