2013 Adventures!

Hi Friends,

So 2013 has many new things for us already!

Remember that little flood we had last fall?  Well, since then we've been on the hunt for a new place to call home here on the West Coast.  After much praying and much much searching, we've finally found our new apartment and we moved in over the weekend!  I can't wait to share photos with you once it's a little more unpacked and complete - until then here is a pic from my instagram.

Aside from the apt hunt, I've taken on some other things as well.  One of them being an opportunity to volunteer weekly at our local pregnancy center.  It's been such a different ministry for me to dive into, but one I'm excited to be part of.

AND if that's not enough, I'm exploring a new and exciting business venture!  {More on that later.}

With that said, we've been a bit busy over here and PinkPeonyStyle has been a little neglected *sad face*.  But with a pretty new apartment to decorate and a new design project for a client underway, I'm excited to share my fav design projects and inspirations with you over the next few months!

So tell me - has 2013 been full of change for you as well??

Looking forward to posting again soon!

XOXO

From Coast to Coast....

We made it!  Today marks one week of being California residents and it's also hubby's first day at his new job.  It's a bit surreal we're here. I don't know that the magnitude of what we've done will hit me for a few more weeks.  Oh. My. Goodness.

I did manage to pick up some sort of flu bug while in transit and was feeling pretty cruddy for the first few days.  (Flu + living out of a suitcase + emotions at an all time high = one hot mess of a girl)  Hubby took great care of me though, and Blakely was one sweet snuggly pup; I'm happy to say I've recovered.

The past few days have been filled with house hunting.  I knew shopping for a place to rent would be stressful and even a little depressing, considering housing is sooooo much more expensive on this coast, but nothing could have prepared me for just HOW expensive and tiny housing is here.  Our first few days of this were just sad - we found that most landlords don't allow pets, and if they do, you pay a pretty penny to keep that furry friend under your roof.  (Which is a little confusing, cause this is one dog friendly area.  Most shops have dog bowls and treats outside their front door, and some allow pets inside their businesses.)  Saturday our spirits were lifted - we found a great little apartment complex just 5 minutes away from downtown Monterey and just off the interstate for easy access to hubby's work.  And guess what??  They take pets!  We applied for the apartment yesterday and are hoping to hear back from them today or tomorrow.

While I'm thrilled we finally found something clean, close to budget and pet friendly, I have to say I'm still a bit shocked.  We came from a beautiful 1,666 sq ft home in FL and (if all goes well) we're headed to a 600 sq ft apartment.  Talk about an adjustment!  My wheels are turning - I've been scouring the internet for tips on decorating and making the most of small living spaces.  Any tips, hints or suggestions from seasoned small space dwellers, or interior designers are welcomed & appreciated.

Blakely's dying to be walked, but here are a few pics from our last few days home in Florida.  Monterey pics coming soon, I promise.

This is going to be tricky....

{Our life has to fit into this today....}

Eight Days & Counting....

So we're coming along....moving is SUCH a job!  Hubby has finally turned in his keys to his old job and is home to help with the move - eeesh, it's never ending.  We had a very successful garage sale last Saturday and after putting all of our big furniture on craigslist & facebook, we had it all sold in less than 48 hrs.  It's safe to say, things are coming along.  As of right now, the living room and office are PACKED!  Woohoo!  Tomorrow it's onto the kitchen.  :)  I'm going for one looooong massage once we make it to Monterrey.  That's all I have to say.

I don't know that I did much of a Christmas or New Years recap, but we had a wonderful Christmas.  Every year our church does a Christmas Eve service at this beautiful, old theater downtown.  It's such a neat way to welcome Christmas.  Hubby and I sing with the band and everyone is all dressed up for the occasion, the theater is decked out in Christmas decor and all the kids come energetic - it's one of my favorite events we do yearly.  A lot of work goes into preparing for it, but we'll miss it next year.  Check out this awesome video my cousin put together to recap our event at the Sanger.

Christmas Eve 2011 from Coastline on Vimeo.

New years was fun as well.  Hubby and I had to be up eeeeaaarrrllly the following morning, so we didn't exactly wait up to welcome 2012.  We did, however, manage to go out for dinner with my family and spend time playing card games, while sipping on sparkling cider.

That's about it for my holiday recap.  We had lots of cherished time with family and we were showered with all sorts of fun gifts.  We are really going to miss this place once we move, but we are oh so excited about the adventures ahead!  Eight days and counting....Happy 2012!

Christmas at the Sanger

{Hubbs and I singing...I love this}

{With one of B's sisters - I'm not sure why I'm standing so awkwardly}

{With more of B's sisters & my mother-in-law}

{Spending time at B's family's home}

{B's Christmas gift to me!}

{Happy New Year's resolutions, February is going to kick my bootay.}

{And this is my latest toy, as of this morning!  Get ready PinkPeonyStyle, you're about to get a makeover and lots of fabulous new photos.  Looking forward to documenting all of our Monterey adventures!}

Hope you had a fabulous Christmas and New Year.  Happy 2012!  

