Basement Progress

Work on the basement slowed over the last couple weeks, but we do have some updates to share! These pictures should show some of the changes. It looks like progress to us!

We have a wide row of duct work – makes for a super wide soffit.

Getting the soffit framed in was great progress this weekend.
We had some help – my father-in-law and brother-in-law were here.
After just a few hours they had it all framed up!

There has also been some plumbing work going on over the last two weeks.
Handy hubby has not done much plumbing work before, so this is a new skill he has picked up from reading books from the library and searching online.
His Dad and Step-Mom gave him this torch for Christmas. Little did we know, he would attempt to burn down our house with it!

The studs were actually on fire. As in flames, on the walls of our home. Luckily he was able to put the fire out quickly! Just like in the pic above, he had bent some steel to be behind the copper while he was soldering, but it clearly wasn’t enough.

He installed the valves (with the yellow handles that go up) and then started running the copper pipes over to the bathroom. In the left corner you can see the remnants of the little fire. Some quick action to smother the fire with his gloves took care of it. Whew!

Here we have the beginning of fire #2, but there were no flames on this one.

Progress is happening. We can see things starting to take shape! Unfortunately, things will stay like this for awhile now while the electrical work, more plumbing, etc. happen. Regardless, I am hopeful we’ll have the basement ready for Christmas!

Pinewood Derby

Last weekend I joined my son at his scouting event because my hubby was off playing basketball. Cub Scouts has really been their thing, but I have to admit, the Pinewood Derby was fun! The cars were pretty amazing and the excitement of these boys was incredible. I will definitely be there next year too!!

The car at the top with the yellow stripe is Anthony’s. The yellow stripe was our not so beautiful attempt to add some much needed weight to his car…

Here is Anthony’s “pre-sketch” so that his handy Daddy could cut it out for him.

Great cars, right?!?

This shark car belongs to another kindergartener.
It was pretty slow, but still a super cool car!

The kindergarteners are getting ready to race again –can you tell how much fun Anthony is having?!?

Anthony’s car consistently came in 2nd place out of the 3 cars!

Crossing the finish line in 2nd place!

The cars are racing down the track and the boys are pumped up!!

The boys all had a blast – the Pinewood Derby was definitely a success!!!

Valentine Cookies

The other day I made a fruit pizza using some cookie dough. I didn’t need the entire batch of cookie dough for the pizza crust, so I rolled out a few cookies. I whipped up a quick batch of frosting (powdered sugar, butter, milk, vanilla and food coloring) and my little assistant took care of the sprinkles. So much fun and delicious too!!





I love how the center of each cookie is loaded with sprinkles!

Basement Progress

It’s only been one week, but with some framing, duct work and plumbing all going on, it feels like things are moving along nice and quick. So quick that I have to keep reminding myself that there is a ton of work involved with the rest of the plumbing, electrical, etc. Our goal is that the basement will be ready for Christmas 2012 and after just one week, it sure feels like we are on the right track.

Duct work – see the funky shape in the ceiling (like a rectangle with a
rounded corner)? My hubby had to re-do the duct work to fill in that
space and re-route to access the new bathroom.

Hard at work!

The head lamp looks dorky, but it sure is handy! Notice he’s installing the
funky shaped duct work here.

Part of the drywall has been taken down to open up the stairs. It’s amazing what a big difference something so small made. We had to leave the temporary wall (put in to meet code when we built the house) and railing there for safety, but someday it will be taken down and replaced with a nice new railing.

The walls are going up! The back room will be a bedroom and the little room on the right is the bathroom.

He has set up a temporary shop in our basement.
Oh the dust we will live with over the next year!

Plumbing… So far his least favorite.

This was an “oops” piece. Don’t quit your day job! HaHa….

It probably doesn’t look like much to you, but wow, we can sure see the difference. Now, who wants to come over and help speed this project along?!?

Master Bedroom Updated (finally!)

A few months ago we painted our master bedroom and swapped out the bedding, curtains, etc. I have already shared our updated photo wall and promised to share pictures of the newly changed room. To be honest, I was waiting to post until I could finally put a few finishing touches on the room (like ironing the curtains! Don’t look too closely!) but a couple months later that still hasn't happened, so I decided to just go ahead and share.

Here is how the room looks now:

The red/white thing by the bed is a fire ladder. Our bedroom is on the 2nd floor and there is a 2-story drop to the ground from our windows. Safety first!

Click here for more info about the photo wall.




These pictures make the bed look super tiny, but it really is a queen. We definitely have the room for a King, but they don’t make this bed anymore and we are just fine with the queen. It works for us.

What changes have you been making in your home?

Linking to: Thrifty Decor Chick, Remodelaholic

Let the Basement Begin!

After living in our home for 8 years, we are finally ready to start the massive project that is finishing the basement. We have tackled projects like building a deck, building a 2-wall desk for our office, landscaping (twice!), building a shed, expanding our backyard and building a playset for our son. If we can accomplish all of those projects (and more) in the last 8 years, we should be ready to take on the basement. 

Yesterday was a big day for the basement. The plans have been approved, permits are in hand and a load of lumber appeared in the basement last night. It’s official, we are doing this and the construction is in process at this moment. Any bets on how many months this project takes us??

I can’t believe I am going to post these extremely embarrassing pictures of our disastrous basement, but in an effort to be real, this is where we were a few weeks ago in the middle of organizing the basement and preparing for construction.

Lots of junk, right??

All I can say is WOW, we have a lot of stuff piled all over down there…..

I am pleased to say that we have dealt with a LOT of that stuff. Some of it has been moved to be stored in other locations, some has been taken to a consignment shop, some has been donated, and some will remain in the basement during the construction (covered in plastic).

Here are some pictures to prove that we really are ready for construction:

The wall on the right (behind the bucket on the floor and the Christmas trees)
will have a fireplace and built-in cabinets for the TV and storage.

See the two white pipes that run floor to ceiling? Those mark where the walls for the bathroom will be. There will be a bedroom back behind the bathroom and a wet bar on the wall this side of the bathroom.

The wall over by the stairs (behind the ladder) will be opened up to expose about half of the stairs.

While my handy hubby has been busy creating the plans for the permits and learning about plumbing and electrical (yes, he is taking on this project solo!), I have spent some quality time on Pinterest, looking for some inspiration. The plans for the built-in, wet bar, bathroom, lighting, etc. have not been finalized, but here are some photos that are currently providing some inspiration to the design. Sorry for the grainy pictures! Also, I apologize, but I do not have the sources for these pictures either.

Let the construction begin, thanks to this envelope!

Here we go…. Wish us luck!!!

DIY Dry Erase Boards and an Updated Bulletin Board

Tomorrow I go back to work after having 10+ days off – it’s going to be rough getting back into the routine of going to bed early so that I can get out of bed in the morning.
My office at work is a pretty neglected space and definitely would not be considered a “happy” space. A few weeks ago I decided to make a couple quick and easy updates to my office to make it a little more functional and to add a pop of color.
I started with this ugly old bulletin board from my college days and two cheap picture frames from Goodwill (approx $3 each).

A quick trip to Lowe’s led to Anthony picking a color of paint – a bright and glossy (ugh!) blue! A little painters tape on the bulletin board, a disassembling of the frames, and a quick couple coats of spray paint, and they were all set! Two new blue frames turned into dry erase boards (just write on the glass) and an updated bulletin board.

The painting over my desk was done years ago by my hairdresser and my hubby bought it for me for Valentine’s Day one year. It says: Give More. See More. Laugh More. Hear More. Love More. Play More. Be More. I love it!!
It’s a minor update to a pretty ugly office, but it helped to add some color and they have been functional too!