Round Two

Turning our house into a home has been quiet the adventure. 

We had our first renovation back in July and are about to start our second renovation. 

This will be the last for while.

After living in the house for almost a year, little things in the house started to bother us: 

the bright turquoise walls;

 orange walls;

animals painted on the walls,

the beige walls and ceiling in our master bedroom;

the brown shag carpet in all the bedrooms and foyer.

                           

The WISH list: 

1) Redo of the first floor bathroom;

Did we NEED to renovate the bathroom? Probably not. 

Back in July, we removed a half bathroom in between our kitchen and living room. So we decided to spruced up the only full bathroom on the first floor next to the guest room. The shower was leaking so it made our decision to gut the bathroom that much easier; 

                              

2) Upgrade mudroom;

As for the mudroom, its our main entrance. Sure we have a front door but we park the cars in the garage so we figured why not make the mudroom more appealing to us.
Sorry I don't have a before photo, the mudroom had laminate flooring that looked like stone and the brown carpet on the stairs. Yuck!

3) Change out dated light fixtures
Maybe I have been watching too much HGTV but I truly believe that the right light fixtures make a room inviting. The current ones in our house were not heavy and reminiscent of a female body part.

So that past few weeks have been busy picking out tile, choosing paint colors, 

selecting tile & carpet, purchasing light fixtures and more.

            

 

Are you exhausted yet? We are too.

  I started my dream job and love it!

Antigua

Kel and I were in need of a serious vacation. Move over winter we are ready for sunshine!

We did our research on TripAdvisor and checked out all the reviews. 

 Sandy beaches, waterfront cottages overlooking the turquoise Caribbean Sea, fresh seafood and awesome weather. And the winner is.....

Cocobay Resort! 

Our days were filled with..exploring the resort,

  lounging,

watching fisherman,

daily walks around the neighborhood

and public beaches,

more relaxation,

buffet breakfasts and lunches (we ate shark one day),

 happy hours with my best friend,

 fabulous four-course dinners with a sunset view,

me being a dork,

 siestas,

minutes of trying to capture a photo of this little guy,

this guy too,

and strolls on the beach talking about how fortunate we are. 

A BIG thanks to little Kate, Becca and Ben for taking care of our four-legged.

Feeling rejuvenated and ready for the new few weeks.

The season of new beginnings

Clean out the old and get on with the new. 

We all react to change differently. When it is not by our own choice, we often feel we can’t get over the new obstacle. Some change is welcomed and even longed for.

I personally am excited for my change; I have accepted a new job.
After a year of soul-searching, interviewing, negotiating and making lists of pros and cons, I sat back and let everything come together.

I have finally found the job and company for me! It’s a great fit for both sides. I will be working at an affordable housing development company in Buckhead. My role will change daily but its primarily to oversee our existing portfolio and search for new development opportunities in the SouthEast. I couldn’t be more excited to start on this new path of my career.

I have had a great time with W&D these past two years: celebrations with my coworkers, traveling to new towns across the country, visiting my hometown-Bethesda, and so much more. A chapter of my life that I’m ready to close.

Spring is the season of new beginnings.

The sun shines. Fresh buds bloom. I return from hibernation. 

As the weather warms, Kelly and I planted new flowers & shrubs. We also had a truckload of mulch delivered to the house, we had our work cut out for us. Luckily we finished the mulch pile in one day.

The tulips were planted and re-planted after the deer decided to snack on them.

My lovies are ready to enjoy the Spring. 

SNOW!

Before you read this post, you have to understand that we rarely if ever get snow in Atlanta.

Last year when we had Snowmageddon, the city shut down for a whole week. People were stranded, schools were out, business were closed. It was no joke.

We woke up one morning this week, to white stuff outside on the ground. Sure it might be a small amount and Northerners may giggle at my excitement. But snow is snow.

This four-legged was thrilled to wear her new coat and play outside.

    

This lady was smiling to be off of work and put on her winter coat

And this goober went to work.

As much as I love the snow, I think we are all ready for Spring.

Get 'er done

We love having guests stay at our home. However, I'm sure they don't enjoy being woken up early while we are fussing around in the kitchen making coffee. 

So we decided to add a privacy door between the guest suite and kitchen. 

 A true DIY project. Kelly and Ben built the barn door a few weeks ago.

It was tough decision figuring out what color to paint the door. As you'll see the hallway is already dark with gray walls and wood flooring. I thought staining the entire door would be too much. 

So we opting for a white background with dark stain on the trim.

 The door looks fabulous! Way better than those photos I saw on Pinterest.

Reisch

Ben and Becca took a quick trip to the West Coast.

So we got to watch little miss Kate for a day and a half. A few things we learned about Reisch

 She sure loves her applesauce.

She thinks its funny to throw her binkies over the side of her pack and play...instead of napping.

If you need some quiet time turn on Baby Einstein or a kid show.

 Kate feeds Wrigley her puffs when she's full

What you don't see is Kate walking all around he house and talking. It's tough to keep up with that munchkin. Aunt Jen and Callie were exhausted after babysitting. 

Would we do it again? In a heartbeat we love that little girl.