Some Childhood Obsessions Never Die

So, as you may or may not know, I grew up with a slight obsession with Nancy Drew. My grandmother had given me all of her Nancy Drew books when I was young, and I devoured them all, over and over again. When friends would come to play, I would usually talk them into playing "Nancy Drew" with me, which basically consisted of us running around the apartment complex pretending to solve mysteries. Oh, what I would have given to run into a *real* mystery! Of course, I was always Nancy Drew, and my friends were Bess and/or George. I don't think I ever gave anyone else a turn at being the teenage sleuth herself.

Fast forward to adulthood. I still love Nancy Drew, but for years my beloved books were locked away in a "pie safe" cabinet. They looked nice in there, but they weren't exactly being displayed as befitting a much-loved collection. Enter my husband, who loves me enough to not only agree to display my books, but to design, make, and hang the needed shelving. He's pretty awesome.

I was looking for a "before" picture, but the only one I can find is way before, like right when we moved in. I guess I had no reason to take a picture of that corner of the living room since.

So here's the result:

It reminds me a little  of the Apple newsstand. I love how all the books fit, and that the covers serve as art for that corner of the room.

And, side shot! We were originally going to put the books in the shelf "trough," but due to a slight curve in the wall and varying book thicknesses, many of them would tip forward and fall out. Putting the books on top of the shelves solved that problem, and allowed us to see the whole cover. I love happy accidents like that. 

You can also see my new, modern, print of the Oakland temple. I adore it. I purchased it on Etsy from a  store called Kiki & Company. I still want to hang a few prints above and below the temple print, just to fill in the space. I'm in love with the prints from Pop Rocks Design ... church related prints with a 70's touch? Did he read my mind?!?

As you can see, I love how it all turned out. It's so fun to choose a book, sit in my little corner, and bring back childhood memories. I can't wait until my girls are ready to meet and fall in love with Nancy Drew, too.

Who Knew I'd Love Avocado Green So Much?

Well, after a short lull, we were bit by the home improvement bug again. I guess the projects really are never-ending around here, but they vary in intensity and they come in spurts, and it feels like it's been a while since I've had one to share on the blog. Lately, we've been working on our living room, and I'm excited to show you some of the changes we've made there. But, that's not what I'm showing you today. (I know, I'm such a tease!)

Before I continue, there is something you need to know about Jay and I.... we are the world's worst gardeners. It's true. I can barely (never) keep plants alive. Thankfully, I'm much better with humans. Anyway, because of this sad reality, Jay and I long ago removed the majority of plants from our front yard. A few remained, however, and they were starting to take over our front yard, stealthily creeping onto our front walkway. It was embarrassing, and we finally said, "Enough!"

This is what the front of the house looked like when we bought it almost three years (!) ago:

These are the changes we made about 1 1/2 ago ... I think. We had removed a lot of plants and had cut back the ones nearer the door, but trust me, they came back in full force.

And this is the front now:

Basically, we removed the rest of the plants, added pavers and about 20 bags of pebbles, and added some colorful flowers. Oh, and we painted our door and added a bench! There's still a little more work to be done, especially in the flower department, but I am very happy with it.

Here's my adorable bench, built by Jay. I like to sit here and watch him play "pickle" with our kids and their neighborhood friends.

Bench close-up! No more overgrown plants! Just some rocks, pavers, and Pippin.

Our "color block" pots, the idea for which I stole from Pinterest. Or, rather, from a blog post someone pinned on Pinterest. It's very complicated. Anyway, I adore them. Nothing like a little paint to gussy up cheap planters!

And, the front door before & after:

We went a little more "mid century" with the flat panels and the single doorknob. I'm thinking about adding some retro house numbers vertically on the left door, but Jay is not sold on the idea, so we'll see. I feel like it still needs something. Maybe the flowers just need to grow a little more... I don't know. I love the color, though. ("Spritz of Lime", though it looks more avocado.) It gives everyone a warning about the color combinations they are about to encounter on the inside. :)

So, hopefully the entryway feels a little more welcoming now, and people are less afraid of being attacked by a bush or a rouge yellow garden hose. I know I feel better!

Can't wait to show you what else we've been up to!

America's Favorite Pastime

I have loved living here almost since the instant we moved in, and that love has only increased as time has passed. Part of the reason for the love is the small-town feel of the community. Between church, school, our neighborhood, and now baseball, we really feel like we belong here. I guess that's why we've lived here the longest of all our residences.

Speaking of baseball (kind of) ... here are a few pictures from Opening Day and recent games. There are not many things cuter than a kid in uniform!

Getting ready for opening day

Opening Day parade

Dexter's first hit. It didn't go far, as you can tell, but in t-ball that's all it takes sometimes!

