Happy 2016! I hope that everyone enjoyed the holidays. We had my brother here visiting over Christmas and it was so nice to spend time with him and have him finally meet Nolan. Now that January has hit and we're into a new year, we are once again focusing on what we want to do around here.
Last week I shared a quote on my Facebook page, which highlights what has been on my mind for the last while. "We have traded our freedom for overfilled closets, and our passion for unnecessary maintenance. We have sacrificed life in pursuit of clutter".
This rings so true for me. I find when there is too much "stuff" around the house, or too much "mess", I feel stressed, aggravated and distracted. Instead of playing with and enjoying my children and B, I'm trying to organize things to either get them out the door or find them new homes. NO MORE! I want my children to remember fun and playing and adventures - not time spent dealing with meaningless objects.
This past week our life has taken an unexpected turn (more to come on this), so B and I are taking some time to focus on what is most important to us. For the last year or more, we have done our best to make our focus our family and friends. To us, people, relationships and experiences are far more important than "things", "stuff" and "possessions". With that being said, 2016 has kicked off with us turning a focus to reducing the amount of stuff we have around the house.
I have started this journey to live with less, and hope to share our progress with you along the way. It won't be something that happens quickly and most definitely not over night, but I hope that along the way we can find more time, happiness and money as we let go of the things that are cluttering up our space, as well as our time.
In the last week, we have cleared out close to 40o items from our home and made almost $200 selling things we no longer need (mostly baby clothes or items). It's been so therapeutic to start removing things that take up space and time and I can feel the difference it is making in my life emotionally. At the end of the month I plan to report in with a total breakdown of how many items we have released and, as a bonus, how much money we have made selling some of these items.
Has anyone else attempted to live a more minimalistic lifestyle? What are some of your tips to help you declutter and release items that may have an emotional hold on you?
Monday, January 18, 2016
Monday, October 5, 2015
A Copycat Sofa Table
One thing that we have always been slow to add to our home is furniture. We try to be careful when bringing in pieces and we are always very conscience of our budget. We don't really splurge on pieces, and if we know what we want, B would rather build it for us. The best part about building our own furniture is that we can always get the end result that we desire, taking away or adding details as we please, and it saves us a ton of money. Of course, when I decided that I wanted a sofa table for our family room it was time for us to flex our DIY muscles once again.
Before we began to build, I started looking at Pinterest and different big box stores for inspiration. We could've built something simple and straight forward, but I knew that I wanted something different (read not all wood), and provided us with storage space. When I found the Bleached Pine Rolling Console from West Elm, I knew that I had found our next project. It took quite a few weeks of sourcing materials and discussing plans before we started. The finally decided on the following supplies to help us build our table:
- 3 - 12" x 5' pine boards
- 2 - 10' pieces of conduit (1/2" EMT)
- 50' of Galvanized Wire Fencing
- 3/4" Fencing Staples
- 4 - 4 x 1 1/4 Vintage Black Cast Iron Swivel Casters (2 with brakes) (not pictured as they were still being shipped to us)
Once both stains dried, we beat up the wood a little more. More gauges, cuts and scrapes, but we also upped our game and B brought out his blow torch so we could burn it as well. Our last step in aging the boards was adding dark brown stain to random sections of the boards (which we used on our dining table that B built). This toned down the grey and really helped to complete the aged look of our boards.
Before we began to build, I started looking at Pinterest and different big box stores for inspiration. We could've built something simple and straight forward, but I knew that I wanted something different (read not all wood), and provided us with storage space. When I found the Bleached Pine Rolling Console from West Elm, I knew that I had found our next project. It took quite a few weeks of sourcing materials and discussing plans before we started. The finally decided on the following supplies to help us build our table:
- 3 - 12" x 5' pine boards
- 2 - 10' pieces of conduit (1/2" EMT)
- 50' of Galvanized Wire Fencing
- 3/4" Fencing Staples
- 4 - 4 x 1 1/4 Vintage Black Cast Iron Swivel Casters (2 with brakes) (not pictured as they were still being shipped to us)
Our plan was to build a similar looking table to West Elm's but with a smaller foot print and aged looking wood. After taking measurements, we decided the table would be 12" deep, 5' long and 2' tall (with the casters on). This would ensure the table would be only slightly shorter than the length of our couch, come up nicely to the back of it, and be deep enough to hold books and photos, without being too deep.
