Peace Out Old House

I can proudly say we are now homeowners of ONE house. Not two! This feels amazing. First I want to say thank you to every person that supported us in the decision of buying our current house. I know it might not have been the "right" time or you may have thought we were making a stupid decision, BUT, I am so happy and do not regret it at all. In fact, I think it all happened the way it did for many reasons. (There are actually to many reasons than I want to type out)

I also want to say thank you to everyone that prayed for us. The house was on the market for around 24 weeks. (Yes, that is 6 months). Due to the fact that it was winter, Holidays were approaching fast, and it was the end of the year. We knew our house probably wouldn't sell in December but tried to stay positive. God sure does work in ways I can't understand but I do know that he had our back. Even at our most difficult time financially, we made it through. And only he knows, and Zak and I know, Just how much the house HAD to sell when it did. There was no turning back at this point but I have no idea how we could have continued forward either.

The closing was wonderful. It was great to see the buyers excited about their first home (that was also our first home) and everything went smooth and happy. Unlike the closing we had on our current house. That lady was nuts. She said a few choice words and most the time, when she wasn't talking, there were crickets in the room. I like to tell myself she was just having a bad day, selling a house she loved, and many the house she was buying was being difficult. Anyways, the day was great and I could not be any more happy to say peace out old house! I will always love that house being our first house purchase, we had many wonderful memories connected with that house as well. I am just super excited to live in our current house and make many more memories in it.

Some links to post about my old house:
Home Owners
Kitchen
Walk Right In
I Am Your Master
It Is Just a Bathroom
What Greets You
Landscape

Madyson's Room Re-Do Ideas

We moved into our new house back in October 2012. Thanksgiving approached shortly after followed by Christmas. It is now the middle of January and my house is now a clean slate once again. Ok, maybe not so much clean.. but I don't have the holiday decorations hanging all over my walls, the tree is no longer filling up the last corner of the living room, and I don't have presents/wrapping paper/ and glitter scattered threw out my house. So now it is time to do what we did not do when we first moved in. It is time to decorate! Here is the problem though. I want to leave my house empty. I know it isn't very inviting but I do not like having crap everywhere. Yes, I have a lot of crap.. I just don't want to see it all. It's like, if I could finished the attic and make some secret stair way up there, I could put everything up there and keep my house empty. Now that would be awesome. Realistically, that can't happen. I mean, I live here.. it should look like I live here. My house should feel inviting. I have a husband and a 5 year old. There is nothing worse than walking into a person's house with kids and not seeing any kid stuff.

 So, to start off with, I am going to do my chica's bedroom. When we first moved in I had it painted a beautiful soft teal color with the intentions of doing her room in teal and coral. Goodness it is a pain in the you know where to find coral stuff. Coral bedding, yea.. no.. not happening. I could have my mom make it but since it is so hard to find even fabric, I feel like I wouldn't be able to add decorations and curtains very easily.

First inspiration (note: I emailed the lady who posted this bedroom and she said that the picture of it is misleading. The "coral" color in the picture is actually light pink in person. So, the bedding that I loved.. in person is not what it looks like on here.. sadness"

First things that most be done is Paint.. like I said, it was painted before we moved into it but I am now changing the entire scheme/idea.. What is my inspiration? Well, this little canvas has stolen my heart

Purple and Grey. That is the color scheme! 

While at lowes, I cam across some glitter you add to your paint. Umm.. ok.. who wouldn't want to glitter a wall in their house. This is one main reason people should have little girls. Excuses to let the inner little girl come out. I mean, whats Daddy gonna say? No, you cant glitter our 5 year olds wall? 

I am only going to glitter one wall though, not to overwhelming. 

Look close, you can see the glitter on the wall. This is going to be a surprise for chica. She has no idea about the glitter. I can not wait to see her face and hear her say how much she loves it. 

She will love it right? 

