Master Bedroom...Carpet Install!

Our last update on the house was regarding the Master Bedroom.  So, I wanted to show Ya'll the progress since we last posted.  It is SOOOO exciting.  No seriously...We LOVE it.  We had carpet installed and wow... take a look:

Here you can see the padding installation.  It seemed like this stage TOOK FOREVER.  I just wanted to SEE the carpet INSTALLED.  Patience Patience. It took them ALL day...not kidding...but once it was complete...it was worth my wait. (sorta) :)

Now do you see why I can hardly stand it?  Its just exactly how I wanted it...what more could a girl ask for?

**We did have our share of issues with this room...no flip is complete without issues.  I want this blog to have a realistic view of what flipping is really like...so I want to share the good and the not-so-good :)   

(We had the master carpet ordered....so we had to wait a few weeks until it came in.  Then...we had the OWNER of the carpet store come to measure our rooms.  TO BE SURE we had enough carpet.  THEN..we scheduled the install...and WAITED. :) Carpet install day comes...and wouldn't u know....there WASN'T ENOUGH CARPET.  Uh huh...yea...i. was. so. happy.  or... maybe not.  It was so frustrating...and I knew that this was just another problem that needed fixing...getting angry wouldn't get the carpet installed any faster!  The problem was resolved by leaving the smaller of the two closets as the area without carpet...until the rest of the carpet arrived.  This way we could still move in furniture...and not set back our move in process.  Crisis avoided!!)

Living the Blessed Life,

Annette

FINALLY!

Wow. That's all I can say!  We have had one of the BUSIEST few weeks EVER.  We officially moved in on December 15th.  With running water..heat...and a functioning bathroom...we were finally able to make the move from hubsters parents house...to our OWN home.  WHAT A GREAT feeling it finally was. 

We were so blessed to be able to stay with his family for the three months it took us to get our house ready.  We were able to work late nights...and come home to our children...safe and sound asleep in "our room".  We ( all four of us) slept in the same room for those three months...so we were MORE than ready to have our privacy..and space back! The boys have been so good at adapting to so many changes....and Adam and I are looking forward to a new year of our new normal.  We are excited for a brand new year...in our brand new home.   God is GOOD!

As far as the house goes...BOY do I have ALOT to share....I plan to post quite a bit this week...so come back for some updated pics!

We hope you have been blessed this holiday season...and we hope that you were able to experience a season of Christ's Love and Blessings.  Happy New Year Ya'll!  & THANKS for taking this journey with us.  WE ARE BLESSED beyond measure!

Living the Blessed Life,
Annette

Master Updates :)

Our Master bedroom is just DAYS AWAY from having our furniture in it...and I could NOT BE more excited.  I am so pleased with how the room is turning out.  With our beautiful Amish bed...our PB bedding and my new Ballard designs quilted throw...this room is gonna be so cozy and warm...I am NEVER gonna wanna leave!

Take a peek at what it once looked like:

This room might seem to have ONLY needed paint.  Looks can be deceiving. It was the room ...in my opinion with the hardest job to do....which is...patching drywall and wallpaper mistakes.  This room had HALF of the walls covered in THICK wallpaper...and half of the walls were painted.  The ceiling was painted GREY...the trim was GREY ...the walls were GREY...and can u guess: the carpet was GREY.  Now...most of you can see how that might be enough grey for me to NEVER wanna see grey again.

Well...not.so. much. I LOVE grey..just the right shade of grey...and definitely not EVERYWHERE in the room.  Check out OUR version of how GREY should be used:

The following was done to get to this point:

1. Stripped wallpaper

2. Stripped backing/primed walls

3. Drywallers- "skim coated"

4. Drywallers- sanded

5. Primed walls again...

6. Primed Trim

7. Primed/Painted Ceiling

8. Painted Trim/Walls

9. Hung Ceiling Fan...capped off other light fixture

and now...were just waiting on CARPET.. that's right...you heard me correctly...Carpet installation is early next week.  Ahhhhhhh. :) (p.s. that's a good ahhhhh)

Living the Blessed Life,

Annette





Bathroom Updates

I'll let the pictures do the talking..but we are making some headway in the bathroom.  We've been at a stand still ...waiting on the drywallers to finish, and then waiting on the wood floors to cure in the hallway so we could get back into the bathroom to work on it!!


