August & Our Vacation Week

I realized I am very behind on blogging, so I'm going to put a lot of photos in this post!  August was filled with finals for Adam and work for me, but after he finished with school, Adam got two weeks off.  It was much deserved and very anticipated.  I was able to take the second week off with Adam, and we couldn't agree on a place we wanted to go, so we stuck around Jax and played tourists here.  It was a great decision!

We made a tentative plan of things we wanted to do each day, with a few meals eaten out and a few meals at home.  (We made lasagna one night and froze two additional pans to save for later.  I am very much appreciating that decision right now!)  While the schedule changed a bit, it was the perfect amount of rest and activity, and it was just what we needed.

We celebrated Adam's first semester with a dinner at J. Alexander's, and it was delicious.  Here's a foggy photo of us afterwards.  (I got a new phone later in the week.  This one had seen its last days!)

At the beginning of the week, we went bowling with Austin & Becky.  We had a great time catching up, and Austin & Adam were close competitors.  (I may never get bowling down.)  It's so nice to have family in town.  I truly, truly appreciate it!

Before our lane was ready, we had some time, so Austin & Becky shared their arcade card with us and we all played like kids!

 

Adam and I made a list of things that could use some extra attention around the house, and he tackled them one-by-one.  He fixed several broken necklaces for me, which I very much appreciated!  He also cleaned out the garage and washed & waxed our cars.  (I just didn't get photos of that.)

We hosted some friends of ours one evening for dinner, and we invited them to bring their new puppy, Murphy, over to play.  He and Rye had a grand time hanging out and running around!

We went to a new beach one day that was a bit far for a quick trip, so we just made a day of it and had a great time.  It had trails nearby, so I sat on the beach and read while Adam ran, and then he joined me back for some surf & sand.

I bought this swimsuit for our honeymoon and found a photo of us from Maui, so I thought I'd take a similar one almost 3 years later.  We look like babies in 2011!  

One night we hung out at Barnes & Noble to just poke around.  I hate that they don't have chairs in there anymore, but that didn't stop me from plopping down and grabbing several books to look through!  It was a fun, low-key night.

This is our usual snuggle spot.  (Can you spy Rye?)

I think the most adventurous thing we did that week was when we went up to Neptune Beach for Stand Up Paddle Boarding lessons.  It was really cool to get a basic "crash course" in how to do it, and then we stayed out on the water with our instructor.  It was a 90 minute lesson, and I would do it again!  (We each had a board, the others just aren't pictured here!)

We saw this while driving one day, and I couldn't get over it.  It made me giggle.

One day we had a couples' massage planned, and we stopped for Happy Hour at Ovinte's, where they have amazing truffle fries, beforehand.  The massages were wonderful, and it was a very relaxing evening!

We also spent some time playing putt-putt, which is a Dixon family vacation tradition.  We pass this place every week on our way to church, so it was cool that we finally had some time to make use of it!

On the last day of our vacation week, we went to St. Augustine (about 45 minutes South) to shop at the outlet malls to beef up Adam's wardrobe.  He took home quite the haul and got a lot of bang for his buck!  Now that he has a better idea of what to wear to school, he wanted some collared shirts that weren't button downs.  So we were on the hunt, also adding in a couple pairs of casual shorts. I think he's all set for a while!  (Funny what you have to do when you only wear a uniform to work!)

St. Augustine is also home to the San Sebastian Winery, which offers complimentary tours and a wine tasting.  There was a short 7 minute film, and the rest of the time was spent tasting about 10 different wines.  (My kind of tour!)  We enjoyed getting to try new things, and I even found a red wine that I liked.  (New for me.)  I would highly recommend this tour, so if you come visit us, we can definitely do that!

We ended the evening with a dinner at Capp's on the Water, where we've eaten with my family during the Players Tournament.  The name is accurate, in that it's right on the water, and we enjoyed the view and the food!  We stopped at the beach on our way home and watched the sunset, too.