Now to bedding. I have 2 different ideas. I want a quilt. I love quilts. I say in Pinterest where you take clothes from when they were a baby and make them into a quilt. This is going to happen for sure! I would love to make it myself but I am not sure if that is possible. I am thinking of having my mom make her bedding but the other things is, I really like the bedding below. Not sure what to choose..

Of course there will be a rug. The rug I like is white and soft. I do not have a picture of it but trust me, it is beautiful. I know what most people are thinking, white rug? Yes, my chica can have a white rug. Then there are the small little details. This is what makes the room so perfect. I know that on the small wall in-between the two closet doors I am going to do a gallery type thing. With random white frames, tons of sayings/quotes, a few pictures, and some canvas prints.

Then of course small random details

I really want pretty wooden letters

A pretty chandelier, pretty frames with random nick nacks

A mirrored perfume tray for her dresser

I found a beautiful purple tree at hobby lobby. It was like the one on the left but stood on the floor. Wouldn't that be beautiful though?!

Pretty much this is the goal. I think it is a room she can easily grow into as a young girl. It is sweet and simple which is what I am looking for. Of course none of this can happen until the old house sells but be on the look out for updated photos!!

P.S.  I would love to have this outside for her this spring

can't you see royal tea parties, craft picnics, and sweet reading time in this?

SOLD

 

 

That beautiful house that I wanted so badly.. it is sold..

SOLD

To US!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! yes, indeed.. we are now the blessed homeowners of 2 houses.. Now, time to tell the current one and be back to homeowners of just 1 house.

God is amazing. Exactly 1 month ago we looked at the house for the first time. It was a super fast closing and everything went smooth for the most part.

My husband is amazing let me add. He did 90% of this on his own. It was difficult for me to step back and let him have all the control of such a huge decision BUT, I did it. It felt amazing. I am proud of him for every bit of everything he did, said, went through, accomplished, dealt with, and provided! Again, my husband is an amazing man.

So, Sunday is moving day.. I cant wait to be with Mady and Zak in this new perfect house.

 

Side note.. I found out a few hours ago that school actually starts back tomorrow. NOT next week like I thought/planned. So, I guess I need to get my binder and such ready.

Big News.. is coming

 

 

no, I am no having another baby..

no, we did not win the lottery..

no, I am not graduating a year early

no, Mady has not yet been named a genius

BUT.. the big news is..

we just may be moving.. soon..

it has it all!

Perfect kitchen, I couldn’t ask for me.. we actually I could, I can always ask for more, but I don’t need more (other than a wine cellar)

Beautiful bathroom.. nothing more to say than beautiful (tub, shower, double sinks, cabinets)

Large master bedroom, not huge huge, but plenty of room for a bed and dresser with walking room. OMG, it has been forever since I could gracefully walk around my bedroom

A closet, a large walking closet within the master bedroom. Yes, that means I no longer have to dart from the shower.. across the hall.. into my “closet/craft/office” and hope my window is covered just to have access to my clothes

It is 3 bedrooms, since the 3rd bedroom will no longer have to hold all “my stuff” it can be.. well.. whatever we want it to be. But we did promise Mady a play room so to start off, a playroom it is. (if it were my dream room it would be 5 bedrooms with an office)

Living room that is open, can be seen from the kitchen, and has hardwood. Actually the entire house has hardwood. NO CARPET anywhere!! The living room is cozy and I love the windows. Speaking of windows, looking out one window from the living room is:

A pool. Let me repeat that. A POOL.. an in ground, fenced in, beautiful pool with a slide. See since I can possible remember, I have always wanted a pool. Yes, they are upkeep and cost money but think about how worth it its going to be. Sitting out by the pool in the hot TN sun. Watching Mady swim back and forth as I lay out in the private area of my own pool patio. The furniture, please don’t get me started on the options for pool patio furniture. Gazebos, Grills, Bars, Couches, Lay out chairs.. oh goodness the possibilities!

So, back to the house..

