Take it Outside

I'm ready to start working on the outoors!! I want it to be cute and kinda funky. I'm going to start looking for ideas soon. In the meantime, what do you think about me painting the baker's rack (soon-to-be spice rack) red??!!! Tell me if you think it's crazy... for some reason i'm thinking it's the best idea ever!

Um, Seriously?

So here is some news...

• the dumpster is STILL here. Yes. Supposed to be gone Saturday "early Saturday, Mrs. Martin."
• Austin noticed that our grass is SO effed up. He figured it out - the roofer's left that crap (black roofing material) in piles in the grass BAKING all day. There are at least 12 3'x4' areas of charred grass... he's pissed.
• There's SO MANY nails in the yard. We haven't been able to mow yet.
• We haven't even broached the AC subject with them - trying to get the dumpster gone and the grass fixed first.
• We heard back from their painter. He quoted us $1,000. Yes, $1,000 for the dining room and hallway. Fuck OFF.

That is all. Contractors make me want to slit my wrists. I do have a little mini funny though... this morning Austin was leaving for work and heard someone yelling, "hey - hey man." He didn't see a person/didn't think it was for him. He started to get in his car, and heard "no - you sorry you sir - hey!" haha This guy comes running up from behind the poolhouse in painter's clothes asking Austin for a "huge favor." Can he put his mattress/box springs in our dumpster? Uh... Austin pokes his head over - it's not full at all. Sure, dude. The guy thanks him profusely and when Austin comes by for lunch it's full. I'm like HELLO Austin, it's a sign! Get his name- HE can paint our dining room/hallway! haha

Cute Idea + Color Palette

I've been looking up nurseries for my sister, who is trying to have a baby and will be the best mom EVER! I'm so inspired by some of these nursuries. Take this one for instance - sky blue, burnt orange, cranberry and birch - LOVE! I also love the solid bedding with the neat pattern - and the birch painting on the wall is neat too.

BIG Sigh

AC is fixed... Roof is okay... I see a few errors so they need to come back out. They also need to pay our AC bill. And get their dumpster that was supposed to be gone "first thing Saturday morning." Sigh. Contractors. I'll post pics once it's FINALLY done FOR REAL.

Roof is Up... but No AC

So mom comes over today at 3:30 p.m. and says it's HOT! Roof peeps are still here so they help her and it turns out the breakers are flipped. They flip them back. Still nothing on the bottom unit (the one that was FINE last week) but the top unit starts working (the one that was "fixed" last week - put a new motor in). So it starts cooling off (i.e. made it from 90 to 88 in the hour before we left).

We leave, go to the concert and just KNOW we're going to get home to a cool house. But no. The breaker has flipped back and it's 90 again (upstairs; mind you the downstairs unit has yet to even start).

So... I have NO idea what's going on.

My theory: the upstairs unit's new motor is too powerful for the breaker. The downstairs unit has been trying to help out the upstairs unit and now they're both effed. I just hope my house doesn't set fire tonight.... this effing sucks. And you KNOW that breaker will flip again the minute I fall asleep.

P.S. It's too hot to see if the roof looks good... hope it does.

P.S.S. Supposedly the guy who "fixed" our AC last time is coming tommorrow. When? Who knows - he's working us in. Lovely.

Roof is Going Up... or On... whatever

It's being installed... or attached... or put on to the current structure as we speak. I can't WAIT to get home and see it. I hope I won't hate it.... why do I have such a bad feeling? Oh yeah, because they punked me and now my faith in them is not 100%. We'll see...

We Got Punked

Austin came home at lunch to check on the roof progress. No progresss had been made. He called and they said they had gotten behind at another house, but would come over tomorrow. Um, no. When we set up the appointment we said the ONLY time we COULDN'T have them over was Thursday because I work. Sigh. So they're like we'll come next week then. Fine. Then take your dumpster and all of the shingles that were delievered that are taking up space in our driveway. They didn't like that idea. We told them Friday. The resisted - said they had another job. We told them to bump Friday's job like we were bumped or do Friday's job early on Thursday. Figure it out. They did. They'll be here Friday. Sigh.

And so it begins...

This was in the driveway when I got home from work yesterday. They've probably already started - eeeee! I'm excited to get home and see the final product (supposedly it's a one-day job!)

New Roof on Wednesday!

