This Is My Life.....

Oh goodness.....what were we thinking? The painting project has gone well, but after 7 days straight of painting, we had to take a break this week and get other projects done. Like get hay......



Our local feed store has the best local hay from their own fields and we get it cheaper by going and picking it up straight out of the field. We brought home 70 bales. And yes, that is Bailey up there doing what he loves best.....being the King of the hay stack! That dog would live in a barn if we had one. Bailey is almost healed up. He has some scabs that haven't come off yet and his hair is growing back. Yeah to no more baboon butt!

Back to the home remodel. We have finished painting the kitchen, dining room, living room and hallway. Since we are replacing the flooring it has made it easier to paint. We do not have to cover up any of the flooring, so we don't care if the paint ends up there.

In the picture below is when we first started painting the kitchen. The wall on the left is the new paint and you can see the old paint on the wall in the back. The ceiling has not been done by the lights, but you can see to the right where my OH had started the first coat.



You can see the lovely vinyl flooring we have. Our house was built in 1988 and everything from the paint to the flooring is original to the year the house was built (in exception to the guest bath and master bath, they were remodeled 3 years ago.) We have not been able to remodel before this due to financial reasons.



The door on the left is the laundry/mud room. It also has a 1/2 bath, pantry, utility sink and that room goes into the garage. Our plans are to have slate tile installed starting from that room and then going into the kitchen, dining room, in front of the wood stove into the front entry way. It will be 16 x 16 tiles on the diagonal (which will make the house look bigger than it is.) We already have the slate picked out, and it is in the neutral tones in different colors. Slate is a natural stone and very hardy. We were going to do hardwood floors, but it was not in our financial means (I will not put the "fake" hardwood in my house, I am very picky with what I want.) The countertops in the kitchen were going to be granite, but when we went to pick out the countertops we fell in love with Quartz. It looks just like granite, but Quartz is a man made material and a lot hardier then granite. You don't have to worry about spills and scratches. Plus maintenance is super simple. The cabinets will stay the same. They are in excellent condition, and even though I am not a huge fan of oak, they are something I can live with. We did change out the cabinet hardware already to update the look. There used to be white hardware, and it just looked outdated. Our appliances are black and are still in excellent condition. They were brand new when we bought the house, except for the stove, and have no plans at this time to replace them. Down the road we will switch to stainless steel when they need replacing. The sink will be replaced with an under mount sink. My dad will be doing the back splash in the kitchen and it will also be slate tile, and it will go from the counter all the way up to the bottom of the cabinets.



The dining room has carpet, blue berber. I mean, really, who puts blue carpet in a house? I hate carpet in a dining room. This will be slate tile. As you can see, my living room was moved into my dining room for painting. Isn't it fun to live in such a mess?



Here's my front entry way. The slate will stop at the hall way. The carpet in the hall is plush blue carpet. It is being replaced with a very neutral colored carpet that will also go into the bedrooms.



The living room will stay carpet, the same neutral carpet that is going in the hall and bedrooms. That is my new accent wall! It is called Safari Beige. And the other color we used is called Oatbran.



All of the light fixtures will be changed out. Everything is getting updated to look like 2011.



Oh look! My dining room is almost back to normal!



This area in front of the back door, behind the couch, in front of the wood stove and to the front entry is going to be slate. From the back of the couch to the left will be carpet.



To top things off, the windows had "blue" blinds and I ripped them out as quick as I could. Blue was the theme of the house. My OH's stepdad built this house and he was single at the time. He must have really liked blue. Guess what? We aren't doing any blue! I am so done with blue!

We still have the laundry room and bedrooms to paint but those will be so much easier! The living room/kitchen have vaulted ceilings and made it very difficult. I already have my master bedroom color picked out. All I have to do is decide on color for the office and guest bedroom. We got our estimate on flooring and WOW! Way more then what we were planning on spending. But the floor covering store is trying to get the price down for us. So we are aiming for a September install. Gives us plenty of time to finish painting! Woo Hoo!

I can't leave without leaving a bit of cute...................................



Little miss Madison is absolutely perfect! She is the biggest lover and evil kitty all rolled up into a black and white tuxedo, and nothing could be better! I just love her!!!!