Having a Workable Desk Part 1

Ever since starting this monogramming/applique adventure in January I have continued my mindset of simplifying.

If I don't use it we get rid of it.

 

Cant wait to find my memory card so I can photograph my progress for you.

 

Basically I have been an organization FIEN lately.

 

The number one priority of having a workable desk area is a computer.

 

After the iMac somehow was corroded by pirated music??

(yes my iTunes ate my hard drive basically.)

 

 

I knew this monogram adventure would mean another PC was in my future, so one random night recently I had a friend come over while kids slept and in 30 minutes ran up to Best Buy, bought a desktop, and was home with this sweet friend opening the box.

Talk about hasty purchase....

 

Anywho, now there is a lamp, and a desktop the one thing a desktop needs is a mousepad.

 

Does everyone remember Jones Design Company's recent post on her to die for cute mousepad??

 

Here is the link.

 

This was a complete no brainer for me!

 

I grabbed a plain ole mousepad and used some linen I had on hand and in about 20 minutes had a super cute mousepad.

 

seriously... don't you want to get some work done there??

I do!!!

(click on image to go to her post )

 

Since clearing the clutter from this space I have identified several other necessities:

 

storage for ALL that Stuff!!

tape dispenser

stapler

pencil cup holder

easy to grab paper to jot notes

something pretty to look at

and "adding to my arsenal" (items necessary for a small business)

 

Follow along as I streamline the main hub where the business side of this little business that could gets the work done. :)

Big City turned small town when....

You find a job in a part of town you knew nothing about growing up.

While at said job people get to know you and find out you live around the corner.

Said people reference your home as "so and so's old house"

You don't know so and so... until a high school friendship is rekindled as she moves around the corner.

The so and so's become high schools friends, neighbors aunt and uncle. 

Follow that??

Anywho thanks to the power of facebook you are offered the incredible and rare opportunity to connect with the so and so's and email back and forth.

Through your back yard new fence nightmare you find one of their childrens precious stepping stones accidentally left behind when they moved.

I am so excited to be able to message the wife of this couple and get her to fill in the blanks for me on our home we knew nothing about.

The people who bought from them were who got foreclosed on. 

After several emails back and forth and her answering some questions for me she sent some pictures she took just before they listed their house on the market. 

Enjoy seeing how it has changed in 8 years.

The bank made a LOT of changes between them and before we purchased. I kinda wish the kitchen was how it was when she had it. 

Oh well.... to be renovated eventually!

This is the picture she sent me, i commented with the changes that have occurred since then.

Sorry its dark. but the kitchen dining area became our home office.

disregard the suitcase. haha

not sure who did what here but i LOVE her cabinet doors. 

I dont have these pretty doors. mine are plain with an AWEFUL paint job to them!

and the cooktop and oven?? jealous!! this cheap thing I have doesnt cook evenly!!

CURSES!!!

And i hate my countertops, time to stop complaining.... there are people around the world starving and I complain about my faux granite countertops! 

What am I the most jealous of??? she didnt have these HORRIBLE spanish tiles in her backsplash. one day I will get mad enough and just take a hammer to em!!

final share for this post...

remember my question about the random pole in the middle of the very back yard?? 

She answered it!

That was the side to the ladder for their above ground pool.

better picture from the spring when we added the flower beds.

Wait til this spring when we FINALLY landscape and put up a privacy fence!!!

I will probably cry because I will be so excited about the dogs not being about to run off!!!

More to come in a second post!!

Purifying- A New Years Resolution- The Follow Up

This year has been all about simplifying. 

To date we have donated nearly 20 boxes of items to the Goodwill, a local mens rehad called the Warrior Center, and various children's clothing donations. 

It feels good to finally be seeing complete and total organization flowing through all sections of my life. 

The most sinful "collections" I had was an abundance of beauty supplies. Its unreal! 

I am thanful most of these items are still good to use and I have given them to tons of friends and family  or the bad stuff I got rid of. 

Feels good people, feels good.

The one Pin I saw on Pinterest that inspired this the most was attic orgainzation. 

Source: atticmaxx.com via Jenny Beth on Pinterest

All of christmas is in red boxes, everything else is clear with a contact sleeve filled with a fun fonted description of its contents! 

The one thing a friend shared me is to do a color for each child so Big sis has purple transparent boxes and baby brother has bright blue transparent boxes. 

Very easy to identify what box an additional item needs to be added to.

This has aided in the closet cleaning out and adding to our keepsakes pile, which might I add I am sadly not a sentimental person so I only keep my very very most favorite of what we own.

I have kept about 3 boxes either in our attic or on our screeded in porch to aid and ease the cleaning out process.

Source: remodelaholic.com via Stephanie on Pinterest

Obviously mine is more purposeful and not quite this pretty, ie broken box to throw away once done sorting. haha

Be back to show you pictures of how mine turned out!

while most people deck the halls, I....

yes.. while most people are hanging their tinsle by the mantle with care I am FINALLY going to paint every room a neutral color so we can get this place sold this next spring/summer. 

Every. single. move. we. make in our home is in the mindset of putting it back on the market. 

step one is painting the den, dining area, hallway, baby girls room and the nursery all grey. 

