Annnnnnnnnd, she's back!!!!

Hello blogger-land!  So yes, it really did take me this long to get better.  In fact, I'm still suffering from a runny nose, but I can pretty much deal with that.  I finally finished all the medicine last night and am hopeful that with all the huge things the hubby and I have coming up soon, I'll be 100% in no time.

Just a fraction of what was prescribed to cure me!

So what's been going on lately?  Well, Mr. L left the first week of November for water survival in Pensacola.  Despite rough seas and some really terrible weather, he had a great time and survived!  He came home and we had 12 days to figure out our lives for the next 6 months...seriously.  Everything in Air Force-land is happening much more quickly than we anticipated and we had to figure everything out before he left for more training!  Mr. L left again for SERE training on November 18 and I won't see him again until December 11. 

My silly hubby trying out his new headlamp and water bag for training.

This week has been the no-contact week and it's been 3 days since I've spoken a word to my husband.  In the 5 years we've been together, we've never gone more than 24 hours without at least saying a quick goodnight on the phone.  Not even the night before/day of our wedding...we chatted on the phone that afternoon!  You really don't realize how much you can miss someone until it's absolutely impossible to talk to them.  I obviously support his training and think it's awesome that the Air Force prepares the aviators (and others) for this possible life-threatening scenario (and it's super great to know that, despite being terribly uncomfortable, they are actually really safe), but it's really tough.  Simply put, it's tough.  I love hearing his voice, I tell him everything and I don't really have many others to share my day with.  My mom called me last night and I kept her on the phone for 3 hours!!!!!!  Now, I'm a talker by nature, but even that is a little crazy for me.  I'll be thankful for Thursday night when he finally gets to call :)

Our first date (halloween on campus), 5ish years ago.

While he's been gone, it's just been me and the Lily-monster.  She's acting out like a teenager who's daddy left and she's pushing all her mom's buttons.  I remember doing that.  Well, now my dog is doing it too.  She's biting (she NEVER bit anyone), growling, chewing on things she's never chewed on before, and overall acting like a brat.  Not cool.  



Do not let this picture fool you, she's a monster...sometimes :)


Since Mr. L was away for Thanksgiving, I spent the holiday with my super great friends, the Duncan's.  Chris and Amy have been amazing to me and Mr. L since we moved to Columbus (Chris was Mr. L's class leader) and Amy has become one of my very good friends (I'm not looking forward to moving away from her and her adorable daughter Elli).  Our friends Christy and Jeff also had Thanksgiving at their house, plus Amy's dad and it was a great way to spend the day.  I'm so thankful that this crazy military life has given us all these extra "family members" with whom I can spend holidays when Mr. L is off serving his country (or getting lost in the woods!) and I'm far away from my parents and other family members.

Jeff, Christy, me, Elli, Amy & Chris on Thanksgiving

When Mr. L was stationed in Florida, we didn't make many friends.  His job didn't allow him much social time and I was away in Pensacola getting my Master degree, so we didn't really live the "military life".  When we left Florida, we had a hard time saying goodbye to a few friends that we had made at my school, but not really anyone in the military.  Over the past year, the opposite has happened in Columbus.  I've made several friends that helped me get through this year and they are some of the most amazing and strong women I've ever known and I can't imagine not knowing them.  The other spouses in our UPT class became my close friends and I've already had to say goodbye to a few (not fun).  Such is the life in the military though...constantly making friends and then leaving, many times going across the country from them.  I've known for a long time this was the way it goes, but I don't love it.  Last week and yesterday I had to say goodbye to two ladies who I've been close to and shared Assignment Nights and graduations with and it was hard, to say the least.  The upside to all this? Having friends all over the country!!  The Air Force is actually a small world and I know I'll see these ladies again.  It's just not really great in the meantime when you have to say "see ya later".

Erin, me, and Brooke...the ladies I said "see ya later" to in the past week.