Did I mention the L.a.u.n.d.r.y. room! Everything is on one level (which didn’t matter to me) but the laundry room on the main level was a must. It isn’t just a closet with washer/dryer.. it is a mud room. For rain boots and jackets! Yep.. pretty wonderful, I can only imagine

Then there is the garage. What was that size? Oh yea.. 30X40. For the ones that have no idea how BIG that is.. They had, 3 (beautiful) cars spaciously parked along with a couch, pool table, and stuff. HIS stuff. It was the man cave area for sure. It is also perfect for adding on additional rooms in the future. It already has a full bath in the garage, so spilt it up into a den and another bedroom.. badabing we have 4 bedrooms, large den, and dining room. (the 3 things it is missing).. there is a detached garage (needs work) so we would still have a garage if we did all that.. in the far.. far.. future.

Drive way. Not just any drive way. A drive way that has a huge flat area. Meaning, Mady gets a bike for Christmas. Heck we can all ride bikes at the same time around the drive way. While some people roller skate and everyone brings their dog. Yes, it is a huge driveway.

Which bring me to the word huge. The house is not big. Just a simple 1700 square feet. The land. OH THE LAND. yea, 5.1 acres. Re read that.. yep.. you read right. We could possibly be the owners of 5.1 acres in just 2 months. Camping on our land? YES. Hikes on our own land. YES. Four-wheel on our own land. YES. YES YES YES, we can do it ALL on our own land!

So what I see for our future if when we get this house.  Pool parties, Never having to find a location for Mady’s birthday parties, Swing set, bikes, awesome hill for sledding (maybe), molly running around free and happy, cooking dinner while Mady does homework at the kitchen island, the smell of cookies baking, running from one end of my bedroom to the other, bubble baths. My list goes on and on. Actually most my list consist of being outside.

The current house we are in, we look like trash. Mady in her kiddy pool, me laying out in a dress so my legs can get tan, toys strung all over the yard, the FRONT YARD that is all but what? like 30 feet from the road. Yea.. so no neighbors in sight, with land and driveway, and pool, grass areas, and fences.. sounds pretty amazingly perfect huh?

well we will just wait and see. wait and pray. wait and hope.. we are currently under contract right now.. and really, this is the first public thing I have put out there about it. Close friends know, teacher at school knows, most family knows.. so now.. you know 

it could go either way.. we should have a few answers over the next few weeks. Waiting on this and that and this and that.. and oh yea, our house needs to sell also.. That is kind of important and all. Since we don’t want 2 mortgages and such.

Ok.. that’s all. YAY

Simplicity of a Bedroom

 

My inner heart has always wanted to be an interior designer. People give me money to decorate?! YEA, absolutely. But this is the south. People in the south don’t pay to have another person decorate their home. (at least not the majority of people in the south) So, my inner heart had to be smashed with the realistic truth that I would get no where in that profession (at least not for now while in the south).

No worries though, there is always MY house. Problem 1- decorating cost money.. problem 2- decorating how I want cost more many than I should spend

So every once in a while I get an idea and go for it. This is what I am going for now:

Madyson’s new bedroom!!   the theme.. simplicity

# 1 choice-

So, here it is.. the inspiring picture. Actually, I plan to copy this as much as possible (minus the rug) so it isn’t my idea but.. it will be Mady’s room.

COLORS I LOVE

 

I found the link to this room and she even linked where she got everything!
sad news, the curtains are not as coral as they look.. this makes me super sad considering that was the best part. Not sure if the bedspread’s color is off or the wall color. I asked her so I guess we will find out.

# 2 choice-

I did not find a link to any of this but I did see where someone said the paint color is Valspar's Milk Toast and the light is from Ikea. I think a white bedspread would be fine because she isn’t allowed to have anything other than water in her room and honestly she is a clean child. I am not a fan of the curtains but the idea and colors are so pretty!