Saturday was back to our regularly scheduled programming, which included meal planning and grocery shopping, and house chores.  Having football on during the weekend is so relaxing and enjoyable to both of us, and it finally started back up that weekend.  Even though we're not serious football people, I think it signals "relax" to both of us, and we love to have it on!

Our vacation week was a fun one, and I'm thankful we had the time to take it and the ability to do all the fun activities.  We're already looking forward to the next break!

Our JAX House

Welcome to our house in Jacksonville! We love it, and are so thankful for our little space. It feels like home to us! Here's a little tour, starting with the front living area. It leads out into the "Florida Room" with the French doors. (They're not usually open, but I was trying to let as much sun light in as possible for the photos!)

The sunroom is off the back of the house, and I spend quite a lot of time out there!  It has it's own little A/C unit and a fan, so it cools down quickly.  We have the picnic table & Baylor bench, both of which Adam made out here, plus the big chair and a half from my Aunt Laura. (I wanted that thing forever and don't want to get rid of it)  Adam keeps his bike and trainer out here and rides it sometimes, and we eat dinner out here a lot.  I really love this room!

One of the (many) reasons we loved this house from hearing about it when Austin & Rebecca found it for us was because of the tool shed out back (Adam's very favorite thing) and the huge yard for Rye to run around in.  After being in an apartment for six months, we don't take it for granted!

So back inside, the dining room is to the right when you walk in the front entry, and it connects to the kitchen (doorway on the right of this photo).

This is our Kitchen and breakfast nook. Because we have the dining room table & the picnic table out in the sunroom, I didn't really see a need for another table (plus we didn't have and "extra" laying around!), so I decided it would become more of a mudroom.

There are a few things I'd love to add, but it serves a great purpose for us, and Adam built this great bench to fit right here in this spot.  I love it.  (I also love gallery walls...I think I have three in the house!  Oops.)  Our laundry room is actually in the garage (apparently it's a Florida thing), so it's not usually this "neat" looking over here.  There's usually a basket of laundry coming in or going out.  But it looks good for the pic!

Back out in the living room, there's a hall to the left that has three bedrooms.  The first one is my office, where I spend quite a bit of time working.  (I also work on the couch and in the Sunroom, but this is where I accomplish most of my "professional" work.)  

Rye sits here on the ottoman (like so) and hangs out with me throughout the day.  I love bringing my pup to work every day!  We've really become buddies, and it's so much fun.  I love my office--it's bright and cheery, and a nice place to work.  Each closet in this house has incredible built in shelves.  There is a spot for everything and even extra room.  I love it.

This is my little extra project area, so sometimes I have my sewing machine out or I can scrapbook or wrap gifts here.  It's nice to have a bit empty table like this.  It would be even nicer if I could keep it this clean!

The second bedroom on the left is the guest room/Adam's study.  The walls look kind of bare (compared to the rest of the house!) because when we have guests, we turn the desk to the other wall and shift the bed to the right so you can get around both sides.  I suppose I could put something up, but I just haven't.  So here it is!

Most of Adam's studying on the weekend happens here.  He works really hard during the week not to have to come home and study, so that means maximizing his free time between classes and staying late after school a couple of nights a week.  Generally he gets home about 7 after putting in some more study hours.  He works hard!

And just across the hall is the Master Bedroom.  This is the wall that has our "mushy" and "romantic" stuff...wedding photos, anniversary letters to each other (on the S and A) and a few other momentos.  It makes me smile.

I love this headboard.  It took me looking in thrift shops all summer before my junior year in college to find this, and I did, finally, the week before I moved back to Waco for $35.  It came without the finials on the top, so I used fence post toppers instead.  Somewhere in our last two moves, the left finial got lost, so I am going to have to hunt one down at Home Depot soon!  

These photos took me three different days to take--our house is rarely this neat all at the same time.  And sometimes I just moved laundry baskets behind me so they wouldn't be in the photos!  Ha.  Needless to say, our home is not perfect, by any stretch, but I have tried to make it warm and welcoming for us and for anyone who comes over.  It also doesn't hurt that I have decorator blood and furniture addiction.  :-)

A look back at our previous homes:

JAX: You can see the first photos we saw of the house here.  (A totally empty & blank slate.)

