2017 House Goals

It's 2017! Can you believe it?!

I hope your holidays were full of love, laughter, and a whole boat load of cookies. In case you're wondering...no, we didn't get an early Christmas present. I'm still pregnant. VERY pregnant actually. We've got about 3 weeks to go now and we're ready for her any day now. If she decided to show up a little earlier than expected, no one would mind!

I'm so excited for a new year (and a new baby - duh!) but before we get started let's have a little heart to heart...ok?

I'm coming up on my 2 year blogiversary at the end of the month and am still trying to figure it all out. Can't you tell? Trying to find balance between the job that pays my bills and the blog is something that I've obviously failed at these past 2 years but it's definitely something that I really want to focus on in the coming year. I don't know exactly what I expected when I published my first post back in 2015 but I think I thought it was going to be easier.

#realitycheck

It isn't. Blogging is hard. Like real hard.

It's hard to find time to photograph our house when all my daylight hours are spent away from it. It's hard to sit down at night and blog when all I want to do is cuddle up with my guy and binge watch something on Netflix. It's also hard to blog when you're 37 weeks pregnant and sleeping just sounds so much more enticing than editing photos. It's.just.hard.

But you know what? I love blogging too.

When I actually dedicate time to photograph our house, or a project, and blog about our life and what we're doing - it brings me so much joy. I want more of that in 2017. Don't you? Don't we all need more joy in our lives? The answer is yes.

The feedback I receive here and on Instagram from total strangers who stumbled upon my itty bitty blog is pretty awesome too! #somanythanks. But let's also address the giant elephant in the room in my belly. This baby is coming quickly (we hope) and I honestly don't know how that will affect the blog. I hope to take a few weeks off to enjoy her newbornness but I also hope to get back at it and not let the silence linger too long here. 

To start out 2017 on a good foot, I wanted to share a few house goals we'd like to focus on in the coming year. With a new baby arriving any day, I'm intentionally keeping the list short hoping that the less ambitious I am now will translate into success at the end of the year. #noshame

Our 2017 House Goals:

Living Room + Built-Ins

To refresh your memory, let me remind you what our living room looked like on move in day:

A little after moving in we closed off that doorway you see on the left in the photo above: 

And we sorta lived with this situation ever since...

So blogger-y, right?!

But this year not only do I want to finish this space off...I really want to focus on the wall opposite our couch. We're DIYing a 12 ft wall of built-ins! Oye!

The cabinets arrived just before Christmas and we've already made some progress that I can't wait to share!

Guest Bath

Our guest bath looks pretty much the same as it did when we first moved in. Aside from throwing down a rug and putting up a shower curtain, it's still horribly ugly and in need of attention A-SAP.

We already replaced the toilet. We purchased a new sink + vanity combo over the summer during an Ikea sale which puts us ahead of the game already! 

Now all we need to do is figure out when the best time is to tackle this sorry excuse of a bathroom because baby's gonna need a bath!

Bedroom #2 - Little Lady's Room

With a new baby arriving any day I really want to complete this room for the other special lady in our life. My step-daughter stays with us part time and it's really important that she has a finished room she loves and can escape to during those first few crazy newborn months.

So far the room has received new flooring, baseboards, molding, and a fresh coat of paint but it still has a long ways to go. We have plans to add a hanging chair in the corner of her room for the avid reader that she is and add in plenty of pops of color to reflect her spunky personality!

Oh, and don't worry...a proper bed frame is on the to-do list too!

Nursery (Bedroom #3)

The now nursery was used as an office by the previous owners and we've been hard at work over the last few months to get this room baby ready. It's actually about 90% complete already as we're just waiting on some art work and waffling between adding doors to that opening or leaving it as-is for now.

Does that mean I'm cheating because I'm adding a nearly finished room to our 2017 house goals list?! Probably. But I don't care. I need all the help I can get...LOL.

Whether we add doors or not, this room will probably be the first in the list above that'll get revealed here on the blog and I can't wait to show you how it turned out!

So? What do you think?!

These 4 spaces complete my 2017 house goals list and I hope you're just as excited about the year ahead as we are! We've already made great progress in 3 of the 4 rooms on this year's list and I can't wait to see what we get accomplished this year and are able to look back on 2017 with success.

Till then...it's #babywatch2017!

A Little Bit of This...

Welcome back to another week of renovation progress over at the casa! 

