The 2nd Guest Room is Coming Together

Hope you like it! I love the bedding and lamp - and that little night stand is making me happy $50 later - woo! I'm also loving the shabby chic dresser with the linen runner - thanks for the mirror, Dev! I still need to:

• put pictures in the frames
• Borrow the black wicker chair from mom for the corner (will get this weekend!)
• Get a pillow for the chair and hang our framed wedding invitation over it (thinking a white pillow to brighten up the corner)
• Get our 'guest book' put on wooden backers so I can hang it on the wall by the bed (unless it's too big - in which case it will go somewhere else!)
• Get a new ceiling light - still deciding between a fan, normal light or pendant light!

Our Granite Templater comes TOMORROW

woo!! From here, it should take a week which means I could have granite by NEXT FREAKING THURSDAY. So excited! The kitchen is just such an eyesore to me with all of that WHITE - I think the granite is really going to break it up - can't wait!! Here's a pic of the tan/brown slab we got. I think it's going to look great with the white cabinets and bronze hardware/faucet - eek!!

Not too much news...

Last night Austin installed the ceiling light in my SB room - woo! Now I just need to organize it and buy a pillow and throw and TV and it's done! haha

Other than that he's finishing up the patio chairs. I just cooked and enjoyed the new tv/dvd player in there! And I hung a lot of the stuff in his den and contemplated ironing all of the curtains but it didn't happen. haha

That's about it. The house is definitely starting to feel more like ours. More lived in and comfortable and I can feel myself getting in a groove- yay!!

Let There be TVs

Me and Austin headed out around 1 p.m. to Brandsmart to buy 3 TVs - one for the mantle (that would go in the bonus room until then), one for the kitchen (with a DVD player since there is no cable) and one for the scrapbook room. The guy did NOT want to make a deal - how annoying... so we left, empty-handed, and went to Lowe's for screws for the bed frame (still can't get the guest room one attached!) and by Trader Joe's, PetSmart and then over to pick up my bridesmaid's dress at Priscilla. We headed up to the house and stopped by Best Buy. The guy was helpful, but then he had to go and passed us off to one of the most helpful people ever! This girl knew her stuff and helped us get the bonus room TV AND the kitchen TV for better prices then Brandsmart (they took $100 off the cost of the big TV!). We still need the scrapbook room TV but it's not a priority and we're thinking Wal-Mart or something since I only want 22" and don't need a built-in DVD player.

We stopped by the house, set up the TVs, ate a quick lunch and confirmed that the screws don't work. ARGH. By then it was 5 p.m. and Mon/Andy were coming by to get boxes/see the house so we put Kroger/trip back to Lowe's on hold and did some more stuff at the house - I worked on my office more, and Austin worked on his den more. Then Mon/Andy texted that they were running late, so I headed over to Kroger and had the hardest time. First, the pharmacy had just closed. KNEW I should have gone earlier. Then, I couldn't find ANYTHING - it was crazy - new stores are hard. :( I headed back home and walked in 60 seconds before Andy/Mon! So good to have them over though - they're moving this coming weekend!! Yay!!!

Once they headed out work on the house came to a screeching halt. We ate. Watched our favorite - Law & Order - and I succombed to a benadryl-induced slumber. Don't know what's on the agenda tonight but I do know that they's not much left to do - woo!

Ikea Failed Me

Long story short:

• I got to Ikea at 8 p.m. to get box 2 of 2 of my bookcase that I didn't get Friday.
• I had already paid for it. I even called ahead to ensure they had it and to figure out how best to go about it.
• I left 1.5 hours later without it, but with a $30 giftcard and a waived next-day delivery and will have it between "4 and 8 p.m." tomorrow.
• I hate having to be a bitch but it was one of the most frustrating, unorganized, inefficient, situations i've ever been in. Not cool.

Gotta Go Back to Ikea...

I made lots of boo-boos:

#1 I got the black floor lamp instead of the silver one. I've actually decided to keep the black though.

#2 I got the white 3-drawer chest instead of the birch one. I've decided to keep it though and think i'll like it much better! (I originally wanted white but it didn't look cute online - it does in person though!

