A home tour promise

I am putting this up so that I can commit to figuring out how to put a home tour tab on my blog.  That is the first thing I look for when I look at any home blog, and I really want to get that set up.  I partially finished another room this weekend to add to it as well.  Of course I didn't remember to take before pics, but baby girl's room went from builder white white white, to Sweet Baby Girl pink ;)  I have to convince darling to put together a shelving unit tonight (ooh, it is getting late too) and organize her room tomorrow, then I can take pics, and hopefully upload the last 5 or 6 weeks of photos and get them over here!

Kitchen plans

Did I really miss all of July?  Oops. 

So my new kitchen in my new house is all of 1 yr old, and I want to tear it out.  I have such regret about it.  Sigh.  I blame all the blogs I read.  At the time we were building I didn't know I would have liked to have wood floors in the kitchen, or white white cabinets, etc etc.  But the reality is we spent many many thousands of dollars on our tile floors and wood cabinets thinking that we would never want to change them.  Hmm.

Well, what I can change is the counters for sure.  That was the one place we skimped, so it is just laminate.  And when those are ripped off, I think the backsplash won't survive, maybe change that, and I am thinking maybe even the cabinets could be painted (but this makes me nervous b/c we have soooo many, and did I mention they were expensive?)

So basically I think the only thing that is more or less NOT changeable is the tile floors.  Ceramic in the color "mushroom"  which is a medium beige with some gray tones in them.  I have an extra cabinet door in the garage, so I think I might paint it white and bring it in to see how the cool white looks against the warm-toned tile.

I have been shopping for counters.  I am thinking quartz or concrete with a butcher block top on the island.  Haven't researched the concrete much yet.  Found some great gray quartz options though....

A few years down the line for sure, but it gives me hope :)  See the original kitchen here, shortly after we moved in.

Think-of-a-dinner Thursday

Thursdays mean groceries are running low and dinner needs some creative thinking. 

Result = Cold Nachos

Tortilla chips topped with leftover (ie cold) grilled chicken, sliced avacado and chunks of jalepeno jack cheese.

Really good, so I am blogging it in an attempt to remember it.

Except even I do not read my own blog.....

Split Personality

I know people often describe themselves as having an ADD design problem, but that isn't my issue.  I have a design split personality, and I can't figure out which one to settle with.

I went into Marshall's yesterday because I was so jealous of all the HomeGoods talk (which we don't have around here.)  I hadn't been in there in about 6 years and didn't have high expectations.  But, I found tons of stuff I loved!  Came home with 4 pillows and 2 mirror-y things (wall art).

But thy conflict with each other.  The pillows are Pottery Barn-looking.  Casual, rustic-y.  The mirrors are so cool (not in perfect shape, but so unique!)  They have a very cool graphic shape and definitely a more modern shape.  I will definitely take photos and add them....sometime.  Have to take the baby to the doctors first.

I don't know, things are feeling disjointed around here.

Summer Project Goals

Need a permanent copy of this so that I don't get distracted.
1. CLEAN UP THE FREAKING GARAGE!!!!!!!!
       a) get rid of junk
       b) paint walls
       c) clean floors/windows
       d) paint step
       e) organize what is left
       f) park at least 1 car inside the 3 car garage

Crossing #1 off the list would be good enough for me, but just for the heck of it, here is the rest of the list
.2. dig out the huge bed in front of the house to use up the huge pile of mulch left over
       a) gravel around all drain spouts

Inside projects that might have to be fall projects
3. kitchen lighting and bar
4. Painting bedrooms

Lots more, but that should keep us busy for a while

A party and a sandwich discovery

I have a hard time eating healthy foods b/c I am so busy with the kids.   Darling hosted a party over the weekend, and of course i didn't get to eat any of the food he made b/c I was so busy getting the kids settled and general hosting duties (but i did find time to keep my wine glass filled!) So, as he was cleaning up the leftovers at 11 pm that night, I was trying to grab whatever I could to eat.  There was not much left, but I tossed together pita wedges, hummus and cucumbers and viola!  Yummy sandwich, pretty healthy!  I am particular about hummus because I don't like garlic (yuck!!) but there is a red pepper variety that Darling buys that I like.  So now it is just a matter of keeping the ingredients on hand...

On another note, I realized that I hate photography.  A key component of all the home blogs I like to read.  So I have no pictures of my yummy sandwich.  Because I didn't think of it til days later.  And then it would have taken me a week to upload them.  And then I would realize it was terrible quality.  Cuz I don't know how to use the camera.  And I don't care to learn.  So, that is a lot of the slowness on this blog, a lack of motivation to deal with the photos.  Hmm.  Something for me to think about....

Family and Powder Room Updates

Finally uploaded some photos that have been sitting in the camera forever.

First, I know that I showed the process of adding the wainscoting to the 1st floor powder room.  I wasn't too sure about it, but I am happy that it is done.  And I really like my Ikea mirror-

 

The other small update is a new rug in the family room.  I had mentioned that I was trying to salvage the rugs from our previous home, but it just wasn't working.  So, we went to pick some new ones, and my 6-year old chose this one-

Cute, fun, and the colors work much better.  Hoping to replace that Fisher-Price side table soon :)