Rug Hunting

Happy Saturday! The hubs and I are so happy that the weather's finally getting nice, but it means we have to hurry up on the bathroom so we can actually enjoy it!  Since we are stuck working all weekend I have managed to start on a "research project"!

Between our up coming landscaping project outside, our downstairs bathroom reno still in the works and a basement that looks like a demilitarized zone because of the bathroom project, you'd think that we are at max capacity for projects, almost...but no.

The rugs that we currently have in both rooms are complete polar opposites, and while both are opposite of each other they are COMPLETELY not our style!

The rug in the dining room is a more traditional look:

And the rug in the living room is more contemporary:



We are trying to get away from darker colors, especially since our living room is pretty small we want lighter furniture and accessories.  Since a new couch isn't in the budget right now, a rug or two will have to do!

We do have plans to brighten up this room with a little paint and some wood, but unlike most "normal" people who start out with painting and end with decorating their rooms, the hubs and I are the opposite.  I'm so finicky with decorating, and it takes me FOREVER to find the right rugs, curtains, accessories... and when I do find them I have to jump at then immediately!  Right now I'm on the hunt for rugs for both the living room and dining room and these are a few of the ideas I've come across:



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I LOVE LOVE LOVE this rug! I love how the blues, creams, greens and browns all compliment each other, as well as it would tie in the green from the living room and I think that this rug would definitely brighten up our dining room!


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I think this brown rug would go great in the living room and tie in the dining room as well!


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They are all from Overstock and I love the selection that they have there! I've bought a lot of different stuff from there and the shipping has always been fast, the quality is fantastic and the prices are super reasonable!

Now the hubs and I just have to narrow down the rugs and figure out which two are the winners!!


**** I wasn't paid to post this by Overstock.  My opinions are strictly my own, from my own experiences with the product and although mine was positive, not everyone may feel the same.****

DIY Built-in Bathroom Cabinet Part II

So the hubs has managed to make some more progress on the bathroom built-in and I am so excited to finally see things coming together!

In DIY Built-in Bathroom Cabinet Part I we got the built-in framed out and ready for drywall and shelves.

The hubs used mold resistant drywall to to cover the outside front edges and the upper portion of the built-in and used cement board for the outsideportion where the shower wall is going to be.  He also cut the drywall to size and secured it on the interior of the built-in.  We talked about whether or not to use plywood or drywall for the interior walls of the built-in and decided to use drywall, mainly because we had a ton left over from the project and also we think it will be easier to finish off.  We are not going to tape and mud the seams of the interior of the "cubby", rather we are going to fill all the screw holes and make them smooth and then caulk the seams and paint.

He then took quarter inch plywood and cut it to size and installed it as the shelves. 

Once that was all finished the I took drywall compound and started filling all the holes around the built-in, and the bathroom, let it dry, then mudded some more, let it dry and mudded.  Once that final coat was dry I sanded the hell out of it until it was smoother then a baby's butt.

And that's where we are at right now.  Next step is to sand the plywood, prime, paint, caulk, touchup and add trim around the built-in! Updates to come!!

Gettin' the Itch

We have vacation coming up in May and are getting SO excited to start working on the landscaping outside! The hubs and I were talking about it today on how cooped up we have been and haven't spent any time outside....We have some background in landscaping so this is the kind of stuff that the hubs and I LOVE doing!!

When we first bought our house our yard didn't have really anything going on....was really plain Jane so the hubs edged out along the fence line and added some mulch, and a few pots with flowers which made a huge difference in the yard!

Last summer we added some plants to pretty up the yard with some planter boxes on the front of the house and replaced the Mississippi stone with mulch which gives it a much warmer look...but this year we have some major places to spruce up the yard!

We also plan on renting a sod cutter and adding some more dimension to the left side of the picture with landscape brick, stone and some mulch....These plans have been in the works for a while now, but just having the weather warm enough has been the issue!



I've wanted to have a pergola in our yard for a while now.  The hubs and I contemplated building our own but when we ran across this one at Home Depot we decided to go with this one!



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The pergola is going in front of our garage on top of a paver brick patio that we will be doing ourselves!  My mom and BD have some extra pavers that they aren't going to use so the hubs and I are snatching those up to use for the patio area.

