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.