September 4th

It has been too long!

I am so excited to anounce that I got a new computer (finally!) so I can now blog without waiting about 15 minutes for each photo to load!

So much has been going on the past few months but today we had to take a breather and head out to the North Dakota gravel roads to measure wells.  Thor & I took it on as a side job and we have to measure the depth from the top of the well to where the aquifer well's water starts.  So...that is what we did today!!  Above is Thor heading out to one of the wells bright & early in the morning.

The day started out beautiful!  Although it is work - it is nice to get out of town and take a drive through the country.  Some of the roads like the one above are a little challenging since we don't have a truck - but we manage!  The corn in the area (above) will not be there anymore next month when we measure  - it is harvest time right now!  We talked to more farmers than any other time out because everyone is out in the fields and super busy.

 

This plane was out spraying fields - Thor & I tired to take a photo of it - and finally in it's 8th or 9th time around we finally caught it!

 

 

Here's our new little salamander friend!  Thor noticed him from in the car when we were driving down a road - and made me stop because otherwise we would have run over it - what a nice guy!

 

 

 

The gorgeous morning gave way to a stormy afternoon - I was the lucky one who was driving today so I didn't have to be in the rain - here's Thor trying to wrap a well before it starts pouring.

 

 

The calm before the storm..

 

My view for most of the day.

 

 

A picture never does things justice.....the view from here was amazing!  The sun was behind me beaming down on this field so that it turned a hot yellow color and looked awesome with the dark storm behind!  From here we headed home to spend some time working on the basement - which by the way - I need to get new photos taken of the space because it is ROCKED and ready to tape!!

 

More next time... :)

 

Finally...A relaxing weekend!

Gosh...with all of the holiday buzz and the new year this is the first blog in quite a while!  Today seems to be the first day we have been able to actually lay back and relax after this crazy holiday season.  I am still cleaning up wrapping paper in my office, our christmas tree is still sitting in the snow in our back yard and I still haven't used our Christmas gift cards!  I think that the lack of cold and snow in Fargo has made things seem to move much slower...it is already January and feels like November!

So right before the holiday - even though we had no company we put a few finishing touches on a few rooms in our home! 

Thor & I decided to create a photo gallery. It turned out awesome!  Each photo is so special...each is a photo that Thor has taken when at a job for his wildlife jobs. They have been taken in the Fargo area, around Ashley North Dakota, Nebraksa & up in northern Minnesota.  I just can't beleive how wonderful he is at taking photos they turned out so crisp and clear and really bring home all of the neat things he experienced over the past few years. 

With the crown molding we put up in the fall and the fresh paint the room final seems close to finished!  Another coat of paint on the  moldings and some new window treatments will mean we are done with the office!

On Saturday Thor starts framing the basement...exciting!!!
When we first moved in we had all of that storage space in the basement and since we gutted it we have been crammed on the main floor so we are anxious to get Thor that space down there!

Who knew lending a helping hand could smell sooo good!

The holiday season is a time to reflect on how blessed we are and lend a helping hand to our friends, families & strangers too!

This season my girlfriends & I decided to host a fundraiser for LeAnn, our friend Aimee's sister who has breast cancer.  Not only is she bravely battleing through and facing this stage in her life but she is also starting a new, exciting chapter as she is also pregnant with her first child.

Through my 2nd job as a Signature Homestyles representative we were able to do a candle fundraiser for LeAnn.  Everyone could choose from 8 yummy scents to show their support for Leanne & her family.  We tied pink ribbons around them to remind people why they purchased the candles and how much they have helped Leanne! 

We sold over 150 candles in the Fargo area!!!  This raised over $700.00 that will go directly to Leanne!  I am so excited to get her check in the mail and over to her!

To offer Leann support and encouragement you can visit her blog at http://team-chin.blogspot.com/.

Thank you to each and every person that purchased  a candle from us - it means the world to Leanne & her family!

Digging, digging & more digging

As an interior designer I sometimes forget just how important the outside of a home can be. . . but I have certainly learned over the past few months.  A while ago I did not have a clue what drain tile was and now when I hear the word I want to lay in bed and crawl under the covers becuase it means going outside into this chilly weather and diggin!

Basically we had some trouble with water in our basement this past spring.  In Fargo the water table is so high it is extremely hard to escape seeing some wet areas in your basement especially if you live in an older home.  Drain tile is a tube with holes in it and it helps to direct the water to our sump pump and keep it from pushing against the walls of our home and seeping in. 

So we started digging.  All of the concrete around our home had to be hammered out and below Matt is cutting through the rebar that held everything nice and tight against the house.  We dug for a long time. . . the smartest thing we did this fall was to put in drain tile. . . the dumbest thing we did this fall was dig it by hand!

