Wednesday, April 30, 2014

Desperate Times... kitchen crashing

We're officially onto the next project in our house... the kitchen floor... if you follow me on Instagram and Facebook, I'm sorry for the feed overload (I'm not really sorry). I've been posting progress photos almost every night because they make my mom and Grandmom happy (and lots of our friends seem to love them too, so again... I'm not really sorry).

With this overhaul, we have a HUGE decision to make: appliances. We have discussed, ad nauseam, which direction we'd like to head, only to NOT have an outcome...




Originally, we I was thinking these GE Artistry appliances would be awesome... they're super cool with the retro look and the price was right... we could get the entire line up (fridge, dishwasher, range, and microwave) for well under $2k... unfortunately, my husband's not a big fan... I spoke to our local appliance guy and he said that they look sharp and because they are not overloaded with all kinds of crazy features, they'll run forever. Ah... what features are they missing? A lot of the modern ones I'd like in brand new appliances (self-cleaning, delayed start baking, sensor cooking microwave, ice maker, and stainless interior on the dishwasher) So although, they fit the budget and are totally awesome looking... they just aren't right for us.

Next on my hit list was this bad boy...

Ahh, but I don't have $5 grand... and IF I was going to chose this crazy, awesome, amazingly wonderful appliance for my kitchen, I would bite the bullet and have a gas line run... so until our next home... I'll keep dreaming!

Enter Whirlpool... while searching for all things stainless and white... I came across these beauties...


 Words cannot express how I LOVE these white ice appliances... they are gorgeous! And full of AMAZING bells and whistles that just make my heart sing. I love. LOVE. LOVEEEE.
I really can't put it any better than Ali over at Gimme Some Oven (side bar - I want her kitchen!)


And then there's these stainless beauties... I can't. I just cannot! Stainless is just so classically perfect and lovely and sleek and ahhhh... I love this too!

There is not a talent I lack more than the ability to make decisions. Clearly, I have a style in mind but how, oh how!? am I supposed to chose between these two gorgeous looks!? They both are equally stunning in this sample kitchen, so that doesn't even help seal the deal...

A few things that sway my decision:

1) I love the look of the white appliances with white cabinets but I prefer stainless with wood cabinets

2) I HATE, loathe, abhor, absolutely CANNOT STAND when stainless gets all gunked up with streaky water marks and slimy fingerprints... there probably isn't a word to describe how much I despise this

3) I scrolled through my pins on my kitchen board and found that a lot of my favorite kitchens have stainless appliances... however, I also found that most people who have white appliances did NOT have these pretty new white ice goodies that I adore and stainless has reigned supreme for like 25 years... so of course it's going to dominate Pinterest for now.

4) Resale... I don't really care about this as much as the people who have brought it up to me... again that whole stainless = we have arrived business... I will say, after watching 8,935, 217 episodes of whatever house selling/renovation shows, it is impossible to deny that stainless appliances sell kitchens. On the flip-side, we're probably going to be in this house about 10 more years so the appliances really won't be "new" anymore so does it really matter?

5) Our wine fridge is stainless.... this is the only thing that I can come up with as a valid argument for stainless vs. white ice. Will it drive me bananas if this 1 appliance (which will be on the other side of the kitchen) doesn't match the rest? I love a good coordinating but mismatched fest, I just don't think I'm ready for it in my kitchen... we shall see...

6) Bottom line... we're working on a shit ton of projects in this old house so at the end of the day, price will probably sway the decision one way or the other. Let's be honest... we're pinching pennies as it is... so even if the difference is minimal, we'll end up going with whatever deal is best.


 

Saturday, April 26, 2014

Good-Bye Linoleum!!

I mentioned in the most recent progress (here & here) reports that we are in need of a new kitchen floor... I maybe did not mention HOW DESPERATELY we need a new kitchen floor.

Our linoleum has seen way better days so have our kitchen counters.


