Sunday, December 18, 2011

Good morning

Yesterday, my backyard looked like this...

This morning, my front yard looked like this...

I think Orlando and I are going to get along just fine!

-Jenn

Monday, December 12, 2011

That time where my heart was changed forever

Last night I was playing a game where I'm responsible for the growth of other living things acquired through various situations. The idea of providing for something that was not my own got me thinking about a journal entry from a few years ago that I reread recently. A previous boyfriend (I hate the term "ex," it has such a negative connotation) and I had talked about adopting one day, even if we had children of our own, and I loved the fact that he was on board. The idea of adoption hit me so hard last night that I actually went to the LDS Family Services website to start the process for me and Daniel, but I didn't get very far. I've felt strongly about adopting in the past, but last night was such a realization: Adoption is going to play a role in my family's life. Woah.

By the way, Daniel loves the idea too. I am so blessed to have such an amazing husband!

-Jenn

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

Blessings

Around 10pm on Sunday I started feeling nauseous. I went to bed shortly after, then woke up around midnight and had a face to face chat with Mr. Porcelain. We had several other conversations throughout the night, meaning I didn't get to sleep at all. I felt so miserable all day yesterday, I was sicker than I've been in a long time.  Daniel stayed home from school and took care of me, including getting me 4 different types of Gatorade and some saltine crackers. I started feeling better later in the afternoon, but my stomach was still being weird, so around 7pm I asked Daniel for a blessing. It was simple and sweet but I cried during the whole thing. I was so overwhelmed with love for this man who worthily holds the priesthood and can act as the Lord's mouthpiece when I need it. I was also incredibly tired, so that may have had something to do with it too.

I feel better today, but I'm still not 100%. I weighed myself this morning, I lost 7 pounds in 36 hours. It may not have been the most healthy way to lose weight, but it was the best thing that came from spending my night in the bathroom instead of my bed.

-Jenn

Saturday, December 3, 2011

Tweet Tweet Tweet

You guys!

In 21 days, I will be in the magical land of El Cerro, Sanuks, and temperatures in the 60s.

In the meantime, I will just read these and be homesick.

(Google Images)

-Jenn

Friday, November 18, 2011

Das Musik

I can listen to music on my computer at work, so Pandora has quickly become my friend. Here are some songs I'm currently obsessed with...

Cake - Rock 'N' Roll Lifestyle

Cake's first single from the early 90s, but I've only recently discovered it

Jimmy Eat World - Coffee and Cigarettes

I may or may not rock out on air guitar every time I hear this song

The Killers - Spaceman

Did you know Brandon Flowers is a Mormon? True story

Jack's Mannequin - Spinning

Anything Andrew McMahon does is golden. Also, the music video for this song was filmed in my hometown, so that's pretty cool

Modest Mouse - The World at Large

I can hardly understand a word Isaac Brock says, but I still really like this song

In other news, life is good. A more complete update on our lives will get here eventually...

-Jenn

Saturday, October 22, 2011

Bittersweet

Today is my mom's birthday! She is an awesome lady and I love her so much!

Last night, my grandfather (mom's dad) passed away. They think he had a massive heart attack or stroke. It was instantaneous. One of my cousins found him on his lawn mower down by the bridge near his house a few hours ago. That is so Pop.

Tomorrow is my grandmother's (mom's mom) birthday. She passed away a few years ago. Now she and Pop are together and tomorrow they'll party it up.

We are completely blindsided, but we'll get through it. Please pray for my family and send good vibes our way.

-Jenn

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Daddy's Girl

In this post I'm going to be mushy and tie together a General Conference talk with tonight's episodes of Up All Night and Modern Family. Enjoy...

Daniel's doing some telethon thing tonight involving talking to doctors/alumni and softening them up so they'll be more likely to give MCoW money, so I've been holding down the fort by myself for the last few hours. We have a list of shows we watch, and Wednesday's line-up includes NBC's Up All Night and ABC's Modern Family. To briefly sum it up, tonight's Up All Night was about the baby's birth, and at the end the dad decided he was going to be a stay-at-home dad instead of taking a few weeks off and then going back to work. It was just a small portion of the episode, but to see this (fictional) new family and the joy this man exuded touched my heart. I mean, I love Will Arnett and all, but there was something so much more to his character tonight. And maybe I'm over-analyzing way too much, but maybe I'm not. I hear new babies (even ones on TV) make people do/feel crazy things.

