Spring Wish List: House Version

Hi guys.  It's been a while.  I've been at the gym instead of DIYing.  But I am so ready for spring and I have some ideas/plans.

First up is our yard.  This is hopefully a spring break project, assuming the weather cooperates.  We need the ground to not be frozen solid.

 

We're hoping to fence this portion of the yard.  Coming out from the east (left in the picture) and making a big square out to the pond (which is behind me when I'm taking this picture) and then around the west (right) side of the house.  That way our crazy dog can go out and get some exercise more often.  And maybe the neighbor dogs will quit carrying off his stuff.  We have plans of how we'll do it, the weather/ground just has to cooperate.

And then there's living room art.  Guys, I'm just not feeling it.  In general I'm just not in love with the stuff we have on our walls.  I feel like it's just blah.  This is what we have going on above the couch right now.

 

I mean it's okay, but it's just not doing it for me.  I'm thinking a big canvas of a sandy beach and maybe some other stuff.  It's a big honking wall and it needs some attention.

Next on the chopping block is our bedroom.  It's a super disaster.  We don't have enough storage and our bedroom is pretty tiny.  Especially with our king sized bed.  In my dream we have two six or eight drawer dressers.  One for each of us.   I'd also like to get rid of our hulking old 32" TV (which would also mean getting rid of the stupid TV cabinet that the bathroom and closet doors slam into at least once a day) and replacing it with a nice sleek flat screen to hang on the wall.  In a dream world I would also ditch those doors for the bathroom and closet, maybe with barn doors.  We have three doors in a row on one wall, terrible design plan.

I also have some plans for our hall bathroom.  We have towels that just hang in there.  They match the bathroom.  No one uses them.  It's ridiculous.

 

It's completely my fault.  It was my decision when we bought the house.  New plan:  get rid of the towel bar.  Put a couple of hooks on the back of the door for actual use.  Put those green towels in the linen closet for actual use, what's the point of having them if they just hang there.  Replace the towel bar with some built in shelving.  Also, buy a new shower curtain.  That one's fine but I'm ready for something different.  I don't know what, just different.

 

And then my last thing on my immediate fix it list is our laundry room.  Oh holy cow.  My organization is not efficient.  The layout is not great, but for the time being cannot be fixed.  The washer is on one side of the room, the dryer is on the other.  And I just don't have the right storage.  The dream is to build (have my dad build) a laundry basket dresser.  With slots for four laundry baskets:  jeans, towels, brights/darks, and whites/lights.  And along with the laundry basket dresser, I'd like a cabinet with a door to stash some of those crazy things that have no home.  Two wrought iron (ish) four tier cake stands anyone.  And maybe on the very end of that cabinet some built in storage for snow boots.  Right now they just get dumped in the laundry room doorway, it's ridiculous.  

So, that's the current house wishlist.  I think I have my work cut out for me.  I was just starting to feel like our house might be done.  And now I'm laughing at myself a little.  It's never done is it?  What are you guys working on these days?  Anybody else seriously overcome with a case of winter blahs?

 

Some Ideas

Oh boy.  It's just over a week until Thanksgiving and I have done nothing to get ready.  Okay, maybe that's not completely true.  I started pre-cleaning a couple weekends ago, but that barely counts.  So it's possible that I'm beginning to panic a bit.  

My husband is off this week because it's deer season in Missouri.  So, pretty much a holiday.  I had big plans of organizing and cleaning in the evening.  But, he shot a deer yesterday morning and now my fridge is absolutely full of deer meat waiting to be processed.  So it looks like we'll be spending at least the next couple of evenings doing that.  I'm not complaining, I'm definitely thankful for the meat.  But Saturday is going to involve much more cleaning than I had originally planned.

 

My hubby and his deer, an 11 point buck.

So, this is basically a brain dump of what has to get done by this weekend.  I know, Thanksgiving isn't until next week but my parents are coming up this weekend so my mom and I can do a 5K on Sunday so the house needs to be ready.

Um, here's the list.

