office overhaul

Our office was purple and green, and it really needed a paint job, but we had already put all the things in there and the colors were d-a-r-k. I do not understand why they were those colors or why they were so dark. I polled Facebook & Instagram for paint colors for the walls, and we settled on Light French Gray by Sherwin Williams. It is perfect! It is just the light gray I was aiming for. Our kitchen cabinets are an Olympic color called Dogwood Blossom, so I opted to match our upstairs built-in shelving to that. I value consistency in paint colors in a house (each room in my house is a different shade of beige.  Each one. Different.), so this seemed like a reasonable idea which paid off, because choosing between shades of white sounds pointless.

Here are my super-fun taken-on-my-iPhone before photos:

After much taping, priming, painting, and more painting, we finally had a room we would really love.

Here is a grand tour of our office with the updated colors:

this is a very clean version of Austin's
desk. this is not my desk.

I do claim that desk!
{what do you do with a glider you don't use?}

found this gem today at Kirkland's for $15!

a look at our brackets. we love the flexibility.

pair of curtains ordered from Kirkland's
for $25

we made our giant ruler go to seven feet
instead of 6!

I used to walk in this room and just think of all the work it would one day need - almost every time. And now I get to relax and enjoy it. This is a room Austin works and plays (computer games) in, where I spend time with the Lord and where we get general home chores done. I wrap gifts and make crafts in here as well. It's been a huge change since the room was painted. The room has come together with new accent pieces - frames, wall decor, and shelf decor.

So happy to be done... or mostly done. We have doorknobs coming in this week!

xo,

Elizabeth

{Hannah}: the nursery!

This video explains about how I feel about being done with Hannah's nursery:

Maybe not that dramatic, but still really exciting!

{credit}

bowtie frame made with MOPS group

'bonjour bebe' sign is a chalkboard from Kirkland's

L-O-V-E letters came unpainted from Hobby Lobby

burlap clip frame is from TJ Maxx

small white metal frame is from Marshalls

white blanket was mine as a baby

white pillow cover was made with leftover fabric from Hannah's bed skirt

nursing tote (in side table) was a shower tote in the Target dollar section ($3)

knobs from Hobby Lobby

lamp & shade from Target a few years ago

vase & flower from TJ Maxx

side table from Marshalls, repainted with Anne Sloane 'Old White'

knob from Hobby Lobby

blanket is minky with ruffles on one side, and a thicker cotton top

bumpers have horizontal (light) stripes

sheets from IKEA

crib skirt material came with the ruffles

{all but the sheets were hand-made by my mom}

the canopy was $11 (mosquito net) on Amazon,

and I added the ruffled burlap with a hot glue gun

Austin cut the boards from a pallet, and I secured them by

screwing each plank to a smaller plank.

lettering is just done with a sharpie!

Clearly very excited. Under 11 weeks until our due date, Hannah girl!

xo,
Elizabeth

listing

I wasn't sure where to begin this post until I realized that I had totally skipped Ethan's 16 month "birthday". Whoops! Our little man is babbling, half-running, climbing steps, learning words, using his signs better, (I think he thinks the sign for "please" actually means "dessert". Ha!), singing the tune of the a-b-c-d song without the actual letters.. and stealing our hearts every day. So blessed and challenged in parenting this little man.

Excuse the blur of these photos... they were taken right around the 16 month mark, and he truly is a little blur now!

So. Many. Stickers.We love our backpack from Grammie!

Spaghetti is possibly our favorite meal

*Clears a tear* - Ahem.

This post is big for us. If you know us, you know how much love, sweat and tears we have put into our house. We did the thing the people on HGTV's Fixer Upper (watching as I type!) do every episode - bought the worst house in the best neighborhood {that we could afford!} and fixed it up.

I can't estimate the number of hours that we have labored over this home. I've tried to estimate the dollars. The memories of our firstborn homing home to this house, and laboring over it before he did, are something I'll carry with me forever.

Recently, though, Austin accepted a job in Cypress, Texas. It's not far from here (though construction makes it seem much further). We're excited for the upcoming opportunity for him and the growth it should provide for his career! It was a scary, hard decision - as it always is for the sole earner of a family. It's hard to leave something that is comfortable.