With our plans in place, our first step was the most fun! After B sanded the wood down (so we wouldn't have sharp edges) we got to beat up and "age" those pine boards. Our weapons of destruction?
Basically anything from B's shop that we could use to scrape, dent, gouge or cut the wood with. We threw a bag of screws at them, wacked them with chain, a hammer, a file... whatever we had, we used it.
Once we thought that they good and beat up, it was time for our first coat of stain. We started with Varathane's Ultimate Wood Stain in Golden Pecan (which we used for the Love Your Wood Challenge last month). B applied it lightly and wiped it off quickly since we didn't want it to be too orange. Next, we put on some of the Varathane Ultimate Wood Stain in Weathered Grey (also used in the Love Your Wood Project). Again, it was applied lightly just to bring some aging to the wood.
Once both stains dried, we beat up the wood a little more. More gauges, cuts and scrapes, but we also upped our game and B brought out his blow torch so we could burn it as well. Our last step in aging the boards was adding dark brown stain to random sections of the boards (which we used on our dining table that B built). This toned down the grey and really helped to complete the aged look of our boards.
You'd never guess that we started with plain pine boards, would you?
With our wood ready, it was time to start preparing the other parts of our table. Using Rust-Oleum's Painters Touch 2x The Coverage spray paint in Dark Walnut, we sprayed the galvanized fencing and fencing staples.
In order to start assembling our table, B created 8 spacers from scrap wood that were 12" tall to match the spacing on the galvanized fencing. We had four spacers between each shelf, screwed into the corners to hold the shelves sturdy. Then, using a hammer B nailed the fencing to the shelves using the fencing staples. This step took the longest, as he put a fencing staple at every other cross section of the fencing to keep it sturdy. We had a few staples split the wood, but it really just added to the aged/beat up look of our barn board (and they were on the bottom or back side of the table, which was good).
Next, B needed to bend the conduit pipe. Using a manual conduit bender that he picked up from Home Depot, he made 90 degree bends in the piping. This part proved to be the most difficult to mimic from the inspiration table. B mentioned to me quite a few times that with the conduit bender he wouldn't be able to get the pipe to wrap right around the wood, but rather we would end up with it winged out, more like handles on a bar cart. I was totally okay with this change in design and actually liked it more.
To attach the conduit to the table he drilled 1/4" holes halfway through the piping in order to hide the screw heads and then drilled a 1/16" pilot hole through the other side of the pipe and into the wood. He then used 2 1/2" screws to attach the piping to the wood.
The final step was adding the heavy duty cast iron casters that we ordered from Caster Connection. He screwed the castors to some 6" x 3/4" x 4'-4" aged scrap wood that he had, and then screwed that wood to the bottom shelf... and we now have this table!
This is the perfect spot for my vintage owl trivets, as well as our new Acrylic Photo Blocks from Tiny Prints. I love them because they are such a beautiful and different way to display some of our favourite photos and memories!
Though I would like to build a blanket ladder for this room, at the moment the bottom shelf is the perfect spot to keep a couple of my favourite throws from Penney & Company.
I'm so in love with this table and thrilled that we decided to challenge ourselves to work with more than just wood to create a new piece for our home. Yes, B did the constructing but we collaborated on how to age our boards and what products to use for the look we wanted - we do make a pretty good team, if I do say so myself.
Have you been working on anything new that challenges you to think outside the box? Or maybe you've just acquired a really great piece of furniture that has made you look at your home in a new way!? We'd love to hear about it!
Tuesday, June 30, 2015
Amping Up Our Garden Game
Well, it seems that since Nolan arrived I've jumped back on the blogging bandwagon. I'm not sure how often I'll actually be blogging, but I hope to share a lot more of what we're up to this year. We really have accomplished a lot, I've just slacked on sharing it.
Some of my favourite projects that B has tackled (being totally honest), are the updates he's made to our front yard. We obviously loved the curb appeal of this home from the moment we first saw it, we just thought it had the potential to be so much more...