Apparently, It's in such bad shape that I subconsciously avoid it in all pictures... these were the only ones where you can actually see it and I had to go back to last summer's archives to even catch a glimpse of this heinous floor.


You can kind of see here what I'm dealing with - that is if you can get past Blitz's adorable face - it's super dingy, peeling up around the back door and under the dishwasher, there may or may not be cigarette burns in it by the back door (not from us!) and it's now peeling up across the back wall because we never put the baseboard back after we finished painting... this is passive aggressive at it's finest, folks... we've had the base boards laying across sawhorses in our living/dining room this whole time because we knew we wanted a new floor first... let's just let it get totally unbearable before we get around to fixing it (I am my own worst enemy).


Enter: World's Most Amazing Family

My aunt (World's Greatest Uncle's wife) gave, that's right I said GAVE, us 5 boxes of flooring that she wasn't using because she knew that we were trying to renovate our house to make it more "us" and updated. It is beautiful 4-in plank blonde oak and will blend nicely with the gun stock oak that is throughout the rest of our downstairs. 


We were short, maybe 2-3 boxes to complete our kitchen so my parents' bought us the additional flooring for Christmas and my dad is installing it for us! How generous is that!?! We seriously have the greatest families ever of all time.
  
Of course, that means we had to wait for the opportune time for my dad to actually put it in for us and evidently, that time is today :)

I cannot wait to see the finished product! Good bye yucky old linoleum!! (we won't miss you at all!)

Friday, April 25, 2014

Friday Favorites

Happy Friday, friends!! I hope you have a lot of fun planned for this weekend! We are going to be crazy busy... in a good way!

Tomorrow morning we'll be at the Narberth CF Run in the morning. This race benefits the Take a Breather Foundation and, of course, we are more than happy to support such a wonderful cause that is so near and dear to our hearts. I'm so excited that a lot of our friends and family will be running/volunteering with us for it this year! It is supposed to be beautiful (in the morning at least) so we can't wait! (good causes are my favorite)


I've been on a 'get healthy' kick for quite some time... signing up for runs helps keep me motivated... other favorites that keep me on track are my Mason Bar Co. lids... I have 32 oz jars that I heisted from my mom and 4 lids (2 regular, 2 wide mouth) that I use ALL. THE. TIME. These are great for keeping track of how much water I've consumed in a day (goal is at least 3 of these bad boys) and they're cute so they don't bother me when I find them sitting around my house like I'm the girl from Signs.

via
It's contaminated.

Another favorite this week are these amazing shirts from Abby & Co. Thank you Little Baby Garvin for introducing me to maybe the most comfortable and cute shirts ever made.



I love these so much, I bought them in every color... well not EVERY... but yellow, gray, green, and royal blue (my favorite, but no longer listed in the shop). Obsessed.


Saying that Kohl's is my favorite is a given... I love shopping there. Everything is so inexpensive and I always have coupons/Kohl's cash where I feel like it's practically free. I recently "splurged" on leggings there because they had a ton of cute ones that were super soft and comfy feeling. My only complaint is that they rarely make things long enough for tall girls - dresses are more like tunics on me and I have trouble with their yoga pants or any pants for that matter - but I'm ok with my leggings being slightly cropped so I keep shopping... because these were $10.50 each... with a 30% off coupon... and $20 KC... so yea, FREE... I love free things! I ended up buying 3 pairs... so only had to pay $2.50 with real money.


Not part of the health kick, but I got a couple bottles of Middle Sister Wine for my bridal shower a few months back and I've been hooked ever since. I am a sucker for any wine with a fun or pretty label and I'm currently loving this one (I am the middle sister, after all). It just so happens that drinking wine is one of my favorite things to do and with this one, I can still contribute to a great cause.  If you've been reading along, than you also know that I have a love-hate relationship with Pinterest... Middle Sister's pins put me back on the love side of things


Lastly, I'm loving these Tory Burch sandals. Using the code "friendly" until 4/28, you can get 25% off, making them... well... still a splurge so we'll see if I can maintain control over the next 3 days or not...




