Crosby’s Nautical Room

Posted in House Tour by Kendra G.

Crosby’s nautical nursery has evolved into a big boy room over the last two years. We put the finishing touches on his room recently so I am excited to finally share it with you.

I can’t believe I haven’t even shared a picture of his twin boat bed. He moved into the bed about a year ago after sleeping in a toddler bed to help ease the transition from the crib. Greg and I found the bed on Craigslist so long ago and had been storing it until he was ready to use it. It is absolutely perfect for his room and we just couldn’t pass it up at the time. I believe it was originally from Toys R Us. Greg added the rails on the sides of the bed which are real boat rails. The bedding, sheets, and throw pillows are from Land of Nod in the High Seas series. As soon as I saw the life preserver throw pillow I knew this was the perfect bedding for the boat bed.

A while back, we found the life preserver on sale, so we replaced the neutral pictures to add some more color to the room. The most recent addition is the nautical flag banner. The flags are individual so we made two separate banners out of them. There has been something missing in his room and these flags are it. I love how they complete the room and fill in the gap below the tall ceilings.

Another new addition to the room is the personalized oar. We got it at The Boathouse in Disney Springs. Majority of the other decor has been in the room since he was born. It feels so good to have his room complete!

Ahoy, matey!

16Jan2017

my [long] weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

friday date night.

10 miles on saturday with the girls. we headed to the cross seminole trail for a change of pace. it was a great run.

we had these crazy kiddos over for dinner on saturday night. they had such a great time.

sunday park time!

after a hard workout at the y and a trip to aldi, i spent a couple hours in the kitchen doing some serious meal prep. i knocked out some breakfasts, lunches, and dinners for the week.

this is where greg spent most of the weekend, with a special appearance of one of our rental cars (that’s a story for another day). we took on a big project and it looks great! i’ll be sharing soon!

just in case you needed a smile going into the week.

***

we had a great long weekend. we did some work around the house, watched football, and saw some friends.

how was your weekend?

4Oct2016

Kenley’s Oh So Pink Bathroom

Posted in House Tour, Projects Around the House by Kendra G.

A couple of ~~weeks~~ months ago, we decided it was time to work on Kenley’s bathroom. Of the four bathrooms in the house, we had already completed the pool bathroom (now Crosby’s bathroom) and our guest bathroom upstairs. We kept putting off working on it for one reason or another, but her bathroom had definitely seen better days. At some point, Greg grabbed her towel bar for balance and ended up pulling it off the wall, leaving a big hole that needed to be patched. It was high time to do something to it! I am hesitant to show the before picture, but full disclosure, here it is…

We asked her what paint color she wanted and she chose pink. I had a feeling that would be the answer, so I already had been getting some ideas of what I thought she would like.

Greg did all of the painting, installed crown molding, framed the mirror, installed the new light and all of the new hardware. Most importantly, he not only fixed her toilet, but all of the other toilets in the house, which seems crazy to be excited about such a thing, but they now all flush properly. It’s the little things, you know?

Majority of the supplies Greg needed were from Lowe’s. The paint color is Valspar Oh So Pink, the light is allen + roth Merington, and the hardware is Moen Caldwell (on clearance!). Majority of the finishing touches I picked up were from Target. The floral shower curtain and striped rug are from Pillowfort and shower curtain hooks are from Threshold.

I knew it would look better once we put in some time and effort, but I am amazed with how different it looks now that we are all done! I am so happy with it and now I’m wondering why it took so long to do it.

9Jun2016

Pool Installation – 2015

Posted in House Tour, Projects Around the House by Kendra G.

It’s been one year since we filled up the pool and I have yet to post any pictures of the process. It was leading up to Memorial Day last year that we were so hopeful to have our inaugural swim over the long weekend, but it wasn’t quite ready for us at that point. The following week, we filled up the pool and have been enjoying it ever since.

In February 2015, we had our landscaper come out to clear away the existing trees, bushes, and pavers that were there when we purchased the house. He was going to reuse them on other projects which was better than having someone else simply demolish the backyard and not save anything.

