Lately

Y'all. The big ol' meanies at work are blocking websites left and right. A few weeks ago Facebook was blocked - first time in NINE years that I haven't been able to get on Facebook from work. I spend many a lunch at my desk perusing the internet, so having that suddenly blocked has dampened my lunchy spirits. How dare they! But, blogger was safe, so I was happy that I could at least attempt to blog during lunch here and there. But I guess they weren't done on stripping me from all of my lunchtime happiness because a couple days ago, blogger too was blocked. And I quietly wept at my desk. I am afraid to mention that I am still able to read blogs both through my reader and on the actual blog pages (so blogger is blocked, but anything with blogspot is still ok, for example) because I'm sure they are just looking at our browsing history and axing things. It's not nice, guys. I know you have seen this site listed in the browsing history and are reading without me knowing (I know), but it really isn't nice. Have you ever tried blogging from a phone? TERRIBLE. Oh! And before blogger got the ax I still wasn't able to finish a post and publish it during lunch time because the site I use to host my pictures, Flickr, had already been blocked too. THEY ARE STEALING MY JOY, Y'ALL. So now I'm blogging from home instead of over lunch and darn it - this is my time to crawl in bed and Netflix. But I'm not giving this place up. I'll fight for you, bloggy friends! Post some (non) threatening comments to our IT guys so they'll accidentally move blogger (and Flickr!) back over to the safe list.

So. What else has been going on? Well, I'll tell you!

We are about 95% done with our bedroom updates. I hesitate to use the word 'updates' because it was never originally set up/painted/decorated to begin with. Just plopped our furniture down almost 3 years ago and it had been that way ever since. But regardless, it looks much better now! 

One day I'll learn to take pictures in the daytime so the colors aren't all wonky and the natural light helps me out. One day.

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Laney had croup again last week. Her second time with it, but Charley never had it so we are still newbies with it. But that cough is instantly recognizable so at least it is pretty darn easy to diagnose. She is just now getting over the 7-10 day cold that follows it. And she was generous and shared it with me as well. But! I woke up with it Monday morning and my nose ran like a freaking faucet all day Monday and then again on Tuesday, but maybe not quite as bad as Monday. Then yesterday and today - all clear! I don't do cold medicines if I can help it since my doctor once told me that cold medicines make you feel better in the interim, but prolong the length of the cold overall. So far it seems what he said was right though! Go immune system, go! Ha.

Snuggling with Aunt Christy on one of her sickly days. Or maybe a teething day. I can't remember.

In related news, as Laney is getting over her cold she is pulling at her ears. She is prone to the after-cold-ear-infection, so that would just be lovely too. But no fever so far and ate, drank, and slept great today so I'm leaning more towards the ear pulling being a teething symptom. Why can't teething symptoms be as clear as croup symptoms?!

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So I downloaded Snapchat because two of my very bestest friends are not on Facebook but are both Snapchatters. It is.....interesting. My main problem is that I don't think I can snapchat a picture I took earlier. Like it has to be a live, just took it kind of deal. And most of the time I snap the picture and post it to Instagram or Facebook later when I get a chance, so it is not second nature to open the app and send it right away. Maybe I'll get the hang of it and I'll be cool again. Doubtful, though.

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How does this always happen? So, y'all know I do Stitch Fix, right? (That's a referral link) Well, I have gotten some great things with it but the last couple have irritated me because I felt like they weren't listening to what I wanted AT ALL and just sending me every last black top that ever existed in the world. So I had decided to quit altogether or maybe just pause the service for a while. Then my sister joined through my link and I got $25! YAY! So, obviously I decided I'd quit after just one more fix so I could spend my referral dollars. The shipment should get here tomorrow, but guys. It looks like it might be my best one ever!

How do they DO that?  As soon as they detect my interest was waning they pulled out all the stops and gave me a fix that is right up my alley. Well, mostly up my alley. I don't think there is a question on the personal style questionnaire about skin tone. Because if there was and I told them how pale I was I doubt they would send me that all white dress. But the rest of it just screams Lacey to me. So, hope it fits! 

And after that - what do I do?! Do I ask to keep the same stylist and continue on? Or do I stick with my guns and give it a rest for a while? Decisions are so harddddddddd.

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Speaking of fitting in my clothing, clothing is fitting much better these days. I joined Weight Watchers on March 1st, and have lost 10 of the 20 pounds I'd like to lose so far. GO ME! Of course I remember from doing it before that it comes off much quicker at first and then levels out to maybe a pound or two a week from there, but still. I'm really happy with the results so far. I knew Weight Watchers worked for me since I did it pre-wedding back in 2009, so it was more of a mental thing to be ready to get back on the plan and re-learn what healthy portion sizes were. And well, healthy food in general. Which, as you know, is tough for a non-vegetable eater like myself. I may or may not have Googled "diets for picky eaters" prior to giving Weight Watchers another go. Guess what? There really aren't any. I know that shocks no one. So I'm glad that Weight Watchers works with my ridiculous eating habits that I cannot grow out of so I'm not forced to eat lettuce. DON'T MAKE ME EAT LETTUCE!

