The girls' finished HD project and the beginning of a looong DIY binge list

Below are the side versions of the girls' finished Valentine holders. The first one is the Ansley/Patrick creation, and the other one is all-Addison. They are so excited, and these boxes have already been filled with secret messages, jewelry, keychains and "cookies." Such a fun project, and we will be back for the March one for sure!

While we were at Home Depot, we decided we needed a home project. A few months ago the girls literally ripped their towel holder out of the wall... I saw a version of this on Pinterest, and Patrick was excited about making it happen. I love my handy man. He cut the chair rail molding to fit the length of this wall, glued, screwed, caulked and painted (a light green--the color of Ansley's room and one of the colors in their shower curtain) the board and then attached the hooks. They are the perfect height for the girls to hang their own towels on them. They are also not going anywhere this time. :)

After he finished, Patrick was itching to do another project. We love doing stuff like this, but we always battle between putting too much into this current house verses doing stuff that we could take with us wherever we go.  Patrick has been thinking for a long time about doing something about a bed... for real adults... See, we've always just been boxsprings and mattress people... in our 7+ years of marriage. We have rectified that by using big euro shams and hanging some iron pieces above it.

I think that it might be time, and he is sure that it is time to do something about it.  I left him for a couple hours with his thoughts and went to celebrate my friend Wren with a girls night out to celebrate the upcoming birth of her 3rd baby and her first SON!  Wren and I were pregnant together 2 times before--both of our sets of daughters are one month apart and are the best of friends.  When she announced she was pregnant with her third, I freaked out and checked my bc pill pack to make sure I hadn't missed one, silently chanting my mantra, "2 and through, 2 and through," but when she found out she was having a boy, I started dreaming about having my own boy babies... It's funny those wars between the conscious and sub-conscious... Anyway, we went out for a girls night at Wild Ginger and enjoyed some good sushi, good fried rice, and good conversation.

When I came home, I was presented with these ideas.

While I had been thinking about a scalloped-fabric-tufted one, these are growing on me--especially the first one. Plus, with the access we have to building materials, it seems like a natural choice. Hope that we make some progress on this project soon-- at least more progress than I have made on the one below. I got this new sewing machine with Christmas money in early January, and it is still sitting on my dining room table looking just like this.  I thought I would be inspired to get going on this with baby gifts to make for Hadleigh, Scott, and girl-baby Stephens; Valentine shirts, etc... But, alas, it still sits like this...

Here's hoping I can get on the ball this week!

Below are the side versions of the girls' finished Valentine holders. The first one is the Ansley/Patrick creation, and the other one is all-Addison. They are so excited, and these boxes have already been filled with secret messages, jewelry, keychains and "cookies." Such a fun project, and we will be back for the March one for sure!

While we were at Home Depot, we decided we needed a home project. A few months ago the girls literally ripped their towel holder out of the wall... I saw a version of this on Pinterest, and Patrick was excited about making it happen. I love my handy man. He cut the chair rail molding to fit the length of this wall, glued, screwed, caulked and painted (a light green--the color of Ansley's room and one of the colors in their shower curtain) the board and then attached the hooks. They are the perfect height for the girls to hang their own towels on them. They are also not going anywhere this time. :)

After he finished, Patrick was itching to do another project. We love doing stuff like this, but we always battle between putting too much into this current house verses doing stuff that we could take with us wherever we go.  Patrick has been thinking for a long time about doing something about a bed... for real adults... See, we've always just been boxsprings and mattress people... in our 7+ years of marriage. We have rectified that by using big euro shams and hanging some iron pieces above it.

I think that it might be time, and he is sure that it is time to do something about it.  I left him for a couple hours with his thoughts and went to celebrate my friend Wren with a girls night out to celebrate the upcoming birth of her 3rd baby and her first SON!  Wren and I were pregnant together 2 times before--both of our sets of daughters are one month apart and are the best of friends.  When she announced she was pregnant with her third, I freaked out and checked my bc pill pack to make sure I hadn't missed one, silently chanting my mantra, "2 and through, 2 and through," but when she found out she was having a boy, I started dreaming about having my own boy babies... It's funny those wars between the conscious and sub-conscious... Anyway, we went out for a girls night at Wild Ginger and enjoyed some good sushi, good fried rice, and good conversation.

