Greek Yogurt + Natural Light = Impromptu Photo Shoot

Our apartment had very few, tiny, terribly placed windows.  It made taking photos such a pain!  Our house has windows.  Lots of big windows that provide tons of natural light!  It is wonderful! 

We moved in to our house on Sunday.  I'll be back with more updates and before/after photos soon.  We have a weekend full of projects planned.  Until then, enjoy a few photos of the punks.

My toothless boy chews on everything.

And he crawls backwards.  Only backwards.

Nella had some yogurt with dinner.  She eventually dropped the container.

Silas picked it up.

And eventually made a big, fat mess.

Those eyelashes!  My goodness!

Fridge Facelift

This bad boy came with the house.  Please, try not to be jealous. 

I appreciate 'retro' to a certain degree, I really do.  I just don't think I could stomach this green giant greeting me every morning as I reach for the half & half.  The refrigerator is on our 'to be replaced' list, but it's not urgent.  Especially since the green giant is remarkably clean.  And you know what?  It keeps food cold.    So, basically we were just dealing with the ugly factor.  The rest of the appliances are black.  Easy fix.  

Paint it black.

Paint it black with chalkboard paint.

And now we have a fun and functional fridge.  It's a conversation piece (in case it wasn't enough of one already).  It's also a handy spot to keep a list of grocery essentials.  And most importantly, it's a way to entertain the kiddos. 

But won't there be gobs of chalk dust on your floor, you ask?  Probably.  But I live with two young children, so there's also always raisins, cheerios, blocks, and possibly pee all over the floor anyway.

The Paint is (Mostly) Dry: Workday 3

We are basically finished painting. Thanks, Dad!

Here's a photo of Silas' room.  I think the one I posted yesterday looked super dark and weird.  I just can't have anyone thinking a picked out a disgusting color for my son's room!

And remember the green paint mishap?  Fixed.  Isn't that green MUCH better?  I had the dudes at Sherwin Williams match another company's green.  

No shutters.  Notice that red door?  I reaaaallllly love a good red door!

 So happy and lovely!

Anyway, back to the shutters . . .

They were a filthy, faded, icky green.

My mom washed 'em up with TSP.

Oh, see our garage?  It opens on both sides.  We have access to it from the street and from an alley behind our house.  Pretty cool, and handy too.  Anyway, back to the shutters . . .

The men figured out the power sprayer.  10 minutes later the shutters were finished!

Another 10 minutes and they were dry and ready to go back on the house.

And I forgot to take an 'after' photo of the house with black shutters and red door.  Tomorrow, friends.  Tomorrow.  While the men worked on shutters, I started scrubbing the wood floor that was covered by nasty carpet.  As usual, Nella 'helped.'

Then the men put the final coats of white on the cabinets/trim in the kitchen.  It's lookin' good!  I'll take some real 'after' photos tomorrow after I clean the junk out of there. 

 The wall color is also Sherwin Williams Comfort Gray, just like in the master bedroom.  It's pretty much my favorite paint color right now.  We used it in the bathroom too (photos later).

Later, my mom drove Nana's Nap Tram.  Not the healthiest way for the kiddos to nap, I'm sure.   But they're always so keyed up when Nana & Pawpaw come to town, any sleep is better than none!  

A HUGE thanks to Mom and Dad Sipe for helping us paint.  We honestly couldn't have done it without you.  Mom, you're the best baby-wrangler around.  And Dad, well, you actually ARE a professional painter.  Lucky us!  ;)  We love you!

Next weekend we get Mom and Dad Billingsley for more baby-wrangling and project completing!  Are we blessed or what?

PS  I was not compensated for plugging Sherwin Williams paint.  But hey, if you're a rep reading this blog, you can send me a check.  Or a certificate for some free paint.  Or a t-shirt? 

No, really, we just used it because my Dad said to.  And we do what my dad says.  He knows everything; especially about paint.

Making Progress: Workday 2

My parents came up to help us paint, and we are so glad that they did. 

Today was a whirlwind of primer, paint, putty, brushing, rolling, hole-filling and all things paint related.  Caleb and dad were able to get a lot finished and if all goes as planned, we'll be able to finish up the main painting projects tomorrow.  

Dad cut in the edges. 

Caleb rolled.

 

Silas' room.  The 'after' photo makes it look super dark, it's not really that dark though.  And, please ignore the curtains.  They belonged to the previous owners and they're coming down tomorrow.

Cabinet/window/trim priming time.

By 8:00 pm.  Border gone.  Wall color up.  Two coats of white on the cabinets/trim.  

What a mess!!

Oooh, look at that cute red door!  I love it.

Master bedroom.  Again, the photos don't really do the color justice.  I guess you'll just have to come visit to see how great it looks!

Also today we primed all the trim in the bathroom and painted the walls.  And Nella's room was painted, but it'll be re-painted with a different shade tomorrow.  It was not quite right.  Actually, not even close to being right.  It was a totally different color on the wall than the sample from the store.  Bizarre.  Anyway, here's the first attempt.

Because it wouldn't be right to post anything without including photos of our little punks . . .

Here's Nella eating a chocolate chip scone, or as she calls them, trock-late chip scums. 

And here's Silas just sittin' around lookin' cute.

Hopefully we'll get a lot more finished tomorrow and I'll get a chance to post more photos of our progress.

The To-Do List

I added our current To-Do list to the left sidebar.  

< - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

I'll leave it there and update it as we complete (and add more) projects. 

Homeowners

Today was our first day working in our new house.  Our to-do list, though not completely overwhelming, is growing.   We're going to try to finish as much as we can before we move in at the end of the month.

Nella started working on a chalk masterpiece in the driveway.

We started ripping up the carpet in the back bedroom.  It was the only room in the house with carpet.  Nasty, hideous carpet that covered up a pretty decent wood floor.  Now, that floor will need some work, but we love wood floors so it'll be worth it.

 Hello, lovely wood floors!  It's so nice to see you!

 It gets a little shady there in the middle.  Sometimes when you check one item off the list you also add a few more.

 Meanwhile, Silas took a nap (in his room!) like a good little baby.

Uh, does anyone know how to properly dispose of old, janky carpet and padding?  For now it's just hanging out in our garage.  Classy.  See those old-timey red suitcases?  They were left in the garage by the previous owners.  I was hoping they were full of money.  They weren't.  Anyway, if you want 'em, they're yours!

Nella 'helped' by carrying around a sponge and some sidewalk chalk in this orange bucket. 

Break time!  She was worn out and filthy! 

The peonies (one of my favorites) in the front are blooming.  Since they only last for a couple weeks, I thought I'd snap a few pics so I can enjoy them for the rest of the season.  Aren't they just so lovely!?

Oh, that's not a peony.  That weirdo flower is giant allium.  It's pretty too, in its own weird way.