Trent's Outdoor Bar Progress

Trent has been continuing to work on the outdoor bar he started building back in April. Little by little, he's putting together his own bar space in the backyard out of reclaimed wood and some metal sheets he picked up recently at Lowe's.

He got a little more finished over the weekend, including the metal in the front of the bar, and one of the sides started.

He still doesn't have a plan on paper. He always says it's in his head. :)

He did get ideas from looking at different outdoor bars online, though. There are a few out there that are similar, like these:

From here

From here

From here

Trent's is going to be a little larger than those, though. The frame of it is the doorframe he made for our wedding ceremony, and he's attaching posts to the back and going to make sides and a roof for it, too. It's really starting to take shape!

I'm glad he's making something that he really wants, even if it is just a side project and not the big projects we really need to get done. We're hoping that after we get back from vacation, we can focus on the "big stuff" we don't want to do, but really need to!

New Dishwasher

We got our new dishwasher! Yesterday I shared how we ordered our new dishwasher online and were going to get it delivered, but decided to pick it up instead. It just happened to be raining cats and dogs yesterday with 20 mph winds when we wanted to pick it up, so we had to wait for the rain to clear.

Well, we kept checking the weather, and at around 6:30 pm or so, it looked like the rain was going to slow down. So we loaded the old one up into the truck and got ready to go to town.

After we got a few groceries, we went to Lowe's and got the old one dropped off (They take your old appliance to recycle at no extra charge). Then we loaded up the new one in the truck, and brought it home!

We were lucky that the rain completely stopped when we got to Lowe's, so we were all clear and dry for the drive home.

Trent got it out of the box and brought it inside. It's nothing too fancy, another portable dishwasher, since we don't have a hook-up for one in our kitchen yet.

But, it's brand new and it hasn't leaked at all yet, which is an improvement! It's very similar in style to our old one, but I think it looks a little better since it's new. It's all white, too, so it also makes the kitchen look a little brighter, I think.

I even took Before and After pictures to compare:

Before:

After:

Better, right?

I stayed home today and got some laundry and dishes done, then ran the first full load with the new dishwasher today. So far, so good! 

Eventually we hope to redo the kitchen and get all set up for a built-in one (preferably stainless), but until then this should serve us just fine. We are just glad that's all done, and we don't have to worry about the old one leaking anymore.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Yard Work Has Begun

Hey all! So yesterday turned out to be such a nice day that we were able to finally get a little work done in the yard. It was so nice out, sunny and in the lower 70's.

I got my mulching done in the flower beds. We had 6 bags, which was just enough to get the beds looking all fresh and cleaned up. I also raked out a bunch of leaves from the side yard. I got the job done all by myself, and I was worn out by the end of it!

So afterward, I sat out back on the patio and watched Trent start on his mini project - he's making an outdoor bar out of supplies and reclaimed wood that we already have on hand.

First he built a floor out of some plywood and some boards we had laying around.

Then he took the door frame he built for our wedding, set it on top, and attached it to the floor.

It's going to be kind of the framing for his bar. He's so handy and creative! He didn't even have plans, it's all just an idea he had in his head.

This is where it's at now. He is going to add in the doors and backdrop from our wedding, too.

I love that those items from our wedding are going to be repurposed into something fun for the backyard area. Trent has been wanting a bar back there for a while, so this will be his own little mini tiki bar out there.

There is still some clean-up and more work left to do in the yard. I need to pick up some flowers for my pots and plant them, and we will probably try a garden again this year, even though last year a lot of critters got in there and ate our plants! 

We also have to pick up some small rock to clean up both side yards. We plan on adding rock to the east side of the house, since we haven't done much with that side yet.

Meanwhile though, a lot of our plants are growing back in the yard, and the peony bushes have been growing. They haven't bloomed yet, but they are getting there. And the lilac bush in the backyard is also in bloom. I don't know that I've ever shared pictures of it on here before. But the flowers are so pretty:

They also smell so good, and they seem to attract a lot of bees and butterflies. The bush separates our yard from our neighbors' - it's right in between.

Yesterday was definitely a beautiful spring day and almost felt like summer! It gets me excited to work on more projects around the yard, and work on the house more this year. Because Lord knows, we have a LOT of work to be done!

Hall Closet Work Continues

Happy Sunday, folks! This morning, after a pretty busy Saturday (which I'll blog about soon), we went into town to pick up a few more things for our hall closet project at Lowe's. 

One thing we needed was a transition piece for the doorway of the closet, where the closet flooring meets with the hallway floor. Both floors are wood, and pretty similar colors, so we knew we wanted a wooden transition piece, but it wasn't easy choosing the right one!

There were so many different styles, and our space is kind of tricky, because the floors are unlevel, so we think it will be a little difficult fitting the transition piece into the space. We chose one we think will work well, though.

While we were at Lowe's, we also picked up the last sheet of drywall we needed to finish the walls of the closet. We used a thinner drywall for the closet walls - 3/8 inch, to get the most room we could out of the small space. 

Trent worked on finishing the walls this afternoon, and we now have all of the drywall up and are ready to start mudding!

It took not quite 2 sheets of drywall to finish the walls. Now the next step is mudding over all of the screws and the cracks where the pieces of drywall meet. Then sanding it all to perfection!