Simple Details:

NOT THESE COLORS.. but, I do like the curtains in front and behind the bed. It is a different take of the netting that hangs over a bed. To me it adds a little bit of that “little girl princess” look I know she would love. Her bed would be in a slight nook of a wall therefore I know this would work. I am just not sure if it would be to much and un-simplify it.

I would love something like this under her window. I actually found a link (that I now can’t find) that shows how to make this with bookcases and window valence thing for a flat wall window. Not sure if we would have room for it to be like this but maybe?!


This would be cute in her room for her extra “stuff” not this color though.. another ikea piece

I am also looking for a dresser. She does not currently have any type of dresser so we hang everything. I hate hanging clothes. We even hang pajamas. Did I mention I hate hanging clothes?

BEDROOM FURNITURE
Bed
Dresser
Window Seat
Storage cabinet

Simple and Sweet.. just like her.. ok, ok, she isn’t always simple but she is super sweet!

Guess I’ll be posting her new bedroom in the next few months so keep a look out!

p.s. if your bored or like me and just enjoy surfing the web for random things. I really want coral and aqua bedding. I can only find the one in the picture above (which I love) but it is a duvet cover so I’d have to also purchase an insert. In other words.. about $300 total. Ouch

 

p.s. soon to follow.. I know she has a ton of toys.. and a simple bedroom will not hold them while keeping the simplicity theme.. that’s why there will be a playroom.. whoop whoop

Closet room turned Craft Room.. D.I.M

D.I.M = Did It Myself!!

Right before I went on vacation (which was amazing by the way) I got a kick in me saying that I needed a change. A change to my house. Well, thats just what I did! I turned the 3rd bedroom..aka.. my closet room.. into a Craft Room. It is now time for the big reveal.  Mind you that this is just mid way done. Details are still needed and a few major things are going to be done.. You will get the idea though!!  

Before it was used for my closet and computer room. You know for blogging and throwing my clothes on the futon..I actually spent a lot of time in this room. Notice the details because they are about to change..

Ok, Moving on.. Time to clean out the room...

So where did all the stuff go you ask?

To Mady's room (since she was gone for the week) If she would have known her room looked like this, Little miss... "I have to clean my room before bed" girl would NOT have been happy!

Top closet looks pretty stuffed but it is all organized

After everything was out, it was time for the carpet removal.. I knew there was hardwood underneath all of the carpet in our house, but I had no idea what kind of shape it would be in..

WHY??  Why would someone paint random spots on perfectly great hardwood. I don't understand.. Now I have to figure out what to do. Any Ideas?

Hundreds of nails I had to pull out of the hardwood. It made me rethink doing the living room! 

Desk building time.. And he has some skills!

Desk up.. now for paint

Thank you Josh Longbrook with NorthStarSoulutions! He is my nephew and does great paint jobs. Check out his website for everything he offers. Tree removal, paint in and outside, construction jobs such as decks!

I stained the desk black. Right now it is just stained but we are going to pour this clear stuff on it, I forgot what it is called, that will not only make it smooth but clean off easy too.

Now small details..

This cost me $3. It is eye burners and a candle holder from the $ store. I ended up buying a nice one with baskets for my side of the desk but this works perfect for Madyson's stuff. Yo will see it on the desk in the revealing pictures.

Above, the cabinet will not have the doors and I will be adding the roman shade. Click here for the details that I got my ideas from and still have to finish up in the room.

Below is just cute paper from the dollar store. I want to say there is 40 in each pack.

Notice above the pull our for the keyboard. We took that off the old desk. I need to paint it but Ill get to that later this week..  Also, I am not showing the other sides of the room since they are not done. You only get the reveal of the desk wall..  Floors are not finished, cabinet is not finished, storage under desk is not finished, and other small details are not finished. BUT.. it is use able.. and a huge difference! The sign above the window says, I love you to the moon and back. That is what Mady and I say to each other!

By the way, I am in LOVE with it!