Surprise!!!!

John,

Happy 30.5 Birthday!!!

It's too bad you were on call, but at least we were all together. Hope you enjoyed the little surprise party, especially for you!!!

You should know that Audrey's been really looking forward to your half birthday party. And, not only did Audrey paint your gift, but she also wanted to pick out the wrapping paper...

She really loves you. 

I thought the half, half-birthday cake was a hit. 

 Hope your half birthday wishes come whole true. 

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

love, kerry

Home Sweet Dreams

We had some pretty fabulous playdates last week in Reno,  and oddly EACH included exciting news from friends of either 1) a new house being built, 2) remodeled, or 3) just recently moved-in.


The real-estate market must be making a come back! Awesome!

They were all equally amazing homes/plans too! I'm so happy for these friends and their families. Life is exciting. But, it also got me thinking....This doctor stuff is hard. 

I get it, one day it will all be worth it. And, I couldn't be happier with our HB beach condo, a couple blocks from the beach and Main St., modern appliances, big rooms, a backyard, neighboring park and resort pool...We're very lucky, but it made me miss our house. And, I don't mean "OUR" old house necessarily, just the idea of "OUR" home. A stable, comfortable home to live, improve, enjoy...settle into to.

We can't do much about our living situation now considering that in 3-4 years, we'll be moving again. So, I'm not going to dwell on this unstable feeling, but rather focus on the positive.

We have so much ahead to look forward to, and....more time for planning!

I love an organized, thoughtful, strategic plan.
What can I say?

I'll just enjoy this living-in-vacation mode for the next few years, while I can, and when I miss the "OUR" house stability, I'll remind myself that it's coming....And, there's limited time to really figure out what we want out of "OUR" next home...Better get to work!

Some immediate ideas come to mind.

I want a KILLER backyard. I want to entertain, and be the cool house for Audrey and all her friends. One of these would work, I guess... 

I would also like an older house, in an established neighborhood. So, I can't really expect many bedrooms like a newer home would have, and in fact like the idea of our kids sharing a room. Custom bunk-beds like one of these would be BEAUTIFUL:

Beautiful for older kids!

Everything about a kitchen intimidates me. Seriously. So, I don't even know where to start...
This is beautiful, minus gaudy chandler. 

A SWEET master suite is mandatory. I think it's about time for me and John to get our own closets too, and a relaxing bathroom would be so amazing... You know how much I enjoy the spa!

Love this style, but again- what's with the chandeliers???

I know I'll have other requirements, and requests like:
A big pantry.
A bacement/game room/craft station would be fun.
A his/her home office is a no-brainer.
Then there's the garage, storage, curb appeal, and more....

OH, and of course I dream of a Donner or Tahoe lake house too!!!

We'll see, but good thing I've got some time to plan! 


love, kerry



These photos and some other inspirations can be found (with links to original source) on my Pinterest board, "Decorating My Future House".

Halls are decked...

I'll be honest, I was a little disappointed to learn that because of work Audrey and I would be spending the two weeks+ before Christmas in Reno. 

Bummed to be away from John for so long...

Bummed that it'd probably upset Audrey's routine a bit.

Bummed to be missing the OC holiday festivities (mostly parade of lights at the harbor in Long Beach)

And, bummed that I couldn't really justify decorating our house, or setting up the Christmas tree....

But, who cares about justification.

It's Christmas! 

I decorated anyway. 

I didn't go all out, and I {sadly} still ditched the tree idea (probably too tempting to Audrey anyway), but it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 

love, kerry 

Today's Agenda

7am- Enjoy our favorite Christmas Blend. 

9am- Finish Christmas decorating, hang Christmas lights (per John's request), and post Audrey's Christmas crafts from yesterday...Sneak peak: 

12pm- Christmas shopping! Christmas shopping!

{Plus more Christmas Blend}

4pm- finish lovely Christmas cards and mail.

Christmas Card 2010

9pm- Watch our Christmas favorite (a tradition).

Hope you have a great day too!

Merry Christmas Month! 

love, kerry

Our Haunted House!

It's getting spooky around here!

I'm not necessarily HUGE on Halloween, but this year's an exception. 

We have guests coming tonight, and we can. not. wait.


