Archie Coffee House

Justin and I are home from a weekend of Christmas festivities. It was so much fun seeing family and spending time with the ones you love. Our favorite part was the candle light service at church. It was quiet and peaceful and a great way to reflect on the true meaning of the season. Below is a picture from Justin's family Christmas get together.

I don't know where he found the energy but as soon as we walked in the door, Justin went to work putting together his new espresso machine. He and I have been on a hunt for good espresso since our trip. We found it! The Breville makes the best espresso I've ever had!

Justin is a great barista! ;o)

Now that the holidays are winding down, Justin and I are looking forward to tackling our project list and getting the condo together. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season! Happy New Year!

Best.Husband.Ever.

Christmas came early in the Archie house this afternoon thanks to Justin! He completely blew me away. I'd like to think I'm not easily fooled but I must be, or else Justin is very good at trickery. We woke up this morning same time. Justin even talked about having to go out to the field and work all day. Boy, he's good. I was being a troll this morning too so I'm so glad that he didn't just say forget it to the whole plan :o)

I got home at 4:15 to find his car in the driveway. I went to the door and both locks were locked. That's when I knew he was up to something but had no idea what. I walk through the house and into the bedroom. It was the funniest thing, my brain kept struggling to figure out what was going on. The back door was open, doors locked, dogs happy, paper trash laying around, no sign of Justin...then, I smelled it...PAINT! There he was in the master bathroom! Completely painted in a beautiful new Comfort Grey by Sherwin Williams! There was new hardware for TP and towels, he'd hung our new light, and he was in the process of fixing the toilet. I almost fell over dead from shock. He had taken the ENTIRE day off for my Christmas present!

I know how hard it is to paint that bathroom. Not well ventilated, awkward angles, high ceilings, lots of scraping to be done, etc. Not to mention it was all done in one day! Wow! Blew me away. And it turned out so beautifully! He wasn't done there.

I walk into the kitchen and our sink is wrapped in Christmas paper. I couldn't help but notice it had a different shape to the faucet. I am the proud new owner of a gorgeous brushed silver Delta faucet. It looks fantastic in the kitchen and matches perfectly! Best of all, it doesn't make that awful screeching noise when you turn it on. I am in love! With Justin of course! He made my entire year! By far the most thoughtful and generous gift he's ever given me. Can't wait to paint the kitchen the same color! It'll look great with the white cabinets!

So here's to my fantastic husband. Merry Christmas Justin! Best.Husband.Ever. He's handy, intelligent, successful, and can always make me laugh. I'm one lucky girl!

Justin Archie, PE

December 14th, 2011

I have to share this great news and write it down so I remember. Justin found out that he passed his PE today! His is now a "professional engineer" and I am so proud of him. He worked so hard, studying for 2-3 hours at the dining room table every night for three months! Life was very different (and at times difficult) during those months leading up to the exam but I am so happy to say they were completely worth it.

Justin came home from work, telling me about his day. Which meeting ran late, what project got delayed...the usual. Then he said (with a grin), "It was a pretty lousy day until I opened my email and found out I passed the PE, so it was all worth it." :o) I squealed and gave him a big hug. He brought out the Prosecco and champagne glasses and we celebrated the rest of the night!

Just having someone to share your life with is a blessing and this is definitely one of those moments that I'm so thankful to share with him. It's sort of funny that we seem to always tell each other good news in the kitchen while we're making dinner. I couldn't be more proud of having such a hardworking and honest man for a husband!

Run, Run, Rudolph!

Well, Christmas is upon us. When did that happen? Yesterday it seems like we were getting ready for our big trip and now we only have 9 days until Christmas! It makes my head spin. I prefer the years when you're mentally prepared for Christmas in October. Hard to describe but, without doubt, my own fault for just getting the Christmas tree up this past weekend.

Justin and I had a blast getting the house ready for Christmas. To start at the beginning, my car was acting up. So Justin mustered up the energy to figure out what was wrong and fix it (only took 20 minutes). He was so energized with his mega accomplishment that he came inside, fixed a door, a door knob, removed a shelf, and pulled out the Christmas tree. He was on fire! And I was overjoyed! That doorknob has been broken for 7 months! Below he's repairing the wall after the shelf was removed.

Men in the Archie family have a few select duties around the holidays. Wear coordinating colors (if the wife so requests), carry around bags and bags of merchandise at overly crowded malls without complaint, and...fluff the Christmas tree! Like most traditions, there is no telling how it started but Justin has definitely risen to the occasion. Despite the short in the bottom string of lights, our new 9 ft. tree (thanks to Justin's lovely parents) is very well fluffed.

Below are just a few of my favorite ornaments on the tree this year...

And one from our trip to Paris. We bought this one at the Eiffel Tower.

Over the last few years, my sister has bought us some beautiful Clemson Christmas ornaments so we put them on our old tree (the tree Justin proposed to me by). Please ignore the absence of a tree skirt and the blue paint samples on the wall behind, we're a work in progress.

And last, but not least, a little Christmas cheer in other areas of the house.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! From...

Charleston Christmas Boat Parade

This evening, Justin and I went to the Charleston harbor to watch the Christmas boat parade. We watched the sun set over the Ashley River and it was beautiful.

We had mulled cider to keep us company while we waited.

Then the show began...

The Christmas tree was my favorite. We didn't have the best seat in the house so a lot of the boats turned around before coming up the Ashley River to where we (and hundreds of others) were sitting.  I think next year we'll go to Waterfront Park to watch the show or maybe convince Sherry and Cliff to join in the festivities! :o)

I have to admit that today was a bit of a bummer. I didn't get the things done that I wanted. We didn't catch up on our projects. Didn't clean. Didn't put up Christmas decorations. You know, just a bummer day. But then we got a phone call from Sherry that made us realized it was a great day. Justin's grandparents were in a car wreck today that totaled their car. It was a very violent crash that was witnessed by several family members as they were all on their way to a family reunion. It was terrifying. Thankfully, everyone was okay. Bruised but safe. We are SO thankful! Words cannot describe!

It made me realize that bad days are not defined by having a cluttered home, being behind on Christmas shopping, or having your favorite team lose the big game. There are such things as bad days but today was a great day! It was another day we have with one another, family members were kept safe, and we were reminded just how short and precious life is. Thank you God for keeping our family safe tonight!