Time for our Trip!

I'm going to take a brief moment away from the house blog to talk about our exciting trip around the corner!  Jerad and I are taking a cruise for seven nights in the Mediterranean!  We're flying to Barcelona, and making stops in Provence, Monte Carlo, Rome, Florence & Pisa, and Naples (we're hoping to see Pompeii, Sorento, and Positano on this stop)!  Not only am I excited to see wonderful art, try new food, & explore new adventures, but I'm over-the-top thrilled to travel with my hubby, Jerad. 

We haven't taken a trip by ourselves since our honeymoon and it is definitely OUR time.  Love you Jerad!!!  You're my partner in crime, my best friend...we've grown up together, and I couldn't imagine our house, our family, or my life without you!  You're one in a billion!  XOXO

Some pics of us lately- at our house...

Turtle Creek before Thanksgiving...

Out to dinner...

Out to dinner...we like to eat...

Before church- Christmas...

A cousin's wedding in Corpus...

And now some from College- at a bar in College Station..

Out to dinner again...

Pi Phi Formal...

SMU- Celebration of Lights...

Before a football game- I'm so proud of you!

First Bedroom

Our house has three bedrooms (2.5 baths) on the left side of the house and 1 bedroom (1 bath) on the right.  The 'Blue' room is the first bedroom in the hall on the left side of the house.  This is where our guests typically sleep.

Before: previous owner's boy's bedroom

 First, we removed the popcorn ceiling, the shelving, and painted.  I wasn't sure what furniture we'd put in the room, so I just picked a neutral color.  We put an old bedspread and Jerad's college furniture in the room...for the time being.

We have Roman shades for window treatments across the entire front of our house (10 long vertical windows!!).  I think they're attractive (we wrote them into the contract when we purchased the house), but I'd like to get plantation shutters in the future....it'll cost a pretty penny!

Another view of the furniture. 

Next I tried adding a rug to warm it up.  This was short lived as I liked this rug better in the dining room...so I moved it again.

Then we installed a new fan, bought a queen-size bed (after receiving multiple hints from my parents about needing a bigger bed for guests), and new bedding.

The somewhat finished product-  I've added more color-coordinated decorations on the shelves since this picture, but you get the jist.  I love the size of all the rooms in our house.  They fit large beds comfortably, with plenty of room for additional furniture around the perimeter.  1969 was a good year of construction!

I'm pretty pleased with how it has come together.  I need to work on headboards, more mature furniture, and a few other pieces for the walls, but for now, I'm satisfied! 


Have a great weekend!

Weekend Project

My handy hubby and I decided to take on a large project this Sunday.  We love our backyard- we enjoy sitting on the patio watching the rain, listening to music, and relaxing in our hot tub.  Our backyard landscaping was basically a blank slate.  We have no trees and only one row of shubbery.  Last year, I dug a small flower bed in the corner.  You can tell the scale of its size in this picture..

A closeup.  Although I love the plants up close, from the back of our yard they blend in with the landscape.  We needed some 'visual interest'.

So we decided to start digging!! First, we mapped the corner and decided where to place the plants.  We decided a rounded border was more attractive and made the bed appear larger. The hole doesn't look like much, but in ninety degree heat we worked up a sweat!

Planning where our plants are going to go-  we bought a crape myrtle, a chinese juniper, 2 mandevillas, a rose bush, a couple vincas, 2 lambs ears, and a bunch of herbs/ veggies (jalepeno, basil, red and green pepper and squash).

New home for them!  We filled the bed with garden soil and mulch.

Jerad watering our new bed!  We still need to purchase about 11 feet of our brick border to finish the project but you get the idea. The mandevillas will grow tall so we bought a trelis for them to climb!

Dining Room Transformation

Dining Room- I haven't done a ton to this room since we moved in, but because it's the first room you see to the right when you walk into our house, I should probably put a little effort into jazzing it up!  But for now, here's the brief transformation!

Before: with the previous owner's furniture.

First, we painted the walls a lighter color and removed the popcorn ceiling....much more fresh and welcoming! 

Shout out to Megan for our table and chairs-  I purchased this set from Megan when we were graduating from college for $250.  We kept it for five years after college- through two apartment moves and one house.  Since our house's rooms are much larger than our apartments', the set looked awkwardly small in the room.  But we were willing to make it work for a while....or so Jerad thought!  =)

Next, we installed hardwoods-  byebye Green carpet!

I purchased this red table from a garage sale for $25 to have a 'buffet' for entertaining. 

Again, we were making our furniture liveable and last as long as possible.  Until one day....

I was surfing Craigs List (just for fun)...and I saw this gorgeous table with six chairs for $300!!  SIGN ME UP!  After lots of debating, I convinced Jerad that we needed to see it.  It was in stellar condition, so we bought it on the spot and brought it home! I <3 Craigs List!

Picture of Jerad putting it together-  such a handy hubby!

I love the coloring of the table.  Such beautiful lines in the wood grain....

All together now-  it fills the room nicely.  It's PERFECT!

And this is how it looks now.  The cushions are the perfect color for this room (but could potentially  be recovered in the future), but for now, I'm in love!

Have a great day!