My Computer is Broken and Cleaning.

Boo, it's official. My computer is refusing to upload any more than five pictures, and also dies if I do so much as touch the power cord. It's not even my power cord, it's Bryan's, since my power cord got in a fight with my computer a few months ago and lost.
Dell is being contacted today and I've been living on Ebay to scout out a new power cord / memory thingy.

So what do I have to blog about today? Well, some very random stuff. Enjoy.

Cleaning. Those of you that read this and know me (which I'm pretty sure that is the vast minority), know that I am an obsessive compulsive clean freak. Usually. When I let it get bad, it gets BAD, but that's not too often.

Want proof? Here ya go:

Yes, that is the dresser in our bedroom. How did I manage to upload this with my broken computer? Well, it's actually part of a post from a few months ago that I never published. Yes, there are many posts that have never been published...top secret, you know ;).

Anyway, every once in a while I let the house get pretty horrible and then I spend like 1,562 hours cleaning it in one day. Can you say miserable? I'll say it, that's pretty freaking miserable. Even when I keep the house in order, I still spend about 2-3 hours cleaning it every Saturday or Sunday. Also miserable. So, I say all of this to say that I've officially made a cleaning schedule. Because I love making schedules and I'm a nerd like that.

I've read in several articles (courtesy of StumbleUpon) that it's easiest to spread your cleaning out over the week so that the mess doesn't build up and isn't as time consuming. Well, duh. Why didn't I think of that? I think it's because I subconsciously like to make my life more dramatic and complicated.

So, I spent a little time making up a weekly and monthly cleaning schedule. I'm sure there are things that I forgot/left off, and many things that I only do once a year or so, but here is the schedule as of right now:

                                                             Weekly Cleaning Schedule

MONDAY: Clean bathrooms, bathroom floors, and baseboards

TUESDAY: Dust all surfaces and window sills, clean mirrors, water lawn

WEDNESDAY: Vacuum carpeted areas

THURSDAY: Sweep and mop wood floors, water lawn

FRIDAY: Clean kitchen, sink, range, polish appliances, dry dust all surfaces, run errands, grocery shop (if needed)

SATURDAY: De-clutter drawers, bins, surfaces, pay bills, go over bank accounts, vacuum all floors

SUNDAY: Mow front and back yard, pull weeds, sweep front and back patio, fertilize flowers, water lawn

  

Daily Cleaning:

1. Make bed

2. Do dishes after every meal

3. Do one load of laundry (Wash sheets once a week)
4. Wipe down bathroom counter and mirror
5. Take out trash (as needed)
6. Water flowers

Monthly Cleaning:

1. Dust blinds
2. Dust ceiling light and fans
3. Dust tops of all cabinets
4. Give Louie a bath
5. Wash bath mats
6. Clean windows
7. Sweep and organize garage
8. Clean, wash, and vacuum cars
9. Clean stove (as needed)

Now, I highly doubt that I will get all of this done every single week, but I really do feel that it will help me maintain a pretty clean home.

If you are interested, here are some of the articles I came across on how to keep your home clean and organized:

 How To Clean Your House in 20 minutes a day for 30 Days
60 Small Ways to Improve Your Life in the Next 100 Days
One Money Saving Must
The Ultimate House Cleaning Calendar

That's it for today. Oh, and just in case you wanted to know, we have finally, FINALLY got around to redoing the master bedroom. Pictures to come. When I have a working computer. Which may be never, we will see.

Happy Harry Potter Week!!

Tiles and Croutons

Here is the latest of what's going on at our household...

Bryan made the announcement last night that he was going to start working on our bathroom. And so the mess took ensued and I've been trying to ignore the sounds of drills and saws ever since.

It's looking good though!

I also made homemade croutons today! My friend Alli's sweet mom gave me a few quick instructions, and I have to say, these are much better than any croutons I've ever bought at a store.

As any house of two knows, it's hard to finish a loaf of bread before it goes bad/stale (among other things). So, I took some of our stale bread, cut it into little cubes, placed it on a baking sheet, drizzled olive oil over the top and then sprinkled on garlic salt and italian seasoning. I baked them for about 10 minutes at 350 degrees. (Where in the heck is the degree sign on a computer keyboard? I'm not seeing it.) So easy!

I hope everyone has big/fun/productive and/or relaxing plans for Memorial Day Weekend! We are obviously planning to get a few things done (fingers crossed), but I'm hoping to relax and have a little fun too....maybe go see a movie and finish the book I just started reading. Firefly Lane, anyone? I heard it was good.