When I came home, I was presented with these ideas.

While I had been thinking about a scalloped-fabric-tufted one, these are growing on me--especially the first one. Plus, with the access we have to building materials, it seems like a natural choice. Hope that we make some progress on this project soon-- at least more progress than I have made on the one below. I got this new sewing machine with Christmas money in early January, and it is still sitting on my dining room table looking just like this.  I thought I would be inspired to get going on this with baby gifts to make for Hadleigh, Scott, and girl-baby Stephens; Valentine shirts, etc... But, alas, it still sits like this...

Here's hoping I can get on the ball this week!

Little Builders at the Home Depot Workshop

This morning after breakfast and after the rest of the snow melted, we headed out to Home Depot for the February workshop. Patrick frequents Home Depot for work, and we've been hoping to catch one of their first Saturday of the month workshops for awhile, but this is the first one we've been able to make. He basked in the experience with his little builders. :)

This month's project was a Valentine's Holder. First, they had to nail and hammer the pieces together just so...

Exerting all of her 2-year-old patience (there's not much there) while waiting for her turn to hammer. (I love how her hand is on her daddy's leg. Softens the look a bit. :])

Then it was time to paint and decorate their boxes.

We heard a constant, "I do it!" from this one.

After they were finished with their fun, they had to wait for Mommy and Daddy to get supplies for a bathroom project. Don't let these poses fool you, they were still having fun.

Then we got home, and Ansley brought me this creation.  She told me that it was a green witch and fire. We watched Wizard of Oz last night. I love her little creative brain!

This morning after breakfast and after the rest of the snow melted, we headed out to Home Depot for the February workshop. Patrick frequents Home Depot for work, and we've been hoping to catch one of their first Saturday of the month workshops for awhile, but this is the first one we've been able to make. He basked in the experience with his little builders. :)

This month's project was a Valentine's Holder. First, they had to nail and hammer the pieces together just so...

Exerting all of her 2-year-old patience (there's not much there) while waiting for her turn to hammer. (I love how her hand is on her daddy's leg. Softens the look a bit. :])

Then it was time to paint and decorate their boxes.

We heard a constant, "I do it!" from this one.

After they were finished with their fun, they had to wait for Mommy and Daddy to get supplies for a bathroom project. Don't let these poses fool you, they were still having fun.

Then we got home, and Ansley brought me this creation.  She told me that it was a green witch and fire. We watched Wizard of Oz last night. I love her little creative brain!

We went "OWL" out! Part 1: The "Big Girl Room"

This summer when I decided to start working on Addison's big girl room, I found an owl theme that I, of course, loved. Our goal was to have her room ready for her 2nd Birthday so that she could get used to it and not feel pushed out of the nursery when Ansley arrives. That idea expanded into her owl-themed Birthday party. It's been a blast doing all of this, and this next succession of posts is mostly for my memory and for my friends who weren't able to come.

Here are a few pics of her room:


I ended up scratching the Sundance Yellow that I originally planned on because it was SOO bright. We went with Moonlight yellow that we found in PB Kids. We've consulted PB for paint colors in the past, and they've never lead us astray. Anyway, this color was perfect, and Addison LOVES her new room. We also stuck with my childhood bed. We originally thought it was too high for her, but we found a way to lower it about 6 inches, got a bed rail, and ordered the full-size bedding which was just $20 more. So that's that.

We "tried it out" (her sleeping in her BGB) one night (We had previously just been doing naps there). I thought she would go back and forth from her crib to her bed for awhile, but she did great, and she calls the nursery the Baby Room or Ansley's room. There has been no turning back. It has sort of made me sad because I didn't realize that the last night in her crib would be the last night in her crib. Like I wasn't intentional about that rite of passage... Of course if I had known, I would have been emotional and fought the change and it's probably just better the way it happened.

The only thing not pictured here is the wall on the other side of her window. There is her table and chairs that she just got for her birthday. Above it is one of those ikea wire picture hangers where we display her artwork, and above that will be a painting that Andrea gave her for her Birthday. Even with the busyness of the decals, I love it all. Addison wakes up and says, "You see my tree? You see my owls?" It is perfect for her.

And this is what we caught her and Savannah doing before her Birthday party got under way... Little messes.

