Happy fourth of July

Happy Saturday afternoon!  I figured while I was relaxing at the river I would update my blog. We are officially moving next weekend! That's right,  I'm calling our satellite company and moving the televisions. I'm so tired of living between two house so we are just going to make the move, even if the new house isn't completely finished. Our hardwood floors were finished today in our kitchen. Our kitchen cabinets are being installed next weekend,  woop woop! Once that is finished,  we will be DONE! It's been a long three months but totally worth all of the changes and hard work we have done. In the mean time,  I have been
enjoying every relaxing minute of sunshine and blue skies at our river house!  It has been absolutely gorgeous here for the past three days. I've enjoyed baking festive red, white and blue goodies.

 In addition to baking,  my sister and I went on some serious paddle boating adventures! We found lots of cool shells and coral for my collection. We always find something fun to do while we are here.

 

We have one more might down here before we go home for the week!  I'm already looking forward to our next weekend back (if we can finish moving)! I hope you all have a festive,  wonderful and happy Fourth of July weekend!  

Things are looking up.

It has been several weeks since my last post. Honestly, I haven't actually wanted to think or especially write about the progress of our home. There have been many, many, many "accidents" in the last few weeks. Everything from people falling through the ceiling to a MASSIVE sheet rock dust disaster. Luckily, those day have past and I can finally (literally, from all of the dust) breathe again. We are about half way though this process and I can actually see the light at the end of the tunnel. We went to IKEA for the first time last Sunday. If you have never been, stop what you are doing and plan a trip right now! It was so worth the drive and traffic and bug bite I encountered while shopping. I purchased so many things but my favorite purchase was definitely my living room furniture! I bought the EKTORP love seat and chaise with the white slipcover and the EKTORP chair in white as well. I LOVE THIS FURNITURE! Although, I have only had it 1 week, I'm absolutely in love. It's very comfortable and SO affordable! This is what the living room looks like right now...

It's pretty empty, aside from the furniture, but a huge step up from the previous look of the room! Our bedroom furniture was delivered last week and our mattress came yesterday. Everything is starting to come together, slowly. When I look back and think, it's only been 2 months, I realize how much progress we have made. I think we will be able to move in by the end of July! On an unrelated note, if you are in the market to have your family or child's picture taken, by friend Katie Myrick took pictures of my husband and I last week and I could not be happier, I love every one of them!

She did an awesome job and is the sweetest person to work with! Hopefully I will have a few "finished" pictures to share soon! Have a GREAT weekend!! 

This is a warning....also, does anyone want to buy a house?

What a night! Every week brings with it a new set of challenges...problems...issues...a need for more MONEY! I have tried my very best to remain positive throughout this process, but I'm at my breaking point today. Our beautiful bathroom vanity was installed this week, that is great news, right? Not so much. It will be uninstalled tomorrow, of course  there is a "little problem", as the plumber put it. Something is wrong with the drain and now the vanity needs to be taken BACK out, a hole drilled in my beautiful tile floor and put back in, again. Why do these things KEEP on and on and on happening? I don't know how home owners ever get ahead. Please tell me your secrets??? The hardwood floors, the one that were supposed to be finished last week, are being sanded down as I write this post (thank you Lord) and will be stained Friday (maybe). Before I finish bickering for the night, let me share with you a fair warning about craigslist. I have been wanting a white slip covered couch for so many years. I LOVE the pottery barns ones like this one...

However, I can't see paying almost $3,000 for a love seat! So I had my heart set on a similar look at Ikea. Since the closest Ikea is over 4 hours away, I decided to search Craigslist to see what I might be able to find. I have read SO many blogs about these women finding these awesome couches and chairs for $150...$200. As my bad luck would have it, I found the perfect one! An EKTORP sectional for $200! I was so excited I could barely stand it. I asked the seller several questions about the couch; what condition it was in, were their in rips, was it sturdy, etc. She seemed to be very nice and very honest. #1 rule of Craigslist, keep an open mind AND be skeptical. I sent my husband and a friend of ours to pick up the couch today.  The drive was over two hours but I knew it would be worth it. My husband called me and warned me that there were some stains and tears but I told him I was ordering a brand new slipcover, so not to worry about it. He brought it home....this is when my breakdown occurred! IT IS DISGUSTING, like OH MY GAH...do people really live this way, nasty?! We wasted $200 on the sofa and $160 in gas...which means, we could have just purchased and BRAND new smaller couch from Ikea. What a complete disaster and total let down. Now I know...don't buy a couch on craigslist, gross! I think that is enough complaining for one night.. words of encouragement are greatly appreciated. I hope the next time I post, it will be filled with great news. For now, enjoy this precious little angel, my sweet "P"...

WHAT HAVE WE STARTED?!?

Good evening blog family! It has been weeks since my last post due to the fact that our new house is sucking every living ounce of time and energy out of me. If you have ever purchased a "fixer-upper", please tell me the thoughts "what the hell have I gotten myself into?" crossed your mind at some point! I feel like every time we take two steps forward we hit a wall (or glued down 1968 linoleum floor) and take 5 steps back. I just don't feel like we will ever finish, and although it's only been about a month, it feels like years! Enough complaining (for tonight). I have been taking pictures along the way to document everything so that I can look back the say "Woah, look at how far we have come from that point!". I'm willing to share the pictures, but please don't judge, because...yikes...some are BAD! So far we have: ripped out all of the old carpet, completely gutted the bathroom, painted every room except for the kitchen (coming soon...hopefully), replaced about 1/2 of the light fixtures (more of those to be hung soon, as well) and a few other minor things. We are hoping to get started in the kitchen next week and begin the construction of our new master bathroom and laundry/mudroom. Here are a few pictures of whats going on right now...

