Organization & Garage Painting

This has been a crazy month - we had our first anniversary, went on vacation, and I just finished my first summer class of the year! I don't have a lot to update on house-wise but I wanted to show some cute pics of what we've done lately.

The first thing I was excited about was some organization I got done. I found a bunch of bins at Target to organize the minor holiday decor. (I already have red and green totes for Christmas and an orange and black one for Halloween!)

Then I went to Hobby Lobby and picked up a pack of cute patterned paper tags and a pack of white tags that are slightly smaller to paste on the front to create cute labels!

Husband decided he didn't like our garage walls. The back wall is shown below and the side walls were just bare wood - you can slightly see it on the left side of the photo next to the bicycles. The black part is where a garage door to the backyard would go if we decide to put one in.

He decided to make the garage one of his summer projects and I have to admit, it does look a lot better with a coat of paint!

I've also done a lot of cleaning out our clothes that we don't wear and/or don't fit, and I dropped a humongous bag of clothes and shoes off at the thrift store already, with two more bags in the closet to be dropped this week! Husband asked if I'm getting rid of clothes to appease the thrift store gods so I can continue to get good deals ;) hey, it's not a bad idea...

Green Thumb?

I decided that I need a garden this year. Our yard is not very conducive for planting in the ground, so I decided that a raised bed would be the best option. So we headed to Lowe's!

We got three 2x6x8 boards, one of which we cut in half. This would be the border for the bed itself! We also got some wire mesh to put on the bottom of the bed to keep out the moles. After a stop at a local nursery for some dirt, we were ready to go!

Husband did most of the building for me and he did a great job! We placed one half of the cut board on each end and screwed that together first.

Then we laid the wire mesh out and stapled it to the frame. The worst part was cutting off the excess!

We flipped it over and filled with dirt - done!

The Pinterest tutorial I followed recommended stakes in each corner to keep it from shifting, but our dirt was so hard that we couldn't get stakes in the ground further than about an inch. The bed is fairly close to the house, so I was hoping it wouldn't shift too much. We've had some flooding here the last couple of weeks but the bed hasn't gone anywhere yet!

I don't like your typical "garden" vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers...) and I only planted what I like and what I cook with. We have lettuce, onions, carrots, broccoli, and green beans. I got these cute little signs at the nursery when we got the dirt and you can write whatever you want on them!

I planted about a week and a half ago, and we already have some little sprouts!

On a less successful note... I also planted blackberries and strawberries about a month, month and a half ago.

We also planted this pretty lily.

I took this as the "before" picture, and they all still look exactly the same. I don't think I'll be getting my strawberries and blackberries! :( The lily was pretty for about a day, then we had a tornado warning and the wind ripped all of the flowers right off the stems. Sad day.

Fingers crossed that my vegetables do better than my fruit and flowers!

Lately

I haven't done a huge update post in a while but life has been just as hectic as always!

I got to chaperone the trip to state basketball and it was a fun game, even though we lost!

Husband finally got a chance to put together our Christmas present from my parents now that it's finally nice weather and he has grilled out quite a few times! I will never complain about a delicious steak on my plate :)

We got rid of the old fan in our bedroom because the blades no longer turned...

And here is our new fan! And the blades turn! It ended up that poor husband had to rewire something and put something somewhere else... he finally got it all taken care of, at least :) what a handyman I married!

As far as my health is concerned, not a lot has changed. I guess I haven't really updated since my initial problems, so here's a giant update. I got a CT scan mid-February and it showed nothing. So I went to a gastroenterologist and they ordered up a colonoscopy and endoscopy for me. Those both looked normal, so they did biopsies of my stomach and intestines, and nothing there either. They tested for Crohn's and Celiac, both came back negative. The colonoscopy prep wasn't horrible because I did a liquid diet for two days prior, rather than just one. I felt like I was dying the entire time I had to do the prep, but the prep only lasted about 6 hours, so I was feeling decent again by about 9 pm and I still got a full night's sleep! I only did about half the prep and I was still good to go so I would highly recommend a 48 hour liquid diet to anyone who has to get this done! Sorry if it's an overshare, but I figure someone somewhere is going to read this and will be glad they did :)

The day after my colonoscopy I had stomach pain that was about a 9/10. I tried to make it through work but it just wasn't happening, so I made it through half the day and went to the ER. They X-rayed my abdomen to make sure my stomach and/or intestines weren't perforated during the colonoscopy - scary! Luckily, it was just super strong stomach pain and nothing was perforated :) They hooked me up with more fluids (I never have enough fluids, apparently) and some pretty decent pain meds, and as they were getting ready to send me home, my mom goes, "I think you're allergic to the pain meds..." I looked spotted. Like a dehydrated, pink dalmatian. So they got some Zyrtec in me and sent me on my way!

