What's New with the Cavanaugh's!

It's been a while since I have given y'all an update, so before the holiday season begins, here's what's new with us!

Matt is still working hard and continuing to be a valued employee of Discount Tire. He is looking forward to doing sales this winter and hopefully saving his hands from freezing outside like last year! Since he is such a hard worker, his boss picked him to do a Drive & Learn. Basically that means he got paid for a day of racing BMWs to test different tires. Yep, he LOVED it! :) And, he so deserved it!

He also recently sold his Jeep. Last September he bought it up here for commute to and from work. He originally bought it for 2,000 and put some work into making it more reliable. Overall it was a good vehicle for the past year and almost always met our needs. However, with the nature of Discount Tire,he could be transferred to a further store within days notice. With that, Matt needed something a bit more reliable and with better gas mileage. So he listed his Jeep for sale and researched old Toyota 4 Runners. What's more reliable than a Toyota? Really? Thankfully, that same week, he sold the Jeep for asking price (with profit)and purchased a reliable 4 runner at a great deal! 

 

(Sold Jeep - It didn't look this good when he bought it!)

 (New Toyota!)

I am so thankful for a husband that doesn't mind buying beat up vehicles and can turn them into a profit! That's real talent! Not to mention, he saves us so much money by sacrificing and not demanding a brand new sports car. I really can't be thankful enough for him!

As for me, I am starting my 3rd semester in the Counseling program at Denver Seminary. Although, it feels like my 4th since I took summer courses and practicum. Seeing clients this summer was definitely a growing experience and a highlight of my program so far. I was able to experience counseling with a wide variety of clients and really enjoyed working with them all. However, through counseling a couple, I realized that I am very drawn towards marriage counseling. So I will be pursuing an internship next summer where I can specialize in couple and marriage counseling! Then I will hopefully graduate Dec 13 and start my supervised work towards a license.

I also am continuing my nanny job this year with the now 6 year old boy. I have been so blessed by his family and their generosity to us. While some nannies really struggle to find a good fit with a family, God provided the perfect one on the first try! I am looking forward to this year with them and thankful I can contribute to our financial needs as well.

While we both miss our friends and family back home, we have been blessed with friends and a church family here. We have really plugged in with our young marrieds class and are enjoying the new friendships we are creating. This fall, I will be a part of a bible study with the ladies in our group and also helping coordinate some fun events! We both will be participating in a marriage mentorship program at the church as well. We look forward to continuing the accountability and discipleship we had in Texas during our engagement (Thanks to the Hammond's and Hickman's!). 

 

(Just love those crossed-eyes!)

Finally, Olive is a very content little girl and sleeps most of the day on her recliner. She also has finally gone on a hiking adventure with us and seems to need more exercise. However, she is very smart and would walk fast in the sunny spots on the trail, but go at a snails pace in the shade! We also finally have her completely kennel trained. Yay! Now we are still working on her anxiety around strangers, bikes, other dogs and anything else that freaks her out. :) Nevertheless, she brings a lot of joy to our lives in so many ways and we are thankful we adopted her!   

To all our friends and family back home...across the U.S. and across seas...we miss you all and appreciate the prayers and support while we are here!

A View of Our Home - The Dining Space

As we are continuing the tour of our apartment, we move to the dining space. I call it a "space" instead of "room" because our apartment has a very open concept. There are not actually any walls around the dining space, which makes things interesting to decorate! 

I also am super excited to show you these pictures because we recently made some changes and upgrades to the space!

 Here is what our space used to look like! We were thankful to get this table set free from my sister and brother-in-law! They used it in their apartments for a few years and then passed it onto us when we got married. For the past year, it has served us well! However, we used and abused that table and outgrew it. 

Here is the new space! Last week, Matt surprised me by taking me to the store to pick out a new table! :) He's wonderful, right?! It was a "Happy-end-of-Summer-classes" and "You-made-it-through-counseling-clients" gift.

We picked out this table because it fit well in our space and is expandable. The really cool thing about it is, the extra leaf is a "butterfly" leaf, which means it folds down back into the table! So there is no need to store it somewhere else! How cool right?!?

We decided to only buy the table from American Furniture Warehouse (Only in CO) and not the matching chairs. I always liked the idea of mix and matching tables and chairs. Plus, I knew we could find some for a good deal at a thrift store and make them our own!(Plus, we are Seminary students and even our upgrades are within budget!)And guess what....We found the chairs the next day at the thrift store for only 3.99 each!!! Yes, that's right, we got all four chairs for 16 bucks and they were in great condition!

 Here is what they looked like when we bought them. So of course they got a face lift with some paint and new fabric. 

Here is the finished product! I got my inspiration from the blog, sweet something design and love how they turned out! I bought the fabric from Joann's 20% off and love how the muted green flows with the green accents in the space. 

