As of last Wednesday it’s a been a whole YEAR since we closed on our home.

We had BIG ideas from the start, and I think we started to tackle them pretty well this first year! I decided we definitely needed to recap our pursuit of sweat equity, so here we go! Pretty much in order…

Lots of these still need posts, coming soon!

 Weekend One – We tackled the tongue and groove tile ceiling in the basement. We are SOO glad we knocked that out right away!

Solved lots of electrical mysteries

Replaced mismatched doorknob with new brushed nickel egg shaped ones.
(That door is now white, hooray!)

Added a shelf above our washer and dryer for cleaning stuff.

We did our budget update on the Master Bath

Got our original tile looking great!

We went wallpaper FREE!

Painted the paneling in the basement as an interim fix. So much brighter now!

Installed our super awesome cast aluminum mailbox sign!

Installed a portable AC in our Master Bedroom, and got an Electric Fireplace for the winter.

We frosted the Garage Windows

Made magnetic garage door hardware so our standard doors look a tad bit more ‘carriage house' (How to coming soon!)

Fixed our 20+ year old Air Conditioner for $7 during the heat wave using pictures and phone diagnosis with our Dad’s

Spent lots of time in the yard (Andrew mostly =) with our new Ryobi tools, backpack blower, electric push mower, and big riding mower…

We fixed our master bath toilet slow leak…

And replaced the whole shower arm in the guest suite…

We replaced our Garage door opener, and added a second one. Adding one was definitely more tricky!

We also reinforced a dent in the garage door and added some weather striping.

We replaced our garage side outdoor light fixtures with some PERFECT $10 Home Depot Clearance ones!

Sewed, Modified, most all of the curtains including making a roman shade.. 2 more to go!

Lots of furniture redos, including painting a laminate dresser, refinishing night stands, and painting a headboard.

Found and purchased patio furniture for both patios, got a cute chiminea, end tables for the living room, a lovely headboard I never see because it’s covered by a sheet because cats love chenille, a Basement TV and a Treadmill (one gets used more than the other…)

Used our new pressure washer…

Added some much needed shelving to the craft room closet, that’s nearly $200 in shelving in order to make it deep! oye!

Lots of work in the dressing room, I was surprised by my wonder Future Mother In Law with the PERFECT desk vanity, I purchased commercial shelving to create a freestanding closet, found a adorable palm beach style chair, and got a deal on my dream jewelry armoire. I painted the bifold closet doors in here as well, and sewed that  roman shade.

Painted doors and wainscoting in the Living Room, painted the closet door in the craft room as well

COMPLETELY Transformed our Kitchen, see the sorta before here. Full recap is coming!

We replaced the faucet, stove, and bought a fridge. Replaced the dishwasher drain hose. Repaired drawers. Replaced a broken ceiling fan with a light. Painted the walls, trim, doors, cabinets, hardware. Replaced the bifold doors for the laundry closet. Added a island, appliance bar, and shelving. Fixed our ancient range hood. Bought a antique dry sink, and pantry door shelves.

Lots more coming up, but still so fun!

This past weekend we celebrated my parent’s 25th Anniversary. Bestie and her new hubby were able to drive up to Maryland from Raleigh for the weekend.

The Happy Newly Weds

Bestie is a card and gift champion so I’ll share her cleaver idea with you.(She writes a ‘mean’ thank you note too!)

She looked up all the major traditional ‘yearly’ anniversary gifts and built a gift basket around them, too clever!

She made the card with her new Cricut Mini, and also included an ‘explanation card’ linking each item to it’s year.


Year 1 : Paper : Cookbook
Year 5: Wood : Cutting Board
Year 10: Tin : Baking Tin
Year 15: Crystal : Bar Set
Year 20: China : Cupcake Boxes made in China (too funny!)
Year 25: Silver : Silver Serving Pieces
How clever is that?


Here it is all laid out with it’s basket.

Mom and Dad at their party =)

The lovely Mrs. Smith tagged me in 11 questions, and these are always fun, so join in.

I like Mrs. Smith am going to ‘break the rules’ and answer the questions I think have the most interesting answers.

1. Favorite concert?

Easy peasy while in Vegas in February I saw George Strait at the MGM Grand. Amazing concert, he did over 60 songs! If you ever have the chance to see him go! It was worth every penny.

[Megazoom Camera Love]

2. What is your favorite book of all time?

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella, for what it was for me at the time I read it, it was my grand entrée into the world of chick lit. I am still bitter about the movie. Once upon a time I had a fan site called Shopaholic Life with fashion news and a list of all the places Becky Brandon nee Bloomwood shopped.
P.S. Friend me on Good Reads!

3. What do you do for work, or if you’re not comfortable sharing on the internets, what is the industry in which you work?

I get you organized, build you a beautiful website, and make you pretty invites.

4. Did you go Greek in college? If so, which house?

Alpha Gamma Delta, Best decision of my college career after picking Belmont. Mrs. Smith is my big =)

5. Sweet or salty?

Alternation is key, my favorite method, Popcornopolis Zebra popcorn. I love it sooo much I dragged my parents into the dungeon that is Excaliber in Vegas so I could get some! (Popcornopolis is available seasonally at Costco, sooo good!)

6. What is your favorite flower?

I love me some Lilies from my sweetie

6. Princess Z inspired question... did you have an American Girl doll as a child?

I had Kirsten of course! I also have Karen an American Girl of today. My favorite childhood memories stem from my American Girls and I CAN’T believe they have retired Kirsten, Samantha, and Felicity.

Karen is currently serving as my model in my shop full of cute preppy American Girl clothes.

7. What were your childhood activities?

First half I was a competitive Figure Skater, second half I did English Horseback Riding mainly Dressage.

8.What kind of shampoo & conditioner are you using right now?

TRESsemme Deep Cleansing and their Naturals Moisture Conditioner.

9. What is your favorite quote?
A silly throw back to number 2, this lived on my ‘binder’ for a long time!

10. What are your top 3 favorite places to visit?

1. I LOVE Charleston, and almost went to school there with Bestie.
2. I’ve been to Martha’s Vineyard a few times and love the quaintness.  (Read posts from my last trip here).
3.  Vegas is always a fun place to be…

11. How do you drink your coffee, and when did you start?

I love me some Columbian with 1 splenda, I started like most people in college, but it wasn’t until I met coffee addict Andrew that I really gained my addiction. He does have a 12 cupper in his cube…

If you read all this you are TAGGED! Answer 11 questions, mine, or  yours, and link up here =)