Speaking of books, I just finished the very popular (and recently movie-made) Water for Elephants. Love, love, love it. I had to read it in about a day because I didn't want to get a late fee at the library, and because my normal reading schedule was interfered with when I saw this:

...And just had to re-read all of the Hunger Games books again. I am so excited they are making them into movies!

Happy loooong weekend!

Grand Entrance

Bryan did a little project for me this past weekend that I just love. I started planning this on Labor Day, people. That's how long it's been. What is this project, you ask? Well, I was so over our red door with our red address number on our red brick house that I decided I needed a change!

Then, I came across this picture (which I cannot for the life of me figure out where it's from, I saved it like a year ago...help, please?)...

...and fell in love!

I just had to do something similar (or rather, had to have Bryan do something similar haha).

Here is our door before (last September):

Yes, my reflection in this picture is awesome.

And here it is now:

I am in love. We (Bryan) removed the storm door, filled the holes around the frame, painted the door and frame, and applied the adorable (and affordable) address sticker from the Etsy Shop, Single Story!

Now all I need is a pretty wreath and a few other fun things to make the front patio complete!

Link Parties:

Think Pink Sundays
Whatcha Got Weekend
Amaze Me Mondays
Just Something I Whipped Up
Market Yourself Mondays
DIY Showoff Project Parade
Thrifty Decor Chick
Take a Look Tuesday
Show and Tell Wednesday
House of Hepworths
Show and Share Day
Fun to Craft
Weekend Wrap Up Party
The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic
Furniture Feature Friday

The Next Project

Well, due to some very windy weather this past weekend (I'm talking brown skies and dirt in your eyes), my intended project was postponed for a bit (hint hint--outside project!). Since I don't have any work to show as of right now, I thought I'd focus on a project that I literally cannot WAIT to do.

Our master bedroom is very....blah. That's the word that comes to mind when I think of it. And beige. The room is very, very beige. Since I spend a lot of time in our room, it's only natural that I would be sick of the beige, blank walls, ivory bedding, and brown furniture....so I'm very excited that we plan on mixing it up a little in the next few months. I've honestly put off decorating our room for the last year simple because I didn't know what to do. BUT, I've recently kind of found my "style" as far as home decor goes (light, airy, lots of whites, creams, blues, greens, updated traditional, blah, blah, blah....), so I'm ready to move forward (woo hoo!).

So, to get in the spirit of things, I decided to make an inspiration board to keep me going in the right direction. I tend to get overwhelmed when I decorate, so I'm thinking that this may help. Before I show you all of the lovely inspiration I dug up, I must first show you what I have to look at every day.

Bare and beige. Yeah. Boring.

Why yes, that is my flexi-nylon hamper that I've had since my freshmen year of college. I'm that cool.

And here is what I hope to be looking at in the near future....

A few fun notes: (we're doing bullets, people)

• The paint color in the top left is called "Camouflage" by Benjamin Moore. I am obsessed with this color and can't wait to get it on the walls.
• I'm obsessed with sunburst mirrors, that's all.
• The beautiful bedding is a duvet set from Pottery Barn. I love it. Maybe it's because it reminds me of the pillows in our living room which I'm also obsessed with. Coincidence? I think not.
• I'm thinking of hanging a large cluster of frames with some vintage botanical prints on the blank wall that you see right when you come in our room. Or maybe something else. That's still up in the air.
• We don't have room for bedside tables and lamps on either side of the bed so it's looking like we will be getting some pretty wall sconces! (The floor lamp has already been moved to the Guest Room)
• I'm also a little obsessed with smocked curtains, like the ones pictured above from World Market. Let's see if I end up getting them!
• A few light, but patterned fabrics are also a must somewhere in the room. I'm thinking stripes.
• I really hope this fits the description of calm, light, and airy....because if it doesn't, I probably need to start over.
• I said the word "obsessed" way too many times in the above list.

Well, that's it. I have no clue why I'm blogging right now. I have to be up in 5 hours to go to a prayer breakfast before work! Have a great and happy Wednesday, friends!!

Confessions

So....

Firstly, I would like to apologize for my lack of personal posts. I know that I originally started this blog to document our house projects AND our personal life, but honestly we have been complete losers lately and have just been hanging around the house when we aren't at work. Well, I actually take that back....we DO have friends and we DO hang out with them fairly often, but I'm horrible at taking pictures at any sort of "outing" with people, mainly because I don't want to be "that girl with the blog and the camera". So for the extreme lack of pictures with people in them....I am sorry. :)

Now that I've gotten my apology out, I would like to continue disappointing those of you who read this for personal posts with a HUGE secret that I've been hiding in my house.