IF I manage to make it til Tuesday without clicking "check out", it will be a miracle. But at half the price, I might not be able to pass up these cute Michael Kors Jelly Thongs.


Hope everyone has the best weekend! Happy Friday!

Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Pure Green Lust (Over a Stump Table?!)


Oh West Elm... why must you tease me so?


I have been lusting after this gorgeous stump table since I first laid eyes on it a few months ago.
Dreaming of the day our house is finally done being renovated and ready to be decorated. Thinking of ways to incorporate this little piece of lovely into every single room... it's totally that kind of lust.

So interesting, so pretty, so fun, so green... 
these stump tables are made from naturally fallen cypress trees so I thought this would be the perfect post for Earth Day! 


The only problem and why I called them out on being a tease is because they are a whopping $200!! I just can't figure out a way to justify that... not right now... we've got a lot of other projects going on around our house still so I'm trying to be as frugal as possible and not splurge on things we don't really "need". Although, I can say that we DO, in fact, NEED end tables for our living room. However, we should be able to get 2 end tables and a coffee table for this price. Bummer.

After some serious thought, I decided I could probably make something like this (and by "I", I definitely mean with the help of my husband, dad, uncle, brother...) We had a pretty the harsh winter and some crazy wind this spring, so there are fallen trees all over the place and on my way to dinner at my parents' house a couple weeks back, I almost stopped to ask a man with a chainsaw if he wouldn't mind rolling a piece of the tree he was cutting right into the back of my car. 

Enter the WORLD'S GREATEST UNCLE!

While chatting with my cousin and sister at dinner that night about my would-be chainsaw massacre, my uncle offered to help me find the perfect stump-table-pieces and said that his friend (who owns a tree removal company) had a whole pile of wood at my grandparents' farm I could choose from... how completely awesome is that!?


Today, I got a phone call and this picture showing me a piece of pretty red cedar that arrived this week at the farm... I cannot wait to go pick out a table,or 2, or 10!! I'm seriously OVER THE MOON right now!

Look how gorgeous it is... makes me want to make everything out of red cedar!!


Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Spring Favorites

Just when we thought we were free of the chilly temps, mother nature sends a cold front... Brrrrrr! I'm so ready for sunny and 70's, maxi dresses, and cold beer! But this lingering cold has me reeling over all things black and tan/white/ivory... or admittedly, I'm just obsessed with the combo, especially with pops of silver and gold sparkle.




1 - 2 - 3 - 4 - 5 - 6 - 7 - 8

1-2: Cute hair ties and accessories are quickly becoming my best friends. I love these headbands and the hair ties too - they don't get stuck in my hair and they don't leave deep red lines and cut off circulation to my hands when wear them on my wrist (for the 10 minutes I make it a day with my hair down). I call that a win-win. 

3-4: These Eight Sixty dresses are the same style as I wore for my engagement pictures and are-hands down-my favorite when it comes to maxi dresses. Mostly because they are super long which makes this tall girl extremely happy!

5-8: It is safe to say that I'm completely head over heels for all things Deux Lux these days! They have the cutest purses, totes, wallets and cosmetic bags and I would like on of each (in every color).

our renovated shower has built in beer holders (not soap dishes)

Let's just say my Toast coozie has already been put to good use since it arrived about a month ago (and my mom's been putting the other 1/2 of that set to work)! Now, JandPaper has a Happy Camper coozie that I just have to have... might as well buy 2 of them...each... seriously, when do you ever have enough coozies?

via
Hope you're all enjoying Easter Week (and Spring Break for some)!








Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Springing Up!

This weekend was filled with lots of springtime fun and Easter festivities!  It was the first great weather we've had in the northeast! Finally free of the insane winter!

Of course, this was the perfect time to get some decorating done and lots of time outside soaking up the sunshine! We have TONS of daffodils growing in our side garden and since I don't often spend time in the muddy yard, I clipped a few to put around our house... everywhere...



