The beauty of paint....

is that you can change it! And change it we did! We were getting really overwhelmed by the yellow paint update we did in the kitchen. It was knocking us out every time we went in there. I guess we thought we were jumping into a much more muted color than what we got...

So we changed it! Here's how we got started. We were planning to paint the dining room and wanted a nice muted grey. We don't get a whole lot of light into the dining room because there are no exterior windows. Also, with the new dining set being dark we wanted to bring some light in with the paint. Our decision was to use leftover blue from the master bedroom project below the chair rail and grey above. We liked the grey so much that we decided to continue it into the adjacent kitchen. We think it ties the two rooms together a bit better.

The last photo is of a rug (Dooley is very happy) that we purchased at the antique auction a few weeks ago. Here's another one we nabbed last week!

In addition to mad painting we have also been pulling up carpet! The sun room is the only carpeted room and when it rained last week I didn't like the smell that was emerging from the carpet. Smelled like dogs had been kept in the room. We pulled it up and are currently trying to figure out whether to re-carpet or tile (the marble in there now is in pretty rough shape, uneven and chipped in many spots).

In non house news, I have some movement related to job leads and feel very positive about what is to come in the next few weeks. As Thanksgiving approaches I am so thankful for this news and for the prospect of a new opportunity here in Richmond. Those that know me know that looking for the next move in my career has been one filled with frustration. My patience has certainly been tested but I am a firm believer that the right thing will come along and I will land where I am supposed to! 

Love to all!



Fun with tables and chairs!

We've been busy the last couple of days! I (Lauren) spent the weekend in Nashville for the bachelorette party for one of my dearest friends, Jessie. It was a ton of fun and a great weekend with friends... and on Sunday on the way out of the hotel... Pat Sajak sighting. That's right, I'd like to solve the puzzle Pat!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Elliott was knocking a lot of things off of his honey do... I mean house project list. :) He repaired and installed all of our storm windows which means extra insulation from the elements and slightly lower utility bills this winter. He also did some tidying inside, repaired the leg to a table that we inherited with this house, raked, mowed and much to my surprise- even did a little laundry!

Monday when I was in my morning routine (i.e. coffee and checking my favorite blogs and websites) I ran across a great dining set on Craigslist. A man recently lost his grandmother and inherited her set which has been very well maintained. The price was right and we snapped it up! Just in time for the dinner we had planned Friday night... which will be nice considering we were planning to dine on a card table!

We need to reupholster the seats but for now it is great! I mentioned Elliott repaired the leg on a table we got with the house. He had to core it out and insert dowel rods... atta babe Al Borland. It was also in desperate need of refinishing and we thought we would give it a shot on our own. We have no money in it so if all fails, no big deal. This is what it looked like at first.

Pretty rough shape. I actually took these pictures to send off to a furniture repairman who quoted me almost $700 to bring it back- which was out of the question, ridiculous. I bought some Restor A Finish with reservations and gave it a shot...

YEHAW! It looks good, I am so excited it worked and that we only spent like $10 as opposed to $700... We still have to buy drawer hardware, but not too shabby! Cheers to progress!

More to come soon. We are lucky enough to have an interior designer friend bringing a student to our house tomorrow to help with "master planning." The student is shadowing her through a professional organization and the designer called and offered to bring her to help us and give the student experience... so excited!

Love to all!

We're in a lull...

We've become lazy in the realm of house projects here lately. Maybe it is football season, maybe the two weekends in Knoxville for two Tennessee lossess, and maybe just a general sense of "in over our heads, how are we going to get it all done?" Either way we need to get moving!

This weekend we did. Elliott was off Friday and we had three, count em, 3 contractors visit the house. One to check on a radiator that is not working (and still not working), one to fix the flue for our gas furnace and make sure our fireplace can be operational this winter and finally, a woman measuring all of the windows in our house for new blinds. Whew!
It was then time this past weekend to paint our master bedroom... we've been calling it our oasis but it was far from it in reality. Before shots:

The gift hurricane Irene left... we had to strip old painted wallpaper, sand and patch the wall to get it ready to paint, thanks Irene.

