something to chase

So for my birthday (this past Sunday, and for those counting I am now at the old age of 23) Jason and I decided that we would go to my favorite store and get something for the house.

We browsed and browsed and came up with two options: either another dresser for our bedroom or a storage area across from the fish tank that leads into our tiny kitchen. We went for storage. I do really want to get additional dressers for our bedroom, too (for the pictures you will never see, at the foot of our bed we have a wrought-iron bookcase holding some of our folded clothing for now) but I realized that the place our guests see more is our living room/kitchen area and that also needed to be dealt with.

We considered using a dresser or a desk, but then came across the Expedit bookcase unit as we were leaving. At only $99 it was a steal!

If you turn it on its side, it actually becomes a beautiful bar area! How nifty. It is a great storage option for the dog food, small odds and ends, large mixing bowls, even our bottled water. With this as an additional counter, I plan on setting up a bar area that will be great for when guests are over. I’m still in the process of finding containers that will fit in the shelves itself. Perhaps a trip to Target soon? Maybe these? They would match my storage trunk.

And as dinner is about ready, I’ll end with a puppy update:

Charlie & Zoey cuddling up.

“Not the least hard thing to bear when they go from us, these quiet friends, is that they carry away with them so many years of our own lives.”
– John Galsworthy

Ralph passed away this past Friday. I will sincerely miss her with all of my heart. The pups were a little lost without her this weekend, but things are getting better.

So I begged Jason to take my camera and take pictures of our living room and bedroom because I am not very good at taking pictures. I needed better ones to update our Home Tour on here, but I figured I could update you in a post with them as well.

In the dining room, you can see that I 1) Need to figure out what else to hang on our ledge besides dishes and 2) Need chairs that match the table.

I am getting very exciting about how our living room is turning out. It’s really coming together!

Please ignore the kitchen in the background. Soon, soon, soon!

Remember when it looked like this?

And remember when my bedroom looked too blue?  Of course not.  I was too ashamed to show you the mistake, but not now.

Way too much blue. So after deciding to repaint, add some throw pillows and repaint our bedside table that Jason has had since we first started dating, our bedroom looks like this:

Much better.

That’s all for now! I’ll end with a puppy update.

Zoey at 7 weeks old.

I was inspired by Katie’s rug on rug concept over at All Bower Power and realized that I didn’t have to live with our terrible carpet until we had the money to change it out for wood flooring. While at Walmart the other day I found a decently priced carpet to match our living room area. We also got a new runner for the hallway and a new rug for the front door as well.

It’s a little matchy-matchy, but the floor feels better under our feet where were spend about 95% of our time when we’re not working/sleeping. We eat on our couches, not at the table. I hope that someday will change. But right now our table has become a dumping spot for many an item that I haven’t found a home for.

I also realized that I didn’t show you the finished painted fish tank that sits beside our kitchen, so here it is!

As you can see, the fish tank has become the centerpiece for the dog’s eating area. Below is also the unfinished plate rack above our dining table. Once I finish sanding out the mistake holes, I need to think of something creative to put up there besides plates.

And finally, puppy update!

Charlie, sleeping.

 Check back soon for a post on how to replace your old thermostat!

Like I said before, our fan is finally up! So now here is the post to attempt to show you how to replace a ceiling fan like we did. First, you need to pick the fan you want.

Unpack the box and MAKE SURE you have everything, especially the directions. I forgot to take a picture of this part. There is usually a lot of pieces because most fans come with a few options for mounting (we chose a flush mount because we don’t have very high ceilings). Secondly, you need to take out your old ceiling fan. Usually you can do this pretty quickly by unscrewing the top from the housing. Keep the old housing on there unless the instructions tell you differently.

Then, hook the base of the fan onto the side of the housing unit. Connect the main wires.  Make sure the grounding wire is connected to the grounding rod.

The blue wire is the lights. That is for the lights. Some fans don’t have this because they don’t have a lighting fixture attached. Once all of the wires are attached, screw the base onto the housing. This took me standing on the coffee table holding the base in place while Jason screwed it together.

Notice the faded ceiling? I did fix this afterwards because I was too impatient beforehand and we only had so much sunlight to work with (we did this directly after working – notice Jason’s wonderful True Value polo).

Here is a shot of the unit hanging from the housing hook.

The second part of the fan holds the wiring for the blades and the lights. It is WAY more tricky. Thankfully Jason did this easily. Once the wires were twisted together, we screwed the blades onto the base. Then the light fixture was screwed in and the lightbulbs placed properly.