For decor, I chose a table runner (From World Market - On sale too) with a white base to tie in the chairs and lots of colors from our apartment. Since this space is not its own room, we needed something to flow with everything going on already. This runner has green (Painting and chairs), red (kitchen accent), yellow (Kitchen accent, paintings and runner on buffet), and teal (accent in living space and throughout). 

 Here is a close up of the gorgeous runner! I topped it off with a simple rod iron candle holder since the pattern was too pretty to compete with. Here you can also see the open concept of our apartment more. The stairs come up on the left and the kitchen bar is to the right. 

 In the corner there was space for a convenient shelf to store books and bins for important things (And one for gloves and hats - super important as a Coloradan!). On top, we have a basket for mail, which used to accumulate all over our apartment. The past few weeks I have really worked on getting organized though. So now there is one spot where we can track of all important incoming mail. 

 This wall was also the only one that could possibly be considered a "dining room" wall. So I took advantage of the space and hung up some favorite artwork and our family tree, which was a wedding present (From the Hammonds, thanks!). 



 

The rest of this space shares the half wall with the staircase. There wasn't much to work with, but I decided to use a pair of colorful candlesticks (a gift from my mom) and a framed engagement picture!

Well, that is it for our updated dining space! If you ever come over for dinner, now we can actually fit food on the table with 4 people! We are such grown-ups. :) 

Looking forward to my next post, which will show our favorite features of our space! :) Then, onto a holiday edition with fall decorations around the corner!!!! 

A View of Our Home! - Our Kitchen

The next part of our home tour is my favorite space, the kitchen! I love spending time cooking and our colorful kitchen makes it even more enjoyable!

Here is the view into our kitchen right when you walk up our stairs! We love the layout, wood flooring, and bar area - The red bar stools were free too! Discount Tire was throwing them out, so Matt was able to bring them home instead and they work great...can't complain with free stools!

The main colors are red and yellow, which bring a lot of color to an apartment kitchen that we can't change. We are very happy with this open concept compared to our closed off kitchen in the last apartment!

We really love all the extra counter-top space and cabinets we have with this elbow layout! We have plenty of room for our appliances to be kept out and ready for use! Plus, my yellow kitchen aid mixer is too cute to put away! 

We also really enjoy our updated matching white appliances! Definitely a step up from our 70's cream appliances and short fridge in our last place. :)

Love having the space to store certain produce that are ideal for room temperature! And I love this little container of drawers that my mom gave us! Adds so much color! 

Here are our fun yellow canisters that hold all kinds of teas. The white utensil holder is decorative and came from goodwill for 5.00!

 

This kitchen also has tall ceilings, which allows for above cabinet decorating...which I have always wanted to do!

This is my favorite part of the cabinet decor! I like the combo of the basket, painting and red tea pot, with the colorful suns. 

Here is our lovely double sink, which I love! We didn't have one in the old apartment, so now I take advantage of soaking dishes when I need to! Then we have the dishwasher and extra counter space for drying pots and pans.

 These last pictures are off our coffee bar. In order to save counter space in our last apartment, we bought this kitchen stand for the coffee maker. When we moved, we decided that we liked the set up and this corner was the perfect spot. Since it's next to the bar area, I will consider it as part of the kitchen! 

 I love our red coffee maker and the yellow espresso set! The white canisters also hold coffee grounds and filters. In the fall, I will convert this to be a hot coco bar when guest come over! :)



 
This stand provides great storage space for coffee, espresso maker, and a basket of kitchen towels. It also conveniently hides some of Matt's tools that he needs more accessible! 


Well that's our red and yellow kitchen! Be looking for my next post of our dining space! I'm super excited about it because of my newest DIY project that I can't wait to share!
 

A View of Our Home - Our Bathroom

We will continue the tour of our home with our bathroom!

Here is our mostly green bathroom. My latest additions have been incorporating purple into the the color pallet. Some day I will replace the shower curtain with a green AND purple one! We love the wood flooring and more storage space this bathroom provides compared to our last place!

Love these shower curtain hooks! They were actually my inspiration for the whole bathroom. I love that color green and their retro feel. 

This shelf over the toilet is one of our solutions for storage. I also like making things accessible for guest...like toilet paper, tissue, and a hanging towel to dry their hands. The painting over it was actually painted by my 12 year old sister, Emma and matched the color scheme perfectly!

These green jars were used in our wedding as centerpieces and I re-purposed them for cute storage! Now they hold cotton balls and q-tips...the fun box on the end also conveniently hides feminine products.

The next two shelves hold our matching green wash cloths and towels. I added the purple tissue box for a mix of color and a basket for toilet paper on hand. One day I also plan to spray paint this shelf in oil-rubbed bronze to match with the green and brown!

