Tea Bags& Hot Water: Getting Real

image via here

It's time to get real. I'm really stressed, worried, and have been grinding my teeth a lot (as a result of the aforementioned emotions). I'm about to pull back the curtain and reveal some big insecurities here on the old blog. Mr. SE and I accepted an offer to move to Denver, and within 4 weeks we were packed up and driving across the country. Sure, we owned a home in Nashville and had a solid network of friends. Surely, we'd be able to sell the house within a couple months and make new friendships. Well, the friendship part has come easily. People in Denver are SO nice; and not the sometimes nice of the south (I believe they call it polite) where they're nice to your face and not behind your back. Genuinely nice. While I miss my friends in TN dearly, I'm comforted by the relationships I've been able to create in the past 3 months. And things have been going great with my business, 3 brides on the books already for 2012 and we weren't expecting anything until spring 2013! But there's this one thing that's holding us back...our house.

Y'all. If our house doesn't sell in Nashville we can't close on this new house in Denver. It's like this big fat bully that's riding us piggyback. Our first realtor wasn't really pushing the house, and took a really passive approach to getting it sold. Look, we're not "thinking" about moving-- we packed up and moved across the country, so please bust your buns to sell my house! So after 60 days on the market, we withdrew our listing with that realtor and used a referral from our new realtor here in Denver. The new realtor had back-to-back visits in the first two weeks, but now it's slowed down a bit. Mr. SE thinks it's because of tax time, and that tours will pick up again when folks start getting their refunds.

And me? I'm frustrated, grumpy, and this is a completely sour topic. I'm worried that if anybody else asks me if we "at least have any offers" I'm going to bite their head off. Hello? If I had an offer we would've sold the house! Clearly you have no experience listing a home from 2008-2012. Kthanksbye. I'm trying to stay positive, I really am. But every day I'm dying to get a "showing" email or some sort of head's up that a sweet family is putting an offer on our home.

Here's where you come in. Please send us whatever form of encouragement suits your soul-- prayers, burying a St. Joseph statue (my mom suggested this), house selling dances, positive vibes, or any other ritual you prefer. Please just send it our way.

Thanks for allowing me to get real on here. It's not normally something that I do, since I try and keep the blog more upbeat. Promise I'll try and be back to fun posts tomorrow.

*Update** 

I added a link to our listing in case you know someone in the market in Nashville

http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/4272-Rachel-Donelson-Pass_Hermitage_TN_37076_M85816-05125

Thirsty Thursday: Moscow Mule

Since being in Denver, I've discovered the most delicious drink and I just had to share it with you. Also, since researching this drink it's come to my attention that Oprah is also a fan. Drum-roll please....I give you the Moscow Mule!

It's low in sugar and relatively healthy as far as cocktails go. Made with vodka, ginger beer, and lime, this drink is not too sweet. And I just love how they're served in copper cups. Seriously, how cute?


Here's a fun little history of the drink from Wikipedia...


The mule was born in Manhattan but "stalled" on the West Coast for the duration. The birthplace of "Little Moscow" was in New York's Chatham Hotel. That was back in 1941 when the first carload of Jack Morgan's Cock 'n' Bull ginger beer was railing over the plains to give New Yorkers a happy surprise... Three friends were in the Chatham bar, one John A. Morgan, known as Jack, president of Cock 'n' Bull Products and owner of the Hollywood Cock 'n' Bull Restaurant; one was John G. Martin, president of G.F. Heublein Brothers Inc. of Hartford, Conn., and the third was Rudolph Kunett, president of the Pierre Smirnoff, Heublein's vodka division. As Jack Morgan tells it, "We three were quaffing a slug, nibbling an hors d'oeuvre and shoving toward inventive genius". Martin and Kunett had their minds on their vodka and wondered what would happen if a two-ounce shot joined with Morgan's ginger beer and the squeeze of a lime. Ice was ordered, limes procured, mugs ushered in and the concoction put together. Cups were raised, the men counted five and down went the first taste. It was good. It lifted the spirit to adventure. Four or five later the mixture was christened the Moscow Mule...




Does your area of the country have a drink they're known for?

Sleeping Bag Coat

Friends, I wouldn't really consider myself a southerner, but this weekend's weather calls for a uniquely southern phrase. "Mercy, y'all". I woke up on Saturday morning to a temperature reading of 3 degrees. Yeah, you read that right. There's no 0 missing on the end. But don't worry, towards the afternoon we warmed up to a shorts-ready 16 degrees.

