Smells like paint!

Well, as I stated in the previous blog, the painting of Casa de LoPresti has begun. First up was the kitchen, which had absolutely no color to its walls. After much time spent (by me of course) analyzing EVERY shade of red imaginable, "luxurious red" was the color of choice for this room. Here are some pics of our new kitchen wall color (sans the final touch-ups). Enjoy!

Here's the before...or should I say "in the process" pic:













And the after....

The Couches Have Landed...

Since we moved into our new home a few months ago, Mark and I have slowly been working on our "home improvement" list. Buying a new couch, as ours was over 13 years old, was ranked pretty high. So, Mark and I ventured out to various furniture stores last Sunday, and finally found the sofa of our dreams. For me, it was squishy and perfect for napping....for Mark, it was very long and deep, perfect for his long legs (to help you with the visual, my feet dangle over the side). Well, we decided to forgoe the usual purchase of a couch and loveseat and decided to buy two couches instead, as the price difference was only $20...and we really wanted as much seating as we could get for entertaining guests in our home. So, this past week, we waited in excitement for the arrival of our 2 new sofas. Today, the truck pulled-up and two guys proceeded to unload 2 massively packaged pieces of furniture. The sofas were unwrapped, the truck left, and Mark and I just stood there staring in awe at the HUGE green sofas. For the next 20 minutes we arranged and re-arranged the living room lay-out, trying to find the best possible layout for our living room. I must say, that it was then that I began to understand why most people buy one couch and one loveseat...2 couches, especially of this design, is quite a bit of furntiture! Mark is in love with the new sofas, but has agreed to look into a possible exchange of one of the sofas for the loveseat. Who would've known buying our first sofa would turn into all this craziness! Update to come soon...but in the meantime enjoy the pics of our oversized sofas...which make all of our previous furniture look miniature! ;-)

P.S.--> Please ignore the hideous paint color on the walls...we're hoping to begin painting this week...another task that was ranked high on our "list."

Oh Wow!

Ok, so I've taken a slight hiatus from blogging...but there is some hope...my wonderful husband bought me a new digital camera for my birthday, so now I am a photographing fool who actually knows how to download and edit my own pics! Yes, miracles can happen! The last few months have been pretty crazy. We moved to our new townhouse the last weekend of October, which is literally in the neighborhood across the street from our old apartment. We're loving our new place, but still have a lot to do to make it our own. If you have facebook, there's a whole album of house pics on my profile page.

The month of November was full of unpacking, work, traveling for holidays, and weddings. My cousin Kate was married November 10th in Ft. Meyers, Florida, and it was an awesome time to hang-out with my mom's side of the family. I've included a few wedding pics for your viewing pleasure. ;-)

The month of December has been pretty busy, with Mark working hard at Apple and Biogen. For my birthday, he took me on a date to the new Melting Pot up the street. This was my second time there and it was sooooo yummy...way too much food...but soooo worth it! We had a great time!

Now, we are finishing up work, shopping, and decorating in anticipation for our Christmas travels. Mark, Candy, and I will spend the majority of the holiday with family in VA and we are so ready to get away! Just gotta make it thru one more week of school!






















Just had to post this pic....documented proof just how much Isaac LOVES his Uncle Mark! :-)

One more thing....

I (Kristin) was offered a 5th grade teaching position for an elementary school in Raleigh. Everything happened very quickly, as I was called for an interview the first day of our Emerald Isle Vacation. I had my very first phone conference with the principal, vice principal, and one of the 5th-grade teachers...pretty nerve-racking for me. Long story short, I drove back to Raleigh the next day, Tuesday, and accepted the position in person. The school is only 7-years-old and a lot smaller than my previous one. We had a staff retreat last weekend in Beaufort, NC (right near where we were for vacation the week before), and it was a really neat opportunity to meet some of my new co-workers. You get pretty close to people when your staying in a double-wide trailer for 2 nights! ;-) So, ultimately I'm feeling hugely blessed and thankful about the opportunity God has given me for the upcoming school year. The whole job-search experience was a huge reminder of my need to trust in His Will and provision for Mark and myself. I'll try to post some pics of my new classroom sometime soon! :-)

Beach Vacation #2!

Mark and I spent our other beach vacation with his family at a sweet house in Emerald Isle, NC. This was my first vacation out there and I had a blast! The house we stayed in was huge and sooo nice. (Check-out pics below.) Our week was jam-packed full of fun. We ate at this really great seafood place called Sanitary fish market, beached it up almost everyday, went kayaking to this cool bird sanctuary, played mini-golf, toured Cape Look-Out Lighthouse, jet-skied, visited some of Mark's extended family in the area, and slept a bunch! Let's just say, Mark and I did not want to leave when our vacation week came to an end. The house we stayed in is for sale right now...just a mere 1.2 million....so we're considering buying...as we are in the process of looking to buy our first home! We wish! ;-) Here are a bunch of pics from some of our adventures in the Crystal Coast...enjoy!

























Family Christmas Card Pic!













Our dream home for the week!








Beautiful scenery all around...we're ready to go back! :-)

Catchin' Up!

Has it really been a month since our last post?!? Well, July was a whirlwind of family vacations and lots of fun! Mark and I spent our first week of family vacation with my (Kristin's) family in VA Beach. Yet again, everyone crammed in our 2 oceanfront condos--minus Erin and Matthew--who were definitely missed. The week consisted of lots of beach time, Wii playing, eating, and making lots of fun memories. All of our nephews and niece LOVED the beach this year. It's so fun to see how they will react to the ocean and the sand each year that they are older. ;-) Here are some pics from our adventures...



The kids loved to mimic the "grown-ups" using the Wii controllers,,,too cute!





Here's Mark and Rick playing this goofy game on Wario Ware, where they had to jump at the same time--very entertaining for the rest of us watching!





Caleb loved to ride his Daddy's shoulders, while Aunt Kristin loved to tickle his sides to hear his squeals of laughter...much to the dismay of Rick's ears ;-)





Isaac loved riding the trolley up and down the oceanfront! I'm so bummed we didn't have a pic of Jakey on it too...as the trolleys were the highlight of his vacation this year!

2 Years!

As of this past Monday, July 9th, Mark and I have been married for two wonderful years. We actually "celebrated" our anniversary Sunday night, with Mark surprising me with a dinner at Brasa, a Brazilian Steak House. Neither one of us had ever been to a Brazilian Steakhouse, but it came highly recommended by some of Mark's co-workers. Well, all Mark's friends were right, because the food was awesome and we had a blast watching the servers carrying huge skewers of meat around to the tables. I managed to get one of the servers to let me take a picture of Mark pulling off a slice of grilled cinnamon pineapple, as you can see below. We had such a nice evening relaxing and enjoying eachother's company.














Monday morning, I awoke to a beautiful bouquet of Fourth of July flowers and a super-sweet card from my husband. He's always making me personalized on his computer, using pics we've taken of the two of us together. Unfortunately, that night, Mark had to work his night shift at Biogen, so I decided to take him some yummy food for his "lunch break". Even though we didn't get to see each other much on the actual day of our anniversary, you could definitely feel the love in all the little things we were able to do for each other. We can't wait to share many more years of memories and marriage!