12/29/15

Stairway to.... Side Entry Update

Check here to see the before and progress 


Here's a quick refresher in case you didn't feel like checking out that other post :) 


Before - The handrails were NOT painted black at the time of this photo.

Yep, just god only knows how many years of hand gross build up. Nasty!

Here it is with a fresh coat of paint

 And a cute little mail holder (Target) for the the guy in the basement.


Needed to post a picture of our newest and amazing ORIGINAL piece by my super awesome cousin Kaid

I really love being greeted by all this funk whenever I go to the basement. Where else do you hang a picture of stairs, but above the stairs, amirght?

Slow and Steady - Kitchen Progress

I spent the day cleaning and organizing my kitchen so I thought it was an ideal time to get some "after" photos. Really though, these are just more progress... things will always be changing!

Before, everything was so grimy, and yellow.


During - My mom, mid cleaning and conversation. We went through a lot of comet! We had about a week of hardcore cleaning and I could not have done it without my mother! I learned much from her during this cleaning frenzy.

Progress! Painted, bottom doors waiting to go back on.Starting to come together.

And After! New lighting, *most* of the bottom doors installed. All our stuff in it. And CLEAN

Before, looking to the dining room. That hideous wallpaper!

 I made that wallpaper my bitch, and drank quite a bit of beer in the process.

 Ahhhhh, isn't that better? New ceiling fan, Kaid on the wall. That there is the cleanest stove you've ever seen! It's pretty amazing what you can clean with baking soda and vinegar! Still rocking the dusty rose counter tops. Barf. 

Microwave stand with my cute "Terrarium"  (totally fake, I kill everything) BFM and Beer sign by my mother. 
(No, you can't have my Red Bull fridge)

This one is a "during" we decided that the heavy stoneware plates were terrible for washing by hand, so we opted for lightweight and durable Corelle

New dishes and my dutch ovens (I got spoiled at Christmas let me tell you!) And yes, the peanut butter lives out there. There is just no point in even putting it "away" 
Ikea art cards. Keep Calm and Carry on butter dish from Homsense. 

I really like colorful things. Thus I am a fan of Rachel Ray accessories. Just got that kick ass orange bench scraper this Christmas and I'm quite excited about it! The cutting board with the rubber "feet" on it is from Home Sense and is one of the best things ever. Oh, BTW the Breville toaster oven is the bees knees. Use it all the time and it actually makes really good toast (we ditched our toaster to save space!) 

 I also have a fair collection of tools and cutting boards. Not that I am complaining :) the tray is from Superstore (!) The utensil holder is a flower pot from Jysk. The dual S&P grinder is also from superstore.The bowl was a gift from a friend, made by her mother.

Before - love those curtains... NOT. Some really classy switch plate covers too! I will say that we got really lucky that the windows in our house were new(er) They are big and bright and lovely!

During - New light from Rona, put some things away. Roller shade from Homedepot. I managed to keep the bottom shelves surprisingly tidy while the doors were waiting to be painted. It took me quite a while to get around to it.

After - Doors installed, new hardware. Cabinets re-arranged (yeah, I missed one bottom door, I'm totally aware!) New faucet, makes a huge difference too. The difference between the low faucet and the tall ones are invaluable. Just being able to fill the Brita pitcher alone makes it worthwhile! I've dedicated a whole shelf just to jars, I have been using them for all sorts of things lately. Cheap and handy.

More After - Crock in the corner holds used dish towels. We spray painted the not white easy wrap black and it's great! 

I LOVE LOVE LOVE these cake stands. (Homesense) I put my dish soap in a mason jar with a pump from an old bottle of hand soap. Put the hand soap (Doc Bronners) in a Thrive juice bottle with a foaming pump. It's so cute. I also reused a jar from Bath and Body works 3-wick candles to hold and dry the sink stopper/strainer. We keep a jar with soap water to toss utensils in throughout the day. Super handy!


10/29/15

New Street View

Yep, I'm excited that the street view car has been through again and captured all of our hard work.

Our house looks so good! (on the outside ;) ) Next year we'll get to see the new tree that the city just planted out front. A little extra shade to help keep our living room cool... in theory.



9/22/15

Pin-Worthy Pantry - Update!

Well, its been a month and a bit now since we finished our Pin-Worthy Pantry Makeover (that was totally featured on my favorite website, The Kitchn) and let me tell you. I still freaking love it.

I found an over the door rack on a trip to Bed, Bath and Beyond that is just what the doctor ordered. And even a month later it's still totally organized (which for me is SUPER impressive). I find that I'm a little more careful about what I buy, and the amounts I buy it in. If it wont fit in my pantry, I probably don't need it that bad. 



