Making a Splash!

We're still plugging away folks!  And GUESS WHAT!?!?!  We are about two weeks out from actually MOVING IN!  Super excited!

Last week, we put the final touches on in our kitchen.  We picked out our backsplash and had it installed by our fabulous tile setter, Miguel!

It took awhile for us to pick our backsplash.  When we started house hunting (a year ago), we saw lots of flipped houses with mosaic tile backsplashes.  The photo below is a house we looked at (however, it was way out of our price range!)  Notice the tile backsplash.

I really loved the backsplash look and was sure that we would install the same in our future home.  However, when it actually came time to make our final choice, I started having second thoughts.  Although, I love the mosaic look, I had a gut feeling (you knows those feelings that just won't leave ya alone?!) that it was a bit trendy and that in ten years time, I would regret having mosaic tiles.  Who knows.  Maybe I would still love it, maybe I would hate it.

I had people say to me, "Just re-do it when you get sick of it".  Although that's a fun idea, I don't know where our finances will be in ten years... and I always try to make decisions that are long-term and financially wise.  That's just how my penny-pinching brain works!!  Anyhow, now that I have given you insight to the workings of my brain.... I'll show you what we decided on!

I started looking for a black-splash that would match well with our dark wood floors, multi-colored granite, white cupboards, taupe walls .  I wanted something that would blend nicely and not steal the stage.

 I ended up finding a 6" square tile that has a Tuscan look and matches perfectly with our color scheme.

 Since we decided on a safe, neutral tile, Nick and I thought it would dress it up to have the tiles set in a diamond formation.

                                I loved watching the tile setters work.  Such precision!

Waiting for the grout to dry!

The finished product!  

Both of us are thrilled with the finished product.  It is classic and beautiful!  

P.S.- There is a little part of me that still wants some mosaic tile somewhere in my house... maybe one day in my laundry room or something!

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas with your family and friends!  Hard to believe it has already come and gone!

Nick and I had a wonderful Christmas and felt so blessed to spend it with loving families and friends.  Christmas is truly the most wonderful time of the year.  I always find myself reflecting back on the year and feeling overwhelmingly thankful.   Most of all, I am thankful for the Lord's gift to the us, His son, Jesus!  He is the reason we celebrate!

Christmas Eve is a big night for my family.  We spend the day baking, cooking, and hanging out together.  Then, as evening approaches, we get all dolled up and ready for the festivities.  We have a wonderful, over the top dinner.  This year we ate Filet Mignon, scalloped potatoes, green beans and a fancy salad.  Side note: I am not a red meat lover by any account.  I could be told I'll never have red meat again and not even flinch.  However, I have decided that Filet Mignon is by far, the most amazing meat in the world.  I could eat it every day and be very happy and round.  End of story.  After dinner, we head to church.  It was a beautiful service, complete with a candle-lighting ceremony in which we all got to participate! 

On our way home from church, Dad tortures us and makes us look at lights... which kills us (even as 20-something-year-olds) because we know... that gifts await us back at home!  That's right... we open our gifts of Christmas Eve!  If not by coincidence, Nick grew up doing the SAME thing!  Makes things nice and easy for us!

My husband loves joking and making me squirm.  Christmas is no exception.  It should have been no surprise to me that he would pull some sort of shenanigan!  At the beginning of December, I had sent him a photo of a pair of boot that I found at Macy's.  Just a little hint, hint, ya know?  Well, fast forward to Christmas Eve.  I opened up a large box Steve Madden box from him... only to find this treasure inside:

Yes, that's right!  It's a piece of the retro orangish-gold carpet from our house!  The man KEPT a piece since JULY!!  I suppose it's a nice reminder of how far we truly have come on our home renovation project!

                                                    The face of "Christmas Joy"!

I didn't take a picture, but low and behold... there was a second box for me with a pair of boots.  I absolutely love them and will most likely wear them as often as possible!

The next morning, we all anxiously pour our coffee and whisper about what we think Santa brought us.  (Okay, maybe that was when we were kids.... but we are still excited!)  Being grown-up and married now, I never would expect that Santa would still think of me.  Yet, every year, I am floored, absolutely stunned, by the generosity that Christmas morning brings.  It makes me excited to share that same Christmas magic with our children one day!

Nick and I were blessed with a kitchen tool that I never dreamed of having myself. 

You can bet that as soon as we move into our new house, we will be whipping up soups, ice-creams, and anything else that this fancy machine can make.  If you know anything about the BlendTec or VitaMix... you know exactly why I am so excited.  It was pretty sweet having my hubby be just as excited about a blender as me!!

We spent the rest of Christmas with Nick's family.  We feasted on delicious homemade noodles and desserts.  It was fun to watch the little kids squeal with delight as they unwrapped gifts and screamed, "LOOK, LOOK!!"  After lunch, we headed to yet another party where we had the third major meal of the day!  (Yes, my stretchy pants are officially tight).  

