CHRISTMAS MUSIC IS OVER...

I hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas! We certainly did! Paul and I enjoyed a very nice Christmas Eve meal together. We slaved away the afternoon making ham, yams, mashed potatoes and gravy, asparagus, dinner rolls and peanut butter balls. Yes, that is a lot for just us two. The good thing is we are still feasting on our Christmas meal!

We also were invited out to a Christmas dinner at Barb and Fred's friends' house (Ken and Wendy). We enjoyed even more food Christmas day! Their house was my dream come true. A beautiful little home that's over 200 years old in a nice woodsy area. It was so pretty with wood fireplaces... It felt like a perfect Christmas gathering.

We had a busy Christmas day with going to their house, opening presents in the morning and church. But, we really enjoyed it. 

Below: Dinner meal and one of Paul's Christmas gifts from Tony (his brother).

I'm happy to finally put away the checkbook now that Christmas is over. However, I will very much miss the Christmas music.

Cheers!

Amber

CHRISTMAS CARD

We sent out Christmas cards this week... don't feel bad if you didn't get one, because we mostly hit up family! Hope you are all enjoying your Christmas season.

Can you believe it's already this weekend?

Merry Christmas!
Paul and Amber

VINTAGE MILK BOTTLE MAGNET

I've been mixing homemade Christmas gifts with real Christmas gifts this year, only to those who I think that will appreciate it that is! I like things that are from the heart, and I encourage anything DIY.

Today I'm playing elf, listening to Christmas music and making ornaments and Christmas presents for people I love. Check out this little milk bottle magnet I'm made for my Grandma in California. Now if you are in contact with Granny you better not let her see this post as I know she won't stumble upon it by herself!


VINTAGE MILK BOTTLE MAGNET
I wanted to make a magnet because you can keep it up all year round (Mom's suggestion). Paul pitched making a milk jar since it's for a refrigerator. That makes sense. And I love these old bottles.


INSPIRING PHOTO:

source

END PRODUCT:

PS, what lovely friends I have! 

I started the project with a magnet that I glued to the back of a cardboard cutout of what I wanted my jar to look like. Then I cut a huge blob of a form that I pinned with quilters fluff to the cardboard. Sewed. Trimmed. Added some marker lines to make a more defined shape. Then designed a logo (Meyers Dairy) - haha. Sewed. Used those ornament wires to construct a handle of sorts and donezo.

That's my success of the day. Besides doing laundry and getting some work done for Hollywood (pretty slow today). 

Love,

Amber 

MERRIMACK THEATRE

Friday the 2nd Paul and I went to the Merrimack Repertory Theatre in Lowell to see "The Ultimate Christmas Show" put on by the Reduced Shakespeare Company -- a funny little trio that has you laughing through all the skits! We enjoyed our date night out. I especially enjoyed getting out of the apartment, dressing up, and seeing people!

Here's pics from Friday:

And more from the tree, because I can't help myself from staring at it all day long! I love Christmas...

That includes a burlap tree skirt, Paul's fish ornament, and my homemade stockings!

Happy Holidays everyone!
Amber

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME

WOW have we been busy over the last week! On Sunday we were able to go to a Christmas concert, as Barb and Fred have a friend who plays trumpet in the orchestra. Side note: Paul golfed with Jeff (the friend) last summer so he knew someone in the concert too :) Beforehand we went out to watch the Vikings lose (again) and were able to show Barb and Fred our apartment. They seemed to like it!

Thanksgiving was so much fun, as well. We went to Barb and Fred's for that and made dinner rolls from scratch that turned out lovely. I think they were a hit! I had the best pecan pie ever, which is saying a lot because I never liked it before. We had 12 people for Thanksgiving, and two cats.

Tomorrow we are heading to Lowell for a play, gifted to us by Barb and Fred. Aren't they nice?? They already saw the same one twice so are passing this year. We are very excited for a date night though. I'm especially excited to get dolled up. I might even wear my red lipstick because it is a Holiday play!

