That Time a Bench Made me Cry

This bench. Our relationship was a tragic love story with a happy ending.

The short version goes something like this: I fell in love, it broke my heart again and again, I cried, we made up, and I fell in love all over. 

The longer version is a bit more detailed:

From the minute I saw I was in love.  However, the sloppy white paint job with out-dated blue and white checkered fabric (I spared you the awfulness of where it started) just wasn't doing it for me.

See that great white paint? Whoever painted it was on a mission to make sure the paint never. came. off.

After 3 hours of sanding with the lowest grit I could find I'd barely made a dent. At this point I was in serious need of a plan B.

Insert plan B. Y'all this stuff is no joke... 

(See the blue and white checkered fabric in the background?!? Yup, that's where we started)

Four bottles, 50 gloves, 2 industrial strength gloves, and 5 hours later we were left with this. Pretty right? :-/

PS: When the directions say industrial strength gloves only. They mean industrial strength gloves ONLY. It took 50 gloves and countless burns (stubborn much?) for us to finally throw in the towel and purchase the real deal. Do yourself a favor. Follow the directions!

After even more sanding we finally got a blank slate. So clean and pretty!

Now the fun part...

I had a very specific vision for what I wanted the end product to look like. Problem? I didn't know how to get it there.

We have dark floors so I didn't want it too dark, but I still wanted it natural looking but a little darker than what it was while not really looking stained at all. Confused? So was I.

I tried one stain and hated it! It was orangey redish and all wrong.

My mom suggested a light grayish wash. Had she done it it would have looked great, but I did it so it didn't.

So, the only option I saw was to re-sand and start over...again. At this point James was done. He told me to do what I wanted, but he was over it. I can't blame his at all; I was impossible to please.

After thee trips to Home Depot and 2 different stains I was done. It wasn't working and I quit.

Y'all, I cried over bench. If it hadn't been for James stepping in it would have ended up smashed into a million pieces. Have I mentioned I can be dramatic at times?

It took a few days and a "get your act together" conversation with my sister to realize I was being ridiculous crazy.

I went to Home Depot one more time picked up one more stain and was officially done. 

I fell in love all over again. It doesn't match my original vision, but quite honestly it's even better. 

I told the husband I reserve the right to change it at any point. He said no. I don't blame him :)

Happy Housewarming

A few weeks ago (um...a month ago!) our families threw us a housewarming party. We had lots of fun sharing our home with friends and neighbors. It's an awful excuse, but moving into our home and renovating kept us busy for a while so it was great seeing people we hadn't seen in a while. 

I'm obsessed with the invitation from AmySimpleDesgins! Seriously though burlap background and aqua? They know me so well :)

I'd say I didn't mean to match the party color scheme, but let's be honest they're my favorite colors for a reason.

Remember how I was lusting after this wreath? Well, I have the greatest sister ever and she made me one! I most definitely did a happy dance/jumped up and down when she gave it to me.

 Hi, my name is Taylor Rae and I have an obsession with aqua and coral. 

Drink Station. FYI Costco margaritas are the jam!

Sis does it again and made the banner. It's so perfect that I refuse to take it down.

Fresh flowers from my MIL's backyard. One day we will have hydrangeas in our yard and I will be so happy.

My hope for our home isn't that it's a perfectly decorate place that has to be spotless at all times. Rather, I want our home to be a place that is lived in and one our friends feel comfortable in. I love it being full of people! I want our home to be shared, open, and welcoming. 

House Tour

I'm so excited to give y'all a tour of the house today! 

It's not done yet, and I'm sure we'll continue to update it over the years, but I'm loving the upgrades we've made so far. I felt inspired by Young House Love to add a to-do list for each room. This is to remind myself of how much we've done and keep inspired about where we want to go. Some of the projects we still have to go will be done in the next few weeks and some won't be done years.

Take a look around. Hope you enjoy!

Foyer:

Anyone surprised that I'm obsessed with the front door? Ya, I didn't think so. It almost makes me want to forget about getting a new one. Call me crazy, but I want a door with a little more privacy. Like no big window and a peep hole kind of privacy. But, the pretty color will tie me over until the time comes to replace it. 

To Do: 

• Remove parquet floors and replace with hardwoods
• Paint front door, wall above and below chair rail  
• Replace foyer light
• Remove popcorn ceilings and repaint 
• Add a bench
• Put down rug
• Replace blinds on door with roman shade
• Hang some art (collage wall?)
• Replace doorbell
• Paint or upgrade door handles
• Replace front door

Living Room:

This room is starting to come together. I think with a few more chairs, nice big ottoman, and a rug it will have a more cozy feel. And can we please talk about how excited I am to have a mantle? Can't wait to hang something on it at Christmas!

