2.25.2011

Announcement

So...I may not have been telling the whole truth the other day when I said that I have been MIA because of my job.  That is part of it, but I also have something else going on that is taking up all of my time and energy......






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I'M PREGNANT!!

B and I are expecting our first baby and we are SO excited!  I am 16 weeks along now and starting to show a little.  It just started to feel real to me the other day when I couldn't button my "fat" pants.  Uh oh.  And even though we have talked about this for a while, read a million books and mentally prepared for what is going to happen, it is still amazing to me what a woman's body is capable of.....I can't believe there is another life inside me!!  It is CRAZY, but so unbelievably exciting at the same time!  We can't wait to meet him/her. 

So along with the laundry list of projects that I have planned for the house, we will also be focusing a lot of our attention on nesting over the next few months.  I have so many ideas for the nursery and can't wait to share them with you.  I actually may have a few too many ideas floating around in my head though; enough to decorate 10 nurseries......but I still have a few months to work that out.  A little over 5 months to be exact.  Little B (which is just one of the names that we have been calling him/her) is going to be here on August 13th (or so the doctor tells me).  All I know is that if its any later than that I'm going to be waddling around cursing everyone in my path.  "Damn you, husband, for convincing me that A/C was not a "must-have" on the house-hunting list"....

But I digress....

So that's the news on this front.  What's new with all of you?  Any advice to share?  Maybe some great design inspiration for nurseries that you've seen lately?  I can't wait to share my ideas with you and even throw in a few nursery-room DIY projects!!  There are so many things I want to accomplish!  Oh my! 

So once I get the energy to lift my head up off the pillow I will get started on that.....

2.18.2011

Apologies

I'm so sorry that I have been MIA this week.  It has been insanely busy at work, which means that I can't stomach another moment in front of the computer once I finally get home.  And worst of all, I have no energy to execute any of the projects from my LOOOONG to-do list that I discussed a few weeks back (in this post).  I have so many ideas and plans for the house, but my day job just keeps getting in the way.  Does anyone else feel like that?  Maybe I can find a way to get paid for doing projects at my house all day?  It would save me the commute!!

I only kid though....sort of.  I do like going to work every day and getting out of the house a little, but I just feel so behind at home.  Hopefully things slow down a bit in the next few weeks though and I can focus on the important things in life....like re-painting the office and putting up curtains in my bedroom.  What more is there to life than that?? 

So for now, I wish you all a happy friday and a wonderful long weekend!  I will be back next week with a review of some Overstock items (and a discount code for all of you!!!) and hopefully an update on some projects that are getting underway in our little casa.  Fingers crossed.

Adios!!

2.11.2011

Stylish Blogger Award: Round II


Big thanks to Courtney over at David, Courtney & Cameron for awarding me with my second Stylish Blogger Award this year!!  YAY!   If you missed out on the last one, you can check it out here.  And if you haven't already clicked over to Courtney's blog, I strongly encourage you to do so.  She has great DIY home and craft ideas and an eye for home decor (since she's a retail buyer by day...how amazing is that?).  Oh, and it certainly doesn't hurt that her daughter is absolutely adorable!!  I promise you will not regret it! 

Thanks again Courtney for the shout-out!  I really appreciate it!

2.10.2011

Project List 2011

Oh it's that time again.  A few weeks back, I mentioned some of my "intended" projects for the year (read more about that here), but I haven't done very much with the list since then.  So....here I am to discuss a plan of attack:

And to refresh your memory:

2011 House Projects

Re-paint office and guest bedroom
Remodel full bath upstairs
Finish basement (w/ half bath??)
Install new windows (DIY or hire?)
Paint garage doors black
Repair cracks in exterior trim pieces (re-paint)
Re-seed lawn, plant, mulch, landscape front & backyard
Finish molding and painting trim around side storm door
Clean and organize remaining boxes/items in garage/basement
Create built-in bookshelves/bench for living room
New roof for garage (DIY) - might be able to last another year though.....
Clean and repair gutters
Stain or paint deck
Find cheap patio furniture and refinish


2011 Craft/Art/Design Projects
Print maps of places lived/visited to create frame wall
Print photos for black frames in hallway
Refinish (2) craigslist side tables
Refinish (2) thrift store/hand-me-down dressers
Create vintage-looking signs for guest bedroom or future nursery
Make another coffee filter wreath for sister-in-law
Create or repurpose letters for kitchen (maybe "EAT")
Sew curtains for guest bedroom and office
Find/buy/make/distress coffee table (This is starting to inch up the priority list....I HATE our current one)


It's a little overwhelming thinking about all of this at once, so I'm going to narrow it down to priorities and non-priorities for each season (although they are probably obvious when you look at the original list).

Spring 2011
The most important things to tackle once the snow melts away and the temperature creeps up a bit are:

Install new windows (DIY or hire?)
Re-paint office and guest bedroom
Re-seed lawn, plant, mulch, landscape front & backyard
New roof for garage (DIY)
Clean and repair gutters (only if they are damaged from this winter....otherwise put off till next year)
Finish molding and painting trim around side storm door
Stain or paint deck
Find cheap patio furniture and refinish
Sew curtains for guest bedroom and office - AND MASTER BEDROOM....since I keep putting it off!!!