Speaking of Christmas, we bought our Christmas tree two days ago. It was only $25, but the stand put us back at $16... We went to the Dollar Tree for great bulbs - all glittery, and made a burlap garland-type decoration as well as handmade sewn ornaments! We really love our tree:

The dove says "1st MARRIED XMAS 2011"

Hope you are enjoying your Christmas decorating too!

Cheers!
Amber

CHRISTMAS TREE INSPIRATION

When it's not snowing, or when it's snowing and I can stay inside (IE NOT DRIVE) this time of year is my most favorite of all! Thanksgiving is just a couple days away and then we are in Christmas season! What can be better than Christmas shopping, decorating the tree, drinking even more coffee and hot coco, wearing boots and scarves, listening to Christmas music all day long for a month, and celebrating Christ's birth?

Of course my favorite part of the Holidays is being with my family, which this year we will miss out on. However, last night Paul and I had a Skype date with Paige, Matt, Landon, Oslo, Mom and Dad which was so much fun! They received a virtual tour of our apartment, making them the second to seventh visitors! I think we'll get to see our family on Christmas after all...

In preparation for the Holidays, we went to the Salvation Army and picked out our Christmas Card outfits and I'm just giddy about the finds as well as our upcoming photoshoot! I will post our card here so you all get to see because honestly we aren't sending them out to everyone -- mostly family. Stay tuned.

Until then, feast your eyes on these adorable wintertime inspiration pictures! Don't they make you feel cozy inside? This is my inspiration for our tree, since we are working completely from scratch:

Burlap Bulps? Yes please! Tulle Puffs and Glitter. Cute Packages and Ruffled Skirt. Adorable Wooden Ornaments! Anything Glitter!! Acorn Ornament. Gift Wrapping...

Hopefully our tree will look something like this! I'm sure burlap, tulle and glitter will be involved.

NEWS: I have a date tomorrow with my new friend Amanda. Paul is going out with his friend Andy. Paul gets Thanksgiving and Black Friday off - PAID :) and I'm crossing my fingers that he'll take me out for BF Shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving!
Amber

THANKSGIVING DINNER

We are so happy to have found a church home - check it out here Mom, Dad, and anyone else who's interested.

We were invited to Thanksgiving Dinner thrown by two small group circles held at a home here in Wakefield. The get together happened last night. Paul and I were excited to go because we haven't seen too many people outside of church, so thought this would be a great chance to make friends. It's funny, because the church we go to is majority mid-30s and under, married, with little kids/babies. It's ridiculous how fertile this church is -- actually, it's really scary!! Three months into marriage here, and we are not looking for a surprise. Really though. Just about every couple is married and is pregnant, has a baby or little ones.

Here is an illustration of Thanksgiving Dinner. I put it together like this to show you how we fit in. We are in the dotted line. The lighter haired people just represent grandparents -- she doesn't actually have gray hair :) Hearts are dating, rings are married, kids you can figure out, and the lady with the bump -- well, she's expecting. This is a good representation of our church except I would say another couple should have kids.

All in relationships.

Thanksgiving was really nice though! We got to meet some really great people and I set up a date with Amanda (Andy's girlfriend) so am excited to get in some girl time. Slowly, but surely, it's starting to feel like home.

Next week we are going to Barb and Fred's for real Thanksgiving. We are also looking forward to that. We are in the works of setting up a date with Anna and Jeremy's friends for the second weekend in December as well.

Oh PS totally rocked redish lipstick yesterday. It felt holiday-ish, and now that I'm married I feel it's totally appropriate to wear colored lips. I also am doing my hair like this: curls on top and straight on bottom because it helps hide my roots but gives me length! Thoughts?

Best,
Amber

BURLAP BOWL

I've been working on a fun project over the last few days and am excited to finally share it with you all! I have so many left over materials from the wedding and burlap is one of them! I've been creatively reusing materials to decorate our tight space...

