IKEA explosion

I thought it was time to share our new furnishings.  After three long months, we finally got rid of our ugly rental furniture! It was wonderful to be able to move cross country and not worry about furniture, but it sucked not being able to choose what we would be living with.  We had to stick with the rental furniture for three months and the day the three months were up, Nick and I hit up IKEA for a shopping extravaganza.  My parents were kind enough to allot us a sum of money to use towards our furniture purchases aka Christmas and birthday presents for awhile so we didn't have to skimp on anything.

IKEA is my playground, I could spend hours, scratch that days wandering the model rooms and weaving in and out of the rows of boxed up goodies.  I am so glad it is mere minutes from our place, but even if it wasn't I am sure I would still venture there often.  Here is a little looksee of our new goodies starting with the bedroom:

Somebody likes our new bed better than his. Every picture I took of the bed Larry was somewhere on it.

My cute dresser that I do not share with Nick.

The hardest part was choosing the mattress, we spent a good hour or so trying the different mattress.  It is  hard to select one that both parties truly enjoy, but we finally found one.  Next up is the living room. 

Here is our new TV, that we purchased on Black Friday evening along with Larry's picture with Santa and his pile of toys.

Here is our Craig's list couch, giant Comfy Sack, and Larry.  If you can't tell Larry is basically my shadow.  He follows me everywhere, even to the bathroom.

The couch was our first purchase and it is one of the few pieces that isn't from IKEA.  It is actually a Rooms To Go couch, that someone was selling, that is basically brand new.  The Comfy Sack is the greatest thing ever and our newest purchase!  We just got it in the mail a couple of days ago and all three of us love it and can fit on it at one time.  We decided that since we have such small dinning space that we didn't need a dinning room table.  The Comfy Sack actually takes up most of the space for where a table would go anyway.  Last up is the second bedroom/catch all space.

Here is our futon.  Never thought I would buy one of these again, but it really is super functional and not totally hideous.

Here is our original TV, extra storage, and desk. I am not even sure if the TV is plugged in, since we never watch it anymore.

It is so refreshing it have our own stuff to live with now. This furniture is much more our style and a heck of a lot more comfortable!

I'd like to end with our cute little Christmas tree.  My favorite part is the colored paperclips used to hang up the KU colored ornament!

Oh you know

Well it is now November and we are still sitting around wearing shorts and t-shirts, this is the best!

Last weekend was Halloween, which is a favorite of mine!  We had not planned on a cheesy couple costume, but with time running out Nick decided to be Pete Kawk the peacock hunter and I was a cross-dresser/peacock.  I say cross-dresser because the beautiful peacocks are males and I am pretty sure I am female.  My costume was a lot of fun and really easy, minus the fact that I could only go through doors sideways.  We began our night by heading over to the St. Petersburg area for a house party and finished our night at the Venue in Clearwater.  It was great hanging out with friends and shutting down the bar at 3 and chaffering lovely gentlemen around.

Both pictures are "borrowed" from facebook because I totally suck at using my camera.

Poor Larry in his costume as a football.

We spent Sunday at the beach, where else.  We decided to hit up Honeymoon Island out near Clearwater.  The water was warm, the beach was gorgeous, the entrance fee sucked.  I prefer the beaches that have free parking and are free of tourists ( local much?).  I still can't believe it is warm enough to go to the beach!  I am in for a rude awaking this December when I head back to Kansas for 10 days. Good thing the bulk of my warm winter clothes are waiting for me!

I cannot believe there are only three weeks left until Thanksgiving aka Nick's favorite day.  It will be really weird not spending it with my family, but I think we will survive.  The current game plan is to celebrate with some of coworkers who are also transplants down here.  I think it will be a lot fun, but I am really sad to be missing the Plaza Lights with Paul's family as well as with our friends Ted and Allison.  I think the Plaza will have to be one of my first stops when I get home over Christmas just so I can soak up the beauty of the lights!

I am so glad that November brings KU basketball.  I am not a football fan and with as pathetic as the team has been preforming I am more than ready to cheer on my Jayhawks in basketball!  Now if only Allen Field House could relocate to Tampa I would be in heaven!  RCJH!

It has been a while...

Wow I can't believe it is already October.  Where has the time gone?  It appears that it has almost been a month since I have updated the blog so I should let you all in on what we have been doing lately.

We are still playing the tourist cards and hitting up random touristy events.  A couple of weeks ago we went out with some friends to a small Oktoberfest in St. Petersburg.  It was long and fun day filled with pumpkin flavored beer and board games.

Here is the one picture we have from the event that was "borrowed" from a friend's facebook.

We have also been hitting up the beach and dog beach as much as possible since we now Florida's fall/winter is on the way.  It is actually kind of funny how acclimated we have already become to Florida.  On most mornings I leave for work around 6:45 and the temperature is between 65-70 degrees and I have been freezing and wearing a jacket every day :).

On Friday we went to Busch Gardens with one of my coworkers for Howl-O-Scream.  It was super fun and pretty scary.  It was a good thing Katie and I both had Nick to grab onto in the different haunted houses.  I am pretty sure the scariest part with the tall creepy alien monsters that would get right in your face.  I wish I had pictures from the night, but with all of the roller coasters taking you upside down I left my camera in the locker.  

Yesterday we met up with our friend Brian from back home, who was in town with his junior college XC team he helps coach at Downtown Disney.  It was so great to actually see one of our friends from KS, we're going to count that as our first Kansas visitor. Here are some pictures from our touristy trip to DTD.