In a few hours, we'll play host (in our 2 bedroom, 1 bath) to some Reno-favorites:
Judy, Steve, Jason, Ian, Cole, Mato & Amy (a couple transplants).

Woo hoo!!!

But, I should back up. I have a feeling you'll be hearing LOTS about our weekend in the coming days...

Rewind.

John, Audrey and I have been looking forward to this weekend for MONTHS!

What should we do? 
Where should we go? 
Who's sleeping where?


And, I've been decorating! 

{Thanks Mom for getting me hooked on decorating for the holidays. I see now why you enjoyed it so much.}

Sure, Audrey's too young to really get excited or understand what's going on. Don't worry honey, you'll get it one of these days...But, Ian and Cole- they're the perfect age! This is going to be fun!

Let me give you a cyber-tour....

Let's be honest, I don't have the budget, nor the storage space to go TOO CRAZY. I just focused on this one room- our living room.

My favorite find was this burlap "spooky" sign... Don't you love it?!?!

{Etsy}

And, instead of buying mass-produced Halloween art, signs or stickers for the house- I turned to other blogs to find these great FREE printables! I printed out a variety of pictures, just on regular white paper, and framed them over some of the family photos we already have around the room.

{Nest of Posies}

And, Judy turned me on to this little gem...She uses Wordle with her students to make word clouds...

Me? I just entered my own variety of Halloween words in the system, and again, just printed out on white paper and framed. Oh, and I colored "BOO" orange...Pretty fun!

.......................................................................................................................................................

We can't wait to see everyone soon!!!!

The kids have some fun trick-or-treat bags waiting....

Let the fun begin!

love, kerry 

Audrey's 1st Yappy Birthday Paw-ty!

Audrey LOVES doggies, so naturally- it was the inspiration behind her perfect 1st Birthday Paw-ty.

I'm no professional event planner or stylist, just a proud Mama who was beyond excited to throw her baby a great 1st birthday party. I used fun dog products as decorations- dog bowls for human snack and serving dishes; squeaky toys, treats and water stations for the dogs; pet beds for kid/dog lounging and a family photo staging area; and goodie bags for the kids and dogs to take home!

It was a beautiful day!

In case you missed it...

It was a perfect day for our pretty girl.

..................................................................................................................................................



Dog bowls by ModaPet
Dog toys from JW Pet and Bags On Board
Pet beds from Crypton and West Paw Design
Dog treats by PupCakes from Lucky Paws
Invitation, cupcake topper and goodie bag tags by Toe Shark Visual Communication
Photography by Skye Snyder

love, kerry

Mission: Camp Sutherland

While I was in Reno last week, I helped Jason to organize and decorate a NEW bedroom/playroom for the boys... It was a lot of {fast} work, but honestly so much fun!!!!

As you know, it's all girl around here, and I had a blast coming up with non-pink/garden/princess themes and ideas for a very fun, personal, all-{sutherland}-boy room...

The concept- Camp Sutherland- couldn't have been more perfect. 

The boys (adults included) are in love with the great outdoors. Be it camping, hunting, hiking, exploring, rock collecting, fishing, swimming, fossil hunting...you name it- nature is number one. 

It took approximately three full days of planning/work/cleaning/painting/organizing/shopping/decorating/admiring, but it was totally finished before I left on Friday afternoon. 

Whew!

Allow me to give you a quick tour...

First, check out this handmade (thank you Grandpa Steve) camp sign...So personal, so cute, and the anchor of the boys' room theme. 

LOVE.

My other FAVORITE personal element- all the family photos, sporadically hung around the room, depicting the clan enjoying the outdoors and adventure. 

Judy, how many prints did we buy???

At least 50, I'd say. 

Here's a great group of guys...

{minus three very special boys who couldn't fit in this particular shot}

Even though I wasn't there to see their reaction, I hear the boys LOVED their new outdoor room. It's my guess that in addition to the Camp Sutherland sign and the family photos in the room, the boys loved their new:

Twig lights strung from the ceiling, 

outdoor-green painted walls, 

camping/fishing themed bedding,

organized toy boxes and dresser,

and clan tartan bow on the door outside. 

Love those boys.

Loved this project. 

love, kerry