Day 159: An Interesting Find

Mark's been up in the attic all week checking out our insulation situation. Look what he found! An old radio, speaker, microphone, and others that I have no idea what they are. haha....so cool!

Day 155: Small Upgrades

We're tight on the budget now and can't run out to get too many furnishings just yet, so I was ecstatic to get this hand me down armoire! It actually came with Mark's bed set from when he was younger (pretty mature for a teenage kid, huh?). His dad has been keeping it until he was ready to have it back. Now is the time!



I really think it fills up the room a little more than our previous small table.




New Bedding


We had a few giftcards leftover from the wedding to Bed, Bath and Beyond. I looked there for bedding, but couldn't quite find what I was looking for. So I cashed that thing in and headed out to TJ Maxx, Homegoods, and tuesday Morning...multiple times. I finally found the perfect white quilt at TJ Maxx last week. The white is beautiful and a little scary. So far, so good. Only one small spill..a little chocolate cake. I like to eat in bed :)

We got the coverlet in brown as a wedding gift, but I traded it in for blue :) I like that it has some shimmer to it. I think it works well with the shimmery curtains the previous owner left us. Still working on the pillows.


I really like the two different textures.


Oh..and we rearranged the room a bit. Still trying to decide if we like it better this way....

Day 148: How bout these apples?

We have been so lucky to inherit a beautiful yard with lots of mature trees and gorgeous plants and flowers. There are quite a few mysteries though as we know absolutely nothing about this stuff.

We had no clue what one particular bush was and had talked about ripping it out since it took up a good chunk of the backyard. I'm so glad we waited because as a couple of weeks went by, we realized that we had a major apple tree on our hands!



It looks like the tree has been so heavy with apples it is almost bent over on its side. Mark trimmed tons of branches and poor little apples off (all for the greater good, i know) to lighten it and has it propped up with 2x4's right now. We're hoping to slowly train it back straight.



But how awesome, right?? It's been amazing watching them grow over the past couple of weeks. They are such cute baby apples right now...but they're getting bigger every day. I'm not sure what kind they are, other than they're green. I hope they taste ok!


I already have plans to make everything apple related when they ripen. So if you have recipes..send them my way!

Day 147: Happy Memorial Day!

We had our first get together in the new house today. Mark's sisters, bro in law, and our niece and nephew came over for a little Memorial day grill out/pool party.

It was a little challenging not having a table, but it all worked out just fine, I think.

We're absolutely exhausted after spending hours in the sun, but we had a blast!

Here's some shots from today:

Kdub rocking out to the music...lol. He makes me laugh


He was a little scared to get in at first


But they finally convinced him


Popsicle time!


Morgan looking very patriotic for the Memorial day festivities. She sort of looks like a little politician with that wave :)


Lindsey and Caleb soaking up the sun


Silly boy


We tried to get him to do a cute pose


We had such a great time. Can't wait to do it again!

Day 146: Curb Appeal

We started working on the front of the house last weekend with the mailbox transformation. Late Sunday, I started painting the shutters. It was the project that would never end!

While I usually love red, we felt like our brick is just a little too red to have red shutters too. We went with black to have a stronger contrast. From what I could tell, our shutters have been repainted at least 3 times. I could tell by all the oops' spots on the brick around them. They were painted so much that it was impossible to take them down to paint, so I had to wrangle the bushes with our ladder, hold the craziest positions, and be eaten alive by buggies.

But I've gotta say...I really think it was worth it.

I also trimmed the bushes, repainted the window boxes, planted some flowers (hope they can stay alive) and Mark cut the grass.

Before:






After:




There are still a few things we'd like to do, but I think we've already made some pretty big improvements!

Day 140: Hard Work

We have been busy little bees this weekend. M cleaned gutters, I started painting shutters, got a hand-me-down hutch for the living room, M cut the grass, we yardsaled it up early Saturday, and I polished the floors in the living room and foyer...but the one project I'm most proud of and actually took pictures of is our new mailbox!

Here's the old one(booo):





Our new one(!):




We used the old post, the 'Classic' box from Lowe's at around $19, primer and paint, new numbers, and we were all set!

It's our first DIY project and we're so happy with how it turned out!

Day 139: Hooray!

We are so excited that we have a finished basement, which allows us to have an awesome movie room. Mark had the tv and sound system set, but we were without anything to lounge on! We literally broke in the movie room in our office chairs.



We finally decided to go big and spring for a sectional couch. It took a whole day of shopping, but we found one!

It was delivered last week and we absolutely love it...


Note: the movie posters are not our permanent window treatments. Mark and I are having some design differences. :) I'll report back once we make a decision.

Day 137: House pt2

The second half of the tour starts off with our guest bathroom. This is the only part of the house that hasn't been through some type of renovation. Unless you count the vine wallpaper as renovation...We have long term dreams of completely ripping this room up and rearranging everything...since there isn't a proper sized sink and the space in here really isn't being utilized to it's full potential. For now though, we'll probably take out the wallpaper and appreciate those pretty honeycomb floors.











See what I'm saying? I love this stuff!



Heading down the hallway to the bedrooms.


The guest bedroom. Not much going on just yet, but it's good enough for now.




The master! I'm still deciding on bedding. We have new sheets, but no new comforter! The curtains were left by the seller. I think they're great!

Our closet


Other side of the room looking towards the bathroom


Our small yet functional master bath




One of our storage solutions...


Walk-in shower

I didn't show my craft room/office just yet. It is the biggest disaster and I'm a tad bit embarassed. I did take a picture and will have an amazing before and after, I'm sure. Also didn't post any of the unfinished part of the basement. It looks the same as it did in the tour I posted before we moved in...except with a lot more boxes. :)

Hope you enjoyed. We've already begun small improvements that I'll be sure to share!

Day 136: House pt.1

It's taken me a while..and I really wanted to wait until it was more organized and put together, but that may be a while. I'll just count these as my 'before' pictures :)

For time's sake and to keep you all on your toes I'll just be showing the front, living room, and kitchen/dining area today with a following up post tomorrow with the rest.

Here we are! view from the street





Looking from the front door onto our street. It's so quaint and quiet. We love it.. And look at all the trees!



Seller's welcome mat. It'll do for now :)



Foyer


Coat closet right as you walk in


There's a good bit of storage room in here


Much anticipated living room! We def. need more furniture in here, but it works for now. The seller took the drapes with her, but left the rods. We're ok with no curtains for a while.


Other side of living room, looking into dining room/kitchen...no dining room table ...working on that :)


Valance and drapes in the dining room that they left. It's called a valance, right?? I have so much to learn...


Kitchen! I did a little spin around the room for the next pictures so you could get the full effect.












I love our little island :)

Large and in charge pantry. We plan to get some extra shelving for the doors to double up our space.


These drawers are so great for our baking pans.


And last but not least...one of my favorite wedding gifts. My new canisters!



Thanks for looking! Look out for part 2 tomorrow.