Some of my favourite projects that B has tackled (being totally honest), are the updates he's made to our front yard. We obviously loved the curb appeal of this home from the moment we first saw it, we just thought it had the potential to be so much more...
This was the year! Two years after buying and moving into our home, we decided that we needed to step up our garden game! B ripped out the four rhododendron bushes by the front porch, removed the red lava rock and expanded our garden space. We wanted it to be pretty, but still functional, so we have a nice mix of pretty flowers, and edible plants as well.
The "Welcome" sign, I made last year. The wood is a piece of pine we bought at ReStore for $3. I stained it using leftover stain from our dining table, then hand painted the letters. We sealed the sign with a spray poly just to ensure it wouldn't suffer too much from the elements (even though it's under an overhang).
The wood planters we bought at a local farm store last year and B put in some decorative grass he bought at our Farmer's Market, along with some marigolds. Our hanging baskets we bought on Mother's Day at a sale that was being held by the local Cub Scouts. We just couldn't pass them up.
I love our wildflowers that B planted right at the front of the garden. They are all so tiny and pretty and add so much colour!
This rose bush was only planted the other week. B's Dad bought it for us from our farmer's market. It probably won't stay in this garden forever, as we are learning what works where and how everything goes. I just couldn't resist this colour though! It's so vibrant.
I'd say that our corner garden and picket fence have added the most to our curb appeal this summer. If you follow along in Instagram you may remember the photo of my Mom helping B to build the fence a few days before Nolan was born. He hand cut all of the pickets using scrap wood we had and painted everything before putting it together. The black caps are solar lights and came as a pack of four from RONA... so we have a spare if we ever need it. This garden is definitely more full...
We have tons of marigolds (lots more in the yard) as B saved all of the heads from last years flowers for seeds. B used a bunch to edge this garden and they add some nice colour.
This lupin is the center of our little corner garden and it's so beautiful. The colour and flowers are so unique and are apparently edible. We'll need to do a bit more research on harvesting and cooking before we do anything. From what I understand, we will want to soak them for a while before we eat them.
It's definitely coming along nicely out there! A big improvement from our once barren front lawn. Now if only we could get a little bit of rain out here to keep our grass looking green... yup, serious lack of rain on the so-called "wet coast". We have water restrictions in place already and fire bans in place too - not so good for camping season.
And just for some extra eye candy - my handsome hubby and sweet boy kicking back on the porch swing that B built for us last year...
Has anyone else been working on their gardens this season? Trying new plants or layouts? What are some of your favourite flowers or edible plants?
Wednesday, January 7, 2015
Our 2015 To-Do List
With 2014 behind us, and our list reviewed, it's time for us to set our household goals for this new year. For those who don't follow me on Instagram, we found out on Christmas Day that we are welcoming a baby boy come May and are so excited! This means a lot of our to-do list will be geared towards preparing for his arrival. Here's what we have on our list...
The Front Entry:
The Stairs: Just after Christmas we both got tired of trying to maintain the carpet on the stairs. It was just dirty and dingy and hard to keep the dog fur off of it, as it seems to be where they enjoy hanging out. It made the house smell like dogs, and it was just time for it to go. B has ripped off the carpet and we are in the process of pulling staples so we can refinish them. We hope to get the risers painted white, the treads stained and some trim added to the wall side of the stairs. Hopefully this will be done sooner rather than later.
Paint: Just after ripping up the carpet we started priming this hallway. I've found it too dark for too long down there with not much natural light, dark floors and grey walls. We plan to paint the walls the same colour as the rec room and can't wait to share this transformation.
Storage: B and I have agreed we'd like to add a seating bench with storage, and some hooks on the wall for hanging jackets. This will go on the wall by the front door close to my office. We think it will be a much better place for Halle to sit while putting on her shoes so the dogs are constantly running past her. Hopefully we can find time to do this.
The Rec Room:
Finish Painting: We completed so much painting down there between the summer and early December. All of the walls were done and we also transformed one wall into a magnetic chalk wall for Halle that she loves drawing on! We left one nook unpainted since we originally planned to fill it with some built in bookshelves for storage. However, when we rearranged the rec room to our new desired layout we discovered that nook is the perfect play area for Halle. This means in the near future we will need to move her toys out and finish painting that area.