• Buy a turkey.  I know, I know.  I can't believe it either.  But I can't buy a turkey until there's space in the fridge.  So that means deer processing like maniacs.  We're planning to smoke the turkey.  Cross your fingers for us!
• Figure out the table situation.  Our table only seats four...  I may run to Lowes or HD to get wood cut and make a leaf for the table.  Especially if my dad will be there on Sunday to fine tune the fitting of the leaf.
• Buy a table cloth for whatever table we end up with.  And maybe cloth napkins.  How am I 30 years old and own zero cloth napkins?  I fail at being a grown up.
• Drag out the china.  If I have china, I'm darn well going to use it.  And since it's in the cabinet above the fridge, this is definitely a job for when the hubby is at home to help.
• Clean clean clean like a crazy woman.  The house isn't in bad shape, but I need to do some of those things that I don't do every week.  Like cobwebs.  Ug.
• This is embarrassing... but I need to count my silverware and make sure I have enough place settings.  I started with 8 place settings but somehow I'm not sure I have enough...
• And then there's the other cooking.  We're doing the turkey and I'm making sweet potatoes and rolls.  I'm also making maybe rolls or another side and a chocolate pie to take to my in-laws so that will all be next Wednesday.

What are you guys working on for Turkey Day?  Anybody else starting to panic just a tiny bit?  Or want to come over and help me  make a table leaf?

On Some Future Projects

I have been a total crafting/DIY slacker lately.  I haven't done a dang thing.  It's been time at they gym after work and that's about it.  And I miss my craftiness.  I miss it a lot.  So I'm trying to find a way to do both.  And maybe making a list will light a fire under my buns and get me started doing something.  Maybe.

Or maybe I'll just sit and ponder how the shirt I'm wearing today looks like something my granny would've worn....

So, what am I hoping to work on craft-wise?  I'm so glad you asked.

• A new fall wreath for my front door.  I hung my Mizzou argyle wreath on the other front door.  And I still have my black and yellow scrap wreath hanging on the actual front door.  But I want an actual fall wreath.  I'm thinking something like this.  But maybe wrapped with burlap instead of the stripes.  And of course bright fall-ish flowers.
• A gold spray painted jar to serve as a vase for fall/winter.  I'm thinking doing the bottom glitter dipped like this.  The best thing is, I think I have everything on hand to make this so it will cost me zero dollars.
• I also need to touch up the paint on my front door so I can show it off....  Yet another DIY fail.  Oops.
• And I'm going to finish my fall mantle.  I've had half finished pumpkins in my floor for the past.... Um, let's be honest, month.

Stay tuned this week, I'm going to knock it all out of the park.  Also,  Work it Wednesday is coming!  And anniversary details.  Saturday was six years of being together and tomorrow is our third wedding anniversary.  So, this is pretty much going to be an amazing blog week.

What have you guys been up to?  Can anybody tell me how to better balance blogging and working out?  Ug, I need help!  And apparently better time management.

Summer Projects

I go back to work in a little less than a month.  That thought makes me very sad.  I love my summer vacation.  I love the projects.  I love the time to watch as much Gilmore Girls as I want.  I love having the time and energy to be domestic.  I love having a clean house and laundry that's under control.  So, when I realized it was somehow already July, I knew it was time to get cracking on my summer projects.  What better way to get started than by making a list.

1.  Build that air conditioner cover.  That may be on the list for next week.  Fingers crossed.  I have confidence that I can do it.  I'm envisioning having Lowes pre-cut the boards for me and just screwing everything together.

2.  Finish staining the deck.  I got one coat on the floor.  A second coat is in the near future.

This is not our dog.  It was just a random neighbor dog that came to hang out on our porch.  It was just the only before picture of the deck I could find.

After the first coat.  It's looking better.

Tip:  If you're going to stain your deck, pick a color close to the natural color of your deck.  The redwood stain looks great and matches our brick but is a giant pain to keep up.  

3.  Paint hallway.  This is happening this afternoon.  At least the primer is going up.  Super psyched!  So, all the tan is going away very soon.

4.  Get the gallery wall going.

5.  Continue thinking about painting inside of kitchen cabinets.  I keep thinking it's a good idea but I just don't know if it's worth the effort.  Maybe one cabinet at a time.  We'll see.

So, what are you guys up to this summer?  Anyone else panicking because the end is near?  Alright, time to get started painting.

Spring To Do List

We've had four gorgeous days in a row.  Gorgeous.  I'm in love.  And it's supposed to get cold and rainy again tomorrow.  Man, this weather is such a tease.  But since I'm so desperately ready for spring, I'm busting out with a spring to do list.

1.  Finish painting the house.  We started last summer and only got two sides done.  Super classy, right.  My parents are coming to help soon.
2.  Demo the old sidewalk and put in stepping stones.  The stepping stones that have been stacked beside for our garage for a year.  I'm dreading this project because I know it's going to be seriously hard work.  Yes, the old sidewalk is broken up and in terrible shape, but that's a lot of concrete to haul out.

