Enough said...

Rosie went to work with me the other day. Everyone was shocked at her size and how much she grew in one week. Scroll down and see for yourself...

I think this will be the last time I'll be able to pick her up...

She is getting so big, I can barely hold her!

She slept under my desk for a few hours. I think the kids wore her out!

My Addiction

Hi, my name is Hollie and I am a quiltaholic.

I honestly don't know how many quilts I have in my closet.
Every time I come across a quilt that is in excellent shape, has feed sack fabrics, and is reasonably priced, you can guarantee that its coming home with me.

On Tuesday, Kathy and I decided to scope out the antique store in town during our lunch break. We were having a bad day at work and needed some antique retail therapy. I came across this lovely twin-sized quilt. The blue vintage print from the '20s is adorable and the design is just too cute! The price wasn't bad at all: $45. So, naturally, I folded it up and tucked it under my arm and proceeded to bring it home.





Speaking of quilts, I got my two very large sized quilts back from Therese in Michigan. She binded and finished two of my antique quilt tops. They are just absolutely gorgeous and I cannot wait to show them to you, which I will in another post.

Now, all I need is a lovely house to showcase all of my quilts.

Inspiration for a Kitchen

After posting about my New Year's resolution, I got a comment about the house that I found from Aunt Julie. She made a suggestion of putting a row of bottom cabinets with a countertop under the row of windows in the kitchen, as well as an island if the room can accommodate one.

Thats a wonderful idea and I did wonder about that, but unfortunately the windows in the house are larger than your usual windows. They run longer and a standard height cabinets/countertop would not fit. So, I was thinking about maybe finding an antique table that would run the length of the windows. It'd give me some space.

Also, I got my Country Home magazine in the mail today (I love that magazine!) and they ran an article with a kitchen that I really liked. I love the butcher top island... I wonder if I could do that?

I love the fresh look of this kitchen. It is very clean and airy, yet has style and substance. I just love that island. Can't you see me having a kitchen with something like that in it?

Aunt Julie also asked for more details regarding the bungalow that I found. I am still looking around to see what else is out there. The bungalow has 3 bedrooms and 1.5 bathrooms. It is indeed a 2-story bungalow. It has a full basement that has great potential to be finished. The upstairs is a open loft that runs the entire length of the house. It has great potential to be turned into a master suite, complete with a bathroom and walk-in closet and maybe another bedroom or a sitting area. The house, in general, has wonderful bones to be a really lovely house. If I were to buy the house tomorrow, it is livable just the way it is and we could make the additional renovations in a few years. It has a decent yard considering that it is in Milwaukee. A fence can be installed for the dogs.

Here is what the exterior looks like:

As you can see, its a classic brick bungalow built in 1929. The neighborhood consists of similar bungalows and cape cod homes.

Im excited to see what else is available in Milwaukee and I can't wait to finally own a house and turn it into my home.

5 More Facts about Miss Rosie

Its been an interesting night. Rosie has been on our minds literally ALL night. She kept us up for a good couple hours with diarrhea. Poor thing. I am so thankful that she is housebroken and didn't have one accident in the house. But, it wasn't fun going outside literally 8 times at 3 in the morning. I'm happy to report that she seems to be doing better this morning. Thankfully I have a boss who also has a 14 week old puppy and understands all the little things you deal with, so she is allowing me to work on my reports from home in order to keep an eye on Rosie.

Anyway, I thought I'd do another "Facts" post about our darling puppy. She has been with us now for 4 weeks and we are constantly learning new things about Rosie everyday.

1. Rosie loves to sleep on her back with her limbs splayed out. Apparently this is a common tendency in all Newfoundlands. I wonder what it'll look like when she's 120 lbs? I'm sure it'll be an interesting sight!

2. She is growing rapidly. She has gained 20 lbs in the 4 weeks we have had her so far! Each of her paw pads is the size of a quarter. Just huge!

3. She is now learning how to take walks properly with Sam. Every evening when we come home from work, one of us will take both of them out for a walk. Rosie will not walk on the right side of Sam. She absolutely has to be on his left side. When she walks alone with me, she also has to be on my left side. Why? Who knows?

4. Rosie is now entering the lovely, awkward stage where she is all legs. As you can see in this picture, she has very long legs and huge paws. She often stumbles over herself and it is just comical to watch.


5. Rosie continues to favor me over Paul. It looks like her order of preference is: Me, Sam and then Paul. Smart girl, eh? Of course, some days Sam bumps me to 2nd place, but that's okay. We all know who Rosie will run to when she's hurt, hungry, or needs to go out.

Some of my absolute favorite pictures are so simple.

These photos were taken in Notre Dame in Paris on New Year's Eve 2007. We stumbled into a Mass service there, which was very moving to watch. The cathedral was overwhelming full of these candles. It was very simple and beautiful.

New Year Resolution

My apologies for being lax regarding my blog recently. I had a very difficult month in December, professionally and personally. Im happy to report that it is the NEW YEAR, so I am off to a clean start. While there is nothing I can do about my job situation but to go along with it and hope it doesnt last too long, Ive decided that I can indeed take ownership for the other areas in my life. Ive decided that one of my New Year's Resolution is to buy a house in 2009.

I'm happy to announce that I am pre-approved! Thats one step closer to buying my first house!

Last weekend, I met with my Realtor and he showed me 7 properties. I had a great time and it gave me an opportunity to see what kind of houses are within my price range and it gave my Realtor the chance to get a better idea of what I am looking for in a house. We did find one house that fit all of my criteria. It is an adorable brick bungalow with hardwood floors and charm/character galore. I think it is very much a "Hollie" house.

BUT.... of course there is a but. The kitchen is a bit odd in terms of its layout. The current owner restored it to its original kitchen, complete with its original 1920s porcelain sink that is approximately 6 feet long! I dont think its a functional kitchen for me since I want counterspace to do my cooking and baking on. Currently there is NO counterspace.

Here is what it looks like:

And here is the floor plan that I hastily drew:



Any ideas of what I could do if I were to buy this house? Maybe put the long sink in the basement? Install a regular sink with the dishwasher inside the nook instead, which would give me some counter space? Maybe a butcher top island in the middle of the room? A narrow table below the windows?

Any suggestions?

Here is a peek in the rest of the house, which I love:



See what I mean by charm/character galore? All original hardwood floors, built-in cabinets in both living room and dining room, stained glass windows, etc. Its a very pretty, cozy house. It is going on my list but I will continue to look and see what else is out there for me.

It hit me tonight.
Exactly one year ago today, I was in this beautiful city.
Will I ever go back?