We have been longing for a move to the suburbs lately - both of us, for different reasons (Austin grew up in a suburb... I grew up right here!). We prayed for months over it. We had a Realtor come out. We explored several neighborhoods in several different suburbs. No option made enough sense. Our mantra became, "it would be so great to be able to live and work in the suburbs! What a rare opportunity! Those people are so fortunate!"

Then 'those people' became us.

Before I met him, Austin has always said that he is dedicated to going to church in his neighborhood - something that's really in his community. He has even attended churches in which he stood out like a sore thumb. Our current church is located just down the road from us - a total of about 10 blocks, or a 30 minute walk (we have done it). That's rare, friends. Our church has a second location... right by his new work location.

These, among other things, have confirmed and reaffirmed our plan to list our house, and relocate to Cypress, Texas. It's a big leap of faith, even though it appears to be easy. Listing your house is not easy. Selling your house is not easy. Buying a house is not easy. There isn't a house on the market right now that is 'perfect' for us. We don't really know where we will end up. On top of that: we know what the best neighborhoods are, but is that what The Lord is calling us to? The best, the safest, the most comfortable? I want to say yes. I'm not sure that is what He is saying. The world says yes - buy the big house in the best neighborhood. UPGRADE. You deserve it.

This is what The Lord says:

For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.
{1 Corinthians 1:18-21 ESV}

We're preparing our house, and it should be on the market next week.

Pondering these things in our hearts, and praying over them with thanksgiving,

xo,

out with the old, in with... a different old

I sometimes wonder if I'm a special kind of crazy. I did this project in my only down time (evenings) and during naps (not down time, chore time - I postponed chores, which sent my type-A personality into a tailspin). Just this evening I read a devotional on outlining your talents... can my special kind of crazy be my talent? :) I think I say yes, if I get to have such a pretty (and CHEAP!) new dining room set!

For a while now, I've asked Austin for a new kitchen table. We have only bought brand-new furniture from IKEA/Target/Amazon because we can't stand the idea of paying thousands for furniture - EVERYTHING else has come from Craigslist, or other resale sites. While we know furniture is a worthy investment, it definitely puts a dent in the pocketbook, which is rough when you just paid off a car and a bathroom. Ouch.

We have had this kitchen table and chairs for a long time: it survived Austin and his roommate in college (his mom no longer needed it so he inherited it - a VERY nice table for a guy in college!) and we kept it through our early (3.5) years of marriage - until Sunday. We had a garage sale Saturday, sold off a few things, and sold our old table through Craigslist the next day. Since our dining room is Ethan's play room, this table is too large for the breakfast nook.

I think the flowers really sold the table!

I found a set of 6 chairs, which were black, through OfferUp. Austin picked them up and warned me that they might need work, but I didn't realize that meant I'd have to totally re-paint them!

I sanded down some scratches and spray painted them - I used 3 cans and 3 layers on each chair. I then took a piece of sandpaper (150, if you want to know the grit) to attempt to copy the classic Pottery Barn black finish. I rubbed the sandpaper on the edges - careful not to scratch the finish elsewhere - to give it that worn look.

I'm so artsy!

BEFORE: I added wood filler where a cat or dog dug into a seat 

Layer 1

Layer 2 + sanded edges. Hard to see here, but the edges of the top and the front of the seat
have been sanded.

As for the table: we picked it up Sunday, and I doubted my ability to sand and refinish the table from the minute I realized it wasn't an easy patch job. I skulked about it and eventually was persuaded by my parents to attempt the refinishing. We started the sanding process on Monday night with the sander Austin's Grammie gave us (it's a Black & Decker Mouse. We used 100-120 grit), and I finished it on Tuesday with a more heavy-duty one my dad has. Without the electric sanders, it would've been a much harder job!

Top shot! Scratches are worse than they look in this picture

Another "before" angle

This sanding just took a few minutes, but we were getting used to the Mouse

Austin pitched in for the sanding!

Where we paused Monday night

Finished sanding! And my dad's awesome sander.

I cleaned it off with tack cloths (also provided by my dad!) to get all the sawdust off the table, and I swept it off the floor as well. I really didn't want any sawdust to get disturbed and end up on my table. I immediately applied one coat of the stain to the table top, and I wiped as I went (though the instructions said I could leave it on for 15 minutes each time) because it knew it was going to be uneven if I didn't. I let it dry as long as the instructions called for (8 hours, I believe). At this point, you can add more layers of stain every 8 hours, until you like the color. I liked it a lot after the first layer, and Austin agreed, so I started the polyurethane coating today. We kept the garage door cracked for ventilation and to aid in the drying process.