So far, they've tested me for Ebola, measles, pregnancy (a million times), hepatitis, Celiac, ulcers, pancreatitis, Crohn's, and cancer. They've tested my blood about 10 different times, plus my urine and stool. I've had a CT scan, colonoscopy, endoscopy, and X-ray, and they have absolutely zero answers. So frustrating!

That's all that's new at the band life house. Husband finished up his final two concerts of the year and we both helped with the choir's musical review show! We only spent one day of rehearsal under a tornado watch, so that's not bad, right? ;) He's now on summer break, and I'm a little jealous when I'm getting up to go to work at 6 am and he is still comfy cozy in bed! But I guess we're even, because I definitely don't envy his 5 am rehearsals during marching band season...

Organization Extras

I've been working on organizing little areas of our house that are cluttered or disorganized lately, and it feels so much better to have things organized and orderly!

I picked up this magazine holder in the dollar section at Target and I use it to keep all of my perfumes in one place, rather than scattered all over my dresser.

I got this little patterned canvas box (actually, I got two of them!) from Target, and this one is being used to store various medicines. It's nice to have them all in one place instead of cluttered on multiple shelves.

This lined wicker basket is also from Target and is perfect for washcloths! I have one in a bigger size for our hand towels. Before, the hall closet was stuffed full of towels, washcloths, hand towels, and sheets, so this organization is much needed!

I got this cute plastic organizer from TJ Maxx and it has a handle! Perfect for toting around nail polishes!

I got tired of having a ton of pill bottles in my purse for my various ailments, so I picked up this pill organizer from Target. I'm hoping it doesn't spill open in my purse at any point, but the bottles used to somehow come open all the time, so it wouldn't be much of a change...

I don't carry a lot of makeup in my purse, but I carry some essentials - eyeliner, mascara, concealer, tweezers, eyeshadow, blush, and a compact. Okay, that sounds like a lot when I spell it all out, but it's just the basics of putting together a nice look if I'm not at home! I had purchased a travel makeup bag from Target a few years ago but it had definitely seen better days. I found this cute little bag at Victoria's Secret on sale and it fits just perfectly in my purse!

I got this white plastic storage bin for some under the sink items but it has been sitting on the living room floor because I haven't gotten around to tackling underneath the sink. The cat has decided this bin is now hers!

I love how such small changes make such a big difference in daily activities!

More Updates!

Slowly, we are getting everything on my list done... at least, everything that can be done when it's 2 degrees outside! Here's some little changes and updates we've done recently...

I found this sweet Minnie holding Christmas lights on sale, and she just matches my Mickey on the porch! She will look quite nice out front next Christmas!

One more globe light down, one to go!

The new entry light!

Got some things put up in the hallway...

...and above the stairs!

I finally filled these frames, which were a wedding present, and hung them in our bedroom.

I also hung some shelves and a frame!

We got all the Christmas things taken down! The piano looks really empty now, but the new runner I ordered for the top still hasn't shipped... it should've shipped two weeks ago so I'm not so pleased.

We still have a few doors to paint, things to hang on the wall, and that pesky globe light in the kitchen to replace, but it's looking more and more like our home instead of an empty, boring generic house. It's still weird owning a house and I still have that thought in the back of my mind that we will have to pack it all up and move in the next couple of years. My long-term goal is to save up to finish the basement, so maybe the basement is the key to feeling like it's our house! We shall see...

My First Collage

I've always loved the photo collage galleries on Pinterest and couldn't wait to do one in our new living room! It only took 2 1/2 months to finally put everything up but I'm really happy with the way it turned out. I may add more to it later on but it works for now!

The finished product!

I got this print of Shakespeare's sonnet 116 from Etsy. The frame is from Hobby Lobby.

Two of our wedding photos made it onto the wall! Both frames were from, where else? Hobby Lobby.

The D, the heart, and both patterned prints in white frames were from Hobby Lobby.

This print is from Etsy and the frame is from Target.

I think our living room looks a million times better without a giant bare wall staring at us!

Weekend Update

What have we been up to lately?

I did a school project at the zoo a couple of weeks ago and it was so cold but so fun! I hadn't been to the zoo in a while and it was fun to go when I was practically the only person there!

Husband had his middle school band concert and they all performed splendidly! I consider it a success when you can recognize the song they are playing ;)

I got a photo of Zippers that isn't 100% blurry! This little guy is becoming very well-behaved and affectionate and I am loving it!

