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

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,

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,

master bath renovation: week 3 {completed project}

Aesthetic White

The bathroom is FINISHED, and I just want to scribble hearts all over these pictures as I figure out how to decorate this new, pretty space!

The paint color is Aesthetic White 7035 - Sherwin-Williams. Clearly, it's not very white. I picked it after playing with their Color Visualizer online, which I used to contrast this with (Sherwin Williams' most popular beige!) Kilim Beige which is all over our entire house. Not so much anymore, since I painted all of the trim white, but prior to that, everything was beige. We got rid of the window in the bathroom, so I wanted to use a brighter, cleaner shade. We are REALLY happy with it!

We are so thankful that this renovation was successful. We've seen horror stories on HGTV where the contractor walks out, or they spend too much, etc. We did have a lot of work done, and there were a few surprises, but ultimately this renovation was good for us and our house. We no longer have black mold growing in the base of our shower; we don't have any issues with our dryer vent pipe; we don't have to worry about the mixture of galvanized piping and copper joints causing a major catastrophe in our home (well, at least not in the master bathroom... sigh). Now we get to enjoy a beautiful bathroom!

I'm totally exhausted, so the pictures are going to speak for themselves. And the ones of the floor in the shower are meant to illustrate the way the travertine looks different when wet (I poured water down the drain).

Gorgeous floors

SPACE to dance in the morning

Main bath area. Three mirrors because we are vain...

The vanity looks small here but it is PERFECT.

Looking into the potty/shower area from the closet

Shame shot, more floors <3

Got that curtain at Target for $7 y'all!
Squealed as I left with it.

See where the water was? Love the color variance!

Again!

Crooked (darn it!) but I love my new wall art
from Target (I promise this is not a Target ad).

Again.
Sometimes, love is a Tyler Candle. Mmmm.

Can you tell our counters are pinkish?
Ironic homage to the old bathroom.

I am moving into this room.

THE SHOWER! We haven't event used it yet!

Who knew a toilet could look so gorgeous?
Keeping the stickers until we are un-lazy.

This tiny light is perfect for early mornings!

Another view with the dim light.

Old Bathroom Reminder Photos:

NEW, Safe, Expensive Bathroom Photos:

My last note: we believe and follow Jesus. It was a struggle to spend this much on a bathroom. Do we love it? Yes. Does it seem like it's too good to be true? Yes. Did our jaws drop when we found out that we could have had our house burn down or have pipes burst had we not done this? Absolutely. There's a blessing in this, though it was costly. We know we spent quite a bit on this, but we also think of it as an investment. If the Lord ever calls us to move anywhere, we like to think this will help our house sell like a hotcake and prove to be a point of good stewardship. And we hope it blesses other people... So, now that we aren't embarrassed by our bathroom, take the one-gallon-challenge (come over, drink water), and use our bathroom!

XOXOXOXOX (happy girl),