Dining room metamorphosis

We have been in our house a little over 2 months now. Which is about how old Mr. Leo is; which is exactly why the house is still not completely organized or even unpacked, which is exactly why one of our cars still won't fit in the garage. All of that plus the empty photo frames on the walls notwithstanding, it already feels like home. Quite possibly the only room that is the closest to completion is the dining room. It's where we/I spend most of the time, and I want to say it's because of all the natural light (which I DO LOVE), but let's be honest - the reason is its close proximity to the kitchen where there is food.

Let's take a trip down memory lane.

Chalkboard wall * Kitchen Tales, Part II

At some point during last Sunday's church service I caught myself thinking of the long list of things I wanted to get accomplished during our 3-day Labor Day weekend. Paint a chalkboard wall in the kitchen, put 2 coats of polyurethane on our Ikea kitchen island, assemble Leo's crib finally, hang curtains in the kitchen and in Leo's room, finally connect our TV, get my Warby Parkers fitted at Walmart, have friends over for a cookout, clean, do laundry... I went over the to-do list several times in my head before tuning into the pastor's words. Ironically, the sermon was on the importance of resting in order to rejuvenate. I felt a bit convicted, honestly.

Kitchen tales, Part I

When we were in search of our new home, we looked at a lot of houses. (You can read the whole house saga here.) This house, the one we ended up buying, had many beautiful features and where it was lacking, I saw lots of potential. I'm so happy that I was actually able to see that potential, because you won't believe the "gems" the house was full of.

Like the kitchen, for example. The moment I saw it, I seriously almost gagged. Those dark cherry cabinets, atrocious hardware, yuck... I immediately told Greg that the kitchen would be the biggest projects.  He just rolled his eyes, because ohmygosh, stop being so dramatic, this is livable, plus we haven't even bought it.
You can read about the project list for the whole house here. But below is the list of things that needed to be done in the kitchen and the progress as of today.

• Paint cabinets white
• Paint the walls
• Paint trim white
• Remove the door leading to the laundry room and drywall it.
• Build a pantry
• Replace Hardware

As you can see, building a pantry is still on the list, but thankfully it wasn't a priority. We are actually somewhat able to fit everything in the cabinets right now. But wait till baby Leo grows up... That boy eats every TWO stinking hours. Agh!

Before the remodel the kitchen looked like this: (can you say "gross"?)

And some  paintwork later, here is the result (or rather, progress!)

Everything was painted by professionals, because I heard how difficult it was to paint kitchen cabinets and I wasn't about to take that on, being hugely pregnant and all (3 rooms and 3 hallways was all I was capable of). The walls are painted with Whispering Spring by Benjamin Moore. (I love that color so much that I chose it for our Master suite too.) Note that back door. It used to lead to a laundry room, but we got rid of it and used that space for our master bathroom. 

I'm planning more updates in that kitchen. Like adding a chalkboard wall, setting up a kitchen island to separate the kitchen and the dining room, plus for more counter space. Also, still thinking about pantry options for more storage. 

Stay tuned for more. 

moving, having a baby... you know, the little things...

So, I guess we've officially moved. It's been a hard few days, physically exhausting and emotionally draining, but it's over.
Aside from a few boxes in the attic of the old house, all of our junk is currently in the new house. A lot of it is in the garage, but I'm just trying to avoid that area as I unpack and clean up what's inside the house. We moved on Saturday, but today (Tuesday) was the first day that I've felt like we were home. While Annika was in daycare, I cleaned, and cleaned, and organized, and decorated, and cleaned some more. I cooked our first meal here, too. Kind of a big deal, seeing that I don't usually cook at all:) There are still lots of things to do in the house and it's pretty much still a blank canvas, but it's livable. I have so many different decorating ideas, ya hear that, Pinterest? Can't wait to get my hands dirty, in a creative sort of way, in the next few months or so.

Oh, and we have exactly one more day as a family of three. Thursday morning, bright and early, Lord willing, a forth member of our family will be joining us. And then... well... just pray for us.

I'm planning to spend all day with Annika tomorrow... We are going to go to the park, then have lunch in our village (with ice-cream... shh, don't tell daddy! or my gestational diabetes!), then after nap we will do our pedicures and maybe bake something.  Our last day just the two of us, awe... I think I'm going to cry at some point or another too...

Here are a few bits and pieces (from my phone!) of the new house... remember it's a work in progress!

Winn Casa update

People ask us all the time when the big move to the new house is. I'd like to know that too. Who do I ask?:)

 The work is moving along and there's been a lot of progress, but the promised deadline of July 4th is looming and it's still hard to believe the house will be ready. Baby Winn is due in about 3 (THREE!) weeks and I'm still hoping to be moved in by then. Greg just smirks and doesn't say anything; I think he believes me to be naive:) I'll call it optimistic.

