Benched

After getting our hair done on Saturday, Mom and I were off to run some errands.  She has been on the hunt for a statement mirror to go above their large mantle in the living room so we try to frequent our local Home Goods.  The problem is, good finds go quick at that store!  And with the hold area at the front of the store (items purchased and waiting for the customers to come back with larger transportation) you always see those great finds and get jealous that you didn't find them first.

Mom struck out again on the mirror hunt, but I scored a home run with this lovely bench!

I have dreamed about our future master bedroom which includes a new king bed to go with the king bedding that we received for our wedding (we were thinking ahead!).  I've always loved the idea of a bench at the end of the bed, but didn't have space for it in our old apartment.

Just enough space for one person to walk between the bed and dresser

While walking through the mirror section with mom, I actually spotted an identical bench in darker brown first.  It was nice, but once I saw the neutral color I knew it would work better with our bedding (and any future changes in bedding).

Pillows from our king bedding

And true to the nature of good finds going fast at this store.  From the time I spotted the bench and decided to buy it (standing by it while waiting for the guy to carry it to the front), 2 sets of people came up voicing interest in it.  

And the best part?  It has storage space!  

Perfect to store some of the blankets that always seems to be thrown around during the colder months.

Do you have anything at the foot of your bed?

30th Birthday Destination

First off - Thank you all for your sweet words on my last post!  We were both pretty ticked off with the outcome, but we're pushing forward, rearranging some plans and will be oh so happy if things work out for the August graduation.

So now onto the fun part! The destination for this year's annual birthday trip is...

via Wikipedia

San Francisco and Napa!!

There were some close guesses in the comments last week (Carol's San Diego).  We will be heading west to California, adding another state to our map.  Although I have been to Los Angeles & San Diego before, Chris has never set foot in the Golden State.  Since we both turn 30 this year, we decided to do a little more than a road trip.

One of the best parts about this trip is that we will be meeting up with my life long friend and her husband!  C and I have known each other since we were babies - our parents met in Lamaze class when they were pregnant with our older brothers who were born 2 weeks apart.  In 2011 we had the joy of being bridesmaids in each other's weddings.  We've been talking about planning a trip together ever since our weddings, and finally pulled the trigger for a fun week out west in August.  I love the timing because we get to continue our birthday trip tradition AND we get to celebrate C and her husband's 2nd anniversary out there.

Now for some advice!  I know that some of you live (or have lived) in San Fran or have traveled to Napa before.  I would love any tips/places to see/wineries to visit if you would like to share!  We are going to hit some of the big tourist attractions like Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge, but if you have any other spots we should check out or places to eat do share them in the comments! :)

This and That

A quick drive by of random updates:

1. Some advisors need to get better at their jobs.  Chris learned last week that his transfer electives did not transfer over as "advance" electives.  You would think the advisors would have caught that before he applied for graduation since he went to them every semester to make sure he was taking the correct classes. They apologized, but it still means no May graduation :(  We're crossing our fingers that he can find any 4 classes to fit the bill (his advisor said it could be anything including advance basket weaving, ha!) this summer and graduate in August.

2. Due to #1, we canceled our plans for DC in May.

3. Although there is no trip in May, we have booked our annual birthday trip for August!!  Hopefully it will be a birthday/graduation celebration trip and this year we're traveling with friends so I know it'll be a great time!  I'll post more on it later, but here's a hint: we're heading west.

4. I'm a little obsessed with Tervis cups right now.  It's a good thing because I find myself drinking a lot more water during the day.

5. I finished Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Onto The Goblet of Fire!

6. Have you heard of the Paper Tongues or Hollywood Undead?  I had not until Chris downloaded them.  Now I'm a little hooked listening to their songs during my daily jogs.

Do you and your spouse have the same taste in music?  Any guesses where we might be going in August?

Hope you all have a great weekend!!