Going Through The House: The Laundry Room.

I know. I KNOW. The whole point of beginning the "Going Through The House" series spurred from my intentions to decorate the formal dining room. Which is pretty much becoming the one room that I HAVEN'T DONE YET. I just keep getting ... detoured.

When major life changes happen (like, say, childbirth and adding a third baby to the family circus under your roof), we all react/respond differently. Some eat chocolate. Some watch sappy movies. I tend to dye my hair with a cheap box of color and then randomly and sporadically redecorate portions of my house.

To each his own.

Anyway.

One day last week, I walked into the laundry room, flipped on the light, and almost went cross-eyed from the fluorescent-ness of the fluorescent light that spanned the ceiling. Since we moved in, I've hated that light. In fact, I have a hatred for fluorescent lights in general. When I worked before having babies, I used to wait as long as possible to turn on the fluorescent lights in the office. My boss usually walked in and flipped them on for me when he had had enough of the darkness. I HATE THEM.

So, the light in the laundry room? I decided it was just time to replace it.

And, while I was at it, why not ask for some help and just repaint the room, too.

Firstly, check out the old light:

So ... fluorescent. Blindingly auto-shop-ish. And if you peer closely enough ...

Yes. Those black dots are DEAD BUGS. IN MY LIGHT.

GROSS.

The light needed to go and I wanted to replace it with something a bit more ... elegant. Because, let's face it: I stay at home full-time and most of my work is done in the kitchen and the laundry room.

I liken this to gussying up my cubicle.

Here is a picture of the laundry room "before".

The wall color wasn't bad. Neutral, nothing special.

And here is the laundry room "after":

Fresh! Clean! Blue-ish grey-ish!

And check out that fun light.

This is actually the light that used to hang in our dining room. I liked it just fine, but the shades that came with it were frosted and bell-shaped, which is okay, but it didn't have the personality I was going for in this room. I wanted something a little ... cleaner. So, rather than buy a new light altogether, I just repurposed this old light by replacing the shades. These are clear bubble glass and reflect the light beautifully. The whole room is brighter!

I haven't added many accessories, because, let's face it: It won't take long for this room to get cluttered on its own. For now ... I'm enjoying my new workspace. :)

Ahhh.

Have a lovely day.

Going Through The House: The Breakfast Nook.

Last week I started to feel a little nutty, with being cooped up thanks to cold weather, colds, and a newborn. As I glanced around my house one day, I decided it was time to give our breakfast nook some attention. I really like our breakfast nook. Its two walls encompass two large windows, which keep the room sunny and cheery. However. It is also completely void of any decor or personality, so I took it upon myself to remedy that. Of course, this meant a necessary trip to Hobby Lobby, which also meant I would need to take all three kids with me. I had yet to frequent a public place with all three ducklings in tow, and it was time.

(Three little blonde heads. Love.)

The trip was a quick one and once we were home and the kids were fed and entertained, I went to work. It was a little tricky, since my husband wasn't home and I'm not awesome with power tools (or ladders, eek), but, one thing to know about me is that I am not a patient person, and when I have a project on my mind, it has to be completed immediately. The nuttiness required a solution.

So.

This is a picture of the breakfast nook the day we moved in last April (yeah, yeah, it takes me a long time to decorate my house, I know):

(After we moved our table in, I removed the grape-patterned scalloped valances, which came with the house.)

And, this is the breakfast nook "after":

Ta-da!

The curtains are a brown and blue paisley on burlap--a very busy print to hide kid stains and a very durable fabric to survive sticky fingers. But, they're sheer enough to keep the room sunny. I heart them.

I thought about raising the curtain rods, but decided instead to do a collage above the window to accentuate the high ceiling, using a compilation of letters, wall decals, and framed scrapbook paper. And, of course, a sign explaining my approach to coffee: "I like my cream and sugar with a touch of coffee". Sad, but true. ;) I want this room to be casual and comfortable and so far, it fits the bill.