#3 I only got 2 legs for the desk. Der! I thought they came in packs of two so I got two packs... but quickly realized that wasn't going to cut it.

#4 I only got 1 of 2 boxes for the Ikea Expedit bookshelf. I have the exterior pieces and the hardware... i'm missing all of the interior pieces...

So yes -i'm going back to get the other Ikea box for the bookshelf and 2 desk legs. And yes, I feel like an idiot....

I will say the room is coming along great! We put together the desk chair, visitor chair, lounge chair/foot stool, lamp and dresser. I've put together half of the orange/white boxes and i've put legs on half of the desk. It's looking super cute!

I'm going to Buy My Scrapbook Room!!

Ikea here I come - woo! (so glad that forgetting my gym bag led to this opportunity!)

Our Entryway is Complete!

LOVE the entryway!! Me and Devie found that piece at Ballard's on major clearance - woo! And I love the Restoration Hardware lamp Austin's mom gave us! We were originally going to do a coat rack here and i'm still thinking about it. The one at Pier 1 was $100 and the closest store that had it in stock was in a city i'd never even heard of 45 minutes away. However, I found this one on Ikea for only $30. What do you think?

Our Bedroom is Done, too!

I personally don't think this room photographed as well as the living room - but that's okay - I love it in person. For instance, the mirror/chaise wall seems bare in the photos but it fills it in person - I swear! haha The only things I really have left to do (this year!) is clean up those cubbies - can't decide if I like the way I set up stuff in Devon's absense. Next year, i'd like to get new night stands and reupholster the chaise! (or, if it's too expensive, just get a new chaise). In the meantime I would like to buy a throw to go on it to lighten it up a little - probably an ivory or darker cream color. I laugh at how much seating we have in here but we think we're going to like it! Two chairs, a chaise and a bench does seem like a bit of overkill though. haha And lastly, for your viewing pleasure, a glamour shot of Reuben! He's such a model with his new summer cut. He matches our bedroom well!

Our Living Room is Done!!!

Eeee I just love it! I love the new couch, the chairs, the pillows- I even curled up with the throw tonight after dinner. I'm so glad to be able to use the new red pillows and think Austin did a great job with the curtains!! I love the set up Devon did with the jugs (note the sand, Dev - hope I made you proud!). It's a super cozy room and I love that it has a good bit of seating even though it's not the largest space. All that's left to do is ironing the curtains and filling the console with books and/or DVDs - woo!!

Go Big or Go Home: Getting it DONE

Can't even begin to look at everything that was done this weekend!! Between me and Austin having Dev and mom there, we were unstoppable - SO MUCH was set up, put together, purchased, worked on - you name it! It was out of control amazing. And I mean it - anytime you see put together or set up - for the most part - it was my hero of a sister. WOW she's good at this stuff and I owe her HUGE. We had a time getting this together and i'm just thrilled at the turn out. I need to take some pics!! Here's a few things we did:

Kitchen/Seating Area/Den

Bought new hardware and installed it. yay Austin!!
Chose granite for the countertops. Love it - tan brown
Put together 4 chairs for the seating area; bought pillows/throws for chairs
Put together a coffee table (then disassembled and returned it – too big!)
Put up curtains for the back French doors. love them!
Hung a valance over the sink. so cute!
Bought rugs for kitchen area. still deciding on!
Hung the Wrought Iron M over the fireplace
Moved the armoire into the pool table area - looks so good!
Hung a key rack by the door
Bought a piece of art for over the bistro table - love it!

Entryway

Bought a piece of furniture - small black console
Hung a picture over it, set a lamp by it and chose a ‘catch all’ white bowl from my china
Bought a glass case and set up a neat floral arrangement in it; hung art by it

Half Bath

Bought a rug - looks great!
Bought a toilet paper holder

Living Room

New couch was delivered/set up - LOVE it.
Bought two leather club chairs - LOVE THEM.
Moved new console in - i'm obsessed with this room.
Hung large iron piece over couch
Bought large glass jugs and set up the area with vase filler and sand - looks SO good!
Bought 3 pillows for chairs/bench and a throw
Bought new coasters, tray and jar for the coffee table
Bought curtains/curtain rods
Bought a new floor lamp - SO cool!