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Jekyll Island, Georgia. Have you been there? What's there to see? What's there to do? We are going there this summer and will all be newbies to the island so we want to see it all and do it all! Of course I'll rely on my trusty friend Trip Advisor, but I've gotten great advice on other trips we've taken from y'all, so hoping someone will come through for me this time too. 

And while we are on the topic of vacations, John and I are also going on a quick cruise to the Bahamas soon (that's where the whole Weight Watchers motivation originated!). Neither of us have ever cruised, or Bahamaed, so some suggestions on cruising and/or stuff to do on our one port day in Nassau is welcomed! I got a ton of great advice when I asked on Facebook already, but maybe you have something super awesome that we hadn't considered yet. 

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Ok. Obligatory pictures of my babies to follow, and that's it for now. If you guys get my work IT department to change the block settings of Blogger by leaving them really nice persuasive comments, (they really are nice guys!) then I'll send all of you a cookie! 

They are so big, right!? 

2 Year Housiversary

We've now been in our house for two years (and two months, ahem) and I figured it was time for an update! I'm sure many of the "plans" we had last year have either not been done or have gone in a completely different direction, but that's what is fun about this. So, here is our house in 2015.

Outside

I didn't do myself any favors by doing this update 2 months late. Those other pictures were taken in May when grass is still fresh and green. This year's pictures were taken in July and the type of grass we have goes dormant when it's the peak of the summer heat. But I assure you it looked just as beautiful earlier in the spring!


Done:

• Added shrubbery we scored for free on Craigslist. It needs a trim, but I am so happy with how well they have done since transplanted. We did lose two of them but that's really not bad at all!
• Planted grass.
• Installed irrigation system in the front and then the back.
• Added a few flower beds around the house. 
• Built the deck.
• Purchased and installed the retractable awning over the deck.
• Created a garden.
• Added a stepping stone sidewalk.
• Moved Charley's play area to the bottom of the yard next to the garden.
• Added two swings underneath the deck.
• Removed a couple of pine trees at the bottom of the back yard so John's garden would get more sunlight.
• Removed the fake rock and built the well house.

To do:

• Finish Charley's playground. We have a second slide and platform we want to add.
• Build a lower deck.
• Clean up the woods/natural area by the road.
• Build an arbor around the garage doors.
• We've found a new home for the trash and recycling cans, but they need something built around them so they aren't such eyesores.
• Add some more flower/shrubbery beds around the entire house.
• Furnish the rest of the deck.
• Pressure wash the deck and stain it.
• On the front porch repaint all four rocking chairs.
• Finally decide on a paint color for the front door.
• And maybe one day, replace the whole front door/sidelights with something more attractive. 

Office

Not a lot of change in here from last year. Restyled the bookcases and that's about it really.

Done: 

• Painted the walls.
• Bought a light fixture to replace the boob light.
• Added Charley's desk.
• Started the travel collage.

To do:

• Get rid of the travel collage. I don't like it any longer.
• Make and hang scrabble tiles in its place.
• Find nicer office chairs.
• Crown molding

Dining Room

This rooms "done" and "to dos" from 2014 have completely gone out the window. The ONLY things that moved from to do to done were deciding on paint colors and window treatments. Everything else has been removed from the list as I went in a totally different direction.

Done: 

• Found an even better table and chairs that require no refinishing and included a matching china cabinet. Therefore, the table and chairs and china cabinet that we had have all been sold.
• Painted the walls. 
• Hung navy curtains from Ikea, of course.
• Styled the china cabinet. 
• Hung decor on the walls.
• Made the teapot artwork and spray painted the frames.
• Replaced the light fixture, again.

To do:

• Crown molding.
• Find a rug for the room.
• Maybe recover the chair cushions.

Kitchen

Essentially, these lists from 2014 are exactly the same in 2015. Not a whole lot of change going on in here yet. Those pictures are leaning against the wall as I'm not 100% sure about them yet. The plate collage that was on this wall was removed when we added the pocket door to our bedroom here and that wall got larger so the plate collage no longer looked right.

Done: 

• Painted the walls yellow.
• Added shelving to the pantry.
• Replaced and moved the light fixture over the table.
• Added plate collage.

To Do:

• Repaint the walls a blueish gray.
• New counter tops.
• Back splash of some sort.
• Possible cabinet refinishing.
• Get some bar stools already.
• Replace the builder's basic sink/faucet.
• Decorate.
• Maybe build an enclosure for the fridge - it sticks out a bit since it's not a counter depth fridge.
• Wallpaper or paint the pantry walls.
• Replace the spaceship looking light fixture with recessed lighting, and add pendant lights over bar.
• Crown molding

Living Room

As you know, I DID find a perfect accent chair for in front of the window, which was the only item on the to do list last year. However, it is temporarily living in my bedroom instead since Laney's swing is in that corner at the moment.

