Bathroom is DONE!!!!!!

Our bathroom is officially done. I cannot believe it! We got it done 3 days before all of our family arrived for Thanksgiving. It was used and enjoyed by our Thanksgiving guests, and we were so proud to show it off. I can't accurately express or write how appreciative I am to Tom for putting in so much hard work on this project. He was up there for days and nights in a row for hours working so hard. A lot of the final touches were very tedious and required great patience (which I lack) - and it amazed me how diligent he was every night.  We have now redesigned 3 bathrooms and only have our master left. We are in no hurry to start that one... 

We are going to take a break through the holidays and start on our kitchen in January. We have lots on our list of "fun things to-do" until then. The pictures are below in no certain order. HOPEFULLY you will be able to tell the before from the after. ;) 

Come over and shower anytime - we are happy to share!!

We had the tub refinished 

Before

Before

Before

Before

Before

Thanksgiving Dinner Prep!

Tom and I headed to Price Chopper on Saturday morning to gather up all of our goodies for Thanksgiving dinner. We got they turkey, (the rest we will all make from scratch!) cranberry sauce, gravy, spiced nuts, peppermint ice cream, corn souffle, sweet potato casserole, and a blueberry coffee cake for breakfast.

We are so so so excited to have our family up for Thanksgiving. We will of course miss everyone else who is out of town and traveling! I will be sure to write a post on recipe disasters and family photos. Can't wait!!

Here are a few recipes we are anxious to try! Any tips on making the gravy?!

Coffee Cake

Mashed Sweet Potatoes 

Corn Souffle 

Deviled Eggs

Cranberry Sauce

Peppermint Ice Cream

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone and safe travels.

My sweet Turkey Tom and our first Butterball turkey. (People thought I was a weirdo for taking photos in the store!)

                                       

Happy Birthday Pat!

Today is Tom's mom's birthday. Although I never got to meet Pat, I feel like I get to know a little bit of her through Tom. I love hearing stories about Tom's childhood, seeing photos, and of course watching home videos of Tom's childhood. I wish I got to meet Pat, and thank her for raising such an amazing son and sharing him with me. Although I didn't get to meet her, these are the things I've learned and know about her. 

1. She was loved. Byron, Tom, and her whole family loved her so much. The way they talk about her, and remember her is truly amazing.

2. Tom looks SO much like Pat. It's crazy when I see photos, how much he resembles her (the nose!). I love getting to see a little bit of Pat in Tom. 

3. She loved to garden, and she was good at it. She instilled her love for gardening in Tom. He is a successful gardener of tomatoes, peppers, onions, beets, hops, and so much more. It's been fun to have a garden and hear stories of what Tom used to grow with his mom! 

4. She was really funny. From the stories that Tom told me, she was witty, and had a great sense of humor. I love hearing her laugh at and with Tom in the home videos. I could tell she was a really fun mom. 

5. She was a good cook! I am working hard to live up to her pot roast and strawberry rhubarb pies. ;)

6. She was an awesome mom. I know how Tom turned out, and how he treats women... that alone tells me how great of a mom she was. She taught Tom how to be a kind and caring person, a good friend, a hard worker and I am sure so many other valuable lessons. 

7. She was a talented painter. We have a couple photos that she painted in the house, and I am so impressed with her artistic abilities. I am glad we get to display them!

8. She was a hard worker. Not only was she a mom, wife, sister, aunt, and grandma, but she worked at Veterans Hospital for almost 10 years after they moved back to Kansas. In Alaska she worked for the forestry service, and served in the Marine Corps when she was younger. Some might have compared her to Annie the Riveter (kidding!).  

I am excited to learn a lot more about Pat in years to come. Happy Birthday Pat!! You are loved and missed. 

Team Sanford - Our First 5k as a Married Couple

Tom and I ran our first 5k together since we have been married and our fourth overall! We have been running outside and enjoying the weather the last few weeks.

This race was called the Pilgrim Pacer and we ran it through Shawnee Mission Park. The park is just beautiful with a huge lake in the middle and tons of trees!!

Only bad part... It was all downhill into the park for 1.5 miles and all uphill back! Ouch. Sore legs.

