october: pretty things

Nate Berkus has a line of pretty things at Target, and we got this area rug so that my tootsies have something soft and beautiful to step out of bed onto.

This gorgeous plastic container, was on clearance at my local Target, so I picked up three and have filled them with Barbie clothes and goodies from the 90s. Yes, please.

Continuing this month's trend of posting things I've already purchased, this lego print is one of three that my husband and I purchased recently from a friend I grew up with. We've already established that we are a fan of all things lego, but these pictures are super fun, and you should buy a couple.

front porch

My husband built me a front porch this afternoon, and it is beautiful. The original porch beams and rails were rusted out, so we had to replace them. Also, the porch ceiling was leaking, so we tore that out. Every project seems to lead to another, but let's just be honest; As far as husbands go, I hit the jackpot.

progress

When we bought our first home, I showed you this (blurry) picture of our living room wall. When you first walk in the front door, this is to the left. The doorway leads down the hallway (bedrooms and bathroom), but also to the kitchen that is on the other side of this solid paneled wall.

I told you when we made it down to the studs. See? Same doorway there in the far right of the picture, but the wall is partially torn out, showing the kitchen.

Here's where we are now. We widened the doorway to the hallway. If you look at the initial picture (when we first bought the house) you'll see it's just a normal sized doorway, and now it's about a doorway and a half. Also, we've completely knocked out the wall between the living room and the kitchen and properly supported the second story. We had a bunch of advice from carpenters + a handful of dudes who helped my husband do this, which made us feel so loved. It's nice to have friends and family helping us as we make this place our home. Matt has worked long and hard to make this home what I want, and I'm so thankful for a husband who loves me enough that he's willing to pour his time into making our home beautiful. Also, there's been tons of white paint. You can see the hallway (through the widen doorway) has been finished along with the two downstairs bedrooms. We're getting really close to finishing the upstairs bedrooms too! Then we'll only have the kitchen/dining room/living room and bathroom to finish. That still sounds like a chunk of work, but it's much less than we started with. Getting the wall out and properly supported was definitely the biggest task we took on, and it is done done done! :) I can't finish a post without showing you Tater. He's been such a little trooper. First taking on the move from Tennessee to Virginia, and then the move from the Nowak's home to our own home. He's my favorite little goosecat.

chill

The wind itself was dipped in ice this morning. We're snuggling more, making hot tea, and leaning towards turning on the heat this afternoon. There's something about October. Whether it's the hush the world falls into, or the smell of camp fires in the air, I love it. I love every month that feels like a new beginning, which is probably broader than you think. Also, I got the break out my Eskimo jacket this month, so win-win.

chores

After a week of captivity due to rain, the sun on our skin was a welcomed warmth yesterday. I feel like we're living in opposite land, with our garage full of everything we own and our home littered with paint, tools, and caulk. Every new step is a "first" though, and I'm a sucker for first times. First time hanging a quilt on my own clothesline. Check.

25

My husband is 25 today. My sister is 12 today. We have a house to snuggle in. I have a kitty who stays inside when it rains. Every day is busy with good things, and we've just finished a mission's conference that reminded us how short life really is. There's an urgency in our hearts that we want to remember. It's been a rainy October so far, but there's so much joy, even on the gloomy days.

home update: painting and removing walls

This is the evolution of a bedroom. First, shaggy carpet and dark fake paneling. When we looked behind the paneling, we found plaster that needed to be re-mudded before it could be painted, so to save time and money, we've painted over the paneling in two of the bedrooms (the ones downstairs). It took two coats of oil based primer and twoish coats of latex paint to really cover well. Also, we painted the ceiling with two coats of latex (you can see how yellowy it was in the first picture).













The first two pictures are the same wall in the living room. The second picture is the back(other side) of that same wall in the kitchen. The last picture is the benches torn out and the wall down to studs. Also, the ceiling over the eat in area was lower than the rest of the ceiling so we tore that out too. We would have left the eat in area if there was a separate dining room, but there was no dining room, and that booth area was not big enough/ open enough for having people over to dinner/ big family meals. So, we need to frame out the large opening and then we'll have a bigger and more open dining area.

We still have so much to do, but for only having worked on it for three days (plus having jobs and such that take most of our time), we're getting close to being able to move in our bedroom furniture, which means we could start sleeping in our house. Consider me excited. :)

first house

Yesterday, we bought a house!!!!! So, goodbye life savings, hello home sweet home! I'm majorly looking forward to the decorating stage, but we are so not in that stage. We're currently in the painting paneling and tearing out walls stage. We have no dining room, so we're tearing out the wall between the kitchen and living room to make the "eat in kitchen" space more of a dining room.
I need to whip up a floor plan for ya'll and take more pictures, but I'm too busy priming wood paneling, and dreading re-mudding the living room plaster. You know, normal home owner woes. :) As dad pointed out yesterday, "If this house had looked like this when you toured it (wall down to studs, kitchen floor partly removed, etc.), you wouldn't have bought it!" It's true, but this is just the in between stage. We're hoping to get the bedroom finished and move in by the end of the week.
I'm so overwhelmed and excited! It's the strangest mixture.













I'll try to have some inside progress pictures for you later this week.