DAL: Our apartment where we lived for six months here.

DAL: Our first & favorite house together in Dallas here.  (We really miss being 5 minutes from White Rock Lake!)  I also just realized in looking through those photos that I've really tried to have less stuff.  (Adam will roll his eyes and beg to differ!)  But the 7 trips I took to Good Will and my "Move no crap" efforts seem to have paid off a bit!  Yay.  I love blogging & looking back.

Thanks for taking our little tour!  Please come visit any time.  We have a guest room and are only 30 minutes from the beach!  :-)

Jacksonville: A 90 Day Report

We're in week two of finals for Adam.
Send help.

Just kidding. He's doing really well in all of his classes.  You could just say the stress is HIGH in the Paulson household.  That's us (above) hunkered down in the guest room/Adam's office.  He's studying, Rye's sleeping and I'm just being me.  At least we're together!

But other than that, we are still adjusting well to our new home and life here in Jacksonville.  Here are a few things I've learned along the way...

1. Getting to the beach any time (and even once a week) may take effort, but it's worth it.  I've only missed one week where my toes did not hit the sand, but that was because my flight back from Dallas was canceled.  There've been weeks when we've been more than once, so I'm still averaging a little more than once per week, which is a total win in my book.
2. My directionally challenged brain is getting its bearings.  I think.  I still have trouble once or twice a week, but I'm definitely counting the other five days getting to my regular haunts without a GPS as a victory.  
3. Man, I really, really love shopping at the Publix grocery store.  Their tag line "where shopping is a pleasure" is completely true.  They're so helpful, the store is well-lit, well-stocked and clean.  Meat and Milk are really expensive here, but we can't do much about that.  
4. When your inlaws send a surprise card in the mail and it's a Publix gift card, you will both shout happily.  We were instructed to buy some really good deli meat (a total splurge at the moment) and something fun for each of us.  Adam chose beer and I chose flowers.  And we had plenty left over for other necessities, which means an extra date night out and another night of no cooking or cleaning.  Yahoo!  And when your mom treats you to a massage, you say "thank you" about 10 times and make yourself an appointment!  (That was me today.  It was such a treat!) 
5. I didn't realize how much Adam looked forward to Friday night date nights.  We had to move it to Saturday night a couple weeks ago, and it was kind of a bummer for both of us not to go out at the end of the week.  So we will be keeping Friday night date nights as much as possible around here!
6. It's worth putting yourself out there.  While I've had a few instances of people not reciprocating, for the most part, when I ask someone to lunch or coffee, they say yes.  It's been a really fun way to meet new friends.  I suppose it can be a little scary at first, but I've done it enough times that it's just fun!
7. We're still really enjoying our church, and getting more involved.  I've gotten to sing again and also help with Adventure Camp (our version of VBS).  I'm grateful for a job that's flexible enough that I could take an hour off each morning to work with the kids.  Plus, I made more friends.  #LoveIt.
8. Group texts are my lifeline some days.  Yes, we're getting settled and making friends.  I am always open to adding more to the mix, but there's nothing like the friends who've known you through high school, college, and thick and thin.  These group texts keep me laughing, and they help me feel like I'm really not that far away--most days.
9. Life goes on, whether we're there or not.  I've gotten several calls from dear friends telling me that they're expecting babies.  I've missed two weddings so far, a full-band show for my brother, and so many other things that I don't know about.  It's hard some days.  It's humbling (life happens without us).  But it is just part of this season, so I will rejoice for these sweet people and visit as much as possible.
10. We really do like Jacksonville.  We looked at a few other places, including Knoxville, Tennessee, and to have the opportunity to live near the beach is a dream I didn't even know I had.  It's definitely hot here, but it cools down at night and there's a breeze.  I wish there were more trees to park under and provide shade (like Texas!), but over all, it's a welcoming, friendly, fun place to be.  I'm so grateful.  

More?  Here's a 60 Day Report and how we got here in the first place.