With most of the major demo (and dust) behind us on Day 1 and Day 2 of this remodel, we could finally turn our attention to things a little more appealing to this DIY-but not manual labor-loving girl. Like paint! And hardware! Pretty things! Gimme all the heart eyed emojis puhlease!

But first: dumping all that construction debris. #boring!

After the floor demo was completed we were left with all the demo debris and no real way to dispose of them. I'm kicking myself because I never took a picture of the giant pile of tile we tore out! Our original thought was to rent a dumpster through our local waste management company but without a decent sized area to park the size dumpster that was recommended, and the weight limitations on the size dumpster our small driveway would accommodate, we had to find another solution.

We contacted the contractor who quoted us $1700 to demo and dump to see if they would be willing to dispose of the material for us but they weren't interested (I don't blame them). After running into dead end after dead end, we started inquiring with companies that specialized in large item disposal. 

We had one company out and got an estimate upwards of $600 to haul away all our debris and at that point we were beginning to second guess our decision not to hire the whole thing out for $1700. But if I've learned anything so far in this entire renovation process, it's to never take the first quote and always shop around!

So we did.

The 2nd company that we called out quoted us $500 right off the bat. Seeing as they were already cheaper than the first company, we were willing to consider them. We asked if they would take $400 (it never hurts to ask), they said they couldn't but would do it for $465. S and I both gave each other a look, not wanting to wait any longer to get rid of this junk, so we said "DEAL"!

They got to work right away and as we watched them for a few minutes, we started to feel bad that they were out there sweating in the hot sun tossing our junk. Plus - throwing tiles down below into the bed of their truck looked super fun too! 

So we put on our work gloves and decided to lend them a hand. With the 4 of us it only took about 30 minutes to get all the debris loaded up in their big red truck.

After we had everything loaded they let us know that we had nearly 3 tons worth of material. Wow! I'm glad we decided to hire these guys instead of trying to haul this by ourselves! The best part? Because we lent a hand and saved them some time they decided to pass the savings onto us and we ended up paying $400 after all! #allinaharddayswork

When all that demo mess was finally GONE it was full steam ahead to painting. You may have seen here in this Instagram post that we tested out some different grays on the wall and you guys! The right gray is so hard to choose (more on that in a future post).

Once we I eventually decided on a color and I slapped on a coat of paint in the main living area over the course of a lazy afternoon. Still haven’t decided on paint for any of the bedrooms, bathrooms, or sun room. Indecisive party of one?

See that white bit of wall down at the bottom? The result of the best decision ever! Because we're installing new baseboard and crown means no cutting in! Makes painting almost enjoyable. #isaidalmost

After our little painting party I turned my attention to the interior doors. They were in rough shape and just your typical builder grade slab doors – totally unfancy. And in total need of some attention.

We didn't exactly have a whole lot of extra money (read none) in the budget to outfit the entire house with all new doors (that actually matched) so we DIY-ed our way to what will be some fabulous looking doors. #ifidosaysomyself

Here’s a little sneaky peak:

 

Then when all the fun was over we got schooled in all things "home owner". See that guy there? With that fancy saw thingamajig? Yeah...he's cutting out our soggy drywall that resulted from an upstairs leak. Cool. And mold? Real cool.

And that about brings you up to date on the home-reno front. Things have been slow moving this last week but we did manage to install a new toilet. And it was equal parts gross and hilarious! We're chipping away at that to-do list little by little each night but there's still a whole lot of not-so-fun things to tackle before the fun stuff can begin.

Living in a construction zone is starting to take it's toll. Living without any furniture, TV, any real kitchen stuff has forced us to get creative. Have you been here too? How did you survive? Suggestions welcome and WANTED!

More on that later. Till next time...

Life Lately

Hi there!

Stopping by today for a little life lately update and I'm stupidly excited to share some much needed good news! We're already well into 2016 and even though the blog has been quiet, everything behind the scenes has been quite the opposite.

I was sick the entire month of December - so sick that I think I took more days off from work in that one month than I did the entire year. It was no joke, and no fun. 

We rang in the New Year quietly at home and if you follow me on Insta, you may have seen this shot that I posted shortly after midnight:

That one glass of champagne gave me a killer headache the next day and my sick body just couldn't hang - #itsuckstogetold

Speaking of getting old...2 weeks into the new year had me celebrating the big 3-oh-no! Yep...I've officially left my twenties but this present from the love of my life makes the milestone a little more bearable:

Going to Costa Rica has always been at the tippity top of my bucket list and I can't believe that that sweet man of mine is making all my dreams come true - #howluckyamI ?