Done:

• Faux fireplace installed and decorated.
• Shelving system designed, built and decorated.
• Furniture, curtains and rugs purchased.
• Made a floor lamp - which we are no longer using. It is in the basement until we find a new home for it.
• Found an accent chair or something for the corner by the window.
• Hung a gallery wall. (Not pictured, but here.)

To Do:

• The walls are all getting repainted.
• Hang a couple of wall sconces I found to replace the lamp lighting.
• Crown molding.

Charley's Room

The biggest change in here was adding the wardrobe and moving the dresser to Laney's room. One day I'll show you that refinishing job. We also repainted the headboard to mach.

Done: 

• Painted, decorated, and hung curtains.
• Found a big girl bed and purchased mattress.
• Added shelving in the closet and purchased bins and baskets for organization.
• Purchased some will-work-for-now bedding.
• Replaced the boob light with her nursery's light fixture from the last house.
• Added blinds.
• Refinished the headboard.
• Added and refinished a wardrobe as her dresser works great as a changing table so it got moved to Laney's room.

To Do: 

• Find bedding that coordinates a little more.
• Add a vanity to the side of her wardrobe.
• Crown molding.

Spare Bedroom is now Laney's room!

Done: 

• Added shelving in the closet.
• Added blinds.
• Got rid of, used or stored the decor that used to clutter up this room.
• Found a purpose for the room - Miss Laney!
• Painted.
• Added curtains.
• Decorated.

To Do: 

• Crown molding.

Charley & Laney's Bathroom/Guest Bathroom

Done:

• Tiled the floor.
• Painted.
• Added new shower curtain rod and shower curtain.
• Framed out the mirror.
• Replaced the builder's basic towel bar and toilet paper holder.
• Added shelving in the closet.
• Replaced the light fixture.
• Decorated.
• And after seeing this picture, I swapped out the white laundry basket from Laney's room with the natural colored one that was in here. 

To Do:

• Replace faucet.
• Window treatment of some sort. (Am thinking cornice of some sort with a pretty fabric covering it. The room needs more color!)
• Replace counter top with something nicer with an undermounted sink.

Master Bedroom

Done:

• Put shelving in the closet.
• Added blinds to windows.
• Hung curtains.
• Attached mantel to the wall.
• Replaced french doors with pocket door.
• Replaced the dresser hardware.
• Added accent chair to the corner.

To Do:

• Paint. 
• Refinish our nightstands or get/make new ones.
• Paint the dresser and mirrors (which are still in primer) something other than white.
• Replace the door to the bathroom with a pocket door.
• Crown molding.
• Maybe replace carpet with the hardwood floors we have elsewhere in the house. And then we'd need a rug, of course. 

Master Bathroom

Obviously these two angles are from opposite ends of the room, but either way you can tell nothing has been done.

Done:

• Hung the full length mirror.

To Do:

• Replace the linoleum with tile.
• Switch the placement of the toilet and the shower. We have a shower stall and a whole room for the toilet. It really should be the other way around and I hate I never thought of that until the house was built and we were living in it.
• Paint.
• Decorate.
• Update the giant builder's basic mirror by framing it in or replacing it. 
• Replace faucets and Hollywood light fixtures.
• Replace towel bars.
• And in the meantime in case we never switch the placement of the toilet and shower, add some chunky shelving over the toilet and decorate the tiny room.

Laundry Room

I realized just as I was typing this up that I never took a picture of the laundry room, so you get it as it is right this minute. A mess, but, that's real life right?

Done:

• Added cabinets, shelf and drying rack over the washer and dryer.

To Do:

• Get one of those fancy fold-up ironing boards or figure out some other solution for where to put our ironing board.
• Build or buy a counter top over washer and dryer.
• Paint. Something fun in here. Stripes or something. Maybe wainscoting.
• Replace linoleum floor with tile.

Basement

Haven't done a ton down here except accumulate more stuff!

Done:

• Added flooring in the gym.
• Started framing out a couple areas, which is why the first half of the basement pictures split into two pictures this year - the storage area and the gym.
• Built a huge storage area and started organizing all of the stuff. 

To Do:

• Walls, floors, lights, etc.
• Add a bathroom to the roughed-in plumbing.
• HVAC and all that jazz.
• Build a bar.
• Organize my craft stuff and create a craft area.
• Figure out what to do with the rest of the space.
• On the stairs coming out of the basement, add (removable) wallpaper to the stair risers.
• Stain the treads and paint the handrail.

Quick Takes

Hi! Whatcha been up to? Here's a few things that have been up with me.