Every time I walk in the kitchen, I get giddy. The room we love now has some love.

Next project: The formal dining room. Stay tuned.

Have a lovely day!

The Front Living Room.

After receiving two atrocious (horrific, terrifying, half-of-what-we-pay-for-our-mortgage) electric bills in a row this summer, we decided it was time to cover the windows in the formal living room, which is the room you see first when you walk in our front door past our entryway. I had left the windows uncovered because the light! The beautiful light! was gorgeous and I loved how it streamed through onto the floor.

I did not, however, like how it helped keep our house at oven temps.

So, after tearing open one of the atrocious electric bills, I hopped in the minivan and sped to Hobby Lobby. I purchased lots of fabric, some curtain clips, a curtain rod, and sped home. I did a really terrible job installing the curtain rods (can we say crazy-lady-stripped-screws?) but by the end of the evening, we had curtains (read: strips of fabric).

I liked how tall they were, how they touched the molding and pooled on the floor, accentuating the eight-foot ceilings. However, the color was always a bit ... dark, clashing with the muted green walls, and I quickly discovered that curtains that pool on the floor become instant targets to two toddlers who like to wrap themselves in fabric. One of the brackets pulled loose and dangled precariously for a few days (eh, remember the stripped screws?) before I finally decided that the blazing days of summer were over, the cool days of fall were beginning to make their appearance, and, thusly, it was time to brighten up the room again.

I bought some sheer curtains, a new curtain rod, and with renewed ambition, I took down the old rod and brackets, filled in the gaping holes (eh, remember the stripped screws?) with spackle and touched them up with paint, and installed this new rod with more precision and, now, expertise.

(Note: tapping a nail and then removing it in the place where you intend to put a screw is a handy way to help the screws go in like butter, especially when you are standing on a step ladder, pregnant, while holding a power tool.)

The room instantly lightened.

The curtains touch the bottom of the window sill (the windows are especially low in this room, so I think it looks fine ... and is much, eh, safer with the kiddos) and while they don't reach as high as the others did, I think this looks more proportionate. I like.

As the days grow chilly, I know I'll appreciate the sunny patch on the floor, keeping the house warm. And bright.

Ta-Da!

Have a lovely day.

Before and After: Guest Bathroom!

We've been in the house for a few months now and I'm finally over the moving funk, ready to stretch my wings and start taking ownership of decorating this house and making it our home.

My first little project was the guest bathroom. Behold, the guest bedroom:

While the walls remain blank (and I don't really mind) and the bed needs some pillows (they'll come eventually), you can see the overall mood we're going for here: Calm, clean, and peaceful. Our guests have a quaint window seat that overlooks the front lawn and the pond, and the white Shabby Chic bedding is begging for someone to climb beneath its fluffy folds. The suitcase side-table emphasizes our rest-for-the-weary-traveler theme, and overall I love this room.

Then there's the bathroom.

The sink and cupboards are just fine ...

(Sorry the picture is dark, I took these with my phone!) I love the white cabinets, the neutral walls, the silver fittings ... it matches the quaintness of the bedroom well.

Then. Then there's this:

This gem of a mistake was hanging over the toilet. I'm not sure what the previous homeowners were thinking with this last-minute addition, but not only is the color terribly wrong from the wood stain to the gold fixtures (gah), but they also hung it UPSIDE DOWN. Last I checked, the arches on cabinet doors are traditionally at the top (this is the kind of stuff that my Dad, a private contractor, embedded into my brain as an INEXCUSABLE MISTAKE). Our cupboard looked like an unfortunate mismatched piece of laziness adorned with two very pronounced "U"'s.

I tried to take it off of the wall so I could paint it and hang it properly, but this beauty was stuck tight. So, I taped around it and painted it right where it was, using a dry-brush technique to give it an aged look. I removed the cabinet doors, bought new silver hinges and sparkly clear knobs (note the rings on the shower curtain, continuing the Shabby Chic/New Romanticism theme I'm in love with), and with the help of my Dad, Humpty Dumpty was put back together again.

