Animal Party!

As you all know, we're dog people. Hell, we better be considering we have five oh so rambunctious ankle biters! From time to time, co workers of Eric, or friends of friends, like to come by with their fur baby either to have us puppy sit for them, or just help with socializing...even though some of our dogs are rather bratty (Macie, to be specific)..so it makes life interesting in the house. Either way, it leads to entertainment..

On that note, let me introduce you to Doc:

He's a super sweet American Stafford who is like a XL version of Grimm..and he's about as stubborn as a brick wall. We're watching after him for the next week since his Daddy is back in the States to get married to his beautiful fiancee'. 

Doc is about eleven months old while Grimm is just hitting around seven months..so those two have been playing NON STOP. I'll hear random things crashing throughout the house, skidder skattering around corners, yipping and growling..all sorts of mayhem. LOTS of mayhem. Their favorite thing to do is play around my kitchen table. Ehhhh wellllll...play isn't the word. Grimm uses it for hiding purposes from Doc in order to get some sort of relief from the constant stompings and smushings:

For the most part, they play together rather well even though Doc is still learning that he's a lot larger than Grimm.  In the midst of playing, he can get a little carried away and pins Grimm to the floor then proceeds to lay all over him. Who helps to keep him in check when he gets a little too skitzo? Macie, of course! I think she takes over with baby sitting Doc when I'm either worn out from chasing him, or when I actually need to attend to my house and work on things. Eric refers to her as "The Protector of the House"...and she's definitely a force to be reckoned with!

I'll tell you what, I'm seriously shocked as to how "sturdy" this dog is! I realize Staffords are a beefy breed, but this guy is SOLID muscle, and his head is like a ....I dunno how to describe it. I can totally see why they're used as guard dogs, intimidation and all that other manly crap. When he yawns or gets a treat, the noise his mouth makes when he snaps it shut reminds me of an alligator..that large hollow "snap" sound. Then whenever he rests his head on me, you can just feel the weight and how solid his skull is...MUCH different than what I'm used to with my little Dachshunds. But...aside from all of that, he's a complete love bug (as the breed is in general) and it's rather disheartening that the mass has such a bad reputation. When in doubt, cookies get them to behave...

So, there you have it. I'll definitely be kept busy for the next week whilst I wrangle a super wiggly Doc, attempt to make progress on prepping for the movers next month, trolling for a home in New Mexico and trying to squeeze in a nap at some point. 

Whhheeeeeeeeee!!

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Chik-chik-cha-chik-chik-chika-chik-cha-chik-Ding-ziiiiiiiiiiiiiiiip

It's no secret that I like old stuff. Personally, I think old stuff rocks. The majority of my house has antiques & vintage things as decor, and once we move back to the states, I'll be acquiring the rest of my cool things to give our new home some funky character. 

For those of you who don't know what this contraption is.. this is a typewriter. 

T-Y-PE-W-R-I-T-E-R. Ohhhh ahhhhhhhhhh!

 Now a days, everyone has a laptop, iPad, tablet, or other fancy do-hickey to converse with other people. This, my friends, is one of the many stepping stones it took to give you your current contraption. 

I kept debating back and forth about whether I really wanted to get this or not. I mean, it's heavy. VERY heavy. I struggled to carry it across the warehouse to my truck, lol

HISTORY OF REMINGTON TYPEWRITER:

E. Remington and Sons (1816-1896) was a manufacturer of firearms and typewriters. Founded in 1816 by Eliphalet Remington in Ilion, New York, and on March 1, 1873 it started manufacturing the first commercial typewriter.

In 1886, E. Remington and Sons sold its typewriter business to the Standard Typewriter Manufacturing Company, Inc. Included were the rights to use the Remington name. E. Remington and Sons changed its name to "Remington Arms".

"Standard Typewriter" changed its name in 1902 to "Remington Typewriter Company". This company merged in 1927 with "Rand Kardex Company" to form "Remington Rand", which continued to manufacture office equipment and later became a major computer company, as well as manufacturing electric razors.

After their invention in the 1860s, typewriters quickly became indispensable tools for practically all writing other than personal correspondence. They were widely used by professional writers, in offices, and for business correspondence in private homes. By the end of the 1980s, word processors & personal computers had largely replaced typewriters in most of these uses.

One of the main selling points for me was the fact that the keys are in French! How cool is that?  

