Memorial Day Projects

It's been a good day for projects, spending time together, visiting with friends, lovin' up on our sweet dog (who just loves to help us out with yard projects).  We are thankful today for the freedom we enjoy and for the sacrifices of so many to protect our country.  As they say, freedom isn't free, the high price should make us ever grateful of the blessing we have in the USA.

Demolition of extra concrete.  One day, this area will be a beautiful garden and grassy backyard (hopefully!).  Step 1: Digging up concrete

But... unable to take it to the dump, because they were closed.  So this project is in process :-)

Our first garden!!!

And our faithful overseer :-)

Bryan's parents tackelled a little project of their own, unlike us they finish what they start!  Looks awesome.  Hydrangea to grow up their beautiful trellis.

House Tour

Welcome to our home!  As promised, here is a long over due house tour, and updates on what we've been up to over the past few weeks.

Front Yard

Already done: painted front door (Sherwin Williams Labradorite); lots of RoundUp, weeding, and pruning
In process: widening driveway for 2 cars to fit side by side; vegetable garden
Still to do:

• more RoundUp to eradicate vines, ivy, and invasive wisteria that are so at home in our yard
• have several old pine trees cut down
• landscaping - several hedges need to be removed, add some interest to get rid of the straight line of bushes across the font
• move location of fence on side of house to make back yard "larger"
• improve grass coverage (grass is pretty splotchy in the front, and basically non-existant in back)
• later on... add invisible fence for Keller, have driveway redone (current asphalt is in rough shape)

Family Room

Already done: painted built-ins and walk-through bookshelves white
To Do:

• paint trim & doors
• curtains (thinking something like this linen/burlap look from World Market)
• furniture: light brown sofa is going to my sister in August, and it will be replaced with club chairs from Bryan's aunt that need to be recovered.  (dark brown sofa & love seat from my aunt & uncle, rug from my grandmother - it's amazing how we have put everything together through everyone's generosity!)
• add overhead lighting (2 rows of several cans and a central light or fan)

Dining Room

Already done: de-bling chandelier; first transom shown here as a prototype for the other 4 (full post on this later)
To Do:

• touch up paint (we are leaving the stripes, but don't have any leftover paint for the darker stripe, so we will have to repaint all the dark stripes)
• paint trim & doors
• furniture - we have a table, but no chairs... trying out these upholstered chairs (from Pier 1) are top contenders.  If we go with 6 of these, will make slip covers

Drawing Room

To Do:

• paint (I'm thinking a greyish green color - you can see a sample to the left of the window)
• paint trim and doors
• repair broken pane in french doors

Kitchen

Already done: painted beadboard white
To Do:

• paint trim & doors
• make curtains (here is my fabric)
• later on... build banquette to allow for seating around all sides of the table

Master Bedroom & Bathroom

Already done: added overhead light to fan, installed hand towel ring in bathroom
To Do:

• paint bedroom (tan color - paint is already purchased, so hopefully this will happen next week)
• paint trim & doors
• make curtains & coordinating pillows (here is my fabric)
• new shower head! (this one is terrible in the amount of water it puts out, fortunately the hall bath shower has much better water flow, so we currently use that one)
• later on... replace the tile on the walls (which was turquoise and is now painted white) with white beadboard, maybe convert tub area to walk in shower?

Hall Bathroom

To Do:

• remove wallpaper and paint walls (previous owners painted over wallpaper, which has bubbled in some areas)
• paint trim & doors
• resurface tub
• replace several fixtures (right now it is a mix of brass and polished chrome)
• find something to go above toilet for extra storage (currently zero storage in here for even an extra roll of TP)
• later on... replace painted tile on walls with white beadboard

Green Bedroom

 To Do:

• paint walls (pale yellow)
• paint trim & doors
• curtains & bedding (no fabric selected yet)

Blue Bedroom

Already done: no more stripes - after many hours of sanding, this room is painted green!

To Do:

• paint trim, chair rail & doors
• make curtains and pillows (here is my fabric)
• needs a lot of furniture: headboard, dresser, chair, and little table for under window

And that's a wrap!  We love the flow of our house, how spacious it is, and the personality it has simply by being over 60 years old.  As you may have noticed in my to do lists, all the doors and trim desperately need to be sanded and repainted.  We are also working to restore the original transoms.  These projects will take months (or in the case of repainting ALL the trim... years).  But that, I guess, that is part of the joys of homeownership - it's a work in progress.  The previous owners did SOOO much to update the house and we are excited to build upon the work they started.

Come visit us if you are ever in or near Columbia!  We hope and pray that our house will be used as an instrument of hospitality and a place for ministry and fellowship to occur - all to the glory and praise of God!

Our New Life in Cola

Well, it's been a while since I've blogged... oops.  Still trying to improve my consistency.  We have been VERY busy, and I haven't had the time self-control to sit down and keep this thing updated! Since last post we have:

• finished school
• celebrated a family wedding
• took & passed our last part of boards and our last test ever!!!
• moved from Mt. Pleasant to Columbia
• celebrated B's grandmother's 80th birthday
• begun to work on & improve our home to fit us
• graduated from dental school!!!

Here is a little explanation and photo tour of some of the above happenings.  Full photo tour of our house before we moved in will come tomorrow.

A Small Family Wedding

Bryan's uncle got married at the house where he grew up and where Bryan's parents currently live.  It was a small family affair that was sweet and beautiful.

We Moved to Columbia

We LOVE our new house!  It is a perfect fit for us.  Full house tour tomorrow.

80th Birthday

Bryan's grandmother, Peg, turned 80 this month.  We had a elegant drop-in for her birthday.  Bryan's mother entertains so effortlessly, whether its a drop-in of 50 people over 60 or our graduation party 6 days later.  I didn't have my camera at the party, but I assure you it was quite the soiree.

Home Improvements

Again, I'll share pictures of this over the next few days... and then for the next few years :-)  But the short list so far includes: painting (several rooms and built in book shelves), lots of pruning and weeding, expanding our driveway, "borrowing" lots of furniture from family to fill our home, restoring the original transoms above the windows, updating outlets and light switches... I could go on.  We have LOVED being homeowners!

Graduation

Last Friday Bryan and I became doctors!  We had several days of celebration and festivities with both our families.  It was a wonderful weekend.  Praise the Lord for His blessings and for this time of life to celebrate and rejoice in His sustaining grace that has carried us through!

James B. Edwards College of Dental Medicine Class of 2013