schickHouse

This N That

so, this is going to be a hodgepodge of a post, a smattering of this n that. we've been in lancaster for about five days now, about halfway through our stay. we've been enjoying ourselves. nothing much on the agenda, so we've been hither and yon just relaxing and having fun, maybe even getting a couple things done that need it.

last week, i scooped up the children & headed to town to impulsively buy clearance halloween costumes. the desire is always there, but me following through on it was somewhat uncharacteristic. had some buyer's remorse, but nothing too extreme. love the fun we'll have with these pretend clothes though.

         

we spent our (probable) last temperate saturday at home cleaning up from the early blizzard.

first (and pretty much only) on our schedule in lancaster was uncle jon's birthday party. his candles were of the sparkling variety! too much fun.

we've spent our fair share of time at ye ol' pizza shop. shelby always wants to make bread sticks. she had a couple helpers.

other than that, we've just been takin' it easy...

... angela has chosen this at least three times as her leisure activity. she is turning into quite the poppop's girl. she'll just lay, so still & quiet, til she (or they) nod off. fun snugglin'.

A Party In My Cupboard!

yesterday we made a festive trip to a little out-of-the-way pot shop. they have a huge selection of fiesta seconds for about 50-70% off retail. can you say, "woohooo?!" i've been debating and pondering seriously for a few weeks (not-so-seriously for years). i am quite pleased. my cupboards and table are happy. a decision on color was difficult since there are many. but i believe i am happy with my solution. i chose 2 of each of 8 colors (16 plates). for a peek inside my over-analytical brain, here's how it'll work. for our family of 6, for Christmas we can use 2 green, 2 red, 2 white. for halloween, 2 black, 2 orange, 2 white. for easter, 2 purple, 2 pink, 2 white. there ya have it. a thrifty, yet design-conscious solution from this mud-loving pothead. for everyday, i'm sure we'll just use the colors of request. (o, and i got 8 cereal bowls, just 8 colors i liked. they had some extra choices like chartreuse and periwinkle in the bowls. what fun!) now, i just need to talk dh into a couple unappetizing cobalts, so we can eat festively on independence day.

New Carpet

finally, our new carpet has been installed in the music room (which has turned into an office).

we wasted no time in testing it out. all agree, it would make a wonderful wrestling space.

For Sale

tomorrow our house will officially be for sale. next monday you should be able to find it on the MLS. wow. we are all very excited about how God is moving us. i've been meaning to blog the whole house story (and i still intend to), but for now the short version: 

we will be buying my gramma's house "down home," and gramma will continue to live there with us. steve's last day at postal is tomorrow. God gave him a new job in harrisburg (about an hour commute from the new house). our end of the deal is pretty flexible, so we're not sure when exactly we'll be moving, but everything is in motion. we are so excited to move back, to be within twenty minutes of 200 of our closest relatives.

here are the pix we took for our realtor (cuz we're picky like that). please feel free to spread the word.

         

         

         

      

      

   

   

New Bathroom

i have been delinquent in getting this post up. sorry for the delay. steve did an amazing job on a COMPLETE remodel of our upstairs bathroom. he tackled some projects that were new to him and did a great job. i'm so proud of him. check out the improvements! i'll put a before & after, so you can remember. oh, and the picture that just looks like the floor represents a lot of work: new fixtures like the door stop, new trim that had been completely missing before, and new floor (and sub-floor) all done by steve.

      

   

Improving

we are still working on projects. steve is actually adding the finishing touches to the upstairs bathroom. but i want to wait til it is completely complete to post that picture. but for now, an in-between shot.

and i am still working on a few painting projects. i painted the bathroom all in one day (after steve had primed it nicely). that felt great! i painted the music room's ceiling, and it is patiently awaiting me to tackle the walls. and i am in the midst of painting the outside trim, from pale icky green to nice deep green (not quite dry in this pic).

House Fixin'

besides steve working on remodeling the bathroom, he has passed the torch to me (nice allusion, no?) for the outside wall. but before the job was delegated, he allowed the children to help. shelby had been wanting to "paint something" (i.e. not in the art room, but something substantial) forEVER. they did a great job. i have been quite the slacker in not finishing it. but soon. gotta get a day without t-storm threats also.

Let There Be Light

i was finally inspired to do our lighting. steve is always ready & willing, but i seem to need to be struck by the mood. we replaced five light throughout the house (as in i picked them out, and steve put them up). (again, click to enlarge.)

 

the stairway sconce:

the kitchen:

the den:

and the master bedroom:

Tour of the Den

i never did post "finished product" fotos of the den. here are the four corners. bonus: steve has now hidden all the cables and cords behind the walls. (you can click to see them bigger.)

the media corner:

bec's messy desk corner:

the toy & kari corner:

the book nook:

a close-up of our special project by the books:

Next: Bathroom

steve started tackling the bathroom. woohoo!!! i finished up the den this week (might roll the walls on the last half just once more, not sure yet). and steve began the upstairs bathroom. he knew it might hold some surprises. the big one - the house vent right in the middle of where we want to put the vanity. our courageous leader has accepted the mission. i am so excited! ~bec.