Let the Nesting Begin!

Happy Wednesday!!

Last weekend hubby and I started working on the nursery!  The room had off-white walls with a deep raspberry accent wall.  It was great for the guest bedroom, but no so great for our sweet Grace's nursery.  For her nursery we are doing light pink, light gray and white.  Needless to say, the red wall had to go.

Sean and I decided it would be fun {and cheaper} to do it ourselves, so we took a trip to Lowe's to acquire the necessary tools.  After speaking with the paint specialist for a while, we picked up two rollers, a brush for the edges, tape to tape the molding and floor board, the aluminum tin to put the paint in, and a very high-end high-hide primer that would make the red disappear.

Before we could start priming, we had to take apart the guest bed.  I originally thought we could have the guest bed, the crib, and all the other furniture in the room, but we decided it would be better to store it for now, so that the nursery is more open and there is ample room to play {especially as Gracie gets older}.  Once the bed was gone, Sean moved the crib to the center of the room and covered it with plastic sheeting {we already had plastic sheeting from a Halloween party a couple of years ago where we turned our sunroom into Dexter's kill room}.  Then we taped all the edges of the wall, and we were ready to prime!  We had to much fun priming together!

We finished one coat in less than an hour, and it looked great.  The wall looked mostly white, but we decided a second coat would be perfect just to make sure no red would peak through.  After the first coat dried, we zipped through the second coat.  Just with the white primer, the room looks so open and airy now!  I didn't realize how closed off the room was with the red.

Here are the before and after pictures:

Before (with Juno, our Great Dane)

After the primer (sorry the lighting isn't very good)

We are so happy with the way it turned out.  Now we just have to finalize our paint color for the accent wall and paint!  Then it's time to DECORATE!!!  Woohoo!!!

On a totally unrelated note, before we worked on the nursery I got my daily 3-5 mile walk in.  I am grateful that I am able to continue working out during my pregnancy {albeit much less intense}.  I know it will help with my labor when the time comes.  I've also started adding squats and lunges to my routine, which are definitely getting more challenging as my belly grows and my center of gravity changes.  Here's a picture of me and my 18 week belly after my workout:

Love my growing belly, and love my R2D2 yoga pants!

Enjoy the rest of your week!!!

Our New Home Office!

When we bought our house nearly three years ago, we spent months re-modeling and re-decorating most of the house.  In fact, we worked on every room except the home office, as that was not a priority and it was in fine condition.  Well, we finally decided to pull the trigger on the last room standing.  It was still the original paper that was hung in the early 1960s and the room felt stuffy.  I knew we needed help, so I reached out to one of my parents' friends who is the most talented interior designer I know, Jodi Simmons.  Not only is she super talented, but she is one of the kindest, friendliest, and easy-to-get-along-with people I've ever met.  We wanted to lighten up the room and add organic textures and colors to enhance the airy feel.  After months of planning, painting, putting up new wall paper, drapery, and furniture shopping, we finished it this weekend!!

Without further ado, here are the before and after pictures:

Before

After

Before

After

Juno especially loves the new shag rug!  Every time she goes into the office, she plops down in front of our desk...it's adorable.

We are so happy with the way it turned out with the chocolate grass cloth paper, the white bookshelves, the shag rug, the glass/chrome desk, and all the beautiful mother-of-pearl, glass, and woven accessories.  We still have to put some of our books back in the bookshelf, but we will definitely keep it more open.  I can't get enough of our new office!!

Always Thankful

This time of year is a time for reflection.  When I look at  my life, there is so much I am grateful for, and I count my blessings not only this time of year, but every single day of the year.  Some of the things/people I am grateful for are:

My Parents

For giving me the gift of life, and loving me to the fullest unconditionally.  I’ve always been crazy close with my parents, talking with them multiple times a day about important things and trivial things.  My Mom passed away last year, but during the 25 years we spent together we were best friends and had many many unbelievably fun times together.  She was kind, intelligent, giving, genuine, loyal, funny, beautiful, courageous, and so loving.  She was always there for me…she was my rock.  I miss her with all my heart every day.  My Daddy and I have always been close too and still are!  We have so much fun together!!  From cooking, to talking shop (we’re both Finance majors and have our MBA, and he was in the healthcare industry as I am), to traveling, to taking dance lessons together, to rockin’ out in the Vinyl Lounge at home, my Dad is one of the smartest, most fun, goofy men I know.  I love him to the moon and back!

My Hubby

My soul mate and everything bright in this world!  My husband is truly one in a billion, and I am the luckiest girl in the world to have him as my partner in life.  We have shared so many wonderful experiences together over the last seven years from the mundane of watching Walking Dead on our couch to the luxury of traveling to exotic locations abroad.  Each day is an adventure with him, and I look forward to all the future adventures life has in store for us.  I couldn’t imagine sharing this life with anyone but you my love!

My Family

Growing up, my family and I spent every Friday or Saturday at someone’s house cooking dinner, listening to music, and just hanging out.  Now that I’m older, not much has changed, and I love it.  My family is my rock, and without their love, support, comfort, and craziness, I would not be who I am today.  From our silly evenings at someone’s house to our travels together, I am so grateful for all our laughs, cries, singing, etc!  I love my family!