To Do:

• Remove parquet floors and replace with hardwoods
• Remove popcorn ceilings and repaint
• Paint walls
• Add furniture
• Put down rug
• Do something with the fireplace (paint? tile?)
• Make/hang curtains
• Change ceiling fan
• Get gas logs for fireplace
• Find/make a large square ottoman 
• Paint red table

Dining Room:

If I had to pick a favorite room based on color it would be a hard choice between this room and the master bedroom. I love the blue and grey together. Fun fact: that dining room table is the same one I had growing up. I can't wait to give it a facelift.

To Do:

• Remove parquet floors and replace with hardwoods
• Remove popcorn ceilings and repaint
• Paint walls above and below chair rail 
• Add furniture
• Put down rug
• Paint chandelier
• Take down blinds
• Sew and hang new curtains
• Replace sliding doors with french doors
• Stain table

Kitchen:

This is probably the room I have the biggest plans for, but also going to be the room that is a work in progress for years. Most of the plans I have for this room are on the 5+ years plan, but hey, a girl can dream!

To Do:

• Remove tile floors and replace with hardwoods
• Remove popcorn ceilings and repaint
• Update old lighting
• Remove desk and cabinets above
• Get table for eat in area
• Paint cabinets 
• Add hardware
• Upgrade sink to farmhouse sink
• Add backsplash
• Upgrade appliances
• Add curtains
• Put down a rug/rugs
• Add open shelving
• Install vent hood
• Do something fun with pantry doors

Stairs: 

This may sound strange, but this is one of my favorite updates! They turned out better than we hoped and I'm so happy we choose to stain and didn't re-carpet them.

To Do:

• Remove carpet from wood stairs
• Paint walls
• Stain and polyurethane stairs
• Paint stair risers
• Add hardwoods to landings
• Hang art
• Demo short wall on stairs and half wall in hallway
• Add railing and stair spindles

Master Bedroom:

Gotta give James props for trusting me with this accent wall. He was a little unsure of the idea when he first heard it, but he's totally onboard now. 

To Do:

• Replace carpet
• Remove popcorn ceilings and repaint
• Paint walls
• Add furniture 
• Remove blinds and upgrade
• Replace ceiling fan
• Hand headboard
• Add something above headboard (art? saying?)

Master Bathroom:

Probably one of James' favorite features in the house is this vanity. No, not because it's for him, but because I use it. I've always done my makeup sitting down which, since I've never had a vanity, meant I did my makeup sitting on the floor in our living room at the apartment. I would say it's not as odd as it sounds, but he would disagree. He hated it. He loves that my makeup has its very own special place in our bathroom. 

To Do:

• Remove old carpet and replace with tile
• Paint walls
• Remove popcorn ceilings and repaint
• Renovate shower
• Paint cabinets
• Add hardware
• Update sinks and counter tops
• Upgrade lighting

Hallway

 To Do:

• Remove old carpet and replace with new
• Remove popcorn ceilings and repaint
• Paint walls
• Paint doors?
• Upgrade or paint door handles
• Demo half wall and replace with rail and spindles
• Hang art

And that's it! 

There are a few other rooms I may introduce you to at some point. However, right about now they are home to boxes that have yet to be unpacked, and nobody wants to see that!

Five on Friday, Vol. 21 and Some Favorites

Happy Friday!!

First things first, congratulations to Christina and April on the arrival of both of your daughters!! They are both so precious and almost make me want to think about having one of my own. 

Breath James... I'm kidding :)

I hope you've all had a wonderful week. It's been a crazy awesome week moving in and getting everything situated. Super excited to share a few of my favorites from this past week!

{O N E}

As of last Friday we're officially all moved in! I thought I would be so thankful to be out of the apartment, but truth be told part of me is a little sad. It was our first place together and we made lots of memories there. I'll miss the apartment for a little bit, but I can't wait to make new memories in our new home!

{T W O} 

Sis made this wreath for our grandma for Mother's Day. I'm trying to convince her that I need one too. I've never been much of a wreath fan, but it's burlap and turquoise. Doesn't get much better than that. 

{T H R E E}

For Christmas James gave me the beautiful Southern Wedding print. It's been safely stored away until we moved into the house. Now that we're here the print has found a home above the mantel. I'm seriously considering painting this frame or the two next to it... gold maybe?. Thoughts?

{ F O U R}

The therapist side of me is coming out: I've been a huge fan of Brene Brown since graduate school. Her stuff is legit and this TED talk of hers is probably my favorite. If you have some time today watch it! It's good stuff!

{ F I V E}

Ever since the weather started getting warmer I've been on a serious veggie kick. Steaming and roasting are pretty much the extent of my vegetable cooking abilities. I picked this book up to help expand my cooking repertoire. So far I love it! I made an avocado salad for lunch yesterday that was incredible. I'm looking forward to lots of new veggie recipes this summer.

