Before and After

We are FINALLY done with our walkway. It looks spectacular!!! It was exactly how I envisioned it and I love it.

Here is how it looked last year:

And here it is now:

The roses will be bigger next year and it will be even better!

Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

We Are Getting There

We started laying brick yesterday on our walkway project. (Yes, the weather is finally cooperating!)The orange brick came off of the house before the remodel. I think it looks great as a garden edge.

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Gravel Walkway

We got as far as getting the gravel in for our brick walkway before the rains came:

Damned weather! Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

What's in a Number?

My older daughter was in town this weekend so, I did nothing productive. However, my husband got our new address numbers up:

It's been since November and no one could find our house. With the numbers up, there hasn't been a stampede but now, if people want, there could be one:-) Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

New Family Room

Well, it is finally done. Starting this summer with this:

Has ended with this:

Doesn't that look like a cozy spot?

Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Funky New Rug

This weekend, we invested some time into finishing our basement. Look at the fun new rug I found for our rec room space.

Tonight, we are going shopping for a sofa which is the last item we need before completing our room. Wish me luck:-) Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Kitchen Remodeling Ideas

Everytime I plan a remodel project, I need inspiration to make a vision board. I did this when we remodeled our bathrooms, when we redecorated our living room and even when we did the outside remodel that we completed this fall. It is most helpful to get your ideas out of your head on an paper and, when you start to purchase items, you will know what fixture will go with what color or what pattern will work in your design. It really brings confidence to the design process.

Now, even though our kitchen remodeling is another 10 years off, I am starting to collect some ideas. If you dream it, it will come. Check out the kitchen remodeling inspirtion I found:

mediterranean kitchen design by miami architect Don Stevenson Design

I love the mediterranean look. And I really like the lighter cabinets and the dark island. I am just not crazy about the counter tops.

mediterranean kitchen design by austin architect John Allen

I love these floors!!

mediterranean kitchen design by charlotte kitchen and bath Designer Glass Mosaics

I MUST have this backsplash!!!

With a little bit of time invested, you can get the kitchen remodeling of your dreams!

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

It Is DONE!

Remember this mess?

How do you like me now?

I got a new alcove and...

...a new porch:-)

YAHOO!! Now, we get to pay for it:-)

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

More Kitchen Dreaming

So, they finally started work on our home remodel! It has been a looooooong six months that we have been working on it and the siding and porch is finally going on our house. It looks really good so now, my creative juices and start chomping on another home remodel project (my husband is going to kill me:-)

I was doing some research and found some really cool deep kitchen sink. I am looking for those front apron farmhouse style but they can be really expensive. So, if I see one in my future, I better start saving now:-) But look at how pretty:

Then, I need a new energy-star microwave oven. I want a white one:-)

And I have never even heard of expandable console table but I think this will look good in my new kitchen too:

Even though my new kitchen is probably 3 years down the road (or more), it is never too early to do a little research, right?

Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

This is a sponsored blog post however, all of the opinions are mine and mine alone:-)

Color Selection

This is what the house looks like now:

This is what we are planning on doing:

We chose the darker color so I could do a light shingle-type siding on the top of the side of the house (Pictures to come on this).

We are also planning on builiding a porch where my big garden used to be in front of that picture window. I never liked how the house wasn't square and that garden was always a challenge. I am still going to plant in front of the porch but will be much more manageable!

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

Our Finished Basement?

Well, the basement repair guys left yesterday and here are the results:

Yikes!!! Now THAT is a nightmare!

On a positive note, I have straight walls AND, the hubby is even considering really finishing the basement now! That IS a silver lining:-)

Playing along with Wordless Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Mom and Wordful Wednesday on parenting By dummies:-)

The Remodel

It has been quite a ride already. We started before the 4th of July looking for a contractor to put siding on our house because the brick was pulling away:

Since then, we have met with 8 contractors, 2 banks, 1 mason, 1 engineer, 1 plumber and 1 basement specialist. We have had to dig up gardens, move a retaining wall, move electric, move plumbing and we lost a door. Now, the basement guys are digging a giant hole in my yard to see if we have to replace drain tiles.

Keep your fingers crossed...that's a $5000 difference!

I feel tackled already! Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

She Was a Brick House

Wow! I sure have been gone a long time! On top of preparing for my new positions as PTO President and Girl Scout School Organizer, we are in the position where we HAVE to repair our house. Here is the story:

This beautiful Roman brick...


...was pulling down our front stoop and poking a whole in our basement wall:-( If you think it sounds expensive, you would be right! We have found ways to keep the cost down. For example, our contractor wanted to charge us $1000 to take down the brick. We found a brick reclaimer who came took down the brick for free AND pay us a nickle a brick! Now, that is smart!!! But, here is what it looks like:




Quite the mess, right? Oh AND, they didn't take the mortar away. So, we had to haul 3 trailer loads of cement to the dump. No THAT is sweat equity!


And, the fun will continue. As a result of this, I have plenty to write about. Like how to menu plan when your plate runneth over. Not to mention, how are we going to put our palace back together. And finally, I get to redesign a bunch of my gardens. So stay tuned for all the mad-cap fun.


Playing along with Tackle It Tuesday with 5 Minutes for Mom .

Remodeling the Bathroom

Today, my baby is going in for eye surgery. So, I am doing a flashback with 5 Minutes for Mom by posting the biggest tackle of the year: Remodeling our bathroom.

Here's the teardown:

And after declaring myself the Spackle Queen of the Midwest, here are the results: