~59~ Winding down

Jake and I have now officially been homeowners a little over a month!

It's crazy how fast time has gone, it sometimes feels like it's only been a couple weeks.  Since moving in, we've been like little energizer bunnies, just going and going and going and going.  It's seriously been like having a second job.  We go to work all day and then come home and work all night long.  Jake has even been coming home and working over his lunch break!  I swear, if I never see another paint brush or roller, it will be too soon.  I've never minded painting before, but 6 rooms and 2 hallways later, I'm over it.  And truth be told, I'm  still not done.  We have an accent wall to paint in the guest bedroom and I still have some painting to do in my craft room (more on that later!).  

Thankfully, things have finally started winding down.  We got a chance to celebrate all of our hard work this past weekend and had a housewarming party for all of our friends and family.  I'd say it was a huge success.  We love being hosts and it was so nice to be able to have a group of people over and not have to have everyone sitting on top of each other like we did in our tiny apartment.   We were so humbled by everyone's presence, love, and support with the house and like at our wedding, almost 2 years ago, we felt so amazed and blessed by the people in our lives!

Of course a party isn't a party without food, so we fired up the grill that's been sitting on our apartment deck untouched for the past 2 years and had some burgers, brats and plenty of other yummy dishes.  All I have to say is thank goodness for Pinterest.  It seriously was my lifesaver.  Everything, with the exception of one dish was from that wonderful place and I got lots of compliments on it all day.  Of course, afterwards I realized what a terrible blogger I am because I didn't take any pictures the entire day.  I was just too busy enjoying the company of our guests :)

I will, however, show off some more pictures of our updated place.  Here's a list of what we've done since my last update:

*Added track lighting with a dimmer switch to our downstairs den.

*Jake built and installed a recessed shelf in the wall of our den (thank you to Jen at Iheartorganizing for this idea!)

*Bought patio furniture, scoring an amazing deal at Kohls-the entire set, including an umbrella was purchased for under $300)

*Painted the upstairs hallway

*Painted the border in the 3rd bedroom/office

*Got an L-shaped desk for the office

*Painted the 2nd bedroom/my craft room & began stenciling it (this I'm keeping under wraps until my big reveal!)

Jake and I finally feel like we've reached a point where we can slow down on the house.  All of the big things that we wanted to get done right away have been accomplished.  It's about time that we get to come home from work and just enjoy the house we've worked so hard for!  The only thing left on the list is my craft room.  I have a couple big plans for it, so expect a post in the very near future giving you a tour of my new space. I can't wait!

In other news, I am now officially half way done with my Master's degree having just finished my Action Research course.  I have a 2 week break before the next semester begins and I thoroughly plan to enjoy it.  I am also down to just 27 days of school left.  I had the day off today and with the warmer weather and our lovely house to enjoy, I am very anxious for the end of the school  year! Don't get me wrong, I LOVE my job and the kids I have the privilege of working with, but I am eagerly awaiting the time where I can sit out on my deck in the middle of the day enjoying the sunshine, or dig in the dirt setting up my garden.  

What are you looking forward to this summer?

~58~ Bathroom make over

When we moved in to our new house, there were 2 rooms that needed a major make over: our master bathroom and our second bedroom, AKA my craft room.

Our first priority was our bathroom since more than just myself would be using it.  There were just so many things that needed to be done.

BEFORE

  

Step 1: Painting the vanity

Neither of us was a fan of the burgundy red-especially paired with the mustard yellow and the blue tile.  I love the look of black bathroom vanities so that was done within week 1.  Instant upgrade!

Step 2: Adding new drawer pulls and cabinet nobs
The vanity didn't come with any, so I picked up some silver drawer pulls at Ikea when I was home over spring break.
The nobs are from Menards. It really made the black look so sleek and pretty!