Master Bedroom

Bought a floor mirror - swoon. It's awesome.
Put two new chairs in - they blend so well - although we have TONS of seating!
Bought a console cubby system and put it together with 4 new cube baskets - eeee a biatch to put together but it looks fabulous!
Bought décor items for the birch sleeves and console (vase filler, candle sticks, etc.) Devon did an AMAZING job putting this area together - love it
Bought curtains/curtain rods

Master Bath

Set up new stool for vanity
Bought closet organizers and set them up - so much easier to use now!

Guest Room #1

Bought bed
Set up bed frame/headboard/bedding - i just love this room. Love it!
Bought fan & installed it - the fan looks GREAT!
Bought curtain & rod
Bought mirror

Guest Room #2

Bought bed (will be delivered on Sunday)
Set up bed frame
Bought headboard - so cute!
Set up dresser - loving the ivory and how it's all turning out!
Bought Curtain/rod
Bought side table & lamp

Guest Bath

Set up shower curtain/lamp/rugs/etc.
Installed new hardware

xBox Room

Moved couch upstairs and put in console - Austin's space is starting to look GOOD! I know he's excited.
Bought a coffee table
Have art ready to hang

OUTDOOR

Bought 2 sets of patio furniture (set up one)
Bought pillows for the furniture - love the pillows/love the conversation set. Can't wait to see it all together!

Notice what’s missing? The office and the scrapbook room! They have lots of work… I can’t decide on a color scheme for the scrapbook room and the office has become a catch all – eek! And of course there's lots of things left to do in each of these rooms (hang curtains, etc.) but MY GOSH did it come together quick and me and Austin couldn't be more thrilled with the restults. We LOVE IT - and are so grateful to have Devon and Mom spend the weekend with us and lend their time and expertise. We're some lucky new homeowners. :)

Granite Update - and More!

So she came and was SUPER nice. She was really knowledgeable and I felt great about it. She brought samples and i'm definitely loving the baltic brown and one other - tan brown. She said they cost the same. We also discussed putting granite over the island (adhering it to the tile). She said she'd take it an inch over on all sides. She measured for it too and I asked her to line item it as we may not do it. We also discussed sinks - I hesitate to get one big one and am thinking of doing 60/40 or even 80/20 - we'll see! So it all went great!

Then I got the updated quote... first, she didn't line item out the island so it was A LOT (the island is about 9 square feet alone) and then the square foot price jumped up $4/foot for the tan brown. What? She said they cost the same. So... I wrote her back and hope to have an update tomorrow. I just can't decide about the island - I think I want to leave it as is... what do you think?

Other than that me and Austin:

• put together 2 dolce chairs
• put together a coffee table
• set up the seating area... can't decide if we like it - need help!
• installed a fan in the guest room (but don't have special bulbs so we couldn't put the light on)
• cleaned both bathrooms and did a load of laundry
• hung the M over the mantle and measured it for a TV
• hung the key rack thing by the door
• put together two bed frames
• installed the headboard and attached it to a bed frame in one of the guest rooms (love it!)
• made a new recipe (Sausage Rotini Pasta - LOVED IT!)
• found out that Reuben can get out of the backyard - eek!

Another great day! We're just plowing through this stuff - it's fun! I even made the coffee table by myself - woo!

Granite People are Coming Tomorrow Afternooon!

Woo!! Can't WAIT - I even bought a facuet and some kitchen hardware today to prepare! I want to make sure it all looks good!! We also:

• Bought patio furniture (a conversation set and a dining set)
• Bought bathroom organizers (drawers and tubs) and organized it
• Bought light bulbs for the track lighting, seating area chandelier and half bath lighting (and installed)
• Put the cabinet pulls on - love them!
• Tried to put the drawer pulls on (didn't work though - need longer screws AND a way to fill some holes... hmmm)
• Checked the mail and brought up the trash - so fun!
• Bought a fan for the guest room

Busy day - lots of stuff done though - woo!