I want anyone to be able to walk in and think this place is move in ready!!

After many hours of extensive research I am hoping to put the last paint sample on my walls tomorrow. 

Source: google.com via Jenny Beth on Pinterest

most of the other greys we have looked at and selected are way too cool.

The number one key factor in making a grey work is knowing the undertones of the color. This color has a warm undertone. Those warm tones often draw from browns (a predominant color in majority of my furniture) 

The warm tone does not mean that the room will be dark. It simply means the color will compliment the existing items we already have and easily flow thru my home.

In every room I have used Ben Moore I have been thoroughly impressed.

Can't wait to swing by my local ace hardware and pick up my sample! 

Life after the No Sale - need some suggestions

I know you guys all remember us trying to sell this summer. There have been several things we have made priority of since we will be staying a while longer.

1. all the main rooms in the house are way too multicolored and bright. so find a neutral tone to paint on the walls and neutralize everything
here is what we are thinking.

Source: ths.gardenweb.com via Jenny Beth on Pinterest

Source: houzz.com via Jenny Beth on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Jenny Beth on Pinterest

2. finally finish putting anna carolines room together. (this is almost almost there, only missing a quilt and a mirror)

Anyone know where I can find a mirror like this?

i found this one on etsy and it sold almost immediately.

3. The final and most challenging issue was our fence. 

My poor friends who have heard me moan and groan about this in person I apologize now for talking about this again. 

After finally contacting over 50 city and state employees our severe erosion issue is finally being addressed. The chainlink fence running along our property is original to the home and circa 1959. This is the citys fence and there has been an extreme run off and erosion problem for quite a while. 

Today as I type they are filling in the hole with dirt and we will have to go back with cement, then rip rap, then a barrier so the dogs cant dig out, then a privacy fence then finally finally landscaping. 

After 4 long years we will finally have a desireable backyard!!!

Here is the before and the during!
Look at the size of this hole.

 

stay tuned for the filling in and progress!

what are your go to colors in your home??

Any tricks to keep dogs from digging?

The Guesthouse

This post is only partially for me. 

It is about 60% for my friend Erica. 

She has followed along on our blog ever since we purchased this home and I have failed all of you!!

I have NEVER shared the guesthouse. 

Its that place in my home I thought was "cool" when we offered on the house then I realized.... its a huge huge thorn in my side.

Have we had a tennant? 

Yes we did! A sweet girl I worked with at J Crew lived out here for about a year. 

(wish I had photographed it with all her cute decor and not it's current barron ugliness)

Alas...

Here she is.

Only recently did we paint the front door and replace the exterior lights.

When we purchased the room was grey and had only the foundation for flooring.

See this left over sticker?? I don't know why but I can bring myself to remove it. 

This was the bank's winterization sticker they had on the door. 

To me it is sooo much more. It's the very final reminder of how misloved and broken this home was and how my husband and I were able to pour blood sweat and tears into the whole property and make her pretty again. Make her desireable to another family so they could also call it home.

Door open looking into the "living" space.

new wall color and new carpet. 

Sooo thankful for a father in law who so graciously offers to help us. We have soo much home improvement wise to learn from him. 

Just another angle.

Standing in the kitchen looking back out towards the back of our home. 

To the left is the closet, right the bathroom and if you went through the door straight ahead you would go into the garage.

door into the bathroom

The bathroom and another uncomplete project of beginning to put hardwood in this bathroom.

Lovely wallpaper wall.

Notice the bass fish border? haha

Here is the suprisingly large walk in closet in the space.

Again another unfinished hardwood flooring project.

See this crumpled paper? That WAS the flooring to the closet. This is what I like to call the scary side of buying a foreclosure.

in the "living" space and looking into the kitchen/dining area.

Another view

We took all the cabinets down out here to paint and never got around to it. 

how cute would this place be with a fresh cabinet paint?

And the nasty view into the back yard. 

Remember how this place looked 5 weeks ago??

Let me refresh your memory.

Ughhh believe it or not the only thing that kills all this kudzu is a chainsaw and pouring bleach on it. 

Apparently kerosene works but that stuff is expensive when you need 3 or so barrells.

Well it looks like that's the "full" disclosure of pictures of this home. 

I will probably do a "selling our house" post. Lets just say it has been a LONG drawn out process.

The Good, the Bad, The Ugly. Grouting our Shower

Soo... every home has at least one UGLY side. 

Ours was the master bathroom's shower.

For some reason it did not occur to us to try and regrout the bathroom before putting our house on the market. 

Well, here is the shameful start people.

and no, not until we took this photo did we realize some of the floor tiles had been replaced throughout the years. Oh well...

SOOO much better!!!

The wall tiles basically look brand new now!!

Office Bookshelf Styling-client

We are slowly making our way room by room through a clients home. 

We had almost everything we needed to go ahead and style the bookshelves in the study so we went ahead and purchased our few lacking pieces.

Here is the shelving on the other side of the fireplace.

The bottom shelf is still a work in progress. 

We are waiting to add in the computer desk to figure out the logistics of the wiring and a printer.

The fabrics for this room are Bold and Bright. 

Its going to be such a fun and cheery room to come in and work in.