our first snow day with sweet pea...

the timing couldn't have been more perfect for a snow day.  cold man winter picked tony's day off to give myself and my fellow hard working educators and students a well deserved friday off.  it was only an inch of snow, but here in san antonio it was more than enough. we took it and enjoyed every minute.

cheers...

the new year began with several firsts: hosting the new year's eve family party in sweet pea, making menudo with my mother and grandmother (yum!), and enjoying the fireworks at dignowity and lockwood parks which overlook the city. we walked to the park to see the city's annual downtown fireworks.  however, when we got there we were stunned to find out that we could also see fireworks being popped across san antonio. in neighborhoods stretched across the city, a rainbow of fireworks popped in and out of the distant horizon. and for once, the celebration of the new year was not one of just close friends and family but of community as well. cheers...

an island and lots of tamales...

our island is finally in and we loooove it.  we worked with celia at monterrey rustic and more to design a custom island and we couldn't be happier.  it took what seemed forever but oh well, it's here now. it's hot and smells great too...


this past weekend we also went to tamales! at pearl.  it was a gorgeous evening and the tamales were yuuuuuum.  our personal favorites were the juicy and plump pork tamales that were packed with tasty, divine fattiness from mi casa tamales. i'd really love to learn how to make tamales. an awesome latin band, whose name i need to find because i'd love to hear them again, provided great entertainment.  the band was staged by the pearl train and children and people were dancing and having such a grand time.  they even had fireworks! what fun. i can't wait to do it again next year...

all in three weeks...

it's hard to believe we have been living in sweet pea for a mere three weeks. it feels longer and it's feeling great! there are moments when i am just overtaken with disbelief that this charming house is ours and we are within minutes of many of our favorite spots in town.  we are down to one box of unpacking and are only awaiting two big pieces of furniture, our island and tv stand.  our curtains for the dining room are in and so is our reupholstered sofa. we've also attended our first neighborhood association meeting, became official members, joined in a community picnic, found the tastiest brisket and yams in san antonio, and i've already managed to lock myself out of the house! lucky for me, our neighbor bill was home and i was able to call tony.  having my husband 5 minutes away definitely has its perks...



before





after!





our wool and twill drapes





tokyo the valiant



hApPy bIrThDay mArIsa!!

  

home sweet home...

and we are in! after much anticipation, it feels soooo good to be in our home.  we just came back from a stroll through dignowity park which is a block away from sweet pea.  we were just sitting there talking and enjoying the breeze and view...tony, tokyo, and i...and i wondered to myself when had been the last time we were at the park just taking it easy like we were.  it was kinda surreal cause then i realized how often we could start doing this.  we're only a block away.  the park overlooks the downtown skyline and it was a big "i'm glad i'm doing this and i'm glad it's with you" kinda moment.  my parents are in town so they got to visit sweet pea for the first time as well as help us with the rest of the moving. it's always great having them in town and i hope they move back soon for good.  so even though there are still tons of unpacking to do, we are finally home.

a perfect day for some oiling and painting...

what a gorgeous day it was today. tony and i woke up and went straight to painting and oiling.  i painted our country chairs a light blue and tony oiled our coffee table. the sky was clear, the sun was out, the radio was playing, and the breeze was doing what it does best. yesterday, we moved quite a bit to sweet pea with the help of tony's sis andrea who came down from austin to help out.  next weekend we move the rest and finally start staying at our new home...

september 21st...

the big entrance...drumroll please :-)

sold...

Sweet Pea

she is officially ours! closing went as smooth as we could hope for. this would not have been possible without team castro which includes our super supportive family, friends, amazing realtor slyvia white,our awesome mortgage broker steve benavides and the wonderful people we have met along the way. we are so so ecstatic... at least now we both are. you see, weeks before signing tony was the one who was more excited while i was more anxious and nervous about everything going smoothly.  as soon as the deal was done, i quickly became super thrilled while tony soon found himself a bit overwhelmed with the many tasks at hand that of course comes with purchasing a 100 plus year old house. however, after getting our game plan on he is now back to being his focused and uber charged self and i am right there with him! so first things first... bring on the tape and float, the cleaners and liners, and the oh so lovely paint...

almost home...

closing on sweet pea is in a little over three weeks 3 more days now! is there even a way to express the smile on my face and the excitement i'm feeling in words? we cannot wait and are super excited.  we are almost home...