Help! I need somebody. . .

. . . 's opinion. We're having our hardwood floors refinished next week, but we are at a loss as to which color to chose. We know we want dark, but that's all we know! 

1: Spice Brown; 2: Dark Walnut; 3: Coffee Brown; 4: Medium Brown; 5: English Chestnut

Jordan doesn't really see a difference between most of them, so he's left the choice to me (though he prefers the Spice Brown). I'm leaning towards the Spice Brown or English Chestnut (1 & 5). Originally I was in love with the Dark Walnut, because it looks vintage and old, but now that's the reason I don't like it. We're not old, and the house isn't vintage enough to warrant a cool antique looking stain. I think. I like the Spice Brown because of how well it goes with the furniture, but that's also the reason I'm leaning away from it. Matchy-matchy is not my thing. The English Chestnut coordinates with the furniture and the light oak cabinets and it isn't too dark, so I have no fear of my house turning into a cave, (my concern with the Spice Brown). I just can't decide!

So tell me what you think, especially between the Spice Brown and English Chestnut.

The long awaited master bedroom reveal

Better late than never! Can't figure out why the pictures won't go in order, so you'll unfortunately have to deal. I know, I know, I make you wait forever and then I don't do the pictures right. 

Someday I'm sure you'll forgive me.

We don't have real nightstands, just these cheap shelf-things.
Someday we'll  be grown-up enough for them.

I bought this little elephant at Savers for $4. It was nasty looking with streaky brown glaze. But I loved him so much I bought him and gave him new life with a can of Krylon. And now it's my favorite part of the room!

The dresser side. I really like the height the free mirror from my parent's basement added, but I think I want to move the candlesticks a little further south. It would make the tall mirror even more dramatic.
Also, this is my favorite paint color that I've done to date. I'm desperately in love with gray.

New fan! It only took my poor husband a bajillion hours to put in, thanks to a screw that just wouldn't let go.
It liked the nasty brass fan better. Luckily my smart hubby won that battle.

I made those little stick things from the abundance of branches I have in my yard, tissue paper, craft glue, and beads. The milk glass vases I had, and the candle was $4 with coupon from Michael's. Not too shabby, if I do say so myself!

That 8 foot wall of curtains only cost $65! We made the curtain rod out of conduit pipe, wine corks and store-bought finials and mounting brackets (bought on super clearance + coupons at BB&B.)The curtains are actually shower curtains from Target that I no-sewed ribbon loops on. They were slightly pricier than I wanted to spend at $20 a piece (yes, I'm cheap) but I loved them and never found anything else I liked better. But, it was overwhelming to have three panels. It made our tiny room feel very closed in, so I bought the sheer for $5 at K-Mart and was much happier.

Curtain detail. I absolutely love them. If I didn't have curtains everywhere else,
I might have bought them and put them everywhere.

All in all, we spent $100 on this room, including paint and supplies and all the knick-knacks, but excluding the fan. I'm playing around with the idea of doing a darker gray on the curtain wall, but that's still just an idea  in my head. What are your thoughts?

What goes up, must come down.

 Kitchen is ripped out. Loads of surprises found along the way, and I'm stinkin' tired.

We discovered the source of the funky smell in the cabinets -- mold! Everywhere! This is the result of a kitchen drain pipe that was only loosely attached until we had a flood in our living room last summer, and a water line for the fridge that was never completely shut off. Both were fixed once we got the house (the latter was our very first fix-it project for the house; we walked into our house as homeowners for the first time and found a giant puddle in the corner of the kitchen. It was a wonderful welcome to home-ownership . . .)

The new cabinets are hung, walls are painted, but since there is still more to do, I'm not going to show you those pictures yet. 

Drywall that's never seen the light of day! And also Sam, who volunteered to help for two days in a row. 
He even stayed to help muck out the mold and rotted sub-floor. Thankful for great friends.

Taking out the tile I've always hated!

Who would have thought that mucking out houses after Katrina would prepare us to fix our kitchen? This was the surprise find that was throughout the kitchen. None of the work we did on the sub-floor or drywall was planned at all, but at least we now have a mold free kitchen!

Another view of the nastiness -- can't believe we've lived with this for a year!

The damage extended as far as there were cabinets. From the entryway you see to the other side of the wall, all of that had to be removed to the floor boards. We started with just one chisel, and I quickly got sent to Home Depot to get more!

Tar paper = floor boards! Praise God they were sound and untouched by the water damage!

That's my "I hate mold in my kitchen" face.

SO GROSS! Glad it's gone!

. . . but not enough to remove the nasty linoleum and find the mold growing rampant in the kitchen.
Apparently we love Julie more.

We found three different vinyl tiles, at least three different kinds of wallpaper and four different paint colors in the kitchen. Apparently our kitchen has had quite the life in it's 60 years. Lots of stories, I'm sure.

Stay tuned for more!

Oh, hello carpenter ants!

It's so very nice to see you again. It's been so long since last you invaded our space.

I'm flattered by your love for our little house, though I'd prefer it if you lived amongst the stumps and trees we've left for you in the yard. You, then, must know our friend the woodpecker, who prefers our gutters and asbestos shingles to the aforementioned trees.

Obviously, we parted on good terms, since you came back again. Well, no fear this time friend. Our intentions will be made quite clear.

The exterminator is being called tomorrow. And he will be given a license to kill. Prepare ye to meet thy Lord.


(Oh, and by the way, I know Him, too. And I think He likes me better.)

Summertime, and the livin' is easy.

And by easy I mean sweaty and incredibly productive.

In my first 2.5 days of summer break, here's what we've done:

1. Put another coat of Golden Oak stain on the cabinets

2. Organized the garage

3. Mowed the lawn (that one was all Jordan. I refuse to mow have allergies.)

4. Ripped up hallway carpet and removed all nails and tack strips.

5. Bought most of the tile for the back splash at the9. ReStore for cheap!

6. Went to a concert, or at least stood outside the gates to hear Mumford and Sons. I cannot even tell you just how much I respect their music and their performance.

7. Had friends over for s'mores and hot dogs and FIRE!

8. Put the final coat of stain on the cabinets -- cherry on top! tehe!

9. Removed cabinet doors on the current cabinets in preparation for DEMOLITION next week!

10. Put in a corner garden bed where no grass grew in the yard. Not even weeds grew there, and that's saying A LOT because we mostly have weeds.

11. Put in a circular garden area around the old clothesline pole.

12. Planted a little garden area around the bird bath my dad brought back from my grandpa's house.

13. Bought plants for above gardens. I made a commitment! All. by. myself. That's a big deal, folks.

14. Slept in (believe it or not!) for two days in a row!

Whew. Now we're off to a fish fry at a friend's house. Never been to one before, so it should be a fun experience!