15 months old...

Our little cutie pie is 15 months old...geez time surely does fly.  I can't believe the things he has started to comprehend and grasp so quickly.  You tell him to go do something not thinking he knows what you are saying and will go do it....he's starting to shock us every day.  It fascinates us!!
This morning he said nummy nummy and I almost melted.  He definitely knows the way to his mommy's heart.

One of our favorite things little Brammy does is lie on the ground and attempt to throw the football in the air and catch it (just like daddy).  It will keep him busy for almost an hour.  The ball usually smacks him in the head but he doesn't mind just tries again. He also runs thru the house yelling "go, go, go." "touchdown," and "football."  I can't believe how much football is a part of his little life already.

 
He's a daddy's boy thru and thru.  You can tell he already looks up to him.  As soon as his daddy walks through the door he grabs his football.  I wish I knew what was going through his head.  I love watching those two!!  It is such a joy to be a mommy.  I had no idea all the little things would be such a big deal.  I will cherish these moments forever.

Everyday there is something new!! It's been an amazing journey so far.

Figuring out the perfect backsplash

I so want to add a backsplash to our kitchen.  This is something I do battle with Chris.  He's on the fence....however I am determined to get one.  I think it would bring the kitchen to the next level.  It's so close to being there just needs a little face lift.  I just started looking for tiles.  I know this house isn't our dream house so I know I don't want to go too personal or flashy.  I want something neutral so when we do go to sell it someone else can imagine themselves living here.

Here is the kitchen now:

Originally I really wanted the little squares but now I know I want a subway tile.  I want something that brings in the black, grey, and brown tones.  Here are some great pieces:

This backsplash would be perfect....too bad I have no idea where it's from and how much it costs :(

10.99 at Home Depot

The same tile as above.  This looks very similar to our kitchen.  Love it!

$10.98 at Lowes

$131.99 Case of 11 from Overstock.com

 

$121.99 Case of 10 from Overstock.com

I think I am leaning toward the Home Depot one.  I purchased a sheet and it does look really nice with the cabinets and grey counter top.  What do you think???

Kitchen Nook WANTED - My Top 10 Nooks/Entryways

The more and more I look at my kitchen the more I want to add a little nook.  Now that I am doing daycare I want a place for parents to put their kids' bags and coats.  Plus the organization would be really nice.  I don't care if my house gets messy from toys but when it's stuff I can control it drives me nuts.

Here are a few nook/entryway ideas I love:

 

All these pictures make me excited to eventually work on this project...however I am not sure one would even fit in the spot I am looking at in the kitchen.  We'll see what happens!!

Our Kitchen

I promised I would post pictures of our new kitchen island.  Like I said before I originally wanted a custom island but am now glad we did choose to go this route.  We saved a lot of money and it's really nice...thanks again to both of our amazing parents.

Our kitchen is nice but not quite what I would call perfection.  It's lacking some character.  One we purchased our house it was one of my favorite things about it but now I feel it needs a little love...it's dull and boring.

Can you say "Backsplash"

 

BACKSPLASH Please!!!!"

Perfect spot for a nook

Need different accessories

My list of must haves are (in order of importance):

Change light fixture (it doesn't work...so this is a huge must)
Add a backsplash
Put garbage in a cupboard (I hate it out for everyone to see...it's kind of an eye soar and it takes up space)
Add curtains and change cheap blinds
Create a nook for sitting and hanging daycare items
Add a few more accessories/pictures
Purchase new rug

Uff...that list was longer then I intended.  The accessories and rug are extras if I find something I MUST HAVE.  I have a tendency to jump around to room to room doing projects.  I would like for once to finish one room then move on to the next.  I am thinking the kitchen could be that room...my husband will probably think otherwise. :( 

Bye Bye Ugly Red Brick Fireplace

I cannot begin to tell you how stoked I was to finally get rid of the (non-working) red brick fireplace.  It was so gross...dirty and ugly.  It's finally gone and this is how we did it. 

The before:

I told you it was GROSS!!! haha.

Because I am super scared of spiders I asked Chris to clean the fireplace.  He was surprisingly excited to help.  Usually he hates my projects. To clean the gunk and grease he used the product Dirty Jobs (with bleach)

Our next steps were to caulk any holes and cracks around the fireplace, then began priming and painting.

I used one coat of primer on the whole fireplace and used two coats of paint, flat black in the inside and semi-gloss white on the outside.  I probably would have been okay with one coat of paint but I wanted to make sure the paint was even and I didn't miss anything. 

This was our end result.

I still need to get some new decor.  All the items on the fireplace are from the guest room (the green kind of clashes with the gray).  I think that means I need to visit Home Goods soon.  If you have a Home Goods in your area it's a MUST for home decor.  It's the TJ Max of home goods...but so much better. :)

What do you think?  I am so happy with it.  It changes the whole room...it's so bright and clean looking!  I still want to change the mantle (it's a gray marble) and tile the hearth (I painted it white temporarily).  These will be good jobs when my father-in-law visits.  He's much handier then we are.

The Not So Pretty Fireplace

Our fireplace is a huge eye sore. Chris and I go back and forth on what to do with it.  I hate it!!  The decor I prefer is more modern and our fireplace is far from that.  The brick is seriously hideous.

Ugh...

Hehe...

I would love to knock it all down and start over however neither Chris and I are very handy nor do we have the budget.  To save us some money and so I don't have to look at the thing anymore I decide I am going to paint it white.  I love white fireplaces.  Painting it seemed the best option for us (for now).

When researching online for examples I got some great inspirations.  Check them out (click on the picture to view each blog):

Stay tuned to see how it all turned out...

Weekend Wrap Up

It was a busy weekend of house projects and cleaning.  I did happen to go on a play date/breakfast with some wonderful ladies and their kids Saturday morning so it wasn't all work. So far I am a head of the game with my resolutions.  We finished putting together the kitchen island and cleaned and painted both the interior and exterior of the fireplace.  I can't wait to show you the fireplace. 

I am really excited about the island (thanks to our awesome parents).  It will add more storage space for us and add a nice work center for cooking.  The table we had before was nice but it was too low and of course there was no storage.  We purchased the island at Amazon.com.  It was a pretty great steal.  I would have loved a custom island but again we are on a small budget so this will have to work.  I am definitely happy with it.

This is not my kitchen.  I will post some pictures soon.  The light in our kitchen does not work and it's late so the kitchen is pretty dark. 

This weekend no big projects just cleaning.  I need to focus my cleaning efforts on the upstairs and attic. Both floors have been neglected lately.  I will post pictures of the fire place later this week.  You have to see the change!