Due to our impending move (so soon!) and all the travelling and craziness in between now and when we finally get settled in Dover, I decided not to decorate for Christmas at our house.  Putting up the tree would be troublesome by myself and stringing up the lights outside alone would probably be impossible.  Not to mention that as soon as I get them all up, I just have to take them down again because the movers come in two weeks.  So I'm leaving the tree in the box (yes, we do artificial...it's awful, but easy), leaving the lights tangled and leaving all the decorations stored.  It's been very sad when I walk Lily around the neighborhood and see all the lights and see all the twinkling Christmas trees in the windows.  So I decided to give myself a little holiday cheer and decorate my office at work!  Okay, so I didn't really decorate, but I got a tree!

Alright, it's a little tree.  I got it from Hobby Lobby (it's called A Tree For Me!).  There's a huge wall full of itty bitty decorations, tree toppers, tree skirts, etc and it's just too cute.  I bought silver garland, multi-colored balls and a sparkly tree topper.  You probably can't tell from the pic, but I also bought patriotic ornaments.  They are angels, snowmen, and santas that are decked out in red, white, and blue flag patterned ensembles.  Not only are we a military family, but I also work on the base, so I thought that would be a nice touch.

So now, I'm just spending my time cleaning out all the closets, tearing the office apart trying to figure out what papers stay and what papers get shred, running last minute errands and separating our household goods from our DITY stuff (this is my 3rd move and I still don't like doing that).  The movers will be here super soon and we'll be spending Christmas with our parents in Pennsylvania and then more training and finally to Dover! 

And I'll be doing it all while blasting Christmas music through my non-decorated house.  A girl's gotta have a little fun :)

Just a spoonfull of sugar...

It's been a while (for me) since I wrote.  But I have an excuse.  I'm on day number 6 of being sick and it shows no sign of letting up.  I don't really like the doctor, so I haven't gone.  I'm thinking it's probably time.  Boo.  Okay, that's about all my throbbing head will let me write.  I'll have to catch the blog up on everything when my nasal passages clear and I no longer feel like I've been run over by a truck.  Fun times. :) 

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Guest Rooms

It's time for Guest Room pictures!  Despite living in Mississippi, we actually have had guests!  Granted, those guests happened to be my parents and brother once and Mr. L's parents twice, but they stayed here and used the guest bed!  This room is small and I really didn't take any time to try to make it super pretty, but I'll let you look at it for yourself!


View from the hallway.  The armoire came with the set, but it's empty now.

  

View of pretty much the entire room from the doorway. 



The Guest Bed! 

The bed, side tables and armoire are from IKEA.  This set was our very first purchase as a couple when we lived together in Pittsburgh.  It's not made of much, but it held up pretty well until we bought our current set.  My favorite part of the bed happens to be the throw pillows.  When we move and get the chance to be more creative with our walls/colors, I want to base the theme off those pillows (from Pier 1!)


View across the room. 

The closet holds my wedding dress, wedding bouquet, graduation cap/gown, and our exercise ball (which hasn't seen any use since Florida).  It's a catch-all place for things we like to keep out of the way.  The bookshelf was mine in grad school and holds my Real Simple magazines and stuffed animals that I'm not sure what to do with :)

This was my grandfather's.  He loved light houses and when he passed away, I took these two (the other is on the other night stand) to remind me of him.

Our "name" sign.  I've done a good job of keeping our name out of the blog, but I love this sign and wanted to show it off.  We went to Seaworld one month before we got married and had one of the vendors make this sign to showcase what would soon be both of our last names.  I LOVE it, but had a hard time finding a good place for it.  I think it works in this room!

Thanks for looking around!!!!

Oh yeah...HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!  We didn't "celebrate" exactly.  Last night was our trick-or-treat, but Mr. L and I got tickets to the Mississippi State/Kentucky game, so we went to the game instead (which was awesome!).  This is year number 2 that we've missed handing out candy to the kiddies...we'll give it a shot next year :) 

Another year passed...

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday dear MEEEEEE, Happy Birthday to me!

It's my birthday, the big 2-8.  Every year as this day gets closer, I get excited.  My birthdays were always a big deal growing up, my parents always threw me a party, made sure I was surrounded by family and friends and, due to it's proximity to Halloween, I always felt like it was a holiday!  Maybe that's a little arrogant, but I really LOVED my birthday and loved celebrating it.  Also, until I was in high school, I never knew anyone else who was born on October 27th, so I really felt like the day was mine.

