We made a human! She’s tall like Dada, spirited like Mama and an all around excellent addition to the family. 
Austin Just Got a Little Weirder
We’ve Moved!
After 10 years of East Coast livin’ it was time to come back home… well, 60 miles north of home to be exact. We found, closed and moved into our new home in 41 days and we’re settling into our new city nicely. Our house is walking distance to Zilker Park and we’ve got some pretty great neighbors. We’re very much looking forward to enjoying all that Austin has to offer once the Covid vaccines are more widely distributed and it’s safe to do so.
If you’re looking to buy or sell in the Austin area, do yourself a favor and call Rebekah & Paul: https://www.cummingsteam.com/
Sold!
In the middle of a global pandemic, we sold our house after being on the market for 1.5 years.
I understand that’s usually not super noteworthy. But in our case, we had been living in a construction zone for the previous 4 years. For the first 24 months we had a few pieces of plywood and an old sink that we called our kitchen. In the end, we doubled the livable square footage, switched from oil to natural gas and beautified the 1.5 acre property as best we could. We took Will’s childhood home past the studs, all the way down to the foundation and redid every inch of electrical and plumbing. We started out working with the worst contractor in the world and then we found the absolute best one who helped us jump through what felt like a million hoops to satisfy the Town of Greenwich’s silly rules. It was rough, but it was worth it.
Thankfully, we had the most amazing Realtor ever, Lisa Migliardi. She helped us get the house staged to perfection and brought in an amazing photographer, and ultimately… an all-cash buyer. We’ll always think fondly of the hard work we put in and the memories made but we’re so thrilled to be moving on.
Check out the hype video here:
I’m an Aunt x2!
Rome Alexander Cervantes was born April 21st, 2016… isn’t he the most delicious thing you’ve ever seen??
It’s a Boy!
Theodore Roosevelt Davidow
Born in College Station, Texas
February 11, 2017
Mr. & Mrs. Davidow!
We got married at the JW Marriott in San Antonio, Texas on November 21, 2015. One hundred relatives and friends from all over the country were there to celebrate with us. We honeymooned for a week in beautiful St. Maarten and St. Barth’s. You can see more details about our big day here: StefandWill.com
I’m an Aunt!
Robyn (and Eric, couldn’t have done it without him!) had a baby, which makes me a proud aunt! Layla Lee Cervantes was born May 31st, 2013. She just celebrated her first birthday and she’s really freakin’ cute.
Obviously my mother is just so incredibly excited to finally be a grandmother. Here she is with Layla on Easter getting in some quality reading time with her little grandbaby. And here’s another picture: Layla on her first birthday… drooling over some cake!
The dresser project.
I had been looking for furniture for the guest bedroom since we moved in (over 12 months ago, LOL) but i just couldn’t bring myself to spend the kind of money it was going to take to achieve the look i was going for. So the 2nd bedroom was operating primarily as Pogo’s favorite napping place, and secondarily as a big closet with all the stuff we didn’t care to organize immediately (read: ever). Fast-forward to 1 month before my birthday… my sister & brother-in-law were coming to visit and i was desperate to create an acceptable guest suite!
So i caved in & purchased an old dresser i’d seen on Craigslist for months… it was solid oak and a steal of a deal (only $200!) but it needed to be brought into this decade. I decided this would be my first “shabby-chic-furniture-re-painting-project” that all the kids on Pinterest were doing. So we hit up Home Depot and called up some friends (Thanks Brett & Julia!) and got to work…
The results were exactly what i was hoping for. Now, i can’t wait to try different pieces of furniture! Before doing this project, i would have never considered myself a “handy woman”… crafty, but not HANDY. Here are a few helpful tips for anyone who is interested!
1) Cleaning, Sanding & Priming the furniture is KEY! I’ve seen some articles & blog posts on the web that lead people to believe that you can skip some or all of these steps and to that i say… “You will regret it!”
2) Here are some of the supplies i used:
The eco-friendly drop cloth was a nice idea, and i was trying to be “green” but it’s not practical to use when the item you are painting is close to 100 lbs. It ripped instantaneously. The paint color i used was called “Parchment Paper” and i got it at Home Depot (I don’t recall the brand, though… sorry!)
3) Give it Time! I waited 24-48 hours in between each coat. (2 coats of primer, 2 coats of paint, 1 coat of finish)
4) Remember the details! I spent extra time cleaning the old hardware (try “Brasso” but wear gloves, that stuff is HARSH!), and lining the drawers ($4/roll at Home Goods) and was very pleased with the final product.
It’s Fall, y’all!
Fall, Autumn, Harvest Time.
I know these are foreign words to most Texans, but here on the
East Coast it’s the BEST TIME of the year! It’s chilly, but not freezing. The leaves are changing colors — and i don’t mean from green to brown. I’m talking about red, orange, yellow, and PURPLE. Colors that just don’t seem real!
So naturally with all this beauty around me (& as any good NE’er should) I had to pick apples & pumpkins! Together with Lenny & Kaitlyn, Will & I visited the Lyman Orchards in Middlefield, CT. It was a HUGE orchard with acres & acres of apple trees to pick from. There was also a corn maze that we did not get to attempt, due to the late afternoon showers. But we sure did not miss the market & the warm apple cider donuts. (Added Bonus: There is one Sonic Drive-In in CT. We stopped there on the drive home!)
Let there be no mistake about it… I understand that Fall also means that Winter is right around the corner. And with temps in the 30’s this week, a town still cleaning up from the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and a pending Nor’Easter looming later this week… i’m FULLY aware of the not-so-fun days in my near future. But let’s just enjoy this gorgeous season for a little bit longer.
Half Marathon #3… done.
Julia & I ran the Hartford Half Marathon on Saturday, October 13th. It wasn’t my fastest time, but it was definitely the most enjoyable race to date.
We drove to Suffield, CT on Friday night and stayed at Brett’s mom’s house which was a 20 minute drive to the start line. After the race, we had lunch at Salute & then we stopped at a local farmer’s market to buy the world’s most delicious honey greek yogurt & homemade ice cream. What a treat!