Sunday, June 24, 2012

Finally, what you've been waiting for...

Can you believe that most people, including family, have not seen our house?  Well, I spent all weekend cleaning and working on the office.  Jonathan worked on the dining room.  So, I thought, it's as good of a time as any to post pics.  However, please keep in mind, this is NOT the finished product.  We still have a lot to get done, but until we have the money to do so, we've had to make it work with what we've got (and what's been given to us).  Also, because every wall in this house, except the living room, is white (blah), I had to do some instagramming to them.  The white walls do not provide awesome lighting.  We usually keep the lights off, and have soft lamps or natural light from all the windows.

Living Room

Living Room - Please ignore the curtain rod in the corner...oops. :)

Living Room
Office
My goal for this room was to have an inspirational, motivational place to relax, work, do homework, pray, etc.  The lights are on in these photos, and doesn't really show how I work in here.  Right now, lights are off, candles lit, lamp on.  Perfect.  By the way, in the picture below, the orange stuff on the couch is the curtain I am going to hang in there.  It's sheer, lightweight, and simple.  Oh, and the door in the corner has pictures hanging on it...it's a project I'm working on... :)
Office - a cozy place to sit and relax 

The photos are my favorite part of the room.  I will be adding more of mine and Jonathan's family soon.



Blurry, but photos of my grandmother and great grandparents.  The note is written by my grandmother...it reads, "Most of life's road blocks are man-made.  A good woman can find a way around them every time."  Inspiring?  Yes.
More old photos.  The oldest one I have right now is the picture of the baby.  That is my great grandfather!  Love this.

Dining Room
No picture of the table, but it's a simple, beautiful antique table that belonged to his great grandmother.  We also got the buffet and hutch from his grandmother.  I debating painting the buffet and the hutch.  We'll see what happens.

Bedroom #2
This will eventually be our guest bedroom, but since we have no furniture in here yet, we just call it "The Shoe Room."  Yes, you knew it would happen eventually...a room for nothing but shoes!  Well, we also use the closet and the weird storage unit thing for clothes and purses.  I'd like to tear that unit out, but I guess we'll keep it...at least for now. (Remember, we are only renting...)


Bathroom
Yes, it's the bathroom.
We switched out our contemporary shower curtain that we had in Austin.  It didn't really flow with the theme of the house.  Plus, it was dark, navy blue.  This white curtain really makes the bathroom seem bigger.  I was a little skeptical about the floral pattern at first, but I love it!  We kept the contemporary square, wooden hangers from the old curtain instead of the ugly flower ones that came with the curtain.  It really mixes our modern/country style well.  The curtain was a great Dollar Store find.

Thanks to my sister, Jennafer, for that jar!  She gave it to me for Christmas full of bath fizzers.  The fizzers are gone, and I loved it too much to throw it out.  I love this shelf from Target.  Also, we have no toilet paper roll holder.  There's not really room for one without it looking awkward, so we opted for a garage sale basket instead.


 Bedroom
Our goal in this room was for it to be relaxing, romantic, and spa like.  I love it.

We have 4 large windows that let in a lot of natural light. We love that, but the room gets hot and stays bright.  Jonathan sleeps during the day, so this just wouldn't work.  We got these navy blue Eclipse curtains that "block out 98% of light" and cool the room.  I wish they worked a little better, but they do work really well.
This is probably my favorite part of the room...the bedside table.  Those are vintage books I found at a garage sale (and my journal).  The plant is actually an outdoor plant I got a couple years ago from Kohl's for like $7...clearance!  The basket is another garage sale find.  I use it to hide my remotes, chap stick, and other misc. bedside items.

When the lights are off and that lamp is on, it is like a retreat...the lamps (one on dresser, one on nightstand), by the way, were $10/each at Walmart.  I love the look of them, and the lighting is soft, but bright enough to get stuff done.

Eventually, we will get a real bed with a headboard and frame that fits it and everything.  But, it works!
 One last weekend project:
This is the space above our washer and dryer...no doors on the cabinets leaves our junk out in the open.  Ugly, much?  So this is what I did...
Before.
After...bags are in the small basket, dog stuff in the larger basket.  I'd like them to both be the same size, but like I said...I didn't buy anything this weekend!  I'd also like a big green plant where those little planters are. 
But where did all my cleaning crap go?

We already kept the vacuum, broom, swiffer, Christmas stuff, tools, and other junk in this closet.  It only made sense to add this stuff too.  The spray bottles hung perfectly.  Everything that couldn't hang is on the shelf to the left.  I just threw the cleaning rags up there for easy access.  Shut the door and no one knows its there, but it's still just as convenient as having it out.
 So, we still need rugs and curtains and furniture, but all in all, I'm pretty satisfied.  I'll try to post a pic of the kitchen when I remember...oh and the outside of the house and the huge backyard. :)  Happy Sunday!




Thursday, June 7, 2012

What's this? A day off?

Note:  This is not a typical post.  This is mainly for those people who need an update on my life, not really my decor.  You're more than welcome to read, but warning:  it may bore you.  :)

So, I've been feeling like this blog is a neglected, abandoned child.  I believe you at least need an explanation.  I mentioned in the last post that I have been crazy busy.  Now, I'm crazy busy, and maybe a little bit crazy.  My kids in my class love that I said [one time] "Oh, my.  I must be going crazy."  So now, they feel the need to remind me of that fact every time I forget to give them a napkin or give them a hug before quiet time.

Anyway, we have done a little around the house...finally got those mini blinds hung!  Our bedroom finally feels like a relaxing, romantic bedroom rather than a curtainless dorm room with big post-its on the window (the old tenants had those sticky blinds...they really are just over-sized post-its).  No huge changes though.

We have also realized that being in the country and having wooden floors throughout requires us to sweep every week.  Woo! ...

I was going to post this amazing recipe last week.  I found it on Pinterest.  Lemon Chicken with red potatoes and green beans.  I was so excited about it...until we ate it.  Hmmm, not so much.  Not blog worthy.  Not really even plate worthy.

I'm geared up for Summer at work.  I've moved classrooms and have spent the majority of my time doing lesson plans and creating a creative, pretty environment.  I also got new students, who have been testing me without any hesitation.  I'm also preparing to teach Pre-K in the Fall!

I started my first college class in two years Monday night.  I'm very excited to be back in school and actually learning something I'll actually use!  No offense to my horrid Brit Lit teacher I had a few years ago.

So, yes, I've been keeping busy.  I'm also contemplating starting another blog about childcare and teaching related topics.  I would keep this blog, however, I do like doing a simple posts updating distant family and friends about our life.  This blog may become a "catch all" blog.  We will see where it takes me.  I kinda just go with the flow of things lately.  It's much more freeing.

Now, I will spend my Thursday off going through my DVR and maybe some grocery shopping.  Happy Thursday!