So here's the burlap bowl I made this week! Materials are simple. And if you don't have Mod Podge (I ran out too) use this simple recipe that works exactly the same and is much cheaper: 50% water to 50% Elmers Glue.

I have it on the coffee table now holding letters from Grandma and the coupons she sent plus random chargers. It will eventually be moved to my desk I think.

More pics:

And, here's a taste of our living space since I haven't shared too many pictures of our actual apartment. We recently put these pictures up. Notice, Fish and Chicken? They were the actual tokens Paul and I chose at our wedding :)

Taking pictures in the evening with no natural light, gives a yellowish tint. I kind of like it. Gives our place a very bohemian or 70s vibe.

Best,
ANCM

CABINET MAKEOVER

I have this week off as I put in too many hours this last month at work -- good thing or bad thing? I was able to accomplish a lot over the day, which was great! I set up a new checking account system with numbers, paid some bills and most importantly redid one of our kitchen cabinets.

I found this great adhesive shelving liner at the Dollar Tree this weekend which I knew would be perfect for recovering the nasty shelving wallpaper in our cabinets! With a day off, why not right?

Here's the before and after:

And the steps between. It didn't take all that much work/time. Tore out the wallpaper and cleaned the shelves. I used Dolphin Fin gray paint (extra from what we used in the bathroom) to paint the back of the cabinet walls. Then laid the adhesive coating. Easy! And the best part is it only cost me $1.00.

Whoever painted before did a bad job with the brush -- still some yellow paint on the wood, but I didn't want to paint over everything and I don't have stain at this point to re-stain cabinets. So, we'll work with what we got. It's definitely better.

NEWS: I might start the job search again -- thinking about picking up a second job so I can get full time hours as I don't think it'll be possible in my current position.

INJURY

Who's on Pinterest? Follow me! Seriously, nothing better than an afternoon of pinning and getting inspired by home decor and DIY crafts. That's exactly what landed me into the problem of the day...

I was so inspired by a Pinterest find I had to get started immediately -- 7:00 am on a Saturday morning immediately! I grabbed a soup can we just recycled to rewash, and sliced open the back of my hand.

I know this picture isn't that great, it's probably because I was just about to throw up or pass out! I'm not good at tending to my own wounds, and Paul is working today. He is a good husband, and offered to come home but I said I could last for the day -- maybe!

Check out these pics of me being creative -- DIY doctoring?

I wasn't going to let this little mishap get me down! I dug the can back out of the trash (I chucked it when it cut me open) and rinsed it out again, let it air dry, and went back for more!

Here's the inspiration. What a great addition to my desk, yes?

And, these are my steps: Most important step is use a hammer to pound down the inner sharp edge! And, be safe.

I'm really enjoying my pencil holder -- I think I'll to do at least two more :) Hope your having a safe Saturday!

Love,
Amber

PANCAKE BREAKFAST

Weekends are so lovely! We try to sleep in late. Let me clarify, I try to make Paul let me sleep in past 7:30. Saturdays we are very lazy and lounge around, make a big breakfast and I get completely ready for the day before we decide to leave the apartment.

This weekend we are changing that though! Here's a perk about living in New England: they have yard sales through the winter! So, instead of getting out the door at 11:00 I think we're aiming for 9:00. Yard sales are much different on the East Coast. Most items don't have a price on them, so you really have the opportunity to bargain. My advice: don't ask how much something costs, or wait for the seller to see what you're holding and yell a price. Be quick and say, "Will you take 50 cents?" Then it's usually your steal! Many times it's the men working the sales, with a big ole wad a cash rolled up just walking up and down their sidewalks talking and saying numbers. It's different...

PS I've been saying I wanted to get a folding dry rack from IKEA since we moved in. Scored one this last weekend garage saling! $2.00. I'm so cheap. I'd go to stores, but couldn't get myself to buy one for $10.00. It's just for drying dishes--seriously! Also this one is especially nice because it folds up. When you have limited counter space, that's a huge perk!