My parents threw me a great party when I turned 16.  They rented the municipal center, got a DJ and had music note lollipops made for favors (I was big into music).  My entire family plus about 30 friends came and it was awesome.  My 18th birthday was a Friday and I had to be in school, but that was the day my high school celebrated Halloween.  Everyone dressed up, most classes were just filled with costume contests and candy, and I ended the night with a home football game, followed by a night at Red Robin.  Exactly what every senior in high school wants!

My 21st birthday was pretty typical.  I went to a bar, I don't remember much else and I was a little sick for the following days.  But it was great :)

That's when I decided I wanted to stop.  I didn't need to get any older...I'd already crossed all the milestones and wasn't really looking forward to much else.  Luckily that wasn't possible because my 23rd birthday was my first date with my now husband...I'm pretty glad I turned 23.

25 came and went.  26 passed too...I turned 27 a month after I got married. 

This past year has been one of the most intense of my whole life.  I moved to Mississippi, was unemployed for the first time since I was 16, it was my first year of marriage, and my husband was in pilot training.  27 has been eye opening and a little hard, but worth it :)

As my age climbs towards 30, I'm freaking out.  What happened?  Where did all my years go?  I don't regret anything and I'm certainly not wishing to be 16 again, but I just can't wrap my head around getting older.  I want everyone to stay this way.  I want my parents to be the age they are, my brother to stay 18.  I want my family to be around forever.  I want to be in my 20s and be just this way.  I realize this is all crazy and can't happen and life goes on, but does anyone else feel this way? 

So now I'm 28, one more year closer to being 30 and I think I'd like to just stay here.  365 days to see if maybe it'll happen this time :)

Silver Shiny Wings

Off we go into the wild blue yonder,

Climbing high into the sun;

Here they come zooming to meet our thunder,

At 'em boys, Give 'er the gun! (Give 'er the gun now!)

Down we dive, spouting our flame from under,

Off with one helluva roar!

We live in fame or go down in flame. Hey!

Nothing'll stop the U.S. Air Force!

Today was one of the proudest moments I've ever had.  Mr. L graduated from pilot training today and earned those silver shiny wings :)

The day started out with a nice sit-down breakfast, followed by the Vice Wing Commander giving us a bit of history about pilot training.  Then, an IP showed a slideshow of the history of Columbus Air Force for all the guests.  We sat with Mr. L's parents (who made the 16 hour car trip down for this momentous occasion).  We also sat with Kyle, his parents and Jen.  They're our closest friends here and it felt really nice to share the day with them. 

After breakfast, we all headed to the auditorium on base for the actual ceremony. 




Mr. L receiving the Distinguished Graduate Award!  He worked so hard :)





Here he is receiving his wings and aeronautical rating.  So exciting!!



Mr. L and his class getting ready to break their first pair of wings, per AF tradition.

  After the ceremony, we walked to the Smith Plaza (it was a gorgeous day!) to do the formal pinning of the wings.  Due to time, magnetic wings are secured on the jackets and the real wings are handed to them as they leave the ceremony.  Then, family members can actually pin the wings on and it can be photographed and you can take your time.




It's not as easy as it seems, that jacket is really thick!





He's pinned!

 The rest of the day passed like a blur.  We took his parents to the simulator, where both were able to "fly" the T-1.  We were able to go to the flight room, talk to the instructors and purchase some really cute flight and plane memorabilia.  I got a set of wings and a C17 charm (both hang on a necklace) while Mr. L got a shot glass and a coin.  After a serious dress crisis (I had to go out shopping 1.5 hours before the formal dinner!!!) it was time for the banquet...the total end of pilot training.



Mr. L in his mess dress and me in my last minute purchase!



The Air Force has some wacky traditions, including kissing your wife (crazily) in front of everyone!



The class spouses...we've stuck together through a hard year, I'm sure going to miss them!

