Three-Week Update

Spring has officially sprung, and I am happy to report that Jeff and I have made a good bit of progress over the last few weeks. Like everyone around this time of year, we are busy -- hence the delay in my posting-- but I'm back, and I come baring updates on the house.

Remember what the dining room looked like when we moved in?

I thought I would share a run down on the evolution of this project. The day after we moved in, we ripped up the carpet -- thanks to the hard work put in by Jeff's parents, Gary and Dee!

Next, came the wallpaper and the molding:

Later, some friends helped us paint:

And then ... the wainscoting began:

And then came more prep work than we could have ever imagined:

And finally, last week [while I was out of town], I came home to this:

Can you believe it? Jeff is my hero.

After 8 long months, we finally have a dining room that you can walk in without worrying about cutting your leg open on a miter saw. That has to be worth something! We still have a few final touches, so I'm hesitant to post a before and after shot, but I feel like I owe it to my mom -- who gave me a guilt trip the other day about the lack of posts as of late. (This is for you, Mama!)

So, without further ado -- here is the room on the day when we moved in:

And... here she is now:

We haven't installed the quarter round along the baseboard, put down a rug, or hung all of the artwork -- but she's presentable. 

Again, this:

And now, this:

We dry cleaned and relocated the curtains that once hung in the family room, put up new blinds, and added new hardware. Poor Jeff had to install and uninstall the curtain rod three times until I was happy with the placement. He is one-in-a-million. 

 

Again this:

And now, this:

Jeff is headed out of town this weekend, so we will likely make all of the final touches in the coming weeks. In the mean time, have a great weekend -- and feel free to tell me how awesome that chandelier looks now that it has been cleaned... one. crystal. at. a. time.

Love,

Ryan

Hoppy

Easter weekend was lovely and we spent the last two days with friends and family. I successfully cooked my first real dinner at the house, and we couldn't have asked for a better Easter evening. P.S. How beautiful are these flowers that we picked from the backyard?

Oh, and it wouldn't be Easter without a wicker basket full of sugar coated marshmallow rabbits.

Have a great Monday, all. Back with house-updates later this week!

Ryan

Weekend Wrap-Up

This weekend we had a serious case of first-time-home-owners-remodeling-a-d-d. We worked in the formal living room, the guest bedroom, the dining room, the man cave, the (wo)man cave, and the family room. We do not have any huge reveals, but we did make some major progress in the formal living room, a.k.a. the "study" ... or the "sitting room"... or the "library" -- we can't quite decide what to call the formal living room, but here she is in all of her identity-crisis-glory.

 

 

While we aren't exactly sure what we're going to do with this room, or how we'll refer to her, she's kind of stolen my heart. I like to think that she was born in New Mexico, grew up in Nevada, and that she loves the sun and southwestern patterns.

We still have a lot left to do in here; like hang my mom's mom's mom's mirror over the couch, put down quarter round, buy a wing back chair (or two), move in the house plants, hang more art, etc. But this may very well be the room that is closest to finished in the entire house. Which is probably why she's my favorite. 

Moving on to a room that is nowhere near finished:

The dining room. Dun dun dunnnnnn. Jeff worked tirelessly on this room all day, and he claims he will be finished by the end of next weekend! We will report back on this soon. In happier, more cheerful news, take a look at the pineapple Jeff hung from the ceiling in my studio:

Isn't she a beauty? Jeff tackled the old inset fixture like a champ:

I was pretty impressed. And yes, we know the medallion is too small, we're going to fix that. It's on our list. But besides that, I'm pretty sure this light fixture is my favorite purchase for the house. I have a feeling it will be just the thing that keeps me from losing my mind during midterms and finals -- it has that "everything will be okay, promise" vibe.

Also on our list is the guest bathroom. We've had paint swatches pinned to the wall for months, but I finally found something to design the room around:

Yes, I know, that's the coolest shower curtain you've ever seen. You don't have to tell me. We aren't really ready to start this project yet, but knowing me, I'll probably make a rash trip to Home Depot as a means to escape a project, buy a gallon of paint, and we'll be neck deep in a bathroom remodel before you know it.

And last but not least, I know you've all been wondering what's going on with the reef tank. Well, if you must know -- it is one week into a four week nitrogen cycle process, and things are looking good.

 

I was under strict instructions not to go into the man cave today (because I was in a "must clean everything before school starts" mode), but when Jeff went to Home Depot this afternoon, I snuck in and took a few shots, mainly so I could brag about how smart he is.

 

That is what the tank looks like underneath. He put it all together one. piece. at. a. time. There is 90 gallons of water rushing through it constantly, and magically, not a drop of that 90 gallons has made it onto my hardwood floors. He's not just smart, he's a magician.

Oh, and while I was in there, I organized his desk and accidentally cleaned the glass-top with tire shine (I thought it was Windex), so I'm pretty sure he's never going to let me in there ever again.

Happy weekend, all. School is back in session tomorrow, so let the games begin!

Love,

Ryan