The Writing on the Wall

When Justin's mom and sister moved into a new house, it was their daily routine to say to each other "Hey...guess what?...we live here!"  Although we haven't made it a daily routine here, we do find ourselves saying it every so often.  On several occasions when making big house changes, we've had to pinch ourselves and realize that not only do we live here, but we're the adults in charge of doing what we want!

Here's one house change that made us giggle about being grown-ups:

Yep, that's right, we're writing on the walls.  The paneling in the kitchen is dark and ugly.  We can't wait until we take it out this summer.  But, we also realized that we want to spend our first year of marriage doing some things that don't involve a paintbrush or hammer.

Some people have a "bucket list" of things they want to do before they kick the metaphorical bucket.  We have a "panel" list of things we want to do before the paneling is removed.

For example, go to Corks and More (a local wine restaurant) - CHECK!, play frisbee in a nearby park (CHECK!), try cross-country skiing (CHECK!), and visit Scranton, the home of our favorite show The Office (upcoming....?)

We have to thank my sister, Maura, for her spring break artwork on the wall.  She got a little excited with having the permission to take Sharpies to the wall, and we ended up with a "Maura was here" on the (not yet finished) ceiling, as well as a little drawn spider (also on the ceiling).  It makes me smile that she colored outside the "lines," and it's a good reminder of what this project is all about ~ having fun!

The panel list has been quite the conversation piece when we have people over for dinner.  Don't you think it adds an element of class to fancy dinners, such as Easter?

Justin & his mom, Easter 2011

And, not to worry, in addition to checking things off our panel list, we are most definitely taking the time to enjoy life and this special first year of marriage.  Case in point: our decorated Easter eggs!

Anybody have any fun suggestions to write on the wall?  We're game for fun things....but not too many, as we want to finish them all before we renovate in here ~ and I'm pretty excited for renovation day!

The Den, Done

Yikes!  When I said yesterday that I was really far behind on updating, I hadn't even realized how far behind!

The last you saw the den, it looked like this:

As you probably recall, the den was the temporary master bedroom while the master bedroom looked like this:

And, of course, while the bed was in the den, the desk was in the kitchen:

A certain someone in our house is extremely happy to now have his official den:

While I've dreamed and schemed on every possible home renovation project, decoration project, etc., Justin's dream has been pretty stead-fast.  Aside from wanting a safe, comfortable home, the recurring theme has been a DEN.  His dream grew from seeing his late Pop-Pop's den, and hearing of its magnitude of importance in family life (all big decisions were approved or denied amidst a cloud of pipe smoke in Pop-Pop's den).  Although Justin isn't giving any daughters' hands in marriage (for many years, anyway) and isn't doing any pipe smoking, it's his space to focus on work.  The most special part of the den is that Pop-Pop's crucifix now hangs above Justin's desk.

Here's the rest of the den, as it looks today (and some before shots for comparison!)

The last pictures are the best representation (on my computer, anyway) of the actual before and after colors.

Although the den, like the living room, is in need of some additional decor, I've already added a few little touches.

Kudos to my mom for both the "joyful home" cross-stitch, and the monogram G.  I found the wooden G at a craft store, and she sprayed it for me using some textured spray paint leftover from painting the flower holders from our wedding.  A (faux) stone letter is surely manly enough decor for the infamous den!

It's easy being green

In the past few days, I've gotten several hints (some subtle, many not) that a post was long overdue.  I also realized that the blog is probably 3 months behind the house in terms of actual improvements.  There are lots of "done" things that haven't been photographed, uploaded, narrated, and posted.  In an effort to catch up, here's a post I wrote several weeks ago.  I didn't take the final pictures until tonight.  Hopefully this update will tide you over until I finish my secret sewing room project I hinted about here.

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Kermit may disagree, but I'd say it's easy being green.  At least, it's much easier on my eyes, now that the living room walls are green.

As much fun as mauve walls coated with 20+ years of cigarette smoke can be..

....I'd say a nice fresh coat of green is much nicer!

Thanks to Maura's spring break project, the beadboard was already painted, so it just took me a Saturday afternoon to paint the top half of the room.  This was my first experience with flat paint.  Typically, I choose eggshell for a little extra sheen, and a little protection from smudges.  However, due to the sheen, eggshell also shows some of the imperfections of the walls.

