Seeking some Help

Michael and I have slowly been trying to decorate our little house. I've run out of budget friendly ideas for decorating our living room. Here's our color scheme: brick red, earthy sage green, taupe, and burnt orange.

Problem 1: There are too many red tones in the living room. I want to add more green some how.
Problem 2: The couch floats in the middle of the room, so I can't add any lamps because the cords would be exposed.

Problem 3: our fireplace is ginormous! The mantle is really skinny, so you can't set much on it. But mostly, it's just HUGE!

Question: How do I add color to that wall of the room with such a huge brick fireplace?

Question: What can I put behind the TV stand so that it doesn't look so awkward?

This picture (below) didn't turn out.. too much light coming through those windows. But that reminds me of a problem...

Problem 4: Our ceilings are pretty high and they are paneled with a reddish, orangish wood. Sometimes the room seems heavy.

Question: How can I lighten up the room and make it look like a young family lives here?

Let me know if you have any brilliant ideas. In a couple weeks, Momma Bruce is coming to visit and we will be shopping like crazy. That's my chance to really search for problem solving items.

Thanks in advance for your advice!!!

Our New Patio Furniture, ahh...

When we moved into our house, we knew that eventually we would NEED to get a comfortable set of patio furniture. We've got a great veiw and now we can take advantage of it. We got the set at Home Depot a few days ago and put it together ourselves. I love it!

Since the cushions are a light color, I made sure that they were thoroughly ScotchGuarded before hitting the elements (even though they are on our covered deck.)

This is a picture of part of our veiw. On clear days, you can see all the way to downtown Sacramento. It's pretty cool, I think.

A Nice Surprise... not!

Michael and I were out late this past Friday. When we got home, I rushed inside to let Cooper out so he could go potty outside. When I opened the door to the bathroom, this is what I found:

This picture does not give the mess justice... little cotton balls were everywhere!

When we're gone for more than 3 hours we leave a potty pad out for Cooper (which he uses quite nicely, and keeps our bathroom floor clean). Apparently he got bored and shredded the potty pad to peices... "Thanks, pal!"

This picture was taken later that night... an angel right? He knows how to work it.

I'm Getting There

It's been a slow start for me and this blog. I'll try to do better. Here's an update on what's happening at the Dressers.

Michael just finished another season of coaching his nephew's basketball team. He just started a city-league team with some buddies he plays with at the gym. They won their first game tonight. This picture of him is from the Basketball Hall of Fame playing on a peach basket.

I've been working at Rocklin Academy since March in 2nd grade. It's been really fun, but even more fun because I'll be teaching some of these 2nd graders next year in the Third Grade at Rocklin Academy. It's like a sneak peak for next year. Cool!

Cooper's started his puppy school at PetSmart (Michael and I needed some training ourselves). He's picking it up quickly. He's a happy puppy. Doesn't he look like he's smiling in the last picture?

Cooper's first swim.

He wanted out of that water! He seemed pretty scared, but a good, fast little swimmer.