Fast forward several years to tonight's Modern Family, where the dad takes his oldest daughter to his alma mater to get her excited about college. Basically, she gets invited to a student mixer and the dad embarrasses her in front of all her new friends and he realizes that he can't let his not-so-little girl go. She's about to go off and be her own person and he can't stop it. And then he made a joke and they slid down a hill on cafeteria trays, but I saw my own dad in those few moments of panic. I left for college two weeks after I graduated from high school. I seriously dated one of the first RMs to ask me out and I brought him home three months later. I married that RM less than a year after that. I remember calling my dad and telling him that Daniel was coming to visit NC for a long weekend. It was hard for both of us. He felt like he was getting replaced, that he wasn't going to be as important to me now that I had someone else who could take care of and provide for me like he had (of course I didn't know that at the time). I didn't understand what the big deal was and I was upset that he wasn't happy for me (he really was, but it was still scary). That weekend was tense between Daniel and my dad. My mom explained everything to Daniel before he left (and while my dad wasn't around), and it all made sense, but sometimes I wish Daniel and my dad's first meeting would've been normal and not in his bishop's office! But that's a story for another time...

Watching those two shows tonight reminded me of a talk from this past General Conference, "Love Her Mother" from Elaine S. Dalton. Check it out below, it's definitely worth watching. Daniel and I aren't parents, and we may not be for some time, but we both thought it was great advice.


The most important thing a father can do for his daughter is to love her mother.

My dad helped me pick Daniel. I wanted my spouse to love me for me. A man who fights for me and realizes that I am precious. Someone who takes care of me and protects me. And so much more. My dad does all of these things. And not just for me, but for my mom and my other siblings too. Daniel loves me more than I know. He is such a good, kind, tender man, and I am so lucky to have someone so great sealed to me for eternity. He knows how to make me laugh. He holds me when I cry and usually doesn't know why I'm crying to begin with. He tucks me in and kisses me on the forehead. He cooks me dinner. He takes a cold shower after I've used all the hot water. He lets me choose what we listen to in the car. He lets me be silly or hormonal or weird. He never yells or says unkind things. He listens to me even when I sometimes tune him out. He likes to hold my hand. He lets me call him silly pet names. He lets me wear his robe. And above all, he loves his Heavenly Father and his Savior. He bears his testimony often, and he always encourages me to pray or read my scriptures, even when it's so much easier to turn out the light and go to sleep right away. And one day, when we have daughters of our own, he's going to be the most incredible father to them. Because he loves me. And I love him. And together, we'll be just fine.

-Jenn

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Minneapolis

This weekend we took a trip up to Minneapolis to spend some time with Jeff and Kendra before the AIChE (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) annual meeting. We stayed in the heart of the city and did fancy city-things like take a taxi to dinner and get lost. I think I was most surprised by the actual city-ness of the area; who would've thought the skyline would be nicer than Milwaukee's? Saturday morning we walked down to the river/mill district and enjoyed the sunshine. We found an old mill that has been converted into a museum and everyone and their baby (literally) were having a photo shoot. It was a pretty cool place for pictures, so Jeff snapped a few of us and we had an impromptu shoot. He makes us look so good...

I touched up this one for Facebook, but this right here is the au naturale version


I really like this one, but it's an unflattering shot of Daniel's hair and it makes him sad to look at it


After walking back to the hotel, we dropped Jeff off at a meeting and took off for the Mall of America. Oh. My. Goodness. It was the most intense shopping experience of my life. We probably saw half of it and we were there for more than 4 hours. There was so much to see and so many people and there was literally every store I could ever imagine.

A store dedicated to Christmas tree ornaments? Check.
Marshall's? Check
Best Buy? Check.
Lego store? Triple check.

2.5 story Lego transformer and helicopter with Lego man

Lego dragon that wound around the store

Daniel and Lego Woody

(Not pictured: Lego caveman and mountain lion)

After the mall we went back to the hotel and then took a taxi to the original Buca di Beppo. It was delicious and we were able to get seated right away even though we didn't make a reservation. We walked back to the hotel after that and got a feel for the nightlife of Minneapolis, then played cards and watched the re-broadcast of the BYU vs. Oregon State football game, but the connection was yucky so we mostly played cards.

This morning we checked out of the hotel, drove Jeff and Kendra to the airport so they could pick up a rental car, and we went to sacrament meeting at a local ward. Daniel and I sat down and started talking about introducing ourselves when we see people visiting in our own ward and how it's awkward to say, "Are you new?" because they may not be new, you just might not be attentive, and I suggested saying "Have we met?" or some other form of that instead and literally 30 seconds later a member of the bishopric came over and asked "Have I introduced myself?" It was a sweet confirmation and we realized how lucky we are to be part of a church that is really invested in its people.