Artwork: We have tons of artwork we need/want to hang down here - many pieces need some new frames so we're on the hunt for some affordable frames. Hopefully we can have these all hung before my parents come to stay with us for little man's arrival.
The Guest Room:
All of It: I don't even know where to start with the breakdown of what we need to do in here. We put this original guest room together in October of 2013 when we were welcoming some extra guests for Thanksgiving. We put it together quickly, using what we had and it was functional. However, now that we'll be moving the upstairs guest bed down here this room needs to be cleared out and we'll start all over decorating it and making it more welcoming and comfortable for the many guests that we expect with our new baby coming!
The Master Bedroom:
Storage: I'm moving this forward from last year, as I'd like to find a long low dresser for this room before baby arrives in May. It will give us more storage space in our room which will hopefully allow us to eliminate the two dressers that are in there now (one in our bedroom, one in our closet). We may use one of the current dressers in the baby's room, or we may get him a new one - we'll see what happens.
Lighting: Maybe we'll finally address the light fixture in our room after living here for two years (Yup - it will be two years since we moved in come this May!). Fingers are crossed for this!
The Nursery:
All of It: Much like the downstairs guest room, we have a whole room to work with - essentially starting from scratch. I've found some inspiration shots and B and I have begun our hunt to find pieces we love for a good price! I can't wait to start pulling his room together and sharing it with you! So much to do and I'm so excited about it!
The Front Entry:
The Stairs: Just after Christmas we both got tired of trying to maintain the carpet on the stairs. It was just dirty and dingy and hard to keep the dog fur off of it, as it seems to be where they enjoy hanging out. It made the house smell like dogs, and it was just time for it to go. B has ripped off the carpet and we are in the process of pulling staples so we can refinish them. We hope to get the risers painted white, the treads stained and some trim added to the wall side of the stairs. Hopefully this will be done sooner rather than later.
Paint: Just after ripping up the carpet we started priming this hallway. I've found it too dark for too long down there with not much natural light, dark floors and grey walls. We plan to paint the walls the same colour as the rec room and can't wait to share this transformation.
Storage: B and I have agreed we'd like to add a seating bench with storage, and some hooks on the wall for hanging jackets. This will go on the wall by the front door close to my office. We think it will be a much better place for Halle to sit while putting on her shoes so the dogs are constantly running past her. Hopefully we can find time to do this.
The Rec Room:
Finish Painting: We completed so much painting down there between the summer and early December. All of the walls were done and we also transformed one wall into a magnetic chalk wall for Halle that she loves drawing on! We left one nook unpainted since we originally planned to fill it with some built in bookshelves for storage. However, when we rearranged the rec room to our new desired layout we discovered that nook is the perfect play area for Halle. This means in the near future we will need to move her toys out and finish painting that area.
Artwork: We have tons of artwork we need/want to hang down here - many pieces need some new frames so we're on the hunt for some affordable frames. Hopefully we can have these all hung before my parents come to stay with us for little man's arrival.
The Guest Room:
All of It: I don't even know where to start with the breakdown of what we need to do in here. We put this original guest room together in October of 2013 when we were welcoming some extra guests for Thanksgiving. We put it together quickly, using what we had and it was functional. However, now that we'll be moving the upstairs guest bed down here this room needs to be cleared out and we'll start all over decorating it and making it more welcoming and comfortable for the many guests that we expect with our new baby coming!
The Master Bedroom:
Storage: I'm moving this forward from last year, as I'd like to find a long low dresser for this room before baby arrives in May. It will give us more storage space in our room which will hopefully allow us to eliminate the two dressers that are in there now (one in our bedroom, one in our closet). We may use one of the current dressers in the baby's room, or we may get him a new one - we'll see what happens.
Lighting: Maybe we'll finally address the light fixture in our room after living here for two years (Yup - it will be two years since we moved in come this May!). Fingers are crossed for this!
The Nursery:
All of It: Much like the downstairs guest room, we have a whole room to work with - essentially starting from scratch. I've found some inspiration shots and B and I have begun our hunt to find pieces we love for a good price! I can't wait to start pulling his room together and sharing it with you! So much to do and I'm so excited about it!