Moving on... So, this weekend we'll get up early, have our pancake breakfast, but go yard saling before I get ready. BTW here's a look at our weekend mornings:

...In our tight kitchen. Note Paul sees something to fix in any situation. That's why I love him! Because I never feel bad about giving him a DIY project :) I'm looking forward to the weekend already! It's only tomorrow away...

Love from Wakefield,
Amber

CRAZY PILLOW TIME

Things are coming together in our little one bedroom. I'm covering the bedroom in this blog today, because everyday I make my bed I just think about how much I love it! The reason? The pillows. In our house of two we call it
CRAZY PILLOW TIME
It's pillow love my friends.

Check out a sneak peek of our bedroom. Our 500 thread count sheets, RL blanket, and throw that we love plus the crazy pillows, gifts from friends. Also, you'll see my shopping rack extended closet, since ours holds not much more than my button ups and skirts.

Paul's antlers, believe it or not, is the only thing hanging on the wall.

It's getting there. Painting this back wall is the next project on my To Do List. You aren't going to believe this, but I'm painting it black. Paul is not a fan, and I'm sure many of you are appalled at the very thought but it's what I want. And, usually my ideas turn out! Check out these inspiration pictures--maybe you'll see my vision too. 

SOURCES:  design sponge - martha stewart - style files

NEWS:  Paul seems to be over his sickness, but I think I'm sick now. Boo.

Best,

Amber

THOSE LITTLE THINGS

You may be thinking I just poof - fell off the face of the Earth! Nope. We successfully moved into our new apartment in Wakefield, Mass where our neighbors are absolutely insane, but life is good. I'm not spending this blog discussing the neighbor situation but I will someday.

I know everyone is dying to get a taste of the apartment and I'll give you a couple glimpses. As you probably know I'm crazy for the details in life, so I'm only showing you the details and not the big picture. Unfair? Maybe, but the big picture is a big mess right now.

The best part about living in my first rental was opening all the wedding gifts. It was like Christmas morning, but with even more gifts! Christmas morning on drugs! Literally, I would open a box and sigh (a happy one) because I just loved what I saw in it. Sometimes I would laugh too. Maybe we are all just a little crazy--not just the neighbors... Again, not going into the neighbors on this blog :)

OK. Today you get a taste of bathroom and kitchen love. I wrote everything I love about the bathroom details, then tried to start writing all the kitchen detail loves but there are too many people to mention. But, Sam -- thanks for the little white dishes, because I use one by the sink to hold my rings. I love tiny things.

The cabinet wallpaper is hideous, trust me. That's on the to-do list. Do you see the black granite? Paul snagged that from work! It was a remodeled kitchen, and that piece was going to get thrown. I think it's a great piece to separate our appliances from the countertop. Keeps them dry from water spills and clean from other messes! I love my white holder for utensils, and I'm so obsessed with my all white and black dinnerware gifted by many wonderful people. Take a look! So pretty! One last thing, please notice in the bathroom there is a "reserved" sign from the wedding :) I think Miss Meghan made that!

Anyways. Life is good when you get to decorate. I love seeing all the gifts and wedding decor pop up--I reuse everything! Hope you all are well. Missing you.

NEWS: We have a new address. Contact me if you need it! We found a great church, and are meeting awesome people. I am getting new roles at work which I'm excited about! Paul is getting sick, we think.

Love,
Amber Nicole Clark Meyers.

MY NEW DESK

I am so in love with my new desk that I keep visiting the garage to see it. I stalk Pinterest.com to find more ideas to organize and accessorize with desks. It's turning into craziness. I even Ebay chairs to find what style will look best with my new desk. My new desk, my new desk :) I love saying it.

