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

Project: Cheap "Frames" (plus moving update)

So I searched our entire computer for this super easy and cheap DIY trick, but wasn't able to find any (informational) pictures of it.  

Here's how it goes...buy prints or make some yourself (we got Angela Adams 8x10 postcards)

-paint clothespins any desired color (we did ours black)

-Use double sided sticky tape to place the clothespins vertically on the wall, the appropriate distance so that each pin can snag whatever print you are hanging

-Open clothespins- insert end of print!

-Tada!

We had done this for three enlarged post cards we bought.  It saved us from buying frames and it looked neat.  I took them down a few weeks ago while I was on one of my packing rampages, whoops.

Here is a photo of one of them, it is diagonal and sort of hard to make out, but it's the best image I have.  When we move I will post one for sure, as I'm positive we will be using this not so fancy trick again.

The two blurry images are the painted clothespins :)

Moving Update: Tonight our goal was to pack the garage, eek.  We had most of our things organized in there, it was really just a matter of figuring out how to box things up and toss or donate things we didn't want.  After this is post is done I plan on tackling the last kitchen cabinet and the last of the dishes.  We did a final grocery shop before the big move.  It cost us $30 and consisted of 1 frozen stir fry (we never eat these, for real), ingredients for grilled cheese, salad, aaaaand croutons (a few snacks here and there).   We are going to miss our favorite grocery store. 

This all looked a lot worse before when it was shoved into one corner

Boxes that were moved from the apartment yesterday, by the much loved Neal, and that other guy..umm, oh right, Randy

Happy Monday 

B 

Packing, Packing, and more Packing

Today was a partial play, partial work day.  It is Neal's last day in Maine before he heads back to PA.  This morning we went out to brunch, ran some errands, and came home to work.  All things are off of the walls (minus our huge mirror above the couch), and all packed boxes were moved into the garage for easier packing on the big day.  The apartment just keeps getting more and more strange as we (I) dismantle it.  Randy and I are so eager to be in the new house.

Still To Do:
-Pack clothing (dresser and closet)
-Pack the dishes/pint glasses
-Pack the one pot I left our for some serious cooking these next few days (yeah, right)

Here are some images of the chaos that ensued this afternoon

Before pillows and art were packed 

After

Neal on the left! 

He looked much happier than he truly was..this was in the beginning phase of our "work"

Essentials..

Happy Sunday 

B

The Last Weekend

Today we got the great news that our closing date was moved up!!! Our original date was Wednesday, the 23rd.  We are now closing on the 17th, which happens to be my 25th b day, wahoo!  Luckily most things are packed.  We just have the kitchen and our clothing left, so we are in good shape there.

Appropriately enough, one of our best friends, Neal, came to town from PA for a little snowboarding.  He comes up to Maine a few times a year and we love having him.  I don't know who is more excited for the big move, us or him.  He will finally be able to have his own room instead of crashing on our living couch for days at a time, hoooray for Neal!!!!  It is only right that he is here with us for our last official weekend in the apartment.

Happy almost Friday

Beth

The big 2-9

Yesterday was Randy's 29th birthday.  Since we just bought a house, we agreed not to do gifts this year.  I wanted to do something special even though we made an agreement.  So I got him a day of food instead.  It started with a sourdough bagel from our favorite local bakery (Scratch Baking Company), with delicious pimento cheddar spread, then I gave him a beautiful letterpress (my other love) card about mustaches (which you can find here, from dude and chick on etsy), with money enclosed for lunch, before I made him his requested dinner (eggplant stacks).  We followed dinner up with two amazing desserts from Scratch.  One of my surprises for him was that his mom, Susan, was able to show up and spend a good portion of the night with us, eating, laughing, and preparing for all the exciting things to come in 2011.  We even got her to take some funny photos in photo booth on the Mac before she left. Enjoy!!!

Oh- and before you see the bone shaped cake and have a "wtf" moment..it is called "funny bones," it is peanut butter mouse, in between two pieces of chocolate cake, topped with chocolate ganche.  The other one is a "ring a ling a ding," need I say more?