today...

...was my last Tuesday at KPA.
...is the day I WILL finish up my current freelance project.
...feels like summer.
...I ate a cupcake at the Cupcake Cafe. I highly recommend it.
...I had a Strawberry Goodness smoothie for dinner. MMMMmmm.
...is 6 days away from our closing date.
...is 8 days away from move in!
...is the revival of interesting blog topics, and (hopefully) the end of life-changing (house-buying, job-switching) posts.
...I had an amazing new idea for our new office at the house.
...I learned about magnetic paint.
...I gained a new appreciation for Martha Stewart.
...Emmy and I walked to the fields and back.
...is going to end well, I can feel it.
...I cannot post without a picture! So here is a lovely shot of the German Chocolate cupcake from the Cupcake Cafe website. It might not be beautiful, but it sure was very tasty.


And I hate to break away from my "today" theme, but I must say... I am quite intrigued by the whole cupcake idea. Today I came across the Cupcake Bakeshop blog, and with my visit to the Cupcake Cafe and all... it seemed like a sign. I might just have to try my hand at these little wonders!

this is life

Today is a crisp, sunny, beautiful Thursday. And I am here at work, between a couple big projects, with the perfect little window of opportunity to update you on some "goings-on" in our life. The first order of business to share with you all is the current status of the house hunt.

Over the weekend, we looked at 7 houses. 5 on Saturday, 2 on Sunday. The short version of the long story goes like this: Saturday dawned bright and beautiful... we helped Jamie and Dave move into their charming new home and then headed out to the west side of the cities to look at houses. We liked the first house (bottom left corner) quite a bit, but it was listed high... too high. Second house (top left corner) was an absolute no-go due to the potent smell of cows wafting from the cow farm right across the street, third house (bottom right corner) smelled like a barn INSIDE and out. Fourth house (bottom middle) was decent, but it was an "earth shelter" home and it felt like a basement. Fifth house (top right) was nice enough... Zack actually liked it allot. But it lacked a certain "something" for me. Too... normal? Or blah, maybe. I'm not sure. We came home feeling... less than optimistic that any of those houses were "it". So, just for the heck of it, I went online and ran my normal search again. Two new houses had come up during the day and they were go definitely worth taking a look at. We were particularly excited about one of them.... a charming little cape cod on the west side of Lake Minnetonka (not actually on the lake). The price seemed right and the pictures of the inside showed an absolutely clean and cute place. We called out agent right away to set up a showing for Sunday. 4:45 p.m. Sunday and we arrived at the house. It was, in one word, adorable. A 1/2 acre with a view of the lake, big trees, gardens, and an awesome patio... 3 upstairs bedrooms, a fireplace, a nicely finished basement, big windows, hardwood floors.... We really liked it. Allot. The next showing (top middle) went fine, but it didn't come close to comparing. We drove back to the first house, parked in the neighborhood and walked around. We stopped in the quaint "variety store" down the street, explored the town, and left for home feeling good about that house. We spent allot of time praying about making an offer. On Tuesday evening, we sat down with our agent to officially write an offer. Yesterday was full of offers and counter offers and more counter offers. The house has seen an extraordinary amount of showings in the five days it's been on the market, and the sellers seem to be hesitant to jump at their first offer. So the way it stands now... we put our "final and best" offer in yesterday afternoon. The sellers are "sitting on it" and waiting to see if any of the FIVE showings from yesterday will produce another (better?) offer. So... we are waiting too. Zack and I are both very excited... and yet totally at peace. I really can't begin to explain the sense of calm that we have had in all of this. Yes, we love the house. Yes, we would like to get it. But not at any point have we felt panicky that we might "lose" it... Really, it's not "ours" to lose. God ultimately knows the plans He has for us, and we are very content in the position we are in. We feel like if this deal comes together and we get the house.... it will be from the hand of God. And if not, He has something else out there for us. So... we continue to wait.

In other news...... my craftiness has come to a halt. With all the freelance stuff, house hunting, and general business in life, I haven't done much sewing of late. I still have a bunch of projects that I am in the middle of. Hopefully those will be finished soon.

Also... on the freelance end of life.... I am making progress towards my upcoming website! Yesterday I had the absolute privilege to work with an amazing photographer, Erika McCauley. I have always been blown away by her work, and it was a definite treat to have her shooting for me. She took pictures of all of my portfolio pieces, and a few shots of me for the "about me" section of the my site. I am really excited to see the final pictures... and to work with Erika again in the future. She is an total pro and so fun! The image below was posted on her blog...

Well that's all for today... I will write more when I find out about the house... and I'll be sure to post pictures of my latest projects... as soon as they are finished.