  Mr. L walked away with two more awards (4 in total, including the prestigious Commander's Trophy) and we had a wonderful time meeting everyone's families and reminiscing about the past 54 weeks.  Then it was time to leave and say goodbye to the most crazy, hard, long, exciting, and memorable year we're sure to have in our lives.  It was fun, but now we're ready for the next adventure.




CONGRATULATIONS 11-01!!!! YOU DID IT!! :)



 

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Office

So far, this post is empty.  My office pictures are currently on my camera and my camera is not here :(  As soon as I can get some time to upload the pics, I'll update this post!

Lily Sunday

When we first got Lily, she was forbidden to enter any part of our house that had carpet.  Though she was 6 months old when we adopted her, we had no idea where she had been for the first part of her life and were unsure about her bathroom habits.  It turned out that she *sort of* understood where puppies were supposed to go, but for the first two months, she pretty much did whatever she wanted.  Therefore, she lived in the kitchen/dining room!  She would sit at this gate (that looks into the living room) and cry and whine until one of us would sit with her.  If this didn't work, she took to chewing on the corners of the walls or trying to eat the gate...she was very persistent.  When she wasn't doing those things, you could find her doing this...Lily loves a good nap.  Though I'm not sure why, with that huge bed, she chose to sleep with her head on the floor :)

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Dining Room & Kitchen

I am so sad that I'm so late on these entries!  I was so excited about Kelly's Korner show us where you live series, but I just haven't been able to keep up!  So, even though I couldn't link up to her entries, I decided to post mine anyway!  I've combined the Dining Room & Kitchen posts, since in our house, they are pretty much the same room!  Onto the L's Dining Room!

This is the first view of the dining room when you come in from the living room.  We bought this set recently and with the leaf, it can seat up to 8 (though we only have 6 chairs!)

Here's the view from the kitchen.  We love the half wall because our house feels like one big room, even though we have really distinct spaces.

An upclose of the buffet.  We were initially looking for a tall hutch, but due to our budget we went with this low buffet.  It has great storage and I love that it can hold all my miscellaneous stuff!

The sign above the buffet.  Pretty much how we feel about our weekends (we feel this way about our weekdays too, we just don't have the time to enjoy them that way!)

One of my favorite pieces in our house.  For obvious reasons, Mr. L and I are really patriotic and we love anything we can add to our home that emphasizes that.  The national anthem is played on base every weekday at 5:00pm and I have to say that I still sometimes get choked up when I hear it, so when we saw this plate, we knew we had to have it in our house.

My table centerpiece.  The flowers are from Kirklands and the blue bottle is one of my favorite things in the house.  When Mr. L and I got married, his brother and sister-in-law visited and got a bottle of wine for the four us to share and talk about our marriage over.  They took the bottle with them when they left and the next time we saw them, they presented us with this flattened bottle...it's the bottle of wine!  My sister-in-law explained that someone had done that for them when they got married and they use theirs to serve cheese on.  For now, the bottle sits here on our table and I get to see it every day, which I really love.

And here is the view from the dining room into the kitchen (see, just one big room)...

View of the kitchen from the living room.  We have tons of storage and a really nice layout.  It's easy for both of us to move around in the kitchen together, even with a dog under our feet!

Here's the sink and our window that looks out onto our screened in porch.  The stuff on our counters is a mix of Bed, Bath & Beyond and Hobby Lobby.

This is the BEST part of the kitchen.  We use this island EVERY day, whether we're preparing our food or using it to hold bags from the grocery store or shopping, to setting out food buffet style when we have people over.  All the cabinets and drawers are full, thank goodness for all the storage!

Here's the view from the kitchen to our living room.  We love the open floor plan.

Our "nook".  This is our catch-all spot.  Our laptop, the mail, our change, family pictures, keys, our phone, and our calendar take up this space and sometimes it's so full you can't find the computer or see the actual desktop.  It's been nice to have this space, but I will admit sometimes I wish it wasn't there so the clutter couldn't hang out there!

Just wanted to share these.  We got these plates as wedding gifts from my wonderful friend Nancy.  They were so beautiful that we wanted to share them, so they found homes on the top of cabinets where everyone can see them!