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This is my second full week back at work and really it is going well. Laney has adjusted to being with my sister very well and is sleeping and eating like a champ for her! Makes it much easier on me when I know she's happy there. Pumping is going good too ever since that little awkward mishap on my first day back. Last weekend I froze 44 ounces from just that week's surplus plus all of Friday's milk. (I use frozen milk on Mondays so all of Friday's milk gets frozen.) That's INSANE to me. I never even had 44 ounces total with Charley. But number one rule of pumping: NEVER think you are getting ahead because as soon as you do, they will hit some crazy growth spurt and you'll struggle to keep up.

You know what else I love about going to work? Getting dressed and doing my hair and make-up. Man. I feel so much better about myself when I'm forced to do those things.

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Charley started swim lessons this week. Crazy story how that came to be. So, we knew she needed lessons but it is really tough to find any openings that work with our schedule. Most of the evening classes start at 5:45 - 6:00 and those not only fill up really quickly but making it to those would still be tough to do. And the Saturday classes are ALWAYS full too. I never could figure out what day I needed to log on to see the class schedule for the next month before they filled up.

Anyways, finally I decided this was something she needed and we would just try and make a 5:45 class work. I usually get to Charley and Laney at 5:25-5:30 and the pool closest to my sister's house is another 15 minutes from her house. So, I'd have to for sure leave work a little early to give me enough time to account for traffic, and then account for shuffling Charley, Laney and myself into the Y, then getting Charley changed and in the pool. It was going to be rough for sure. But I put her on the wait list for the class anyways.

On July 1st, I got an email that a spot has opened up and Charley could take the 5:45 class if we wanted. I gave myself the weekend to think it over.

Then, randomly at a July 4th party at a neighbor's house, the hostess told us about their new neighbors across the street. The lady that moved in had been a Y swim instructor for 10+ years and was offering lessons at her house in their pool. She didn't have a huge clientele yet so for very little money since she was still building her business, we could get private lessons at a house on our street. Insane, right? So, obviously we opted to try that first and let her spot at the Y go. She's had two lessons so far and it is just her and the instructor in the pool. How awesome is that?

And although it has only been two lessons Charley has done really well! She was apprehensive at first, but she responds really well to this instructor. And at times it is hard to know who is instructing who. "Okay, I will do this two more times and that's it, ok?" Ohh Charley.

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We also signed Charley up for dance this fall. We really don't want to do competition dance and all that, but it really isn't up to us is it? We will see how she likes it and go from there!

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We are on a major decorating kick lately spurred by a great paint sale at Lowe's. I keep meaning to take pictures of each room to update the Houseiversary post but I need the whole house to be clean to do that and we just can't quite get there. Last weekend we had 7 out of 9 rooms clean but just never got to those last two. I'll try again this weekend.

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I got my second Stitch Fix (that's a referral link) a few weeks ago and ended up keeping 2 of the 5 items. A third item was so close to staying also, but ultimately the budget I set for myself won and I sent it back. I kept these two things - jeans and the top. Those jeans are so so awesome. I wasn't sure about them at first but some friends talked me into them and I'm so glad they did. The brand is Liverpool and they were $78 and worth every penny.

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I am overdue on 5 different appointments - eye doctor, dentist, yearly physical, gynecologist, and haircut. Sure, I could have scheduled them all during those 10 weeks I was off of work but that would have been too easy. I will have you know that I did manage to schedule 2 of them this week. The first of which is Friday and is definitely the most important - a haircut.

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My Mama told me as I took this picture not to share it anywhere. I'm going to be a disobedient daughter instead and share it with the world because I think she's beautiful and I love how much she loves my babies! The feeling is definitely mutual with Charley who asks to see her every single day andddddd we're still working on Laney.

Unfinished Business

I thought about updating this post from last May on what house projects we've accomplished in the last 8 months and then almost laughed myself off of my chair. Of the 73 potential house projects I outlined, we've completed 10 of those things. A mere 14%. Pathetic.

We have done some house things around here lately though, but nothing it seems like nothing is finished. We 1, take forever to do stuff (ahem - house projects are spendy!), and 2, jump around so much that things sit halfway finished for a while. I'm sick of waiting for everything to be finished. Here are some works-in-progress.
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Last August I started on a gallery wall and shared with you here my rough start. I got so many good suggestions from y'all and ultimately decided to repaint just a few of those frames in a mint green. I did that almost immediately.

Then, I started rounding up stuff to go in the frames. I don't really love family pictures as decor, so my plan was to come up with a ton of other stuff to frame a la Young House Love. (sniff, sniff. Miss those guys so much.) First I printed a couple of pictures of our trip to Venice, and found a card from our wedding that I really liked, and gathered a map we used in Paris and framed all those up. I framed around the doorbell and added a key to a frame that I didn't have glass for. I also even printed a couple of things with WORDS, which is so unlike me as you know. I just thought those might be nice to break it up a bit. Then I pulled some stuff out of magazines and books we just use for decor and had filled maybe 20% of all the frames on the wall. And then those empty frames sat. And sat. And sat. For five long months.

