I've fallen in love... with a new restaurant

We had heard many good reviews about Bocado (new restaurant in town), but were pleasantly surprised at HOW delicious it was. I mean, we're already talking about going again sometime this week; Casey and I are big into supporting our neighborhood restaurants, especially if they're fantastic.

I had the roasted poblano and pimento cheese sandwich with bacon and fried green tomato. It came with a most delectable bowl of tomato bisque. Casey ordered the Bocado burger stack with american cheese, house-made pickles, and fries. We WILL be going back soon. Check out their website.

I love renovating!

Casey and I have lived in our 1950 ranch-style home since December 2003. Earlier this year we decided that we wanted a little more space; the decision was to move... or renovate. We spent several weekends house hunting but never found what we were looking for. After much discussion we came across 2 of our new favorite people (our architect and builder). With their expertise we were able to design a home that Casey and I are so excited about. It will be completed in 2 phases (phase 2 is at least a couple of years down the road). With phase 1, we will add a master suite and a 2nd floor (to be finished out with phase 2), not to mention a complete face lift.

We moved out on August 15th into an above-the-garage apartment behind our neighbors house. It is very (very) small, but we've happily made it our temporary home. Pictured is our house in 2003, pencil drawing of blueprint, our current renovation status, and our temporary over-the-garage apartment.

If you want to follow the progress, check out our picture site. It's updated a couple of times per week.

My one (major) upset during this process is that due the size of our dwelling I had to purchase a small FAKE Christmas tree. I am a strong advocate for real Christmas trees so it absolutely killed me that I couldn't fit one in the apartment. I guess I technically could have purchased a tiny real Christmas tree, but I couldn't rationalize spending money on a new tiny tree stand, new decorations, lights, etc. for only one year of use. See pictured my thrifty Christmas tree (star made of aluminum foil).