Oh The Places You Will Go!

So I have a few other posts that I should have posted before this one but I really wanted to get this one up. On Friday my mom and I loaded up my car with half of my niece's stuff and drove 3 hours to her new college to help her move into her dorm.

Jessie, my niece, and my Sister, Vicki, had gone up the night before so they would be there for the start of move in. This is Jessie first year of college. She has been very excited and a little nervous about going but I think she'll have a blast. She has 3 roommates. It looks like she will get along really well with them. Two of them are a bit more introverted compared to Jessie. But that just means she'll be good for them. She already talked them into going to the icebreaker event the first night, when they originally were just going to head back to the dorm. I brought my new camera. I bought a used Canon EOS Rebel T2i back in July after falling in love with my co-workers T1i that he let me borrow to take pictures of my niece's High School Graduation. Love It!

So, back to Jessie's move in day. Mom and I got there just after 11 am and Jessie and 2 of her roommates helped us unload the car. Vicki was at a meeting for all the parents so she wasn't there right when we showed up but joined us a bit later. I got to work trying to hook-up Jessie's new wireless printer with her laptop. Yeah long story short that didn't work out too well, so we had to take a half hour drive to the Walmart and pick up a USB cord. Basically, because so many people are using the schools wireless internet at one time that the wireless printer couldn't find the laptop to connect. But before we headed off to Walmart we decided to grab lunch at the amazing buffet they offer on campus. My favorites were the Wild Mushroom Cream Sauce over pasta and the super gooey brownies. Then Jessie showed us a few of the things and places on campus.

Abbey Hall - Jessie has a friend she met at an campus overnight staying in this dorm.

The best was the school's library and Sugar Shack. For those who don't know a Sugar Shack is where you make Maple Syrup.

Sugar Shack

Library

Jessie really would like to get into that class - she loves her maple syrup. The barn on the other hand is GORGEOUS!! It is made from two old Civil War barns. You enter through the silo. I'm in love with the picture of the view up into the silo.

Library entrance - looking up into the silo.

Study area in library

After we were done walking around a bit we headed back to the dorm to get a few things to drive to the Walmart. We got her USB cord, some light bulbs, and a few other things. Then we headed back and finished getting things setup.

Mom and Vicki loading the mini fridge with water and juice.

Jessie sitting on her bunk.

I also took a few pictures of Jessie in front of her dorm.

Standing in front of her dorm.

We all said our goodbyes and headed on home. Andrew and I are going to miss seeing Jessie on the weekends. I hope she has a fantastic time at school and makes a ton of new friends.

A Tale as Old as Time!

June 12th was our 3 year wedding anniversary. As my anniversary gift, Andrew bought us tickets to Disney's Beauty & The Beast at the Providence Performing Arts Center. Beauty & The Beast is my favorite fairy tale. The show was AMAZING! Everyone did a fantastic job. This was my first time seeing a show at PPAC. The building was gorgeous.

Beauty & The Beast is my favorite fairy tale. The show was AMAZING! Everyone did a fantastic job. This was my first time seeing a show at PPAC. The building was gorgeous. Here is a picture of the theater as if you were standing on the stage. Obviously, I did not take this photo

This was taken by John Woolf - You can find this photo and many other theater photos (no just PPAC) here

PPAC originally opened October 6th, 1928 as the Loew's State Theatre Movie Palace. The building suffered damage during the hurricanes of 1939 and 1954, and narrowly escaped demolition in the 1970's. It became the Providence Performing Arts Center in 1982. These are some of the photos I took of the PPAC lobby.

Chandelier in the PPAC Lobby

Look at that gorgeous ceiling.

They don't allow photography in the theater. So I was only able to get photos of the lobby and just a few in the actual theater before they told me I couldn't.

Faux box seats

The Stage

This is the giant chandelier in the theater. One of the employees came over and told me I couldn't take photos just as I was getting this shot. That is why it is so bad.

Once the play was finished we walked around the area just a little bit. PPAC is very close to Johnson & Wales, which is a college that I almost attended. The old buildings and architecture in New England are just beautiful.

This Lighthouse was on the median dividing the street.

We had such a great time and I can't wait to see another play there.

Our Puppy Brother!

Have you seen the adorable AT&T commercials where the guy is sitting with kids and asking them questions. Things like is it better to be faster or slower, Do you want more or less, etc... To which the kids give some of the cutest replies. One of my favorites is when the little girl says she would buy a Change-o machine and turn her brother into a puppy. Because when she brings him to show & Tell she can say here is my Puppy Brother.

Well Andrew has a puppy brother too, but he has always been a puppy. If you saw this post then you would have met Maxwell and seen his puppy pictures. He is now over 40 lbs and is more like a Doggy brother. He doesn't look much like a puppy anymore.

