upstairs reno: before

hola!

a few weeks ago, we started the demo for our upstairs renovation, and now we are full into the swing of things. yippee! is it bad that i feel so at home when we have a dumpster on our front lawn? yes, we are THOSE people!

here's what we're working with. we have a odd/cool 1.5 story with the half story at the back of the house. it's like a rambler in the front and a two-story in the back. if you think a rambler is all business and a two-story means a party, then i guess that makes our house a mullet.

upstairs consists of two big bedrooms, two big closets, a linen closet, and a full bath. to get things started properly, let's review these shots from february 2009.

blue bedroom:

 yes, there is a framed hole in the door. and it locks from the outside.

pink 60s bathroom:

 i scraped those sticker fish off with a razor blade. i have never taken a bath in that tub and i'm happy to say i never will.

purple room:

i love this window nook and i have big plans for it.

sophie likes to write her name on the ceiling. in pen.

oh, shrek.

come back later this week and i'll show you some progress pics. unfortunately, they don't look too much better than these pictures, but we gotta start somewhere!

p.s. if you want to see some completed projects, check out my before and after tab under the header. i've been updating!

kristen's bridal shower

well hello, guys and gals! it has been a nice little break from blogging, but i have kind of missed the motivation of the picture project from last year. i'm thinking i need to come up with some sort of regular feature again. until i think of something fabulous (or not), i should have plenty of renovation posts in the coming months.

but this is just a quick peek into a bridal shower i helped host for my sister, kristen, who is getting married at the end of this month. i teamed up with one of her bridesmaids, kate, to throw a vintage valentine theme party a few weeks ago and we had a lot of fun planning. kate came up with the theme, and we surfed the webs for ideas. we found this post from a google search, and we used tons and tons of ideas from it (it's a really fun site, so check it out! lots of fun party ideas for kids). i followed the tutorial for the cupcake-liner pom poms on the mantel, which ben happens to like a lot. so they are staying for a bit. and kate found a ton of old valentines on etsy, which were fun to use in our decorating!

the menu was pretty simple: chicken salad sandwiches, bread with cilantro-cumin butter, fruit, and red punch. for dessert i made cupcakes and kate made whoopie pies with strawberry filling.

the one thing i wanted was a picture of me, my sister, and my mom, but i completely forgot. but i do have this awesome picture of my sister from a game we played. (no, that is not what she came wearing. but she was a good sport and put it on——blindfolded, while we laughed at her.)

a big thank you to everyone who came and to kate for hosting with me. kristen, i am so looking forward to your wedding. praying for you and tyler!

surprise!

she's a girl! we. are. so. excited. seriously.

i don't think we realized how thoroughly we had convinced ourselves baby was a boy until we registered shock when the sonographer said "looks like a girl!" we laughed really hard and afterward kept saying "can you believe it?" so much for maternal intuition and old wives' tales. ben says now he needs to go buy a shotgun to protect her. ;) for my part, i went to baby gap and bought something ridiculously feminine. we love you, baby girl!

and p.s. thank you to everyone who prayed for the cyst they saw on the cord at 9 weeks. doctor said he saw no sign of it at monday's ultrasound. what an immense blessing. praise to the Lord!

second p.s. we would be just as excited for a boy, too. just so you know. :)

that day in february

i made these for you, benji. (except that i already ate three. just to make triple sure they are okay. they are.) i love you and i thank God you are my husband. happy valentine's, my valentine!

     "greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." john 15:13

signing off again

sorry i don't have much for you this week in terms of creative output. just more thoughts and updates:

:: pretty sure i am feeling baby move for the first time as i write this. wow.
:: would you believe we are traveling again? yup, in just a few hours we will be at the airport with a final destination of fresno, california. we'll spend the weekend visiting my grandpa and enjoying the warmer weather (and hopefully, some in-n-out burgers). here's a post from our last visit. i lOVe california (i was born there) and Lord willing, ben and i will get to visit the southern part of the state in april. can't wait!
:: i lied when i said that the first step of our upstairs reno is ripping out carpet. the real first step is clearing out the rooms, closets, bathroom, etc. the rooms are full of old papers, books, magazines, clothes, sewing supplies, random furniture, and other goodies. i spent some time up there this week, and ended up with the first of a few batches of donations, i'm sure.

i'll be back next week! have a wonderful weekend!