Monday, January 5, 2015
A Look Back at our 2014 To-Do List
Well, another year has come and gone and it's a little crazy for me to think that 2015 has arrived. We have a lot to accomplish this coming year (especially before our new little one arrives in May), but before we get to that I need to take a look back at what we accomplished from our 2014 to-do list.
Exterior: (1/2 Completed)
Details: Our original plan was to build a railing between the two posts at the front of the house in front of the window. Instead, B ended up making us a lovely porch swing, which we love! Once it was built and put in place, we learned that there would not be enough room to put in a railing as well. As nice as it would look to have one, we prefer to have a nice place to sit, and watch Halle play in the front yard! So we'll consider this item checked off our list!
Landscaping: We has big plans to fix up the front garden and fill in our lawn and come up with some really great ideas for this area to spruce it up... LAST SPRING! Unfortunately, this item was never crossed off of our list as much as we would have liked it to. B did work on getting rid of some of the moss in our grass, to allow for the grass to grow in thicker, but maybe this year we'll finally get around to landscaping!
The Dining Room: (4/5 Completed)
Seating: When we started 2014, all we had were two end chairs (as seen in the above photo). We lucked out and in late January I found 4 pretty green x-back chairs and later in the summer we scored an 11 foot church pew off of Craigslist. We completely transformed the pew into a beautiful piece for the opposite side of our dining table, and we have officially found all of the seating we need for our dining room! We're loving how it all came together, and are happy this was checked off of our list!
Lighting: The light fixture actually came together a lot more quickly than we both expected. B put it together in a couple of weeks back in February as we prepared to host a dinner party for Brett's birthday. We always get compliments on it when people visit and the way it lights up the table always gives the perfect ambiance for dining. Check, check, check!!
Storage: We had talked a lot about building something in where our IKEA bookcase stood. Unfortunately, with so many other projects going on, this fell to the back burner. We considered it low priority since there was already a bookcase there providing some storage for us. We did however, add a small table to one corner which gave us some room for a picture frame, some house plants and lots of my books and magazines. It was a small step, but for $3 it was exactly what we needed to add a little bit of storage in our dining room. At the end of the day, I consider this step a success!
Paint: While we are getting tired of the grey in this space... and the WHOLE house, we never got around to painting the dining room as it will be a big commitment. Painting the dining room will also involve painting the family room, kitchen and upstairs hallway. For now, this has actually been moved off of our list.
Artwork: When we rang in 2014, we had no artwork hanging in the dining room. We made some baby steps (not all are permanent) by hanging a mirror, our Boston OrkPoster and a large family photo. We have some plans to add some new art in this year, hopefully this year, but for now this one is complete.
Paint: This was another item I took care of early on. I started painting in February and didn't finish until March (that's real life with a 2.5 year old... who is now 3.5). I picked a dark blue called "Wrought Iron" by Martha Stewart and I'm glad I did this one when I did as the Martha Stewart line has since been discontinued at Home Depot.
Storage: I really wanted to replace our tall IKEA dresser last year. I knew something longer and lower would fill the far wall much better, but we never got around to it. Again, this ended up low on our list as we already had a dresser that was doing it's job.
Lighting: This one makes me laugh since it's been on our list since we bought the house and we STILL have not found something we like for this room. In time we'll replace that light fixture!
Big Girl Bed: We had planned to build Halle a big girl bed, but it never happened. Instead we got a good deal on a bed frame for her on Craigslist. It was perfect and we got her some plain white sheets from Target, and a pretty duvet cover that matches her room from IKEA. She loves her big girl bed... and it definitely makes her seem all grown up. It happened just in time too, as she is so excited to give her old crib to her baby!
Curtains: I was worried that the curtains were too short and wanted to add some fabric to the bottoms of the curtains. Now I'm starting to think that we should just drop the curtain rod a little bit and the problem should be solved. We'll take care of this one soon!
Lighting: We still have replaced the fan on her ceiling, though we still have plans to do so. We just havent' found something we love. I'm just hoping that we can find one for her while we are making up the nursery... I'd like her to still feel special and do something for her as we are preparing for the baby.
