Chapter 55: Yet Another Lowe's Trip

Today, since Joe is in Vegas, I took my mom with me to Lowe's in order to make a few (hopefully last) decisions. It has been fun but also overwhelming to select every last detail that is going into this house. Today we selected:

• Door handles & hinges
• The baseboards
• The sheen for the walls

We also reviewed and slightly altered our lighting selections. I enjoyed hearing my mom's opinion on style and she also has some practical suggestions based on her own experiences.

We had planned to peruse two lighting stores on Mayfield Rd. However, as we drove down Mayfield Rd. the traffic lights suddenly went out. When we arrived at the first lighting store, all the lights were off. The entire street (which is a very busy business street) had lost power. We decided that wasn't it wasn't best to shop for lighting fixtures in the dark, so we headed home...

Chapter 54: Another Lowe's Trip

My friend (and bridesmaid), Suzi came with Joe and I to Pittsburgh yesterday. Our first stop was at ProSource where we compared some of the paint samples to the flooring we had selected. After that we stopped at an Ethan Allen and then a Levin Furniture to peruse some furniture options. We were focusing on bed frames, couches and kitchen tables. We will need to start ordering the essential pieces since the delivery time frame can be as long as 4 to 6 weeks. Lastly we visited our Bailey Ave house to check the progress as well as to get some measurements.

Today we took those measurements and went to Lowe's to finish our decision making. We decided on all of the light fixtures, paint colors, the front door design and the vanity for the 3rd floor bathroom. We are still deciding between two different vanities for the 1st floor powder room.

Yesterday was our last time to see the house before its estimated completion date of June 20th. We're excited to see how all of our decisions look put together...

Chapter 53: Tomorrow's Plans

Tomorrow morning I am going to drive to Joe's before we head to Pittsburgh to take care of some house plans. Joe is leaving on Thursday and we want to make sure we have most of the design decisions done. From Joe's house we will head to Prosource in Monroeville to compare paint samples with the flooring we selected. Afterwards, we plan to stop by our house to check on it's progress! If everything goes as planned, we should be moving into the house in less than a month!

Chapter 52: House Selections

Joe and I had a full morning at Lowe's. We spent a couple hours browsing the aisles for some details of our home to be. We made a few decisions on the following items:

• Paint Scheme (we are mainly going with neutral colors)
• Toilets (always important)
• Sinks for the first and third floor bathrooms (and faucets to go with them)
• Lighting (recessed cans, fans, and all)
• Front door and hardware
• Garage door and opener

We finalized most of the decisions but are still not positive on some of the sinks, the paint color for the master bath and a few lighting fixtures. We want to have all of these decisions made before Joe leaves for Vegas on the 29th of May.

On a wedding note, my Mom and I met with a woman who does invitations and stationary on Tuesday. We have selected the invitations (colors, font, and wording) and are awaiting the proof.

Chapter 51: Penn State Graduates

Joe and I graduated from Penn State yesterday. Before heading to the Bryce Jordan Center, we took pictures at the apartment with my roommates, Vas and Dorann. They are also part of the Smeal college of business and it was nice that we were able to take pictures and go to graduation together. The graduation ceremony started at 1:30 pm and lasted til about 3:30 pm.

The CEO of FedEx was the speaker and there was a general consensus from my family that he did an okay job. After the ceremony, Joe and I took a few more pictures with my family and then we left Penn State and headed home (Joe went to New Castle and I went to Solon).

Chapter 50: Hail to the Lion

Joe and I returned to Penn State on Tuesday for Senior Week, which is the week after finals leading up to graduation. It was a beautiful day so Vas, Dorann, Joe and I went to the Lion Shrine to take pictures in our graduation robes. There was a small line and we had to wait about 20 minutes before we got our turn to take pictures. We know that the line for the shrine this weekend will be much longer! These pictures will make for a great Penn State memory!

Chapter 49: Day of Decisions

Today we made many decisions for both the house and the wedding. This morning we went to Prosource to select the flooring for the entire house. We are going with a natural colored maple hardwood, a plush tan colored carpet, and a light colored natural stone for the bathroom. After this we met my mom at Lendable Linens to look at different table cloth combinations. We chose a black table cloth with an overlay which you will see at the wedding...don't want to reveal too many details of the big day.

