Sorry, for the break – I've been grouchy (you are welcome to picture me stealing Oscar's trash can here).
What should have been a simple "freon refill for our air conditioner" visit, turned into a "you'll be lucky if your air conditioner lasts through the summer" visit. Yay. I told Brent there was no way we were taking that gamble – summers is Kansas City are 95% miserable, with 100% humidity. So Brent and I have been getting price quotes. I don't think I realized how expensive air conditioners are – ouch! I'm just glad we found all this out after we got our sectional for the man cave, or the futon would probably still be here.
The new air conditioner will be installed in 2 week.s
Wednesday, June 8, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
A Tale of 5 Sofas
The 6-week journey of 5 sofas for the man cave is now over.
It was a long, brutal process, but it's over now. The issue was the landing going down into the basement – nothing would fit in the space.
Our sectional arrived the day of the wine-party (nothing like cutting it close), and it took 45 minutes (and one hole in the wall) to make it fit. The hole was Brent's doing. The delivery guys said it wouldn't fit, but Brent was determined and pushed the sofa into the wall. My houndstooth wall.
Sigh. Looks like somebody gets to learn how to patch walls in the near future. But it was totally worth it, because the futon is gone!
Before:
After:
Yep, the man cave has definitely come a long way in the past year:
The only issue now is the wall color. I've never been a fan of it, but Brent's loved it. Thankfully, that love is quickly fading with the brown sectional. I think a celery color would be rather amazing and lighten things up.
It was a long, brutal process, but it's over now. The issue was the landing going down into the basement – nothing would fit in the space.
Our sectional arrived the day of the wine-party (nothing like cutting it close), and it took 45 minutes (and one hole in the wall) to make it fit. The hole was Brent's doing. The delivery guys said it wouldn't fit, but Brent was determined and pushed the sofa into the wall. My houndstooth wall.
Sigh. Looks like somebody gets to learn how to patch walls in the near future. But it was totally worth it, because the futon is gone!
Before:
After:
Yep, the man cave has definitely come a long way in the past year:
The only issue now is the wall color. I've never been a fan of it, but Brent's loved it. Thankfully, that love is quickly fading with the brown sectional. I think a celery color would be rather amazing and lighten things up.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
White wine-tasting party
I can safely say that my mom's birthday party was a success. As you'll be able to see from the photos, I kept it a similar format to the beer-tasting party – after all, if it ain't broke...
My reasoning for sticking with white wines was a simple one –
my mom + wine = spillage.
Well that, and that my mom prefers whites. But mainly the first reason.
Now, on to the fun stuff!
SAVE THE DATES AND INVITES
I love green wine bottles – so I used that to set the tone on everything I did.
FIRST GLANCE
Since most of my mom's friends haven't been to my house, I wanted a sign out front. (Well, I would have made a sign no matter what, but at least this time around I had an excuse).
THE STATIONS
We had four different stations set up around the house – chardonnay, pinot grigio, riesling/muscat and blends.
Aside from wine, each station had a wine opener, notepad, pen and napkins.
I designed the notepads, and then had them printed at VistaPrint.
Originally, I was going to get napkins with wine phrases on them, but when I saw these, I just couldn't resist.
For the station bottles, Brent drilled a hole in each one then we stuffed Christmas lights in them. (Just a warning – after 5 hours of being on those bottles got super hot, so we turned them off). As for the top part, I used a Silhouette.
We also had beer on tap for the non-wine drinkers. Brent and I definitely underestimated that amount of people we had in that group. The pony keg was finished off in about 4 hours, then that group moved on to mix drinks.
THE CHEESE BAR
Wine and cheese – it's a match made in heaven, so of course a cheese bar was a high priority for me. There were 9 different types of cheese, 3 different crackers and some fig spread, which went great with the Manchego cheese.
THE FOOD
I love appetizers at a party, and I can't see myself ever breaking away from this. Some of my mom's friends helped me out and brought appetizers as well, which made getting everything ready on Saturday so much less stressful.
The menu:
THE DESSERTS
The menu: Grandma's cream cheese brownies, cream puffs, lemon bars, pink champagne mini cupcakes, my mother-in-law's chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, chocolate-covered pretzels with heath bar and white chocolate-covered pretzels with sprinkles.
The phrase that pays:
PERSONAL TOUCH
I wanted to display pictures of my mom without making a huge production out of it (my mom would not like a picture wall). So, I cleaned off some wine bottles, created picture labels and placed them throughout the house.
I thought the party turned out great, but most importantly, my mom had a blast.
I hope to have the wine-party paper package available soon!
My reasoning for sticking with white wines was a simple one –
my mom + wine = spillage.
Well that, and that my mom prefers whites. But mainly the first reason.
Now, on to the fun stuff!
