Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Monday, March 29, 2010
Improvements
Do you remember this post? If you don't, read and then come back :) In February, (before we thought we would be selling the house) Steve decided we should scrape the popcorn off our ceiling. We had originally planned to use beadboard but a month later we discovered that the beadboard pieces came in dimensions that wouldn't fit our bathroom ceiling and we would have ended up with a bunch of seams. (I think that's why beadboard is primarily meant for walls) Anyway, a month later, we decide to put the house up for sale but the ceiling still needed to be dealt with. Our realtor advised us it was an easy fix but to leave it and we could sell "as is". I asked if there was anything I could do to try to fix it. He said to smooth over rough seams by using cement compound, letting it dry, then sanding it down so that it would be close to smooth. After that, get the brightest white flat ceiling paint I could find and paint. Well, I have to say I was very pleased with the results. The only regret I have is that we didn't do it sooner.
That same regret would be for the kitchen floor as well. If you've ever been to our house, our kitchen floor is not to be forgotten. Not "because it's so beautiful you can't help but remember it" kind of not forgotten. It's the "wow, do you realize that your kitchen floor is hideous?!" kind of not forgotten. It was on my list of the top 3 things I HAD to change immediately once we first moved in. Did I mention that was almost 4 years ago? Ehhhhh. Well, time slipped away and I think we learned to ignore the disgusting sticky tiles that were probably at least 10+ years old, which had slipped apart and the cracks were now filled with mysterious who knows what. So, after meeting with our realtor to see what had to be done to sell, we decided more sticky tile was the solution. Yes, I thought it was crazy at first too. But we got 18" tiles to cover the 12" tiles that were previously there. My sweet husband spent one ENTIRE weekend recovering the floor. It wouldn't seem like it would be much work but sticky tiles are very thick and very difficult to cut, especially around rounded edges and doorways. And he did a marv job.
We've been on the market for almost 2 weeks and we've only had one showing. We're praying and waiting and praying and praying and praying and waiting and getting impatient and praying some more. We don't know what God is doing but we're anxious to find out!
This is a before picture of the vanity in the upstairs bathroom, identical to the one in the Master bath
Purple prime
One door down, one to go
After popcorn but before paint. And one icky 80's light fixture
Completed ceiling!!
Completed vanity
New and improved Master bath
Oh hello there, most hideous floor in the world!
Steve in the midst of the mess
I've always thought it'd be convenient to have the stove next to the fridge, right?
Our kitchen was a wreck; no where to eat and no stove to cook it on. So we got Chinese take out and had a picnic in the living room.
Do you see why we couldn't cook or eat in there? Or maybe I just like Chinese take out.
New floor!!
My cozy "new" kitchen
That same regret would be for the kitchen floor as well. If you've ever been to our house, our kitchen floor is not to be forgotten. Not "because it's so beautiful you can't help but remember it" kind of not forgotten. It's the "wow, do you realize that your kitchen floor is hideous?!" kind of not forgotten. It was on my list of the top 3 things I HAD to change immediately once we first moved in. Did I mention that was almost 4 years ago? Ehhhhh. Well, time slipped away and I think we learned to ignore the disgusting sticky tiles that were probably at least 10+ years old, which had slipped apart and the cracks were now filled with mysterious who knows what. So, after meeting with our realtor to see what had to be done to sell, we decided more sticky tile was the solution. Yes, I thought it was crazy at first too. But we got 18" tiles to cover the 12" tiles that were previously there. My sweet husband spent one ENTIRE weekend recovering the floor. It wouldn't seem like it would be much work but sticky tiles are very thick and very difficult to cut, especially around rounded edges and doorways. And he did a marv job.
We've been on the market for almost 2 weeks and we've only had one showing. We're praying and waiting and praying and praying and praying and waiting and getting impatient and praying some more. We don't know what God is doing but we're anxious to find out!
This is a before picture of the vanity in the upstairs bathroom, identical to the one in the Master bath
Purple prime
One door down, one to go
After popcorn but before paint. And one icky 80's light fixture
Completed ceiling!!
Completed vanity
New and improved Master bath
Oh hello there, most hideous floor in the world!
Steve in the midst of the mess
I've always thought it'd be convenient to have the stove next to the fridge, right?
Our kitchen was a wreck; no where to eat and no stove to cook it on. So we got Chinese take out and had a picnic in the living room.
Do you see why we couldn't cook or eat in there? Or maybe I just like Chinese take out.
New floor!!
My cozy "new" kitchenTuesday, March 23, 2010
Packin 'er up!