 I came across these awesome "frogs" for mason jars at Target... where else but the $1 section!? Love when you find something practical there, not just crap that you don't need but buy because it's super cute and cheap!



Our wreath hanger (many seasons ago) and wreath (Easter 2013) are also from Target and I would be lying if I said I didn't think about painting our front door a different color... just so it wouldn't clash with my precious wreath... I have issues.

On the up-side, Jay is finally getting on board with my crazy crafting... he asked if I made this wreath and when I told him no, he asked why not... because, my dear, sometimes buying the item out right is cheaper and easier than buying all the supplies and making one yourself. And when you're renovating your house, you'll cut any other corners you can just to get 10 minutes to drink a beer on the deck...




Yesterday, we got nailed with a cold front... 20 degrees and snow overnight so I salvaged any blooms from the garden that I hadn't cut over the weekend and ended up with sweet mini-daffodils in the bathroom and some pretty radiant-orchid colored hyacinths for my mantle. It was great getting to pull out the vases from my shower/wedding to reuse and made me feel a little sentimental... and a little bummed that that part of our life is over.

Fortunately, flowers and sweet bunny towels (from Kohl's) did wonders and cheered me right back up :)

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Spring Cleaning: Tying up Loose Ends

So after reading and re-reading my progress report post from a few weeks back, I got super excited about so many of the projects being near completion that I went a little crazy trying to tie up some of them and being able to knock things off the list completely!

DONE! is so much more fun for me to write at the end of each room than a long excuse explanation as to why things are not 'done'. So I've been a busy little bee finishing every project I possibly can!

Here's a look at our original list (without all the comments of 8-million updates) and the progress we've made since we started working on our house last February

Upstairs

  • Paint All Rooms/Hall/Stairwell DONE!
  • Paint doors/closet doors/trim 
    • Paint Stair railings DONE!
    • Chandelier and new lighting for stairwell/hallway DONE!
    • Carpet
      •  New hardware on all doors DONE!
        •  New Closet doors for Master (french-style), move current ones to office 
        • Add pot lights to all rooms and hall
        • Bathrooms
          • Redo Hall Bath (all white pieces)
          • Add Master Bath (the only thing left is the trim around the door, painting it and adding hardware... easy peasy... mostly because I only have to paint, Dad and Jay will do the rest!)
          • Move furniture upstairs (from basement and storage)
          • Hang plantation blinds, curtain rods, and new curtains in all windows.
          • Decorate. I.CAN'T.WAIT!!!!
          Downstairs
          • Paint all Rooms need to touch up the kitchen (where it got marked up from installing the floor)
          •  Kitchen floors are in :)
          •  Living Room
            • closet doors
            • move TV outlet so that it is hidden
            • Decorate!
          • Dining Room
            • Recover chairs for dining room set
            • 2 new chairs for table-heads
            • Decorate: Rug, mirror above buffet - I can't wait to move all the furniture in and see how it looks (hopefully, I don't decide that it needs to be painted/restained... I'm over projects at this point and I'm too poor to pay someone to do these things!)
          • Powder Room
            • new light
            • new mirror
            • touch up paint

            Wednesday, April 2, 2014

            Progress Report... how things are looking around our house

            Original List: Black
            1st Update: Blue
            2nd Update: Pink
            3rd Update: Green
            Updates from today: Purple

            We seriously could. Not. Be. Moving. Any. Slower. To. Complete. This. List.... but... we're making progress. Albeit very little. The good news is, there's a lot more color on this list than there is black, so clearly, we're getting things done... it's just taking way longer than I expected (and longer than everyone warned me)

            I haven't updated this in a long, LONG, LONNNNNG time in hopes that when I did, I'd feel that "whoa! we got so much done!" feeling so here goes nothin!

            WARNING - LONGEST NO-PHOTO POST EVER!