If you are wondering where I am .... I was taking photos, making lunch & lemonade!  Although I did help a bunch and help with a lot of the concrete work. . . but who else was going to feed our hungry workers?!

We dug down to the bottom of the footings so about 6'-6" deep around our entire house.  Thor worked so hard along with all of our wonderful friends & family that came and helped us!  My dad dug nearly the whole left side of the home out in 1 day!!  He really showed all of the younger guys how it is done!  When we completed digging our house looked like this. . .

Pretty scarey hu?  Actually our neighbors were really cool about it and were glad to see that it was finally getting done!  Everyone in Fargo knows what a problem water can be with all of the flooding so it is certainly not looked down upon.  Of course, it looks better now!

After digging we decided to put in 2 large windows in the basement - 1 on each side to let more light in and for fire saftey.  Once those were installed we set the drain tile & waterproofed the walls with this thick gooey material.  Guess who did that? - Me!  I am sad to say that I had to throw away 2 whole outfits because they were caked in tar & we still find tar around the house.  I wonder if we will ever really get it all cleaned up!  The other day it was stuck to the bottom of one of my fry pans! ah!

Waterproofing membrane is on & pea gravel is in - time to backfill!

Below is the lovely plank that we walked to get into our home!

Now we have most everything backfilled & Bailey can finally run around in the yard again.  By half way through the project he had figured out that he just had to go down into the trench and he could pop out right in the front yard and go for a little tour of north fargo so we had to keep him inside most of the time!  That little rebel!

We had talked to our neighbors and friends and people have spent nearly $15,000.00 to have someone come and put in drain tile. . . we bought 5 shovels (& borrowed some too), rented jack hammers, rented a pressure washer, bought the drain tile, pea gravel, waterproofing & other materials and used good old muscle & sweat to get this job done!  We saved significantly!

Thank you for everyone who helped us on this project!  We have a wonderful friend, Dan who has also guided us through this process and our family & friends who have come out to help us dig & work on the home!

Woo hoo! Time to get to my favorite part....the inside!!!

Thanksgiving Baking Night

"I want some pie too!" - Bailey

Thor & I could not make it home for Thanksgiving so we decided to have a few friends over for the big day that also could not get home to their families!  This meant that I needed to cook quite the meal and when I asked Thor what he wanted the first thing that came out of his mouth was "Pumpkin Pie". 

We put together quite the dinner list....Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, beans & bacon, salad, rolls, cherry pie & pumpkin pie.  The best part.....Thor actually came to the grocery store with me and helped get everything checked off of our list! It is almost as good as having groceries delivered when you have your wonderful husband to carry them in for you! :)



BTW...Sugar, Cloves & Cinnamon (above) - yummy!!

Anyways...I decided to bake everything the night before.  Note to myself...get a rolling pin! Apparantly I forgot to ask for one of those when we got married...so here I was using a water bottle to roll out my pie crusts.  Thor came in a bit confused and frustrated wondering why I was getting his water bottle dirty, to which I replied " then buy me a rolling pin" :)

The pies turned out great!  Bailey of course got to lick the cherry spatula - he is totally like my own little child!

Yesterday all of the guys tasted them  & the verdict was that I had succeeded. I even made whipped cream from scratch via my dad's recipe!  Yummy! 






Here's the pies before I baked them...of course by the time I got them out of the oven it was late and I was too tired to take any more pics!

And last but not least....if you take anything away from this blog entry..take this...

My mom's pie crust leftover cinnamon & sugar twists

From the scraps of the pie crust:

-Twist them up

-Throw them on a baking sheet

-Sprinkle on cinnamon & sugar

-Bake with the last pie for 15 min.

We are so thankful for all of our friends & family!  We are so sorry that we could not be there with you during this special day...we miss you!

Congrats to us! We are finally here!

Hi!

My name is Sarah and along with my Husband Thor we have decided to start a blog.

We are both transplants - Thor from Fall Creek, Wisconsin & I from New Brighton Minnesota living in Fargo, North Dakota! After a year of marriage and settling down we decided to start a blog to keep our friends and family up to date on what these two birds of a feather are doing out in the beautiful - but chilly midwest! Our blog name comes from one of the songs played at our wedding which brings me back to that very day each time I hear the words.

We hope you enjoy keeping up with us and our little pup Bailey as we enjoy & make our way through the many different shades of life!

We just bought our own little slice of Fargo, North Dakota this past spring!  On our blog you will see plenty of renovations taking place....so exciting!!