Untitled

The work on the pool officially began in March. The initial progress at first was very deceiving. A lot of different things happened in the first few weeks that led us to believe that the pool was going to be done in a month…which we knew wasn’t true, but it was exciting to see so much progress so quickly. By mid April, progress had slowed down immensely. There were many moving parts and many different entities that had to come out for their respective jobs, such as plumbing, tiling, paving, etc. Towards the end, we would see progress for a few straight days, then nothing would happen for a few more days. Once we got into May, the entire backyard was starting to take shape and we were just excited to be able to envision the end product.

While we’ve been enjoying the pool, we’ve also been making our outdoor space a little bit more cozy. We spend a lot of time out there, so want to keep it nice and functional.

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Throughout the process, Greg took a picture every time there was progress made on the pool, which you can see in the video clip or you can view the entire album. We also have another miscellaneous album of more detailed pictures of the progress.

We’re ready to jump in to another fun summer!

6Jul2015

my [long] weekend in photos

Posted in Random by Kendra G.

tutus and bike rides.

thursday, greg did some serious work on the driveway. it looks so much better!

we decided to head to sea world on friday morning. i was worried that it would be busy since it was a holiday, but it ended up being quite the opposite. at times we felt like we had the whole place to ourselves and were able to do some of the rides more than once.

saturday morning, heather and i ran the watermelon 5k in winter park! it was a fun run, but we were pretty pleased with our time.

sporting their red, white, and blue!

festive food.

ready to party!

the cutest party guest…sweet kennedy.

fireworks before bedtime.

our firecracker.

sunday swimming.

greg and i had a date night for our anniversary. we did a wine tasting and asked to sit in the bar so we could watch the women’s soccer game. by the time we sat down for dinner, it was already 4-0! we enjoyed the rest of the game over some good food and wine, as well as complimentary blanc de blanc!

***

we had a great long weekend and spent some much needed time with my parents. it’s going to be hard getting back in the swing of things once they leave.

how was your weekend?

26Mar2014

A Place to Play // Photo Tour

Posted in Projects Around the House by Kendra G.

I’ll share more about this extensive project next week!

15Jan2014

{diy} barn door

Posted in Projects Around the House by Kendra G.

If you would have told me two months ago that I would be telling you about a barn door my husband built, I would have laughed out loud. Then there was this day he came home and told me he was going to build a barn door. I brushed it off and immediately thought of other projects I would rather get done first. Little did I know, the wheels were already in motion and this project was a go.

Let’s rewind. The kids’ bedrooms are right off the kitchen and we had talked about how we wanted something there to divide the space, more so to act as a sound barrier. We love hosting parties and get-togethers, so we figured it would be used for many years to come. Our initial thought was to install a pocket door, but the door frame would have to go inside the wall that houses the pipes for the laundry room sink. We quickly realized that this would be a much bigger (and more costly) project than we wanted. One that would require hiring someone to move pipes, tear apart the wall, then install the door. No thank you.

[[ laundry room on left / kenley’s room ahead ]]

[[ kitchen ahead ]]

[[ kids’ rooms on right // guest bathroom straight ahead ]]

[[ kids’ rooms on left ]]

I had put this project out of my head while Greg was busy thinking up a solution….and then it came to him: a sliding barn door. After doing some research, he came to the conclusion that installing a barn door would address the issue of separation and sound while also being more cost effective and significantly easier to install. Not to mention it would look awesome too (hopefully).

As usual, Greg looked on Craigslist to find a beat up door that he could re-purpose to fit our needs but there wasn’t much out there. There are websites that sell custom-built barn doors but we needed an 8′ door because of the arched opening and those aren’t cheap. Greg then began researching tirelessly on how to build one. One of the pros to building our own door was that we could pick the stain color to match the wine rack to maintain some uniformity throughout the house.