Step 3: Painting the wall
The bathroom is two-toned.  There's mustard yellow that is on the little end cap of the vanity, as well as the wall opposite the shower.  The rest of it was painted beige/tan.  To compliment the blue tile (which we'll eventually update), we went with a grayish blue color called "Glass Slipper" by Benjamin Moore.  We had it made by Sherwin-Williams.  It doesn't have as much blue in it as I would have liked, but it's not bad.  Opposite the mirror, we painted the wall a medium blue from the same color family as the blue tile.

Step 4: Painting the shelf over the toilet
To match the newly painted vanity, I painted the little medicine cabinet black as well.  Looks so much better!

Step 5: Changing the drawers on the vanity
I have never in my life ever seen such a thing, but our vanity drawers are made out of, wait for it….


…Plastic!!!!

The front is made of wood, but screwed into them is a plastic tub.  They are disgustingly gross.  Plus they are cracking and covered in crusty, dried tooth paste.  They are so bad that I refused to put anything in them.  The plan to replace them was a lot more work than it sounds like.  The biggest problem was that the drawers are held into the vanity by a piece of plastic that runs through the middle of the top of the tub, with nothing underneath supporting it.

The first thing we did was frame out the inside of the vanity with a piece of plywood underneath to support a new drawer. We used liquid nails and screws to hold everything into place.
Then, using the front of the drawer, we built the sides and a new bottom out of wood to fit the space.

Voila! A beautiful, fresh-looking vanity.
Doesn't it look so much better?!

AFTER

SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON

We have a few more things that I want to do before we're officially done.  This includes replacing the faucet and framing the mirror.  We already have the trim picked out, we just need to cut, paint, and liquid nail them into place.
I'll be back soon to add those updates.

Until then, 

~57~All Moved In!

Well, sort of.  We're all moved in in the sense that all of our stuff is in the house.
We've officially been in the house for 2 weeks now!  Since the big move, we've done A LOT of work.  Most of it done by my wonderful husband.  On Thursday-the day we moved-my mother-in-law and brother-in-law arrived to help load some boxes into her van.  Within 1 short hour, we had the main living room pretty much cleared of boxes and both her car and mine filled to the brim.
Two Men and a Truck promptly arrived just before our scheduled 9am time.  Bonus-we actually got 3 men and a truck (I think one was in training).  After signing a few papers, they quickly got to work moving boxes, wrapping furniture, and carrying it down.  I was very impressed with their efficiency and speed.  Not only were they hard workers, but personable too!
Within just under an hour and a half, the entire apartment was packed up and loaded into the truck.  We made our way over to the new house and began to unload.  Another 40 minutes later, the truck was empty and our house was full.  Total move time: 2.75 hours!!
While a tiny bit pricey, Two Men was the best investment we could have made in the transition process.

 

Once we were all in, the plan was to paint both living rooms and our bedroom to get ready for our furniture that was being delivered the next day.  Shortly after getting to the house, DirecTV showed up and got our cable all set up.  Perfect timing for Jake to be able to watch the NCAA basketball tournament start.  By the end of Thursday night, we had our bedroom and the upstairs living room completely painted.  The downstairs living was started, but not finished.

Friday morning the furniture arrived and we quickly realized just how deceiving those furniture show room floors are.  Our sectional couch downstairs was just massive.  We had planned to have it face the tv, but unfortunately the couch was as wide as our room.  With some quick thinking and remeasuring, we decided to turn the couch and put it on the garage-side wall.  It finally felt like home with some fresh paint and new, beautiful furniture.

Since that weekend, we've been slowly unpacking, cleaning up the house, fixing little things, and hanging pictures.  We've been go-go-go this whole time that I haven't had a chance to really relax and fully enjoy the house for what it is, but I know that once we get there, it will feel amazing!  In just 2 weeks, the transformation that our house has taken truly has amazed me.  The best part-it's ours.

I'll leave you with some before and after pictures of what we've done.  We still have some updates to do to the bathroom, office, and the craft room-but hopefully I'll have those ready sooner than later.

Before: Lots and lots of peach

After: new paint & furniture

New Console Table

Bedroom Before

Before: Gotta love the lime green

After: New bed, paint, and curtains

Guest Room Before

Guest Room After

Until next time,