Much easier than we thought it would be. Here is the finished product with a new splash of ceiling paint over the dingy, faded part.

And there you have it! So don’t worry if it looks too complex. A ceiling fan is very manageable to replace on your own!

I can’t believe how much snow we have gotten here on the eastern shore of Maryland. I am beginning to hate it. I hate shoveling the most.

Jason and I finally put the new ceiling fan/light up in the living room. I would post pictures, but the fan does not work. The lights do, but the blades don’t spin. Jason has called Westinghouse and we’re seeing about getting a replacement piece. I also decided to go against using the plastic medallion underneath the fan (it was too much). But I find the perfect replacement for the rest of the ceiling lights in the kitchen and hallway that are similar to the fan itself, also by Westinghouse:

Brushed nickel with frosted swirl glass.

Like the fan, we’ll be special ordering it through our local True Value. Once they are all installed we’ll have a post in how we installed them and the finished product!

In other news, many projects are underway with the impending snowfall:
1. Painting the inside of the front door.
2. Painting the kitchen.
3. Ordering shades for soon-to-be Bennett’s room*
4. Painting the baseboard heaters.

*Our windows in our home are set into the wall by around three inches. These shades are perfect when we have them installed on an inside mount so the shades become flush with the walls. We have these already in our master bedroom and on the large window in our living room. They definitely make a difference with this cold! The double cell is perfect for keeping the cold out. Plus, they come in a wide variety of colors to suit any room!

So,the picture ledge and coat rack are up! I just need to go and sand out the spackled mistake holes that are just underneath it (Jason had it a little too low at first). I will post pictures once we put the new fan in (tonight? tomorrow? soon! We just need a lot of light to put this baby in action because that is our only light source in the room besides a side table lamp, and we don’t trust ourselves installing this by candlelight and our work schedule is usually during the daytime hours like most nine to fivers).

In other news: we’ll be going to Orlando next week for The Rental Show! So excited! I’m ready for warmth.

Finally made my way over to Ikea yesterday to swoon, plan, and buy. I’ll be updating the living room with most of what I purchased, as well as the front porch:

Sanela Pillow cover for Master Bedroom

Picture ledge to put behind dining table!

For the second window in the living room.

In the office, for Jason's CD collection. I'll be painting them white.

For the front porch!

Kitchen Update: I downloaded Ikea’s Home Planner and designed the kitchen. However, the Ikea Varde collection is too large for our kitchen. Back to square one with cabinets!

I know, cheesy title. Anywho, Jason broke our ceiling fan in our living room this past week. I was not disappointed. Except that taking pictures of our living room for this website are turning out fuzzy because I had to place a lamp in the corner and that, plus the fire at night, gives off a slightly eery feel to the images.

So I suggested instead of taking the fan apart, which I already despise, that we take the opportunity to upgrade the fan entirely and make it a little more modern looking. This is what we have decided upon, which we can order directly through the True Value warehouse:

Westinghouse, Xavier II

But that’s not all. I’m going to take a tip from all of those crazy DIY shows on HGTV and add this after spray painting it nickel (or something else fancy):

Westinghouse Ceiling Medallion, Contempo Wood Style

 I was going to go for one of the more ornate medallions, but I would be worried I would hate it afterwards. So we’ll stick with the contemporary modern design for now. I’m excited to see that soon we’ll be switching out most of the light fixtures to match (we’re a fan of nickel-plated anything!) and the house will probably look a lot more contemporary with a little updating! So if only Jason would break a few more things around here…

So as you know, we have big plans to re-do our kitchen with our handy-dandy tax returns (ahem, first time homebuyer credit!) and I have slowly been collecting kitchen images for inspiration. My favorite so far is that of Sarah from A Beach Cottage. She makes me want to reinvent my entire house and go to the beachy look with lots of white. I spend a lot of my time in awe over the tour of her house and all of the vintage finds.

Image Courtesy of A Beach Cottage

Which is exciting because those cabinets are from Ikea. I love Ikea. I should probably write an entire post soon about how most of our things are from there (our couches, futon in the Office, TV stand, bedroom dresser, pillows, kitchenware.. the list goes on!) and I find the clean lines and fresh wood to be inspiring of a bakery. I also love the clean feeling of stainless steel.

Varde Counter, Ikea

Soon, soon. For now, my kitchen will remain like this:

Coming soon: the finished fish tank, and the rearrangement of the office and the guest room (we’re getting it ready for our eventful new roommate, Jason’s brother).