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