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Snow 04/05/09

WHY? Oh, WHY?!?

CARPE-T DIEM!!

TA-DAAAA!!!! Here is our beautifully finished basement! Scott forced me to go to Menards with him yesterday to pick out trim (seriously boring). I've decided that we will never be able to build a house together. I hate making decisions. When Scott asked me yesterday if I would prefer white or almond colored electrical outlet covers. I mean, seriously?!? I couldn't care less (we got white if you were wondering). I just hate making those small decisions because it doesn't matter to me. I don't pay attention to those small details in our house.

Anyway, we got the trim and Scott painted it all and put it up and it looks so great. We had 2 choices (another decision for me to make) on which trim to buy. There was one kind that was cheaper and thinner, but easier to use. The other kind was twice as expensive but looks way nicer. In this whole process, I learned that cheaper isn't always better. We got the more expensive kind and ended up spending about $230 on trim alone, but that will provide enough trim for our entire house, upstairs and downstairs. It looks really nice.

Precious is being camera shy, as usual.

My hand touching the carpet and letting the fact sink in that we have a fully carpeted basement now! Yipeeeeee!!!

Dusty Trail

Here is our almost finished painted basement. We meticulously picked out a wall color. I mean, seriously, we lost sleep over this. Not really. But we did pick a neutral color called "Dusty Trail". We've used this same color in a few other rooms of our house and it's easy to decorate and match things with because it's so neutral. I was a little worried at first because the carpet color was very similar to the wall color and it felt like one big beige box. But once Scott got the trim up (you'll see those in the next post) it really made a huge difference. We were up until midnight last night enjoying our new basement once we got some of the furniture moved back in. And that was like, way past my bedtime.

My cinnamon to his sugar

Each morning on my way out the door, I pop a few pieces of honey wheat bread in the toaster and then top it with melted butter and a coating of cinnamon sugar. This usually tides me over until lunch time and it's about all I have time to make for myself since I'm usually running behind.

I use an old cinnamon shaker for the cinnamon sugar mix and noticed that I was getting low last week. So come monday morning, I expected to open the cupboard to find my empty cinnamon sugar container.

Low and behold, it was completely full!

I thought to myself, did I fill it up last week and I just don't remember? Scott doesn't use cinnamon sugar for anything so I don't think he would have filled it up. Nonetheless, I was thankful to have a bounty of cinnamon sugar for my toast that morning. When I got home from work, I asked Scott about the mysterious refilling of my cinnamon sugar container. He gave a sly grin and I immediately knew that he had filled it up for me. My heart swelled and I was reminded why I married this man.

It's the little things that keep a marriage going. It was such a small thing, but I really really appreciated his gesture and let him know by giving him a big wet kiss!!

Prime Time

Hey guys! Here are a few updated pics of the basement. It's coming along really well and I am so pleased with how fast Scott has gotten this done. The first picture is looking at the back of the basement (to the right when you walk in). You can see part of the new bedroom door on the right of the picture. We use our woodburning stove a lot in the winter so we didn't want to get rid of it for the reno.

Here's Scott priming the walls for paint! We bought paint tonight ($80 later!) and we're going with "Dusty Trail" as our wall color. It's basically a beige color. Nothing too exciting except that it will go with a lot of different color palates.

Here you can see the nasty linoleum tile floor. This will be covered with brand new carpet next week sometime! Can't wait!

Scott is working hard. Good job babe!!

Drywall...how I love thee

We decided to go with recessed lighting in the ceiling. Before the reno we had this horribly blinding track lighting that gave me a headache whenever I was down there. This is much softer option. :) We will be laying new carpet once the walls are finished.

Looking into the spare bedroom.....

Our sweet little spare bedroom (*hint hint...we have EXTRA room for you to come visit so come one come all!). It will be a cozy little nook for you to stay in and you'll even get your own bathroom!

Reno Update

Doesn't this picture just scream "I am MAN, hear me roar!!"?? This is Scott's playground right now and although it's a lot of work, he's loving it. He has finished putting all of the drywall up in the basement and the extra bedroom.

Now he has begun the daunting task of taping (not exactly sure what all that means. I just know it's a lot of work and not a fun job). We were going to hire someone to do the taping, but the lowest quote we could get was $500 plus all of the supplies. We figured we'd save some money (not sleep, muscle soreness, or time) and do the work ourselves (Scott). We're moving right along folks, we're moving right along!

This picture is looking at the closet in the spare bedroom. See those shelves there? We're having a major debate as to whether those stay or get tossed to the curb. I think they are ugly and industrial looking. Scott loves them. I think I'll end up winning this argument, but it may cost me.

DEMO!!!

Here is our new basement!! Thankfully it won't stay like this forever. These pictrues are the walls stripped down. I think Scott filled about 30 garbage bags with drywall from the ceiling and walls. Everything will get new sheetrock (goodBYE ugly 70s paneling!! I WON'T miss you)

Basement progress

This is the basement pre-demo. We had so much junk down there and we needed to find a place for it! We utilized the bathroom for the tv and other entertainment goods and our laundry room now houses our 2 couches. It surprisingly didn't take us long to clear everything out.