Given that the walls of the living room have the topology of a mountainous region, less sheen was definitely a perk.  We could get away with the risk of smudging, because honestly it will be a bit of a challenge (yet a challenge I imagine we'll somehow accomplish) to smudge the wall four feet off the ground.  The flat paint was easy to paint with, and the difference in covering imperfections really is incredible.  I am pleasantly surprised at marks that were highly evident pre-paint are now nearly invisible from a distance.

So, a few lessons learned from this project:  1) flat paint is great for covering imperfections in the wall, 2) if you're going to spackle nail holes, do it less than 6 months in advance, because you'll probably grow even more tired of smoky mauve walls if they have white splotches, 3) same goes for paint you scratch off the trim, 4) getting your sister to paint half of the room while on spring break is an excellent idea!

In addition to the new paint, we also bought a couch (hooray!).  In a nerve-wracking, semi-crazy move, I purchased it online, having never seen it or sat on it.  However, the measurements were perfect for the space, and it has a fold-out bed, which was a near-necessity since our guest room only sleeps one.  It turns out that the couch is both comfortable and looks good.  Since it wasn't a bought-online nightmare, I can now brag that I got it for more than 50% off through a combination of sales and coupons!  Woo!

The striped pillows came with the couch, and while they match decently, you know I'm itching to make some more!

We (here the royal we...really, just Justin) installed some beautiful dark wood blinds in the living room and den.

That table was a gift from some dear family friends.  They rescued an antique sewing machine treadle and a tabletop and made that especially for us!  :)

A few other remaining projects in the living room include installing ceiling tiles (the peeling ceiling paint is far beyond repair) and painting the front door.

But while many little projects remain, there is definitely progress around here!

Just a tease...

Well folks, I once again have gone blog-MIA for over a week.  This time, I blame it on the fact that I keep thinking I'm allllmooost ready to post about my latest project....and then things take 10 times longer than planned.  My perfectionist self wants to wait until it's all ready, because I think this one is going to be a pretty good before and after!

I'll give you a little hint about the project:

Stay tuned!  :)

A day well spent

Three cheers for parents who teach their kids that the best type of day is one spent working really hard and getting dirty.  And an additional three cheers for parents who inspire you to change this:

into this:

(and no, I don't just mean the presto-chango addition of a Honda Civic!)

So yes, if you're counting, my parents get 6 cheers for doing both.  And, really, they deserve an extra 100 cheers for everything else they did during their great weekend visit (and, not to mention, raising me....which I think they did pretty well, if I say so myself!)

But let's get back to the garden changes they inspired this weekend.  It's no secret that while we've worked really hard all winter on the interior of the house, the exterior leaves a lot to be desired.  And while we certainly can't tackle everything at once, my landscape consultant/mother helped me realize that this area by the front porch was a good place to start.

One of the bushes in the hedge row had died, leaving an awkward space.  And, the one lonely bush close to the porch does not have a parallel on the other side of the sidewalk.  So it made sense to take out that bush and create a walkway.  This not only looks better, but saves us from taking the groceries and other things out and around the front sidewalk.

So after digging out the extra bush, I pulled a bunch of weeds and evened out the soil.  Then I created the pathway using stones Justin had previously dug out of the back yard (it was a path to nowhere).  I planted a bleeding heart bush and some pansies, then mulched it over with the free mulch available to Ithaca city residents.

Enjoy the following picture, courtesy of my husband (for both telling me I needed to climb the mulch pile, as well as snapping the shot).

My front yard work wasn't the only gardening this weekend!  Justin and my dad dug the vegetable garden on Saturday.

I particularly enjoyed my dad's island strategy as he dug:

Although they're wearing shorts, we'll probably be back to winter coats before we're actually able to plant in the garden.  Our seeds are cozy inside for the time being

And even if it's not permanently gardening-weather yet, it sure was nice to get to spend a day outside getting dirty!  Anyone else with dirt under their fingernails tonight?

