A treat to myself...

Not much of an update, but D and I went to the racetrack on Saturday...and I did pretty okay there. So, as a treat to myself I bought a little addition to my landscape:

Isn't it pretty??

We also worked on the yard quite a bit on Saturday...mowing, more mulching, and some weeding.  Sunday, I did work on my office space quite a bit.  I need to buy a new desk chair (something that adjusts height-wise), but otherwise I feel like I am ready to rock the classes.  Bring it on Syracuse, I've got this!

Expect pictures soon...

There's not much progress to report on the house lately, but expect some updates/pictures soon.  I'm on vacation the first week of July, and the plan is to finally get the kitchen painted.

There have been some accomplishments lately.  Dave ran line from the basement into the back bedroom (my "office") so that I could plug my computer directly into the internet.  Why is this important?  I need a hard-wired connection for Graduate school.  Yep.  I'm finally going to be working on my MSLIS.  I've been accepted into the Syracuse University iSchool program.  Woot!  Classes begin in July, so after that last week of vacation, there probably won't be a lot of time to devote to the house.

I also planted some lilies and decorative grasses in the front yard, as well as some boxwoods to replace the overgrown bushes that we tore out last fall.

I'm still here!

I haven't updated in a while...there's not much to update about right now.  I finally got the Master bedroom painted.  I have my bed in there, but that's about it.  I need to get my dressers in there before I feel like I can hang pictures on the walls, etc.    The master bath remains a true mess.  (Why is bath fitter sooooo expensive!)

I repainted Abby's bathroom, a dark Xavier blue with a crisp white shower curtain.  Nice!  And, we updated the flooring in that bath.

This spring, I'd like to look at getting new siding and windows. I think that will make a huge difference in the curb appeal.

It's fun watching the flowers come up already.  I can tell that I've got daffodils and tulips.  I'm not sure what else I'll find in my yard, but I can't wait to see!!

Here's the excitement from this winter:

 

One of my neighbor's trees fell into my yard, and grazed my house.  Luckily, it was a small tree, and it didn't do any damage.

It's better than a hole in my head...

It's a hole in the wall!

Abby was pretty excited that she got to help Tim knock down the wall.  

I cannot begin to express my happiness with the way that this project is taking shape.  I knew that I'd love the opening, but I didn't know how much.  I'm so glad that I bit the bullet and started demolition right away.

This cabinet will be painted the same color as the rest of the kitchen cabinets, and will get the same hardware.  

 And "just because,"  I bought myself flowers.  I saw them at Kroger, and they made me smile.  I figured that was reason enough.

Kitchen Surprise!

I know...two posts in one day!  Shocking!

I came home from work and found this in my kitchen...

Which can only mean one thing...Kitchen renovations are underway!  

This "island" is going to go into the wall between the dining room and kitchen, with an open "window" area to make a pass through.  It will also provide much needed kitchen storage.  I cannot wait to see this project finished! 

Woot!! 

Making progress...

Slowly but surely, I'm making progress in the house.

This weekend, quite a few projects neared completion.  Most noticeably: the living room, dining room and hall were painted.

I still love the grey/blue accent wall!!

I also removed the hardware from my closet, and built something more space efficient.  

Love it, and can't wait to move my clothes in!  Of course it still needs secured to the wall...but I want to make sure that I love the design before doing all of that!

The kitchen has made great improvements as well...New appliances, and a fresh coat of paint on the cabinets.

   

Hopefully the passthrough from the kitchen to dining room will start this week!  Here's the granite countertop for that space: 

And most important of all, Sierra loves having a yard of her own.

The Weekend works wonders!

A lot of progress was made on Saturday, and a lot of paint was purchased on Sunday.

First on Saturday...we started with the living room, and dealt with the grass textured wallpaper.  Here's the before:

This stuff was miserable to try and remove.  We started with a steamer, and it just shredded on us.  So, we got some of this stuff:

 

This stuff is a miracle solution.  Not that anyone cares, but it worked like a charm...when following the instructions, letting it sit on the wallpaper for 15 minutes and then working it off...we ended up with this:

It made such a difference to get rid of that 70's wallpaper!

While Abby and I worked on the living room walls, my BFF Beth got busy on the hall bathroom and my bedroom.  No before photos, but here are some "after":

 

On Sunday,  Abby filled nail holes in her bedroom, and in the hall bath.  Then my sister Caren, Abby, and I went to Home Depot and bought paint for the living room, kitchen, and the majority of the rest of the house. Also bought paint for kitchen cabinets, new hardware for cabinets, and a new light fixture for the dining room.  

I'm ready to get started with the painting!