Weekend Scenes and Plans

Working on a Monday should be optional. I mean, I can't say Monday's altogether because that would mean we skip straight to Tuesday and I'd miss the Bachelorette premier tonight - not happening! But working on a Monday, I mean, why? Kinda like Friday. Why work on Fridays? Adulting can be hard sometimes.

But, we did have an interesting weekend. Not a ton to share about the actual weekend because I forgot to take pictures and that's okay. We did enjoy our little mini tip to Fredericksburg - if you're from Texas you totally understand! I love going there for any excuse, even if I have to watch 7 on 7 football in the rain while I'm there.

We came back Saturday evening with just enough time for dinner and a bit of tug-of-war.

Sunday we did our usual trip to the grocery store, lunch and a trip to the mall. I attempted to try on swim suits but had no luck. Why must I be an in between size - super frustrating!

And then we came home for some 'pictures on my frozen phone'. Ha. Brylee is always bringing her phone to me saying let's take a picture on my phone. I just so happened to have my phone this time so we did both.

Now lets get to the interesting stuff. We've been wanting to redo a lot of our house and have a master list of plans. First was the living room. We painted the wood paneling, finished the decor and had plans to lay wood flooring down in place of the carpet. My step dad was going to come help lay that once we got the floors ready. First step was to rip up the carpet and clean the floors. This weekend we got the bright idea to pull up part of the carpet just to see how hard it would be (the carpet in there now is the original carpet) and much to our surprise the floor underneath was cement not wood like we were told! So now we are changing directions and instead of laying wood panels we are going to stain the concrete! I am so excited about this because I love the way stained concrete looks! Add some fun printed rugs - I cannot wait! This is the color we are going for.

And now for the fun stuff. The second room on the list is Brylee's bathroom. It's the bathroom used most of the time and I just hated so much about it. The out of date sliding shower doors, all the wood, the brass, the watercolor southwest colored wallpaper - so much! Anyways, most nights Tate gives B her bath while I clean up from dinner. Wednesday night I heard a ton of commotion coming from the bathroom and in checking it out saw that Tate had taken down the ugly sliding shower doors. Perfect, except we didn't have a shower rod. I had an old shower curtain but no rod. Late night trip to Walmart it was. The next night, which so happened to be the day I had a bad day, Tate started to rip off the wallpaper. That was totally fine because we hired painters and needed to get the wallpaper off so they could paint it. What wasn't totally fine was all the mess we found once we pulled it all off. That picture on the left was much worse before I wiped some of it off.

Our first thought was black mold so we started researching ways to get rid of it or what to do about it. We knew we didn't know much about it and you certainly can't believe everything online so we decided to wait until the next day and I would call our realtor and see if she could point us in the right direction of who we needed to talk to. After talking to the realtor, an environmental specialist, our home inspector and a plumber they've decided it was just high water moisture from the bathroom not having any ventilation or bathroom specific paint and glue. I didn't even know there was a such thing as bathroom specific paint! We are having a plumber come check it just to make sure but we did clean the walls with bleach just in case. I'm hoping there is no mold, water leaks or damage and that it really was just high water moisture. Bathroom checklist: bathroom specific paint and some kind of ventilation. To make things even better (insert sarcasm), we have to replace all the trim as well because it's a lost cause.

Here's to hoping y'all had a fantastic weekend and we all have a great week!

xx
Leah

What's Hap-Pinning | Living Room Edition

First off, Happy Texas Independence day to my fellow Texans out there! :) I've always told Tate he could move me wherever he wanted just as long as we didn't leave Texas! Good thing he agrees with me.



Moving on. 

I think anytime you buy or rent a new house there is always something you wish were different about it whether it be gutting an entire room or something simple like the color of a wall. There always seems to be something you would have done differently. When we first started looking at homes here the one we were living in didn't even seem like an option to me. I had my heart set on another one and when the sellers pulled out from the offer I was devastated. We had looked at our house once and not one single thing appealed to me - small kitchen, wood paneling EVERYWHERE, terrible carpet, awful wallpaper, tiny closets, old appliances, ugly blinds - nothing! I guess there is one thing I liked - the front door because I would be seeing my way out to never return.  When the above sell fell through (that was our 3rd offer) I was ready to call it quits. My realtor called me a few days later and asked me to meet her at this house alone. She said the house had charm and a ton of potential but I thought she was crazy. To please her though, I met her. Before we even walked through the house she told me to close my eyes in each room, imagine it being a different color with my furniture in it and throw in some life (the dogs, B's toys, cups on the counter, etc) and then open my eyes to the room. If after that I still had no desire for the house we'd start over. 

