More work on the house and a new dress!

Ok, so the heat and humidity from about 2 weeks ago really tested the new AC system and we discovered that the upstairs wasn't cooling off as much as it was supposed to. So the guys are back at the house again today, as a matter of fact, to drop 2 more supplies in the upstairs bedrooms to balance out the air in the upstairs. So it should nice and really cool up there the next time we get 90+ degree heat! And to top it off, I asked them if they could look into the issue we have with the tub in the bathroom upstairs. We haven't used it in ages because of a leak which appears to be coming from the drain underneath. That issue has been on our To-Do list for about a year now, so if they can get that fixed we'll be golden!! Not to mention the fact that B will get to take a bath in "his" bathroom again.

In other renovation news...we received a delivery of lumber this morning for the siding. I have to admit - those cedar boards are beautiful! So we'll definitely have our hands full this weekend staining all of that before the carpenter starts his work on Monday. We have also signed with a stone mason and he will be starting his work as soon as our home equity loan goes through at the bank. Oh - and last weekend I borrowed a wallpaper steamer from a former colleague (Thanks J and I!) so that I can start the removal of the last bit of wallpaper in the upstairs hallway. Busy busy!!

Speaking of last weekend, one other task on my list of stuff was to get together with my cousin and her friends/family and go dress shopping! My cousin is getting married in October (finally - she's been with the guy for like 13 years!) and I'm one of her bridesmaids and I'm so excited! I haven't been a bridesmaid since my best friend Chel got married in 1997, but I think I remember the drill - LOL. Anyway, her only requirements about the dress was that is had to be black or brown. But of course we peppered her with so many questions about what she wants/doesn't want (can't have the bridesmaids outshine the bride now can we!) that she ended up caving in and showed us her wedding gown. It's absolutely stunning! So the 5 of us - 4 bridesmaids and her maid of honor started scanning the racks and I started trying on a bunch of dresses. This is the one we decided to go with. It will be a dark brown with a cream-colored sash. I have to admit, I didn't really like it at first (all that poofy-ness isn't really my style), but it's starting to grow on me.

And the maid of honor will have a slightly different dress. Hers will be a taupe/nutmeg color (more like the color of the sash in this picture) with a dark brown sash to match the bridesmaids.

So let me know what you think of the dresses!