He's a Big Boy Now!

We went and spent Father's day with Andrew's side of the family. We had dinner at Grandma and Grandpa's house and played with Maxwell in the back yard a bit. Then headed back to my Mother-in-Law's and took some more pictures. I have borrowed my co-worker's Canon Rebel T1i and have had a ball playing with it. It takes great shots! Now I just need to find one of my own. Enjoy the cute shots of our Puppy Brother.

Frames out by the camera's sunshade!

Why are you still taking photos of me?

Sweet Face!

The regal basset profile.

Basset howl

I have decided that continuous shooting cameras were created for the purpose of taking pictures of running Basset Hounds. They are hilarious - flying ears and tongues.

Tired Bassets want to go inside after running around the yard for an hour or more!

He is so adorable. We just love our Puppy Brother. As long as he isn't trying to chew on us or our shoes. :)

Sheets Metal Trunk

So I think I can't start a post without saying, Sorry it has been awhile since I posted. Things have been a bit crazy lately. So first I'll give you a few updates.

As of the end of April, Andrew started working again. He sent out quite a few resumes and heard pretty much nothing from almost all of them. My company had been searching for an Internet Sales Manager for our KIA dealership and we decided that Andrew should give it a try. The weekly salary was a little higher than unemployment and then there is the monthly commission available which would make things better. His first month was slow but it wasn't his fault. Web leads have been down across the industry. This month has started out better and I have faith that he will do quite well. Pretty much what his job consists of is calling and emailing people who submit a lead online. He then tries to help people find the best deal and vehicle for their needs. Andrew sets an appointment for people to come in and then he sets them up with a salesman at the dealership. He gets a small commission for every appointment that shows and another slightly bigger one if that person buys a car. It is definitely not his dream job but it is keeping the bills paid. So if anybody is looking for a new KIA or a pre-owned vehicle in the Southeastern CT or RI area visit MichaelKIAofgroton.com and send my hubby a web lead.

Second, we celebrated our 3rd wedding anniversary last week. How have 3 years already gone by? What is even crazier is we have been together for 8 years and known each other for 11 years. So we went out for our anniversary and had brunch at the Mohegan Sun buffet and I won $50 on the penny slots. The food was so good! We then went and stopped in a few stores near our apartment to look around. We stopped in TJ Maxx and found a great trunk. We have been looking for a new chest/trunk to put at the end of the bed to store our sheets and pillow cases. Here are a few pictures of our old one.

It was a cheap, simple storage chest that I picked up at Ocean State Job Lot like 4 years ago. The back piece bows out when you close it and the lid doesn't close all the way. So we brought this lovely lady home.

While looking at it and then when Andrew was carrying it to the checkout we had a couple people tell us what a nice trunk it was. One woman said she thought it looked kind of like one of the ones from Restoration Hardware. I do love me some Restoration Hardware and this one was like 95% less. Here is one that I found on the RH site that looks kind of similar and cost $1,995.

I love that it has the trunk lid and space for our sheets and then has two drawers for pillow cases and other items. It is covered with aluminum and has little marks that remind me a bullet holes. Andrew thinks it looks a little Steampunk and I tend to agree. The trim is made of some kind of leather like material, probably fake, and wood. And here are some detail shots.

I wouldn't say that Steampunk is my most favorite style but I do like the mix of industrial rustic look with the old Victorian style of a steamer trunk. I think one day I'd love our bedroom to have a mix of Traditional, Rustic, and Industrial styles. This trunk will definitely supply the rustic and industrial looks. Here are some of the inspiration photos I have pinned on Pinterest for our Master Bedroom.

Source - Only links to homepage not actual image location.

I love the blue gray wall color with the white trim. I want to do some board and batten when we have our own house. Add in dark wood furniture and the whites and creams plus a touch of green. I also like the look and feel of this next picture.

Source

I like the rustic chandelier over the table and think it could look cool in a bedroom, too. Also it has the dark blue walls and all the white molding that I love. This last photo some people may find a little weird as a design inspiration photo. But the colors in this outfit work perfectly for the color scheme I want to use in the bedroom.

Source

The blue jeans represent the wall color. The brown purse and/or belt is for the color of the dressers and nightstands. The natural fiber color of the sweater would be great as a comforter or rug. The green could be sheets or even jut some fun little pops of color in the accessories. I think I want hardwood floors and maybe some kind of rug under the bed so when we get up we aren't stepping on the cold floor. We'll see how it all comes together, one day.

And now that this post has gone so long I think I'll finish it here. Do you like my new trunk? What do you guys do for storage? Dreaming of how you want a specific room to look?