Project Monday...on Tuesday

So since I am in the middle of a project right now, I didn't want to post it tonight.  That means tomorrow will have to temporarily be "Project Tuesday."

There are still so many changes that have happened in the ransion since last week.  Here are a few more updates

Last Tuesday we went to Crate & Barrel, oops!  About 45 minutes south of us there is a C & B Outlet.  Wanting desperately to add punches of color and pattern to our somewhat naked living room, we gave in  set a budget.  We didn't really have anything in particular that we were looking for.  We have been on the hunt for the perfect rug for the living room, but knew we couldn't get that for a tiny $200 (that's not a small chunk of change to us, but apparently it is in the rug world- which we are just starting to learn).  So with no real purchase intentions, we set out south bound for some funk.  We got to the store about a half hour before they closed, not only did we have a budget, we also had a deadline!  Luckily Randy and I both work well under pressure :)  We did our typical routine where I want everything we pass by and Randy reminds me that we have a budget and we can't go over (unless I pull out the "my life will never be the same having seen this" routine).  We went through the furniture- amazing, yet still too expensive, and we don't really need any (let's be honest, we both know this isn't about what we "need").  As we approached the wall-O-pillows we both had an epiphany: we "needed" new pillows!  They were the perfect accessory to add some funk and color to the room without breaking the bank.  We messed up the display and got some dirty looks as sales associates tried to clean up for the night (this never stops us, I did my time in retail- we're good), but we finally came up with a mismatch of pillows we loved.  As we worked our way to the register we picked up a funky yellow rug for the bedroom (for my side of the bed), a green clock (living room), a new mousepad, a candleholder, 5 decorative bowls, and some magnets.  Oh- and a lime green planter for the peace lily that sits in the bay window.

   

Me holding our goods

little bowls I loved, they look like polka dots 

And here is a little before and after action

Before

Before

After

Also- we were on the hunt for the perfect accent chair to make our living room a better "conversation" room.  I wrote about this gem a few posts back.  Randy ordered it online and the new pillow is absolutely perfect.  It sits under the shelving units.  Oh, and don't mind the tape on the floor.  We thought we needed an 8x10 rug for the room, but just to be sure we outlined it along with a 5x8 just to confirm our idea.

Target chair <3

On that note, Happy Monday! 

B

This Past Week...

This past week has continued to be crazy.  We have yet to have a night where we come home from work, cook dinner, eat dinner, and relax.  I keep wondering when we are going to reach that point.  Friends that are homeowners assure me it won't be for at least another month, eek.  Anyhow, along with business comes productivity- so here is a weekly update of some changes that have been happening in the Jilliams (Jones+Williams- the whole naming the house thing will be much easier once we are married, oh yeah, I think I am supposed to be planning a wedding right now) 

Guest Room Makeover Monday

You may have seen photos of our good friend Neal who had the honor (or maybe not) of spending the last weekend ever in our apartment with us.  The poor guy came up to Maine to relax and snowboard and he found himself moving boxes down our terrible flight of narrow stairs into the garage, Neal, we really do love you.  In order to get one last good snowboarding weekend in, he had planned a trip to come back up to Maine from PA this weekend.  This was good motivation to get our guest room habitable.  I loved the room before we moved in, and before it became the "crap" room- you know, the room where you just toss everything you don't have a place for yet.  Here are some before and afters for you.  The only money we spent in this entire room was on the duvet cover ($25 @ Target) and a foam mattress topper ($10 @ you know where).   Here is our $35 room -AKA- Neal's room 

Before

After

Before

After

The dresser and twin bed were given to us by Randy's parents.  I believe this was his brother's bed when he was a kid.  We had the curtains from the apartment, and although they don't go to the floor, we probably won't bother with new ones for a long while.  The mirror is from our bedroom, we originally got it from a friend that moved.  The nightstand used to be in my tiny half size closet in the apartment, I used it as shelving!  We are going to refinish the nightstand and dresser.  I got the materials to do it this weekend so we will see if that actually happens.  We are debating on the color.  I almost think a dark yellow would be nice, but then I don't want this to end up being a circus-like room. White is always good.  We are hoping to find a cheap rug also- but we have other areas in the house that are in more need of a rug than this.  Also, Randy flipped the fan blades over so that they are plain white now.  They blend in to the ceiling much better.  It was a sore spot before.  

The Curtain Dilema 

We found curtains we loved at Target, go figure.  We decided to get one set for the bay window in the living room (here), and we were going to wait on new ones for the bedroom.  Well, since we had to put some sort of window treatment in Neal's room, we decided to bite the bullet and get the same curtains in gray for the bedroom.  I wanted white, but Randy talked me into color.  I am always worried about things being too matchy-matchy.  But he was right, the gray is awesome. 