Woo! Can't wait - i'll def post some before & afters! I hope the moire black was the right choice... we'd never picked shingles before so this could go wrong, right?

Pretty... Makes me Want a Lighter Master

So I love our bedroom. I do... but it's SO dark. And while I love having a chaise, I would much rather have a printed chaise in a lighter color. This one is a bit feminine for my taste, but I think it's pretty and love the simple brown pillow on it. I also think those window treatments are pretty - very natural.

I think I'm going to look into having the chaise recovered - and maybe the bench at the foot of the bed too. (or maybe I can use it somewhere else and get a different bench for the end of the bed?) I dunno - all I know is that I would love a 'lighter' bedroom!!

Recovered Stool!

BEFORE



AFTER

Yay! I think it turned out nicely. Thank you, Joann Fabrics, for having super helpful employees with great ideas to keep it simple, and thanks, Stacy! Couldn't have done it without your heavy duty staple gun and your calling the very minute I needed your help the most! I love the final product!

Any Room Idea: Likes and Dislikes

Likes: That the case/wicker baskets are Ikea (i.e. not expensive); the colors; the chair - amazing fabric - looks SUPER plump and cozy; the complementary colors and fabrics, the stack of magazines to make an end table, the neat swirly rug, the way the white objects/cubby pop, against that wall color, the way the books are organized by color... Lastly, I love that it could go in a den, bedroom, office, playroom, nursery, etc. - it's a very versatile idea.

Dislikes: Um... i don't have any! I think this room was put together SO well and am kind of obsessed with it. It makes me want to have a splash wall painted in the SB room - a bright ORANGE wall.... Austin would LOVE it. haha

What do you think? Love it or hate it?

Bills, Bills, Bills

It's CRAZY how many bills we have (in my opinion). I'm used to bills - but apparently the extra 'home-owning' bills are just pushing me over the edge! I mean think about it...

Mortgage
Power
GAS
Water/Sewage
Cable/Internet
SANITATION
LAWN
PEST CONTROL

This sucks! I just wish all places had the same billing cycle - I feel like i'm writing checks every day! Anyway, my first being-a-homeowner complaint. Hopefully the first of very, very few, right?!

Oh had my first request from a neighbor. They're out of town and want us to check their mail. Little do they know we only check our OWN mail once a week. Perhaps checking there's will get us more in the habit!

We Have Shingles!

Last night the roofing guy came over at 9 p.m. (sigh - supposed to be there at 8 p.m.) . We finished up the paperwork (woo!) and picked out our shingles. We went with Landmark series 30-year designer shingles - love them!





Here's a pic of a house with Moire Black... (from the brochure)



We should have our new roof in 2 weeks at the most - WOOO!!

Painting Setback

So… we got a quote today for $600 for painting the dining room and hallway. It includes materials/supplies. Also, he said if it was in good shape it would be $300, but because they have to mud/sand/etc. several areas that’s where the other $300 comes in. Also, because the color is red, they have to prime it and then put two coats over it. Basically, because of the ‘prep’ work it’s a 2-day job. While I know they would do a good job and I really liked him, that is way more than I want to spend. That dining room is SMALL and there’s very little walls in there with the big entryway, other doorway, wainscoting, two large almost-floor-to-ceiling windows, etc. It’s just not seeming worth it. I’m going to talk to Austin tonight but it seems like we may need to either:

A: Do the prep work ourselves
B: Have other people come out Thursday to quote it
C: See if we can get him to throw in the half-bathroom (which doesn’t require any ‘prepping’ –nor did the hallway.

Even so, I don’t know if I would want to pay $600 for a dining room, small hallway, and half bath (assuming he would even go for that).

SIGH.

Painting Visit

So first of all I thought Luis was SUCH a nice guy! He really knew what he was talking about and seemed like such 'good people.' He pointed out something me and Austin had noticed - that for some bonehead reason the painters used SATIN on main floor, foyer and upstairs hallway. So you can see EVERY brush stroke, roller stroke, etc. in sunlight - even on the CEILING. He suggested we one day consider having that fixed (totally up to us; again - super nice).

He also:

• Pointed out lots of interesting errors... one being that the red is painted over a border in the dining room. O.M.G.
• Suggested we do a different color. He said he's used to foyers/hallways being one color, but he thought the dining room/living room/kitchen should be a different color (not like all different colors but a different color). He said it's TOTALLY up to us, but to consider going in the same family but using a lighter or darker shade.
• Noted that they will need to repaint the ceiling... it has lots of errors- that room was painted SO poorly (which is why we're wanting to hire them - we know if we did it ourselves it would be sloppy city).