This summer when I decided to start working on Addison's big girl room, I found an owl theme that I, of course, loved. Our goal was to have her room ready for her 2nd Birthday so that she could get used to it and not feel pushed out of the nursery when Ansley arrives. That idea expanded into her owl-themed Birthday party. It's been a blast doing all of this, and this next succession of posts is mostly for my memory and for my friends who weren't able to come.

Here are a few pics of her room:


I ended up scratching the Sundance Yellow that I originally planned on because it was SOO bright. We went with Moonlight yellow that we found in PB Kids. We've consulted PB for paint colors in the past, and they've never lead us astray. Anyway, this color was perfect, and Addison LOVES her new room. We also stuck with my childhood bed. We originally thought it was too high for her, but we found a way to lower it about 6 inches, got a bed rail, and ordered the full-size bedding which was just $20 more. So that's that.

We "tried it out" (her sleeping in her BGB) one night (We had previously just been doing naps there). I thought she would go back and forth from her crib to her bed for awhile, but she did great, and she calls the nursery the Baby Room or Ansley's room. There has been no turning back. It has sort of made me sad because I didn't realize that the last night in her crib would be the last night in her crib. Like I wasn't intentional about that rite of passage... Of course if I had known, I would have been emotional and fought the change and it's probably just better the way it happened.

The only thing not pictured here is the wall on the other side of her window. There is her table and chairs that she just got for her birthday. Above it is one of those ikea wire picture hangers where we display her artwork, and above that will be a painting that Andrea gave her for her Birthday. Even with the busyness of the decals, I love it all. Addison wakes up and says, "You see my tree? You see my owls?" It is perfect for her.

And this is what we caught her and Savannah doing before her Birthday party got under way... Little messes.

Current Projects... and the first of many matching outfits...

After our FM jaunt Saturday morning, we couldn't avoid stopping by the Little Cottage's end of season 50% off sale. The frugal one, I kept putting things back on the rack--albeit reluctantly. Patrick is a sucker (in a good way) for his girls though, and when we saw these 2 matching outfits, how could we resist?
We got Ansley a 6 month romper (on the left) and Addison a 2T 2-piece shirt/pants set (right)--both for next spring/early summer. Can't wait to see these girls together. [But I promise I won't make them match ALL the time.]

Since I will not have to do too much changing to the nursery (just pictures and clothes mostly) originally pictured HERE, I have been focusing on making Addison's "Big Girl Room" into something special. I am excited about that for 2 reasons. #1--I love the nursery, and it's been a sweet nurturing space for my sweet girl. I am thankful for the economy of getting to use that stuff for a couple more years. #2--I am excited about making the transition of Addison into this new space something special and fun! I'm hoping to have it ready by her birthday, so that she can start getting used to it for a few weeks before she becomes a big sis.

Disclaimer: I don't typically like kiddie themes. However, I love all things owl. I'm excited about incorporating my personal owl collection begun in my Chi O days into her room, and I fell in love with this Target bedding, so here we go. [I originally fell in love with this PB bedding, but there was no way I could justify the price difference when I equally loved both!]

When we found out we were having another girl and I didn't need to redecorate the nursery, I went back and went a little accessory crazy--totally disregarding my usually eclectic, anti-matchy-matchy tendencies. What is happening to me? Maybe I'm the sucker... I'll find some ways to change it up a bit with other accessories, I'm determined.
Now we are working on paint colors, and we think we've found our winner with Benjamin Moore's "Sundance" yellow
Her Big Girl room currently serves as a guest room, and for now, we are going to pack up my white iron bed for her to use when she is older. She's just not ready for it yet. For the next few years, we are going to use Patrick's childhood bed that his parents are giving us. It is a low twin bed with built-in bookshelves behind it that we plan to paint white to go with my white wicker furniture from my former "Big Girl" room. I'm excited!

Most of my sewing projects have been baby gifts lately, but I am working on this dress for Addison that I hope to have ready in the next week! I'll post back with updates and final products soon, I hope.
Next up--redoing (at least repainting) the girls' bathroom upstairs!

In the meantime, I'm having fun and scouring the internet for 2nd Birthday Party ideas. I'm thinking that since her Big Girl room is a big part of her gift, I might go all out with my owl theme. If anybody has any ideas or resources, I'd appreciate your help.