But besides all the holiday and celebration hoopla - we've been knee deep in another huge milestone that's kept us busy day and night. Any guesses what it might be? 

WE'RE BUYING A HOUSE PEOPLE!!!!!

Can you tell how excited I am about it? Ecstatic doesn't even come close!

We started looking in the beginning of January and it's been full steam ahead ever since. And I can happily report that after 3 failed offers we finally got an accepted offer on a property that we absolutely love and are about a week into escrow!

The home buying process has been a complete learning curve for me. Luckily for me, my guy has purchased a home before so thankfully he knew all the right questions to ask and has a black belt in negotiation. Hi-ya!

If all goes well, escrow will close at the end of February and I will officially own my very 1st home! Losing our girls last September really took a toll on us emotionally and it feels good to have something to look forward to and be excited about again. After all we've been through, we needed this. 

As far as the blog goes, DIY and home decor posts will be basically non-existent until we're settled in at the new place (eek!!). I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I am to embark on this next chapter of our lives and of course document it all here on the blog. It's like all my dreams are coming true getting to pick out paint, flooring, tile - who gets excited about baseboards and trim? This girl!

Meanwhile, I'm surrounded by boxes and it's making me twitch. Help a girl out won't you please, and come pack for me? Pretty, pretty please!

I spy a little kitty...

Spackle - the best looking table decor I ever did see...

I have a few posts lined up about some insight into the home buying process as well as some packing/moving tips too - because after moving 4 times over the last 6 years, I ought to know! So be sure to stop by again this week and look for those posts to come!

2015 in Review

It was this time last year when the blog dream really blossomed and started to become a reality. My sweet, sweet guy gifted me with the laptop that I use today to edit photos and write these posts. And on the other end, my mom gifted me with a brand new DSLR camera. It’s as if they were both pushing me towards what they knew I always wanted to do. They believed in me enough to invest in my dream and it was time that I believed in it too.

Armed with the tools that enabled me to chase after my dreams, I had no excuse not to try.

So here I am…almost one year later and even though I hit a few bumps along the way, I’m still chasing after it. I’ve come a long way but still I still have so much to learn.

Has my blog been as successful as I want it to be? No. Do I have as many readers as I had hoped I’d have? Not even close. But that’s OK. This blogging business is a beast. I never knew just how intense it was or how much there is to know about growing, promoting, or maintaining a successful blog / brand. It’s insane. But I’m eager to learn.

As 2015 comes to a close, I wanted to take a moment to recap the past 12 months and share some of my favorite posts and projects from 2015.

Ready for the trip down memory lane?

January was my first foray into the blogosphere and you saw me organize our entryway closet. It was a #hotmess but I’m proud to say that the organizational systems I installed almost a year ago are still going strong and this post almost a year later is proof.

Things picked up speed in February when I debated some entryway options to piggy back off the recent entryway closet makeover, I showed you how I make my bed like the hotels do, and tackled another organizational project when I tackled our coffee table drawers.

In March I shared a few quick and simple ways to update your gallery wall frames, shared a yummy recipe for Jamaican Jerk skewers, and turned a garden stool into a use able end table.

April had me really inspired and you saw me share how I turned some cheap-o Ikea curtains into a pair of pom-pom trimmed beauties. I also turned some souvenir paper coasters from a Vegas trip into a set of coasters that are hit with everyone who stops by.

Things slowed down in May after finding out that we were pregnant and preparing for a Hawaiian vacation but I still managed to squeeze in a quick little project for dollar store vases.

After returning from Hawaii in June, I tackled a fun and easy update for a mirror turned bar tray and let you guys in on a few minor changes going on in the living room.

July saw Part 2 of those living room changes and then pregnancy set in and I needed some time off to adjust to all the life changes.

Behind the scenes – August was such a happy month. We had our gender reveal party and announced to our friends and family that we were expecting identical twin girls! It felt so good to let that cat out of the bag after so many months of keeping such a big secret!

September wasn’t as happy. At 22 weeks we lost our girls and took the next little bit to recover from all we had just been through.

In November, I re-emerged and so did the blog. Blogging and pouring my heart and energy into creative and positive outlets has really helped ease the pain. With Thanksgiving just around the corner I shared 10 yummy recipes to try this year, made the easiest pillow covers ever, finally shared about our loss and how we’re coping, and shared a few quick and super simple home hacks here and here.

With December closing out the year the entryway finally got a re-do and this time I think I got it right! After I showed you how to make the easiest pillows ever last month I shared how to make the easiest console table too.  You saw holiday home tour and the perfect New Year’s cocktail for cheersing (I totally just made up a word).

