What's going on around here?

Despite what you may have heard, I don't just read all day. In order to prove this, I wanted to showcase some of the things that have been going on around here.

We are remodeling our family room/den. It's by far the most used room in the house, and we have some big ideas for it. Here's what we were working with.

These pictures were taken before we moved in, so none of this stuff is mine.




The first picture is facing the south end of the house, or the back. There is a fireplace which is the only source of heat for this room. It's an addition, so it's just sitting on a concrete slab with no vents or anything else for heat. The entire wall was covered with that lovely 70's rock that you see. It was put directly on the cinderblock walls and looks ridiculous. There are also the weird hearthstones that unnecessarily cut into the room. And the carpet was gross and never got very clean.

The second picture is our laundry area. And yes, this is the same room looking to the north. To say that having washing and drying appliances in the middle of your living room is awkward is an understatement. It's the first thing you see when you walk into the room from the door just off the picture to the right. I knew that one of my first projects was going to be to frame in that area. AND both of the windows. The one going to the kitchen, and the one going out to the garage.

So, here's some pictures of the construction. We hired out the framing, electrical, and sheetrock.

Oh, but here is another picture with everything moved out of that lovely rock wall:




Okay, so the top photo is after we took up the linoleum, and took out the washer and dryer. The first day, the framer got in that wall on the right.


Here is the framing of the rock wall. My first plan of action was going to be to remove the rock because I didn't want to lose the space. But, after 20 minutes of hacking away and nothing to show for it, I conceded and told the contractor to just FRAME OVER IT BABY.


Then they framed in the windows on both sides and made the rough opening for our future bookshelf doors.


And BAM! the rock wall is gone. It's honestly like it was never there. Those pony walls will connect in beautifully with the bookshelves that are just waiting to slide inside.


And here is my hottie husband moving in our washer and dryer.

So, what about our nasty old linoleum floor that I pulled, scraped and wiped off?


I thought about a lot of different ideas from tile to peel and stick linoleum tiles to a floating floor. But, the floor in here is all kinds of uneven with dips and slants everywhere. So, I decided to paint it. I bought a can of very smelly oil paint and took a whopping 15 minutes to paint it on. Then waited an agonizing 4 days before carefully putting in the moulding and wheeling in the washer and dryer. I also gave that old vanity a fresh coat of white paint. Oh, and the walls got an orange color.

I'm going to be honest about the orange. I'm not sold yet. I've decided to let it sit for a few months and see if it grows on me. I do like the idea of a bold color, but I'm just not sure. But the floor? I love it.

The next update? A new exterior door.


I didn't take pictures of our first door, but imagine a really awful hollow-core door with a window. It wasn't energy efficient, and wasn't very quiet either. I love this new door. Of course, I've got to trim over the exterior and interior, but all in all, it's coming along nicely.

So, that's the home update. I'm planning a nice big reveal once it's all finished so you can see the paint color, new window (YAY!), bookshelves, and other goodies.

Now, for an Abigail update. We enrolled Abigail in a little dance class. She goes with her bff every Wednesday (thanks Kami!), and dances her little heart out. She loves it! And, she had her very first recital last week.

So, I made this little video with a few pictures and of course video of her performance. So stinkin' cute.



So, there you have it. What have you guys been up to lately?