The table - stain only

I painted on one coat of the polyurethane during Ethan's nap on Wednesday, and when Austin got home, I lightly sanded it  the table (220 grit, per the instructions) and applied another coat. Two to three coats are suggested, but I thought my second coat was generous enough that a third would be overkill.

Finished & drying! You can see a  little bit of a shine.

COSTS:

Table: $60

Chairs: $75

Spray Paint: $10

Wood filler: (already had)

Sandpaper: $15

Stain: $5

Polyurethane: $7

Total cost to us: $172

I'm in love!

MAJOR shout out to my 'rents. We used their truck to get the table, we used their sander, they watched our kid. If you want to see service, look at them! THREE of their kids are living with them (Meghan is totally one of us) and they still offer to serve us because I'm crazy and take on big projects on a whim. I also took their advice on refinishing the table, which looks awesome.

I can't wait for Ethan to splatter some yogurt on this bad boy tomorrow morning.

xo

curb appeal

Before we bought our house, the trim was blue. I hate blue trim (personal preference) unless it's navy and suits the neighborhood. Maybe in the '70s, this powder blue did suit the neighborhood. I'm just glad they painted it taupe for us! I'm not glad they did a terrible job replacing the siding, but that is a rant for another day...

Here's a recap of what the house has looked like outside as we've lived in it/were looking to buy it:

Our house - when it was blue and unloved.

Recap from the one year post.

This 'garden' preiously had a hodge-podge of plants in it. We paid our old yard guy to remove them (YAY!). I then moved and reused the rocks elsewhere:

One time, Austin installed a poorly-made (not his fault) railing for the front porch, per my request, and the demise of at lease one hammer drill.
Idea: curb appeal.
Problem: wobble.
Solution: TBD.

This is what was underneath that little garden (back view), Hideous now, but used to be a brick wall. Why it is gone, I will never know. I truly wish it was still a brick wall. I'm sure someone ran into it and destroyed it.

Thursday, I weeded this area - which has been sitting for a year (sorry neighbors/HOA!), and put the some of those stones back over the wall foundation. Planted these Crotons (2x3-gallon containers = $17) on Friday.

Yesterday, I added sod - about 400 sq ft of it - which I get to water like crazy for two weeks!
Here's where it all went:

More sod by the new pathway - we obviously need to spray
the pathway for weeds. :)

After "we" finally removed the dirt (Austin) and frame (Austin) for the old garden area, "we" (I) planted some new plants - which cost around $45 - just in the area in front of the railing. I then laid the sod (solo!) yesterday. Our neighbor told us that grass doesn't grow well here because of the shade, but we are going to try it out anyway. It's what I would prefer to have there... so I am going to be true to my stubborn self and try it!

When the plants were removed, before the dirt was removed.
It's a deceitfully large area.

No sod, just new plants and some of the rocks from above.

Sod + new garden (+hose from watering all that sod!)

The "front" of our house... which is really the side.

And since I had just a little left, I took some to my parents' house. Matt's dog, Tyson, was very happy about the new grass... or maybe it was just that someone was outside with him!

I'm SO happy to be done laying sod, and so are my arms and clothes (though I'm sure the mud is good for you.. right?).

We also had our trees trimmed in the last few months - something we don't think has happened in at least 5 years. Our oak tree was bullying our magnolia into leaning to the right. Hopefully, some new branches will grow on the left side of the magnolia. It looks so naked!

I really hope this stiff lasts after all that work. I'm also hoping for a massage and a hot stone pedicure, but if the grass lasts, that's reward enough! ;) I'm really ready for my husband to be back from his hunting trip, and grateful that my mom watched Ethan yesterday so I could do all that work!

Project costs:

Plant removal: $200

Dirt haul: $0 (Austin did this)
New plants: $65 (after tax)

New Sod: $180 (we had it delivered, works out to $1/piece; pieces are 16"x24")

= $345 for a new yard!

And the final before & after:

I'm ready for some relaxation and some football this afternoon. I'm praising God for this glorious fall weather, too. I was glad I wasn't the only one to bust out my riding boots for church this morning!

xo,