After that meeting, we caravaned to Robinson Township where we had lunch and waited for our next meeting with our florist. Last time we had met with Linda, we were undecided on the wedding colors. This time, we had more of a decision and we felt as though the meeting was very productive. The colors for the wedding will be kept a surprise as well!

Chapter 48: A Family Affair

Our meetings on Thursday were quick and efficient. We discussed the fireplaces and some small electrical issues and the contractor gave us 'homework.' He asked us to find the flooring we want for the entire house, the lighting fixtures and to look for a front door. Yesterday, we looked at Lowe's for some lighting fixtures and the front door. We made a few decisions and wrote down model numbers for some fans and lights.

Today was a family outing! Mr. and Mrs. Patrick, Joe and I left the house at 9:30 for Pittsburgh. Along the way we stopped at Joe's Grandparents house so that I could meet them. We then continued to our house on Mt. Washington in order for Mr. and Mrs. Patrick to check in on the progress of the construction. We had lunch in the South Side Works and then went to Phipps Conservatory so that they could see our wedding venue. They both liked it! We had planned to go to a flooring store but they were closed when we got there. Lastly, we stopped at Mr. Patrick's warehouse and then headed back to New Castle. It was a busy day!

Chapter 47: We'll miss Penn State

We are...done with school. I finished up all my academic obligations on this past Friday and Joe had his last final on Tuesday morning. We are excited to be done but also very sad to be leaving Penn State.

Today, we are going to Pittsburgh for two meetings. Both of them will be held in our house on Mount Washington. The first will be with the 'Pure Luxury' representative who will help us to continue to make decisions about the house. The second is with the contractor is going to walk us through the house to discuss any issues they have had with the construction.

Chapter 46: Background on the backgrounds

So, I thought it would be interesting to provide the story behind how I started making computer backgrounds for Joe. Also, I thought it would be fun to display my masterpiece artwork!

It started Fall of our junior year. Joe allowed me to borrow his laptop so that I could go to Panera Bread and type up my notes for a test. After I finished typing my notes, I decided it would be nice for me to change the background of his laptop. It started out as just a nature scene, waterfall and greenery. However, I determined that including Joe and I to the picture would be the perfect addition.

This is the second background I made once the first background needed a change. I went with a Rapunzel theme.




When I was in Spain, I made this background for Joe. It was inspired by the Spanish castles and our trip to Vienna. Joe's roommates were lucky enough to be included in this one.


This piece really shows a huge improvement in my artwork. I began using photoshop in order to enhance the details of my designs (example: put our heads on different bodies). This was a Christmas gift for Joe this past winter. It was to portray our upcoming trip to the Bahamas.


We posted the newest background in our Chapter 44 post.

Chapter 45: 2 year cont'd.

Yesterday, Joe and I decided to continue the celebration of our two year anniversary by repeating our first date. We climbed Mount Nittany to the Mike Lynch overlook. This is at the top of the mountain and you can see all of Happy Valley (Campus, Beaver Stadium, Bryce Jordan center, etc.). After our hike back down, we went to Clem's BBQ, which is a small shack-like operation off a random highway. They have great BBQ and are well known for it! We shared some boneless country ribs slathered with barbecue sauce! Yum!

Chapter 44: 2 years!

Today was Joe and my two year anniversary! We were busy during the day but finished our schoolwork before our evening date! Joe picked me up and took me to a restaurant in The Carnegie House. The Carnegie House is a bed & breakfast that also offers fine dining. It is European style dining, which Joe and I had never experienced. How it worked was, we sat in the library while they took our dinner order and served us drinks and hor'douvres. When our food was ready, they escorted us to the dining room. The food was good!

Joe got me beautiful purple iris flowers! I made Joe the following picture for the background of his computer:
Also, last night Katie, my sister, visited me in State College on her way to Chicago. Katie is moving from Boston to Chicago and I was happy to have her stay with me for a night! We went to dinner and then to Trivia at the bar across the street from my apartment. Then this morning we had breakfast at my favorite cafe in State College. It was a short but enjoyable visit.