Weekend Updates: Sleeper Couch!!

Several house updates were completed this weekend. Scones were hung up in the dining room, more fall decor was purchased, a set of frames was hung (more on these updates in a later post), and...our sleeper couch arrived!!!

I was waiting all day for the delivery truck to show up on Friday. Of course I was given a time window between the hours 12-5. I just knew it was going to come at around 5:00. I was sitting on the floor of the guest bedroom talking to my mom when an unmarked truck stopped in front of our building. I jumped up to wake up Sergio (who was taking a study break, napping in our room).

Here's how the room looked without the couch.



Big, empty wall....



Now filled by a beautiful couch!!





Here's a close up of the ottoman.



And the matching chair that came with the set. It's in our bedroom.



I'm in love! I LOVE the couch, so much that I wish we had a TV in there so I could hang out on the couch! It is sooo soft and cozy and I absoutely love the color. I didn't think it would go so well with the rest of the room but it really does. It's also the perfect size, any bigger would have been too much.

We tried out the mattress that came with the sofa and it's pretty good. I think my parents will be more than happy. :)

Now that we have the couch, the wall behind it looks even more naked. So you know what that means...I'll soon be cruising the stores looking for something to fill up that wall!

Today's Spotlight: The Guest Bathroom

When we moved in last month, we were on a time crunch to paint our place. We had a week before Sergio would start medical school so we lived, breathed, and ate paint. We painted nearly everything, except our guest bathroom and the kitchen. It was our first time painting so we didn't really know what we were doing! We also started to paint our master bath, but the color is hideous so it's going to be painted over.

My project for this week was to Tackle the Guest Bathroom!! All our paint supplies have been sitting out in the porch. I went through everything on Monday and saw that we had almost everything I would need to paint the bathroom. For a while we were just going to hire someone to finish up for us, but I figured, what the hell, I've got nothing to do so I'm going to paint it myself!

And I am very proud of how it turned out.



Bathroom Door on the left, Linen Closet on Right





If you keep on walking past the shower, there's the toilet! I still have some touching up to do, but overall, I'm happy with how it turned out!

Did you complete/start any projects this week?

Weekend Recipe: Banana Bread!

My mom has been making banana bread since I was a kid and I had a craving for it this weekend. I called my mom to have her read the recipe to me over the phone but she couldn't find it. :( So, I went online to search for the perfect one.

- 4-5 mashed bananas (I only used two)
- 1 cup sugar (I used a little less)
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup shortening or vegetable oil
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180C) and grease your loaf pan.

2. Take a large bowl and add sugar, shortening (or oil), and eggs. Mix for a while and then add mashed bananas and mix some more. OK, now add all the dry ingredients - flour, salt, vanilla, baking powder and baking soda and mix some more. You should get a nice and very thick batter.

3. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and bake for around one hour. When you stick a toothpick in your banana bread and it comes out clean, you are finished. Leave it to cool for a few minutes and - eat! :)



My banana bread was done after about 45 minutes. I let it cool for a little bit, then cut a slice for my husband and I and spread a little butter over the top! Yum!!

This Weekend's Purchase: A Sleeper Couch!!

I've wanted a sleeper couch for the spare bedroom since we've moved in. My parents are coming to visit in three weeks so I definitely wanted to find one for their stay. Every couch that we've seen has either been ugly, enormous, or overly priced. We went to Jennifer Convertibles over the weekend and finally found a sleeper couch that we love AND that wasn't ridiculously expensive!! It's on the small side, but that's okay, we didn't want a huge couch to take up most of the room. We also got two matching ottomans and a side chair for a very great price. I'm sooo excited and I can't wait for it to arrive!

Here's a picture of the couch.



And this is the chair that we got. Why is this lady in this picture? Weird.


The website doesn't have a picture of the ottomans. :( They are circular with removal tops and have a small space inside to store things. They're so cute, I love them. They'll be here in two weeks and when they arrive you know I'll take pictures...

Did you buy anything this weekend?

Today's Spotlight: The Dining Room

Our old apartment had an open concept layout. Our family room, office, and dining room were all in the same space. I didn't mind having the family and dining room in the same space, but the "office" was a sore thumb sticking out. Not to mention there really wasn't a place to store and organize papers, bills, and whatnot. I love that our new place has a room for EACH, a family room, dining room, and spare bedroom that we're using as an office. Even though we do live in an apartment, the separation of rooms definitely makes it feel more like a home.

Today's spotlight is the dining room. It is the most elegant room of our home. I LOVE the paint color- it goes perfectly with our dark wood furniture and gives the room a very warm, cozy feel.

I decided I didn't want to wait for the cooler weather to roll in before setting up my fall decorations.









I had no clue that I was going to love this rusty, orangey color so much! Everything works so well together, I love it! I still want to add a few things to the room. I'm sure you noticed the hideous light fixture; that has got to go. I also want to add curtains, most likely a shade of green. The other walls are empty, so I will be hanging candle wall art. Other than that, it's perfect!

Which room is your elegant room of the house?

Today's Purchase: Fall Decorations

Back in Miami it's a little silly to be decorating for the Fall. Some people do, but not very many. "Fall" in Miami is really no different from Summer. The temperature is pretty much the same and the leaves don't change. There might be a slight temperature change in November when it will be 60 degrees in the morning but will warm up to 80 by 12:00. Doesn't feel like Fall!

Now that I'm here in Ann Arbor I can't wait to decorate for the Fall. I've already started to see the stores bring out Fall decorations and I just had to go check some places out today. First, I went to Marshall's. I was a little disappointed; they only had one aisle of Fall decorations mixed in with Halloween stuff. So I only bought one thing:



It smells so good and I just had to have it. And it was only $5! I think it'll go in the guest bathroom or maybe in the kitchen.

Then I went to Michael's. I've always loved Michael's and I can spend hours there, especially in the scrapbooking section. Michael's is all ready for Fall and Halloween; aisles and aisles of stuff is ready for purchase! I bought several things:





These pumpkin candles smell amazing and I can't wait for their scent to fill the house. I've never bought an arrangement like this before, but it's really pretty and it was 50% off. :)

Last, but not least, I went to Bed Bath & Beyond for Fall placemats.



Yay!! I'm happy with everything I have so far. I'm going to keep the tags on the placemats for a little while to see if I find something else. But I really do like the color!


What did you buy today?

Today's Thoughts: My Family

It's been a month since we officially arrived in Michigan and I haven't had a moment where I am hit with the fact that I really miss my family, until today. It's always the simple little things that make me think of my Mom or my Dad. The other day when I was in Kohl's returning my frames I was behind a woman talking on her cell phone to her daughter. She was telling her daughter that she would be coming to pick her up soon and that they could to lunch together if she was hungry. After I exchanged my frames I passed through the woman's clothing section. I saw several outfits that I instantly reminded me of my Mom. Today I was in my car listening to Coldplay. My Dad loooves Coldplay and the song that I chose for my wedding video was playing. Instant tear-jerker moment.

It's the first week of school in Miami. My Mom has gone back to work along with all of my old co-workers. My brother also started college this week. A part of me misses the days when he would burst into my room and tell me me everything he's excited about. My sister-in-laws are back in school and writing about their classes on Facebook. I miss everyone and I can't wait to see them.

Mom



Dad


My Brother's Graduation Day



My Mother-in-law & Sisters-in-law