Once he knew he could do it, Greg drew up the specs and headed to Lowe’s for the supplies.
For the door:
2 – 1 x 10 x 8 piece of wood
7 – 1 x 6 x 8 piece of wood
1 – 1 x 3 x 8 piece of wood
2 – 1 x 12 x 4 piece of wood
Wood glue
Stain
Wood & pipe clamps (borrowed)

…and so it began…

Greg divided the door build in half to make the gluing more manageable, once both halves were dry, he glued the two pieces together. To keep the boards flush while gluing, he clamped the door with six clamps and two pipe clamps and used cauls (crosspieces shown above). He worked on gluing the boards over several days since he had to wait for the glue to dry before moving on to the next step. Once it was a complete door, he began sanding and staining the wood over the course of several days. Once one side was complete, he and my dad flipped the door over so he could work on the backside. Once both sides were sanded and stained, he added the trim pieces for the door.

We chose to get the barn door hardware from Rustica Hardware, specifically this one. We figured it was worth the money to get a nice track system since the door will be used so often. It’s amazing how easy the door slides for how heavy it is.
Kenley can open and close it with no problem.

The finished product…

Greg installed a small track on the tile for the door to slide in, so it will stay flush against the wall while sliding. I don’t think this is entirely necessary, but since we have small kids, we figured it was a good idea just in case someone were to push on the door from the backside.

The door handles were purchased from Amazon: Large Pull and Flush Pull.

This project was very labor intensive but overall not too difficult given all of the research he did and the videos he watched. It took about two weeks to complete but most of that was down time since we had to wait for the glue and strain to dry after each step. It was nice that he decided to do it over Christmas break while my parents were in town, both to help with the kids and to help carry and hang the door. We definitely benefited from having two extra sets of hands around.

I will be the first to admit that I had doubts about this project, so I can honestly say that I am blown away by how awesome this door is.
I also cannot believe that Greg BUILT A DOOR!
It works wonderfully and looks so freaking awesome (if I do say so myself).

If you have questions regarding anything about this project, leave them in the comments, or you can shoot me an email!

21Nov2013

Home Sweet Home :: One Year

Posted in Projects Around the House by Kendra G.

One year ago today we packed up a truck (three times) and moved just under two miles down the road.
To be honest, I really can’t believe we’ve only been in our house for just one year.
Especially considering that we now have two kids here, instead of just one!

I know I’ve mentioned this several times, but when we moved into our house,
every single wall was a cream color. The bank came in and freshened up, which was awesome,
but it was just very plain. Each time we added color to one room, we wanted to keep going
because it made such a big difference! Here is a rundown on what we’ve done over the past year.

We first started with Kenley’s room and added the DIY faux wainscoting. She transitioned into her new room
beautifully and now I’m realizing that I haven’t shared her room since we’ve moved her to a toddler bed.
I will post pictures of her true toddler room in the next couple of weeks.

Very early on, Greg tackled the ceiling in our family room. He painted and added crown molding to our coffered ceilings.

We updated several aspects of the kitchen, including the big hole/cutout in the wall, horrible pantry door, and the island.
Later on, we also added more modern hardware. You can read about the updates here and here.

The office was turned into an office / craft room combo room.

We updated the upstairs guest bathroom by painting the cabinets and framing the mirror.

Greg did a complete overhaul on the downstairs bathroom by adding beadboard, crown molding,
a new light fixture, the framed mirror, and bright orange paint!

The laundry room also got a complete overhaul from the paint color, light fixture,
drying racks, and storage, to painting the counter top.

Since we were adding another member to our family, we got to do another nursery!
I will share more pictures of Crosby’s room once he’s officially moved into that room.

We have also done a few other projects here and there that I haven’t shared yet.
Michael & Greg painted our master bedroom and master bath, and Greg painted the cabinets.
We also had the rest of the inside lower level of the house painted, as well as the exterior.
After much debate, we opted to hire help for that job since there was so much left to do,
and after it was all done, we were so happy with that decision.

In the immediate future, my goal for the holiday break is to complete the upstairs loft / playroom,
so I will hopefully be sharing that project after the first of the year.

In the not-so-immediate future, there are still several other projects that we’ll be working on,
so stay tuned!

