Houston, We Have a Wedding Date!

Hey All!

Oh my goodness--what a whirlwind this week has been!  We've been kind of thinking about wedding planning, and we've discussed lots of options.  I think that any of you who know me already know--this sort of thing is just not my strong spot!

Need someone to refinish your hardwood floors?  Me.  Need someone to paint, strip, polish, literally anything you own? Me.  Need someone to bake you some alright chocolate chip cookies?  Me. Need someone to plan a huge event for you?....not me.  I just can't be bothered or trusted with things like balloons, and linens, and centerpieces.  It's not that I don't care, it's that I just really don't feel confident about making these kinds of decisions.  And who wants to devote so much time and energy to something they don't feel confident about?!

Well, the good news is, things have come together pretty quickly!  This week, we picked a wedding venue/date, and reception venue/date.  Plus food.  Plus colors.  And Saturday I'm going wedding dress shopping with the moms!  Boom.  I even reserved a block of hotel rooms for the reception.

But even as I write this, I'm starting to build a mental list of all of the things that still need to be done. Ugh.

• Invitations (wedding / reception)
• Photographer (engagement shots / wedding / reception)
• DJ (reception)
• Honeymoon
• Make appointment for hair/makeup
• Centerpieces (ugh)
• Order Pies
• Who knows what else! 

This is clearly going to take more than a week to plan....but we'll get there.  We have time!  I think my real concern is, what do I not even know that I'm not thinking about?  Only time will tell! For now, I'm going to go drop off my check to reserve the chapel.  That'll make me feel accomplished for the day! 

K

You know what they say....While the cat's away

Hey All, 

This week, Kurt is in China for work.  So, I got the crazy idea into my head that I should try to do all of the projects around the house that he either didn't really feel like doing, or wouldn't really enjoy doing.  There are still plenty of things to do, but some things, he'd enjoy less than others.  And I figured that the least I could do is knock out a couple of them while he was gone. 

These projects included: 

•  Digging all the rocks out of the flower bed between the front steps and driveway. 
• This ended up being an alright job.  The weather this weekend was lovely, and it only took me like two hours.  In my defense, the flower bed is about 6' by 2' and the rocks were six inches deep.  Plus, I'm super out of shape. 

• Digging out the random post in the back yard. 
• We'll call this partially done. The cement footer goes down about four feet.  So I dug it out enough that I can wiggle it, but the cement is waaaaay to heavy for me to be able to pull it out. I'm assuming it'll take a skid loader or something crazy. 
• Side note--why did Kurt get out of all the digging?!

• Cutting the second box spring in half. 
• I moved it upstairs, and tonight I'm planning on splicing it back together and building the bed!  Woo!  The cats will be so pleased. 

• Painting the front door. 
• We know the door should be replaced, but I just wanted to give it a little face lift.  Or maybe I just needed a more light weight project after all the heavy lifting?
• I'm also in the process of painting our (my soon to be) initial, and our house number on the glass. 

I just felt like it needed some color.  This was my Menards impulse purchase.  I feel pretty good about it! 

I'm going for something like this on the glass, but we'll see...

• Replacing the half bathroom floor.  
• I got the sheet vinyl cut down, but my wedge for the doorway is a little too tall.  By the time I realized it, it was too late to take it outside to saw.  Maybe tonight, but probably tomorrow. #letsbereal

• Laundry.  
• We let it pile up way to high, and I've done four loads this week.  We're only two people--how did this happen?!

When I write it all out, it feels like I've gotten quite a bit done!  And to think, the week is only half over!  The cats were terrible the first few days, but more calm last night.  I know they miss Kurt (and so do I), but I really hope they get over it tonight.  Last night, Mickey insisted on sleeping on neck.  Then he bit my nose when I rolled over in my sleep.  Someone is a reallllll daddy's boy.  

I was hoping to get around to replacing the light in the hallway by the half bath, but decided that maybe I shouldn't stand on a ladder and do electrical work while I'm home alone.  Safety first.  Plus, I'm secretly hoping that someone taller than me will do this job.  I have to stand on the second highest ladder step, and it makes me so nervous...maybe I'll go on a trip for work, and Kurt can do this job while I'm gone?  :D 

While I'm working, I've been listening to old, old country at full volume.  Being alone for a week isn't terrible, but I'll be very happy to see Kurt when he gets home in a few days! 

K

Ernest Tubb - Drivin' Nails in my Coffin

Laundry Room Catch Up!

Two updates in one day?!  This never happens!  But it was a big week at our house!

This week, Kurt surprised me by finishing up mitering the trim pieces for our jumbo laundry room peg board.

Here's a quick recap of that whole process....