We'll also try to fit that transition piece we got into the doorway where the 2 floors meet. You can see from the photos that it's pretty unlevel, so we'll see how that goes! And then we'll need some small trim for the inside of the closet just to create a seamless transition between the floor and walls.

Another thing we've done is changed the door hinges out. Before, they were the gold hinges that came with the door, and Trent switched them to white ones to blend in more with the door and trim.

It's just a little detail, but I feel like these hinges are a little more "low profile." They don't stick out like sore thumbs anymore!  

So, that's where we're at with the hall closet now that we were finally able to pick up some more supplies. Hoping to share a little about what else we did over the weekend, as well as how we're spending our Valentine's Day soon! Have a great night y'all!

Hall Closet: Getting a Floor and Walls

Yesterday, we started working on our hall closet again. We're hoping to get it finished soon! It only had a subfloor and some framework when we started yesterday afternoon, and then Trent laid the wooden floor:

It's a floating floor, so no nails required. The wood panels "lock" together. We got a set from the Habitat ReStore a few years ago and finally got to put them in! It didn't take too long for Trent to get the floor down, since the space is super small.

Then he started on cutting the drywall and screwing it into the studs. He got the walls about halfway up before he stopped for the night.

I think he did a pretty good job so far. It feels like some good progress for just one day!

It's cool to see this little hall closet coming together. And after taking a break from working on the house for a while, it's also pretty satisfying to start another reno project and see the space taking shape.

So what's next? Well, after the walls are all up, then the cracks and nails will need mudded and sanded. We'll also need floor trim and a threshold put down in the doorway. Then we'll prime and paint the walls and ceiling, and install some shelves.

I can't wait to store my towels, vacuum, and cleaning supplies in an efficient manner for once! Progress is nice. :)

Hall Closet Work in Progress: The "Before"

A little over 5 years ago, in 2011, we put a new hall closet. It's a tiny closet, but we wanted to utilize this wasted space to store our vacuum, brooms and mops, and maybe some towels and cleaning supplies. Since we first put it in, it's been unfinished, but we've still been housing some of these things in it nonetheless. Here's that space as it looks now:

We decided to start working on finishing the closet this month. So today, I cleared it out, and Trent has been starting the floor.

I took some "Before" photos, and we hope to make significant progress in the next couple of weeks. I'm glad it's starting to move along today, and I can't wait to see our finished closet! I have some Pinterest-like dreams in my head for it.

Here's the full closet, top to bottom. I had to stand on the steps to take these photos and actually get the whole closet in view. :)

Here's the subfloor - We're now putting in a floating wood floor with some flooring we got super cheap at our local Habitat ReStore a few years back.

We picked up a sheet of drywall at Lowe's yesterday; I don't think it will take much to finish these walls. The space is so small.

I'm hoping to share some in-progess pictures soon, and will keep you updated on the closet reno!

House Goals for 2017

It's another new year, which means a fresh list of home renovation goals!

Each year I've been making these lists of goals, and each year, we complete only a couple of them, with the rest carrying over into the next year. I guess that's just how it goes when you both have full time jobs and other things like getting married and vacations going on. :)

Nonetheless, let's look at what we've completed in the last year. These were my house goals for 2016:

2016 House Resolutions:

1. Finish Hallway.
2. Fix the foundation.
3. Fix leaking roof in back room.
4. Raise/level the living room.

5. Fully install the baseboard in the living room (only been waiting about 3 1/2 years for this to get done!--- make that 6 1/2 now.)

6. Kitchen foundation / leveling / gutting / renovation (that's a mouthful, and encompasses a bunch of work!)

7. Start on pantry/closet reno.

Well, we didn't do as good as last year. I think because most of the summer was spent on the first goal on the list: Finishing the hallway. And we did. And it was a huge job. That counts as something in my book!

So, let's make things easier on ourselves this year, shall we? Just 6 lofty goals.

2017 House Resolutions:

1. Raise/level the living room.
2. Renovate the pantry/closet.
3. Fix leaking roof in back room.
4. Fix the foundation.

5. Fully install the baseboard in the living room (only been waiting about 3 1/2 years for this to get done!--- make that 6 1/2 now.)

6. Kitchen foundation / leveling / gutting / renovation (that's a mouthful, and encompasses a bunch of work!)

I think it's safe to say this year, given our history, that we'll have a hard time getting all of these completed. But, I'm hoping to get the first 3 finished at least. We'll see how it goes! :)

6 Year Housiversary

Today marks 6 years we've been living in this house together. Hard to believe it's been that long! Each year comes with new memories and adventures, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Each year, we've completed renovation projects in this house, both big and small. This year was a big one - the hallway, which we worked on year after year and finally completed this summer.

It nice to have a "brand new" hallway in this old house, and with each project complete, it seems like our house gets a little more homier for us. It's been some hard work along the way, but the reward of being done with a project is always the best part!

I'll always have good memories of moving into this house, and the projects we've worked on from our very first renovation to where we are now.

And though it is starting to cool down outside, this year is nothing like last year's Housiversary - when we had our first snowfall of the season, and it came in full force! Remember this?

Thankfully, we haven't gotten snow yet, and it's been a very mild fall here. I hope we don't get 6 inches of snow any time soon! I'm not ready for that yet. I don't even know if I'm ready to decorate for Christmas yet... I think I'll wait a little bit longer! :)