Back, and better than ever. :)

One project to check off the list! The den is our next endeavor ... stay tuned!

Have a lovely day.

Brick By Brick.

A lady I know had shared this idea and I knew I wanted to use it when we moved.

The day we unloaded the moving truck, we were crazy busy and it almost slipped my mind, until I saw the appliance delivery guys pull in the driveway. I dug through our "office" box until I found a permanent marker, and then I went to work.

Amidst the swirl of people and the mountain of boxes, I hurriedly dedicated these spaces, where I know my heart and attitude can and will greatly determine the direction of our home.

I knew they would be hidden from view, but they would not be something I would soon forget.

It is easy as a stay-at-home-mom to find our daily tasks to be somewhat mundane. But I realize that happiness is not determined by what we do, but by the attitude we choose in doing it. And I want my attitude to be one of service, to be cheerful in what I do, knowing that whether I am cooking dinner or doing laundry, I am glorifying God by caring for what He has given to me. I am blessed to have children to feed. Blessed to have clothes to wash.

No matter what changes this house will see, these words will remain as long as these walls stand. And in the longest days, when the children are crying and the laundry is piled high and the dishes in the sink form a small mountain, I will know and believe that God has given me this life, that it is truly a gift, and while these moments are fleeting ones, they are important ones as well.

Have a lovely day.

To Get To The Other Side.

We are adjusting to life well here. Most of the boxes in the house are unpacked, although there remains a small mountain in our garage of unpacked boxes from storage that have yet to be pilfered through. The kids' rooms are organized--not painted or decorated or cutesy, but they're organized and arranged, with toys in their boxes and sheets on their beds and clothes in their dressers. The kitchen now houses our appliances and silverware and cookie sheets and such, with a place for everything and everything in its place. And just when I took a sigh of relief, a blessed feeling of SEMI-COMPLETION, my husband decides we need to shake things up a bit.

After all, we are country folk now, so chickens are the natural next step, right? Our front lawn just wouldn't be complete without a few hens pecking their way around our grass, consuming bugs, scratching dirt ... getting eaten by predators ... you know. Chicken stuff.

We had discussed the option of purchasing some birds of the poultry persuasion when we first put an offer on this house. Of course, the "plan" was to purchase them sometime later, as in, say, next year. However, my husband got it in his mind that this year was just as good as next year and why wait? This is why we moved here, right? To do country-ish things?

So, we loaded up the kids (and my Dad, bless his heart, who happened to be visiting that day) and my husband took us to a remote town down a remote road to a remote farm. And there we picked out our chickens: Seven Ameraucanas and six Cochins. Did you see that? Did you see how I typed those breeds as if I know what I'm talking about? Please also see this:

This is me typing this post with a website found via Google on how one spells "Ameraucana". I thought it was just "Americana", like folk and rock and roll. Apparently not. It's fancier. Anyway. The Ameracaunas are black, medium-sized, and will lay blueish eggs, which is all kinds of fun. The Cochins are broody little bantys that are more for show and fun because they are little and poofy with fluffy feet. They may lay some, but (from what I've read), their eggs and small and make an appearance rarely.

I took a poll on Facebook on whether or not we should purchase chickens and the most comical were the replies that encouraged the purchasing of chicks if only to read about it on my blog. Because they WANT TO SEE THE TRAIN WRECK. We know nothing of chickens, but we like to eat eggs, especially of the free-range variety. This is our best attempt at country living. Shoot fire.

So, yay for you, dear Readership, for reveling in the pure joy of watching my country living attempts result in an epic fail in some way, whether it be a raid on the coop by a secretive group of malicious possums or my right eyeball being scratched out by a particularly moody hen. Either way, it's surely to make some good blog fodder. And, the little dears have grown on me.

The chickies currently reside in a tupperware box in our laundry room and their coop will be here Saturday.

Yeehaw!

Have a lovely day.