....yeeet it says it was made in Ilion, New York, USA. The keys even have the accent marks you'd need while typing in your beloved "language of love". Spiffy, right?

I love how each side has a trap door so you can replace the ribbon wheels. They worked perfectly when I was hammering away on the keys to test it out! 

I'm positive that Eric's gonna roll his eyes when he sees this when he gets home. Then again, he really shouldn't be surprised since I talked to him about it last week for a while to kinda "test the waters" for his opinion. When I came home on Friday with the hutch and no typewriter, he even said "I'm surprised you didn't get it"....sucka. I had to go back to Slegers today anyways since I was returning the moving blankets they let me borrow to get the hutch to my house. I was in and outta that place in record time..even the owner was surprised how fast I was! I think I spent a total of five minutes in the warehouse, lol

To those of you who have been long time readers...remember the typewriter teapot I got while in England a few years ago? 

Well, now it has someone it can relate to :) I think they'll have a fabulous friendship together.

Let's just hope that this isn't the piece that causes us to be over our weight limit when the time comes to move! Eeeeeesh!

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It Fits...It sits.

So, this is a follow up for the post about my newly acquired hutch. After posting pictures of it on my Facebook page, several folks inquired about where it was gonna end up in my house. Ya seeeeee.... my Belgian house isn't exactly spacious. In fact, it's pretty cluttered, especially since I've taken up the hobby of hoarding antiques & all things deemed "cool". 

I ran back over to Slegers yesterday to officially pick up my new wooden jewel. 

Of all the times I've been to that place, I've NEVER been asked to back it into the warehouse in order for them to load it. All the while, I thought I was going to have to pay them to deliver it to the house...but no, they assured me that it'd fit in the Xterra. Remember when I got that awesome old trunk? Well, THAT fit, so surely this thing would. 

After a little finagling, they got the hutch all loaded in and wrapped it up with some moving blankets, then proceeded to do intense boy scout style knots on the back door & bumper to insure that it wouldn't fall out on the way home. I could only imagine hitting a speed bump and that thing slide out and bust into a thousand pieces..oiy! Luckily, I made it home with it in one piece! Yay!

My original plan was to put it in my office since I *thought* I had room in there, but, I don't. I wasn't willing to take all my Venetian masks off the wall because, well, I like them there. I strolled around the house for a bit debating on where it could possibly go..and it ended up making it to the foyer...blocking our french doors, lol. We don't even use those doors, so it's no major loss to me, but it made me realize there's literally no room in the house for any more furniture (to Erics delight). 

Once we made sure all the shelves were stable, we went ahead and moved all my bakers, roasting pans and other various little pottery pieces into it. Ohhhh my gosh! I'm SO happy! I'm totally digging the little hooks that are on the top of the hutch so I can hang our soup cups to free up some space for my other polish mugs in the kitchen. 

As much as Eric likes to give me grief about my purchases, he actually ADMITTED that I did a good job with this find and really, really liked it. 

MAJOR VICTORY FOR ME! 

I'm elated that it's pretty similar to our dining table, so I'm so excited to see how it'll all look together whenever we end up moving into our new home . So for the time being, it'll stay in the foyer since we only have another month and a half till the movers come to take away all my precious treasures and relocate all of them to New Mexico. 

Le Sigh. 

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Antique Love

See? See what happens when I finally get my wheels back? I hit the ground running and went straight to my favorite place...Slegers! Of course, I armed myself with my handy dandy iPad so I could take pictures of whatever caught my eye so I could run it past my oh so awesome husband...

The Eric. 

I know...I know... Eric had actually grounded me from Slegers a while ago, but I actually had his blessing for this trip because of 1) my serious withdrawls...and 2) I was on the hunt for a buffet. Over the last few months, I've been searching all over for a really pretty hutch or buffet since I *know* I'll need the extra storage space for my pottery. Lets be honest...whatever kitchen I end up with..it won't have enough room. 

Now that we're getting down to the wire, I NEED to find that piece and FAST. I actually found a gorgeous piece on Belgiums version of Craigslist, but that all fell through between location, transportation...and then the seller back peddling and tried to price gouge me. Na unh..don't do that to me because I'll just walk away from the entire deal, which is exactly what I did. 

After assaulting several Kringwinkels (their version of a second hand store), I migrated over to Slegers and strolled up & down their warehouse multiplel times to make sure I didn't miss a hidden treasure. I ended up finding several pieces I was really diggin'....

