Who Loves Craigslist??? ME!!!!

I have been shopping around for an antique buffet table on craigslist for a long time. Like 6 months. And my dear dear readers, I have found it. I started looking for one while living with my inlaws, KNOWING that I couldn't have it because there would be no way to transport it. So a perfect one would come up for sale in Vegas and I would cry because I wasn't there to pick it up.

And then, THIS happened on thursday night:

THIS IS AWESOME!

ANOTHER ONE?!?!?!

NOOOOO WAY!! THEY'RE SELLING 3?????

Like I said, I have been pricing these for about 6 months. 200 dollars a piece was a STEAL! WHAT! I thrust my computer in Troy's face and said something like "Igottahaveoneofthesewhichonedoyoulike???"

I was already on the phone with the lady before he could respond. ALL THREE where still there!! She wanted me to come that night, but Troy was going to play poker with some of the boys at work and Avery was already in bed, so there was no way that was going to happen. Friday I had 2 job interviews and offered to come pick up whatever was left in between them. Troy was in serious eye roll mode. I was salivating into the phone. And sweet talking the lady a little bit :) By the end of the phone call, she had agreed to $180.

I go to her house and all 3 are still there. I get my pick of the litter. To be honest, I would have been happy with any of them. She told me that they were used in a restaurant downtown for storage and the restaurant was recently demo'd. She rescued them for her daughter, who refinishes furniture and resells them. Her daughter lives in Iowa. I guess after talking it over with her, they realized that it wasn't cost efficient to transport them all over the place to resell them. So she's selling them here. LUCKY ME :)

My favorite one (look wise) was the 3rd one. I love the long spindly legs. They're so pretty. So much detail. But ugh. With all those crossbars and support rails underneath, I would have to move that monster every time I swept or vacuumed around it. No thank you.

Number 1 had some splintering and split wood going on on the doors and the sides. Sorry buddy, but that just will not do.

Lucky number 2 came home with me. I was worried that it wouldn't fit in the back of my Ford Edge, but she slid in nicely.

We set her up on the wall in the family room coming in from the garage.

Here is it bare. It's that wall right there on the right:

And here it is, occupying said space:

I didn't get a picture of it, but it was the MOST gorgeous piece of furniture in the room. And tallest. Taller than our media stand that our TV sits on. I couldn't stop staring at it. Troy loved it too. We found this on the inside of the top drawer and he immediately starting researching it.

We cleaned it out and found straws, receipts, and credit card carbon copy papers dated to 1994. We found a newspaper from 1999. And someone spilled SOMETHING that was making me gag in the left door. I kept wiping and wiping and it was sliding all over the place. I rinsed out my rag and it was making more and more bubbles. Then I realized....oh thank God, it's just orange dish soap. And I was able to stop gagging.

How cool is this drawer? All the separations are awesome for organizing. It makes my OCD heart so happy!

After staring at it for about 3 hours, I was like, it can't stay here. Troy almost started crying. He was like, "but where am I going to put my keys, and wallet, and sunglasses, and my watch, and my spare change??" This was going to be his "drop spot" when he comes home from work. He is currently keeping everything on the island in the kitchen and it is making me CRAZY! So he was looking forward to a home for his stuff.

I was like "eh, I'll figure it out." So we hauled the buffet into the foyer and put it on the wall right to the right when you walk in the front door. It looks MUCH better because of proportions. The room is bigger, the ceilings are higher. It isn't competing for attention with the rest of the room. I am OBSESSED. So I dressed it up a little bit.

Isn't she pretty?

I took the covers off some books and stacked them up. And put my prized favorite pig on top.

There are some pictures of me and my Mom (love this picture) and then Troy and I at the annual awards ceremony in Dover, when I was preggo with Avery.

This is an old tray that I bought at a thrift store in Alamogordo with some other little things for decoration :)

So what are we doing with that empty wall now that the buffet was just too big? Well let me tell you...I hit up Craigslist again and picked something up on saturday between nanny interviews. And it's perfect. Shorter than the TV stand, narrower than the buffet, and not such a domineering piece of furniture...be back later this week with that :)

Hope everyone had a great Labor Day!