So you might be wondering WHAT I'm talking about? Because we are seriously looking at apartments, and even filling out applications (yay) I knew getting finding a desk would be a realistic purchase in the near future. I found DIY project online for making a desk, and showed it to may handy husband that very day. We went shopping for all the materials that night and walah we have a desk. We set a budget of $50, including all the wood, paint, stain, screws, and all. We ended up spending $52! Now, you might be thinking I could have done better since I am frugal and usually shop around for THE best deal, but we figure the stain and paint will last us many projects (we only used 1/8) and with our left over wood we made custom shelves to match my new desk!

Here's the breakdown:

• 2 1x8 16 ft long: DESK
• 2 2x4 8 ft long: BRACES
• 2 1x3 8 ft long: LEGS
• 2 2x3 8 ft long: LEGS
• 3 boxes of 20 screws - 2 inch
• 1Q of Riverstone Stain: DESK
• 1Q of Black Paint - Latex: LEGS

And here's how we fashioned:

I know these are rough guidelines for you, but we just played by ear. We measured the top boards in different lengths so they aren't perfectly fit, and there are cracks between the boards too. It's the perfect rustic look I wanted. I love the legs, because they are modern and clean -- perfect balance. My Mac is going to be so happy on this desk. PS did you see the shelves? I'm adding more pics here so you can see better.

Oh, just you wait till we get our new place. This desk will be center stage I know it! There really isn't anything better that DIY projects. This has been one of my favorite things since getting to Massachusetts. Once we move into the apartment I'm sure I'll be loving every day because my life will revolve around decorating!

Best,
Amber

APARTMENTS

All of a sudden this week I went into panic mode about finding an apartment. Sometimes I do that; all of a sudden freak out about something and need to find a solution NOW. So I searched and searched for apartments over three days to find something in our price range and that met our standards, and nothing showed up. We don't have much to search by -- just Craigslist and some real estate websites that aren't that good or way over budget.

I eventually found an apartment in Salem, which I had to see because it's right on the ocean and the city is so adorable. I called landlord Vito and set up a date. Paul got off work a little early the next day and we headed to Salem to meet with Sir Vito. Salem was a beauty drive, we were passing pretty houses and the cute downtown shops. Then we saw the ocean and the GPS said we were one minute from our destination. PERFECT location! We crossed the bridge...

We crossed the bridge into... oh, shoot. We look at each other. Shoot. Ghetto. Park the car, and take the GPS with us. We cleared the backseat into the trunk. Dogs barking, kids crying (no English) ... just not ideal. We find our apartment. See below. Wait for Vito and the cleaning guy said he just stepped out. Tried calling him. No answer. Ended up looking inside the dump of a place, which gave us the creeps. Took off. Never heard from Vito.

With the disappointment in Salem, we decided to check out another apartment before heading back to the house. We stopped in Wakefield at Paul's friend's place to see his diggs. There is a one bedroom available in his building. It was nice. The town was even better! Wakefield is about ten minutes from Boston via commuter rail which is two blocks from the apartment, it is a ten minute drive to an ocean beach, has a lake with running path all around and many cute boutiques/shops downtown. The apartment has a prime location just walking distance from the downtown shops and nightlife. Plus, it feels safe!

We set up a time on Saturday to meet with the landlady about seeing the apartment. See pictures below. The rooms are huge! The closet is tiny, tiny! All hardwood floors. By this point, I'm saying we'll take it. We have the option to paint and take down their curtains, redo cupbords, etc. They are very flexible. Tonight we are filling out an application. Cross our fingers, but we hope we'll be moving in sometime next week. 

It just feels so right. This place, for our budget is incredible. You just don't find apartments this nice in pretty and safe cities like Wakefield. We are in love and very excited. 

Best,
Amber

NEWS: Filling out our apartment application! Pray for us, wish us luck! Plus, we are finishing up making a desk for me -- post to come :)

BAKING BREAD

Last night my husband, Sir Paul, and I baked us a homemade loaf of bread. We planned this for about a week, and finally got to it! He wants me to sit at home and bake bread all day so we can have fresh bread at all times. I don't think so! Because even though it isn't hard, baking bread requires babysitting. I might try for once a week.