As most of you know, we put our house on the market one week ago tomorrow. We thought it would be a piece of cake; pack a couple boxes, clean up a bit and we should be good. Ummmmmmm no. That's not exactly how it went. Two weeks ago, we met with our realtor about what needed to be done before putting the house up. He told us that we didn't have to have all the projects completed to have the house listed, but to do what we could and continue with the projects after the house was officially for sale. That was two Wednesdays ago. He came back the following Tuesday to have us sign the contract and we were well on our way with getting many of the things checked off our To-Do list, which of course included much more than packing "a couple boxes and cleaning up a bit". I've pretty much painted at least one area or touched something up in all of the rooms in the house. Steve's laid flooring, (will post pictures soon) installed new lights in the bathrooms, cleared out the stumps in the backyard and put new flower beds and mulch in the front to name a few. I ended up painting over our bathroom ceiling instead of doing the beadboard. (much easier, faster and cheaper) And we packed, packed and packed some more. I decluttered SO MUCH STUFF! We got a 5'x10' storage unit and packed it to the ceiling! We definitely didn't know we had so much stuff!! We talked a few days after loading the storage unit and besides knowing that our loveseat and oversized chair and ottoman were in there, we really couldn't remember what else was in there! Which got us to thinking, maybe we don't need that stuff at all! So we're contemplating having a yard sale when we end up where we're going to end up.
We are planning on staying in Charlotte, maybe more North, but hopefully closer to the church. We do have our eye on one specific house but have been given wise counsel to not look at it until our house is under contract so we don't fall in love with it. But that's too late. I already love it. So now we wait. And we pray. And we seek the Lord and trust that His will would be done, no matter the outcome. He knows our needs and knows the desires of our hearts and we will wait for His perfect timing. (please feel free to repeat these words back to me if I begin to get anxious or worried about the situation) We are excited for the future and whatever it will hold. We are full of faith and can't wait to see what the Lord will do!
Here's one of probably six piles that we brought to the storage unit
We are planning on staying in Charlotte, maybe more North, but hopefully closer to the church. We do have our eye on one specific house but have been given wise counsel to not look at it until our house is under contract so we don't fall in love with it. But that's too late. I already love it. So now we wait. And we pray. And we seek the Lord and trust that His will would be done, no matter the outcome. He knows our needs and knows the desires of our hearts and we will wait for His perfect timing. (please feel free to repeat these words back to me if I begin to get anxious or worried about the situation) We are excited for the future and whatever it will hold. We are full of faith and can't wait to see what the Lord will do!
Here's one of probably six piles that we brought to the storage unit
Pretty full!
All packed up! I have such a HANDSOME family!!Thursday, March 4, 2010
Cutest stool on the block
I undertook another new project today, that's 2 this week!! I'm on a roll! Once again, I "stole" my idea from the lovely ladies at Prudent Baby. Audrey has yet to try it out, but I think she's going to brush her teeth extra long tomorrow :)
The stool was a Goodwill find (of course). I got it a few months ago for $.99! And I forgot to take a "before" picture (how dare I!) It was black with random drips of white with scratches all over. Do your best to imagine a not so cute but full of potential little stool.
I took it outside to spray paint it with Ballet Slipper
After a few coats of paint, I brought it in and sanded it to distress it a bit
I put a coat of Mod Podge down
Then went down a cut piece of scrapbook paper and about 5 more layers of Mod Podge and tada!
Hope it withstands (pun intended:) many a tooth brushing
This one's a continuation from the previous post. Audrey sporting her new hair clip.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Calling all girlie girls
I found a fabulously cute project to undertake while Audrey was napping today. Actually, I have a final product and she's only been sleeping for 45 minutes!! I've been finding myself on the Prudent Baby blog quite often lately and have so many projects that I want to do in the very near future! And today I decided to make THIS. She gives such easy step by step directions!
I took a trip to Hobby Lobby this morning and got all the supplies for less than $8. Instead of buying a whole yard of fabric, I looked near the fabric where they have remnants. I got 5 different fabrics, about 2 feet each, ranging from $.49-$1. The button cover kit was the most expensive at $2.29 but it makes 6 buttons. Ribbon was $1 and I got a bag of 25 alligator clips for $4. (And I have enough fabric, ribbon and clips to make tons more or use for other projects!) I think it turned out pretty cute, don't you?! Oh and just so you know, the clip isn't for me, it's for Audrey. Remember, she's napping? :)
I took a trip to Hobby Lobby this morning and got all the supplies for less than $8. Instead of buying a whole yard of fabric, I looked near the fabric where they have remnants. I got 5 different fabrics, about 2 feet each, ranging from $.49-$1. The button cover kit was the most expensive at $2.29 but it makes 6 buttons. Ribbon was $1 and I got a bag of 25 alligator clips for $4. (And I have enough fabric, ribbon and clips to make tons more or use for other projects!) I think it turned out pretty cute, don't you?! Oh and just so you know, the clip isn't for me, it's for Audrey. Remember, she's napping? :)
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