Home Improvement

Bagel Office, Part 1

March 31, 2012

In the fall of this year, we will celebrate 3 years of home ownership. Our little baby is coming along slowly but splendidly. However, we noticed a trend along the way: we never finish one room… we tackle bits and pieces of each room and do so on a rotating basis. When we first moved in, we painted all of the rooms hastily and did the necessary upgrades that were essential to living.

#Home Improvement #Painting

Bagel Office, Part 2

April 7, 2012

I was so happy with how the office was turning out that when it came time to tackle the daunting task of putting 4 coats of paint on the bookcase Matt built for me, I grabbed it by the horns. I was giddy from how great the white trim looked against the bagel and couldn’t wait to get that bad boy done and curing. For a week straight I would come home after work and prime and paint to my heart’s content.

#Home Improvement #Painting

Everything Is Bigger In Texas! (Part One)

October 14, 2012

I wanted to take a break from our guest room overhaul to write a post about our fun time away this month! Even though the fall projects are lining themselves up, Matt and I took a semi-spontaneous trip to Texas! Does planning it a few weeks before the fly date qualify it for semi-spontaneous status? I’m a bit of a planner, so it qualifies in my book. Lately, we’ve had more than our fair share of police activity in our quiet, quaint lake town.

#Friends #Travel #Places #Home Improvement #Backyard Livin'

Filling In The Gaps

October 6, 2012

I know I said the kitchen would be the next priority in this house, but I want to keep you on your toes and as a result, I pulled a complete 180. Don’t worry, finishing the kitchen is still on the short-term fall goal list. Nonetheless, the focus has shifted to one of the upstairs bedrooms. My brother-in-law Michael lived here for a bit during his off seasons (he’s a baseball player) and as a result, we hadn’t done anything to the room besides a very half-assed paint job on the walls & window trim just to get moved in quickly.

#Before & After #Home Improvement

Fresh heat

April 30, 2012

Did you get a chance to read this post about the start to our kitchen re-do? DO IT. On our to-do list for the kitchen was to find a solution for the heat registers that sit under the big back window on the back of the house. They were rusty and gross, half gray and half ivory. We looked into replacing them but found it would be well over a hundred bucks to do so.

#Painting #Before & After #Home Improvement

Front Steppin'

June 3, 2013

We replaced our front steps. It was necessary. 3 reasons you know it’s necessary to replace your front steps: They bend severely when a 30 lb. toddler lays foot on them. You don’t order anything online for fear that UPS will sue you because of a courier injury. You spend 3 weeks stepping over the reeeaaallly droopy step in the middle for fear of it breaking. This makes hauling groceries especially frightening.

#Before & After #Home Improvement #Curb Appeal

Not a fan...

April 18, 2012

…of this, that is. Blech. I am a big supporter of many things gold. For example, I love gold earrings, (they’re the only ones my delicate ears will allow!) gold flats with dark jeans, the gold bracelet Matt gave me on our first Christmas together, my brother-in-law, (Mr. Gold was an old college nickname for him) the gold-ish brown eye shadow I wore on my wedding day, this dress, and the golden color of my main man.

#Home Improvement #Electrical #Before & After

Sore wrist Sunday

April 30, 2012

Holy cow, it’s Monday night already! Why yes, I had quite the productive weekend, thank you for asking. Matt and I had one of our beloved “do nothing weekends” this past weekend, and all of last week we discussed what house project we wanted to tackle while we had the sched wide open. It was a battle between tackling an upstairs bedroom with new baseboard trim, fresh paint on walls/trim or some much needed garden projects in the backyard/sideyard.

#Painting #To-Do #Before & After #Home Improvement

Stairway to Heaven or Stairway to Hell?

April 23, 2012

Growing up, the staircase in my house was awesome. How can a staircase be awesome, you ask? Memories. It was a simple fold back design (up a small flight, two landings, and up another small flight in the opposite direction) but it was so much more than a staircase. My sisters and I would learn to crawl up those stairs, then toddle, then walk, and eventually take them 3 at a time.

#Home Improvement #Before & After

Stormy Switcheroo

May 15, 2012

I’m not going to do a big foreword on this post. You’re welcome! ;) I’m just going to tell you that we replaced the back storm door and it was a top priority of ours… I think you’re all bright enough to see why… Refer to the picture below for hints… Wow, right? So gross. I haaaate that door. Once we had a nice day late last fall and a couple of hours free, we went at it.

#Home Improvement #Backyard Livin' #Before & After

The power of ______!

August 21, 2012

First and foremost, let’s get you some music to listen to while you peruse this post… Okay… that’s better. The power of love paint is incredible. Incredible! So is Huey Lewis, while we’re on the subject. But where was I? Paint. Right. For a small put out, you can transform absolutely _anything _with paint. In this case, I transformed my the gray, dreary baseboard radiators in my living room (that I’ve been living with for nearly 3 years, mind you) into crisp, white heaven.

#Before & After #Painting #Home Improvement

Upgrading Kitchen Cabinet Trim

March 13, 2014

Hey look! It’s a post about something other than the nursery! You’re welcome. I’m the one having this baby, and even I’m sick of the nursery posts. So let’s take a break and talk about how we neglected the trim above our kitchen cabinets for ohhhh… nine months. Matt and I (mostly Matt - I played cheerleader and tool-gatherer) made progress this weekend, but first, let’s take a little picture tour of how we got to where we were desperately needing new trim above the kitchen cabinets…

#Woodworking #Before & After #Home Improvement #DIY