More Sprucing

Every day, it seems, we are tackling a little bit more around here in terms of cleaning, organizing, decluttering, and sprucing things up. This past week, we've been working on another collage of frames, this time in the living room, and a "thankful" banner for the dining room. As of last night, they are both done:

We haven't shared our other wall of frames yet, I don't think, but we used the same process for this smaller one. After picking up an extra frame at the BX (we already had the others), James laid them out on builder's paper that he'd cut to fit the wall we'd be hanging the frames on. Once everything looked just right, he traced each of the frames and then measured and marked where the nail would need to go into the wall. Then we taped the paper up to make sure we liked the positioning, and he hammered away.

After filling the frames and then waiting a day or two, we decided to add a few more to the space, so James actually started right back at square one - with the exception of knowing which would be our top two frames - and hung everything again. This time? We think it's just right.

The 'thankful' banner I've been meaning to make for a few weeks now, and even though it was a bit more work than I was anticipating - mostly due to my choice of materials, but I wanted to use things that I already had - I'm really glad that I finally did it. I used the simple instructions for the One-Word Banner in Amanda Blake Soule's Handmade Home, and I really love how it turned out. The simple, important reminder to give thanks for everything brings a smile to my face whenever I catch a glimpse of it.

How about you? Any home-sprucing going on in your space? We should have two very special visitors arriving from very far away tomorrow, so we've been at work in the guest bedroom, too. Nothing like a deadline to get us moving!

Nesting?

Or maybe just craziness... I'm not sure what else you'd call a man one week post-surgery and a nine-and-a-half month pregnant mama rearranging the entire upstairs in one morning. But, that's what Tuesday morning looked like around here: Both of us trying not to let the other lift too much weight or work too hard. In the end, only one piece of furniture up there survived the move without finding a new home, but we're already feeling like things are much more functional and (for the most part) open.

Of course, somebody was already moving stuff around before I even finished doing the breakfast dishes, so here's as close as we got to before photos, in the form of horribly lit, please-don't-run-me-over-while-I-take-this iPhone pictures.

Our room:

The guest bedroom, with electrical tape on the wall from pre-furniture-move measuring:

AJ's room, after the contents of the armoire had been dumped on his bed and the armoire dragged into the hallway. It used to sit in that corner, to the right of the electrical outlet:

We hadn't discussed this furniture-moving plan until Tuesday morning, when we both confessed to each other that we'd had this crazy idea ("that I know you won't like, honey") come to us on Monday night. What are the odds? So, needless to say, we were both on board. We knew we wanted to completely switch the boys' room and the guest bedroom, since one of those rooms only gets any action one week out of the year and swapping them would make a huge difference for AJ (and later, his brother). That means that the guest bedroom is a bit cramped, but since we're working with what we have, here... It's cozier than the couch, right? We'd still like to find a duvet and hang some art to brighten up this space (and move the growth chart to the boys' room once I transfer AJ's height from the wall to the wood), but for now, it's functional even if it's (much) less than beautiful. Here it is in all it's we-haven't-picked-up-in-here-while-we're-working-on-things "glory":

Our room was the most difficult to figure out, just because we added a (completely unnecessary) piece of furniture to what was already in there. That wasn't exactly a unanimous decision, but since the armoire doesn't fit anywhere else now that the other two bedrooms have been changed around - and Craigslist is not an option after all the work we put into it - there it'll stay until the next place we call home. So, after shuffling things around four or five times to find the best fit for everything, this is what we ended up with:

This room is lacking so much of what we'd like to see in there (a bedskirt, rug, curtains, art, some color), but we're kind of glad to let the boys' room - and the rest of the house - take priority. In all honesty, this room likely won't change much before we leave Hawaii in a year and a half. And that fan that my wonderful husband installed sort of makes up for the rest of it in its own lovely and breezy way. (Can you tell I love that fan?)

For all of our room's unfinished craziness, one room picks up all the slack: The boys' room. It was my favorite when we first put it together in its original location, before we started rearranging things months ago. Now that it's in the other room? Love. We've got some work to do, still, but it's so much more open and functional, and when it's time a second bed for AJ's brother (once we know if he'll need a toddler or a twin bed) will fit in here so easily.

That dresser used to live in AJ's closet in the other room, so having it out in the open is like having a brand new piece of furniture up here - minus the price tag. That definitely feels like a win to us! The shelves we just picked up from Home Depot on Tuesday night, and I spray painted the brackets before we hung them today to get a little bit of color in there after seeing these shelves on Pinterest. Once we get things a little more pulled together (sheets, a big art print, etc.), we'll come back with a better peek at the best room in the house. Fingers crossed that it'll be sometime soon!