I've always loved the long puffy coats, and pined after one long before I knew we were moving to Colorado. It wasn't practical to have a coat like that in Nashville, since our super cold snaps are short lived. However, once I found out we were making the move, I knew the coat had to be mine.

Mr. SE laughs at me and says it looks like I'm wearing a sleeping bag. But guess what? There's no way in heck I'm feeling the cold. In fact, walking around on Saturday the only part of me that was chilly was my knees. They're the only open part between my boots and coat. Our realtor said she was impressed with my "Denver look" after only being here for a month. Mission accomplished!

What do you think of the long puffer? Silly? I know there's some long puffer girls out there who have my back!

Our First Winter Storm in Denver

Oh boy, friends! While everyone else is excited about the possibility of an early spring and Pinning sundresses & sandals (although not according to Punxsutawney Phil), we're bracing for our first snowstorm of the season. So I guess the 6-8 incher during our move didn't count? This link was on my Yahoo homepage, so I guess it's national news now. Here's where I need your help, northern girls! Can you recommend some snow boots? What do all the cool snow bunnies wear?

Tofino by Sorel

These are my favorites so far, but it's solely based on looks. I'd love any recommendations!

Denver Tips: What I've Learned So Far

Well, we've been Denver residents for a little over three weeks now. The initial days and weeks were a sharp learning curve from life in Nashville, and I've compiled some tips to help you get along, should you vacation (or move) somewhere similar in the future.

Ultrasonic Digital Humidifier

I even bought this portable humidifier for my desk.
It has a regular outlet plug and a USB plug for use at work. Excellent!

Get a humidifier. Do it now. I researched this topic a lot, and Air-O-Swiss seems to be the brand of choice. They're a little pricey, but use a 20% coupon at Bed Bath & Beyond to take the edge off.

Bag Balm- use on lips, hands, face, dog noses

Jack Black Cool Moisture lotion for Mr. SE

First Aid Beauty Ultra Repair Cream. Use it on my face 2x daily

Stock up on lotion. Mr. SE and I joke that we have an "I just moved to Colorado" section of our bathroom counter-- it's covered in lotions and balms.

Dryer sheets-- they're great for static! I used them in Nashville, but now I've stashed them every place imaginable here in Denver. Keep one in your coat pocket to combat static from going between indoors and outdoors. Also of note, these are great for getting rid of the stink in your hockey bag.

Ride your bike! Denver is such an active, healthy city. Once it heats up a little, Mr. SE and I are both getting new bikes. We live 2.2 miles from work and have the option to drive, take the bus, or bike. We haven't taken the bus yet, but just might when we get our next snowstorm.

look at us, we're so healthy and fit!
*these are models*

Drink water. It's dry here, like really dry. I'm not much of a water drinker, I'm actually quite bad at it. But since we've been here I've made an effort to drink more and it's definitely paying off. There's a weird correlation between hunger and thirst, and my appetite definitely decreases when I'm hydrated.

And my last, for now, tip....have a four wheel drive. If you absolutely must drive in the inclement weather, make sure you're using an all wheel drive or four wheel drive. Yes, my car is a 4 wheel drive, and take a look at what happened on our first week here-- lesson learned. For good measure, I've added photos of my dream SUVs.


Do you have any tips for moving to a climate like Colorado? Maybe you're holed up in Nebraska or Montana and have some tips for this east coast girl? Please share!

This is Your Life- Storage Unit

This is what our life looks like right now. Remember how we moved from a "grown-up house" to a 1 bedroom condo? This weekend, Mr. SE and I finished sorting through all of our boxes, and rounded up the stragglers that needed to be taken to storage. Now our condo is much less cluttered, and the things we don't need are out of site.

Items in the storage unit (way in the back) that we wish weren't--
A) Mr. SE's Playstation (used as our BluRay player)
B) My summer clothes and bathing suits (didn't think about how we'd be in the apt until Jun 30th)

Looks like next weekend we'll be purchasing a new BluRay player and a bathing suit for me so I can use the building's hot tub. But Sarah, that's lazy-- why don't you just get it out of the storage unit? Oh, have you ever put your whole house in a storage unit? Yeah. None of these items are coming out from the back, unless they're all coming out. Please note the picture with Mr. SE in front for scale---

moving is better when you've got this eye candy

psst-- the unit is 15ft deep!

