BACKYARD CHANGES COMING....

Posted by Lori~

This is the before shot of the back of our house...not too bad.  Major burn marks on the lawn (thank you dogs) and honestly a super small concrete slab (that came with the house).

Enough of this....

This is another view of the side of the house....

 And...this is where we are going!

Here is the plan:

We are removing the concrete slab, installing an egress window, re-pouring a much larger concrete slab, and adding a large pergola!  I CAN'T WAIT! 

We also have a large shed being built (Thank you Hutterites!) and delivered next week.  It will be installed next to the fence (where the shrubs were removed). It will be the most beautiful shed with windows, window boxes, a barn door, and so much more!

Enjoy the before...I can't wait to show you the after (and I can't wait for it to be done)!

NEW ROOF ROCKS!

Posted by Lori~

We did it...we got a new roof!  Actually it was time to take the slate shingles off our 1939 house.  I had no idea that slate shingles were so rare and apparently SO EXPENSIVE.

Of course, I forgot to take a photo of the before; however you can see the old roof on the lower roof and the new roof on the top.  BIG IMPROVEMENT!

I guess the shingles were as old as our house and had we put slate back on our house, it would have cost just over $50,000.  That's right...instead we paid about $5,000.  NOT BAD.

 

 

And, I think it looks good.  It helps to have a contractor next door--he can help us with all of these projects and knows the people to do the jobs.  

Next up, we plan to put on new gutters and also put in new cement.  Our curb appeal will be out of this world!

 

LORI'S KITCHEN BEFORE AND AFTER

Posted by Lori~

Steve and I bought our 1939 home in 2009.  Since then we have been making updates.  I thought it was appropriate to highlight rooms gradually. First up, is our kitchen.  It continues to be a work in progress, but I am pleased with the improvements.  Here are the before photos:

The kitchen BEFORE!  All white! (I apologize for the photo quality--the BEFORE photos were taken on my phone).

Another BEFORE photo.  You can see the old countertops as well as the carpet in the dining/living room.  It wasn't in horrible shape, but now the kitchen looks and feels MUCH BETTER!

And now for the after photos (progress):

We added granite countertops and white subway tile. Also, a new facet, a new sink, new curtains, and the cabinets were painted with a fresh coat of white paint.

The kitchen is painted 2 different shades of green (one shade lighter).  Also, the light is original.

This is the breakfast nook area (facing the backyard). Currently we are considering turning this area into our office. The curtains were made by Crafty G-Ma!

This is our baker's rack located in the breakfast nook. With a small kitchen YOU NEED EXTRA STORAGE! If we turn the nook into an office, we plan to add LOTS of extra cupboards and storage space.

An IKEA shelf and magnetic strip (which holds our CUTCO knives) was added. The oven is OLD, but it still works. That eye soar hanging on the wall is actually the doorbell (which works!).  SUCH A WEIRD LOCATION!  Someday we will move it.

This is actually an old ironing board cupboard turned spice rack! I LOVE IT!  AND I LOVE MY CHALKBOARD PAINT!

Steve installed the flooring and I did the grout!  

You can see the hardwood floors (which we re-did)!

This is the view from the kitchen into the dining/living room.  I love that I can keep up on my shows while I cook.

The breakfast nook light is original. I have debated replacing it, updating it by spray painting it all silver, but I still love it!

And, you can pull it down lower or put it up higher. HOW COOL!

Thank you for visiting our blog and going on our first room tour.  MORE TO COME--WE PROMISE!  

NEW FRIDGE: I'M IN WUV!



Posted by Lori~ 

The fridge story actually goes way back to when Steve and I first bought our house (2008).  When we moved in we knew our appliances were old and so we purchased a home warranty to cover replacement costs and repairs for our appliances if they broke because they were OLD.

Soon after moving in, the fridge broke and we had a local repair shop come to take a look at it.  Immediately, the repair man incidated that our fridge was old and most likely not fixable.  "Oh darn!"

That didn't last, because $25.00 later a part was replaced and the fridge was up  and running again!

I couldn't believe it.  I was disappointed!

Fast forward to now, and the fridge quit working!  YIPPPPEEE!  I WAS EXSTATIC!  However, this time around there was no warranty. 

Here is the OLD FRIDGE (NOT CLEANED) AND GROSS!