Love. {On Display}

When I opened one of our many boxes and found these beloved framed photos, I knew I wanted to display them immediately to give the house a personal feel, even if their spot would be only temporary.

The house has these cute bright white built-ins which offered the perfect quick-fix display.

And now that I see them, I really like them in that place. I like the white-and-white and I like that they are the first thing I see when I walk out of our bedroom.

One step closer to making this house our home.

Have a lovely weekend, friends.

About The House.

The boxes are unpacked (mostly) and the furniture is (somewhat) situated. I still can't believe we're here, that we're actually here, in this house, the house we've stealthily driven by for the past six weeks, trying to and not trying to imagine what our lives would look like in this place; in this yard, in this house.

The house is a 4 bedroom/3 bathroom ranch-style and sits on five acres. Its long gravel driveway leads to a rarely-used street and most of the acreage falls to the front and side of the house. A third of the land is fenced off as pasture, where the pond is situated. When we initially began our house-search, we thought that maybe a little land would be nice, thinking two acres at the most. We chose to look at this house just for kicks and I'm very glad we did. The five acres is beautiful and sprawling. Every house on this street sits on at least five acres (leaving room for one neighbor on each side), making the land feel vast and open.

We've officially "gone country" and already our short time here has confirmed that we made the best choice for us. Every morning we awaken to the sound of birds singing, which is new for us! There is typically a small flock of Canadian geese in the front yard enjoying the morning mist and a white crane has declared the pond as its home. A distant neighbor owns a donkey which we hear braying at intervals throughout the day (quiet enough to not be a bother) and when you drive to our street you pass cows and horses. We've seen a snake, which I'm certain will be the first of many, and a spider or two, which confirms that we are, in fact, rural folk now!

But not too rural. Target is about ten minutes away and the grocery store is about eight. We were blessed to find what we consider to be a good amount of land so close to town. Close enough for convenience, but far enough for peace and quiet.

And oh, the quiet.

It's palpable. I hadn't realized the impact of the street noise from our first home until we moved to a place that has none. At night, when the birds are quiet and the donkey is parked in his stall, it is silent. It's a silence that was almost unnerving the first night, but one that we've welcomed ever since. And it's dark. Our previous corner lot saw two street lights situated on each side of the house that caused the house to glow at night. Now there is simply darkness. I could tell the darkness scared Cub a little (he was used to one of the street lights being close to his window), so we put a little night light in his room. I wasn't sure of his fear of the dark until I asked him if he wanted the light on or off and he answered firmly, "ON." Besides the dark nights, the kids are having a blast here. Cub loves to play outside and throw rocks in the pond and Naomi has eaten her fair share of grass.

The house herself is a beauty. It was a custom build for the previous owners and they didn't paint very much. The house sits like a blank canvas, awaiting a little extra love that we can't wait to give. Every day we remark on the light of the rooms--the windows paired with the high ceilings of the entryway make the house bright and cheery. There is a formal dining room separated by columns into an open hallway and formal living room when you walk through the front door. Through a doorway in the formal living room you walk into the kitchen which is open to a breakfast nook and den. I am excited to claim these spaces as our own. If you know us, then "formal" isn't exactly a word you would probably choose, and I can't wait to turn the formal dining room into a cozy reading nook and the formal living room into a relaxed space to chat with friends.

(Dining Room)

(Living Room)

(Kitchen)

(Den)

The kids' rooms are on their own end of the house with their own bathroom, while the guest room and bathroom and the master bedroom and bathroom are situated on the other end.

(Guest Bedroom)

When I sit in the dining room (it has my favorite old yellow chair in it now) in the morning and watch the mist hover over the pond, my heart moves from satisfied to overflowing. This place, this precious place, is now our home. We bless God's Name and praise Him in the hard times as well as in the good, and we dedicate this home to Him, thanking Him for His gracious kindness. I hope we can use it to bless others, the way it is already blessing us, and I pray that we won't miss those opportunities when they come.