 Dining room floors and remaining hardwood will be refinished this weekend (YAY!)

 AWFUL linoleum in the hallway being ripped up.

 New paneling in the hallway!

 Bedroom

 OMG The dreadful gutted guest bathroom!!!!

 seriously....what a disaster

Living room

Luckily, we have made SOME progress in the guest bath since the gutted pictures. This room should be completed by this weekend!! FINGERS CROSSED!

I am soooo ready to start decorating. The decor part of this project is what I have looked forward to since the day we made our offer. Hopefully we will make a lot of major progress this weekend and I will be able to share some much more appealing pictures next week, wish us luck!

For now, I will leave you with a picture of the sweetest little nugget around, my Penny!

HOMEOWNERS, atlast!!!

Today was the day my husband and I have been waiting for, for nearly 6 months. Our CLOSING DAY! The process was quick and easy and a lot easier than I had been told by other homeowners. We were in and out in less than 30 minutes and then our days went on as normal (what the what??). We both went to work and carried on as usual. When we got off work, we went and stood over in our empty house with our family, looking at empty rooms (I was day dreaming of decorating) and making plans for this weekend to start the renovations. I was beginning to get slightly discouraged because I'm SOOO incredibly inpatient and I want it done NOW, but my mom and sisters reminded me that a coat of paint can make a world of difference. I just need to keep reminding myself to take things one day and one room at a time.

I'm so eager to send out a cute announcement like this.

On top of all the greatness that today brought, tomorrow is our 2 year anniversary! I can't believe how quickly time flies by. When your grandma tells you that time goes by 10 times faster when we get older, believe her, she knows that she is talking about. Even with the enormous weather disaster that our wedding day brought on, I would love to get married all over again.

All in all, I am going to put this week in my top 3 of all time, definitely! I can't wait to show everyone the "before" pictures of the house. LET THE WORK BEGIN!

Food Friday

Happy Friday everyone!! Friday's are my day off every week, lucky me! I am so thankful I get to enjoy 3-day weekends every week so I try to make the most out of them. I have watched dump trucks and moving trailers at our soon-to-be home all day, as I anxiously await our closing date next week. To take my mind off of the wait, my sister and I went to Hammerheads Oyster Bar for lunch. We are NEVER disappointed when we leave. They not only have a great dinner menu but with the new lunch menu, your taste buds will thank you! I ordered the hot ham & hoop cheese (which I could live off of) and my sister tried the featured sand which of the week, a buffalo chicken wrap! Both were FANTASTIC. If you are in the area, it will be worth your time to stop in for lunch or dinner!

seriously....melt in your mouth!

 

After I finished that delicious meal I headed home to make a fruit pizza for my friend, Jamie's birthday. Fruit pizza is a great alternative to cake or pie for dessert. They are light but delicious and can be made to your liking. I prefer mine with strawberry, banana, pineapple and more strawberries, covered in chocolate, obviously! You could add oranges, (which I added for Jamie's) kiwi, pear, whatever you like. They are quick and easy to make. This is what you would need:

 

1 roll of sugar cookie dough (in the referidgerated section)

8 oz. cream cheese (softened)

Fruit (any kind you want to add)

This will make 3, 8 inch pizzas.

 

Pre heat your oven to 350 degrees 

roll out 1/3 of your cookie dough, in between wax paper

remove all of the wax paper

place in oven for 11-14 minutes, until slightly golden

let the cookie cool

spread 1/3 of your cream cheese over the entire pizza

cut up your fruit into bite-sized pieces and distribute evenly

ENJOY!!

 

yummm!

 

I hope some of you will get great use out of this simple and delicious recipe. Let me know how you like it if you decide to try it out. I will leave you with one of my most recent and favorite chalkboards for the spring season. Have a fabulous weekend!

 

 

 

Moving (back) to town

My husband and I are finally getting ready to close on our first home. We are beyond excited, as we have been waiting several months for this to happen. I grew up on King Street and we have been living a few miles outside of town for two years. I could not be happier to move back to town. Our closing date is in less than a week and I have had a million ideas running though my mind for months about this house. I have every room pictured in my mind, perfectly decorated and most importantly, accessorized. Pinterest is my "go-to" place for all things great. I don't remember what life was like before it, definitely not nearly as crafty, organized and accessorized, that's for sure! I am a blog junkie, I love reading any and every kind of blog, from home decorating and baking to DIY construction projects. I want to remember this experience every step of the way, so I figured blogging would be the best way. One of my favorite things to see are "before and after" pictures. I hope that you will see my after pictures sooner, rather than later. I have a couple million  ideas that I am hoping to achieve... All pictures courtesy of Pinterest.

What do you think? Also, I should mention, I am completely obsessed with chalkboards. I write on them for every occasion you can think of... "It's Spring", "My puppy is 3 months old today", "Happy Birthday Grandma", you name it, I have probably written it in chalk, so there will be tons of chalk board documenting taking place around here. I can't wait to start sharing my experience. In the mean time, I will leave you with a chalkboard picture that I can't get enough of from a few months ago. HAPPY WEEKEND! -B