As much as I was liking this piece, I was thinking about how much work it was going to be in order to strip it down and stain it darker so it matches our dining table...mehhh..

I've been eyeballing these two buffets for a LONG time...like since the day we arrived in Belgium. They're absolutely gorgeous, but they weigh as much as my Xterra and would end up costing $1,300. Sure, it's a steal of a deal since they're beautifully carved and totally solid, but, there's no way I could ever sweet talk Eric into getting them. 

I came across a "pillow cabinet" which was pretty beefy looking. The thing is, it's almost too beefy if that makes any sense. It can hold a good amount of stuff inside of it, but it still didn't really match our dining table and I know it'd eventually REALLY bug me, lol. 

Just when I started to think that I was going to completely strike out... that's when I found it. The hutch of my dreams. The thing that happiness is made of. The cream in my coffee..

It's the perfect height, no gouges or wood rot, the key lock still works and the carvings on the front are absolutely gorgeous. Plus, it doesn't weigh as much as an elephant, so that's a major plus! I think I stood and checked it out for at least a half hour because I was so smitten with it. 

Don't you think it'll go quite well with the kitchen table? I think so! 

At this point, I'm very...VERY happy with the various furniture pieces I've managed to acquire since we've been in Belgium. Oh, and I'm not allowed to buy any more pieces (again) since we're pretty much out of room in the house. That's one of the things I'm looking forward to when it comes to moving back to the States...American sized homes with room! 

I'll be making the final arrangements for the cabinet tomorrow...and...I might bring this little guy home since I know it'd pair up well with my retro phone I picked up several months ago. Kill two birds with one stone...right? :) 

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FREEDOM!!

Alrighty..a few months, yes, months ago...Big Blue, my beloved Xterra went lame. 

By lame, I mean I couldn't use her at all. Ya see...when Eric and I were on our way back from Ramstein, I noticed when we were almost home (about thirty minutes away) that my truck was making some seriously strange noises. Eric even picked up on it, but we couldn't figure out what it was. Of course, we made it home safely and relaxed from all the driving. The next day, I hop into Big Blue to run some errands and....she's dead. Super dead..the locks wouldn't even lock..that's how dead it was, lol. Eric ended up coming home during his lunch to jump me so I could get on my merry way...it worked, but once I got back home, it died yet again. FRUSTRATING! 

Oh, and there was a new noise. It sounded like a jet landing every time I'd brake, so, of course that freaked me out. I told Eric about it and he thought it was just built up brake dust and not to worry about it.....annnnnd then he drove Big Blue and realized it wasn't something minor. In fact, it was pretty epic, lol. 

Ya see..that *noise* we heard was actually the lid from the battery popping off and all the battery acid spilled all over my front brakes and rotors, which ate away lots of the metal. YEAH. Fun, right? Nope. I didn't feel safe what so ever driving it and I really didn't wanna be irresponsible and even attempt driving it, even around town. So, Big Blue had a nice vacation for two and a half months till all of her parts arrived from my awesome and oh so wonderful Dad. Since Belgium doesn't sell Xterras, the parts that were needed are considered "imports"..in simpler terms, it means my bank account was going to get mauled. After speaking to my Dad, he managed to score all the parts we needed and had them shipped over here. How fantastic is that?? We finally found time to take her in and have everything installed for the grand total of 65€. 

Needless to say, the guys at the auto shop got a laugh out of me because I was literally skipping and squealing with joy that my beloved Big Blue was all better! 

All the while, Eric groaned because he knew that I can now officially escape from the house and be reunited with my beloved Slegers... 

YIPPY!!!

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Letztes Jahr der Weihnachtsmarkt

Yes! It's that time of year again! The Christmas markets are starting to pop up again and my most favorite is the one in Aachen, Germany! I've invaded it every year since we first got stationed here...and it makes me very..very sad that this will be our last one. Of course, I'll invade this particular one a few more times within the next month, but still..2012 is the last year we'll be attending 'em. 

Le Sigh. 

All the stores were decked out with Christmas decor! Everything looked so pretty and magical, especially the bakeries. Then again, I think I'm rather partial to the pastries since I'm a little bit of a glutton...naahhhh....