After our FM jaunt Saturday morning, we couldn't avoid stopping by the Little Cottage's end of season 50% off sale. The frugal one, I kept putting things back on the rack--albeit reluctantly. Patrick is a sucker (in a good way) for his girls though, and when we saw these 2 matching outfits, how could we resist?
We got Ansley a 6 month romper (on the left) and Addison a 2T 2-piece shirt/pants set (right)--both for next spring/early summer. Can't wait to see these girls together. [But I promise I won't make them match ALL the time.]

Since I will not have to do too much changing to the nursery (just pictures and clothes mostly) originally pictured HERE, I have been focusing on making Addison's "Big Girl Room" into something special. I am excited about that for 2 reasons. #1--I love the nursery, and it's been a sweet nurturing space for my sweet girl. I am thankful for the economy of getting to use that stuff for a couple more years. #2--I am excited about making the transition of Addison into this new space something special and fun! I'm hoping to have it ready by her birthday, so that she can start getting used to it for a few weeks before she becomes a big sis.

Disclaimer: I don't typically like kiddie themes. However, I love all things owl. I'm excited about incorporating my personal owl collection begun in my Chi O days into her room, and I fell in love with this Target bedding, so here we go. [I originally fell in love with this PB bedding, but there was no way I could justify the price difference when I equally loved both!]

When we found out we were having another girl and I didn't need to redecorate the nursery, I went back and went a little accessory crazy--totally disregarding my usually eclectic, anti-matchy-matchy tendencies. What is happening to me? Maybe I'm the sucker... I'll find some ways to change it up a bit with other accessories, I'm determined.
Now we are working on paint colors, and we think we've found our winner with Benjamin Moore's "Sundance" yellow
Her Big Girl room currently serves as a guest room, and for now, we are going to pack up my white iron bed for her to use when she is older. She's just not ready for it yet. For the next few years, we are going to use Patrick's childhood bed that his parents are giving us. It is a low twin bed with built-in bookshelves behind it that we plan to paint white to go with my white wicker furniture from my former "Big Girl" room. I'm excited!

Most of my sewing projects have been baby gifts lately, but I am working on this dress for Addison that I hope to have ready in the next week! I'll post back with updates and final products soon, I hope.
Next up--redoing (at least repainting) the girls' bathroom upstairs!

In the meantime, I'm having fun and scouring the internet for 2nd Birthday Party ideas. I'm thinking that since her Big Girl room is a big part of her gift, I might go all out with my owl theme. If anybody has any ideas or resources, I'd appreciate your help.

The waiting game...

{This picture was a PKCRAW collaborative creation and is now hanging on the wall to the right of the window}

Her room is done. Her clothes and sheets are clean. Our bags are packed. The presents have been opened and thank you's written. We're finally inside 20 days, and we are so excited to meet our daughter. So far, impatience has not set in, but we get more anxious and giddy each day.

I'm still working and feeling pretty good. I'm loving my kids and my classes and spending time with my work friends. I'm not cooking much these days because when I get home, I am wiped out, but working has been a nice distraction.

Here are some pictures of Baby Addison's nursery.

{This picture was a PKCRAW collaborative creation and is now hanging on the wall to the right of the window}

Her room is done. Her clothes and sheets are clean. Our bags are packed. The presents have been opened and thank you's written. We're finally inside 20 days, and we are so excited to meet our daughter. So far, impatience has not set in, but we get more anxious and giddy each day.

I'm still working and feeling pretty good. I'm loving my kids and my classes and spending time with my work friends. I'm not cooking much these days because when I get home, I am wiped out, but working has been a nice distraction.

Here are some pictures of Baby Addison's nursery.

Happy 4th {1 day late} and Summer Project #2

I'm going in reverse order of my blog title, but these two pictures are of our Summer Project #2--before and after, respectively. {Project #1 is Addy's nursery--pictures to come, #3 is a kitchen counter project, #4 is outdoor landscaping, and #5 is revamping our patio...} So, this area has plagued me since we moved in a year ago... It's technically called a plant ledge, but it's more like a little room above our powder room. These pictures were taken from our stairs, and it is the first thing you see once you walk in the front door {The dining room is to the left; the hallway wraps around to the right and leads to the living room; and the powder room is directly below}. You can see my first feeble attempt was the blue jars that I got from my mom. They *seemed* huge, but once we got them up there, the space just swallowed them. So, our new idea began to take shape, and we are pretty pleased--although we'll probably still tweak it a bit. The door was a flawed door that Patrick was able to confiscate from one of his job sites for free. The window is from the Artisan period and is over 90 years old; I found it at the Nashville flea market for $15. The trunks and plants were 50% off at Hobby Lobby.

