Silobrating with the Best!

Like every other HGTV-loving American, I love Fixer Upper.  Truth be told, my husband and I started thinking differently about house hunting when we started watching Chip and JoJo. While we knew our skill set was a bit different than the Gaines dynamic duo... it made us approach houses differently and through a different set of lenses. Now, our house is not a "fixer-upper", however I like to think of parts of house being a blast from the past. The 90's are still alive and well in many areas of our sweet little home. 

This brings us to Waco, TX....My best friend just happens to live in Dallas, Texas. In the fall, we were planning a little visit at the end of October and it just so happened that the Silobration would be happening in Waco the same weekend we would be visiting The Lone Star State in October! 

This, my friends, was a no brainer. We packed up the car and made the trek down to Waco. We arrived incredibly early (we couldn't help ourselves), so we had a bite to eat at Twisted Root Burger Co.  We made sure to leave room for the food trucks later, of course. 

We're the four best friends anyone could ever have........ 

 We browsed the Magnolia Market with hundreds of other gawking fans and snagged a few keepsakes to take home. I couldn't leave without a t-shirt (I am my father's daughter!), candle, and one of Jimmy Don's metal signs. 

We listened to Johnnyswim sing, Chip and Joanna share their story (it's possible I may have cried...), and snacked on pizza from food trucks. 

It was an amazing trip and even better because it was spent with people I love the most!

Next on the list? I'm bound and determined to stay in that cute little B&B or I'll settle for Joanna flying to Missouri and being my best friend. 

Curb Appeal

When we bought our house last March, we inherited a pretty ridiculous jungle of overgrown plants lava rocks, and weeds. We gave ourselves the summer to you know... get married... and then we started on the front yard in the fall. 

Up until this point, I had never paid any attention to landscaping. I knew the basics...

"Oh, those are pretty flowers!"

and

"Wow, they should cut their grass."

Those two statements could sum up my knowledge on the subject matter of landscaping. 

The first order of business was to rip out the existing plants. Once spring rolled around, we started to research more about plants and landscaping. Boy, oh boy. My head kind of exploded. My Pinterest board is a great example of how my brain was bouncing around in the subject of gardening. 

We decided to plant a row of Hostas along the house and use Boxwoods under our front windows. I must point out... This decision came after many conversations with other people. 

When we had the old plants ripped out, we were fortunate to find lava rocks hiding beneath (sigh).  In addition to the lava rocks, Mother Nature and Planet Earth left many rocks for us to find as well. However, we made lemonade out of lemons and used the rocks to help us line a path to our backyard. 

We also felt pretty tough after all that diggin'. 

Our trusty 'ol Menards bucket made several trips to the woods with rocks filled to the brim.  (P.S. I did not carry the rocks, my strong husband took care of the part for me!)

The final piece to our landscaping masterpiece (I can call it that, right?) was mulch.  My husband and I were definitely not agreeing on the right number of bags of mulch. This was our conversation:

"I want to buy ten bags of mulch." - Scott
"WHAT! No way." - Me
"Okay... six." -Scott
"Five." - Me
...... Later at the store, I got distracted looking at plants and we rolled out of Home Depot with eight bags. Very sneaky, Scott. Very sneaky.

However, I should have listened because we need more mulch. :)

Moral of the story: Buy all the mulch. You'll need a ton. Also, admit to your husband when you're very wrong on calculating the amount of mulch needed. 

Before... During... After

Viola! What should I plant next....

Read more about our house projects here. 

Shutter + Christmas Cards

A little shutter made its way into our Christmas decor this year! 

 

This faithful little shutter sat un-painted and hidden for the past two years because I couldn't figure out what to do with it.  I even moved it into our new house hoping inspiration would strike one day. A can of red spray paint and glitter blast brought this bland shutter to life. Now it's home to Christmas cards from family and friends. 

We have the perfect spot for the shutter(s) on our landing. I was so excited to keep cards on display showing off cute pictures of family and friends.

Shutter number one is filling up! It's almost time to bust out the second shutter.

Happy Holidays!

A Bench for Bruce

Yes - I'm sitting on the toilet. Awkward.

Let's just take a minute and remember this bathroom. 

Yuck!

Our first house project was ripping down the dreadful wallpaper in this master bathroom. You may remember this post.  I'm standing by my previous statement: Please don't ask me to help you tear down wallpaper. Please! I beg of you. 

Along with the wallpaper, we invested in new faucets, hardware for the drawers, and a new paint job.  My original intention was to spruce up the bench that came with the house. Unfortunately, we thought it would be a good idea to use that bench as a step stool during de-wallpapering and it was destroyed. Oops.  

R.I.P. brass bench. You lived a good life. 

Since then, I've been hunting for a NEW bench. 

My hunt was unsuccessful. 

Yesterday, I was walking around a flea market in my hometown and this bench popped out to me. It pleaded with me to save it. 

$10 later... it was saved!

I started by peeling off the existing cushion. The cushion had been repurposed three times before and had enough dust in it to fill my garage. 

It. Was. Gross. 

I gave the bench a new paint job with spray paint. Then, I picked up a yard of fabric at Jo-Anns, a foam cushion, some batting, and rewrapped the plywood that came with the bench. 

The highlight of this experience was investing in my first staple gun. My crafting possibilities are endless now - thanks to my new ($12) staple gun!

Here's what it looked like in the bathroom before it's little makeover:

And after it's 24-hour makeover!

Let's be honest... 

We all know who is going to take over the bench. The boss - Bruce. 

Did I mention we got a cat? Oh yes, we have a cat now. 

Meow

Hmm.. what shall I staple next?

