Updated Kitchen and Living Room Pics!

So the last couple months have been busy!  With the holidays, birthdays, and family visiting it has been a festive time around our house.  I mentioned in this post we did a little revamp in the open spaced living/dining room and kitchen.  I had always been wanting new light fixtures since we have moved in and when you are already spending money to remodel a space, it seems like just as good a time as any to spend more!  I shopped around for good deals and with the help of my interior decorator found some fabulous lights I just love.   We replaced the ceiling fan in the living room....the old one was sponge painted gold and silver, it was hideous!  We also got new lights above the island and kitchen table and put in a few faucet in the kitchen.  I love these subtle changes!  The last change I made was the large wall in our living room.  I moved the previous pics you see here to my stairwell and instead made a collage of pics and wall decor.  I absolutely love the change and with the new appliances we got in the summer, I am completely happy with my downstairs living space, which is important since we are down here 80% of the day!  I also included some pics of the party we hosted for my husband's work that inspired all these renovations! 

party pics for work party

yummy food at work party!

I'm sure many of you are curious to know how homeschooling is going.  I plan on addressing that elephant in the room soon, sharing house pics is more fun!

Kate

My comeback.....the foyer makeover

Hello!  I know I have been MIA for several months, but I had some time and wanted to show you a home remodel project we had done recently.  If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen some pics about this project.  

When we purchased our home almost 3 years ago, I was not a fan of all the maple woodwork.  We did lay maple hardwood floors, which I love, but the trim, doors, and staircase all being maple was TOO much in the foyer.  It was very yellow/orange depending on the light and the wood was very worn, it was an eyesore to me, which is not what you are wanting for the entry of your home.  From the beginning we had plans to pull up the carpet on the steps and replace with wood and paint the railing.  We had some problems with the supplier of the wood and ended up getting so frustrated we just pushed the project aside for the last few years.  

In November, my husband came home from work and informed me we needed to host a holiday work party and that was the motivation we needed to get the project going again.  I had ideas in my head about colors for painting the trim in the foyer, while leaving the trim and doors throughout the rest of the house maple.  I was not bothered as much by the wood in the other rooms, just the foyer.  I had an interior designer pop over and give me her opinion.  She had the fabulous idea to paint the doors only on one side.  So the bathroom and study doors were to be painted black in the foyer, while they stayed maple inside their respected rooms.  She agreed the trim could be painted only in the foyer and it would not seem odd throughout the rest of the house to be maple.  I was thrilled with her ideas and we got right to work!  As a side note, we did not do any of the work, we hired it all out .  

So this is what we started with when we purchased the home, he walls were a soft ivory and front door was white.

 We had  the walls painted a few months after moving in a color called Comfort Gray by Sherwin Williams.  It looked very blue during certain times of the day, we were going for more of a gray....it was so frustrating, but we left it.  We also painted the front door black on the inside.  The chandelier we wanted to change too, but we left it for the time being. 

 

So the day after Christmas our remodel started!  We all lived in the basement for 10 nights, which started out as fun, but by the end we were all ready for our beds again!  We even went to the local indoor water-park for a night, we had such cabin fever and the weather outside was at record lows. 

However, the end results were fabulous!  The first night I just sat in the foyer and drank a glass of wine and was in awe of the transformation.  I felt like I was sitting in my dream home, it was a Pinterest moment come to life! The photos truly do not do it justice.  Without repainting, the wall color even changed to the silvery grayish blue we wanted from the start.   I found the light fixture, which we lovingly refer to as the "birdcage," from Joss and Main.  It has just a touch of glam and sparkle with some crystal droplets hanging around each light and the base. So, enough chit chat.....here are the pics!

 I am so happy we finally went ahead and completed this project!  I also got new light fixtures in the kitchen, dining and living room and made a huge wall collage.  The next chance I get I will post pics.  Have a great weekend! 