            Upstairs

            • Paint All Rooms/Hall/Stairwell
              • Ceilings (prime, 2 coats paint) Fix all nail pops in ceiling... GRRR!!! we already fixed, spackled, sanded, primed and painted these in EVERY room and they're back! Talked to my dad and got the inside scoop on this issue - now it's just a matter of time to fix them. I have fixed. I have fixed all but the ones in our guest room (which is a temporary storage closet for all the rest of the house's decor which still isn't on the walls downstairs) Nothing like doing the same job twice!
              • Walls (prime, 2 coats paint)
              • Trim (2 coats paint) DONE!
              • Doors (2 coats paint) 
              • Closet Doors (spray: prime, paint) waiting for nicer weather so I can spray outside This weekend, it's happening! This weekend, it's happening! or maybe I'll just bite the bullet and buy new ones
            • Stair railings 
            • Chandelier and new lighting for stairwell/hallway shopping for one... can't find anything I love (that Jay agrees on) purchased and hung these gorgeous lights in the hallway upstairs (back in Sept?) and we're waiting to hang the chandelier until we move our furniture upstairs so that it doesn't get broken
            • Carpet in process :) delayed due to unforeseen bathroom troubles
              • bedrooms
              • hall 
              • steps
            •  New hardware on all doors
              • door knobs
              • hinges
              • door stops
            • New Closet doors for Master (french-style), move current ones to office and pantry.
            • Add pot lights to all rooms and hall we did add high hats to our bed room but we changed our minds on this one... we ended up with a ceiling fan/light combo in the living room and all 3 bedrooms  and we went with pretty Pottery Barn lights for the hall.
            • Bathrooms scheduled for May June?
              • Redo Hall Bath (all white pieces)
                • New vanity purchased this one! we loved all the extra storage without having to run extra plumbing for a double sink
                • New light - loving this one, ended up getting this 4-light version from Home Depot for $50 less, we'll be thankful for the extra light when we're taking care of kids in that bathroom someday
                • New medicine cabinets this was just the ticket for extra bathroom storage (since I'm not really feeling the cabinet over the toilet business)
                • New tub (soaker, deep!) this one was the deepest I could find at the big box stores for the lowest price. I cannot wait to get my knees and boobs under the water at the same time! #tallgirlproblems
                • New Toilet - we picked this up at Lowes when we got our tub, after a ton of comparison shopping and inspection by dad (our go-to everything guy) we found that this not only got great reviews but had all the same features as the better-known brands... we saved a bundle by not being name droppers
                • New tile floor Picked out!  check it out here we thought for sure that we wanted wood-tile for this bathroom but then I had my issues with it being "trendy" or clashing too much with the vanity so in the end we went with this pretty slate-looking porcelain tile. It's a little more timeless and we were originally leaning toward a slate look anyways... just goes to show you should always go with your gut. I love this tile, it looks great and was the right price!
                • New faucets (sink-check!, bath-check!, shower -check!)
                • New fan with a light! I'm fairly certain, this is the one we got
                • Close up wall between bathroom and vanity/closet area (where new bathroom will go)
                  DONE!
                • New fixtures (shower curtain bar, towel bars, toilet paper holder, etc) purchased these pretties at Lowes: double towel bar, 3-piece bathroom set, hooks
                • New shower curtain, towels, accessories