It was a lot of fun to train together. I think the best part of running in these races is the people watching along the way. There are old people, kids, running groups, hardcore runners... It's so fun! You also see some people who aren't able to run, but still get out there and do their best. When you get done, it really makes you appreciate you have the ability to get out there run!

Proud of us!!
Go Team Sanford!!!!!

K-State Victory!

Tom and I headed to Manhattan Saturday morning to tailgate with our friends, and catch the K-State vs. OSU game that night. We were so glad that we were able to make it to a game, and see the #2 Cats play in person. We were definitely worn out for a couple days after we got home on Sunday. We are anxious to see how K-State does the rest of the season, and what bowl game we will play in. It is so much fun to be married to a K-Stater and cheer for them together. Thanks Becca and Blake for having us over and letting us stay at your place!

Bill Snyder Family Stadium 

Becca and I! Celebrating her birthday!

GO K-STATE

This mac 'n cheese was amazing. 

Cheering on the Cats was so much fun!!

Tom and I tailgating. 

Celebrating 6 Months!

On Sunday, October 28th Tom and I got to celebrate our 6 month anniversary. I can't believe it's already been 6 months - time flies when you are having fun!! To celebrate we went to dinner at Blanc Burgers and Bottles, and we also saw the movie Argo. (which was a great movie and we recommend seeing it!)

It was great to be able to celebrate the most fun 6 months of our lives- so far. We are loving being married, have done a lot of work on the house, and have already got to see and do so many fun things as "The Sanfords." We are excited to see what else there is to come!!

We are so fortunate to have each other, and are very blessed. We are reminded every day how lucky we are to have amazing family and friends that support our marriage. I love being around Tom, and can honestly say I married my best friend.

Now don't let me stink up this place with roses too much. There have definitely been some learning experiences our first sixth months. Here are a few "fun" things we have learned about one another in our marriage so far.

1. I am apparently a plastic grocery bag collector. When Tom found my stash in the pantry he said, "Oooh you are one of those people." (teasing, of course)  You never know when you are going to need one to carry things or use as a trash bag!

2. As you get older some of your friends don't stay out as late, and just can't hang. But...you are never too old to have a dance party in your own living room. One night all of our friends went home early, so Tom and I had our own dance party back at the house. It. Was. Awesome.

3. You don't know your roof leaks until it rains. (Yeah, that one sucked)  Not a metaphor, this one is literal.  :)

4. Tom keeps his toothbrush in the shower which I think is SUPER weird for some reason. Works for him... works for me.

5. We have a jack and jill sink and somehow I always manage to take ALL of it over. Oops?

6. I am OCD in the way that I clean things. I like things to get dusted, vacuumed  and scrubbed a certain way. It drives me crazy that I do it, and it drives Tom crazy that I try to make him do it.

7. Remodeling can bring out the best and worst in people. I have lost my patience a couple times on projects, and I have seen Tom (come very close) to punching a hole in the wall because something wasn't working right.

8. I watch a lot of football/shoot em' up movies for Tom, and in trade he watches a lot of obnoxious girly TV shows for me. Everything in moderation, right?

9. I have very strange sleeping habits, and it drives Tom crazy. I sleep on my stomach with one leg straight down and one leg bent, smothering Tom. Sometimes I wake up around 3-4am with an important questions that can't wait til the morning to ask. How do I wake him you might ask... I poke him until he wakes up of course. :)

10. Tom whistles all the time. I know you might be thinking, so what's wrong with that? Well, when you hear the same song in a different octave 72 times - you will be able to tell me.

11. Balance is hard!! In our first 6 months of marriage there were SO many changes. Not only did we have to adjust to living together and combine all of our things but, we tried our best to balance seeing both sets of families friends, house projects, traveling, 4 weddings, work, cooking, cleaning and so much more. Tom and I learned quick that we can't be everywhere and make everyone happy, and that it's 100% okay to put ourselves first for awhile. I am sure as we get older and busier this will be a constant struggle.

12. We've learned that we aren't always going to "laugh with each other," sometimes we are going to "laugh AT each other" and that is just as fun.

Here's to another fun, exciting 6 months!

Our cute little basket on our date that will filled with sweet potato fries. Mmm!

Tom and I celebrating 6 months.