Happy Father’s Day!

Okay, I know it’s not today but we were traveling on Father’s Day (don’t worry, we celebrated!) and I didn’t have time do write this post and then WordPress wouldn’t let me upload photos.  But, today this should work.  fingerscrossed.

When I thought about recapping the projects my dad has finished in this house I realized that there are too many to fit into one post!  So, I decided to take it way back to the early weeks in this house and show you the first major projects he did for me:

First, that fireplace.  I had forgotten how bad it was until I saw these pictures, yikes!

 

Remember how bad Week 1 was?  I had forgotten.

 

This was the week that I came to love drywall.

Then there was the guest room:

Remember that doorway?  I haven’t missed it at all!

My dad also, built the bookcase in the laundry room

fixed a roof leak, hung my picture ledges, replaced my front door, installed the back door, installed new kitchen cabinets around the stove, ripped out the spider-city-sheds, patched lots of holes, including this mess in the kitchen:

 

Holy moly!  What would this house (and my bank account!) look like without him!  Thanks dad!

-A

 

In Bloom

I was in Oregon for the weekend for my cousin’s wedding celebration.  When I pulled up to my house yesterday I noticed this:

 

Oh those purple flowers!  I’m so glad I didn’t miss it!

I also found this pin last night and plan to try to take cuttings from this vine.  This plant wasn’t taken care of for a couple of years and it’s thriving so I’m hoping I can get a bunch of little guys started to put around my yard!

I was also worried that I’d miss my roses blooming but this is what they looked like when I got home yesterday:

 

I’m getting so close to seeing these babies bloom!  

-A

Someone Else’s House

I went to the big city on Thursday and finally got to see the adorable house my brother and his girlfriend live in.  It is also old and its owners over the years have kept the woodwork unpainted and in great shape.  I could have taken pictures of every inch of this house but chose my ten favorite things to share with you:

 

Oh that beadboard ceiling!  And that frame on the end of the porch that used to hold windows.  I loved this whole porch!

 

A transom window!

 

 

Amazing stained glass!

 

Pocket doors!

 

Great detail on the baseboads!

 

A built in buffet that nobody ever painted!

 

A picture rail in the dining room!

 

Every door had this cool old door knobs!

When I first got to the house I just walked around looking at everything.  I’m so glad that they’re not renters so I can see what they do to make this charming house even better!

-A

Happy Birthday Henry!

**Warning: this might be too much cute for one post**

It’s hard to believe that this dog started out so small and cute-now he’s big and handsome!  See for yourself:

 

 

 

-A

Rose Update

I was walking around my backyard today making a plan to attack the weeds that have taken over everything when I noticed:

 

Eeeek! When I planted these guys I was just hoping they would live-now it looks like I’ll actually have flowers!

 

 

 

I leave for my cousin’s wedding on Thursday and my fingers are crossed that they will hold off on blooming until I get back!

-A

Front Door Reveal

It’s done!  First the paint store was closed.  Then I had to rearrange my living room to make room for a new piece of furniture.  But now, the front door is painted!

Just to remind you where it started:

 

Plain, plain, plain.

I started out by wiping down the door with a Lysol wipe

I read a bunch of tutorials online so I started out by brushing the paint into the inserts and rolling out the rest of it with a small foam roller

Coat #1 scared me.  It looked terrible and the rich Hale Navy looked more grey than blue.  I also wasn’t happy with the brush marks so for coat #2 I decided to ditch the brush and stick to the roller.

Coat #2 was still patchy but was much smoother and was starting to look more blue.  Initially I left the frame around the window white but it didn’t look right.  I’m pleased with the blue frame around the trim around each pane of glass.  I also just taped off the hardware to keep the paint off it.

Coat #3 was almost perfect but I went ahead and did #4 just in case I missed anything.

I LOVE it!  I love how it contrasts with my light house while still being a color.

Because I’m crazy I made these flowers in shades of yellow to add another layer of color.  They’re glued onto an extra rectangular picture frame I had laying around and stuck up there with some 3M hooks.

The hooks lasted just long enough to take these pictures.  I think the dark door and the beating down sun just melted the adhesive and it wouldn’t stick.  I bought a roll of magnetic tape and ran some across the top and bottom and so far it has held!

A lot of people (including my mom) thought I would go with a yellow door.  I have a master plan for my exterior but it involves new siding and that’s a few years down the road.  When “Master Plan Time” comes around I will have a yellow door so I figured I’d enjoy something different until then.

Before I go tackle my next project here’s a side by side view.  See mom?  The blue really is better! 🙂

-A