Merry Christmas from Connecticut

Connecticut has numerous special significances for me...it's where I went to college (bulldogs! bulldogs! bow wow wow! Eeeee-liiiiiii Yaaaaale!), it's where my husband grew up, it's where I almost got married (my native Colorado eventually won out), and it's where my husband's family still lives.

Married life requires many compromises, one of the biggest being splitting holidays between the two families. In 2007, we spent Thanksgiving in Connecticut, and Christmas in Colorado. 2008, therefore, is the opposite: Thanksgiving in Colorado, and Christmas in Connecticut. (I have, unfortunately, never seen the movie referenced in the above image, but it's a neat coincidence!)

My parents-in-law were EXTREMELY gracious and invited my parents to join us for the Christmas holidays. There's just something about being an only child (for my Mom and Pop, aka Step-Dad, that is) that makes it harder to not be at home for the holidays for the first time...ever. Ok, ok, I'm in my 30's and I shouldn't be such a big baby...but I am. I'm not ashamed to admit it.

So, thanks to my in-law's generosity, my parents and I are easing into the splitting-of-the-holidays tradition. But, who knows...now that my husband and I own our own house, maybe we'll just have everyone come to us next year. (Note to parents and in-laws reading this: This has yet to be an official discussion, so no promises yet.)

Here's hoping that everyone out there is having as fun of a holiday as we are here in picturesque Connecticut!

Moving Day Approaches

Tomorrow is the big day...we are moving out of our apartment in Jersey City and into our new house in the burbs. It's pretty exciting, except for the fact that we are not even half-way packed yet, and the movers are expected at 8 am tomorrow.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

It's been an exhausting week. Including flying back from Colorado last weekend, closing on our house on Monday, going back and forth between our house, our apartment, and our places of work throughout this past week, the week could not have been any busier....Ugh, I'm ready for a vacation.

With no internet or cable set up yet at our new house, we may just have nothing more interesting to do than to unpack all weekend. Then comes the start of another work week....I'm already worn out just thinking about it. This cute little kitty shown below is what I imagine I will look like in 24-48 hours time:

So, think lots of good thoughts on our behalf!

Home Jersey Home

There's no denying my Jersey-ness now...

My husband and I closed on a house in the Northern NJ suburbs this afternoon.

We are now the proud owners of a 4 bedroom, 3 bathroom, bi-level house with an AWESOME 2 level deck off the back (with a built-in hot tub), a fenced-in backyard (perfect for our future pet dog), and a 1 car garage (perfect for George the Prius)! (There used to be a 2-car garage, but previous owners transformed the 2nd garage into an office, which works just as well for us!)

Here are some photos of our quaint NJ abode:

(above) A front view: If you look closely, you can see my husband and our home inspector standing in the middle of the roof.

(below) A view of the deck, which we will be making good use of next summer for BBQ's with friends & family (whoever is willing to make the trek out to the NJ burbs):

The only photos we have of the inside include the previous owners' furniture. So, for authenticity's sake, indoor photos will be shown at a later date, after we have actually moved in.

I am excited to follow in the footsteps of another blogger (http://www.melissacmorris.blogspot.com) who has spent the last year or so detailing the transformation of her home in New Canaan, CT. Of course, neither my new home nor its future contents are/will be worth (monetarily, that is) as much as those of Melissa C. Morris, but I guarantee that they will be just as chic and trendy, and will be well-documented here on RJG.

So, come back frequently for updates!