A couple weekends ago I'd had enough. SOMEthing would look better than nothing, and I was really hating the couple of WORDY prints so I trashed those. Finally, I went to mPix, went through all of our pictures and printed a picture for every frame. Why do I bother trying to take good pictures if I'm never going to display them? But I set this rule for myself that I was only displaying pictures I took - nothing from a photographer we had paid (although one from a pro did make the cut after all). I do like to make things difficult.

 

Anyways, even though the idea of pictures instead of art is growing on me a little bit, the wall just looks 10x better with just anything in the frames. (And you all collectively say DUH LACEY). I'll replace pictures as we go with either more pictures or art I find that I like and one day it will be just as I pictured it when I started it last August.

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This next project actually WAS on the list from last May. What really got the ball rolling on this one was from a comment my brother made at Charley's birthday party, though.

So, my brother hasn't been over all that many times (usually we see each other at my parent's house instead) and while we were hanging out in the eat-in kitchen area he asked, "what is that room?" pointing to the opened french doors coming off of the eat-in kitchen area. I get why he asked it because it was already something I had wanted to change since I'd put it on my list of changes back in May. Our Master Bedroom was through those french doors and it was just wide open into the main entertaining area of the house for anyone to see. It's not that there was anything to hide, but, usually you don't see someone's master bedroom when you are at a child's birthday party, you know? I don't mind the layout at all, but the french doors didn't lend themselves to much privacy.

So after that we started working on replacing the doors with a pocket door. And by we, I me John of course. That's not really in my range of know-how.

It also took some time, but finally it was mostly done and it is so much better. I believe John said the wall needs one more round of patching and repainting, and the molding and actual door haven't been painted at all so it still needs that too. And then, of course, the plate collage looks pretty goofy now that the wall is so much larger so I need to reconfigure that as well.

Yay for unfinished project #2!

It slides all the way in - I just pulled it out a little for effect. Effective?

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Okay I don't have an official before picture of this one, so we'll use this:

Our well is in our front yard and the well installing people provide you with this very lovely fake rock to cover up the actual well components. That is the fake rock in the background up there. You have no idea why I'd want to replace that, now do you? Looks totally real.

Anyways, so I wanted an actual well house instead. My dad happened upon some leftover siding in a pile of discounted lumber one day and the siding matched our house exactly so he snagged it for us. I knew that I wanted to use that to cover the well house I was envisioning.

Not long after that, my dad - and then John (don't ask) built the well house and replaced the rock. I love it so much! All it needs is a pulley so it looks like an old functioning well would look and a couple of hanging baskets on either side of the pulley. I'm hoping to find something like that this spring.

I especially loved hanging lights on it as well at Christmas.

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Hey! This next one might actually be a FINISHED project! I just can't say the same for the flower beds alongside it.

So, last Memorial Day weekend we had friends over at our house, many for the first time. This gave us the fire we needed under us to get some things done prior to their arrival. You may be thinking we spent the day making sure the kitchen was clean and the floors were vacuumed, but no. Instead, we went to a building materials place that sold stone so we could finally make a walkway to our front door.

We asked the guys working there what type of stone we would need to create stepping stones for a walkway and he pointed us in the right direction - or so we thought. From those we chose our favorite stones, purchased them, and then went home to lay them all out. Once we got them laid out we dubbed the sidewalk "THE SIDEWALK OF DEATH". The stones were not flat at all like you'd expect from stepping stones. They were all slanted and were ALL tripping hazards. I am going to say that there was probably a 90% chance of you tripping on one of these jagged stones and busting your butt had you tried to walk on that pathway. But then, it was time for the party so there was no undoing it just yet. We just had to make sure all guests did not actually use THE WALKWAY OF DEATH in fear of a lawsuit that night.

The next day (or maybe next weekend, can't remember) John picked up every last stone and packed them back up to return them. Turns out the guy told us wrong and sold us the stones you'd use on your home instead of the ones you'd use for a walkway. Idiots. The new guy then showed him the correct type of stone we'd need and he purchased that. He then laid the sidewalk back out again, leveled them properly and then we had an official completed project. It's a miracle and our UPS man thanks us.

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Ahhhhhhh the spare bedroom. It started as this mess...

...which slowly evolved into a playroom for Charley.

& now the room finally will have a purpose as Laney's nursery. Although far from finished, I'm really loving it so far.

I took both of these pictures with my phone while it was dark out, so the color isn't accurate, but I'll take better pictures later when the room really starts coming together.

The walls are a peachy pink, and I plan to do some gold accents too. Not totally decided on other accent colors, but I bet they will go with the colors I used in creating the letters above the crib. Besides modge podging and hanging those letters, John painting, and Charley and I sorting the books by color and then size - that's about all we've done in here. But I have lots of stolen ideas and I'm hoping my trip to IKEA tomorrow can help some more of those come to life. You know I will blow up all social media outlets with every step along the way too. I can't help it - decorating nurseries or kid's rooms are my absolute favorite!