Pillows For Our New Place

Although we'll only be in this condo for 6 months, I still want to make it feel like home. It's important not to break the bank, since there's no telling what the style of our next place will be like. Our home in Nashville was pretty traditional, I used a lot of red/blue/and white to accent our open living and dining area. We mixed up our furniture a little bit, by using our bonus room furniture as the main pieces in our living room. The brown sectional is modern and fits the space nicely, and we're also using our leaning bookshelves.

our sectional-- picture from Rooms 2 Go website

our shelves-- but we use them separate on both sides of the TV

In the essence of saving money, I've attempted to use our more modern accessories and decorative accents. I loved the pillows that we had in our bonus room, but the colors are too deep and saturated for our current living space. I've decided to make some on my own (and recover the bar stools which are nearby). We have white walls with dark cabinets and dark hardwood floors, so I'm going to try and stick with a modern, neutral palette-- maybe even adding some pops of metallic. Here's some of my inspiration fabric-- what do you think?

all product links can be found at http://pinterest.com/missse06/denver-condo/

Moving Day...And Some

So yesterday, on top of moving into our new apartment (which btw has no cell service. working on that), something else happened.... Denver got a little more snow than they were expecting (by about 6in), and as a result none of the streets were salted the night before. Here's a little picture story for you:

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Yes, I crashed my car into a fire hydrant. Then I proceeded to pull onto a side street and cry uncontrollably because A) I just hit a fire hydrant and B) I had no idea where I was. Towards my winter driving credibility, I grew up driving in the snow in DC and upstate New York.

Here's a news article about the crazy morning http://www.denverpost.com/search/ci_19724432

So...We Found A Place To Live

Hello friends! Thank you for continuing to follow--even though I've been lame and not posting as of late. Good news, Mr. SE and I successfully made the move to Denver. We had a wonderful night in Kansas City, and were able to spend time with my cousin and their 3 sweet kids. Now we're in Denver and staying with Mr. SE's aunt and uncle. Dever is a blast, and what fun we've had over the past couple days. We've already had 4 inches of snow!

And more importantly, we found a place to live! Mr. SE's uncle was so hospitable and took us on a tour of the city on Saturday morning. He covered all of the neighborhoods that we'd e interested in living in, and we got a good glimpse of the vibe for each area. Once back at home we hit Craigslist, Padmapper, HotPads, and the usual places looking for somewhere that was available for move-in asap. In out drive we passed by this gorgeous condo building, right next to City Park, that totally caught our eye. Although we're not in the market to purchase another home (at least until ours sells in Nashville), I thought I'd call and ask if they were available to rent any of their units. Luckily they said yes, and we were on the road for a site visit within minutes.

There were several units available for lease, two 2-bedrooms and one 1-bedroom. The 2 bedrooms were nice but a little out of our budget. This building had amenities and trimmings beyond our wildest belief! I never imagined that we could live somewhere like this! So we took the less expensive unit, and were able to work the into a 6 month lease, without increasing the per-month price. Excellent! The good news is that we're able to move in Wednesday, which is the exact day our moving truck arrives!

Luck? Blessing, I think! Here's some pictures:

What do you think? We're super excited! And the 6 month lease gives us time to decide where we really want to buy property again.

Mama's Got a Brand New Bag

Kate Spade Montrose Antoinette

It's hard to believe how close we are to Christmas-- and my family's "Christmas" is even closer! Since we'll be spending this Christmas with Mr. SE's family, I've decided to give all of my gifts to my side of the family over Thanksgiving. It'll be perfect because we'll all be together in Florida! That being said, I'm a little frantic trying to be creative, thrifty, and prepared at such an early date! I've got some great gifts already picked out, but I can't post them because my family members read the blog.

For those of you who don't know me in real life, Mr. SE just spent a 7 week stint in Denver. It was hard, and I missed him a lot. Luckily the company paid for me to come visit too! With all the craziness in our lives lately, I decided that I could reward myself with a pretty little lovely! (was that a bad rationalization?) This beauty will be making her way to my house in the next 3-5 days. Have you purchased any early gifts for others or yourself?

Denver Bound

Friends, it's another trip for Mr. and Mrs. SE! This time we're headed to Denver! Our company has another office out there and Mr. SE has been given a great opportunity there. We're excited to visit the office and see what the city is like. Even better, Mr. SE's uncle and his family live there. We'll be sure to pack in a family dinner! Now if only we could get a trip to our new office in Singapore...

Although we'll spend most of our time in the office, I'd love suggestions for things to do!