3.  Re-stain the deck.  Yup, re-stain.  Ug.  It looked so pretty last summer.  But the winter was not kind and I'm going to have to put a new coat of stain on all the flat surfaces.  I'm thinking two coats this time.  I want that business to last.

 

4.  Keep plants alive.  I bought three hanging plants yesterday from our FFA kids, they do a spring plant fundraiser.  They are all gorgeous and in full bloom.  The goal is to keep them alive.  And I figure hanging ones, Rowdy can't eat.

5.  Finally decorate the master bedroom.  This is driving me up the wall.  I've rearranged furniture and it's better.  But we just have a big pile of crap.  It's not relaxing.  It's not serene.  We only go in there to sleep.  There has to be a better design plan.  I just have to get there.  This is what we're working with right now.

I'm thinking a new white duvet.  And some pretty throw pillows.  And maybe new art over the bed.  

6.  Paint the windows.  All of them.  We still have the original windows our house was built with.  They look pretty rough and should honestly be replaced.  But that is a project for another day.  So, for now they all need to be painted.

7.  Build an air conditioner cover.  Right now we have this little picket fence rigged around the A/C.  It looks terrible but we needed something after Rowdy ate the air conditioner cord last summer.  I want something like this.  So much better than what we have!

 

(source)

What's on your spring to-do list?  Are you guys as ready as I am to get outside and get the projects going? 

An Update

It's been a while since I looked at the old To-Do List.  And guess what?!  We've marked quite a bit off.  That's so exciting!  Our house is nowhere near done, but it's come so far.  Get ready.  We're marking stuff off!

Inside

Entryway
- Rip out skanky old vinyl flooring (I like to call it linoleum because that's what we called it when I was a kid) [edit] We didn't end up having to rip it out, according to the good ole internet, I could patch any holes (which there were a few), make sure old flooring was firmly stuck (thanks staple gun) and prime the old flooring before putting down my new tile.
- Put in shiny new peel and stick vinyl tiles.  Done and done!  And it only cost about $40.
- Do a happy dance that the first thing you are greeted with upon entry to our house is not curling up linoleum with holes in it.  Classy.
- Find a skinny bench to store shoes under so I can hide the shoes I like to kick off when I come in the door though (Not too skinny of a bench though, I have big feet) [edit] I ended up buying this table at a garage sale for a bargain.  As a bonus, it has great storage.
-Paint over terrible crackle finish 
-Paint weird white trim brown
-Paint front door 
-Paint closet & laundry room door 
-Paint ugly barnwood door frame 
- Add quarter round at the baseboards to finish floor

Hallway
- Paint walls and paneling [edit] I may still want to repaint the actual hallway so the lower (formerly paneling) part of the walls is a darker color or so that the top part is a lighter color.  Or maybe paint the bottom part a darker color.  I can't decide.
- Replace carpet with wood laminate floors.  This is actually in the works.  It's happening soon.
- Hang art [edit] Even though this is one of the places there is actually stuff up on the wall, I'm not entirely happy with all of it.  I think some of it needs to change.

Guest Bathroom
- Paint walls
- Paint vanity & cabinet
- Replace sink/countertop  Thanks to my dad and Craigslist, $50 later we have a new sink
- Install new cabinet hardware
- Rip off strange single cabinet door
- Add crown molding around ceiling
- Trim out mirror
- Buy new faucet
- Install new towel bar
- Consider putting a shelf above the door
- Trim out upper cabinet?

 Kitchen/Dining Room
- Rip out skanky old vinyl flooring.  It's covered with paint and has holes in it.  So attractive! [edit] After further investigation, we don't have to rip out the old floor.  We can just tack down the loose places and put down underlayment.
- Replace sub floor by dishwasher that is soft from the great pre-dishwasher installation leak of 2011.  Ug.
- Beg Dad and sister's boyfriend to install pretty new wood laminate floor [progress] We're getting close on this.  It's picked out.  I can't wait until it's actually done!
- Bake Dad butterscotch brownies in appreciation for new floor installation
- Add quarter round at baseboards to give the floor a more finished look.
- Run water line to freezer so our ice maker will make ice.
-Try to convince someone that building a seat under bay window for better kitchen seating is a great idea and that they want to help me build it
- Rearrange/replace art.  Hopefully a mini gallery wall.  [progress] New art is up in one place and I love it.  The other art I want I am either going to make or suck it up and buy.
- Paint trim
- Paint walls 
- Paint cabinets 
- Buy fridge
- Install dishwasher
- Relocate door knobs in a normal way
- Repaint ceiling fan fixture and overhead kitchen light 
- Install new backsplash 
- Build exposed shelves on end of cabinet 
- Replace ugly pink Formica countertop 
- Replace brown cast iron sink with a shiny new sink 