Before

After

You can see we hung a green mirror we had in the old apartment.  Today my goal is to get some more artwork up in this room. 

I don't want to give away all the goodness in one post, so I'll wait an hour.

Until then, Happy Sunday Morning! 

B 

Project Monday!

So since things are nutty here (still) and we just got home from Target AGAIN, no joke, I thought I would share a lovely little tumblr with you all.  One of our best friends, Jess, is an amazing mom, and has recently begun to dig into the world of true "homemade."  She makes her own dryer sheets and dishwasher fluid!  This lady is amazing, and thrifty- most of her ideas can be done for less than a few dollars. Let's be honest, the way Randy and I have been spending money we need those few extra bucks.  So sit back and enjoy the ridiculously cute images of her daughter, Macy (we love you), and her great creative ideas! Oh and her husband, Bucky (or "Brian" if you want to get legit) is Randy's best friend from childhood, and adulthood.


Coolest.Lady.Ever

Photo Op!

Here are a few extras I got yesterday morning

sprinkles make everything better

TAG bottles
(you'll probably notice as this continues, but I have a thing for bottles)

SmithLetterpress card I got for V day 

mini cupcake for Lucy

Organic and Chic by Sarah Magid is by far the best baking book on the face of the earth 

this is a rare scene since we have a dishwasher now :)

Happy Sunday Afternoon  (I did finish the driveway, incase you were wondering)

B

We need to stop spending money

Every time Randy and I head out to get one last thing for the house, we give ourselves a budget and try to stick to it- key word there is try.  Since our new house feels so big (ranch+mansion=ransion) we feel the need to fill it to the brim with awesomeness.  We have collected a lot of home decor of the past 4 years, most of which was stored in our old garage at the apartment.  We are now hanging things and pulling out old finds we forgot we had (this is by far the best part of unpacking).  Anyway, here are a few of the projects we've already completed.

We really hated the kitchen cabinet hardware..so even though we said we would wait to replace it until we painted them, we broke down one night at the "depot"(that's what you call it when you are a frequent customer in Maine) and purchased these little gems (you may remember my rant on something similar here)

I'll let you guess the "before" and "after"

I know I took a better photo of the pulls, but can't find it so please excuse the poor iPhone photo (I say that a lot)

Before

After

Ahhh, much better

On the night we closed (these projects are not in chronological order because I'm way too excited to organize them, not to mention things have been a blur since we've moved in)  we went to Lowes and got a new pendent shade for the light over the sink, for a whopping $16! The one that was originally there was a bell shape and the lightbulb actually hung out under the bottom of it, not sure what they were going for with that.

This is the only image I have of the old one before (this is when the house was still owned and staged by the bank)

After 

Another one of the first changes we made to the house included what we like to call "boob" lights- yup, boob, breast, tata, whatever you fancy.  

You may remember this lovely thing from previous images..or not ( I didn't post the original picture of this chandelier because I was in the photo- let's just say I was looking less than "perfect" that day).  

That disgusting chandelier costs $150 at Lowes and the bank put it up just so we could take it down.  The thing was so big that it made the space totally unusable.  I apologize to all of those that met this lovely chandelier right to their face, literally, on moving day. We originally though about hanging a drum shade pendent light where you see the new "boob," but after many debates on which one to go with, and all of the options seeming like more than we wanted to spend, we chose the "boob".  Boob lights come in a pack of two (you can see where we are getting this, right? Also, please note the overall appearance of the fixture) for $20! They are a great deal and helped us make some pretty significant changes.  In the end we bought 4 boob lights, 2 sets to be exact, and have put up 3.  We also replaced the nasty bedazzled pink chandelier they had hanging in the hallway (really guys, a hallway?). 

You can see it peeking through, upper righthand corner  (sorry this is showing the wrong area)

After

Last night we had my family over for a  belated B day bash for my older brother Nate, Randy, and I.  After we gave the tour and ate some of these 

we decided it was time for (another) run to Target.  Our mission was to find a chair for the living room.  When my family was over I sat in the bay window (and on the floor) while enjoying my dessert, key factors in deciding we MUST get a chair.  We had looked at some online at Target that we really liked.  We pursued this mission knowing full well that they didn't have the ones we were interested in at the store- oops.  Anyhow, here is the one we think we dig.  We tested out the one chair they had in store and carried on- to find, dun dun dun- picture frames, curtains, (which I was supposed to make using the no sew approach seen here, @ Young House Love) coat hangers, lint rollers, paper towels, shampoo, and I think that is all! 

