Monday, March 31, 2014

Weekend Wrap-Up


Aaannndddd......It's Monday.
Let's get the ball rolling, shall we?

Friday was a great day.  With my half day I was able to finish my nieces's dresser for her new room.  The dressers story is really a great one.  My mother-in-law's father owned the dresser first.  It's been passed down three times and was ready to be sent onto its newest home.  We talked with my mother-in-law and we agreed to sand down the dresser and repaint it so it would match our niece's room.  As the oldest girl of four, she's so excited to finally be in her own room.


I also painted the new trim.  I cannot wait for the final half bath reveal!  We chose Behr Snow Fall for our trim and doors.  We are LOVING it so far.

Saturday Justin had to work the Home Show.  I met him at the end of his shift and we wandered around a bit.  Unfortunately it made us anxious to get home and finish (or start) our projects.  We decided to order our first few doors and get them painted.
L - Just got home!
M- Fresh coat of paint
R - Just installed!

Sunday we headed out to breakfast before running some errands.  Every day needs to start with bacon ;)

I headed to the gym and Justin headed home to finish up some final projects.  When I got home we decided that it was time to start ripping up the guest bathroom.  Hideous carpet be gone!  We had to end the night in our favorite place on earth - Home Depot.  A new tub, toilet, tile and paint were on the shopping list.  I can't believe the yellow bathroom will be gone in a week!

I'm actually glad it's Monday.  I need a break from home projects for a few hours ;).  I'll be back to painting doors tonight.  One down, 13 to go.


Thursday, March 27, 2014

A Hunting We Will Go

In 2012, J and I began our house hunt.  We had browsed through Realtor websites for a year previously and we were ready to start taking the hunt more seriously.  We have very specific wants, but a very short list.

And NO Split Levels!
Thankfully our wants could balance each other out.  If the home had an unfinished basement with an option for another bathroom and bedroom (or 2).  I was fine looking at a 2 bath 3 Bdrm home with one living space.  And J didn't care where the project was - landscaping, basement, remodel, garage addition.

To make things more difficult?  Our budget would waiver $200k depending on the home.  Some homes we looked at would be at the top of our budget, but would have barely any projects.  Other homes we looked at were nothing BUT projects and fit nothing on my wish list until after a remodel.

The first home that stole our hearts.  And no, I'm not sourcing it - privacy for the owners.

The first home we were TRULY interested in and checked off everything but a 3 car garage.  However, the longer we thought about the home, we realized the layout would not be something I would want with young children.  We knew the home we bought would be the home we raised our children in.  This home had a gorgeous master suite on the main floor and 3 bedrooms upstairs.  I don't know about you, but walking up and down a flight of stairs with a baby, or a baby and toddler, multiple times a day did not sound like a fun idea.  The walk out basement was fully unfinished and a great project for J.  But since this home was at the top of our budget, the likely hood he would get to start working on it right away was slim.  We had to furnish the home too!

We contacted the builders and saw a few more floor plans they've built.  For a solid 5 weeks we were sold on building our home and were looking at neighborhoods they built in.  As time went on, the idea of waiting up to a year for the home to be finished wasn't selling us on building.  Also, we didn't like the locations of a lot of the neighborhoods.  The Helena Valley is vast and the thought of commutes on 2 lane highways during the winter didn't appeal to us.

I finally convinced J to work directly with one Realtor so we could set up multiple viewings of houses on one day.  We had just been calling the listing agent to set up a time to see homes, but I was ready for a more focused search.  I called the Realtor who showed us the first home we loved and sent her a few addresses we were interested in.  Later that week, I found a home that didn't have a basement, but had everything else.  It was an older home, so it didn't have that one main living/eating space.  You know what I'm talking about - the kitchen, dining and living room are all one big room.  I was NOT a fan of that layout (which made house hunting even harder).  I like have a bit more separate and defined spaces.  

I contacted the Realtor and added it to the list on a whim.  We hadn't looked at a single home without a basement.  J was adamant he wanted a basement.  This home was in an amazing neighborhood, with great potential!  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see it.

To be continued......

Part 2 Here

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Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Home Updates - Odd N Ends

For those of you (Hi Aunts and Mom!) that are interested........

We've made a few small changes that haven't warranted their own blog post but I still want to document the changes before I do a final room reveal.

Painted the kitchen ceiling to match the walls - Behr Malted Milk.
Horrible Photos - I know.  I'll have better ones when we do a kitchen reveal.


Started painting the family room and we took the door down to put in storage.  White trim coming soon!

New light fixture in the half bath!!  Can't wait to do the final reveal.

Seriously - the photos are bad.  But I take quick ones in the midst of projects to keep for our records.  Sorry!


The Kitchen Backsplash is done.  I can't find the name now, but I'll update when I do.  It's no longer sold on-line by Home Depot and it was a killer Black Friday find.  We bought everything they had and it was just enough for the kitchen.





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Monday, March 24, 2014

Weekend Recap

This weekend started like every other - with a list of a home projects we wanted to tackle.  This week we decided it was time for the bathroom wall paper trim to come down.  
 
  Yes, we painted the ceiling first.  No tape required!      
          Remember this gem?  

With the half bath (blue) done and the guest bath (yellow) half done, we started talking while our hands were above our head scraping.  Our conversation quickly turned to - let's rip up the carpet this weekend!  Justin and I took a 'quick' break from wallpaper duty and ran to the half bath to start ripping it apart.


We had to remove everything that wasn't carpet. /  Wallpaper-less walls! / The vanity that we recently put in and will stay.

We love the new vanity we bought, so we quickly removed it and put it in the garage for safe keeping.  Once we rolled up the carpet we were met with an unpleasant surprise - the carpet pad was glued directly onto the concrete.  Justin put his muscle to work and attacked the floor with a vengeance. I stayed a safe distance away and would quickly dart in and out to grab flying materials.


Once the floor was cleaned, we went to Home Depot to pick our tile and start putting the bathroom back together.  Justin is amazing.  He tiled the whole bathroom while I worked on other projects (painting the kitchen ceiling, finished the half bath wallpaper removal, regular home chores, etc, etc.)


We choose Montanya Porcelin tile in Bellauno with a Nickle decorative piece.  Every single tile had to be cut!  Hopefully when we start in the guest bathroom we will be able to use some of the discarded cuts and save on some material.  Justin did an amazing job!  I can't wait to show off the finished project, but first I get to start looking for paint......

funday-monday-button-300x288
Linking up!!


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Friday, March 21, 2014

5 on Friday

Linking up today.

~ONE~
It's SPRING!!!  And snowing :(  But I'm busting out the spring colors despite the weather.
Top - Tommy  Hilfiger
Denim - J Crew
Shoes - Sperry (smiliar)


~TWO~
We've been trucking along with the house.  Had a meeting yesterday for window measurements.  It's looking like the new front door and some windows will be here before we know it!

~THREE~
Barre class starts Monday.  I'm terrified.

~FOUR~
I made cake balls for the first time on St. Patrick's Day.  I made the rookie mistake and doubled the recipe.  In frustration I doubled the size just so I could get through them faster.  Then I pawned them off on my co-workers :)



~FIVE~
I traded my half day for yesterday because we have a board meeting today.  I'm conditioned to take a nap about 3 on Fridays.  This afternoon has been hard.



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Thursday, March 20, 2014

Entryway Update

We are ALMOST done with this space!!!  (excluding flooring, new door and trim.  Those are whole house projects we'll be tackling later this year)  You can see my inspiration here. I really wanted to brighten up the entryway and create a more usable space.  We plan on replacing the front door as well - one with a window for more light.

And now......the pictures :)

TL - before, the opposite wall and FUGLY door
TR - Starting, with bonus husband!
BL/BR - finishing the wall

A new paint color!




The (mostly) finished project.  We still have new flooring, trim, door, and new fabric for the cushions to do.

All wall supplies from Home Depot.  Bench is from Target.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2014

I Can't Wait for Summer

Winter was late in arriving, but now she's refusing to give up the good fight (even though the first day of spring really isn't until tomorrow).  While the cold wind blows, I'm dreaming of hot summer nights.

1.  Landscaping Projects.
This should come as no surprise to anyone



3.  Pool and Lake time



4.  Camping



5.  Drinks on the patio with a sunset view.


And flips flops and sundresses.........


