Guest Room Redo

After redoing the dresser in the guest bedroom, I decided that the guest bedroom itself needed a makeover. The walls were still a crisp white, and that needed to change. Since we loved the green accent wall in our kitchen so much, we decided to use that same color in the guest bedroom.

It started off looking like this: (stark white, hospital-ish feeling)


And after all was said and done it turned out like this:


Now I must say that I purchased a new bedspread to lighten up the room a bit, and now there are pretty white curtains that hang from those windows. We have a plan to paint all of the original wood trim white someday, so it will match all throughout the house. But I think this is a good start of what's to come!

simple things

Every once in a while its a good reminder for me to stop and think about the simple things in life that I relish the most. Those moments when life can't get any cozier or any sweeter, any more fun, or any more exciting. The moments where I think to myself, can life really get any better?

Its also the moments when I think to myself, "Do I deserve this?" And God, "Why have you chosen me to be so lucky?" And when all of my world is falling down around me, I have these things to lift me up and to look forward to. When I was going through my past pictures, there were large event pictures and the posed decorations. There were special holidays and moments where it makes sense to take a picture. And then there were those photos of the every day. The ones that show off our real life...the one that we live each and every day.

Like this photo:

I love it because it looks like Lola is laughing at me. Often times I'm in the guest bedroom doing a craft or a project and Lola comes in to hang out with me, 5 minutes later Ryan is looking for us both, and he usually ends up there next to her. He's chatting with me as I finish a craft and we're talking about who knows what.

And this one sums our summer up:

Its not that we drank a lot of beer- its the spontaneity of it. After walking around downtown on one summer Saturday afternoon, Ryan and I decided that we were ready for a drink. So out of the blue, we found a random restaurant with outdoor seating and we did just that- sat and drank. We didn't really have anything to take care of. And that was the beauty of it all. No plans. No schedule. No work. No Nothing. It was just grand. And those are the moments that don't get photographed very often.

I love this one too:

The bright green grass almost blinds my eyes right now (seeing as I'm writing this in December). But the little speck of blue in our black dog's mouth makes me smile. She is so incredibly happy in the wide open field, just running with her Frisbee. Every once in a while we would throw it and she'd take after it like a banshee. But most of the time she just ran around with it in her mouth, doing her own thing...to the beat of her own drummer- happy as a clam.

Oh small moments. Life is made up of so many of them, its just taking the time to actually notice them.

Our Lola Bear

Our little Lola Bear grew up so fast- right before our eyes. I just can't believe it! This must be the feeling that parents have when they see baby pictures of their now 3 year old and think, "Where did that time go?" I am aware that a dog is probably nothing like an actual human infant, but at least I can draw some similarities.

When Lola was a puppy I remember thinking, I absolutely love this stage, but I can't wait until she's potty trained, can go on a decent walk, and we can trust her in the house without watching her every move. And now that she has mastered all of those things, I wish that she was a tiny cuddly puppy again. You always want what you can't have right?

Ryan and I are so lucky to have found the perfect pup for us. She's gentle and sweet when she's tired and content, and she's active and enthusiastic when she's playing. She's not huge (clocking in around 55 pounds) and she's not too small. She's just the right amount of puppy and she's truly becoming an adult dog. Lola will turn one in January, and we can already see that she's going to be a great pet for our family someday.

GO VIKINGS!!

After our Nice Ride Bike Ride, we decided to go check out the Grand Opening of the new Metrodome Roof at the Vikings Stadium. Within the first few months of living in Minnesota, we visited the Metrodome when the roof was still torn up from the collapse last December. We not only received token pieces to keep (lucky us), but we also received a tour of the facilities.

We decided to go back, and this time see the completed roof.

I think Ryan was pretty ecstatic about seeing the brand new roof


He even ran through the large inflatable tunnel :)


And tried his hand at a field goal


I must admit, it was pretty cool to be on the field that the Vikings would play on this season, with a brand new roof above us.

And a few weeks later, we did just that at the Vikings pre-season game.

Dresser Redo

I'm not sure what has gotten into me within this past year- but I think I have realized my passion for DIY projects. Maybe I should blame it on the addiction I have for the blogs Young House Love and Bower Power. The first time I heard about YHL I'm pretty sure I was on it for 4 days straight, reading every post from the very beginning. Maybe it's the reason I started my blog in the first place, being able to chronicle life's moments and projects as you go along. Although our blog usually lends itself on the family experiences end rather than projects, I like to think that sometimes I have a nifty idea to share once in a while.

This summer I finally crossed a project off my list that has been there for the past year and a half. You see my dad gave me this dresser when I moved into a house my senior year of college. It was his when he was little and has a bit of sentimental value attached to it. However it was in need of some love. After Dad's approval, I was ready for this project.

You see the top of the dresser was scratched, and the drawer handles were mismatched and wonky. The inside lining was straight out of 1965, and whoever decided to paint it used different shades of brown to try and match the wood.



My initial idea was to stain this sucker. Since it is real wood (and heavy enough to prove it). However, I realized that we'll probably be transitioning furniture in the guest rooms in the future, and finding furniture to match a particular stain might be tough- however white would be much easier. So...I decided on paint instead.

Luckily I already had the same cozy cottage color on hand from our Kitchen cabinet re-do and decided to use that along with our wood primer. So the cost of this project was quite low.

First I had to sand off the layer of paint and scratches, so all of the drawers came out.


And it was time to get my sand on. How many DIYers do you know sand with a glittery tank top and a ponytail?

I used our little Ryobi hand sander- which I would highly recommend. However, I should've done this project in phases because my hand was numb after an hour of sanding vibration.

After a good sanding, I was left with this...

She definitely needed to be wiped down before I started the priming process.

And after one coat of primer she was looking pretty.


And since I had drawers to paint as well, by the time I was done with the drawers the dresser frame was dry and ready for paint!

awww- doesn't that look better already? Now after it's second coat of paint, it turned out like this-

After only 3 hours of work and spray painting the handles an oil rubbed bronze, I was finished!

I added in some cute green paper liner to replace the old stuff, and voila, I was done!

Turned out pretty cute if you ask me!

Nice Ride Bike Ride

Going through all of these summer pictures makes me really miss the green grass, long daylight hours and the smores we'd make on our firepit. I know that winter will come and go just as fast as summer did, but it sure helps to take a look at what's to come.

This summer Ryan and I tried out the Nice Ride bike program in Minneapolis. Since we don't own bikes of our own just yet, we decided that renting them would be just as fun. And since all you have to do is have a major credit card to rent them all over the city, we were game.

This particular day we decided to ride around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet. It was such a beautiful August day, perfect for shorts and sunglasses.

Here Ryan is showing off his Nice Ride Bike

And a little close up of the two of us. It was a no make up, hair in a ponytail kind of day.

Lola- Model Dog

Lola has gotten quite good lately at striking a pose. I think because usually it means that she gets a treat as long as she stays still so I can capture her cuteness.

VOGUE it up Lola!

Here is her profile shot

And this one coyly says, "I'm so cute, aren't I?"

Wonder Dog

And a little Blue Steel