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I also had big plans back in May about refinishing the dining room table we got at the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and refinishing the chairs as well. I never really could make up my mind HOW I wanted those all refinished, but was leaning mostly towards distressed and white. SHOCKER.

Well, that refinishing never happened. And then one day this popped up on a local Facebook swap page. Table, 6 chairs and a china cabinet for $250 already in a distressed white finish.

I didn't bother cleaning up the craft supplies prior to taking the picture. REAL LIFE.

Sold.

I obviously still have tons of work to do in this room including paint on the walls, choosing a new fabric for those chairs, styling that china cabinet, and likely even replacing (or maybe just changing the color) on that chandelier but it's a ton better than it was with the old table and chairs that all needed refinishing. Speaking of that old table and chairs - they are all in my basement now and I'd be happy to sell them to whomever may want them!

So yeah - still a long way to go in this room but much better than it was before! I'd say we are 15% there. If we consider the starting point 8 months ago, take the completion percentage now which I estimate to be 15%, this room should be finished in a mere 45 more months. So I'll report back on this in October 2018! Moving right along aren't we?

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And sadly, that's about it as far as the more major house changes go. Sad, yes? Besides the obvious (nursery), where oh where should we start and halfway finish a project next?!

Toy Storage

Way back when (pre-baby) I wrote a post about how I was concerned about my home would look with toys and baby gear strewn about. I know it comes with the territory for the most part but that didn't keep me from constantly reorganizing and thinking of ways to disguise the kid factor in my decor. I came back when Charley was 10 months old and showed pictures of my baby-fied house, although even looking back at them I don't think it was ever really that bad. Shew!

As Charley has gotten older, the amount of gear and large items decreases and her ability to play independently increases, which is good news for my kid stuff disguises. I know if we ever have another kid I'll have to revise all of this but for now this is the state of the toy storage in our home. (And spoiler: I'm very happy with it at the moment, which I why I want to share it. A, so I can remember it and B, so I can get or give suggestions from/to anyone else!)

Let's start with the main living area - the area that I want MOST disguised.

In the living room we have our big shelving unit that we built that naturally has lots of built in storage/disguises. The baskets on the bottom left of the shelving unit are designated for toys. Any/all toys that Charley was playing with and got left in any room that is not her room or her playroom winds up in these baskets each night.

 

There are no rules about what belongs in these baskets. They are just a way to clean up any toys that were left out after she's gone to bed. If they start to get too full, we take them to her room and empty them and put the toys where they actually belong. They are also good for having Charley help clean up since there are no rules about what goes where. I can have her clean up her toys in the living room and she knows to just put them all in these baskets. This is all of the toy storage in any of the main living areas. Sometimes we'll have Charley's Anywhere Chair out in the living room which obviously doesn't bother me, but all other big gear belongs in her room or her playroom. Let me live in my dreamland this way until if/when we have another kid. 

Next up is Charley's room. For the most part, all of the toys belong in her closet in her room. Things that are left out are larger items like her shopping cart, baby strollers, baby cradle, etc. There are some things that are stored under her bed so she can get to them easily like a bin of blocks and a couple of her favorite games. (Hungry, Hungry, Hippos for one - she is obsessed with hippos!) Everything else is in the closet.

The Expedit cube thing from IKEA works really well for now because it's not permanent. Once this closet set-up no longer works for Charley we can take it out and add more space for hanging clothes or whatever her needs may be. For now though, it works great!

In those top flowered baskets are any clothes or shoes that Charley hasn't grown into, organized by size. So there is a 4T basket, size 5, etc, and then a shoe one also.

Obviously all of her books go in those top 4 cubes. On top of the Expedit is an owl basket containing dress up stuff that she can get to herself, piggy banks, a couple of Melissa and Doug things that she plays with pretty often and a couple other baskets for whatever we need them for at the moment.

In the pink cubes is the majority of her toys.

In the left two cubes is roughly pretend toys, with a couple other things thrown in too. All of these toys she can play with by herself and get to by herself. That's kind of my only requirement about what gets put here versus on higher shelving.

In the right two cubes are music toys and then puzzles. Again, toys she can play with by herself and get to by herself.

On the left side of her closet is just more toy storage, but things she either doesn't play with as much or things I'd rather her play with while supervised. Stuffed animals are all stuffed in the bottom so she can get to them.

On the right side is more of the same (except dolls on the bottom instead) and it includes some bigger items.

In those pink/white striped boxes I keep a lot of like things together. One box is labeled 'junk' which I'll get to in a second, and the other is 'baby doll items' which stores all extra clothes, bottles, bibs, shoes, or whatever came with the baby doll that I don't want lost somewhere.

 

 The junk box was an idea stolen from my Mama. We had junk bags as kids which housed all of the junky toys that really don't belong anywhere else but you just weren't ready to part with. This includes kid's meal toys, gumball machine toys, and random party favors. The idea is to only have enough junk to fill one bag or box at any time. So if the box becomes too full, it's time to toss a few things. And, since there are just so many little toys that a child acquires like this, getting the box down and letting Charley go through them all and play with them is always fun for her and takes up a good chunk of time. It's a win/win.