We spent a few hours grouting the tub surround a few nights ago. All that's left to do is to seal it!  It really turned out great!  Thanks to some fabulous friends and family for your help on this project!


The bead board on the wall...looks terrible in person. We are taking it down...and installing a different kind of bead board.... stay tuned :)


We also brought in the vanity....and hung the light.  So it's taking shape...and looking..BeTtEr.  We are almost there! 


Enjoy the pic's!  And...in case you don't already know...thanks for taking this journey with me.  I know you are all out there ...reading....and praying for us!

Living the Blessed Life,
Annette

Ewww la la...

Hubster and I did a little visit to the Country Mill Cabinet's ...which is where our cabinets are being made.  We stopped in to take a look at the hood they just completed for over top my cooktop.  We snapped a few photos..and chatted a bit.  And well..we were informed..that they are slammed with work. GOOD for them. BAD for us.  And can you guess what I'm going to say next?  What's ONE more week?!


It might not be an entire week...but they are NOT going in on the scheduled date..next week. :(
Regardless of logistics...the cabinets are going to be stellar...we are grateful for the chance to have our cabinets custom made...and we are going to be patient. You wanna know why?  Cause that's what God says I need to do..whether I want to or not! :) (how's that for honesty?)


Here are the snapshots I took:

Our hood...just needs the paint and glaze :)

SO.VERY.EXCITED. :)

Living the Blessed Life,

Annette

Whats one MORE week?

Its beginning to feel like we won't ever move in. Every single out-sourced job we've had has been a week ..or more behind.  The roof was installed a week late.  The drywall was almost 2 weeks late. The wood floor guys...were a week late... AND...well, they jacked up our floors. 

After a few ..very frustrating couple days...we have a plan.  Of course, most of you don't even know what happened.  Let me catch you up.

About two weeks ago..our floors were completely installed( by the hubster)..and they looked stellar.  Here is an example to refresh your memory:


This is the floor completely installed in the dining room. :)

So hubster did a great job...and we were VERY excited to start seeing some color....DARK color on those beautiful floors.  The Amish ( of course we chose the Amish again)  came... (a week late)...to begin their job of finishing the floors.  

 The process was started and we couldn't have been more excited.  We spent the next few days watching our floor transform...and wow...we were pumped.  PUMPED..UNTIL, we saw the coat of poly..which brought to life ALL of the mistakes they made during the sanding phase.  It was...shocking.  We were beside ourselves...trying to decide if we were over-reacting..or if we were getting the short end of the stick.

So, we called in a favor from a lady we had used on the wood floors in our old house. ( we LOVED how they turned out). We had her come out and give her opinion on the floors.  She agreed we were not crazy...and that the floors looked...not.so.good. :( She actually recommended we NOT PAY the bill....unless they agreed to do it again..for free.

The mistakes are not easy to see on camera...but this is what the floors looked like at the completion of the job:

  

  Did you notice the beautiful new lights my hubster hung last nite?  :)  We waited until black friday..went they went on sale...and we snatched them up!  Oh..and yes, you heard me correctly...he went black friday shopping with me :)

Back to the wood floors.  The owner of the wood floor company met Adam this morning to take a look at our floors...and they "chatted" :)  As of ONE hour ..after their conversation...our floors are being REDONE. (not sure if I need a happy or sad face there)

So..all of that to say...the floors are jacked.  We need them redone.  They take about a week or so to do...and well... what's ONE MORE WEEK?!?!

and..YES...I'm STILL living a BLESSED life...cause God is Good...and he's got everything under control.

:) Annette



A side note

PINTEREST..  If you've not been on the website. GO THERE NOW.  If you have....well....then you'd agree.  Its the most fab site for us fellow crafters. I have found quite a few of my ideas thru the pages of inspiration on that site.  Seriously....its like FREE ideas for decorating, accessorizing...crafting..etc.  So. like I said before. If you haven't been on pinterest.com....your missing out.  Okay....enough about that.

