As of late

I'm so glad to be done with major home projects for the time being. So glad. We've kept ourselves really, really busy lately. And while that's nice, and we've gotten a lot accomplished, I am plain worn out.

So here's what we've been up to.

Guest Bathroom:

I've painted this sucker three times now. The first time I painted it purple. Not sure what I was thinking. The second time I was trying to paint it a pebble color and it just ended up looking like a faded version of the purple. And, I realized that I needed to find something that actually matched our tile. We weren't sure if we were keeping our tile surround (I thought we weren't), but when we decided it was staying I knew I needed something neutral to match it. So I found a tan'ish yellow that seems to work.

In addition to the painting I scraped out the grout in the tile surround so Chase could re-grout. This has to be one of the worst home jobs ever on the planet. You have this little tool and you literally scrape away the grout. It's awful. But I did it and lived to tell the tale. And saved some bucks in the meantime. So it was worth it. Chase did a good job re-grouting, too. Now we just need to re-surface the tub.

Also in the bathroom I sanded and painted the cabinets and baseboards. And while they certainly look better, I'm not ready to say they look GREAT. I mean, they're 30 years old. Their days of looking great were over when The Brady Bunch went off air. But I can live with them.

We still need to put in a new counter, sink and mirror in there. But for the time being I'm happy to be at this point.

Master Bedroom:

New bedding, curtains, blinds, paint. I went with pale gray for the walls. I had the hardest time choosing a color because I didn't want something too dark/bright/overwhelming in there. And we have black furniture, so you can't just do anything. Anyway, after I found the bedding I was inspired by the sound of my sister's "Gentle Rain" paint in her bedroom. So I stole the idea and ran with it. I still need to get stuff up on the walls, but overall I'm very happy with the effect. So soothing.

Attic:

Chase has been a maniac in the attic. He put up radiant barrier, followed by insulation. The whole project took the entire spring (not the two Saturdays I thought), totaling over 70 hours. And that's including the 15 hour day he put in with my dad. The house has been SO much more comfortable this year than in previous years. Even considering the fact that I am a walking oven. Even if our cooling bill never goes down I could care less because it feels so much better! Definitely worth it.

Out-of-doors:

In April we put in a garden. I wish I could say that it's flourishing. But unfortunately the larger I get the less desire I have to go hang out in the garden. So it's fallen by the wayside. BUT the hardest part is done so I have full faith we'll be in full-on garden mode next year. Sorry little garden friend.

We also have attempted, yet again, to get grass to grow properly in our front yard. The previous owners were complete idiots. And I mean that in the stupidest, most moronic sense of the word. They just were. Everyone surrounding us who had grass planted at the same time (by the builders) and who has taken just the least care of it has a beautiful green lawn. Us? Not so much. Sigh. We're having to fight an uphill battle to get it to grow in some spots. Chase spent last week pruning the crap out of the tree in front, which should help let more light reach the grass below. Cross your fingers for us on this one...

Random:

We found a new kitchen table! Well, new to us, at least. We outgrew our old table, which made me sad. It was the first piece of furniture I ever bought at an actual furniture store and I loved that thing. But it was time. I found a Crate & Barrel table on craigslist for a steal and snatched it up. It's already "broken in" (it has some light scratches on top) so I don't feel like I can't let my kids sit there and do crafts like they normally do. But it's roomier, MUCH more sturdy, and a better color than the old girl. So that was a fun find.

Lastly, in the midst of all this craziness, we re-financed our home from a 30 to a 15 year mortgage. Chase just came home randomly and said we should do it and I just kinda went along with it. He's the CPA, after all. Anyway, now that he's shown me several spreadsheets (of his own design, of course, being the EXCEL JEDI that he is) and amortization schedules, I'm really glad we did it! It was kind of annoying to have the house inspected in the middle of all of our projects, but it was a good decision. Yay to Chase for being a rock star like that.