Daniel's brother, Mark, is serving a mission in Peru right now and yesterday we bought him the most amazing gift ever at Alpaca Connection...




It's an alpaca made of alpaca (we realize the horror of the situation), and it is seriously the softest thing in the world. Mark likes alpacas and has said several times that he is going to bring one home from Peru, so we thought we'd give him a chance to do so and decided this would be a good birthday/Christmas present for him. The store had several to choose from and we like Mark's so much we might buy another one for us!

The only downside of our trip is that somewhere along the way I got sick, probably from being in the chill yesterday. My nose is stuffy and runny at the same time and my sinuses hurt. We're leaving a little early tomorrow so I can pick up some medicine before work. It's okay though, this weekend was worth it :)

-Jenn

Sunday, October 9, 2011

An Ode to Steve Jobs, Riley Nelson's hair, and Some Other Stuff

This is a random jumble of thoughts that are not really connected at all. Just wanted to give you a head's up...

We know a guy who works at the Apple store and literally every single thing I have ever heard him say is about his job at the Apple store. Today during a lesson he bore his testimony about the impact of Steve Jobs's death. And there was a self-written poem involved. And it was not in any way related to the lesson. And that's all I'm allowed to say because Daniel thinks I'm mocking this guy when all I'm really trying to do is share a humorous anecdote. If you want more details, ask me when he's not around.

On Thursday I had lunch with a girl in the ward, Danielle, who works over in Froedtert (pronounced frayed-ert). She is really cool and even though her husband's a third year and she's a few years older than me, we're dealing with some similar issues and it felt SO good to talk to her. She gave me some good advice for med school and dealing with Wisconsin winters and I think we're going to try to have lunch together once a week.

This week I got my time off for Thanksgiving approved! I'm only taking half a day, but considering I got two weeks of Christmas approved two weeks ago, I was a little nervous asking for anything else. This means that Daniel and I will get to go to West Virginia and have some serious extended family time. I can't wait!

On Tuesday I'm hosting a little Halloween party for some M1 significant others (and Danielle) and I'm excited because I get to try out this recipe, I'll let you know how it goes. I also got some decorations at Wal-Mart last night, and while I had to wait in the check-out line from hell to buy it all, it was totally worth it.

Riley Nelson is the Sampson of BYU football. As long as he doesn't cut his hair, he will lead BYU to victory. I know Jake Heaps is the choice for the future, but it is so refreshing to see Nelson actually completing passes and running a few himself. It's such a contrast between him and Heaps! See for yourself...


Jake Heaps


Riley Nelson

I've decided he should be an Herbal Essences model after he's done at BYU.

-Jenn

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Yay life!

What a difference a month makes. Here's what's happened lately...

* I AM EMPLOYED! Daniel stopped by the Employment Office at MCoW and talked to someone about finding a job for me; the lady he talked to encouraged me to apply for jobs and keep her posted on the ones I chose. I had several interviews and was basically offered my job at the end of the interview. The official job offer came a few days later and I started last Thursday (September 22). I'm an administrative assistant/receptionist/secretary for the Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI). You can learn more about what that means by clicking here. I answer phones, take messages, schedule meetings, send e-mails, etc. and my computer screen is almost the size of our TV at home. I work on the second floor of the med school building, I park right across the street, and I have amazing health insurance. The best part is that Daniel and I ride up and back together every day, we have lunch together, and we work out most days after I clock out. Another perk is that I work closely with the doctor responsible for setting up summer research, so there's a really good chance Daniel will get paid to do summer lab work. Also, my boss is LDS and my 2.5 weeks of Christmas vacation were approved even though I won't have anywhere near that much vacation time until this time next year. I am so incredibly blessed!

* Daniel LOVES med school! He passed his first round of tests with flying colors and is so passionate about learning. He's discovered that he prefers watching the lectures on his own time instead of going to class, so he hangs out in the library for most of the day and goes at his own pace. He still goes to dissection three times a week, but he's Han Solo the rest of the time. He's shadowed a couple surgeries and has talked to plenty of people about what specializing. Right now he's leaning a bit towards cardiology or maybe anesthesiology, but he isn't even close to choosing. He's got plenty of time left, so there's no rush, and we just wish people would stop asking. He hasn't picked yet and he's still got plenty of time, okay?!

