Home Imporvements---At Nini's House!

A while back, I told my mom I would help her remodel two of the bedrooms in her house. She decided to get the carpet ripped out, new hardwood floors installed, and new trim, as well as repaint and remove wallpaper. I can't tell you how amazing it looked once it was all done! She had the color choices narrowed down in each of the bedrooms based on the bed spreads she picked out so all we had to do was patch a few places on the walls, paint the ceilings and walls, then pick out all the fun accessories. I volunteered to make custom window treatments too---just to make it look that much cozier since she wasn't able to find exactly what she wanted.

The pictures really don't do the rooms justice--but you can take a peek anyways! Too bad I don't have before and afters!


The Beach Room
The wall color wasn't exactly what she had hoped for, but turned out to be a perfect compliment to the bed spread! It has a very calming feeling! I just LOVE this room and want to do something similar to the master bedroom in our place in Florida!
The fun accessories we picked out! LOVE those birds!
Adorable lamp and picture frames my mom found. I especially like the 'models' in the photos!


"Lexie's Room". My mom loves primitive, simple decor. The bedspread was a perfect match to an existing picture my mom had. The lamp shade, sheets and curtains all match. The headboard was the perfect compliment to the room--nice job mom!
I love the muted mustard like color on the walls! Simple and stylish!!!
Now, I just need to get cracking on the window treatments for her master bedroom!!!!

New Addition?!?

Russ and I recently closed on a beautiful condo in Farmington Vistas at The Plantation Golf & CC in Venice, FL! My grandparents are probably saying "There goes the neighborhood"...as we are now their 'neighbors'. They have been spending time in Venice for 16 years and after a visit around Thanksgiving...Russ was smitten with the area too. We looked at a few places during our visit, put in an offer on a place where we saw some real potential, it was accepted, and a few days ago finally closed on the unit and took possession this week. Thankfully Gg and Gpa are close by and have provided us with more help than we could have EVER asked for. This weekend was no exception. Gpa rolled up his sleeves and helped Granny, Russ and I around our condo while GG kept the girls entertain (while preparing all of our meals) at their condo! It was a VERY productive weekend thanks to all the hard work everyone put forth! We are looking forward to returning to enjoy the fruits of our labor (though with everything we have 'planned' it may be a while before we can just sit back and relax)! Here are some before and after photos! Enjoy!

This is the INCREDIBLE view from the patio...(I forgot to take before and after pictures of the patio---but hopefully I will get a few 'after' photos after my mom returns from her trip down there this month--hint hint!)
I can't wait to get back and enjoy another sunrise...and all the new plants Gpa and Russ picked out and planted!

Master Bedroom Before


Master Bedroom After (we plan to eventually take down the wall paper, but with everything else that needed to be done--there is no way we could have done that job in one weekend--especially this weekend! We SCRUBBED every inch and EVERYTHING in this room, replaced the sheets, bedding, wall decor and added a few extras)


Master bath before



Master Bath After (spent close to 3 hours SCRUBBING the floors/shower, replaced some of the 'guts' of the commode--possibly replacing the floor of the shower, have plans to strip the wall paper and will be replacing a section of the wall by the shower---this bathroom was so So SO NEGLECTED---but now it is looking a bit better!)




Dining room before

Dining room after (while you can't see the hours spent scrubbing the floor/walls/furniture--and you may not be able to see that we replaced the cushions on the chairs from this picture, it looks REMARKABLY better!)

Dining room 2 after

Guest bathroom before

Guest bathroom after (we painted the walls, hung a new border, curtain rod and shower liner/curtain, towels, bath mat...SCRUBBED the floors, re-caulked around the tub and commode, and are in the process of replacing the 'guts' of the commode---did I mention SCRUB?)
Guest bathroom after view 2

Guest bedroom before

Guest bedroom after (we SCRUBBED the walls, furniture and some of the carpet--though that is scheduled to be professionally cleaned next week...we swapped out televisions, replaced the sheets, bedding and wall hangings with brand new decor and SCRUBBED everything--again, did I mention we SCRUBBED and SCRUBBED and SCRUBBED?!)

Kitchen--not much different--we SCRUBBED the floors, appliances, cabinets, cleaned all the dishes, reorganized the cabinets/pantry

Kitchen-view from breakfast bar (eventually we would like to replace the stove/oven, dishwasher, take down the wall paper possibly replace the cabinets and counter tops---but for now we are keeping it as is)

Living Room before

Living Room after (we SCRUBBED the walls, vacuumed the furniture, replaced some of the decor, purchased a new flat screen, and a tv stand but still need to get a few more pictures for the walls and possibly replace the fan)

Living Room looking toward dining area


I didn't really get any pictures of the enclosed lanai either, but we (GG and Gpa) SCRUBBED the furniture before we arrived, washed the cushion covers of the furniture, we fixed and washed the windows/screens, re-caulked around the widows/baseboards, replaced some of the decor and are in the process of finding new cushions or possibly a sleeper sofa (so we can accommodate more guests).


Check back for more updates-- and thanks again Granny, GG and Gpa! We would not have been able to accomplish nearly what we did without your help!!! We are so grateful and so thankful you were willing and able to help!

