32 is the new 22

Hey everyone - I feel like it has been awhile since I've said hi!

Hi!!  :)

I hope you are all doing well.  Life is going along here at a sweet pace.  It's a little strange to be honest.  It's like things are moving along like a happy, bubbly, little brook and I can't help but feel like a leaf floating downstream on my way to a larger body of water.  Is that weird?  It's the only way I can think to explain how I am feeling these days.  The feeling is good - it's refreshing and fun to feel you are being swept along in a cleansing element - the feeling is one I only last remember feeling in my early twenties.  It's like life is an open road and the possibilities are limitless.

So I'm saying things are good and exciting.  :)  And I can't shake the feeling that I am on my way to something bigger and better than I have ever dreamed.  It is a lovely feeling!  Maybe it's the juicing...maybe it's my age...I dunno.  I'm just relaxed and happy and content :)  Good stuff.

Here's a quick little update of what I've been up to and what's keeping me moving these days:

austin, tx - home sweeeeet home

Hey everyone,
I hope you are all well!  I have been on "stay-cation" this week and I spent my time off getting my new apartment allllll put together :)  This week was also my 32nd birthday!  Normally, I spend my birthday week engaging in a lot of fanfare and bar-hopping.  This year was a lot more quiet and subdued...and I liked it ;)

Please come on in and take a little tour of what makes this apartment "home" to me!

When you first walk in you have the option of going to the dining/kitchen area on the right or the living area on the left.  This space pictured above is supposed to be the dining room but I've turned it into my study/sewing/hoop making/reading/record player area.

All About Janice :)

Hi everyone,
Happy Mother's Day!  I know a lot of amazing mothers among my group of friends and family.  I hope you are all having a blessed day!  I wanted to take a minute and tell you all a little about what makes my mom, Ms. Janice Marlene, special among the rest. :)

That's Janice there second from the left.

How does your garden grow?

Katie and I just returned from a whirlwind trip to Austin!  We have returned home having FELT the LOVE! We went up there this week intending to hunt for jobs, go on interviews, and view apartments (which we did), but this trip turned into such a bigger blessing :)  After our Houston visits Katie and I were both feeling torn about where to settle down - Austin or Houston.  But an apartment agent we met this week put it best when he paused in the middle of his sales pitch, cocked his head a little sideways, and said with a smile, "Austin is such a natural beauty."

Okay that was probably PART of his sales pitch but he was coming across so genuinely!  :)  Either way...SOLD.

Sunset on South Congress

House Tour :)

Hey y'all!

I wanted to give you guys a tour around the new Marsh homestead!  My mother would appreciate it if I would make it very clear that this home is still a work in progress.  We have not even been here one month!  In fact, I have excluded showing you the spare bedroom (aka my current room), the office, the powder room, the garage apartment, and the garage because those works are still TOO much in progress :)  All photos were taken from angles that excluded moving boxes :)

Hopefully the following partial  tour will be enough to give you a feel for the house as a whole.

Starting at the beginning!  As you can see below, the house is a Texas Historic Landmark.  It was owned by the man who founded the Sealy Mattress Company (he named the business after the town).

The previous owners gave us photos of the house before the 1995 renovations.  You wouldn't believe the transformation!  The woman who lived here up to 1995 had let the place get so run down because she was afraid any home improvements would increase her taxes!

Let's move on inside.  Here I am hanging out on the front porch:

Howdy!

Houston!

Hello :)

Katie and I spent our entire day exploring the city of Houston.  We had such a fun day!  We got our tour stop ideas from Pinterest - of all places - but it worked out well.  Katie and I set off with the idea in mind that "Austin may be proud to be weird, but Houston is funky!!"

Our first stop was the Beer Can House in the River Oaks area of Houston.  Apparently if you're a celebrity in Houston - you live in this neighborhood...and this is your neighbor:  

Beer Can House

This house is in the middle of a normal suburban neighborhood.  The story is that the owner got tired of mowing his grass so he covered his property in over 50,000 beer cans.  I could live in a house like this!  The hanging chains of beer cans sound like chimes blowing in the wind :)

Peace like a river

Hey y'all!

Sound Texan, don't I?  ;)  Let me ask you - what kind of woman moves to Texas in April and doesn't bring a single pair of shorts?  THIS woman (points at self).  I am on a tight budget so I can't run out and revamp my wardrobe.  So here is what is quickly becoming of my precious jeans:

Let's pray there isn't a freak snowstorm anytime soon :(

2013 is going to be the year the Marsh's completely bypassed spring all together.  We are in summer temperatures and it's only going to get hotter!  I love it though.  It is freeing to be rid of the cardigans and closed toed shoes :)  It's also freeing to be rid of my liquid eyeliner!  I will have to save that for special, air conditioned events going forward.  

We made it!

Hi everyone, 

First off, thanks for being interested enough in my life to read this :)  I wanted to start a blog so that friends and family could check in on our adventure without having to go through social media.  I promise future posts won't be as lengthy as this one!

Secondly, after driving 1400 miles in 2 days... I am in TEXAS!  The Marsh's (including FOUR cats and a dog) arrived safe and sound on April 8.  

Puttin the pedal to the metal!