Here is my attempt at an organized linen closet! As you can see, we have a mix of different baskets that I have collected over time. They hold hair products/supplies, perfume/make-up, extra wash cloths, and nail polish. There are extra towels and toiler paper stored on the lower shelves.

I love having such a large counter top and underneath cabinet storage. Everything finally can have a place! We also love our joining door to the bathroom. Makes it feel like we have a Master bath. :)

 

I added some more purple with a glass vase and dried flowers. The box on the left matches with the one on the shelf and in the linen closet. This one on the counter holds hair ties and bobby pins. 
  

This is another favorite moment in the bathroom! The large plum vase and lavender flower candle holder both bring in more elements of purple. I painted a thrift store frame light green to finish off the look. 
Also, this brown beaded mat is here because it is hiding a hole in the counter!...When we moved in, the counter had a built in soap dispenser that we didn't like. So Matt took it out, but then we were left with a hole that needed to be covered. I think we found the perfect solution and now no one would have ever guessed!

Hope you enjoyed seeing a little bit more of our apartment in progress! Don't be afraid to decorate in your bathroom while making it functional. :)

A View of Our Home - Our Living Room

Matt and I moved into our second apartment in Colorado this past April. While our first apartment was a great start, we never saw it in person before moving in and had some storage/space/neighbor issues. 

Our new apartment is still a work in progress, but I have been meaning to post some pictures for our friends back home...and over seas! 

We will start with our living room :)

(View from our Bedroom)

We were so blessed to purchase our first set of couches this past Spring! We both love the navy that adds color to our apartment! We also love that the walls are not white! Most all of our decorations were painted by myself and family members, or bought and re-purposed from thrift/consignment stores. :)

This end table is actually a kitchen cabinet that we bought at a thrift store for $5! I painted it and added our colorful thrift store lamp! 

 This is one of my favorite moments of the room. The willow creek statute was an engagement present, the sand was from our unity ceremony at our wedding and the wedding album I made. :)

 

This is another thrift store lamp! I just picked matching burlap shades for both lamps to coordinate. Then this candle is an upcycle candle I made with a mason jar. 

I love mixing up textures and colors with our pillows and blankets! I have my eye on some more throw pillows that I would love to mix in!
 

(View from the Dining Room)
The door in the picture leads to our cute balcony. Our bedroom and bathroom are to the left of the living room. 

 

Another favorite moment with the mask we brought home from our honeymoon in Belize!

(View from bathroom)

I really love the shag rug that is more forgiving and the taller ceilings (that are not popcorn style!), which open up the space!

This "side table" was a contribution of Matt. The trunk is an authentic military suitcase that his old neighbor used in active duty and gave it to Matt when he was younger. They both had a special friendship and it is something we treasure as a piece of history! 

Thanks for checking out our home! Keep tuned for more of our apartment tour...or come visit us in Colorado! :) Seriously!

Small Steps Towards Change - Part II

Making small steps towards a less impacting lifestyle! - Part II

(This post is in honor of our 1 year anniversary as Coloradans! YAY!)

The second step in our process of changes has been in the area of creation care. Matt and I believe that God intended the for mankind to take care of the world as best we can. While we are not activist or environmental enthusiasts, we do want to incorporate good stewardship into our lifestyle. We also had some inspiration from watching some documentaries on Netflix: Bag It, Blue Gold & The No Impact Man. 

After seeing those films, we talked about what would be workable for us. We decided on just a few steps towards change that we could manage initially. 

Step #1 - Use Re-usable Cloth Bags

We bought 5 bags from our Sunflower Farmers Market for only 99 cents each. After shopping for a few weeks, we realized that 5 was enough for all the grocery shopping we do. We also found out that some stores, like Sunflower Farmers Market actually give you 10 cents off your total per bag that you use!! It's called BAG REDEMPTION! So not only are we reducing the use of plastic bags, but we are also saving money after only 10 uses! That's the kind of creation care I can get on board with!!! We also have stopped using produce bags too....it is just sooo much plastic and you really don't need them. Just wash your produce before eating and store with re-usable containers at home. I have found that our produce stays fresh longer anyways because most are not ideally stored in plastic! 

Step #1.5 - Recycle Plastic Bags and Ask for Paper

Once we switched to cloth bags, we found out that King Soopers lets you recycle plastic bags to make plastic bags again. While I would rather cut out plastic bags all together, this is a great way to get rid of any lingering bags from prior use. Now we have started only using cloth bags. However, 10% of the time, there are still situations where we forget the bags at home and run to store to pick up a few items. In those cases I try to ask for a paper bag or if I can, I just carry out the items. Some people look at me funny, but I keep the receipt handy just in case! 