So we halved the recipe as it was the first time using this particular one and we didn't want to waste the yeast. We also used a cup of wheat flour as substitute for a cup of regular white. Mom taught me how to bake bread this summer and she let me in on a little secret. At least double the sugar. So we doubled, which I would say we should've tripled! I'm sure Mom told me to triple, but my bad memory...

So here's the pictures (the best part of my blog):

Best,
Amber

THE FAIR, THE FAIR!

This weekend Paul and I, along with Barb and Fred, took a trip to the Topsfield Fair, "America's Oldest" founded in 1818! It was a pretty big sized fair--no Minnesota fair, which I have to say "Thank God!" because I get worn out from a full day of that many people. There were all sorts of fair things which I documented with pictures: animals, petting zoo, animal races, rides, concerts, a fairy princess and of course a lot of food!

The highlight of going to the fair is the food, duh. Paul got his $9 turkey leg and I got a corn dog. Is there anything else you could ask for? I was talking about corn dogs so much I think I created a craving in Barb and Fred, because they both ate corn dogs too. Besides corn dogs and turkey legs, the apple cider was so good, same with the freshly squeezed lemonade. Barb and Fred ordered a dog dish of french fries which were also very tasty. All fair food is good food to me!

Second highlight? Looking at the animals. Even though I skip over most of the little fur balls, the bunnies are by far the cutest to visit in my opinion.

We really enjoyed our time at Topsfield. It was so nice out and I'm thinking the 80 degree weather got every MA resident in fair mood, so we left before the big rush went home. Perfect timing! We had the rest of the day to relax and enjoy nice weather to ourselves, away from the crazies and kids.

NEWS: Sister Paige got engaged to Mathew!!! I was asked to me MOH! And, the wedding dreams begin again...

BLOG MAKEOVER

I get so tired of the same old, same old so I decided yesterday to change the heading of my blog!! Don't be confused folks!

I also changed the title to THE ADVENTURES OF PAUL AND AMBER. I let Paul's name be first...

That's all!

GINGER CATS

This post is dedicated to Landon, my little brother who is obsessed with GINGER CATS. I wish I could love cats as much as you, then maybe I would be a little more forgiving of the guilty one who chewed on my Mac, and even worse, shredded my iPhone charger. I'm not mean to the cats, I just avoid them.

Seriously though, one of the cats is guilty of chewing my iPhone charger. I found bite marks and the little wires exposed. My phone just couldn't charge! Luckily Paul was able to strip the cord and reconstruct to working condition. I didn't want to buy another one. Now it's only 20 inches long though - ha! :) I wouldn't call it Apple Approved, but it works. Well, that's just what happens with animals I guess. Ozzy is guilty of many things.

Here's an intro to the cats: Luvey, my favorite of the three; he's from Paul's house. He's wild and stays outside most days. He can climb trees--up and down. He hunts. Crackers talks a lot. Always whining like a person. Paul and I have fun making whiney noises like him... Fauji is 20-or-so old and has been having the case of seizures recently. Poor kitty. Can't hear either.

OK. Enough on the cats!!

NEWS: I got in 30 hours of work last week, who needs a second job? I'm making a DVD cover for a film, along with press/ad work for a past boss (nice side job). Hopefully we'll start doing apartment visits next week :) We are getting a Bank tomorrow!

CAMPING

The forecast for Paul's birthday weekend was rain, rain, rain. It did rain, rain, rain. We still went camping. Camping was my idea, and I dragged Paul's butt to New Hampshire even though he had doubts. I convinced him it would be fun, even if we were stuck in a tent playing cards.

Friday was Paul's actual birthday, and he had to work unfortunately. While he was working I made him a cake of course! We decided to only spend money on the events we did, instead of a gift. I thought that was crap at first, until I thought of him spending money on a gift more me in our no-money-situation. I understood, and didn't buy him a gift.

Here's the demo of my cake-baking:

I added crushed butterfingers on top of buttercream frosting which completes the buttery tastiness! Trust me.

