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Zoey

If we don’t have time to open the mail and sort it then and there, we drop it in this vase on the TV stand by the door. I also keep my coupon holder that Jason’s mom gave me a while back so I can stay organized with making an effort to use coupons and save money (think wedding!).

Also, here’s a puppy update with Charlie in her favorite spot:

Elfa Freestanding works like any other organized closet system, except it has feet that are able to hold the system up without the support of a wall. Plus, their catalog makes it really hard to resist.

Photo courtesy of Elfa

We bought a basic system with two closet rods of varying length and a top shelf to put all of Jason’s sweatshirts. It is the perfect solution for our closets, so we tested it with our master bedroom one first. Here is the result:

What a relief to be organized again! A little over a month we have suffered with clothes in piles all over the bedroom, but thanks to Elfa Freestanding we finally have our bedroom back.

My favorite part about pressure washing is that you can truly see the difference immediately. After we let our cleaning solution set in for the designated amount of time, Jason and our friend Sam started pressure washing off the cement slab.

See the difference?

Jason’s hands were cramping by the end of it, but our porch looked so much newer once it dried! I was so happy we took the time to finally clean the porch. So we took the time with the setup of our backyard furniture to make it more appealing. This was the end result:

Oh, and because it has been a while since we’ve had one — Puppy Update:

Because the chairs are clear they free up a lot of space around the area between where the table begins and the front door. I have also noticed that less things are being thrown on the chairs at the end of the day (score!) and that’s an added plus. It’s also fortunate that the dog bed still fits between them. Today was the day they lost their own bed area for a few hours while I washed their blankets and they were a little confused (Charlie and Zoey, as most dachshunds do, enjoy burrowing).

We also added the new couch covers! The couches, Ikea Klippan loveseats, are a hold-over from our old apartment, but we changed out the thin black covers with pleated white covers.  Now the couches are more comfortable (the new covers have added extra padding) and make the living area much wider and brighter.

We’re currently debating on changing out the coffee table. It was a hand-me-down table and has lasted us a long time, but we’re leaning more towards another clear acrylic piece of furniture to match the Tobias chairs. What do you guys think?

Trying to put the final touches on our bedroom, we also added vanity in our bedroom and it’s worked out great! So much more storage for me and my prep items. Our master bathroom is very small and it is such a relief to have a wider area to work with.

All of my hair supplies (blow dryer, curlers, straightener, hair spray, etc.) are within the storage bench and within easy reach. I would like to get rid of the jewelry case so the vanity looks less cluttered, but I am still working out a a way to keep all of my jewelry close at hand without being so boxed in. And Jason likes the vanity as an added nightstand at night for our new iPad.

We also got rid of the cluttered bookcase and white bins that had been holding our clothing for so long and the streamlined look of the dressers next to each other looks great!

And yes, all of our clothing actually fits. Jason had to part with a few sweatshirts, but he will survive.  (We also splurged on a new TV, a 32″ LG LCD, as you can see.)

So going back to our honesty post, we would like to present to you the bathroom vanity that has been sitting in our bedroom for over six months. We’ll be installing it this summer along with new tile for our master bath!

We are also on the hunt for a new bedframe. Although I love the iron wrought bed, it actually takes up a lot of needed space. Thank goodness we can slip through the area between the edge of the bed and the dressers. We realized that if we replaced the bed frame with one that does not have a foot or headboard, we will be gaining up to ten inches of space! And we need all of the space we can get.

Moving on from here, we hope to have the fence up in the next couple of weeks, as well as continuing our struggle with keeping the office organized, both of which we will post when progress is made!

I was having a hard time with my purchase, trying to figure out where to put this massive lantern and felt that maybe I had made a mistake buying it for the summer.

Then this catalogue came in.

Until I can figure out where to put it (probably outdoors on our front or back patio), I have placed it lovingly next to our flat screen in the living room. I think it works for now. What do you guys think?

Also, since I haven’t updated on the pups in a while, Puppy Update:

Ta-da! Our updated patio with the new additions.

We also mulched around the hostas in the front and around the stepping stones when we realized the hostas we moved to the side garden last year were still there coming back!

Out of all the plants the house came with, these hostas truly are the most resilient!

Puppy Update:

I’ve been kind of obsessed with the idea of an outdoor room for a while. Now, we definitely don’t have enough room or the budget for what has been featured on HGTV as of late, but I was thinking our porch definitely needed sprucing up. This is what it used to look like:

My favorite part of the new front porch? The large white, ceramic elephant. I am completely infatuated with elephants in general (I even have a tattoo of two elephants on my back for good luck) and I have always wanted an oversized collectible — another post about my indoor collection will happen soon, I promise (keyword to my collection, so not to worry anyone: it will be finite).

The elephant and the chair (called “Crazy Mocha Chairs”) are all from Pier 1 Imports. I was never a fan of the store until recently — and I have to say I am kind of obsessed now with it. I wish their website was a little more in-depth (reminds me of Home Goods’ website).

The orange pillows are from Target (very similar to these on their website). I like that they match the shutters, but I really don’t like the orange as a shutter color in general. I have noticed that our patio definiely needs a good pressure washing once the weather warms up!

Also, please check out our updated Home Tour while you have the chance! I’ll end with a puppy update.

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.