Whew! I think that about does it. At times it doesn’t always feel like I’m accomplishing a whole lot over here but when you compile it all in one place, it makes me feel a tad bit better.

So after all that…what can I say about 2015?

It taught me so much. Mainly about the depths of and the capacity to love.

And how excruciatingly painful loss is.

But I’m more resilient than I ever knew I could be.

So many of my feelings about 2015 center solely on our loss on September 21^st. It’s a day I will never forget and one that has forever changed me. Perhaps my feelings about 2015 are biased because of that event but so much before that day seems so insignificant now. I loved 2015 but I hated it too.

My girls were born.

And then they died.

It’s a heavy memory to carry but one I will always be proud to call my own. 2015 did a number on me.

Here’s to a better 2016! I’m looking forward to the future, growing this blog, and chasing my dreams.

No matter how much I’ve lost this past year, I’ve gained so much more because of it.

Cheers, my friends! See you next year!!

September 21st, 2015

This post has been sitting in my drafts, unpublished for quite some time. Originally it was meant to explain the blog-silence that occurred shortly after my last post on July 1st and while it still aims to do that, I come here today under very different circumstances to explain exactly what's been going on and why I've M-I-A for quite some time. For those near and dear to me, they already know, but for the few readers who pop in occasionally to check in or have asked where I ran off to (thank you) - this post aims to answer it all.

It's taken me quite some time, a month to the day in fact, to feel OK enough to be able to open up and share what's happened over the last few months. Even as I sit here and type this post, I'm overwhelmed with emotion and unsure if I can even make it through without crying. But I have to try.

Here's to trying.

At the end of May, we found out that we were expecting. We stood outside the bathroom door and waited the few agonizing minutes for the test to decide whether our lives were about to change. When the time was up, I remember being so scared to look. I don't know why I was so scared. I wanted this so bad. I knew in my heart of hearts what the results would be, so I think I was just scared that I was mistaken.

But mistaken, I was not. We were pregnant!

In June, at 9 weeks pregnant, the OB confirmed the pregnancy, and during the ultrasound found not one but two little white blobs on the screen. I was absolutely shocked and could barely wrap my mind around the idea that not only were we pregnant...we were having twins. Immediately after the twin discovery, the following weeks and months were a whirlwind of appointments, blood tests, and ultrasounds. Sometime during the early weeks of pregnancy, it was determined that our babies were identical - two separate sacs separated by a very thin membrane but they shared a placenta. The doctors explained all the risks and concerns regarding an identical twin pregnancy (pre-term labor, low birth weight, TTTS, etc...) but none of it could curb our utter excitement!

In the weeks that followed we spent countless hours researching anything and everything we could regarding identical twins...we Googled, read articles and blogs, we watched hours upon hours of vlogs posted by other twin mamas, and by the end of it, we knew the risks of an identical twin pregnancy, but also knew the immense joy and just how lucky we were to be chosen to carry these precious babies.

During this time blogging took a backseat. Between being overly tired and adjusting to my changing body, my brain was focused only on the babies. Not to mention that our lives were changing by the minute. In a matter of weeks, our 2 bedroom apartment, our vehicles, and our wallets, were all going to need a major upgrade in order to accommodate these two new lives.

We determined that we most definitely needed to move into a bigger place and blog-wise, it didn't make sense to blog about home projects when we'd be packing up and moving in a matter of months. Since we fund all our own projects, throwing money at projects just didn't make financial sense when in a few short months, we'd need two of everything. I could've blogged about moving, life changes ( I did allude to it here), nursery plans (which were well underway), but we hadn't yet revealed our news so it sorta left me with nothing to blog about and simply a pregnancy to enjoy. So I did.

We waited the recommended 13+ weeks before telling a single soul our happy news and in those early weeks it was the best kept secret that only we knew and could celebrate in. Keeping the secret those 13+ weeks was so, so hard and made even more difficult given that I had the Hawaii trip planned at the beginning of June and was surrounded day and night by my Mom and sister.

One weekend after the 1st trimester we gathered everyone around and shared the good news but only told my Mom that we were expecting twins. We decided early on that we didn't want to share the twin news with anyone by my Mom until we found out the gender and could reveal both surprises at once. We thought it'd make for an extra special reveal. So we swore Mom to secrecy and did our best to keep the secret for the next 8 weeks.

