Bedroom progress

Hmmmmmm. . . So I just realized how that sounds, but it seemed catchy and pretty self explanatory. We got the bedroom painted this weekend! With the help of our lovely friend/neighbor, we got it done in just a couple hours on Saturday. So after some slight debate and sound reasoning, we decided to go with a color we currently had an abundance on. Those of you who were not aware, my loving husband and I completely over-estimated the amount of paint needed to paint our living area and kitchen, and as a result ended up with a gallon and 1/2 of the Cinnamon stick (the color we chose to paint our bedroom) and 3 and 1/2 gallons of the gold. Needless to say we are still searching for areas in which the gold can be used.

So here are some pics of before and after the paint job:

Before:

After:

And yes- I am still seeking a home for my lovely collection of shoes:

I'm looking for the right shoe tree for our space.

Now, keep in mind that the arrangement of our room is still very temporary. We previously had our bed in the corner and dressers on opposite sides of the room, but as we had all of our furniture pushed in the middle of the room as we pained, we kind of enjoyed the bed under the window. It sort of put a damper on the whole headboard idea, but the fabric hung in the window is what we are/were going to use for the headboard. . . Only time will tell what we end up doing. Our hope is that eventually we can find a big armoire or dresser that the two of us can use together, and we can ditch Luke's old falling apart dresser. I've got my eye on one from Ikea right now!

So that's the update with the bedroom. We may one day paint the ceiling the gold color, but who knows!

Curtains galore

Okay so. . .
I am happy to say our kitchen and hallway curtains are complete and hung! Our neighbors now officially have no excuse to peer through our windows. Luke and I were hunting far and wide for a fabric or curtain that would tie the kitchen and the entry way in together. Gold and maroon is a popular color scheme but we wanted to bring in a little bit of another color too. I initially found this curtain panel at Tar-ghetto as I like to call it, but it was a little bit more than I was wanting to spend. We then snagged it up in Owatonna for $18 (Luke's home town) the weekend we were at his parent's for Christmas. We consulted our lovely friend/neighbor who ensured us she could make this one panel into a double panel curtain for our kitchen and a single panel curtain for our hallway window.

Here's our lovely kitchen sans curtains

Definitely lacking, I'd say.

So here is a picture of the curtains and rod hung:

And here's a closer look at what the fabric looks like with the gold wall

I think it looks just beautiful together. And the curtains are dark so they kind of take away the light that shines in so we do have some tie backs being made for when we want the curtains open so the sun can shine in. Those are in progress as well! Painting begins tomorrow, along with my first attempt at a DIY head board for our bed.

I will update you all with the progress.

Happy Friday loves!

Loving this back to the future project

Okay so I had to post the link to this website. This photographer, Irina Werning, has chosen to have people re-inact their childhood photos. Absolutely amazing!

http://irinawerning.com/back-to-the-fut/back-to-the-future/

Slowly but Surely

Okay so I'm sure any other homeowner is well aware that there is always something to do around the house. That something is somewhat of a broad term. It can mean cleaning, it can mean planting, gardening (obviously which isn't an option now) or it can mean making "improvements." When we moved into our house, we were lucky enough to start from scratch. Our house was a flip, and of all the flips we saw in our home search, this house was by far the best. They completely ripped down the original house and built a new one, so we have new floors, new roof, new appliances, new everything. But along with that new, came pretty generic. For example, all of our walls were white and all of our closets lacked any sort of shelving. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love this because we are able to personalize our home and make it ours, but I am sometimes a little too motivated for my own good and am constantly wanting to 'do things.' I think one of my greatest concerns when we moved in was not having shelving in our bedroom, and not having a lot of closet space. As I said before, we were able to personalize, and our tiny, empty closet turned into this:

(Please forgive me for the slight disorganization)

We now have ample closet space for all of our clothes, and the two bedrooms in the basement serve as a sort of overflow.

We also have a closet on the other side of our kitchen that has, since we moved in, been serving as random storage. Luke had expressed some interest in converting the closet into a sort of pantry so we snagged up a wire shelving unit from Home Depot and turned this:

Into this:

Much more pleasing on the eyes, and I think once we get some things moved around, it'll be perfect! Mission 'PAINT OUR BEDROOM' begins this weekend (no excuses) and I couldn't be more excited. Before and after pics to come.

Lots o limes

Anyone know what I can do with my overabundance (3 lb bag) of limes? Any food, drink recipes or any old beauty remedies?

Shower and Shenanigans

This weekend was an absolute blast. Saturday, I (along with a couple other friends) hosted a Pampered Chef bridal shower at our house. In all honesty, I was a complete ball of anxiousness. I never thought I would be that obnoxious host, but I cant deny what I have become. We had over 18 women, and an array of delicious food.

After some re-organization, we were able to create a buffet style spread for our guests, and I can say I love our home's open floor plan most when we are entertaining!

Here's the hostesses with the lovely bride to be

Some of our wonderful guests friends :)

The shower was great. I think everyone had enough to eat. We had games, prizes, some get-to-know-you's and last but not least some wine and laughing. We decided that it was entirely too easy for us all to be together, so we decided to move the party up the street with some beers and yet more laughter. 2 am came entirely all too quick and next thing I know, its Sunday and I'm forced to deal with the typical party aftermath. So that's my weekend filled with a shower and shenanigan's with friends.

Very thankful for a company holiday today because I've got a crock pot full of homemade soup, and a couple craft projects to be completed at home.

Here's my first one:

We actually got one of these empty frames as a wedding gift, and we were lucky enough to have some friends purchase another (as a wedding gift) full of our wedding photos. I really wanted this wedding picture of our parents hung because I think everyone looks absolutely stunning. I then put our babies pictures around as a sort of compilation of what we've grown into. Cheesy- I know!

I am officially . . . . . a Costco member!

(Imagine my name and beautiful face on the back. . . and by beautiful I mean horrendous. I didn't know they would take my picture!)

Tonight my friend Katie and I met up for a wonderful Costco endeavor. We were gathering up supplies for the bridal shower we are throwing for our lovely friend, Mary. As we were discussing how we were going to maneuver both of our lacks of membership to Costco, I finally took one for the team and decided to join. I'd actually been trying to convince Luke for months what a great deal it is, and tonight was a perfect opportunity to show him. He for some reason thought that buying in bulk wasn't going to be ideal for only 2 people. I however, begged to differ.Their produce is outstanding, and their meat selection is another great deal saver- 6 hearts of romaine lettuce for a whopping $3.69, and almost 7 lbs of ground turkey for $15.00. I honestly feel like I could live in that place! It can be deceiving, however, because not everything is that much more cost effective. Its a matter of doing research and knowing where the deals are.

Over $100.00 later, Katie and I headed to get our nails done. This was her b-day present to me, and could not have happened at a better time. I, for some reason, have a difficult time justifying wearing a beautiful ring when my hands look like a 10 year old boys.

Quite an improvement, I might say :)
Thanks Katie!

Welp that is my nice little Friday. I'm so excited for the shower tomorrow and I can't wait to share if with everyone! Happy weekend everyone.