Finally, the play room/3rd bedroom. Obviously the future of this room is the most up in the air so for the meantime, this is the room I just let Charley's favorite toys stay out in. In here I keep her Little People stuff set up, her Littlest Pet Shop stuff out, that giant tub is ALL Lincoln Logs which we like to play with her and any of the bigger stuff that doesn't have a good home elsewhere stays in here too. IF this room's future ever needs to be something else, then I think I would do a combo of moving the toys back into her closet in her room or moving some of the bigger things down into the basement to keep things as organized as possible.

Am I naive to think that toy storage can still be managed with multiple children? Gah I hope not. I'm really kind of liking our current set-up! Any suggestions to make things even better? I'll take 'em! What toy storage ideas have worked for you?

Cleaning

The current state of our house is 10 times better than it was Saturday morning, but is still pretty horrific. It's especially messy right now because of how our trip ended last week and we have been running ever since. We got back from Chicago at 6:30 p.m. Monday evening. I started a new job the very next morning and John went back to work as well. So I spent the evening doing the laundry essentials that HAD to be done lest one of us be without undergarments or another of us be without clean(ish) loveys and picked out my first day outfit, ironed, etc. Then Tuesday morning we were off to the races.

We worked all week and most evenings one or both of us had something going on. So when Saturday morning rolled around you would have thought that we would be up early and productive. But no. We were exhausted. John did get outside to do some of the work he wanted to do in the yard, and I did do laundry but it wasn't a very productive day. We were still just too tired. We then went out with friends that night and had Charley stay at my parent's.

So SUNDAY morning rolled around and John was feeling the effects of the night before. Thankfully I wasn't and after a late waking at 10:00 (!!!) I was feeling really productive. But not just clean-up productive, but reorganize, redecorate, re-functionalize productive on top of clean-up productive. So I may have spent way too much time in one room by doing all of those things instead of just cleaning, but the end result is so much more rewarding this way.

I started in the kitchen because every single square inch of the counters was covered in something. Once I got that done I moved on to the office where I found myself wanting to restyle the bookshelves to make them more functional. They serve as a big piece of storage as well as a big piece of the aesthetics in there so it's always a balance of looks versus functionality. I know I have to give up aesthetics more than I'd like for storage and that's okay with me.

I was pretty pleased with my end results. The desks were cleaned off, the floor was picked up and the bookshelves were just a tad refreshed and way more functional. Yay!

Charley was playing SO well by herself all day too and it was just a great day all around. After I left the clean, organized office I walked from room to room to determine where I wanted to spend my efforts next.

I then saw the results of Charley playing so well by herself that day...

Good grief child! I was JUST in there playing with her maybe a half hour prior to this. HOW does this happen? I'm not ready to move into the stage where my child has a messy room yet! No! 

So yeah. The state of this house while Charley is home is definitely a one step forward, one step back situation. You stay at home moms are nodding your head in agreement with me right now I know. Sheesh. Kids are messy!

One Year Housiversary

We've been in our new house for one year now and on one hand I think we've gotten a lot done, but on the other hand we've completely neglected a few areas. You would think we would have had time at some point during the last year. But oh well. I don't like to rush into things apparently.

So I thought I'd do a quick bulleted list type run down on each area at this point. Might be fun to update this annually and see what plans get accomplished versus what plans get scrapped. This is what I've done and what I'm planning to do at the 1 year point.

(Two things I'll apologize for: 1, the crappy quality picture. I need a wider angle lens for my camera so instead I just used my phone, and 2, that I obviously made no effort to take before/after pictures from the same angle. You'll get the general idea though.)

Outside

Obviously a slightly different angle - the tree didn't split into two over the course of a year.

Done:

• Added shrubbery we scored for free on Craigslist.
• Planted grass.
• Installed irrigation system in the front and then the back.
• Added a few flower beds around the house. 
• Built the deck.
• Added Charley's play area underneath the deck.
• Created a garden.
• Added a stepping stone sidewalk. (not pictured because it got done in the middle of typing up this post/taking pictures)

To do:

• Move Charley's play area to the bottom of the yard next to the garden.
• Build a lower deck with swings. Just trust me - I want some swings.
• Build Charley a play house.
• Clean up the woods/natural area by the road.
• Build an arbor around the garage doors.
• Make some sort of wall to hide the garbage can.
• Add some more flower/shrubbery beds around the house.
• Refinish our current patio table and furnish the rest of the deck.
• On the front porch, replace the church pew with a few more rocking chairs and repaint them all.
• Finally decide on a paint color for the front door.
• And maybe one day, replace the whole front door/sidelights with something more attractive. 

