Here's the Plan, Stan.

We have BIG plans for the room we currently call our bedroom. 

As you saw in yesterdays post, we have already tackled the paint, molding, lighting and flooring in the space but there is one more thing we need to do.

Old homes, much like the one we live in, do not have access to the backyard from the main level.  In our case, we can access the back yard through our basement and garage, or can walk out the front door and mosey all the way around the house.  Blah.

No Likey.

We need to be able to get to our back yard from the main floor of our home for the following reasons:

1. Puppies: We need to have a better way they can get out to the back yard to piddle, play etc.

2.  BBQ:  Grillin up some chicken in our front yard is a lot a bit not our style. 

3. Summa Time:  We want to be able to have easy access to enjoy dinner, sunbathing and other backyard activities. 

4. Just Because: It will make our life better.

So what are we going to do you ask? 

.........

BAM! French Doors. 

We don't have palm trees or the ocean in our backyard but it will be a great addition!

We plan on putting it here:

I made this silly floor plan so we can gain our bearings. The red area is where the french doors will be. We will remove that window and tear out most of that wall to make room for the doors.

I think it will look great! This spring/summer we will add a patio and stairs and railings down to the yard level. There is a bit of a height difference.

This is a project that is planned for when the in-laws are here as well as many more!  Can't wait to share!

The Room that Shall Not be Named...

Because it's ugly.

Well... it's better than it was...

If you're wondering where the hubs and I lay our weary heads at night, you are about to find out.  Let us take our time machine back to one year ago.

This would be the 2nd bedroom on the main floor and is our temporary bedroom until we get the upstairs in tip-top shape.  Yes it was pink and yes it had weird commercial grade, burgundy carpet that wasn't even tacked to the floor - just rested on the top of it.  (???)

Here is the room now.  Still not great, but much improved if I do say so myself.  We painted the walls and added the molding right before the ceiling begins its curve.  We also repainted the window trimmings, ceiling and added new baseboard and a new lighting fixture.

Unfortunately, for right now, that's as glamorous as it gets.  The curtain look a little "off" with the wall color, but I had them in storage and they provide the privacy we need.  The furniture is all mish-moshed and not matching and we have "crap" everywhere that needs to be sorted through and donated or thrown away.

We have big plans for this room that will start next week :] 

Sew Awesome!

Last Saturday I went to IKEA and I scored two Karlstad Ottomans that were on sale for $70 a piece!  Originally $100 bones, I did a little victory dance for getting such a deal!  They are a great size and after bringing them home and assembling them, I am happy to report that they are the EXACT same height at the couch.

We got these ottomans because hubs and I are feet up type people.  Our couch is also a bit shallow so its nice to be able to sink down and stretch out a little!  We put one in front of our chair and the other we place vertically on one side of the couch to give it more of a chaise lounge feel.

I opted out of buying the covers: 1. They didn't really have the right colors for our space and 2. They were $50! I couldn't justify spending that much for a cover I was less than dazzled with.  They look like the above picture, pretty bare bones.  The top cushions don't even attach to the base and the birch legs aren't looking very stellar with our dark wooded furniture room.

BUT... It's okay because, I GOT A SEWING MACHINE!!!  My awesome Aunt Cheryl gave me hers!  It is currently still in its case but I can't wait to get everything out and start sewing covers for the ottomans!  I want to find a fabric pattern with a white base and spurts of these colors:

Tans, Reds, Turquoise, Chocolate, golds, you get my drift.  This picture on our mantle is really the color base for the whole living room.  All the pillows pull from different colors of the painting and the rug is a pretty gold color.  The covers I make will be super simple and will be easy to slip right over the whole thing!

YAHOO!

WHEW!

We have officially had our boys a week and I gotta tell you, they are A LOT of work (we knew they would be).  It's all worth it in the end of the day because there aint nothing like two sweet pups falling asleep in mommy and daddys lap :] 

Last Saturday was B-E-A-UTIFUL so we played outside and Uncle Eddie came over and wore the boys out!