SAVE THE DATES AND INVITES
I love green wine bottles – so I used that to set the tone on everything I did.FIRST GLANCE
Since most of my mom's friends haven't been to my house, I wanted a sign out front. (Well, I would have made a sign no matter what, but at least this time around I had an excuse).
THE STATIONS
We had four different stations set up around the house – chardonnay, pinot grigio, riesling/muscat and blends.
Aside from wine, each station had a wine opener, notepad, pen and napkins.
I designed the notepads, and then had them printed at VistaPrint.
Originally, I was going to get napkins with wine phrases on them, but when I saw these, I just couldn't resist.
For the station bottles, Brent drilled a hole in each one then we stuffed Christmas lights in them. (Just a warning – after 5 hours of being on those bottles got super hot, so we turned them off). As for the top part, I used a Silhouette.
We also had beer on tap for the non-wine drinkers. Brent and I definitely underestimated that amount of people we had in that group. The pony keg was finished off in about 4 hours, then that group moved on to mix drinks.
THE CHEESE BAR
Wine and cheese – it's a match made in heaven, so of course a cheese bar was a high priority for me. There were 9 different types of cheese, 3 different crackers and some fig spread, which went great with the Manchego cheese.
THE FOOD
I love appetizers at a party, and I can't see myself ever breaking away from this. Some of my mom's friends helped me out and brought appetizers as well, which made getting everything ready on Saturday so much less stressful.
The menu:
THE DESSERTS
The menu: Grandma's cream cheese brownies, cream puffs, lemon bars, pink champagne mini cupcakes, my mother-in-law's chocolate chip cookies with walnuts, chocolate-covered pretzels with heath bar and white chocolate-covered pretzels with sprinkles.
The phrase that pays:
PERSONAL TOUCH
I wanted to display pictures of my mom without making a huge production out of it (my mom would not like a picture wall). So, I cleaned off some wine bottles, created picture labels and placed them throughout the house.
I thought the party turned out great, but most importantly, my mom had a blast.
I hope to have the wine-party paper package available soon!
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
The other side
I love the built-ins Brent and I did for the man cave. But it was looking a little sad on the other side of the stairs.
So, during our "rush week," Brent and I added that task to the list and had this project finished in no time.
Our biggest obstacle was the vent, since we didn't want to block it. The solution: just letting the vent be.
The "end" result:
I still need to find something for the bottom. I was thinking some sort of basket for storage. As for the top, Brent's wanting to get a second TV.
So, during our "rush week," Brent and I added that task to the list and had this project finished in no time.
Our biggest obstacle was the vent, since we didn't want to block it. The solution: just letting the vent be.
The "end" result:
I still need to find something for the bottom. I was thinking some sort of basket for storage. As for the top, Brent's wanting to get a second TV.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Curb Appeal (day 8 and done!)
After today, the forecast is rain, rain, rain until my mom's party. So, today was the day to finish up the front yard; and after 8 hours braving the humidity – it's done!
Last summer:
Now:
I'm really happy with how it turned out. I can't believe this project can be crossed off the list. This is something Brent and I have wanted to do ever since we moved in, but kept putting it off because of time and financial fears. Thankfully, both concerns turned out to be a non-issue.
Time
I did this project in 8 days, and only had help for half of them. The project would have been done even sooner, but surprises like a gas lamp pole and a bed of rocks underneath the dirt – held me up.
The financial breakdown:
- Ripping out the bushes: free (DIY)
- Retaining wall stones: $80.85 (55 stones during Home Depot's spring Black Friday sale at $1.47, normally $1.69)
- Retaining wall toppers: $33.80 (20 toppers at $1.69 each)
- Landscape block glue: $9.60 (2 bottles)
- Shrubs and perennials: $113.66
- Mulch: $14 (7 bags during Home Depot's spring Black Friday sale)
Pre-tax Total: $251.91
Not bad at all.
Last summer:
Now:
I'm really happy with how it turned out. I can't believe this project can be crossed off the list. This is something Brent and I have wanted to do ever since we moved in, but kept putting it off because of time and financial fears. Thankfully, both concerns turned out to be a non-issue.
Time
I did this project in 8 days, and only had help for half of them. The project would have been done even sooner, but surprises like a gas lamp pole and a bed of rocks underneath the dirt – held me up.
The financial breakdown:
- Ripping out the bushes: free (DIY)
- Retaining wall stones: $80.85 (55 stones during Home Depot's spring Black Friday sale at $1.47, normally $1.69)
- Retaining wall toppers: $33.80 (20 toppers at $1.69 each)
- Landscape block glue: $9.60 (2 bottles)
- Shrubs and perennials: $113.66
- Mulch: $14 (7 bags during Home Depot's spring Black Friday sale)
Pre-tax Total: $251.91
Not bad at all.
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