Painting Upstairs

Well as soon as Aaron had a day off, we were back to painting. This time we decided to paint the office/loft and hallway upstairs. One would think he would want to relax, but he wants to get the painting done as soon as possible. Since we already had all the supplies, it was easy to get started. One of the reasons I was excited for this area is because I have never organized my office since we moved in. It was the last room to get unpacked and I just threw things in cabinets thinking I would organize it later. Well, here was my chance. It took us all day to paint, clean up, and then to reorganize the office as we put everything back. It was a really long day, but I am so happy now that it's done. I actually know where everything is and I even have a designated sewing/craft cabinet. The paint color is the same as we used in the living room and dining room. It's really hard to see it in pictures, but it makes a huge difference when you are actually in the house. I guess everyone will have to come and see it for themselves! :)

New and Improved Family Room

Since we started home projects, we started looking at furniture pieces we wanted to add to the house. Neither of us like having a TV stand in the family room as the it can be problematic when you have children. Aaron decided he could create a cabinet in the wall from the open space under the stairs. So the next stop was off to Home Depot, Aaron's home away from home. We found a pre-made cabinet just the right size and then bought all the necessary supplies to hide the wires and so forth. All I could really do was help him get the cabinet together, after that it was his area of expertise. He cut the whole in the wall, fit the cabinet in, re-wired the electronics, and got everything hooked back together and working. I will always admit that when it comes to projects like this, I'm extremely impressed with what he can do and how nice it turns out. So no more sharp edged from TV stands, just open space for toys.


Since we were working in here, I was able to hang the pictures I've wanting in this room. We also bought Ashton this little kitchen since he loves to cook. It was the best deal ever, we found it on clearance (75% off) and it came with some food. We bought additional food and pots and pans and he LOVES it. Every time I'm cooking, he;s in his kitchen doing the same thing. The family room has turned into a really nice kids rooms. Everything now has a place, which makes mommy very happy! Aaron did a fantastic job and I'm so appreciative that he knows how to do all these things. It makes improving our home that much more fun. Good Job Aaron.

Painting Downstairs

While Aaron was gone, I started working on lots of different projects around the house. I told him that I wanted to paint the rest of the house before Kaylynn is born because I knew it would be a lot harder to do with two kids running around. Aaron bought some paint supplies while he was gone and had them shipped to the house. I was thinking we would just relax and he could catch up on sleep the first week he was home. Well me saying that I wanted it done before the baby gets here somehow meant it needed to be done right away.


So the first day he was home we were off to the paint store bright and early to pick up our paint. Aaron started rolling the walls while I taped and painted the corners, windows, hall, and trimming. In about 24 hours we painted the living room, dining room, and stairs. I decided to start in these rooms so that we could hang all the new draperies I bought. Our dining room is completely finished. I still have to hang a few paintings in our living room, I'm trying to visualize what it will look like with furniture one day and hang the paintings accordingly. I also bronzed all my frames so that they now match the color scheme of our house. Next we will move on to the up stairs, but that is for another weekend.


**When I get the final paintings hung, I will then post pictures of the rest of the living room. I also included a picture of my new piano music holder. It's so pretty and I am so excited to finally have a place for my books! Thanks honey.

Home Additions

In the past few weeks I have been shopping for little things to help improve rooms around the house. After completing the kids room, it's almost become an obsession to design and finish the rest of the house. I decided I wanted to keep painting, which Aaron is overly thrilled about :). I also wanted to add some draperies and new pictures and move things around. This all started when Krystle and I went to the Relief Society Stake Activity. It was called "fix it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." It was three different classes on ideas for crafts, sewing, and decorating on a budget. After the classes I realized that one I didn't feel very crafty and creative and second that I have not been in my house long enough to already have everything I need. When you still have empty rooms, your going to have to buy a few things to make it work.

One of the suggestions was to make your own Laundry detergent. I decided why not try it. I ran around a bunch of stores looking for the supplies and came home and made a huge mess making it. For those who have a food processor, use it! It truly makes it simple and clean. It smelt so good that my entire kitchen smelled like lemons for days. I just started using the soap today and thus far love it. Everything smells nice and feels soft. You can find the ingredients at Ace Hardware and Target/Walmart. The recipe is:

2 cups Fels Napa Bar Soap - Grated finely (use a food processor here)

1 Cup Washing Soda

1 Cup Borax

Mix together and keep in an air tight container. Use 2 tablespoons per load, works for He front loading machines and regular washing machines.

They also recommended using vinegar as a fabric softener, so i am trying that too. Don't worry your clothes do not smell like vinegar when its done washing and it helps with odor.

Aside from making my own laundry detergent, I bought a new table cloth for my dining room table. It coordinates with the drapes I bought, but have yet to hang.

Upcoming projects: Finishing the guest room (I bought a beautiful new bed and have a few more touches to add to the room before I post pictures), hanging drapes in the living and dining room, and painting!

