House Updates

I'm almost ashamed to even post a blog about home updates.  You see, we just happened to become best friends with people in Chicago who do crazy things like purchase homes that they need to completely renovate- tearing down walls, ripping up carpets, redoing bathrooms, tiling floors, dry walling whatever it is in homes that need dry wall... and doing lots of other things that I honestly don't even know the proper name for so I'm not going to try to explain it.  I'm not kidding when I say that we have friends who in the amount of time it has taken us to partially paint our entryway they have renovated their bathroom.  They could all be on HGTV showing off their mad house renovation skills.  Dan and I on the other hand, well, thankfully we know our limits.  We purchased a home that really only needs to be painted.  Sure, is there a wall that we think we could potentially tear down in the future to open up the kitchen and living room area?  Yes.  Is that something that needs to be done right away?  No. Is that something we could even attempt to do right now? No. 

So, needless to say we have purchased a couple items and started painting.  And I'm kind of stuck on the trim when it comes to painting.  Ugh. Trim is such a pain.  I have a new appreciation for anyone who paints anything involving trim because it is taking us FOREVER to finish painting our entryway. 

After getting tips from friends and reading blogs like this one we picked out some paint colors (easier said than done- again seriously how did I survive without the internet that provides me with helpful blogs like this one to inform me of these things) and started at it.  So far I love the gray and white combo of our entryway and cannot wait until it's done and we can get new lights, some knobs, and some other fun decorations.  Our entryway is tricky because before we purchased our home, they turned what used to be the garage into a laundry room/ work space.  Which, don't get me wrong, we love.  However, this room used to be the entryway from the garage so it had lights and this odd wooden mantle that looks a little out of place.  So, we're trying our best to work with it :) (This is what it looked like before with the lights)

So without further ado.. (is that even how you type that?!) here are some house "renovations" we have done.

Entry way progress.  I am thankful to say we are officially done with the first coat since taking this picture!

Close up so you can see the difference in colors- it was tan before.

The old owners took the bathroom mirror with them.. (definitely didn't expect that!) so we had to buy a new one. I wanted one with a little bit more "pizzaz" but did anyone know how expensive mirrors were? Yeah I didn't until we started looking. So we landed with this one that was on sale at Bed Bath and Beyond.  I think it looks nice :) 

This is the VERY early stages of bedding in our guest bedroom.  We found a set at Crate and Barrel that we really like.. but let's just say with pillows, shams, bed skirt, sheets, and duvet cover it is going to be PRICEY. So we purchased the comforter. It's a start, right?  Let' just hope they don't discontinue the bed set before we can actually purchase everything else.

We definitely needed a mirror in our bedroom and scored this one at Bed Bath and Beyond with the other one.  Gift cards + sale = good deal.  May I also point out that we are in process of looking for a changing table for Jake as you can see we just use our dresser?

Our sweet friends from our Bible study (who also gave us their bedroom set for our guest room because they are expecting a baby in April!!) gave us these shelves!  Once we get our "blue room" set up with some chairs we are going to get these shelves in order.  We are going to LOVE their storage!

Yep, that's it so far.  I should tell you that it's very easy for me to create lists of all the things we "need" (I use that term loosely because really, we don't need anything) and I have been convicted lately of my discontented attitude.  First I wanted a house, now I need furniture to fill the house.. what is next?  Probably nicer decorations.. then I'll want a bigger house.. the list goes on and on.  Dan and I are keeping each other in check in taking our time with adding new things as we have the money and not dive into our savings. I'm also thankful for Sara who pointed out this verse in our Bible study last week. I think this needs to be my theme verse as we continue to fill up our home :) I love how God continues to sanctify me through every stage of our life!

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5 ESV)

We'll keep you updated with other fun additions we get :)