Office

Done: 

• Painted the walls.
• Bought a light fixture to replace the boob light.
• Added Charley's desk.
• Started the travel collage.

To do:

• Find an office chair since the one from Craigslist never panned out.
• Finish travel collage and fix a few of the items already in it (map, mat on framed picture of Paris, etc).
• Restyle the bookshelves.

Dining Room

Done: 

• Found a table and mismatched chairs. 
• Refinished a thrifted chandelier for the room.
• Started a collection of pieces for the china cabinet display.

To do:

• Decide on a wall color/paint the walls.
• Find window treatments.
• Build a buffet.
• Make silverware art piece for over the buffet.
• Make a backboard for China hutch and style the dishes inside.
• Refinish table and all chairs.
• Find and purchase a rug.

Kitchen

Done: 

• Painted.
• Added shelving to the pantry.
• Replaced and moved the light fixture over the table.
• Added plate collage.

To Do:

• New counter tops.
• Back splash of some sort.
• Possible cabinet refinishing.
• Get some bar stools already.
• Replace the builder's basic sink/faucet.
• Decorate.
• Maybe build an enclosure for the fridge - it sticks out a bit since it's not a counter depth fridge.
• Wallpaper or paint the pantry walls.
• Replace the spaceship looking light fixture with recessed lighting, and add pendant lights over bar.

Living Room

Done:

• Faux fireplace installed and decorated.
• Shelving system designed, built and decorated.
• Furniture, curtains and rugs purchased.
• Made a floor lamp.

To Do:

• Find an accent chair or something for the corner by the window.

Charley's Room

Done: 

• Painted, decorated, and hung curtains.
• Found a big girl bed and purchased mattress.
• Added shelving in the closet and purchased bins and baskets for organization.
• Purchased some will-work-for-now bedding.
• Replaced the boob light with her nursery's light fixture from the last house.
• Added blinds.

To Do: 

• Refinish the headboard.
• Find bedding that coordinates a little more.

Spare Bedroom

Done: 

• Added shelving in the closet.
• Got rid of, used or stored the decor that used to clutter up this room.

To Do: 

• Paint.
• And the rest is a mystery. Maybe a nursery one day, or if that doesn't happen then make it a more permanent play room for Charley.

Charley/Guest Bathroom

Done:

• Nada.

To Do:

• Add shelving in the closet.
• Paint.
• Decorate. (won't be kid decorated because 1) I'm not really a fan of that and 2) it doubles as a guest bath.)
• Do something with the mirror - either frame it in or replace it.
• Replace faucet and Hollywood light fixture.
• Replace towel bar with hooks.
• Window treatment of some sort.
• Replace the linoleum with tile.

Master Bedroom

Done:

• Put shelving in the closet.
• Added blinds to windows.

To Do:

• Paint.
• Decorate and find/purchase curtains.
• Find a chaise or accent chair for the corner.
• Refinish our nightstands or get/make new ones.
• Change out the lamps & get new lampshades.
• Get new sheets and pillows to match the "new" duvet.
• Attach the mantel surround to the wall and decorate it.
• Paint the dresser and mirrors (which are still in primer) something other than white and replace the hardware.
• Replace the french doors with pocket doors.
• Replace the door to the bathroom with a pocket door.

Master Bathroom

Obviously these two angles are from opposite ends of the room, but either way you can tell nothing has been done.

Done:

• Not a darn thing.

To Do:

• Replace the linoleum with tile.
• And this MAY never happen, but I would really love if it did - switch the placement of the toilet and the shower. We have a shower stall and a whole room for the toilet. It really should be the other way around and I hate I never thought of that until the house was built and we were living in it.
• Paint.
• Decorate.
• Update the giant builder's basic mirror by framing it in or replacing it. 
• Maybe finally hang the full-length mirror on the wall instead of letting it lean against the wall.
• Replace faucets and Hollywood light fixtures.
• Replace towel bars.
• And in the meantime in case we never switch the placement of the toilet and shower, add some chunky shelving over the toilet and decorate the tiny room.

Laundry Room

Done:

• Added cabinets, shelf and drying rack over the washer and dryer.

To Do:

• Get one of those fancy fold-up ironing boards or figure out some other solution for where to put our ironing board.
• Build or buy a counter top over washer and dryer.
• Paint. Something fun in here. Stripes or something. Maybe wainscoting.
• Replace linoleum floor with tile.

Basement

Done:

• Added flooring in the gym.

To Do:

• Walls, floors, lights, etc.
• Add a bathroom to the roughed-in plumbing.
• HVAC and all that jazz.
• Organize our crap down there. Shelving or something would help.
• Build a bar.
• Figure out what to do with the rest of the space.
• On the stairs coming out of the basement, add (removable) wallpaper to the stair risers.
• Stain the treads and paint the handrail.

So yeah. We are basically done with this house, right? Heh. Heh. Looks a little daunting all listed out like this. Any ideas, suggestions, remarks or otherwise? Please share!