Step # 2 - Stop Buying Bottled Water

This was not sometime we did every week, but just occasionally. However, after learning where the bottled water comes from and the facade of "fresh, pure" water, we won't waste our money. Why pay for water that was taken from a small community halfway across the nation, to a wealthy company that doesn't even stop pumping water when there is a national drought, when I can just drink the water from my own faucet, which I pay for already? Crazy how advertising can make it seem like a good idea, huh? 

Step # 2.5 - Use Re-usable Bottles

Now when we go for a hike or day outside, we fill up our nalgene bottles and are good to go. They carry more water than a plastic water bottle and you can decorate them with fun stickers. What's not to love? You also can be sure that they are safer without all the harmful chemicals in plastic bottles...which get even more dangerous when left in a hot car like most of us do! But not a nalgene bottle...they are free of those harmful chemicals and safe even after baking in the sun!

Watching our "One-time-use" plastic items was not a big priority before. However, we have come to realize that it really does matter. Just this past summer, we took a trip up Guanella pass for a picnic while my mom was in town. On our way down the pass, we noticed the breaks were not working as well and checked them out as soon as we got to the bottom. Once Matt looked under the car, he smelled something burning and found a plastic bag stuck up in our break-system!!! I couldn't believe it...a plastic Home Depot bag...how did that get all the way out there??? The more and more we venture out into the beautiful secluded mountain areas, the more I realize that trash seems to be EVERYWHERE...even places that seem "remote." It really saddens me, because Colorado is so beautiful. 

 (Picture near Guanella Pass)

So for now on, we are incorporating these small changes into our lifestyle. Maybe someday they will turn into bigger changes, but we are taking them one step at a time. You don't have to recycle everything in order to make some of a difference! Try something new with your family and see what works! 

Small Steps Towards Change

Making small steps towards a healthier lifestyle! - Part I

While Matt and I have been making our life together in Colorado, we have started some "experiments" with the way we live. Since we do not have cable, we watch a lot of netflix. After watching many, many different food documentaries, we decided to try out some changes in our diet. We are pretty healthy and in-shape people, but we still want to make good decisions about what we eat and our health.

Some of our favorite documentaries were "Food Inc.", "Forks Over Knives", and "Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead."

Initially, we felt pretty overwhelmed by all the changes that would have to be made in order to eat like these documentaries suggested. So we had to find what was workable for us with a small budget.

By incorporating small steps, a little at a time, we've found what works for us!

Step #1 - Eat less meat and better quality meat (no hormones). 

We eat less meat by planning 3 meatless meals each week. To eat better quality meat, we had to shop around. We found that the organic meat at our King Soopers (Kroger Branch) was way too expensive. So now we buy our meat at the local Sunflower Farmers Market. Since we are eating meat less often, we can afford to buy grass-fed beef and all natural chicken.(You may have to look around for the best deal, but the quality and taste is worth it!!)

Step #1.5 - Special meat night

Since my sweet husband has been so supportive in all these changes (even less meat!), I wanted to do something nice for him. He loves to grill and is a master with his meat thermometer! So each week, we buy some kind of "special" meat for one dinner (one of the four with meat). We eat steak, pork chops, chicken kabobs, shrimp...anything that sounds good! Making changes can be hard, especially for our grilling men, so reward them! :)

Step #2 - Eat more fruits and veggies 

We ate enough fruits and veggies, but were never very creative with them before. Now we are getting super creative! Each week I try to buy one type of fruit or vegetable that we have never had. Then I look up how to cook it and experiment with it! So far some have been successful, and some not so much...but it has been an adventure and we are learning! Find out what veggies can be substitutes for protein and balance what your body needs. 

Step #2.5 - Eat less processed foods

This is part of step two because as we have tried new veggies, we eat less packaged food. We try to avoid foods with high fructose corn syrup and artificial ingredients. Sometimes that is not always workable with our budget so we give ourselves some grace.

Step #3 - Buy more local produce 

This decision came at a perfect time since Colorado's farmers markets had just opened on weekends!  We also look for the local farmer signs in the produce section of King Soopers and the Sunflower Market. (Then learn how to properly store all your tasty produce for optimum flavor!)

Step #3.5 - Plant a garden - even a super small one on a balcony! 

We tried growing our own herbs, lettuce, and tomatoes. We were able to enjoy our delicious herbs and some lettuce initially. Unfortunately, our garden got hammered by a hail storm and has never quit recovered. However, we have learned from our experiences and are looking forward to having a better garden next year!!

There are more changes coming in the future, but we are taking our time to work out these first. We have enjoyed learning together and being adventurous...as always! Hope you will try your own family "experiments" and find a workable way to live better and healthier! 

Coming soon: Part II - Small Steps to a less impacting lifestyle!