Settled in and moving forward

Is a week too long between posts? I'm still getting the hang of this blog thang. It'll get smoother though, I think.

The hubby and I are now all settled into our home! It's a gorgeous little thing. We live in a small community of houses that are like duplexes. And besides people's strong attachment to 'their' parking spaces, it's a wonderful place to live.
Our home is 3 stories; the first floor is all living space; the second floor is all bedrooms; the third floor is the laundry room. And lemme tell you that this house feels huge! Coming from a 600 sq. ft. apartment, I don't know where I'll find the stuff to fill this place.

Though our new puppy Caesar is sure helping to make this place feel like home. He's a 7 month old golden retriever that we got from a family in Bamberg (And by the way, what a trip that was....my first time on the bahn! More on that later.) He's been the best family addition ever. He loves to go on walks, bite my husband all over (the best part) and sometimes he even likes to snuggle. He's also the biggest goof you'll ever see, afraid of the dark and stumbling all over his feet. But we love him all the more for it.

Back to that story about the bahn! Scariest moment of my life. I swear I almost had a legit panic attack twice. Let's just say that going 100 mph is nothing, even when it's wet out. And add to that my anxiety towards cars and driving, and I'm just a wonderful passenger to have along...naht. But we survived that trip and another to Regensburg, the coolest city I've been too. I'll post pictures below.

Hubby and I have been blessed to meet some wonderful people here, three different couples. They've all been ridiculously welcoming and kind. I feel bad that we can't invite them to do anything yet (except for staring at a computer screen, which is all that the hubby and I do, but I don't think that really counts as entertaining.) Hopefully soon I'll be able to bake some cookies or something and take them over.

So since we have so much space in this home and will be here for three years, I'm heavily contemplating design ideas. Well, more like those are the only thoughts that really occupy my time, especially concerning the living room. It's an awkward space with windows, three doors and a staircase in the corner. And somewhere in there, I REALLY want a blue wall. Which shade of blue is still out, but something that will coordinate well with our (future) blue couch, swoon.
I'm also really excited to stencil! On Pinterest I've found some awesome stenciling ideas, like my favorite: paint the stencil in the same color as the wall but add gloss for a shiny finish. Now just to figure out which wall and which stencil design.
I'm also swooning about incorporating a library space. Our living/dining room area is so large that I think it would work out well, and there's a corner I think that will be perfect. Thank goodness Ikea (pronounced ickia-uh in Germany) is so popular here! And, there's a store called "Women's Wonderland" when roughly translated, which I can't wait to visit.

Now time for some pictures!