 Living Room
- Find art
- Hide light sconce cords (yes, there are cords for our light sconces, it's tacky and I can't help it)
- Find cute turquoise end table [edit] I didn't even have to buy one, turns out I owned a table I could repaint.  Amazing.
- Buy lamps with turquoise accents.  At least one anyway
- Replace carpet with wood laminate floors.[progress] It's coming soon!
- Paint trim
- Install trim around sliding glass door
- DIY Dresser to become TV cabinet
- Replace old TV with shiny new one
- Paint fireplace mantle
- Paint built-ins by fireplace
- Replace movie theater light sconces with normal ones 
- Rewire overhead light in a safe way 
- Paint walls 
- Paint other ugly barnwood door frame 
- Hang pretty curtains
- Buy new couch and chair

Office
- Paint walls
- Hang curtains
- Find a better storage solution for wrapping paper and craft supplies.


- Get rid of leaning CD rack
- Organize craft supplies
- Purge clutter, keep only what I use

 Master Bedroom
- Find a bed frame and start sleeping like a grown up.  We are too old for our bed to sit on the floor  [edit] We picked out a bed, it's getting delivered soon.  I can't wait! [edit] Delivered and in place!  I bruised the top of my foot.
- Get organized, that room is a disaster!
- Learn to put away my clothes.  Geez.
- Find art.  Notice a theme?  We have a lot of very empty walls. [edit] one wall has art, now I just need a couple other things.
- Paint horizontal stripes on wall behind the bed.
- Paint
- Install double closet rods and built in shoe rack 
- Hang pretty curtains 

Master Bath
- Find real curtains to replace blinds.  [edit] Made roman shades with my mom.  Love them!
- Buy bathroom rugs that actually match the bathroom  Thanks Dollar General!  $15 and it's exactly what I wanted.
-Paint walls 
- Repaint built in cabinets
- Hang art

Guest Bedroom
- Paint walls (get rid of crazy red and blue)
- Hang curtains
- Fix closet doors or at least get new knobs
- Paint trim?
- Install new overhead light
- Wish for a closet light

Basement
- Finish painting bar
- Paint door (inside and out)
- Think about refinishing trim on stairs
- Desperately wish for a good way to paint the top half of the walls in the stairway
- Replace linoleum by door
- Rip out old carpet and replace it with something better.  Maybe carpet squares.  I was thinking about that this morning.
- Paint walls 
- Paint bar (most of it anyway) 
- Knock out weird shelf in the bar and put in a mini fridge 
- Hang art 
- Buy fancy new TV
- Make curtains out of sheets because I am cheap and it requires no sewing 

Basement bedroom
- Paint walls
- Install new overhead light
- Make curtains
- Replace baseboards
- Buy new switch plate cover that doesn't look like a light switch grill

Basement bathroom
- Paint walls
- Paint ceiling
- Install floor
- Buy shower curtain
- Consider cleaning horrifying shower
- Paint vanity
- Replace sink/countertop
- Replace faucet

Outside
-Paint outside of house -- shutters, trim, siding.  I got a quote for someone to come paint it for us.  The amount was horrifying.  But my Dad said he would help me do it.  Huge sigh of relief.
- Power wash house (that should probably come before the painting)
- Power wash deck
- Stain deck
- Paint and install trim around sliding glass doors [progress] The basement door is done, now we just need to do the upstairs door.
- Demo front side walk
- Put in new paver walkway
- Trim shrubs 
- Plant flowers (and actually kept them alive!)
- Buy pavers to replace front sidewalk 
- Put in pavers to expand downstairs patio 
- Desperately wish to rip out shrubs
- Pick shutter color 
- Repaint garage doors (it's so fancy now!)

Do you make a house to-do list?  Or do you just get things done as you think of them?  Our to-do list just keeps growing.  But at least I keep getting to mark things off.  That's pretty great.

