Mia and Ally are two of the coolest kids that I know.. I might be a little bit biased,but who cares!?! Since I don’t know any that age I can’t help it. Anyway, one of the coolest things about living with Tanya and Wilson has been getting to know the girls more than just seeing them once or twice a year. I tried to hang out with them, but sometimes I was glad that I wasn’t their parent because all kids can get annoying at times.

So, I don’t know if many of you have watched the movie Blood Diamond that came out in 2006. It is a great, but gorey movie. In this movie, they show truths about the diamond market, and all about blood diamonds which basically means that in some places in Africa, there are still slaves working in diamond mines. In these mines, they mine diamond which are then smuggled into the system.

One of the great lines that Leonardo Decarpio says in this movie is that the only reason that these people are dying is because of the demand for these stones. The demands that mainly Americans make. Most people in other countries, are not expecting diamonds as our culture seems to.

So, don’t get me wrong… I wanted a diamond too!!! But I couldn’t live with the fact that someone might have died for a dumb rock… so, i decided to do some research. Now, there is no way that every diamond is a blood diamond, but I wanted to be sure that mine was not one. I found a few online websites that sold different diamonds, but a lot of them looked really shady.

Finally, I stumbled upon engineered diamonds. Most people don’t know about them yet, but they are grown in a lab, meaning that they are perfect and don’t have the flaws that all natural diamonds have. They are not quiet as strong as natural diamonds but there is a .9 difference in strength. The nice thing about them, is making them in a lab is a lot cheaper, so that made me feel a lot better knowing that my engagement ring with wedding band that is over 1 carat was under $1000.00. I have had my ring for over a year and am very satisfied, and the best thing is that you don’t need ring insurance!! They will replace your diamond if it falls out, is messed up, etc.
So, here is one of my favorite eternity bands that they sell, now I won’t get it for years most likely,but I can dream! ;p

But their website has some beautiful jewelry on it, they do any custom stuff as long as you can draw or explain what you want. Now, obviously that makes it more expensive, but in jewelry terms, I would see them as pretty inexpensive. Also, their diamonds are considered green, and that is why this company made this years Miss Universe 2009 Crown.

So here is their website if you are interested!!!

http://www.diamondnexuslabs.com/

Grant and I had our one year anniversary about one month ago. Ours was August 9th! We had a great time, we went to a restaurant called Manwells which we had a gift card too. We went to Barnes and Noble and got a book, and we also got Cheesecake Factory for dessert. I had a great time, it was so much fun getting dressed up, and especially getting to wear an awesome dress that I had gotten at the thrift store for $10.00 that Grant had not seen yet. We were definitely trying to keep it small because we shouldn’t be spending a lot of money, but it was still great! We both still cannot believe that it has been one year.

We actually celebrated our anniversary on Friday rather than waiting until Sunday, and boy am I glad that we did!!! Grant got sick Saturday around noon, and was in bed with a high fever, chills, and a bad headache until Tuesday. I guess sometimes it pays to be early. Also, we told the Amaros about this encase they want to try this some time to make sure their anniversaries cannot be ruined anymore!

So, Grant and I are really excited because we have finally found a place to live. We have been very blessed lately with a whole bunch of different things, but here is the story. A family called the Rivas in our young married’s class are going to El Salvador for various reasons. They needed someone to stay in their house, and we needed a place to stay.

This means that we get to live there for 5 and a half to 6 months until they are ready to return. We are paying for utilities and they are paying for our internet which is definitely awesome of them. Their House is in the Lakeway Area/ Hill country of Austin. It made me laugh because Grant and I were like, Man, this is a ritzy area… come to find out it is a one of the wealthiest areas of Austin. Their house is beautiful, and later I will add some pictures.

Also, another very exciting piece of news is that I got a different job within my company where I am now the estimator. I help the sales people out with quotes, commercial take offs, and some customer sales myself. The best part of this position is a pay raise which means that the longer drive isn’t going to be as big of a deal anymore. Grant and I feel so blessed because this opportunity!

So, I have needed things to Blog about, so here is a house that is for sale here in Austin! It is SO beautiful, and there are a lot of things that I just love about it, and so I guess I will share with you why; whether anyone reads it or not is fine. This house is built in the 969 neighborhood where they build modern green homes, the main difference between this neighborhood and the Mueller neighborhood is that they don’t have the nice urban flair and the awesome community. This is pretty much suburbia with modern houses.

So for Starters, I love the sleek, modern outside. I love the Stucco and the beautiful dark wood fence.

The porch in the back is nice, but a little bit large; I mean I’m sure you could use it,but for everyday life a little bit large.

A better picture of the porches, I love the window placement in this house.

This is the entry way/ living room / kitchen area. Please notice the awesome aggregate concrete flooring.

The furniture is OK,but I love all the windows/doors.

Their living room area.

Here you can see the nice island and the retail doors in this house.

The Amazing Kitchen, I LOVE the clerestory windows above the upper cabinets so that you don’t have to find anything to put above your cabinets, and it lets in great light.

This room is great, the bamboo floors are beautiful, and again great window placement! This room is huge, but of course if I had one this size I would not be complaining.

Another view.

Great window placement, nice drawer pulls, and also the mosaic tiles in the shower are nice. I prefer no tub and just a shower.

Pony wall is also nice, I prefer an enclosed linen closet,but I could deal with an open one like that.

The Guest Bedroom, I like the room, and especially the balcony.

This is the other bedroom that they have as an office/ hang out room.

Another View.

The Guest bathroom, not to shabby, not too small,but still looks pretty classy.

Full bamboo steps are always nice.

Did I mention I love the window placement?

This is the great view from the Balcony of downtown Austin. I think this house is 6 miles away.

In Texas, I have seen a decent amount of car ports rather than garages. I like that you can store a lot of stuff in garages, but here they built in lockable storage which is also nice.

The front of the house, the retail door and the window placement, also the stained cedar portion of the house is also nice.

Some of the other houses in the neighborhood, and also the fun walk way in the front.

I love the Cement planters that they added to their house.

So here is one of the houses that I love, it is definitely expensive, but it is still on the market, and I love it.

http://www.5400senderohills.com/