For anyone who reads this blog and knows me personally, you know that I am a self-admitted neat freak. Like bad. Like, to the point that it has annoyed every roommate I've ever had and is often more of a character flaw than anything else. SO, you will be shocked when you find out my secret.

You may either gasp or laugh when you see this picture...choose one or the other:

I KNOW. It's terrible. Bryan keeps calling me Monica because of that one episode of Friends when Chandler finds her secret junk closet and discovers that she really wasn't the clean freak that he thought she was (that's one of my favorites by the way). Well people, I don't have a junk closet, I have a junk ROOM.

It didn't originally start out this way, but it has been like this since....Christmas.

You are probably thinking, "Why on earth is she showing me this?" Well, after spending the last year looking through blogs and magazines that feature pictures of "perfect" homes, I found myself wanting that form of perfection and wanting it NOW. In the last few months however, I have realized that it's okay to have crap in the corners....it's okay for things to not be done, and for things to get messy. It also really annoys me when people act like their whole life is perfect....no one's is, so I wanted to do my part and show you that I am definitely a part of the "imperfect club".

Now, don't think that I have changed my "neat freak" ways. Just like Monica, I keep the rest of the house pretty clean (90% of the time), and I actually do have future plans to turn the junk room into a craft/office/scrapbook/gift wrap room. BIG plans. Be excited.

Here are some of my inspiration photos (I pulled these LONG ago...and don't remember where they are from):

For now however, the junk room will continue to be the catch-all of the house unless I randomly have the time and energy to tackle it once and for all. Until then, I have slowly been making my way through all of the drawers, bins, and closets in the house to declutter and re-organize (I try to do this every few months....I'm not a fan of junk drawers and messy closets). In fact, I got a whopping 3 trash bags full of clothes to donate just from MY dresser and half of the closet.

This doesn't include the 2 bags that are already out in the garage from the last time I cleaned out the closets almost 2 months ago!

I would also like to wish a pretty belated birthday to my Nanny! She celebrated her birthday last Thursday and of course I forgot to post it! (If you think I'm bad with this, you should see me try to send cards...) I don't know how much she gets to read this at the moment, but if you see this, I love you Nanny and miss you so much and can't wait to see you this summer!!

Ok, random post: complete.

Our Living Room (So Far)

As I've stated probably way too many times before, our house is a major work in progress. As I've also said before, I created this blog not only to share our life with our families that live far away, but to document our first-time-home-owning experience. SO, today I've decided to show you our living room because I'm pretty sure ya'll haven't gotten an update in it in a while. Here are some of the things that have changed in the living room in the last month or so:

-new floors
-new fireplace surround
-new throw pillows
-new rug
-new blinds
-new curtains
-new dresser
-new coffee table

So....lots of "new". BUT, I still have a ton to do....which includes but is not limited to:

-putting a HUGE sunburst mirror above the fireplace
-hanging a bunch of frames with wedding pictures above dresser area
-Get a different lamp...?
-accessorizing everything (which is a lot)

Ok, so it doesn't sound like that much, but it is!

Here is a picture of our living room last summer:

I actually like all of the stuff in it, but I was kind of over it.

And here it is NOW: (remember I'm not done yet!)

LAST SUMMER (much more accessorized):

NOW:

I love my new pillows! I was going to just make some, but then fate intervined and I came across these PERFECT pillows at TJMaxx for just $16 each! I just about freaked out, they are exactly what I was envisioning!

I cannot for the life of me make the window show up better.....there's a way to do it, I just haven't figured it out.

Oh yeah, we are getting the couches cleaned this Friday....I'm so excited!

Yay living room! I'll post more updates as they occur :).

P.S. Go to The Shabby Nest  and Between Naps on the Porch link parties to see other things! I decided to link my blog to them too :).

Link Parties:

Think Pink Sundays
Whatcha Got Weekend
Amaze Me Mondays
Just Something I Whipped Up
Market Yourself Mondays
DIY Showoff Project Parade
Thrifty Decor Chick
Take a Look Tuesday
Show and Tell Wednesday
House of Hepworths
Show and Share Day
Fun to Craft
Weekend Wrap Up Party
The Shabby Nest
Remodelaholic
Furniture Feature Friday

Our Guest Bedroom (So Far)

So... after many hours of taping, painting, hanging, stapling, ironing, and starching, I think our Guest Bedroom is finally worthy of the blog. There are still several things that I would like to add to it, like a dresser, wall art, a floor lamp, and maybe even an upholstered bench at the foot of the bed. But for now, I'm very happy with the room so far!

