First Christmas in Our New Home {2013}

I've had a couple of people request a Christmas post showing my decor and am happy to share with y'all. We had a blast decorating and showing off our nest to family. This is our third Christmas being married but our first in this house. Everything wasn't completely decorated since this was our first time having a mantle and fireplace. Hopefully next Christmas it will be more like I want it. 

The first picture is a shot of the living room from our front door. We did some rearranging to accommodate our chubby little Christmas tree but it's not much different from how it normally is set up.   We even got to pick and cut our tree this year up in the mountains with Colin's family. My sister-in-law was sweet (and brave) to invite us all to stay the weekend after Thanksgiving. Thanks again Nicole! :)

One of my favorite decorations is my great grandmother's dough bowl. I'm sure I've mentioned it before and tell all my guests about it. It gets new decor with every season but hasn't been used to make biscuits like she always did. 

Riley was my Christmas present 3 years ago so I call him my Christmas kitty. His favorite thing about Christmas is drinking from the tree. Now that the tree is gone we actually have to remember to fill up his water bowl. :)

Our buffet got a full makeover with Christmas decorations. It made our kitchen very festive! Here are some other shots of Christmas decor around the kitchen:

I try to update my chalkboard every holiday to add some personal "art" to keep things interesting. I added an old bottle and some berries plucked from our yard to my antique scale. My blue mason jar was filled with an assortment of small silver ornaments to add a little cheer.

See that green bread box? It's an antique our neighbors found and gave to me. It's a perfect addition to the kitchen and I love it! My mom cleverly filled a mason jar with candy canes to add some color and holiday spirit. My little reindeer was an after Christmas sale find last year. He holds our Christmas goodies for guests (and us). Again, we stole some berries and leaves from outside and stuck them in an old bottle. That cute bird with a top hat was a welcome winter guest.

Colin was very excited to decorate the outside of the house this year. He's already talking about how we need to get more lights and decorations to keep up with the neighbors. We got these little trees from my grandma for Christmas and I think they are adorable!

See our nice stained front porch? I was slack and didn't share the before and after pictures of that yet. Maybe I'll get that post up soon because it was a huge difference! I love how this picture shows off our rocking chairs. 

And here's a night shot of the whole house. We're missing the candles in the windows and the trees on the front porch. It was so nice to come home when the house was all lit up and pretty!

Lastly, here's a picture of us on Christmas day at my grandparents house. Thank you to all the family that came by to get the tour of our nest. We thoroughly enjoyed getting to show it off. To all those who couldn't make it for the tour, I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour. 

Surprise 25th Anniversary Party!

In honor of my parent's 25th wedding anniversary today, I wanted to share their surprise party from a couple weekends ago. My sister Kristin and I had been planning the details for a few months and the party wouldn't have happened without her and her husband. Here's the invitation we sent out and then framed for a decoration at the party (my parents names and my address have been blurred out). We ordered them from Shutterfly and I love how they hinted at the chalkboard theme.

My first thought was that a 25th anniversary party should probably be decked out with silver and fanciness but we wanted to take a more casual approach. We decided red, white, black and some silver would be nice. Coke bottles and chalkboards were chosen as the main decorations to go with the color scheme and casual feel.

We made these adorable Coke bottle place cards/favors for each guest and the name tag was actually made from chalkboard paper. I used a tag paper punch and Kristin wrote the names using a white felt tipped pen since chalk would rub off. We did go back over it with chalk to make it look a little more realistic. I had some black and white baker's twine that we used to tie the name tags in place.

Of course we had a huge storm come through as the party started and had to change some of our plans. Only about half of the guests were able to have a spot at the kitchen table and a card table set up in the living room. So, everyone chose their own seats (wherever they could find one) and the Coke bottles just served as a personalized favor.

The desk area in the kitchen was transformed into the drink station. Kristin came up with another decoration idea just hours before the party. We used baker's twine taped up with some washi tape and made a little picture bunting. The tiny clothespins are from the dollar section at Michaels and Kristin wrote on each one to spell LOVE. Isn't cute? Oh, and the adorable pictures really help with the overall cuteness.

Next up with decorations, we have the amazing cake. We ordered it from the baker who did both of our wedding cakes. She makes beautiful cakes and they are soo tasty (just ask any of our wedding guests or party guests)! Kristin already had the white cake plate and we wanted to play off the chalkboard/silver theme so we came up with this beauty. It was cinnamon chip cake with a layer of cream cheese in the middle and buttercream frosting. Yummm. 