* Football (and other sports)! Unfortunately, BYU football hasn't been much of a powerhouse this season. We've pulled off a few wins, but most of the games have been ugly. Luckily, Wisconsin sports have been playing much better. The Packers are a force to be reckoned with, as are the Badgers and the Brewers. We definitely enjoy cheering our boys on each weekend and have enjoyed hanging out with friends at the same time. I've made these and these to show off my culinary skills and they've both been a hit. The cookie dough truffles are to die for, definitely my new favorite dessert!

* Fall. I miss Utah this time of year (did I really just admit that?!). The changing colors, football, Conference,  I took them for granted while we were there. Daniel promised to take me to Kettle Moraine soon, I'll bring my camera and take some pictures; hopefully they will convey the beauty of this beautiful (yet chilly) season. There's a frost advisory tonight, yikes! I am so not prepared clothing-wise, I desperately need some sweaters/long sleeve shirts for work. Maybe I can score some good stuff at Marshall's or Old Navy soon. I am certainly glad we have a nice warm down comforter for the bed!

Life is good right now you guys, it's feels good to be happy :)

-Jenn

Monday, August 29, 2011

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes

Lately I've been in a funk. I've been lacking motivation and have been dependent on others to do stuff for me. I can't get a job? Mope about it and hope something comes up. I can't get pregnant? Do nothing and be jealous of those who have babies. Yesterday was kind of a wake-up call. The lesson in Relief Society was about trials and the bottom line is that everyone is going to have to deal with rough stuff and our attitude is what can make or break the blessing that Heavenly Father has given us (yes, trials are blessings!). I decided to start this week right. I read my scriptures at breakfast, worked out for 45 minutes, applied for like 10 jobs, went to Wal-Mart for some baby supplies (Basal thermometer, pregnancy tests, ovulation test tracker thing), went to the DMV (the last time for a long time I hope!), and tidied up/ran Roomba. Today, I took charge of my life. It feels good and I hope I can keep at it!

In other news, this came in the mail today...


A little piece of my soul died when I turned in my NC license last week, but at least I don't have to carry around the 8.5x11" piece of paper "transitional license" anymore. The guy at the DMV laughed at me when I used it earlier today.

Also, I am really digging this band, and this song especially. Canada got something right...


-Jenn

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Don't Judge a Book by Its Cover

Moving to a new place and meeting new people can be really exciting. It can also be really frustrating. We've definitely experienced both in the short time we've been in Milwaukee, mostly with driving and trying to find our way around (please let me know if you have any GPS recommendations). We can make it to church and the airport and Wal-Mart and the mall and that's about it. Granted, we've only been here two and a half weeks, but it would be so nice to not have to consult Google Maps and write the directions on an index card for every trip we take. I find myself actually missing the grid system of Utah, I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!

Part of moving in is meeting new people and going new places and experiencing new things, and tonight I kind of did all of that at once. I was invited to the Relief Society's book club meeting tonight, and I decided it would be fun to go, at least I would meet new people even if I didn't read the book. The selected text was Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, the controversial piece published earlier this year about a Chinese-American's way of mothering her two daughters. There were 15 of us there, and half the time was spent chatting about random stuff, the other half about the book. However, I said about two words the entire time, mostly because I was the only one there who did not have a child. Only one woman actually brought her baby, but everyone else there was a mother. There were discussions about parenting styles and disciplining and doctors and hospitals and ultrasounds and other feelings/acts/things associated with children. I just sat there and sipped my water and ate my brownie. While we were chatting in small groups after the book discussion, a girl starting talking to me...

-So, do you have any kids?
-No, not yet.
-How long have you been married? (As if the answer would somehow excuse me for not having procreated yet)
-Over two years actually. Yeah, two years and a month or so.
-Oh.

Her eyes literally widened when she heard my answer, and I knew she was thinking, What is keeping this woman from having children?! Doesn't she know it's a commandment to multiply and replenish the earth?! Don't get me wrong, this sister is super sweet and great, but she was visibly taken aback when she heard my answer. I left shortly after the conversation, I just couldn't handle it. Let me explain...

Disclaimer: The following text is fairly frank and may be considered TMI. You have been warned.

I have ALWAYS wanted to be a mother. My biggest goal in life is to have children that Daniel and I can raise in the Gospel and love and care about and provide for. We have names picked out and I know what color I want to paint the nursery and what pictures of Christ and the temple I want to hang up and all that jazz. I want to nurture the precious souls that have been entrusted to me and give them everything. Unfortunately, my brain and my body don't match up.