Sewing room progress

Tonight, I spent a fabulous evening in my cozy sewing room.  While hubby did this:

I made this:

Having a cozy chair like Lilly ended up being a great idea.  Even if it did mean I was listening to a sniper movie while I crafted, it was awfully nice just to have Justin close by (can you tell I'm still getting over two long years of a long-distance relationship?!)

Anyway, I have been wanting to make a wreath like this for a while.  I wrapped a straw wreath with yarn, and made some felt flowers

With the ideas from a few tutorials like this and this and this, the flowers were actually very easy - and lots and lots of fun.  I enjoy projects that can be completed in one sitting.  Come to think of it, given our recent renovations, I enjoy projects that can be done sitting down, period!  And these little flowers sure make me smile!

I hung the wreath on the door to the closet here in the sewing room.  It's one more little step towards having the room decorated.

Notice also my fabulous new night stand, which I found at TJ Maxx:

Yes, the book on the night stand is "Everything I Know I Learned from Home Improvement: The Do-It-Yourselfer's Guide to Life."  The drawings are super sweet, as are the sentiments.

With this week's updates, the guest room side of the guest room/sewing room is starting to take shape:

I'm going to work on making an upholstered headboard for the bed, adding a dust ruffle, figuring out a way to disguise that ugly brown lamp cord, and making some pretty pillows. 

So although that corner of the room is taking shape, obviously there's a little more work to be done here:

Right now, this is the dumping ground/storage area for everything craft-related and otherwise homeless items.  I dream of a long dresser something like this:

Image from Pottery Barn Teen

But since I do not dream of that price tag, I'm waiting for something similar to pop up on craigslist.  I found a nice brown one today, and I'm hoping to hear back from the seller that it's still available.  Although I'd probably paint it, the $50 price tag sure beats the $899 (plus shipping) price of the one above!

I am also scheming about how I can decorate the corner that my sewing machine calls home:

I'm thinking some shelves (for decorative storage of things like thread, buttons, etc), as well as a bulletin board.  Also, some obvious clutter control!

I'm debating whether to use this fabric my sister helped me choose for curtains (as intended) or for the cover to the bulletin board. 

I'm leaning towards a bulletin board cover, because I have a few other thoughts in mind for curtains...

so stay tuned for that decision and more!  And, in the meantime, please schedule some time to come stay in our guest room!  We love having company :)

Oops, I did it again.

My sincere apologies to anyone who's singing Britney Spears after reading the post title.  Literally, I have only met one person in my life who like Britney (but his middle school appreciation for her was enough to make up for everyone I've met who doesn't share that view).

But anyway, in all seriousness - Oops, I did it again.  I got carried away with house projects and totally forgot to update the blog at all.  In fact, even I was shocked when I went to the blog homepage and saw the bedroom curtains.  I mean, that's OLD news!

Since then, we've got rooms of new colors, a finished upstairs bathroom, and grown-up furnishings (i.e., a couch, not a bed pushed against a wall; a bed on a bed frame, not sitting on the floor; a guest night stand; two sweet little lamps; and an ottoman for my new chair Lilly).  We've also finished countless little tasks, like installing the covers over the light switches upstairs.  Man, is it nice to walk into a dark room and turn on the light without fear of accidentally hitting the wires and frying yourself.  It's also very nice to shower upstairs and not make a late-night or early-morning trek up and downstairs in a towel.  Also, to own a couch.  Also, to have 90% of our construction tools stored in the basement (vs. the 1st and 2nd floors!)

Yeah, so although we've been busy beavers getting projects done, perhaps the real reason that I've been delinquent on blog posts is tat I've been too busy enjoying living here.  I've realized recently that this is the first time in my life that I'm simply living.  In the moment, enjoying each day.  Every other period of my life seemed to have a deadline - high school preparation for college, college preparation for a job, my Harrisburg job preparing for a wedding and a move.  Not to say that I didn't have good times during each of those previous stages.  Or to say that I'll be a newly-wed in a slowly-coming-together old house forever.  But for this moment, I'm loving this life.  For the first time, I feel like I'm living my life, not just waiting for it to start.  What a fabulous feeling...and one I hope each of you reading can also say you share!

Sorry for the picture-less post.  I'll work on getting some meaty updates posted soon.  But I can't promise I won't stop and smell the roses (or the tiny little unknown bulbs sprouting by our driveway) before then :)