office part 2

Here is the second update on our office. warning...this part is not as exciting.

First is the renovation of the green dresser. You remember that right? The dresser found for $20 at a yard sale that was in need of a makeover.




Well here she is!



Kind of hard to tell, but the color is a light blue from the Martha Stewart line. I looove her colors! I kept the original hardware (cleaned in a baking soda solution) and think it looks great! Painting furniture can be difficult, especially a piece like this with layers and layers of old paint, and I am by no means an expert. At all. I just take it as a learning experience. It was hard to get a super smooth finish on this but I am happy with the overall look. This will look great in a kids room one day.

Scully helped me out on this project. By constantly stealing my sand paper and chewing on it. She is so helpful.


Next, was coming up with a solution for Peter's Dodger collection. And I will start by saying this didnt come out the way I expected. The vintage magazines look great in their new frames and I was hoping the ledges I bought at Ikea would be wide enough to also display some of the (many) bobbleheads.
No such luck.



As you can see the bobbleheads do not fit. In fact, Fernando Valenzuela was about to bobble right off. Not good. I was disappointed, but after working on this room for a week after work every night (late) and trying to prepare for vacation AND a work trip I got over it. Maybe one day I will get wider ledges, maybe not. For now the bobbleheads are all lined up on the desk. Not my favorite, but fine for now.



We left this room intentionally a little spare on one side. Eventually a bed will be moved in here (I am hoping for a daybed against the window) and this will become the office/guest room.



Final touches include new faux wood white blinds and different white curtains with a fun fabric band on the bottom. Stay tuned. But dont expect anything soon. A recent vacation and 2 week long work trips have stalled the progress.

Oh and new carpet...eventually. I know, I know. We are not in love with the mauve carpet. Shocking.

office part 1

The third bedroom in our house has been referred to as the office since we moved in. However, this was never an accurate depiction of its function. Yes, it housed my college desk (barely big enough for a computer) and an ugly file cabinet, but we never actually sat at the desk. It also housed an older tv on a card table, a hand-me-down recliner that doubled as a dog bed, an old end table that was piled high with junk, numerous storage containers, and a permanently exposed ironing board (ok, who am I kidding, that will probably stay). Oh, and I cant forget the dingy beige wall color, popcorn ceiling, and hideous fan. And the fact that is was perpetually clutterd and disorganized. It was a piece of work. Let me tell you.

I have looked high and low for a picture of this complete mess and I cant find anything. That is probably because I never took any. That is probably because I didnt even like looking in there. (Being that this room is directly across from my bedroom, it was hard to avoid) Just picture an ugly, cramped, disorganized space. And then imagine something worse. Pretty much it.

But recently we have made efforts to greatly improve this room and its functionality. Beginning with a few long nights of scraping, sanding, puttying, sanding again, and painting the ceiling and painting the walls and trim.

And we now have a desk! An actual desk that we can put our legs under. One that I can actually write on or wrap a gift on.




yes. I am aware the frames do not have pics. My husband was ready and willing to hang the frames. I took him up on the offer and will add pics later.

I knew I wanted something long that rested on some sort of drawer unit. Enter Ikea. Butcher block counter as the top and Vika drawer unit and legs as the bottom. I really liked the way it turned out!



Ceramic owl to add some wisdom. Also holds chargers and camera cords.


Gift wrapping area. Red container holds wrapping paper, tissue, tape, ribbon, all the essentials.


This room also holds Peter's closet. (Old house, small closets). Thus, it also belongs to him. Meaning that I also needed to find a way to incorporate his vintage Sports Illustrated (Dodgers only, of course) and his collection of Dodger bobble heads. Joy. Stay tuned for more pics (read: I haven't finished yet) of how I brought some Peter into the room and a makeover of the green dresser!

class of 2010

my sister graduated high school last week.


I am still a little unsure how this all happened. Wasn't she just in 4th grade, wearing her school uniform everyday? Wasn't it just her 8th grade graduation, where she looked so grown up in a cute navy dress?


And now? Now she is....gulp....going to start college??





I am so excited for her. School has not always been easy, but she made it. And she made us all very proud.







I love having Nikki as my younger sister.
She is stubborn, hot-headed, loving, and innocent.
She loves her family, friends, clothes, her blond hair, and singing in the shower.
She is such a blessing in my life.
She makes me strive to set a good example of a Godly woman and wife. I try.
For my sister.

3 years

June 2 marked our third anniversary. Each year gets better and better.


I am so blessed to have Peter as my husband. He takes care of me.