I also want to put a planter box under the window for the garage alone with some black shutters.  Unfortunately we can't find any that will match up with the ones we have on the house because the windows dimensions are too small, but I think the hubs will be able to come up with something!

We also have an issue with our fire pit....  It looks terrible!  We've talked about redoing the fire pit but have put it off because well it still did the job, but now since we're going to be redoing the yard this pups part of the project to!

 I would really like to build an underground fire pit like this:


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or maybe something like this:


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We also want to construct a screen for the air conditioner like this:

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We think that a screen would hide the eye sore and with some lush ground cover would really make that corner of the yard a little more inviting!

We usually stay on top of fertilizing and aerating our yard, but last summer we were working on the kitchen project so that took all of our focus away from the yard.  You also add two dogs who regularly use the yard and that is a recipe for how our yard looks right now, like a disaster!

p.s: The hubs managed to get a little tiling done in the bathroom.... we're due to have an off day together soon so we should be finishing up the tiling and grouting and a post will follow!!  There is actually an end in site and words cannot describe how happy we are with how this project is turning out!

Aloha

Exactly one year ago today the hubs and I were in paradise...I can't believe it's already been a year!!  Last year was our five year wedding anniversary and we figured to celebrate it, why not go somewhere we've never been to (which could be a lot of places since going up north is trip enough for us).  We labeled this trip a "belated honeymoon/early five year anniversary".

We had some help coordinating the trip for two reasons it was our first time there and we had no idea what to even look at and well frankly those travel sites can be a little overwhelming.  Which airline, what time to leave, what time to arrive, direct, not direct, which hotel, a rental car, transportation to and from the airport, restaurants, activities....  My brain felt like mush, so my dad told us about his travel agent and she hooked us up with everything we would need!  The only thing I told her is that we wanted to stay at the Moana Surf Rider.  I wasn't expecting a primo room or anything, but wow.  The hotel was absolutely bea-U-TI-FUL and was filled with such history....





and the view from the balcony was too!! 





I had only flown once before and it was only a two hour fight, so needless to say I was a little nervous, but we made it there without any problems!

The very first thing I noticed when we got off the plane was the smell.  It was absolutely the most amazing, beautiful, floral smell, mixed with the warm breeze made for a great start to our week long journey.  Words cannot even do justice.  Anyone that's been there knows what I'm talking about.  The smell is so addicting.

We hopped a ride over to our hotel, checked in and went up to our room to get our stuff in order and find something to eat and do some sight seeing. 

We spent the majority of our trip laying on the beach, seeing the sites, enjoying great food and ice cold drinks.











We did also take part in a tour of the city, as well as all of the historical monuments!







Our favorite part about the trip was the Pearl Harbor Tour....so much history...It's hard to explain the feeling you get when you're there, it's very real and surreal at the same time... 

We could have spent ALL day there, but due to being on the city tour we were limited to how much time we could spend there.  We took about 1,000 pictures just at Pearl Harbor, but here are a few of our favorites!













We also got to see the USS Missouri:







The next two pictures go hand in hand:





One of our last days there we did some snorkeling with Eo Waianae Tours.  Definitely worth EVERY penny and highly recommend it to anyone who is going to Oahu.  The family that runs it treats you like one of their own.









We had the hardest time trying to find decent, (non chain) restaurants within walking distance (since we didn't rent a car while we were there).  We found a winner, Dukes was awesome!  It's one of those restaurants that is formal, but isn't.  Our meals were delicious, not ridiculously priced and the drinks were great and cheaper then other places we tried around the area and it was two hotels away from ours!  We wish we would have known about this place earlier on in our trip because we would have spent a LOT more time there!





We loved our trip....we were able to meet some great people there!

 From Eddie, who was doing a little flame juggling,who was part of the Great American Walkabout... his story is so interesting!



To "bucket man" aka Matthew who was able to rock out with a few buckets, some duct tape and a wine bottle...one of the most interesting live shows I've ever seen!



To the crazy old guy on the corner preaching that we were all going to hell....



To the silver people that were everywhere...and were so awesome!





My favorite "Silver people" were Mr and Mrs Silver who had just hit their one year anniversary when the hubs and I were there!



We loved being there...and are hoping to go back for our 10 year anniversary!!!!