You can tell I went to Costco and found some pasta... takes up a whole shelf :)
It's perfect. And to keep from sliding and knocking around when I open and close the door, R screwed it into the door. Solid! Look, there is even a spot for Vector!

This is my super sweet lighting set up. These little guys work pretty well. They are motion activated and the one jammed in the shelf comes on as I open the door, and thus causes the one on the inside to turn on too. It's almost like having a door switch like in fridges.
One day, R will wire in a real door switch and some more bright LED's. Till then though, this totally works :)

7/31/15

Evolution of the Living Room

In case you forgot what it looked like the day we took possession, here's a little refresher. I'm pretty sure that stupid railing was torn down mere moments after I took this photo.

After many hours of cleaning, steaming, priming and painting, the walls are no longer yellow. (Camouflage by Benjamin Moore)

We put back up the floating shelves and gave them a good cleaning

Then we filled it with a bunch of stuff (Yes, that is a Red Bull fridge you see there, and no you can't have it)

Then we got some new/new to us stuff!!!
This sweet red chair from Midmod Vintage

We ordered a new custom sectional! Nothing beats custom sometimes. R picked out the fabric and made an excellent choice. It's a bit like an old mans jacket. But it looks awesome and is wearing really well. Our kitty hasn't wrecked it at all (yet!)

Look at how awesome this couch is. Room for both of us to stretch out a bit. I still love our old couch and it's living in the basement for now. We put a sheepskin on the red chair, and it's so cozy. R found this cool kidney shaped coffee table and matching end table on Kijiji. Nice score. I love the glass top, and that there is places to put all my junk.
 We need to work on the window treatments, the vertical blinds work, but just don't do it for me. I tire of the clatter every time there is a breeze!

Shelves with more, but nicely organized things. Some twinkly lights in the glass cabinet for some fun :)

R's booze collection, with a fine selection of local spirits from our very own Lucky Bastard Distillers

New Old lamp for the corner above the couch, this is from Past and Present antiques (This place has got some amazing stuff, if you've got the time to dig through the layers, you can find some really neat treasures)

New Credenza (also from Past and Present), Custom built by R Speakers, and a new TV! I took a little convincing to agree that this Credenza would be the right one for our space, but I'm glad he brought me around.
I hope that it still works with the new floors, or I may look at sanding and staining it a little darker. Not till after the floors though!


A vintage media stand for all R's gear and his latest and greatest speaker creation. Carbon fiber and oh so sleek!

Just imagine the pink carpet replaced with... well just about anything would be better than this freaking gross carpet. 

I can't wait for the day we can have new floors! We will pick out a new area rug after the floors are in. There are a million different ones that I love it's so hard to choose

We have the best and brightest door in the whole neighborhood. We have the door open all the time to let the air in and it's almost like it's own piece of art. It really brightens up the room. How can it not, really. Notice that no brass light fixture above the door? R painted that one, and the two sconces on either side of the TV with a metallic black spray paint. And we washed the globes until they were no longer yellow. They look better than new!

  My seeestor's grad pictures, some trinkets from family and the most bad ass zombified picture of us! An awesome house warming gift from this guy 

I love this little IKEA cart, I plan to fill it with plants, hopefully I can keep them alive. More Kris Moffat's with a hint of IKEA on the walls.
There will be some more progression on this wall coming soon. We have a new print to be framed and hopefully I can do some re-arranging soon

I love how much things have changed over the last couple of years and can't wait to see how things keep progressing!

7/18/15

Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow...

I've been dreaming of a yellow front door since we moved in.

Today is the day that dream finally comes true! I went to the paint store after work yesterday and picked up all the samples of yellow. Hummmd and haaaad and we settled on Benjamin Moore's Sun Kissed Yellow. 


R took all the junk off, and bondo'd the holes and dents and sanded it up.



I primed and started with the tinted foundation 
I was really liking primer color until it dried and was dull. 


Ta da! Here is the real color. It is so bright and so cheerful. It is not the greatest paint job in the whole world. But the door was in kinda rough shape to begin with.



 R putting the hardware back on!!!!! See, the bright happy yellow even makes him smile! :D


Yep. I want a new screen door.
Love it. It is just so sunny!

How sad is it that I am super pumped for the Google Street View Car to come back around and capture this work of art!?!?

If you didn't know, Google Street View will often show you historical pictures of things, so basically Google keeps a handy little log of the progress we've made!