Christmas, moving, and other things...

Wow, the days are slipping away.  Christmas is on our heels and our big move is just around the corner!  I'm done working and taking the time off to prepare for the cross-country move.  All is falling into place except for one (in my opinion) MAJOR thing - housing.  :-\  So many people ask if we're excited and what not, yes, of course we are - it's an adventure....but there's that homemaker thing inside me that's just itching to find a cute little (affordable) place to call our own.  Having a pup in tow isn't exactly making the matter any less difficult.  He's a great little guy, but convincing a home owner that I may just have the best doggie in the world is an entirely different story.  Humph!  What to do?  What to do?  Trust God.  It's all I can do.  He's provided everything else thus far, I'm sure that's on it's way.  The planner in me just wants to know exactly where I'm headed and what I'm doing.

Since my last post some of my precious students participated in my Christmas recital.  Oh my goodness, it was the sweetest thing!  Each student played (piano, guitar, or sang) two Christmas songs; I truly couldn't have been more proud.  I was a little nervous there for a few kiddos, but they all got through their songs and they did such a fabulous job!  Here's a photo one of the mom's snapped:  (Don't they look precious in all of their pretty dresses?  Some of them even doused themselves in glitter for the event!  Oh girls! ;)

In other news, lots of baking has been going down in the Collyer kitchen.  Last night was a pinterest inspired bake-a-thon with gfree Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies & a Tiramisu Roulade.  Ummm, sugar overload?  I think yes!  My kitchen is still doused in powdered sugar - Blakely's enjoying the new sweet flavor the tile has acquired.

You can find the recipe to the cookies here and the roulade here.  (A little tip if you plan to try the roulade - I actually added chocolate chips to the layer of marscapone cheese for a little added sweetness since there wasn't any sweetener in the cream...it turned out perfect!)  The cookies are for our neighbors and the roulade was for hubby's work Christmas party.

And lastly before I turn in for the evening....we had a friend take a few Christmas pics & thought I'd share.  Hope you're enjoying the holidays!  If I don't make it back to PPS before Christmas (cause this whole moving thing is just consuming me), MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Lots of love....

2 Years of Love & A Bright Future...

It's been a busy couple of weeks and my posting has become sporadic, but believe me when I tell you that lots of fun and exciting things are happening here in my household.

Yesterday hubby and I celebrated 2 whole years of marriage - TWO years!  I cannot believe how fast time has passed.  These truly have been the most amazing two years of my little life.  My husband is beyond amazing and our future is bright - we're looking forward to what's ahead.  To celebrate, last night we had date night at home with homemade Lemon Thyme Roasted Chicken and Potatoes and yummy homemade Chocolate Mousse with Strawberries.  I got hubby a wii (he's been wanting one for a while) and he wrote me beautiful vows (since we didn't write our own for our wedding), and gave me beautiful flowers and a ticket to the December Beth Moore conference.  I'd say it was a pretty special evening.  :)

Here are a few photos from our wedding.  Jeremy and Hara Cook from Cook Images were our photographers - they did an amazing job.  It truly was the most beautiful day of my life...take a look.

So speaking of the future - we have some news to share.  Are you ready for this??  This southern belle is packing her house (with yorkie in tow) and moving to Monterey, California!  It feels as if it's all happened so fast, I'm still trying to catch my breath, but it's an exciting season for sure.  Hubby has been offered a Creative Arts position at Calvary Montery and we couldn't be more thrilled.  I'm especially looking forward to exploring a new place, enjoying the great outdoors a bit more and making new friends.  And while I'm excited, I do have to say that it's all a bit bittersweet.  Family, friends and this little beach town are all so close to my heart, I know homesickness is on the horizon.  I'm sure you'll be seeing a lot more posts once we get settled into our new home come January 2012 - I'll need something aside from what I miss to distract me in those first few months.    

I'm thrilled we'll be home to celebrate the holidays one last time, I'm trying to soak up every moment of it.  I know it will be over before we know it.  However, if anyone has any advice on moving cross country (pods vs moving van, shipping car companies, where to find boxes, etc.) I would LOVE to know.  I'm a newbie at long distance moving.  

To celebrate our happy 2 years and to take a few days together before the packing/holiday madness begins, we're skipping town and road tripping it to either New Orleans or Atlanta this weekend - we'll decide tonight.  Thanks for all of the Happy Anniversary wishes we received yesterday & thanks for all of the support friends and family have given to our big change.  Looking forward to what's ahead.

Lots of love....