Vegas Adventures Visitor #2 - Kyle!

Who was visitor #1? My dad! He came to visit while we were moving in and we basically put him to work. He drove from California and will be with us about once a month, which is amazing! LOVE YOU!

We have known Kyle a long time. I met him in 6th grade and Troy met him in church around the same time. Kyle was our "one degree." Kyle was there when Troy and I finally met at church youth group right before the start of junior year of high school in the back of a church van. That sounds bad, but it was all very innocent. Mini golf. Kyle was also the best man in our wedding. I hadn't seen Kyle since WAY before Avery was born. Troy saw Kyle last summer when he was in Colorado for part of his training. They did man stuff. Hiking. Camping. You know. General man merriment. Kyle and Troy still talk about the summer of their junior year in college when Troy when to California they somehow managed squeeze rock climbing, surfing and skiing (or in Troy's case snowboarding) in one week. Apparently they spent a lot of time in the car jamming to Rascal Flatts. Harmonizing. I'm serious. I love them :) Kyle had never met Avery until last weekend. Anyway, so now you know the background.

Kyle flew in on friday morning on Allegiant Air from Colorado. 113$ ROUND TRIP! That is straight up crazy. He is (successfully) convincing us to fly out and visit him before next summer. Especially at those prices. Hello cheap weekend trip!

Anyway...he flew out early friday morning and arrived at the house by about 1230. Apparently he and Troy took a few wrong turns on the way home from the airport. He better figure that out before other people fly in. It was his first time driving to and from the airport so I guess it's excusable. That's a lie. He picked me up...in the dark, it was almost 11pm. So it was his first time in the daylight. So that's excusable?? We'll say it is.

Unfortunately for Kyle, we arranged to have our security system put in that day. For whatever reason, I am really uncomfortable having work done on the house when Troy isn't home and I am alone with Avery. The guy was here installing the system for about 4 hours. Which means the guys were stuck home with me and Avery. So we hung out, caught up, and Avery and Kyle played on his ipad together.

We had some friends over for dinner (we grilled and made teriyaki steak kabobs) and had game night. If you haven't played "Who, What, Where" you are missing out. It is like Pictionary but WAY better. Take my word for it. Get it. It's hilarious.

We also played a game called "Awkward Family Photos." You have seen the website...

Here is a sampling of what you might draw on the "subject card" (from Awkwardfamilyphoto.com)

Everyone gawks and laughs at the picture and then a number is rolled. The number on the die from 1 to 20. A question along the edge of the game board aligns with a number. The questions are "what did someone say right before this picture" or "what could make this photo more ridiculous" or "what product is this photo an advertisement for." And everyone submits a response. The person whose turn it is, selects the best answer (it's more than likely the funniest answer) and you get points based on if your answer is picked or the selector can pick who wrote which answer. It's great.

On saturday morning, the guys went out with Optimus to Red Rocks, to check out a hiking trail and camp site. We went to an AWESOME restaurant called the HashHouse as well. No joke, Troy and I are taking EVERY SINGLE PERSON who visits us here. The food is awesome. Quality AND quantity. Each dish is enough for 3 people and is between 10-14$ per entree. It's awesome.

Saturday night, we went down to the Fremont Street Experience. They do ziplining down the middle of the street and have live music.

You can buy girly drinks and walk down the middle of the street.

You can buy random stuff. My favorites were this onesie:

And these GIANT balls. So to speak. On a necklace.

There are people dressed up like famous people. We saw Stevie Wonder, Spongebob, Michael Jackson and Elvis. And a man who had a puppet/ventriloquist. So creepy. The puppet talked to Avery. Troy stopped because she was entranced and I was all "dude keep walking" like a ventriloquist without my mouth moving because I was afraid of offending his career. Ugh.

When we got there, Kyle was like, "I always feel like when I come to Vegas, I'm going to see someone I know." And me and Troy were like, "oh okay, whatever, where's the beer?" Then what happens?? We are in a crosswalk with our drinks and "KYLE!!" Are. You. Kidding. ME? Someone from where Kyle went to college stopped him in the middle of the street to chat. It was crazy.

