Dreaming of a porch

I've always loved the idea of a beautiful porch leading up to the entrance of my home.

I love the look of the double door entry as well--it looks so grand, and how beautiful to decorate for the holidays!

I've always wanted a swing and a sitting area, maybe pots filled with flowers if I could keep them alive.

But alas, we did not move into a home with this potential. It would take building the house out and over in order to create something like this...and that just isn't going to happen.

So I can dream. :)

Also, if we ever get to build that cabin at my ranch, I am DETERMINED that it have a wrap around porch around the whole thing.

And you better believe it will have a swing. :)

My home. and Dreams.

I've shared very little of my home in pictures.

When we moved in 2 years ago, less than 2 weeks in, I learned of Jace's pornography addiction. 

About a year later, he relapsed.

My hours got cut more than half at my job as a respite provider and money became tight as we tried to pay off debt.

Basically, the last 2 years I have been in what we call "Survival Mode" and tackling house projects and then taking pictures of them were PRETTY low on the list.

The house we moved into wasn't in desperate need of changing by any means. The woman we bought the house from had done some remodeling 10 or so years prior. However, it just wasn't ME.

The whole house was MUCH MUCH darker than I like. The walls in every single room with the exception of the "master" and nash's room were painted this pinkish brown. The whole house with the exception of 3 rooms is tiled in this brown tile with dark brown grout. The cabinets are maple with antiquing done on the insets :(, the hardware are all antique bronze (as well as every fixture--lights, fans, faucets, etc), the counters are a black/brown laminate, the appliances are all black, even the shades on the fans are brown tinted. 

I had this conversation on the blog last fall, about needing some color options, because ENOUGH WAS ENOUGH. I had been here living in this for almost 2 years and I wanted it to start feeling like me! 

When we moved in, we painted the old master (which was painted GREEN) before we moved in and we turned that into Nash's room. Loved it. Our bedroom that we made the master is a periwinkle...and honestly I don't dislike it enough to change it right now. But the rest of the house is wide open to one another and I was tired of the pink tones. So I picked out this great clay color and we painted the halls, the kitchen, the dining, the family room, and the living room. We then painted the laundry room and nash's bathroom a fun light blue color. I painted our front and back doors Navy blue. LOVE.

As we have lived here, things that the previous owner had bought for the home have started to crap out on us. So slowly we are replacing things. Like, we have a new hot water heater now, a new disposal, a new faucet in a bathroom, and a new dishwasher. The fridge is on the way out too, so we'll probably have to get a new one of those soon as well.

We also inherited ALOT of dying trees. They didn't know they weren't properly tending to them, but we had an arborist come out and all the trees had center rot and all the irrigation and fertilizer and loving care wasn't going to help them. So, so far we have taken out 1 grapefruit tree, 1 pitiful lemon tree, 1 tangerine tree, 1 mulberry tree, and 1 piece of crap whatever tree. We have 2 left--and orange and another mulberry. The orange will be coming down in the next couple weeks (should've happened after Christmas...oh well) and we still need to check on the other mulberry. Long term goal is to plant another good shade tree in the front and a lemon tree in the back eventually (we love the space we have gained in the backyard!)

We need a new roof. The previous owners really needed a new roof and never did anything about it. So that's on the list.

The bricks on the outside of our home are disintegrating from wear and sun. The mortar comes out if you touch it! That will need to be taken care of as well. The house has siding on it, but its YELLOW! Blech! We will get that replaced with white.

I plan on planting beautiful shrubs and roses along the front...once we get the brick figured out.

The inside will get a COMPLETE remodel. Flooring, counters, fixtures, etc. 

and EVENTUALLY we will do a large addition off the back--big photography studio for me, a powder room, a real master bedroom and bathroom, and underneath that a BASEMENT with a gameroom, storage, and possibly a guest bedroom and bathroom. 

(you know in 40 years when we can afford that!)

I have such big plans and goals for my home. I thought I'd post some inspiration pictures here. I can see it exactly how I want it in my head...and it will look awesome!

Kitchen:

Wood flooring

Navy bottom cabinets

White uppers

White quartz countertops

White subway tile backsplash

Nickle fixtures

Stainless Steel appliances

(a nice mid-tone laminate--with extra water protection as it will be in our kitchen)

(i would do nickel or chrome fixtures/hardware, not brass)

Master bedroom/bath:

(large square tub and shower combo in light calming colors)

(double vanity, square sinks, light calming colors with storage!)

If you've ever been in the Mesa Temple's baptistry, the floor in there is the color inspiration for my future master bath. Small check mosaic tiles in sea green, blue, white...i couldnt find exactly what I was searching for online, but i'll know it when I see it!

Master Closet:

In our current "master" there isnt a lot of extra space and minimal closet space. By building out a wall we can do a simple walk in closet. I cant wait!! (These pictures are of a closet that will be bigger than what we will be able to do.)

Living Room:

New carpet

Built-ins

(gray soft/cozy carpet)

(these built ins are amazing! I watched when the blogger DIY'ed most of these herself (with her dad!) I would have plenty of storage for extra things underneath, as well as plenty of book space above!! I have a HUGE wall this would go on in my living room!!)

Home. April 2015.

Jace and I bought a house today. Signed, sealed, and delivered. 

We are pretty stoked.

Easter 2015

This year Easter was interesting.

First, it was General Conference for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I love Conference so much...even more so now as a mother. Its also about a zillion times harder to watch and glean things from conference when you have a little one yelling in your ear, pulling your hair, wanting food, needing a diaper change or a nap. But oh so worth it!! Some of my favorite quotes:

Saturday night my older brother ended up needing to go to the hospital. I drove my parents and loaded randy up and dropped them off around 2 AM. They spent the majority of Easter Sunday in the ICU with my brother. My other brother and his family came over, finished conference, went and saw mine and jaces new house! :), took some Easter pictures of the kids, and then I made French toast for dinner. It was sad that Randy and my parents weren't home for most of the day, but when they come home we'll get to watch conference over with them and talk about all the great things we learned.

 I know that my Redeemer lives!!

Now enjoy pictures of our cute kids....

Buying a house...

Right after we got back home from the viewing in St. George we started the process of buying a house. It was cute--lots of character and had a great backyard. It was a little smaller than I had hoped for but it was a good starter home (one we could be in easily for 5-8 years). The contract was signed and we were within 10 days of closing. Then we had our home inspection. There was too much, too big wrong with the house (like the 2 HVAC units and the roof...) so we pulled out of the contract. 

However we had already given notice to our apartments and so we started the process of packing up our lives, moving most of it into a storage unit and then moving in with my parents. ON DECEMBER 15TH we moved in. What in the crazy world were were thinking. RIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!! NASH'S FIRST CHRISTMAS TO BOOT. oh well. its done. thank goodness.