Lighting: We never expected this to happen, but during a trip across the border in the fall we came across and inexpensive light fixture and made it over with a little spray paint in one night. We love the look of it in the kitchen, and I'm so happy we did cross this off our list.
The Backyard: (1/1 Completed)
Gardens: We wanted to make some big changes out here, including garden beds for vegetables and expanding one of the gardens over by out covered patio. We managed to get some fabulous gardens that supplied us with tons of tasty fruits and veggies that we ate during the summer, but also froze to enjoy over the winter months. B was also successful at creating a run for the dogs along the side of the house which solved the problem of the dogs digging holes and destroying our grass.
Bonus - Sandbox and start of playhouse: Though we didn't put on our list B was successful at building a sandbox for Halle and starting construction on a playhouse for her. Hopefully the playhouse will be completed for her to enjoy this summer!
The Back Deck: (0/1 Completed)
Seating: We had hoped to build some outdoor seating using pallets this past year, but it just never happened. Instead, B used those pallets to create a small herb garden for us, and also build some planter boxes that we had tomato plants in. We didn't increase our seating, but utilized the space on our big deck and the tomato plants also offered us some more privacy on the deck as the summer wore on!
There were some bonus projects we completed this year, including a makeover to our downstairs rec room, and some work we've begun in our hallway. Both of these should come up on our 2015 to-do list, more as items to finish up! I can't wait to share what we've done in these two areas!
Overall, I'm happy that we finished up what we did. 11/19 isn't too bad since we had a busy year getting outdoors, exploring, travelling and having visitors here as well!
Exterior: (1/2 Completed)
(at the start of 2014)
Details: Our original plan was to build a railing between the two posts at the front of the house in front of the window. Instead, B ended up making us a lovely porch swing, which we love! Once it was built and put in place, we learned that there would not be enough room to put in a railing as well. As nice as it would look to have one, we prefer to have a nice place to sit, and watch Halle play in the front yard! So we'll consider this item checked off our list!
Landscaping: We has big plans to fix up the front garden and fill in our lawn and come up with some really great ideas for this area to spruce it up... LAST SPRING! Unfortunately, this item was never crossed off of our list as much as we would have liked it to. B did work on getting rid of some of the moss in our grass, to allow for the grass to grow in thicker, but maybe this year we'll finally get around to landscaping!
The Dining Room: (4/5 Completed)
(At the start of 2014)
Seating: When we started 2014, all we had were two end chairs (as seen in the above photo). We lucked out and in late January I found 4 pretty green x-back chairs and later in the summer we scored an 11 foot church pew off of Craigslist. We completely transformed the pew into a beautiful piece for the opposite side of our dining table, and we have officially found all of the seating we need for our dining room! We're loving how it all came together, and are happy this was checked off of our list!
Lighting: The light fixture actually came together a lot more quickly than we both expected. B put it together in a couple of weeks back in February as we prepared to host a dinner party for Brett's birthday. We always get compliments on it when people visit and the way it lights up the table always gives the perfect ambiance for dining. Check, check, check!!
Storage: We had talked a lot about building something in where our IKEA bookcase stood. Unfortunately, with so many other projects going on, this fell to the back burner. We considered it low priority since there was already a bookcase there providing some storage for us. We did however, add a small table to one corner which gave us some room for a picture frame, some house plants and lots of my books and magazines. It was a small step, but for $3 it was exactly what we needed to add a little bit of storage in our dining room. At the end of the day, I consider this step a success!
Paint: While we are getting tired of the grey in this space... and the WHOLE house, we never got around to painting the dining room as it will be a big commitment. Painting the dining room will also involve painting the family room, kitchen and upstairs hallway. For now, this has actually been moved off of our list.
Artwork: When we rang in 2014, we had no artwork hanging in the dining room. We made some baby steps (not all are permanent) by hanging a mirror, our Boston OrkPoster and a large family photo. We have some plans to add some new art in this year, hopefully this year, but for now this one is complete.