I used a chalkboard I made for our engagement pictures for the "You are so loved" sign. I found chalkboard markers at Michaels (they come in all kinds of colors) and they showed up so much better than regular chalk. I still have this pretty sign sitting in my kitchen because who doesn't need a reminder every once and a while that you're loved. :)

We made the "chalkboard" cake bunting with black scrapbook paper and a white marker. Michaels actually had chalkboard scrapbook paper (what we used for the name tags) but we wanted this to be something that would last and not rub off. We used glue dots to hold the bunting in place on the baker's twine and tied it to dowels. Oh, and after the bunting was taken off the cake we put it in empty Coke bottles and gave it to my parents.

Now that I'm done showing off the decorations, it's time to share the semi-surprise! My mom knew about the party because we decided she wouldn't like being surprised. Word to the wise, know the person you are throwing a surprise party for and how they will be affected. If you think there's any chance they may pass out, wet their pants, or run away crying, you may want to clue them in. Now, my dad on the other hand, we thought would love a good surprise and my mom helped us make it a complete surprise. Just to prove this fact, I'm sharing the pictures of the actual surprise below.

Please note the massive amounts of rain falling in the background. Colin was assisting with an umbrella to get my mom inside without being soaked. Now, notice the look of shock when he saw me and Kristin with our cameras pointed at him. Next, when he turns and sees the group of twenty people yelling "surprise". Finally, when he realizes what the party is for and that we got him good. Oh yeah. 

The minutes that followed were filled with laughter and quite a bit of blushing. Once everyone settled down, we had a great supper. We served hummus and pita, chicken kabobs, veggies, rice, and salad from a restaurant our mom and dad love. Everyone found a place to eat inside (because of the flood happening outside) and seemed to enjoy the food and company. 

During dinner and before the cake cutting, our guests were able to flip through some old family albums for entertainment. There was also a slideshow of pictures playing on the tv in the living room. We found that everyone loved getting to see my parent's wedding album and pictures of us as kids. This also gave everyone something to do since we weren't able to play corn-hole or be outside as planned.

Now, on to the cake pictures. I thought these turned out great! Isn't it a wonderful feeling when you get pictures you love and will cherish for the rest of your life??

Happy 25th Anniversary! We love y'all so much. Hope you enjoyed your "surprise" party!! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us! We loved getting to show off our new house and were so proud to be able to host such a big milestone. Also, a huge thank you to Kristin, Stephen, and Colin! The party wouldn't have happened without those three. Now to start working on the theme for your 50th...  :)

Celebrating Fathers and The Fourth!

Father's Day was our first get together we've had at our new house. It wasn't a huge party or anything, just my parents, sister and brother-in-law. We finally saw how perfect our house is for entertaining and I think our guests loved it too (although, being family they may be a little biased). I thought I'd share a few photos of the celebration! This was my favorite picture of the night:

We were able to use our massive amount of counter space for the first time. We loved getting to spread the food out and make a little buffet. Well, it wasn't a little buffet really. Colin grilled hamburgers and hotdogs and we had a spread of toppings (lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bacon). We also had corn on the cob, grapes, and french fries and my specialty for dessert, Funfetti cupcakes.

We know that we are the luckiest girls in the world to have such a great father. Of course, after Daddy got his present he was thinking he's the luckiest father in the world...

Yep, that's my dad. Only he would be silly and act like he's smoking with his new smoker. We've gotten to enjoy chicken wings and pork chops with his present. Can't wait to see what he cooks up next!! :)

Now, on with the next celebration! We spent all day with family and friends on July 4th and I can't think of a better way to celebrate. We are so grateful for the men and women (and their families) who serve or have served our country. Thank you so much for the sacrifices you make! Our house got a chance to be patriotic with our new flag. :)

We had my parents, sister and brother-in-law, and neighbors over for supper. The neighbors (Mr. Charles helped put up my beadboard) brought two sweet little newborns that they were fostering. So, we got to snuggle with them (the babies, not the neighbors) for a long time. 

Here is my patriotic display on the mantel for July 4th. I love using antiques as decorations and it's even better when I know the story behind the antique. The basket has a quilt made by my great grandma. Also, the little red iron on the left of the mantel was my great grandma's iron that she used for years then turned into a doorstop. Some of my favorite decorations came from her, so guests will find me telling personal stories about most of my antiques. The flag bunting is from Pottery Barn (snagged it on sale the day after July 4th, shhh). 