It is still hard to believe that we live in such a crazy busy state.  I love how we are so close to so many attractions and beaches and fun venues.  We are looking forward to all of the upcoming touristy events Florida has to offer :).

A month and some change

It has been a little over a month since we moved down here, and it still feels like a wonderful vacation.  We have hit up the aquarium, Busch Gardens, a handful of beaches, a Bucs game, a Rays game, and watched 2 totally different KU football games with fellow alums, yet there are still so many things we need to see and do.

A lot has happened within this short amount of time.  I have begun work doing exactly what I am suppose to be doing.  I absolutely love my job, my speech kids, and the school and staff behind me.  I have a wonderfully helpful CF supervisor and colleague.  I actually enjoy waking up at the crack of dawn when it is still dark out to go to work, I must be growing up.

In other job related news, Nick has a JOB!  Oh do I love saying those words.  He will be working for a good company with a lot of growth potential.  He is more than ready to get out of the apartment and start working.

In between being tourists and beach bums we have adopted a little furry one.  His name is Larry after the great city of Lawrence and he is a terrier mix.  He is about 9 months old and a total cuddle bug.  He has made himself right at home.  His favorite thing to do when we are not home and is to find any article of our clothing and bring it to cuddle with.  We keep finding single flip flops, socks, and shirts wedged into the cracks of the couch and chair.  He also enjoys playing with the neighbors kitten and hitting up the doggie beach.

This month has flown by and we are looking forward to many more.

 

Pirate at the Bucs v Chiefs game.

View from our seats.

Rays v Red Sox game.

Larry

 

Larry in "his" chair

It is starting to sink in

It is all starting to sink in that this is now home.  We have art on the walls, food in the pantry, and dirty laundry waiting to be washed.  It is just so crazy how fast time has flown by, we have been down in Florida for about 2 weeks.  We have be eagerly exploring our new town.

This past weekend Nick and I hit up two different beaches.  On Friday we spent the afternoon/evening at Treasure Island in St. Petersburg.  It was a beautiful beach loaded with seashells and clear warm water.  The waves were a bit rough, but the temperature was just right.  After laying out, reading, and floating in the water we ate dinner at a little beachside restaurant.  On Saturday morning, we ran around New Tampa trying to find a place that would issue me either a cashier's check or money order for my grown-up job (thanks a lot online only bank).  Amscott came to my rescue and all was right again in the world.  That afternoon our friends Brinton and Amanda took Nick and I out to Anna Maria Island.  It has to be one of the most gorgeous beaches ever.  The sand was a bright white, the water a clear green, the schools of fishes swimming all around, the waves perfect, and the beach houses to die for.  We spent the after noon playing corn hole, reading, tanning, and swimming.  Then we headed over to Bradenton to eat at the Beachhouse.  The food was pretty good and the pina colada bread was heavenly.

Anna Maria Island

The beach house I fell in love with.

The group after dinner.

Gorgeous right?!

After the beach we all cleaned up and headed out to Hyde Park near down town.  It reminded us a lot of the Brookside area, but bigger.  We went to a total of four bars, two Irish pubs, one trendy place, and one hole-in-wall joint.  The atmosphere was awesome in all of the bars.  The second Irish pub was every one's favorite, it had a live band that was playing the best music.  After the bars we headed to Pita pit and then home for the night.

Beginning of the night.

End of the night.

Nick and I spent our Sunday at the mall taking advantage of the final day of the tax-free holiday.  We each walked away with my nice new digs.  I left with seven new items and Nick stepped away with two great blue items.

Tomorrow is my first day on the job, luckily it is just the first day of orientation and the kids do not show up until the 23rd.  I hope this week goes by smoothly and quickly so we can hurry up and head to the Chiefs v. Buccaneers pre-season game!

-Megan

The Big Move

Well folks we have officially been in Tampa, FL for a week.  It still feels like an extended vacation, but I think that will all change next week when I start work as an SLP.

We began our drive to Tampa on Sunday August 1st around 5:30pm and drove all through the night only really getting caught up in rush hour traffic in Chattanooga and Atlanta. We reached our final destination Monday afternoon just in time for an early dinner with our two friends Brinton and Amanda who also live down here.  My brother and dad helped Nick and I move down and turned the week into a vacation filled with a trips to Clearwater without Nick and I, Busch Gardens, St. Pete's Beach with Nick and I, a movie (The Other Guys), bowling, and of course some moving.

                                        Nick, Bryan, and I on a roller coster at Busch Gardens.


While we have been in Tampa for a week, we didn't get to move into our apartment until Saturday the 7th.  Thankfully Brinton and Amanda let us crash in their extra bedroom.  On Saturday we repacked the two cars and headed over to get our keys.  Our place in a nice 2 bedroom/2 bath, with quite a bit of storage space.  We are all unpacked and even have things on our walls.  It is strange to be living with a boy, and not my nontraditional roommates of mom and dad.  Here are some pictures of our place:

Kitchen with lovely cupcake decor.

Master bedroom

Crazy messy 2nd bedroom/soon to be office

The living room with my brother's art.

                                                  View of entertainment area and screened in patio.

The company I work for allows us to rent furniture witch is the greatest thing ever, even if we end up with a red couch and chair (not a big red fan).

Nick and I are going to try to get in as much touristy things before next Monday when I become a working girl.  We hope everyone back in Kansas is doing well and missing us enough to come visit!


-Megan