 I'll be back next week sharing a tour of our home! In the meantime, I hope you have a great weekend!!

Today I'm linking up with Amanda and the 5 on Friday Girls (Darci, April, Christina, Natasha)

Home Buyers Guide to Selling Your Home

I've shared here before that, for me, house hunting process was hard. Some people love the hunt and negotiating to get the best deal possible. Me? Not so much. I'm much more a fan of the moving in and decorating process. House hunting was anxiety provoking and there were too many sleepless nights I spent praying trying to give it all to God. I'm sure this was His way of teaching me lessons in the both patience and trust. God knows just how to speak to my heart even when I don't want to listen!

Looking back the actual process was pretty easy. I stressed and worried over the little things, but in the end everything came together and worked out just how it was suppose to. I really can't be anything but thankful for the wonderful people we worked with and the experience as a whole. 

I learned a lot through this whole process. I learned about how to buy a house. I also learned about how to sell a house, and even more about how not to sell a house. 

So, if you're looking to sell your house, or if you just want to read about some crazy houses, here are a few of my tips!

1. Clean up:
Seem obvious? Trust me, it needs to be mentioned. If you want to sell your home please don't leave your dirty laundry on the floor. Call me a snob, but as a potential home buyer, I don't want to step over dirty bras and boxers. I get it, you get a call last minute that some homebuyer is on their way to see your home. That's got to be annoying, but let's remember you're the one selling your home. I don't care if you hide all your dirty laundry in the dryer; just please don't leave it on the floor. I apologize in advance, but I'll judge you and your home.

2. Paint
I get that you love bright blue, dark red, hot pink, and black. It's your home do what you want... until you decide to sell it. The black and pink polka dot wall goes with the theme of the room? Awesome, looks great; except it's not my style. Please, for the love of selling your house, spend the money to paint the walls a light neutral color. It's easier for me to see my style in your home if I'm not overwhelmed by yours.

3. De-clutter
You have stuff. I know, me too! But, trust me your rooms will look so much bigger if you put some of your stuff away. I can't picture my cluttery self in your house if I can't even see the floor. You have a reason to have five couches in one room. Cool, but then I can't see how big the room actually is. Do yourself a favor, find a place to hide your extra stuff.

4. Put your pets away
I know you love your pets. I'm sure they are adorable and so sweet, but please put them away! It's difficult to walk through your house when your cats are jumping all over me and trying to escape when I walk outside. I want to buy your home. I don't want to spend hours looking for the animals I accidently let outside.

5. Give the outside some love too
Haven't mowed your lawn in 3 months? I'm not judging ... until you put your house on the market. You want me, the buyer, to love your home. Do what you can to make it look presentable. I promise it's worth it. Mow the lawn and trim the bushes. It makes all the difference. If you're feeling extra crazy rent a pressure washer and pressure wash the mildew off the siding. It does wonders for the look of your house and a pressure washer costs about $50 a day to rent. I will love you for it!

Ok, there's my advice on how to sell your home! Moral of the story? Clean up and spruce up! If you show your home some love chances are it will show!

Because I love these ladies I'm linking up with Jenni, Renee. and Sam for Tuesday Tea!

Five on Friday, Vol. 20: House Edition

Three posts in one week? Stop the madness! 

One of the things I've missed most over the past month of non-blogging is linking up with Darci, April, Christina, and Natasha on Fridays. 

 

{O N E}

First off, thanks everyone for your sweet words about our exciting news! This whole house hunting journey has truly been a lesson in patience and trusting in God and His timing. For us, the whole process was relatively easy, but I wouldn't exactly call it fun. The fun part for me starts now. I can't wait to decorate and renovate our new home!

{T W O}

Picking colors has been one things I've really been looking forward to. I started looking at colors long before we actually had a house, and pretty much had my heart set on a particular color pallet. Our new walls will be painted in blues and warm greys!

Anyone surprised to see blue in the mix? Ya, I didn't think so :)

{T H R E E}

We closed on Monday, got the keys on Tuesday, and renovation started Wednesday! We aren't wasting any time! Phase I of renovations include: new floors, ceilings, and paint. James and I haven't been able to be at the house since demo started, but we're getting daily updates from our awesome superintendent.

Later parquet floors!

Goodbye popcorn ceilings!

{F O U R}

Other than changing the floors we aren't touching the kitchen this go-round. Sis sent me a picture of my dream kitchen, so thankfully I have a while to convince the husband that this is exactly what he wants.... wish me luck.

{F I V E}

We're spending a weekend at the beach watching the Heritage Golf Tournament. Unfortunately, the weather isn't going to cooperate with some beach time, but we're enjoying a vacation either way.

Happy Easter y'all! Hope you have a great weekend!!