Happy one year anniversary to our house that we’re making a home.

1Oct2013

Small update, big difference

Posted in Projects Around the House by Kendra G.

As the weeks dwindle down until Baby G2 arrives,
we are trying to get things settled around the house as much as possible.
You could call it nesting, but honestly, it’s coming more from Greg than me!
I said it once, and I’ll say it again, men nest too.

A couple months ago (yes I’m a little behind), we were strolling through Lowe’s,
and passed by one of their tables full of random clearance items.
I was stoked when I saw a small can of the Rustoleum Countertop Transformation tint,
even better, it was marked down to $2.50! At that point, I didn’t care what color it was.
The dark gray/putty color was exactly what I was thinking for the counter top in our laundry room.

I don’t advise any pregnant women working with this product… it is strong!
Greg ended up doing all the work and airing out the laundry room as best as he could.
The wait time between coats was three days, which I thought was a little absurd,
but we marked it up in less than three days, so I recommend following directions.

The original counter top in the laundry room was less than desirable.
You can refresh your memory here.

I’m not sure if I’m more obsessed with how good it looks,
or the fact that we only paid $2.50 for the can. Either way, it’s a dramatic difference.

The second update was a slightly bigger project than the first, but it’s something
that was on my to-do list from the day we moved into the house.
Finally, Greg was on board and all of a sudden, just wanted to get it done! I gladly accepted.
I am and have been obsessed with the long, skinny handles for the kitchen cabinets,
so I knew that’s what I wanted. It was just a matter of buying them and getting them done.
IKEA had the best price on them and had different sizes to choose from.
We went with the 13 9/16″ LANSA handles for the regular cabinets & drawers,
and the 17 1/2″ LANSA handles for the wide drawers.

It took Greg about four evenings after work to change out the 50 cabinets and drawers in the kitchen.
This included drilling an additional hole for all the cabinets since there were knobs previously.
He also had to patch all the holes on the drawers where the previous handles were
in order to drill two new holes for the new handles.

You can see our previous kitchen updates here.
We love the new look and I’m so happy we finally got around to doing it!

Slowly but surely, we’re making progress.

12Sep2013

orange ice

Posted in House Tour by Kendra G.

We’re not talking about italian ice today, but the color of our guest bathroom downstairs.
We call this the “pool bath” since there is an exterior door that goes right out to the back patio.
Unfortunately, there is no pool out there on the patio, but that’s what it’s called nonetheless.
I think baby G2 will claim this as his or her bathroom since it’s right by the second nursery,
and since Kenley has her own bathroom in her room. However, it’s the only bathroom downstairs that
is available for guests to use… got it? Good.

Much like the rest of the house, the bathroom was pretty boring when we moved in.
White and basic with the standard builder grade mirror, light fixture, and towel racks.

Several weeks ago, Greg found a light fixture on Craigslist for $35!
Since he was in the process of changing out the light, we thought it only made sense
to paint the bathroom since the light was already off the wall.
And you know we couldn’t stop there…
Over the course of the entire weekend, Greg painted the bathroom,
put up bead board (one piece we already had leftover),
installed crown molding (again, we already had a piece leftover),
and framed out the mirror.

Greg confidently said that this would be the last crown molding project he’ll complete.
For some reason, it was much worse than the family room project.
But, it looks great!

I contributed by adding the last few accessories we needed to match the bathroom set
we got for Christmas last year. I believe it’s being (or has already been) discontinued,
but it’s the Kate Spade Candy Shop line from Bed, Bath and Beyond.

I’m pretty sure this shower has only been used twice since we’ve moved in,
but I foresee us using it soon for some baby baths.
This is also where we have our cloth diaper sprayer, so the bathroom itself
gets used every day, even if it’s not by guests.

Overall, I am so happy with how it turned out. The color is definitely bright,
but I like to think ahead several years down the road when little feet are
trampling back and forth from the pool to the bathroom that it’ll be the perfect color.

Have you done any bathroom updates lately?