Hope everyone had a happy Independence Day! This picture of us is from yesterday, and I was exactly 28 weeks pregnant when it was taken. The heat is picking up and it is starting to take its toll on me swelling-wise, and I have the hottest part of the summer to go! I'm going to have to be creative in my fun. The other picture is from my new bunting that I got for this year's holiday. I'm a sucker for holiday decorations! Patrick and I enjoyed our 4th celebrations. We spent the afternoon at Mom and Dad's with Linds, Daniel, and Savannah, and 2 of my grandparents. We spent the evening at a party with 4 couples of our builder friends. And we ended the evening enjoying fireworks celebrations with our fun neighbors. We've enjoyed this holiday weekend so far!

I'm going in reverse order of my blog title, but these two pictures are of our Summer Project #2--before and after, respectively. {Project #1 is Addy's nursery--pictures to come, #3 is a kitchen counter project, #4 is outdoor landscaping, and #5 is revamping our patio...} So, this area has plagued me since we moved in a year ago... It's technically called a plant ledge, but it's more like a little room above our powder room. These pictures were taken from our stairs, and it is the first thing you see once you walk in the front door {The dining room is to the left; the hallway wraps around to the right and leads to the living room; and the powder room is directly below}. You can see my first feeble attempt was the blue jars that I got from my mom. They *seemed* huge, but once we got them up there, the space just swallowed them. So, our new idea began to take shape, and we are pretty pleased--although we'll probably still tweak it a bit. The door was a flawed door that Patrick was able to confiscate from one of his job sites for free. The window is from the Artisan period and is over 90 years old; I found it at the Nashville flea market for $15. The trunks and plants were 50% off at Hobby Lobby.

Hope everyone had a happy Independence Day! This picture of us is from yesterday, and I was exactly 28 weeks pregnant when it was taken. The heat is picking up and it is starting to take its toll on me swelling-wise, and I have the hottest part of the summer to go! I'm going to have to be creative in my fun. The other picture is from my new bunting that I got for this year's holiday. I'm a sucker for holiday decorations! Patrick and I enjoyed our 4th celebrations. We spent the afternoon at Mom and Dad's with Linds, Daniel, and Savannah, and 2 of my grandparents. We spent the evening at a party with 4 couples of our builder friends. And we ended the evening enjoying fireworks celebrations with our fun neighbors. We've enjoyed this holiday weekend so far!

My weekend=My "new" kitchen!

So...this post is to inform you of how Patrick and I, along with our dear friends Britani and Kevin, spent our weekend--redoing the kitchen!!! Please indulge me with some before and after photos:
Ok, so notice the beautiful fruit wallpaper, the mongo fan/light fixture, the overwhelming 80's feel... (If you can't tell, click the image so that you can see it all on a detailed level.) Now, let me just preface all these details by emphasizing how grateful I am to have a house, a kitchen, etc... I was determined to not jump in and change anything when we first bought the house because of several reasons: 1)Most of our available funds went toward the down payment; 2) My sister got married a month later; 3)I then planned a wedding and got married. In addition, I wanted to spend some time in the house and decide what was important to me and unimportant. The kitchen was fine and spacious, but as the months went on, I became certain of one thing: The fruit had to go! So, our weekend went as follows:

1. Choosing a paint color: Home Depot's "Shy Blossom," a pleasant green hue that both brightens and calms the room.

2. Removing the existing wall fungus (consisting of 4, and in some places 5, layers of wallpaper). This process consisted of renting a steamer, scraping, sanding, using emulsifying glue, spacling (sp), sanding some more, and, sigh, FINALLY painting. Actually, the painting turned out to be the easiest part...