I've never had regular periods. Ever. I've been menstruating for almost 10 years and nothing works right. Each one lasts about the same amount of time, but it may be 3, 4, 5, or even 6 months before the next one. Growing up, it was great. I hardly ever had to worry about Aunt Flo, and I was thin and athletic which also probably contributed. My doctor told me not to worry about it and that it would be dealt with at the appropriate time. I didn't make a big deal about it because it wasn't a big deal to me.

I started birth control the day after I turned 19. It was a miracle drug to me. I knew exactly when things were supposed to happen, and if I wanted to delay my period by a month, all I had to do was skip the sugar pills and move on to the next pack. I welcomed the acne and mood swings and bloating every month because I was thrilled that my body was working, something I had never experienced regularly. I hoped that when I went off the pills that my body would just keep going because I knew that it could.

Daniel and I have tried to get pregnant twice. Considering Daniel's schedule for the next several years, we tried to work out the timing where we'd have late spring/summer/late summer babies to maximize Daniel's time at home between school/research/etc.  Even though it's a small window, we figured six months each time was a good place to start. Both times were (obviously) unsuccessful. Off the pill, my body goes right back to the way it did when I was a teenager. Each time I went to the doctor I expressed my frustrations, and each time she gave me another 3-month prescription for birth control, just in case this time is the one that my body finally realizes what it's supposed to do without drugs.

Daniel and I have talked about the fact that it might take some time before we have children. We've talked about adoption and feel that even if we do have children of our own, it's something we'd still like to pursue. We also know that there is no magical timeline for trying before seeing a doctor about possible fertility issues, but the general guideline is six months to a year.

It breaks my heart not to be able to start a family yet. It breaks my heart that I can't experience the joy and pain of motherhood. It breaks my heart that I can't give Daniel the children he wants. It breaks my heart that I can't give my parents and Daniel's parents the grandchildren they would love to spoil. It breaks my heart that for right now, there is nothing I can do to fix my situation. It breaks my heart that there is so little support for people like me, especially in the Church, and I have such a small net of people I can turn to (or if there is some sort of group or something that it's advertised so poorly). Worst of all, it breaks my heart because it makes me feel broken, like I'm being punished. I'm obviously not righteous enough or charitable enough or compassionate enough or whatever, so I can't be trusted with bringing another life into the world until I get my act together.

So don't judge me (or anyone else for that matter) for not starting a family after two years of marriage. There is definitely more to the story than you think. And please don't rush to tell me that I'm great and awesome and wonderful and that things will work themselves out. I know I am and I know they will, I just get sad about it sometimes in the moment. I cross my heart that I'll be okay and I'll still love you and your baby and not get upset when you ask me to babysit or whatever. I could use the practice anyway.

-Jenn

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Milwaukee

So we have been in Milwaukee for 8 days and are really loving our location. We're near some awesome little shops and restaurants and we're only a mile from Miller Park (where the Brewers play)! Our apartment is pretty sweet, we're a few blocks from the highway and we hardly know unless an ambulance or cop drives by with its siren on. It's not as nice as our place in Provo (no where we looked was as nice as our place in Provo, we were really blessed), but it feels cozy and lived in, and that's just fine with us. We haven't gotten used to the big kitchen yet, we still eat our meals on the couch like we used to, but we're hoping to start actually eating at the table soon.

 We rented a truck to get all our stuff down, I think Kendra was glad to get it out of the house!
 Grover was the designated "random stuff" car
 Kitchen!
 We're not used to so much room
 The green wall
 Second bedroom, "random stuff" room
 Anyone want a papasan chair? We're trying to find a good home for this one
 Just for fun
 Our bathroom is tiny. I was standing in the shower here
 Our bedroom
 Amazingly, all our stuff fit in this closet
 We painted the wall, it was a lot easier than we expected
 Bare bones bed
 King size bed = amazing
 This is Daniel's new baby
 Our cute shower curtain! Can you find Godzilla?
 So little
 I built that metal stand thing all by myself
 This is my seat of choice, I love my chair so much!
 Entertainment center
 Shoe tree, couch, Daniel, Jesus
 We got excited about so much counter space
 Sometimes I think the clock isn't working because I can't hear it tick. Then I remember I specifically wanted one that didn't tick
We even have a pantry!

One thing we did NOT have though is air conditioning. Milwaukee has been breaking heat records left and right and the thermometer in our apartment had been above 84 degrees for at least five days, so yesterday we bought a window unit and our place is livable again! Seriously, it feels so much better in here!