Because we were gifted money from both sets of parents (to spend on only something fun), we went out for dinner--seafood. Paul had swordfish steak and I had calamari and shrimp. There was an adorable cupcake shop right next door that's just like the one in Plainview, cuter even. The place we ate at for dinner was called Lobster Tails. It was OK. Neither of us would go there again though.

So that's how the birthday day went down. Saturday we headed out camping in the rain. When we arrived to Bear Brook State Park in NH, it was only hazy. So basically the perfect time to set up our tent, go canoeing and make a fire. Perfect, perfect, perfect. It was so late in the season that the camp was hardly full, too. Add another perfect.

I didn't take too many pictures, as I ONLY have my iPhone--no camera. The place was amazing! Do you see the trees? We felt so tiny. Overall, it was a great trip. It did end up raining but we mastered rainproofing our tent. Tarp under plus the weather skin on the tent. Then we did a master tarp over the tent secured with handmade stakes and some branch design through the roof. I know that's confusing, but it's really the only reason we stayed dry! Paul had mattress pads, so we actually slept dry and somewhat comfy, for camping that is.

It was a lot of fun! I'm glad I convinced old Paul Wall to go camping with me.

Best,

Amber

IT'S BUNS' BDAY!

Happy Birthday to My Hubby! Praying for no rain, even though the forecast says chances of rain all weekend. We're planning on camping, Saturday/Sunday in New Hampshire no matter what. You might think we're crazy, but it was actually MY idea! Making memories, right? Tonight we're going out for seafood, thanks Mom and Dad for the birthday cash to make this happen!!

This is my TWEET for the day! Already got them in... He has 365 days :)

NEWS: It's Paul's Birthday!

HOMEWORK

I feel like I spend most my day doing work. Homework. Doing freelance isn't bad, I actually enjoy it. Spending most the day stranded without a car isn't always fun! Paul's job is nice because he gets home by 4:00 everyday, which is very nice! This is a picture I took that summarized my week (before today as it's poring rain). Sunglasses, Macbook Pro, and the nice weather outside! Ideal for a freelancer :)

This week the weather has hit high 70s/80 everyday. It isn't the same Minnesota, humid hot though. I still get to sit outside in a tank and shorts! I learned a little more about the weather from Barb, too. She said sometimes they don't get snow until after Christmas. I'll take that! Snow comes fast, but leaves fast too. One bad thing: it melts and freezes making winter driving nasty, but that's a couple months away at least.

NEWS: Paul's Birthday is tomorrow! We've been planning a camping weekend including hiking, fishing, and smores. We'll see if the weather clears up by then! Fingers crossed...

CRAFT DAY

Sometimes if we are really bored and I'm really lucky, I can convince Paul to do arts and crafts with me! Because Friday and Saturday were rainy days, we were stuck inside with nothing to do but lay in bed looking at the ceiling or watching the Law and Order marathons that are on everyday. So, while we were lying on our bed bored out of our minds, I shared a dream of mine with Paul. I want to build a birdhouse -- I always have! So, now he's collecting scraps from work and we'll get started this week. (that's not the craft)

The craft for our weekend was the prelim. I told Paul we should do a artistic model of the birdhouse, and he said OK. So I set the rules. You can't use a pen/pencil, and it has to be 2D, and you can only use paper and glue... We designed our birdhouses in that way.

I think they came out quite nice. Paul spent most the time working on his siding (of course) and I spent most my time picking out colors and thinking about how I wanted to do it. I thought that was really kind of cool how we do our crafts so differently -- it says a lot about a person.