(Are these house updates enjoyable to read? I always like when other people do them, but if they're not so interesting, let me know!)

Come On [Out]... Our Backyard

Welcome to our first ever backyard! As apartment-dwellers the past three years, we've never had a patch of grass to call "our own" before. Now that we do, we're loving it, and we're doing our best to make it a space we - and especially our little ones - love to spend time in.

We built the deck - you'll see it below - last June (and into early July), following plans I drew up and using the mister's carpentry skills. It was a lot of work, but so worth it in the end.

This is the closest we have to a before shot:

This is after the huge pile of dead plants/garbage that we inherited was raked up and giant roots were pulled.

Daddy and his (tiny!) little helper worked late into the night on this special project.

After the basic frame was built, James put it in place next to the patio to add the inner framework, sandbox bottom, and decking.

Patio chairs also double as a jack-stand-of-sorts around here.

James leveling the deck while AJ played Quality Control Officer. 

James laid all the boards down, then we snapped chalk lines to mark where the sandbox cover needed to be cut.

The lines were snapped centered directly over the two long pieces of inner framing, both to show us where the cover decking needed to be cut, and to make screwing the decking into the framing really easy.

Then it was time to sand everything down while the clean up crew went to work.

James built a frame for the cover while I was sanding; to finish things up we painted and put a handle on the cover.

In the "after" picture we took last year, the paint looks way more blue than it really is; so, you can have a much more accurate look at it in the last photo. It'll be interesting to see what the movers think when we show them what needs to be packed up and sent to the next duty station... But I'm sure it'll be fine; after all that work, it has to, right?

We also recently replaced our tall, two-seater patio table and chairs with a much more family-friendly picnic table. Once we settled on a paint color - grenadine, they called it, but tomato red is what we were going for - and gathered all of our supplies, we disassembled the table and gave it a fairly quick sanding-down (paying special attention to all corners and potentially injury-prone spots). After wiping everything down to get rid of the dust, we got to work and started to see some serious progress:

We used a paint with built-in primer, and we did three coats for even coverage and (hopefully) long-lasting protection of the wood. And we, of course, had a very willing and eager helper:

Time to clean up and reassemble!

That bright pop of color looks so happy out there, I just love it. And here's what it looks like now, as you walk out of the back door:

That door on the right is to a little storage shed, which is where we store most of our tools, wood, lawnmower, etc. To the left of the galvanized tub is where James's grill goes; it's busy at a friend's house at the moment. Next to the door (above the tub), I'd love to put a pretty big piece of "art." I've got something in mind already, and I can't wait to see it become a reality - and to show you when it does!

Our green, green grass was not so green last year; apparently, watering it goes a long way. Who would have thought? (You would have? Well, forgive us for being a little slow around here...) We didn't even need to seed the bare spots! Now, it's no longer crunchy under our feet when we put laundry out on the line. Success!

That yellow thing hanging on the fence on the left? That's James's 25 cent sprinkler. Talk about a deal!

We love having a backyard, and can't imagine ever not having one again. Especially with kids; this is by far one of AJ's favorite places to be, and we love that with the fence he can come and go as he pleases. You never know when there's a gecko to be found out there!

Come On In... Our Living Room

Welcome back! So, when we first showed you inside, you came in the front door and saw the hallway into the living room. Here's where that hallway ends:

This side of our living room is home to the kids' desk and our desk, as well as the television and cabinet, which also serves as a train table.

Fortunately, everything we had from our last apartment ended up working really well in this space. Everything you see here, we had already:

I love having a little shelf above our desk. Not only does it keep our pens out of AJ's reach, but my favorite/most referenced/current reads are right at hand, too.  Some I wholeheartedly recommend: Kisses from Katie, Ina May's Guide to Childbirth, Last Child in the Woods, Crazy Love, and The Irresistible Revolution. The cool little statue was a deployment souvenir given to James by his brother, and that beautiful little bowl James brought back for me from his recent trip to the Philippines.

The kids' simple desk is much-used and well-loved; James just painted a piece of quality wood from Home Depot and hung it with three heavy duty L-brackets that are supported by anchored screws. The chairs we got incredibly discounted from West Elm, and the art I found for free online and printed on card stock at home. (The exercise ball doesn't usually reside there, but it's out for use as a labor ball and it may be needed in the very near future!)

