They DON'T sell waffles at Walgreens: House Updates

As I sit in my freshly painted family room I no longer feel the anxiety that I once had. I am feeling more and more "at home". When we came to look at our house (before we put a contract on it) I have to be honest, I didn't LOVE it, but it was better than anything we had seen. The neighborhood was perfect- clubhouse with nice workout rooms/tanning bed, multiple outdoor pools, a walking trail with workout stations around the pond, and you can even fish in the pond! However the house itself needed a little love. The windows were crazy dirty, the window treatments were full of dust, and the vertical blinds across the entire back of the house were yellowed over time. One thing we did have going for us- the walls were all white, with no wall paper! Well, kind of white. I'm not sure who painted this place last but man oh man, I'm pretty sure they just took a brush or a roller and painted as much as they could in 1 hour...haha! The walls looked pretty bad. After being here for almost 6 months we have the first floor finished (well, walls and ceiling- trim and doors are next week).

Here is a list of things we've updated to this point.

1) every light fixture/ceiling fan on the main floor- 8 total

2) all main floor ceiling and rooms painted

3) all main floor window treatments replaced with either new curtains or wooden blinds

4) walls patched and repaired (before Scott primed them for paint)

5) 3 pictures hung

6) new couch

7) new TV

8) replaced carpet in family room, stairs, hall upstairs, master bedroom, and new floor in master bath

9) new front door- the screen/glass door. It's so nice!

Outside we have:

1) taken out over 10 rose bushes

2) removed 4 areas that used to have plants/stones

3) replaced 3 outdoor lights

4) made a compost bin

5) in the process of making a landing for the trash cans

Upstairs we have:

1) painted Allies room- except trim

2) decorated Allies bathroom with whales (and a little chevron)

3) replaced 3 ceiling fans (one in each room) and 2 bathroom lights in the master

4) removed tub, dry walled, taped, and primed the area in the master bath

The house is REALLY coming along, and we are making it our home. Here is our list of what we would like to do next.

1) paint all trim/doors on main floor

2) begin painting all the 2nd floor

3) replace back door (one still has vertical blinds) the door itself isn't very pretty, so I don't know what to do besides replace it.

4) refinish the cabinet in the 1/2 bath- any ideas how to do this?!

5) cut down quite a few little trees in the backyard and organize the plants a little better

6) decorate the walls and get a few more little pieces of furniture

7) get the fireplace looked at so we can use it

8) paint the 2nd floor

9) paint all the trim/garage door/shutters visible on the front of the house

Ok- so really the list could go on and on... There are ao many little things as well- planting grass seed, changing out knobs, but for now that is my list of "bigger" to-dos.

It's really nice when you start to feel comfortable were you live... My house is becoming my "home".

BEFORE