Super Simple Fall Leaf Bunting

We have been spending a lot of time outdoors this fall enjoying the beautiful weather.  I have been noticing the colorful leaves and wanted to find away to preserve their beauty.  I also needed to replace the colorful bunting I purchased from The Pleated Poppy  with something more seasonal.  I came up with this idea and was so excited to find it worked.  The leaves almost feel like leather after drying and they have a beautiful sheen to them too.  I am so happy to share this easy project with you.  

Have a great day! 

Kate

Life Lately

Life lately has been so full, so brimming to the top with activity.  Homeschooling is going well.  The kids are enjoying it and strangely enough I am too.  It feels very satisfying to be doing something so important.  My house is less put together.  Meals are not pin worthy. Laundry and dishes are always spilling over.  My floors need mopped and closets need organized, but for some reason life has never seemed so full.  

We have our struggles.  It’s hard being with the kids 24/7.  We all have our ideas of what sounds fun when school is over and we are all finding out we don’t always get out way.  But, what I am finding is that teaching moments are always occurring.  Schooling is never truly finished for the day.  If you can believe it, my boys are actually fighting over who gets to gather the laundry and start a load for the day. 

I am noticing children who take pride in helping more around the house.  Children who value free time more than ever.  Children who are playing together like best friends.  It is so rewarding to see.  It outweighs the difficult moments by tenfold.  

I have yet to figure out how to make time for the things I enjoy.  It seems the kids are up later and after they are in bed my body can’t wait to lie down in the cozy sheets too.  Lesson planning, housework and bible study are consuming my mornings and before I know it, it’s time for breakfast and school.  

Socially we are crazy busy.  I laugh to myself at the thought I was worried about social activities for the boys, only to find our social life has greatly increased since homeschooling.  I am actually longing for days, when co-op, swim lessons, PE and field-trips slow down around the holidays.  The kids are happy and so much more outgoing than ever before.  The families we are meeting are solid, fun people.  My idea of what a homeschool family is has completely changed.  

As for my blog, I am changing things around.  You may notice I have removed some posts and the pics of my kids.  I am feeling more and more every day, they are getting old enough to tell their own story and don’t need me making a cyber-footprint for them.  

I am struggling with if I am going to continue to share our family’s story about Asperger’s.  On one hand, I feel like I want to shout out with Glory to God for His hand in this situation, but on the other, I am unsure of how my son would feel with me sharing his story, when he is older.  I sincerely want to be a support to parents going through the same ordeal, and share what worked for us, so I am trying to figure out how to do that and still respect his privacy. 

My blog will probably consist of more journal type posts.  I just don’t have time to post pics and do fun DIY projects and I don’t want that to hold me back from sharing my stories.  I still have yet to share about the 3 years that were the most stressful in regards to my son’s health, we also had house issues, worthy of a movie script! 

Have a blessed day,

Kate

Spring Decor and My To Do List

I am completely in awe of you bloggers that can find the time to post every few days, especially you homeschoolers.  Where do you find the time?  Do you only require 6 hours of sleep a night?  Do you have a housekeeper or cook?  I just can't do it all.  I have been homeschooling my middle son in the mornings for the last month and it has taken over all my free time.  As I plan for next year and the possibility of homeschooling all three, I wonder when I will ever get a chance to post with frequency or ever do a DIY project again.  If you have any secrets please share. 

So, with public school getting out in less then a month, I am suddenly panicked by all the projects and organizing, I had envisioned finishing this school year and is still not complete.  So, I am going to make a list of all that I want to accomplish in the next month, with the hopes that posting it in cyberspace, will make me more accountable.  I will also show you some pics of my decorated living room for Spring, it is finally here!! 

      To Do List

• finish organizing pics on computer
• get software for computer safety for kids (any recommendations would be appreciated)
• organize all closets and switch clothing for summer
• organize all hot spots (places where piles have accumulated)
• sell all that stuff on ebay/craig's list
• find that lost library book
• purchase Scout stuff-I am going to be donning a stylish Scout leader shirt...you are jealous I know ;)
• organize all my jewelry and make/purchase something to hang necklaces from
• update account password sheet
• catching up on ironing
• plan summer vacation
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  I'm sure I have forgotten something, but this is a good start.  What's on your to do list before school gets out?