Here we are posing with our new flag and rockin' our red, white, and blue. We hope you all had a great Father's Day and Fourth of July!! :)

Kitchen Recondition

Finally, a post to show off the kitchen transformation! This kitchen has seen its fair share of updates. Check out the arrows showing everything that's been changed so far. New beadboard, paint, refinished hardwoods, countertops, sink, faucet, backsplash, outlets, knobs, and light. You can see the changes in the second picture.

We still have a few things to finish up. We changed out the brushed nickel knobs with some lovely oil-rubbed bronze ones. We did forget to change one knob, anyone see it? It was hidden and didn't make it in the count so we still need to upgrade that little guy. We also need to change out the brass hinges that are almost tarnished enough to look oil-rubbed bronze. 

Here's a before and after picture of the countertops (plus the photobombing cat). We chose solid surface countertops from Lowes. We went back and forth about getting granite but in the end we went with what seemed best for us. Lots more I could say about the decision making process but I won't bore you with the details.

We have these gorgeous hydrangeas in our backyard and I wanted to show them off with a close up of the countertops. The color is Slate by Allen + Roth and it has a brown base color with some black, white, tan and brown speckles. If you're in the market for new countertops, check out the sale options for great deals. That's what we did and saved quite a bit compared to the full price ones that were similar. Also, we didn't add the 3 inch countertop backsplash and were able to almost completely pay for the new tile backsplash to be installed with the money we saved. Finding a sweet Lowes guy who searches for every way to help you save is a great thing. :)

We decided to keep the original cabinets to save some money and they are still in good shape. One day we may decide to paint them but for now they are fine. My mom and I spent a couple hours cleaning them with Orange Glo and it really brought some life back to them. Oh, and the kitchen smelled great after. Check out that view from the sink. I love it!!

Here is a close up of the backsplash aka the"splashback." We had nice lady come by to give us a welcome packet and she said she loved our splashback. She had a very thick southern accent so imagine that combined with the flip-flopped word. Bless her heart. ;) Anyway, we love our splashback backsplash and are very happy with the choice of travertine tiles and the mosaic tile border. By the way, see that awesome cutting board? My super talented Papa made it. :)

I had to share a close up of this amazing faucet. It's kind of the mom to the little guy in our half bath that I love so much. 

We decided to make a new outdoor kitchen area with the old countertops and sink. Just kidding! We wanted to save some money and get rid of them ourselves. Truth be told, I think Colin just wanted to rip them out. It did prove to be more of a project than we thought. Thanks Uncle Brad for coming over late one night to help carry this monster out. I was happy to be the door holder instead of the assistant in the demolition and removal. :)

So, what do you think? Everything is coming along! I'll add some more pictures of my kitchen decorations when everything is finished. Still have more unpacking to do (it's never ending!) but I will slowly but surely add more pictures of the progress. 

Get Ready to be "Floor"ed.

A last minute addition to our to-do list was refinishing the hardwoods in the kitchen. We originally thought they looked fine but after seeing the beadboard and new paint we decided they may need some TLC. So, even though it pushed our move in date back we decided it should be added to the list.

The hardwoods used to be almost the same color as the kitchen cabinets so we wanted to choose a stain to differentiate the two. Please disregard how rough the kitchen looks in the after and just focus on the floors. :)

After the hardwoods were refinished we were able to have the carpets installed! Woohoo! The house had been carpet-less for over a month. Now we have beautiful, clean, and extremely soft new carpet. We can also walk around barefoot without fear of dying from the exposed tack strip.

This is one good before and after picture of the master bedroom to show the difference. You can tell the carpet was worn out before and needed to be replaced. I've spent the past couple nights relaxing on the new carpet while Colin ripped out the old countertops and it's very comfy!

Next up in the before and after shots we have the master bathroom floors. We didn't want carpet in the sink area and wanted the same flooring to go all the way to the shower. We thought carpet in that area might get too wet and linoleum would be easier to clean.

The before picture was taken the day we closed so it had the old paint color. Oh, and the after gives a little sneak peek of the new countertops that I promised to share. I'm waiting on the plumber to install the new faucets so you can get your moneys worth with the before and after pictures. :)

The guest bathroom has the same flooring as the master bathroom so I'll skip that and go straight to something new and exciting. The half bath got a major update from the original early 90's flooring. The original was yellowing and tearing away from the wall. 