(We very much look forward to housing guests.)

Have a lovely day.

Saying Hello.

Hello, house.

Hello, front yard.

Hello, gravel driveway.

Hello, shed and loafing shed.

Hello, pond.

Hello, everybody.

We are very, very, happy to meet you.

Have a lovely day.

Hallelujah Ziploc.

Ripping hair out.

Sipping coffee and smiling.

Currently.

Today is the final walk-thru for our buyer. I'm nervous.

I've consumed enough coffee to fill an ocean. But just a small ocean. Like the Mediterranean Sea.

My original plan to make a tidy to-do list detailing my packing strategy has disappeared into a haphazard attempt to just GET IT DONE. I am labeling my boxes well, so that's nice. However, the fact that half of our kitchen is packed while the other half remains not-packed is not so nice, leaving me with a bit of a nervous twitch.

I need some completion.

Which can't exactly happen when the final walk-thru lands right in the middle of our packing mess, which means I have to clean even though the house is not completely packed, which, for some reason, feels like a bit of a lateral move. I don't want to clean until the house is ready to move, not when the house is half-ready to move. So I will tidy up our moving mess, scrubbing our floors to gleaming and tying on a big bow to give one last please-still-want-to-buy-me appeal to our buyer before we jump back into the chaos of packing. All with my two little ducklings in tow, unknowingly undoing everything I do, emptying my boxes as I pack them. Which is why everything takes doubly long as it should, which is why I am very thankful that I stay home and have the time to redo all of their undoing.

And now it feels like we're down to the wire. We will officially move out in four days and close in five. I will turn twenty-eight as we receive the keys to our new home. My mind is swimming with what needs to be accomplished in this itty-bitty span of time, making me dizzy.

I think it's time to make a list.

And grab another cup of coffee.

Have a lovely day.

The Why.

After I read my friend Melissa's comment yesterday, I realized I hadn't given the reason why we decided to put our house up for sale! So, here it is.

We love our house. It's cozy and has everything we need (solid foundation, running water, a place to eat, a place to hang out, a place to sleep) and some extras, too (each child has their own bedroom, there are two bathrooms, wood floors, a fenced in yard, etc.). We realize that, by American standards, our house would be considered on the small side, but, in comparison to the rest of the world, it's above and beyond. Our cars have a covered and insulated place to spend the night and our washing machine even has its own room, for pete's sake!

I say all that to emphasize that we did not decide to put our house on the market because it was not enough for us. We feel immensely blessed to own this home--the memories we have here are priceless. It has served us well and we love it.

So, then. The Why.

There are a few things that we've wanted--not needed, just wanted--and we decided to put our house on the market to see what was out there. One of those things is a safer area for our kids. We live in an awesome neighborhood, but our home is situated on a busy corner lot, which isn't exactly conducive to little ones going out to play (although there is a playground down the road, which has been great). We wanted some land for them to run, away from a busy road. We also do not have an extra room for guests. Now, don't get me wrong--my husband and I are happy to give up our room, and we have some comfy couches in our living room, but our primary overnight guests are my parents. I don't know if you remember, but a few years ago my Dad was diagnosed with Stage Four Metastatic Carcinoma--a cancerous tumor had metastasized in his scapula (just typing it makes me choke up), requiring grueling chemotherapy and radiation treatments. He is currently cancer-free (praise God!) and has regained most of the use of his left arm, but it still gives him pain. We wanted an extra room so my parents could have a private, comfortable place that would allow them to stay overnight while visiting their grandkids. Throughout this whole process, my husband has referred to the guest room solely as my parents' room, showing his quiet compassion (and making his wife's heart full) while we've searched for the perfect mattress and such to make the room as comfortable as possible. They will even have their own bathroom in this new house, which is something we were not expecting.

Again, not a need, just a want.

We wanted to find the home where we would raise our kids. As my friend Katie puts it, we wanted to find our "forever home". We knew that houses like ours were selling well and that houses in the price range we wanted to buy were not selling so well (leaving room for negotiation, which is how we were able to buy the house we are purchasing), so we decided to make a move on something a little more removed, a little quieter, with some room to house loved ones.