I wanted to make the curtains myself, mostly because I had bragged about how thrifty I was being by doing so (getting fabric at $3.00 a yard), but sometimes convenience wins, and in this case so does immediate privacy. 

Before (yeah, I know it was at night)

After 

Randy spent yesterday morning hanging those shelves you see on the right that we brought from the old place. I am much too terrified to put a hole in our beautiful, newly painted walls, so I leave that for the gutsy almost husband.  Also- a brief note on chair placement, if we do end up getting a chair (at Target or elsewhere) we will put it below the shelves where we currently have the guitar.

Action shot

Look at the attention to detail folks!

Picture frames- here we go!  Two years ago Randy and I went to visit his Uncle Paul in Vermont while he was staying at a friends house.  The purpose of the trip was to pick up the family heirloom, the Zundapp (a vintage German motorcycle).  While in Vermont, we stopped by the Bread & Puppet Theater  in Glover.  We got to meet the owner which was amazing, and we spent a good portion of time browsing their gift shop.  We managed to snag a bunch of great prints ranging in price from $1.00 to $15.00.  We stocked up knowing they would make great Christmas or birthday gifts down the road.  Since printmaking is my second favorite thing in the world (food being the first, sorry Randy), I thought it would be nice to fill our huge empty wall with some Bread & Puppet love.  The frames are from Target, $15 each. We also hate the light from the fan in that area so we hung a paper lantern we had from before.  I wasn't sure how I felt about it at first, but it's grown on me. 

Before (including Shadow)

During (still including Shadow)

After (sans Shadow)

Eventually we would prefer to have something larger on that wall since it is a good size, but for now these work pretty well.

We weren't sure what to do in the hallway since it is rather short and sweet.  After much debate about vintage Volkswagen ads and mismatched frames, we finally decided on two 8x10 sunset images Randy took a few years ago.  They are just enough without making the hall seem like it is closing in on you. (we have them framed previously)

Well, since that is probably the longest blog post ever, I am off to shovel the driveway, ahh to be a homeowner.

Happy Sunday

B

Finally!

So a lot has happened in the past week and I apologize for neglecting this for so long.  We closed on the house last Thursday (my 25th B day) and we started moving things in last Saturday.  Oh, and I developed pneumonia and strep throat between Thursday night and Friday morning, ew.  So with the help of our families and friends, we managed to get all of our things out of the old apartment, and into the new house (which still feels HUGE).  Anyway- enough talking, here are some pics

The night we closed we went to Target, Home Depot, and Lowes.  We didn't get back to the old apartment (which we were still sleeping at until Saturday night) until about 10 pm, we were beat.

The old apartment, which seemed much nicer when our things were in it (please excuse the bad iPhone quality)

The oldest stove in America, I'm pretty sure

buh bye stall size shower, hellooooo tub :) 

We actually liked the new fridge, but we thought he would notice if we took it with us

tiny bedroom

Our one window living space

Remember how I said we went shopping the night we closed?  Randy thought this was an appropriate "homeowner" picture 

We've bought so much stuff, I don't remember what we went to get

Here are some images of the new house that Randy snapped the other night (we will get better ones during the day when it's in all of it's glorious beauty)

The large living room.  We started to hang things but only got the Pottery Barn mirror and my prints up.  I'll go over proposed art later 

Our computer area, on the left of the side door entrance.   Randy claims this is his favorite area in the house so far, we both know it's only because art is hung and its "done"

Looking into the short part of the "L" in the kitchen (pre hardware upgrade)

Other end of the kitchen + our tiny table placement (we don't have an official dining space, so we kept our table from the apartment and set it in front of beautiful double windows that look out onto the backyard

Our bedroom, which I may have to say is my favorite room in the house, for now anyway (we haven't hung anything yet)

Bedroom view II.  We finally took the plunge and bought new bedding at Target.  Although we loved our Angela Adams bedding, it was waaaay past it's expiration date

We got that cute cube thing at home depot, it is part of the Martha Stewart Living Collection (as are the fabric bins, only $6 each!!)

The bathroom which feels like a spa to us- a TUB, a full size TUB!  My legs are cheering right now since I'll actually be able to shave them without pulling a muscle, phew.

Anyhow- this is the first of many posts to come! We have already made some small changes around here that have made a huge difference..I'll let you in on those a bit later ;)

Happy Thursday (almost Friday!)

B