Grown-Up Toys

Our heater and air-conditioner finally bit the dust.  I give them credit though… they were 30 years old, and our heater had been on it’s way out for a year and a half.  (It would turn on, but not off.  We had to control it by cutting the power in the fuse box in my closet.)  So, $4,200 dollars later, we have a new “grown-up toy” – a new heater and air-conditioner!  (I’d rather have the 6 pairs of Louboutins I could have bought for that price… but I guess heat and air is a necessity.)

The mess in the bathroom while they removed the old heating unit.  

The old heater.
Our antique ac unit, next to our new compact one. 
Nice and shiny and new!
Isn’t it pretty?  (Funny what you can get excited about when you know your hard earned money paid for something like this.)
Best of all, I finally took the reminder sign to “turn off heater” off the door!  (Since it wouldn’t turn off by itself, if we’d accidentally left it on, Lucy would have melted.)

Merry Christmas, and Happy Valentine’s Day

This year, Logan and I decided that our Christmas present to each other would be for us to spend a weekend in a hotel, just relaxing together, and enjoying a day at the Spa there.  (Logan became an official fan of massages since his first one on our honeymoon.)  The weekend that we decided to do all of this ended up being Valentine’s weekend, and it was so much fun. 

We chose to stay at the Stoneleigh, which we absolutely love.  The building is beautiful, the hotel is historic, the rooms are amazing, and it has special meaning to us since it’s where we stayed on our first night as a married couple. 

After we checked in to the Stoneleigh, we grabbed a drink at the bar. 
 
The chandeliers are beautiful at this place!  Apparently they are all the original fixtures.  The hotel was built in 1923, so they are pretty special. 

We stayed in one of the Studio Suites, which was beautiful.  The room is divided by the TV, which swivels to either face the bed, or the seating area. 

The bathroom.  I love the paint color.  (Pretty much I love everything about this hotel!)
 
We walked around the top floor of the hotel so I could show Logan where I took my bridal portraits.  Here’s another lovely chandelier. 

My favorite chandelier:

Sunday night, we ate dinner at Nick and Sam’s Steakhouse, which is right across the street from the Stoneleigh.  This was the best picture I was able to get of the hotel from Nick and Sam’s.       
After dinner, at Nick and Sam’s. 
We also had an 80 minute couple’s deep tissue massage.  SO good.  Afterwards, I got to spend some time in the hydro-tub in the women’s “relaxation area” (aka the locker room).  You could add bath salts, which smelled amazing, and I was able to enjoy a glass of champagne while relaxing.  After the hydro-tub, I cleaned up in the most amazing shower I’ve ever seen.  The shower head was probably 2 feet wide, and there were shower jets all along the sides of the shower.  I already take long showers, but if I had one of these in my house, I think I’d never leave. 

I also surprised Logan with an 8 inch version of his groom’s cake!  Logan was so disappointed that he never got a slice of his groom’s cake at our wedding, so I called Elena up and had her make us a miniature version.  It was just as good as the original.  (Love that lady and her cakes!)  And yes – weight watchers took a back seat this weekend for me.  I don’t think I’ve ever had so much cake in one weekend.  It was worth every calorie!   I didn’t get a picture of the cake because we dived in to it so quickly.  :) 

We had so much fun during our mini-vacation!  I highly recommend the Stoneleigh.  We can’t wait to do it again!   

Sweet husband of mine…

The Friday before Valentine’s Day, I came home to find a pretty bouquet of flowers waiting for me on the kitchen table.  Logan knows how much I love flowers, and it was such a sweet surprise!  He even trimmed the stems and arranged the flowers himself.  :)  
Of course I ooohed and aaahed over the flowers, and finally made it back to my bathroom to wash my face.  When I opened the bathroom door, I found another beautiful arrangement waiting for me!  He was so proud of himself for surprising me not once, but twice in the same night!  (I was too!) 

Logan said that when he was buying all of the flowers, the cashier kept asking him what he’d done wrong.  He said he kept telling her that he hadn’t done anything wrong – he just wanted to surprise his wife.  The lady never did believe him!  :)  

I truly have the best husband in the world!  Love you, Logan! 

February Birthdays

Two of my sweet friends from work had birthdays this month! Last week, several of us met at the Cheesecake Factory to celebrate Laura’s birthday.  FYI – it is very difficult to not eat the cheesecake at the Cheesecake Factory.  (Darn Weight Watchers!)

Mandy, Kim, and Laura, the birthday girl!  
Amanda and I.

They brought Laura a mini hot fudge sundae, which was also hard for me to not want to take away from her and have for myself.  (I’ve been informed it’s both frowned upon to steal the birthday girl’s dessert, and not a weight watchers approved food item.)
 
Later that night, we went to a winery in Rockwall (who knew??) for Amanda’s surprise 30th Birthday.  This time, I was unable to resist the ah-maz-ing home made chocolate cake that was placed in front of me.  (Bad Lorin.) 

Cute picture with my work peeps at the winery:  Laura, Amanda, Kim and I. 
Happy happy birthday Laura and Amanda!! 

Videos of Lucy Playing in the Snow

I always forget that my camera can shoot video!  Got some great short clips of Lucy playing in the snow today.  She loves it!

Snow Day 2011!

After having to drive to work on solid ice the past two days, I was happy to A:  have the day off, and B:  wake up to a beautiful snow covering everything in sight! 

 
HUGE snow drifts on the front stairway. 
Lucy loves to play in the snow!  You can’t even tell where the street is compared to the sidewalk.  Beautiful!  The 4Runner. 
Logan’s car. 
I guess this looks like a good place to sit…
Snow butt! The pool looks a little more inviting in the summer… Frozen.      My favorite picture of Lucy:
Happy snow day everyone!