New Floors

Justin and I have been wanting our floors refinished for awhile. The goal was to get it done before this baby came. Originally we thought Justin would do them but time was running out and we had to hire it done (so glad we did). Sienna and I were shipped off to my mom's house for 3 nights and Justin, Conner, and Zoey lived out of our basement. The floors turned out beautiful. They are even darker than the pictures show them to be. It completely changed the look of our house but I love it!

Baby J 2's Room...beginning

I keep getting asked what Baby Girl's room looks like so I thought I'd post the start of it. We kept the paint that was in there cause I really like the colors. This past weekend we finalized the pictures. There's still a long list of things to get, but it's a start!

The changing table - needs some bins and the actual changing pad.

Dresser - I want a new lamp & clock/radio.

Bookcase - Needs the toys off the top and a few stuffed animals or decorations.

I think we're going to put her name over the crib, which no, we have yet to pick one. The list has started but it's a long process. :) 

Not pictured is the window next to the crib. It needs new blinds and curtains or a valence. I'm thinking yellow to match the crib skirt. That's it so far! All the important stuff is ready in case she makes a [very] early appearance.

Progress

Our whirlwind still hasn't died down yet but we're making some progress! Rick has been staying with us for the past week, so Justin and I were able to put some good effort into the deck while he watched Sienna. I am happy to say my part is done and it's all stained! The top part is also done and usable. I was even able to have my Mother's Day dinner on the deck which was delightful. Just gotta get those stairs done and we'll be good. So close!

Sienna & Rick

Ariana & Sienna even had their first picnic

Whirlwind

I feel like we have been running nonstop for the past couple weeks and I don't see it letting up until May is over. We've been trying so hard to get the deck done, yard ready for spring, gardens prepped, kitchen/sun room project finished. Combine that with being out of town last weekend and Justin leaving for Vegas, it's lead to many busy nights. The good news is progress has been made! Since we've had all this rain, it forced us to work on indoor projects. Remember this post? We stared working on the entryway to the sun room way back in March and it sat like that for a long long time. Finally a few weeks ago we finished up the kitchen side. (Don't look at it from the sun room yet, that's still in progress) At least the part that I see most of the time is done and looking great! Looks a lot different than it used to.

Despite the rain, the deck has made a lot of progress too. Justin got all the deck boards up and has been waiting for me to stain them so he can put the railing on. The view from here looks great!

Unfortunately I only got a little over half the deck stained before the rain started. Tarps had to be thrown over the boards to protect them. Seemed to have work. Now I just need another dry afternoon to finish the top. It can't rain every weekend right?

Early Spring Means...

...our garden is already producing! We had our first few asparagus popping up so we sampled them. Half were super tender and delicious. The other half were woody and stringy. No idea why that was. It didn't seem to matter the size. We'll have to see what the rest of the year brings.

...we got an early start on our deck! Since it's been so warm and the snow is gone, Justin's put in 3 good weekends on our deck. All of the framing is done. He started the stairs this weekend and hopes to have them and the decking done next weekend. Soooooo excited! I can't wait to have this done. And to have my husband back.

View from the patio underneath the sun room.

View from the back yard.

View of the stairs going up.

Cross it off the list!

Justin has been on a handyman kick lately. Thanks to pinterest (again), I saw this idea where you go around every room of the house and write down all the things you want to fix. Since our house is pretty new we don't have many items to fix. Instead it turned into a long list of projects for each room, some decorating and cleaning too. The list seems to have motivated both of us. Love checking stuff off! 

This weekend Justin put a back splash up in our basement bathroom. It's very pretty blue glass tiles. Looks great in the room and really finishes it off. 

He also started a much bigger project in our kitchen. This is how it used to look.

And this is how it looks right now. (Ignore my messy table) 

Definitely a work in progress! Every time I explained the project, people were having a hard time picturing it, so here it is.  First, he tore out the 2 windows and the sliding glass door. Then he put up drywall where the windows used to be. Once it's complete the drywall will be painted and the trim will go back up around the door frame. It really changes the look of both rooms by separating them more yet opens up the house. Hopefully it'll be done in a couple weeks!

Laundry Room

Remember that sink I was mentioning that got moved to the basement? Well, it finally got replaced this weekend and our laundry room is complete! 

New sink, cabinet, hardware, and counter top.

Semi-new bench and coat hooks.

Basement improvments

Ron, Justin and I (but mostly Ron) have been spending the past couple months making bookshelves for our basement. Justin got them installed over Christmas break. They look fabulous and complete the room!! Thanks so much to Ron!

It's been awhile since we've done any big home improvements worth mentioning. Over our break, Justin decided it was time to get some crossed off the to do list. The bookcases prompted a long chain of events in the basement, mostly with organizing. Our furnace room is also where our internet and phone come in. It used to look something like this.

But after some Justinizing it looks like this!

Notice the sink - it was just installed too. It used to be in our laundry room but sometime last summer Justin flipped our washer and dryer around and removed the sink. It's been sitting in our basement ever since. Feels good to finally get that done. Next up is finished the laundry room (it's still sinkless too). 

Patio & Deck...or lack thereof

The past couple months we've been doing some [de]construction on our house. The deck was starting to fall apart due to water issues in the ground - that are now fixed but too little too late. It was also too small so instead of fixing it we decided to tear it down and start over. 

In addition to a new deck, we also added a patio slab where a future screen in porch will go. 

Deck in process of the tear down. The goal is to get the deck down this fall and put a new one up in the spring.

One more to check off the list

I think we are finally done - for awhile at least. Hosting Thanksgiving gave Justin and I the motivation to finish the basement! We put the brick on the fireplace, got the doors and railings stained and hung.

Before


After


Before


After


I think the next big step is the bookcases next to the fireplace. And those we have to wait for Ron (dropping more hints hehe) Finally we can relax and enjoy.

Basement Updates

I haven't shown any updated pics of our basement lately. It's a bit ghetto at the moment but it's actually useable and starting to get there. I am very excited about it! Most recently I finished staining the trim and Justin got it all nailed up. Oh and we also bought the couch.



As you can see we have an awesome tv stand and end tables made up of tv trays. :) The next to do is putting the rock up for the fireplace. It's all sitting downstairs we just need some time to do it! Once the rock is up the tv will be mounted above the fireplace. Ron has promised to build us bookcases/cupboards that will go on either side of it. My to do is to get more picture frames for our collage and finish filling the frames we have. Plus staining the remaining door and railings. We are so close!

Carpet!!

Here's the latest pics from the carpet being installed last week. Justin got the bedroom all trimmed and ready to use. Right on time too as his dad came into town last night and got to be the first to test it out. Since the bedroom and bathroom are complete we can officially do the rest at our leisure. Woo hooo I get my husband back!!! Looks great too!

Decorations Done!

We finished the decorations in Baby Girl's room!! Still a few more thing to buy and a stool to recover but we're almost there. As you can see we have also finalized on the name. :)

Progress

The basement is coming along! Good thing since our Aug deadline is almost here. :) It won’t all be done by then, but at least the bedroom and bathroom will be. Justin had a very productive long weekend and finished the bathroom. Woo hooo!!

 

Few minor details like the door is missing, but that will come soon. He also put the trim on the stairs. Now we need some carpet! Hopefully in a couple weeks that will be installed.

Project Updates

The house projects are coming along! All the furniture is up in Baby Girl's room. Now I just need the finishing decorations. It's so darn cute. I just love it!

View from the door looking in - glider, bookcase, closet, & dresser


Crib and changer


Mom & Ron came over to help paint the basement. They did such a great job and got the first coat done on all of the rooms. A BIG thanks for all your help!






Justin's been working on getting the bathroom ready. Here's the tile in the bathroom shower.