The 2 major projects (the master bathroom remodel and removing of the kitchen/dining room wall) are very close to being finished, but the little things remain. Wiring, painting, carpet cleaning, flooring, painting... And did I mention painting? Very (very!) foolishly I've taken on the responsibility of painting 2 bedrooms, a large living room, and 3 hallways. I'm not sure I was thinking clearly when I committed to that, but I just keep telling myself I have time. After all, I'm ONLY 36 weeks pregnant (oh boy!). Annika is in daycare a couple of days a week so I can get those things done. I've started painting this week and thankfully it hasn't been too painful or time consuming. I think I can, I think I can.

Anyways, here is the little bit of progress ( some iPhone photos ahead...)

The kitchen/dining room transformation will probably be my absolute favorite. Eeek!

We started with this:

And as of now, we are at this:

And the opposite side "before":

And "in progress":

And the master bathroom used to look like this (it was so small, that this was the best shot I could get)

And after the removal of some walls and moving of the door frame, here is the progress:

I started painting Annika's new room. It's the smallest room in the house and it has given me courage that I can do it all even by myself:)

I'm hopeful to see more changes in the house next week, so stay tuned for many more updates:)

House Project List

Now that the cat is out of the bag (as in, the news of our house is out!), I can finally start talking about it. Can't stop me now.

I have to say, I always thought I would want to buy a new house, or at least a move-in ready house, where nothing needs to be even painted, let alone remodeled. Little did I know... That house doesn't exist, because I can always find something wrong. So buying a house at a good price left us some wiggle room for remodeling and it's been so fun perusing Pinterest for ideas. 

The list of things that need to be done is quite long. One good thing - a lot of it won't be done by us:) As much as I would love to channel my inner Sherry Petersick and do everything by myself, I'm just going to stick with my inner Phoebe Buffey and say "Oh, I would love to! But I just don't want to!"

So here comes the seemingly never ending list.

Winn House Saga

You guys! WE BOUGHT A HOUSE!

Heck yes, I'm shouting! Because... A HOUSE!

It may seem like out of the blue, but it’s been a long and nerve-wracking 8-month-long process. Not only was it excruciating to wait that long and not know where we will end up in a few months, it was also painful to see God close door after door after door.  We never lost faith and now clearly see that God closed those doors for a reason.

You won’t believe the number of houses we looked at. And, ohmahgosh, was there, like, drama, you guys.

Let me tell you a few house stories that I hereby officially declare chapters of the Winn House Saga.  

1.      House #1

Perrrrfect house. Long-term, big, amazing floor plan, move-in ready… But the price tag was high and the location, albeit on the lake, wasn't the most prime. As in it was probably one of the worst on the lake.

We loved it enough and made a low-ball offer. We countered 2 more times and were thissss close to getting it, when 1 hour before our final offer was to expire (and before the seller was going to accept it, according to our realtor), someone came in and offered “significantly more” on the spot. It was a little odd how it all happened, because the freaking house had been on the market for 2 years without a single interested party. Door shut!

2.      House #2

Short-term, small (although with an extra bedroom for the babe), not on the lake, but close enough in a great location in our town. Perfect price tag and move-in ready.

But we have to rewind to 2008, a month after our wedding. That same house was for sale then and we offered. We were outbid by a member of a wealthy family in town. (Ended up being a good thing for us, since I was able to go to school without taking out a loan). Since then the original owner had bought the house back and just a few months ago (that’s 6 years later!) he contacted us again and said he was selling if we were interested. We looked and offered what he was asking. And that same day were outbid by a member of the same freaking family. The odds!!!

3.      House #3

The final one and a short-term one (about 3-5 years). Perfect little house, although needs a lot of remodeling to suit our taste. Great price and with an access to the lake via a channel. And wait till you see our backyard, people!

We looked at the house twice and debated. Then we heard of another guy who was interested and decided we would be stupid to pass it up and made an offer. It was quickly accepted and now we are about to begin remodeling. We will not move until it's remodeled, so it might be a few weeks. Can. Not. Wait!!! Hopefully, before the brand new Winn is here (which is July 17th).

And by the way, the guy who was interested in this house is super excited about renting our cottage for a few years:).  It all worked out!

All that to say... I'm glad the search is over. We still have bigger plans for our Dream House, but we won't be talking about them for at least a few years. What we will be talking about is remodeling, decor, DIY, and moving and grooving:) Hopefully. If we have time:) 

Stay tuned. Eeek!

And here is our attempt at looking scared of home-ownership (in case you can't tell by the questionable face expressions)!