THIS PLACE is also there. If you weigh 350+ lbs, you eat for free. There is a scale in front of the door to go inside. We peeked in the window and it's HILARIOUS. You go in and put on a hospital gown. Rather than a bib napkin or something. All of the servers are wearing nurse uniforms. I can't take it. SO FUNNY! Does anyone remember seeing the news report a few months ago? About the person who actually had a heart attack while eating there? No lie, I actually want to eat there to take pictures and say that I did it.

On sunday we went for a short hike with Avery at Mt. Charleston. It was pretty. I forgot to take pictures :( And about 20 degrees cooler than Vegas. Optimus loved it and so did Avery. We wore her in the Ergo carrier on our backs.

Then we ran out to REI. Troy and I are going to be taking advantage of some of the outdoor activities and escape the heat with the hiking and need to invest in a nicer outdoor carrier. We put on some carriers and carted Avery around the store for a while and picked out a book of trail maps.

THEN WE WENT TO TRADER JOES!!! And bought about 5 bottles of 2 Buck Chucks. A 7$ HUGE bottle of olive oil, some super awesome organic fruits and veggies, and frozen sweet potato fries. I have tried other brands of sweet potato fries and want to like them. But I can't. Trader Joe's Frozen Sweet Potato fries are the best on the market. I'm going on record. It's on the internet now so that means it's official.

Then we hung out sunday night and chatted after Avery went to bed. Until 430. IN THE MORNING! Why don't those "good talks" ever happen on a friday or saturday when no one has to be at the airport at 6 in the morning? Or at work? WHY??

So monday was bad. Troy went to work. When Avery woke up at 730, I got up and immediately went to a friends house for the morning until Avery's nap. Because I would have had an unsupervised child while I slept on the couch if I had not had some accountability. So thank you Chelsea for that.

Overall, we had a great visit with Kyle and can't wait to see him in Vegas again in November.

Who is our next visitor??? I DON'T KNOW! Is it you? Give us a call! We even do transportation to/from the airport. You might get lost, but it will be a free tour of the strip! Win win!

Troy Wears His Sunglasses at Night...

For your listening pleasure while reading today:



Part of in-processing to the new base included several appointments for Troy. He had a dentist appointment and an optometry appointment last week.

On thursday (his birthday), he had his optometry appointment.

Wednesday night, he went to bed before me to read a bit while I was facebooking, craigslisting, and blogging. I went up to get ready for bed at 1030 and Troy was sitting in bed, with a lamp on, and reading a book.

Oh yeah (the most important part), and he had on his SUPER SEXY military issue sunglasses. Not regular glasses. Sunglasses. Picture this, but with the dark lenses.

I almost peed I was laughing so hard.

Troy was all "What? You don't like my new look?"

I was like, "Why?" (gasps for breath) "Dear God, why?"

He was like, "Well I have to wear glasses for my appointment tomorrow at Nellis. Which I am driving to, of course. I took my contacts out and wanted to make sure my sunglasses are the right prescription for the drive. Reading and driving are pretty similar, right? This is my test run!"

Sidenote: Troy is part vampire. If he is not wearing sunglasses, even on a cloudy day, he dies. The world actually ends for him. I have seen him wear old man sunglasses OVER his eyeglasses when he lost a contact in the ocean and didn't have a back up pair. I wish I was joking. The boy takes eye care VERY seriously. Especially in the car.

I tried to take a picture of him reading in his awesome-sauce sunglasses, but he wouldn't permit photos. He was worse than KStew with her cheating scandal going on. Instead you will just have to imagine it. It was awful I tell you. Awful. I don't think the government could pick less attractive glasses for their service members.
I'm starting a petition about unacceptably unattractive eyewear.

If your spouse has military issue eyewear, feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of the page with a place that you have spotted them wearing those monstrosities. I'm interested. Has he worn those sexy things to bed? Troy taped up a pair on the bridge of the nose and wore them to a youth group Halloween party as a nerd. It's true. If you have the photo, please shoot me a message. You know who you are - FSBC youth...called out.