Anywho - good meeting! I'm definitely interested in the PRICE which he said he should have over today. I so hope it's reasonable so we can get this taken care of pronto!

Painting & Roofing Update

Not the most exciting post in the world - but I do have a few updates!

1. Luis is coming tomorrow to quote the dining room/hallway paint job - WOO! Will probably have him quote the bathroom as a separate line item - don't want it done until I choose a light; get a new pedestal sink.

2. The roofers cancelled tomorrow (for bringing samples) but are bringing them Monday instead. I LOVE the architectual shingles on the house two doors down and can't WAIT to have ours put in!

3. The water bills situation is resolved! It will NOT be $240 - more like $70 - YAY!!

4. The power bill situation (we haven't gotten a bill) is somewhat resolved. They said both bills they sent were sent back to them and "to talk to my postmaster." Who the H is that? Anywho, the TOTAL of BOTH bills is $98 and I can pay online - SWEET! She had to email me my account # though - HELLO - can't pay when I still don't know my # because i've yet to receive any documentation from your business. I was super worried this house would be MUCH more than the loft but our gas was $44 and power at $98 - MUCH better (the loft was A LOT to heat and cool because of all of the windows + poor insulation).

5. Depending on how it goes with Luis, we hope to bring on his wife to start cleaning (she cleans Mel's house and i've only heard good things!) I hope it's sooner rather than later - we need help!!

That's all folks!! Off to watch SYTYCD!!!

Austin's Den is Looking Good!

As you can see, little Reuben likes to hang out in here, too! I think it's a great space for Austin to have upstairs with his office/TV/xBox, etc. all in one place!

Calling in the Pros

We're calling a painter tonight - woo!! We've decided that dining room MUST be painted and while we COULD do it ourselves, we worry it will be a waste of $ + time and end up looking like crap. BLAH! Hopefully he can come over and check it out, let us know how much it will be and, in a perfect world, paint on THURSDAY! Wish me luck... and YES we're having the little hallway by the pantry quoted, too! (including the dreadful ceiling, remember? Oh my... i've GOT to take a picture of that ceiling! hahaha

Pool Table Area is Coming Together

Sorry the lighting is kind of rough! Used the iPhone again and it just doesn't take the best pics. :( Either way - i'm super happy with the way the room turned out. Austin did a great job hanging the New York and the pool table light. The room is SO much brighter than it was before - we just love it!

The Red MUST Go

I apologize in advance for the poor photo quality! But here is how our dining room is looking. The red MUST go - it's throwing everything off in my opinion. I want it the color of the rest of the house.... or maybe even something darker! (darker brown) Hmmm

Austin says we should take back the 4 white chairs and get 4 more of the banana weave chairs. What do you think??

I love West Elm.... Hate Ikea

The correct lamp from West Elm is already here... Ikea called and said the chair cover would be here within "5 to 7 days" after promising it would be here on Friday.

Honestly - we're thinking of exchanging the Harry chairs for the next level up. We've just been sitting on them and they're not that comfortable. Another $30 per chair and it's more comfortable and come on - $120 for FOUR more comfortable chairs doesn't seem that high a price to pay - thoughts?

If this is the case.... I want to know if I can take them back assembled and then get the others. Hmmmmm.

P.S. While i'm very proud of West Elm for already having the lamp here... they still haven't picked up the other one yet. It's been on our front porch since Tuesday morning...

P.S.S. "Superior" Granite and Stone finally sent a check today. Thanks assholes.

A Few Updates

• We went to Atlantic Station and bought most of the stuff for the dining room.
• Devon helped/saved us/met us there and came over and hung out.
• West Elm gave me the wrong lamp... they said i'd have the right lamp by Wednesday.
• Ikea didn't give me a cover to one of the chairs... they said someone would CALL me by Wednesday and they weren't sure when i'd get it. If I don't have it by Thursday - i'm going back. Blah.
• So far I think i'm loving how it's looking - but it's hard to tell with the light not up, no decorations in, the walls still red, etc.
• That's about it for now - have LOTS to do this week - can't wait though!

Dining Room Help!