Y'all, she was so right! Our house was built in the 70's so the layout isn't something I wanted but it was common then. The kitchen is tiny and that's something we won't be able to change. The closets are small but they work. But the bedrooms are huge! The living room is huge! The walls, wallpaper and carpet can totally be fixed! This house does have so much potential and I am glad I get to be the one to start the renovating of it. Since this won't be our forever home, I can get it started for another family to love later. 

Linking up with Jenn and Jessi for What's Hap-pinning Wednesday.

 We both agreed on the living room and a fresh coat of paint in each room as our first priority. We are counting the hallway and entry way as the living room also because they will all be the same paint/trim/outlet covers.  My inspiration now, then you'll see what the living room originally looked like on down. I'll show the after pictures when it's complete!



I would have never picked those colors together but after playing around with swatches and spending nearly an hour in Lowes looking at gray, they work! Our furniture is that color brown so I was set on a cream color, the gray is the color Tate picked. I was so against gray and brown but after finding inspiration from pinterest I'm in love! I'm so glad we went with the gray because the cream would have taken forever to cover the wood.  The navy is the other main color and the other 3 are accents.


My first inspiration photo... this is what I based the entire living room off of. After Tate accidentally ( I use that loosely because I think he meant to do this) painted the trim gray also, I kinda liked it instead of white. 

 
Although I wouldn't use yellow, I love the idea of a colored pocket door! Tate wants to get rid of it but I love this!

 
The color we've picked out for our floors.

 
This won't be a 'do now' project but I'm hoping to paint our doors white or replace them with white doors. I think the white will brighten up the gray and floors. 

 
Where I got the inspiration for the accent colors.

To see all these pins and more check out my Living Room board on Pinterest.

Sidenote: The house was never on the market. To make a long story short the lady lived in a nursing home and her family had little by little began moving things so the house was never "complete" when we started looking therefore I have no other before pictures other than the ones I took.

Here are the before pictures: 

Entry way

 

 Looking into the living room from the entry way.

Looking into the living room from the dining room.

Looking into the living room from the hallway (pocket door).

Fireplace.. obvious! Ha!

Hallway. The far right of the picture is that pocket door that leads into the living room.

Now, enough pictures. Here's our checklist:

Living Room, Entry Way, Hallway

// paint wood paneling and walls - Check - Valspar Silver Dollar

// new floors (living room and hallway) - almost! We've decided and bought just haven't done it

// white wash fireplace - changed  my mind because I like it how it is :)

// new curtains and blinds - curtains - check! I found some I love on Zulily, blinds - in the works

// rug and throw pillows - this is the pillow above but I think it's too big. I've found some super cute pillows and rugs at Home Goods I may get.

// paint trim (white or gray) - I thought white but after Tate "accidentally" painted gray, I kinda like it

// fire place screen - I found a few things I like on pinterest but we haven't decided

// new ceiling fan and light fixtures - I like these for the hallway and entry way and we can't decide on a ceiling fan

// collage wall - will this every really be complete?

// entry way table and decor - have a bookshelf for now, working on decor

// doors - replace or paint? I love the look of the white doors and I think they'll look great with or without white trim

// pocket door - Tate wants to get rid of it, I like it. We'll see.
// outlet and light covers - haven't found them yet but I what a brushed nickel

Whew! That was a lot - sorry! But I'm super excited about finishing this up and can't wait to show y'all the finished look!

Weekending | No Plans Edition

 Good morning friends and Happy Monday! I hope you all had a great weekend and are rested and ready for this week, or that you have enough coffee (or tea) to get you through it. :)

On Friday I told y'all that we had no plans this weekend and we stayed true to that. We made nothing a 'have to' thing and just did what we wanted, when we wanted. It was wonderful!

~~

Friday night Tate had softball games. When those were over Brylee and I helped drag the fields, water and clean up! Clearly she was thrilled by this. ;)

Saturday was our 'make no plans and just do' day. We loved it. We had a very lazy morning. My hairstylist was having a Matilda Jane trunk show in San Angelo so when B and I got ready we stopped by there - swooning over ruffle denim pants! Heart eyes! We did some more shopping and Tate finished painting the dugouts.