Natalie behind the plate

Bea ready to run home

Our evenings and weekends are pretty full for the next few months, but we are having a great time and the kids are really enjoying it, so I guess that means it's worth it ... even when it's my turn to be "bench mom." Now I know what the phrase "herding cats" means!

Dining Room Update

Can you believe it's been almost 2 years since we moved? Since we normally move every year, this is quite a feat! Happily, we have no plans to move anytime in the next 20 years... besides, our decorating style is not exactly resale friendly - there is not a white wall in sight! (Nothing against white walls, of course. They're just not for me.)

There was, however, a lot of beige grasscloth wallpaper when we moved in. Here is the dining room... just looking at this picture makes me smile. It brings back that feeling I had the first time we stepped into this house, that immediate feeling of "home."


Nevertheless, we changed it all. :)

Our interim solution was to paint the wall, change the chandelier, and paint our furniture. We were never really thrilled with it, though, because it was such a mish-mash, as evidenced below:

So we decided to put our furniture on craigslist, and throw caution to the decorating wind.

Here is the final product:

We added the same "wood" to the wall that we have in the entryway, changed the lighting to some light blue pendants we found on clearance at - of course - IKEA, added corrugated metal to the ceiling, and of course had the new stained concrete flooring installed. We replaced the railing with two IKEA bookshelves serving dual purpose as storage and room divider. We plan on putting some type of countertop on the bookshelves so we can also use it as a buffet.

We also added some new furniture and decor, but kept the lime green wall and the original beige grasscloth wallpaper. I think it came together quite well... it's currently my favorite room in the house!

Some details:

The floor ... two shades of grey concrete with a metallic blue epoxy. So much easier to clean than carpet!

The dining room side of the shelves... the perfect place to store the kids' craft supplies and our bulky kitchen items, like our crockpot.

The new lighting and the ceiling. They were both Jay's idea and I am very happy with how they turned out.

View from the kitchen door. The big mirror is another IKEA bargain. The color coordinated bottles were from Crate & Barrell, and reminded me of a stretched 7UP bottle we had in my house growing up. (My mom has since given it to me, but I'm too afraid to put it out and within the kids' reach.)

So there you have it! Another project complete, only about 100 to go. :)

Hard to Believe It's the Same Room!

We've been very busy with home projects 'round these parts lately, some more successful than others. (When I've recovered sufficiently, I'll give you the run down on what I am dubbing the "New Floor Fiasco.") In the meantime, you can see part of our new floors in our updated family room, which I am extremely excited about!

Here's how the room looked when we moved in. Note the off-white carpet (which was also in the dining room). You can imagine how it looked after a year of abuse by four kids...


Here's Jay gleefully removing the beast of a fireplace:


And here's the final product (well, if you don't count baseboards and a desk chair...shhhh!):

(a little more straight-on shot)

Other side, with our DVD locker and a Bea-in-motion

We are so happy with it. I call it "cozy modern." (I love naming things. I always thought naming lipstick colors would be the greatest job in the world, but naming kids and decorating styles is pretty fun, too.) Anyway, I know the look isn't everyone's style, but we love it! I love having bright colors throughout the house. They really cheer me up.

The details: It's a little hard to see in the picture, but the side walls are light blue, and the fireplace is a beautiful mosaic glass tile from Modwalls called "White Linen." The fireplace walls are the same Aurora Orange we used in the upstairs hall and for the polka dots in the stairwell. The floors are stained concrete, 2 shades of gray and a metallic blue epoxy. I can't tell you who did the work because I've taken a vow to never speak the company's name again... (told you it was a fiasco!)

Next up, I'll show you what we used that corrugated metal for!

Way Back in October ...

Jay and I decided to tackle the outside of our house in October ... not exactly the best time of the year for painting outside, but Jay and I haven't really been known for doing things logically when it comes to home improvement/decorating. We sort of fly by the seat of our pants. (Not unlike the rest of our lives. I used to be a planner, I swear. I don't know what happened to me. I blame Jay.)

Here's the before:

And a closer picture, so you can see the shingles, or "shake," in all their awesomeness:

The house was built in 1978, but I'm sure most of the updates were done in the early 80's. (Love the 70's vibe ... the 80's, not so much.) Lot's of gold fixtures. And the plants in front were just too much for Jay and I ... green thumbs we are not. So, we went to work! Now, there is still much to be done, especially in the landscaping department, but it's a start.

The after:

(Please ignore the dying trees and the trampled on plants.)

We are so happy with how it turned out! Much more modern, but still appropriate for the neighborhood.