Summer 2011
Although these aren't priorities, I would like to tackle them once the big projects are done:

Repair cracks in exterior trim pieces (re-paint)
Clean and organize remaining boxes/items in garage/basement
Paint garage doors black
Refinish (2) craigslist side tables
Refinish (2) thrift store/hand-me-down dressers
Find/buy/make/distress coffee table

Fall 2011If all goes well and we complete the tasks above, I am hoping to finish these projects in the Fall:

Create vintage-looking signs for guest bedroom or future nursery
Make another coffee filter wreath for sister-in-law
Create or repurpose letters for kitchen (maybe "EAT")
Print maps of places lived/visited to create frame wall
Print photos for black frames in hallway


So you might have noticed that the following items are not listed in any of the categories above, and there are a few reasons for that:

Remodel full bath upstairs
Finish basement (w/ half bath??)
Create built-in bookshelves/bench for living room


First of all, we would love to tackle the full bath upstairs but it's just not in the budget this year.  Plus, its totally live-able at the moment, so there is REALLY no rush to do it (other than I basically close my eyes while I'm in there so I don't scream because I hate it so much).  But since there are other priorities this year (i.e., possible roof replacement and new windows) we decided to put this one on the backburner for now.  As far as the basement goes, and B doesn't know this yet, but I think I'm vetoing his choice to refinish the basement this year.  He is really eager to start it soon (which I think is a combination of desire for a man-room (who can blame him) and withdrawls from his power tools (I mean it has been two months since he's used them) but I'm not sure that is enough reason to throw more money into the house just yet.  We barely use the space that we have now with just the two of us, so I think its a little impractical to add more square footage if we don't need to.  But at the end of the day, we are a team, so we will have to discuss it more so I can convince him that he is wrong.  :)  Er....or I can maybe compromise a little.  I'll keep you posted on that!
And finally, the built-ins were put on the list as a whim.  It is a pipe dream really and we don't need them, nor do we really have the time to do it.  If it happens this year, then great, but I'm not going to put it on my final list and feel accountable for it.  And that's exactly why I'm telling you my list on a season-by-season basis.  I need to be accountable to someone for these resolutions of mine, so who better than you??  You keep me honest!

So instead of wasting more time talking about it, I think I'm going to start making some lists for my next Home Depot run.  Oh yes, I said it, I make lists for HD runs.  Otherwise I forget half of the things that I need and have to run back, which makes for one cranky DIY-er.  I actually do this more often than I write food shopping lists.  I figure that I can always find make something to eat with what we already have in the house, but if we are missing a special screw or piece of wood, then the whole project comes to a halt.  It's no good!  So if I can impart a little wisdom to you other DIY-ers out there, always make a list when heading to HD.  It's as simple as that.  

See ya!

2.03.2011

After some thinking....

We're going to stay put for a while.  No more house-hunting or running numbers on mortgage rates.  Well, before I go any further....if you're a bit lost at the moment, check out this post a few weeks back where I shared my CRAZY idea to sell our house and move a few streets over to a bigger house.  I suppose it's not exactly CRAZY to think that we will eventually need more space to grow our family (and potentially house my parents for a few months a year during their retirement), but it is not exactly something that we NEED to worry about for quite some time. 

My new revelation came about this past weekend when I was home alone while B was travelling for work.  I had a few errands to run and places to go both days, but for the most part I was vegging around the house.  And it all just felt right.  I felt cozy and comfortable, and most importantly, safe.  I knew that if I needed anything, I could just swing by one of my neighbors houses and they would gladly lend a hand or an ear.  I also spent a lot of time just absorbing the environment.  We have been so busy since we've moved in that I hadn't taken much time to really stop and smell the roses.....or in this case, the fresh paint.  It felt like home.  It felt like ours.  And it felt good.  Everything is where we want it and we are happy.  So why mess with success, right?  If we need more space in a few years, then we can explore our options at that point.  For now, though, we are going to sit tight and ENJOY the house that we created together.  So I apologize for the fire drill a few weeks back.  Maybe it was hormones or food poisoning....or all the snow...but I assure you that there will be no more talk of moving for quite some time.

2.01.2011

I've Been Featured....

Go over and check out Remodelaholic today for a feature post on our Kitchen Remodel!! YAY!!  Thanks Cassity!!






Cassity was so sweet to reach out to me a few weeks back about my kitchen. I am truly honored to be featured on her amazing blog! If you haven't check it out before, it is the mecca for before and afters. If she is not already on your blog roll...ADD HER!!!  You won't regret it!

And in other random news....we are getting slammed AGAIN in New England with snow storms today and tomorrow.  It has been like this for 6 straight weeks.  I can't take it anymore!!!  The snow banks at the end of my driveway are 15 ft. high. It's just out of control!!!  If there are any other New Englanders reading this...good luck out there.  Drive safely and stay warm!!!  And for those of you in warm climates, I don't want to hear about your 70 degree weather!  I am so jealous.  My grandmother down in Tampa, FL is the worst!  Every time I talk to her, she asks me about the weather (even though she knows full well how awful it is) and as soon as I finish she jumps in and replies, "Well, it's BEAUTIFUL here today....the sun is shining...birds are chirping....I might even turn up the A/C today...whoof!".  WOW, thanks Gram.  You really know how to hit us when we're down huh?  So, unfortunately grandma doesn't get a lot of phone calls during this time of year......