We decided to help ease this little bathroom into the 21st century with some pretty hardwoods. Not real hardwoods but maybe I fooled you for a second there? Honestly, I think it looks just as good as the real thing. This linoleum was a relatively inexpensive update and completely changed the feel of this bathroom (and the laundry room attached to it). 

So, what do you think? Some pretty major changes, right? Well, just wait because the new bathroom countertops and faucets are coming soon. Followed closely by the new kitchen countertops and backsplash. Oh, and did I mention we have already started moving stuff in? We are hoping to be mostly moved in this weekend! :)

To-Do List Progress: What's Done and Still to Come

It's been almost two weeks since I've posted anything and I didn't want y'all to think I was holding out on you or had decided not to share anymore. So, here's a quick look at my updated list:

1. Beadboard in the kitchen and living room (see it here)
2. New paint everywhere: walls, trim, closets (see it here)
3. Install a security system
4. New bathroom countertops (this reveal is coming soon)
5. Kitchen hardwood floors refinished (starts tomorrow and should be finished Friday)
6. New carpet and bathroom floors (should all be done this Saturday)
7. New kitchen countertops installed the end of next week
8. New backsplash installed soon after the kitchen countertops

There you have it, four of the eight major projects are done! Six of the eight should be done by the end of this week! Oh, how I love marking things off my list. 

Everyone keeps asking when we will be moving in and I hadn't been able to give a good answer. Now I can finally say in about one week! It's been over a month since we closed so I'm very excited about seeing everything come together! I wish y'all could have seen the house before we started making changes. It's going to be like a new house and I can't wait to get settled in! :)

New Paint: Transforming Crazy Color to Cottage Chic

The second thing on our to-do list was to have everything inside repainted. I mean everything, the walls, trim, closets, it was all begging for a facelift. 

The previous owners had several bold color choices (blue in the master bedroom, yellow in the half bath, and two different greens in the kitchen/hallway). They had it decorated really cute with fun patterns and colors. We really didn't notice the paint colors the first time we walked through. I actually didn't mind the blue in the bedroom and the yellow in the bathroom but since all the rooms connected it was kind of a color explosion. Needless to say, we were wanting to tone everything down with nice welcoming neutrals and maybe in the future add more colors. Also, check out how the kitchen and hallway used to look with the chair rail and two different green colors. See why I'm in love with the beadboard?!?

The kitchen is painted Sprout and it ended up being a lighter green than we expected. It looks even lighter in this picture than it does in person. We realized that the little paint sample seems to change once it's put over a large area. But, it's starting to grow on me and I'm glad we decided to paint it a different color from the rest of the house.

Everything else is painted Barcelona Beige and I'm really happy with how it looks. Again, the picture doesn't really show how it looks in person. It's a very good neutral and it gives all the rooms a clean and cohesive look. All the trim and beadboard are painted Greek Villa and it looks great. The trim looked pretty yellow before so just picking a whiter color made it look brand new.

Oh, and here's a before and after picture like I promised. The before picture makes me like our paint choice even more. It was a little old fashioned and too minty before. What do you think? I know I'm a little biased but I think the new paint has transformed the crazy color to cottage chic. :)

Beadboard is up and I'm loving it!

One of the first things on my wish list for this house was adding beadboard to the kitchen and living room. We thought it would make the house have more of a cottage/farmhouse feel. So, with the help of an awesome family friend, my helpful father, and my sweet husband, the beadboard installation began last weekend. Please excuse my iPhone photography (my iPhone is always on hand, whereas my "nice" camera, not so much).

We're getting new carpet so everything is pretty rough looking right now. Progress usually isn't pretty. I only snapped a few pictures during the beginning stages of project when me and my mom were delivering lunch to the hard workers. Even with it not being painted yet, I knew it was going to change the rooms completely and I would love it.

It took about 3 days for the guys to finish up the project and they did a great job. The painters started this week so it has been primed and painted now. I will remember to take my "nice" camera to get some shots of the finished product and show some before pictures.

I have a feeling this addition will most likely be my favorite thing in the house for quite some time. Guests may find I'm unable to pull myself away from the beauty. Okay, that's a little extreme but I really am loving it. I can't be the only one who loves beadboard this much, can I?

Oh, and here's a shout out to my favorite beadboard guys, Mr. Charles, Daddy, and Colin (if anyone of you happen to read this): THANK YOU SO MUCH! Y'all did such a good job, I'm sure you wouldn't mind taking a couple weeks to install this everywhere in the house, right? Just kidding! Maybe... :)