During those 8 weeks it was all baby, baby, baby. Entering into our 2nd trimester I was more tired than ever and getting bigger and more uncomfortable as each day passed. Blogging was hardly a thought in my baby brain.

At the end of August we found out that we were expecting two little girls. And on September 5th, surrounded by our closest friends and family, we revealed our biggest surprise to date...not one but TWO baby girls! Our family hasn't had a new baby in over 10 years. They were elated. My grandma almost had a heart attack. It was that epic. And we caught it all on tape.

It was after our reveal party that I drafted my original post. Intent on re-entering the blog world and dive right in to all things baby - the big reveal, the upcoming move, nursery plans, nursery progress - the whole shebang!

Unfortunately none of that happened. From there everything change so fast. As quickly as it changed the day we found out that we were pregnant, it was all about to change again.

On Friday, September 18th during a routine ultrasound, we were told that our girls had Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS)...something they warned us about very early on. Without going into major detail, because the babies shared a placenta, Baby B was falling behind weight wise. Baby A was getting more of the nutrients which at the time, resulted in a 22% discrepancy in their gestational weight. If left untreated, it would only get worse. This site does a great job at explaining all the risks and concerns regarding TTTS. Bottom line was that things were bad, if left untreated would only get worse, so we had to do something ASAP. They discussed a few different options but ultimately decided that I needed surgery to laser the connecting blood vessels of the placenta to give these babies a fighting chance. The surgery was scheduled for the upcoming Tuesday. It wasn't a guarantee but it was the best option we had.

This is where things get hard for me.

Late September 19th (Saturday) I called the doctor after being concerned that I was leaking fluid and was told to go to the hospital immediately. We did. At the hospital they confirmed that not only was I leaking fluid but that my water had broken. I was 21 weeks and 5 days pregnant. We were told that both babies wouldn't survive and weren't viable this early in the pregnancy. That if they lived, they would be faced with a lifetime of problems and complications. 

We asked so many questions. We begged. We pleaded. We got angry. We cried. We prayed. We cried some more. We were out of options.

On September 21st at 12:37 AM I delivered Baby A and at 12:40 AM, Baby B was born. Miraculously, both girls were born alive. Baby A weighed 388.6 grams and Baby B weighed 302.8 grams. A few short hours after they were born, we lost them.

In the month since every day has been a challenge. I miss them every. single. day. Every day. We wanted them so badly. With every fiber of our being, we wanted them.

My heart aches for them. My mind desperately clings to every detail of their sweet faces and every second that we had with them because I don't want to forget. I can't forget. They deserve to be remembered. They deserve so much more than I was able to give them and it kills me that I couldn't protect them and keep them safe. I'll never be able to hold them, love on them, or know what their personalities would've been like. I'll never see them grow up, what they would've achieved, or see their bond between one another - but I can imagine.

Life will never be the same but we're slowly learning how to live life after babies. It's hard. Extremely hard. Some days are good and some days are really, really bad. I never know waking up whether today will be a good day or whether it'll be a day where it's nearly impossible to hold back the tears. And when the good days come, I feel guilty. Guilty for laughing and smiling, when clearly, I should be sad.

Walking into the hospital pregnant and leaving the hospital not pregnant and without your babies is something my brain is still trying to comprehend. It messes with you.

But I'm getting through. Together we're getting through. One day at a time. One foot in front of the other...sometimes hour by hour.

I don't know why this happened to us but through this massive tragedy I have learned so much. SO much. I may not know why this happened but what I do know is this:

I am loved - very, very loved. And for that, I couldn't be more humble or grateful.

I am strong - stronger that I ever knew I could be.

I am a Mom - those two precious girls made me a Mom. For however short they were here, they will always be mine and I will always be theirs.

I am blessed - through this I have seen just how great a man I have. Through it all, he never left my side. He was kind, and gentle, and was my rock. Never ever have I loved him more than I do today.

So what's next for me? For us? For this blog?

Honestly...I don't know. For a person who's always had a plan, a vision, a road map all laid out for the future, for the first time in forever, I don't know where I'm going and I'm OK with that. Or at least I'm trying to be. For all the bad that's happened over the last month, I'm really just looking forward to the good and hope it's right around the corner. We could use it.

Personally...I just want to get back to the things that make me happy and focus on that. The girls would've wanted it that way. So for me that means surrounding myself with friends, family, and blogging about my favorite past time - home decor and DIY. It's these 3 things that make my heart happy even when it hurts so bad. So bear with me while I ease back into life, ummmk?