Dresser Refurb

Pinterest makes me think I can make anything pretty. It has gotten me over a fear of "dirty" and used things, but also sometimes gets me a little over my head. Perhaps my DIYing is rubbing off on Andy? After the laundry cabinet refinishing I described here, I wasn't so sure he was going to keep putting up with my wild ideas. But alas, here we are and this time it was all his idea :)

Andy's parents had been storing two dressers they used earlier in their marriage. They were solid wood and well made, but were looking a little sad. They also had several nicks in them and just overall needed a good cleaning.  Honestly, this was Andy's idea and I was all for it! Why have I spent countless hours on Pinterest and various blogs on DIYing not to take advantage of this FREE project? Heck yes.

SO, here are the dressers in their original, dirty state...

See? Not bad, just in need of some lovin'. Although I had absolutely zero to do with this project, I know that Andy wiped everything down, gave it a sanding, painted, and installed hardware. It was a much faster project than the laundry business. Andy's parents actually had bought already painted other pieces in the set black, and had bought hardware to put on these babies, but just never got around to it. We did have to buy a few extra pulls, but it maybe totaled ten dollars. Andy did buy metallic spray paint for the inside pulls that couldn't be replaced, which I will definitely be taking advantage of in future projects. My apologies for the awkward shadows and lighting but here is how these beauties look now...

Ain't bad for maybe twenty bucks, eh? I think they look fabulous and about a thousand percent better than what they were before. Have I mentioned how awesome Andy is? Can't wait to get to using these babies in our master bedroom!

Hello, 2013!

This past year has been a busy one. I started planning a wedding, graduated college, moved from Champaign to Peoria, began my career as a dietetic intern, and started building our dream home.

Just saying all that makes me overwhelmed.

The good news is it's really been a great year. We are so blessed! The stress is all worth it.

Plans for 2013:
1. Finish building our dream home
2. Graduate my internship and become a Registered Dietitian
3. GET MARRIED! and enjoy a honeymoon in Hawaii
4. Cruise trip with the in-laws
5. Land my dream job (not sure what that is yet)
6. Enjoy a few family weddings

If 2013 is as good as 2012, I'll be a happy lady.

Happy New Year!!

Painting marathon

I know it's been a while since I've posted. And I know I say that every post. This time, I'm really pumped.

Our house is really coming together. I hadn't realized how far behind I am on documenting it all! Our dry wall was installed and completely finished. Anndddd, we PAINTED! This was the part I've been most excited about since day one. We've had paint colors picked for months! It took a lot of trial and error with the spray gun to finish the primer, but we made it. And we painted color in almost every room with the exception of our closet, pantry, and the guest rooms. I'm hoping those will be finished this weekend and then I will post pictures of each. I always forget to photograph it all..

Also, our kitchen cabinets were ordered ages ago and should be in next week. We also picked flooring for all rooms and are just waiting for quotes before ordering! Doors will get installed next week. Trim is in and just waiting to get painted white. We have decided on our two guest bath vanities and are hoping to pick them up this weekend. Our master bath vanity is still up for grabs but I'm okay with that. Andy hopes to place the laundry cabinets we have in the room and will put in the bathroom vanities when they come (we already have vanity tops). He is wonderful. I'm so lucky he is hard working and as excited as me about getting things done. He has done leaps and bounds more than I have as far as house stuff and I'm so grateful.

I am grinning ear to ear thinking about all we've accomplished:) I vow to be more assertive on blogging and photographing! Maybe I will make that my New Year's resolution...

Christmas 2012

Our schedules on Christmas are always crazy. This year was no exception. Even though I take it as a blessing to have so many get togethers during the holidays, it gets pretty hectic.

We started out spending the day with my parents and sisters on Christmas Eve. We got to lounge most of the day and had our usual feast for dinner. My parents are foodies and great cooks, so I always look forward to this! Dinner is followed by gift giving:)

Andy and I got some clothes, DVDs, a crock pot, and some other random things, but the main mama was our KitchenAid mixer (yes!). I'm a vey practical person so I would never spend the money on myself, but it was one thing I've always wanted and had to put on our registry. I can't wait to use it in our new kitchen :)

After gifts, we went to Andy's family church service at 9pm, followed by mine at 10:30pm. We compromise and always go to both. I'm not sure how much longer we can keep that up, but I'm hoping we get twice as much grace:)

Christmas Day started with gifts with Andy's parents and siblings. We got lots of loot, with the highlights being three pieces of luggage, a roaster, and four stools for our kitchen island! Blessed. We had lunch together and lounged for a bit before heading back to my parent's to meet up with my aunts, uncles, and cousins..