Besides our craft, over the weekend we were able to get in a short game of tennis. The mosquitos were awful so we cut it short. Paul kicked my butt in Monopoly. We watched most the Vikings game but decided to quit due to poor internet connection (since it's not on TV here) and the usual Vikings turnaround in third quarter. We went to Plum Island Beach to fish and watch the sunset, which was really nice because I found a book to read in Barb and Fred's library. See the picture of the sunset. We also went on a few walks, which I love to do because I get to look at houses in trade of hearing every name of tree we walk past. :)

We also went to church. We googled one that was 2 minutes away from the house. Paul and I always like to go to the earliest service. So we went to the 8:45. It had a very lively worship, which we thought was OK. The message was really good! The service only had 30 people or so, but the others are full (last week they didn't have an open seat). I think we are going back next week -- still to the 8:45.

Amber

MEALS ON A BUDGET: COUNSELING LESSONS DISGUISED

Paul and I have continued our counseling through everyday activities like playing tennis, where I get really frustrated when I lose over a certain amount of points; and driving to far places, requiring reading maps and following directions or actually driving which is very difficult in Massachusetts for me. We've also learned that working on a budget has become an exciting adventure, even though it doesn't always make us feel good!

Paul and I have made two trips to the grocery store so far in Methuen, Mass. But, before we just set out and spend all the money we don't have, we work a budget and make a list for all the things we need. Then we usually cross out quite a bit to make our budget! My smoothies haven't made the list yet. Going grocery shopping, I think, is really fun because we make a great team. We have the same mindset -- cheap. We rarely go for name brand foods, except for important ones like coffee and wheat thins! I use my phone as a calculator and push the cart and Paul carries the pen and list. Sometimes we split up, but mostly we stick together to hunt down our food :)

Our first real meal we made together here was Spagett...

This weekend was Barb's birthday, so we thought it would be nice to make a cake too! See here she just turned 50! Paul did the decorating. We homemade the frosting: buttercream and chocolate. Yum, yum.

NEWS: Paul's first day of work went well!

SALEM

This last week Paul and I were able to fit in some interviews. Did you hear he got a job?? One of the days, I had an interview in Salem, MA so Paul drove me and while I was meeting with the company he went fishing in the park. 

After I interviewed, I worked at a Starbucks down the street for HCPR until Paul picked me up to go fishing with him. The park was filled with the elderly (a shuttle brings them from nursing homes I think). Plus it was a dog park. So, the park was filled with dogs and the elderly. I felt a little out of place, to say the least. 

I spent most the time writing thank you notes to all those that attended our wedding, or sent us a wedding gift. I think we have half written, now we just need to send them out! Hopefully next week :)

NEWS: It was Paul's mom's birthday yesterday! Hope your day was wonderful Shelly!

OUT ON THE TOWN

So a couple days ago Paul and I decided it would be really great to see the ocean. I mean, we are here on the East Coast and all, right? So we made a trip to Gloucester, MA just 45 minutes or so from Methuen where we are temporarily living.

Paul sat me down at a coffee shop in downtown so I could get in some work. By the way, I'm still working at home for Hollywood Connections PR as Account Executive. So, while I was trying to get an interview with Rod Stewart (still in the works), Paul set off for the ocean a few blocks away to fish. I joined him early afternoon, after finishing up my emails and a large dark coffee black.

I actually walked to the beach, where I did get a bit lost. One nice thing about Massachusetts is it's a law to stop for pedestrians. Not like it isn't in Minnesota! But, you can just walk in the street, and people will slow down for you and wait without getting upset because they have to all the time. They're used to it out here. That was nice walking to the ocean... cars stopping and waiting for me everywhere. Also, the downtown area is really neat. I took some pictures to show you the cute shops.

I eventually found Paul and joined him fishing. Sadly he didn't get anything for the day. He blamed his bad luck on me; I don't think that's fair. We unpacked our sandwiches and grapes and had a nice little lunch on the beach. I dipped my toes in the water and found some cute, tiny black shells. Good news; bad news. I'm starting a new collection. Tiny black shells and orange rocks. They go perfectly with my color scheme -- the one I have picked out for our future 200 square foot studio apartment!

NEWS: 
Paul got a job in carpentry and he starts Monday. I had some interviews this week, and am crossing my fingers on the Marketing Assistant position. 


Best,
Amber