Foyer

Here is a photo without the bag over the light and you can see the front door detail a little better.

Details: Light Fixtures

A boy and his garage

Two bays for cars, one for a workshop. Austin ponders what he will create there.

First glimpses

A few pics from my phone; the place looks amazing and we're thrilled!

A Farewell to Iowa

On Tuesday, I headed west for my last trip to Iowa for awhile. My friend, Dr. MB, lives there and it was time for another visit while I was still under two hours away. We packed in a ton of cool stuff in just over 24 hours:

• a homemade lunch of herb and panko crusted shrimp and cheesy green chili mashed potatoes
• a trip to the Figge Art Museum where we also sat at easels and drew (Dr. MB's work pictured below)
• a little coloring time with the lovely 18 month old Mademoiselle J
• dinner with another friend at The Crane and Pelican where I fell in love with smoked Gouda soup and saffron risotto then dessert at a frozen yogurt shop
• morning coffee/tea with Dr. MB's colleague where even more art happened (also pictured below)
• a little work on our fall conference presentation
• great conversation and hospitality throughout

Fireplace and Accent Wall

Here is a glimpse of the fireplace which we also chose to be the accent wall.

You can just see the lighter grey to the left of the fireplace which will be on most of the walls. The fireplace will have white built in shelves and cabinets when all is said and done. As Austin said, that's where some of our objets d'art will go and I'm thinking some favorite books and cookbooks.

We will be going back to Kentucky soon to pick out the slate that will go on the fireplace. It also has outlets nearby for lighted pine garland around the holidays which I'm already excited about.

Also going in as I type are the cabinets. Our builder does only custom cabinets so we are getting white shaker cabinets with modern, brushed nickel pulls. Austin really wanted soft-close drawers so we got those too. Who knew there was so much involved in cabinets? I can't wait to see it all put together with the dark grey granite countertops, the painted walls, and the backsplash. With all that up, we'll be able to pick out exactly what color we want the floors stained. All these grown-up decisions but it's been great to pick everything out and customize; we're really fortunate.

Summer Plans

I committed to teaching in Mexico this summer long before we had any idea we were moving. We knew it was a possibility but thought we'd be buying an existing home, making travel logistics more manageable. As it turned out, we built a house that decided to get done just around the time that I'd be in Mexico. I will be working and making some extra cash for the house but it's hard to leave Austin and not get into the new house right away. Fortunately, his dad has graciously offered to help Austin with the move and I just landed an apartment in Mexico that will make being away from my new U.S. house a little easier. Picture me blogging and grading from the rooftop terrace and cooking in the great kitchen.

Coming Along

It's looking like we'll have a place to land in Kentucky.

Olbrich Botanical Gardens

We have a thing for botanical gardens so we decided to visit the one in Madison as part of our anniversary celebration. Austin took some amazing photos--vote for which ones should make it onto the Lunderoy 2014 calendar!

Anniversary Dinner

I'm finally getting around to posting the dinner we splurged on for our anniversary in lieu of gifts. They are of terrible quality since I used my phone and no flash to try to keep a reasonably low profile in the cozy darkness of the restaurant. We stayed in a hotel within walking distance and left a little early to enjoy a French martini and a Hurricane at the bar.

When we got seated, we knew we had to order our favorite appetizer: crawfish, smoked Gouda, and bell pepper cheese cake drizzled with a green onion and tomato coulis. We enjoyed it smeared on thick slices of French bread, just divine.

For our first course, we both chose the soup. It was a corn and crab chowder with just the right level of heat.

Austin ordered his entree off the menu for the first time*, usually opting for the specials. He selected a grilled tenderloin stuffed with spinach, goat cheese, and sun-dried tomatoes finished with homemade smoked almond Worcestershire sauce.

My entree was a special:seared scallops and blue crab over arugula and angel hair pasta with a base of port wine tomato bisque topped with basil bread crumbs and fresh-grated Parmesan cheese.

We were unable to pass up dessert so we shared a slice of frozen chocolate peanut butter cream pie. It was amazing.

* I thought for sure Austin would get the other special: spice-crusted salmon cutlets over brown rice with a shrimp, mango, and ginger and slaw along with a green chili butter sauce. I'm mainly documenting that in the event that I ever decide to get creative with salmon.

Seven Years

Yesterday was our seven year wedding anniversary. Austin recreated the Cajun pasta from our wedding dinner, we watched a movie, and sipped the Spanish wine we discovered in Barcelona on our honeymoon. It was perfect. We're so looking forward to the next weeks and months and years as we move into our dream home together.