Looking across at the opposite side of the room:

The rug we found on clearance at the NEX Home Store when we first got here, and we replaced our glass coffee table with the ottoman several months ago, and are so happy with the change. It's much more functional for our family, since it serves as an extra seat/play surface, and it's much harder to injure yourself on (an important consideration for a crazy two-and-a-half year old!).

James made this shelf to hold AJ's cars and guys over the book sling that I made last year. (Here's the tutorial for the sling, which I found via  the always wonderful Sew Liberated, in case you're interested.) It cost about $6 to build three of these shelves! (Two are upstairs in AJ's room.) James cut an eight foot piece of 1x2 to size, spray painted it, screwed it into the wall with anchors, and super glued caps over the screws. That's it! So simple, and one of our favorite additions to both rooms. The wire basket doesn't normally reside behind the red one (which is for library books), but it's been temporarily relocated to make room on my "bed rest table" on the other side of the couch, which is also usually home to a big lamp. The wagon and blocks were our gift to AJ for his first birthday (from Nova Natural); it's safe to say that they're still among the most played-with toys we have.

From my spot on the couch, you can see where the play kitchen has been temporarily relocated. It usually lives in the corner of the dining room next to the kitchen.

The view from the couch:

This room is where we spend about 75% of our time, so we're really glad that we have a space that really feels like "us," despite the little changes we'd like to make here and there. So, while we still have a few projects and purchases in mind for this area (like backing the glass doors of the cabinet with contact paper, building another shelf for AJ's cars, and adding a few more frames above the small couch for the new members of our family), the living room is definitely the most finished space in the house.

We'll be back on Thursday to bring you out to our (first ever!) backyard. Hope to see you then!

Come On In... Our Dining Room and Kitchen

Welcome back! My wonderful, wonderful husband left everything really clean last night before he came upstairs (after having been at class for four hours that evening... Seriously, wonderful doesn't even begin to describe him), so this morning seemed like the perfect opportunity to take some pictures for you.

I did manage to resist the urge to clean up and put away every little thing that might be out, so here's our space just as we live in it:

As you walk into the house, these rooms are immediately to the left.

Breakfast time - and recycling truck-watching time.

The chairs used to be on each side of the table, but recently someone has been wanting to sit right next to his daddy while he eats (you know, because sitting right on top of Daddy is usually vetoed). So, instead of fighting something so silly, we decided to go with the flow and move things around to work best for us right now.

That big sign on the wall we had made by Andy, who used the words/phrases we came up with to put together a "family rules" sign of sorts. We love that it's personal and one-of-a-kind. Always a good reminder to live well!

On the opposite wall, James built a shelf to hold a few special pictures and family "treasures."

Peeking into the kitchen from the dining room.

This is probably our least favorite room, mostly because there's not much we can do to personalize this space.

Our kitchen has taught us a lot about how we'd like a kitchen in our future home to function (namely fewer cabinets, no corner sink, no dishwasher, and very open to the rest of our home), but we're trying to love it like it is. Bonus: Almost all the lower cabinets also function as play space for the boy.

Speaking of the boy, here he is, finally done with his breakfast. We hope to see you back here in a couple of days!

Come On In... A Peek into our Home

Normally, James and I love having our family and friends over, for a meal, for a celebration, or just to talk, let the kids play, and enjoy the company of those we love. But because most of you probably won't be able to make it over any time soon (is it the 12+ hours of flying?), we thought it might be nice to show you around a little bit.

We live in base housing, so like an apartment there's little we can do in the way of changing/improving many things, but we've put a lot of effort into making this house a home we love to be in. We still have quite a few things in mind for different parts of the house, but we're really learning to enjoy it even in the in-between stages.

We'll be back every few days or so to show you around, and share a little bit about what we've been up to around here. We hope you'll enjoy it!

Come on in, won't you?

Someone's waiting to welcome you in...

It looks like your tour guide has disappeared, unfortunately. But, this is our hallway.

Our downstairs bathroom, which is right inside the door, used to look like this.
(Minus the command hooks and curtain rod, we added those.)

It's a little bit better now...

And that curtain conveniently hides our washer and dryer when we have people over.

Back out into the hallway... (Your tour guide seems easily distracted back there. Remember that when you're tipping.)

We like to keep some of the cards and photos up that make us smile.

These prints, on the opposite wall, might be one of my favorite things in the whole house. (Disclaimer: One print on their site has language that is not child-friendly. Don't click with a little reader behind you!)

We'll be back in a few days to show you "around" the dining room and kitchen. (I say "around" jokingly, as just peeking your head in will give you a view of the whole space. But around we'll show you anyway!)

Hope to see you then!