favorite houses

These are two of my favorite houses. I love the way they decorate outside and I love the siding {board & batten and vertical groove cement board} and the color. Some day we will get new siding and I might be brave enough to paint it green. I want to get some closer pictures of the yard.

Being creative will help you enjoy life. It engenders a spirit of gratitude. It develops latent talent, sharpens your capacity to reason, to act, and to find purpose in life. It dispels loneliness and heartache. It gives a renewal, a spark of enthusiasm, and zest for life.

Richard G Scott

{4.2.12.}

our new Kitchen Pantry

We are done with our new pantry. It took a few weeks but it is done and I really like the way it turned out. It makes the kitchen look less cluttered.

 Here is the before picture... with all our junk everywhere. It looks messier in the picture than it did in real life, lol.

 First, we moved the cupboards down the wall and tore out the corner cupboards.

 Then we started building.

 These are our cute little painters... who had lots of fun helping paint.

 What messy hands you all have.

 It's all but finished...

IT'S DONE! 

It really makes the kitchen look less cluttered... although it makes it look smaller. Someday when we get new cupboards... I want to put an island in the middle with a small ladder hanging from the ceiling as a pot rack.... but until then I will just keep dreaming.

{2.25.12}

NEW Carpet!!!

I am thrilled! We finally got new carpet in our living room and I absolutely love it! I thought I might not really like the color I picked out {I have issues with picking colors} but it has been a month now and I still love it. I am so excited, it just makes our home feel a little nicer and our living room look brighter. Once I save up some more money then we can put it in our bedrooms too. I am just all smiles!

BEFORE

AFTER, so much better.

{10.14.11}

{ceiling planks}

Ever since we moved in our house I have wanted to put planks up on the ceiling... so after 4 years, we finally got it done. So far we just put them in the living room and dining room, so we have more to do, but they turned out really good. I am trying to make our house like a little cottage and I think they help with that look {they also cover up the ugly plastic pieces that were on the ceiling}

Before pictures

After pictures

Another project down... many more to go.

{10.3.11}

Metal roof & Awning

One of our family goals for this year was to put on a metal roof... and we didn't want the snow dumping off the roof right onto our porch we decided that we should put an awning over the front door... and then we decided that we should have the awning go all the way to the end of the house so that the walkway would also be covered... but before we put the awning on, it would be easier to pour our cement porch {that I really wanted} and a sidewalk {that Willy really wanted}... so after a few months of construction... it is all finished, and I LOVE IT!!! The porch is so much better {bigger} than our old one, the sidewalk is really nice and our awning keeps the front of the house so much cooler. We have really been enjoying it this summer-fall, and both of us are kind of excited to see how it does this winter.

Its great to make and complete goals... especially as a family.

{9.28.11}

nEw frOnt doOr

Our house is coming along nicely. We have lots done and lots left to do. Willy thinks he is done as soon as we finish putting the metal roof on, but I might need a little help with a few things. I want a new front door and I saw this one the other day on This Old House. I love the windows... it makes the inside a lot brighter... and that is exactly what our living room needs... more lighting. I'm not sure what to do though because our house came with odd sized everything so a regular door wouldn't fit unless we tore out some wall... but if we did that then we couldn't have a screen door because it would be to tall and hit on our awning. Decisions, decisions, decisions.... I really do love this door. We will just have to see what I can talk Willy into...

{7.19.11}

Happy 4th of July!!!

I hope everyone had as much craziness and fun as we did... on this 4th of July.

We had fireworks... that the kids absolutely loved... 

food, food, and more food... including corn on the cob and pork chops...

a picnic up to the mountains... with family...

and lots of work... we put up our awning in almost a day.

I am so excited about our awning... it has already helped cool the house... and I love sitting on the porch... next we put on the metal roofing... and I will be so glad when it is all done.

HOME OF THE FREE, BECAUSE OF THE BRAVE

{7.7.11}

yard... aNd... house {wOrk}

 The grass never grows where I want it to... but it grows all over where I don't want it... this bench, ladder, and vine were getting overgrown... so the kids and I took the truck down to Lue's... where Willy and Caleb have been working... and gathered up two loads of cobble rock... then laid them out around so they would keep the grass down... I hope it works...

 Our old porch was starting to fall apart and it was small and nasty with that outside carpet stuff on it... the cat hair would get stuck to it... it was really gross... so we poured a new cement porch... and I LOVE it!!!... it is wider and we have a sidewalk... now we just have to finish our awning and metal roofing...

{6.29.11}

Utility Room Make-over

 I finally re-did the utility room.
It has been a long awaited and very dreaded project 

that I have been wanting to do since we moved in here.

I was going to take before pictures

but I forgot. 

(it had the white linoleum that showed everything, even the stains)

I painted the walls and put down new linoleum squares...

And I even cleaned it out some.

I like it much better. 

I don't think I ever want to paint it again...

it was a pain, with all the shelves and corners.

I can now check one more thing off my "to do" list.

{4.18.11}

New Additions

Spring, what a wonderful time of year!

It is that time of year for spring cleaning, and we have been doing a lot of it.
We bought a metal storage container a month ago so we have been doing some major cleaning and moving things around. We built shelves so that everything would fit just right and it is so much nicer than having everything covered in sand (which is all we have around here).
Willy took pity on me. We bought a Suburban a few months ago, but it wasn't what I had expected and gets really bad gas mileage. So, when Willy fixed up the horse trailer he just bought and then sold it; he was planning on buying another horse trailer with a tack room in it, but instead he used the money and bought me another minivan. I have a wonderful husband who does so much for us. Now we have to sell the Suburban so he can get another horse trailer (we really are in the buy, sell, and trade business).
I really hate the thought of driving a minivan and I never thought that I would have another one, but they are just soooo nice. They drive like a car, but with plenty of space for the kids.
I love it! and so do the kids.

{5.11.10}