We picked a paint color after trips to Lowe's, Home Depot, Sherwin Williams, and Benjamin Moore and finally landed on the paint color "kentucky haze." Yes, I had five paint choices on the wall... prove it, sure thing... (kentucky haze is the bottom one, so if you don't like it, tough cookies, it's on the walls already!)

Ladies and gents, here are the after shots!

We still have trim to paint, furniture and rugs to buy, blinds and drapes to buy and install, crown molding to install... okay I am going to stop the list here because I am depressing myself with all we want to do!
I am also proud to announce that we are the proud new owners of a hand sander. I have been begging for this for months and am glad we have one to work on some of our doors that stick (too much paint over time) and refinish a table that we inherited when we bought the house. I can't wait to get it done!

Love to all!

An homage to our sweet Dooley dog

Adopted at Young Williams Animal Shelter in Knoxville, Tennessee on August 6, 2007 Dooley was about a year old when we got him. I scoped him out on the internet and after visiting him I coaxed Elliott into checking him out too. Dooley met Elliott, peed on his shoe, an affirmative "you're mine," and the rest is history. Dooley was half price... we all know what that means and I am so glad we saved him. He is the most cuddly, lovable, devoted dog I know and I love the little guy!

The last few weeks/months have been crazy. Dooley has been in his cage traveling more than we care to admit and he has been such a trooper, at our heels at every turn as if to say, "I'm here, don't leave me behind!" With all of the uncertainty we've dealt with, I'm certain this poor pup can sense it and knows that we haven't been truly settled until now. Now Dooley has his own yard and more room to roam, a great neighborhood to go for walks in and a mom and dad who are feeling a little less stressed. I love this dog... he's the best.

Dooley really freaked out prior to leaving Minnesota....

Happy fall y'all!

Hiking at Interstate State Park, Minnesota

A woman to admire

The news of Pat Summitt's diagnosis of early onset dementia, Alzheimer's type, has jarred the sports community and shocked the Volunteer family to the core. We all know her impact on the sport, most wins, 8 national championships and an indelible impact on women's collegiate athletics. Some of the student athletes she has mentored have gone on to raise families, some have become professional athletes but all are women of strength and character and all have been impacted and imprinted by her leadership.

My first reaction to her diagnosis was one of deep sadness, knowing that Pat Summitt- one of the great sports minds of our time at some point may not recall her accomplishments- we will. And her son, it chokes me up to watch their interview together. Their relationship is so strong and the support and love he has shown his mom through this is just awesome. My second reaction to this news was one of excitement... I know stay with me though. I look forward to seeing what Pat Summitt can do to elevate the awareness, advocacy, research and funding around this devastating disease. Someone with such a national platform who is so widely loved and respected now has the opportunity to change the face of dementia, the same way she changed the game of basketball. September is Alzheimer's awareness month and I know that this news hit some time ago but I felt the need to share my feelings. As a woman who grew up playing sports, one who went to the University of Tennessee and one who has a great respect for her contributions to my university, to women's collegiate athletics and to every little girl who wanted to be an athlete at the next level. She has made it possible on a scale that many never thought possible.
Pat Summitt will turn this diagnosis on its head and fight, in her own words "they'll be no pity party, I'll make sure of that." My love and prayers go to Pat and Tyler and their family and friends. Pat, thank you for what you have done and will continue to do for the University of Tennessee, the game of basketball, and the advancement of women- in athletics and beyond. I feel honored to be a part of your University of Tennessee family.

We're working on it!

 One of the most embarrassing things about our new home is that it is the eye sore of the block. We love that we landed on a beautiful and very well established block but it puts the pressure on to keep up with the Joneses! The yard has not been maintained and everything is just a bit shabby/dirty/neglected. During the first 24 hours of home ownership we've met a handful of neighbors and they are THRILLED that someone has bought the house who will actually be living in it and maintaining it. One neighbor, who is a former turf grass specialist who worked for the Redskins (so cool), offered his help as we get the grass situation tended to (we have very little). He also proceeded to tell me how everyone in the neighborhood, "takes great pride in their yard" and "will do anything to help each other out." He wanted us to know we better get with the program and that the 'hood was there to help! Our next door neighbor also told us that we could borrow anything we wanted to "get the place in order." It might be easy to take offense to these comments- but it just makes me laugh because they have all the best intentions and I know it comes from a genuine place. Plus, E & I want our place to be as cute as our neighbors... or cuter- so there! All I have to say to our new friends on the block is "we're working on it!" Enjoy some yard pics to show what we're talking about.