New Year, New List

I love lists.  It's a serious problem.  But I've been thinking about what I want to accomplish around our house this year.  Realistically we may not get everything done on the year list, but it's nice to have goals.  So, here we go.

Replace kitchen floors.  That, that is for sure happening.  And soon.  Or as soon as I actually pick out what I want.  Have I mentioned I am so cheap?  I picked out floors.  Beautiful floors.   They are, however, going to cost in the neighborhood of $700.  Ug.  Our kitchen is under 200 square feet.  I know, maybe $700 isn't really that bad.  But remember, I'm cheap.  And I have a $500 gift card from the nice people at Young House Love and Homes.com and I'd really rather not spend more than that on my floor.  Is that so unreasonable?  I don't think it should be.  Especially since my labor is free.

Finish painting the outside of the house.  We started last summer/fall and only got two sides completely painted.  I know, this is totally trashy and weird.  It got cold.  My sister was sick.  Our house is awkward and hard to paint.  My dad promises to come as soon as it's warm out and help us finish.

Replace the front sidewalk.  Man oh man, this thing has been embarrassing long before we bought the house.  It's really just broken concrete that happens to vaguely form a path.  It's terrible.  We bought pavers last summer to replace it.  They've been stacked in our driveway for at least 7 months.  We may have actually originally purchased them in the spring.  We've really got to get that done.

Make up my mind about painting the hallway.  I'm so undecided about this.  I thought I was going to paint it over Christmas break.  Our hallway has two sections.  The first part of the hallway, when you walk into the house is all paneling, both walls, floor to ceiling.  Super attractive.  Then you turn and walk back toward the bedrooms and the walls change, the bottom half is paneling, there's a chair rail, and the top half is just normal wall. 

It looks vaguely more attractive than this in real life, but not much.  I thought (wrongly) that it would be clever to leave the seams in the paneling their original color so it would look striped.  Well, it looks like crap.  So that's where the debate comes in.  Paint all of the bottom a dark turquoise and leave the top tan.  Or paint the seams tan and leave the bottom tan, painting the top half a light turquoise.  Like one of these.

So yes, I've had paint samples taped to my wall since before Christmas.  Charming.  So what do you think?  I don't want to be the crazy turquoise lady.  Our living room has tons of turquoise accents and I don't want to go completely overboard.  The hallway is kind of dark (thanks 1970s!)

I'm also going to finish that bathroom mirror project.  Fingers crossed!

What kind of home improvement projects do you have planned for this year?

Making a List

and checking it twice.

I decided it was time for an updated house list.  This permanently lives over on the To Do List page.  Sometimes it's nice to look back and see what we've done.  Especially when sometimes I feel like there's so much more to get done.  Ug.  And just when I think our house sucks, I go back and look at the before pictures, and even when our house is messy I know it's better than it used to be.

So, now.  The list....  It's long.  Get ready.

Inside

Entryway
- Rip out skanky old vinyl flooring (I like to call it linoleum because that's what we called it when I was a kid) [edit] We didn't end up having to rip it out, according to the good ole internet, I could patch any holes (which there were a few), make sure old flooring was firmly stuck (thanks staple gun) and prime the old flooring before putting down my new tile.
- Put in shiny new peel and stick vinyl tiles.  I found what I want at Home Depot.  I think I can do the whole project for about $30 and I'm hoping to start on Monday. [edit] It ended up costing about $40, I can't do math.
- Do a happy dance that the first thing you are greeted with upon entry to our house is not curling up linoleum with holes in it.  Classy.
- Find a skinny bench to store shoes under so I can hide the shoes I like to kick off when I come in the door though (Not too skinny of a bench though, I have big feet) [edit] I ended up buying this table at a garage sale for a bargain.  As a bonus, it has great storage.
-Paint over terrible crackle finish 
-Paint weird white trim brown
-Paint front door 
-Paint closet & laundry room door 
-Paint ugly barnwood door frame 
- Add quarter round at the baseboards to finish floor

Hallway
- Paint walls and paneling [edit] I may still want to repaint the actual hallway so the lower (formerly paneling) part of the walls is a darker color or so that the top part is a lighter color.  Or maybe paint the bottom part a darker color.  I can't decide.
- Replace carpet with wood laminate floors
- Hang art [edit] Even though this is one of the places there is actually stuff up on the wall, I'm not entirely happy with all of it.  I think some of it needs to change.