Here's a quick "before" to refresh your memory:

And here's the "after:

Before:

 After. We just hung new bamboo blinds throughout the house!

Yay!

Oh, and Happy Valentine's Day! I hope you all are doing something fun and romantic :). Bryan and I are going to see Josh Hamilton speak at LCU tonight.....not really romantic but definitely fun!!

P.S. Go to The Shabby Nest and Between Naps on the Porch link parties to see other things! I decided to link my blog to them too :).

Guest Room Progress

With Bryan's parents coming to Lubbock this weekend, we thought it was time to finally paint and re-do the guest bedroom. We actually meant to do this the last time they came to stay with us (in September...) but we never got around to it.

As I mentioned in my last post, I didn't know if this would actually happen since Bryan was sick, but I ended up deciding to do everything on my own. It's no where close to being done, but I feel like a got a lot accomplished for one Saturday night. I painted the entire room, repainted all the trim, hung new curtains, moved the bed (Bryan helped with that part) and began putting on the new bedding that I bought on sale about a month ago. Oh, and I re-organized the closet.

Some of the things I still need to do are:

-Touch up the ceiling paint
-Put in new bamboo blinds (we are ordering those this week!)
-Make a decorative pillow with some fabric I bought specifically for this room
-Finish putting all the bedding together (almost done with that part)
-Put up wall decorations (Probably hang some frames and a sunburst mirror over the bed)
-Move the floor lamp from our room to this room

...I think that's it. Since it's not done yet, I'm just showing you a couple of pictures....

Before: (Yuck.)

After:

Much better!

Now I just need to finish it, which I will hopefully achieve by Thursday, because that's when Al and Judy get here!

Oh, and in case you're wondering....all of the junk in the "Before" picture was moved to the other guest room...haha :).

Have a great week!

Yay new landscaping!!

Hi everybody!

One of the BIG projects that we have coming up this March is to put new landscaping and flowers in our front and back yard. We worked really hard on our front yard last summer, and it actually looked really great, especially since it was nothing but weeds when we first moved in.

Of course, we wouldn't have been able to do any of that without the help of our families--especially my mom :). Our backyard on the other hand, didn't get any TLC except for our attempt to kill all the weeds, which we did eventually accomplish.

Since I am lucky enough to have a mom who is a very talented "Garden Designer", she has agreed to help us out and re-do basically our entire backyard AND put more flowers in the front yard. We are also installing a sprinkler system so that we can have pretty grass and so I don't accidentally kill the flowers (which may have happened in the past...)

She has a really neat program on her computer that can build houses and gardens so you can see what it will look like once it's done. She sent me several pictures the other day, and I about FREAKED out when I opened them...I'm in love!

Here is our house from above. See how the backyard has 2 HUGE flowerbeds that currently don't exist? Yeah! And it has grass! (I'm really excited for the grass part.)

This is the front yard....obviously. We already have all the trees and several of the rose bushes.

There's so much color, I love it! We already have those pots too, we just need to put new flowers in them.
 I can't even tell you what all will be planted here. I know that there are knock-out roses, some sort of daisies, impatiens, and then maybe petunias (?), and a bunch of other flowers too!

Ok, now pretend you're walking from the front yard to the side of the house to get the back. When you open the gate, this is what you will see! 

Keep following the path and this is what you will see...

We already have the willow trees. And we also have the hydrangeas (although they are currently in the front yard, dying from too much sun), all of the flowering trees, and a big, really pretty rose bush.

This is the other side of the backyard.

Here's the view from the back gate looking at the house. We will be adding things like lavender, hostas, purple coneflowers, shasta daisies, different grasses, lots of other roses, and several other things that I can't remember. So excited!

We need to get furniture for our patio so that we can sit out at look at our pretty garden!

That random concrete slab over on the right side is actually our storage shed, but she decided not to build it :).

That's basically it! I can't wait until it's done and I can post the real pictures! Of course, all of the plants in these images are full grown, so it won't be quite as "lush" when we plant it initially, but eventually it will be! We will also probably be adding a few things over time to help with the cost, but I think for the most part it will be done in March (unless something unexpected happens, and then it will be postponed...which will be sad)!

Thanks again Mom, you're the best!! That's it for now!