You 'bed'a believe it....

Luckily, we never have problems with Lexie (or Olivia for that matter) when bedtime rolls around. Sure there might be an occasional groan or a "can I stay up and watch just a little bit of the Backyardigans---Pleeeease?"...but that is where it ends. Who can blame her for wanting to dive right into her big girl bed---especially since it has new ADORABLE bedding!!!
Thanks to GG and Gpa for this incredibly cute set---it makes her (and her room) feel more like a big girl!


Lexie loves the colors and the characters...especially the owl pillow (she thinks it is a pillow pet)!


Closer detail of the shams and 'pillow pet'. She also got a night light which she calls her 'special little light' that matches the set!


We have a few pictures to put up on the wall to complete the look, but otherwise--her room is PERFECT!

Mother's Day Weekend 2010-Part 2

I was so sore I could barely move, but was so excited since it wasn't raining, and we were sooo close to being done with the girls' swing set! Russ decided to let me have the morning off...so he prepared made to order eggs for everyone--AND cleaned it all up! Before we bundled up to brave the cold temps, he and Lexie presented to me with my mother's day/birthday gift.


What could it be?

This is hysterical...leave it to Lexie!


This was what was really inside the bag...along with a telephoto lens, 4 GB SD card, and a bag to carry it all in!!! I must have been good--really really really good!!!




I used my new present to capture a photo--one of my TRUE GIFTS!!!
I was so excited and wanted to 'play' with my new toy...but duty called--it was time to get outside and finish the play park...

Thankfully, there wasn't much left to do, but unfortunately...we were missing the brackets to install all of the swings! TOTAL BUMMER...but we finished what we could...Lexie sure didn't seem to mind!




Then, the real chore began. We had to clean up the wood pile to load up on the trailer! That was a job! Pulling all the nails out of the deck boards was NO FUN!!!


What a day! Lexie and Olivia LOVE their new 'play park'!!! All the hard work was worth it hearing them laugh and seeing them smile! It was nice to be done for the day and look at the (almost) finished product!!!



After dinner and after we put the kids to bed, Russ and Grandpa made a scrap pile and we had a bonfire! It was nice to sit and relax in front of the fire!

It was chilly outside, but the fire sure was nice and warm!

Perfect ending to the weekend!

Thank you Aunt Allie, Uncle Marcus, Granny, and Grandpa for all of your help! AND A VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY to all of you WONDERFUL MOMS out there! Especially mine!!

Mother's Day Weekend 2010-Part 1

For some, Mother's day/weekend is a relaxing escape...a special weekend free from responsibility and daily chores. For others, it is jammed packed with manual labor. While I was thinking to myself, "what in the world are we thinking trying to get this done on the COLDEST and WINDIEST weekend

Lexie taking an active roll in building her "play park"...she was having so much fun...but boy was it COLD!


Um...this is going to take a while--this is where we are about 2 hours into it--gonna be a loooong day!

Aunt Allie brought Lexie outside again so she could inspect the progress just before we called it quits for lunch. Not too shabby--the deck is done and so is the picnic table!

After our lunch break, we were after it again...


Really starting to take shape! the roof is on...and just in the nick of time, as it started to rain! (Have I failed to mention thus far that the winds were sustained at about 30mph???)

So much done...and by the looks of that wood pile, so much more to do!

Window archways are in and the side "walls" are started!


After working for a few more hours, we took another break to eat some dinner! Even though the weather wasn't conducive for grillin' out, we still fired up the grill for some fillets and scallops! MMMMMMmmmm--if I do say so myself!

Lexie and Grandpa at the dinner table--both with full bellies!
Lexie giving Aunt Allie and Uncle Marcus good night kisses...little did Aunt Allie know she would be putting Lexie to bed--she LOVES her Aunt Allie!
One more picture with Grandpa!
Granny was a HUGE help--she got to stay warm inside with the kids!!! Olivia and Lexie kept her quite busy!!! Here she is with Olivia just before bedtime.
After dinner, it was back to the grind! Only a little bit of daylight left...so we had to keep on keeping on! We managed to get the windows in, the safety handles on, the rock wall assembled and attached and all of the side walls finished! Whew---I am beat!

Birthday Fun

This year I turned a whopping 31 years old! I didn't think much of it until my sister-in-law Debbie reminded me that I am no longer just 30...you know cool...hip...30. I am now 30 something...

I am actually "in" my thirties.

Even that didn't get me down! I have to admit...some of my friends freaked when they turned 25...some at 30, but I am loving life! This year we didn't celebrate with a big surprise party, we didn't go out to dinner (at my request), we stayed home, grilled out, and enjoyed the fruits of our labor!


I recently stained our deck, we bought a grill, and made an outdoor living area! It was perfect! Russ had the day off (from the ER at least...he still had to go to the base for a few hours) so we were able to relax and enjoy the day!

So yep...in my book, 31 is looking pretty good!

I get to wake up to this almost every morning:
(yes that is drool...and sorry ladies, he is all mine!)


I have the most beautiful child on the face of the planet:


AND...another one due any day now!!! YES...GOD IS GOOD!