Tate met us later for some home improvement shopping (aka picking out my new patio furniture!) and dinner. We told Brylee we would do something fun after dinner but we stayed longer than expected and it was too dark to go to a park. I was all for redboxing (I just made that a verb) a movie and ice cream but when Tate mentioned walking across the parking lot to Gattiland to play games I got outvoted. $20 later B had over 2000 tickets and a ton of loot to take home. I hate that place but seeing how happy and fun she thought this was totally made me put those feelings aside.




Sunday was once again super lazy - as in I showered, threw on some clothes and that was about it! My grandparents came by (they were passing through) and gave Brylee a ton of gum! Ha! That's my Granpa's thing - he always has double bubble on hand and all the great-grandkids know and LOVE this! I love that my daughter gets to have a relationship with my grandparents - it's the sweetest thing! After they left Tate went to help the baseball and softball parents with a BBQ lunch plate fundraiser and brought us back lunch! We napped, did some house work, some yard work (it really wasn't warm enough to be outside for very long) and had lots of snuggles.

Sidenote: Tate and I have been shopping around for a new refrigerator and just haven't bit the bullet to buy one yet - not only can they can be sooo pricey but I'm also super picky about something like this because to me its an investment and something I want to last! We didn't take our old fridge with us when we moved to south Texas because that house had a really nice one but when we moved here we quickly regretted that decision. This one was old, drawers were missing/broke, shelves were missing/broke and it was much smaller than we were used to - but it worked! We decided to just deal with it until we could get a new one because we have other plans for the house also and didn't want to spend $1500 on a fridge alone.

Okay, back to Sunday. While we were just being lazy Tate brought up the refrigerator he mentioned to me the day before - one of the coaches was moving and selling his fridge. It wasn't exactly like the few I had looked at but it resembled our old one that I loved and it met my requirements: Stainless steel/black - check! Water/ice connector - check! French door - kinda, it's side by side instead! Ha! Anyways, he was going to be moving things that day and offered to sell it to us for super cheap and it's only about 2 years old. After thinking about it for about 2.5 seconds we decided to buy it. Hello new/used refrigerator. #adulting

Don't mind our magnets and Brylee's artwork. :) I also took down this hideous bar thing that was beside our old fridge because I didn't like it and it feels like it really opened up our tiny kitchen a bit.

So: playing on the gator, MJ ruffled pants, and a new refrigerator - I'd say it was a good weekend for us. Have a great week!



Linking up with Biana and Meghan.

Daily Leah #2

It's time for another #dailyleah post! If you don't know what I'm talking about, I explained it here, but it's basically one picture a day that makes me happy/thankful/etc. It can be anything from a happy moment to getting a good parking spot. Anything! I post to instagram and then gather them all up here. 

January 10 to January 23

Day 10

Chicken & Dumplins! This is my favorite way to make these. Recipe coming soon.

Day11

I finally got my new planner in! I'm loving it so far.

Day 12

 I started the Organizing Challenge with A Bowl Full Of Lemons. Wish me luck.

Day 13

 I gave Tate the ultimatum, he was cleaning out his side of the closet or I was doing it. We compromised and did it together. Some progress was made.

 

Day 14

 Yay for getting my new curtains up! Finally! And yes, I see the lovely baseboards on the bottom; that's a project coming up.

Day 15

All alone at Target. This doesn't happen often.

Day 16

 Fall Sports Banquet.

 

Day 17

 We went to Lowes to pick out our new floors (refer to day 14) but all Brylee wanted to do was drive the 'little tractor'. ha!

 

Day 18

 Brylee was 'toning it up' with me. Her yoga poses are fantastic!

 

Day 19

 National Popcorn Day. I didn't even know that was a such thing. But there is. And I celebrated it.

 

Day 20

Chocolate heart candy! I didn't need it but oh I so wanted it.

 

Day 21

 Bored waiting on Tate. He works late a lot due to coaching so this girl and I have lots of one on one time and I love it!

 

Day 22

 Pink Pancakes. Need I say more? 

Day 23

 We took Brylee to see Alvin and the Chipmunks. How cute does she look with her own snack pack of popcorn! Heart eyes! And as far as the movie goes, we loved it!

So there's Daily Leah #2! I'm changing this to every Sunday instead of every other Sunday.
I can keep this up.
Repeat.
I can keep this up.