 Kitchen/Dining Room
- Rip out skanky old vinyl flooring.  It's covered with paint and has holes in it.  So attractive! [edit] After further investigation, we don't have to rip out the old floor.  We can just tack down the loose places and put down underlayment.
- Replace sub floor by dishwasher that is soft from the great pre-dishwasher installation leak of 2011.  Ug.
- Beg Dad and sister's boyfriend to install pretty new wood laminate floor
- Bake Dad butterscotch brownies in appreciation for new floor installation
- Add quarter round at baseboards to give the floor a more finished look.
- Run water line to freezer so our ice maker will make ice.
-Try to convince someone that building a seat under bay window for better kitchen seating is a great idea and that they want to help me build it
- Rearrange/replace art.  Hopefully a mini gallery wall.  [progress] New art is up in one place and I love it.  The other art I want I am either going to make or suck it up and buy.
- Paint trim
- Paint walls 
- Paint cabinets 
- Relocate door knobs in a normal way
- Repaint ceiling fan fixture and overhead kitchen light 
- Install new backsplash 
- Build exposed shelves on end of cabinet 
- Replace ugly pink Formica countertop 
- Replace brown cast iron sink with a shiny new sink 

 Living Room
- Find art
- Hide light sconce cords (yes, there are cords for our light sconces, it's tacky and I can't help it)
- Find cute turquoise end table [edit] I didn't even have to buy one, turns out I owned a table I could repaint.  Amazing.
- Buy lamps with turquoise accents.  At least one anyway
- Replace carpet with wood laminate floors.
- Paint trim
- Install trim around sliding glass door
- Paint fireplace mantle
- Paint built-ins by fireplace
- Replace movie theater light sconces with normal ones 
- Rewire overhead light in a safe way 
- Paint walls 
- Paint other ugly barnwood door frame 
- Hang pretty curtains
- Buy new couch and chair

Guest Bathroom
- Paint walls
- Paint vanity & cabinet
- Replace sink/countertop [edit] Has been purchased, just needs to be installed.  Woo hoo!
- Install new cabinet hardware
- Rip off strange single cabinet door
- Add crown molding around ceiling
- Trim out mirror
- Buy new faucett
- Install new towel bar
- Consider putting a shelf above the door
- Trim out upper cabinet? 

Office
- Paint walls
- Hang curtains
- Find a better storage solution for wrapping paper and craft supplies.

 Master Bedroom
- Find a bed frame and start sleeping like a grown up.  We are too old for our bed to sit on the floor  [edit] We picked out a bed, it's getting delivered soon.  I can't wait! [edit] Delivered and in place!  I bruised the top of my foot.
- Get organized, that room is a disaster!
- Learn to put away my clothes.  Geez.
- Find art.  Notice a theme?  We have a lot of very empty walls. [edit] one wall has art, now I just need a couple other things.
- Paint horizontal stripes on wall behind the bed.
- Paint
- Install double closet rods and built in shoe rack 
- Hang pretty curtains 

Master Bath
- Find real curtains to replace blinds.  [edit] Made roman shades with my mom.  Love them!
- Buy bathroom rugs that actually match the bathroom  Thanks Dollar General!  $15 and it's exactly what I wanted.
-Paint walls 
- Repaint built in cabinets
- Hang art

Guest Bedroom
- Paint walls (get rid of crazy red and blue)
- Hang curtains
- Fix closet doors or at least get new knobs
- Paint trim?
- Install new overhead light
- Wish for a closet light

Basement
- Finish painting bar
- Paint door (inside and out)
- Think about refinishing trim on stairs
- Desperately wish for a good way to paint the top half of the walls in the stairway
- Replace linoleum by door
- Rip out old carpet and replace it with something better
- Paint walls 
- Paint bar (most of it anyway) 
- Knock out weird shelf in the bar and put in a mini fridge 
- Hang art 
- Buy fancy new TV
- Make curtains out of sheets because I am cheap and it requires no sewing 

Basement bedroom
- Paint walls
- Install new overhead light
- Make curtains
- Replace baseboards
- Buy new switch plate cover that doesn't look like a light switch grill

Basement bathroom
- Paint walls
- Paint ceiling
- Install floor
- Buy shower curtain
- Consider cleaning horrifying shower
- Paint vanity
- Replace sink/countertop
- Replace faucet

Outside
-Paint outside of house -- shutters, trim, siding.  I got a quote for someone to come paint it for us.  The amount was horrifying.  But my Dad said he would help me do it.  Huge sigh of relief.
-Power wash house (that should probably come before the painting)
- Power wash deck
- Stain deck
- Paint and install trim around sliding glass doors
- Demo front side walk
- Put in new paver walkway
- Trim shrubs 
- Plant flowers (and actually kept them alive!)
- Buy pavers to replace front sidewalk 
- Put in pavers to expand downstairs patio 
- Desperately wish to rip out shrubs
- Pick shutter color 
- Repaint garage doors (it's so fancy now!)

