Monday Love

This weekend our adventure rested in the bottom of a paint can!  New floors are being installed in the house but before they are I wanted the walls painted.  I mean...my luck is the kind that we would put down the floors and I would drop a gallon of paint on them....OHHHH NOOOOO!  I want no parts of that.  So we spent the weekend taping and painting our living room and dining room. 

They actually are coming today to put in the floors.  I am so excited!!!  And the good news about us painting...I am in LOVE with the color.  And that is a darn hard thing for me.  It's NOT turquoise so for me to love it anyway is close to a miracle.  The even better news is that the room only took one coat, I bought enough for two coats.  Now I see visions of my bedroom in the exact same shade of gray!  Happy Monday peoples!  Hope the week is starting off right for you. 

The Semi-Make Over

So yesterday you saw my kitchen and the change I put it through.  I told you I also updated a few looks in the rest of the house and would share them today...so here you go.........

New mirror for the entry

New couch

New bookshelf

Same table (since Christmas)

Just changed the setting

An ALMOST new kitchen/Why I've been away

When Mark and I moved in together I bet he had NO idea what he was getting himself into!  I like changing my "space" and I like DIY type projects.  Actually I don't really like DIY as much as I like saving my money and doing what I can myself and leaving the harder projects to the pros ;-)  I've been checking out blogs, on line articles and asking my friends lots of questions about painting cabinets...because our needed a new look.  They were in fairly good shape but they just looked old and out dated and made the kitchen seem dark.  I changed the counters the first year I lived here but that didn't fix the dark look...I painted the walls and then had the walls re-painted (thanks little sister) but that didn't fix the darkness...The floors came next and still the kitchen was not what I wanted.  I knew it was the cabinets but I didn't want to have to paint those suckers.  Finally after much talk and me dragging my feet for over a year I decided what-the-heck.  I had the time off so I might as well get it done and over with!

Found an old picture of the DARK cabinets

First I removed all the doors, sanded and cleaned all of our doors, primed them, painted them, covered them with a sealer and finally Mark rehung them for me.  This process took a couple weeks total.  That was due to the fact that 1.  You can't prime or paint but so many coats in one day.   2.  I was still working part time so had to actually go do that.   3.  We ARE the Busy Bryants so life didn't stop just because I threw our kitchen into chaos. 

A couple things I will just put out there...I used Kilz Premium primer on everything that I was going to paint, I used Behr paint from Home Depot but a Sherwin Williams color (Alabaster) for my paint and I covered everything finally with many (many) coats of Deft Aerosol Sealer.  I used the same door handles as before but did change the hinges.  The hinges ended up being the part I called Mark in on ;-)

For the final thing I did add a new piece to the kitchen...a center cart for more storage.  Already had one but it was smaller/darker.

During the chaos

After :-)

There are still a few things that will get changed.  Like a new sink, a back splash, and stainless steel fridge/stove to match the microwave and dishwasher.  But I'm in no rush to tackle those things just yet!  Since the kitchen was getting so much attention the rest of the house felt neglected.  So I did a few minor things to change up the rest of the house.  I'll share that tomorrow. 

Where in the world?

Bet you've been wondering where in the world we've been?  Or maybe you haven't!  The Busy Bryants have been busy but it's not really because we've been anywhere.  We've been busy doing the end of the school year stuff and working on a few house projects. 

At one point THIS was the kitchen

Happy to say....they kitchen is done!

There has been time for crafting........

And I planted a fairy garden :)

Now that the major projects are done....time to start new ones....hahahahah.  Just kidding.  Nothing major in the works for now.  So I should be back to some normally scheduled blogging starting this week.  Hope the summer is treating you well!

An Attitude of Gratitude Day 11

It's true what they say.....there is NO place like home.  After a nice weekend packed with family, food and adventure I am ever so happy to be back in our humble abode.  And today, Day 11 of An Attitude of Gratitude, I'm very thankful for my little home that could.  It's not big by any means and there are times we feel like we're walking on top of each other just trying to get around.  But I wouldn't change it for the world.  Well actually I would change a few things and I have changed a lot since I moved in....but I wouldn't give up our home right now for anything.  It's my little cottage in the ghetto...haha. 



In the spring it's full of blooms

In autumn we get a new carpet of watercolors



And this year we added the fence and some
extra charm to the yard

We've decorated it a time or twenty



It's been messy at least....daily :-/

And through all of that (plus a ton more) our house is simply....our HOME.  So many wonderful things go on under our roof.  We laugh, cry, shout, argue, laugh some more and take comfort in the fact that if we need someone all we have to do is turn around....cause no doubt there isn't enough room to get out of the way!  


The Dogs Days Are Over

And now were just waiting out the last hot days before the coolness sets in.  Or are we?  Who knows in Virginia.  What I can tell you is that with the recent moisture my plants are looking nice and I'm trying to get in as much outdoor time as I can. 



My favorite plant in the garden :)







Cooler weather is scheduled to come in over the weekend.  We'll be further north in NOVA so I'm sure I need to go ahead and pull down the coats and jackets from the attic.  While I'm at it I might dust off a few good soup and chili recipes.  What are you doing with these first days of autumn?  What is the weather like in your part of the world?

The Secret Garden

Finally got the fence in this week...and have been spending time outside in the yard ever since :)



See that rusty old chain link fence?

The old fence has been up around this house since before Mark bought the house....102 years ago!  Ok not really THAT long but it sure was starting to look like it.  The posts holding the fence up had rusted so bad in some places they were broken off at the bases.  The fence was dying a slow death!  We knew we needed to replace it and replace it we did!




The new fence :)



The other side of the house



From the inside (I just planted that little Japanese Maple last year)



Along the very back we put up a privacy fence

Now I feel like the yard is done....done in that most of the stuff that needed fixed or bought is done.  Emma can play in the yard without fear of the fence collapsing and I won't worry when Buster jumps on the fence for his daily hot dog from the neighbor.  And all my pretty flowers can just grow in peace :)



This picture still has the OLD fence in it....can't wait to see it next year!



Emma's very own princess house

Now if I can just get it to rain soon so that all the beautiful things in the yard don't die!!!  It's blazing hot outside and everything is burning up!  Maybe time to perfect that rain dance!



Monday Love

Weekend, OH weekend....where did you go and why did you go so quickly?  Because of commitments to a few projects The Busy Bryant's stayed close to home this weekend.  There was an old chain link fence to take down so that a new fence can go up, two soccer games, a formal dance for Christy to go to, a race for Tommy to run and the M.O.M. project I was volunteering with.  Busy weekend indeed. 

I stole a minute here and there to relax out in the 'secret garden'

I know that this week will be just as busy as the rest.  Sports dinner for Tommy, a night at the theater with Mark, a new fence going in sometime.....It. Never. Slows. Down!  Hope your Monday is off to a great start and the week is looking good for you.