Happy Sunday!

Monthly To Do | February

Yay for February! Bring on all things hearts and flowers, oh and football! I've said it before, I've been cheering on the Panthers all season long, but I am a Broncos girl, always have been!

Before I dive right into my February to do's, let's see how I did with January!

1. Lose 2-5 lbs - I lost 3! Considering I started late in the month and I cannot seem to lay off the oreos, I'd say I did pretty good! From the day I actually got serious about it, I'd say I was averaging a little over a pound a week.

2. Read January in Bible Challenge - yeah, this didn't happen. First of all, I couldn't find the challenge I had initially started with and spent so much time looking for another one that it was almost February when I realized it. I would like to read the bible chronologically so if anybody has a plan they like, help a girl out. I did, however, start the Jesus Calling daily devotional and I love it. 

3. Read 2-3 Books - I kinda checked this one off. I read PS I Love You by Cecelia Ahern and started reading The Husband's Secret by Liane Moriarty. I'll have a small little book review thing in a few months or so when I have more than one book to talk about.

4. Workout at least 3-4 times a week for at least 30 minutes a day - Same as goal number 1, I started a little late on this, but once I committed to my daily workouts, I kicked some butt! I'm still doing the Tone It Up challenge and still love it. The trainers are great. It's by far my favorite plan.

5. Finish the living room - I really shouldn't have expected this to be finished within in the month because of what we plan to do with it. We did pick out the new floors (yay!), I finally got the curtains hung and I'm almost finished with the collage wall. I still need to purchase new pillows, a rug, replace the fireplace screen and figure out what to do with the pocket door. 

6. Register for school - Another thing that I didn't get checked off. I waited too long for spring so now I get to start with Summer classes. Oh joy! I seriously need to get finished.

7. Valentine's Day decor - I can totally check this off too! Maybe one of these days I'll get a post up on my decor and maybe a tutorial of the cute wreath I did. And as figured, Brylee loves it and has totally forgotten about the Christmas tree.

8. Make a hair appointment - I tried. My hair stylist is back in Odessa and we just can't seem to get a weekend together. I'm hoping something will be done this month so I don't have to find another one. (insert crying emoji!)

9. Update my blog - Check. Check. and check. It's even prettier than I hoped it would be. I still have things to add to it, but for the most part the (new) blog is updated!

10. New morning routine - Again, I kinda got to check this off too. I wanted to start getting up at 5, read the bible, my books, workout and even have a nice breakfast cooked before 7:30. I've been getting up anywhere between 5:30-5:45 and slowly making progress. On days that I don't wash my hair I have more time (obviously) but on days that I still have to blow dry my hair, forget it! 

And now for February. Short month, short list.

Pssstt.. ya like that notepad underneath? $$ Section at Target!  :)

1. Oily skin remedy - My face has dramatically cleared up after using Rodan + Fields; I really noticed the change when I was out of it for a week - yikes! I hoped that after clearing up my face, the oiliness would go away too but nope, still there. If anybody has any remedies they love, help me out!

2. Appointments: Eye, Dentist, Hair - This goes for me and Brylee. Tate is all for himself. I could make him the appointment but I would have to drag him there. No thanks. I really need to get my eyes check (it's been 4 years!), I'm due for a teeth cleaning and refer to January #8 for hair. I would like to get Brylee a trim, take her for her first teeth cleaning and hopefully get an eye exam in there also. Her pediatrician doesn't think the eye exam is exactly necessary but I think the sooner I start her having regular exams, the better.

3. Activities with Brylee -  She really, really, really wants to do dance or gymnastics but where we live we would have to drive 30-45 min to one of the bigger towns on a week day at night. That's not exactly what I'm wanting to do. I've got to figure something out before she drives me complete nuts!

4. Organizing Challenge - Well I started the organizing challenge with A Bowl Full of Lemons and that's about as far as I got, day 1! Ha! I quickly figured out I needed more than a week to complete each task so I'm going to continue her challenge but at my own pace, starting with: Kitchen/Laundry Room (their connected) and Dining Room.

5. Keep up with January - I did so well (mostly) with these last month so I might as well put them here too to keep me accountable.

• Read 2-3 books
• Lose 2-3 lbs
• Morning routine
• Workout 3-4 times per week
• Daily Devotions/Bible reading

I hope you guys have a fantastic Wednesday and good luck to any monthly to-do's you may have!