Do It Yourselfers

Not long ago, Hank and I decided to invest in a new tv stand for our downstairs office/media room/toy room. We wanted to streamline all of the gaming systems, DVD players, and Satellite boxes. I went on a shopping trip with my sister and a friend and found just what we needed at a great price. We had to assemble it ourselves, but it was well worth it in my opinion. I can't tell you how much neater it feels now that everything is off of the ground and wires aren't hanging down the wall and lying on the rug.

This was a simple solution to one of our home improvement projects. This particular room needs a lot of help. It needs updated fans and fixtures. It needs new flooring. And we plan to add a bathroom down there as well to make it a fully functioning part of our home.

I never thought I would be so very excited about home improvement projects, but I love seeing where we started and where we end.

Seating Arrangements

So the church we attend was meeting in a movie theater. Complete with theater seating and mood lighting. We even watched a couple of movies during church time. I know it doesn't sound very 'churchy' but that's why we like our church! We watched Facing The Giants and Narnia.

Hank wants to turn our downstairs den into a media center... again complete with theater seating. I wouldn't mind it, but to do that I would have to sacrifice space upstairs to move up toys and the computer... not gonna happen right now, people!

There's No Place Like Home

The other day while I was dusting off all the pictures and nick nacks in the dining room, I dusted this little votive tea light holder set that spells out home! My friend, Crystal, gave them to me last year when we moved in and I just added some tea light candles and they made it such a warm, homey gift.

We've lived here for nearly a year now and I have to say that I love our house. I love pulling into our driveway and not seeing another house literally feet away. I love coming into our home and the satisfaction of seeing everything just like I wanted it! Thank you, Lord, for a wonderful, warm, comfortable home.

Autumn Arrives

So we have enjoyed our back yard this summer. My sister-in-law gave us some new to us patio furniture when she and her family moved and they didn't have room for it... so we've been able to eat outside which I like! But now that the leaves are falling and the wind and rain are upon us, I'm thinking about getting some patio furniture covers to help the furniture weather the weather elements a little better throughout the winter months. We may not have a really cold winter, but it does tend to get a little dreary and rainy at times! Plus I want to keep that patio furniture looking good for all the outdoor projects we want to do next year!

Lower That Rate!

Hank and I got a letter from out mortgage company last week letting us know that we were eligible for refinancing at a lower rate with no closing costs. I'm checking into it tomorrow, because if they give us the rate the letter said, I think it would save us about a hundred bucks a month! How cool would that be?

It got me to thinking about our other insured items... like our cars. I wonder if I could get an online car insurance quote. What I hate is all my time getting eaten up on the phones... I just want the info so I can make a quick decision and move about my business. I'm not sure we could get a better price right now though... Hank has had a couple of tickets and a fender bender over the last 3 years!

Ticket For Two, Please

Hank and I have a house that is full of potential! I mean, we could do a number of different things to it to make it into just the right home for us. We plan to add a master suite onto our house in the future... but we are talking 5 to 7 years in the future. But when we do that, I would love to transform out toy room/home office/tv room into a media room... complete with home theater seating! Wouldn't that be cool? I say a decorator do it on one of those shows and loved it! Then when the kids ask to go to the movies, you can just tell them to go downstairs! Ha!

I LOVE my house!

The more we are here, the more I love our new home! I love pulling into my driveway and not having a house just feet away from me. I love driving up and seeing trees and grass and sky... and I love being able to pull into our garage. I love that our house has character, but is not outdated! I love that we have projects, but can handle them! And I love putting our family stamp on our new house.

And I most love that we are done looking at house after house trying to find 'the one!' I always felt like I was snooping in other's homes when I went looking in their bedrooms and bathrooms, and even tripping over their shower chairs.. which, by the way, should have been in their showers! The worst house we looked at had cat vomit in the kitchen floor, dead roaches in the basement rooms, and rat droppings in the master bedroom! Oh, yes! I love my house.

Is it time?

Our house projects never seem to quite get finished right now. I'm ready for a little house face lift, or at least a bath lift. We have plans to repaint the hall bath, because the paint we used before we moved in was obviously not intended for a high traffic bath that two little boys really spend some time in! After that, we plan to sand and paint the existing cabinets. Then we plan to remove the old, original-to-the-house counter top and replace it with a double vanity top. We purchased some cute faucets on sale before Christmas that should look good in there! Then we plan to replace the laminate floor with a tile floor. Again, we already have the supplies to do this! We bought tile on sale before Christmas and my Dad gave us a box too, as well as subflooring to go under it. Then we will add some crown molding to finish it off. Again, we already have the crown. What in the heck are we waiting on anyway??

Kitchen Overhaul!

Hankie has been hard at work on our never-ending home improvement project otherwise known as our new house! We started out by painting three of the rooms in our new house that were once painted in what the previous owner described as 'designer colors.' We had to disagree and happily slopped on some primer and paint! Then we moved our washer and dryer down to the basement, and converted that space upstairs into a huge pantry. We've updated light fixtures, fixed outside flood lights, and replaced light switch covers. But the biggest change can be seen in our kitchen! We changed out the stove and dishwasher to stainless appliances and have plans to purchase a stainless fridge soon. We received a new kitchen sink and faucet for Christmas from my parents. And Hank has spent a lot of time sanding and painting the kitchen cabinets to give it a brighter look. He did a wonderful job!! Then we updated the hardware and hinges. Just look at the difference!The hardware is similar to this Baldwin handle I found. Now we just need to add some new flooring and finish painting the trim and it will be a brand new kitchen!