3. Replacing our white ceramic plastic knobs with knobs with a dull nickel finish.

4. Changing out light fixtures (Patrick, again, impressed me with his handyman skills).

5. Purchasing new kitchen chairs (on sale at Pier 1) to go with our lovely hand-me-down ratan table base from the beloved parentals

6. Purchasing chair cushions (again at Pier 1)

7. Purchasing a curtain valance

8. Purchasing some wall art to complete the overall mood of the room... And TADA!!!













Well, it may not be quite Trading Spaces, but we are very pleased. Come over, and we'll cook you dinner! One note: We definitely underestimated how long this project would take... so if you ever consider putting up wallpaper, call me so that I can talk you out of it. We are going to take some time off before Project number 2...

So...this post is to inform you of how Patrick and I, along with our dear friends Britani and Kevin, spent our weekend--redoing the kitchen!!! Please indulge me with some before and after photos:
Ok, so notice the beautiful fruit wallpaper, the mongo fan/light fixture, the overwhelming 80's feel... (If you can't tell, click the image so that you can see it all on a detailed level.) Now, let me just preface all these details by emphasizing how grateful I am to have a house, a kitchen, etc... I was determined to not jump in and change anything when we first bought the house because of several reasons: 1)Most of our available funds went toward the down payment; 2) My sister got married a month later; 3)I then planned a wedding and got married. In addition, I wanted to spend some time in the house and decide what was important to me and unimportant. The kitchen was fine and spacious, but as the months went on, I became certain of one thing: The fruit had to go! So, our weekend went as follows:

1. Choosing a paint color: Home Depot's "Shy Blossom," a pleasant green hue that both brightens and calms the room.

2. Removing the existing wall fungus (consisting of 4, and in some places 5, layers of wallpaper). This process consisted of renting a steamer, scraping, sanding, using emulsifying glue, spacling (sp), sanding some more, and, sigh, FINALLY painting. Actually, the painting turned out to be the easiest part...

3. Replacing our white ceramic plastic knobs with knobs with a dull nickel finish.

4. Changing out light fixtures (Patrick, again, impressed me with his handyman skills).

5. Purchasing new kitchen chairs (on sale at Pier 1) to go with our lovely hand-me-down ratan table base from the beloved parentals

6. Purchasing chair cushions (again at Pier 1)

7. Purchasing a curtain valance

8. Purchasing some wall art to complete the overall mood of the room... And TADA!!!













Well, it may not be quite Trading Spaces, but we are very pleased. Come over, and we'll cook you dinner! One note: We definitely underestimated how long this project would take... so if you ever consider putting up wallpaper, call me so that I can talk you out of it. We are going to take some time off before Project number 2...

Home Makeover

Patrick and I are approaching one year of home ownership. It is a strange feeling but also an empowering feeling. That first year was so wild, and we were lucky to just get settled in. We had looked for a house in good condition that we wouldn't have to do much to to make it liveable, and we were extremely blessed in our find. The Evans family had lived in this house for 30 years and they were immaculate housekeepers, landscapers, blinds-cleaners, painters, etc... I have really just been trying to maintain all of their hard work and not kill any of the plants. Now that we have settled into our life, our home, our marriage, we are starting to dream of the things that we want to do with our peaceful abode. Of course, we will be "designing on a dime" since we don't know how long we will be here--and since our funds have a definite limit (...although our tax refund has enabled us to even dare dream. Thanks, Dad). But we want to do things to increase the value of our home and to try our hand at decorating.

Project #1 has been our yard. Patrick is an excellent yard boy(MAN), and last weekend we worked around the clock trying to get our yard/pool in Spring/Summer shape. We planted flowers, pulled weeds, trimmed shrubs and monkey grass, added all the necessary pool chemicals, flushed the dead algae, etc. Needless to say... it was quite a task and whipped us pretty good. It also sparked my interest in plants and flowers (which I usually kill without even trying), and I am going to pay more attention to those sections in my Southern Living. My grandmother Holt is a "Master Gardner" as well, so I know I can get some help from her.

Project #2 has been fixing bathroom appliances. We replaced a toilet seat and both faucets in our bathrooms. (I was quite impressed with Patty's plumbing skills as well.) We've also decided to freshen up the look of our kitchen cabinet knobs and bathroom knobs. Simple. Inexpensive. Fresh.

