Yard Sales, S'mores & Home Improvement

Agents J & A. We have the license to get wed!

Hey, been a while. Sorry, about that. I've been kinda busy... will be kinda busy before the wedding, so my apologies for reduced blogging activity in advance.

yard sale 7am

my 1st s'more

So, we finally had our yard sale and now have a living room!! Kinda. It still needs some TLC and a paint job but it's a definite improvement. The sale itself went pretty smoothly, thanks to the helping hands of my parents-in-law Deb and Jay and my fabulous aunt Christy, who drove all the way from Houma to support us. You would not believe the stuff people buy at yard sales... this was my first yard sale so I can't be certain but I assume it's safe to generalize here. Seriously, about 90% of the stuff we had out there, I would've just as soon thrown out. I'm talking filthy, crummy old gun-bags; dirt-caked boots; sticky-icky broken toys; a sink that had been outside for the better part of six months... One person's trash is somebody else's treasure, I guess. Anyway, we got up at 4am, started to set up the tables and move stuff out onto the front yard. The sale was scheduled to start at 6am but, just as Jill had predicted, people started to show up at 5am, ruffling through the items we had just put down. Also, it was pitch dark since sunrise wasn't until 6:30, so they had to use flash lights. That shit cray. After the sale was over, we celebrated with half a dozen of bottles of wine, leaving me fairly bent and ready to thoroughly embarrass Jill and myself.
The day after, we had a weenie roast (my first American hotdog in eight years) and I was introduced to the delicious wonder that are s'mores. For the uninitiated amongst you: A s'more is an American campfire treat, consisting of a roasted marshmallow and a layer of chocolate sandwiched between two graham crackers.

the new king of home improvement

With the garage sale out of the way, we decided to make our new home a bit more homey and ready for the wedding. So, we went to Lowe's for supplies... five times in two days. Yup, we had a busy weekend but we got so much done!!! I have the blisters to prove it, too. We primed and painted what will become our dining room and pretty much transformed our backyard patio area. I'll try to tackle our front yard while Jill's at work this week. We'll see, the weather's not being cooperative today but I did manage to trim the hedge in front of the house yesterday. Can't wait to have the house look all nice and pretty.

cheese balls @ Walmart

Jill looking very rocktastic

my kills (wasps are HUGE around here)

new breakfast #1 - vanilla protein shake with banana and peanut butter

new breakfast #2 - peanut butter/veggie bacon sandwich

our first wedding present!

colorful Lowe's

our new & improved front door

Jinxes, Eggs & Stitches

Yeah, so I did jinx it. After being BFFs for a day, the pups went back to trying to eat each other. Only this time, it seems, they were more determined than before and we had to take Dexter to the vet. He's fine now but he had to get stitches. Poor thing! By now, he's back to his cheerful self and they seem to be back on speaking terms but we'll have to be more careful and vigilant in the future. We'll just have to keep an eye on them and make sure they don't get overly excited and turn play into fight club.

Here's hoping y'all had a nice Easter weekend. We spent saturday with Jill's mom on a little excursion to Lafayette. Thanks again for our fabulous Easter baskets!!! Sunday, we were invited to the Thealls', where we ate, waltzed and laughed our way through the afternoon. Only at the Thealls' you'll be served Veuve Clicquot with babyback ribs and only with a host like Sandra Theall, you will find a table as intricately decorated. Thank you so much for having us! We'll be eating leftovers for a few more days (very happily so!).

My awesome Easter basket from Jill, complete with Spider-Man eggs and peeps!

Egg knockingin the U.S. is WAY more tame than in Austria. Who'd a thunk it?

table deco, Sandra-style

ribs, beans & garlic bread

Abbevillean vs. Viennese waltzing

Did I mention, the Thealls have birds?

The Thealls' backyard

Been meaning to take a photo of these.

Crawfish, Fog & 1-Year-Olds

So, I don't want to jinx anything but it seems the dogs are getting along. I still don't want to leave them unattended but I feel like they've overcome any initial reservations they had about each other. Now, I look back fondly to the days they had to be kept separate. Not really, no, but now all they do is run around with their stiletto paws, roll around and cause all kinds of ruckus. Soon enough they'll both be barking at the cats together. I really am glad they're not trying to take each others' face off though. I really am. I'm glad they're getting along.

They have pelicans here! Why am I so excited about pelicans?