                • New cabinet over toilet- not sure I want this anymore.... maybe just a pretty floating shelf... we'll see how much storage we need and if they make a cabinet that matches the vanity we bought (which they still don't as of today)
              • Add Master Bath scheduled for May June? Started in July.... finished in January... we will NEVER use that tile guy again!
                • Run plumbing DONE!
                • Change drywall to water-resistant DONE!
                • New vanity - has to be a pedestal sink to save space. Loving this beauty because it's taller than normal height, which is great for us since we're taller than normal height ;) we got this one (see comments about Aquasource Toilet above) DONE!
                • Who needs a toilet? we do! but apparently, I didn't think so when I created this list! Fortunately, we weren't going off of it when we went shopping so we got this
                • New light - up in the air on whether to do oil-rubbed bronze or polished nickle in the master, but I'm kind of obsessed with this light DONE! Jay didn't love that one so we ended up with this one :)
                • New medicine cabinet  DONE! after a little shopping around, I found exactly what I wanted on Amazon... for less! love that! we took this mirror over to our local glass place and had them cut a GFI-outlet sized hole in the back so that we could have an outlet installed in the cabinet (and hide all the ugly cords!) this was soooo much more economical than buying a cabinet with power... which are ridiculously pricy!
                • New stall shower with glass door or maybe a curtain... small space doesn't really leave room for a swinging door. bummer - upside - curtains are easier to clean. went with a curtain from Marshall's for now and so far, it's working just fine for us... if finances allow it, we might add a glass butterfly door in the future, but we'll see
                • New tile floor trying to convince Jay to let me use this one DONE! we ended up going with this accent tile with this oversized-subway tile on the floor and in the shower
                • New faucets (sink- check, shower- check!) DONE!
                • New fan DONE! this one matched the vanity light
                • New cabinet over toilet - going to go with built in shelves, ala this or this or this
                • New towels, accessories. registered for these amazing PB towels... super ridiculously soft and can be bleached - two most important qualities in bath towels as far as I'm concerned. DONE! I also picked up some super cute hand towels at Marshall's which are white with gray-ombre-ruffle-ribbon trim (pictures forthcoming as I realize that sounds terribly tacky)
                • Apparently I forgot we need new fixtures to hang these towels from... purchased a towel bar, ring, toilet paper holder, and hook from the Tempra collection and this tension rod (because we don't want to drill into the tile if we're going to do a door later on down the road and have to worry about holes) at Target
                • Move existing door to current bathroom to other side to opening between new bathroom and master bedroom. pocket door bitches! umm.. this still needs to be primed, trimmed out and some kind of hardware attached to make opening and closing the door easier but we're getting there!
            • Move furniture upstairs (from basement and storage) after carpet is in still waiting....
            • Hang plantation blinds, curtain rods, and new curtains in all windows. Planning for this weekend after carpet is in. purchased these blinds but I am still trying to make up my mind deciding on rods and curtains
            • Decorate. Planning for this weekend, but will most likely be an ongoing venture. after carpet is in Lots of things are already purchased and just hanging out on the guest room floor waiting to be put on the walls... remember what I said about the guest room being a storage closet?