To top of an incredibly perfect two days, my hubby and I exchanged our own personal stockings with one another.  One of my favorite things about Nick is his thoughtfulness and ability to say/do just the right thing at the right time.  The last thing in my stocking was this sweet ornament:

Yes, it made me cry.  He knows exactly how much I have longed to spend Christmas in our new house, fully decorated with our Christmas decorations. This sweet gift reminded me that next Christmas with be double-special.  Not only will be it full of all the blessings listed above, but it will be our first Christmas in our home. 

Glasses raised to 2013; it's bound to be a wonderful year full of love, growth, family, and surprises! 

Hot Summer Nights

Even though we are smack-dab in the middle of winter, we are thinking about hot summer nights!  You know, those nights when your house is stifling hot and you wish you had a huge swimming pool?

We have been on a hunt for ceiling fans for the past 2-3 months.  Most of the fans we found were super old-school or just plain funky looking.  Maybe we are just picky.  Either way, we just couldn't seem to find a suitable fan!

All that changed last weekend.  We found a very contemporary, sleek looking fan that we both instantly agreed on (I always hear the hallelujah chorus in the back of my mind when this happens).  It's pretty fabulous looking, if I don't say so myself!  There was only ONE left.  I think it must have been fate.

Looking forward to those hot nights when you can sit outside until 10:00p.m. in a tank top and shorts!! 

Hello Gorgeous!

Cooking delicious meals.  Packing lunches.  Baking cookies.  These are some of the things I look forward to doing in my new kitchen! 

The kitchen is one of the most important rooms in the house for me. Luckily, my husband completely recognizes this and has been really supportive and helpful in designing it.  When we first moved in, I said I was completely fine leaving the 1971 yellow tiles and thick brown grout.  I really was.  I knew we would change it eventful (among lots of other things).  Somewhere along the road, my Dad recommended doing it now when everything was torn up, due to the fact that it is a big, messy project.  Nick said yes.  I beamed.  And here we are!

Our tile setter, Miguel, recommended a fabulous duo to cut, polish and install our granite.  These guys were incredible.  They were extremely accommodating, respectful, and did impeccable work. 

                                        Our kitchen when we first purchased it.  

                                            Excellent condition, just outdated.

         Tile removed from counters and back splash; porcelain sink removed. 

 My pride and joy!  I spent a LONG time researching and choosing a sink.  I really wanted a sink with a larger basin on the right side, but I didn't want a tiny left side.  I found what they call a 60/40 sink.  It was the perfect match for what I wanted.  My other requirements were: an under-mount sink, large size stainless steel, thick steel (so that it won't sound tinny when things fall).

I ended up taking my search online and ordered from www.efaucets.com.  I had an excellent experience with their company. They delivered sooner than the date they originally stated and the product was exactly what I expected.

Our stone cutter team!  I HIGHLY recommend these guys if you need any stone work done.  Message me for names and numbers.

 The finished product.  Pictures don't do it justice.  I might have to take you on a video tour once we are completely finished.

 

We are thrilled!  Each day is one day closer to having our dream home complete.  We are so thankful!

Pure Bliss

Things are moving quickly!  

This week we have the installers at our house putting in our beautiful flooring and carpet!  Every single evening, Nick and I have been meeting at the house (together, so that one doesn't get to see the progress without the other...)!  

It has been fun to see the progression day by day.  We work, we come home, more floors are installed! 

I'll post pictures of the whole house once it's complete... but here are a few sneak peaks!

                            Sorry about the poor lighting and iPhone picture! 

                                                  So happy!  Feels like a home! 

                 You've gotta love our gorgeous fire place to complete the look!

                                                    Is he modeling or bowling?? 
                      Next up... pretty white baseboards to complete the look.

Learning Lady

Happy Monday!

Owning a home means learning brand new skills and noticing little things that you never would have paid attention to before.  Case in point: I had never given beautifully trimmed lawn much attention in the past. Well, let me tell you what!  NOW, when I drive around town, I notice all these strange little things... perfectly cut grass, new gutters, front door handles, and house colors!  

This past weekend our out of control, overgrown grass was driving me nuts.  I didn't want our house to be the eyesore of the neighborhood.... especially since we don't even live there yet!

The opportunity was there.  I was game.  My lovely Mama was willing to teach.  I am now officially certified to mow the lawn!  

Might not sound exciting... but it was a bucket list item for me.  Okay.  Not really.  But, it sure was satisfying to see the pretty, evenly-trimmed grass afterwards!

                                                            Here's the proof!

 Once a Mama, always a Mama.  I still need my Mama to teach me life-lessons at age 28!  That will never change... I will never be too old!

Side Note: My Mom was mowing the lawn on May 5, 1984... the DAY before I was born.  What a rockstar!

I still need to perfect my mowing skills.  The lines weren't perfectly straight... but I have a feeling I'll have plenty of time to practice in the near future!

Can't Wait to Take a Shower!

