The calm before the storm

I think this photo should say it all of how our lives have been. ;-) Amazing how much we've accumulated just living in this house - and we're only a family of two. Just think of the mess if we were to expand! We're anticipating our kitchen to be demolished on Thursday- so we've been packing for our trip AND packing away our kitchen.

Lessons Learned

Lessons Keith and I've learned throughout this remodel process.. (and I'm sure there will be more to come)
1) Don't fall in love with a product so much that you're willing to disregard the price.
2) Make sure you negociate everything you want before you sign the contract. You'll always find things in the midst of remodeling that you've "wish I included that in the price". Once you sign it, the contractor has the bargaining power, you don't.
3) Don't sweat the small stuff.
4) You actually get what you pay for. Really.
5) Your contractor and his workers aren't doing you any favors. You're paying them. You're the client.
6) The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
7) A remodel ALWAYS will take longer than expected.
8) Stop obsessing about "adding on" more projects. (this one I'm still working on- hehe)
9) Everything adds up.
10) You'll most likely go over what you budgeted for.
11) Avoid special order products/materials as ALL costs. This one is an expensive lesson we've learned. (sign)

New Windows!

Can you spot the safety hazard in this photo?

Don't tell animal control...

Approaching 1 year

Keith and I are approaching our one year anniversary. Whew! We made it! We managed to survive a messy house, adopting a dog, a remodel, differences in finances, schedules, eating habits, cultures, tastes... and the list goes on. Our first year together has been amazing. God has taught us so much about patience and understanding. Our official anniversary will be on June 10th. What can I say? I'm tickled to celebrate our first year together as husband and wife.

Master bath remodel

Here is a glimpse of our master bath before. When the contractors demo'd the bathroom, they found mold behind our sink! We found out that there was a leak in our plumbing under the sink and water was seeping into our walls, thus attracting a million spiders to our bathroom. (or at least it seemed like it) Good thing we caught it before it could get any worse.

Goofy Dash

This little guy makes Keith and I smile every day.

My photogenic puppy

Turning 30

Kids, so I turn 30 tomorrow. Overall, Its been a great ride. Those of you that know me well are aware of the struggles I went through in my 20's of self-doubt, character transformation, self-confidence, and other typical '20's' crisis. I'm really grateful for where God has taken me and the journey he has given me to take. What a decade it has been! 10 years ago I was living at home, driving a Chevy Corsica (yeah baby!), worked at Sav-ons (now CVS pharmacy) and in college worried if anyone would hire me. 10 years later, I've moved several times, changed jobs 5 different times, made many life-long friends, made investments, traveled overseas, married a wonderful man, adopted a dog and a bird, and now remodeling a house! Talk about life changes. I can't wait to see what God has in store for me for the next 10 years.
Friends and Family: Thank you for being a part of my journey.

A homemade beanie for "Beans"

Since I haven't crocheted in ages, I was pretty proud of the hat I made for little Bean. Her mama even added a sweet butterfly clip so people wouldn't mistaken her for a boy. I miss little Beans.

Old Closet In Our Bedroom

New Closet!

We decided to compress our closet space to allow for a bigger master bath. People I thought I was crazy to do this. Sacrific closet space?! Although this did make me nervous, the end result allowed for more storage space in our master bath AND closet. Although I get a smaller closet, it actually provides more space because we added compartments for specific items. (dresses, suits, jackets, pants, etc)

Our guest bathroom before...

Our New Bathroom!

You ask, and we deliver! A lot of you have asked for photos of our remodel and finally we have something to show you. Our guest bathroom was completed after 2 weeks. We couldn't be happier to get a bathroom back. We were literally without a shower for the past two weeks. Keith has been taking showers at work, and I have... resorted to taking a sponge bath. Our house was designed in a way that our contractor couldn't do one bathroom at a time, which means they had to work with two showers and tub at the same time, hence leaving us without the ability to take showers at home for two weeks.

Working overtime

Spent 2 days in San Diego last week to host a event for my clients at work. We hosted the event at a snuffy Wine Bar at the Gaslamp Quarter, which turned out to be a lot of fun. I learned alot about wine paring and types of wine at the event... not to mention I also got confirmation that I'm allergic to something in wines... or shellfish. I ended the night breaking out in hives. That wasn't fun.

Caught in the Act

I was at a Laker game a few weeks ago, and was caught in the act of returning to the buffet line to get a second serving of their delicious chicken wings. Hey, how often do you get the chance to pig out at the Staples Center? I took advantage of it. ;-)

Animal Abuse in DACC?

This is tough content to absorb, but those of you that know me, know that I feel strongly about the mistreatment of animals. Please inform yourself and make your own decision. http://lacdacc.blogspot.com

I love my subject

Since taking my photography class last fall, I haven't been really good at 'practicing' what I've learned. I'm glad my pets don't mind being my 'subject' during my photography trials.

Mango turns 4

So our little pet bird turned 4 this past month. With all the fuss over our new pup, we actually forgot her birthday. Shame on us. She has adjusted well to Dash...at first she plucked out alot of her chest feathers, due to anxiety of a new addition to our family- but she's gotten really used to him and his "dog" noises (bark, whine). We taught Dash to not go anywhere near Mango, and he is not to mess with her. So far, he's gotten the hint. He could care less about pestering her. I guess the idea of Mango sitting on Dash's head for our Christmas cards this year is out of the question.

I've been tagged by Cindy Bui!

Cindy, this is for you, my #1 blog reader :)

What is his full name? Keith Aaron Eggleston.
How long have you been married? 8 months. I plan to claim the "newlywed" title forever.
Who eats more sweets? Keith. The lover of Chocolate Chip Cookies.
Who said I love you first? Depends on who you ask... HE DID! (according to me)
How old is he? 42, but if you ask him, he will claim he's 4.2.
Who is taller? He’s taller.
Who is smarter? We're both smart. I am school-wise and he is street-wise.
Who can sing better? He raps better, I can at least carry a tune. ;-)
Who does the laundry? He does. I tend to mess up the colors. I turned his white undershirts to pink one time.
Who pays the bills? He does! Although I'd like him to trust paying bills online. We seem to constantly run out of mailing stamps.



Vanessa Chan~you're it! I'm tagging you!