            Downstairs
            • Paint all ceilings (prime, 2 coats paint) leaky upstairs bathroom has put this on hold for the living/dining room area, otherwise it's all done! we finally got a move on in our Living/Dining room the soffit needed to be opened up completely due to the bathroom plumbing issues we were having but it's since been sealed back up and the whole room is just about finished.... just needs to be decorated...
            • Paint all walls (prime, 2 coats paint) see above DONE!
            • Paint all trim (2 coats paint) see above DONE!
            • Paint doors (prime, 2 coats paint) DONE!
            •  New hardware on all doors DONE!
              • door knobs DONE!
              • hinges  DONE!
              • door stops DONE!
            •  Kitchen
              • Take down vertical blinds (and destroy them!) Lead to pulling off trim and replacing with wider, prettier trim that actually covers the gap from the door to the drywall... always something!  New trim is painted and ready to be put up... waiting on the best dad ever to have some spare time to come help us :) The trim is up and the vertical blinds are down! They have since been replaced by this curtain rod and tie backs (sometimes the best stuff is in the kids section) and these curtains which I scored at TJ Maxx for only $25!
              • Take down ceiling fans (let them go the way of the vertical blinds) New Lights are up! LOVE THEM! Thank you Ikea for our cheap fix to a serious eyesore.
              • Clean and organize cabinets and pantry
              • shelf liner inside cabinets
              • New flooring picked out buttttttt we got FREE blond oak hardwood from my aunt! Almost enough to do the whole floor! My parents getting the additional boxes we need to finish it and my dad is going to install it all... best Christmas present ever! and soooo much better than the cheap-o laminate flooring we were going to put down temporarily.
              • Add closet doors to pantry (use doors from master bedroom closet) need new doors, different size opening than upstairs closets, Boo! still in need
              • New hinges and hardware on cabinets ordered! Pulls and hinges are in but I have to order new knobs... Anthro kind of screwed me on this one. Still bitter. Ordered these from Amazon... take that Anthro!
              • New stainless appliances (fridge, range, dishwasher, over-range microwave with vent) keep dreaming
              • Bead board back splash boo! was told this was a bad idea because it's super-high maintenance. Looking for pretty tiles instead. thinking these would be beautiful!
              • New stone counter tops (some light whitish-gray color) our neighbor is redoing his kitchen and giving us his black granite counter tops. BOOM!! (end of summer) so I have no idea if this is happening or not... if not, we're thinking of updating with butcher block countertops (these are getting great reviews and are incredibly affordable!)
              • New kitchen table & chairs (still searching... in the meantime,
              • Add moulding around windows and doors + new base boards in process, courtesy of my dear old dad! still in process (doors are done, not doing windows, and waiting to do baseboards until he puts the floor in)
              • Add island with 2 stools I found this island and 2 stools practically brand new and less than 1/2 the price on Craigslist - I love that this site exists!) I might get these just for fun (and comfort)
              • Decorate: chalk board!! and memo-center stuffins DONE!
              • Paint Kitchen Cabinets white... sounds easier than it is... DONE! 
            •  Living Room
              • sand walls to remove the lovely faux finish (which also is sand) in preparation for painting don't have to! wooooo hooooo!!! one less step! still need to prime and paint but that has to wait til bathroom plumbing is done DONE! loving our Behr Hazelnut Cream in here!
              • Hang plantation blinds, curtain rods (from Shiela and Jay), and new curtains in all windows.DONE! 61 inch for our front window and 30 inch for the side window
              • Hang TV above fireplace DONE! but the outlet needs to be moved because I hate hate hate seeing wires!
              • Decorate: need rug and furniture and lamps and everything... got 2 chairs for in front of the fire place. I'm in love. pictures forthcoming :) 2 lamps from Home Goods that resemble these (but clear, not blue) are stashed in our guest room and I'm dreaming of this carpet and a DIY industrial looking coffee table like this one
            • Dining Room
              • Hang chandelier DONE! thank you Mr. G (our light elf)!!! I am so in love with our chandelier! Thanks Mom & Dad!
              • Recover chairs for dining room set- in search of the right fabric
              • 2 new chairs for table-heads- in search of the right chairs... thinking these or these
              • Decorate: Rug - Check!, mirror above buffet
            • Powder Room Done for now!
              • Bead board or board and batten - on hold til a million other projects are finished (we may or may not ever get this done, and to be honest, I won't be heart broken about it... maybe in our next house)
              • new medicine cabinet/mirror purchased. didn't love it. returned. on the hunt for a new one... still searching for something pretty. If I happen across one I love for the right price, I'll just swap it out, but for now, the one we have is working just fine.
              • new flooring  - on hold til a million other projects are finished - we're probably going to have to replace this toilet in the not so distant future so we'll redo the floor when we have to do that... it's only a little over 16 sq. ft. so this is not a huge project... for now, I will just keep a throw rug over our ugly stick-down tiles.
              • new fixtures (towel rack, toilet paper holder) scored some pretty Martha Stewart ones and got them hung up last week: towel bar, towel ring, TP holder
              • new lighting vanity style still need new light, not sure if we're moving the electric so that it can be a vanity style instead of overhead... for now the old light is back in place and it'll do - we decided not to move the electric because it's too much of a hassle and not necessary for the powder room to have great make up lighting (because we now have 2 other bathrooms for that! yay! but we're still in search of a flush mount fixture that doesn't hang too low and doesn't look like a boob...
              • new fan  Jay is going to install this weekend :) DONE! thank you Mr. G!!!
              • Scored some cute accessories at TJ Maxx including a trash can, towels and a soap dispenser.