Mood Boards

So mood boards are my new obsession. It helps me gather my thoughts about a design and make sure that everything is cohesive before starting a project. It also is a GREAT visual for Neal, who doesn't always comprehend my poor explanations about a fantastic idea!

Here are the next 2 projects:

1. Master Bedroom
We've never really decorated our master before, and I think it is about time! The furniture we already have, but the lamps and curtains and artwork is going to be added. I think Neal (and the neighbors) will be quite pleased once we finally put up curtains! 5 months is long enough!



2. Guest Room. We already have the black daybed and the bedding. So, with a quick coat of new gray paint, and some curtains and accessories, this should be a relaxing place for our guests!

Project: Posted

We are just putting together the final touches on our office. I found this fantastic frame for only $12 and decided to make a bulletin board out of it. This really is a very simple project that took about 15 minutes and cost a grand total of about $20!

Supplies:
Frame
Cork Board
Fabric
Tape
Glue
Ribbon

Step 1:
Remove the glass from the frame. Cut the cork board so that it is the same size as the glass, and attach it to the backer-board.

Step 2:
Lay the fabric upside down and place the back of the frame cork side down on top of it.


Step 3:
Wrap the fabric around the board pulling it taunt and securing it as you go. I wanted the flexibility to be able to change out the fabric in the future, so I just used some heavy duty packing tape to secure the fabric instead of glue.

REMEMBER: Fold the corners neatly!!


Step 4:
Decide on a pattern for your ribbon, then simply pull tight then tape or glue them into place on the back.

Step 5:
Place the now covered board into the frame and secure. Hang it on the wall, and enjoy your beautiful reminder board that holds all of your to-do lists!

Holiday Update

Christmas and New Years have come and gone and we have settled back into a somewhat normal routine once again. The holidays were packed with holiday parties and gatherings with families and friends. We were able to attend Neal's Coca-Cola Christmas party at his bosses home, which is just about 15 minutes from our house! It was quite the "corporate" experience! He works with about 6 Chris' which makes conversations quite difficult to follow sometimes!

That was followed by the Korean Consulate Christmas party at a Korean BBQ restaurant in Duluth. Unfortunately spouses were not included in this one, so it was just me and my 14 Korean co-workers enjoying some very tasty BBQ! At any group function that we have, we go around the table and each person is suppose to give a speech about whatever the occasion may be. For Christmas we each say what we are happy with in the office and what we think we could improve upon for the next year. So, I sat through 14 Korean speeches with absolutely no idea what they were saying. Sometimes I like to make up what they are saying in my head. (it can be quite comical!) I have to fill the time somehow, right?!

So Christmas day finally came and we celebrated with the Kemp family. We love spending time over there just hanging out with the family!

That brings us to the 26th of December. After a late night staying up and talking with David & Caroline, we awoke at 5:30am to start the journey to the airport. I awoke with a 102 degree fever, but somehow managed to get myself together enough to convince myself it would be alright to go sit on a plane for two hours. We made it in plenty of time, thanks to Dmitri and his stroller line!

Our time in Virginia and DC was filled with many pleasant and fond memories mixed with trials and tribulations! With that many people and personalities, disagreements and differences of opinions are sure to arise. Here's the little tid-bit that I learned through my observations of the trip: Each person is responsible for their own actions, words and emotions. We all need to discern how to properly control ourselves and our actions as well as our own emotions so as not to create strife between each other! As my mom continues to 'lecture' me on (it's ok mom, love you for it!) love is an ACTION! We are commanded to love one another, whether we feel like it or not. Love is not just in our emotions, but evidently shown through our actions and our words.

All in all, it was a great time to visit with our gracious hosts: Grammee, Donny, Cissy, Andy, Alex and the rest of the VA Parker clan! We had a wonderful time meeting new family members and catching up with those that we had not seen in a while. Here are a few highlights from the trip:

US Supreme Court Building

Library of Congress

Dmitri & Uncle Donny

Mount Vernon



Sharon, Caroline, Dmitri, Deb, Neal, Brian on the Capital Building Tour



Neal & Andy



Donny & Cissy



Grammee, Deb, Neal, Meghan

After we returned, I was starting to recover from that nasty cold that I just couldn't shake the entire trip. Unfortunately, Neal was starting to get the cold! So, we just stayed at home on New Years for a quite and restful start to 2010!

We pray that we each strive to continue following the Lord's will for our lives both individually and together this coming year and for the years to come!

Love,
Neal & Deborah

~"Many plans are in a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord will stand." ~ Prov. 19:21

Another move!

Well, since the last update we have moved...again! Hopefully this will be the last move for at least 5 years! We've been staying occupied with our "baby"; the house. We have just about completed painting all of the interior, taken out carpet, put in hardwoods, and installed up crown molding in the downstairs! Lots of work, but WELL worth it all. The furniture is now in, the curtains are made and up, and the house is really feeling like a home with all the personal touches! We feel so undeservedly blessed and have so many things to be thankful for!

The house has been "initiated" this week! We hosted Thanksgiving on Sunday for the Parker clan, then again on Thursday for the Kemp family. 22 people in all, and we all made it through! It was a delight to have family in our home and to enjoy each others company.

July Beginnings

Neal started his new job at Coca Cola Enterprises as a Logistics Analyst July 1st. He has enjoyed it so far, although it has been pretty uneventful and mostly just getting acquainted with his team and different procedures. I'm sure by the end of this first full week there will be much more interesting updates!

We have moved and are getting settled, but not too settled, into our apartment. Our new address is:
5023 Shadowood Parkway
Atlanta, GA 30339

We start looking for a house this week! We hopet that it will be found quickly and that it will be what we always wanted!


And lastly, Neal and I drove the 10 hours up to Virginia to spend some of the holiday weekend with Grammee Parker and Brian. We had a great time on Friday hanging out at the house, and then on Saturday, we spent all day and almost all night in DC celebrating Independence Day! We walked all over the place and back again! I'm going to do a google maps to trace our path and get an exact number of how many miles we walked! It was great fun though and a wonderful experience to celebrate the 4th in our nation's capital!














Now, we wait for the nephews to arrive!!!