My Friends

My friends are true gemstones, and I know that they are there for me no matter what.  You know who you are.  Each and every one of you makes my life so much brighter, and I am so grateful for your friendship.  Some are close by, others across the country, but no matter how far apart, we always pick up right where we left off.

Our Furbabies

Our two puppies, Rugby and Juno, and our kitty Tantalum make our world so much happier.  Nothing beats coming home from a long day at work to three loving furbabies who are beyond excited to see you!  Their love is unconditional, and our love for them is unconditional.  They are our babies, and I can’t imagine life wihtout them.

My Health

Over the last couple months I learned that I carry a genetic mutation that my mom and grandmother carried, that predisposes me to MDS and/or leukemia.  I could be depressed and heartbroken and fall into a deep dark place thinking of a terrible fate, but that’s not who I am (there’s no room for negativity in my life).  Instead, I fill my life and heart with positivity!  I am grateful that I can breathe each day, that I can work out and push my body beyond it’s limits, that I can explore the world with through site, sound, smell, touch, and taste.  I am a very healthy 27 year old, and I’m going to be one very healthy 90 year old down the line!!

Our Home

We are so thankful that we have a roof over our heads and a place to call home.  We were able to buy a home two years ago, and it’s been so much fun remodeling and decorating and really making it “ours.”  This time of year is especially exciting because we have our Christmas tree (this year we bought a monster one at 11 feet!), Christmas decorations around the house, and Christmas lights outside.  It was so fun decorating for the holiday with my hubby while we listened to Christmas music :)

Travel

My parents always believed that travel provides knowledge, insight, and experience that cannot be obtained in a classroom.  Don’t get me wrong, school was always number 1 (I was always a straight A student and went on to earn my MBA), but seeing the world enlightens you in a way that is so profound and mind-opening.  I have been fortunate enough to travel all over the world including, France, Spain, Italy, England, Canada, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, and more!  We have several adventures planned for 2014 including Iceland!!  Stay tuned!

Education

Education is embedded in who I am.  My parents gave me the gift of education, for which I will be eternally grateful.  I was always an over-achiever (and still am), and wanted to excel in school not only to impress my parents, but to give myself a sense of gratification in knowing I absorbed and learned everything I possibly could!  I recently earned my MBA, and I continue to look for ways to expand my knowledge and grow!  As cliché as it may be, knowledge is growth and knowledge is power.  Keep on educating yourself!

Technology

I am so grateful for technology on numerous accounts.  First, I am grateful for my iPhone and the ability to communicate in real-time with my family and friends around the country.  Second, I am grateful for the internet and social media for keeping me up to date on current events and acting as a tool for sharing my own stories like I am right here on this blog.  Third, I am grateful for medical technology to help fight diseases and find cures!

Transportation

I love that I have a brand new and reliable car that not only gets me from point A to point B, but also carries our precious cargo with ample space (our pups love their car rides!).  This was my first car purchase completely on my own, and I am very proud of myself for that.

Music

What can I say other than music is so fun!  I enjoy listening to and singling along with music in my car, during my workouts, and just singing and dancing around the house!  There is music for every mood, and it’s wonderful!

My Career

I am grateful that I have a job, and more importantly that it’s a job I love.  I have been with my company for nearly 5 years now, and I love each day.  I am tasked with many challenging projects, and I enjoy every bit of it.  My team is making huge strides and I couldn’t be more proud of our accomplishments!

Be thankful for all the blessings in your life this holiday season and always!

Autumn Cleaning

A couple weeks ago, my hubby, my dad, and I spent an entire Saturday cleaning out our guest bedroom and home office.  I so desperately wish I had taken before pictures, but for whatever unknown reason, I did not.  Prior to the cleaning, the guest bedroom had the furniture, but there were large boxes stacked on the floor filled with things I packed up 2 years ago when we moved it.  The room was very cluttered and unorganized.  The office, now that was a disaster.  You couldn't even open the door without hitting something, and if you did manage to push it open, you couldn't even see the wood floor.  Instead, all you could see was boxes, old rolled up rugs, a raclette, a fondue pot, old shoes, an old fax, and more.  We have had our dogs for over a year, and they had never seen the inside of the office.  Because of the clutter, we just kept the door closed and would say “we’ll get to it eventually.”

Well, “eventually” came.  We started in the office, and it was unbelievably overwhelming.  The best way to tackle this was to start in a corner and gradually move around the room, and that’s what we did.  We created four piles:  keep, giveaway, store and trash.  Several hours later, the ground was nearly 100% visible, and the office closet organized.  We kept all the books in the built-in bookshelf since they belonged to my grandfather and great grandfather.  We then ventured to the guest bedroom where I went through each box and all contents went into one of the four piles.  More than 8 hours later, both rooms were cleaned and organized.  

Our guest bedroom...I still need to organize the bookshelf a little (move the pillows/hats)

Our Home Office...the floor is now visible!!

It was so cathartic and liberating to clean those rooms.  I am always much happier and much more productive when things are tidy.  Plus, it’s easier to find things!  The next big project is redesigning the home office!  I’m working with one of my mom and dad’s friend who is an interior designer, and she and I have some wonderful things planned that will transform the room!  Stay tuned….