It's also really exciting to see progress in their learning.  They dont even bother to try and jump on the couch anymore - we are NOT animals on furniture type people: We're not mean, I promise! I just want to get them on the right track so that in less than a year, when they are both 75 pounds, we won't have to fight for our bed! As of last night they learned to sit!!  We dont even have to bribe them with a treat!  Now were working on "crate" and "loose leash".  They are much easier to train separately and its nice for Justin and I to each have alone time with both Abu and Ace.  The inside accidents are dwindling and we know that when they hover around the front door, they need to go pottay!

Anyways, you probably also notice the new look of the DD blog!  My cousin Aimee came over last weekend and took a bunch of gorgeous pictures of the house.  I am working on my camera skills so that I can be JUUUUUST like her :] 

BYE!

Family Expansion...

First of all, I am so sorry that I havent blogged since last Tuesday! EEEEEEK!  Second of all, I am so sorry the image I left you with for the past week was Richard Simmons! IIIICCCKKK! 

I think this will make up for it...

Justin and I have been looking into getting either a puppy or young dog for quite some time now.  We wanted  to rescue since there are so many wonderful pets that are looking for their forever home but ultimately ended up getting ourselves two little pups.  Now for the introduction...

Meet Abu.

This guy is my little cuddle bug! He loves his mama and is sooooooo sweet! Abu has a white chest and one front white paw and one back white paw. Just as cute as his brother, Abu can be found crawled under something.


This is Ace.
He is a rambuctious little biter.  He loves to lick your ears and from time to time bite your hair.  He is wild and crazy but so sweet and loves to cuddle.  He is mostly black with a little white strip on his chest.  He loves his brother and love to instigate most of the play/fight time.  He has recently learned to crawl COMPLETELY under our bed.... great.

Aren't those pictures GREAT?! My cousin Aimee came over and did a little photo shoot for us at our house.  I will be updating our "Our Evolving Home tab" with her amazing photos! Aimee, YOU ROCK!

They are the cutest, sweetest little things and they are loved SOOOO MUCH!  We are very busy keeping our eye on them, but we are having a blast. Luckily, they do a lot of this...

In Limbo

We are getting so close to starting our upstairs remodel!  SO SO SO SO SO CLOSE!

We have Dennis, our amazing Plumber of a friend and his son Joe, also a plumber, are coming out to run all the piping and plumbing for the upstairs "bathroom".  We're not sure exactly when, but were crossing our fingers for the VERY near future. 

In February, we have my father-in-law aka "the machine" coming and staying with us for 10 WHOLE DAYS! That means productivity will go up 1,000,000,000,000%!

Justin and I are still finishing some little things around the main floor (more on that later) and anxiously waiting to FINALLY start another big round of renovations :]

Oh! You will also see some changes on the ol' blog.  I am in the process of revamping it and adding much better, quality photos and will start submitting them. Let's see where this takes us. :]

In conclusion, I'm feeling a bit like this:

8 Days a Week.....

I know, I know there are only seven days in a week but everyone loves a little Beatles - No?

Last year I made a calendar inspired by this one and I have now completed updating it for 2011. It will proudly hang in our kitchen. :]

I used Microsoft Word and inserted a table (6 rows, 7 columns) and tweaked the table till I got it to a vertical rectangle - exactly how I want it.  I used the font "Broadway" at 14p for the month titles, dates and month name.  For birthdays, anniversaries and special occasions I use the font "Arial Narrow" at 8pt. I like to used colored fonts for the month title and month name while keeping the dates and occasions a jet black.

I print on 81/2x11card stock and cut in about an inch on each side.  The cut gives the calendar a unique look if you're bored of the usual square shape.

I punch holes in the top center of each page and hang from a regular ol 3m Hook.

Easy Peasy, Cheap Free, Unique. :]