(at the end of 2014)
The Master Bedroom: (2/4 Completed)
(at the start of 2014)
Bedding: We crossed this one off right at the start of 2014. We took advantage of the white sale at The Bay in early January. We got some lovely Gluckstein sheets for a great price and they ACTUALLY fit our bed. We love them and the steel blue colour we picked is perfect with the next item we crossed off.
Paint: This was another item I took care of early on. I started painting in February and didn't finish until March (that's real life with a 2.5 year old... who is now 3.5). I picked a dark blue called "Wrought Iron" by Martha Stewart and I'm glad I did this one when I did as the Martha Stewart line has since been discontinued at Home Depot.
Storage: I really wanted to replace our tall IKEA dresser last year. I knew something longer and lower would fill the far wall much better, but we never got around to it. Again, this ended up low on our list as we already had a dresser that was doing it's job.
Lighting: This one makes me laugh since it's been on our list since we bought the house and we STILL have not found something we like for this room. In time we'll replace that light fixture!
(at the end of 2014)
Halle's Room: (2/4 Completed)
(at the start of 2014)
Toy Storage: We made some small progress on this front, but of course the amount of toys she had in there seemed to multiply - so I'm not sure how helpful our storage additions were. I picked up some small stacking boxes for a steal, and we also got some cute giraffe hooks for her wall on clearance at Target. We did make a nice change in her closet, giving us plenty of more storage room in there and that was the biggest progress we made by far!
Big Girl Bed: We had planned to build Halle a big girl bed, but it never happened. Instead we got a good deal on a bed frame for her on Craigslist. It was perfect and we got her some plain white sheets from Target, and a pretty duvet cover that matches her room from IKEA. She loves her big girl bed... and it definitely makes her seem all grown up. It happened just in time too, as she is so excited to give her old crib to her baby!
Curtains: I was worried that the curtains were too short and wanted to add some fabric to the bottoms of the curtains. Now I'm starting to think that we should just drop the curtain rod a little bit and the problem should be solved. We'll take care of this one soon!
Lighting: We still have replaced the fan on her ceiling, though we still have plans to do so. We just havent' found something we love. I'm just hoping that we can find one for her while we are making up the nursery... I'd like her to still feel special and do something for her as we are preparing for the baby.
(at the end of 2014)
The Kitchen: (1/2 Completed)
(though the cupboards were almost done at the start of 2014, this was the photo I shared from one of our first walk throughs of the house)
Storage: We had hoped to get a seating bench into our window nook last year, but it just never happened. Over time the conversation of storage in here at evolved into talks of putting shelves into the other nook. It didn't happen last year, but we hope to do it this year and create a new home for my cake plates, stand mixer and growing collection of cookbooks.
Lighting: We never expected this to happen, but during a trip across the border in the fall we came across and inexpensive light fixture and made it over with a little spray paint in one night. We love the look of it in the kitchen, and I'm so happy we did cross this off our list.
The Backyard: (1/1 Completed)
(at the start of 2014)
Gardens: We wanted to make some big changes out here, including garden beds for vegetables and expanding one of the gardens over by out covered patio. We managed to get some fabulous gardens that supplied us with tons of tasty fruits and veggies that we ate during the summer, but also froze to enjoy over the winter months. B was also successful at creating a run for the dogs along the side of the house which solved the problem of the dogs digging holes and destroying our grass.
Bonus - Sandbox and start of playhouse: Though we didn't put on our list B was successful at building a sandbox for Halle and starting construction on a playhouse for her. Hopefully the playhouse will be completed for her to enjoy this summer!
The Back Deck: (0/1 Completed)
(at the start of 2014)
Seating: We had hoped to build some outdoor seating using pallets this past year, but it just never happened. Instead, B used those pallets to create a small herb garden for us, and also build some planter boxes that we had tomato plants in. We didn't increase our seating, but utilized the space on our big deck and the tomato plants also offered us some more privacy on the deck as the summer wore on!
There were some bonus projects we completed this year, including a makeover to our downstairs rec room, and some work we've begun in our hallway. Both of these should come up on our 2015 to-do list, more as items to finish up! I can't wait to share what we've done in these two areas!
Overall, I'm happy that we finished up what we did. 11/19 isn't too bad since we had a busy year getting outdoors, exploring, travelling and having visitors here as well!
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