Curtains, please

Okay, all of the furniture in our house is in place... the boxes are unpacked or hidden (smile!)... and everything appears orderly. Now it's time to address those naked windows. Hank and I have actually made a few trips to area home good stores to look for the right curtains for the Formal Living Room. This has become our favorite room in the house, and we want to find just the right dressing for them. It's an eclectic room with a fun mix of vintage and new. So I thought I would browse online through some fabrics. I found some Robert Allen fabrics that just might work!
What do you think? My only concern would be that they are little too heavy of a fabric for the windows cause we like the natural light in that room. But if it is, then we are planning on finding one more vintage style chair to go in that room, and we could use it to cover the seat and/or arms!

New furniture

Since we moved into our new home in December, we've been slowly trying to get things in order. I guess the combination of a newborn, traveling, the holidays, and the move have made it seem that it's taking forever to get settled! Now that we pretty much know what furniture will work in our home and what furniture won't, we are ready to take inventory of what we need.

We now have one more den to furnish and have been talking about taking a look at furniture soon. I wish that we were a member of directbuy. Then we could get manufactor's discount pricing!! Did you know that furniture stores enjoy a gross margin of 43.3% on average? That's highway robbery people!! I want a deal, but I don't want a dinky couch either!!

Space Savers

It seems to me like our house is a constant project right now. But it is starting to come together! The kitchen right now is our main focus. We have all the stuff in our cabinets, but there are no doors on because we are sanding and painting them to freshen them up! Just yesterday, I was telling Hank that I wish I had more counter space. I visited a website that has things like plasma mount and found some great space saving ideas! The first one I found was this television stand. Now, I don't need it for a television, but I think this piece of furniture would make an excellent microwave cart! I have space on the other side of my fridge and I think this would work perfectly and even give me some extra under counter storage space! And we do have a television in our kitchen. It is currently also on my counter, so I asked Hank what we could do. Here is my solution! Let's mount it in the corner! Then my counters are free to become cluttered again!

The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of

When we found out that Sophie was a little girl, Hank told me that I could have whatever I wanted to decorate her room in. I was thrilled to have a little girl, because I had already decorated for little boys! I started out by shopping at local consignment shops for the pieces of baby furniture that we needed that we had either given away, sold, or had seen better days! There is a local shop that had a round bassinet! I fell in LOVE with it! They had already sold it, so I decided to do a bit of research on them to see if they were even in our price range. I found out that they ranged from $150 to $200 brand new. That was a little much considering that she wouldn't be in it much. But I so wanted it. If Sophie hadn't of been our last baby, we may have decided to go for it!

Right now, we are setting up her new room in our new home. I had my choice of baby cribs. I had the one that both of my boys used, or one that my mother had at her house. We decided to keep tradition alive and use the one our boys used. Now I am on the hunt for perfect accessories to go in her room. Especially a rug. I found this one, that would be a perfect addition to her little haven! And the price is decent too!

Upgrade

Have you guys seem those commercials where the announcer is talking about upgrading everything in your life? That's what I feel like I'm doing with my new house. We plan on moving in this weekend, but before we do that, we wanted to paint over some 'designer' (at least that's how she described them) colors in the house, sand and paint cabinets, update light fixtures and plumbing fixtures, and finally add a whole bathroom in the basement. That's may sound pretty easy, especially since my dad is a plumber, but that sort of limits my Christmas list this year! In fact, I've seriously asked for three delta faucets. I picked our some really pretty styles and finishes that make me happy! Wanna see one?This one has a pewter/nickel finish with a gooseneck. I like it! This will go in the master bathroom. The other two baths will stay chrome though. It's easier to decorate around that!

Planning Our Dream Home... Again!

Okay, so we aren't even settled into our new house, and already we've started talking about what we would like in our 'next' house! Ha! Hank really, really wants a 'man cave' complete with surround sound, high definition and discount home theater seating. Wouldn't that be cool? I've seen it done on home improvement shows like Trading Spaces... and I've seen it on MTV's Cribs.

I really, really want his and her closets in my next house and a bit more storage room. Since we have plans in the next six months to convert what is now a storage room into a third bathroom, I can't really count that space.

Hmmm... isn't it interesting what is important to different people? It's definitely a his and hers list, huh?

Deck Them Halls, Y'All!!

Here we go! We close on our new home in the morning. And just in time! I can't wait to put up all my Christmas stuff in my new house! You know, stuff like decorative wreaths, Christmas lights, hanging stockings! I might just unpack Christmas stuff first! But I have to say, the wreath I bought to hang on my door has seen better days. I really, really want a new one! There are a few decorative wreaths on this website, but I found something I really want to get my kids while browsing the site: Do you guys remember Sea Monkeys? I remember our parents got some for us when I was like 10 or 11. I thought it was cool and a little creepy... but mostly cool! I think my boys would love watching them grow.

Our new house!!

We got a great deal! We close the week after Thanksgiving and should be settled by Christmas! God is good. Home for the holidays!