Here was our big project this weekend. Remember the hanging globe lights that are everywhere in this house?

The one above the stairs needed to go. However, we were not sure how to go about replacing a light fixture in such an awkward area. We picked up one of those ladders that you can adjust the length of each side, zip-tied it to the banister, and prayed it would hold.

It took a team effort! Husband did most of the hard work but my tiny fingers were needed for some wiring issues.

The after! It matches everything else in our living room and looks a million times better than that ugly old globe light. Three globe lights down, two to go...

And probably my favorite part of the update. I got a call to work the tour of Beauty and the Beast that came into town for three days, and husband and I decided the extra paycheck would be worth it, but it meant I missed his high school band concert. I was pretty devastated. However, extra money is always nice and the show was a blast!

I got to help dress four of the women in the show, including Belle! So I got to hang out with lovely costumes such as these...

I always love doing shows and Disney shows are my absolute favorite :) it's a total blast seeing movies I loved as a child come to life! (Check out my post on the Lion King tour here!)

So that's been life at the band house lately... husband is officially on Christmas break and I am hoping to get more projects and DIY things done in the next couple of weeks!

The Guest Bathroom

Welcome to the only room that is fully finished {except for some trim that needs painting}... the guest/hall bathroom. I am ridiculously proud of this cute little space and couldn't wait to show it off! I think the plan is to ultimately paint the cabinetry white to match the trim or get new cabinets entirely, but that is about #49 on our list of priorities. So excuse the the boring, basic cabinets and focus on the rest! :)

I wanted a beach-themed bathroom, mostly due to my newfound love of the beach thanks to our honeymoon, but if you look at bathroom sets nowadays, everything "beach" themed is covered in seashells or seahorses or sand dollars and it's just a bit much for me. So I set out to create my own beach motif!

Obviously, my first stop was Etsy. I love the two little prints that I chose for above the toilet because they are just oceanic enough to give it a seaside feel. Both prints are from here and the frames are from Target. The basket was on our wedding registry from Bed Bath and Beyond and fits perfectly on the back of the toilet! I'm not sure if we will end up getting some shelves or cabinets for the space above the toilet if and when we redo the sink cabinets, but I'm fine with the minimalist look for now!

I love our wicker basket but wasn't quite sure what to fill it with. The tissue box holder is also from Bed Bath and Beyond and I love the way it ties in with the sandy tan of the bathroom decor - and it isn't covered in seashells! I tossed in the sand dollar we found on the beach the first day of our honeymoon {and I should probably finish bleaching it one of these days...} and I wanted to include some of the shells we found as well. Simply placing them in the basket didn't quite look right, so I got a small apothecary jar from Hobby Lobby to put them in until I find another way to display them. The lotion got thrown in the back section as a filler :)

One beach-themed item I did go for was this set of shower curtain holders. I think they are neutral enough that you aren't overwhelmed by the beach theme :) the shower curtain is one of my favorite new purchases! I think it looks like nautical ropes. Both are from Bed Bath and Beyond.

The print next to the tub above the towel rod is also from Etsy, found here, and the frame matches the two smaller prints above the toilet, from Target.

On the wall next to the door is yet another Etsy print, found here, with another matching Target frame. The hand towel is from a package we got from Bed Bath and Beyond (I think) and the plug-in warmer is from Scentsy! It has a cute little sand dollar on the front.

I stuck our shadowbox frame with the photo and sand from the beach in the corner and I think it looks just lovely there. The soap dispenser and tumbler are from Bed Bath and Beyond. I love the sandy color and texture!

The jar of sand from our honeymoon also found a home on the counter, next to the jar that I really only bought because it matched the set... it's currently holding cotton pads. Again, Bed Bath and Beyond's only "beach" bathroom sets were covered in tacky, beachy goodness, so I opted for a more subtle set :) 

Another shot of the lovely backsplash and mirror, thanks to the previous homeowners.

The rug in front of the sink is purely for decoration purposes. It's from Bed Bath and Beyond and has little threads of gold running through the stripes!

The rug in front of the bathtub is more for comfort. Also from Bed Bath and Beyond, it's plusher and thicker than the other rug.

The wastebasket is one I tossed in the cart on a whim {and because it was on clearance}. It keeps with the neutral theme and looks a little like nautical rope, I think. 

So there is the first house tour post! I'm hoping to have another room finished in the next week or two, but may not happen until one of my classes is over. We've had a few friends over and everyone has such kind things to say and are very generous when I explain that it's quite all put together just yet. Once we finally get curtains up and decor on the bedroom and living room walls, I will be a happy girl!