Ashton's Room

Well I finally finished Ashton's room. After waiting almost four weeks for replacement pieces for his dresser, they were finally delivered and I was able to finish putting it together. It is so big that we actually have extra drawers which makes it perfect because he can grow into it. His room turned out so cute and he LOVES it. Every toy now has a place and everything is organized which makes me and Ashton very happy. I am just glad it is finally done and finally looks nice.

*It's hard to catch all the angles of his room, so there are several pictures to capture the 360 degree view.

Valentine Decoration

Well, since I spent the weekend making Valentine crafts, it only made sense to decorate my house too. I have always been good about decorating my house for all the Holidays, but since we moved I haven't been doing as well. So it's a new year and I'm starting it off by decorating for Valentines day. Ashton was so excited to get out all the decorations, he helped me in every room. It's not much, but just enough to spread some Valentine love. My new crafts made a wonderful addition to our decorations.

Project Weekend

This past weekend my Mom, Dad, and Taryn came up to visit. They came to help me decorate and paint both the kids bedroom. My dad painted both of their rooms while my mom and I worked on the rest. This was a huge project and I am so excited that it is done (for the most part). We painted Kaylynn's room a light lavender color and then placed scattered white daisies around the room. My mom made curtains to match all of her bedding that we made. She also made the changing table pad and the lamp shade. Her room turned out so adorable, I absolutely LOVE it! The lightening isn't great in the pictures, I will have to take another group of pictures with different lighting, so that just means that you need to come and see it for yourself! :)

For Ashton's room, I tried to incorporate all the things he loves. So, I decided to paint the walls green and blue and I found a truck and tractor wall paper border to tie in the two colors. I also bought Ashton new furniture to go with his new room. While putting the furniture together, we found that it had been damaged during shipping. So I am waiting for replacement parts in order to finish his dresser. I will include one picture of his bed to shoe the paint and wall paper. As soon as I get the missing pieces, I can post pictures of the rest of his room. His room also turned out perfect and I LOVE it! Their rooms are now my favorite rooms in the house.

I have to thank my parents for all their help this weekend. I could not have done this project without them! Thank you so much for coming, helping, and spending time with us. We always love having you here and appreciate all the help you gave.

New Additions to the House

This last month has just flown by and as I sit to look back on what we have been doing, I realized we have been very busy. Ashton and I had lots of play dates this month. He has his little group of friends that he wants to see every week and we do our best to try and get together. I also realized that we have been doing a lot of work around the house.

For starters, Aaron has been installing an alarm system in our house. Of course he couldn't take the easy route in this by ordering wireless sensors and alarms, he wanted to hard wire everything into the house. So many holes in my ceiling and hours of work later Aaron is almost done with this home project. It's a good thing he is also a great patch-er to make it look as though the holes were never there. I have to say I'm extremely impressed that he has been able to do all of this on his own. I'm also impressed that he was able to fish the wires through and get it on his first try every time. With all the bells and whistles in this house, I definitely sleep a little easier at night.

Our next project was putting together a new dining room table. We have been staring at the beautiful table at Sam's club for months saying we needed to save up money to buy it. We finally did and bought it the day before having two families over for dinner. It took Aaron and I half a day to put the eight chairs and table together. It is so beautiful and worked perfect for our dinner party. We had the adults in one room and the kids at our other table. We love the table and think its a beautiful addition to our home.

We also bought a cabinet for the kitchen for extra storage. As big as our kitchen is, it still didn't have enough cabinet space. So we bought this beautiful Armour and it gave us the extra storage room we needed for food and cooking utensils. Our kitchen now feels much more functional and user friendly. We also bought a new TV for our family room. It was on clearance at Sam's because it was missing a few screws and had been on display. We got it for half off and they even gave us extra screws from another TV. It was a perfect TV and an even better deal.

I know most of you have already seen our new car, but I still wanted to throw it in so we could remember when we got it. We bought a 2009 GMC Arcadia and we love it! It gets great gas mileage for its size and is perfect for our growing little family. It can even tow, which makes Aaron a happy man. The more time we spend in this car, the more we love it and know it was the perfect fit for us.

I know it mostly looks like we went on a giant shopping spree this months, but that is the fun of saving up for things and for selling old things to buy new things. I will not lie, I do love shopping, especially for things for our home. This will be an on going project for many years to come. Who knows what will be next... :)

Our Flower Bed

We finally did it! We finished the backyard (well as much as we are doing for now). We planted some flowers along the grass and a few palm trees to remind us of home. Aaron worked so hard and did such a great job getting everything done. We now have a beautiful backyard and beautiful patio furniture to match. This is definitely going to be one of the most used places in our home. Ashton can't wait till his allowed to run and play on the grass. Can't wait till everyone can come and see all our progress.