The first three pictures are before we touched anything, before closing. The front had 3 very measly looking bushes that could not be revived so we ripped em out. Also, look at the lack of grass... ew.

Here is after we took the bushes out.

Below is a picture of the base of one of our oaks... there are remnants of dwarf grass (?) there but I think we are going to do some mulch beds around the bases of this and one other oak in the front. The next is a picture of the "bump out" at the far end of the house where we will put a big Japanese Camellia in a week or two. We have discovered many brick surprises around our home... pathways, borders for planting beds- it is awesome! We are going to try and bring back the existing brick paths and borders (and repair gaps) because they add so much character to the yard.

Here is the progress as of this past weekend, we seeded the lawn and put in 5 Helleri Holly bushes. More pics to come when we plant the camellia bush and have some grass coming up! :)

We were able to buy two groupons for a great nursery on the south side of town. $20 for $40 worth of landscaping goodies! (Maybe my sweet husband will also let me go ahead and buy 3 iron window boxes too...

We have also been learning just exactly what we have in the yard. Last week I was walking around the side of the house and discovered a blooming gardenia bush! Now I know that we have 2 HUGE gardenia bushes on the side of the house and I look forward to spring when they will have those great fragrant blooms! Apparently they can bloom again in the fall with the right conditions, who knew! I had to steal this one for my kitchen... too gorgeous not to. Oh and PS, look at how empty that dish on the right is. I bought candy corn on Friday and my husband is a candy fiend. I am going to have to hide these things before he needs dentures, geez.

A kitchen spruce up!

One of the rooms in our new house that needs a lot of attention is our kitchen. We plan to re do it, but in the meantime it needed to be scrubbed up a little bit so we opted for the $100 kitchen face lift to get us through. The ceilings were yellow and the walls were a blue that made both Elliott and I downright queasy. So we took to the labor day weekend with our mission in mind. Friday we purchased all of our paint and supplies, came home cleaned up and laid boxes and paper so that we didn't make a mess of the floor and painted the ceiling. Elliott also spent Friday evening taking the cabinet fronts off of the cabinets to the left and right of the sink, a task that nearly sent him into a conniption fit because the screws had been painted over more times than we can guess. Saturday we sanded and puttied in the holes in the cabinets that nearly did E in- it's like they were never there, right sweetie? We cleaned up and painted the cabinet shelves and trim. Sunday was more and more and more painting. As was Monday until about mid afternoon when we began to put things back together. The following are some before shots... the pictures really do not do justice to the filth that was this kitchen.

Why a mirror... well we didn't know until we discovered the cracked plaster underneath. We puttied it as good as we could, sanded and painted and will get some help with it from an expert when we do the real kitchen reno.

This window was painted shut...

Next are some pictures throughout the weekend! Here is Elliott fixing the track on one of the drawers... another project that illicited lots of cuss words.



The dastardly job of cleaning the ceiling fan. G-ross. And look at how awful that ceiling was, ick.

 Gross cabinet interiors after Elliott successfully removed the stubborn doors.

Another shot to show how old and in need the insides of the cabinets were.

Finally, here is what it looks like now! Forgive the dishes drying on the counter I am still in the process of getting things washed up and in their new homes but was excited to share the progress.

And here are some more with better lighting (it was dark and raining before and I had all those dishes drying trying to put them away...

 Dooley really likes the new kitchen. Mainly because that is quite literally the only rug in the house right now... poor pup.

I also really love that we left the cabinet fronts off however, figuring out how to organize the cabinets was not easy! Sorry the pic is a little dark.

We worked our butts off and are really pleased with the turnout. For a hundred bucks it is not too shabby and we feel a lot more comfortable in our kitchen. Now we'll take the  next few months to figure out where our bigger upgrades will be but until then we have a livable, cookable kitchen!

Love to all.