First of all, I may have been a little....overly confident about what would fit in the Fit.  And poor Kurt had to come out to Lowes at 9pm to help me tie the piece of pegboard to my car.  Oops.  At least it wasn't snowing too hard, yet?

The big piece is 4 feet by 6 feet.  Scotch was very curious about it. 

We decided to hang it vertically in an attempt to hide some of the places where the plaster looked really lumpy and weird.
We just used a pair of firr-ing strips, and a dozen drywall screws.  It felt surprisingly sturdy!  I think that I could have hung off of one of the strips, and it would've been safe, well, minus my poor grip strength. 

And here's the final product!  Kurt ordered three different sets of pegboard accessories.  I spent literally hours trying to decide how to make everything fit.  I couldn't believe how much stuff we were able to fit on here! By the time it was all loaded up, I'd pretty much emptied the bar full of tools, and the Ikea shelf that we bought a few months ago.

As an added benefit, the last three times I wanted a tape measure--I knew exactly where it was!  This was one of those projects that was cheap, easy, and made a HUGE impact.  I'm already thinking about where else in the house I can hang another pegboard.  I'm thinking closet storage for jewelry, bras, and planning outfits for the week?  The possibilities are endless!

K

Big News!

Hello All!

At this point, I think that most all of you have heard the big news..but for any of you who haven't heard...WE'RE ENGAGED!  

I'll just start with the pictures.  I know that's what you really want lol   On Thursday night, Kurt proposed.  When he was "traveling for business" a few weeks ago, apparently that meant flying to Nashville for a secret trip to Third Man Records, to record a record of him proposing to me.  Come on--if that doesn't tell you he's perfect for me, I don't know what will!  Insert blushing smiley face here.  Talk about a happy Groundhog Day!

We are super excited, but we're not quite ready to start wedding planning yet. Well, maybe we're just not ready to start sharing wedding plans with the world yet.  Don't worry--it'll happen--this year even!  But if anyone else asks me when we're having babies, well, just don't.  That's not happening yet.  #sorrynotsorry #stopasking   We're excited, but first things first!


K

I Got You Babe - Sony & Cher

So I had a kind of crazy idea...

Hey All,

Well, in case you all didn't already know it, it's important to start this off by stating: Kurt is a saint for dealing with me.  There's really no denying his saintliness...sainthood...sainthood?  Surely you know what I mean! Now here's why:

I've been looking at wallpaper again.  That's right--I heard you groan from here!   I've been looking at wallpaper, and suddenly an idea came to me.  And I thought to myself, "Self, what if you used wallpaper like artwork, instead of like, well, wallpaper."  Boom.  That totally changed my search criteria, and I was almost immediately able to pick a pattern!  Who the heck ever thought I'd be able to say that?!?!  So, here's the pattern that I love.  Every time I look at this, I love it even more!

http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/2856234-valiant-ogee-6in-rpt-by-wrapartist

So then the question becomes--where do you put it? Well, since we hung the pegboard in the laundry room, to hide the weird wall imperfections (pictures to come!), that room was out.  The wall space in the living room is pretty limited now that we hung up those sweet old 78's.  I thought about the bedroom, but this pattern doesn't really match...who else hates it when you have an idea that just wont work?

Well as I was sitting in my comfy chair at home, I started looking at the dining room walls.  I hadn't really considered them, because the rug in the record room is colorful--but maybe that means the dining room needs some color to balance it all out???   So I got out my painter's tape.



If a roll is 2' by 12', that means two to three 2x4 pieces....so here's what I'm thinking!

I started with just two rectangles on one wall, and then thought "what the hell ::shrugs::" and threw up another rectangle on the next wall.  

The more I look at this, the more excited I get!  SO, unless any of you have any extreme objections, or Kurt runs out of saintleness, I think I'm going to pull the trigger on a roll of this stuff this weekend!  What do you think?  Can I pull it off?  I can't help but dig the retro vibe of this wallpaper.  And the colors have totally grown on me.  If i paste the paper to the wall, and then put a simple white trim frame around the pieces, to make it look more finished?  I'm so pumped.  This is one of the first times I've felt confident with a design decision for the house!  Maybe black frames would pull in the table?  I think this is happening--this is finally really becoming our house, and I am really excited.

Happy weekend!  

K 

Where does the time go?!

Hey there everyone,

Does anyone else feel like time is flying by in 2017?  I can't believe it when I look at the calendar, and it's only the 17th.  It feels like it must be February already!   Maybe part of why I feel that way is because we're still so dang busy?  But, the good news is, it's all paying off.

