I'm back...

Well, actually we're back! I was off of work last week and got a ton of things done at the house but we took a break over the weekend. We headed up north to my grandma's lake and became beach bums!

I stitched this photo together it turned out pretty good (click on it to make it larger)...

My daughter has never caught minnows before (not too many at the beaches we visit) and this was one thing on her summer 'to do' list. We had to have caught at least 50...

At the end of the day we did let them go...

The water was pretty clear and cold. But I got in. We walked out to the diving dock and I chickened out, like it said it was cold. We still had fun, found a bunch of shells, caught minnows and swam a bit, I'd say it was a very successful beach trip!

This is the 'cold creek' we named it that when we were kids (not sure if it has an 'official' name)-it is the COLDEST water that you will ever touch! It empties into the lake, my daughter had a lot of fun in it getting really cold and then jumping back in the lake. The lake water didn't seem too cold after that!

Hope everyone had a relaxing weekend!

Can you say yummy?

Check out Matthew Broderick and SJP's New York home...

Love the punch of red...

Images from Hooked on Houses.

decisions, decisions

We've made some decisions. We've decided to scrape the wallpaper and wash the walls. that's it. for now. painting will have to wait.

Although it was easier scrapping the other day, I "enlisted" some help from my daughter and she actually liked it-she tackled the lower half of the walls and I did the top.

Wallpaper that needs to come down:

Living Room
Dining Room-done :)
1/2 Bath
Full Bath (on the ceiling too)
Back Room


I feel like I need to do a PSA regarding wallpaper-I'll keep it simple-FOR THE LOVE OF PETE DO NOT PUT WALLPAPER UP IN YOU HOUSE! End of PSA. Think paint-it's easier to change and cheaper.

eye candy...

OK well not that kind of eye candy... I'm talkin' house eye candy! Check out Paul Bettany and Jennifer Connelly's lovely home-it's for sale, a mere $8.5 million and it will be yours~

Look at this curb appeal~
I think I like this house so much because it has so much wood work in it-here's the stairs~

Look at all the windows...

and the ceiling...

another shot of the stairs and a view of the front door...

Images from Hooked on Houses.

House progress...

No more polka-dots! I'm almost done with the bonus room! Here's what we started with:


Lovely pink polka-dots and urine soaked carpet-ugh...

The carpet was pulled up to reveal moisture damaged floors, so they became painted floors! I also had to texture the ceiling due to poor patching by previous owners. I never want to add texture to a ceiling again. ever. I also patched the walls-lots of nail holes. Two coats or primer and two coats of paint later I have this:

Here you can see the floor, it was drying and got a second coat after the pic, it will receive a final coat of off white later this week...

Now to rest my bones-my aching back and jello arms...

Weekend shopping finds...

So I did a bit of shopping this weekend-check out the goods:

I found this cute little candle holder at Target marked down to $3.74! It turned out to be the inspiration for the back room-tan and brown~

Then I spotted this lovely...

...a 4 x 6' woven chocolate brown rug for $20.00!

Now on to garage sale finds~I bought not one but TWO of these chairs for $45 for BOTH!! Can you believe it?

Happy Shopping!

~Dining Room Idea~

A while back I asked Fikle Chick to do an idea board for my dining room. Check out her blog http://fiklechik.blogspot.com/search/label/Idea%20Boards. I was torn on what colors to use-what color would I paint when I have a colorful stained glass window? Well look at the magic she worked up...


I love it! Now onto shopping...

Summer to-do's...

and I'm not talking about house work! I saw this idea on another blog-
http://megduerksen.typepad.com/whatever/ check it-you won't be sorry. This is one amazing blog. After seeing this idea my daughter and I decided to make a little list of our own; some simple things like catching fire flies and some more time consuming like going out of town. All have the same outcome-no boredom, creating memories and having fun! Make your own summer list today!

Good-bye cabin-hello ?

I've got the cabin room primed! Here's some before and after pics:

Good-bye gun rack...

Good-bye bear...

Good-bye fishing pole...

Here's a few pics of what my daughter would like her room to look like...

This is her favorite, she is really into different countries and learning about them so maps are right up her alley. This room is funky and cute at the same time-fits her to a t!

Dining Room update...

I haven't updated you all on my house progress so here goes...

I recently got ALL of the wallpaper and backing off of the dining room walls and let me tell you it was quite a task! I still haven't nailed down a color or even primed the walls but it will happen soon!

Here is the largest blank wall with all it's wallpaper glory...

and here's the after-wallpaper scraped, holes patched and sanded...

The built in buffet 'before'...

and the built in during...


and lastly the window seat...

and here it is without wallpaper (and lace curtains) and holes patched...

Next week I will be painting! I'll post more progress pics tomorrow but for now I need to rest my aching back!