Matt picked up the obnoxious-Christmas-sock gauntlet (yes, those are his HO HO HO toe socks in the background - you may want to click on the picture to get the full effect) thrown down by my cousin Beth last year (she performed quite well again this year with the red and white candy cane stripes) and we fear he has raised the bar for future years. I smell a throwdown. . .
I rode with Lisa's very cool friend Kathy up to Milwaukee on Thursday for the baby shower - a lovely evening hosted by a great group of Lindy's (Lisa's Mom's) friends. It was book-themed and completely adorable. I'll let Lisa blog about it and share pictures but I have to share this one - it's blurry but I've never seen a deer come up to a house like this! This was toward the end of the shower - evidently the little deer knew we were talking about storybook characters and wanted to add some authenticity! 
We headed back to Chicago on Friday and had a girls' night of dinner at Cafe Spiaggia and dessert at Ghirardelli's. L-R: Amy (our very own matchmaker and Lisa's friend from HS), Kathy (Lisa's friend from HS and my very gracious ride to Milwaukee!), Kelly (a friend and fellow NU grad), me, Lisa (Preggers!), and Jenn (Lisa's sister, if you couldn't tell). We had such a nice time and fun to catch up with some old friends and realize some new and unexpected connections between members of the group. 
We haven't really decorated for the holidays in three or four years because our apartments were small and stuff was in storage, yadda yadda yadda. I'd been itching to do it ever since we bought the house (it was discussed in April where the Christmas tree would go).
So Friday morning we had a great time putting up the tree and the other decorations. Some of us had even more fun than others, as Ollie (aka "Crazypants") demonstrated by "posing" for pictures like one of those naughty cats you see on calendars and e-mail forwards. He's something else. After three days, though, we're happy to report that the tree's still standing and there have been no ornament fatalities (yet). 
We also had fun with our fireplace mantle and we were especially excited to hang up the new stockings Mom Muller made for us and the kitties. 
We also put the NU and U of C trees from our engagement party up in the dining room. Those and the ornaments we got at that party bring back some great memories!
What a great treat it was to have Thanksgiving at our house around our dining room table. We had both sets of parents over, as well as Diane's Grandma Muller, Aunt Leila and Grandma's cousin Midge. 
He's earning quite the reputation as a home chef! 
Here are a few pictures of fall fun with Diane's cousin Ryan helping us rake, hanging out on the porch, and of course jumping in the leaves with Matt.
We are really enjoying our outdoor space. The previous homeowner had at least two green thumbs and it's been such a surprise to see all of the perennials pop up and bloom each month (we first looked at the house in early March). 
Matt's still enjoying having to mow the grass and he's really loving his new grill. The truth is we never thought we'd have a yard like this in the city and after eight years each of apartment living we couldn't be happier than we are walking around barefoot in the backyard.
Our finished basement has a family room area, a little wet bar area, a bathroom, and laundry room, as well as some concrete storage rooms. Matt instantly fell in love with his new theater space (he was testing the acoustics before we even made an offer). While Diane had to nix the idea of risers and recliner stadium seating, Matt's still got a lot of fun plans for this space in the coming years. 
The master bedroom, two guest rooms, a bathroom and craft room are upstairs. They are all connected by an open hall space with built-in closets and cabinetry. We've still got plenty of projects up here too, ranging from window treatments and organization to a total overhaul of the bathroom decor.
The master bedroom is broken into two rooms separated by French doors. While we may someday take out the wall for resale, right now we're happy using the two spaces for a dressing room and what we're calling a "bed nook". The headboard is made from two of the house's original doors - we were so excited to find them in the garage.
Matt continued his room-naming in the second guest room. He named it "the Martha Stewart room" because it has traditional furniture (from Diane's grandparents' house) and a very special quilt handmade by Diane's Mom (our very own "Martha") as a 21st birthday gift.
Welcome, c'mon in. We've had a lot of fun so far working on the main floor, which consists of the entry, living room, dining room, kitchen, den and powder room. 
We've been sitting in the living room more than we ever thought we would (there's no TV in there) and Diane's even been practicing piano a bit as there have been several requests for Christmas carols by December. 
Hopefully by the end of the summer we'll have built-ins in here. We're thinking of stretching them along the wall surrounding the French doors (they lead to the den) and wrapping around the other wall as well, as we're already overflowing a bit.
The dining room is full of cherished family treasures from Diane's Great-Aunt Evelyn and Great-Uncle Clyde and their daughter Carol. Evelyn and Clyde made the dragonfly lamp, which hung above this same table in their house on Lake Geneva when Diane was a kid. 
We are breaking in the kitchen slowly but surely. The previous homeowner did a nice job maximizing space so there are hidden cabinets, a pull-out pantry, and countless drawers for all our gadgets and serving pieces (not to mention shelves that hold most of the teapot collection).
