2 new additions to the family

I flew home in October for two reasons:
1. to meet my parents new puppy, Louis
2. to tell my parents we are having a baby

This is the awesome video that captured their reactions.  I love it!!!

sorry the quality is so poor, iphone.

This is Louis:

Blog Cheater:)

I blog for my job at Su Casa every Monday and this is my latest post about rugs!

http://designtips.pad-furniture.com/rugs/rugs/

Take a look and enjoy learning about rug placements...you're welcome.

"wall"paper

So I finally finished my wallpaper/stencil.  I know it seems like it took forever but actually it wasn't that long.  I've worked on it from time to time since I last posted.  I had done a lot when I first started but slowed down cause I was busy at work.  Anyway, you are to ignore the following in the pictures below.
1. the blurriness, i used my iphone, sue me
2. the unfinished drywall ceiling above the wall
3. the lack of crown molding
4. the unfinished drywall corners in the walk way to the kitchen, we are putting white corner trim there.

Behold my awesome creation:)

Sorry I couldn't do a whole wall picture, the iphone stinks in that way and if I step back too far you can't see the design.  Do y'all love it?  I'm in love and I cannot wait to have the crown molding and corner trim up.  It'll look so purty!!!

Sunday Funday? More like Sunday Awfulday

Today was one of those days that you never want to have.  Where the second you wake up bad crap starts to happen.
The two doozies of the day:
1. Lee and I tried to hang our new ceiling fan in the kitchen and that was a disaster.  We couldn't get the electrical box in the ceiling stabilized, we finally fixed that and started mounting the fan, only to realize we had forgotten the medallion that covers the nasty gap around the electrical box.  We undid everything that had taken 30+ mins, put the medallion on, and started again.  All said and done, it took 4 hours to do something that should have taken 30 mins.  Nothing ever goes as planned when working on your house, unless you're Bob Villa.
2. We got free Tickets to the Grand Prix in downtown Baltimore.  We have been excited for weeks about going and today it had come.  So after our terrible morning with the fan, we needed some fun.  We get on our bikes to ride downtown and about 1/4 of the way my front tire blows out.  And when I say blows out, it literally exploded.  It sounded like a car back firing!  I was so furious.  Lee had to ride back home, get the car and come get me.  Once we got the bike in and we were headed downtown, he asked "Where in the harbor do you want to dump that piece of ----?"  Im getting a new bike!!!!

On a more exciting note, I have started my "wallpaper" in the living room.  I bought a stencil on etsy and a gold sharpie paint pen.  It looks so pretty, I can't wait to show you the results...not finished:(  Here is the stencil I chose(Im only tracing the lines not filling it in with paint) and the wall before.

stencil

wall (sorry so dark)

AND HERE IS A PREVIEW!!!!

that's me trying to stencil into the corner:(

Kitchen

Not only did we work on the backyard while the M-I-L was here but we also worked on the kitchen. Im really excited to say that we finished the drywall, painted, and I built a bookcase for my cookbooks. Here are those pics.

The big things left to do are pick out base boards and crown molding, install those, sand and paint the ceiling, and hang our new fan. Im not big on having a fan in the kitchen and would rather a good looking fixture but our kitchen gets too hot with the oven on. And as I keep reminding myself...this isn't our "forever" home.

I am really excited about my next project in the living room, I cannot wait to show you. Im going to "create" wallpaper, using a stencil and gold sharpie on the painted wall. I know it sounds crazy but its gonna be super cool and you all will be jealous. Im currently searching for a good stencil that isn't too busy or too small. Anyway, stay tuned.

Backyard!

Hello all! And by all I mean my mom since she's probably the only one that reads my blog posts:) Thanks mom!

Anyway, My mother-in-law came to town a few weeks ago and was cracking the whip, we got some much accomplished, I really cannot believe it. I wanted to show you the back yard and how pretty it has become. We paid a man to haul away all the junk back there, painted my furniture, added plants and put all the random potting junk into a deck box. Im in love. Now it just needs to cool down so I can enjoy my swinging bench, darn it.

junky yard before

pretty yard after

potting junk before

potting junk after

What do you think? Im in love with my bench!

Coming Soon...

We are finally motivated to completely finish the kitchen. We have been so busy lately, Lee started a new year & I just started a new job, but we are finally on a routine and can focus. Ill let you know as we progress but I hope to have some good updates after this weekend. Stay tuned...

In the meantime, here is the most adorable thing the world:)

It's hard being a Pirate!

HELP!

I have been searching for European and Standard pillow shams for our bed and I cannot find any I like. What is going on? I want something that wow's me, but all I'm getting is blah. So I have decided to ask for your help. Where do you buy your bedding?

our bedside tables and headboard.

this is the color of our quilt.

Maybe I should learn to sew...

ps: please ignore the gold wood panelling and carpet. We haven't started renovating upstairs. I know its beautiful:)

Thought I'd post some after pics with furniture in them.