We celebrated our two year anniversary by going to the midnight showing of Harry Potter. Since it's been so long since I read the book, I was able to appreciate it as a film instead of constantly trying to remember how the book and movie matched up. Apparently there are lots of creative liberties, but I couldn't remember what they were so I really enjoyed it. The audience was fun too, and I thought the movie was really great, maybe we'll go see it again. I could look at Daniel Radcliffe all day long.

 I am such a sucker for blue eyes
Seriously, how is one person so attractive?

Yesterday I took my second to last final and am planning on taking my last one next week. I am SO excited to be done so I can move on to other things, like finding a job! I've applied to like 1340784231 jobs and so far I've gotten one call back, but the job is right up my alley, so I hope things work out. I will do pretty much whatever someone will pay me to do, so if you know anyone who's hiring, send them my way.

Also, our ward is awesome! There were 3 other new M-1 families at church, as well as a bunch of other students/residents, so we're in good company. There are two nurseries and at least 5 girls due in October, so it certainly is babyfest. Now that we have a decent temperature in our apartment, we're thinking of inviting some people over and hanging out. We've got so much space we don't know what to do with it all!

So that's life in a nutshell, thanks for taking time to read all about it. I'll try to update more frequently so each post isn't a novel.

-Jenn

Monday, July 11, 2011

Tomorrow

Operation Milwaukee commences tomorrow! Pics coming soon! Get excited!

-Jenn

Monday, June 27, 2011

Gone to Carolina

We're in North Carolina! We've already been sunburned from the beach and the pool, eaten alive by mosquitoes, and survived a week of camping and there's still two weeks left! I'm loving all the time with my family and the accents and the heat and the amazing food! I feel kind of torn about leaving in a few weeks; I'm excited to move into our new apartment, but I'm sad about being so far away from so many people I love. For now though, I'm enjoying my time here and not thinking too much about the future.

Last week Daniel and I went to Girl's Camp with my stake. I was an adult level leader over Jillian's group and Daniel was the "lifeguard" (he's not certified to be a real lifeguard, hence the quotes) and waterfront coordinator. He was also a part-time cook and helper to whoever needed him. Everyone was SO appreciative of him, it warmed my heart when people would stop me and ask me to thank Daniel for them for a task he helped with!

My tan is coming along nicely thanks to the abundant sunshine. I think I'll miss that the most in Wisconsin, the sun doesn't come out as much as I'd like. It turns out that our place in Milwaukee is about two blocks from where a family friend grew up, it's crazy to hear how the area has changed.

There are a lot more things happening, but the pool is calling my name. I'll post again if the weather gets yucky and keeps me inside.

And now I'll leave you with this. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for Weird Al...





-Jenn

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Home Improvement

Daniel and I have been acquiring amazing Craigslist and WG&R finds recently, my poor in-laws are running out of room in the basement! Here are some of our most recent additions...

Unfortunately, I didn't take a "before" picture of this dresser. We bought it for $50 and it had a medium brown finish. Daniel sanded it down to the bare wood (I helped a little), then we stained it a dark brown. We took up a third of the garage for two and a half weeks, but it's totally worth it.

I did the drawers and the second coat on the sides and Daniel did the top and the first coat on the sides.

 It's not perfect, but there's a sense of pride in looking at something you helped create!

Our awesome TV. 37", 1080p. Quite a leap from our dinky 20" analog in Provo, this is probably our best Craigslist find!

 We picked up this stand for $35 and it is everything we've been looking for. Since we have dark brown couches, we want some lighter pieces for the living room. I kind of wish there were drawers or door or something, but other than that it's perfect!

TV stand + TV

 This papasan chair is my new best friend. $30 at an estate sale. It is seriously my favorite thing. It's comfy and in amazing shape and since it's a lighter wood, it's most def going in the living room.

 Ahhh!

 Daniel LOVES this thing. We were trying to decide between a coffee table or an ottoman, and...

We found something that's both!

Storage too!

Not pictured...
* The headboard (we used the ship-to-store option, hopefully it'll be here in the next week or so)
* King-size mattress (killer deal at WG&R)
* Light blue sheet set (500 thread count)
* White down comforter (great for Wisconsin winters)
* Dark brown bedskirt (hopefully it matches the headboard)

Things we still need...
* Bedside tables
* An end table (or two) for the living room
* An area rug for the living room. Maybe
* A washer and dryer
* All the bathroom stuff

Each thing we get makes us more excited for our new place! We'll be sure to take lots of pictures once we move in!

-Jenn