The Container Store & Marshall's

Last night we had an appointment with our tax guy at 9 pm! He's a busy man... to pass the time, we visited The Container Store and Marshall's for the first time.

Allow me to start with The Container Store... I really wasn't impressed. As much as I love containers, boxes, files and closet organizers, I didn't find The Container Store to be anything special. Did I mention the prices? I knew IKEA was down the street and I could find the exact products for much cheaper.

I did manage to find 1 item we needed:

sponge holder w/ suction cups for the kitchen sink $6.15

Now on to Marshall's... I know I've expressed my love of HomeGoods in the past and I must say it is still a front runner, BUT, Marshall's is a close 2nd! They have great prices, great items for the house and great everything else!

Here's my little purchase from Marshall's:

soap & hand sanitizer for the kitchen sink $5.75

...I also may have purchased a cute purse :)

The 92688 [RSM]...

This past Sunday, Mike and I decided to visit Lake Rancho Santa Margarita. We've driven by. watched the 4th of July fireworks, but we've never actually walked around the lake during the day. I must say it was beautiful and I was sad that we hadn't visited sooner.

The weather was perfect, the trail was nice, the people were nice and there were dogs and ducks everywhere [yes, we brought our beloved pooch along with us].

this is only a fraction of the lake

Half way through our walk we noticed a table set up with free coffee, water bottles and dog treats! It was awesome! We hope to visit every Sunday morning. Like I told Mike: We pay for this! Good old mello roos!

Sandy Beaches...

Not quite. This week, we're tackling every door in our condo. YEP, we're painting every door, door frame and door molding. We're also going to replace the door hinges [the previous owners painted them and we're not fans].

Each night this week Mike and I are going to sand away! We made a quick trip to Lowes for supplies: more door molding, wood filler, ScotchBrite sanding pads and dust masks. We want everything prepped and ready to go for my parent's visit this weekend.

My dad will likely be turbo-charged and ready to paint [he's a little hyper :)]

And no, we're not doing this for the fun of it... the previous owners had mis-matched door molding through out the condo and the doors were painted an awful off-white, yellowish color! Ugh! Time for a crisp look with Behr Snow Fall White in a semi-gloss :) Ahh, the little things in life that make me happy.

Dear Condo [we've come a long way my friend]...

In just 8 months to be exact...

Phew... we're getting there :)