Apart from a few small projects, and basic decorating, the downstairs is pretty much done.  Can you believe it?  Did you ever think this day would come?  Cause I certainly didn't!  It's pretty amazing how many things we've been able to cross off the list, and to see how few things are left.

Here's what's left downstairs:

> Replace the kitchen floor
> Reattach lazy susan door to cabinet frame
> Rehang laundry room door
> Hang pegboard in laundry room
> Replace the bathroom floor (already have all these supplies)
> Cut, paint, install quarter-round in all rooms


That's it!  I know, I know, that's still a fair amount of work, but it feels really manageable--especially when you consider where we started, and what we've been through!!  And I have to say, the progress that we've made looks so good!  You've already seen most of the progress, but here are a few final update photos of the living/dining rooms.

Looking into the dining room from the living/record/parlor

Dining room looking towards back hallway. (That cute bar is still filled with tools lol)

Dining room looking towards laundry room.
You  can see a little bit of the laundry room floor that Kurt updated--it looks so good!! 

Dining room looking into living room/record room/parlor. 

 So this weekend, we went out to my parents' house, and picked up this chaise lounge.  I've been looking for one, but couldn't find one, so mom said I could have hers.  She's had it for years, and was just sick of it.  I think she's crazy!  Plus, the cats are big fans of this chair--and that's a win in my book!  This is also the new rug I ordered a few weeks ago.  I was worried it might be too bright for the space, but since there's really not much color between the living and dining rooms, I think the space can take a bright rug!


We still have some tidying up to do around the house, but things are slowly making their way to their final homes.   Clearly, the walls still need some decoration/personalization, but those things will come in time...and when other people pick things out for me.  :)  You know I just don't find much joy in those sorts of things.

Until then, we're going to spend a little more time relaxing in the evenings, and keep chipping away at the remaining work.  Now that we both have chairs in the record room/parlor (I'm clearly not sure what to call this room lol), we can hang out, listen to music, and get some cat snuggles!  What could be better than that?!

K

Living Room Update

Hey there everyone!

Alright, things are finally starting to settle down, and we're starting to get into a routine!  In a weird way, being back to work is good, because it limits how much time we can spend working on stuff around the house...and after rushing to move, refinishing the floors, and the holiday, I feel really tired.

I think we're finally at a point where all the furniture has been put in place, and there shouldn't be any more heavy lifting! You have no idea what a relief that is.  Moving one or two things across the room isn't that bad...moving a whole house three times in one week is pretty terrible.

Anyway, we're settling in, and things are (for the most part) unpacked, and even put away (in some cases).  Apart from having one bedroom filled with stuff I don't know where to put, and one bedroom filled with suitcases full of clothes we haven't put away--this house looks like people actually live in it!

At this point, I'd say we're like, almost 90% done with painting---which is awesome!  The built ins in the living/dining room just need one coat of finishing paint, and then we're totally done painting those two rooms!  Holy hell, I can't believe how close we are!  So, with that in mind, I think it's time to do a quick flashback to just how bad these rooms looked when we started, ya know, so you can fully appreciate where we are today!

Ooooh that brown paint and blue carpet...is it just me, or does that feel like literally forever ago?! 

Ahh yes, the "blow my brains out red"--I forgot all about that (thankfully).

Check out how good the living room looks now!

A nice subdued paint color (that doesn't look like it's been secreted or extracted from a human body), all the trim and shelves have been stripped, and repainted with nice bright, clean white paint.  And best of all, the carpet is gone, and the floors look beautiful. Oh, and the light fixtures have all been updated to this decade.  

This doorway is white now, but even here, it looks waaaaay better than that brown and orange combo.  

Kurt has his jumbo chair set up under the reading lamp, and I'm officially in search of my own perfect chair.  For some reason, we've had the hardest time finding a chaise lounge for me.  I had no idea the were so hard to find?!  If anyone has any suggestions for where I can find one--I'm all ears!!

We've been spending a TON of time in this room, finishing up the trim painting, and listening to records.  It is SO nice to have a high quality record setup, and we are just SO please!  :D  Plus, it's incredibly nice to have all of our albums in one place, organized, and properly displayed.

I think a chair for me, and some curtains are the only things really left to find for this room.  I ordered a larger rug this morning, and it should be arriving shortly.  Once it's here, I think curtains will be the next order of business!  In the mean time, I think we'll be taking it a little bit easier, knowing that we have at least four rooms (almost five!) rooms that are totally done!  Now that I think about it, I need to take some final pictures of the long room, bedroom, and laundry room!  I didn't even realize how much progress we'd made! Now I definitely think we deserve a little break!

K


The Eagles - Take it Easy

Rolling Stones- Sympathy for the Devil Lyrics