The door in the far back and to the right is the door to the new bedroom.

Things I am LOVING right now

There are a few things in my life right now that I just cannot get enough of. You know how sometimes things come along (great pair of jeans, a book you just can't put down, a painting that makes you feel things you didn't know were possible). Well I have a few things in my life right now that I am just absolutely loving. They are things in my life that I can't get enough of and each thing makes me feel something really great. So I wanted to share them with you!!

The couches that inhabit our basement at the moment are a weird slate blue/grey color. The pillows that have been on there for decades (Scott picked them out years ago) were so lumpy they made your mom's thanksgiving gravy look good. I still have a kink in my neck from laying on them. I decided that it was time to invest in some new pillows, but knew it could be a challenge to find pillows that matched the couches (I didn't want to have to resort to black pillows). So a co-worker (thanks Denise!) suggested that I try a store called Home Goods for my nesting needs. Low and behold, I found this beauty of a pillow. I LOVED the geometric designs and the yellow, green and blue colors. A perfect pillow that will be the inspiration for the colors in our new basement (see earlier posts). I purchased two of them and they now perch perfectly on one of our couches.



On a recent excursion to Menards (yes folks, I shop at Menards) I was stopped dead in my tracks when I saw shelving that held these little beauties. There were all sorts of colors and shapes and I was mesmerized by them all!! Not to mention, they were .74 cents a piece!! As I do with everything I love, I buy the item in multiples. I bought a light and dark blue vase, a cream vase, and a yellow, green and red vase. Everytime I look at these little vases my heart swells with joy. They don't even need to be filled with flowers. In fact, I think it might actually take away from what this little vase is offering me, and that is pure joy.

Other things I am loving right now are:

• AVOSkinjuice Quenchers - This is a lotion that I tried in the bathroom of a salon and loved it so much I had to buy it immediately (I know, I know, the whole impulse shopping thing) But hey, it's winter and my hands are continuously dry. And this lotion is the perfect match for my dry hands, plus it smells amazing!! I bought the Crisp Apple Juice scent. Lucious!

• Dave Ramsey - He came to speak at Willow this weekend...and I'm telling you, this man has a gift! He is a financial guru and is a man of God and has a passion for getting people out of debt. You can't read his book, hear him on the radio, or watch him speak and not feel inspired to make a change in your financial habits.

• Being Married - ok, so it's not just that I am loving being married RIGHT NOW. I have always loved being married. But after being married for a year, I feel an even stronger connection with my husband and am SO excited to see what God has planned for us this year. I think there are some big things on the horizon for us personally, professionaly, and in our walks with God. Bring it on!!

• Remodeling our basement - it's just plain amazing being married to someone who is so handy around the house. Scott has a natural gift for architecture, construction and creating something out of nothing. He doesn't think he's creative, but he's a true artist. I am so proud of him and am constantly in awe of his abilities to remodel. Our basement will truly be built with love.

• Kelly Rae Roberts -Kelly is an artist who I found out about last month when I was in Colorado. I purchased a piece of her artwork and instantly fell in love with her art, her creative mind and her spirit. I can't get enough of her! I'm still trying to find the perfect place for the print I bought. I want it to be in a place where I will see it every day. She has a blog and a website so check her out here. I also just bought her book called Taking Flight which is about inspiring people to be creative and letting that creativity out. I can't wait to read it!

• Being in Grad School - Going back to school was one of the toughest decisions for me to make personally and has been one of the hardest things I've ever done. But I am so proud of myself for committing fully to the process (even though it's a long one!) and being diligent and disciplined in my work. I know that in the end it will pay off, no matter how many late nights I have working on a paper. Although there are times that I have doubts about whether or not I will be a good therapist in the future, I know that I am still learning and that God has given me a passion to do therapy and help families.

Spare Bedroom progress

Scott pretty much built this bedroom in his 2 days off this week. Amazing!! I'm so proud of him. :)
Here is a picture inside the bedroom. This is a shot of the closet.


This is also inside the bedroom, looking at the door. This wall and closet did not exist before!


Door to the bedroom from the outside of the room.

Time for a change

Because we spend so much time in the basement, we figured we should make some major changes to make it more comfortable and to our liking. We have such a great space down there and we were only using half of it. So as posted earlier, Scott is putting in another bedroom and we will be laying new carpet in the next few weeks. As you can see in the first picture, we have a BLACK wall and NOTHING on the other walls. Major work needs to be done.

I'm learning about what it means to create spaces in our home that make us feel things (soothed, comforted, happy, energized, relaxed, creative, etc). I used to be so concerned about buying things for our home that matched or flowed with the rest of the house. I'm learning that if I see something that moves me or makes me feel a strong emotion, that I should buy it, even if I'm not sure where it'll go or whether or not it'll match the rest of the house! So I basically have a blank slate with the basement. There is so much we can do down there and I'm excited to see how it turns out. I'll keep you posted!

Keeping us warm

Here is our woodburning stove that we love using in the winter. It used to be propped up on a brick slab with a big wooden box-like thing behind it to hold wood. Scott tore all of that out and laid this beautiful slate down underneath and behind it. Once we finish the basement this will look amazing down there.