Thursday, April 25, 2013

Settling in

{tulips from the new yard}

I realize it's been too long since a post. I don't post nearly as much as I'd like to, but I think the main issue is I have a hard time remembering to take pictures, during the day, when the kids are running around and life is crazy.  Also, life has been even more crazy than normal the past few weeks.

Over the past couple weeks I turned 30 (!!!), moved out of our beloved home of almost 6 years, and moved into the new house, our forever home.

Moving was one of the most stressful experiences of my life! I don't recommend it, unless you must, or found the house of your dreams. I have a lot of respect for people who have moved multiple times, especially if you have kids. My plan is to stay here til I die, or til I'm so senile, I won't know that I'm moving. By the way, we only moved 2 blocks away, probably making it the easiest move ever...and it was still crazy stressful. But in all seriousness, you don't realize how much (necessary) stuff you have, til you move.  I'm someone who basically makes weekly trips to Goodwill. There was NOT a lot of stuff that we needed to get rid of when we moved, because I/we do our best to not let things pile up. So, if you're planning a move in your future, I highly recommend to start this process before you have to pack, it will make packing go faster and the whole process easier. That's my two cents.

So, now for a house update. I love it here. I always thought if and when we moved out of our other house, I would have a difficult time, and I am a little bit sad. But, this house is already making life much easier in so many ways. Even though the dining room  looks like this....that wallpaper may take years to get down.


Here's how life is already much easier...

First of all, having the boy's bedroom on the same floor as our room and the bathroom is life-changing. Bedtime goes much smoother and if I forget to grab socks or something, it is so much easier running up only one flight of stairs!

{that chair does not fit, but I need it there right now}






Having an entryway is amazing. There's a place to dump things when you first come in the door, and it's not in the way if I don't get to put it away until later.


The living and dining rooms are bigger than in our old house, which is something I didn't realize at first.  And the layout of the downstairs has a much better flow, making it feel like we're not always on top of each other.  Even though the boys are driving me a little crazy running around the circle (entry, living, dining, kitchen), it still feels less hectic.




Our goal this summer is to make the front porch awesome. I think concentrating on this space feels attainable and something we will really use. It's large enough for a small table and 2 chairs, and a sitting area.  Once the shrubs are cut back and we can actually see the sidewalk, it will be a great place to hang out with the kids.



We still have a lot to do in the kitchen, but it has come a long way since the beginning.  Right now, I love this little corner with the shelves and the little kitchen cart from Ikea.  



We've slowed down a little bit with getting things done around here.  Our renters move into our other house next week, so we are taking this weekend to finish some things up over there.  I am hoping to paint our bedroom next week because it looks so dirty and painting it will make a world of difference.  Hope to be back soon!  Until then, enjoy this spring weather!













Wednesday, April 3, 2013

The floors are done!

The floors are officially done.  Rob spent a lot of time putting 3 coats of polyurethane on both floors, but they look awesome.  After the second coat, he used a fine sandpaper and lightly sanded by hand and then brushed on the third coat for a smooth finish.  Obviously, this was more time consuming, but now they are nice and smooth.

Master bedroom (this was actually right before the 3rd coat).


Living room...


There was one water spot (?) on the right in the middle that didn't come up, but our area rug should cover that.  

The boy' room...


I spent yesterday totally cleaning and touching everything up in here and I am so glad that now their room is totally done.  I mean, besides the floral wallpaper in the closet and a new ceiling light, they could move in there tomorrow and it would be fine.  Oh, and Rob and his dad are hoping to install quarter round under the trim this weekend.

As you can tell the floors upstairs are different from downstairs.  We believe downstairs is oak, and they are thinner boards.  Upstairs we found out might be fir, and they are wider and have kind of a reddish tint to them.  They feel a little more rustic, which we like.  

I finally remembered to take a picture of my pocket doors.  Be still my heart.  I am so excited about these.  I hope we actually use them.  We also like that they are the original wood, which there is not much of in the house.  There is some paint on the side where they close, but we're hoping we can strip it off.  





My (30th!!) birthday is this Friday, so Rob and I are staying over night in the city tomorrow.  Even though we feel like we are in total crunch time right now with the house, we need a break.  We have no big plans, just walking around, going out to dinner and sleeping in.  I'm so excited.  

We're planning on moving next week, and I don't think everything that I would have like to get done will be done, but I'm ok with that.  We are so anxious to move in and live there.  

I showed Aiden the picture of their room last night and he was so excited, he said "I wish we could just go live there right now!".  I'm so excited that he has so much enthusiasm about the new house.  It makes us even more excited than we already are. 

I'll try and get back with a few more updates after the weekend.