House Befores and Afters

So I have a confession to make, and for those of you that know me well this is no confession at all, just the truth:  I'm terrible at keeping house.  I would have been an absolutely AWFUL 1960's wife.

We clean our house for events:  parties, family coming over, the night before the cleaning lady comes, and most recently for a house appraisal.

Since our house was nice and clean, I wanted to take a few pics and compare to "before" (pictures taken from the house listing website).  I know I've done this before, but seems like our house is in constant flux and I wanted to capture what it looked like September 2011.

OUTSIDE BEFORE: We thought it looked pretty nice when we first moved in, and it did!  See the two bush things on the left?  The tall one we just called the "bush tree" b/c we had no idea what it was.  Well, it blocked the view to the driveway from the inside of the house, there's a window that you can't even see from this picture.  Also note: old windows.

OUTSIDE AFTER: new windows, cleaned up the landscaping, added a front yard tree.  You can't see it in the pictures but to the right we also planted a redbud.  And to the left of the driveway is a type of japanese maple.  It had been planted 1 foot away from the garage and was having growth issues. 

FORMAL LIVING DINING BEFORE: Nice condition, just decorated for a granny and gramps.

FORMAL LIVING DINING AFTER:  Added ceiling fan/light, replaced chandelier, and most importantly- added wood floors this past Memorial Day.  I can't express how much larger the room seems now that it's wood flooring.

DEN BEFORE:  It's.All.Wood.  Seriously- wood floor, wood wall panel, wood bookshelves, wood blinds, wow.

 DEN AFTER: We painted the trim white, bookshelves white, added the mantle, replaced gas fireplace with woodburning stove, primed and painted walls.  I like having a little more contrast.

GUEST BATH BEFORE: ugly.

GUEST BATH AFTER:  Took fluorescent light off and replaced fixture, elbow greased the wallpaper off and painted a neutral.  We still have lots of plans for this bathroom, so I can't wait to someday show you the FINAL after picture.

 There are some days that I definitely wish we had a new house that didn't require so much work.  But most days I really appreciate our home and love the fact that we've put so many personal touches into this home.

iPhone Friday 09/07/2011

I've found that ever since I had to downgrade to an iPhone 3G from the, I've not taken as many pictures. I was SO spoiled by that old phone....just waiting patiently for my upgrade date and the new iPhone 5- whatever it may be.

Emmy and Daddy reading books.

Enjoying a little appetizer of Greek yogurt while it was still warm and light in the evenings.

Ahhh, now these are the temperatures I've been waiting for.  After 3 months of unbearable heat, temperatures of this nature are MORE.THAN.WELCOME!

Yikes, so glad I wasn't stuck in THAT traffic on the overpass.  Sometimes I love Tulsa, sometimes I hate Tulsa. 

 

Emmy at her first Wednesday night church experience.  She was a little overwhelmed.  I think that after a full day at school she was probably just ready to go home and chill.

iPhone Friday 09/02/2011

It's been interesting watching Emmy at parks.  She is pretty shy at the park, I'm not exactly sure why that is.  I would assume that since she is a daycare kid that she would be more outgoing- but it takes her awhile to warm up to the kids and to the toys and water.  Don't worry, she's not drinking the water here- she's blowing bubbles.

We FINALLY had her 2 year checkup.  She is a full 2 1/2" taller than I was at the exact same age, so I have very high hopes that she'll surpass my 5'2".

"Painting" her toenails with a dry erase marker.

Pink Ting.  If you haven't tried it, and you like grapefruit, this is a MUST!  Get yourself right on over to Hibiscus on Brookside.

Getting prepped for allergy testing...result?  A small allergic reaction to Maple trees.  But the nurse told us during the consult that allergic reactions won't always show up on 2 year olds and that it is DEFINITELY possible to have allergies still without them showing up on the skin test.

Sometimes you just have to pick up something OFF of the list....I might have won my hubby over FOR LIFE with this purchase.

Happy Friday!  We'll be working on our house this holiday weekend.  Fun, right?

iPhone Friday 08/26/2011

Emmy's first trip to the dentist, 8/22/11.  She was such a good patient and let the hygienist clean her teeth!  No cavities, yay!

Because sometimes your armpit itches right in the middle of dinner.

Chicken and Biscuits?  YES!  It's a mix between pot pie and dumplings I suppose.

Our cucumber vines were AMAZING!  Those little guys are the fall tomatoes that we planted.

Chillin on the couch!

iPhone Friday 08/19/2011

So, I'm catching up today with 3 iPhone Fridays..wow, I'm behind.

First...this guy....really?  Does it really take that much more effort to just pick up your drink?

Workin away on the "puter"

This is how we roll now.  Thanks MIMI

The "studious" look.

Important to stay up to date with your heart health statistics

Creating her masterpiece, from pizza dough, at Andolini's on Cherry Street.