I was actually pretty surprised that more people weren't there since today was the opening day for the market. But, the weather wasn't very favorable since it was rather chilly and raining throughout our entire visit. I'm sure most people preferred to stay all bundled up at home and snuggled up on the couch. I'm positive Eric would've preferred to do the same thing, but he was a trooper and opted to troll the market with me cause he's awesome like that. Actually, it's because he was bribed with Starbucks...

 Eric was completely smitten with the size of the long wieners that were being grilled throughout the market stalls. Nevermind the fact that we had just gorged ourselves on our favorite sushi joint, lol...he was still willing to inhale one of those bad boys!

The town hall was looking gorgeous as usual:

Eric got this crazy look in his eye and I couldn't figure out what was going on behind me...sure enough...

...one of the market vendors was selling cotton candy. All was lost. So...so very lost...

Once Eric's sugar gremlin was appeased, I went around to my favorite market vendor who sells the German glass ornaments - Inge's Christmas Heirlooms. I actually wrote out a list of the various ornaments I was looking for. Yes, seriously. Ya see, my Christmas tree is like my own little travel / life passport where I get ornaments to symbolize big things that have happened or things that are important to me. For example, I was looking for a passport ornament because of all the traveling I've done since we've been here...or a hot air balloon since we'll be moving to New Mexico. Here's some of the ornaments we were able to snag:

Since Aachen's market is our absolute favorite, it was definitely necessary to buy their official ornament:

Eric has an obsession with Chocopolis in Brussels. So much, in fact, that once we move to New Mexico and when it gets to a cooler time of the year there...he'll be ordering his favorite coffee chocolate from them and having it shipped to us. THAT, my friends, is dedication. 

Eric actually picked this one out for me. It's because I cook so much...and he loves my cooking. It's also because when he attempted to make something once and used a metal utensil in my very nice & very expensive Pampered Chef pans. I *informed* him in a rather panicked tone that you never use metal on metal...always use plastic or wood. So, I find it rather humorous that they actually have a wooden spoon glass ornament available..

The providence we live in is very known for its equestrian talents. There's always some sort of riding event going on somewhere around here , which is actually pretty cool to watch. Not only that, but the area around our house has five gorgeous horses (two of which have been born since we've been here)..and whenever we go for a walk, they run up to the fence line because they've gotten accustomed to the apples & carrots we toss their way. I'm honestly gonna miss those guys! Whenever I pull into the drive way and get out of my truck, two of 'em always rush up to the fence line and greet me with snorts & hoof stomps till I acknowledge them. 

Eric was VERY relieved that those were the only ornaments I picked up, although, none of those were on my original shopping list...so of course I'm still on the hunt for those particular items. As we walked around some more, we came across a vendor whose stall was full of gorgeous little cottages, cathedrals, little churches and all sorts of various things you'd use to make mini towns for a Christmas setting. One piece IMMEDIATELY caught my eye because it looks SO much like the church in the town we live in. After humming and haaing about it, we finally decided to snag it because knowing our luck, if we were to come back at another time to get it, it'd be gone. 

Oh, and lets not forget about Lush. During the winter time, they come out with "Snow Fairy", which I completely fell inlove with last year and have been itching to get a hold of again. Sure enough, we popped in there and they had a bunch of it on the shelf. I stocked up on a few bottles and looked a little too giddy about it...I think the staffed picked up on it cause they were giggling about how excited I was when showing Eric "LOOK! LOOK! THEY GOT IT! EEEEE!!!"

No date day is complete without Starbucks....since I was still very stuffed from the sushi, Eric opted to get himself his usual. In the process of getting his drink, he inquired about them selling their large "in house" mugs because we KNOW they used to sell 'em, but always came at a bad time, or they just didn't have enough in stock. Well, this time, they had 'em. So of course, he bought 'em and went on his merry way to meet up with me since I was off taking pictures of stuffs. I got a chance to check 'em out once we got home and I was surprised that they changed the mugs! They used to have the green siren logo on the front...and now it's just a recessed image in the mug (which shape has also been changed). Either way, I was happy with 'em!

Sounds dorky, but I thought it was pretty cool that they have a "V" on the handle to represent "Venti"..it's the little things, right? :)

So, there ya have it. That was our day...pillaging the Christmas market, did some people watching, did some shopping and ended up coming home to defrost since it was rather chilly / soggy over in beautiful Germany. On that note, off to enjoy some nice hot tea that Eric made :) 

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