Linking up!!!
The Daily Tay
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Monday, March 17, 2014

Inspiration - Memories on Clover Lane

A few years ago (2 or 3) I stumbled upon Clover Lane.  I don't remember how I got there - a pin from Pinterest, a link from another blog I read, a recommendation from a friend, who knows.  All I know is that it is now a daily read.  Sarah is an inspiration.  I scour her de-cluttering tips, mothering tips, household organization tips and weekly meal planner.  In this great big world of blogging, I've actually been too shy to ever email or message her to let her know how awesome I think she is.  (Total fandom behavior over here)  But today, I have to share my favorite tip of hers.


J and I are using her tips to de-clutter and organize our home during Lent this year.  When we bought our house in February of 2013 we threw away and donated bags upon boxes before unpacking.  I wanted a fresh start in our house and I know how quickly things can build up.  My husband and I are very different in our storage and keepsake habits.  I'm happy to donate or sell a big portion of my belongings often and I only hold onto a very few select items.  J stores everything and it takes him a long time to decide if something can be donated.  It's safe to say my patience was stretched when we cleaned out the guest room and went through a large portion of J's clothes :)  

Last year I kept her tips in mind as I was unpacking.  Quite a few boxes of my childhood memorabilia was immediately stored in anticipation of future children putting the toys to good use.  And if for some reason we end up with all boys - they will all be donated for other children to play with.  (Unless my boys want barbies and baby dolls.  That's fine too!)  I have to admit it gives me a touch of anxiety when I think of how much STUFF is in those boxes taking up storage space.  When I started unpacking the kitchen I didn't even think and just dumped items in drawers.  I'm so excited to use Sarah's tips to organize and clean up the kitchen this year!  Our junk drawer has spread and now a few drawers look like 'junk drawers'.  Yikes.

So far we've tackled the future nursery - and it is TOTALLY EMPTY!!  Now we can leave it empty until it actually needs to become a nursery.  No more miscellaneous storage!  We are halfway done with the guest room.  The first stage was going through all of the drawers and closets to sort through J's clothes.  Now it's the holding ground for items we are trying to find new homes for.  This week I plan to formally complete the closet/shelves as well as clean up the furniture drawers.  Until we get a chest of drawers in our room, J will still use the guest room for some storage.  Last night I worked on the office.  The closet is done (first time I've closed the closet doors in a year.  Wowza).  We need to purchase a filing cabinet for all of the important documents and put up a folding table for my craft space.  But we can actually walk in the room and it looks 'mostly' organized.
Here is a picture of the 'dumping grounds' in the office.  YIKES!
I swear I'm not that messy.  With a home in various stages on construction/remodel, it was easier to just set everything down in one room and close the door.  We made it our goal to only let the mess linger in one room and the poor office won the vote. I can't wait to show pictures of the 'After'!

Our living room and dining room are 95% done.  Most of the work left is not organization or cleaning, but decorating. Same with the family room.  Our coat closet is half done.  I need to organize the shelves - and once the entry way is finished, it will take a few items out of the closet. 

I modified our goal from 40 bags to 20 bags since I cleaned out so much a year ago.  This year I'm focusing more on organization.  I'm happy to say I'm halfway to my goal!  10 bays were donated this weekend and I love seeing the progress.


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Friday, March 14, 2014

Monday, March 10, 2014

Funday Monday ~a link up!~

Oh-my-lanta.  What a weekend! I swear it was Friday an hour ago.  What happened?

Since it went by so quickly, I had to scour my phone to see if I took any photos!  And joy for you - I have a few.  But they are HORRIBLE.  So I'll only burn your eyes with three.

Friday we finished painting the living room/bar area.  Horrible photo - but you can see the contrast.  The darker color is the new color.  Behr Fashion Gray.


Also Friday I did some Target shopping for new throw pillows that match our decor.  The Bozeman, store had all the of the pillows we've been looking for that the Helena store never carried.  Score!!
Saturday I deep cleaned.  I'm half through my goal of 20 bags in 40 days.  (I modified the 40 bags in 40 days that is going around.  Since we just moved, I already had a deep purge).  I have bags 10, 11 and box 12 siting in the dining room almost full and ready to be donated. I can't wait to show the final pictures!  J helped a buddy finish his basement.  He'll be working on that a few evenings this week and  next weekend. Sunday I went over there as well to play with their little boy.  Mom works nights, so with the boys busy she needed an extra set of hands so she could nap.  Love those three!!



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