We're getting close, folks!  Every time I step foot in our house, I am reminded that it is truly our home.  Each day, it feels more and more like a place that we will live, celebrate holidays, have family dinners in, and the place we will bring our babies home from the hospital.  I feel excited and ready!

When we bought the house, we had a few projects planned.  Popcorn ceilings, floors, walls, and cabinets.  As we started replacing/updating things, it was sort of addicting!  If we replace THIS, we really should replace THAT too.  Now that THIS is pretty and updated, we can't leave THAT!  Luckily for us, the project has taken months, which has allowed us to save our pennies and do more to our house. 

Our master bathroom was quite outdated and in need of some attention.  However, we knew that it as a major project and that we wouldn't be able to afford it with everything else we needed to do.  As we got further into the house remodel, we started to realize that if we didn't do it now, it would be a HUGE project later and would infringe on our day to day life.  So, we budgeted it out, and decided that we could hold off on finishing the fireplace and instead do the bathroom.  (Remember my cute, temporary cardboard fire place.... it will be like that for a least six more plus months)!

 We had fun picking out tile, shower fixtures, and the shower design.  We hired a highly recommended tile setter.  Within 7-8 weeks, our dream shower became a reality!  We couldn't be more happy with the finished product.  

Before showing you the pictures, there are a couple of disclaimers!

1. Sorry about the poor quality photos.  There are no lights in the bathroom yet which make it difficult to photograph!

2. The shower fixtures are on order and will be delivered this upcoming week.  

I will post final, final photos once they are installed!

Before shower.  Itty bitty, teeny weeny shower!

 For some strange reason in the 1970's, they build a facade ceiling to make showers not as tall.  There wasn't a structural reason for it... just a special look.  We quickly removed the facade ceiling!

                                                                     So tiny!

                                                   Fun times removing tile....

Just a shell of the shower.  We extended the shower into the walk-in closet by a foot. That made  a huge difference!  Don't worry, our closet is still very nice sized!

 My studly husband installing the waterproof sheetrock and prepping for the tile work.

                  Day one of tile installation.  This process is called "floating". 

We decided to install a niche for shampoo bottles, a bench for leg shaving (customized for my height... which is short!!), and a little shelf for soap, etc.  

                   This is the point where we started feeling really excited!

             Tile is in, next step grout.  We chose a light tan grout to match the tile.

Taa-daa!!  Finished product!  We have spent lots of time just admiring this beauty!  It turned out better than we had even visualized. 

 We love the way the niche turned out with the bordered background.  It adds an creative touch and makes the overall appearance more interesting.

We are looking forward to installing the fixtures.  We ordered a thermostatic gauge, and a fixed shower head, and a handheld wand (at my request to make cleaning much easier!)

I have never been so excited to take a shower!  Only a few more weeks t0 go...!!

Believe

Sorry for the long delay in posting anything house related!  Yes, we have still been working... A LOT!  Life has been super busy and I've been working on balancing (easier said than done)!  

Our home is coming together SO nicely.  We are very close to the end of being done with our remodel... hooray!  Do you remember how I said we have a goal of moving in around Christmas?  The truth is... I didn't really believe that when I wrote it.  I simply said that for the sake of having a "goal", yet I didn't think it would really happen.  I was wrong!  Yes, I am happy about that!  As of today, it looks like we will definitely be moving in at the end of the month.  I have two weeks off work for Christmas vacation which means I will have lots of time to organize, make it ours, and settle in.  My heart feels happy just thinking about it!  

This past weekend was a work weekend.  Well, every weekend is a work weekend.  We had lots of help from my lovely family and our friends.  We worked on prepping the floor for the Pergo which is being installed in 7 days!!  We also started installing baseboards (our baseboards are amazing)!  The biggest project was removing the yellow and brown tile from the kitchen counters.  Boy, did they have that tile stuck in there good!!  Here are a few pictures from the weekend.  

                                                         Who needs a gym?!

                       That studly man is my incredible husband!  I just adore him!

 Look who surprised us!  My Uncle Mike from Oregon!  He was working on a project in Vacaville and came up to spend the night with us.  He is an electrician.... and he helped us a ton!  

I love how Nick is lovingly looking at him ;)  These two have too much fun together!

                                                    Measuring baseboards.

 Nick and I both love thick baseboards.  We decided to go with a very contemporary look... 5.25" baseboards!  They look amazing!

 Our lovely family friend, second mom, and neighbor, Mimi!  Mimi offered to come help do all the dirty work with us!  She helped peel off some extremely tough glue from the old linoleum and pounded out stubborn tile.

See?!  Dirty work!  Sorry Mimi.... I just couldn't resist!  It's obvious that she worked hard ;)

                                                       Bye, bye yellow tile!! 

  Dad and Mimi pounded out that stubborn tile.  I think my Dad might have regretted suggesting that we install granite after working for hours on end with that tile......

TA-DAA!!  Obviously, the granite isn't installed yet... but just having the yellow tile gone makes such a difference.  

As you can see, we have a been busy!  I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.... all this hard work and time has been more than worth it.