This Christmas gathering is always a gift frenzy. Our family goes wild with the gift giving and our mound of presents is always huge. Andy and I got several house items and even more luggage. It went by in a flash.

Back to Andy's parents we went to see his cousins. I enjoy catching up with his family. But a few hours later and it was time to go to the big Gschwendtner Christmas and some more socializing with my family.

Yes, we are crazy. Sometimes I think I am super woman and can do it all. But having such a busy schedule somehow takes away from the holiday. I like to think next year we will cut something out, but I know we would never do that. I just love Christmas! We are so blessed to have so much family to celebrate with and who are also so generous.

Giving Cabinets New Life

As I've mentioned before, we tore down a house before starting our build. Conveniently, the old house had amazing oak cabinets that were in pretty perfect condition. They weren't really my style, but I definitely saw their potential and my Pinterest loving self was chomping at the bit to get going on a project. We thought they would be perfect for the laundry room, but since we don't have any windows in that space I wanted to lighten them up with a fresh, light color. And the hardware was outdated. So, Andy took this on as his first real husband duty!

We decided on the pieces we wanted for the space, and Andy got going on heavy duty sanding. I think later on we decided he didn't have to put so much time and effort into that but it was all worth it in my opinion:)

I can't find a picture of the before cabinets, but here are the pieces after some sanding.

I wish I had a before picture to show you the great condition they were in.  These pictures do not really do them justice, but you get the idea of what a big to-do this was.  We got to try out a new attachment paint sprayer. A few coats and some trial and error got us some purty lookin' cabinets!

And now, the beautiful after photos...

We've given them a whole new life! I'm thrilled with the fresh, creamy color and the pulls are perfect. Won't the open cabinet be PERFECT for laundry baskets?!?! I'm pumped for all the organizational possibilities. I am so thankful for Andy as this project took him a few months. I think he is now a little turned off of DIYing, but I think after some time he will be open to giving it another whirl:) I can't wait to install these bad boys and just move in already!

Life

We have gotten a lot done lately! But we still have so much more to do..

On the wedding front, we have our registry done! Well, I shouldn't say done but pretty well started. We're waiting till the house is done to get more of the fun design things on the list. Everybody says it's so fun, but it was exhausting. I know I'm a neurotic mess so I made it more difficult than most people do, but I like to research things before I purchase them. And since we are starting from scratch on everything, I had quite a bit of researching to do. Also, we've nailed down a bridesmaid dress. Getting closer on the entertainment side of things, too. I have a style for the invitations picked out, I just have to have them made. And we have the whole honeymoon thing to do.. So. Much. Planning.

As far as the house goes, we have some dry wall hung - not much. Baseboards, trim, and doors have been finalized. Yesterday, we nailed down paint colors for pretty much every room, so I'm excited to get that going! We have a style of kitchen cabinets selected, and are hoping to have the designer get going on the specific layout. We sorted through a bunch of cabinet add-ons for organization and it got me pretty darn antsy. The organizing enthusiast in me is just itching for some projects and ready to put things away.  I. Am. So. Pumped.

In two months, it should be a completely different house! At least I hope it will be.

On another note, Friday was my last day of clinical rotations at work. This coming week will be my orientation into community work, which will last ten weeks. I'm guessing ten weeks will fly by compared to the twenty of clinicals! I'm enjoying it, but also very thankful that time has flown by. We have so much to look forward to :)

More of the same

There really is not a whole lot of updates here, just more of the same. So busy! I have been freaking out because of our looooong list of things to get done. Unfortunately, there is not much I can do about it because it's harvest season, and Andy is pretty much unavailable. We still need to register and do TONS of shopping for house items, but keep waiting for a rainy day. So, me being me, I've been doing hours of research on registry items, flooring, cabinets, paint colors, etc. It needs to stop. Maybe next month...

On a positive note, my mom confirmed that my venues were booked for the right days (I booked them almost a year ago, but my anxiety causes me to think of worst case scenarios). Also, after a few days of harried phone calls, the chair covers have been booked :) I am waiting to hear back from a DJ/lighting vendor and we have booked a day to go bridesmaid dress shopping! Hallelujah, I think we're getting close.

I know I say this every month, but is it seriously almost October? This is my last week on the hospital floors, and for the next three weeks I'll be covering staff and functioning like a full-fledge dietitian. At this point, I am so ready... and surprisingly, not nervous. We'll see how I feel come Monday. I am exciting to bust out these next three weeks and jump into the Community rotation. Although I really like clinical work, I am ready for a change up! I can't believe it's almost here and we will meet our new intern class next week!!

By the end of October, I better have a lot of news or else I will really be one frantic, psycho mess (as if I'm not already or anything). Here's hoping!