Monday, March 18, 2013

Setting Goals

We have been LOVING the changes we made in the living room!!


It was a simple change but our living room definitely feels more cozy and deliberate. I know deliberate may seem like an odd word choice but it is the most accurate one I can think of and it actually inspired this blog post.

It has been all too easy for the 15 months that we have lived in this house to live with everything where it got thrown when we moved in. We had to make quick choices while the movers were here and things have just stayed that way. I think that our frequent moves since we have been married is partially to blame for that mindset. But it is time to change that.We aren't going anywhere for a while and we have a lot of people who still haven't seen our house- one of them being my MIL who will be coming to visit in June. Trust me she puts no pressure on us to have the perfect place for her to stay but we want to give her a nice place! So I am going to be setting weekly goals for myself of things to accomplish so that MAYBE by the end of June this house will be at least a fraction of what we dreamed it could be when we bought it.

This week's goals are to finish painting the living room and the new-to-us dining room table. I also need to get the old table and chairs on Craiglist. That may not seem like a long list and even to me it's not- but getting that done while wrangling my three little angels makes that list a realistic and not over-ambitious one. If I am kicking out more projects it is more I can share with you- Right?

1st Misson is to finish painting the dining room table.



Off to do that now!!!! Wait until you see it! It's looking awesome!

~R

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Birthdays, Haircuts, Painting and Musical Furniture

I didn't realize how long it has been since I posted! Yikes! We have been super busy. There was a certain little girl who turned 4.


I did a big post for her 3rd birthday last year and it's crazy how fast this year has gone by and how much she has grown up. She also had her first parent teacher conference since my last post. She is doing really well and the teacher's only complaint is that she talks too much when she is supposed to be listening. The girl does  LOVE to talk! We have seen HUGE strides in her development since she started school and she only goes 2 days a week. We are very pleased at how this year has been going! Next year she will go 3 days a week. My little girl is growing up!

Most of you probably already saw that I also decided to donate my hair again (for the 5th time) which resulted in 9 inches getting cut off.


I had forgotten how much adjustment time I need to get used to my hair being so short. Luckily it grows fast and I should be able to put it in a ponytail again soon!

I started painting the living room. Finally!- I know I am Sloooow. I am only half way done but painting was put on hold to play musical furniture which will actually make it easier to finish painting. I also found the *perfect* TV stand for the living room. Aleena and I took a drive up to a used furniture store in Kutztown to look around just see what they had. Well they had this...


That has a lovely marble top.


And it was only $45. Crazy right?

Normally an Eastlake dresser like this one is something I would love to strip and show the original wood. Especially since someone took some orange stain to this one and left it on there to dry without wiping it off. But there were too many spots like these.




So I went against every instinct I had and painted it.



Yes there is a pull missing. I found the back plate and the handle for it in one of the drawers but I have to find two of the parts that are bolts but also hold the handle. Anyone know what they are called? I also cleaned up the marble by using a baking soda and water paste. I covered the top with the paste and let it dry and then wiped it off with a damp rag. I didn't take pictures because I had no idea what a difference it would make. I was just trying to see if I could get some of the stains out. After we played some musical furniture today this is where we are.


 Since we just moved everything this morning I haven't finished reloading the bookshelves. The two bookshelves and the dresser JUST fit. I mean just barely. I totally lucked out because I didn't measure I only guessed.  Here is the before picture of that corner.


The small bookshelf/TV stand you see in this picture moved up to Aleena's room and the taller one that was up there came down to flank the TV. Aleena told me that it was the best surprise ever- because now she can reach to turn her lamp on by herself. She is so stinkin' sweet. The other bookshelf was the one in this corner.


 We have a plan for this corner and it's something we will have to build. I will let you know how that goes! Back to the bottom right of this picture. See all those wires at the bottom of the shelf?


 All those wires that were all over the place before, are now all tucked away behind everything. Well except for this.


I now wish I had more of an opinion when they installed it. But at least it doesn't stick out too far. Also now we don't have the love seat sticking out into the room. The room feels so much bigger and we have a ton more storage! So I promise we are making progress! Slow progress but I am feeling good about everything so far and so is the Hubs which I think is the most important thing of all!