Friday, September 30, 2011

home tour

i thought before i show off my "not quite finished, but still proud of the progress" basement - i could start with a house tour.  ronzo and i bought our house three years ago last spring.  i'm pretty sure we'll be done with all the improvements by our four year anniversary.  we're getting down to the nitty-gritty.
before diving in, i suggest taking a look at the house when we bought it.
not a beauty, but it had definite potential.
ronnie didn't see it.
but i loved it and he took my word for it.

so after a LOT of:
diy - learn as you go - leave it up to ronnie to fix it
we are here...

(the front outside - ranch style home built in 1979)

(the kitchen)

(we actually put in new counter tops, hardware,
and painted all the cabinets white)

(this is standing in front of the fridge looking down the hall.)

(and the double door in the picture above opens up into a laundry room)

(turn back around into the kitchen - the door on the right leads to the dining room)

(dining room.  new paint, new fixture, new wood floors)

(the living room.  everything was painted, including staining those beams.
and at first, the color was yellow from the bottom color of the dining room, but i didn't like it, so we repainted with green)

(this is the point of view of the living room if standing in the dining room)

(looking back into the dining room and kitchen. pay no attention to the halloween decorations or the dog toy in the middle of the floor.)

(in the living room looking toward the entry way)

(the entry way - to the right is the front door and to the left is the hallway leading to all the bedrooms and bathrooms.)

(here's a better look down the hallway.)

(the first door you see above on the right is a linen closet, the second leads to this: the office)



 (and across from the office is our guest bathroom - we tiled everything, added new counter tops and new fixtures)


 (down the hall to the left is the master bedroom and bath - this is an old picture because...)

(we now have a king size bed and new headboard)
ps- this room is in need of some decoration.  it's the last project on my list.

(this shows where the master bath is - don't mind the unmade bed)

(or the dog curled up ready for bed.)

(now our old headboard is in the guest bedroom which is across the hall from the master bedroom)

(our deck - the door outside is in the living room.)

(and here's the last shot - - the back of the house)

so there you have it.  next stop? a tour of the basement. 

sorry for all the crazy pictures - day, night, halloween, spring, but you get the point, yes?

Thursday, September 29, 2011

done and done

we. are. done.


this was a photo ronzo snapped last night after we got done painting the basement.  i took a bunch of before and after photos to share, but haven't gotten around to uploading them.

if you remember - the basement started out like this.


since then we have cleared out the mess.
painted the trim white.
repainted the ceiling.
and painted the walls gray.
i can't wait to show you.
next up?
NEW CARPET!
yesssssssssssss.
coming soon.

ps- i'm a bit nervous about carpet.  i've never had to pick any out and there are so many options.
color, texture, price, padding.  i guess i should start doing some research. 

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

the girls from ames

shit happens.
yelling doesn't help.
the message is lost in the battle.
sometimes things are not the best.
or the worst. 
they're bad. 
but not awful. 
but bad is not good.
good is the goal.
my expectations are high. 
my example was unrealistic.
new lines are drawn.
new goals are set.
i'm budging, when that's not my nature.
i'm apologizing, when i don't want to.
but do i feel bad?
yes.
definitely.
friends aren't forever.
unless you make it happen.
keep close.
try to understand.
because it's worth it.



the title is in reference to the book i'm reading... all about female friendship.





Tuesday, September 27, 2011

helmet head

ronnie and i have spent the majority of our free time painting the basement.
we lovingly refer to it as the dungeon.
but sometimes it's nice just to take advantage of the weather.
and ride.






yes - you can see me in the reflection of ronnie's helmet awkwardly taking pictures. i thought about trying to remove it, but i think it gives it a little 'where's waldo' feel to every picture.

yes, harley might be ronnie's true love.

and yes, we're always thinking of ways to get louie and leia to ride. i think my babies would look good in leather and fringe.



Monday, September 26, 2011

good intentions down the drain

i ate a piece of pie for breakfast.
son of a bitch.
i got up early and went running.
then ran out of time while taking a shower and getting ready for work.
so i just grabbed the last piece for breakfast.
in my defense i have a weakness for desserts
 and you can't really take eggs to work with you.
but it wasn't even healthy pie.
is there such thing as healthy pie? 
i'd like to think so... the berry kind can't be all bad.
but no, this was chocolate and peanut butter pie.
left over from the birthday.

happy freaking monday.
i bet i gained 3 lbs this morning.

Friday, September 23, 2011

fall in - sept 23rd

it's finally here and it's official.
 i've been waiting over a month.
autumn.
my favorite time of year.
oktoberfest.
pumpkin patches.
changing leaves.
apple cider.
a new decor.
fall fashion.
holidays.

i've been pinning a whole bunch of stuff on pinterest for the season.
it makes me smile.
happy 1st day of fall!









Wednesday, September 21, 2011

pinning! (like charlie sheen but with a P)

don't just pin - DO.
right?!

so i have a lot of different pin boards.
lots and lots of ideas and things i want to do.
many of them are dreams of a new home and how to decorate it.
those pins will have to wait.

but i have been able to take some of these ideas and use them.
so far, here are the ones i've gone on to make, purchase, or do.


 you might remember this:

and then i bought this:
as seen here:

and this:

have the nail polish ready for this:

and this:

and taught myself how to do this right here:

my mom has been collecting milk jugs for a month, so these are on the way:

what i'm not doing so well on is my craft board.
that's my next goal.

just keep pinning, just keep pinning.
(finding nemo?)