On What's To Come

Oh boy, I'm excited about posting this week.  I'm trying to have self-control so that I don't create the longest post in the world.  But, here's a little tease of things to come....

• A project with my sewing machine
• A lamp shade
• Apple cider
• Spray paint
• Yarn

It's been a great weekend full of projects.  I can't wait to tell you about all of it!

Checking Things Off

Of course our house still has a long long way to come.  But last night my husband and I were talking about our remaining house projects.  I realized I had gotten so much done this summer really.  I actually put up our for real "To Do" List.

So I am notorious for setting myself an impossible timeline with an impossibly large list of things I want to accomplish.  We really like to have people over and I have a habit of deciding I have to get X, Y, and Z done before people come over.  Like two of my friends came to visit at the end of my spring break.  I spent the whole week busting my butt because I had to get my list done.  My list?  So glad you asked.  I painted both of our front doors a pretty glossy red, I painted all the trim and two doors in our front hallway, the barnwood door into our living room, and a couple of other things I don't remember.  I also had intentions of painting the kitchen trim but I totally ran out of time and just gave up.

My habit of overshooting the amount of projects I can accomplish in my timeline should've given me a clue about our deck.  We started staining our deck Saturday morning of Memorial day weekend when we had people coming over on Sunday.  Our deck is pretty big.  And it has two levels and two sets of stairs.  And about a thousand little skinny posts.  I worked super hard for 8 hours.  And it was really hot.  Somewhere between 5 and 6 in the evening, I gave up.  And it wasn't even close to done.  I just explained to all our guests what a flake and overachiever I am.  Well, now it's finally done.  I would say we have easily put in at least 24 hours of work on this stupid deck.  But, the good news is, it's done.  Last night my husband finished it up.  Amazing!

So, what has been on my To Do List this summer?  (I work at a school, so I have summers off, meaning lots of projects!)  Stain deck, organize office, finish painting basement bar, paint kitchen trim, re-tile front hallway, ordered a bed (it's getting delivered Friday!), paint garage door, paint end table, and paint built-ins. So what if the stupid deck took a month and a half.  I think that's a pretty good list to accomplish.

I think I'm going to start working on painting the outside of the house this week, at least the part I can easily reach.  And my parents are coming today.  My dad is bringing me his miter box so I can add some trim around our two sliding glass doors and around the bottom of the siding where it meets the concrete patio outside our basement.

Why DIY bloggers make me crazy

I love to DIY as much as the next girl. Maybe even more. I love to paint, refinish, improve. However, all these DIY blogs do nothing to inspire me. I read them and then I end up feeling like a failure as a wife and a homeowner. Like I am not doing enough. But then I remind myself of what I do. I work full time, I'm a school counselor. We bought our house last year while I was finishing my master's degree. We have done a ton of improvements over the past year. I should be proud of what we have done. Instead, while I am reading these DIY blogs over lunch, I feel like my house does not measure up. I have to quit comparing myself and be proud of what we've done.

So, some pictures... Oh hell, my iPad won't let me upload pictures to blogger. Sigh. So, instead a project list.

Entryway
-Rip out skanky old vinyl flooring (I like to call it linoleum because that's what we called it when I was a kid)
-Put in shiny new peel and stick vinyl tiles
-Do a happy dance that the first thing you are greeted with upon entry to our house is not curling up linoleum with holes in it.  Classy.
-Find a skinny bench to store shoes under so I can hide the shoes I like to kick off when I come in the door though (Not too skinny of a bench though, I have big feet)
-Paint over terrible crackle finish 
-Paint weird white trim brown
-Paint front door 
-Paint closet & laundry room door 
-Paint ugly barnwood door frame 