The way out! On the left, the two doors are closets (a large one for a pantry, a small one for a broom closet, but I use both as pantries!)  Beyond that on the left is the door to the garage.  The door straight ahead is our half bath and the door on the right is the laundry room/Lily's room.

Thanks for looking around!! :)



Drumroll Please...

We have been waiting for a year, a very long year, to find out what plane Mr. L will be flying for his career and what our first base would be with that plane.  Mr. L trained for a year, worked so super hard, and we filled out the dream sheet.  Then we waited...and waited...and waited...and we finally know!

THE C-17 GLOBEMASTER

to

We are SOOOOOOO excited!  This was the number one choice on Mr. L's dream sheet and getting your number one choice doesn't happen a lot!  First of all, Mr. L has wanted to fly the C-17 for such a long time.  he loves the mission, loves the crew airplane, and loves airdrop.  He didn't want to jinx himself, so he kept it to himself most of the time, but he wanted this plane soooooo badly.  I'm so happy that he will be flying it.  Moving to Dover is going to be awesome.  It's 2.5 hours from my family, about 3 from his, and we have lots of friends in the area. 

We've lived in the south for about 4 years and have enjoyed it a lot (especially the no snow part), but we miss the NorthEast and being able to go to our neices and nephews birthday parties, game nights with my family and spending the holidays with people we love.  We are thrilled that these things will be possible for the next 3 years.

We have no idea when we'll actually be going yet (remember, we here in the L family don't hold our breath for Air Force timelines), but we definitely still have some time left in Columbus.  Mr. L has to attend survival school and then go to Oklahoma for C-17 training...this will be about 4 months of time.  Add in some upcoming holidays and just the pace of these transactions and we could be here for another 6 months.  But trust me, Mississippi looks a LOT better when you know you're going to say goodbye soon!!!!!!!!

The List Is In...

So, as of today around 6:00pm, our dream sheet was turned in to Mr. L's flight commander.  This has been in the works for a year, since the day pilot training started and it was finally time to turn in the list.  We worked on the list for about three days, making sure everything was in the exact order we wanted it to be and it's finally in the hands of the one guy who can make it happen...no pressure :) :) 

We find out on Friday the 8th and I couldn't be more excited!  Not only do we find out where we're going to live for the next few years, but Mr. L  finally gets to find out what plane he's going to fly for his career.  I'm so super proud of him and all that he's accomplished and I can't believe that this year of training is almost over.  It hasn't been the easiest year (really long days/nights for Mr.L, unemployment for me), but he's doing what he loves and I love being there to support him and build this life together.  I'll bring news of Assignment Night to the blog as soon as I can :)

Okay so I just realized that I missed Lily Sunday last week and I totally forgot to do Kelly's Show Us Your Life Dining Rooms this week.  I'm going to skip last week's Lily picture and just start again tonight and the computer is being silly and won't let me upload any pictures at all, so I'll be skipping Lily again his week.  I'll catch up on the dining room pics this week sometime.   

One last note: Way to Go PITT!!! My panthers kicked butt this weekend :)

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Master Bedroom

I can't seem to get these posted on Fridays!  Anyway, I'm participating in Kelly's Korner Show Us Your Life again this week and it's Master Bedrooms.  I'm not terribly fond of this room in our house...it works, it fulfills its purpose, but the arrangement is a little strange and it's not exactly what I envisioned for our room.  However, I do love the white bedding with green accents, I'm pretty sure I'll hang on to those for a while.  I figure I'll work on that when we get to our new place *fingers crossed it's new*

This is a (very dark, my camera isn't great) picture from the door and looking to the left.  Lily wanted you all to see where she sleeps every night.

This is what you see as you walk from the hallway into the room.  There's just enough space for the dresser against the wall and still have space to walk into the room.  The frame was a wedding present from a friend who speaks Arabic and wrote us a message.  The vases are from Kirkland's and the frame is from Hallmark and has a wedding picture in it.