I Want Granite... and I Want it Now!

I got TONS of great info from Stacy today and emailed today to get a quote from the people who did hers! (and btw Stace - I noticed that they "give cash to previous customers who refer" so I made sure to give your name!)

I asked for a quote on:

• 37 square feet of baltic brown granite with eased edges.
• A stainless steel undermount sink - one bowl
• Installation of sink
• Removal of countertops (only if they think we'll mess up the backsplash - otherwise we'll do it)
• No seams! No counter backspash! 3 cm. thick

Here's some photos of the granite I love and of a kitchen I found online that has the granite installed in a white kitchen - LOVE! My dream kitchen is getting closer and closer!

Dev Made Her First Visit Post-Purchase

O.M.G. We're in the hands of a genuis- she's already transformed our pool table area- WOOT! We LOVE it. Again, more pictures to come (taking them tomorrow) but am just even more excited. When her and Z took off I worked until 1 a.m. ironing the shower curtain, ironing pillows, moving stuff around, unpacking the stuff mom sent up via Dev, etc. We had a super successful evening and are just THRILLED that we have amazing decorators in the family. We're lucky peeps!!

We're In!

So moving went good - here's a little update!

• The move was quoted at 3 hours. It took 3 hours for them to LOAD - alas, it took 5 hours. But it's all good - whatever!
• I got TONS done the first day - worked non-stop and finished up A LOT.
• Austin went to get our taxes done - we get our stiumulus in TWO WEEKS not next year. Oh my - this changes everything! Why? Because we closed on March 31 - the LAST day for you to get it this year - crazy!
• It's looking great but we're having a hard time figuring out where to put stuff - boo.
• The seating area didn't work out - the bench just looks odd there. We decided instead to get 2 more dolce chairs (we love them!) and a coffee table. We ordered them tonight!
• My bathroom is great but it needs a chair for the cubby. A chair seemed to clutter it - like the back of it and stuff, so I ordered a rattan cube (with a storage spot) so I could put my blowdryer/flat iron in it - I heart hidden storage!
• We ended up putting the chaise upstairs in the bedroom. Now I feel like the bench needs to be reupholstered... and we need new Euros... and we need a floor mirror.... and 2 night stands... the master needs lots of work! haha
• Austin's parents brought us lots of stuff - including some cool lamps and a ladder - woo! Saved us $100 off the top!
• Cable was installed today. It took forever and the guy made mistakes at every turn. AND he wouldn't install the jack in my scrapbook room or in the kitchen - said we need to get professionals to come out. Argh.
• Austin told me to go ahead and order the couch, too - so I did!

I think that's it for now - pics to come!

The Movers Will be here in 1.5 Hours!

Good thing we got ready last night - woo!

BEFORE!!



AFTER




The Fabulous Handtruck



Makes me So Happy

No More Pool Table!

Yay! The guys got to the house at 3 p.m. yesterday, disassembled it and were on their way to meet Austin by 4:15! Austin had a car full of stuff so he met them at the house and the guys got the table up QUICK because apparently the hardwood peeps did a great job and the guys said it was "one of the most level floors they'd ever seen." WOO! Here's the progress on my end. Austin says it looks GREAT at the house - he took pics with his phone but they won't email - boo.

The inside of a pool table...



Going, Going...



Gone!



And now the legs are gone and it's back to our messy place with stuff everywhere!


Reuben, our furry snowball, was sad to see it go. He went over there several times throughout the remainder of the afternoon and laid in the place where it used to sit. He'd lay, flat bellied on the floor, and look up at the light - no longer blocked by the bottom of the table. Poor little fella lost a comfort zone! In other news - YES - he's super fluffy and we have an appointment with a new groomer on Wednesday!

Bye Bye Pool Table!

So last night went VERY well! We got lots packed and we loaded up the PT with light stuff so we can quickly unpack it at the house and reuse the boxes. Things are going well! And today at 2 p.m., the pool table movers are coming to disassemble the table - woo! Once they're done i'll call Austin and he'll ride over and meet them at the new house - then assembly begins. And while they're doing that Austin has a PT full 'o crap to unload. It's all going well! I think i'm going to use my lunch to pack some more - I can't decide! Either way - I think it will be great to have the table outghta here- more room for boxes - woo!