Throughout this whole process, my husband and I have acknowledged that if our home did not to sell, we would be okay with that. It's a great house and has generously seen us through the first six years of our marriage. We're blessed to have a home, no matter where that home is or what that home looks like. A lot could happen in the next week, but either way we will still have a house, and for that we are truly grateful.

So. We'll see where this journey takes us next.

Have a lovely day.

Giddy.

We drove by the home we are purchasing and were giddy to see the word ... SOLD.

(Just the yard, sorry...I'll put pictures up once the contract is signed!)

(Is it weird that I feel weird putting up pictures of a house we don't officially own yet? I mean, it just seems weird to me. So that's why this is mostly a picture of a blurred out yard sign.)

Ten days until it is officially ours.

Ten long, nerve-wracking and crazy-exciting days.

Until then ... back to packing.

Have a lovely day.

So. Any Packing/Moving Advice? I'll Take It!

So, Blogger was weird this morning and wouldn't let me write a post. It would, however, allow me to type a title. Sweet! Hence, all title and no post.

There really isn't any point to this, seeing as the original purpose of the post was to ask for packing advice anyway (which I truly appreciate). I guess I just wanted to explain my post-less post.

I'm going to drink some more coffee.

Have a lovely day!

Wordless Wednesday: Dreaming.

Here We Go ...

My life this week ...

-----------------------------------

Saturday

6:00pm--We decide that, despite our home being unsold, we are going to take a risk and put a contingency offer on the house that we want, on Monday morning. We realize we just love the house and want to make a move. We're nervous, but excited.

Sunday

10:00am--Out of the blue, we receive an offer on our house.

10:01am--We are in total disbelief.

1:00pm--We counteroffer. Totally HGTV-esque. Huddled around the cell phone.

2:00pm--They accept. Our house now has a sale pending, earnest money and all. The buyer unknowingly chooses my birthday as the closing date. We are shocked, to say the least! We will now be homeless in six weeks if we don't get the house we want. :)

10:00pm-11:00pm--My husband and I sit on the floor of our bedroom, surrounded by superfluous paperwork, initialing and signing the offer we've accepted on our home while simultaneously initialing and signing the offer we want to put on the home we want, while our realtor directs us on speaker phone.

12:00am--We crash into bed, emotionally and physically exhausted.

Monday

8:00am--While feeding Naomi breakfast, I receive word from my brother that my NIECE IS HERE!! Nadia Jane, born at 7:44am. 8 pounds and perfect. I'm bummed that they are states away, but rejoicing that she's HERE! She and Naomi will be less than a year apart and I know that, no matter what happens with the day, it is a blessed day, because Nadia is here and everyone is healthy. The gift of life is a miraculous one!!

8:15am--Naomi and I take our offer and earnest money to the realtor's office.

12:00pm--We learn that we will not hear back from the seller until the following day.

We wait.

Tuesday

9:30am--I go to Bible Study and am contacted by our realtor to sign more paperwork. Our offer to the seller will expire at 5:00pm.

4:00pm--The seller counteroffers.

4:10pm--We counteroffer.

More waiting.

And unsightly cupcake consumption.

Wednesday

9:30am--Our realtor calls. They've accepted our counteroffer and want to close on the same date (my birthday). We scream and jump and cry.

Oh, and guess what?

Today is my husband's birthday.

-------------------------------------------------

To say that we are floored, stunned, overwhelmed, and overjoyed would be an understatement. We are thrilled and humbled.

We know that a lot could happen between now and closing--I've heard enough scary stories that I won't have peace until all of the documents are signed and done! But, for now, we are giddy and excited, giving God the glory for a plan we couldn't have possibly dreamt up ourselves.

Trust me. I've had some pretty crazy dreams. ;)

And the adventure begins!

Have a lovely day.