Last week, we went to attend Alexa's first birthday. It was great seeing my family again.Wish we'd live closer and could hang out more often but I guess Abbeville's quite a bit closer than Vienna, so there's that. Anyway, Alexa's adorable and astonishingly advanced for a one-year-old. We ended up getting her a pair of Ugly Dolls, which proved to be a good choice because not only were they a big success, all the other toys we contemplated, she either received that day or already owned. It's a bit of a drive from one 'ville to the other 'ville and the weather sure didn't help that day. It's been a bit fickle lately. resulting in the thickest fog I've seen in a long time, which made crossing Pontchartrain a bit of a drag but I got some cool photos out of it. Thanks to Jill for chauffeuring me around! I will have to start driving soon though. I feel bad having her drive all the time.

The wedding planning is coming along nicely. We've made all our big purchases, we're getting our wedding license tomorrow, the ceremony itself is taking shape... WE'RE GETTING MARRIED! 

Jill found a sale she liked

A crawfish drive-through!!!! How awesome is THAT?!

Emme trying to get back in the ball-pool

The birthday girl

Yes, mom, I'm eating (VERY) well.

How do you know this is our laundry room? There's a big Christmas wreath in it. 

Dogs, Baths & T-Shirts

How is it that Uwe Boll is still allowed to make movies? Why is every other title recommended to me by Netflix an Uwe Boll film? And why can't I stop watching them? And since we're talking about compulsion... Why do I keep buying T-Shirts? Is that what handbags are to women?

By popular demand... our inappropriate mugs 

Anyway, yesterday marked the day of our first dog-training session. I must say, they did remarkably well. John's a little bit used to training but even Dexter was on his best behavior. Apparently, it's us who need the training the most. According to the trainer, it's all about dominance, which does make sense, I guess. What I wasn't aware of was to what degree the dogs passively influence us. They 'tell' us when to play with them and pet them. Guess we have to learn to give them attention only when we initiate it. Apparently, my lack of leadership also causes John's separation anxiety. According to the trainer, he feels anxious when I leave because he feels like he needs to take care of me. Well, shucks! Guess I'll have to be more assertive. 
Since we're already talking about the dogs... remember the photo of John rolling around in the front yard? How much he enjoyed himself? Now, take that happiness, triple it and you have an estimation of how bad he smells after such a roll in the grass. See, it's not just grass he's rolling in. I don't really know what the source of the smell is but my guess is that it has something to do with all the stray cats around here. I'm starting to understand why Dexter wants to get at 'em.

I made brownies!

My first piece of mail

Our cute little Yaris

Our grill

Garden gnome, Abbeville-Style

Birthdays, Friends & Margaritas

Another year older and hopefully a tid bit wiser. So, birthday week is officially over and what a week it was. I had a blasty blast!

Many thanks to everyone for making this such a memorable time. Very special thanks to my love, my partner in crime and future wife (who at the moment, unfortunately, is not feeling well). 

On my birthday, I woke up to find the kitchen decked out in Star Wars decorations and a doughnut birthday cake waiting for me. Jill took me out for some steak and margaritas at Abbeville's very own Chili's restaurant (my choice) where I was lucky enough to witness a lady butting in on a couple's date one table over. She kept asking them for menu advice and observed that it must be 'a very special date' because he was wearing a button shirt and she was wearing a dress. That was Abbeville's present to me.

FREE Birthday Dessert!!!

Since Jill doesn't work Fridays, we were able to spend her birthday together... in the car... to New Orleans. Yes! On her birthday, Jill got to drive us all the way to NOLA. Lucky her, I know. We stopped in Houma and had lunch with Christy and JW at the country club and then made our way to Metairie where I was introduced to Jill's cute little niece, Opal, and was immediately tested on my diaper-changing skills.

parade leftovers

The next day, we had a lovely Beignet-birthday-breakfast with Jill's dad and then went for a stroll around the French Quarter, explored the French Market and stopped for (VERY delicious) lunch-margaritas and tacos at El Gato Negro where we also met up with the awesome Nanners & Nate. We had some more margaritas, saw a St. Patrick's parade, had coffee, met up with the ever lovely Lauren and 'Lawless Wallace' Lawles, had a drink and promptly decided to escape the drunken green craziness of St. Patty's to have dinner at Cafe B's (where we were joined by Chris Cole, who decided NOT to pull a Jillian on us). Thank you all for the amazing presents, for celebrating with us, sheltering us AND picking up the bill.  Seriously, THANK YOU! Can't wait to see y'all again.

Sunday was a bit bitter-sweet as we had to leave NOLA but at least we had a chance to see Louie, Katie and cuteness incarnate, Emmeline, before we headed out. 

multitasking

sorry we couldn't stay

little Opal

Jackson Square

Nanners & Nate

Thanks for lunch, guys!