So I came up with this board yesterday... all day yesterday going back and forth, undecided. I think I really like the idea of mixing up dark wood and birch - kind of a earthy feel but still matches with the house. I want to:

• paint the room the color of the rest of the house
• have a rectangular dining table with 4 white chairs and the two woven chairs on each end (they're bigger/taller than the white ones).
• I want to have one birch side table with a lamp, clear vases and green buds on it
• I want to have one piece of art over the console - we liked this one.
• Other than that - I want a pendant hanging over the table - i've been eying this one at Ikea for a while.
• Lastly, I plan to do a cluster of mirrors on a different wall - but I haven't found them yet. I'm thinking homegoods or TJ for that.

So what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Also - do you like this lamp? Austin liked the one on bottom better. What do you think?

My Happy Office

I love it...




So does Reuben...






What you're not seeing is the wall to the left of the window! I plan to paint a shutter white and stick black/white photos in it. I want to hang it vertically. I actually started painting it, but need to go get gray primer. You're also not seeing the wall to the right - it's a small wall because there is a closet on the end. There is a white 3-drawer chest from Ikea on it, and it will soon have a TV on it. I haven't gotten it yet because right now I have a 22" w/a built-in DVD player in the kitchen because they wouldn't put cable in. Now they're saying they may be able to, so Austin said to wait before buying a TV because we could just stick that one in my office and get a TV w/out a built-in DVD player for the kitchen!

This room is ALL ikea - from the curtains/rods to the light fixture and lamp. Aside from the shutter and TV, I still need to:

• buy a pillow for the lazy chair
• finish organizing my stuff (it's in boxes but not how I want it yet)
• decide if I like how things are set up (i'm not crazy about the books. I worry it looks messy)

I'm thinking about buying this pillow - what do you think? Any advice or thoughts on the room?

Nope...

Still haven't gotten a check or confirmation that one was sent. Supposedly it was "maybe" going to be sent Friday and he (company owner) would "double-check." This was Thursday... I never heard, never got a check so I emailed yesterday. No response. Sigh. Why are people so bad at customer relations?

On another note - I have lots more to do at home but regardless I am taking pictures today! Promises!!!

I Hate Being Dodged

We agreed to $500 with the granite people. I emailed Monday to confirm when it would be sent... i heard nothing. Emailed back Tuesday.... nothing. Note - I got GREAT responses before they installed my granite (i.e. had my $). Wednesday morning I got an email from the person who messed it all up saying it "was out of her hands" and to reach out to David (the guy who has YET to call us - owner of company) or Adriana. I emailed them both Wednesday around lunch. Thursday I had heard nothing. I waited until after lunch and emailed AGAIN asking for a response. I got one, saying it "might" have been sent but "usually" they don't send checks until Friday so they'd double-check... Um. What? You couldn't check that BEFORE writing? Argh.

A New Roof

Yes. The second full night in our apartment (the Sunday night before the Monday night we cleaned Post Stratford) there was an awful storm in our neighborhood. Like AWFUL. The next morning we, and almost all of our neighbors, were missing lots of shingles.

Long story short, we're getting a new roof! Austin's mom suggested we get designer shingles. Basically, they're less matte and more layered - they add texture if you will. Austin met with the insurance adjuster today and the roofing guy and it looks like we'll have a new roof + designer shingles very soon, at potentially no cost! We'll see. :)

Must Take Photogs

Argh! I keep forgetting to take pictures of my SB room! I would take some now but i only have my iPhone. Boo. Not for long though - mom sent my camera/Austin's jacket via mail so hopefully I'll have it soon - woo!

We Settled

They gave us 20% off. It's over. Whatever. I just want the check and I don't want to work with them again. BOO! :(

Most importantly - I don't want to talk about it anymore (I know, shocker) because I want to ENJOY it. We love it - we do. It's what we were looking for and, at the end of the day, it looks great!!

The Great Sink Debacle

We have a sink - woo! We had the disposal moved over to the right side. We're still waiting to settle with the granite people... still deciding if we should have them do it over or if we should just take some money. We'll see!

I Hate Contractors

So.... yesterday was rough. Not gonna lie. Here's the breakdown.