 Kitchen
-Rip out skanky old vinyl flooring.  It's covered with paint and has holes in it.  So attractive!
-Replace sub floor by dishwasher that is soft from the great pre-dishwasher installation leak of 2011.  Ug.
-Beg best friend's boyfriend to install pretty new wood laminate floor
-Bake best friend & BF's BF butterscotch brownies in appreciation for new floor installation
-Try to convince someone that building a seat under bay window for better kitchen seating is a great idea and that they want to help me build it
-Paint trim
- Paint walls 
- Paint cabinets 
-Repaint ceiling fan fixture and overhead kitchen light 
- Install new backsplash 
- Build exposed shelves on end of cabinet 
- Replace ugly pink Formica countertop 
-Replace brown cast iron sink with a shiny new sink 

 Living Room
-Find art
-Hide light sconce cords (yes, there are cords for our light sconces, it's tacky and I can't help it)
-Paint fireplace mantle
-Paint built-ins by fireplace
- Replace movie theater light sconces with normal ones 
- Rewire overhead light in a safe way 
- Paint walls 
-Paint other ugly barnwood door frame 
- Hang pretty curtains
- Buy new couch and chair

 Master Bedroom
-Find a bed frame and start sleeping like a grown up.  We are too old for our bed to sit on the floor
-Get organized, that room is a disaster!
-Learn to put away my clothes.  Geez.
-Paint
- Install double closet rods and built in shoe rack 
- Hang pretty curtains 

Master Bath
-Find real curtains to replace blinds
-Buy bathroom rugs that actually match the bathroom
-Paint walls 
- Repaint built in cabinets
- Hang art 

Basement
-Finish painting bar
-Paint door (inside and out)
-Think about refinishing trim on stairs
-Desperately wish for a good way to paint the top half of the walls in the stairway
- Paint walls 
- Paint bar (most of it anyway) 
- Knock out weird shelf in the bar and put in a mini fridge 
- Hang art 
- Buy fancy new TV
- Make curtains out of sheets because I am cheap and it requires no sewing 

Outside
-Paint outside of house -- shutters, trim, siding
-Power wash house (that should probably come before the painting)
-Power wash deck
-Stain deck
-Paint and install trim around sliding glass doors
-Demo front side walk
- Trim shrubs 
-Plant flowers (and actually kept them alive!)
- Buy pavers to replace front sidewalk X Put in pavers to expand downstairs patio 
- Desperately wish to rip out shrubs
- Pick shutter color 
- Repaint garage doors (it's so fancy now!) 

home improvement

So we have owned our house almost a year now.  It has definitely been a year of big changes!  We bought our house from HUD.  That meant it was kind of an adventure of a house.  There was lots of improving to do.  I spent my entire spring break last year cleaning and painting.  In one week my sister and I painted the entire upstairs.  We had no heat for that week, I was busy trying to get a propane tank installed so our gas furnace would work.  That also meant no hot water.  We worked half of the first day with no electricity.  Fun stuff.  We were lucky to have an unseasonably warm March.

There are lots of changes to still be made.  Last night my husband and I made a list.  A lot of it is small finishing up things.  But there are still some major changes we want to make.  And I'm sure our list will continue to both grow and shrink.
-New kitchen, living room, and hallway floors. Ideally wood laminate.
-Redo front sidewalk.
-Paint siding
-Paint shutters and trim
-Paint outside doors
-Finish painting trim inside
-Paint kitchen, dining, and basement light fixtures
-Landscaping!  Lots of landscaping!
-Paint mantle
-Install new outside lights
-Stain deck
-Get rid of brush and random weird stuff in yard
-Paint basement storage room
-Paint inside of garage
-Rip out ugly basement carpet and paint the concrete
-Finish painting basement bar

Most of my spring break projects this year will cost no money at all. 
I am going to paint the light fixtures - my dad gave me paint and I already have a can of spray paint I will be using = FREE
Paint mantle - I have paint left from another project = FREE
Landscaping - I have some stuff I've already bought but will probably end up spending a little bit on some pots, flowers, etc.
If I paint the inside of the garage or the basement storage room, I have a gallon of paint leftover from painting the basement living room so = FREE
Paint kitchen trim.  I am out of the black paint I painted the cabinets with so... $10
Painting the bar in the basement.  Well it's halfway painted now.  But I already have the Adhesive Primer (the bar is made out of paneling) and leftover paint from the rest of the basement = FREE


So this year will be another great Spring Break of home improving.  I'm pretty excited.  I'm especially excited about the exterior improvements.  If my computer would cooperate this would be followed by some before and after pictures.  But apparently that will have to wait for another day.