My Other Dolce Chair Arrived

Yay! We put together the other one last night - loves it! I put this one in the car during lunch - Austin said we'll wait and put it together when we move. Of course, he's right! :) (don't tell him I wrote that).

Packing Update

Blah. I don't have much to say but blah. I don't like packing. I never have. UNpacking - cool. I'm down. Packing just sucks. We got most of the kitchen packed last night - WOO! I've made meals to last us until lunch/Saturday so everything can go - woo!

All I can think about is decorating - eee! I can't believe we're only a few short days out - the pool table even moves tomorrow - yay!!

So... my Dolce Chairs were Delivered to work!

Awkard! I feel so bad - I hate that they were accidentally mailed here - eek! The only good thing that came of it is that I wanted to borrow Marketing's hand truck to make taking things down the hallway from my apt. to my PT easier. This gave me a GREAT excuse. hehe I HEART the hand truck - it's a little guy but it helps out!

Working on my Scrapbook Room

It's hard to do this room because it's something i've wanted to have for so long that I keep having to tone it down! haha I think i've definitely decided to do white, birch and black and green accents. For the green - i'm thinking a really funky green - but only in like pillows and maybe a chair. I'm not ready to show it yet because it REALLY needs some more work. Oh what the hell - here is a sneak peek! Note: those little black drawers and that white thing in the bottom right are inserts into the bookshelf! Also, I have a polka dot lamp that's cuter than this one - but it helps to see what i'm going for!

A Picture Post

Austin's New Toys!


My New Toy!



Saturday AKA Hardwood Install Day Austin insisted I sleep in so he left at 7 a.m. to meet the hardwood installers at the house. I slept in “as long as I needed to” which ended up being 9:30 a.m. I got up and got to work loading up what we packed last night, and packing more. I finally headed up to the house sans Reuben – I couldn’t wait to see the floors! When I got there it was so exciting! The yard was full of machines and vans and wood and people – they had a 6-man crew there working quickly getting those floors IN! Austin had put together all of his toys and started on yard work. I got out the cleaning supplies and headed upstairs and Austin helped me put together the vacuum cleaner (he did it; I watched and chatted). Then I vacuumed the entire upstairs, used an attachment for the stairs and all the baseboards and fans. I wiped down all of the mirrors, cleaned both bathrooms, cleaned all windows, etc. It took forever - but I KNOW it’s super clean – I’ve never seen so much nasty come out of a vacuum cleaner (and the place was professionally cleaned – you could tell – but still – this Bissell is AMAZING!!!) When I got done Austin had finished mowing, edging and clipping the hedges, and the guys were wrapping up the hardwoods – they look great!! We were worried – match jobs don’t always turn out right. But this one sure looked great and we’d highly recommend Emperial Hardwoods!! They were courteous, clean and quick – they even helped us pack up the PT with debri (we didn’t want to pay the $250 charge) and gave us gloves! Haha So at 7 p.m. we headed back home – we needed to get the debri out of my car, go buy boxes and packing paper and get ready to go have a few drinks at Hudson Grill with Mon and Andy. Well… we drive up to the 4th floor trash shoot, open the door and VOILA – a room full of broken down boxes with three tidy Pottery Barn bags of packing paper – SCORE! GREAT DAY! Here is....

Our Day in Pictures!

This is how I pack... hehe


The wood is in and ready to go!


Yay! Laminate and carpet are gone!


An aerial shot. hehe



Living Room: BEFORE


Living Room: DURING


Living Room: AFTER!!!


Dining Room: BEFORE


Dining Room: DURING


Dining Room: AFTER!!!!





Den: BEFORE


Den: DURING


Den: DURING



Den: AFTER!!!

Shot towards whole kitchen!

Pretty trees are coming in!

We took this picture from the master bathroom - I just think the backyard is so pretty!

That's it so far you guys! It's going so well - we're VERY excited!! Just can't wait for the big move with movers Saturday - woo!!!