In my Little City, ND town there are not a lot of options for appliances.  However, Fargo is roughly 1.5 hours away. 

I first called Home Depot and they were going to charge us $125 for delivery.

Then I called Lowes and they had NO DELIVER CHARGE!

Perfect!  Plus they were running a sale.

Roughly $540 later and I had my fridge delivered, installed, and the old fridge hauled away!



Old fridge being hauled away!

I couldn't wait for the new fridge to come in!

We opted to go with a silver mist finish that "looks" like stainless steel.  And it DOES.  Even the delivery man said that this is THE WAY TO GO.  Cheaper, doesn't dent, doesn't scratch.  WHY NOT!

And after the fridge was delivered I noticed a VERY SMALL DEFECT in the finish.  I didn't need a new door or fridge.  However, I needed a discount.  They gave me an additional $60.00 off the price.

We also decided to go with a traditional fridge with top freezer, because these were the cheapest.  Steve and I both agree that our current house (that we love) will not be our forever house.  And so, the ice machine will come later!

The fridge has TONS OF STORAGE!  

I even turned an old pool ball holder into an egg holder.





Baby C's Nursery Valance! {tutorial}

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Posted by Ethne~

My best friend (from 2 doors down growing up!!) Slags and her husband BC are expecting their first child together, a girl, in January!  I am thrilled to pieces so first things first I offered to host a baby shower for her – coming up December 1^st.  Shaun designed the invitation using the nursery and shower theme – OWLS!  So cute.  I’ll post more about the shower and the cute things I’m making for her gifts ~ soon!

Slags and I went shopping at Pottery Barn Baby a few months back and found the bedding set she eventually chose for Baby C’s nursery.  So cute!  She’s having the cushions of the glider rocker and footstool reupholstered in a neutral tan color, so she asked me to make a coordinating window valance.  Of course!

Holy cuteness!

We have December 1^st as our deadline, since the shower is actually at Slags’ house, but with Thanksgiving in the mix, we had to squeeze our schedules to buy fabric (the day we went and met Grizz’s baby, L) and sewing was tonight!

This is one of my fave pics of Slags.  Isn't Baby C lucky to have such a gorgeous momma?

We purchased two yards of fabric and with JoAnn’s coupon and her teacher’s discount, the cost for fabric and thread were under $13!

Sewing a valance is pretty easy.  We wanted to use the full two yards across, so we did not need to cut the fabric length-wise.  Upon measuring, we determined that we wanted to cut off about 6” to get us to the right length of the valance.  Standard width of fabric is 45”, which means we trimmed the fabric down to 39” wide by 2 yards long.

Trim the ends so that everything is square and clean, and fold over the sides (39” ends) twice to about a ½” seam and sew down with as narrow a stitch to the edge as you can get.  Do this on both sides.

Next fold the full length of the fabric in half, right sides together, and sew it on the loose end, with a ½” seam, making a long tube of fabric.  To stop with fraying, I went over the edges of this ½” seam with my machine’s zig-zag stitch.

Now you can turn the valance tube right side out.  Iron the valance smoothe, with the seam you’ve just sewn marking the top of the piece.  Once finished, lay the valance on a flat surface and pin in several places, just so the layers do not shift around when you make your final sewing lines in a few minutes.

The first of my final sewing lines was to the bottom of the piece – the opposite end of the seam I just sewed.  I sewed a 3” hem by placing a large piece of masking tape 3” parallel from the right center point of my sewing machine needle.  This way, as I fed the valance through my machine, I could just simply guide it along the tape and I knew I had an exact 3” sewing line.  Perfectly straight!

I made the other 3” line on the side of the original seam.  This creates the ‘pocket’ for the curtain rod to slide into.  Same instructions with the masking tape.

One more trip along the ironing board and we were ready to hang it up.  Isn’t it adorable!  Slags bought a double-rod set and intends to get some flowy panels to hang behind the valance; there are blinds in place already to cut out light at naptime!  More nursery ideas were hatched tonight, but you’ll just have to wait and see because we haven’t done them yet!

I am in love, and with some gauzy, flowy sheers behind, won't it be dreamy in Baby C's room?

Cell phone pan doesn't give the best range - but I promise to give better pic updates after the shower!

Can’t wait for the shower next month – and to meet baby C in January!