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



More Tile..

Hubster decided he wanted to get the floor done asap...so he jumped right in...and well, did it all by himself. (minus a few tiles at the end that he recruited his sister to help!)

He is getting good at tiling floors since in our previous house we learned the "hard way" on how NOT to tile! :) We didnt use concrete sub floor...and our tile grout cracked after walking on it a few times....which had to be covered over...:(

I recommend enlisting the help of someone who knows "how" to tile...if you decide your going to tackle a tile job yourself!  DON'T be scared to do it...seriously...its not HARD..it just takes time...and someone who can measure...accurately!!!

We used a simple pattern...and we used the large 13x13 tiles...which we love.  They are easy to use...and we like the look of the room with large tiles. We decided to go with Menards tile selection for two very simple reasons:
1.  They are 15 minutes from our house ..in case we need to make a quick trip for more supplies (which we did ...twice!)
2. They have tile in stock....that we liked; which was awesome ...because we went back for more tile once we cracked a few during some cuts we were making. If you special order tile...order ENOUGH...because if you need more...your project will be in limbo untill your order comes in!

Ta da!  He's amazing isn't he.  :)

Living the Blessed Life,

Annette

Do it yourself Tiling....or do it yourself.with.your.sister.in.law. tiling..... :)

When your flipping...you need to have peeps who like to help...you know..for projects that need more than just your set of hands.  Such as to tile a tub surround and floor. 

My Sista in Law...the fabulous Amy K...has been more than eager to help me tile my tub surround....and seriously how thankful am I?  VERY!  She is so careful, and meticulous, and organized....I probably should have just let her do it herself! 

I'll spare you the boring details of how we came to the design of the tile...and how we measured..etc...but I would LOVE to share with you some pics of our tiling process.  It is time consuming...but SO worth it.  I can't WAIT to shower in it!!

And so this is how we left it ...that day...we were so DONE tiling.  Pretty good for an afternoon, eh? :)

Living the Blessed Life,

Annette

Craigslist :)

If you have not yet discovered Craigslist...your missing out!  It is my go-to site for selling everything and anything! 

With our recent Flip ...we purchased a home with a large kitchen in need of a little updating.  We debated painting the cabinets ourselves and decided we just didn't have that kind of time.  We debated having them re-finished by a cabinet company...and that was too expensive(close to the price of a new kitchen). So, we decided to start from scratch with a total gut and a layout that fit our needs best.  (and hopefully a better layout for the future home owners too!)

All of that to say....after some discussion, we decided to put our kitchen on Craigslist to see if anyone would be interested in re-habing them...someone else might see the potential we saw...but we just didn't have the time to take in making them fresh again!  So...I put them online...and within just a few days....they SOLD!  Unbelievable!  We posted them for $3,000...knowing that we would come down on our price. We sold them to a couple who is also working on a house for themselves...and were looking for some cabinets to put in their newly purchased farm house.  We were the perfect match!

A few days later...they showed up and tore out the cabinets themselves.... then paid us $2,000 cash.  P.E.R.F.E.C.T!



Whats Left of our kitchen! :)


Seriously people...get rid of your junk...post it on craigslist...and sell it!!

So now your wondering...what have we chosen to put in its place??  Guess you'll have to wait and see. I can say that they are going to be STELLAR...and I probably won't want to sell this house once its done!

Living the Blessed Life,
Annette

Some days I feel like....

Just got word that our BEAUTIFUL, CUSTOM cabinets...made by this awesome family in our church...are not going to be ready until....CHRISTMAS. :(

So ...today... I feel like .....

Its okay. Good things come to those that wait.....

LTBL,
Annette

Oh the 70's...

Oh Yes. The 70's are alive and well in our current reno.  The dark trim...wonderful lighting choices, and the brick...oh the brick.  It is EVERYWHERE.  Like...

Here.

Here.

Here.

and Here. :)

So.....yeah...we have alot of brick.  We've debated a few options.