So, I found the most adorable Christmas Tree Skirt on pinterest and decided I would try and do it.  OH MAN.  SOOOOOO cute. 

http://www.hgtv.com/handmade/how-to-make-a-no-sew-ruffled-christmas-tree-skirt/index.html

The link above is the HGTV step by step instructions for how to do it. I definitely want to try a different version with maybe different colors...or even textures, but for starters I used the fabric they suggested.

See for yourself:

For those of you interested in the details.  I purchased the base, a drop cloth, from Walmart for $9.  Then I went to JoAnns and purchased the cream cotton fabric for 9.99$...and I bought 4 yards. 

I spent around 50 bucks for the total project and it took me close to 4 hrs to complete.  Be sure to purchase EXTRA glue. You will need it. ( I had to run to the store)..and if you have it, use a low temp glue gun.  The standard glue gun gets too hot and you WILL BURN YOUR HAND!  Take it from me...its painful.

* I usually don't blog on here about anything other than house stuff...but with Christmas coming...I was so excited to share this with ya'll.  I will post again today with more updates on the house.*

Living the Blessed Life,

Annette

Wood Floor

Yeah. I know. Where the heck have I been?  I really don't have an excuse this time.  Well..Ive been busy...that's the best excuse I've got.  Forgive me...and just keep reading...right? Cause that's why your on this page....to read the updates...
Okay..enough apologizing...

We are in the process of laying our wood floors.  They are awesome!  Adam is doing it himself, with the occasional expertise of his wife (muah)...he has been laying it a few hours here and there.  We are so excited to have REAL wood again in our house...and we are even more excited that its turning out how we originally envisioned it!!

For those of you wondering where we purchased it...we used a company out of Shipshewana, IN...called

They are Amish...which of course, I love.  They are SUPER nice..and they are FAST!  We picked out our flooring and they had it "tongue and grooved" in like 3 days.  Their prices were great too...and they are also the ones who will sand and stain it...in just a few days! 

Here is how it looked when we picked it up that day:

It is  3/4" oak floor...and it is (unlike our previous floor)  knot free. We had originally tried to match the wood floor to the existing dining room floor...but realized after we purchased the flooring to match, that the floor in the dining room was FAKE! grrr. So we needed to order more flooring...and we could have chosen a completely different flooring altogether. Oh well..it will be beautiful...with or without the knots! ( we love the rustic look...and these floors are not so much)

The floors came bundled together..like this... so they were easy to unload.  This is a great picture for you to see the "tongue and groove" areas.  This is lingo for the way the wood fits together.  Its sorta like a large puzzle! The hubster is very particular on how he lays the floor.  It needs to look...perfect.:)

When I arrived at the house....this is what I saw...and I was pumped.  Laying the first piece of wood is CRUCIAL. If you don't lay it PERFECTLY straight...you will be able to tell when you move down the hallway or across the room. Hubster was VERY careful...and used my amazing 6$ laser level to make sure it was exact! :)  (he's so smart)

Of course, we have the BEST help out there.  Little and Big Man are always ready to help out their daddy.  Here they are "approving" daddy's work. :)

LOVE them. Seriously..they are the best.





Here is our hallway...so much better than that nasty base floor.  It looks SO good in person! * Take note of our freshly painted hallway and 6$ sconces.  :)

The dining room...



It's coming along. Huge progress since we purchased it, just a few short months ago.  The new plan is to be moving in by the end of this month.  :)    Kitchen or no Kitchen!!!

Living the Blessed Life,
Annette

Sneak Peek

This is just a little snippet...of what is to come of our fabulous kitchen. We "borrowed" a sample of our kitchen doors from our cabinet company...and used it to purchase our granite counter top last week. I snapped a photo...and we cant WAIT to see the finished product.

What do ya think? 

(We chose different handles...but this is the same color and style of our future kitchen!!)

Living the Blessed Life,
Annette

New Vanity :)

It's here!  Our vanity for the boys bathroom...which means we are one step closer to MOVING in :) Can you sense my excitement??