What we did: Removed all the bushes and most of the the concrete border, planted grass seed, removed all the shake off the sides of the house (I swear everytime we removed shake, we would find more ... it was multiplying!), repainted the trim from teal to a dark gray, replaced the shake with wood that we stained & varnished, added a ceiling to the entryway, added pendant lights, and replaced the carriage lights with lights Jay made himself. We also removed the "decorative inserts" on the garage windows. Oh, and we replaced the house windows back in July.

I think my favorite part is the new ceiling in the entryway:


Before we added the ceiling, it was just an exposed white roof with no lighting. I felt bad for anyone coming up to our door at night... it was a little dark and scary! Jay found the new ceiling lights at a garage sale in our neighborhood for 15 CENTS each. Awesome! All he had to do was lengthen them.

So, that's what we've been up to. We have a few other improvements that are in process (one of which includes those sheets of corrogated metal you can see leaning against our entryway wall). I'm excited to get them done and show them to you!


Some more pictures, if you are interested:

Chucky Cheese on Steriods

We spent $70 at John's Incredible Pizza and all we got was:

3 crazy straws

2 thumb traps

2 cheap rings

1 shark grabber

heartburn

and a headache.

Obviously, it was not the best family outing we've ever had, but we learned something**, and that's all that really matters, right? Right?!?

**Bea learned not to waste her money on those "claw" games.

Jay learned not to let Calvin play with his sunglasses.

Dexter learned he's still too young for skeeball.

Natalie learned that 300 tickets doesn't amount to anything,

And I learned that Spicy Peanut Butter Pizza is disgusting.

I Scream, You Scream ...

"The aftermath"

I cannot fit into my summer clothes, and I am blaming the extraordinary amount of ice cream and dessert options in the Sacramento area. They call to me, like a siren's song. Of course, I cave to the siren's song pretty easily, but that is neither here nor there.

The other night Jay and I went on a date (whoo hoo!), and after dinner we ate at Rick's Dessert Diner in downtown. It was the most perfect little place - a very authentic looking 50's diner that sold nothing but desserts, and amazing ones at that. I think I would probably work as their cashier sans pay as long as they provided me with a free piece of cake every night.

Also, as a family we continued our quest to eat at every bakery/ice cream/yogurt establishment within a 20 mile radius. The latest one was called Leatherby's, and it was delicious. It was after this excursion that I decided my summer wardrobe would have to consist only of elastic-waist skirts and Jay's t-shirts. (It was worth it, though!)

Doesn't Calvin look older with his haircut?

And one more of Cal, just because I can. He liked to put his ice cream in his water, add his napkin, and then take a swig.

Dex got a summer haircut, too, to go along with the chocolate ice cream on his face.

Sweet sisters

(This picture was taken near the beginning of the summer, before they started getting on each other's nerves every 5 seconds. When does the school year start again?)

The Final Detail

We did this about 2 months ago, but I forgot to share it with you all. I know you've been waiting on pins and needles, so I won't make you wait any longer. Here it is, the final detail to our the kids' Star Wars bathroom:

The kids seem to really like having their names on the wall, and I really like that they have a specific place to hang their towels. It also makes it a lot easier to see who left their towel on the floor. Can't get anything passed mommy now! MuHAHAHA!

On an unrelated note, summer has begun and we are loving it. It is not too hot up here (yet), but we've still been having fun cooling off with massive water gun fights in the backyard. It's usually Parents vs. Kids, and let me tell ya, we have no mercy baby. I'm talking sniper in the treehouse, secondary weapons, the whole 9 yards. It's a blast.

Besides our water gun battles, it's going to be a pretty relaxing summer around here. We have no major vacation plans, but I'm looking forward to a looser schedule and lots of family time. We might even tackle another project or two around the house... if I can break away from the otter pops and slip 'n slide long enough.

It's Another Floor to Sweep, But I'm OK With It

In between bouts of rainy weather, Jay and I tackled another project around the house. Actually, this time it was a backyard project, and it was a ton of fun.

Here's the before:

(basically some useless space next to the deck)

And here's the after:

A treehouse, complete with slide! The kids are in heaven (and I kinda like it, too). There's nothing like laying in the treehouse, listening to the birds chirping, and staring up at this:

Jay designed and built the entire thing. I supervised. Actually, I helped quite a bit, mostly in the painting department, although I did have a few turns at the chop saw. (There is photographic proof, but I'll spare you.)

The kids are loving it! Now with outside toys, a trampoline, a hill, bikes, and a treehouse, they have no excuse to come inside on sunny days. Well, except to get a drink of water, and Jay took care of that, too:

He created homemade water fountain. He is one clever guy, I tell ya. When he told me he wanted to make a water fountain, I admit I was a little skeptical. But not only did he pull it off, he made it completely adorable. I think the kids aren't the only ones who will stay outdoors all summer!

Some more pictures, if you're so inclined: