paint? check!

Man alive my husband is awesome. He finished painting the entire basement last night! It only took him 3 days of after school work I think. He is my hero. And of course now I can't stop thinking about ways to decorate down there! Here is a picture from the same view I showed you in this post but all painted! (it is looking from the main room where the couch will be, down the hall where the guest room is). Can't you just imagine the possibilities with this fun, bright color?!

My mind is whirring! Here are a few inspirations I pulled from the wonderful web. I'd love to do bright and colorful down there.

Of course our living room is full of warm, deep colors and now I'm ready to change those up a bit, too. Also I don't want things to be too girly for Jeff, which is tough because I am drawn to flowers and birds! Maybe I'll have to have 2 sets of themes for each area so that I can change them seasonally or something! ;) (just send me some $$ and I'll get right on that!) I'll keep you posted. Jeff bought the wood for his next project, the built in cabinets. He's pretty excited! I'm so proud of him :)

Spring

I don't really have much to say, but I wanted to get that ugly picture down the page a bit! I'm really looking forward to Spring. Of course March and April are our snowiest months here, but it's nice to mix that up with some 60 and 70 degree weather! Painting the basement such a bright yellow is also getting me in the mood!

Here are a few of my favorite things about Spring:

tulips!

leaving the windows open

wearing flip flops!

and of course, our beautiful back yard!

after the dust settles...

...on my face!

This is a sick picture, but I had to post it. I'm not joking when I tell you this basement project is a messy one! It looks like I'm a crazed person playing an elderly zombie in a HS play and the only thing to make my hair gray and face old was chalk. Nice.

Also, Jeff has already used a whole gallon of paint in the basement! We chose a color that goes with the color "theme" of our house, along the lines of brown/tan/yellow. The main room will be painted Expedition Khaki and the bedroom will be Rye. It's going to be nice and bright down there and I'm super excited about it! Here are the swatches against our table and our floor. They look different here and it looks really different on the walls. I honestly have no idea how you are supposed to find a color you like. They always turn out so different than you think they will. Oh well, these work so I'm happy :) I can't wait to show you what it looks like when it's all painted!

blog block

I haven't had a lot to share lately. My days mostly consist of busy at work, then working out, then working at home in the basement. Things are really shaping up down there! This weekend we had a major sprint and we finished sanding, priming AND texturing. Sheesh! My sweet husband spends more time down there than I do and he is so gracious about it. He is working so hard and making it look beautiful. I'm really proud of him! I must say I think I did my share this past weekend, though. Oh my aching arms and back!

The next steps are painting (after we find a paint color that works-cross your fingers that it will be the first try!), building the built-in shelves/cabinet/entertainment center, then carpeting and doors! Can you believe it? The end is in sight! The bathroom will probably be a bit later on the schedule as we are coming to the end of our renovation budget. We'll either do a little at a time there, or wait for a bit while we save up again. Either way, there is a bathroom at the top of the stairs, so that part isn't the priority.

I admit that I often get overwhelmed and think things are going to take FOR.EV.ER and I may, on occasion, roll my eyes at Jeff's seemingly unrealistic timing goals, but he thinks we are going to have it finished by Spring Break. What?! I confess I have doubts, no matter how amazingly talented the hubbs is. We'll see, though. And hey, the sooner it's done, the sooner I won't have to work on it anymore! It's true what Jeff says, however, it's so cool to know that once it's all done, we can say "look what we did together!" Go us!

More pictures to come...someday ;)

congrats, sar and josh!

Steph, Sar, me and Tiff (and baby Gaston!) celebrate Sarah and Josh's engagement!

whistle while you work

I keep wanting to post progress of our basement, but there are so many photos that it seems overwhelming. In the meantime, here is a good depiction of Jeff working hard as always. And then there's me...


Jeff working hard putting mud on the tape on the drywall.


Me! with my scarf and swimming goggles to keep the dust out of my eyes while I sanded the ceiling. It sure didn't keep the dust out of my nose, though!

And here is a shot of the same view...

...when we moved in-blue with weird cubby holes in the walls, all different levels, different depths, and totally not square. also, you might not be able to tell, but that piece that juts out on the right side, (it covers a pipe), is completely crooked, lower on one side, wavy, not straight or square either! Thanks, previous owner.



...after we tore down the crooked drywall AND illegal framing and put up new framing!


...and as it is now, re-drywalled and with some mud and tape on. There's a bedroom, now, and a closet and a bathroom! woohoo! Go Jeff!

all together now....awwwwwww

Jeff and I had a fun Valentine celebration on Sunday. We went to Jeff's favorite restaurant, Edelweiss. We also saw the cute movie, Just Go With It. I made, well tried to make, peanut butter cups. They tasted yummy, but they sure didn't look pretty!



I also made one of the most delicious pies EV.ER. Caramel banana pudding pie! It's all in the recipe, but it really is one of the best desserts I've made!



Then I came home today to a surprise! A few of my favorite things:



Cherry cordials and Cherry Pepsi! Plus a romantic card and a heating pad for me always aching shoulder. Isn't he thoughtful?! Seriously, one of the best vday gifts I've received :)



Plus he posed for this photo, and we all know how much he hates to do that. Sweetheart, that's what he is :)