• The installers get there and tell us, in so many words, they're likely going to damage our backsplash upon removal of the countertops. What?! That's why we didn't do it ourselves - we're paying you to do it.... what?! They're like, "we just don't know until we get in there and see. Things happen." Um, seriously? Long story short: Austin calls, raises hell, they agree to fix it if it's damaged. Result: no damages/no problem!
• The installed have laid down the countertops and see the 1/2" gap between the top of the countertops and where the tile begins. I knew about this gap, and was told the "grout joint" would be filled with grout to bridge the gap. The installers apparently weren't told they would need to do this. They asked me what we were planning on doing with it... I said um, what are YOU planning on doing with it? They had no idea... Long story short: I called, raised hell, they agreed to fix it. Result: the guy headed out to Home Depot, bought it, put it in, it looks great/no problem!
• They went to drill the holes and it was just wrong. Not right AT ALL. I couldn't figure out why it wouldn't line up with faucet in center, then operator, soap, sprayer to right.... they worked it out and put faucet in center... but then operator to left and soap to the left of it then sprayer on the far right. It just wasn't right... it plagued me. Later I realized THEY PUT THE SINK IN BACKWARDS. The big side should be on the left/small side on the right so the faucet, operator, soap and sprayer could line up down the right. O. M. G. I was so upset. I double-checked my emails and everything and I requested big on left/small on right. Long story short: I called, raised hell, they're figuring out how to go about it. She DID confirm that her notes had small side on left AND the templater's notes that I signed had small side on left so she "doesn't know what happened." Result: TBD.

At this point... i'm like come fix it. Come template, cut another slab, bring it out here, buy more grout, uninstall the sink, readhere, reinstall, etc. AND pay our plumber $225 to come BACK out OR give us $. Just give us $ and i'll deal with it. How much $? I can't decide. I would have rather they just done the job right the first time, you know? This is THE biggest slab, and the most complicated slab because of the sink break. It's definitely going to cost them the most to replace... and then of course 2 trips, paying the plumber, etc. I personally think they should give us $1,000. haha For real - i'll start buying stainless appliances!!! :) We'll see....

P.S. In all honesty, at the end of the day, it really looks good. It DOES. I just can't enjoy it until i'm compensated or until it's fixed.... AAARRRRGGGGGHHHH. They've sucked all of the fun out of this for me! :(

Granite Peeps are Here Early - woo!

Can't wait to see the final product!

Granite TOMORROW

Sorry - I know this week has been lame with my posting only consisting of granite updates but that's all I have! We took a house break to focus on working out and cooking - we'll get back on it this weekend - so in the meantime all that's up is they're coming TOMORROW between 3 and 5 p.m. I heard that the granite is coming out great and that Austin's AU turned out well!! We'll see....

Interesting!

I was telling Stacy about this weird tripod thing the granite peeps brought over for the templating and she said that's a digital proof. Like - they can make pictures of what it will look like in my kitchen! I had no idea... so I emailed the granite peeps and apparently she'll send it tomorrow.... she said she's gotten her head chewed off a lot because she told us they would make an AU out of our sink cut out... but the guy only makes dauphins are some craziness but she's making them do it anyway to keep her word... Austin's like Kel - tell them to take off more $ and screw the AU. I explained to him that it doesn't work that way - we would just be out the AU! haha So we'll see, but I hope I get a digital proof tomorrow. And if not, i'll have the real thing in less than 48 hours so HECK YEAH!!

Just hired a Plumber

Stacy wasn't kidding - they're not cheap! But at least they're on the books to set up Friday following the granite install Thursday - WOO! So glad that's done... now i'm off to Home Depot as the sink I bought is missing a piece. So glad the templater noticed!!

Loving the Orange Guest Room!

I'm so happy with the way the bed turned out - and I love the bed side table/lamp! The rest of the room has a roll top desk in it - but it's not decorated and needs new hardware, and a 3-drawer chest - again not decorated and needs hardware! I also have three pictures ready to hang on the right wall! Maybe i'll do that tonight!! I think I want to get a little owl like my mom's to sit on the tray on the 3-drawer chest! I need to post that picture - I need help picking hardware!!

We'll Have Granite Thursday!

I am SO excited. I can't believe it's going to be so soon!! I just really think it's going to make such a difference in that room. The hardware alone made a difference so I think it's going to be perfect!!

As far as this coming week - the big things I want to get to are finishing up the patio furniture (still have 3 chairs to put together and the table), finishing up Austin's office (it's in really bad shape!) and hanging the pool table light (it makes me nervous on the floor and it's just in the way you know? Other than that, it will just be little stuff!

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!