homebuying woes

Marty and I are in the "almost" stage of the homebuying process. In other words, we're almost there in terms of savings/income/etc.... but not quite. So when a pretty little abode comes along, I resign myself to the fact that even though it's absolutely perfect, it's just not the best timing.

Case in point:


*photo courtesy of Coldwell Banker :)

This cutie-patutie is very much in our price range. It's in a great neighborhood. There's a huge yard. Wood floors. Big front porch. Vintage trim. *Cue dreamy violin music.*

Ironically, it's listed as a possible teardown on the realtor's website. Phhfst! That snide remark doesn't scare us. This pretty baby just needs a little TLC to get her going.

Ah. So yes. Before I act like we've already bought the house... we haven't. And we won't. Unless this lovely lady is still on the market in another 6 months or so, I'll have to let her go. I'll stop referring to the house as a person, and instead tell myself that it probably had termites, or bad wiring, or terrible plumbing, or cranky neighbors, or mice, or lots of spiders... yes. Lots of spiders.

If only I could convince myself that it's true ;)

p.s. We drove by it last night, and then Marty bought me an oreo blizzard as a consolation prize. Ice cream fixes everything!

**UPDATE** My real-estate-savvy aunt just informed me that "TLC" stands for "Tons of Loose Cash." Haha!! Duly noted!

**UPDATE #2** Apparently, the picture has disappeared because... the house sold. And they didn't sell it to me. Boo.

cousins!

At long last, here's the pictures from the cousins shoot, ready to go! Just to recap, we did these for the lovely Anna, since she was on her way back to school the next day. Hope they bring good memories to carry her through the upcoming Arctic winter months of Minnesota!! :)

We started out nice and sweet:








But things got a bit out of control ;) (I think they might have been laughing because I was giving them directions and eating grass at the same time. Very chic.)


I love Erin's face in this one (second from the left).


Trampoline!!

Laughter

"Come on, honey, take a picture with me."

"Ah, Ed, my hair..."

"Come on! Smile..."

My parents are adorable. Not in a lovey-dovey, "here honey, let's be cute and split an ice cream cone" way. They're not into making a show; in fact, my Dad could care less what anyone thinks about him :) Instead, my parents have a steady, in-it-for-the-long-haul relationship, and I would argue that it's because they know how to laugh together. Dad absolutely loves Mom's dry sense of humor. She'll make a remark, and he'll laugh and laugh, and then she'll laugh because he's laughing. They read the newspaper together on Sunday afternoons and laugh about the rediculous consumerism in the ad section, or the article on jumping dogs, or the weatherman's editorial column on "storm clusters." Other might not see a lick of humor in the small, everyday happenings of the world, but my parents feed off of each other's laughter. When I hear them laughing, I smile.

They've been married for twenty-five years, and they're still going strong, sustained by love, yes, but also their ability to laugh.

Why call it a party if you have to say Goodbye...?

Last night, we said goodbye to my baby sister, who's leaving today for her last year of college (woohoo!!). She's only about six hours away, but we miss her a lot when she's gone :( She's studying to be a hard-core athletic trainer, and this year, she's the senior trainer for her school's varsity football team. She's totally AMAZING!!

We did a mini photoshoot last night with the rest of our sibs and a few super-cute cousins; I'll get those up in a day or so! Until then, here's a few pics of my best friend... Love you Anna!

40D!

We waited so long that when it finally came, I could hear Etta James crooning away in the back of my mind: "Aaaaaat laaaaaaaaast....."

It's here! Our new baby, the Canon 40D! I waited for Marty to get off work, so he could open it with me. It was like Christmas morning. Our first peek at the camera strap ("oooooh"), pulling back the styrofoam to reveal our shiny zoom lens ("eeeeeek!"), hefting the camera body out of its box ("it's huge!"), popping the air packs ("STOP IT MARTY!").

After wrapping it in bubble wrap and ziplock bags (yes, we are paranoid), we took it down to Chicago for some hardcore testing. Here are some of the results (no photoshop here, folks!):


My adorable sister, workin' the camera...


He looks happy that I interrupted his blissful sunbathing, right?




Here's Edward-o, matching the sky quite nicely.


My favorite candid of the day: two little guys, waiting for the cold waves of Lake Michigan to break over the concrete. They're braver than me!


To test the shutter speed on this baby, I asked my sis to show off some of her crazy dance moves. Here's my favorite:


And finally...


I think she has a future in theater :)

: Chris and Katie :

Katie is my cousin. We grew up together, learned math together, watched Sesame Street together, played softball together, had birthday parties together... you get the idea. Her wedding was a serious whirlwind of planning and execution, and Marty and I had a lot of fun covering this special day! Chris is one lucky guy, and Katie was one beautiful bride...

This wedding was dear to my heart :)



Katie use to work for Clinique, so she did all her own makeup... gorgeous!




The "ahhhh" moment...












Ohh buddy. Remember how much I like cute kids? Allow me to introduce you to two of my favorites!




We skipped over to a nearby park after the wedding, to try and grab some afternoon sunlight.











One more thing: For the record, if you're ever pushing an ice cream cart through a busy park on a hot summer day, and you see a bride and groom walking by, all decked out and smiling, give them an ice cream cone!! You'll make their day, and it will make you look like a nice person. I'm just saying... ;)

Chris and Katie: we love you!! Congratulations on a beautiful wedding.

: Jori and John :

Check out these shots from my beautiful cousin's wedding last weekend...

Cute kids are always a wedding's cherry-on-the-top :) Quick story: the ring-bearer and flower-girl were brother and sister. The flower girl was pretty nervous (understandable!), and completely forgot to drop her flower petals on the way down the aisle... so during the recessional, her sweet brother tried to lend a hand by taking petals from her basket and scattering them across the aisle. Too cute! Here's a picture of the little man:


Details from the sand ceremony...


John seemed a little nervous, but as soon as he saw his happy bride walking down the aisle, it was like the tension melted away :)










Jori's dress was incredible...




And probably my favorite shot of the day:


They actually had two first dances: Jori picked the first, and John picked the second... and each didn't know what the other had picked beforehand. So cute :)