Paint > Wallpaper

I'm participating in a Starter Stories series by Compass. We all know I've got plenty of stories to share about this home-buying business! Compass is a real estate company that focuses on making renting, buying, and selling a home (in the New York and D.C. area) as easy as pie.

The big question: What did our house need after a good 'ol fashioned wallpaper removal? A fresh coat of paint. See what I a mean? We needed to liven up the place!

While we spent entirely too much of our lives taking down wallpaper, we knew (from the start) we would leave the interior painting to the experts. Now, even though you leave it to the experts... they still expect you to make all the decisions. These decisions are not made for the weak or indecisive. It takes a person with brute strength and quick judgement.  That's why I have Scott. However, I volunteered to go to the paint store and pick out samples. 

This, my friends, was a very complicated day in my life. Let's start from the beginning:

There I was just minding my own business at the paint store. I casually walked in expecting to pick up a yellow here, blue there, toss in a gray for good measure, and then skip off on my merry way. 

As I'm walking around the store, I briefly stopped and checked out the books of wallpaper (because I hear it's back in style...) and then laughed as I threw the book down on the ground and reminded myself, "NEVER AGAIN."

 

^ Also reminded me of one of my favorite SNL Digital Shorts. 

With my casual attitude in tow, I strolled over to the paint chips and stared in amazement at the rainbow before my eyes. I started to sweat a little bit thinking of the paint possibilities. I pulled a few chips of colors I thought I wanted. I requested a few paint samples and sprinted to my car in the pouring rain. Fact: it was actually pouring down rain that day, I felt like it was reflective of my mood after leaving the paint store for the first time.

I took the jugs of paint back to the house and painted a few blocks on the wall. I took a step back and thought, "Ew. What was I thinking?" I asked Scott what he thought and he didn't say much... but his expression said it all. 

It was back to the paint store I went. 

This time, I did some research. We went with a few suggested colors from our contractor and I turned to Pinterest. Anyone who was following me on Pinterest could tell what my focus was that afternoon. Paint colors, Fixer Upper, and more paint. 

I was growing fond of the color "Sea Salt" (possibly influenced by JoAnna) and became so anxious to throw it on the wall. I rushed back to Sherwin Williams and bought samples of Dover White (for our trim), Front Porch (for our upstairs walls), Sea Salt (master bedroom), and Quietude (for our spare room). By this point, I felt pretty confident in my color selection. I even boasted to the Assistant Manager of the store that I had found a great article online informing me that Sea Salt was the new "chameleon" paint color. She looked at my blankly and said, "All colors are chameleon honey." Then she flipped on a switch and cast light on the paint chips. It was like a million chameleons right before my eyes. I didn't say much after that.

Finally, we made decisions and crossed our fingers the colors would look as great as they did in our heads (and on the little tiny parts of the walls we painted). 

Despite all of the back-and-forth with paint colors, it's been quite the treat to pop in the house each evening and watch the house change and become our home. 

Advice From a Wannabe-Professional Wallpaper Removal Expert

Before we get into my very passionate post about wallpaper and my plea to rid it from my vocabulary... I must update you on a few things.

We got engaged!

I said YES on October 18, 2014!

We bought a house!

Closing Day! March 4, 2015

 

 Seriously. We are the happiest two little lovebirds this side of the Mississippi!

Which brings me to wallpaper.

When we bought our house last month, we knew it would need some TLC after sitting on the market for a few years. Walking in the front door was like a blast from the past with wallpaper covering the kitchen, bathroom, and master bedroom. I chuckled when I flipped on the light to the bathroom and saw pheasant-wrapped wallpaper. I giggled some more when I noticed the border lining the master bedroom had gentleman playing cricket.

Cute, huh?

 

Now, because I feel like a professional-wallpaper-removal expert I think it's only fair to share some tips we have learned along the way. This is no way means I want you to ask me to remove the wallpaper in your house. I'm (again) removing the word "wallpaper" from my vocabulary once this little project is finished.

Tip #1: Convince friends to help. Especially when friends bring popcorn and 90's Pandora stations to the table. Seriously. Nothin' better than munching on some popcorn, belting out your favorite Selena ballad, and chatting it up with great friends... oh, and.... pulling wallpaper down.

Friends in high and low places.

Tip #2: Borrow, invest, or scrounge up some tools. Thanks to some great friends, we were able to borrow a scorer and blades to help peel. We also used a big 'ol bucket of water and sponges to soak the wall after scoring. I also need a manicure after this whole process because my fingers are taking a beating. 

 

I spy with  my little eye.... a bucket! a scraper! a scorer! a finished wall!

Tip #3: Take dance breaks. Kick the volume up to 11 when "Shake it Off" or "Uptown Funk" come on the radio and get your groove on. Trust me, it helps ease the pain. 

 

Tip #4: Don't be offended when your dog looks at you with shameful eyes because of the mess you've made. Just remind him that he's not the one climbing on that ladder and he'll be benefiting from this mess as well.

Tip #5: Take before and after pics! It's kind of a no-brainer, but it's really neat to see where you started and the progression of the project. Helps to justify those pats on the back I've been giving myself and Scott.

Before.. Cricket anyone?

After!

Tip #6: Channel your inner Ric Flair and really celebrate those "big ones". You know what I'm talking about. When the strips your pulling off the wall aren't the size of a curly fry... instead they are the size of North America (maybe I'm exaggerating??). 

 

Tip #7 (this is the mushy one): Find someone really handsome and patient to complete the project with. Tearing down wallpaper in multiple rooms has been a complete team effort.Plus, we are ripping out the wallpaper in our home! What could be more special than that? Sure, it totally stinks while you're doing it... but the end result will be fantastic. 

#OldtoNewDuckhead

Enjoy every minute.
Don't call me for help... please.

Sincerely,
Wannabe-Professional Wallpaper Removal Expert