Home Improvements

Having the summer off has been great in a number of ways.  I've been able to do so much around our home that I couldn't find the time to get done during the school year.  This house has been so clean and organized and my checklist is almost all checked off.

I am fortunate enough to have a nice pantry now.  When we first got married and lived in our old home down in North Hill, we had 2 cabinets...we had to fit food and dishes in 2 cabinets. So, I'm very thankful to have the space now.  But when we moved into this house, we kind of just threw everything in the pantry thinking that we'd deal with it later.  Later came and went.  It was long overdue, so it put it on my summer to-do list. Must clean and organize my pantry.  It took me about 4 hours, but I finally did it and it makes me so happy to walk into a pantry that's organized and orderly.  My OCD self feels at peace now.

This was everything that was either on the floor or the bottom shelves.

Right side before...just a mess of everything.

Right side AFTER.  Organized by starches & canned goods.

Left side before.  Just a mumble jumble of baking goods, breakfast items, snacks, and special occasion dishes.

Left side AFTER.  My cookbooks organized, baking goods organized, and dishes all neatly stacked.

Pantry AFTER.  You can better see how it all came together, but it was hard to capture everything.  I was a bit concerned that my baking items took up 2 shelves.  Guess that shows where my pantry's importance lies. ;)

It's amazing to me just how cleaning or organizing something can totally change the look and feel of your home. Maybe it's just me.  Anyways, we've also been working on the main living areas of our home.  We ordered our new furniture and almost all of it has come in.  Our walls are so bare - I have a hard time committing to hanging stuff up.  BUT, we got our console table and finally did our picture wall.  I love the way it turned out.  Props to my handsome hubs because he hung up all of the pictures.  It really makes the house feel more home-y.

Before we decided where the pictures should go, we laid out the design on the floor.  Then we moved photos around, and moved them around some more until we finally settled on a good arrangement.  J then cut out the frame sizes on contact paper and taped them on the wall, so we could be sure they looked right.  Once that was all set, he just nailed the picture right on top of the paper, then went behind after and pulled the paper off the wall.  It really made it easy.  Thanks to my awesome friend, Erin, for that idea. :)

Wall Before

Wall After.  That wooden sign in the middle was a wedding gift from our brother-in-law, Brian.  He's SO talented.

Next up will be the living room.  It'll all be done in time for football season, hopefully.  Oh boy, I can't wait for both - a comfy living room AND football season.  I'm ready to wear my Hog gear.

In addition to inside our home, Jared has been doing an A+ job in the yard.  He used his vacation time to trim hedges in the backyard.  Thanks, babe, for making our yard look pretty! 

Rosie and I were out walking the other day and I snapped a picture of our grass.  It just looked so green.  I'm thankful my husband has a green thumb.  I love the stripes from the mower too.  It's the little things. ;)

Have a blessed day!  Next post will be a recipe for a Reese's trifle that's not only easy, but a total crowd pleaser.