What do y'all think of our new Vanity?  Its growing on me.... (I love the base...the top is just a tad flashy for me) The base has four spindles that it rests on, so its not flush to the floor. 

Here is the shiny top that I'm not so sure about:

Did I mention before that I got FREE shipping?  I simply called the Home Depot Customer Service ..ready to order...and I told the lady that I wanted to purchase the vanity...but just didn't want to pay for shipping.( I also mentioned that we had looked at Menards and Lowes..and couldn't find what we wanted) I told her I would buy it right then if she gave me free  shipping...and SHE DID :)  Jackpot!  Peeps- it doesn't hurt to ask...the least they can say is no.

When we install this baby...ill post some pics...its SO exciting to be putting things back in...when for two months now...we've been tearing things out! 

Living the Blessed Life,
Annette

Catching ya'll up!

Has it really been a week or so since I lasted posted? Wow. OK..I've been trying super hard to blog every few days or so, but to be honest...its Harvest around here...and well..I just haven't had a chance. I promise to catch you up..its been a minute! :)

So..What we've done recently....

SCONCES: OH MY GOODNESS...I have been looking EVERYWHERE for sconces for our hallway.  The old sconces were HIDEOUS...(see below)...and so I found some super neat ones from Lowe's, that had lamp shades.  (I was SOO excited) BUT, when they arrived, of course they were TOO BIG for the hallway space..and I had to return them and start over.  I had spent roughly 45$ a sconce...
THEN..my bestie Tina came to visit and help me land some super cute ...simple...sconces for $6.20..at Menards.  WOOOHOO!  Seriously...they were a steal.  I haven't taken pics yet..since we just finished painting the hallway today...but I promise to reveal them to you soon!

 BRICK-A-NEW:
So I told you  a few weeks back I was going to try Brick-a-New for our dated brick walls....and I did it...and i LOVE it.  Its transforming the harsh look of the house into a much softer look.  It was expensive...but WOW..its a total transformation!


BEFORE



And AFTER...and  as a side note: It is so suttle in person...its SO much better
than before! 



Oh Yes, and Harvest. Here are a few snaps I took this past week of the hubster and my little man in the field.  Progress is slow on the house, and rightly so with Harvest in full swing.  I promise to keep posting as we make progress.  Thanks for coming on this little journey with us! 



and one of AV & Hubster....working on the yard at our new house :)



Living the Blessed Life,
Annette

 



Is anyone out there??

Real quick...is anyone reading this? :)  I'd LOVE to have you comment at the bottom...so that I know your reading...and that I'm not doing this just for myself! :)  Good or bad..id love to hear your input!

Thanks so much, LTBL   Annette

Harvest..

It's Harvest time here in Indiana.  Which means one thing. No more hubster.  This is not so great when your trying to make progress on a flip...so that we CAN MOVE IN!!! :)

So, as you can imagine...this past week there was little to no progress on our part.  One good thing was that our drywall-er was able to work on some "trouble spots" in our hallway & bathroom. Which was super helpful for me...being that now I can prime and paint with no need for touch ups or sanding. *I HATE SANDING. * 

...Want a little hint for drywalling?  HIRE SOMEONE.  This might surprise you, (coming from us...since we do almost everything ourselves) but hiring out your drywall jobs is ..*in my opinion*..money well spent.  Have you ever seen drywall jobs gone wrong?  They are easy to spot...and look hideous.  Don't be a cheap skate and pay up people. You won't regret it!....

Back to my updating....So with a week of no progress at the house, I took some time to work on a little project for our house.  It was actually kinda nice to be doing something small...and something I could start...and finish in the same day!!

I was given these super cute candle holders by my *fabulous* Aunt-in-law...and was so excited to give them a little makeover. 

I love the shape and style...but in our new house, these colors just won't match. So...I decided to give them a little spray treatment.  First I primed them...using this:

 

Then I chose this very neutral paint color..."Pebble"..



This is how it looked with one coat of primer: (I actually lightly sprayed three layers of primer total)

And here they are with some "Pebble"... (which took two light coats of paint)

P.e.r.f.e.c.t  :)  

Living the Blessed Life,
Annette