This is our gigantic bed.  We bought this furniture set about 2 years ago when we lived in an apartment that had an over-sized master.  We didn't measure or anything and it fit just great.  Here, not so much.  My night table has to sit sideways to fit and the room feels like a closet with the huge pieces in it.  Also, because of the room layout, we had to cover up the large window which made me sad.  The bedroom set is from Rooms-2-Go, the bedding from Bed, Bath, & Beyond and the lamps are from Target.

A look to the left.  My dresser that I love.  That door leads to the master bath (another day!)

This is my dresser!  The TV was not always there, but due to Mr. L's early bedtime, I need the TV to keep me occupied when I decide to go to bed when he does.  Also, we both like falling asleep to a tv or movie.  The pictures are a wedding photo and a picture of us from his college military ball.  The art reflected in the mirror is from Walmart.

And lastly, the way out!  That little sliver on the left is our walk-in closet.  The door on the right goes into the hallway.  The art on the wall is a print I picked up when I went to France in high school.  Thanks for looking around!!

I Love Television

I'm not ashamed, I'm a TV junkie.  I blame my parents (sorry Mom & Dad) because I had a TV in my room when I was 4 years old and I've never been without one.  I watched all the shows when I was younger (ALF, Full House, Small Wonder, I was in love with TGIF & Snick) and I've pretty much always had a TV schedule during the week.  It was harder to do when I was in college and grad school, but I did my best.  I discovered DVR about 4 years ago when we moved into our first apartment in Pittsburgh and I'm pretty much addicted (I only wish you could record more than two shows at a time!)

I haven't always loved my year off here in Columbus...I like to be busy and have a job and be really purposeful and living here has pretty much be the opposite of that.  However, my TV addiction was only increased by having all the time in the world to watch new shows!  In fact, I love Fall, not only for football, the (northeast) weather and sweaters, but because it's TV show premiere time!  This week has been fantastic because all of my favorite shows have started again!  Last week I prepared the DVR so I wouldn't miss anything and I found that I have 16 shows in my DVR...SIXTEEN!!!! And yes, I watch all of these, not one of them are just for Mr. L (he doesn't exactly have time to watch TV).  Would you like to know what shows I'm watching?  I thought you would :)

How I Met Your Mother - Super funny and only a half hour.  Mr. L loves this one too so we watch it together.
CSI, CSI: Miami, & CSI:NY - Oh yes, I watch all of them. (I also love to watch the reruns on Spike & A&E)
Criminal Minds - I'm a huge fan of this series and I try to get people hooked on it all the time.
The Vampire Diaries - I thought this would be terrible at first, but I love the story!
Project Runway - I don't know a thing about fashion, but I'm so impressed by people who can turn a piece of fabric into an entire outfit.
The Gilmore Girls - I didn't keep up with this when it was on TV for real, so now I DVR all the episodes (two a day on ABC Familiy) so I can see all of them...I just need to see Seasons 2 & 3 and I'll have seen them all.
Pretty Little Liars - I watch ABC Family so much that I got sucked in when this premiered.  Now I have to know what's going on.
So You Think You Can Dance - I love dance.  I love people who are amazing dancers.  Thus, this show is the best. Just waiting for the new season to start.
True Blood - I read all the books and loved them, so I got HBO specifically to watch this show. 
Glee - This is the BEST show.  I love music and theater and I would join Glee if I could.
Teen Mom - I can't help it...it's my guilty pleasure.  I need to keep up with this girls, it's terrible.
Supernatural - This is by far my favorite television show.  Mr. L and I have seen every episode and are impatiently waiting for the season premiere tomorrow night.

Not only do I watch these shows, but there are several others I watch every time they are on TV: Las Vegas (I watch the reruns on TNT), Bones (also on TNT), and That 70s Show (I've seen every episode like 10 times, but they are always just as funny) and Will & Grace (same as that 70s show).  I also love Modern Family and the Big Bang Theory but they are on at the same time as shows above, so we'll probably catch up during the summer.  I'm also a huge fan of the History Channel, HGTV (House Hunters is awesome) and Oprah.

Despite all of these, there are still shows I wish that I watched, ones that I've never seen but heard are amazing: Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Weeds, & 30 Rock.  Maybe these will happen through Netflix.