Keep it.  Paint it.  or... rehab is somehow, someway.

I've done some research...and Im thinking we are going to try this product called..

Brick-A-New. Has anyone used this before? Apparently its amazing...and transforms the look of a dated

fireplace. I am ALL about THAT!

Here are some Brick-Anew Fireplaces. 



The pictures above are from the Brick-A-New Website of a customer testimonial.  How neat is that

transformation?  Sooo much better. 

This is the kit you purchase ...

I'm hooked. Can't wait to share the changes! 

Living the Blessed Life,

Annette

Austin's Before & Afters

"BLUE Mommy"  ..." I want my new room BLUE"....just like my old room.  So...that was easy.  :)

So..his room is now Blue.  But his room before we started....EWW.  Red Carpet.  Dead Mouse Underneath the desk.  Nasty wallpaper.  We were so glad to get this room underway....here is what it looked like before. (sorry for the random shot of my hubster)

This room turned out perfect for Austin. He does not like change...He's just like his daddy. :)  So we kept it pretty similar to his room in our old home.  Here are the updates :)  Do you like??





The LT. 

  



So there you have it!  More Before & Afters.  I hope these pictures are doing it justice...we are really enjoying making a new home for our little guys...

Living the Blessed Life,

Annette



Foreclosure....

So....yes our house....was a foreclosure.  and Yes, we are one of "those" people who cashed in on the one of the hundreds of homes in our area that are now owned by the bank.  This house, in particular was ideal for us...for a few key reasons. 
1. The amount of buildings in the back of the house....FOUR in all...are built well, were nicely maintained...and best of all...we didn't have to pay to put them there!

2.  The amount of property that comes with the house...totaling 11ish acres...which includes a large wooded area...for the hubster and his love of hunting...anything. 3.  The "bones" of the house are GREAT.  The rooms are large in size...and the layout for a ranch style house is ideal for us. Not to mention the very large three car attached garage that I can't wait to park in this winter when its friggin cold....( and for anyone who knows me....they know how much I HATE cold weather!)

All of that to say....Foreclosures can be a GREAT investment opportunity if you can find the right one...AND...you might want to be prepared to use your plan B, plan C, and maybe plan D...because plan A..in a foreclosure...never really works.  There is always something you "didn't know about" before you bought the house...and you'll find along the way.  Adam and I have been fortunate enough so far not to have found anything too major that we couldn't handle..except well, for one.  The ROOF. 

 We had the house inspected...before we signed off on the purchase agreement...and found that the roof was needing replaced. NOW.  At this point we had already agreed on a price with the bank and we were waiting on final papers to go through. SO..we quickly sent in a counter offer request to ask the bank to help us pay for the roof...since that wasn't something we had budgeted to fix.  Our realtor wasn't too optimistic that they would help us in any way...since it was a foreclosure and because we had already come to an agreed price. 

Well...we were pleasantly surprised when we found out that the bank offered to pay half of the roof expenses.....WOOHAAA!  AND the new roof was installed the first weekend we owned the house!  :)  We picked out some stellar shingles...all black..to offset the insane amount of red brick on this house...and it looks awesome! 

We had our Amish friend do the work...and he started and finished the job on one Saturday morning.  It was awesome to watch them work.  If you have never been around the Amish when they are in work mode...its so cool.  They barely say a word.....and they range in ages from 6 to 50+....and of them working hard...like a well oiled machine!  They are just so good! 

Here are some photos we took of that morning...and as a side note: I had special permission from the Amish gentlemen that day to take some pics.  The Amish in general do not like there pictures taken.  You can see in some of the photos that when they saw me coming with my camera...they lowered their heads! :)  Regardless...the pics are neat to look at...and our new roof is a beauty and leak free! 



Oh man, this is Ernie's (Our Amish Friend) son...he is precious!



Progress Progress...were making progress :)

Living the Blessed Life,
Annette