Random thoughts and house pics

Yesterday was my last shoot for a while...now on to the nesting...and editing!!  But first, some randomness for ya...

I am really confused as to why Hollywood felt the need to remake a perfect movie, but I am not going to lie, I am looking forward to seeing the new "Footloose."  Julianne Hough is so cute and I love watching her dance.

I came across a couple Indigo Girls albums in my iPod and it rekindled the love I had for them back in high school and college.  I have been jamming to them lately in my car.

Have you seen the new Euro Vintage line at Target?  I snagged the Vintage Charm Wooden Stool and am loving it.

Have you asked to join Pinterest yet?  Not sure why you have to get approved to join, but nonetheless, I am trying to figure out how this works before I start "pinning" things on line.

I am hooked on West Elm and all its awesomeness.

A few "before" and "after" house pics for you...since I move slowly lately, most of these pics were snapped with my iPhone.  I am just barely scraping the surface on all the work that has gone into making this house feel like our home.  Unfortunately, I was just able to come up with ideas...all the manual labor was done by Chad and our amazing families.  We are forever grateful.

We started with new outdoor lighting.  New landscaping will be coming in the spring, along with some new shutters and painting the siding.  Seriously, the work is never done!

Watching HGTV has taught me to be quite liberal with the spray paint...so when I saw this chandelier at the lighting store, I saw the potential for what it could be, not all the brassiness that it currently was.  This cost $99 plus a can of black spray paint.  Can't beat that.  Plus, it matched the chandelier that was already in my dining room, jut much bigger.

Old foyer chandelier:

and the new one:

A little wainscoting, paint on the stairs and new carpet helps the entryway feel more cozy.

Powder room in the entryway:

Kitchen/Living room:

There was a ceiling fan in the kitchen that we replaced with this drum pendant from West Elm.

We took this off the fireplace.  (when I say "we" I mostly mean "Chad" ;)

and painted the brick.

Obviously still work to do, but much better than before.

Dining Room before:

Yes, I am aware we look like we should be on an episode of "Hoarders," but we had to put our stuff somewhere while we ripped carpet and ceramic tile out of the other rooms.

Ky enjoyed helping.

This was the chandelier that hung in the dining room before:

A little spray paint, and voila:

I am still waiting for my burlap drum lampshades for the chandelier to come in from Ballard Design and I also need a rug in here, but this room is the closest to being "done."

The formal living room before:

Not sure what else to do in here...I am at a creative crossroads right now with this room.  Interesting tidbit about the chest though...that was my great-great Aunt Emma's chest that she brought over on the boat from Sweden filled with her belongings as well as her seven children's things, including my great-grandpa Harold's stuff.  That thing is super heavy while empty, I am not sure how she did it.  Meanwhile she had all seven children tied together by the wrist so she wouldn't lose one as she mostly hung over the side of the boat with seasickness.

Here is my dad working on Chad's office.  Don't worry, we returned that ceiling fan back to the Buckingham Palace.  I am sure they missed it and all its brassy ornateness.

After:

Kids' bathroom upstairs before & after:

Kyler's room...still a work in progress:

Brynnie's room.  She loves sleeping in her big girl bed:

The babies' room...pretty plain in here right now.  Need some names for these buggers so I can continue.  Any suggestions?  We are at a stalemate.  Nothing firm at the moment.  That kind of freaks me out because I am probably going to name them something random just so they have names.

Master bedroom before:

I have a headboard that I ordered but we are waiting for it to come in.  Can't wait to pull everything together.

Well, obviously still a TON of work to do, but hopefully this will appease all of you who kept asking for the house pics.  This next year will be filled with all kinds of changes and improvements...in many, many  areas of our lives :)  xoxo