Project #3 is going to be painting the kitchen. I've tolerated the fruit wallpaper for a year, but it is beginning to wear on me. I'm thinking a soft olive green... something in that family. We are also gearing up for Project #4: the floor. We are in the research process right now as this will be the most costly of our improvements. I'm even thinking of consulting with my mom's decorator, Nan, on the matter. We are thinking laminate flooring in the living room/ dining room/ hallway, tile in the kitchen and bathrooms, and carpet in the family room and bedrooms. We are looking for deals and timing and advice, so if you have anything to offer, please comment. Linds and Daniel just finished their floors, and they look great! If you talk to Linds, ask her about her cool screened in porch floor that she and Daniel painted themselves!

In other news... I haven't had much creativity lately, so I've been slacking on the blog. But I have been enjoying this beautiful Spring weather and keeping myself VERY busy. Our yardwork/housecleaning weekend proved to be purposeful because this past weekend I hosted a baby shower for my friend Valerie. We took some hilarious pictures that I'll post later. Patrick and I also had our Lifegroup (a small group Bible study compiled of our married and single friends at church) over for lunch on Sunday. We had a blast, but it was another exhausting weekend. We're going to the beach this weekend since we have Friday off, and I can't wait for some SUN! I'm in the process of grading final research papers, so I'll try to post some funny lines from those in the near future... Until then, peace out.

Patrick and I are approaching one year of home ownership. It is a strange feeling but also an empowering feeling. That first year was so wild, and we were lucky to just get settled in. We had looked for a house in good condition that we wouldn't have to do much to to make it liveable, and we were extremely blessed in our find. The Evans family had lived in this house for 30 years and they were immaculate housekeepers, landscapers, blinds-cleaners, painters, etc... I have really just been trying to maintain all of their hard work and not kill any of the plants. Now that we have settled into our life, our home, our marriage, we are starting to dream of the things that we want to do with our peaceful abode. Of course, we will be "designing on a dime" since we don't know how long we will be here--and since our funds have a definite limit (...although our tax refund has enabled us to even dare dream. Thanks, Dad). But we want to do things to increase the value of our home and to try our hand at decorating.

Project #1 has been our yard. Patrick is an excellent yard boy(MAN), and last weekend we worked around the clock trying to get our yard/pool in Spring/Summer shape. We planted flowers, pulled weeds, trimmed shrubs and monkey grass, added all the necessary pool chemicals, flushed the dead algae, etc. Needless to say... it was quite a task and whipped us pretty good. It also sparked my interest in plants and flowers (which I usually kill without even trying), and I am going to pay more attention to those sections in my Southern Living. My grandmother Holt is a "Master Gardner" as well, so I know I can get some help from her.

Project #2 has been fixing bathroom appliances. We replaced a toilet seat and both faucets in our bathrooms. (I was quite impressed with Patty's plumbing skills as well.) We've also decided to freshen up the look of our kitchen cabinet knobs and bathroom knobs. Simple. Inexpensive. Fresh.

Project #3 is going to be painting the kitchen. I've tolerated the fruit wallpaper for a year, but it is beginning to wear on me. I'm thinking a soft olive green... something in that family. We are also gearing up for Project #4: the floor. We are in the research process right now as this will be the most costly of our improvements. I'm even thinking of consulting with my mom's decorator, Nan, on the matter. We are thinking laminate flooring in the living room/ dining room/ hallway, tile in the kitchen and bathrooms, and carpet in the family room and bedrooms. We are looking for deals and timing and advice, so if you have anything to offer, please comment. Linds and Daniel just finished their floors, and they look great! If you talk to Linds, ask her about her cool screened in porch floor that she and Daniel painted themselves!

In other news... I haven't had much creativity lately, so I've been slacking on the blog. But I have been enjoying this beautiful Spring weather and keeping myself VERY busy. Our yardwork/housecleaning weekend proved to be purposeful because this past weekend I hosted a baby shower for my friend Valerie. We took some hilarious pictures that I'll post later. Patrick and I also had our Lifegroup (a small group Bible study compiled of our married and single friends at church) over for lunch on Sunday. We had a blast, but it was another exhausting weekend. We're going to the beach this weekend since we have Friday off, and I can't wait for some SUN! I'm in the process of grading final research papers, so I'll try to post some funny lines from those in the near future... Until then, peace out.