So now that I've made it clear that television is my hobby, I'd love to know what you guys think (not really about my "hobby", I'm sure most people think this much TV is a waste of time) about the shows!  Does anyone watch these as well?  I'd love to know how you feel about them!

Lily Sunday

Since I'm trying to stay on the "blogging train", I'm going to keep up with what I started a while ago.  I just adore our puppy Lily and she's so cute that I feel like she should be shared with all of you!  So here's to another Lily Sunday :)

This is my FAVORITE picture of Lily.  She was home for only a few days when we snapped this shot and it was so good, we put it on our Christmas card last year.  Lily has huge ears...not basset hound huge, but really huge for her size.  Not only are they big, but she can control them.  Normally they are just down, but she can lift them straight up, put one up and one down, or pull them straight back (see the last Lily Sunday for an example).  Everyone who has ever seen her comments on her crazy ears and I'm pretty sure she realizes that her ears can get her whatever she wants.  This picture makes me smile no matter how many mattresses she tears up *true story* or times she throws up *she has a sensitive stomach* all over our rugs.

SHOW US YOUR LIFE - Living Rooms

I follow a blog called Kelly's Korner (love her blog by the way, her daughter is too cute!) and she does this great thing called "Show Us Your Life".  I participated in few in the past, and after a break for the summer, she's back at it!  This time, it's house tours and I'm soooooo super excited for it!  One of my favorite things to do is to sneak a peek into other people's homes (okay, that sounds creepy...I'm just really into seeing how other's decorate!!)  This week is Living Rooms and I decided to not only look at the pics, but participate as well.  Behold, the L's living room!!

**Disclaimer: I LOVE interior design and everything that goes along with homes...but I'm not super great at making it happen in my home.  I'm forever looking for better ways to make our house scream "us", but I'm a terrible shopper and am incredibly indecisive.  So, I pretend I'm awesome at it :)**

This is our living room view from the kitchen/dining room.  We live in new privatized military housing, so while the square footage and layout is AMAZING, the tan walls and tan carpet leave much to be desired.  We are allowed to paint, however we are currently in training, so we don't plan on staying longer than a year and a half, so I just don't feel like repainting (which is required) before we move again.  Of course, our couches from our previous home just so happened to match the carpet and walls, so I was left with a pretty bland canvas.  We bought dark wood tables when we moved in to offset the light colored everything and I tried to invest in dark accessories to help tone it down.  Look closely and you'll see that Lily made sure to be involved in the house tour too (along with her favorite frisbee toy)!

This is the view from the front door.  Lily once again needed to be in the picture (she takes after her momma).  As you can see the living room is ridiculously oversized for me, Mr. L and Lily, but it does come in handy for football parties!  I recently got bored and moved the couches around (picture the short loveseat in front of the half wall, that was the layout for a year).  Now, the room feels smaller because I cut part of the room out (see next picture).  We'd love to mount the TV, but once again due to a *hopefully* impending move, we just aren't going to do it.  Also, that large open space in front of the half wall should house a chair with an ottoman...since we don't have the funds right now, we just pretend there is one :)

This is the space directly to the right of the front door.  We chose to purchase a sofa table when we bought the coffee table and it houses some books, decorations and wedding pictures.  You can see the back of the love seat and how I "cut" the room into two parts.  I had NO idea what to do with this area when it was open to the couches and now that I can't see it due to loveseat, I just don't look over there!

A close up of the couch area.  As with all the other windows in our house, we don't have curtains.  I WANT them so badly, but it's just something I didn't get to.  The art on the wall is a black and white picture of the Eiffel Tower (a wedding present from my GLittle!) and the small squares are from Hobby Lobby.  Despite the lightness of the couches (the dark spots are not shadows, they are wear :() they are the most COMFORTABLE couches in the whole world!!!! We spend ALL of our time on these couches (we're huge TV people, so we even eat our dinner on them most of the time!) They were purchased from Ashley's Furniture about 3 years ago and I'm hoping to maybe slipcover them in the future so we can keep the comfiness!

Thanks so much for touring!  Can't wait to see everyone else's!